Stars Class at Church!!

Stars is over! I am so relieved! Is this bad to feel like this? We are done for the summer. I gave a one year commitment and I loved doing it! I love my girls. I had some of the cutest, funniest, smartest, and most creative girls! Can you tell I love them?

We accomplished everything that we set out to do! We finished 9 units and 4 honor steps. There are only 9 honor steps total that they need to accomplish in 3 years, so I feel I helped them get a jump on things. Tonight we had our badge ceremony and our "End of the Year Party"!! I forgot my camera :( oh well!!

It was fun. They had pizza, popcorn, cake, soda, and slushies!! Then after the kids stuffed themselves they played games! It was fun! I liked that all I had to do was show up!! Yes!! I am glad that it is over. I feel like God is calling me to do something else, so I did not commit to teach next year. But... we will see if they find a teacher for next year. If my kids need a teacher - normally I will step up and take the baton, because I want to make sure that my kids have a great class!!

I pulled some old pictures of my girls that we used for a project!! Here are only some of them! I love ya'll!! Thanks for a great year!! You Rock Chica's!!

Finishing My Quilts

I have decided not to start any new projects until I finish some of my UFO's (un-finished objects- Mom this is for you because you said you don't know what my acronyms stand for)!! I cant believe how much fun I am having finishing these old projects. I had a couple hanging on a quilt stand waiting for quilting, binding, batting, etc. So.... I am finishing them. I had one that I completely forgot about. How could I do that???? Yikes! It was the first one I finished. All it needed was the binding, so... I searched through my stash and found the perfect binding. It didn't take me very long to finish it. I cant believe that I waited this long to finish it. What was I thinking? After I finished it, I made Detto "Pose with the quilt". Isn't he cute?

I love the back on this one!!

Then I started on my other one's. I have sewn the starting binding onto another one, but I am hand sewing it down. (Mom, this is quilter talk. First you machine sew the binding to the front side of the quilt and then you blind stitch the back by hand!!) I cant wait till that is done. I will start quilting one after church tomorrow and hopefully I will baste another quilt tomorrow. (when you baste a quilt it is actually pinning all three layers together - top, batting, and backing!) I will be posting pics as I get stuff done!! I would have gotten more done this weekend but.... We went bowling again.

It was so much fun. We went with Kirin and Ishana. They are so cute!! The kids love to have their cousins over and so do I. The girls spent the night last night after Samantha's Surprise B-day Party. It was alot of fun. John bought Roman Candles for the kids to shoot off!! They loved that! After the party the girls came home with us and spent the night. Ishana always falls alseep first. She is so cute! Alyssa and Kirin played dress up until approximately 1am!! Then they woke up around 9am and watched cartoons!! Silly Girls! I love having them over. They are all so innocent and I love to watch them play together. Samantha just got out of the military and gave the kids her uniforms. They all loved it. Even Alyssa and Kirin, those two kept saying they were "Princess Soldiers"! They were marching around bowing and saluting each other!! Too Cute. Ishana even wore Sam's Dress Blue's to the bowling Alley. She didn't want to take it off!!

I am so glad we got to spend time with them today.

But, tomorrow will be more quilting!! Also, I got a box from Lisa today. Yeah. It had the cutest "musical / musician" fabric in it! Thanks Lis! She also added some books for the kids and... a great quilt label for my "Round Robin"!! I love it! I will take a picture and post it before I send it out! I am so jealous of her machine it does "Letters and Words"!! She had a really "spiffy" machine! One Day, Maybe, Oh well, I can dream.....

Stay tuned for more progress, coming soon!!!

p.s. A wise quilter said "A finished quilt is better than a Perfect Quilt"!! I agree

Summer is here - the lazy days of quilting have started!!

This week has been alot of fun! We are enjoying our first week of summer!! Yeah! We started the week out with bowling with John & Sam. The kids really liked that. We took Ora - to get her out of the house!! She was hilarious - she kept giving pointers (does she bowl?) I loved it!

John is a very "Artistic" Bowler, he even gives out style points. So even if you don't knock down any pins you will get style points according to John if it looked good!! We laughed ALOT!! Poor Detto lost both games, which surprised me because normally he is such a good bowler. He wouldn't take my advice either - I used the bumpers & I thought he should too!! It was alot of fun. It was so nice to be with John and Sam again!! I am glad that they are happy together again!! She is so cute - her "LITTLE BITTY BELLY". She has always been so tiny, so it was cute to see her little bump!!

The kids are enjoying playing all day. I am enjoying sewing every chance I get. Chloe keeps me pretty busy, so I only get to sew when she is asleep or on my days when I don't have her. She is too big to bring upstairs now. I used to be able to bring her into my sewing area and put her in her bouncer. She would just coo and giggle.... Now she is getting into everything. I have to keep her corralled so that she doesn't eat my fabric!!
I have basted (aka. Pinned) my "My Blue Heaven" and I will begin quilting as soon as I can!! This will take a while, it is a King size quilt and it has lots of seams!! Ugh! I finished quilting my black & White "Crazy Squares" quilt yesterday. I still haven't decided on the binding - I guess I will make another trip to the store, for inspiration purposes Only!! haha
I Also have finished my quilt top for "Jared takes a Wife". I took the pattern and changed it a little. I am very pleased with my outcome. I still need to add the final boarder, but I like it the way it has turned out. I need some additional inspiration for the backing on this quilt - to Joann's I must go!! hahaha

This is some fabric that has been talking to me - but the message is getting jumbled. I cant hear what the pattern should be and so it sits and waits. I have set this out, so that I can see it everyday. I want to make sure I have the right fabric combinations. I think I might add a few more colors. I love the paisley!

Memorial Day Weekend - Homeschool Convention!

We went to the homeschool convention this weekend and boy was it great!! They have the FPEA Homeschool convention every year on Memorial Day Weekend!!

We went down on Thursday and stayed thru Saturday! It was a FULL 3 Days!! Wow!!

I went to the speaker sessions, while Detto and the kids hung out by the pool at the hotel! It was great for all of us!! I found a great math program for Alyssa. I really hope it works!! I took two classes on math - 1. Math Wars & 2. Choosing the right Math Curriculum for your child! Both were very helpful and compared the curriculum's that are available. It helped me to see the different styles and to pick the style that I think Alyssa will understand the best!

I also enjoyed searching the curriculum hall for fun things for me and the kids to do next year. They were with me for some of the time and so I was able to get their feedback. The kids really liked seeing all of the books and stuff. They each picked out a hat. They also got to play at some of the science and toy tables!! They also liked jumping on the bounce houses that were set up specifically for the homeschoolers. The convention center has a movie room for the kids and outside activities. It rained so much that the kids only jumped on the bounce houses on the last day.

We really lucked out with our room. We were able to get a 1 bedroom suite for only $69 per night! We ate in the room to save money! It was actually nice after walking all day, I was exhausted and didn't want to do anything but sit. My feet hurt everyday and my brain was fried. It is alot of info to take in in only three days! I am glad that I did it. I was able to get all of the books for next year. The only thing that I have left to buy is Rosetta Stone - Spanish. I was going to do it last year, but life happened. So I am planning on buying it over the summer!!

When we got home all I wanted to do was sew! Everywhere I went all I saw was patterns. Detto kept laughing at me. I see quilting block patterns everywhere! It made me miss sewing. I came home and finished my round robin block!

Isn't it great?

Last night Detto and I watched a movie and I ironed the entire time. I ironed all of the pieced to my newest quilt! It was a ton of pieces - over 800!! But, I got them all done! It doesn't look like that many, but let me tell you! It is alot of fabric!!

We slept in today! Today we plan on hanging out w/ Ora & Grilling Steaks!! Yeah - I love Steak!!

Then later on we are going to take the kids bowling! Amy said that John & Sam might come too! They got back from Missouri on Friday! I cant wait to see if Samantha is "showing" yet???

Over all even if we don't do ANYTHING ELSE - I have had a great Memorial Day weekend!!

St. Augustine Lighthouse

We go to go to the St. Augustine Lighthouse on Wednesday. It was homeschool day and they had stations set up for the kids. We learned about flags, ship calls & commands, we learned about the words and what they meant, and we heard a great story. The flags were great, they learned about the meaning of the colors and symbols.

The story was neat. A volunteer from the "Daughters of the Revolution" told about her great (x's 5) grandfather who was just a kid when he helped fight in the Revolutionary War!!

The Word search was fun too and they learned about ship words and definitions. We learned a cool way to remember Port & Starboard - Port has four (4) letters and so does LEFT, so the Port side is the Left side!! Cool huh?

I know Stephen's favorite was the ship calls and commands. They talked about how they had to use instruments to tell the sailors and soldiers what to do. They used a Boatswain (pronounced Bo-Sun) to whistle out calls to everyone on the ship. They used a drum to sound out commands to the soldiers on land. They kids practiced the calls.

It was very entertaining. The people were dressed in 1700's authenic clothing!!

After we learned at the different stations... WE GOT TO CLIMB THE LIGHTHOUSE!!

YEAH! 219 STEPS TO THE TOP! It was a long climb!! The Wind is 20 MHP faster at the top of the tower & you could see for 25 Miles!! It was a beautiful day! Everything was amazing!

When we came back down we went to the Museam! It was the lighthouse keepers old house. They had rope tying, period clothing, ship stuff, and even WWII info! It was great. The kids both loved it! We stayed for over an hour.

After we left the lighthouse we went into historic St. Augustine and rode the Old Town Trolly!

We visited the Old Drugstore & the Visitors Center. We had a picnic before the long drive home! Overall it was one of the Best Field Trips we have been on!!
Stephen & Alyssa both want to come to St. Augustine for their B-days!! How Cute!!

Crafty Girls workshop

I have lots going on and I will post again today, but I wanted to let everyone know that my bestest bud Lisa told me about a website that you must check out!
This site is having a giveaway for a Moda charm pack!
Enter and tell them I sent you - they will give me another entry!!
Yeah!

New Projects

I am so excited about my projects this week! I am excited about so many things!

I will be working on my Round Robin block and finishing my BOM Blocks!

It was hard to decide what block I would pick for the Round Robin, but after lots of searching I decided to make a Pieced Tulip Block: http://http://carterquilter.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/scrappy-spring-tulips-baby-quilt1.pdf

I almost used this one: http://quilting.about.com/od/blockofthemonth/ss/tulip_quilt.htm!

I like blocks that have cutting instructions. I tried to piece a block with templates and that was a disaster. I guess I need more practice!

Here are the projects that I finished most recently! This one was a Mothers Day gift for my Mom:

This was a Gift for me:

And I made this dress at Alyssa's insistence:

She wanted us to have matching dresses!! I made her a dress a few weeks ago? or last week? I don't remember when, but she said we have to be "Matching"!! I love her innocent mind!

Last night we had a Mother's Day cookout. We had a great time. Ora came over and Marge and her gang ended up coming too. Margarita's husband David was preaching at a church in Tampa last night so she was home alone (well, she had her kids with her!). We actually had a wonderful evening we sat out on the back porch and talked until 11pm. The kids were too cute. They kept coming out and saying "Is there anything I can get for you?" or "How are we all doing?" The boys kept our tea full, brought us 2nd's, and even took our plates away. They checked on us about every 15 - 20 minutes. We had a wonderful conversation. We talked about what God is doing in the world and what God is going to do.

It was great to encourage each other. We talked about this:

As Christians we don't have to be concerned with the Recession. God is our source and strength. He said that He would give us the desires of our heart - if our heart is in His will, the growth of His kingdom, saving the lost, etc. He will give us our desires. Jobs have never been our source - He has been our source. Job or no job. House or no house. Money or no money. None of it matters - He will provide. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalms 37:25

We are so blessed and we are not focusing on it because of the present recession. We are still one of the richest countries in the world. We still have more than most. We still have the important things -religious freedoms!! I know that in Matthew 5:45 it says: That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Margarita shared Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: This is a promise. He will pour out his Spirit on us. We will be fine! We will not thirst! He will Provide!!

I hope you are as encouraged as I am by this.

Tea Party w/ Alyssa

Alyssa is still at the age of tea parties, fairies, and princess's!

This morning she decided that she was going to have a "Tea Party" with Chloe!!

Now the part she didn't realize is Chloe has never had a tea party before. A 6 /12 month old does know what to do with the cup.

It was hillarious! Chloe kept dumping out the "tea" (aka water). Alyssa kept saying, "Please dont dump your tea out. Please dont throw your cup. Proper Princess's dont grab the tea pot!"

Overall, they had a lovely time. Chloe actually drank some of the water out of the cup. Alyssa was pleased to have someone so thrilled about having a tea party. It was cute to just watch and listen!

Alyssa is also trying to teach Chloe manners and how to say "Hi"!!