Two Day Post: Part Two

Today, my oldest niece got married!!!

I was not able to attend but I heard the wedding was beautiful!!!

My oldest sister, Heide , texted me these pictures.

Thank you, Heide.

I figured out how to email them to myself.

I am smart like that.

Tech-savvy-Tina.

Just call me that:

TST for short.

CONGRATULATIONS JAKE AND JESSICA!!!!!

Here is the BEAUTIFUL bride Jessica!!!!

I gave her pop to drink when she was about 5 or 6 months old and afterwards I thought it might actually kill her... But it didn't. I am glad. Another time, I left her out on the sidewalk at the U of M all by herself in her stroller while I went into my house to answer the phone. I was gone for a long couple minutes. She could have gotten kidnapped, but thank goodness she didn't. I did not tell her mom Tammy for years. I was a clueless auntie.

You are SO beautiful, Jessica!!!!

My sister, Tammy,aka: Jessica's mom, aka: my very pretty older sister.

Tammy, my sister-in-law Angela (married to my sister Missy), and my baby sister Missy. She will ALWAYS be my baby sister!!

My nephew Matthew (Jessica's younger brother), my brother-in-law- Paul (married to Tammy), and Tammy

Not pictured:

The groom, Jake!!

My mom!! Where was she hiding!!??

Heide, the picture taker.

My sister Heather who was not able to make it to the wedding, either. This post is mostly for her. Heather, I thought you would enjoy seeing the pictures.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

A Little Bit Tuckered

I like this picture of Mrs. Tittlemouse

I am just tuckered out with things.

I wish...

I suppose wishing isn't of much use, now is it?

I have been having a very hard last few months.

Actually, it has been much longer.

I sometimes feel pretty alone in my struggles.

I know I am not the first nor will I be the last who will walk down this road.

It just feels like it.

Watching a child make poor decisions is heartbreaking.

Making the hard choices in response, as a parent...so very hard.

Knowing others do not understand.

Feeling the judgment.

Hearing the whispers, the questioning of our love and devotion to the child walking a road of self made consequences.

Others thinking they would do it different or better...

People who are supposed to be our friends, our leaders, our support system.

Well, it had been very hard.

My heart is broken.

It breaks for my child.

It breaks for the dreams and hopes of a heart once open to God's voice.

It breaks for those who sit in their seat of knowledge of unknowing that they mistake as knowledge and wisdom.

My heart breaks for me.

It breaks for the rest of our family.

It has been a sad time around our house lately.

A thought for you who do not understand why we did what we did:

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

~ Ezekiel 22: 30

Well, we are standing in the gap for our child. On the child's behalf until the day the child is able to stand once again with us. We will make the decisions that are hard and unpopular. We will face the judgment and the lack of understanding full on. I will cry, because I am not brave but I am determined. We are committed. Our child is deeply, deeply loved by us.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Where Is That Neutral Zone When I Need It!!

I am not sure what is was.
Maybe because it has been so gloomy outside the past few days.

Maybe because most of the kids have a little cold sickness.

Maybe all the candy they ate over the weekend.

I do not know BUT this past Tuesday was one of the hardest, draining days I had had for a long time!

Almost EVERY child was whiny and fussy or angry. Really whiny and fussy and really angry (mostly directed at me). I had not seen this many temper tantrums all in one day for a long time. On any typical day, there usually are a few kids out of perspective but not this many and usually not this out of perspective.

If we were on a pirate ship I think the kids would have declared a mutiny and forced me to walk the plank. No, they would have not waited for me to walk the plank, they would have just thrown me over as soon as they saw a hungry shark swimming about.

It was crazy.

I was exhausted.

At least the day ended and I was pretty sure today would not be quite as bad.

This morning I found this under my door.

My soft hearted child. My Josh.

Of course,I decided to revoke the missing AWANA part of his punishment. He still accepted the other punishments he acquired yesterday with humility, but this one I let slide.




Looking back on yesterday, I am pretty sure we traveled through some sort of sub-space anomaly...

maybe the Badlands in the Alpha Quadrant?

Sadly, I could not find a neutral zone close by.

There was even a warp core breach scare to make things worse!

Too bad I did not handle things with that suave Jean-Luc diplomacy.

No,I handed it all in my mommy freak out type of way.

But things turned out fine.

Days like this usually do, don't they.


Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

What About The Non-Conformers?

Aren't these fun pictures?

I was making grilled cheese on Saturday for supper. Joel and Lily were sitting on the counter watching me flip the grilled cheese on the griddle. The girls started trickling in to watch as well. What a great picture opportunity!




Group number two was all for a staged photo on the counter.



Here are my picture-on-the-counter non conformers (not including Jeff. He conformed). Those rebels. The reason behind the no picture-on-the-counter protest? "Because I don't want to look all cute and perfect for your blog" was stated by one. The other two were just too weak from hunger to move. At least they smiled.



Warmly, A Patchwork Mommy

Finery

Finery

In a frock neatly trimmed with beautiful lace,
And hair nicely dressed, hanging over her face,
Thus decked, Harriet went to the house of a friend,
With a large little party, the evening to spend.

"Ah! how they will all be delighted, I guess,
and stare with surprise at my eloquent dress";
Thus said the vain girl, and her little heart beat,
Impatient the happy young party to meet.

But alas! They were all too intent on their fun,
To observe the gay clothes this fine lady had on;
And thus all her trouble quite lost its design,
For they saw she was proud, but forgot she was fine.

'T was Lucy, though only in simple white clad,
(Nor trimmings, nor laces, nor jewelry she had),
Whose cheerful good nature delighted them more,
Than all the fine garments that Harriet wore.

'Tis better to have a sweet smile on one's face,
Than to wear a rich frock with an elegant lace,
For the good natured girl is loved best in the main,
If her dress is but decent, though ever so plain.

-J.T.













Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Hope

I find a lot of times life especially the difficulties I experience can cloud my passions, dreams,expectations,and my hopes of/for the future.

Some days I want to stand on the roof tops holding my breath not even wanting to blink as I look off into the future waiting for it to come. I want to get the first glimpse of the fulfilment of my hopes and dreams even though they are so far off they are still a tiny speck on the horizon.

Then there are days when my now reality, my sins and failings are such a heavy weight I can not do anything other than mourn what might never be. There are no passions,no dreams,no expectations,and no hopes for the future. I can not look off to the horizon. My heart can not bare to see the horizon void and empty and so far away.

Pretty dramatic,I know. I'm just like that. To be honest I really do not even know what I hope the future will bring. My only hope should be in Christ alone,but a lot of times it is not.It is in the things I think he has planned for me, or the things he can do for me.

Well,I hope these next few months as we pray and ask God to lead us in whatever it is he has in mind,that we will not loose heart.

That we will not loose heart as God digs deeper into the things hidden and lets our weaknesses and shortcomings be exposed. The digging and pruning is needed...required by the Gardner to produce in us more of him less of us.

That we would not loose heart if his revealed plan is something very different than what we would have hoped or thought we desired.

Or maybe that it is exactly what we desired but up close it looks like a mountain beyond our capability to climb.

Or even yet,his plan would be one of waiting...

Let us stand firm and rest in the fact that God's will whatever it may be is perfect and in that perfect will we will find a place that we wanted to be all along.

~~~~~~

I wanted to include these two quotes that motivate me a great deal as I look to the future in hope...


“Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility” ~Kate D. Wiggins


A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “. . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:16-17 ). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.

~Oswald Chambers

Live!

You saw the pictures now here it is live!



~~~~~~~~

I feel I need to address the hair issue of Joel's and Lily's terribly untidy dress just to make myself feel better.

Joel has been having a sort of hair cutting phobia lately. The obvious simple solution to it as my eldest son pointed out is to just make him sit and let me cut his hair.You know the spare the rod spoil the child kind of way. I TOTALLY agree and have done just that but Joel is his own little strong willed boy.I would say has been my least obedient child so far. Could it be my lack of consistency? Maybe how I run through my days sort of behind in everything? Maybe it is that he is child # 13? I have to say this little boy seems to rule the house and close at his heals is that spunky little Lily.

Speaking of spunky little Lily,she was helping me make boxed mac & cheese for lunch and decided to open a cheese packet while I left the kitchen for a few minutes. I came back with her holding the can opener (can opener,that was toddler cute) and all cheesy saying to me, "look mommy...Mmmm". So that explains her messy outfit in this video. That is my real life!

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

Say Good-Bye To Our Costly Guest!

I bet this guy has been costing us a good amount of wasted money and water these past few months!

Today,I finally shouted "NO MORE!!!"



Alan (12) and I replaced our costly friend with a much less greedy friend.



Now, I can just hear the once wasted money filling up the piggy bank!

Hmm...now how much fabric can I buy with all of our savings...

Thanks for helping, Alan!!!!

A Cozy House and Ham Soup!

One of the Friday chores in our fireplace room is to clean under the couch cushions and vacuum under the couch. That means flipping the couch on it's side. Today was one of those days that a little chore distraction occurred. The fireplace room chore was Elena's this week.Elena, being the very kind big sister she is did not mind working around the kids newly built house.

Joel, Lily, and Odell in their house section







Anya and Ekie peeking out from their house section.



Some of the cutest feet in the world I just happen to be a mother to.






Ready for a look at the frugal soup I made for dinner this evening?
We have been SO low on groceries but I am getting pretty creative with making do...

This is ham soup with noodles,kidney beans,some rice,and veggies. The thing about this soup is I had to make it all in the oven because out stove top is very temperamental and decided not to work today. I even had to make slow cook oatmeal this morning with hot tap water. Everyone ate it just fine.

Anyway, I had to try to boiled my ham bone I had left over from Christmas dinner in the oven. It worked pretty good but boiling it on the stove would have brought out more flavor. After it was boiled enough I took out the ham bone and tossed in the rest of the ingredients and cooked it a bit longer. I forgot that dry beans need to cook longer than rice and noodles so the beans were not fully done. Nobody seemed to mind,though.In fact many wished we had more.

It was given a thumbs up by everyone! Pretty good!

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!

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!!