Pray to God!

Oh gracious - I'm in a hotel room, my mom and Macy is in the bed beside mine. Macy has tried every thing under the sun to keep from going to sleep. But just now she GASPED and said, "MawMaw! We forgot to pray to God!" It made me proud of her. A lot of what she's done has made me proud this week. She's a very kind, loving, smart, perceptive girl. I'm so thankful I have the chance to see her grow from the house next door.

Macy playing at the children's museum earlier today. Holy cow, keeping up with her was a workout!!

I haven't blogged since May. Life became hectic with the work life. Thankfully we are all taking time off to spend with our families before it really cuts loose. 

Two of the cuties I miss when work kicks into overdrive.

I work for elections. We had two days of primaries because we had a run off. That's in addition to two days of presidential primaries and a smaller election. Another tiny one in August and the Mac daddy election in November. Heaven help because my life gears up in September. Sigh. 

I've really gotten into sewing bibs and some quilting. The bibs... Well I went a little crazy and signed up for a shelf in a local store. I have 40 bib/burp cloth sets and Katie has 7 paintings so our shelf is a bit crowded. 

Then I finished my first pieces pillow for a friend's birthday. I really enjoyed making it and was tickled to give it to her when she came to visit. 

Thankfully, an online friend sent me a link to teach about the envelope back-love it!! Thanks Renee!!

Macy turned FOUR and Clay and I bought her a bike!! I think she loves it and is learning to peddle :)

We also had a family reunion where the twins were introduced to mom's family. Those boys loved all the attention and were soooo good. Love these boys!!! 

Angela and Kellan 💗

Fourth of July nieces!!

 

A friend gave me a ticket to see Wizard of Oz with her. Loved it! Great props. It was a really neat show. :)

I'm literally am falling asleep now. Let me post this and write again soon. Night friends! 

Sweating into December

Hello - when did it become normal to have mid-70's weather in December!?! Heaven help it's hot here in SC. No wonder we are all sick. Sheesh.

Are you done Christmas shopping? If you are, please lie to me and tell me you aren't. I have no idea when I'll fit it all in. Tomorrow I'm starting my day at UrgentCare  for the third time, trying to battle this sinus, coughing, ear ache thing. Finished my antibiotics and steroids for the beginnings of pneumonia. But I'm thinking it didn't get the job done. Ugh. With something every night this week, I'm trying to juggle it all and not get sicker :)

I'm very excited for one event this week - the church sew-a-thon to make NICU isolette covers! One lay in the church - very dear family friend- hand sewed a cover and gave it to us on Sunday. It's already at the hospital in use. They were so excited! I have three more that need to get up there, too.  Imagine your baby being in the hospital during the Christmas holidays and someone brings a beautiful cover for your baby for no other reason than your baby is loved. I pray these covers not only help the babies but God uses them to touch the very hearts of their parents.  

See the flap turned over? It covers the ends. The black fabric makes it dark in the isolette and the quilting muffles noise, to help recreate the womb. 

I had to make one funky! 

Wow that is wrinkly!! Flannel doesn't like To stay crisp. 

Anyway, I'm excited to see where it leads. You know I'll keep you posted. 

How are our twins doing? One is home from the hospital and over 6 lbs.!! One is still there and he's over 5 lbs. So thankful for every success. Little miracles. Little fighters!! I can't tell you how excited I am for my brother and sister-in-law. They are going to be such wonderful parents. This is their hopes and dreams coming true. 

One of the floor quilts before I sewed it all together. 

I did gift the floor quilts at the shower on my mom's side. I saw one of them in a picture being used. Hooray! 

Random pics time: Macy and I made cupcakes :) 

And we had a slumber party! 

Me and the boss' dog, Bentley. 

Macy and a swing of cousins at the family Christmas get together this weekend. Crazy hot weather.

My stray kittens that hang out on my porch. And I feed them. Which I'm not sure If that allows them to be called strays anymore?

Macy and me after Thanksgiving. :) I hate the black circles, wow! But I've been sick a while.

We have seen blessings, y'all. The baby boys- what a huge blessing!! Katie has seen some pretty big challenges but she said she feels The Lord carrying her through it. Mom is down with a bad knee but the wheels are moving quicker than anticipated. MRI was Friday and we get results Wednesday. My job has been very understanding of days off for myself and to help the family juggle appointments. My classes (trainings) that I've been teaching are getting great feedback. So thankful! Lots of good. 

Ok I've totally rambled on about nothing and everything. I'm hoping you are doing well, that your heart is in the right place to welcome Christmas (I'm still working in this), and you know the love of God, greater than anything we can comprehend. 

Thanks for listening :)  Off to bed - night! 

Sweet dreams?

Another sleepless night in SC. Blogging helped before so maybe again? (Haha I managed to bore myself I sleep!!) Night before last I messed my schedule all up by falling asleep crazy early by accident. Then I was awake from 11:30 pm - 2 ish am. Ugh.

I haven't been perfect but I have been keeping with the five things I'm thankful for each day. Here are a few:

- the twins are continuing to do good and grow. Liam is over 3 lbs and Kellan is over 2 lbs. so many people are touched by these little fighters. Love them. 

- Mom and I spent time shopping today and she got a great start to Christmas - and a lot of WOW deals. 

- Roger had two follow up appointments and both specialists - cardio and ent - have given him good news! Yay! 

- The family met up at Panera to celebrate Angela's birthday and it was just a great family time. 

- Macy is doing really well about wearing her glasses. Not sure if it's helping but at least she is doing her part. 

- God really worked out some drama at work and I'm so thankful for it! 

- We are getting a cost of living raise backdated to July and I'm very thankful. It will help with Christmas and hopefully help me breathe easier month to month. 

- An old high school friend I haven't seen in 2+ years stopped by on Halloween with her five children! Glad I bought candy this year! 

- Another friend is having a GIRL! :)

I think I may try this as part of Macy's Christmas. I think it's genius. 

Macy and her mommy at our front porch picnic after Katie came home from visiting the hospital. Hope those days are over for a while. 

Angela at the Panera birthday party and Macy. Mae was allll about Aunt LaLa ad Uncle Clay. I thought this was the sweetest picture. 

Her first involvement with Jack-o-lanterns. Lol. Not sure she was digging on it at first but ended up very enthusiastic. 

Here is Milli from Umizoomi. Yes, I know you haven't heard of it. She loves this tv show and thankfully mom can sew. The red ribbons on the hood are ponytails. See? 

Anyway, one last terrible pic of my cat, Smudge, and me on the porch tonight. 

He was wild and I've managed to tame him to the point I can pick him up and pet him. Awwww...

Ok there are your random pics for a while. :) since it's now 4:30 maybe I can roll over a sleep some more! 

Pure Love.

This weekend my sister-in-law brought two amazingly beautiful baby boys into this world. It's been a very difficult pregnancy but she has been so strong and fought for her babies every step of the way.

So Sunday morning at 12:03 am, two handsome boys entered this great big earth. Liam is 2 lbs 9 oz and Kellan is 1 lb 13 oz. they have a long road ahead and you know we would appreciate your prayers. 

Here I am visiting with Liam. These boys are so cute. And already showing personality!  So cool. 

Ok y'all, don't spill the beans on this ... I've been working on floor quilts for each boy. Here is one - the very first quilt top I've ever made. It's backed in flannel so this side can go face down and the baby will have soft fleece to play on. 

Here is the second, not backed yet but will be soon. This is a brick pattern and I really like it. May do this for Macy, just make it bigger. These are 40 x 40. 

The next photos show a gift I mailed to a friend in Columbia who is expecting.  

I just realized the completed photos are on my camera so these don't show the buttons. Oh well. You get the idea: burp cloth and matching bib. I've really enjoyed my sewing machine lately and wonder if I should try to sell these things. I don't know - we'll wait and see.  

(She is so cute!!) 

This is the week before the massive floods hit SC. I live in the upstate and while we were due 10" of rain, we got no were near that. The system stayed south of us and pummeled Columbia. That place is in a mess. I promise you, no one in Columbia has flood insurance. I just can't imagine what some are enduring. Please pray. 

I'm off to read some in Isaiah and wrap up my night :) thanks for your prayers! Night night! 

Crafty Bethie

I'm pretty excited about two projects I did over the weekend - a Happy Thoughts Jar for a dear friend and a piece of Valentine's Day decor for my house.

First, the Valentine's Day decor - burlap and buttons heart! I took the time to type out some steps so others can do this for themselves at home - posted over at my craft blog, Pressed Clovers.  So for more of a how-to, go visit there.  My aunt heard I was trying to learn to sew and gave me a ton of thread and a vase full of buttons. After sorting them by colors, I knew I wanted to make her a gift to say thanks... so I'll be working on something for her this coming weekend.  I'm not sure she's the bright-red-and-pink-button-heart-decor kind of person.  But I really loved how it turned out and REALLY like the buttons with threads still attached. Something from the previous owner.

 


Then the Happy Thoughts Jar for my dear friend, Paulene.  I started one for myself with scraps of scrapbooking paper and an empty kleenex box. This is one much cuter.  I took a vase I already had, added gift wrap tissue and watered down glue and made a scene I thought would be fitting for Paulene - a You Are My Sunshine theme! I took the first picture at home, but couldn't find my ribbon so I did a quick trip into Hobby Lobby for that and took a final photo in the car.  Inside the vase are strips of paper waiting for her happy thoughts.  At the end of the year, she can dump them all out, open them up and see all these blessings she's received in 2015.  So easy but so cute.  A coworker brought me more vases so I'll be making a few more of these!

I mentioned receiving a sewing machine for Christmas on here before.  Well, I finally got the sucker set up and let me tell you - it's all kinds of Oh-La-La! It sews with the press of a button.  Cuts the thread and pulls up the needle with another button. Crazy? But I'm so excited.

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I have a quilt kit that I won from Fabric Editions that will be my first attempt at real sewing. It says for beginners so it better be telling the truth! So cute? I think so! It's very similar to this one - just cute baby girl elephant print instead. Let's hope I can do this thing right. We have a baby on the way at church and I thought if it works out ok we can gift it. :)

I'm off for home and some tacos with my family.  Looking forward to some good food tonight! :)

DIY Gifts

I'm cross posting this from Pressed Clovers, my "crafty" blog. It's a few DIY gift ideas that I seriously think you could still do before the holidays are here.  Enjoy!

DIY Gift Ideas

Ya'll know I started this blog as a play to show my scrapbooks for my Etsy company, Pressed Clovers.  But then I started doing other crafty things and putting pics up here, so it's turned into a crafty blog. 

When I started thinking of ideas for homemade gifts, I realized I had quite a few tutorials or ideas already posted on this website! Here are a few reminders and links to things I've posted in the past.

1)  The Christmas Scrapbook.  I make my mom one for her birthday on January 4th and print dozens of photos from Christmas for her to put into it immediately.  This way she hasn't forgotten any of the details and can have it ready for the next holiday season.  Don't forget to include the double sided stickers for the photos! (more photos in the link). Basically, each page has a place for a photo and is already decorated. All she needs to do is put in the pictures and write her memories.

2)  Photo Flower Pots.  While I made these for Mother's Day, I think it would be nice for Christmas, too. There are still flowers in the winter!  This isn't difficult at all and is completely personalized.  Print pictures on plain white copy paper and mod podge them to your flower pot. Easy Peasy!

3)  Monogram is all the rage! Many of us have tons of buttons laying about - buttons in jars, buttons in drawers, or in my case, buttons from a yard sale.  Tons of buttons. A quick run to my local craft store for a burlap canvas and some hot glue can turn buttons into beautiful monograms. Loved this gift idea! So quick, can finish it in an hour. 

4)  Teenagers! What about them? I wondered the same thing. Which started another one of my traditions - a scrapbook for my preteen niece.  With her, however, I buy lots of fun teenagerish stickers for to her decorate the book herself. I provided the book and basic layouts, tons of printed photos which all included her, and the double sided tape squares. She really impresses me with her creative ideas! This year, I'm giving her all the supplies pre-cut (mats for the photos and decorative strips of paper and tape, and stickers, of course) and letting her design the actual pages!

5) Toddler Artwork  This is my most favorite DIY project I've done to date.  Having my baby niece participate by "painting" four canvases and then I hand lettered the word LOVE on top. This is currently hanging in my bedroom.  Not keen on something that large? How about a small canvas or cardstock even, let them add a little paint and you add a monogram with a sticker!  Make it your own creation! :)

6) Baby on the Way.  New mothers or mothers-to-be... even grandmothers! love having these premade scrapbooks for the newborns most stellar moments.  The delivery day, the first day home, the first bath, baby sleeping - this provides a place for all those photos and will become a gift to the baby one day.  While baby boy is featured, just think pink for a girl.


I hope some of these ideas may inspire you to try a handmade gift this Christmas or into the New Year. Share your ideas with me, I'd love to hear them!

Friday's Letters.

Dear week, so you've kicked my booty a little bit, but that's OK. I'm still standing and ready for round two (or three or four, whatever round we are on at this point).

We visited the office one morning... 

Dear Macy, Girl, I had NO IDEA how tough it was to keep up with a 14-month-old until this week! Work was a welcome break from chasing after you! But I cherish these days because you are so precious, innocent, loving, sweet and I won't have many other days like these to spend 10 hours with you at once. So blessed. I loved every moment (except possibly the stinky diapers!). 

Dear Praying People, please keep my uncle in your prayers. He is a dear uncle to me, my dad's brother, really funny, kind-hearted, he always asks me, "How's my girl?" when he sees me. I always get a huge hug.  I want those days back and hope he'll be recovered soon. But that day doesn't seem like today, so please pray.  Many thanks. 

image from Kohls Cares

Dear Kohls, you put Joey from "Pouch" in your Kohl's Cares line up of stuffed animals for $5.  Can I tell you how totally awesome you are for that? Macy LOVES that book and loves the stuffed Joey kangaroo I got for her.  She kisses it and loves on it, carries it all over the place and shouts, "POUCH!" whenever she sees it.  Best $5 I have ever spent. Thanks for making it SAFE and AFFORDABLE!

Dear Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University,  *sigh*  Ok, so this free spirit totally didn't want to fess up to where her money was going. So, now I have to and I don't like what I see.  Thanks for the reality check and here's to better decision making in the future. 

Ok, I'm out for the weekend. See ya'll on Monday. Hugs and Love! 

PS - my birth month begins on September 1 ... I'm just saying ... 

The Purpose of Registries.

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Let's talk for just a minute about wedding gifts.  No, I'm not getting married, but I do want to chit chat with brides for just one minute.  (Well, actually anyone receiving a gift, please read on.)

On the radio this week, brides were calling in all ticked off because people were BUYING THEM GIFTS that weren't on their gift registry. I know, how dare they.  How dare they take their hard earned money and BUY YOU A GIFT that you didn't already pick out for yourself. *gasp* Horrific of them, I know.

SERIOUSLY?!?! You must be kidding me, right?

Holy cow, I about flipped my lid and put my car in the ditch when I heard that attitude. Whew. Ok, let's review: 

• I work hard. 
• I earn a limited amount of money.
• I have bills to pay.
• I thoughtfully review your registry and what I would like to purchase you for your wedding. 
• I realize I either a) can't afford your registry or b) would like to buy you something else not on your registry. 
• I spend my money on you, purchase you a gift that I found to be a thoughtful gift to celebrate your upcoming marriage.
• I take an afternoon of my time to attend your bridal shower and share my gift with you. 
• You open it, fake smile about it, and secretly seethe about me not going by your registry. 
• Umm... can I just have my gift back and I'll exchange it for something I want? Thanks. 

I think we have lost something in our society these days.  Like the thoughtfulness of the gift?  I understand registries - and please don't give me the drama of how hard you worked to play with the scanny thing in the store to make your registry because seriously, I've gone on those trips more than once an it's not a hardship. But registries, in my opinion, are suggestions and not ultimatums.  

Please folks, let's remember that people are investing their dollars into gifts for you. They are thoughtfully giving up something in their budget to share joy with you. Let's keep it all in perspective and appreciate the loving thoughts that are shared through a gift of any sort.  What a blessing that someone wanted to gift you with anything! 

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap box now and my breathing will hopefully return to normal soon. And PS - that poor couple at the top have nothing to do with this - I just found them on the web and really liked their looks. :)