Craft Room

Feeling pretty accomplished about getting my craft/sewing place done. Here are some photos of the project. Remember that we began with icky paneling that was painted over and gross flooring. Started by replacing the window and putting some drywall over the paneling.

Got some great carpet squares and just cut and taped them to the floor. We had some icky alligator green covered by "stone" gray vinyl (which was really cold in the winter!). and Now it is a nice brown with some pattern....looks so nice and clean.

Put up some peg board in the corner (not the best job but it works!) and painted. Just need to finish the trim work (so easy to just stop here and leave it). I'm looking forward to getting some projects going this winter!!

I also had to defrost our freezer during this process. I made a mental note to self to not let it go so long between cleanings!!!

The Daily Grind

The last couple of days have felt like I'm trudging through a marsh. I've come through a period of really growing in Christ....getting inspired to pray more and read the Bible more thoughtfully. This part is good! I just read a verse in psalm 119 that talked about the "unfolding" of God's word. That is such a cool thought. How often do we read a scripture and nothing sparks and then suddenly the words "unfold" and a new dimension of Christ comes to light. I LOVE that.

However, the daily grind of living gets to me. I would really like to do something more exciting. An adventure! Most days is like, however, is like moving in slow-motion. Same thing...day in...day out. Husband and I are always dreaming of something different. I think that when he is done with his master's work next spring that if nothing opens up in his job (teaching...pay raise, etc) that we may start to look around more seriously. Perhaps taking campus ministry to a different level....or working with a group like InterVarsity that might include some travel.

Anyway...gotta get back to the job.

compassion practice

Another beautiful day here in the midwest. Today I'm thinking about the outdoor cats that have befriended us (our neighbor takes care of them). They have been an amazing source of pleasure for our girls (the boys don't like cats....although husband doesn't mind them too much). One of the cats, Inky, had gotten an injury on his leg. This has gotten infected and is now getting to a point where he might not make it if it doesn't heal. Anyway, our girls are learning caring skills by loving on the cats (3 of them) and now seeing one who is injured and needs special care. They are all quite concerned for him. I love opportunities for the kids to practice compassion skills....and being concerned for others. Our culture is so concerned for self. I'm becoming more conscientious about finding opportunities for compassion practice!

Becoming "Christian"

When I gave my heart to Jesus some 25 years ago it was such a life-changing experience. It was like the lights were on and I couldn't believe how amazing the world was. Growing in faith and grace has been an amazing experience. I have such a child-like faith now.

Now it is time to truly REST in God's provisions and lay my kids in his hands. THIS is truly challenging. I so want to cover and protect them. We have worked hard to lay a good foundation, have sought out godly people for friends/leaders and just pray like crazy for them. BUT, there is definitely a time when it is up to them to choose. Up to them to trust and believe in salvation. I can't MAKE them believe....they have to do it. VERY HARD to watch this process. I'm finding that I have been waking up at night with burdens for the kids and pray for them....pray that they dream dreams and that Godly friends would come into their lives. We are seeking out missions trips that we can go on and other events that will speak a God connection to them!

So each day, I'm celebrating a fresh day made by God and am looking expectantly to what HE will reveal for that day! If you have read this blog today....please pray for our family. Thanks!

prayer

Kids have started school....husband is on break and will start back with his final 2 semesters of the master's work....his work is back in full swing and he is excited about the new year. As for me, I am trying restore some order to the house, trying to finish up some projects, and praying like crazy! I wish that fall would truly kick in and it would be pleasant to be outside and work. The bugs have been just aweful because of the crazy wet weather this summer! I'm gearing up for putting in a couple of windows on the backside of the house (where no one will see it) but I'm waiting for the weather to be pleasant for a couple of days in a row!!
As for the praying, I'm praying for husband to finish well with the master's course. I'm praying for our oldest as he pursues starting an after-school FCA chapter. It is incredible to see him really take off in his faith! I'm praying for Lydia as she navigates hormone challenges, starting high school, and working out her faith! She really needs a girlfriend who is also a christian to walk together through life journeys. I pray also for her friend that goes to our church. She is not saved.....so I've been praying for God's revelation in her life. She's a neat kid that is incredibly creative! Praying for Abigail that she holds steady as we reduce her medicines. She is doing great and is liking school (so far). And then, praying for Joanna that she continues to grow in the Lord and that she has some self-control when it comes to scratching bug bites (and then picking at the scabs!). I've been seeing some answered prayers (big ones) that has me energized to keep on going.

Prayer for children

Had a great summer vacation with the family (although the drive was exhausting!). It was so good to connect with old friends....it just seems like yesterday we were all together out on the coast. Got a prized "Kiva" t-shirt and a bag of great coffee in Eugene (the kids thought that was strange but I always loved their coffee). We saw an amazing amount of this country! It is indeed beautiful.

I've been feeling nudged lately by the Spirit to concentrate on praying for the kids. I came across a Stormie Omaritan book on Praying for you Children and also had received a prayer card for praying a daily prayer for kids. I've been using them both each morning and it has been EXCELLENT. I have already seen answered prayers (God is Good). This season of watching my kids grow-up and preparing them to live independently is the most challenging thing. I so much want to take care of them but know that they need to jump out there on their own. This year we will be working with our oldest on basic life-skills (laundry, shopping, checkbook, car maintenance, etc). The others need prayer for keeping strong in the faith and reliance on God rather than friends. We are trying to help them see that talents that God has given them and how to use them. I hope that they will feel inspired to dream BIG and trust God!

TIRED!!

I'm tired!! To me, summer is not this wonderful, fun, relaxed, and family togetherness time. Most days I feel like I've just accomplished mostly nothing and certainly that nothingness is full of interruptions!! I keep thinking that if my boss would let me work shorter hours in the summer (like just mornings) and possible and 4-day work-week then everything else would calm down. This summer has the potential for being better than the previous ones in that husband's work has allowed him to work just afternoons and so that definitely helps with the homefront. Anyway...pray for me and the family that we can all just take it down a notch and relax.

Remembering

Coming up on memorial day brings out lots of memories of those I've loved that have passed on. Mostly thinking about how they have affected my life. This, of course, makes me think about how I'm affecting other peoples lives. It is such a challenging season of life right now. I never could imagine how full our schedules could be. Most days I just struggle to get my Bible reading in (gotta do it first thing in the morning or it just doesn't happen), work (which is mostly boring but we need the income), taking care of the home/kids/husband, and possible an outside activity with friends (few and far between). I think to myself...."how did my mom do it?"....or "how are others handling it?" I think that I have to really focus in on the true priorities. God first, husband/family, work, then everything else. I have been working on my speech/verbage and making sure that my language truly reflects this priority list. Anyway....I hope that my life will be a reflection of the greater work that God did in me. I also need to keep remembering that this season will eventually slow down and for now...I need to keep focused on the family because they are my mission field right now.

Planting Trees

The weekend turned out to be quite lovely. Husband was back home following his 2nd week away to Bethel campus (he is gone this week too for a leadership conference for InterVarsity). Anyway, we went up to the Earl May garden center on Sunday and picked out a flat of flowers for the 4 planters that I had. Been meaning to plant those up for the last 2 Years(!!!) and am just now getting it done. The girls had a blast planting them! Of course....I forgot to get pictures of them in action....I need to get my picture groove on!!! The other item that we got was a ornamental tree! I am super excited about it. We found a flower plum tree that should be just the right size for the area near our back door (our garage sits behind our house and makes an "L" shape back there). The area was in desperate need of a tree (southern exposure....very hot in the summer) but because of the driveway there was definite limitations to what could go there. Got it planted and mulched in....now hopefully it will thrive there. We decided to get the tree from the garden center because they have a 1 year guarantee on them.

While we planting the tree we started remincincing about other trees we planted (a total of 9 others) and awful walnut trees that we have removed from properties (3 in total!). We have always enjoyed driving by our old houses (whenever we visit or drive through towns we have lived in) and seeing how "our" trees are doing. I think of it as a gift to future owners of our houses!

Garden Clean-up

Been so very busy working on my yard. This is truly the best time of year to get out there (before the bugs!). Got some nice hostas from a friend and divided them up into 8 nice clumps and dispersed them among the borders of the yard. Also went through an overgrown area that had iris plants in it (it was overgrown with grass) and dug those out and moved them to a sunnier spot (hopefully they will do better there). I them put in several of the hostas there and will get some more from a different friend (some of the big leaf ones) to put in the back of that area. It should look much better when done. Got some mulch (6 bags) and got started filling in with that. I need LOTS more but the areas that were done look so much better and will need much less watering :-).

As for the continuing saga of cleaning out the house and working on the storage areas....I worked over the closet in our back entryway. It was a mess!!! I pulled everything out and took out the homemade closet rod with a peg-board shelf (someone was definitely using scraps of stuff the make that). I then put up a rail/shelf thing that I got at Menards. Super easy to install. Just put the rail bar at the top and then the standards hook on that. From there I put in 4 shelves and a coat rod (much lower than before). On the shelves I put the mitten boxes (every family member has their own small box with a lid), the winter boots and shoe cleaning kit. The snow pants went in a extra-large zip-lock storage bag and then put way in the back corner! It was SO much nicer when done. The closet bar needs to be attached in a different way but I will deal with that later this summer.

School is almost done and we are working on the summer plans. It is looking busy (which is good).

Bulletin update

Found the website for the children's bulletin downloads. I'm so excited!! When I had did it before they didn't offer it in a download format. It is going to be so much easier to work with this way. Today I'm going to go get the clipboards for the bags and I hope to make the bags today too! I have some great canvas material (green stripe and blue stripe). I will use one color for the 3-6year old bags and the other for the 7-12 year old bags. Hope that the kids like it!!

Went to the movies last night with the kids. Saw "How to Train Your Dragon". It was great! Joanna got a little emotional toward the end but it all was O.K.

Activity Bags

Just keep thinking about our Christian Education Dept. at church. I'm thinking that perhaps I need to be part of the committee that helps with all of it. This would give me input in what's happening and maybe help with the creative end of things. The other area of children's ministry that has been neglected is the activity books that are available in the lobby for kids. The gal that had been keeping track of that doesn't come to church anymore (or VERY infrequently). I've been thinking on this one for awhile on ways to improve and freshen the area up. I had seen at a church we had visited some activity bags for kids that had a box of crayons, stencils, stickers, a small clipboard with paper, and an activity sheet. I'm thinking that I could do that. Started working on general clean-up of the boxes yesterday and found a shelf/rack that I could house the bags on to keep the area neat. Just need to find the activity pages to use and then assemble the bags. I'm excited about this project!!!

The weather has been incredibly nice here. Yesterday it was in the upper 60's and today it is going to be in the 70's!!! Spent some time raking the yard out yesterday and doing just a little bit of cleaning in the flower beds. Looking forward to digging around some more this week!!!

Christian Education

I took a turn yesterday at teaching the 3-5 grade Sunday School class. Usually I don't mind doing it...kinda of fun to hang with the kids. However, I found yesterday's session challenging. My own 2 kids were being quite obnoxious and not good at being "present" with the lesson and the other two (a member's daughter and her friend) were really out there too. Usually I don't have a problem with the class (I've taught it before) but yesterday was not good. I'm wondering if the regular teacher just isn't teaching well and commanding their respect. It took about half my time to just get them centered on reading some of the scriptures for the class. This shouldn't have been so hard. My youngest said something along the lines of "we don't usually read from the Bible but read from a worksheet". I think that there is a need to get hands on experience with reading the Bible. I even made it easy because we used the same version of the Bible and I gave them the page number of where they needed to be. The other part of the problem (I think) was the cirruculum. They were starting in on the "winter" quarter with the text being the Christmas prophecy and story. Strange to work with because it is almost Easter and should have been something about the last supper or palm Sunday. I'm going to ask the pastor about it and see what's up. There has been a real laxness on the part of the Christian Education at our church and I'm concerned. There are some fabulous people in our church whose talents are not being used. Hmmm....gotta meditate on how to approach all of this.

Visitor

I have a friend coming over to visit today. She is the youngest daughter of a couple who were very active in our church in Mason City. She is in school right now to get her nurse's degree because she is desiring to be a missionary nurse someday. Isn't that the coolest?! I hope that my children have that kind of vision as they grow up. Even if they don't serve full-time in a mission's field....I would pray that they would want to serve! Anyway, it is a lovely day here and I am looking forward to playing around outside with our friend! Have a great weekend!

Snow?!

We had such a nice meal for St. Patrick's day. Husband had downloaded some coloring sheets for the girls to work on so we could have some refridgerator art. Then we broke out my mom's old pink china set, used "the silver" and then REAL glasses for our beverages! I had baked some large cupcakes and then Lydia got excited about making homemade frosting for them. So we got her going on that part. It was nice and beautiful. I didn't even mind all the hand-washing that china and silver require!

Spent some time outside yesterday doing some basic clean-up work on the flowerbeds. It was so beautiful and spring-like. Of course, they are forcasting SNOW for tonight through tomorrow! Geesh....it is crazy. I suppose that I should dig around the garage and look for my bag of grass seed and spread some out before the snow. This is a great trick for starting grass. The snow is just heavy enough to help the seed sink slightly and then as the snow melts it waters the seed. Before you know it....you have beautiful grass without all the watering that goes along with starting grass seeds.

We all went to the International Dinner last night that was presented by the International Club at Penn. The food was very delicious. Afterwards, I finally sat down at pasted my gardening notebook pages. Just need to make a cover page and I'm set to go. Need to get my recipes in the clear page protectors so that project will be done too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It is spring break for my kids this week. We have definitely been struggling to find some rythym to our day. Now that internet is part of our "inner world" at home we have been working hard at maintaining some balance with that. A couple of the families from church have gone on vacation to warm places this week and I think that the older kids (especially Lydia) feels like we need to have a destination vacation as well. There seems to be this need to "get out of town". Hmmm, I must get my creative self in gear and direct their energy. Who knew that children would have problems with things to do! I'm going to download some shamrock artwork stuff and see if we can't create a festive atmosphere for our St. Patrick's meal tonight. It's brisket with potatoes and biscuits for supper. Hopefully a green cake as well :-) .

On another note, I finally found the end of the magazine piles (they were A LOT of them!). Last night I sorted into piles (recipes, outdoor/garden ideas, and home ideas) and trimmed the articles out of the pages. Today I'm going to make the gardening notebook. Now that the weather is nicer I'm really wanting to get out there and work in the yard before the "bug season" starts.

Happy Spring!

I guess that I can "officially" say that spring is here. Why? Because I saw my first robin!! Last night at our Bible study group there were several that had said they'd seen some but this morning was my first siting. The snow pack is nearly gone as well (which shows that my yard is in desperate need of attention)....and this morning it was near 45 degrees outside! I think that we may get to 50 degrees today AND the sun is trying to shine. These are all good signs.

An organizational update. I've officially finished the STACK of magazines (YEAH)! This felt really good to accomplish. Also, I was working on our bedroom closet cleaning out a corner so I can update Spencer's clothes/hanging system and saw what a mess my wrapping paper stuff was. I dug it all out and threw out some bags, cleaned up the rolls of paper and put them neatly back in the container that I have. I also found a lidded clear container to put the gift bags, bows, ribbons, and tissue paper in (much nicer than randomly strewn across the back of the closet). Then it went back into the corner with the box of bags & bows sitting on top of the wrapping paper container. SO MUCH NICER!!

Recycle center update

I've expanded the recycle center since I posted the pictures. I found out that I had another one of the shelf units in the house (hiding in husband's office!). I carefully took it from there without much disruption to his space and put it next to the other in the garage. I had to get one more tub from Walmart and now I have 4 "drawers" for plastic, tin, glass, and pop cans. On the top I have the bins for paper and cardboard sitting side-by-side and then my shoebox for magazines on top of those. It is all very nice and easy to use (an important feature!). I'm think of adding a shelf to the wall and then some peg board or hooks below that. I need to keep by broom, a shovel, trashbags all near this same spot.

I'm nearly through my recent pile of magazines that I found "hiding" in a box and I think that I have another pile under my sewing table that needs to be worked over. I saw a "projects/idea" notebook in another blog that I think that I will try. She used a spiral bound book and basically made scrapbook pages with the pictures of room ideas and then made notes of what she liked in the picture. It looked easy enough that I might give it a go!

Mom's watch

After cleaning out my "junk" drawer in my dresser I had came across a watch that my mom had worn. It's not a valuable watch but nice looking. Well, after not wearing a watch for years I decided that I would wear this one. All my other watches needed batteries (after so many years of non-use!!) and this one was not running either. So, today was the day to take it in and get it running. At lunchtime I went to our local mall where the only jewelry store in town is located and asked for a new battery. The nice lady said she could do that. Off she went to the back room and then came back out and said that it didn't need a battery that it was a watch that just needed winding. COOL! We gave it a quick wind and it is running like a champ. It's nice to wear this little something that reminds me of my mom. She loved to wear a watch and when the Alzheimer started to progress, she would occasionally wear 2!!! Interesting.

Projects

Along with the general cleaning out of the house and getting it under control is the need to finish some projects. The first one that I did was the T-shirt pillows for Joanna and Abigail. I had done this same project with the older 2 kids and knew that I needed to finish the cycle! I had saved their all-time favorite t-shirt (you know, the one that they would wear everyday if I would have let them!) with the intention of getting this pillow done for them. Well, the shirts have been waiting for at least 2 years now! Last week I got the pillow form from Wal-Mart and got the shirts out. This was truly a super-easy sew project....I just sewed the armholes and the neck hole shut, put the form in the shirt, and then sewed the bottom shut. Took me all of 20 minutes to do! I didn't even get it "perfect" but it is done! I tucked the pillows in the girls hampers with their clean clothes pile (Saturday is laundry day) and when they found them there was SO much excitement and joy!

The next project to work on is cleaning out the magazine pile. I'm an avid fan of magazines but the pile is getting LARGE. I am working on going through them and tearing out pages that I want to keep and then putting the magazine in the recycle (I have a shoe box that is just the right size to put them in). I am planning on taking the recipes and putting them in page protector sheets and then storing them in a 3-ring binder in the kichen. The rest of them will go in some files that I had started years ago. These files are catagories like "craft ideas", "bedroom", etc.

Pictures!

This picture is from the side. On the right is the paper/cardboard bins (notice the overflowing pizza boxes?)!! These bins are 2 parts from a rolling cart-thing that I have. The wheel base piece is being used for something else right now. The shelf thing with tubs is on the left.

The picture at the top is from our door going to the garage. See the nice handles to pull the "drawer" out?

I think that I need to practice using the picture thing but hopefully it gives you an idea. I need to paint the wall behind this area....but that is WAY down on the to-do list!!

Recycling Clean-up

I've tried many different things to keep the recycling area under control. When we lived in Mason City we got spoiled with the curbside pick-up. All we had to do was throw everything in the blue tub and put all the paper stuff in a brown paper bag. They took care of sorting it from there. Since we have moved to the southern part of the state we now have to take our stuff the the recycling drop off sites. (it's a good thing that I truly like to recycle!). So began my quest for a good sorting system that is compact and easy to use.
The first thing I tried was some trash cans with lids. That was O.K. until it got too full and the lid was then permanently open. Also, when I put the trash can in the van to transport to the center the cans just never fit right in the trunk space and would shift or spill out (because they were tall and had a narrow base)! It also took up too much floor space because the were not stackable.
Next was those tubs designed to stack on each other with the door flap on the angled front area of the container. They are a great idea because you can stack however many you need and not eat up lots of floor space. The draw back is that you have to unstack everything to take out the container that is full. And when I went to load in the van they just didn't fit right....just a pain!
Yesterday I had an idea for how to work the system to fit my needs and style. I found a square shaped shelf system at WalMart that has 4 tube legs that fit between each layers (3 layers in all). Then I found some tubs (they came with lids) the fit nicely in each space that have a grab handles on the sides. This "center" sits very nicely in the spot right by the garage door and the handle on the tubs makes it easy to pull the tub out (like a drawer). I've got cans, glass, and plastic in the 3 spots right now. Started sorting out the bags of stuff and already took 2 bins worth of recycle to the center. The tubs fit nicely in the van without being tippy.
Now I have to get busy and get the rest of the pile sorted out and off to recycle. I will probably add another shelf set to accomodate the newspaper and the cardboard but for now I have those in something else that is working for the moment. However, it would be nice to have it all in one tower area it doesn't eat up valuable floor area!

Olympic thought

Sock drawer DONE!! Pajama drawer DONE!!! Lydia went right to sorting her drawer too and came out with a bag full of socks, etc that she doesn't wear any more. I'm enjoying getting this done...its very satisfying!

Different subject: I've been enjoying watching the Olympics and the amazing work and talent there is out there. They had showed a clip of the medals ceremony for the Bode guy (the skiier) who had won the gold medal for the event. I was sad to see that while our national athem was playing that he didn't mouth the words to our anthem nor did he put a hand over his heart. Why did this bother me so? Do other athletes from our country act the same way when they win a competition? Hmmm, I got to think about that and watch to see how others are when they win.

Owner's manuals/receipts

The other thing that I did while cleaning out my "box of doom" was to take the manuals & receipts from recent appliance purchases and tuck them in those clear plastic page protectors and then store them in a 3-ring binder. Thought that was a nifty idea! I'm thinking that my sock drawer may be the next area of attack! Going to Target this afternoon to see about getting some more of those spring-loaded drawer dividers for that drawer!

More Baby-step cleaning!

The baby step cleaning is continuing!! I did my "junk drawer" in my dresser. Found an expanding wood organizer at WalMart in the kitchen drawer storage area. It felt really good to get it cleaned out, trash thrown out, and stuff that I "inherited" that I never wear/use sent off to Goodwill. Then I sorted the rest and put them in the cubbies. I have been catching myself just opening the drawer to admire the organization!

I have now moved on to my bill/paper box. THIS IS A LARGE TASK!!! I had been pretty lazy all year (and last year too) and threw everything into a box to sort "someday". Well, it is tax season and I needed to find some receipts for my accountant guy. That meant that I needed to sort through the box of doom! I spread it out on the floor and made pile of the various catagories. Gathered up all the old credit card offers and checks from the credit card companies so I can shread those. Then I put the other piles in individual file folders and put them back in the box. I will need to go through those more thoroughly later but for now it is MUCH better! From this point forward I will have a CURRENT year file folder (one of those expanding ones with dividers). It will be on the table at bill paying time. I also have a 5X8 size 3-ring binder with pocket files for each month that I sort my bills into (done that for years and works very well for me). That binder also houses my labels, stamps and few envelopes. The idea is just to set both items out when I pay bills and just sort everything RIGHT AWAY!

Probably need to work on the kid's paper/keeper storage next. I have a crate FULL of stuff as well as some plastic drawer things and some shoe boxes for each of them!! Need to get everything into ONE storage container and then have a CURRENT year storage box. Someday they will enjoy looking back at those items. I know that I enjoyed the few items that mom stored for me! I certainly don't keep everything but I do keep a few of the interesting and unique items for each of them.

Baby-step Cleaning

Another goal that I have set for myself, in regards to the Bible Study, is to clear out the junk! After cleaning out the attic at the house where I grew up, I said that I wouldn't do that to my kids. I had forgotten about it until now. If something should happen to me I would want to leave things orderly. So I have started small and cleaned out a dresser drawer and added some nifty spring-loaded dividers (found them at Target) and then sorted the items. I have to say that I love not having to dig around through the drawer in the morning to find a clothing item!! When I emptied out the drawer I was shocked at some of the junk that was lurking in the back. So it now clean and sorted. Definitely baby-steps at this point but will continue on my journey!

New Bible Study

There have been several ideas converging on me at once. Let me explain. Our church is embarking on a "30 Days to Live" event. The idea is to think of what you are living now and how would you live differently if you only had 30 days to live. Then.....on a blog that I like to read they have a month long challenge to either get up extra early everyday to pray for your family OR to fast one meal a week to pray for family. THEN I started seeing references to binding scriptures to you to keep the LORD in the forefront.

This has really gotten me thinking about life. One of the first steps that I am taking is having a "mother's ring" made so that I have a visual reminder to pray for my kids! They NEED me to pray for them! I am hoping to add a fasting meal each week as well (shouldn't be too hard....I am definitely NOT starving!). The other thing that I/we want to do is take the family to the ocean! We love the ocean and husband & I have been wanting to take a trip out west again. The kids are old enough now to make that happen. So the planning has begun!!!

I am hoping that this month-long study will reveal other areas of life that need GOD's light to shine!

motivation

I am coming to realize that I'm not very self-motivated when I'm by myself. Not a pretty part of my life! I like solitude on small scales but I think that I really enjoy the presence of friends and people. Need to pray on how to get more of that at my job. My boss is gone from the office many days out of the month and he keeps a fairly irregular schedule when he is here. So that leaves alone alot at work. My work is not very busy (although some times of the year are better than others). Hanging in there until husband gets done with his master's work then we'll see what happens from there.

cleaning up

A new year always brings about the desire to clean out the house. Started with a small cupboard in the kitchen. Emptied it out and washed all the cups and threw out the stuff that was just junk (why did I even put it in there to begin with?). Then I put in there the cookbooks that are not used much (but I want to keep), the teacups and all my coffee gear! It looks so nice now that I am tempted to take the door off so I can see it all the time!!!
Anyway, the next project is Joanna/Abigail's room. We moved their beds (actually....I moved the beds). This means that they had to clean out all the stuff under the beds first (what a PILE). This got me looking at the flow of traffic in the room and how their toys are stored. Decided that the shelf thing that usually houses the bulk of toys is now going to be stuffed animals and some of Polly Pocket gear. Everything else is moving away from the bed area. Hopefully that will keep the area around their beds more clear! I think that I might go up there randomly and move some stuff out all together. There is just some things they don't play with anymore and I don't think they will miss. Perhaps it will go in a rubbermaid tub to a holding place (labeled with something to remind me to get it gone if it hasn't been touched). I'm dreaming of making a bean-bag type sitting area in the room for reading and listening to music.

A new Year

Hello....just notice that it has been awhile since posting! Been busy with work and family (the usual). It was a crazy month of December. The weather was awful and the kids' school schedule got off because of snow days....lots of stress! Anyway, just gearing up for the new year. Finished a quilt just after Christmas and hope to start the next one as soon as my sewing room warms up some (it is in what used to be a back porch so it is not the best insulated area!). Right now I'm working on crocheting a scarf. Have some yarn that is a gray and black boucle that is super soft! It is working up quick and I can't wait to wear it. Hope all is well for everyone!