Craft Tag

Show us your latest project whether it is completed or still in progress. Show-off a little and inspire other bloggers with new ideas.

This is my latest completed project. (Come on. Come on out, don't be afraid.) This just a test prototype and isn't perfect but i was happy with how it turned out. It was a fun project to design and i got to try out some new quilting skills on a very small scale. I pieced the top of the shell out of scraps in just a random pattern which was a new fun process. I machine quilted the top. I have never done stippling before, i still need alot more practice.
Sadly our little friend is still nameless. Feel free to leave name ideas in your comments. She is a little slow to warm up. But eventually she comes totally out of her shell. (Sorry i had to add those puns).
So that's my little project. I can't wait see everybody else's. I tag Michal, Kamrah, Joy, Debbie, my mom, Katie, and anyone else who reads this blog.
Happy crafting!

Update

Yesterday we took all the kids in for their overdue check-ups. They all did well. We like our new doctor. Talmage got the most shots with three. Morgan had two shots and got his ears cleaned out (not at all a pleasant experience) and Emma got away with just one shot.
Talmage now weighs 11 lbs. 3 oz. Meaning he has gained exactly four pounds since birth, just over one pound per month of his life.
















Both the older kids are now officially tall enough to ride the Star Tours ride at Disneyland.
Morgan is 42 1/2 in. tall and weighs 37 lbs.












Emma is 40 1/2 in. tall and weighs 35 lbs. (exactly two inches shorter and two pounds lighter than Morgan.)

cold hard cash

First we'd like to report that we survived our first ice storm last week. I was lucky enough to have left early to pick up Morgan from school so i didn't end up having to drive in the worst of it. CoP let all their employees off two hours early but Nate only got home about 10 min. earlier than normal. He had to drive really slow and found that some roads were closed and then ended up leaving his car and walking the last mile home. He watched several cars spin out in front of him and knew it was no use trying to get to the top of the hill in his car.
Minus the driving we thought it was pretty cool. We all went out to "ice skate" on our patio. The kids and i got a whole collection of ice leaves by carefully peeling the ice later off of our plants. They were really cool. We had a fun time and Morgan enjoyed the next two days off from school.
After the storm there was a total swing in the weather and we enjoyed beautiful sunshiney days for the weekend. On Saturday the kids were playing outside and they found a snail shell. They rang the back doorbell to get my attention and when i went out we had this conversation:
Morgan:"Look, a snail shell. Can we sell this for two dollars and sixty cents?"
Me: "That would be fun, but i don't think that anyone will buy it for that much."
Emma:"But we need to."
Me:"Really. Why do you need to?"
Morgan: "So we can get lots of money."
Emma: "Yeah, we need lots of money."
Me: "What do you need lots of money for?"
Emma: "So we can buy lots of dolls and other things."
Now Morgan could tell that this wasn't quite the right answer so he piped in with this response: "Cause tithing? So we can pay lots of tithing."
I thought it was pretty funny. I guess at least they have a righteous desire to pay tithing.

Joy

It was a weekend of joy.

First as Emma and i waited in line near the checkout at the local craft store i spotted some darling journals. They were just the kind i like with covered spiral binding. I am a total sucker for a cute journal. I wanted it. I told myself i deserved an indulgence, a worthy and useful indulgence. I decided i had to have it no matter the cost (we were standing in that section where they try to trick you into buying things last minute that you don't need). I was thrilled to turn it over and discover it was just $1.99. Awesome, indulgent and guilt-free. I am excited to fill it with memories.


We had friends over for dinner on Fri. and Sun. The kids played, the adults chatted and i laughed a lot. Thank goodness for friends. My best friend looked like this on Sunday - totally handsome! I'm glad he gets to be at dinner everynight. Love you, Nate!


The creme de la creme - the Temple. We got to go to the temple on Saturday. The first time since Talmage was born. It was wonderful to be inside with my sweetie. When we go inside and leave the things of the world behind pure, perfect love and joy flow. I basked in the sweetness trying to soak it all in. I am so grateful that we got to go. Wonderful.
There were other things. Things that made me smile, laugh and bubble inside and warmed me with joy. All because my Father in Heaven loves me and is smiling down.

T-Rex aka Talmage Max

Yesterday morning Mr T. was up and ready for the day before i was. We stayed in bed and had some fun. He was very smiley. He sat up against my bent legs while i lay down. He discovered a new game and this is how things went -

Open mouth *WiDe*

Lunge forward

Find Mom's hand

Bite *HarD*

Thrash and Rip

Lean Back

and Repeat

It's a good thing this guy doesn't have any teeth yet. It was so funny. If i was NieNie i would have had my camera near to capture it . . . but i'm not, so i didn't. You'll just have to trust me, It was CUTE!

A Word About My Brother

I know this is way past due but i couldn't leave our break without talking about the time we spent in Utah. The ten hour drive from California to Utah went really smoothly and we arrived just the day before Clark's farewell. He is going to the Canada, Calgary mission. Clark did such a good job. He gave a fabulous talk. I loved listening to it. I could hardly believe that the very handsome, smart, wise young man at the pulpit was my baby brother. I am excited for him to be a missionary. He has already mastered so many of the necessary qualities that i think the next two years will be wonderful for him. Our family sang a musical number. We did okay except that Holly, Clark's twin sister, started crying almost as soon as we started. It was a little funny trying to keep it together to finish the song. After church my mom put together a fabulous spread for family and friends. Upstairs was sandwiches, chips, veggies, cookies, etc. and downstairs was a fully loaded cereal bar (Clark inspired). It was a fun day to be with extended family. I am so proud of Clark. He is a really amazing person. The people of Canada are very lucky to have him in their midst (i hope they let him into their homes and keep him from freezing). I moved from home when he was just 8 and missed alot of his growing up but it is awesome to see what he has become. I know he will be an excellent representative of Jesus Christ and his Church. He loves his Savior and he lives like Jesus would. Love you, Clark, remember your SPARKLE.

Christmas Break - part one

We’re back. We had a long, busy, WONDERFUL Christmas vacation. Most years I start feeling overwhelmed and like I just need to be home. This year that feeling never hit, because I was HOME. I was with family and that was just what I needed. I was really bad at taking pictures. (A lot of the time I just used whatever camera I could grab first so I need my sisters to send me any pictures from their cameras. Please!)
We started our vacation in Mission Viejo, California. We stayed at Nate’s Grandma’s house and celebrated Christmas with all the King family. We played at the park and saw the ocean (cold but beautiful) and just spent a lot of time with family. It was a lot of fun.
Christmas eve we had a nice dinner with the family and performed the nativity. It was really nice. Morgan was reluctant to get in costume but finally did wear a shepherd head cloth because Dylan was. Emma was an angel and felt it was her duty to be very solemn (she resisted smiling at all costs). Talmage
got to be baby Jesus and slept peacefully through the whole thing. It was a nice reminder of what we were celebrating. At the end of the evening I had the pleasure of snuggling all my kids in new Christmas jammies and reading stories.
On Christmas morning I woke up early, earlier than anyone else, and spent some wonderful quiet time pondering and journaling and rejoicing. What a lovely gift for me. The kids woke up next and we had a very happy time all piled on the bed singing primary Christmas songs. With such a nice start, things had to go well and they did. The kids were excited about all their gifts. Nate and I gave each other pictures of the gifts we had left at home. My favorite things I gave were these twirly skirts I made for Emma and Ashlyn, Morgan’s walking dinosaur, and Nate’s canoe carrier. Thank you to everyone who gave us such fun gifts. In the evening we went to a family reunion at Aunt Sheri’s house. It was fun to meet extended family. We had a great day.
We had a great time in California. We loved being with all the family. Emma became good friends with her Great-Grandma Ihli. Talmage loved meeting everyone and all the kids had fun playing with their cousins. Thank you to Grandma for hosting us to Sheri and Dennis who hosted the other half of the family. We love being with family in that beautiful place.