when you do stuff…

 

          …stuff gets done.

{a profound statement from the famous Julie G  :D }

 

Even little stuff is fun to check off of a To Do List, ya know?  And these I dare say are much cuter than reconciled bank statements, yes?

TaaDaaaa!

Blankets are done for little Leo – who was born on last Friday, and Miss D & Miss F – who are due this month also.

They are complete with ribbons and love notes.  One we will deliver to a little boy nearby.  One needs prep for mailing to Kansas.  And the third will hopefully travel to Germany with some happy grandparents soon.

pinterest inspiration <3

 

“Conversation Hearts” for our college kids

 

Now to DO something about it…

December 2012 {part two}

 

{click here for part one}

Goofy kids:

       

              

 

Moving on to the intended purpose for the TP rolls {but hopefully not the ones pictured above}…

 

  

 

Chocolate goodies for friends

{made with love and much laughter}

       

 

Sunday, December 30 ~

Abby & Kate played a duet for the offertory

    

And the Cowgirl and the Popper were baptized!  :)

   

                                

 

~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~

 

January 1, 2013 ~ Happy NEW Year’s Day!

{for those who weren’t sick with the flu  :p}

playing catch-up {still}

 

Thanksgiving 2012

We traveled to Grandma F’s house in Wisconsin…  where Aunt Janice had decided to rearrange the bedrooms.  As in switching beds from this room to that…

  

… and cleaning as they went of course. 

 

   

 

They still had time for sharing a movie with cousin T.

 

It’s not a holiday at Grandma’s without playing table games…

 

Matthew & Jessica and their one-year-old dolly (E)…

 

Ticket to Ride… Settlers of America…

  

 

Some games are invented as they go – the boys are playing with one of those pop-up baby toys, but it was some sort of race … silly boys.

             

 

More UNO Extreme…

         

 

 

A neighbor had an extremely large flag flying on their farm.  Kate said it was lit up at night.

 

Black Friday means buying flannel at JoAnn’s – this year I shopped in Wisconsin.

    

 

 

At home again – December 2012

Before Christmas I took the time to make up some blankets with the older inventory – and catch up with overdue baby gifts  :)  The blankets on the right were for twin boys at church – mama elephants are called cows, right?  almost fit the cowboy/farm theme… ha.

   

This blanket had to go via USPS to a special little girl near Seattle…

Matt & Jess chose this new fabric for little E ~ love those birdies

 

 

And this large blanket went to a big girl who wore her baby blanket to literal shreds over the past several years of constant companionship.  The original blanket flannel had kittens on it, so she called it Kitty.  You can see why I chose this piece for its replacement :)  I thought the extra doll-sized blankie might serve as her new travel companion ~ not sure if her mom persuaded her of that or not.

 

Boys at work… Note the short sleeves and bare ground

  

 

Next up:  the Christmas tree!

Christmas boxes for Mexico

It's pouring rain here today {yay!} so I'm not going shopping immediately.  BUT, since I missed out on this last year, I have been promising myself we'd jump in this year.  Tomorrow I will be out {and the rain/snow will likely be done} so I will see what I can find.

The catch is to do it NOW.  In just a couple weeks, the Lockwoods will return to Mexico, so the gifts need to arrive in California soon!  Before November 14.

Maybe you are familiar with Operation Christmas Child?  We enjoyed that for several years, but then it became difficult to find a local drop-off for the boxes.

But with Lockwoods doing a similar ministry with families in Mexico, it seemed like a great opportunity to help the kids and give the Lockwoods an open door to reach them with the gospel.

You can read Jaynee's post here.  And please do!  : )

for the love of books

 

My older daughters made their own book order this year before Christmas.  When Tim got  a chance to preview this one, he decided it was a great choice for him to read aloud to us.   Tim also says it is not the “perfect graduation gift” ~ because that would be too late!  Our boys are 14 and 10 ~ now is the time!

Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle

(currently $3.60 at Vision Forum’s year-end sale ~ Yes, LESS than FOUR DOLLARS!)

** highly recommended **

 

They gave me this book for Christmas…

Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family

…since I didn’t win it in the giveaway last month… and it is on sale too!  (55% off!)  Read the linked post for more info ~ Kim’s blog is great, but a book in the hand is twice as nice  :-)  Thank you!

While the girls were at it, they bought some books for themselves…

Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham

 

Feminine by Design by Scott Brown

 

While I do not agree on everything with Doug Phillips, Vision Forum, etc., they do sell a lot of worthy books  :-D

And lest you think that’s the only place we buy books, remember my swagbucks get me Amazon gift cards!

Miss Artist has a great affection for Amy Carmichael, so we gave her this devotional book…

Edges of His Ways

 

Miss Music Box had this on her wish list (Miss A granted that wish)…

 

Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot

 

Uncle Lee also generously provided some thoughtful gifts:  books on cattle, herb gardens, artisan bread, grammar, thermodynamics (!)

             

I’m not sure why that photo won’t stay rotated!

 

And more happy readers…

         

 

And it’s not even New Year’s Day yet… when we have the tradition of LOTS of new books!  Wanna see?  Don’t tell!  I don’t remember all that’s hidden away, but here’s a few…

from  YWAM Publishing

                  

 

Library and Educational Services

             

(for me, for you ~ Remember to sign up for the giveaway TODAY!)

Also where we purchased the Sam Campbell books for the Cowgirl’s Christmas.

 

Timberdoodle

 

I think I need to buy another bookshelf this afternoon!