So Much To Show Part 2

I entered my bedroom tonight and saw this sweet Happy Easter wish on my floor.

Thanks Josh!



I just have a few finishing touches to do on Lily's Easter dress. It turned out very cute!



I decided on using this pattern. Just like the pattern boasts, it was very easy. I made view C which is the top but used dress B's skirt part. I made size two. This is a make again pattern!



My little night owls all cozy on the couch.



and Jeff, not wanting to be left out...



Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

So Much To Show Part 1

I thought I would see what some of the kids are up to. A few were still doing their chores but I caught on camera a few enjoying the warm weather.

Grace (5) and Lily (2)



Anya (7)



Joel (5) He is making a fence so Lily will not go too close to the street.



Josh raking out our strawberry plants.



Grant eating a snack. By his smile I would think he is mocking my effort in involving him in my photo action. But I could be wrong.



A little later Jeff is off to the park with most all the kids. By guys!



Elena,Cyrus,and Grant are at church. Elena and Cyrus have been helping with a play called Heaven's Gates Hell's Flames the past few days. Over 150 people accepted Christ as their personal savior over the three days the play was showing! Grant went to watch the play a second time with his friends.

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

Oddles And Doodles Of Pictures!

Whew!

Three marathon posts in one evening!!

I guess I had a lot to talk about this evening!

This post has lots of pictures of...Lily? No. good guess, though. My weekend projects and sewing talk...and a few pictures of Lily thrown in.

I finished six of my eight daughters' skirts this weekend.

Starting with the left orange skirt here is who they belong to:

Naomi, Ekie, Grace, Odell, Joyce, and Anya. The array of styles and colors are just beautiful and fit the personalities of their owners very well.



I still need to make Elena's and Lily's.

Elena is very, very particular. I am afraid she will not quite like anything I make so I am not quite sure how to handle hers. Maybe I will actually see if I could find a few bucks so she could buy one at the store. When I was 15 would I have worn a skirt my mom made? Possible, but I would have been very opinionated about it,too.

Lily's skirt on the other hand will be a lot of fun.

I was debating if I should use my cute Russian Nesting doll fabric or



this cute Easter fabric...



Joel voted for the Easter fabric. I agree. It is not for very many years I can get away with clothing my girl in Easter themed fabric!

Here are a few patterns I was thinking about....but I might just go with a little baby skirt and top like her older sisters. Then again...I will keep tossing it around.



I thought I would make Joel a little Easter vest. Gee, I have not done this for years! Joel is very exited especially about the cute doggy buttons.



I had a small crew for a few hours this evening so we had a special snack. I served gram crackers and milk (in special cups) to dip the crackers in. Tasty!



Wonder what I look like? You see the kids and Jeff but not usually me. Here is a very rare photo of me and my sweet Lily I took today. So Sweet!! My precious Lids.




Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

Another Frye Brothers Video!!

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

One After Another

We have had the worst time with our appliances this weekend.

It started off the weekend with our refrigerator getting too warm again. This happens once every month and a half or so for the past two + years. Frustrating! We had a repair man come in twice just to tell us someone spilled liquid in it and that I need to defrost it.He would not believe me when I told him otherwise. I just think the auto defrost is not working which blocks the air flow to the fridge. I do not know how to fix it myself so I just defrost it every month or so. Of course the problem started just after the warranty ended.



Next,I noticed our wash machine was leaking.



I found the reason. Jeff ran a snake down the drain today but could not find the clog. The machine works ok as long as someone is there to stop the machine to let the water drain.



And lastly our dryer stopped working! In a family of our size the washer or dryer not working for even a day is not good news.

Today,I stood close to the washer to wash our daily laundry (four loads) plus an extra load of towels that I used to mop up the washer water when I did not get there quick enough to let the water drain.

Jeff will take these wet baskets of laundry to the all night Laundromat after the kids are in bed. Good guy he is.



I am thankful that our water heater and furnaces made it through one more winter.


Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

A Hodgepodge of Random Stuff

Thanks for tolerating my little rant yesterday. I just felt like I needed to write it,maybe more for myself if anything. My blog can be a bit fluffy with my talk of sewing and pictures of the kids or whatever but there is a lot I think about. When it actually makes it to my blog,you can be sure I felt I needed to write it,if only just for me.

I guess people have different ideas of what blogs are about. Some view blogs more like someone is inviting you into their home and all the guest politeness is an understood thing. Some view blogs more like a visit to a coffee shop with others. They view it as a time to chat,debate,discuss,and what-not. Some have the gift of teaching and view blogs as a sort of time to teach what they know. Whatever place a person is coming from, I suppose, is how they approach another person's blog as well. None are wrong but sometimes the different ways of thinking can come to a point and clash.

Enough of that.

I do have pictures for today. No more rambling for a while.

A sweet chocolate Lily face. How can I wipe this face off!? I would have wiped Elena the second she was messy. No,I should have let Elena stay messy longer. They grow up way too fast.



Big brother Alan steps in to pose with Lily. Ok, I kind of begged him to join the picture. I wanted the allusion of my older siblings adoring their younger siblings. Did it work? Actually, Alan likes Lily. I did not have to beg very hard,just a little.



Now this was a tasty snack!



Speaking of Alan I mean an anonymous child of mine,this pile of stuff that was not put away is now worth $3.00. The confiscation fine for each items not cleaned up in a timely manor is. 25 cents.Of course, this child spent his last bit of change buying a snack at the store the other day. So now,he is at the mercy of mom and her unpleasant, icky, disgusting, horrible, chore tasks that were waiting for an opportunity like this.

I am sure he will not work very fast to earn his school books back but a good cold snap and the need of pants will get him working pretty quickly.

Ok, I will be nice.I will have him was a few outside windows tomorrow...




Here are the kids AWANA Grand Prix cars!

L to r

Grant's car, Cyrus's car,and Joyce's car.



L to R

Dad's car, Nolan's car, Alan's car, and Josh's car.



Great job kids and dad!!!

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

Some Rambling Thoughts

Warning!!!

No pictures today!!!

I am almost at a loss without any sort of picture to share of my day.

Should I post something anyway or not?

Well, I have a few thoughts on my mind so I will ramble on a bit even without pictures.

I have had a few kind people voice concern over my staying at home a lot. It is true, by nature I am a homebody. I always have been. It is a part of who I am.

When we had fewer children it was much easier to juggle serving in church, small group meetings, women's get-together, etc, as well as doing my mom thing. I did enjoy that time in my life. As our family grew (and it grew much quicker than most of the women I spent time with) I really needed to stay home more to get the basics done.

The other ladies I was around still had a higher level of involvement at church functions, co-ops, and what-not. I wrestled for years feeling guilty because I chose to stay home more. There were even a few people who thought we were headlong down the path to a mediocre for life for Christ. I would think 'if I really wanted to be used by God I should be back out there serving'.

I realized later that that guilt feeling was not coming from some sort of disobedience or failure on my part. I thought it was. No,it was just that my life was changing and moving in a little different direction than others where at that point. I can still get caught up in that guilty mind set these days so that is what I was referring to a few posts ago when I shared my thought when I visit Facebook.

I do not get out much. I am literally at home 98% of the time. No joking.

So if I’m not out at meetings, activities, etc…

What do I do?

This is what I do:

I stay home.

I am always there when Jeff and/or the kids get home from whatever.
I make sure school is taught, chores are done, meals are made, fights are settled, peace is restored.
I’m there when a teen is struggling or a toddler needs a bath.
I’m there when the neighbors have issues with us.
I’m there for the temper tantrums (no matter the age).
I’m there to help dig in the couch cushions for .25 cents so I child can get a snack at the gas station.
I’m there for the hugs and kisses and the 'I love you's.
I’m even there for the I hate yous and your such a dorks (yes,I'm the dork they are refering to) and the it's not fairs
I'm there for the I‘m sorrys.
I’m there for the good ,the bad, and the ugly.
The kids and I talk, talk, talk
Not even Jeff has the privileges I do.
Yes, Jeff and I talk, talk ,talk,
and I sew ;~)

Hey! What about my ‘me’ time. My ‘I deserve a break time’.

This is what I do:

I stay at home.

I am always there when Jeff and/or the kids get home from whatever.
I make sure school is taught, chores are done, meals are made, fights are settled, peace is restored.
I’m there when a teen is struggling or a toddler needs a bath..
I’m there when the neighbors have issues with us.
I’m there for the temper tantrums (no matter the age).
I’m there to help dig in the couch cushions for .25 cents so I child can get a snack at the gas station.
I’m there for the hugs and kisses and the I love yous.
I’m even there for the I hate yous and your such a dorks (yes,I'm the dork they are refering to) and the it's not fairs
I'm there for the I‘m sorrys.
I’m there for the good ,the bad, and the ugly.
The kids and I talk, talk, talk
Not even Jeff has the privileges I do.
Yes, Jeff and I talk, talk, talk
and I sew ;~)


In my major imperfect way my life is spent for my family.

But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.

Philippians 2:17


My home is were I feel the most comfortable, loved ,useful, important. I do not feel that I am hiding out afraid to face the world. Not at all. Do I feel like a woman locked away longing for a ‘real life‘? No. Am I some sort of martyr? No, not at all. I personally feel that my home, my life is a gift given to me by the Lord. There will be a day when there are fewer kids at home and then God might lead me to other areas of service. But for now, no meeting, or church activity no matter how beneficial to the kingdom of God it is will compare to the importance of being a homebody serving my family.


I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

John 12:24


Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

P.S:

A big reminder.

We are all hand-crafted uniquely by God. Do not let your uniqueness be squashed by thinking you need to fit into (mine) someone else’s way of doing the mom thing. Also, please do not try to fit my family into your way of doing things. We all love our families.We all love the Lord and desire the best for our families. But, We are all different.

What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Cor 1:12-17

Shop Talk and a Few Other Things

This weekend I started to gather up all the fabric I was meaning to make baby blankets with. Here is the stack. This should be most everything except a few that I was planning to back with Minkee fabric.

I spent Sunday evening cutting our each into 32 x 32 pieces and then rounded up any flannel I had to use as the batting. I put it all away this evening to get the next 9 weeks of school planning done. I made about 120 copies of stuff just for Grant and Alan to get them through the next 9 weeks. I used up my printer ink and had to stop for the night. Two kids down,11 more to go. I will probably work on Easter skirts throughout the next few weeks in between school organizing and such.



I am supposed to be downsizing my fabric stash but I saw this unique fat quarter bundle the other day.What caught my eye was the gray snail fabric. It's not my usual fabric choice but I think it will be fun to think of something to make out of this fabric.



I was thinking of a small gift type of thing to send with my items that sell in my Etsy shop. Elena is great with paper crafts and made this up for me as an idea. I love it!! Good idea.



Our first fire of the year in our outside fire pit. Some of the kids were sitting out late talking. Alan is becoming an expert fire builder.



Hello little Lily!

She greeted me at the door when I came in from taking a picture of the fire pit. It is nice to be missed,isn't it?



Cyrus and Elena watching music videos of Barlowgirls and Stellar Kart,I think. Eventually the fire outside looked like more fun than the computer so they ventured out there to join the other kids.



A few things I almost forgot!

Jeff found a car! Hurray! It is red. Not bad for $600.00. I will take a picture of it soon.

Grant had his first day of baseball practice this afternoon. Things seemed to go well. He thinks it will be a good year.


Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

AWANA Grand Prix Time and A LOT of Rambling

Today was a busy day.

Some of the children's Sunday school classes sang during church this morning and then it was the AWANA Grand Prix racing time this afternoon.

Jeff and Elena brought the camera and took pictures for me because I was at home with some of our younger children.

Anya is somewhere in this group.



~~

The kids were all exited about the AWANA Grand Prix race today. Of course, there was a bit of late night rushing to finish up cars last night but everyone finished their cars in time.

Jeff,Grant,Alan,Joyce,Cyrus,Nolan, and Josh all had cars racing in either the leaders or T & T race.

All the cars turned out great.

How about a few highlights!

Here is Josh (in the blue tye-dye shirt)racing his AWANA car.




Cyrus ( in the blue shirt on the far left) won 2nd place in design for Truth and Training.



Grant ( in the green shorts) won 3rd place (or was it second?).No how wrong I am.He won 1st place for Design in the leaders group.He wanted me to clarify that. Grant helps out with the 3rd and 4th grade Truth and Training boys.



Joyce ( in the pink sweatshirt) won 3rd place in speed in the leaders race. Joyce is a helper with the Cubbies.



I realize I do not have pictures of their actual cars. I will take pictures after they get their cars back Wednesday night.

~~

Hm...what else...I had pretty lofty sewing goals this weekend but did not get anything done after I finished up the mini quilts.

~~

One of the girls wet her bed while she was sleeping Friday night so on Saturday morning I went to take her bedding off her bed and noticed how VERY messy her bed was. I had not noticed it before. She was saving all sorts of little scraps,wrappers,and empty (clean) containers of whatever. It is one of our Liberian girls. I was thinking whether or not I should be concerned that maybe she is displaying a hording issue or something.

When I asked her about it she explained that she actually plays with these things. She and her sisters play house and store and other games with the scraps. Her many sibling supported her explanation. I then checked in all the younger kids beds (Liberian or not) and sure enough they all play with scraps or what-not.

Tell me what use is a paper scrap the size of a penny,a washed out Doritos bag,a deck of 36 cards,a Polly Pocket missing a leg and a head,or a book missing all but two pages? Maybe we do not give them enough toys OR maybe I have kids with great imaginations! See what no TV in the house will do for the imagination,cause your kids to save every scrap they see. TV is a little less messy.

Anyway, I had the girls all throw away the trash and they came down with five trash bags worth of papers,broken toys,and old food wrappers that they claim they play with.Five trash bags!

~~

One last thing.

I decided to start up my Facebook page after a 15 month absence. I was using Jeff's Facebook the past little while and thought it was time to let him have his Facebook space back. Although,Jeff said he did not mind,I was kind of hogging it up.Facebook is neat but it does kind of depress me a little. I tend to feel lonely,like a miss fit,and maybe a little discontent reading what everyone else it up to. My life just kind of stays the same and others seem to have such exiting lives.

*Sigh*

I like blogging.It is kind of like talking to myself.I like talking to myself.Facebook is kind of like being in high school again...kind of a cliquey thing. But,here I am joining up again trying to be cool.

Ha!

Oh,who am I kidding...I'm just a dork at heart! I love being kind of dweebish.

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy.

My Little Peanut Butter Thief

I walked into our fireplace room this afternoon and saw this little peanut butter thief in action.



Here are the finished mini table top quilts that I made for a customer.Both of these fit into the colors she requested but have a little different look so I thought I would make both so she could pick the one she likes best.




Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

Two More Things

One more hobby I would like to try if I had the time would be fly fishing. Doesn't that sound so relaxing?! I think it does. Maybe someday...

I was posting pictures of my mom and my sister on their facebook pages via Jeff's facebook. I'm not a facebook person myself but I visit Jeff's often to see what our friends and family are all up to. My mom and sister both just got their facebook pages so I was posting pictures of them for fun. I thought you might like this one. This is my mom walking me down the isle on my wedding day July, 1993. My dad had passed away the month before so my mom walked me down. Isn't she just beautiful?

Anyway, I made my wedding dress. I had no idea how to make it fit but at least it did not fall apart while I was wearing it. I think I was supposed to have some sort of slip that would make the dress puff out but what did I care. I was getting married to the greatest guy!! I was (and still am) proud of that dress and still think that hubby of mine is the greatest.



I made the bride's maid dresses as well. I had five bride's maids, my four sisters and my close friend. This is my youngest sister Missy and my husband's roommate (at the time) Jeff Cole.



If you look close at the flowers you will notice how unique they look. My friend and I made those ourselves as well. We made the boutonnieres,too. They looked all crooked but it was SO much fun to do it ourselves. I think we were lucky in that way,being poor.

The most expensive thing at our wedding was the cake and desserts that we served at the reception.I think we paid $1,000 for those. If I would have the wedding to do over, I would have done most things the same but had a potluck sort of thing and made our own cake. Oh, but I burn things...maybe I would have had my mom or sisters make the cake instead.


Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

A Nice Day

I did not get much done so far today.

I ventured out to find a child just standing around to photograph. Some of the girls were playing tag but Grace was just watching. Perfect victim subject to test my outdoor photography.



Anya was watching from her bedroom window and ran down to join the photography fun.



I had the flash on for the Grace solo picture and turned it off for the Anya/Grace picture.

If my time could fit in just one more hobby,it would be to learn how to take terrific pictures (ok, and maybe raise goats and chickens,learn how to bake real well,cook without burning everything,learn how to sew clothes and have them look professional,...). It has taken more than 15 years since the beginning of my love for quilting to get where I am now,which is really still in quilting middle school I would say.I wonder if photography is as challenging. I suppose having a camera that is not held together by packing tape would be a good start.

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

P.S. My Luck Wisconsin dream house is still indeed for sale!! I'm back to dreaming again...

Finished!

Any spare chunk of time I found i was hard at work finishing up my pile of waiting projects. I am pleased that I am all done completely with the ten quilts!

I also finished up a few soft books and a few baby blankets. All since this weekend. It feels nice. I am now going to start a little table top quilt for a customer.I told her I would finish it by Sunday latest. It will not be very hard because it will be just 12" x 18".

Once that is finished I am needing to start on Easter clothes for the girls. I think I am just going to make skirts and buy matching t-shirts. I saw some real cute t-shirts at Wallmart for just $3.00 each. That will be way easier option than making dresses with zippers or button holes. I am very very bad at both those sewing skills.

I thought I would just show you some of my finished projects that I am extra exited about.

This is a very pretty baby quilt. It is very girly.



I made this cloth book and baby blanket set. Isn't it just so pretty? The soft book is called Learning To Pray. I just love the vintage little girls. It might not look like the blanket matches but it does. There are a good number of blue flowers on the inside pages of the book.



And I finished up The Saggy Baggy Elephant book.



Joel and Lily enjoying one of my favorite places to sit,our front porch.



What a lovely muddy yard we have.

The mud path is our home track.It goes around our house. Mandatory 12 times around every week day for Grace up to Joyce. They are out there rain,snow...OK, not in sleet or hail or below zero...but yes they did do it all through the winter.

Grant and Alan get out of it because they play sports through the public school and have to walk more than a mile there and back.

Elena negotiated with me and does 250 jump ropes instead.The privilege of being 15. A little more latitude.

Just so you do not think I am totally cruel, Grace only does five times around and the four middle girls only need to do ten times around but usually choose to do more.Why is Joel not out there but Grace is? Um...that's a whole can of worms.




Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy