Year End 2012

As we say good-bye to two thousand twelve, I want to share twelve precious moments from the year and a few more family photos.

1. In May, we moved "home"! After ten and a half months, we moved back to our property into our new home. We spent the first weekend listening to songs and reading blessings and prayers shared by family and friends.

2. In June, we had the opportunity to meet some of Ben's Dad's family in Lincoln, Nebraska. The stories, music and laughter made for a very memorable trip.

3.  Our oldest daughter has shown an interest in sewing with mommy. In October, she picked out some fabric and completed her first sewing project...a baby blanket for her newest little cousin.

4. On my list of lifetime goals has been the opportunity to mentor women in their walk with God. In February, I was presented such an opportunity through the House of Hope in Cedar Rapids. It was such a wonderful experience and I am excited to see where it goes this next year.

5.  Birthdays are such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate life! We have had three of the children's birthdays in the new house.

6.  Watching football yesterday the family and Ben's good friend, Kevin, gave me a sense of "normal" for the holidays (he usually visits Iowa during the holidays and spends a few evenings with us). It was good for us to just relax and feel normal for a few hours.

7. With all the lessons we learned in the corn crib, the one that has paid off the most (at least in my opinion) is the heating. We insulated this house quite well and installed an electric heat that is cost effective and keeping us warm this winter. I still miss the ambiance of the fire, but love the ease of the Cove heaters!

8.  In planning the kitchen, I wanted a large island to work on. I envisioned cooking and baking, scrapbooking and cutting fabric, science and craft projects with enough room for four young ones to help! Baking cookies for the holidays with the children was so much fun this year, each one had space to work and help mommy.
 
9. Thanksgiving was an emotional day, but I am so thankful for the ability to feel, learn, grow and move forward.

10.  My annual Christmas Tea is a highlight of my year and this year was no exception. From the seating to the placement of the tables and the display of goodies to enjoy, it was so healing to see everyone in the house. I had delightful conversations and especially enjoyed singing "Rudolf, the Red Nose Reindeer" with one of our younger ladies.

11. If you had told me a year ago, that I would enjoy quilting...I would have thought you were crazy! After taking a few classes in Cedar Rapids, I found that once I knew the secrets, it really is a lot of fun. I have completed two quilts and have two more in the final piecing stages.

12.  The men in our house (young and older) love football! As a special treat this year, we got a dish with NFL ticket so they can watch every game from their favorite teams. Grandpa has made his way over on more than a few occasions to watch his beloved Raiders play. Special memories being made...on a weekly basis!

Happy New Year! 

 

The four outdoor photos of our family were taken by Amber Fischer. Thank you, Amber!

Christmas Memories

Christmas was rather emotional for me. I have such fond memories of Christmas's past, stockings hung with care on the beautiful mantle shelf made by Ben's uncle, little ones sneaking down the greenery lit stairs, afternoon spent with the in-law's playing games and watching movies and enjoying yummy food. I knew this year would be different, but being sick made it much harder.

The stockings were hung on hooks, the greenery went over the windows since there is no stair, and the in-law's weren't available until supper time. I fought to keep the traditions we could and carefully planned replacements for those we could not. At the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted, but my kids were elated with fun from the day...mission accomplished!

Christmas Eve, we enjoyed supper with extended family and took in some light displays on the way home.

Christmas morning, each of the kids opened their present from mom and dad, their sibling gift exchange present and quickly emptied their stockings. I cooked up a turkey, stuffing and all for dinner with the help of my hubbs, brother and sister-in-law. The table looked lovely, the meal was yummy and the company delightful! We shared conversation and some holiday favorites off network television.

Then cleaned up and made some dishes for supper. Ben's family mostly made it and we enjoyed a Mexican themed meal, stockings and gift exchange. We ended the day reading "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" to the five little ones in our home.

The next morning, the guys kept the little ones, while the older three joined my Sister-in-law and I on some day-after shopping. I love a sale and had been waiting all season to get new stocking holders for the new mantle shelf Ben's uncle has offered to make us. I found them, as well as tissue paper, napkins and some treats for our New Year's Eve party.

While it still felt weird and a bit uncomfortable, I think we took big steps toward finding our "new normal" for Christmas. I am grateful to everyone who helped make the day memorable and fun for our children!

 Merry Christmas!

Christmas Parties

I had such anticipation in hosting our annual Christmas Tea in our new home. When planning the layout of the main living space and choosing the furniture, I had this event in mind. I stayed up until midnight finalizing chair placement and table decor. Nearly twenty ladies joined us in the celebration. We spent the afternoon enjoying yummy treats, fellowship, house tours, ornament exchange and singing carols. It was exactly what I needed to kickoff the holiday season in our new home!

Another favorite holiday event, is the annual Christmas Party at the HomePage. This year, we brought back the costume contest from years ago. The children got really creative and all seemed to have fun with it.

A Name, part II

Well, I said I would revisit this post when I had more time to process it. I'm sure we, as a family, have more to discuss on this topic. But for now, here is what I have discovered.

A name is used to define, such as a "red delicious apple" is an apple, red in color that tastes rather...well, delicious (especially to my eldest son). But sometimes one defines the name. As in the case of Jabez (which means "sorrow-bringer") or Amos (which means "burden-bearer"). Yet both of these men lived Godly lives worthy of mention in the bible and have inspired studies and books millennium after their deaths.

When we named our property "Corn Crib Aces" it was a literal definition of our place, an acreage with a corn crib. And for many, that is the end of the definition. But for me, our family also defined the name. We are unique, creative and tend to think outside the box. We look for alternatives to the challenges we face and never take the status quo as an ultimatum. After all, we did convert the corn crib into our home!

Whenever a business or organization undergoes a major change, the owner or board re-evaluate the mission, values and name to ensure that they are still meeting their purpose or redesign their purpose so they can meet the new one.

We have undergone a major change, our property and home looks different. If there was ever a time to change the name of our property, it would be now. But the essence of our home, what truly defines this property, has not changed. We are still unique, creative and a bit outside the box. This acreage is no longer home to a corn crib, but it is still home to us.

Sewing: Fundraising Quilt

The storm that took our home also claimed the library in the neighboring city of Garrison. The library had been in an old bank building and held lots of memories for our family. We have been involved in the reading program since our oldest was a toddler and have filled in for some vacation time for the librarian.

The library board and town of Garrison have been working tirelessly to raise the funds to build a new library. We have participated in many of their events. It has been good to see the community coming together for something they all feel is important. Building plans are coming along, and so is the funding, but they don't have enough yet.

So I decided to make a twin quilt to auction. I found some neat fat quarters and a unique pattern. This is the first quilt of this size and intricacy that I have attempted. I am so excited with the way it turned out!

 Looking for a good way to action it...any ideas? Ebay or a blog post? Excited to find a home for this cutie!

Christmas Traditions

The excitement of the holidays have been building in our house for months now. We each have our favorite traditions, including baking, sharing goodies with neighbors, parties, spending time with family, Christmas songs and movies. One of my favorites is decorating the house with lights and greenery and family decorations that have been passed down mixed with new decorations that can be passed down to my grandchildren.

We were able to save many of these decorative items from the storm and I have been anxious to decorate again. Pulling everything out, however, I soon realized that nothing fit the way it had before. I knew just where I liked the angel and the barn and the nativity. But none of those places exist anymore and I am facing another adjustment.

Somethings have quickly found a new placement, some are continually being moved as I try to find a place where they can "belong," and some have been put back in their boxes until next year. Apparently, I can only adjust so much at one time.

One change that I am excited about, is the ability to show off the quilt that was a wedding present, made in a poinsettia design and color. In our fourteen years of marriage, I have never really been able to display it and am looking forward to friends and family coming to visit and admiring this incredible gift.

What is your favorite tradition for the holidays? I would love to hear about it!

Sewing: Tree Skirt Sparkle

One of the best things I've done for myself this past year, is invest in sewing and quilting classes. Having this beautiful machine is quite a gift, but being able to really use it...that has been a blessing! I have learned so many 'tricks of the trade' that have made projects so much fun. I am finding sewing projects to be great stress relievers too!

I decided I wanted to make a tree skirt to match the curtains in the main part of the house. I won't bore you with the details of my experiments to get a perfect circle, we'll just jump ahead to when I remembered I had a pattern that includes a tree skirt. Ugh!

After pulling out the pattern and cutting it out, I cut out the fabric and some backing. I had some sparkly buttons I wanted to use as embellishment and debated several options, including adding some ribbon edging or stripes to attach the buttons to. I have been working on a pintuck technique and decided to try that with the tree skirt and attach the buttons on each tuck.

The pintucking went well, as did attaching the backing. I pressed it, making sure the baking was pulled underneath so it doesn't show. Then I used scrap fabric to make tabs and stitched them into the last seam at one edge of the opening. I adhered velcro to the tabs and the underside of the other edge of the opening. With the skirt completed, I attached the buttons to each pintuck through both layers of fabric.




I put it under the tree and watched the buttons sparkle in the light of the tree. I think it is perfect!

Thanksgiving

There were a lot of emotions surrounding our first holiday in the new house. Our first holiday as parents, we served Thanksgiving dinner at our place with both sides of our family surrounding us. This holiday, plans were challenged and Ben's parents were the only ones able to join us. But we had an amazing day, starting with a hot chocolate and paper from the closest gas station, watching the parade and lots of football, cooking, baking and eating yummy food.

Our daughters helped make the pies and mash the potatoes. The boys helped clean the house and set up for dinner. We turned on the Christmas lights at dusk. Then we set up the new tree before bed...we didn't decorate it until Sunday, but we put it up and admired the pretty lights. Our oldest daughter wanted to go Black Friday shopping with me, so I arranged my shopping so she could come too. We were up and out by 2:30 in the morning and had a blast together! 

There is so much I am thankful for this year...but I'll just share a few. I say a prayer of protection over my husband and his vehicle every morning on his way out the driveway...I am thankful for his safe travels. I say a prayer over my children every night before bed, for sleep and protection...I am thankful for each moment I am blessed with these children. I have spent many hours praying over the finances of building this house...I am thankful the waiting is done, the mortgage is final and the payment is what we expected. I have had a heart for discipleship and ministering to women...I am thankful for the opportunity to do just that at the House of Hope this past year and for upcoming opportunities. I am thankful for family and friends, for health and rest when we aren't healthy, for everything I need and a bit of what I want, for the opportunity to wake up every morning and serve my God. The Christmas season is now upon us...and I am thankful for that, too!

Showing God's love...

...in a practical way. Kindness Ministries is a huge part of our church and our family. The concept is simple, the execution can be fun, exciting, challenging, surprising, and always worth it! Everyone is special, unique, precious and loved by God. Do something nice for someone, asking nothing in return, just because.

One of my favorite ministry opportunities is the local parade.

Another favorite is the holiday photos that we offer in November. I take a few photos, edit them and send them to the family or individual free of charge. We have met so many wonderful people, all so thankful for this gift. I also offered this ministry for Mother's Day and Father's Day this past year. It warms my heart to capture this moment in a person/family's life.

Do you have an idea for a Kindness Ministry? Have you done something like this that we might be able to do too? Or have you been touched by an act of kindness that really blessed you? I would love to hear about it!