This is the Life.....

So says Charlie....all cozied up between the logs by the woodstove. The funny thing was that just a few seconds before I took this, Rocky was snoozing too, with his back against that closest log there. Way to spend a chilly spring evening!I finished all my grannies to send off for the blanket project for Japan. I got 10 altogether. And they are ready to go in the mail. This purple one if my favorite!!

A Quiver Full

Psalms 127: 3-5

'Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.'

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It seems my kids have taken these verses to heart (at least for now...and I pray so seriously down the road). I'm not sure what got them started.....but they have been having major discussions about how many children they want to have & the names of them too. Some of them are talking 'Duggar-sized' families & it really thrills my heart to think that they are hoping for large families. I told them we would willingly add on here so as to accomodate the large gatherings of family/grandchildren here for times like Christmas & what-not in the future. Oh, that 'This Old House' would continue to ring with the loving sounds of family! And I really love that some of the names they have chosen are family names that have already been passed down through the generations......what a rich heritage to pass on! Some of the names I've heard tossed around this morning were: Blair, Grey, Virginia, Julia, Robert......just to name a few. Now, I know that they are just teen-agers talking now.....and of course all of this is subject to change....but it's good to have a dream, right?! I even told them I wanted each of them to write down all these names they've chosen & then give them to me (the family historian/memory-keeper) & I will make a layout about this. It will be fun to look back on years down the road & see how things compare. What a blessing God has given us in FAMILY!!

Just a Few Cards......

Just wanted to share a few cards that I made yesterday afternoon. Yet again, I used the sketches provided over at Cookin' Up Creations. Thanks ladies for all the lovely sketches!!

Spring Snow

So, this is what I woke up to this morning. Who would've thought that on March 27, we'd have SNOW!

Ok, so it is pretty....but hey, it IS the end of March! I'm ready to go back to sun, seventies & sitting under my Dogwood tree. (Pretty clever alliteration, huh.....and all before I've had my second cup of coffee this morning! Ha!)

Crop Chef

Come check out the details at Cookin' Up Creations!

Scrappy Saturday

Nowhere to go today & nothing in particular that HAD to be done (well, laundry...but that doesn't count.) So........that made for a lovely scrappy afternoon. As usual, I stuck in my trusty NCIS discs....I love those because I can scrap & listen & know exactly what's going on without paying complete attention.Again, all of these layouts were done using sketches from Cookin' Up Creations for this month. I just had a couple different pics of Alli & Cori that I wanted to do something with. Found this adorable little kit 'Recollections Girlfriends' at Michaels yesterday for $1.99. It came with 6 patterned papers, 1 textured card stock, diecut chipboard, layered stickers, rhinestones, ribbons & some brads. I was able to create this cute layout & still have left-overs for another project.

Rocky, the evening he came home from the vet after getting 'fixed'. He looked so sad & out of it. The whole deal here was to point out his cone & that he had to wear it for FIVE WHOLE DAYS! I have pics for another layout of him the day he got the cone OFF. ;-)

Ashley playing with her new laptop. Yes, we are getting ready for college.

New Baby Chicks

New baby chicks & a spur-of-the-moment Girly Sleepover at Sarah's house. That's what my day was all about yesterday. We had been wanting to do another sleepover at Sarah's, but I had to get past Ashley's SAT testing & then it was Spring Break & well, here we are on the other side of all that now......and Sarah just up & said we should come & so we threw some clothes together & headed to the Burg yesterday afternoon.Before we left, Clay had to run to Lowes & he also made a stop to pick up these new baby chicks. So now we'll have 10 hens & a rooster. Yummy eggs....can't wait!

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We had a really fun evening hanging out with Maw, Sarah, Anna & Daniel. First up was supper at Chickfila. It was such a perfect Spring evening so we took our food & ate at their outside dining area. After that, it was up to Chris' dorm to deliver a BD cake. It was Chris' room-mate (Damian's) birthday & so we baked him a chocolate cake. You know you can't go wrong delivering a chocolate cake to a dorm room full of guys! LOL! Anna & Daniel especailly got a kick out of going around & knocking on Chris' window to deliver the cake. We had an added treat when we found Ashley C. parked by their window in a camp chair with her laptop. Aaaahhhh....college life! ;-) Next, came a stop at Sweet Frog for some frozen yougurt & then it was back to Sarah's for jammies & some movie-watching. The kids camped out in Anna's room & watched episode after episode of Cosby while Maw, Sarah, Ashley & I watched 'Love in the Afternoon'......an old Audrey Hepburn movie. I'm still humming 'Fascination' LOL!

Had to snap this cute pic of Ashley's giraffe, Mr. Darcy sitting with Daniel's two giraffes, Tommy & Giraffey. We had a leisurely breakfast Wednesday morning (while watching more Cosby) then headed out to some consignment shops. Back to Sarah's where Maw joined us for lunch.....homemade ronis, steamed broccoli & baked apples. YUM! After refueling, we headed out again to hit some more of Sarah's favorite consignment shops & to stop by the 'Amish Store'. We parted ways after that & headed on back home so I would be here in time to fix some supper for my guys. Wouldn't want to think of them having to fend for themselves two nights in a row. GASP! Anyways......don't you just love the last-minute, unplanned, wing-it kind of adventures?! We had the best time......more memories tucked away. ;-)

Marvelous Monday!

Another gorgeous spring day here. About 73 degrees today. Just perfect for enjoying the out-of-doors! After the book work was done this morning, we spent most of the rest of our day outside.....reading, playing guitar, crocheting, fishing, going on a walk & a little bike riding too.Fletcher was enjoying the sunshine too. Loved how he peeked up over the edge of the old stump at me.
I grabbed my yarn bag & took it out to my favorite spot under the Dogwood tree for a little sun-shiney-hooky time!

You can see here that Peaches wanted to be sure & keep Ashley company while she read Moby Dick. He's growing so big & is SO lovey! I tell ya, he would make someone such an awesome pet. Hint, hint, Ashley C. ;-)

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A friend, Andrea, had posted on her blog this morning about a project being put together to make squares which will in turn be made up into blankets for those affected by the catastrophic events in Japan. You can read more about it HERE. If you have some spare time & yarn, please feel free to join in! I sat down today with my bag of 'scraps' & was able to whip up these three squares in no time.

Just praying over each square that I crochet that these folks will feel God's love in a real way!!

Scrappy Sunday

I didn't really do all these laytouts today.....just the top one & a card...but still, it was a 'Scrappy Sunday'. Kind of cloudy & cool after these last few days & beautiful warm spring weather.....perfect for being inside at my scrap table for the afternoon. After lunch, I stuck in a disc of NCIS, fixed myself a cup of coffee & scrapped until supper time. Love these fun pics of my girlies just snapped one day while in AC Moore.The adorable bunny that Ashley crocheted for Alli's 12th birthday.

A couple cards to add to my stash.....using more sketches from the March sketches at CUC. You can never have too many cards on hand.

Japanese Flower Scarf

I first saw/heard about these beautiful flowers on Lucy's blog (where else...LOL!) But have since seen them popping up everywhere on lots of the other Hooky blogs I frequent. I fell in love with them just like everyone else, it seems. And decided they would be perfect in scarf form. I had these lovely shades of brown/tan in the box full of yarn that Aunt Vada sent me & decided they would be perfect for this project.

There are 15 flowers in this scarf & it measures approximately 75" long. I've done this to put away as a Christmas present for the coming year. (TRYING to get ahead & plan my projects NOW!) I'm thinking a smaller version of this would be adorable for the littler girls on my Christmas list. And I'd probably do them in Attic24 colors. This really took no time at all to make & I'm also proud to say that I used Lucy's 'join-as-you-go' method of joining these flowers......my first time using this method & I LOVE it!! Since finishing this the other day at the dentist office (I surely have gotten a lot of hooky time in at the dentist as of late...LOL) I've been working on my hexagons again. They are just plain FUN to make! I took my bag of yarn outside yesterday for the first time this year & sat in my beloved chair under my Dogwood tree & hooked the afternoon away. Total BLISS!

Happy Hump Day!

The Liberty Women's basketball team will tip off its first-ever appearance in the post-season Women's National Invitation Tournament Wed. with a contest at Charlotte. Tip off time at Halton Arena will be 7pm.

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Clay & Jon headed out on a road trip today (with Clay's friend, Sam) to cheer the Lady Flames on tonight in Charlotte. Sam is a die-hard Flames Fanatic & Clay & Jon are loving it too! They definitely foresee season tickets in their future for next year. ;-) I'm so thankful that Clay does these fun things with our kids! Such a blessing. The rest of us are 'partying' here at home tonight. We fixed home-made waffles for supper along with some fresh home-made (not by us) sausage & bacon. And now we're watching American Idol together.

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Another daily tid-bit/praise...........Chris went for his dental check-up this afternoon & was reported to have NO cavities! He said they asked him if we had limited their sweets growing up.....they were quite impressed that NONE of our 5 kids have cavities. He does have one wisdom tooth that will need to come out & probably braces to correct some things, but on the whole, it was a good check-up! Praise God for the little everyday happies in our lives!!

Made to Crave

Has anyone read this yet? I just picked it up at Walmart the other day & also started receiving the 21 Day Devotional challenge. Would love to hear your input!

Scrappy Fun

Scrappy Fun on a rainy Tuesday.......that's what I had yesterday afternoon. I stuck in a disc of NCIS & scrapped the afternoon away. I still have another layout on my table that needs journaling, but I have been having fun with all the March sketches at CUC. This is one of my favorites......pics from Anna's birthday & her new violin! I thought the colors & patterns in these papers went perfectly with her pretty dress & the whole 'dress-up/tea-party' theme of her party.
LOVE these pics of Jon & Alli......this is SO them....or should I say SO JON! He can pick & tease & you can try your darndest to be mad at him, but it never works. You always end up laughing!! (trust me, I know this from experience! It's a gift he gets from his Daddy!)
The title was actually Jon's idea......I was sitting here trying to think of something clever besides the obvious 'Birthday Cake' deal....when he walked by & said that. That's one of his famous sayings.......he always says it to her in the mornings when I call them to the table to get their school work. Alli assumes the slump-shouldered pose & shuffles in the kitchen with a sour-puss look on her face & this is what she gets from Jon. 'Don't be weary, just be cheery!' And don't you just know the reaction he gets from her. LOL! Anyway.....I thought it was the perfect way to document that fun little exchange between the two of them.

This was two-pager sketch that I used for her birthday morning pictures. I'm mad at my scanner because no matter how many times I re-scanned or turned the LO, it kept cutting the white edging off that top page. It's supposed to have about a half-inch white edging on three sides. Oh well.....you get the gist of it.

Signs of Spring

Been noticing on several different blogs here recently (Attic24 & Bunny Mummy are two that come to mind right off the top of my head) posts about finding & capturing the little everyday 'Happies' in your life right now. Whether its a bunch of daffodils or the beautiful Spring-blue sky. Pics of your latest Hooky project or just your kids being silly. So.....with this in mind, I went outside this morning & walked around my yard taking pics of all the lovelies that made me SMILE.The daffodils blooming under the little Oak tree by the garden.
The Cherry bushes that Pop planted down here are just about to bloom!


Ashley's 'Willoughby'......her Willow tree.

My little handful of blooms that I snipped to bring some spring INSIDE! Put them in one of my favorite little Good Will vases.

You Are God Alone

You are not a God
Created by human hands
You are not a God
Dependant on any mortal man
You are not a God
In need of anything we can give
But your plan, that's just the way it is


[chorus]
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on the throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on your throne
You are God alone.


You're the only God
Whose power none can contend
You're the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God
Who's worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that's just the way it is.



~~Phillips Craig & Dean

Freedom!

Today was Rocky's day to be free of the cone!This was actually a yawn....makes him look like a crazy dog....LOL!
Aaaah, sweet freedom!

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And while Michael was upstairs bathing Rocky, I sat down with my pictures & some new sketches from over at Cookin' Up Creations & made this quick LO of Ashley & Rocky.

Lots of scraps & bits of this & that used here!

Braces

Yes, yesterday was the big day! Ashley got her braces. Didn't take any time at all. I mean, our appointment was at 2:15pm & by 2:47pm we were back in the van heading home. She was all smiles when she came out.....an older couple in the waiting room even commented that her appointment must have gone well because.... just look at her smiling! She had been worried by stuff folks kept telling her about how sore her teeth would be & how she wouldn't feel like doing anything but laying on the couch for about two days. I think that just gets her dander up a little like stuff like that does for me. She's been insisting that they are fine. I did manage to get her to take two tylenol immediately afterwards, but I don't think she's taken anything since.

We hadn't been home long at all when we lost our power. It was raining & thunderstorms in the area along with flash flood watches.....so, Clay suggested Pizza Hut for supper. Sometimes these spur-of-the-moment adventures can be the best. We all loaded up, including Rocky (because he still has that cone thingie on & twice he's gotten it hung in his mouth trying to get it off & we didn't want him to be alone for that long.) & headed out for some supper. He (Rocky) was such a good boy.....resting in the van while we ate & shopped at Walmart & by the time we got home, our power was back & all was well. Nothing like a fun adventure or two on a RAINY, rainy day!! Memories. ;-)

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Y'all please pray for Ashley in the morning......she takes her SAT test for the second time tomorrow. Although she's already been accepted at Liberty, we had already signed up for this & she is hoping to up her scores a bit. Just pray for peace & recall of all that she's been studying. She's done her part in preparing now & I KNOW that God will be faithful!!