Let the emotions roll

So I am apparently hormonally emotional right now because I don't know if I want to scream or cry...went with cry fyi!

It's not a 'sit in a corner I can't handle this' kind of cry, it's a 'overwhelmed with memories' kind of cry and it's my blogs fault!!!

I was going back over some of my old posts because I saw where it said I have been blogging since 08 and man, I had no idea! Just seeing old pictures and reliving special days with my boys has been more than my heart can take today. I've loved it tho. I have some really great memories on here and i'm sooo glad i'm doing this blog!

Homemade Christmas Gifts part 1

So, I'm sooo excited about this gift even though it definitly looks homemade. It's been a while since i've been at the sewing machine and sewing straight lines takes continued practice :)

I got the idea from, I bet you'll be surprised, but I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar and there you
will find a link to Mode Bake shop that has a detailed tutorial. Here is my version of the little wallet. *Notice that her seams are much straighter than mine!

This is totally an upcycled gift made from clothes that were given to me that I couldn't wear, so I will be making them into crafts-with the giver's permission!

A dress I used for the wallet and the mesh underneath

The shirt trim I used

I cut out my size from dress/mesh and used a lightweight interfacing inbetween for support.

I cut 4 small rectangles to hold cards and sewed the wallet together

I wanted to round the edge and a cd was the perfect guide

Here's both sides sewn and rounded

I then trimmed the pieces for the cards

Then I measured and sewed each end together, so the cards wouldn't fall out

I sewed the pieces on to one end and trimmed off extra material

Beginning to take shape, and look like a wallet

I trimmed the whole thing, found a rattle and recycled the velcro, then put a button in the middle for the last touch

Again, has some mistakes um,charm to it, but I plan on making a couple more so they will improve. Not bad when I haven't crafted in forever. Next I'll post pics of the biker bracelet I made for my brother in law and wild rags for my brother!!!

Inspiration

Ok, so between Tonya and Amanda, i'm becoming obsessed with millions of blogs!!!! Here are a few that I'm absolutely loving:


My Favorite

another

last one

These crafty ladies are who I inspire to be. Well, crafty individuals who seem to have it all together anyway. I can't wait for you to check back and see what i'm doing to the kids playroom/office, and my sewing/craft wall(kitchen)!!!

I feel like I have a new direction in life and i'm actually excite about getting off the couch and making the journey. A year ago I was in a deep funk and yesterday ran across a journal entry I'd made. I'll spare you all the heart felt detail, and just tell you that life has come around. It wasn't full of bellyaching woes (although i'm a little surprised), just my desires for the future and losing who I thought I was and figuring out who I'm becoming. So as we gear up for the holidays which will soon bring about New Year Resolutions, i'm starting to put mine into practice, so by 2011 I'll be in full swing.

My "two" do's lists

List One: ~house

1. GET ORGANIZED!!!!!-School is out, so everything that I have been putting off or pushing to the side is getting done before I go insane! (Expect a call Casie)
2. Get on a consistent schedule with my cleaning
3. Get on a good schedule with the boys
4. Have everything ready (clean, organized, scheduled) so i'm prepared for spring semester and hopefully won't feel so overwhelmed with my surroundings.

List Two: ~personal

1. Start going to bed NO LATER than midnight!!!!!
2. Get up at 5 er 6:00 each morning.
3. Keep up the cooking (eating out 2 in 3wks!!)
4. Start exercising with the boys everyday
5. Going to start making a point to have time with John (looking for a babysitter)
6. Having some me time

I'm writing a book

As the kids get older, it gets harder to remember the true meaning of Christmas with the flash of new toys and the familiar sound of "HOHOHO". We have always tried really hard to incorporate the two into Christmas, but keep emphasis on it being about Jesus' birth and not Santa bringing toys. So i'm on a mission to write a book that will do just that. I have few ideas and of course falling back on how we explain Santa to Seth.

Quick version being nice guy St. Nick was so happy that Jesus was born he wanted to celebrate by being nice and giving gifts to everyone. It's become a tradition and to show our love and unselfishness we give gifts-like the wise men.

Haha, I may have confused YOU, cause i'm pretty sure I just confused myself and I know the story we tell, but you get the idea. Any ideas, or would you like to share how you explain things in your house?

Memories in the making

While reading a post on my friends blog I started thinking about the traditions we already have made, but new ones to add to it. Here are a few that we do.

Each year we all pick out a new ornament for the tree, then go get hot chocolate, drive through the Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music (usually chipmunks)
Seth helps me bake cookies or some type of baked good to pass out to friends.
Before the boys were born, I found a book ornament at Walmart that said "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and was full of empty pages. I grabbed a couple and have been able to record what we did or was special to each boy every Christmas Eve they were born. I love going back to read and remember.
Christmas Eve night, we turn off all the lights except for the tree, read from the Bible the story of Jesus' birth, sing a few Christmas carols then say our prayers and tuck the boys into bed.

I want to check out a couple different blogs I've read that some people have mentioned. Mostly on Tonya's blog (link above) to add new ideas and ornaments to our holiday. What does your family do?

Turkey and 'ketchup'

So i'm a little behind on my postings but I'm going to start with Thanksgiving.

I love seeing all the family, but the Thanksgiving I enjoy the most is the one with have the day after with just us: John, the boys and myself. I LOVE cooking a big meal for my family, having all the yummy smells in the house, listening to the boys play, and just simply enjoying being a family. This year we had friends join us and it was so much fun. John smoked our turkey this year and WOW!!!! I'm not even kidding when I say that it was the BEST turkey I have ever had. You outdid yourself this year John! Along with the turkey we had dressing, potato casserole, sweet potato's, green beans, ham (thank to the Choctaw Indians) rolls,cranberry sauce and pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing. It was indeed a feast. I loved sharing it with friends and making new memories for us. Our family truly has so much to be thankful for!

Not that I don't think they are important, my family-husband, children, family and friends-but i'm sure that it is a given I am extemely thankful for those things. This year my main thankfulness is John's job and bills!!!!

Bills? Yes, I am extremely thankful, well maybe not extremely, but thankful none the less. Do you know what we just did this month? We paid all our bills...ALL our bills, didn't have to juggle this one or that one to make it all stretch or like usual put a few off because we now have income!!!!!!

For those of you that don't know, Jan. 2009 John was caught up in a layoff from his company due to the economy. He was unemployed till he found a job in June that was an experimental position (company seeing if they were ready for expansion) which they were not so in July the new department was dissolved and with it his new job. We were back on the job hunt until an unexpected blessing happened in Oct. Long story short, someone contacted him asking if he was still looking because a position was open and they would like to talk to him about filling it. A casual meeting to go over details was set up, but when he got there it was actually a job offer. This was on a Friday and we got the official word that all had been approved the following Monday. Two weeks later, he started. He is now working as a financial accountant for the Choctaw Nation. Not the casino, but for the tribe. He loves the job, the people he works for and in just the short time he has been there we have had many many extra blessings. *the 15lb ham given to all employee's as a thank you for working for us. I thank God everyday for this job, for more than just the money coming back in. But because John is finally working at a job he truley enjoys. His previous job he hated and I don't blame him. Most of the people were wonderful, but the company was horrible. There is no reason employees should work with empty boxes under their desk because you never know when the owner will come in and say "You're fired" give you 10 minutes to get your stuff collected and be escorted out. Not much for work morale.

We have been through many struggles this past year (last couple actually) but we are now slowly climbing up the mountain. I know that God has something for us to learn from our experience though I'm not quite sure of the answer yet. I am thankful for all we have come through, learning,growing and becoming closer as a family the whole way! Thank you Lord for your many blessings and may the spirit of thanksgiving continually be not only in my heart, but on my lips!