Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma!

We are so glad to be living a bit closer to you! We hope you have a great day. We love you!

One of my Loves

This is my favorite little girl wearing a dress that I had when I was a little girl!

I can't wait until she gets up from her nap, so I can cuddle with her. Today she told me it was one of her finger puppet's birthday. Then she asked me where the cake and ice cream were!

We're in the Country Now!

Here are some clues we are definitely experiencing rural living:

1. The picture above is actually Brookie, playing with her barn and animals while I am writing this post!

2. Big Fish asked me to mail in our application for the Family Membership to the Boyers Sportsmen's Association.

3. I currently have a chart in my kitchen that tells how to measure grain in bins and ear corn in cribs.

4. Seed catalogues have been ordered.

5. The bird feeder must be refilled daily.

6. Trips to the grocery store are called "trips to town" and should only take place about once a week.

7. Mr. Tom at the local feed store/hardware store told me I should be shopping there once a week instead of the grocery store!

8. I had to shoo away a woodpecker from pecking on the logs of our house (two times now).

9. We ordered a quarter of a beef cow from church friends.

And the last reason we know we are in the country:

10. Our family has had actual discussion about hanging a mounted deer head in our living room.

How fun this adventure is! We are loving our country life; praise the Lord for His care.

Photo Trial

Ok, so I have a card reader now that enables me to actually save pictures to the computer! I sure wish the computer would save them in the right size. Each picture has to be majorly shrunk to be able to be emailed or posted on my blog. Well, baby steps are what I can do! Speaking of baby steps....just look at that little guy trying to play basketball!

I try not to compare my blogs to other like, oh, say, The Pioneer Woman's! Her photography and all kinds of bells and whistles on the blog are just beautiful. The next thing I might start fiddling around with is maybe a little photo editing. We'll see!

Breather in the Form of Writing a Blog Entry

The kids and I were out and about all morning and well into the afternoon. We had Small Fry's well-child 15 month checkup; we are so far behind on this since he is 19 months! He is off the charts for height and weight; but this is no surprise, as his sister is the same.

After the doctor's appointment, we tried a new grocery store over in Grove City. It's called County Market. I definitely did some damage there in filling my grocery cart, but I don't know if it's unique enough to deserve a special weekly trip. A friend of mine had mentioned that they carry chicken fresh from an Amish farm, but there was nothing else in the store that really grabbed my attention. I can't justify a 30 minute trip just for chicken!

So, the kids were put down for a super late nap; and I'm just beginning to look at my to-do list after getting the groceries put away and the refrigerator cleaned out a bit. Maybe I should make my list stretch for the whole week? I just crossed one item off the list a few minutes ago, as I ordered some yarn and a pattern book for some upcoming birthday gifts. I hope to get a hat and a pair of socks knitted with the new materials. The socks have a Fair Isle pattern, so that will be a new experience.

Anyway, if you are still awake to have made it through this post (!), I have a question for you. I'm interested in having my children use quiet time to listen to a Bible story on CD. Do you have any CD suggestions appropriate for pre-schoolers? I would love your advice.

Stay warm out there; I know our thermometer was reading in the teens all day!

Two Unrelated Links

Having some extra time around the holidays, we have found some new enjoyable locations. One fun place to explore is the Strip District in Pittsburgh. The name sounds a little odd, but there is a "veritable smorgasboard" of shops to poke through. Today I'll provide the link to a great coffee/tea shop. I am experiencing several loose leaf teas thanks to them including a vanilla almond and a hibiscus selection. It's called Presto George.

We are looking forward this evening to a dinner at the Black Forest Restaurant. It supposed to have authentic German food - even German beer and wine. Hopefully, we'll have room for dessert.

There is a snowstorm predicted for this evening, so we might have to stay at the Black Forest! I'm really just praying for safety, as I take my father-in-law to the airport tomorrow afternoon.

Stay warm!

Fun Fabric Favorites

Here's a list for you. It's part of a contest from True Up; you should check it out! Let's talk some fabric, specifically a few of my faves.



1. Favorite Trend (with Color) is blue! I love blue this year. This is a great example from Anna Maria Horner: Little Folks Voile, a Free Spirit fabric.

2. Favorite Holiday Fabric: Windham Fabrics, Merry Mushrooms. I just love the versatility of this one. It looks great with ribbons!

3. This is my wildcard entry - I love this design. It's My Mind's Eye: Just Dreamy, Riley Blake Designs.

4. One of my favorite motifs from the year are medallions. This one is a Free Spirit fabric. It's by Jennifer Paganelli - Sis Boom.

5. My favorite floral print (this was a toughie) is from Heather Bailey. This is from her Nicey Jane line from Westminster Fabrics.

6. My favorite quilting weight cotton collection is Nicey Jane. I just can't stop admiring it! Here's one of the examples from Heather Bailey.

7. The birdie on this fabric is the best! This is my favorite home decor weight fabric. Alexander Henry designed this - his fashion for home line.

8. This is my favorite novelty print. How cute are these ducks by Lizzy House? This is from Andover Fabrics - Lizzy's Red Letter Day line.

9. My favorite overall designer is Heather Bailey! I love her Nicey Jane, I've used so much of her Pop Garden and others. Check her out. She has a beautiful blog; the pictures are just to die for.

10. My fave fabric shop for prices has to be fabric.com. I also enjoy Glorious Color to check out my precious shot cottons.

http://www.trueup.net/?p=8500

Everything is New Again

- new fallen snow is just beautiful.

- new cell phone numbers need to be given to those who might want to call us.

- new house needs a new garden to go with it! Seed catalogues are starting to be ordered.

- new cookies are baked to replace the lingering Christmas cookies.

- new blog post is about to be posted at the start of the new year.

- new week begins a sweet visit with my parents.

- new visitor to arrive tomorrow (Big Fish's dad).

- new 50 lb. bag of birdseed is opened to feed the birdies who tell me they're starving.

- new ideas for a couple of Valentine's projects for my etsy shop are brewing.

- Thanking the Lord for each new day.