"Away in a manger and Mr. Frumpty Dump" by Julie Wilkerson

I love nativities, in fact I have quite a few (7+) adorning my holiday home. I love that I can look at them and be reminded of why I celebrate Christmas. My sister-in-law made an adorable nativity from  sculpting clay last Christmas during a "Super Saturday Event" at her church. My mom saw the nativity and fell in love with it. She asked my sister-in-law if she would teach us how to make them sometime this year before Christmas. SO....the girls in my family (the ones that could make it) got together and had a "crafting day" on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had a great time....although, looking at the nativity I thought it was something that I could whip out in an hour or two...WRONG!! The figures were each very time consuming and some even a little difficult...5 hours later when I finally finished, I was really excited about the way my little nativity turned out...it wasn't perfect and if I could do it over again (not going to happen) I would defiantly make some changes...but all in all it turned out okay.  

Joseph

My Donkey

My little black sheep that turned out more like a curly haired black pig...but oh well, he's got character!

My baby Jesus-that turned out "quite large" in comparison to his poor mother Mary...maybe he was an 

11 lb. baby boy like one of my son's...could have been, you never know!

Mary...in all her "small" glory

My little white lamb

The Camel...this and the donkey are probably my favorite pieces of the entire set, 

actually, I really like them all, they all seem to have personality and charm in their own sweet little way. 

Ta Da....finished...I think it would be fun to make some shepherds and wise men next year to add to my nativity...we'll see what happens...no promises there. 

While at my sister-in-laws home, I was looking at all of her amazing decorations (most, if not all, of them are hand crafted, by her own 2 hands I might add)...which made me want to chuck all of my Christmas decor out and craft my little heart away, making some super cute decorations like she had. She has some of the neatest, cutest things...she is so talented and creative, it just blows me away. I attempted to make a snowman like hers....HA HA HA HA (attempted is the operative word here)!!! Her's was adorable and just what I was looking for...and mine, well, lets just say instead of "long, lean and debonair"...he is short, dumpy and round. I have named him "Mr. Frumpty Dump" in hopes that he will "grow on me" over time. He turned out okay but not like I had pictured him turning out...for some reason I had envision him looking more like hers. THIS is a perfect example of WHY I have my creative sister-in-law teach me how to make her crafty things and WHY I SHOULDN'T venture out on my own to try and "duplicate" a good thing.

Mr. Frumpty Dump....in all of his glory!

I think my "crafty bone" was taken from me some years ago and given to some poor soul who needed it worse than me...therefore I probably should just retire from crafts and have someone else make them for me...HA HA HA HA! Until I do...I guess I will continue to attempt at "duplicating" others wonderful looking craft projects and be happy with my efforts. Gotta love Mr. Frumpty Dump...if I don't, who will? 

"Oh there's no PLaCe like HOME for the Holidays!"

I love, love....(did I already say LOVE) the Christmas Season. I love decorating my house, baking goodies (and eating them too of course), driving around town and looking at the Christmas lights and the smell of freshly cut pine trees. I love to hear the laughter in the air, see the excitement on the face of a small child and partake of all the goodness that this time of year brings. I started decorating my house for Christmas the second week in November (I just have 1 tree left to put up so the house isn't completely done yet, but close) so I've had a little Christmas cheer hanging around in my house for a few weeks now, and I love it.

This year with the "NEW color and updated look" in my living room, I had to change the colors that I decorated with in there as well. I usually decorate with red's and gold's, but I thought that might clash a little bit with the green's and turquoise that I have in there now, so I decided to do my Christmas decorations in silver, turquoise and green. I love the color combination and how it looks all dressed up...I think it is pretty classy. The pictures don't do it justice (at least for me...)...I love the way it looks as one big whole.

 In the dining room I went with red's, golds and copper...and LOVE it as well. I am excited to spend the holidays in my freshly decorated house...it always makes me happy! Okay...so my decorating skills are not like those from the pages of "Good Housekeeping" or "Country Sampler"...but it's my little "humble abode" and I really like it...Maybe one day I will be able to afford to pay a decorator to come and help me...but until then, I will make every attempt at making my house look festive and fun for the holidays.

Food for thought...Day 2

3 "THINGS"(not people) I wouldn't want to live without

Honestly, I think that my "3 things" might change from day to day....Somedays it might be my umbrella if it's pouring outside and I am in need of staying dry. Another day it might be a piece of chocolate cake to satisfy that sugar craving. Yet another day it might be the heater or the AC, depending on what the weather might be like....and somedays it might just be the new purse hanging from my shoulder...I am sure that everyday of my life my things that I wouldn't want to live without would be slightly different.

BUT TODAY the 3 things that I wouldn't want to live without are:

1. Hair Dye! Yep, I've hit the age where  coloring my hair has become a necessity instead of a "want". I think without my monthly trip to the hair salon to get my hair colored I might just look a bit older than I feel (PS...that would be A LOT older than I feel).

 My sister in law is an AMAZING beautician/cosmetologist and she does an AWESOME job on my hair each and every time that I go over for my hair appointment. She colors (covering up those dreaded grey hairs) and cuts my hair, making me feel like a new woman inside and out as I walk out her door (she not only does my hair but she lifts my spirits as well). Her and I have had the "little talk" about what color my hair will be when I die...yes, you guessed it, NO ONE will ever have PROOF that I have (or had) grey hair, she will make sure that my hair is colored a beautiful dark brown just before burial so that I can be buried with dignity....sounds morbid, but hey, you have to cover the basis and plan ahead for these things! My life just wouldn't be the same without my hair dye!

2. My Treadmill! As much as I complain about having to use it...I am SOOOOO glad that I have one to use every single day. I hate the cold so its nice that I can exercise indoors during the cold winter months. I also love that it gives me a good work out. A few weeks back I went with my daughter to her gym where we walked on the treadmills there. The first complaint I had about their treadmill was the width of the belt. Mine has a wide belt so as I teeter from one side to the next (not drunk, just can't walk straight all the time) I don't walk off the belt. The one at the gym had a very narrow belt and you pretty much HAD to walk a straight line, which for me meant holding onto the side bars most of the time so I COULD walk a straight line. Mine also has a fan on it, that in my book is a necessity, especially after using the one that didn't....see all these plus's about mine, made me more grateful that I have one of my own to use and to love! I wouldn't want to live without it!

(don't mind its "untidy" look...its been hard at work today)

3. My Vacuum! There is something about seeing the tracks of a vacuum in the carpet-it just brightens my day. I love the clean, fresh look that comes from running the vacuum over the carpet and seeing it stand up and lint free. I love a clean house and the way it makes me feel when its all tidy and spiffied up....my vacuum plays a huge part in that process and I wouldn't want to live without it.

There you have it...The 3 things I wouldn't want to live without...TODAY....But tomorrow you could ask me the same question and I would/could come up with 3 different ones...you know, a different day-different experiences-different things....Thats the way the ball bounces....gotta roll with the punches right?! (well somedays, others I don't feel emotionally able to do that...)   

Worth all the HARD woRk...

I love being a mom, I always have, and I have always enjoyed my kids...granted sometimes they've been a challenge and given me a run for my money, like when they were young and I had to take all 6 of them to Walmart with me and one wanders off or when they fought constantly...screaming and yelling or when 3 of them had the stomach flu at the same time...motherhood has its challenges and trials thats for sure, there is no way around it.

  BUT I think that grandchildren are the reward that mothers get for all of the stress, hard work and challenges that come from being mom. Kenron is growing up so quick, right under our nose. I get to tend him on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and from the time that I see him on Thursday until the next Tuesday he changes and grows so much. He is staying awake more and more all of the time. He loves to watch the light from the windows and will turn his head to that direction when you go into a bright room.

 I got a smile (a real smile) the last 2 days that I have tended him. It just makes my heart melt. He is such a sweet baby and such a joy to me. He weighs 8lbs 15 oz and finally has some chub on his cheeks as well as his little legs.

Its wonderful to see him growing and getting stronger and healthier every day...having seen him laying helplessly in an incubator with tubes sticking out all over and having such a rough start to life...it really makes us count our blessings that he is here and that the Lord saw fit that he should remain in this world with our family, he has truly blessed so many lives...

...and we sure do love him!!!

I guess putting up with the fighting from my own children, the screaming and yelling and slamming of doors, the long sleepless nights trying to figure out what to do next and the many hours of sick kids...is well worth the work when you get little bundles of joy like this in the end....looking forward to the day when I have a dozen little grandchildren bouncing on my knee.

Did it AGAIN~

Looking at the wall in the dining room that I just finished painting...the color is called "Autumn Abundance" it's a cooper/orangish color, sorry that the pictures make it look more red..it's not. 

Looking into the upper part of the hall...a nice tan color called "Gaucho"..I love how the 2 of the colors look together.

I've been wanting to paint the walls in my kitchen and a wall in the hall of my dining room for quite some time now...SO I finally pulled out the paint rollers and brushes and did that "painting thing" again (I was putting it off because I had just finished my living room not to long ago and I wasn't really wanting to do it all again).

Looking UP the hall from the dining room

Looking up the hall into the living room. 

The kitchen wall above the sink...LOVE that wall. 

 I have to say that I am very pleased at the way it turned out and I am glad that I chose the colors that I did because they are just what the rooms needed.

Looking UP the hall from the living room

I didn't think that I would ever say this BUT I am a bit tired of painting, re-decorating and cleaning up big messes....so for the time being I have put away my rollers and plastic drop cloths and paint cans. I love the end result and finished look after a successful painting experience....BUT the process isn't my favorite thing to do. NOW onto getting the Christmas decor up....I am one of those weird people that has to have all of mine up BEFORE THANKSGIVING...I am hoping that by the end of the week it will all be up, then I can sit back and enjoy it,as well as the new paint on the walls...so I guess my work of cleaning up messes isn't quite finished yet, but the good new is...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Crazy FUN!

After last years complete "bomb" of an experience with the Holly Fair (a local craft fair) I vowed I would never participate in it again. Last year I spent countless hours in a chair sewing over 75 adult aprons and over 50 little girl aprons...and selling only a handful (literally) of my labors, it wasn't worth it...not even a little bit. I said that I was done, finished, never going to put myself out there again...THEN WHAT DID I GO AND DO?...I put myself through months of stress and long hours to do THE 2010 HOLLY FAIR.

Dayna talked me into doing it AGAIN (when I say TALKED me into it, I mean LITERALLY talked me into it) with her...but this year was a little different. All of our hard work and long hours paid off.

Some of our home decor that we sold

Dayna sitting at our booth...finally we are set up and ready to go

Our booth was a hit and we had lines (really and truly) of people waiting to get in to see what they could purchase. We got many compliments on our homemade decor and people asking if we took orders for something that they wanted to personalize.... it was so much fun.

Having a blast...in our little "cubby hole"

some more of our goods

Homemade Vintage Rosettes...some to wear on your wrists, some to wear on you're clothing

The most fun I had was just hanging out with Dayna (and Kim on Saturday), talking about life, our goals for next year and what we were going to make for Thanksgiving dinner (we sat there for many hours...missing meals...and we were starving).

We laughed a lot, talked a lot and SOLD a lot. We literally sold out of almost everything we had. We went home with only a few of things...which made our clean up quick and simple. We were done and out of our booth in a matter of minutes when it was taking some of the other people hours, I am sure, to clean up their booths. Thank you to all of our friends and family that came and supported us at the Holly Fair this year (and to those of you who bought before the Holly Fair). It was fun to see so many of you there...some of you it's the only time I get to see you all year. I think we'll plan on having a booth in 2011...although I am getting an earlier start this year and hopefully eliminate some of the stress.

New Carpet of Yellow and Gold~

Fall is here...and quickly passing by. Although I missed most of the beautiful colored leaves as they changed from green-to red and orange high up in the mountains...I watched them change and fall to the ground in my yard. I enjoyed the gorgeous colors as well as the brisk morning air as I went for a few 5 mile morning hikes...enjoying each and every last day I have of warmer weather and pretty colors.

After a long night of wind and rain, our trees quickly shed their summer foliage and scattered their leaves among the green blades of grass still left in my lawn. It was quite a carpet of brown and gold. 

The weather man is predicting a very cold change coming our way come Monday and Tuesday...all of which includes some rain and snow...guess the leaves might have to wait until spring to be racked and bagged...I'm out of time and sooooo out of energy. As much as I love the beautiful trees that live in my yard and all the shade they give me during the summer, I am not a fan of racking and bagging leaves. I often dream of having a "leaf vacuum" (lawn mowers down work...they just mulch up the leaves and make quite a mess) that suck as well as, bag up all of the leaves from off of my lawn....oh how nice would that be!

(Sort of looks like a "Where's Waldo" photo as my little orange cat wanders through the orange leaves on the ground.) 

Oh if only things could stay so beautiful and we could just skip winter.....

ahhhhhh....I can dream can't I?