A Boy Becomes a Man

Hubby finally went into the office today. Ahhh, a day to myself. First off get the tree into the yard waste bin before the garbage runs, then off on errands. Hubby called on my cell phone that I normally never have with me wanting to meet for a late breakfast (this man of mine) Sure, call me when you get close to home. So I wouldn't miss hubby's call back I put the phone in my back pocket. After dragging the tree to the bin and taking it to the curb I headed back in the house. GRRR the back door locked itself behind me. Locked out of the house with no keys. Then I remembered I still had the cell phone in my pocket. Hubby answered on the first ring. No problem I will be home in 30 minutes or so. Nice but it's 30 degrees outside, I have no coat, and of course I am wearing a short sleeve tee because I am always hot in the house. Woohoo the kitchen window is open, I'll just shimmy on up to that window and get on with my day. All I can say is it wasn't a pretty sight but I did make it in with no broken bones. Note to self, get a key made and hide someplace outside our home as the back door has a mind of it's own and will lock its self for no reason other than to mess with me.

After getting the errands done hubby picked Tyler up for a day of Nanny/Papaw time with no babies!! Rare event these days. Tyler loves to make cookies, I knew there would be some cookie baking. He also likes to roll dough, since we were out of noodles the timing was perfect. It didn't work out as planed :(

Nanny "Ty boy it's time to roll noodle dough"

Tyler "Na, call me when the soup is done"

Nanny "But Tyler you love to roll out dough"

Tyler "I'm busy right now. By the way will you make a pot of soup for me to take home to my family?"

This conversation is going on while he and Papaw worked on their design for an amusement park using Lincoln Logs. My sweet Ty boy is now a man!!!

Two batches of noodles went into chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. Six more batches are dried, bagged and in the freezer for later use. The men, short and tall arrived into the kitchen just as the first batch of M&M cookies came out of the oven. Yep, Tyler is learning from an expert what a real man's responsibilities are around the house!! Ha

The Men are watching the new "Ice Age" movie that Papaw received from Santa this year. Tyler wants to head home before midnight so he can celebrate the New Year with Mommy and Daddy. You can bet we will honor that request!! This boy turned man has a bedtime of 8:00PM. Who is he kidding. Before I jumped on the PC he wanted to know if I could whip up some homemade ice cream for the movie. No, Nanny is ready to get off her feet!! Ha

Our New Years dinner has been prepared so I can have a little down time tomorrow before the troops arrive. I usually do a traditional New Years huge meal but we are all tired of the traditional holiday food. The big kiddo's each got to put in a request of what they would like. Here is the menu
Eastern BBQ - Hubby and Tyler picked that up for me
Potato soup - Can't get much easier than that
Chicken noodle soup - Yep, we have leftovers from tonight
Boiled shrimp - They are in luck, it was on sale for $10.99 a pound at the grocery today. already cooked, shelled and de-vained
Chocolate layer desert - In the fridge to set up over night.
Odd, very odd but what the heck everyone will be happy to start the New Year off right.

Hubby and I have big plans for our New Years Eve celebration. We will stop off at Barnes and Nobles after we deliver Tyler home. I received two great books for Christmas, I know that they are great as I have already read them. We also both received GC for Christmas, I have a list of books I would like, hopefully they will have them in stock! We also have a GC to Starbucks which is conveniently located in Barnes and Noble, Caramel apple cider we are on our way.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!!!

2012 Charity

On yesterday's blog I mentioned that we save our change for charity at the end of each year rather than keeping it for ourselves.I forgot to take a photo of our Christmas Jars this year, just too much going on 2011 jars will have to do. We ended up donating 6 jars in all, the jars hold between $120.00-$140.00 each

We began this tradition some years back after reading this book. Want a chance to have a copy of your own? Leave a comment stating you are interested in finding out whats up with "The Christmas Jars"

My distraction from updecking the halls today was to work on Christmas quilt blocks. I haven't made a Christmas quilt yet for DD#2 as she has yet to marry but rather than leave the whole shebang hanging around in the UFO containers I figured I would go ahead and piece her quilt top. In fact I will be able to piece 3 quilt tops in all. I think I know where the other two will be headed for Christmas 2013.

As I am pulling things together very slowly for our 2013 budget I took a look at our charity donations for 2012. Happy to report we came in at 12% of our salary!! Yepee skippy. Want a great way to log your charity giving during the year that will make tax time super fast? Check out this site. Sharon shared this info on her blog last year, thanks so much Sharon it has worked great for us this year!!!

I don't get receipts for donations we make to the local soup kitchen. Putting that much extra work on the director seems silly to me. Each month I donate a box of assorted items I pick up on sale/coupons, excess veggies from the garden get donated during the summer, school supplies in the fall, and our Christmas jars also go to them.

Our local soup kitchen is a bit of an odd bird. The vast majority of the folks are elderly ladies who have had grands and great grands dropped on their doorstep. They get no public assistance since the mothers have not given up parental rights. The Grandmothers/Greatgrandmothers don't want to turn their DD or GDD in to the authorities for abandoning the children so they just make do with the very limited resources they have. It is heart breaking as well as heart warming to see these proud ladies pull up in their cars barely seeing over the steering wheel then maneuver around to unload the little ones. No receipt needed on this one, it's a gift I give to myself all year 

Off to watch a little trash TV and work on undecking the family Christmas tree...close, oh so close to being done!!

Christmas/Vacation Account

How about some blog candy to start the year off right by saving for next Christmas? Aren't you glad I got my fancy girl sewing machine back!!

Lots of 7 1/2 x 6 inch zippy wallets are under construction for Christmas 2013 all from scraps. Leftovers are a beautiful thing don't you think?

First off thanks to all of you for your kind comments on yesterday's post. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to our family. I know God never gives us more than we can handle and we believe strongly there is a blessing in each trial we are given. But sometimes the love and prayers from others sure as heck makes the road a little easier to travel.

Today was a NORMAL day!! So thankful for a nice boring day to begin undecking the halls and playing at the sewing machine off and on all day. The kitchen and living room are back in pre Christmas working order, my goal is to have it all finished by January 1st to start the new year right.

Lets talk budgeting for Christmas. Last year we opened a Christmas/Vacation checking account. The goal was to save during the year from found money, no spend weeks, savings using coupons, and whatever we could afford to deposit along the way.

During the winter and spring we did GREAT!! Come summer I got slack and wasn't making deposits as often as I should have. Fall was a total bust. Being able to look back on line at my savings/spending habits from this account during the year has helped me know what we did right and where we need to improve.

I decided this year along with depositing any found money into the account I need to make auto deposits each month. Steady Freddy will be the name of the game in 2013. We were able to cover the numerous vacations and getaways last year from the account, the majority of Christmas was also purchased. However we didn't have enough left to finish up our Christmas shopping :( Fortunately by the end of the year we have maxed out our 401K, Social Security and, Health savings accounts so hubby's pay checks are pretty sweet, no dipping into the EF to pull off the last minute spending.

I have really enjoyed having the Christmas/Vacation account. If old man Murphy decided to show up just days before vacation we didn't have to sweat where the vacation money would be coming from. Ditto for Christmas (for the most part)

It might seem crazy for some of you to already be thinking about Christmas 2013 but for me this is the perfect time. I can still remember how short we were in the account and our vacation planning for 2013 should be set by the first of the year. By having a savings plan in place now we have all year to build up what we know we will be spending. No matter how early I start or how hard I try to keep things simple and relaxing during the holiday's something seems to always come up and bite me in the rump :( Not having to worry over where the money is going to come from is one less thing to stress over!!!!

Share with the rest of us how you stash the cash for Christmas each year, we can all use tips to help keep our spending under control and stay the heck AWAY from the credit card boggy man. I will do a drawing on Jan 1st from the comments for the oversize zippy wallet.

Here is how I will be using my zippy wallet during the year. I plan on keeping it in my purse to throw a few dollars in when I am out and about rather than shoving the dollars in my ever shrinking blue jeans pocket. Change would work as well however our change goes in "Christmas Jars" for the needy. At the end of the month I will take that little pile of money to make a bonus monthly deposit in addition to the auto deposits I have set up.  Cute and easy is the way I like to roll!!

So Much Going on

It didn't take Mason man long to figure out whats up with Christmas gifts this year. He was right in the thick of things at my Sisters house on Christmas Eve.

The little girls loved siting on the gift boxes to have their pictures taken

Karsyn couldn't get enough of it, I think I took 50 or more pictures of her

Papaw and Tyler found a quite place to do some assembly work

A rare photo of Kara sitting still!!

By the time Christmas morning was over poor Mason was over it all!! He pulled his nap pad out of the grands room to nap in front of the stove! Ha

We had a wonderful LOUD Christmas with everyone piled in the house. We spent too much, ate more than we should have , and of course didn't get enough sleep.

The day after Christmas the real world was back in full force. I will do my best to explain what has been going on.

Our DD#3, Kara's Mommy became very sick in her 7th month of pregnancy with Kara. Mommy's iron levels had become dangerously low to the point we were not sure Kara would make it. Since that time DD has been seeing 3 different oncologist/hematologist to try and build up her blood count with no improvement. The week before Christmas the latest oncologist called needing our family history of cancer, leukemia, or any blood disorders. We of course were frantic. On the 26th his office called for us to come in to talk about the test results. We were prepared to hear the worst but had prayed for the best. At this time the tests are coming back negative for leukemia, there are no indicators for cancer. However DD is not responding to the last series of treatments so more testing is being done. The only explanation they can come up with at this point is DD body is rejecting the Iron infusions she has been enduring for the past 2 years. We will be going back in 2 weeks to get the latest tests results, she will also be having a full body scan, upper and lower GI. We know somewhere out there someone will be able to get a handle on this. The oncologist we are working with now seems to be the most aggressive in getting to the bottom of it all and finding a way to help DD's health improve. She catches each and every germ that is floating around. More sleepless night, tears and prayers than I can ever explain. But things are looking up at least where the cancer concerns were.

Hubby makes me CRAZY in so many ways but he is the best of the best any woman could ask for.  Way back in the spring he had a bump come up on his leg. At first he thought it might be a bug bite from working in the garden. By summer is was getting bigger and uglier. He finally agreed to see the Dr. At that time they wanted to do a biopsy just to be safe, hubby of course ask for meds and was on his way. Since then he has been back to the Dr 3 times but still didn't want a biopsy. The week before Christmas he finally gave in after I has a BIG time hissy fit. The day after Christmas our family Dr called. Hubby needed to see a surgeon. Today I escorted him to that appointment. We will not be able to work with the hospital to schedule the surgery until next Monday. The test results from the biopsy are inconclusive, we won't know whats up until after it is removed. Because he has put it off for so long the surgery will require a very large incision as well as skin grafts.

While we were at it I made him go to his yearly eye appointment. Next week we will be seeing a specialist as he is showing signs if glaucoma.

There you have it. So much.........I do believe I have cried all the tears I had in my body. Lots and lots of sleepless nights, so much fear of the unknown. Constant prayers that "God your will be done" when all I really want to pray is "hey big guy how about a break!"

This post isn't for sympathy, or to make anyone sad!!!! It's just what we are up to right now. It's why I haven't been able to post for so many days. Should I even share this on the blog or keep it to myself? We still laugh until I wet my pants (need to do something about that) We are still doing the every day normal things that everyone has to do but now with not as much spring in our step.

Tomorrow Hubby will go play with his buddy's, I will be taking down Christmas decorations and working on the 2013 budget. Will have chicken noodle soup, hubby will get on my nerves the big kiddo's will call needing something and we will thank God that we are all still together and able to still make each other crazy.

The End

Sprint to the Finish

Somehow the last of the DD's quilt's are finished. Nothing like taking it to the last second to finish up. A broken sewing machine is not a good thing right at the holidays!! Ha Sew glad to have the fancy girl back.

Remember these fabric covered plates and kitchen towels from back in late summer? I made 6 in all.

Along with the marathon baking from last week or was it the week before? These were super quick gifts to put together using the cookie stash from the freezer, the candy containers from the pantry, and the gift closet that I have worked on all year. The last two will be delivered today while hubby is out and about. That crazy super hero thinks shopping on Christmas Eve is a blast. Men.......

The most important thing of all that will be under our tree this year are these blessing from God.

I still have a container of sugar cookies to frost and decorate, a few more gifts to wrap, floors to mop, and turkeys to brine but I see the end in sight!! Last night was family Sunday dinner which included SIL#1's Birthday celebration. Can we say way more food than we needed and sticky floors throughout the downstairs not to mention Christmas Birthdays can be a real struggle to pull off. When my Sister and her family showed up they THANKFULLY informed us they smelled natural gas around the front of the house!! Holy Cow. The gas company showed up at 10:00 PM last night to make the repairs. Nothing like the threat of the house blowing up to get the heart pumping.

I do believe hubby will be happy to allow me to take care of the gift wrapping next year. He has been overwhelmed by it all, staying focused on the task at hand has also been a problem. He is going full steam ahead right now knowing that it all MUST be done before 4:00 today when the gang will begin arriving for our Christmas Eve celebration with my Sister and her family followed up by a sleep over at our house. Of course Santa will come in the wee hours of the night when all of the big kids and grands are sound asleep. Having all of us under one roof sound asleep (most of us anyway) on Christmas Eve is the highlight of our year.

As the "Wonder Pets" say "What's it gonna take? Team work" We are both ready to hand it off to the second string team!! Ha

From our house to yours have a very Merry CHRISTmas.

Minky Pillow Cases

Tyler had big plans for our live family room tree. Buddy that's a bit to tall

Kara picked one more to our size

Our favorite local farm for all things food related also sells trees. Johnathan offered to trim the tree at no extra charge. Heck ya, have at it. This kept the worry off from me of Papaw, the grands, and a chain saw. Not a good combo in my book!

DD#2 took the time to explain to Tyler the meaning behind each and every ornament. I can't even guess as to how many are in this tub, its full to the brim of family memories for the past 38 years.

I took a short cut on the big girls pillow cases. I took them to a shop to have the names put on. I knew I would never find the time to get them hooped and stitched out.

They turned out sew nice. The girls will love them to pieces. I used leftovers from other minky projects to make the pillow cases, had I planed better they would have been totally free. Maybe next year.

Still at it full steam ahead here. The last quilt is almost pin basted then on to the quilting.

I have all the Christmas gifts organized and lined up for hubby to begin the monstrous wrapping event. Now I need to track him down, grrr He and his buddies took off after breakfast this morning to Christmas shop for us ladies. Oh this man of mine can make me a crazy lady sometimes.

We have all of the grands tonight as the Mommy's and Daddy's have office parties to attend. Being the SMART Nanny that I am we will be taking along a treat of yogurt for the kiddo's. There will be NO cookie platters shared unless the Mommy and Daddy's are in charge

January Challenge

Is anyone else ready to get back to normal yet! Hubby and I have one last day of shopping mostly to pick up GC's then we are DONE. As always we have gone over budget this Christmas. Our Christmas/vacation account didn't go as far as I would have hoped it would so we are digging into the regular paycheck to finish. Dog gone it.

While out and about I have been crunching numbers in my head regarding the budget for 2013. We will be having increases in our insurance premiums, Health savings plan contribution, property taxes, and maybe fed income tax. Did the salary go up? Of course not. We also need to bump up our Christmas/vacation account and have some work done around the house. Hubby has rented a house up North for a year. This will be much nicer than being stuck in a motel day in and day out as well as a money saving move but we are playing catch up with his company on the money side of things. Hubby STINKS when it comes to paperwork.  I need to get my financial act together and get things set up so hubby can get on track.

As far as decluttering there are a few areas in need of some work. Our desk and files will come first. Time to get ready for the dreaded income tax filing. The attic is a tea total disaster, if I can stand the cold up there it too will be getting some TLC. The sewing room has piles of UFO's that need to be finished.

A big thanks to Carla for getting this challenge going. Anyone else want to join in? Head over to Carla's and link up. Together we can start the New Year off right. I am using my baby laptop for this post, if the link up didn't work right (most of the time) Carla's blog is on the right side of my blog, "1/2 Dozen Daily"

Off to the races, I still have one more quilt to quilt before the big day that isn't even pinned yet, YIKES!!  Hubby will be in charge of most of the wrapping. After all he is the one who wanted to wait till the last minute to wrap.

Hope I can find the time to post later today to share the minky pillow cases I finished for the DD's. They turned out sew nice.

Knocking it Out

After getting gifts for Hubby bought yesterday I headed back home to pull off gingerbread houses for Tyler's Kindergarten class party.

I didn't put near as much work into the houses as I usually do, time was running out. I used what I had on hand, buying extra candy seemed like a waste of money, the kiddo's wouldn't mind

Six gingerbread houses are now being used as center pieces for the "winter party".  DD#1 called to tell me the kiddo's had a fit when they saw them, go me! Ha They were also very excited to each receive their candy canes with gingerbread ornaments attached. Sew happy to have this job done, knowing that the little ones enjoyed it adds to the joy!

Before the sun was up this morning I knocked out the Pillow cases for "Sandy Creek Elementary" This one is for a girl

Hard to see the extra top stitching that added a little something extra. Do you recognize this fabric? It is leftovers from the Grands dresses I made last spring

I have a hard time figuring out what to make for big or little boys. I had this fabric leftover from Tyler's Halloween bag. Figured if it appealed to our 6 year old I was good to go.

More top stitching

I will make the deadline a day ahead of time. Wheee!!!! I feels good to help even if it is in a little way.

Had to share this Christmas card hubby received yesterday from the "Holiday Inn"  First time we have ever received a Christmas card from a motel! Ha  All of the staff signed it. Hubby has been staying in this hotel for the past 8 or maybe 9 month's full time. Nice to know they enjoyed his company not to mention the money!

First off let me thank Diane for encouraging me to try the tube method of making the pillow cases, thank you, thank you. You were sew right it was easy as all get out, I went ahead and did french seams as well. Want to give pillow cases a try? This is the U Tube site I used. You can whip one up in 30 minutes, talk about quick and easy!!!

Hubby arrived home yesterday afternoon ready to get busy on some Christmas cheer. First stop was of course to see all of the grands. I know our DD's appreciated having Papaw and Nanny show up right at bedtime to get the kids all fired up. HA too bad, that's our job right.

We then began hitting the stores to knock out the Christmas lists. Our last stop for the night was the book store, as we were sitting enjoying a cup of Carmel cider low and behold 2 of our DD's showed up. What the heck were they doing out at 10:00PM at night? Same thing as us, trying to get in a bit more shopping while the crowds weren't around.

We hit it again this morning after breakfast. By noon the mean people were showing up in the stores so we headed home. As soon as the last of our crew get here we are back out to purchase our live Christmas tree. Some, most, or maybe all will be coming over tonight to help do the decorating. It's beginning to feel more like Christmas now that Papaw is with us.

And The Winners are!!

Christmas cards went in the mail bright and early Monday morning.

as soon as I get the addresses from the following ladies who are the blog WINNERS I will be making one more trip to the post office this week. Congrats to.

"Lovely" will be going to Katie

"Lake House" is headed to Lena's home

"Strawberry Fields"will join Gill at her  country house

"

Want to guess how I have been keeping busy this past 24 hours? Filling the freezer with all the families favorite cookies.

I am almost done Gingerbread house baking.

Sugar cookies are line up waiting for a turn in the over. Thanks to my good buddy Jackie for the tip on freezing sugar cookies. This will save me a whole lot of time on my feet decorating cookies with the grands.

Now I want to share a great recipe a friend gave me a few years back that his Mother use to send to him for Christmas when he couldn't get home. They are so light an fluffy, you will love them. I forgot to take a picture of them when I was baking yesterday so I am substituting photo's of Christmas Krinkles to give you an idea of the last step in Angel Sugar cookies. Here is the recipe, nice and simple

Angel Cookies

1 cup white sugar

1 cup powder sugar

2 sticks butter soften

1 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp vanilla

4 cup all purpose flour

Mix it all together and refrigerate for a couple of hours

Form dough into balls and roll in powder sugar (See photo above)

flatten down the ball just a bit (See next photo)

but not too flat:  photo(I am holding about the right size in my hand)

Bake at 350 degrees of 8 to 10 minutes

The cookies should be golden on the bottom but pretty much white on top

 I use a juice glass to flatten my cookies. Make sure to dip the glass in powder sugar to keep it from sticking.

Just an average size cookie, monster size cookies won't bake up right.

It's been a bust your rump 2 days starting with my yearly physical Monday morning, Kara in the early afternoon, then finished the day with a cookie baking marathon. Today was no different, more cookies to bake, 5 pounds of chocolate covered nuts, laundry, change bed clothes, roll cut out and bake gingerbread houses, washing of pans and bowls all day long. It's done! I  still need to decorate the gingerbread houses in the morning when they dry out a bit, they have to be to DD#1 house by tomorrow night so she can decorate Tyler's class for the "Winter Party" Thursday. I think I can, I think I can....

So I am feeling a little less stressed and out of sorts from the CT tragedy after reading all your comments on how to relax when you think you can't go on. THANKS SO MUCH to each of you. A friend posted the loveliest drawing on face book that put things in perspective for me at least (I will try and share it when I figure out how)  Then don't you know the good Lord put something in my path to help me feel as if I can do a little something for the families and children.

One of our local shops is sistering with a CT quilting shop  to do a Pillowcase drive for "Sandy Creek Elementary school". The deadline is Friday morning Dec 21st. I can tell you, my family better get the heck out of the way, no more "Mom can you, will you?" until this is one little thing I feel I can do is done. My sewing machine will be going full throttle to get at least two pillowcase's completed, one for a little boy and another for a girl. I don't think the shop has updated their site yet for the info on the pillow cases as I received the e-mail just an hour ago, but check them out. It is a great shop run by an incredible family.

As Tyler says "God is a good guy" Yep he sure is little buddy, he puts in our path just what we need when we need it!!

Blog Candy

First up for your blog candy pleasure is "Lovely" from Moda

Or maybe Pam Kitty Morning is more your style. I think this might be from her "Lake House" line

"Strawberry Fields" is always a hit.

The pillow tops are all straight line quilted. Is that what it's called?

Nice, another photo that loaded wrong :(  Here are the pillow covers all lined up just waiting for a new home.

Remember that tray of 2 1/2 squares I was cutting last week from the leftovers box? Those itty bitty scraps were transformed into granny square blocks. The blocks then became 14x14 pillow slip covers. I do love me some scraps and leftovers no matter if they are from the kitchen, scrap room, or sewing stash. Why not triple my pleasure by giving away all three as blog candy!! Follow along and I will tell you how to earn one for yourself. Yes you will have to work for a chance to win.

In times of stress I try to lose myself in work. Staying busy is one of my ways of coping when I reach the end of my emotional rope. My go too busy work is vacuuming. I know..... odd. Maybe it is the noise of the vacuum that shuts off my mind. Could be that the vacuum tracks left around the house gives me a visual of a clear clean path. There is a chance that it's just Pure Dee Crazy but it works for me. And of course prayer, always prayer.

I had planned on doing some blog candy this week with a Christmas theme but after the tragedy of the last few days something of comfort was more to my liking. A nice lap quilt would have been wonderful, but as blog candy? Dream on ladies!! Ha  A quilted pillow slip cover while not a full size quilt still seems warm and cozy to me. Once they are washed they will crinkle up just like a full size quilt which for me is when the real magic begins.  

To get your name in the drawing you have to do two things.

1.) Decide which slipcover you would like best

2.) Share with the rest of us in the comments section what you do to help relive stress in your life. Nothing is too silly, nothing is too small.

That's it!! You have until Tuesday of this week to get your comments in.

Sew if you are looking for a cost cutting gift that takes very liitle time let me share with you where I got the idea for the pillow cases. First off the Granny Square tutorial came from "Blue Elephant Stitches" You will need to scroll down a little to get to the correct tutorial. The pillow case tutorial is from "Buzzing and Bumbling"  I added some borders to the granny square blocks then finished up using the pillow case tutorial. The cost was ZERO, everything came from my scraps. If I were giving this as a gift I would include the pillow form, but for blog candy the pillow case will have to do.

Good luck to you all!!!!

Numb

Two chairs for some sweet little girls are complete. I bought the pattern from this site. Super easy, and inexpensive to make

A peek at some blog candy I have been working on today

I don't know when I will be able to turn the TV back on. I can't continue to watch and hear the details of the horror done to these children and teachers. The newspaper is in the trash, the radio is silent. It is all just too much

I had a list of Christmas doings a mile long today. How could I possibly work on anything festive and happy...Instead I tried to lose myself in some sewing, lots of crying, and prayer.

Our DD's are devastated. Not only are they Mommy's but two of them are teachers. All I can tell them is to turn off the TV, shut out all the media that feels it must give information that no parent should ever hear.

Tomorrow we will be blessed to have Sunday dinner together. We will work with the grands to decorate their gingerbread houses. I will try so hard not to cry when I look at their sweet little faces knowing others will never have that chance again.

How Could this Happen

My heart is breaking for the families of the babies who lost their lives in CT today. How could this happen to little children. There are no words. Prayers for the Mommy and Daddy's, Sisters, Brothers, Nanny's and Papaws. May God help these families and our nation heal from this pain.

Clean up Time

The sewing/scrap room was a total mess after all the going on's around here lately. Time for some TLC.

Much better now. Maybe I can find what I am looking for.

The fabric stash got a little clean up as well.

Then I pulled out the scrap container to cut up a pile of 2 1/2 squares.

I think I will be doing something with the 2 1/2 inch squares for blog candy. Stay tuned till the first of next week !

Next on the to do list is finishing up these two chairs.

After a quick trip to town for some Christmas shopping before the crowds got out I headed home for a full day of none stop work. It's been a long day of cleaning up, mending, sorting, organizing, and planning the next projects. I have had the two little chair's hanging around for months now. Tomorrow I will be putting and end to that! I hope to have them finished so their Nanny can deliver them at Christmas to the sweet little girls we have been wanting to gift them too. Sometime over the weekend I will be working up some blog candy as well. I think I have finally adjusted the new machine to do some piece work. Nothing earth shattering as I have found basic sewing is about all the new girl can do.

I have Kara for the day tomorrow. I may or may not get much of anything done until she returns home. She at least will be helping me mix up some gingerbread dough. Not sure she is up to cutting out gingerbread houses yet so that job may have to wait until Saturday. We are decorating our gingerbread houses at Sunday dinner this weekend, it's time I get my rump in gear.

Along with getting the sewing room back in order I got the Christmas factory cleaned out of the kitchen so I can get started on holiday baking. The big kids have hit the freezer of cookies pretty hard since Thanksgiving. Looks like I will be doing a little of everything once again next week. What the heck that's what Christmas is all about right?

I checked the baking supplies and did a quick run down of the pantry and freezer. Other than a turkey and ham I won't have to do any grocery shopping before Christmas!! GO ME!! Our Christmas/Vacation account is getting very, very low. The money I won't have to spend at the grocery will be a nice sum to throw at finishing the Christmas shopping. Are you staying on your budget for Christmas this year? We are pretty close but I think I under estimated what I should have put back.