Yup....I wrote a Christmas letter

I lost the majority of my address list when my laptop that crashed. 

So I have spent WAY to many hours trying to track down address'. It was getting so close to Christmas I just figured anyone that I could not find would just have to settle for reading our blog. . . . so here is the front and back of both our 

Christmas letter and our Christmas card.  

 {and I apologize if you cannot read the small print, I made it as large as the blog would allow. To make it larger simply hit cmnd and + and it will enlarge your screen}

 Have a blessed Christmas friends!

Its Christmas. . . ALREADY?

I can tell you how fast this year has gone for me, but when my kids are telling me that they cannot believe its Christmas already. . .thats when I know it really has been on fast forward!

This year has been a gift in so many ways. Change is never easy. But if nothing ever changed, we would all still be pooping in our diapers like big babies!

The funny thing is. . . when we are kids we LOVE change. 

We count down the days until we can date, drive, wear a bra and grow up! 

But something happens as we get older. 

We stop embracing change and we learn to welcome the comfortable, familiar, secure, stagnant. 

I have learned so much in this one short year

Growing up often has many growing pains, but the maturity that follows is priceless

No matter your age, life will never stop changing

My security or comfort will never come from life or people

My TRUE security and comfort can only be found in a God who NEVER CHANGES

 God is the only thing I will ever know that is steady and secure. . .

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, 

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~  John 1

It is because of this that we celebrate. So Merry Christmas, 

and may you have a blessed year to come

Christmas Cupcakes ~ with a twist!

Its that time of year that everyone is busy shopping & baking & shopping & crafting & more shopping and just plain BUSY! So I love when I can find something fun to do with the kids that seems to slow down some of the busyness that this season tends to bring. 

Enter Cupcake Christmas trees!

I saw the idea on pinterest {of course}and I WAS going to post the link, but it has vanished.

 I searched my entire history and cannot find it now :/

But here are the things we used..

Cake mix (any flavor)

icing

sugar cones

aluminum foil

bunt pan

cupcake liners

sprinkles

Use two layers of foil and poke the cones through both layers 

Fill the cones about halfway. I overfilled some of them and they were still fine, but you just have to cut off the excess cake later.

After they had cooled a bit I cut off the rounded tops {and fed them to nearby children}

Once they have cooled completely you cover the cone with a thin layer of icing 

Then you can just roll them in the sprinkles and place them upright in a cupcake liner

and no project would be complete without

my handy dandy crafting/sewing/baking/creative genius sidekick Sabrina!

[she is almost as yummy as these cupcakes]

These were so much fun. And quite tasty I might add. The kids were only disappointed that they did not get to eat them all! But all the salesmen at GT's store sure did not mind. 

Merry Christmas!

{The BeStesT kind of Encouragement}|

This morning I was getting frustrated with all the things I had to do and was being very short and snappy with the kids because they were not feeling my sense of urgency in getting chores done. 

So I sat down in my chair to sip on my coffee and breathe. 

Tyler walks over to me with this great BIG book of pictures of the universe.

He says "Mom, look at these stars....millions and millions of them. 

Aren't they amazing Mom?

And God just breathed and created every one of them. . . Mom I think the God that makes stars from his breath can handle your frustration."

~That was all I needed to get through the day. . . . .

Thank you God, for such a wonderful son!~

Dinner in a Pumpkin

As soon as the leaves started changing colors and the pumpkins appeared on the scene,

 all the kids wanted was dinner in a pumpkin. 

What IS Dinner in a Pumpkin? you ask. . .

Well. . . it is a delightful mix of hamburger, green beans, mushrooms, water chestnuts

and seasonings. . .all cooked in a pumpkin! Fun right?!

Fall is NOW complete!

Happy Fall!

My first attempt at Chalk Paint

With all the thrift furniture I have been acquiring in need of a makeover, I have been doing a little research for great ideas and better techniques. I came across this wonderful product called Chalk Paint. 

I had never heard of it before. 

So I googled it. 

I found TONS of information and youtube tutorials. After hours of watching, I finally decided. . . 

I had to just try it. I decided to start small. I figured I could not mess up a pumpkin!

It was so easy, and I am in love with how they look. 

So I figured I would venture into furniture territory

This was a $2 chair I found at a thrift store. I have my mothers old dining room table that I am making a larger top for. My plan is to collect 8 - 10 mismatched chairs that I can paint all the same color and then pair them with the new/old dining table This will be the beginning of that project.

So this is what the chair looked like to begin with. 

It was painted a very boring brown and except for some minor gouges was in pretty good shape.

And this was the chair after one coat of the Chalk Paint. 

PRIMER?  Nope

SANDING?  None

And where I started was completely dry by the time I finished!

Then I took a fine grit sand paper and lightly (LIGHTLY) scuffed the edges to reveal the brown underneath.

After I had finished the scuffing, I brushed a light coat of Soft Wax over the top. That also dries very fast. After it had finished drying I took a soft cloth or sock and just buffed it a little. It has the most velvety feel and just a slight sheen. I will never go back to regular latex for furniture again. 

 VIOLA!

 This is the finished chair. So beautifully modeled by my Samantha and Sabrina in our backyard.

(we do not have a lawn mower, 

so they pretend the backyard is a beautiful field) =)

This may be a project that takes me forever to finish,

 AHHHH. . . .one down, only 9 more to go!

Art Therapy

In an effort to “keep it real”

let me just say. . . . . some days I could use a 

therapist on speed dial!

 And lately it seems like I am having

 more of these days than not. 

So I decided it was time

 for a new kind of therapy. One that

 required much less talking, and just more 

being. And truthfully, the three days I 

was working on these pieces were 

so very calming.

This first one I did on canvas. I knew I needed to just get my brain into creative mode so I got on pinterest and found a few quotes I liked and a basic idea of what I wanted. Then I just got on the computer and printed out the lettering I knew I wanted to use.

This font is called rage, and I loved it! This is what it looked like printed out - Y O U

Then I just started sketching it in pencil and filled it in with paint. 

After I had filled everything in, I just used a fine point sharpie for the outline.

I love how it turned out!

The second one was something I made for Tyler. I found a saying that I knew was perfect!

But I did not want to use canvas. So I ripped apart a crate I was not using and recreated this wood panel. Then I printed again from the computer the words I wanted to use and just freehand painted them on. But this one proved to be very tricky……

the wood is not smooth like the canvas, so it was really hard to get a fluid line.

I still loved how this one turned out too.

But more important, so did Tyler!