Happy New Years!!!!

Hey everyone! Let's finish off the year with a nice family picture.

Take # I



Where is everyone?

Take # II



Come on you guys stop goofing around!

Take # III



I do not think the New Years Eve family picture is going to happen.

Take # IV



Take # V

I will settle for this cute picture!!



Lily in her New Years Eve party hat. Aren't our homemade party hats fun?



The cat is even getting into the New Years Eve spirit.



Elena's festive New Years Eve nails.



Our New Year snacks.




Out the back door with the old...not sure why Ekie is going the wrong way...she must have enjoyed 2009 too much for it to end...



Heading to the front door to officially usher in the New Year...



still on their way in...It is -8 here in Waseca at midnight so they are moving slow.



Now it is official!!! in with the new!!!!!

2010 we are ready!!!!




The random New Year cuteness of Joel.

We were lacking New Years Eve party confetti poppers so the kids made their own.They spent at least an hour cutting up tiny pieces of color paper and then stuck them in balloons.

Joel is trying to pop his confetti popper. Don't ask about the outfit. Joel usually straddles multiple seasons with he wardrobe choices.








HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL!!!!!!!

Wednesday,December 30, 2009

Gee,I still do not have any show-and-tell sewing projects to blog about!

I did get out my iron and ironing board to iron up some fabric that a customer bought from my Dragonfryesupplies Etsy shop. That is as close to anything sewing-ish I have gotten this past few weeks. Believe me,my mind is swimming with projects I would like to start but I should finish up the scrappy 5" square quilts and the quarter log cabin quilts I was working on before I cleaned it up a few weeks ago.Maybe this weekend.

This evening Elena had six of her girlfriends over to eat dinner and hang out. It was a perfect night for that. No AWANA,youth group,or school tomorrow for her friends that are in public school. They spent most of their time chatting in Elena's room,fixing each other's hair and even playing with some of the younger kids for a bit.I sure do enjoy Elena's friends. They are a nice group of young ladies. They fit in so well with our family and they are very kind to Elena's younger siblings.


I did made dinner for all 22 of us tonight!Isn't that impressive? We even used regular plates and silverware. We used plastic cups because we do not have 22 drinking glasses,though. Pretty impressive!

Actually,our dinner was just a simple modest spaghetti meal and adding six more mouths to our family of sixteen was not hard at all.I can not believe I am saying that...cooking for twenty two is not hard at all!! We did not even have to move up to bigger size cooking pans or take out extra crock pots than what we usually use.

It took just four pounds of spaghetti noodles instead of our usual three pounds,a fourth can of spaghetti sauce instead of our normal three,four pounds of frozen corn,and two loaves of french bread.I think we could have used a few more loaves of the french bread,though.Everything was eaten. I am not sure if people went away full or hungry but it was fun to cook for the whole group.Ok,I'm getting that expand-the-family itch...It is kind of like baby fever but encompasses baby age on up.

We(Jeff and myself) made two batches of this great fudge that
Laura posted on her blog The Mouro Family for dessert tonight and it is so good!

Coffee Shop Fudge

1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. walnuts
2 T. strong brewed coffee, room temperature
1/8 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon

Line an 8 inch pan with wax paper. Melt chocolate chips with the condensed milk in a saucepan. Remove from heat when smooth and stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in pan and chill for 2 hours. Cut into 1 inch squares.





On another note, I absolutely fell in love with an Etsy shop named Little Girl Pearl. Her items inspire me! Those out there who have little girls and like to sew,I am pretty sure you will be itching to start on a few dresses like the ones she makes. The fabrics she chooses for her little girl dresses are just beautiful. I was just at Hobby Lobby in Mankato Tuesday evening and they have beautiful fabrics similar in look to what she uses.

Little Girl Pearl has a blog as well. Her most recent post is a tutorial of a little girl's bag.Just beautiful!

Rambles From Me

I had a very busy weekend but not in the sewing area. My sewing things have been put away since I cleaned for our Caroling party. I am itching to get some sewing in soon.

I did take a little bit of time this weekend to go over school for the kids. I came to the sad conclusion that The Weaver Curriculum was a little too much for us.I went ahead and sold it on Ebay a few weeks ago. I found out that the planning involved was more than I had time for. It was a little costly to do projects with so many children as well. SO SAD! I just really enjoyed Weaver.

Ok ,what is my newest plan of school action? It is back to the old Abeka texts for most of the kids. Grant, Alan, and Elena are independent in their school so they will keep doing what they had been doing. I will take my middle group of kids (Cyrus,Nolan,Josh,Joyce,and maybe Anya if she wants to join) and group teach fourth grade Abeka history,health and science to them. I could multi grade teach from the Abeka texts I think. They will then break off into their grade level for some of their other subjects.

I think I will group Odell,Ekie,Naomi,and Anya together for a few subjects.I have a K Sonlight program I have been using for Joel and Grace that I will continue on with.I should say start back up on because I dropped the ball a month or so ago.

You might wonder why I do not include Odell,Ekie,and Naomi in with the Sonlight. Well,in truth I have wanted to work on my relationship with Grace. We do not click real well.I can be a little more task orientated and Grace can fall through the cracks some.She minds me very well but she is very serious with me. I thought we needed that special time one on one that Sonlight will give us to build a closer relationship when I am more relaxed and not driven forward by life. I will continue on with teaching my non readers how to read.

I wonder if I just make homeschooling more difficult than it really should be.It just seems hard to figure out.


On to a few other things...

I was very fussy and bossy today.I have been very cutting and mean with my words today. I even made one of my sweet children cry,really cry. I could tell I broke her kind soft spirit.She said I can make her feel like she does absolutely nothing right when I am in these moods.So true.I see her trying to please me as best as she can but it is not good enough for me when I am in such a fowl mood. My sweet child.I am glad she let me,old icky me hug her as she cried on my shoulder even though I was the source of her tears. ~sigh~ I am such a slow learner.

This evening I read this verse which I really want to set my thoughts into and ponder,and pursue in my own life. After a day like today, I sure needed a little boot in the bottom.

Esther 10:3

Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

Now, the thing that caught my attention was that Mordecai worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews. He did not work for his own good,to have his own needs met.

I want to be like that with my children and Jeff. I seem to very quickly drop their needs and welfare like a hot potato and put my own selfish self first. What a timely thing for me to read tonight.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning Lily happens to notice a strange fellow wandering through our yard.



Why it is Santa! He is here to help pass out Christmas gifts!



Santa and the kids.Opps..Santa is beardless this year...



See, didn't Elena's gifts on the stairs idea work out great!? Most of the kids did not even notice we were treeless this year.



Santa talking to Joel



Santa watching Lily open her gift



Santa waves good-bye but before he goes he talks with the kids about the true meaning of Christmas.



All shoe loving tots need a feathery pair of Barbie shoes. Thank you Shawn,Gail, and kids!!




and for Grandpa and Grandma...

As you can see the kids are loving your gifts!!

Thank you very much!!

Secret Confession

We were not quite sure how we were going to get gifts for the kids with but God provided! Thank you to all you generous people! Everything from ham for Christmas dinner to gifts and even extra money to buy more gifts for the children. God has used you all to once again demonstrate his faithfulness to us.

THANK YOU!!!!

So Jeff was out this afternoon shopping before the stores closed. The only thing he was too late for was a Christmas tree because the stores closed before he could get one. Elena had this great thought to put all of the gifts on our steps under the garland. That will be beautiful! See don't I have the greatest kids. No pouting about the lack of a tree.

The kids watched yesterday as person after person came to drop off Christmas food or gifts or money and they knew (the five big kids anyway) that they were seeing God's hand at work in our family. They would have been ok even if God had worked things out differently. It would have been a little disappointing but they would have been ok. To see God's demonstration to them that he cares even about the little things like Christmas breakfast orange juice or gifts...What can I say but we serve an active living God...a God who cares about us...a God I would follow until the day I die.

Now,I wanted to get the girls doing the Omah dance on video for you but they were too shy.But,it was an Omah dancing kind of day. Am I spelling Omah right?


On to our snowy day!

I am sure most in the US have heard of the snow storm that is passing through the Midwest.Well,the kids are not complaining one bit! They have been enjoying the day. Elena,Grant,Alan,Cyrus,Nolan,and Josh were out sledding at the local sledding hills this morning.I wish I was there to have gotten some pictures.

Josh took some time to build a snowman.



Sorry Survivorman you should be taking snow shelter building tips from Josh!

Ok,I just have to say it "You sweat,you die".



A few of the girls enjoying the snow.



We had a big sugar cookie baking party this evening. It was kind of crazy until I put Lily in bed. Then things calmed down a bit. Sorry Lids! You were being a little TOO crazy.



As you can see we lacked Christmas food coloring for our cookie frosting.Oh well. Yellow,red,green ,or blue the cookies taste great!



Jeff and I will be up late tonight wrapping gifts for the kids.I hope you have a fun day tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!!!

Sometimes...

Sometimes it seems like I'm just standing still...I look around and there is so much going on around me...so much that moves my heart to action...but yet I still just stand still...

I spend so much of my energy grasping on tightly to so many things...my 'rights',my possessions,my security...

What if I just opened up my grasp and let those things I cling to so tightly...what if I just let them fall away. What would happen? Where would God be able to lead me?

I have shared this video a few times on this blog but once again it just leaves me speechless.It reminds me that life is so much more than the things I cling onto and are afraid to let go.

A Few Of The Frye Girls

Joyce (13)



Anya (7) and Odell (8)



Want to see what goes on during chore time? Interested in a sample of the volume while chores are going on? How about the distractions that happen during Frye evening chore time?

If you are...this is the video clip for you!!

All Along...

All along I was under the idea that the Earth revolved around the sun...

when in actuality it revolves around a young tot named Lily.

I thought I would take a cute picture of Lily and a few of her siblings but Lily wanted the photo op all to herself.




Elena lost interest but Lily decided to let Joel take a few pictures with her.




Lily and her baby on her back the Liberian way...kind of Liberianish anyway.

Old Mother Frye...

Old Mother Frye went to her shelf

To make her many blessed children a meal.

When she got there she noticed the shelf was bare (pretty close anyway)

So then the blessed children had none!?

No way! It just called for a little extra improvising.



What did this mother of many do?

She took:

A 3 pound box of elbow noodles cooked
A half pound of leftover cooked sausage from the back of the freezer
Two cans of mixed veggies that were dropped off on her doorstep
Two cans of evaporated milk also dropped off on her doorstep
A stray stick of butter leftover from the caroling party
A half of an onion
Some cheddar cheese

Add this all together and cook in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

What does this all create?

A very interesting but tasty meal with only one complaint in the bunch. One out of sixteen is not bad for a meal created from an almost bare cupboard. But that Mother Frye really needs to get to the store soon.Maybe before she is snowed in!