Saturday, March 31, 2012

March 31, 2012

Blessings:

1. I posted something to sell on Etsy! That’s a brand new thing for me!

2. I made the cutest happy buns pants for Little Man!

3. A cozy, safe house. We’re getting some nasty winds this evening, but our house can handle it. (I’m sure. Really!)

4. I love my crafty Saturdays. Crafting is such a great emotional outlet for me.

5. Sleep. For the last several nights Little Man has let me get at least 4 consecutive hours of sleep at a time. I truly appreciate that.

Friday, March 30, 2012

March 30, 2012

Blessings:

1. I can go to bed whenever I want! (Say, 9:25pm for example.)

2. I was able to get outside and find flowers.

3. Another lunch out with some of my favorite ladies. We had a very nice lunch at Romeo’s.

4. I didn’t harm myself or anyone else while working in the kitchen. I was having such a clumsy, brain-dead day that I was making more mistakes that progress all day. I was a bit concerned about cooking, but it worked out and no one was harmed! Whew!

5. Despite the windy, kinda icky weather, spring is really here! Just ask the crocuses!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

March 29, 2012

 

Blessings:

1. I had to laugh at the fortune I found in my fortune cookie today. It’s a good thing I don’t run my life based on fortune cookies!

2. I love the pictures I got of my Little Man today. I wish I could share more than the one of his hands and feet. He is such an adorable, sweet boy.

3. Our visits from Laura with CDC (Child Developmental Center) are always a blessing. She helps us understand the next step in Little Man’s development. We take so many things for granted – do you consciously consider that a child must be willing/able to stay on his or her belly before he can scoot around or get up on hands and knees? With typical kids it doesn’t even come up because they just do it. I love learning these detailed bits of child development. And now that Little Man is sitting fairly well it’s time to get him staying on his belly and then scooting around.

4. Entertaining children. My kids amuse me constantly! I just love them!

5. Little Man has slept for at least 5.5 hours for three nights in a row! Whoohoo!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 28, 2012


I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures until waaaaay late tonight, so it was just a sweet, relaxed baby hand.

Blessings:

1. I got a lot of stuff done today!

2. Little Man is healthy, if small. He only weighs 15lbs, but he’s doing well. (He had his 9 month well-child-check today.)

3. We had sweet & sour chicken for dinner tonight – I made it, and it was good! It was my first time making it, but it won’t be my last. (I used the Kikkoman packaged sauce mix and the recipe on the back.)

4. I finally got my work done for the day!

5. Apple pie. It’s just waiting for me in the kitchen.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

March 27, 2012

Cell phone photo again…sorry. But it was a busy day!

I took this shot after making the cute headband. Check out my family blog for a better shot of the headband and more info.

Blessings:

1. Little Man slept for almost 6 straight hours – during the time I wanted to be asleep! Whoohoo! I got 5.5 CONSECUTIVE hours of sleep!

2. An impromptu birthday lunch with my precious friend Deb. Felice, Mom, and I took Deb out to celebrate another year of blessing us with her presence.

3. I made my first video “tutorial.” It was fun! See this family blog post.

4. I forgot to mention yesterday that we finally got our approval for Nathan and Caleb’s medical coverage. They were not covered for 5 months, and Caleb has been out of physical therapy all that time. Whew! It was a pain and a mess, but it’s fixed now! Yay!

5. It was a great day!

Monday, March 26, 2012

March 26, 2012


More of the craft room taking shape. These are the shelves that my husband installed for me on Saturday. Now they have handmade buckets and other goodies adorning them. I love it! (It’s prettier in full color, but I took this shot after dark with the flash, so I like the “cinnamon” effect better than the original.)

Blessings:

1. A peaceful space for crafting. It is a real sanctuary now. At least until the boys come in to do their laundry.

2. My husband got our Wii working again! Yay! That’s a great thing with all the rainy, icky days we’ve had lately – we need our Wii!

3. Little Man can sit up independently now! He’s even learning to get down from his sitting position, and he’s starting to try to scoot around.

4. My kids love scrambled eggs for dinner.

5. This Monday is over.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

March 25, 2012

Blessings:

1. My craft room is continuing to evolve. It is becoming a sunny, cheerful place to be. Check out my family blog for a little more info.

2. Nappity nap nap. Can you guess what I did this afternoon?

3. Looking forward to fellowship. We’re getting ready to go have dinner and spend the evening with the church’s leadership team families.

4. My boys are back. Two of my boys spent two days with Nana and Grandpa. I’m glad they’re able do that, but I miss them when they’re gone.

5. It has been a gorgeously beautiful, warm day! (Over 65 degrees!)

Saturday, March 24, 2012

March 24, 2012


I got to do some crafting today! The three shirts are t-shirts with “ties” heat-n-bonded to them. The butterfly garment is a t-shirt skirt I made for Kristi. I’ll see if I can get photos of the kids in their finery tomorrow.

Blessings:

1. Coffee with Mom.

2. Treasures from thrift stores. I got 3 good-sized pieces of fabric – all for really great prices. Whoohoo!

3. My darling husband put shelves up in my craft space. It just gets gooder and gooder!

4. I didn’t cut my thumb off with my rotary cutter. I don’t think it’s bad enough to even need stitches. Smile

5. I have everything I need. What a wonderful thing to be able to say.

Friday, March 23, 2012

March 23, 2012


Blessings:

1. My beloved and I went to Missoula today – alone! We left all the kids at home with a babysitter and went to town.

2. We were able to order Ken’s new glasses. He really needs them, so this will be a great thing for him.

3. We also got to pick up a cupboard for the laundry room. The laundry room is getting closer and closer to perfect! Pretty soon we’re going to have to call it the craft room (that just happens to have washing machines in it).

4. I found a few of the treasures for my crafting. Does the fact that I needed a new seam ripper tell you something?

5. It was a wonderful day!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

March 22, 2012


I made a skirt this afternoon! This is my One Hour Whimsy – my family blog will have more info.

Blessings:

1. The weather eventually turned nice today. Yay!

2. I made a skirt! Whoohoo! I love it – it is the comfiest thing!

3. Ladies’ meeting. The ladies of our church (some of them, anyway) met this evening. It was very nice.

4. I found out today that a bunch of the work I’ve done over the last several weeks needs to be undone. I slapped my head and said, “I can’t believe that!” and Caleb said, “Did you do something wrong?” I was quite relieved and happy to be able to say, “No, I didn’t do anything wrong. This time it wasn’t my fault.” I know – kind of a backwards blessing, but I was very pleased that the situation wasn’t my fault.

5. I have the most wonderful husband.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012


As has become the usual, if you want to know more about this cute little bucket you can check out my family blog.

Blessings:

1. My sweetie got me a new recliner! Check out What’s Up in Scrivnerburg to see a snapshot.

2. A fun family evening ahead. No work, a comfy chair, and American Idol. Sounds perfect!

3. Love that new denim notions bucket!

4. Ken’s chocolate chip cookies. Mmm…they bring happiness with them.

5. Early bedtime. I’m done with all the stuff that has to be done today, so I can go to bed early!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

March 20, 2012


I made some cloth diaper wipes to use with the cloth diapers. It’s so much easier to stick a wipe in the washer with the cloth dipes! There will be a couple more pictures on my family blog in a few minutes.

Blessings:

1. The first day of spring! I’m ready!

2. A warm house. It may be the first day of spring, but the wind doesn’t care. It has been COLD today!

3. Happy children. They’ve been good and content today. Yay!

4. Easy dinners – homemade bagel pizzas. Simple stuff.

5. People who enjoy helping us. What a joy it is to have friends who love to come and read with our kids.

Monday, March 19, 2012

March 19, 2012

It’s the last day of winter!

We woke up to snow, but it melted pretty quickly. We got to see these lovely water-drop-diamonds as the snow was melting under the almost-spring sun.

Blessings:

1. Almost spring sun!

2. A good Monday! Yay!

3. Creamy chicken soup. I’d share the recipe, but I made it up as I went along, and I wasn’t even sure how it was going to work. It worked well. Even the picky picky 6-year-old ate it!

4. Crafting fun. I love being in my spruced up craft space so much that I made a couple things today. My family blog shows the appliqued t-shirt I fixed up for Kristi.

5. My clever husband. He can fix almost anything, and he so creative. He has made some wonderful things out of wood…I’ll have to share some of them. He’s really wonderful.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

March 18, 2012

new pin cushion
I'm sprucing up my craft space - this is one of the newest additions. You can check out my family blog if you’re interested in seeing the other little crafty things I did this afternoon.

Blessings:

1. Church. I truly enjoy meeting with my faith family.

2. Nap time. I had the best nap this afternoon – but I was so asleep it took me an hour to wake up.

3. My pretty craft space. I enjoyed spending some time fixing it up further today, and it’s turning into a happy space.

4. Quiet in my house. I do enjoy a bit of quiet.

5. Peace.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! My only real recognition of St. Patrick’s Day was watching Celtic Woman on PBS. I love them!

Saturday fun

Blessings:

1. Free time.

2. Lunch out with my honey.

3. A neat and tidy craft space. (See my family blog for a photo.)

4. Contentedness. I can be content even when there are circumstances that cause stress. (Philippians 4:11)

5. I am just blessed. Machines for my convenience, food for my family, happy kids…I’m blessed.

Friday, March 16, 2012

March 16, 2012

Calebs iris
Caleb’s iris doesn’t care that its owner didn’t cut it back last year, or even plant it in the ground. It’s got growing to do, and it’s going to do it! It even withstood whatever broke the pot it’s in. That’s a hardy plant!

Blessings:

1. An impromptu day off school. Fun! I used the extra time for sewing.

2. My Shark steam mop. Crazy, but it IS a blessing. It sure makes it easier to clean the kitchen floor. You might be shocked to hear this, but our floor gets quite dirty. Surprised smile

3. My kids are healthy. This is especially good, since we can’t seem to get them covered by Healthy Montana Kids (yet).

4. Frozen pizza. I tweaked my back again, and frozen pizza is an excellent thing at this point.

5. More sewing fun. When I first learned to sew it was anything but stress-relieving, but  now it’s my go-to stress reliever. I absolutely love this 10-minute drool bib. Check out my other post for more about it.
star bib

Thursday, March 15, 2012

March 15, 2012

fleece sheet
I posted about this sewing project here.

Blessings:

1. I started blogging my crafts. Fun stuff.

2. It was a good day. I needed one of those.

3. My husband loves me.

4. My hiccups are gone. They lasted FOREVER! I hate them when they only last a minute, but more than half-an-hour is just nutso!

5. Little Man is making progress. We have a wonderful lady coming in to help us teach him the skills he needs, and he’s really making great strides. He now responds to his name, sits up pretty well (although he can’t get down without bonking himself), and has started banging toys. Yay, Little Man!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

March 14, 2012


Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese; bake 350 10-15 minutes. It was delicious! (This lost some color and sharpness in the transition to the blog – if photography is your thing, click the photo to see the better version.)
Blessings:
1. My family is healthy.
2. Our needs are met.
3. It’s American Idol night.
4. I can hear the sewing machine calling my name.
5. God always hears me.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

March 13, 2012


I finished up Kristi's thrift store dress today. I took bits and pieces from thrift store shopping to put this together. I don't know what she thinks of it (she's not very good at expressing herself) but I like the way it came out. It's not a fantastic photo, but since the point of this year's 365 is chronicling my family, I'm okay with that. Maybe I'll get a portrait of her in the dress on Sunday.

Blessings:

1. I finished this dress!

2. An easy school day for me. Smile Actually, Ken did almost all the work today. I ended up having a work telemeeting for most of the class time.

3. Developing relationships. As I walked through the grocery store today I spoke to almost every store employee by name, and saw several other people I know. I love living in a place where people know me, and I know them, their kids, their needs…now I just need to remember this when I’m feeling isolated.

4. Caleb loves me so much he’s going to live with me forever. “I give my mom my heart if you can live with me.”

”If u can liv with me” means “if Mom is able to live in the same house as me forever.”

5. Little Man sat up on his own long enough for a few photos today. He really struggles with the stability to sit up, and he doesn’t know how to get down, so he throws himself backwards. But here he is modeling his new handmade bib.
Gavin with his new denim bib cropped

Monday, March 12, 2012

March 12, 2012


Blessings:

1. No veggie fights with my kids. They love to eat vegetables – especially when they look like these beautiful peppers.

2. I survived school today. I am not feeling my best – ringing ears, stuffy head, overly tired…I think I’m getting a cold. Ergh. But I made it through school without Ken! Whew!

3. More craft time. Crafting has really become my sanity time. I love it! (After I worked today I made a denim bib – pictures tomorrow.)

4. Gifts from my kiddos. I taught Caleb how to finger knit yesterday, and he made me a necklace and bracelet. So sweet!

5. We’re movin’ on into Tuesday. Yay!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

March 11, 2012


Little Man is wearing the bib I made for him today. I love it! Who knew sewing stuff for Baby would be so much fun?!?

Blessings:

1. Little Man was fine after a bit of back beating when he spit up and then inhaled. Whew! (If you need to know what to do with a choking baby, check this out - http://www.babycenter.com/0_infant-first-aid-for-choking-and-cpr-an-illustrated-guide_9298.bc)

2. We had a great time in church this morning.

3. More and more crafting this afternoon! I love the new bib I made for Little Man – here is the whole thing.

4. I got the crafty part of the laundry room cleaned up and organized. (Let’s pretend it wasn’t absolutely necessary because I lost my Velcro in the mess.)

5. Most of my family is capable of getting their own dinner. Yay for a relaxed Sunday evening! (One of my FB friends told me I need it after the choking scare, so I’m just being obedient.)

Saturday, March 10, 2012

March 10, 2012


(I didn’t take this photo today – I just prepared it for Bitterroot Family Fellowship’s Facebook page.)

Blessings:

1. It was a relaxed, crafty day. I love it! Here are the projects I made today – a skort for Kristi (she loves to wear skirts/dresses, but she plays like the boys, so her skirts need shorts under them), and the cutest ever booties for Little Man. I just love these things! (Yes, the buttons are well-secured.)
Skort diptych        cutest booties ever(Click picture for link to pattern/tutorial.)

2. A walk with the family in the sunshine. I love the looks we get with our little train of kids walking down the street.

3. Meeting up with my mom in town. It wasn’t just because she bought me goodies while we were shopping together downtown. But she did. Smile She bought me a waffle iron and this lovely thing.

4. Green grass is popping up! Apparently the grass hasn’t looked at the calendar to see that spring isn’t here for another 10 days. That’s fine with me – it’s looking mighty springy around here!

5. We set our clocks ahead this morning so everyone did dinner, baths, and bed on time (except maybe me). I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be smoother than the spring forward has been sometimes.

Friday, March 9, 2012

March 9, 2012


Blessings:

1. The movie Courageous. It’s a great movie with an important message. We watched it as a family tonight.

2. Beautiful, spring-like weather. It was so nice we all spent time playing outside today!

3. Getting work done early. Four out of five days this week I was finished with my work day before dinner. That gives me the whole evening for family time or crafting. Yay!

4. Scrivnerburg basketball. I love seeing my husband out there playing with the kids – and the kids love it, too.

5. Getting my big camera out. This is the first day in months that I had to choose between photos for my 365 post.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

March 8, 2012


Introducing…the WobbleNoggin! The concept is to use one of Baby’s outfits that Mom or Dad loves to create a snuggly pillow toy for Baby. This one is soft and squishy – it’s just fun to cuddle!

Blessings:

1. I made a cute baby jammie into a cuddly, pillowy teddy bear!

2. My at-home children get along really well, and enjoy playing together. Sure, they bicker and fight (every day), but for the most part they treat each other nicely and they truly care about each other.

3. I enjoy my children much more now than I did before they were homeschooled. I didn’t think it would be that way, but I’m loving spending more time with them.

4. As much as I enjoy my kids, I really enjoy the quiet, kidless time after they’re asleep.

5. God’s provision. He continues to give us what we need in a wonderful variety of ways. I enjoy watching God work.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

March 7, 2012

IMAG0510-1-1-1
How Dale does homeschooling. I get the feeling he likes Little Man.

Blessings:

1. A teenager who loves to take care of the baby.

2. Little Man is gaining weight! Yay! He’s put some weight back on (he now weighs over 15 lbs) and he’s grown a half inch in the last 3 weeks.

3. Crafting to de-stress.

4. Chocolate. Even if it doesn’t cure all ills it makes them bearable, right?

5. Affection from the littles. I let Caleb choose the sentence he was going to write for his handwriting practice today. He chose to write, “I very very love my mom.”

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

March 6, 2012


I made an improved version of the lovey that I worked on Sunday. I like this one even better! It hasn’t been through the taste test yet, but it’s cuddly and cute!

Blessings:

1. A happy day.

2. My husband. I just love him.

3. My church family. I enjoy spending time with them – as my pastor says, “doing life together.” Check out Bitterroot Family Fellowship.

4. My job. I know I’ve said it over and over, but I’ve been in jobs I didn’t love, and I know how stressful and miserable it can be to dread going to work and to look forward to quitting time every day. I am so blessed to have a job that never makes me feel that way.

5. Funny, funny kids. Today Nathan taped a piece of copy paper to his scraped knee because he said Austin had told him it would speed the healing. I’m not sure where Austin got that information, but it certainly amused me – well, that and Nathan hobbling around trying to keep the copy paper from falling off his leg.

Monday, March 5, 2012

March 5, 2012

 

Blessings:

1. Encouraging words from my supervisor. It’s always nice to hear that you’re doing a good job.

2. Beautiful weather.

3. Outside kid noise. Smile 

4. Being done with work before dinner. Ahhhh….freedom!

5. Ibuprofen.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

March 4, 2012


Celebrating the Liners’ first year at our church.
Blessings:
1. The Liner family. When God brought Michael Liner to pastor our church, He brought us a treasure.
2. A fun, surprise potluck for the Liners. We had such a fun time!
3. Sewing time! I know – I keep saying that, but today I created another fun little thing. It’s a lovey for Baby. It’s unstuffed – flannel and fleece. Apparently it tastes good.
IMAG0505-1
4. America’s Funniest Home Videos. The younger kids and I watched on Netflix, and we all just rolled laughing – it’s been a long time since we watched that show, and since we laughed so much.
5. Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Pie. I’ll share my version of it on my family blog soon. ::happy sigh::

Saturday, March 3, 2012

March 3, 2012

Blessings :

1.  A fun day!

2.  The Lorax!  Nana took the kids and me to see it in 3d today.

3.  Quiet time.

4.  I made a shopping cart/high chair cover for Little Man today. I can't wait to use it!

5. Nana.  Not only does my mother-in-law do fun things like take us to the theater, she blesses us by helping with school,  encouraging us, and by supporting us.

Today's photo was taken with my htc Rezound after the movie. The kids needed to burn some energy after sitting for 2 hours.

Friday, March 2, 2012

March 2, 2012


Would you like some burger with those onions, Austin?

Blessings:

1. Coffee. And more coffee. Little Man isn’t sleeping well, so I’ve really been appreciating my caffeine.

2. My awesome new (as of last October) washer and dryer. They are huge, and I can actually keep up with the cloth diapers!

3. Work is done for the week! And it was done before dinner time! (Is it cheating if a I do a bit of work tomorrow?)

4. Free books. I love downloading free Kindle books from Pixel of Ink and Inspired Reads, and I also love getting new books from the Blogging for Books program through WaterBrook Multnomah. I just got my new book today, and I can’t wait to spend some time reading it this weekend!

5. More sewing time. I made another diaper and started a different project today. Yay! I love doing crafty things!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

March 1, 2012


These feet are just so sweet! Love ‘em!

Blessings:

1. My sewing machine. I’ve been having so much fun with it!

2. Getting to spend time with my mother. I have many friends who can no longer do that, and I’m thankful that I get to do it frequently.

3. Baby kisses. Little Man proved his affection for me by grabbing my face and ramming his mouth into mine. Okay, so he’s not very controlled in his affection. I’ll take it anyway – especially after he played his no-kissy game with me for so long.

4. Baby diapers! I made ‘em! I have learned how to make fitted cloth diapers, and I love love love them! Little Man seems to love them too!

5. My life is good. Most of the things that bother me are minor irritations, and it’s really important for me to remember that.