A Little Hookiness

I finished up two baby afghans just within the past two days. They are both for gifts.

I honestly can't remember where I got this pattern from. I hand-wrote it on a piece of graph paper. Shame on me for not writing down the source.

This was a super simple pattern that worked up really quickly. It's done with Vanna's Choice baby yarn. So soft!

This is the one that Clay wanted me to do for his boss at work.....they are having their SIXTH child.....& obviously it will be a girl. They will have 3 of each when this one's born.

This was crocheted using some 'vintage' yarn that mom gave me. She said Aunt Mamie had given it to her & she never used it. I figured, 'Why Not?' I hated for it to go to waste....& it seemed to be just perfect for this project since I was doing a girly baby blanket. It was a super fine yarn & so the blanket turned out to be really light-weight & soft.

Just a couple more 'Ta-Da' pictures......you can indulge me, right?

So, there ya have it. I will wash these up tomorrow so they will be clean & fresh & ready for giving!

I'm Always Playing Catch-Up.....

Goodness....why am I always playing 'catch-up' with my blog these days? I know one reason is that someone's done something with my pictures on here. Or should I say HOW I put the pictures from camera to computer & the resizing & all. It's driving me nuts trying to figure out......so I guess I've just been avoiding the whole deal. :-P

Ok....so it looks like I've got it figured out. At least for the moment anyway. We celebrated Michael's 15th birthday last Tuesday. We had Chinese for supper per the BD boy's request.....& then chocolate cake later for dessert. Can you believe that I actually had 15 'normal' candles to go on his cake. (Little family joke there)

Just look at the Chubby Charlie! He was watching Michael blow out his candles.

Continuing the BD celebration. Aunt Vada ALWAYS knows just the right thing to send the kids. She sent two packs of water balloons. What could be any better on a HOT July day?!

All my pictures were taken from the front porch as I tried to stay dry. Jon came mighty close to getting me in that last picture. LOL! They got a few of the cats too in the process.

Just look at that baby. He LOVES getting spoiled by the girls.

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We had a fun day this past Saturday. Ashley had been wanting to go to some yard sales this summer & so Clay took a day off so he could take her & Jon. Is that not just the sweetest thing a daddy could do?! We didn't find an awful lot, but we sure had fun together. We got the kids a 32" TV for the bedroom upstairs....for movies & video games. $20 over in Wyndhurst. I picked up a few books & a Matt Redman cd for $2. After yard sales, we checked out the used book store on Fort Ave. Then on downtown to the community market & the seed store. We got some fresh veggies.....maters, corn-on-the-cob, squash & some cantelope. Our last stop of the day was out here at Saunder's orchard for some peaches & apples. We also got THE BEST homemade ice cream in a waffle cone while at the orchard. Oh. my. gosh.....it was SO good! What a treat!! Later Saturday evening we grilled some burgers & dogs & ate our fresh veggies.

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Sunday after church was another one of those times that makes me thank God for my hubby.....he's such a good daddy. We have been working on our drainage piping out here from the kitchen. It was all clogged up & the boys had done all the digging.....digging the old piping up & we needed to make a run by Lowes for some new piping. We couldn't stop on our way home from church....just not enough room with everyone in the van together, so Clay figured he'd go after lunch. He & the boys were going to of course sneak in a little side trip to 'Play-It-Again Sports' & Dicks. Well, for some unknown reason, Alli decided she wanted to go with them. She can squabble with her brothers one minute & then turn right around like this & decide that she wants to go & be the only girl. Go figure! She DID have an ulterior motive though. She's been begging all summer for us to make some homemade peach ice cream & with those fresh peaches from the orchard, we had NO excuse not to. So, she went along to be in charge of buying the proper ingredients for the ice cream. Well, that just left me & Ashley home by ourselves for the afternoon. Goodness....what ever is one to do with a few hours of total quiet?! Ashley holed up in her room upstairs & read in peace & quiet. Me.....get this.......I sat my butt on the couch...... I know.......I don't EVER do that.....& watched Chick Flicks! I watched the end of 'the Secret Life of Bees' & after that, I watched most of 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter'. I've read the Secret Life of Bees & loved it. Really want to watch that movie again....the WHOLE thing. And I had only heard about the other one. The movie was really good.....I guess I watched about 3/4 of it....didn't get to see how it all ended. I need to read the book now. But anyway.....it sure was a nice afternoon for everyone. I crocheted on this baby blanket I'm working on the whole time....so I wasn't being a total slob! LOL Oh & by the way......that peach ice cream Alli & Clay made was SO Yummy! I want some more.

Art, art & more art

Not too much going on around here...just enjoying these summer days! Chris is off & spending some time at Damian's visiting with college friends. I'm so glad they still keep in touch. Clay & the boys went to play golf early this morning....part of Michael's birthday celebrating. (Tomorrow's his birthday)...& right now they are out in the front yard practicing their putting. Ashley is in the kitchen baking some banana bread....I'm thinking a cup of coffee in a little while will be just perfect with that.

Ok, so I saw this piece of paper laying on the dining room table earlier today with the words 'Please Draw On Me' written across the top. That's it. Who could resist? I was the first.....& drew that fat owl that said 'Hoooo, Me?' Next Alli came along & added the mustache to him & it just went from there. If you look closely you can see Sponge Bob, Patrick, Squidward, Elf, Jamie & Adam Harry Potter & his gang, Batman, Abe Lincoln.......

I found a new favorite blog over the weekend....through Pinterest, of course. She's an awesome mom, Homeschooler AND a wonderful artist. She is responsible for my renewed interest in my art journal. Nothing fancy, mind you.....but I've been having fun.

Christmas in July

This is going to be so much fun. Hope you can join us!!

Steady My Heart"

Wish it could be easy
Why is life so messy
Why is pain a part of us
There are days I feel like
Nothing ever goes right
Sometimes it just hurts so much

But You're here
You're real
I know I can trust You

Even when it hurts
Even when it's hard
Even when it all just falls apart
I will run to You
Cause I know that You are
Lover of my soul
Healer of my scars
You steady my heart [x2]

I'm not gonna worry
I know that You got me
Right inside the palm of your hand
Each and every moment
What's good and what gets broken
Happens just the way that You plan

And I will run to You
You're my refuge in Your arms
And I will sing to You
Cause of everything You are

You steady my heart [x2]

Windstorm 2012

Wow! What a weekend we've had! Lost our power Friday night before the storm actually got here. Clay says it wasn't actually a tornado, but a windstorm. We had gusts up to 80-100mph! Clay worked Saturday. Chris went in to work Sat....but there was no power out there at all, so he ended up coming on home. We grilled pork chops that night for supper & then all loaded in the van & went to Maw's house for showers. Even though they didn't have power either, they at least had water. Piddled around Walmart on Wards Rd. for a bit after that....just enjoying the cool. Bought some bottled water & then made stop by Starbucks & McDs before heading home. Those kids were hopped up on coffee & sweet tea then & feeling mighty fine at that point. LOL! Chris went back in to work when we got home Sat. night because Food Lion had gotten a generator & he worked until 2am helping them clean out/throw out all the spoiled foods. It was really a shame all the food they tossed!

 I was the only one to brave sleeping upstairs in my bed all those nights. Everyone else slept downstairs where it was a bit cooler. I just couldn't take sleeping on the floor. My bed was nice even though it was hot. I came down Sunday morning to find all my men laid out on sleeping bags on the front porch. It was a sight to see! LOL Just about the time Clay & the boys were heading out Sunday to find some ice in hopes of salvaging what we could from our freezers....our neighbor, Mason came up & told us he had a spare generator we could use. Talk about a blessing! The Lord really took care of us there. Especially after just getting a week's worth of groceries on Friday....I was so worried that we would loose all that. We were able to run the deep freeze, fridge, a fan & even the TV. We swapped things out here & there so I could wash up our sink full of dirty dishes & we randomly got showers too. 

You just don't know how excited we were to see the electric truck come driving through our field yesterday morning. Evidently Clay said they were cruising around checking the lines before they flipped the switch, because shortly after that...about 10:30am....our power came back on!! I know it sounds crazy, but I was SO happy to be washing dishes & doing laundry all the rest of the afternoon yesterday. I know I did at least 5 loads! I love that Alli said we needed to send those guys a Thank You card & even bake them some cookies. I'm glad to hear my kids have grateful/thankful hearts. I do indeed at least plan to Thank them for all their hard work!! So, without further ado.......here are some pictures of the mess around.

This is where Chris usually parks his car. Praise the Lord, Clay had him go move it when we first lost our power....before the storm actually got here. Clay went out & moved our van later on too.

That limb just barely missed Clay's little car. But we all laughed saying it was a miracle the car itself didn't get carried away in the wind. LOL

Another blessing.....that limb could very easily have poked through our bedroom window, but it didn't!

Window pane blew out of Uncle Richard's building...but didn't break!

Chris' car...safe & sound.

The chickens were Happy Campers Saturday morning.

Broken limbs off our peach tree down by the dog lot.

Peeled the tin roof off the old pig barn.

Here's the tin roof laying over against the fence.

Up close view of where it peeled the roof off.

Poor Jonsie in his 'little' cage inside.....sprawled out trying to stay cool in front of the fan. LOL!

It was all quite an adventure......truly a weekend to journal about. Praising the Lord for keeping us safe & thanking Him for the daily luxuries we so often take for granted!