Crafty Craftin'

The boys have been busy doing a bunch of crafts that I planned for their time at home...all have gone pretty well, all things considered...that would be the fact that doing crafts with three boys can be a bit, ahem, challenging at times!


This one included Dad and Desiree', who happened to be around on the evening we did this in front of a movie. I got the idea from one of the fabulous blogs I follow and it was alot of fun!

We started with a big bowl of felt squares cut into pieces, about an inch or so:
Oh, and Bart decided he would lay RIGHT in the middle of it all as well...We took large Darning needles...(think BIG eye) and strung Black DMC floss on them. Then, I let the kids decide what their color scheme would be, and they just started stringing them on. Very relaxing and mellow craft I must say. I just stayed in limbo, to be available to restring needles for the little two every few minutes or so!
Jared ended up doing only one...and it was PERFECTLY straight. No crazy crafting for this guy.
Justin and his finished Beaver believer wreath:
Jeremiah and Desiree' hard at work:

I believe Jeremiah opted for Honda colors, and Desiree' did a rainbow sort of mixture. Travis also did an OSU wreath:
After we got the right amount of squares on, we just tied the floss in a knot to make a circle. I tied matching ribbon on, and to the tree they went! FUN!

Christmas Fun!

Well, we are cruising into Christmas weekend, and I am REALLY tired of sewing! Whose bright idea was it to make all of this handmade stuff anyway?!??! :) I have made three trips to Joann's already, BUT, I am on the last project, then it is time to wrap it ALL! It should be wrapped for approximately 24 hours. Yay.

I managed to get the boys presents all wrapped before they were out of school, hence avoiding the need to lock myself in my bedroom for two + hours...seems things always go BANANAS when I do so, so am happy to prevent that!


I had a TON of fun using the Cricut to make fun tags for their gifts...I know, I know...a little over the top, but hey.

These are their P.J.'s to open on Christmas Eve...
For the professional sleeper in the house:

I also used just their initials to label some others:

Martha Stewart, EAT your HEART out. Oh. YAH.

Have also had a ton of fun scrounging through my Grandma's old Christmas decor and using her old vintage ornaments to decorate with...YES, Mother, you are vintage...(she says these aren't old...they are the ones they used when she was a kid)!!


I love the look of these old ornaments:

Can't forget our AWESOME pieced together in random Goodwill fashion village!
AND, the only real tree out of the six we have up:
OK. Must go finish final two presents. Would love to share pictures, but don't want to give away any suprises. Next time! Also, I have to show you some of the crafts the kids and I fit in this week around all of my sewing!!

Wishing you all a WONDERFUL, Christ filled holiday!

AlWaYs an interesting time in the life of the Horton clan....Christmas card photo day.

HOW many pictures and how much TIME does it take to get just ONE good one you ask?????


Well, approximately 20 minutes and roughly 35+ pictures this year. WHATEVER.


First, we must try and throw Mom in the mud:

Then, we must just generally be obnoxious and mess around, instead of standiing NICELY in a row and SMILING:



And don't forget the FIGHTING and absolute defiance about putting out hands at our sides:


And there you have WHY it takes 20 minutes and 35+ pictures to get ONE good one.

I will save the ONE good picture for you all to actually see on the Christmas card and enjoy, but when you look at it...you will know the pain and suffering I endured to make that happen. I KNOW you feel my pain. I KNOW you do.

Bring on the holiday cheer.

Proud Mama moment

>

This past semester Jared has been in a photography class for his elective...along with a backpacking class...which, as he concluded, was fun, but he prefers a little convenience when it comes to "camping"!!!

Anyhoo, I thought I would post a few of the pictures he took.

I was pretty impressed with some of these...he learned alot about my

camera, which is great, 'cause I have NO idea about half the

things that sucker can do!!

Aren't those drops of water cool!

I love the color on this one:

I think the texture here is SO cool:

and this was a "unique" perspective one:


So, not to bad for a beginning, budding photographer!

Way to go big guy!

"The Gift of an Ordinary Day" by Katrina Kenison

Wow.

That's all I can say about this video.

I got to see it on another blog I follow this morning and I decided to put

it on here so that all of you can

decide to make today

a count my blessings on an "ordinary" day

kind of day.

As I struggle to find my place in this new found

"Mom" territory, I find myself wishing I

could go back and do so much over...

but that isn't the point, as she says...

Immerse yourself in the memories that you

are making just in your everyday routine with

the kids...it does go WAY to fast, but

make even the simple moments count

I am finding out.

Oh, and it is OK to smell your little ones blanket when you pick it up off of the floor and fold it...but try not to cry, when you realize that he, too, is slowly pulling away from needing you so much.

ENJOY!

Well, here are the three cherubs ready for school...each year that "seriously, hurry up" look on their faces gets more pronounced. I just LoVe to torture them!

They have seemingly settled in well to their new surroundings...this week will be better I hope...more familiar with the new faces, more comfortable with the new routine....each week should get easier. It's hard to watch them be the new kids on the block...wish I could take the brunt of that for them, but I can't, so I will just try and be supportive and encouraging...ya know, that thing Mom's are supposed to do. Oh, and pray harder that they fit in well and make some lasting friendships.

As excited as I was for them to start school again, I am seriously dreading the 6 am wakeup call every morning...I was so tired last night I turned out my light at 9:45! Didn't take long for me to pass out in a fit of exhaustion!! I also thought having a quiet house would be great....but I actually miss the company (most of the time)!! Eating lunch alone for the first time in 13 years hasn't been as great as I thought it would be....its WAY to quiet!!

I know in time that I will get used to it, and actually, the days have gone REALLY fast, but in my heart, I miss my guys...they have been my life for the past 13 years and I enjoyed having them around...fights and all.

OK, enough sensitive subjects...I am going to cry now.

All I can hope is that they miss me a little during the day, and that I have made some sort of difference in their lives so far.

And, just so I have something to aim for in the little time that I have with them now each day, here is my Mom checklist:

Don't worry, I know this is ALOT to live up to each day, so I will shoot for at least a 50% success rate here...don't want to disappoint myself or add to my "mother's guilt"!! After this long, I know how much I am capable of.

But, I encourage you all to look at this list and give it a shot...our kids are worth it don't you think?!?!?!

"Belly" Laugh...

Just had to post this...funniest thing I have seen in a long time, and made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!! I needed that today.

I have always been in awe of those women who can have those LOVELY maternity photos taken...oh how I wish my pregnant belly would have been naked belly photo worthy...it was NOT.

Enjoy the laugh...will be back tomorrow to share how I feel about being alone in my house all day now that all of my kids are in school . . . ALL DAY.

Loon Lake!

We took a little tripsey DDDDOOOOOOWWWWWWNNNNN the Oregon Coast, to beautiful Loon Lake...lets just say the trip was a LITTLE farther down than I thought! It became a joke after awhile, to see just HOW much further we had to go...I was trying to judge in 1/4 inches on our Oregon map! The boys somehow lost their sense of humor after we left Florence.



It was a rainy trip down 101..and I have forgotten just how much of a cow trail that road becomes once you leave Newport. I seriously thought we were going to topple over the cliff a few times...EEEK!


Beautiful drive though, even in the rain.


We finally arrived though...and Loon Lake looked promising...

Just kidding...this was the next day...we arrived to a temperature of just 55 degrees...after we had left a HOT 90 degree day back home in the valley!

I was a little nervous when we got up the next day, thinking this was going to be a camping trip filled with games and visiting inside the tent, but by 11 am or so, the skys parted and the day was beautiful...so much so that my skin will never be the same...OUCH.

The kids swam, and swam and swam...


Travis swam until he was numb with blue lips...
We roasted marshmallows, read, got really sandy and dirty, played with frogs and the kids fished...I STILL cannot tear worms apart to bait the hook...blech. I know, I am a wimp.
All in all, great little vacay...not sure we will go back unless we take the travel trailer for some noise protection though...apparently Loon Lake is a GREAT place to party into the WEE hours of the morning...and a tent provides NO sound barrier...oh, to be young again!

Great reminder...

Do you operate from a need to BE RIGHT or a commitment to DO RIGHT?

If you need to BE RIGHT you will naturally try to manipulate others to get in line with your way of thinking and turn most people away.

If your motivating objective is a desire to DO RIGHT then you will attract friends and followers by your example.

As the old saying goes, "People don't care how much you know till they know how much you care," but the first few verses of 1 Cor. 13 says it best.

Your motivation will have a profound affect on your ability to demonstrate a selfless, giving love towards others.

How could I FORGET!?!??!

How could I possibly forget to blog about my little dude turning 6?!??!

Say it isn't so.

The event came and went, and I forgot to tell you all about it. Wow. I am a little scatterbrained! Actually, I think I am already trying to ignore the fact that his birthdays come every year. Where has six years gone? It took FOREVER for Jared to get to age 6, now here Travis is 6 already and I feel like it missed something.


Sigh.


He, of course, is thrilled to pieces to be 6. He said night before last that "life is SSSOOOOO much better at age 6"....LOVE that kid and his words sometimes. Cracks me up.

He got Legos, books, LOTS of money, a Camelback water pack and more cars.

He has inherited the Horton "smirk" as I like to call it...that no teeth thing, but when he lets a full on smile go, WATCH OUT. The cuteness factor goes through the roof.
Well, OK, you turned six Mr. That's alright with me I guess. You will always be my baby, and you can't HIDE from me!!! AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAA!! Go on, grow up. I can't wait to watch.

xoxoxoxo

Mommy

I am LOVIN' this....

Clothes on the line on a HOT summer day...nothing better! I am really enjoying this perk of living here in the new house. Things come off a little crunchy, but once you move around in them awhile, they loosen up...I do, however, leave personals and bath towels to the conventional dryer...we don't like the crunchy EVERYWHERE if you get my drift. Saves on our energy bill too.

Now, if we could just get some sun EVERYDAY...overcast weather does nothing to dry your clothes!!

The BIG 13

Well, its official. We have a teenager...we just cannot say that too loud...he doesn't care for that word. :) I don't want him to grow up either!

Words and numbers aside...he is growing up into a great young man, and we are super proud of him.

He is getting a little hard to buy for these days, so we tried to get creative...and, we did buy him some things that he "needs", which fits Jared to a "T"! Always practical that kid is.

He did, however, really enjoy the tent we got him...and it should be fun to watch him set up his own space next time we go camping. We will plan to add to his camping collection, so that when he flys out of the nest, he will have a great start...lets just hope he doesn't need to use it for housing purposes. Tee Hee.

And, what is a holiday without some new Hardy Boys books to add to the collection??!?!?!

Happy Birthday first born...I can't believe that you are growing up so fast. Regardless of the growing pains that you are experiencing and that our relationship occasionally experiences, you mean the world to me and I am so proud of you. You are one of my greatest accomplishments. Thanks for making me smile everyday big guy. You are the bomb.

I found this little blurb about aprons the other day...It brings back memories of my Grandma and her aprons...always on, and ready for service. While I didn't see her use her apron for some of these things, she used it for some and her in her apron is forever imprinted in my memory. The ones I remember were never anything fancy, but just plain old multipurpose everyday farmwife aprons. I did discover some fancier ones when I was going through her things when she moved, and I LOVE them.

My kiddos look at me kind of funny when I put one on...I really need to change that. I love wearing them because I tend to be a little messy, hence the reason that MOST of my shirts have a one stain or more! I am not sure how many patterns I have collected, but when I get them all made...Watch out! I even have a whole book devoted to the history of aprons. Blissful.

Read on:

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.

Don't you agree? Did your Grandma ever wear an apron?

How do you think this one would do for practicality sake????!!!!???!?!?
Just another day in the kitchen!

Arty Smarty's

This last week the kids had their Art & Literature Fair at school. Can I just say an AMEN that they all three seem to have inherited their Dad's artistic ability? This mama CANNOT draw worth a hoot. We were so impressed with the things that they did and it was lots of fun to see all of these projects come together. They have been working for weeks on their presentations. These paintings above are done by Jared. Wowza. Can't wait to have the bird picture framed so I can hang it on the wall. He is very talented!

Here are some of his other projects:

A map from his Robinson Crusoe project:

And here is his acting debut...they acted out a few of Aesop's fables...Jared was the pig in one of them...very FUNNY.


Justin did some great artwork and projects as well:

His class did a "Reader's Theatre" and read a story to us...LOTS of giggles involved.

Nice flowers!

A volcano:

Travis is pretty talented as well:

A painting of a buck...with REALLY BIG blue eye!

Here is his picture that he drew as part of his class quilt...a NINJA cat:

And here is his class reciting some of the many verses that they have learned this year:

Very proud of my guys. Nice work! I guess it is time to buy MORE storage for these projects..with talent like this, I can't throw any of it away!