It's All About Balance!

Playing 'catch-up' again with my blog today. After Pastor Jonathan's sermon Sunday morning about DISTRACTIONS in our families.......the computer being one of them.......& learning BALANCE, I've been trying to limit my time on this thing. That being said.....my plan is to update my blog once....possibly twice a week now. So without further ado here's a recap of my weekend.

Alli went home with Cori on Friday to spend the weekend.

That afternoon they took a walk down to the creek....

February & they have their toes in the creek!

Cori's cat, Maddy. Just look at that fat belly!

My first daffodils of the season....picked Sunday afternoon as I took my walk.

Kristi is my knitting idol & I fell in love with this one dishcloth that she had posted a picture of so I suggested we swap. A knitted dishcloth for one my crocheted ones. Well, I got the dishcloth from her last week & it was even cooler in person. I totally loved the pattern & thought it looked really difficult. My knitting expertise is basically limited to plain ole square dishcloths, but I decided that I would go in search of this pattern on google....just out of curiosity. Well, I found it easily enough & honestly, I didn't think it seemed too hard so I decided to grab my needles & give it a whirl. It was SO simple & quick to do. I couldn't believe that 'I' was knitting this cool dishcloth. I'm finishing up the last little section right now & will post pictures of the finished product when I'm done. I'm quite proud of myself for pushing myself & learning something new. ;-)

Emily & Ashley

Just piddling this morning....waiting on Alli to get ready so we can leave for town.

I snagged this picture from Ashley's Facebook.....I really like it. Two beautiful, sweet girls! I praise God for the room-mates he gave Ashley this year. I prayed so hard all summer for just the perfect roomies & God provided!

Blue Plate Special

It was my turn today to post the Blue Plate Special challenge over at Cookin' Up Creations.

Mornin' ladies! When trying to come up with my challenge for you today, I grabbed my latest issue of Creating Keepsakes & started flipping through it & what do ya know......there was an article about some of the latest new trends in color, fonts, motifs, etc. How appropriate. Just what I needed to inspire me.  According to the article, citrus colors are going to be really big. How perfect to go along with our FOOD theme this month! So with that being said, I want you to create a LO for me today using some bright citrusy colors.................AND.....I want your LO to feature a favorite dessert. Whether it's a family recipe that's been passed down through the years or maybe it's something special that you always bring to the get-togethers....something you are known for & everyone asks you to fix. You get the idea.  Below is my example. My Aunt Linda is known for her pound cakes! They are THE BEST ever. She does weddings, baby showers, anniversary parties & Brithday cakes for ALL the family. I featured just two of her cakes on this layout......the one she did for her brother's 80th birthday & Ashley's 18th birthday cake.

And just for fun.....pics from Daniel's 7th birthday party. As you can see, he had a VT football party.

President's Day

My house is so full of music right now. I'm sitting here listening to Baby Girl in the living room playing on her new guitar. (yes, new guitar....I'll get to that in a minute.) And I can also hear Clay upstairs with the boys....he's playing around on Jon's electric guitar. We've been investing in their musical pursuits. Within just a year of getting her first guitar, Alli has learned SO much. She plays SO good & all the time now & she had truly outgrown her cheap little guitar we got her for starters. So, after a trip to the music store near Richmond today, she came home with a new Martin guitar. Clay & the boys had gone there Friday when they were in Richmond. This is the place where Michael spent his Christmas money on a bass.

Michael with his new 'Christmas' toy.

Daddy can always make us laugh!

Rocky was enjoying his little bedroom concert.

Alli-Cat with her new guitar

Playing Taylor Swift.......

'Our song is the way he laughs
The first date man, I didn't kiss him and I should have
And when I got home, 'fore I said amen
Asking God if He could play it again
Play it again, oh, yeah, oh, oh, yeah'

The snow was so beautiful! I took these pretty early this morning....before it started really melting. Our power kept going off & on last night....but I thought we were safe when I went to sleep around 11pm.....only to get woken up by the QUIET somewhere between 2-3am when the power went out & stayed out. We were without power for 14 hours!! Didn't get it back on til around 5:30pm this evening. I got a lot of crafty stuff done today. LOL! I finished a knitted dishcloth I was working on this morning. Then moved on to my 'Ribbon Afghan' I started crocheting. After Clay & the kids left for the music store, I moved in here to my scrap table & did two layouts (which I will scan & post tomorrow.) After that I went upstairs & laid across my bed in the warm sunshine & read until about 5pm. As soon as the power came back on, I made a bee-line for the shower! ;-) And feeling all fresh & clean, I came back down to tackle my sink full of dirty dishes & put a pot of chili on to have for supper. Just now finishing up a nice cup of coffee that Jon made for me & getting ready to take myself to bed now.

Snow!

Who would've believed it?! Yesterday was almost 60 degrees outside & today we have this!

We went into church this morning & it was just gray & cloudy outside.....came out an hour later & it was POURING! Ashley decided to stay put in her dorm this afternoon instead of going over to Maw's like she usually does. I was really glad she decided this....I think it was the smart thing to do. She & Emily have been getting homework done & plan to watch a movie later on this evening. They are all praying that classes just might possibly be canceled tomorrow. ;-) Ran by Maw's real quick to let her know that Ashley was going to stay in. Got a quick little visit in with Wendy & then we headed home. It was getting pretty bad on the way home.....they were already starting to plow the highway......visibility was only about 40 yards in front of us & we were only going about 45 mph. Finally got home around 3pm. Took these few pictures outside & then I came in & changed into my warm flannel jammie pants & a cozy hoodie. Ready to fix some tacos now & go curl up by the fire & watch a movie.

Wicked Cute!

This past Thursday, it was my turn to post the Crop Chef challenge over at Cookin' Up Creations.

The ingredients that were to be used included:

~Die cut

~lace

~rub-ons or stickers

~a circle

Special Ingredients:

~Fabric/felt

Techniques:

~Dangle something

~sanding

Just so you catch all these 'ingredients' on my page.............I used the tree die cut from forever & ever & ever ago, black lace (to match the girlies' outfits), since I didn't have any rub-ons...I used the gold mail-box stickers, the scalloped circle in the background, I used felt to make the little heart on the tree, I 'Dangled' the jewelry tag from the tree branch (it has the date on it) & last of all I did alot of sanding & scuffing of most all the paper edges. This photo was taken of Alli & Cori this past Halloween at Maw's house.

Our Week in Review

Goodness....it's been a few days since I last posted here. I've had a BUSY week!! Monday was filled with preparations for our Valentine Party. I finished making cards, dishcloths & putting little treats together for the kids. Made Mexican Dip & plenty of sweet tea. ;-) Tuesday.....Happy Love Day! I came downstairs to find this waiting for me by the computer.

I was so tickled! I had just finished up the book the day before. It was SO good & I was wanting to see the movie. Then Ella happened to tell me that it was on sale for $9 at Target this week. So I 'not-so-subtley' hinted to Clay that this would make a nice Valentine treat. Isn't he the sweetest? So, after a full day of fun & laughing & carrying at Maw's on Tuesday, we came home to watch the new episode of '19 Kids & Counting' & then I headed upstairs with Clay's laptop to watch my new movie. It was good......but I must say that the book was WAY better! Wednesday was spent with at least one eye on the window all day......we were waiting for the Fedex man to bring my washing machine part & the UPS guy to bring Chris' new laptop that he had ordered. Finally late that afternoon, I got my washer part & Jon got that fixed for me so I could start playing 'catch-up' with my laundry. And right after that came.....Chris' laptop arrived.

Here's his new toy. He was pretty tickled & spent the rest of the evening playing with it. Jon & I got the grill going early & grilled some BBQ chicken for supper & pretty much as soon as Clay got home from work Jon & I turned around & headed out to go meet Ashley at Campus Church & hear Clayton King speak.

He's awesome & all the kids love him! He's doing a series on dating/relationships/marriage right now. I sat there listening to him speak quite candidly with these college kids & just was overwhelmed with thankfulness that my kids are able to be a part of this. It's hard to put into words....but there was just a feeling in the room Wednesday night.....at the end, there were tons of kids down front at the alter. Clayton would walk back & forth & lay his hand on each one's back & pray over them. The Holy Spirit was definitely there moving. He closed with prayer & encouraged the ones down front to stay if they needed to, others could leave if they had to. It was just a GOOD night! Yesterday, Clay & the boys headed out to Richmond. Chris didn't have to work & so he was able to go with them. They had tickets to hear Red & Thousand Foot Krutch in concert last night but they left around 9am so they could make a day of it. They went to Bass Pro, Green Mt, the music store, etc. I'm so thankful that Clay takes the time to invest in his kids like this! He's such a good daddy!!  And while the guys were off having a 'Guy Day'....Alli & I headed in to town & met Maw, Sarah, Ella & the kids for lunch at CFA. We had such a nice visit. Got Ashley's groceries to her....along with some roses for them to take to Taheshah....she's in the LU musical 'Ragtime' & last night was Opening Night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily, Taheshah & Ashley.....praise God for such sweet room-mates & friends!! The last stop of the day was to the Lynchburg Music Store. Alli just HAD to show Cori her 'dream guitar'.

Here she is with her Big Baby Taylor.

But after playing several different guitars....I think she's changed her mind. LOL...that's a girl's prerogative, right?! She's now in love with this Taylor. She says the sound is amazing!

We also happened to find just THE PERFECT Easter dress yesterday at Target. Y'all know I hardly ever pay full price for anything.....but this was one of those times. Shame on me....but sometimes ya just gotta do it, ya know. She has been wanting a simple little white dress for a good while now. And this was just perfect & looked so cute with those dang cowboy boots! How could I resist? Now, we'll just need to find Ashley an Easter dress.

And lastly.....a picture of my 'healthy' lunch today. I had been wanting a pineapple for a few weeks now & just broke down & got one yesterday at Sams. Goodness was it yummy! I had turkey on whole wheat with lettuce & maters along with my apple & pineapple & a few Sunchips on the side.

Love for Life

Well, with Valentine's Day coming up, they had a special marriage conference at TRBC yesterday. I had really wanted to go.....mainly because Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar were going to be there. But Clay has to work on Saturdays. He didn't really realize that is was an all-day thing.....thought it was only for the evening & he was planning on surprising me with tickets at the last minute....he had Jon's help with this.....but when he found out it was an all-day event, starting in the morning, he knew it wouldn't work out. I told him that was ok......it was totally the thought that counted here. And I thought it was so sweet of him to want to surprise me at the last minute.

Sarah had told me way back that she had heard that the Duggars would be staying over & speaking at church today. But as time went along, I never heard a word about this & just figured that since they were speaking BEFORE lunch yesterday, that they would probably be heading back home immediately afterwards. Well, as we were standing there singing this morning, I leaned over to Ashley & said that guy down front sitting by Shari Falwell sure does look alot like Jim Bob.

And sure enough.......it was! They didn't speak.....they had to hustle out of there to be in NY, I think they said.....but Jonathan did introduce them.......after introducing the new sermon theme of  'The Family' that we will be on for the next several weeks. He read Psalms 127: 3-5 as a way of introducing them. 'Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them!!' He said he didn't know anyone with his quiver as full as Jim Bob! LOL! They are such a sweet couple & I was thrilled that they took time out of their busy schedule to be there with us.....even just for a little while this morning. The sermon after that was so good! How important it is for us to stop all the going & doing & running busy from one thing to the next all the while forgetting what is most important.......our family. Psalms 127:1 says,  'Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' And here are the four main points:

1.  I will make God the center of my home.

2. I will not buy into the lies of this world.

3. I will depend on God (& God ALONE) to give me joy!

4. I will value my family more than I value wealth!!

Wow! That last one kinda hits home for alot families these days. Makes me ever so thankful for Clay & the role he fills as provider for our family. And that he's allowed me to stay at home all these years & fulfill MY role as wife/mom/educator/caretaker of our home/family. I know I've said it before.....but I truly am BLESSED!

Chris & Ashley

Just thought I'd share this picture taken over the weekend.
Looks to me like he had a good birthday, don't ya think?!

23 Years!

Well, as many of you know, Chris spent his birthday weekend in NC. No worries, I told him we'd do our celebrating when he got home on Monday. I fixed him his favorite supper.....fried chicken & then we had chocolate cake & ice cream for dessert. Just so hard to believe that my first-born is now TWENTY-THREE years old!

Notice the candles? Seems we always have to get creative with our candles. Didn't realize that I was out of the regular little BD candles.....but Alli insisted that we HAD to have candles to blow out & all we had left was the '8' & '9' candles. She asked Chris if he would rather be '89' or '98'.........then it dawned on us......he was born in '89'......so there ya have it.....the reasoning behind the candles for this year. LOL!

When Chris came home Monday evening he had a bag of clothes & nail polish that Ashley had sent back for Alli. Anyone who knows us very well, knows how much we LOVE getting 'hand-me-downs'!! She & I had a blast oooohing & aaahhing over the pretty 'new' nail polishes & the cute tops & jackets that Ashley had sent. And BTW, if I forgot to say it......Thank you ever so much, Miss Ashley!!!!

All that to say.........just before bedtime, Alli decided to try this Tshirt (from Ashley) on Rocky. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first. But he sure was adorable!

'I'm cute......I can haz coffee, pleeezzzzz?!'

Just look at that little head cocked side ways! He's just too much!!