A Walk in the Park

I am fortunate enough to live in a town where there are a number of walking trails. I just LOVE to walk! The pretty scenery does something to quiet my soul. Not to mention all of the health benefits:) Today we stopped on a bridge to read this sign.

A little girl is missing her pet named Lilly and she is offering a reward. Her reward is all of her savings - how precious is that? My heart went out for this little girl missing her pet and I offered up a quick prayer for Lilly to be found.

This big rock sits on the other side of the bridge and makes a great climbing spot for my son!

A wooded stretch on this section offers some much needed shade while moving along!

As we head back to our van I always pause to take a look at the community garden. People can rent space to garden. It seemed there was very little time between planting and now these tall plants. After observing the plants for awhile my son commented how "they were waving at him." I am sure he was talking about the corn leaves flapping in the wind! It really did look like they were waving at us!

Thanks for taking a walk with me today!

Blessings!!

Sunday Scripture

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills,
from where my help comes.
My help comes from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1,2

Life is Sweet

Mmm . . . peach cobbler is one of those things that really makes life sweeter. I decided to make this to use up my very ripe peaches. These peaches are locally grown and they are so juicy and sweet. I just wish you were here to share it with me!

Hope you are having a grand day!

Getting Organized

With summer winding down and needing a break from my quilting I turned to cleaning out our clothes closets. We were asked by our church to bring in one bag of used clothing per person. For us that means 6 bags! Before I started this, I didn't think I could come up with that many but once I got going it was really easy to pull out clothes that just don't get worn. What one son will wear, the other one won't (and it's just wishful thinking he'll change his mind!) It was a bit harder in my own closet. I kept having nagging thoughts like, "you just might wear that again" or "you might need that one day!" But, as I kept pulling things out I'd admire how slimmer the closet was and keep going. With 3 major moves in the last decade I try to live simply. But even so, stuff still seems to creep into my home. Just going through my clothes I got a little excited for fall . . . almost.

I've also been putting our pictures into albums. I'm not sure anyone does this anymore with digital cameras but my boys like to look at them and we have fun sharing memories.

After all this organization I am ready to sew again! Hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

Sunday Scripture

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly;
it does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails."
I Cor 13:4-8

A little of this and that

My home is a lot quieter now with 3 of my 4 boys in school. A little too quiet! My youngest and I were able to do some shopping together - I was able to just take my time and browse without a list in my hand. We came home with a few fun things from Target. These marshmallow sticks ($1) were so adorable I couldn't pass them up (one of my boys lives to roast marshmallows.) And my third son will be celebrating his 10th birthday in a few weeks so there have been several discussions about his party over dinner already. With these invitations on hand I should be able to get them out soon. And the lamp (can you believe less than $20?) was too much too resist. My friend has a similar one in her daughter's room with pink shades and I just loved it. I love the retro look and my boys thought it was very cool. They even mentioned how nice it would be to have some bean bags underneath it for reading.


The best part of all is I am looking forward to going to a bible study tonight, "Woman of Character", with a friend of mine. It sort of feels like I'm heading back to school, too. It should be a lot of fun!

Blessings!

Homework Already?

My son and I were busy today making this shirt for his Native American unit. His teacher wants him to wear this while they study Indiana's Native Americans. We started with a plain white t-shirt and then soaked it overnight with tea bags to turn it brown. After rinsing the shirt and drying it we did some snipping. The real work began as we threaded wooden beads onto the strips and this is the result! What do you think?

My oldest son had the assignment of reading the novel, "The Grapes of Wrath" over the summer. Can you believe he will have a test over it on the first day? Like anyone else, he put it off until last week. He finished it but was very disappointed with the ending (or lack thereof!) I remember reading this in school but fortunately I didn't have to read it over my summer break!

Tomorrow begins another school year for my boys. So instead of beach towels, flip flops and "Garfield" books in our entryway it will be backpacks, tennis shoes and assignment books. Change is definitely in the air!

Sunday Scripture

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward."
Psalm 127:3

Happy to be in the A/C

I have been happily sewing these last few days being thankful for our air conditioning. It has been beastly hot outside with high humidity. My family and friends who live in Missouri and Minnesota are saying the same thing about their weather. We are all looking forward to some cooler temperatures next week.

My special ruler came in the mail so I have been able to cut up my strips for the quilt I am working on. The blocks came together fairly easily. Now, I am arranging the blocks before sewing them together.


What was left over for strips will be used for the second and third quilt.


I also had fun working on this security blanket yesterday. It has "silky" ears for comforting babies/toddlers. Two of my sons would rub their blankies under their nose as they sucked their thumbs. They had a favorite corner, too!

I hope you are having some fun today staying cool, too!!

Back to School?

I had to face the cold reality of my boys starting school next week (gasp!) I had been putting it off as long as possible; desperately clinging to the last days of summer vacation. But, yesterday began registration and our back to school shopping. It seems there is no turning back now! I will miss our lazy mornings and our days of freedom. I will miss afternoons at the pool, trips to the library, and the various places and friends we visited. Although, I won't miss them fighting and the endless messes in the kitchen! Maybe it is time for daily structure along with some learning. A fresh start to a school year can be the beginning of wonderful things, too!

Back to Quilting!

I am starting on a new adventure by getting back into quilting. I am really excited about it!! But, let me tell you how it began. About a month ago, I prayed for a friend that shared my sewing interest. Well, just a few weeks later I met this sweet lady who came to our house for a BBQ. After getting to know each other, she was curious about a quilt I made. So I pulled it out of a box for her to see it.


It is just a little sampler of SunBonnet Sue. I loved doing the applique but it was a challenge for me to pick out coordinating fabrics. My friends interest in the quilt was all the initiation I needed to start dreaming about quilts again. The best part is we are sharing this adventure together. We went to Rossville Quilts to pick out some fabric. This was our first time there and we fell in love with the store right off. The great part is we can order from them online. As is always the case with me it was easy to see what my next (second or third) project will be!!!


I went with this pretty pink "Lily and Will" collection by moda. The colors are more subdued than I usually go for but after opening it up I've found the colors really soothing and elegant. I spent a few hours sewing the strips together and it was helpful to unravel the tangled thoughts in my head. And not having to cut before sewing was such a luxury.

Blessings!

Sunday Scripture

"I am the resurrection and the life,
He who believes in Me,
though me may die, he shall live."
John 11:25

Ribbon Blanket

Today I had fun making this ribbon blanket. There are a number of tutorials on the net and they are all made basically the same. It is a quick project using simple sewing skills. I cut 2 pieces of fabric 13x13". The top is flannel and the bottom a minky fabric. I've also seen them made out of fleece, cotton or satin. There are a lot of ways to get creative! The loops are a mixture of different colored ribbons in satin or gross grain.

One ribbon I made longer to attach a pacifier or a plastic ring. It's a nifty way to keep track of the pacifier!!


I love the feel of the minky fabric - it is sooooooooo soft. It does have a tendency to shift and stretch so I used lots of pins to keep everything in place. I used a 1/2" seam allowance so the blankie ends up being 12x12". It's a good size for snuggling with or packing in a diaper bag!



Blessings!

(As a P.S. to this post I found out afterwards "taggie blankies" are patented. It is owned by Taggies, Inc. Any blanket with loops around the edges cannot be sold. However, this blanket was a gift.)

A Day of Thrills at Cedar Point

We spent our last day of vacation at Cedar Point. It was definitely a day of thrills! My husband and I took our youngest to the kiddie rides while the older boys braved the big roller coasters. The park offers a wide variety of rides for the little kids and the lines were quite short. They even had a couple of coasters for my son (age 4). He loved it! We met up with the older boys for lunch and then my husband went with them to ride Top Thrill Dragster. I was much too scared to go on this ride . . . see for yourself.



This ride launches you at 120mph in less than 4 seconds and soars to a height of about 400ft! Scary!!! I was in awe watching the cars at the station waiting and waiting to be launched (while everyone's fear builds!) The engines rev and then it backs up slightly before leaving. Wow! That's all I can say!

This park has been voted "the best" for the last 12 years. It sits on a peninsula on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio. On one side is their marina and the other a nice beach for dipping your toes in the water. There is really something for everyone at this park.

My boys are still talking about the rides and say we have to go back next year!

AirZoo - Michigan

Day 3 of our vacation was spent at the AirZoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is a fantastic place to go. It had been 7 years since we were here and they really expanded in that time.


They added new planes and rides. My boys (and husband) especially enjoyed the flight simulators. After touring the museum we spent some time with old friends. I enjoyed seeing the quilts my friend had pieced. She is the one who got me interested in quilting and taught me right before we moved and started me off with the necessary supplies. She makes quilts for all of her nieces and nephews when they graduate from high school. We also enjoyed walking in their garden. It was especially meaningful because while we lived next to them my husband got our friend into gardening. Our friend was always opposed to gardening having watched his mother plant only annuals. My husband enlightened him on the benefits of perennials and that was all he needed to get going! It was a great day in Kalamazoo!

Warren Dunes State Park - Michigan

The second day of our vacation we drove up the coastline of Lake Michigan to Warren Dunes State Park. I love the abundance of beautiful sand here and the sky is such a magnificent blue against the white puffy clouds. We quickly decided we would climb the dune behind us. We were up for the challenge!!

It wasn't a pretty sight! There was a lot of huffing and puffing on my part. And the sand was extremely hot! Only one of my boys was wearing the right foot wear for the climb - tennis shoes! But, we persevered and got to enjoy the view from the top.

What a beautiful view it was - you could see for miles in every direction.

We had it made in the shade at the top. My youngest found sliding down the dune fun! The older boys ran down the dune and they felt like they were flying.

Once we were down to the bottom we cooled off in the water. The beach was beautiful with a sand bar not too far out. The water was warm and calm and oh, so refreshing. The boys enjoyed building and digging in the sand as well. I found out later there are mud pits at the park. We wondered about the teenagers walking on the beach with a grayish tint to their skin. It was a lot of "fun in the sun!"

Museum of Science and Industry

We spent a day at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It is a wonderful museum that is 3 stories filled with something for everyone. The place is HUGE! There are automobiles, airplanes, trains, and even a submarine; not to mention all of the science!

We toured a U-505 submarine which we captured from the Germans during WWII. We went inside the sub and saw first hand what life was like for these soldiers.


Father and oldest son ~ almost the same height! At this point we are in the Futuristic Room. It was fascinating to read about people with very creative ideas and see their inventions; they definetely think outside the box.

My younger son really got into all the science demonstrations. He especially enjoyed playing with a robot in the Toy Factory area.

My second oldest is looking into a wave pool. He wasn't feeling well that day. He kept saying he was tired. Unfortunately, he was coming down with a virus and spent the rest of our vacation ill. It was way too bad that he couldn't enjoy the vacation more. We felt so bad for him.

Our youngest is an astronaut! Or at least he had fun pretending to be one!!

There was so much to see and do! Our kids just moved from one thing to the next and thought it all was great. This was my first time at the museum and it was top-notch!

Blessings to you!

Sunday Scripture

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. " Psalm 127:1

Blessings to you this Sunday! I will be sharing photos over the next few days from our vacation. We had a wonderful time visiting a number of places. We went from Illinois to Michigan to Ohio and back to our home in Indiana. It was good to spend so much time together having fun!