Sunday, September 16, 2012

A New Old Chair

I bought this chair...
this past summer and I
FINALLY
got around to painting it.




After a coat of white spray paint on the chair
and a couple layers of burlap on the seat,
I have a 'new' chair.  Now I have to
decide whether to keep it or sell it at
the patch next month.
I would like to add a little burlap
banner on the back of the chair
that says F A L L.


The five kiddos and Grant just
got done picking 500 gourds
and now the youngest and oldest
boys are cooling off with the
sprinkler under the trampoline.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

His Word

Yesterday, Hope and I quickly scanned all the school
supplies that are on clearance at Wal-Mart.

I found these great books of pre-printed
scripture.  There are 4 copies of 8
different verses in each book.
They tear out easily and I 'hid' one in
each of the kids' rooms.





Tate & Hart!



Hope!



Paige!



Brett!


'You are gifted. 
God has given us
different gifts
for doing certain
things
well.'
Romans 12:8  NLT

Blessings on you today!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

A Few Treasures

Hope and I did a little garage saling today
and I found a rusty treasure.

$20 later and it's sitting in my front yard,
patiently waiting to see what color I paint it.
Red, white, turquoise?



It may have to wait while I do a little sewing.

I found this set of six tea towels at the
thrift store in Lindsborg.  They are big,
thick and so cute.  The Sunday towel
has vegetables singing from a hymnal.

Thursday is missing, but I think I'll sew the
remaining six together and make a blanket.
Maybe I can find some vintage fabric to
sew on for the backing.


Paige kept our lab puppy, Shelby busy
playing fetch while I took pictures.
See all the 'treasures' Shelby has found today
to drag into the front yard?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Best Cherry Limeades!

3 simple ingredients
+
1 minute (or less) of stirring
=
The Yummiest Cherry Limeades EVER!


1.  Lemon-Lime Soda
2.  Frozen Limeade
3.  Jar of Maraschino Cherries

For best results, chill the soda
and cherries before mixing together.

I like to scoop out 3 or 4 cherries with
a slotted spoon to top off each drink.

And THIS is what I like to serve these
yummy drinks in:
A glass jar topped with a cute lid and a straw.

These drinks were requested many times this summer,
especially when my kids had friends visiting.
They go great with popcorn and a movie.

If you want to be really fancy,
add a slice or two of lime.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Hello Again!



The pumpkins are looking good out in the patch right now.
Here are a couple of prizewinners that are still growing.






It's nice to see some green grass around the
barns after a little rain.


I hope to start blogging more frequently now
that I have a "new" laptop that is less tired
and fussy than my last one.  I'm also trying
out instagram on my ipod touch to take and
load more pictures with a little more ease.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Spring

Spring 2012

Spring is beautiful,
fun,
and BUSY!

Here are a few things we've been doing.


Easter



Track Meets


Getting Beaned By A Softball
(we could see the stitches of the ball)


Prom
(Hart, Tate and Hope served them dinner)


Animal Shed Blown Down


Awards Night
(Brett and Paige next to each other, looking
so happy.  I think our neighbor-girl Laura
was trying to make Paige smile)


Elementary Teacher Party


High School Vocal Concert
 Paige is on the top row, third from the right.
LOVE this picture of Brett
between his friends and neighbors,
Kendal and Colton.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Hoppy Leap Year!

It's February 29th!
It's a leap year!
Hoppy Leap Day!

I know.
It's just another day.
An extra day.

BUT...
it was kind of fun
to put together a leap year treat
for Hope and Hart's teachers
and my kiddos.


A little jar full of green sixlets for the teachers.



A stretchy frog for Tate.


Hoppy frogs for Brett and Paige.


 Froggy eyes rings for Hope and Hart.


And gummy frogs for everyone!


Sorry for the awful lighting.
It's late...and dark...and I'm too
tired to even make sure all the
pics are right side up.

A Lopsided Smile

I'm so thankful for our dentist.
And I like all the girls who work there. 
Thank Goodness!
Because I spend many hours there.

We've had 5 dentist/orthodontist
appointments in 2 days.


Paige was t-h-i-s close to
getting her braces off this month.
But one little tooth is slightly
out of place because she had it
knocked loose in basketball practice.



Sweet Hope thought she had  a 
sliver of a popcorn hull stuck
behind her last molar, but that
would be too simple, wouldn't it?
She actually cracked that molar.
On popcorn.  Which she doesn't
even love that much anyways.

 Chocolate is more her style.
Chocolate cupcake with 
chocolate frosting with
chocolate sprinkles with
chocolate ice cream on
a chocolate plate, please.

All of our kiddos tend to grind
their teeth down to nubs when
they're little.  The kind of teeth
grinding that our dentist tells me
is usually seen in stressed-out
little kids living in war-torn countries.

I know I'm not a perfect mother,
but come on!  I think it's hereditary.

So Tate had ground one little baby
molar down to the nerve and had
to have a little work done.  The up
side to that, is that he loves to look
at his lopsided smile while his 
cute little face is still numb.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

From Art Table to Dining Table

This light brown wooden tote has been on
a shelf holding spools of ribbon.

After a quick dry-brushing of white paint, 
now it's holding stuff on our dining table.

I picked up the s&p shakers, the yellow tin cup
and the pastry cutter turned napkin holder
at "Where'd Ya Get That" antique store
in Greensburg last Saturday.

I threw some greenery and candles in for fun,
although it's almost time to break out the 
spring decorations.  Tulips...or eggs...or bunnies and chicks?

I rescued this quilt from a thrift store for $7.00.
I have it thrown over our banister in the entryway right now.
I just couldn't bear the thought of someone
snatching it up to line a pet's cage or rip apart for rags.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Mini Mouse

What do you think of
when you hear the words
"Mini Mouse"?

I used to think of this:

Now I think of this:




It's a mini mouse!  Get it?
It's the cutest little computer
mouse I've ever seen.

And the best part?
I picked it up at JCP
after Christmas
for a couple $$.

And it makes me smile.
And yes, I know how
to spell 'Minnie' Mouse.
:) :) :)

Monday, January 30, 2012

Iced Coffee Happiness!

Look what I found in Sam's today!
It is so yummy!

I threw a handful of crushed ice
and a couple squirts of caramel syrup
into my handy-dandy little smoothy maker,
topped it off with the vanilla iced coffe
and whirred it up.
 
The best part was it was only $6.47
for two 64-oz cartons of this liquid heaven.
 
Know what's going to make it even better?
I'm going to freeze some of the iced coffee into
cubes to use instead of the yucky ice cubes
made of (blech) water.
 
I really want to suck down one more glass
of this yummy yumminess, but it's almost 
bedtime and today I've already had at least one
full pot of coffee and a LARGE Dr. Pepper
from McDonald's (because I can't order a 
smaller size when they are all $1.00).
 
I bet this will taste even yummier in my
insulated Starbucks cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
It's the simple things, you know?
 
Do you think my heart is racing right now
because of new iced coffee excitement
or caffeine o-o-o-o-overload?!!?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Scratched

Yesterday, Tate got into a little tussle
with a tree branch.


Just before I took this picture I heard him
talking to his buddy, Trey, in the bathroom.

Tate:  It's AWESOME looking at this scratch!
Trey:  Yeah.  You look like a super hero that got
scratched by the bad guy!

I think I'm going to have to sneak into Tate's
bedroom at night while he's sleeping to put any
type of healing ointment on his face.