The view out my kitchen window tonight...gorgeous!

Happy Seventh!

Dear Emmalee,

Seven years ago today, you completed our family.  You brought to us your sweet, dimpled smiles and your contagious laugh.   You brought your soft heart, which has helped the rest of us be just a bit kinder.  We are so thankful for you.

You at seven:

*You love school and are sad when we have a day off.  You love to learn, help your teacher,

and play with your friends.  You tell me that your favorite subjects are math, reading,

and spelling.

*Your favorite things to do you play with your friends, read with Mom and Dad, Play DS with Ryan,

and explore out at the poor farm.

*I love to listen to you and your friends play.  You and the three friends that you have over to the house are so imaginative.  Very few of your toys "do" anything, but you all bring them to life with your stories and playacting.

*I've loved watching you learn to read.  It's so much fun to go looking for you and find you with your head bent over a book, sounding out the words you don't know.

*You have a secret language with your best friend at school...Meep!

*You want to be an artist when you grow up.  I've got quite the collection of drawings and paintings that you've done...and they are beautiful!

*You don't weigh very much, so you're still able to give us monkey hugs.

I'll miss those when you're bigger!

Baby Girl, happy seventh birthday!

May this year be full of fun, new discoveries and lots of hugs for Mommy!



Happy Eleventh!

Dear Ryan,

Today you turn eleven! 

It's so hard for me to believe that it's been eleven years since we brought home that tiny 6 lb 10 oz baby and thought, "Oh my!  What do we do now?!"  Somehow, you've managed to survive

your parents as we've made all of the mistakes parents make with their first born. 

Hopefully that will continue, as I'm sure we'll make more!  :)

How to describe you at eleven?

^You love to learn...especially science.  I love to watch as you pull out your science kit and let your sister help you with experiments.

 

^Playing the saxaphone is your passion, and you fill the house with beautiful music.

^You've inherited both your dad's and my love for books.  You also inherited my ability to stay up late in the night because the book is just too good to put down!

^Most toys are a thing of the past.  You'll still have Nerf battles in the backyard with your friends and you'll occasionally play with your Legos. 

^Your uncle and Hop keep you supplied in your quest to build up your collection of knives.  They've taught you knife safety well, but this mother's heart still skips a beat occasionally.

^When you opened your birthday and Christmas money this year, your first thoughts were to buy something for your sister, for your dad, for Hop...and you offered to buy me a mocha...and I let you!

^Most of the time, you are a sweet, kind young man (I can't say little boy anymore!) with a soft heart who thinks of others.  Sometimes, we have moments of frustrastion and anger as you learn that we are indeed still your parents and still get to tell  you what to do. 

^You split your time between being nice to your sister and being mean to her.  The two of you can get into some pretty emotional arguments, but you can also be so sweet to each other. 

^You still give me hugs and tell me you love me.  I savor each and every time since I know that, someday soon, it will change.

^You do really well in school, but you do occasionally try to test the boundaries.  It's hard

for me as your mother to see you experience the consequences, but I love to see that the lesson is learned and the behavior not repeated.

^You are growing up so quickly.  From the time when you were a tiny little guy walking at ten months, to singing your ZYX's at two, to learning to fly at three, preschool at age four, being the best big brother at five, starting your long school career at six, learning the joy of a best friend at seven, adapting well to a new state, new friends and new school at eight, finally getting your first dog at nine, and trying new things at ten (saxaphone and basketball), we've enjoyed every moment.

Happy eleventh birthday, Ryan!



Give-Away Winner

Thanks so much for your kind words.

Emma drew a name last night...and came out with the person

that I've known the longest but have seen the least.  We met years ago at Parma, and then wrote letters back and forth between ID and TX through high school.  I love that we've connected again through our blogs and hope to see her again in person someday!

Kristen, can you please private message me your address on Facebook, and please

let me know your favorite color!

Thanks again, all.

Holiday Bazaar and (read the fine print!)

Amy and I survived our first holiday craft bazaar!
We sent our husbands and kids over to my house on Friday night, while I headed over to her house.  We started what we thought would be a quick practice set-up of our table.  After an entertaining run to Craft Warehouse and 4 1/2 hours at it, we finally got it all figured out!  Back up again at 630 the next morning, we stopped at Starbucks and then headed for the bazaar. 
~~~
We had the perfect location...visitors either came to our table first as they entered the gym or last as they left the gym.  There was a decent sized crowd and lots of friendly folks.  We were so luck to have so many familiar faces stop by...thanks so much to our friends and families!

Me with my display

Amy with her awesome creations

A friend's mother was visiting from CA, so she joined us with her beautifully crocheted and felted hats and scarves.

I might be a bit biased, but this little group were my favorite visitors!!
~~~
We ended up doing pretty well at the bazaar and have already started making plans for next year.
Luckily, neither of our husbands threatened to have us committed when they heard this!  :)
~~~
The Fine Print:
I just noticed that this is my 600th post!  600!!  Even I didn't know that I could babble that much!  :)
So, how about we have a give-a-way?
Leave a comment on this post telling me, well, anything.
I'll have the kids draw a name a week from today and the winner will receive
a little box of goodies from me.
Thanks so much for choosing to spend a bit of your time here on my blog and
at CraftedbyKatieB.

I can't stop!

I can't stop making these!
The pink and turquoise flowers are a new design.

'Twas three days before...

‘Twas three days before the big bazaar
And all through our place
Not a surface was clean
Not even a plate.

The counter was buried in felt, rhinestones, and glue guns
The island was covered with card-making supplies
Things like markers, paper, stamps and embossers
The ping-pong table was hidden from our eyes.

The laundry sat forgotten, overflowing the hamper.
The dishes? They were piled high next to the sink.
Bathrooms were off-limits to drop-in visitors
The floor was spotted with a mysterious ink.

I sat, exhausted, with burned finger tips
Thought to myself, why, oh why, am I doing this?!
I pictured next year. Would I do this again?
And answered: Yes, with a housekeeper, it’ll be a cinch!

(Written when I should have been cleaning!)  -Katie

Family Pictures 2011

Bet you didn't expect that, eh?  Two posts in two days!  :)

I had to share these, even though it's midnight. 

The last time we had family photos was, sadly, in June of 2008.

To see how much time has passed (by seeing how little the kids were), go to

this post.

~~~

Yesterday, we woke up to beautiful blue skies, and a high of 35 degrees.

Perfect day for family photos!  In between meetings, we headed to a friend's house

and had another friend take photos of our family.  Here are just a couple of my favorites.

(If you're on Facebook, many more can be seen in the "2011 Family Pictures" album).

Some of my favorites are the unstaged photos...the outtakes that show us as we really are.





A month in photos

{He walked too fast to get a good photo!}

{Proof that Nerf wars can be dangerous!}

{Trick-or-treating with the Sloan's}

{No more 'playdates' for Ryan...now they have jam sessions.}

{Our volleyball team ~ missing two}

{Gorgeous skies out in the country}

{Listening to Randy read "The Cremation of Sam McGee" on his phone}

{Sharing her 'Student of the Week' poster}

{Ryan's Veteran's Day music concert}

{Fun with Trevor}

{Emma's class is entering their reindeer wreath in the Festival of Trees}

{Ryan's rough draft for a school project}

{Emma made her own Christmas countdown}

{Emma learned how to knit at Pilgrim Days at school}

~~~
I apologize for the silence here on the blog.  I've been working hard on items for the  upcoming Holiday Bazaar (Dec 3rd).  I'll be back regularing again after that.