Hearts in Service

Emily decided for her next sewing project that she wanted to make a lap quilt. So I rummaged through the fabric I had and she picked out what she wanted. She's been busy sewing away here and there for the past month. Today she finally finished it. Here is the front. The back view. I think she did an excellent job for her first major project!

I've gotten into the card making swing of things lately. It's so much fun. My goal is to make enough cards for the year so I can use them for all different occasions. Here are some from yesterday: I think this one was my favorite. I'll give you a break from anymore but I wanted to share these.

Kelli is hosting a 2008 Blog Review. Here is a peek through the past year of my blog. The rules were to post the first sentence of your first blog post of each month. You can also add a favorite picture from each month. Here are mine: ~January~ We had a New Year's Eve Party for our church last night. ~February~ Every Friday Shareen at Waiting for Him hosts Sew Crafty Friday. ~March~ Is there any basis for taking care of our bodies? ~April~ Dan & I went for a walk last night and the sky was gorgeous. ~May~ Nathan is 17 years old today. ~June~ My friend Stephanie and I both love ethnic food as do our husbands. ~July~ The children have been itching to go somewhere with Grandma & Grandpa so we took a trip to see the Vanderbilt Mansion yesterday. ~August~ The past few days we have all been busy with different projects. ~September~ Well, we are back from visiting Dan's parents. ~October~ "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in t

I have a number of thank you notes to write. Today was such a peaceful day and I had some time this afternoon to sit down and make some. They are not as nice as some cards that I've seen others make but these were easy and fun to do. Here are some of them. This was the first time in quite a while that I've had time to just sit and do something enjoyable. I'm definitely going to have to make that a priority more often.

Now that Christmas is over and everyone has received their gifts, I can post some of the crafty things I've worked on the past few months. It was a table runner theme this year. Here is a back view. This one was from a kit I received from Elizabeth . Back view. I made quite a few table runners using 5" squares. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of some of them. Front Back My goal in January is to finish up a few projects that I didn't get done because of Christmas.

We had a wonderfully, quiet Christmas today. I was up for 3 hours in the middle of the night and went back to bed so we had a later start to the day. However, the kids were patient and didn't try to wake me up which was nice. :-) Here are some pictures of their favorite gifts today. Legos are always a big hit. I love her face in this photo! This is what caused all the excitement. It was so nice to stay home and just relax and enjoy the day. It has been a crazy two months so today was definitely a gift. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Believe it or not, this is the first year my children have ever had their own money to go Christmas shopping. Usually, we give them each some money and they hit the dollar store to purchase gifts for each other. This year the boys earned money fixing up the building next door and Emily had some money she earned helping me around the house. They were so excited to go out today and get their shopping done. Nathan made a comment to me that warmed my heart. He said, "Now I know how you and Dad must feel when you buy gifts for us." "It's exciting being able to think about what you want to buy someone and use your own money to buy it." He also said, "I can't wait to see everyone's faces on Christmas day." Emily was skipping by me in the store and said, "I love shopping for others with my own money!" They really understood the joy of giving to others. It was amazing for me, as their mother, to see the excitement and happiness in thei

My children have been wanting snow for about a month now. All they talk about is having a white Christmas. We had our first snow storm yesterday and got about 6 inches of snow. There is another major storm coming through tonight and tomorrow. I could of gotten a prettier view but that would of meant that I had to go outside. This was how I found Stephen; laying face down in the snow. I guess he's happy. :-) Of course, we're supposed to get a nor'easter tonight and tomorrow which will mess up my children's Christmas program at church. I'm going to have to come up with Plan B. At least the kids got their wish!

We took the girls from 3D Girls caroling last night and they had a great time. It was freezing! This year I got smart and called a few people ahead of time so they were prepared for us to come and one of the ladies from our church even had hot cocoa and cookies waiting for us. I love doing things like this and our church has done it in the past. It's much more fun with a bunch of little girls though!

I've been so stressed out lately that I haven't really been focusing on my family like I should. Emily has been bugging me for about 3 days to make muffins. I keep telling her, "Not now." I noticed yesterday that the level of bickering in the house has really gone up. So today, after spending some time in prayer, I decided that I needed to get my focus back where it belongs. This morning I let her make those muffins. The funny thing is that it only took about 15 minutes of my time and she was happy as a clam. She just needed her tank filled, as my friend Jenni likes to say. I think children are wonderful at reminding us what is really important. It only takes a few minutes to keep them happy. I needed that reminder today. I can get so caught up in being "busy" and forget the most important thing. She got to cook for 15 minutes and has been hopping around the house, singing Christmas carols at the top of her lungs! It took so little effort on my par

Well, all my plans got scrapped today as I dealt with a very sick child. Nathan has been struggling with allergies for years now. His latest trip to the ear, nose and throat specialist resulted in a CAT scan. We are still awaiting the results. He is pretty ill today. He is running a fever, has a sore throat, wheezing and can barely breathe. We ended up in the doctor's office just to find that it is still all related to his allergies. So, he is now on another medication. This makes 5 different kinds of medications he is taking for various problems. I feel bad because I had a fire burning in the fireplace all day on Saturday which triggered his asthma. His allergies are so frustrating to deal with because there is not a whole lot we can do. He is severely allergic to dust mites and it seems to be getting worse. Unfortunately, when he is sick, it also causes him to have even more tics from the Tourette's Syndrome. He just threw up because of all the gunk running down his

Well, today was the official vote for the merger of our church with another church of the same denomination. It was unanimous and as of January 1, 2009, we will be a new church family! It is so neat to see how God's hand was in this whole process. Dan & I are excited to see how God is going to lead this new congregation in the coming year. We are going to be able to stay here in our home for at least the next year. The church is planning on using the parsonage for ministry. Thank you so much to my family and friends who have been praying for us since we first found out in early September. I think I can feel some of the stress oozing out of me. :-)

I make these candies every year and they are delicious. Mix 1 cup of chopped dates, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, and 1 cup sugar together in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a slow boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Let cool and then add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. And 2 cups rice crispies cereal. Mix well and when cool enough to handle, form mixture into balls and roll in finely shredded coconut. Enjoy!