Christmas Decor

Finally getting around to sharing a few pictures of my Christmas decorations...

my little entry shelf- (a work in progress as I really am not loving this as much as I have in past seasons)

Christmas cheer in the kitchen

on top of the entertainment center

little red chair

little black shelf

Wonderful Weekend

Here is a reflection of the wonderful weekend we've had, seen through Jameson's eyes, since these are all pictures from his camera.


You never would have believed that Saturday was the first of November in Nebraska- it was sunny & 70 degrees. We took the opportunity to get some things done outside and made it a family work day. Now the kids weren't overly thrilled at first, but I think in the end we all had a fun time. Now the garden and all the flower beds have been cleared and leaves tilled in.


Look at Mo- he is getting so big. He has gained more than 3 pounds since we got him. He is such a fun puppy and we love him dearly! We're so glad that he has finally figured out that this is his home. While we worked on Saturday, he just played happily in the yard along side us. We were worried because before we would be playing with him and he would take off down the street to where he knew his mom and siblings were.


This weekend was our Stake Conference up in Lincoln. We had an amazing adult session on Saturday night which was all about the temple. Afterwards, we went out with Troy's family to Texas Roadhouse. Sunday's session was equally as wonderful. Such good reminders of how we can do a little more and strive to be better each day. Tonight we were on the road again, traveling up to Troy's sister's house in LaVista. We made welcome home signs because Stephanie gets back next week from her mission. I'll take pictures at the airport of the cool signs we all made. We had dinner together and just enjoyed one another's company tonight.


After Stake Conference today we came home and had breakfast for lunch. Troy made us pancakes and sausage. I was so excited to try out my new cute little OJ glasses. I look at these glasses every time I go to an antique store. My grandma has similar glasses and I just love the size and colors of them. But I could never bring myself to pay the $3-5 per glass price at those stores. Friday, I was shopping at our little thrift store here in town and found 2 sets of 3 for 50¢ a set. The sad thing is that we realized we're not big orange juice drinkers. Connor commented that he thought of the show Fear Factor and just downed his whole glass at once. Maybe next time, I'll have to buy citrus punch.




This is Jameson's halloween candy. He was thrilled with the full sized hershey bars(his favorite). Speaking of candy- you should go read the story of the Candy Bomber from WWII. It is really touching. Here is Cocoa's cool FHE lesson based on this story.


Jameson's trumpet and a few of the songs he is working on for their Veteran's Day concert at school. I'm so grateful for music in my life. This weekend I listened to a lot of great music- at Stake Conference and here at home on the computer. Hopefully Made with Glue and Love doesn't think I am blog stalking her- it's just she has the Mamma Mia soundtrack on her playlist, so I've been hanging out quite a bit at her site.


With Election Day and Veteran's Day fast approaching, I looked at these pictures from a flag burning ceremony we attended, with gratitude in my heart for this great country we live in. I believe our founding fathers were inspired men. I am so thankful to those who serve to keep our country free. I pray that on Tuesday that good men and women will be elected to run our country.




Add finally these pictures are just funny to me. Here is Jameson eating his first atomic fire ball! Thanks Cheryl for taking them.


I hope your weekend was wonderful as well!

Sewing Stuff

As many of you know I am a collector. I've got a lot of fabric. More than I'll ever probably be able to use. But I can't help it, especially at garage sale and thrift store prices, how can I pass up something so cute that has the potential to be something even more wonderful?

A few years ago Troy got me a sewing machine for my birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell him at the time I really wanted it so I could sew on my cards and scrapbook pages. Thank goodness I have learned that sewing other stuff can be a lot of fun, too.

Here are some of the projects I've been working on lately:

Genna has grown 2 inches since April, but the hand me down size 7 jeans from her cousin Hannah are still quite a bit too long, so I've been working on them.


I went to a quilting party last Saturday for Relief Society. I got a box full of squares and I spent a few hours figuring out a pattern with the fabric available. I feel badly that I didn't contribute anything besides my sewing machine, to what they got done that day. But I've been working hard here at home to be ready for the next quilting day. We're going to donate the quilts to some local organizations.


My own vintage sheet quilt is still sitting, not cut out yet. I realize that's why- I just need to suck it up and get the squares done. However, cutting is my least favorite part- I am not really good at getting it straight. But working on the gingham quilt is making me anxious to get back to working on my own quilt.



A while back, I did a vintage sheet swap that Crafty Little Beana hosted. There were some really fun fabrics I'd never seen before and some that I already had in my collection. I hope I can incorporate a few of them into my quilt.

Last but not least, I finished up this ugly little pumpkinhead guy. I didn't really like how his smile turned out- but maybe he works for the "so ugly, it's cute" category.

Odds & Ends...

Jameson was thrilled to get his cast off yesterday.

He was a little worried when she took out the saw, but it all ended up okay.

He said it felt really weird afterwards.

The kids took Mo for a walk down the street to visit his relatives.

First, we stopped to see his mom. I guess he was a little thirsty after his long walk.

Then, we stopped to see his two sisters, Mindy and Bindi. We didn't realize how much bigger he is than them. They played pretty rough together. At home, he is a pretty calm guy.


And finally a few Halloween decorations...

Here's my little shelf with some treasures I found recently.

Those candlestick holders used to be gold.

This little red box holds all my bird books and binoculars. I just cover it up with a towel, but it is easy to grab when we see a bird out the back window.

This little cake plate was once red. I found it at the thrift store and when I went to wash it, the red film flaked off. It was sort of pink after I washed all the red off. Amber suggested I paint it black after we saw the cutest black cake plate at Hobby Lobby. Good suggestion- I like how it turned out.


I have a couple more things to share- but first I have to do some dusting. The bad thing about black furniture is that it really shows the dust.

This and That

Alright, time for some odds and ends...

Where we went last Saturday. Friday night we stayed in Independence and had dinner at the Hereford House- yum! I opted not to bring my camera into the park, after we got completely soaked last year at Elitches in Denver.

The Mamba or as Genna kept calling it the Mamma. The boys went on it, us girls had a grand ol' time on the Merry Go Round.


Didn't get a picture, but Sunday we got to see both of my sisters and their families, which was very nice!

A sneak peak of my incredibly fantastic birthday present made by Amber. Seriously, how lucky am I? I promise I'll show you more of them later!

A few fun things that I found recently...


my cool new vintage scale + ugly, but necessary outlet

tiny little wreath and pear

Daddy and what I think is one of our 6 babies who fledged from our bluebird box this spring and summer

Wrapping Idea- kraft paper + clearance candy + homemade card

Card I made for my Sorority Sister(Yikes, her birthday was in March)

Connor got his drum for band yesterday and it has been played nonstop since. Don't you wish you were me?

Jameson broke his arm today at recess. He fell flat on his face after losing his grip while hanging from a soccer goal post. He gets his permanent cast next Tuesday.

Checked off the list...

Swim team- ok, so it technically isn't over till next week, but my boys can't go to the last meet and so I think we are done for the year.


Jameson's birthday party (it is always so hard to find time to get this done between ball tournaments and swim meets.)

Get to the pool- Jameson's party also fulfilled Genna's daily request to go swimming. Because of games and bad weather, this was only her second time to the pool this year.

Make up rounds for golf league while we are on vacation.

A couple of furniture projects. Remember this piece? I decided to add it on top of a little cabinet I got for $5 at a sale. Then I set it by my $1.50 chair. Four cans of spray paint and 3 sheets of sandpaper later I was finished. The chair needed something and so I pieced together a casing for one of my existing pillows after being inspired by the pillow in the 3rd picture down in this post. I find myself inspired a lot when I visit her blog. You should check it out~ V and Co. I still need to add hardware onto the cabinet and fill in the spaces. What would you put in there?

Eat yellow carrots.

(ok, so maybe that last one wasn't really on my to do list, lol!)

Today's list-
boring stuff like laundry and housecleaning

Finished Projects

Ok, I am doing the happy dance because I found my other new battery. I thought I had put it in my purse, but it turns out it was an already used one. So, I can take pictures again. I am sad that I missed all the cool ice storm pictures, but definitely thankful that I can take pictures everyday. I don't want to forget anything about this fun time of year.

So, here are the pictures you were busy imagining...






Plus a couple of fun things I found at the new thrift store that just opened in my town.