Family Force 5

Most likely if you are reading this post Saturday evening, Elena, Grant, Alan, Dad, and a few friends are enjoying Family Force 5's Tourantula concert at The First Ave in Minneapolis! I wonder what song they are singing right now?

Elena has been looking forward to this concert for months.

She had this great idea to make a few t-shirts to wear to the concert.


Excellent Idea!

It starts with a plan.

Elena's t-shirt sketch.



Next on the list is the materials.

Glow-in-the dark paint a MUST have.



Looking good!






I thought if we were a singing group we could be called Family Force 16 but Elena thought that was a bit lame sounding.

I could play the tambourine and Dad the Comb but I guess that was even lamer.

I still remember a few of the moves to The Hustle.

Disco will make a comeback and Family Force 16 will be ready when it does.


Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Splashin' Good Time!

There is nothing like a pool to cool the kids off.

Even if it is just about ankle deep and very,very murky.

I think the kids are playing ring-around-the-rosie in these next three pictures

Odell(10), Naomi(8), Joel(6), Grace(6)





By the looks of the kids in this picture there really was not a need to be cooled off.

Joel(6), Lily(3), Grace(6)



Just a bonus cute picture of Lily.








Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Little Bit of Random

Has anyone else had a hard time with Blogger these past few days? I had to go back and re post my Wednesday's post and could not get on to blog for two days! So I hope you do not mind my back post fudging. It is actually early Saturday morning but we will pretend it is Thursday evening.

Ha Ha and these pictures are from Wednesday! Or are they from Thursday? I took them the day after the real nice humid day here in Minnesota. Which day was that anyway? I forget. O well.

Whichever day it was it was such a great porch sitting day!

Ekie (9)



Josh (10)



Anya (8)



Lily (3)



Dad (40+++++ or something like that) picked me up a special treat on his way home from work.




Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Still A Little Bit

of mom.

Although Elena is becoming her own person,developing her own style as demonstrated in her newly painted room, it is nice to see there is still a little mom left hanging around.

Elena still sleeps with her favorite mom made quilts.





Elena still has the table I made, gee, about ten years ago. It was my table making craze. Most of the tables I made did not last long. Something about poor craftsmanship or something...

Notice the cute mom-made mini churn dash quilt table cloth.



Hidden under the table cloth are my doodles. I do not remember, but Elena said I would talk on the phone and doodle on the table.



Of course, Elena is desiring a comforter that matches her room,and wants to paint the table but I think there will be little bits of mom will still be hanging around.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

She Is Her Own Person

Elena has been wanting to paint her room for a few years now.

I am a white wall person.

I love color, but all of our walls are white.

To me that makes sense. Visual sense, and practical sense.

Elena is not a white wall kind of girl.

So for a few years she has been wanting to do something fun with her room and she wanted to do it herself. I finally took a deep breath and let her unleash her own person.

And I am SO glad I did!

She picked out her paint colors.



She painted her room all by herself. Alan helped a little.



She did a wonderful job. In my mind, she stepped further into adult life and a little farther away from childhood.



I went up to her room today to see the final results and was so proud of her. I am also very thankful I had the strength to let go of Elena the girl to have a chance to see Elena the Woman blossom a little bit more. I think this was very important to her as well. I believe she even impressed herself.




Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

P.S.

I did this! Replaced the light fixture that is. I am proud to say that I'm my mother's girl but I do not think she was a white wall kind of girl either. In that, I'm all alone.

Mother's Day!!

I did not even realize Mother's Day was this weekend until last week.

I should get a calender!

It came up so fast.

I was not mentally prepared at all so it was hard to let go of my weekend agenda and focus on...me?

Funny!

My weekend agenda was all about me focusing on me but in a different way. If you know what I mean.

There has to be a few of you mother's out there that are like me a little.

Who would be just fine skipping Mother's Day.

Oh, I appreciate being a mother just fine it's the fan fair of expectation and pressure that comes along with Mother's Day that I do not appreciate as much as most, I guess.

I was struggling with letting go of my plans and I came to the conclusion that Mother's Day really isn't about me but about others.

About Jeff and the kids.

About sitting down and letting them serve me, not for me but for them.

About accepting what they have to give with graciousness, love, and kindness.

Now it might sound like I did not have a fun Mother's Day doesn't it?

No. I had a very very good Mother's Day!

Oh, I fear I will be miss understood.

Forgive me.

BUT, I did have a very nice Mother's Day.

We did some of my favorite things!

We all took a drive to get a coffee.

A Drive for coffee. The ultimate me thing aside from shopping for fabric and sewing. Both of those I did Saturday as a pre Mother's Day break. OK side track,here. I had a BLAST on Saturday. I went to the fabric shop and after I was done I saw our bus in the next mall parking lot at the Salvation Army store. I snuck away a few of the kids and we walked to get a pop. Then I went to Barns and Noble with Elena to buy books for our middle/younger children's science class. Elena was so helpful and encouraging. Elena and I then went to get a pretzel at Annie's Pretzels. So Good! We looked at Rag Stock. Cool place. I bought some more incense. At the end of our trip, Jeff brought everyone else into the mall to meet us and they each got a gumball. Not thrilling for most but for us it was. What an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL day that was!

OK back on track.

Mother's Day.

We had a meal with some of my favorite things: Potato salad, pasta salad, green salad,ice cream cones....SO SO good!

I was showered with many, many, many color pictures. Most on the Hello Kitty theme. It must have been the color book that was least used up.

Gifts of my favorite candy.

Pretty flowers



and even a Mother's Day balloon.




Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Signs Of Spring

Although a lot of our yard is dirt,there are a few signs of spring peeking here and there.

Pre-dandelion signs of spring that is!

Dandelions grow even in a yard of dirt!

I do not mind the dandelions,though.




There really are a few purple flowers in there somewhere.

Honest.




Our modest strawberry fields. Well, I do not even think patch would describe our strawberry area well.



Maybe strawberry thumbprint would be a good description.




I definitely do not have a green thumb.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

View From Across The Street

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

I Return

Hosea 14

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sins have brought you down.
Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.
Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”

The Lord says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.
I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.
Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.

“O Israel,stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”

Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.


*Sigh*


Isn't that like the Lord to love, forgive, extend grace, even when I mess up so bad and do not deserve anything from him.


Lord, I return...


Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Tea For Three

It was just me and my youngest three chicks.

What should we do?

Have a tea party, of course!!!

So we

take out the tea pot



and the special tea.



We make a sweet treat



and put it all together



Then have fun!




Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy