Thoughts for Today & the New Year ~

I did this last year and really enjoyed looking back on it, so im doing it again this year ~

I'm feeling...many things...concerned, happy, sad, tired, excited, but mostly i feel lucky! 2009 brought on many ups and downs (im sure for all of us), but im certain they will make us all come out stronger, and i am working towards that every day!

I'm seeing...the aftermath of Christmas spread throughout the living room...Jordyn's toys everywhere.

I'm thinking...once again, where are we going to put it all :)

I'm appreciating...a roof over my head, a warm fire, all the comforts of home and a healthy wonderful family.

I'm cooking...Enchilladas...yum!

I'm planning...lots of projects for 2010, and i really hope to start painting again too!

I'm reading...The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, It takes place during the Depression, and helps to remind me that even though times are tough, we are still very lucky!

I'm wearing...sweats, the same stylish outfit i had on last new years ;) What else would you wear in winter in the mountains?

I'm creating...a few things: a stitchery i didnt finish in time for Christmas, several quilts, and lots of other goodies.

I'm hearing...Jordyn in the other room "reading" to herself. (she's supposed to be asleep) :) oops...she just came out here to tell me her butt was burning and she needed some gun powder for it?!?

I'm enjoying...our new blue ray player, which also has netflix on line to watch movies at any time.

I'm sharing...a blanket and laughs with Justin on the couch.

May 2010 be filled with Jobs for all, Food for all, Love, Happiness and Good Health!!!

Post Holiday Break!

I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful holiday wishes, and I hope that you all had a happy and safe one too! Here is a shot of us on Christmas Eve...more photos coming soon, but for now im enjoying a trip in the city, kid-free! Lots of shopping and power-lounging going on...just what i needed after an exhausting month! Hugs~

Merry Christmas!

More Christmas Projects Finished!

Here are a few more projects I finished last week....so im done for the holidays :) I got the pattern from Kaarens "First Friday" collection on her blog. She has very cute designs, so be sure to check it out! And if you'd like a little entertainment, check out Jordyn's impromptu jam from last night.
Jingle Bells
and
Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Something for Jordyn's teachers ~

Well, after a long break from these, i dragged them out and finished them tonight to send to school with Jordyn tomorrow :) (and yes, i took the photo before i had sewn down the buttons) I wanted to make something special for her teachers, for several reasons, but especially because they may close down the school, which will put these teachers out of work, and i wanted to remind them of how important they are in my daughters life. I put a label on the back with the quote..."What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (i just hope our state realizes this!)
I REALLY hope they dont close the school, it would be devastating to the community, but the real crime would be losing these wonderful teachers!

Santa Surprise ~

Lady Godiva

Jordyn came into the kitchen while i was cooking dinner tonight...she was naked with a trick or treat bag in her hand, saying, "trick or treat"...i asked her if she was Lady Godiva....she replied "no?"....then i asked, "is that the costume you want to wear for Halloween next year?"...to which she replied, "oops...i forgot my costume" and ran back into the bedroom.
hmmmm....ive had dreams that were like that :)

Santa!

There was a big craft fair going on in Red Feather this weekend, Grandma Pat had a booth...and Santa was there too. Unfortunately i was too sick to go (stomach flu hit me at about 5am this morning and didnt let up till about 3 :( But Daddy went and took these fun photos of Jordyn for me :)

More Stitcheries and Another Tree ~

Here is another stitchery from Kaarens blog, The Painted Quilt. She is sharing a new design every month on First Friday, which means she'll have another one posting this Friday, so check it out if you get the chance...the designs are really cute! I thought this would make a nice Christmas gift, so im making a few. I still need to put a border on it, but you get the idea.

Yesterday we decided to get out the Christmas decorations...gotta take advantage of the weather being nice, otherwise dragging out the giant bins in snow and freezing weather is a chore! Between the 3 year old and the new kitten, it went rather well...though we'll see how the tree looks in a couple of weeks :) Anyways, thats what we've been up to this weekend....hope yours was fabulous too!

New Lights for the Tree!

We had to buy new lights for our tree this year...the old ones, which were really old...finally died on us. Our tree has grown soooo much since we first started decorating it, that we actually thought about doing some of the smaller trees instead, but we love this tree, so we decided to give it a go!
Spooky decided to come outside and see what we were up to...

And Jordyn, though enthusiastic about hanging the lights, quickly became bored and wandered over to her sandbox instead.

We tested all the lights and Justin got to work on the top of the tree...

After that it was naptime for Jordyn...and for Spooky as well :)

Sadly, even after we tested all the lights, once hung on the tree we discovered a small section of lights that arent working...naturally, they are at the top of the tree...but there they will stay! I think it still looks great...

What do you think?
Have a fabulous weekend!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Some Thanksgiving fun for ya...hope your day is filled with lots of Beer and extra crispy KFC! (Norman Rockwell's version of a Redneck Turkey Day)

okay, so i know i posted this one last year...but i love it!!!

And a little sesame street fun too!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone...may your day be filled with joy, laughter, good food and great friends!
Hugs~

Punkin Chunkin

So earlier this month my cousins competed at the Punkin Chunkin Championship, and did rather well! Click here to check out a commercial that is being aired on the Science Channel right now staring my cousin Greg and the rest of the family :)
p.s. i stole the image above from the official website...i hope they dont mind.

Having fun in Denver ~

Down in the city this weekend doing some Christmas shopping and goofing off. Here are some shots of Jordyn and i at the Butterfly Pavilion...enjoy!

New Kitten Surprise!

This is the video i shot of Jordyn coming home last week to the new kitten, which we finally named....Spooky!

New Kitty and a Stitchery!

Remember that Trick or Treat Kitty Jordyn was given on Halloween...well, she became a member of our family today and here she is...

It was a nice surprise for Jordyn today when she got home from grandma and grandpas house...and Jordyn and kitty are having fun getting to know each other. She shared her toys with her, and then read her stories when it was time for bed. Since she was a trick or treat kitty, we want to come up with a fun Halloween-type name...so suggestions are welcome :)

In the meantime, here is a stitchery i finished last night...it just needs a star button for the top, and perhaps a fun button or two for under the tree. Im making two of these for Jordyn's preschool teachers, so Ive got a pretty good head start. Jane over at "Sew Create It" had this pattern and shared a photo of her project, and i really adored it, so she was generous enough to mail it out to me last year. Thanks Jane...I love it! Perhaps, when im done, ill pass it on to :)

Trick or Treating in the Canyon ~

Since Jordyn is the only kid in the canyon, she gets rather spoiled! Most kids get one or two pieces of candy at each house...up here they pretty much dump the whole bowl of candy into her bag. But look at what she received from one house...

thats right...a new kitten :) Actually, they need another week or two with mommy before we can have her, but its hers for the keeping if she likes. (and if mom and dad say its okay)

A lot of the snow had melted during the day, but it was still rather icy and sloppy out. Good thing we wore our snow boots! As we walked up to each house, Jordyn would ask..."will someone jump out and scare me?" (i think she was having flashbacks of last years trick or treating scare) But it was a rather calm night, and she had a great time!

I hope your Halloween was safe and fun~

p.s. i HATE flash photos on Halloween, and i dont have an off camera flash, so i apologize for the horrid lighting! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

Hope everyone has a spooky but safe Halloween! Happy Birthday Dad...6 1/2 years...we miss you!

Halloween Fun!

Just so you dont think ive been slackin off...i finished this stitchery last night and wanted to share. It finished at 12 1/2" X 15", so it was a quick little project to do in time for the holiday! I received the pattern from Kaaren thru her first Friday freebies...she will be posting a new stitchery on the first Friday of each month, and the first two are really cute, so check it out if you get a chance. Now that that is finished, i can get back to a Christmas cross stitch that has been in the UFO pile for almost 20 years.(yes, you read that right) Its almost finished too...so its just been taunting me forever! Photos of that next time~
Now on to Halloween fun...if you havent watched the weather lately, we got a rather large snow storm up here for a few days. 18 inches to be exact. Naturally the day of the Halloween party at school was cancelled, so sadly Jordyn missed out :(

The good news, on Friday the weather let up, so we were able to take Jordyn to storytime at the library. The roads were not bad at all, but most parents stayed home anyways, so there were only two families present. That made the library visit extra fun!

They got to play all the games as many times as they wanted...

And the hidden candy was theirs for the taking!

After being cooped up in the house for 3 days, it was nice to get out and do something different. Jordyn certainly seemed to have a good time...

and since it was daddys first time to storytime, he had a great time too!

Later that evening we decided to carve the pumpkins. I left that project up to daddy and Jordyn, while i took photos. She had a ball scooping the goop out...and daddy roasted the seeds for snacking!

After cleaning out the pumpkin, it was time to design a face....

When the design was chosen, the carving began...dont worry, those are kiddie carving knives :)

The design i chose was a little more difficult, so i let daddy do that one. Here is a perfect example of redneck pumpkin carving...

The knife wasnt "cutting it", so he got out his drill~

And here is the finished product!
After everything was finished, Jordyn and Daddy walked the ghost pumpkin up to Great Grandma's as a surprise. Now we are ready for trick or treating...keep your fingers crossed the sun will come out tomorrow and melt this snow down a bit :) Cheers~

Wordless Wednesday