Happy New Year's Eve Eve!!!

Oh it's so nice to get back to my blog which means our lives are returning to some kind of normalacy!!!  I hope you all had a very blessed Christmas.  Ours was perfect!  Everyone was healthy, everyone was home, everyone was happy with their gifts and I got to take a nap at 10:00 a.m.!!!  Doesn't get any better than that!

Spencer is always in charge of Santa's meal.  PB&J with trailmix for Santy and carrots for the reindeer.  Yum!

Cole woke us up at 6:00 a.m. Christmas morning.  Guess he forgot the "sun must be up before you wake us up" rule.  Ha! 

The boys get three gifts from us...baby Jesus got the same!  One of Cole's requests was some fancy nerf gun.  Now, the boys have at least eight nerf guns but what's one more!  Everytime the boys have friends over, our upstairs becomes the nerf war zone complete with forts & booby traps.  They are so funny.

"Some assembly required" even applies to teenager gifts!  The gaming chairs we got for the playroom required more assembly time than we expected.  Glad B was in charge of that project!

The "babies" were sent outside until all the wrapping paper was picked up.  Doesn't it look like Kobe is taunting them?!

B got me an Iphone for Christmas.  So nice.  Now, if I can just learn how to use it before it becomes obsolete!

Cole had his last show of "A Christmas Story" Sunday night.  What a fantastic experience for all of us, but especially for a 12 year old.  He's already getting calls for more projects in the future...should be interesting to see what becomes of this acting thing!  

Ralphie with his "older self" Jason Harper.  Two fabulous actors.

So, the 4th annual Ewing New Year's Eve party will be taking place Friday night.  If you're in town, stop on by.  You can expect a ping pong tournament, Wii or Xbox tournament, board games, nerf gun wars, food and maybe even some fireworks at midnight.  Always a fun time!

My hope for this coming year is that I will be able to be more focused on the needs of others around me.  For many years, my focus has had to be within my own family but with everyone being healthy, I am prayerful that God will show me other people we can help who may be struggling.  What is your hope for the coming year?

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."  ~ Matthew 11:28-30

Fun Week

I LOVE when the boys are out of school!  I love it when they are home and we're playing games or just hanging out...I know I need to enjoy these times now because before long, they'll be headed off to college.  Shutter to think it!

We caught up on some movies this past weekend, went to church, did some shopping...nice, normal things.  Everyone is feeling good.  Cole has had a cough (two people in the play have had the flu-yikes!) but nothing serious and Spencer is slowly but surely regaining his strength.  We have a check up with our pediatrician today.

Brad took some pics of the boys last weekend for us to use for our Christmas cards, which will probably be late.  Oh well, better late than never.

So handsome.

Brad said it's like pulling teeth to get Spencer to smile.

We hope you all have a very Merry and blessed Christmas. 

We love you.

Plate Crazy

I think one of the things I love most about this time of year is that I don't feel guilty when I'm crafting instead of cleaning the bathrooms!  It just seems to me that this is the time of year to take time and have fun instead of doing the things your supposed/have to be doing...I really should take that approach the rest of the year as well!

So, I'm decorating chargers to give to friends and family.  Every year, I make cheeseballs (using my friend Tracy's recipe...FABULOUS!) & we share them with our doctors at ACH, our neighbors, hairdresser, etc.  This year I decided to add a little something different and use my puffy paint and decorate the plates.  If you do this, make sure you cover the plate with plastic wrap before you add the food so the food does not come in contact with the paint.

Funky tree with high heels!

Love the square chargers.

Spencer said he likes my "Whoville" trees!

If only...

Can you tell I like trees?!

Spencer is feeling much better.  I think he and I might try to get out tomorrow.  He has one last present to buy and I know he's going stir crazy since he was in the house all last week with a viral infection and now this week recovering from surgery.

Cole is doing great...one more final tomorrow (history) and he's DONE until January 3rd!!!!  Party time!  He had a matinee show this morning and a show tonight so I think Spencer and I are going to watch a movie.

Hope ya'll have a great Friday. 

Surgery Update

Even though Spencer's surgery was two hours behind schedule, everything else went according to plan and he came through with flying colors.  Dr. Richter was very pleased with the result and feels that Spencer's voice will be much stronger, although he's not too optimistic this will aid in Spencer being able to eat & drink by mouth.  I explained to him that we KNOW God has a plan and a purpose and that those plans will come to fruition in HIS time, not ours.

Waiting to go to pre-op.

So, Spencer is on voice rest for the next couple of days which means he will be quieter than usual...really drives me crazy!  He will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Richter in four to six weeks.

Cole is doing great.  He had his English final exam this morning, spent the day at the hospital with us, studied for his science exam this afternoon and is now at his ACS show tonight.  Can't wait until Friday when he will be done with all exams and will be out of school until January 3rd!  Funny story...Cole and I were at Academy Sports yesterday afternoon and this guy walks past us then backs up and says, "Are you the actor?"  Cole says yes sir and then this guy starts yelling to his wife who is three aisles over, "Debbie, Debbie come over here.  I've got Ralphie!"  The wife comes running over and they are talking ninety to nothing to Cole about seeing the show and how much they loved it.  I, on the other hand, was hiding in the shoe aisle laughing my butt off.  Cole found me after they walked off and we had a good laugh.  Must be what George Clooney goes through when he goes to Academy!!!  Ha!!!

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers.  We love you all.

Hop on the Crazy Train

I have been thinking of my post all day today.  I had it all planned out...the great pics I would share with you along with my witty prose to keep you entertained.  Then...life happened.

So, after attending a Board meeting, taking one child to basketball practice while picking one child up and then taking that child to Academy Sports and dare I say it, W-A-L-M-A-R-T (need I mention it is 12 days until Christmas), then picking up the child at basketball practice AND Coach Welchmen so I could give him a ride to his car at the elementary and then going to Kroger at 5:30 p.m., only to get home, fix dinner, have the neighbors over for a quick visit (thanks for the potstickers, Mary!!), eat nachos, have a glass of wine while doing laundry and watching Brad ready the boys for the Christmas picture....oh my, I'm done.

So, my only update is to say that Spencer's surgery to build up his left vocal cord is set for tomorrow, December 14th at 12:15 p.m.  The surgery should take about an hour and Dr. Richter is planning on an outpatient basis.  I will send an e-mail, post on Facebook, update the blog and send up smoke signals as soon as I have an update.  We are prayerful that this surgery will help Spencer to begin to eat and drink by mouth but we know that whatever the outcome, it is God's plan.

We drove through Burns Park Saturday night for the Christmas light display and this was the last display before we left the park.

"For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. ~ Philippians 4:13

Family Friday Fun

Even though it's been a busy week, it has been a good week.  I think we must be getting used to the craziness of Cole's schedule because it really doesn't phase us anymore that we have to make a couple of trips a day downtown or that we leave at 9:00 p.m. to go pick him up.  We may all go through withdrawals when his show is over (NOT!).

So, Cole had a show last night and since Spencer has not felt good this week, we stayed home, ordered chinese food and watched Christmas movies.  Brad and Spencer started playing Connect Four and considering they are both very competitive, the games got pretty intense.  Brad won two games....out of 10!

Notice Max making sure everything is on the up and up!

Kobe's reserved spot in front of the fireplace.

Whenever Kobe is not lounging in front of the fireplace, he's stalking the train under the tree (you can see the headlight of the train).  Crazy cat.

Cole is already wondering what he is going to do after A Christmas Story ends.  I'm thinking sleep.  Sleep.  And maybe sleep.  I don't think that has crossed his mind.  I'm sure he will come up with something.

The cast of kids for ACS.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tuesday Already?

I can't believe it's Tuesday already and the 7th of December!  The older I get the faster time seems to go but especially this time of year.  I wish I could slow it down, just for the month of December, so we could enjoy the smells, the sights and the sounds that make up Christmas.

Spencer has been a little draggy lately so I took him to the doctor this morning.  I love Dr. Paulus because although he is quick, he is thorough.  A blood test showed no bacterial infection or mono but he definitely has a viral infection.  He sent us home with strict orders for Spencer to rest and get plenty of fluids.  So, I have the feeding pump going full time while he is awake.  In between his food, I am running Gatorade and Pedialyte.  He's going to be so hydrated he may float away!  Thank goodness he's not on supplemental oxygen or running a fever.  That is definitely a good sign with him.

Cole's shows are going great.  He said the audiences have been very gracious and almost every show has been sold out.  He had two shows each on Saturday and Sunday so in his two hour break between shows, I picked Cole and Damon up, took them to Subway for dinner and then they worked on homework.  

Adorable!

The show received a great review in last Saturday's paper, although Brad was upset that the critic said, "...Ewing has great stage presence, although at times he spoke his lines too quickly to be understood."  I thought he was spot on and if Cole wants to be in the spotlight for a living, now is the time to improve and hone his acting skills without taking the criticism personally.

I know that so many of you pray for our family but especially for Spencer and for that we are truly grateful.  He is going through a very difficult time right now as it is the holidays and he is not able to eat.  It really makes it almost impossible for him to join his friends since almost everything revolves around food.  Next Tuesday, Dr. Richter will be doing surgery to permanently build up Spencer's left vocal cord.  We are prayerful that not only will it make his voice stronger, but that it will also aid in his ability to eat.  I can't even tell you how important this is to Spencer.  Please keep him in your prayers and ask God to give us the wisdom and the knowledge we need to deal with whatever the outcome is of this surgery.

I'm off to taxi Cole to The Rep for this evening's show.  I hope you all have a great week.

Christmas Decorations

Oh my, it's been a busy weekend.  Friday night was opening night for The Rep's A Christmas Story and it was a sold out show.  My friend Tracy and her kiddos came in town to see the show and we all had so much fun.  After the show, Brad drove one car and took everyone home while I stayed at The Rep so Cole could go to the cast party afterwards.  We got home at 11:00, stayed up until 12:30 a.m. talking and finally got in bed only to be woken up at 6:00 a.m. by Brad's alarm on his phone that he forgot to turn off!  Fun times.

The Thomas' headed back to Shreveport Saturday morning because just like us, this is a busy time of year for them.  Cole had two shows and Spencer wanted to go to the Eagles' basketball game.  Two more shows today for Cole, a good cleaning for the garage by Brad, outside Christmas lights installed by yours truly and we find that the weekend is almost over.

I did have some free time to do a quick little craft project.  You remember the Thanksgiving cutouts I did in the frames?  You can see them here.  Well, I used the same frames and even the same background material and switched them out to Christmas decor using buttons.  I have a ton of buttons that Gigi gave me and I love the look of them in something unexpected. 

Christmas ornament.

Fun candy cane.

Snowman with a button on his hat.

Nothing fancy, just fun.

I hope you all have a great week!

Ralphie Comes to Town

If any of you have picked up the newest copy of Sync Weekly around central Arkansas, you have seen a picture of Cole and the rest of the cast for A Christmas Story.  The show is drawing huge crowds and many shows are already sold out!  We have been in awe of this whole experience...from the rehearsals to the interviews to all the publicity...just a tip of the iceberg to what Hollywood stars must go through.  Honestly, I wouldn't want that life for me but Cole has absolutely enjoyed every second.  I hope we have done our job as parents to instill God's love and God's desire in his life so if he does get the opportunity to pursue his passion, he will make wise choices.  Isn't that what every parent wants for their children no matter what their chosen profession might be?

The famous leg lamp.  The cast named this one "Maria"!

Since we have not been home together as a family to decorate the Christmas tree, last night's shift was Brad and Spencer.  They actually decorated the entire tree and left off Cole's 2010 ornament for him to put on when he got home from the play.  It looks beautiful!  It is so much fun to reminisce over each ornament as it is unwrapped.  So many wonderful memories.  All I have left to do is put the garland over the front door and hang the wreaths on the gate and we're done! 

Notice the very large ladder necessary to decorate the top of the tree!

The completed project.  Love it!

My friend Tracy and her kiddos will be coming in town tomorrow to go to the opening night performance of A Christmas Story.  I can't wait.

I wanted to share today's Bible verse from my devotional...

"And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it."  John 14:13-14

Such comforting words to know that God is always there for us.

Love, M



Grateful and Blessed

Why is the most precious time of the year also the busiest time of the year?  As much as I try to slow things down and remember what the season is all about, forces beyond my control are constantly pulling me in twenty different directions making me as harried and crazy as everyone else.  Any of you have this problem?

Cole had his first preview show last night for The Christmas Story.  We were able to get two tickets (thank you Lisa!) and Brad and I sat in the audience and held our breath, and held hands, and looked in awe on this adorable and talented twelve year old that we gave birth to and wondered how on earth we had anything to do with the magic that comes from him when he is on stage.  Granted, we may be a little biased but from all the comments around us, I think he's pretty good!

Spencer had basketball practice until 6:30 and got a ride home from one of the guys.  Being at home with just two dogs, a wild cat and a tv with basketball games is all he needs to be happy...he was home by himself until 10:30 and he did great.  We are so thankful that he is able to be independent.  He will be having vocal cord surgery December 14th and we are praying, praying, praying that the surgery will aid in him being able to start eating & drinking by mouth.  I keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect.

Since we can't seem to get everyone together at home at the same time, we will be decorating the Christmas tree in shifts.  Cole and I will do a little decorating this afternoon before he has to be at The Rep, and then Brad, Spencer and I will do some more decorating tonight while we are all home.  Although it's not my choice to decorate at separate times, it will be fine and I'm sure we will look back on this Christmas season and have fond memories.

I thought I would share a few more Thanksgiving pictures.

Sorry for the sideways picture...I have been messing with it for 30 minutes and I give up!  But aren't they adorable?!

Cole and Izzy.  Do you see a pattern here with Izzy in every picture?  The boys just love her...I don't know why Brad won't let us have another one!  Ha;)

Dwayne with "his" baby...we had to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't monopolize all her time!

I hope you all have a good day.

Love you,

Marilyn

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

I pray that you all had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as our family did...we are so blessed to have a large family that loves each other, warm houses for which to celebrate, PLENTY of food and good health.  This year, there will not be as many presents to buy nor as many parties to attend as we are slowing down and remembering what the season is all about.  We don't want to spend another holiday season being busy 24/7 and then look back in January and wonder what we did to celebrate the REAL reason for the season.

We had 17 people at my mom's Thanksgiving afternoon.  Despite the rain and cold weather, everyone made it safely and we all had a great time.

My cousin Alexia with the newest cousin, Isabel, who is 8 weeks old.   You will be seeing Izzy in ALL of the pictures!

Allie, Will, Cole, Spencer and Izzy just hanging out.

 

A little technical difficulties with the lights.  Brad bought this 12 foot Christmas tree the year we moved into this house and every year, he has "issues" with it...at least he had lots of help this year!

Of course, Kobe had to be the first "ornament"!  Ha!

Everyone went home Saturday and now the house is much too quiet.  Cole is rehearsing like crazy for The Christmas Story which opens at The Rep on Friday, December 3rd.  Spencer is going to basketball practice at crazy hours (8:00 till 10:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday) and they have a game in Conway tonight.  That's just one more reason we will keep our social life to a minimum this Christmas so the boys can enjoy some downtime when they are home.

Hope you all have a great week.

Love, Marilyn

Work Day!

It's Saturday and everyone is still sleeping except for me!  My mom and I have a big day ahead of us because we are cleaning out her storage shed to make room for my Gigi's "goodies" a/k/a stuff from the past 64 years!  It's just like us to purge a building so that we can bring in more treasures that need to be purged.  Anyway, we'll have fun and I'm excited to be able to spend the entire day with her.

The boys had a great time last night and so did Brad and I.  I made a mad dash (insert frantic) for the bus yesterday after a last-minute phone call from Coach Hogue who informed me that the basketball bus was leaving ONE HOUR sooner than we had anticipated.  Made it, Spencer rode it, had a great time, no problem with the feeds and he was home by 11:30p.m.  Whew!

After the craziness with Spencer subsided, I made a leisurely drive down to The Rep and dropped Cole off at at 4:00.  Brad met us there and he and I walked down to LuLav for a fantabulous meal and quiet talk time!  Oh my gosh, it was just what we needed!  Don't know why we don't do that more often.

So, everyone is still sleeping which is great.  Cole doesn't have to be at rehearsal until 10:00 and Spencer has the entire day free and he is already planning on chillin and watching college football.

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!



Being a Parent is Hard!

Brad and I have talked a lot lately about how much harder to parent it is the older your children get...someone told me it gets easier and if I ever find out who it was, they will get an earful!

So, Spencer is the manager for the varsity basketball team for AB.  He has been at practice every day from 3:30 to 5:30 or 6:00 and he ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!  Thank you Coach Hogue for asking Spencer to participate.  Now, my biggest answered prayer (which is also a huge fear of mine) is coming to fruition...Spencer will be riding the bus, with the basketball team, to Augusta, AR for the basketball games tonight.  He is sooooo excited because he gets to ride the bus and because Brad and I aren't going!  I'm praying for a safe trip, a good game and no problem with his pump for his feeds.  How did my mom ever do it as a single parent?

Cole's rehearsal schedule for The Christmas Story has been crazy...every night until 10:00 but he NEVER complains, which is how we know he loves it.  Rehearsal this weekend is 8 hours each day.  Thankfully, the boys are out of school the entire week for Thanksgiving so Cole can catch up on some much-needed sleep.

I love my Bible verse from this morning's lesson.  It was just what I needed to hear.

"Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope."
~Ephesians 3:20 

 

Weekend Projects Reveal

I have never thought of myself as a girly girl but the older I get, the more I realize I AM a true girly girl at heart.  And since there are no girls in my house to lavish all my blingy love on, I choose to thrust it upon my friends and family. ;)

I have decided to make all of my Christmas presents this year so here are a few projects that were completed this past weekend during my arts & crafts extravaganza!

I love picture frames!  All types, sizes, styles...give me a picture frame and I am happy.  So...I decided to make some for my friends.

I started with an unfinished frame from Hobby Lobby.

If I was going to paint it, a little sanding would be necessary but since I am covering it with paper, no prep is required.

I used a piece of scrapbook paper.  I can't get enough of all the different designs they have and the size of the paper is a perfect fit for this size frame.  I covered the frame and the paper in Mod Podge.  If you're not familiar with this product, let me just say it is THE BOMB!  I am constantly looking for an excuse to use this stuff!

Once the paper is attached to the frame, smooth all the wrinkles out.  I printed out the words I wanted to use and traced them on to the paper with carbon paper.  I've seen many different techniques to transfer the letters but this is the one that has worked best for me.  After going over the letters with a paint pen, I topped it off with another layer of Mod Podge (just to give it a little sheen), attached a 2 1/2" curly wooden letter that I decorated and voila!  The perfect present.

I made three of these yesterday and I'm sure will make more this week.  An inexpensive but personal gift.

I also ADORE plates and I love using them to decorate.  I found some cute plates at Tuesday Morning for $2.00/each and decided to try my hand at painting on them. 

Cutsy red striped plate...I haven't decided if I'm giving this one as a gift or keeping it for myself!

I thought this gold charger was so cute.  I think it adds dimension how the gold shows through the white of the snowman.

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Looks like it will be another busy week around here but next week, the boys are out for the entire week for Thanksgiving!  Can I get a woot woot?!

Have a great day!

Arts & Crafts Saturday

I can't tell you how long it has been since I got to spend the day, the whole day, doing only what I wanted which is arts and crafts!  I'm thinking years since it has happened.  So, I made up for it in a BIG way when I commandered the dining room table and left all my goodies out to finish today.  Just trying to send a message to the boys of the home that that is what is on my agenda today as well.

I hope to post some good pics of some of the projects I'm working on.

After all my "hard" work yesterday, my friend Carol and her son Collin came over last night for dinner.  Spencer hung out with them yesterday so it was great that they stayed after they brought him home.  She brought along a chick movie for us and a guy movie for the boys (you know, car chases, guns, grenades & no kissing!).  While we were watching the movie, Rusty crawled in my lap and got comfy.  I wanted to tell him that a 90 pound dog does not qualify as a lap dog but he's too sweet...so dad took a pic!

Sweet baby.

The Lord has blessed us with beautiful weather today.  Hope you all enjoy your Sunday.



Hello Friday

Whew, I am so glad that we are quickly approaching the weekend, for which we have nothing planned!  I see arts & crafts in my future!

While Cole was at rehearsal last night, Spencer was at karate and he received his camo belt.  We are so proud of him.  Karate has been so good for him, not only physically but it has definately given him more confidence.  Way to go Spencer!

Rehearsal for The Christmas Story is officially a "go".  5:00 to 10:00 every night during the week and six to eight hours each Saturday and Sunday.  We know he loves it because even though he is exhausted when we pick him up, he has a smile on his face.  I think that's love!

Spencer and I are headed to my mom's today to visit and work on the Thanksgiving menu.  I'm sooooooo glad Thanksgiving is at her house this year! 

Hope you all have a great weekend!  I hope I get to post pictures next week of some fun things I've been working on...stay tuned.



Driving, driving, driving...

So, you know how I said I was a homebody at heart and that I couldn't wait for the Hoedown to be over with so I could stay home...well, this is all I saw yesterday.

The road from my house to get into town.

9:00 Cole had an interview to promote The Christmas Story

10:30 Drop Cole off at school

11:15 Spencer had a speaking engagement as ACH Ambassador

12:30 Take Spencer home

12:31 Breathe

2:30 Check Cole out of school for photo shoot for TCS

5:00 Parent meeting at The Rep for TCS

6:14 Inhale sandwich from Subway before Cole is finished w/rehearsal

7:30 Arrive home

7:31 Collapse into pjs and go to bed

Crazy!  But I'm so thankful to be able to be home and take the boys where they need to be.

Today wasn't as bad and although Cole had another interview, Spencer had physical therapy at ACH and basketball practice at AB, it was a pretty quiet day.  Cole and I made a quick trip to Kroger after school to pick up some things...he still thinks he is 5.

Goofy boy!

Hope you all had a great day!

Back to Life

How nice it is to be sitting at my desk, opening mail, filing things, answering e-mail...all those "normal" things I have not been able to do for the last week since I have been all caught up in the Hoedown.  The big event was Saturday night and even though we don't know "numbers" yet, I would say it was a huge success!  I think everyone had a great time and we are so grateful to each person that came out to support a fabulous organization.

Monty was the only unhappy camper at the Hoedown.  He was not too fond of being in his stall while everyone was milling around.  He's a pasture horse at heart!

As the Hoedown ends, the boys' extracuricular activities are gearing up.  Spencer is going to be helping with the varsity basketball team at AB so he will be going to practice each day from 3:30 to 5:30.  Cole's play at The Rep is preparing to start rehearsal and he has three interviews (to promote the play) and one photo shoot this week.  You may now refer to me as the Ewing's driver because that's all I will be doing for the next seven weeks.

I'll leave you with this picture for the day...Macks (our newest canine addition) somehow caught a squirrel this morning.  Did you know that a dog will not drop his "catch" even if you are running through the yard with a broom in your hand screaming at him at the top of your lungs?!  Thankfully, Brad was home and dealt with it.  Spencer said it was a not-so-pretty-picture so see me running by his window, in my pjs, chasing the dog with a broom.  Nice.

Hope ya'll have a great week!

Razorback Fun

We were so blessed to be able to go to the Razorback game Saturday in Fayetteville and to be able sit inside the glassed in area (I have no idea what this section was called!).  For a girl who doesn't care for sporting events, I sure did have a good time and the boys, well, I don't even have to tell you how much fun they had!  So much food to eat, so many people to watch and so little time.  Anne & Steve were there with Seth and three of his friends so Spencer and Cole sat with them which meant I had no one to tell me what was going on in the game!  Brad knew the couple that was sitting beside us so he was visiting with them while I was texting Spencer asking him questions.  Fun, fun, fun.

We drove home after the game and got in around 1:45 a.m.  Oh, I'm too old to be doing that because I had to get up early and work on Hoedown stuff yesterday.  But the boys had a great time so it was worth it.

As many of you know, the Ewing's have kind of had a tough time this past 14 months.  But God has really opened my eyes lately to all the THOUSANDS of blessings we have in our life.  I just can't tell you how thankful and fortunate we are and even in the midst of all our trouble, we are SOOOOOO much better off than most people.  I loved my Bible reading this morning by Rev. Lavon Post.  He said, "One thing that I have noticed in life is that God sometimes allows some storms just before sending one of His beautiful blessings.  After the blessing has come, it is even more appreciated because of the storms that preceded it.  So if your life has been a little stormy lately, please don't despair and please don't beat yourself up, wondering why God is made at you.  He's not mad at you, He's just getting ready to send you a spectacularly beautiful blessing."  Thank you God for preparing me for Your many blessings.

Hope ya'll have a great week.  

T.G.I.F!!!!!!!

This is my first day this week to be at home and I am loving it!  I am a homebody at heart (although my mom could tell you that was not the case when I was a teenager) so to be running hither, thither and yon everyday, all day makes me really appreciate being able to be home and catch up on some things.

In all of the craziness of preparing for the Hoedown, I have been making some "crafty" things...some out of necessity and some out of fun.  Since I am in charge of the decorations this year, I tried to make things that could be used year after year.

I bought two galvanized buckets from Home Depot, painted them with chalkboard paint, hot glued some jute twine around it and voila...we can use them for snacking peanuts during the Hoedown but the staff can use them afterwards during lessons for the riders.

I'll take pictures of the decorations that night but I did paint a picture for the silent auction.  I've already showed you what Spencer painted so I was inspired to create something as well.  I got the idea from here but had to change mine to fit the need.

I used a 16x20 canvas instead of wood (because I already had it) so to make the impression of the letters, I used carbon paper.

I used silver puffy paint to make my swirls.  Now I'm trying to decide if I should finish it with R.L. glaze or leave as is...this was so easy.  If you're in my family, don't be surprised if you get a smaller version of this for Christmas. ;)

For my cousin's baby shower, I made Isabel a picture frame.

Can I just say how much FUN it was making girly things!!!  Boys definitely don't appreciate swirls, glitter or feather boas!

I bought a bag of diapers and wrote a different message on each one.  That way, they will remember their cousins and how much we love them every time they change her diaper!

 

That's all my crafty stuff for this week.  Gotta run and get ready for Spencer's last baseball game this evening, Cole is having a friend sleep over and we're going to the Razorback game tomorrow.  Fun, fun, fun!  Hope ya'll have a great weekend.