I made these!

Cute...no cool pj bottoms for my boy. I came across this Star Wars fabric a few years ago on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby and bought a few yards. I wasn't sure what to do with the fabric and finally settled on trying my hand at a bit of clothing. Nothing fancy.

They turned out so cute...correction, cool! My hubby likes them so much he wants a pair. Not sure if I have enough fabric to make some for him, but we shall see. Happy crafting and happy Sunday! My boys have a Scouts outing this afternoon. Not sure yet if Mom and Ainsley have to go yet. They are headed to a bowling alley so if Ainsley goes I am sure I will have to as well. I would rather stay home and sew. Yesterday evening I sewed while Ainsley played in the playroom. My sewing table shares the playroom and locks nicely with a key so little people can not get inside. My kids know to leave it alone, but they have some little friends who get into everything unless I tell them specifically not to touch. Ahh well, fun times!

Art Night...

I was able to go to a great girl's art night a few evenings ago with my fellow church nursery workers. It was so fun! The class was discounted because it was a large group which was a real treat. We made paper bead necklaces. Yep, those green beads are made out of rolled paper. How cute is that!

After such a fun evening, I was once again inspired to pull out some unfinished projects. I am hoping to finish one up this weekend. I am almost done with it and I just need a bit of uninterrupted time to work on it. Hopefully, I will have a pic to post for you on Monday. Have a great weekend all. I am hosting yet another playdate here this afternoon. My neighbor from across the street owes me big time. Anyway, have a blessed weekend all and happy crafting!

Sledding...

Cold winter days...
Warmed by an outing with friends...
Winter can be fun. I am the photographer in these pics, but I did go down the hill. I promise.

There was evidence.

In the photos that our Children's Pastor took.

On display.

For all to see.

On a large TV screen.

In the children's area at our church.

Not forgotten...

my poor blog. I have had a hard time keeping up this past week. Trying hard to avoid the winter blahs, but after this past week/weekend the winter grays are starting to get me. So thankful for the sunshine this morning even if the temps are more frigid than they have been in month or so.

Last week we started our new bible study. Beth Moore's Esther, It is tough being a woman. I am hoping this study is as meaty as the last one.

My little one is having a birthday in a few weeks so I am trying to organize a small party for her with some of the girls from school and church. Usually I invite the parents and a few girls, I think last year we had 4 girls, plus a few siblings. This year I am being brave and inviting 8 girls and parents are welcome to stay if they wish. Hehe, we will see how that goes. I had a funny conversation with my friend yesterday about birthday parties. She asked if I was inviting Ainsley's whole class, if I was one of those who felt obligated to do so. No, I am not one of those parents. In Texas, we had large birthday parties, but they were mostly family, cousins, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, and one or two friends. Here since we have no local family, I have always invited just a few friends. Friends whom I consider to be more like family, away from our family. Now that they are in school, I am inviting a few more friends, but I am still only inviting the ones who seem to be the kids best buddies. My kids do not need that many gifts anyway!

A few weeks ago we went to a sledding party at a local park hosted by our church. We had such a blast! When we walk into the childrens area at church this past Sunday morning, my smiling face on the video screen in the slide show of pictures taken by our children's pastor. Oh my me, did my face turn red! He said though that he would try and get me a CD of the photos. I will post those soon.

Well enough rambling, just wanted you all to know I was still here. Still breathing, trying to keep up with my mess and moving forward.

A verse...

from my reading this morning. This passage, while short, just made me smile.

Psalm 13:6 "I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

And He has!

Have a good weekend all!

DFW trip...

The Dallas leg of our trip started out okay, but did not end as well as I would have liked. Above are the family having a paper fight with the gift wrapping. We had Christmas with my hubby's family when we arrived on Saturday and on Sunday evening they had invited B's Aunt, Uncle and cousins to come over. It was a fun day, but sadly I have no pictures! I did not take any! I was tired is my only excuse.

One day we went out to see a grown-up movie, while the kids Aunt and her friend took them to see a kids movie. We stayed in mostly the next day because of weather related issues. We had some difficulties getting out and about because it seems my in-laws don't leave the house if it is less than 50 degrees. Not kidding! The next day we were supposed to meet up with a friend but had to cancel due to sick children but we hit the town anyway. We had some errands that we needed to run for the trip home so we took the kids to a couple of indoor play areas so that we could get them out of the house. We also had some much needed family time by this point of the trip.

Below a kind stranger offered to take our picture at our favorite local Mexican chain. I don't know why my kids love to be photgraphed with these statues. I have to take their picture every time we eat here.
We were able to get one more visit in with B's Grandpa who is currently in a nursing home recovering from a slip and fall accident he had in November. Not a hip fortunately, but a broken nose and cheek bones. At 95 he has had a very difficult time recovering so if you would keep him in your thoughts. Part of the problem is that he is refusing to do his physical therapy so at this point we are not sure when he will be headed to my in-laws house. Ah well, I hope the Dallas leg of our trip doesn't sound like too much of a downer. By this point we were exhausted and had enough of traveling and were ready to head home. We headed back on New Years day and when we hit the Wisconsin border on the 2nd, there were cheers from the little people in the back seat. As much as I do not think of it this way, Wisconsin has become home for all of us and we were happy to be back.

Okay, I promise no more Christmas posts. Today I am very excited as I have a hair appointment this afternoon! Yay! Blessings all and hopefully I will be able to start more normal day to day posts once again.

Christmas Dinner...

at my parent's house is an exotic affair. With my Mother and Aunt being Puerto Rican, my Uncle being from Thailand and my Brother-in-law being Scottish, our tastes are quite eclectic.
The lovely table...
Arroz con gandules...rice with green pigeon peas.
Tostones rellenos...fried plantains shaped into cups and stuffed with shrimp guisado (stewed).
Haggis! Enough said. Actually, I would like to try this as traditionally served with "tatties and nips." (M, is that how it is spelled?)

Also served but not pictured, pernil (roast pork), buttermilk dressing, and pad thai. Yumm-o1

On a sad note, I would ask all my praying friends and readers to say some prayers for the poor people of Haiti. That country while already terribly poor has been struck by a major earthquake and the country is devastated. I dislike watching the news at times because it leaves me so sad and in tears. Puerto Rico is not very far away which is also what brings Haiti to mind. It could have just as easily been PR in ruins and my family in jeopardy. Ugh, I don't even want to think it. Anyway, everyone count your blessings!

Christmas travels 2009 2

On another evening we went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. My Uncle is from Thailand and an amazing chef. B missed an amazing meal he made for us this summer so this was an opportunity for B to have a taste of his cooking. Amazing as usual...seafood curry, spicy baby clams, another mild fish dish with soybeans and lemon grass. Below, my Mom is setting out the dishes. My Aunt is such a decorator and sets a beautiful table. I could take a lesson or two!
My traditional picture of the children on Christmas morning with the tree before the mayhem of opening gifts begins. We are blessed to have very generous families!
I had to sneak this in. I made the Christmas tree skirt below for my Mom in about 1993. I was still in college working on this. I completed it after finals and before I went home on winter break. I stayed at school for much of the break that year to keep a job at a local store. My Mom decorates with the 3 Kings to remember Three Kings Day which is celebrated in Puerto Rico. This cross-stitch piece was as close as I could get to the 3 Kings.
My sister and brother in law came over later in the morning for more gift exchange and brought a gingerbread house kit they thought the kids would enjoy.
And enjoy they did...the picture below was taken before destruction. Thanks to my sister for her lovely decoration abilities. My BIL walked away from the project once the main structure was completed!

I am going to make a separate post of our Christmas meal. You will all understand why I love the meal at my parents house. My husband actually only got a few pictures of the food, but some of them are traditional Christmas fare at their house. More later my friends!

Christmas travels 2009

We had a long journey ahead of us as we left town on Friday the 18th. We ran into traffic in Milwaukee, but ended up making it as far as Bloomington Illinois before we called it a night. Our second day took us to Texarkana Texas and Sunday afternoon we made it into Houston. We do not usually make our trip into three days, but leaving after school on Friday made it necessary.

Gorgeous weather greeted us when we arrived. Not long after our arrival we took the kids to a local park in my parents neighborhood. The park was a much needed outing after being cooped up in a car for such a long period of time. Needless to say, I have no pictures of this outing as I had not unpacked my camera!

The next day was also gorgeous, so we picked up lunch and headed to another nearby park for playtime and animal visiting...this park also has a zoo of sorts.

Family picnic of none other than Chick-Fil-A. Can I tell you how much I miss that place?

Abuela and Ainsley on the swings...
Aidan the king of rope climbing. Ainsley did well on this tower as well until she slipped and got a bit of rope burn.

Feeding the ducks. The little zoo has all kinds of animals...exotic birds, bison, emu, rhea, pigs, goats, sheep etc. Really a nice strolling park. We spent much of the afternoon here soaking up the sunshine.

Our next day in town was a bit rainy so we stopped by the local outlet mall to do some strolling, playing at an indoor playground, and visiting the big man. We do teach our children that Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Lord, but we also allow them to believe in Santa. They will learn soon enough that he is not real.

That is all I have time for right now. I apologize for taking so long to post. I spent the early part of the week catching up. Laundry, clearing out boxes, going through mail, paying bills, all the things that are put on hold while one is out of town. Then toward the end of the week I was caught up and recuperating from a cold that I picked up at my in-laws house which became significantly worse with the return to the cold weather. Actually, we were quite cold in the Dallas area while we were there, but not nearly as cold as it was here when we arrived. More on that later...maybe this weekend. I still have Christmas decorations that need to be taken down and put away, but I have been waiting until this congestion was a bit better and my house once again some sort of organized after our trip. Just taking it slow, slow, slow...

I have the neighbor kids over today after school...I have been putting the play date off all week due to sickness on my part and my need to get things reorganized. I could not put them off any longer. The child across the street asks to come over every day. I get very tired of that. Oh well, enough of that pity party. Our situation with them has improve dramatically so I can't complain. I will keep praying for that family though. More another time. Blessings everyone and have a great weekend. I will plug our football team here though...Go Cowboys! Now hopefully I have not jinxed them!

Home again Home again...

We are home! I am swamped by laundry, mail, boxes and bags. I am taking tomorrow to recover. It has been a nice couple of weeks, but just a bit too long for me to be away from home. When my hubby checked temps and weather last night before our last day of travel, I became concerned that we would come home to frozen pipes. Everything turned out to be fine, but I think next time we have extended winter travel I will leave a set of keys with a friend and ask them to come by and check on things a couple of times. Just for some peace of mind. Anyway, more another time about our adventures and maybe a picture or two. Happy New Year everyone! Blessings!