Reflecting...

In July of 07, I first saw this sweet face, my new daughter. This photo was the very first time I saw her. It is so hard to believe that July of 09 is quickly approaching, when my baby will be 3!

She has brightened our lives, and touched our hearts.

We thank God for such a precious gift. We love you, baby girl!

The Eaglet hatched!!

The baby eagle is sooo cute...you must go check it out! I posted about this awhile back on this blog, and have been checking in on Mr. and Mrs. Bald Eagle periodically. It is much more exciting now that there is a cute little bundle of fluff to watch. I don't know if the other egg hatched yet, I have only seen one eaglet so far. I was told that sometimes only one of the eggs do hatch. My dad said that if there are two, one would get pushed out of the nest anyway...survival of the fittest, I guess. Have fun watching this cute little bird, and you can even hear it's little peeps!

Spring Yummies-birdnest cupcakes!

These spring cupcakes were so much fun to make. Just make any type of cupcake, add your favorite frosting, make a "nest" on top with chow mein noodles, and top with small eggs of your choice! You can use left over Easter candy, jelly beans, etc.

The girls and I had so much fun making these and our guests loved them!

No title can explain this post...

I just returned from a *date night* with my sweet husband...and it was great! It is so important to nurture your marriage, and by taking time with each other, as well as praying together. I have recently begun praying specific things over our marriage, and it has been so amazing how faithful God is.

Well, I just have to share with you the movie we just saw, it was called "The Cross". I am almost speechless, as I don't think I can adequately describe this movie. I will try to explain a little bit about it, as I don't want to give away too much, but first I will tell you a little about me. I don't do movies. I never go to see a movie for myself, and I never watch them at home. I do take my 7 yr. old occasionally, and it is completely for her, not me. I really try to get into them, but it is difficult, and I ALWAYS find myself nodding off. (I am the same way with meetings at work-my coworkers laugh at me because they love the entertainment value of me nodding off during big important meetings). I have several reasons why I don't watch movies. One reason is that I can't focus on them, because my mind is always on all of the things I would rather be doing-usually my creative projects are just screaming for me to go work on them, and I can't sit for an hour or two focused on a screen. Also, I would rather be reading books than watching movies. And, I cannot read books that are fiction. I honestly can't. I have tried, but it is the same thing, I find myself drawn toward those books I can glean real, true information, knowledge, or inspiration from. In fact, I have so many books around my house that I am dying to read, and I can't wait to get my hands on them. Another reason I don't watch movies is because there are usually no movies out there that appeal to me. I just don't want to spend time watching anything that is violent, or has tons of cussing in it, and it is rare that I can find a movie with a nice moral storyline, minus those two things.

Today when I checked the movie listings, I was skeptical. I thought I would find the same old thing. But, I saw a movie called "The Cross" so I decided to read more about it. It is about a pastor named Arthur Blessit, who in 1969 began a trek around the world on foot, carrying a huge wooden cross. It's hard to believe, but he actually carried that cross on foot, ministering to people through every country in this world. After I saw the preview, and heard that, I knew this was going to be something good, and I had to go see it. Let me just say, I am speechless, inspired, touched beyond words, amazed, humbled, and my faith has been strengthened even more. This is a story you do not want to miss. Please go see it. I was sad. My husband and I were only one of 4 couples in the entire theatre watching this movie. I have no doubt in my mind that most of the other screens had seats that were full, as people filled thier minds with violence, and all that comes with that. I wish I would have been as bold as Arthur Blessit, and walked out of that theatre tonight, and approached the teenagers standing around and encouraged them to see this movie.

This is a story of a man so full of love, faith and courage, that you will be inspired. Not only did this man answer God's call on his life, he walked through the middle of wars, through jungles, through storms, and on and on...and Jesus was right there with him, and he lived to complete this journey and was able to tell the story. Do you wonder if God really is who he says he is? Do you wonder if miracles still happen? Do you just need to be inspired and uplifted? Go see this movie. Don't miss it!

Revelations 3:15-16 are scriptures that I think about a lot. And they came to mind again tonight. I have felt prompted to write about this before, but never have. Now I will.

15 "I know all the things you do, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were one or the other!"16 "But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

This is so important. As christians, we need to be hot, not lukewarm, not uncertain, uncommitted, middle of the road, wishy-washy believers. We are called to follow Him, and we do that through reading His word-the Bible. We can't just pick out the parts we like, or want to apply to our lives, but we need to follow all of it. It is all true, and given to us as an invaluable gift and guidebook for our lives.

At my place of employment I work with many kids that have sensory issues. Their nervous systems may be hyper or hypo sensitive to normal daily input that they come in contact with such as groups of kids at school, lighting, tastes, or sounds. Due to their systems being sensitive to these everyday things, I develop a "sensory diet" for the child. I often explain to the parents that this is a diet their child will need in addition to their "food" diet that they already feed them on a daily basis. This sensory diet will give their little body that balanced input of specialized activities that it needs to help the child to feel more "typical" and able to have a successful, and happy day. Without this diet, a child may lash out at their peers, have severe behavioral challenges, be unable to eat, or rest, or attend to a school assignment.

It's the same with our spiritual diet. We need it to be grounded. We need God to direct us, to help us, and to teach us. I know my behavior goes downhill when I don't keep myself nourished with God's diet-the Bible. I know my attitude needs adjusting when I am not praising Him for every circumstance. We need a spritual diet of prayer, praise, and reading the scriptures. The Bible is there to help us in every situation, not to restrict us, but to keep us from harm, and to give us guidance and joy. We also need to be bold and courageous when it comes to sharing God's message of love to this hurting world, but we can't do that if we are lukewarm, and not allowing Jesus to feed us. I have to work on this too, I so do not want to be lukewarm! I will continue to pray that the Lord will help me to be on fire for Him, and that others will be blessed and come to know God's love and saving grace as well. This is the prayer of my heart.

Do yourself a wonderful favor, and treat yourself to this movie, you will be blessed!

A sweet giveaway!

Joy, a 10 yr. old homeschooler is having a very sweet little spring giveaway here . It's so cute, and Miranda and I hope we win! Go enter! Good luck!

What's wrong with this picture?

This picture of my tulips that have recently bloomed was taken two days ago. This was the second time it has snowed here in April. I don't ever remember it snowing in April before.
Thankfully, it is sunny and warm today, and will be for the next several days. Finally, spring is here to stay...I think!

Pretty Peasant Dresses!

The girls got to wear their matching peasant dresses on Easter. The dresses were made by Cora
and they turned out so cute! Cora is sewing to raise money for her upcoming adoption, and I am so excited for her and her husband, they will be first time parents very soon! Go visit her for some very sweet dresses your little ones might need!


We spent Easter at Grandma's house after church. Lilyann loved all the attention! We had brunch, Miranda and Grandma played a duet on the piano, and Miranda presented her Resurrection lapbook to everyone.

Here's cousin Olivia and the girls, and she's holding the little bunny that showed up at our house on Easter morning. Miranda named her Poppy. Now her other bunny, Nibbly, has a friend, and she is very happy about that!

Now we are off to another full day of homeschooling, homesteading, piano lessons and gymnastics!

She's done!!!

Miranda and I have been busy in the craft room! This is a little kitty we just finished up this morning. We had so much fun making her. Miranda will get to keep this one, but we have many more in all different coordinating colors ready to finish, and I can't wait to see how they all turn out!

Here is a stitchery pillow I made for Miranda a couple years ago. I am working on five other prim stitchery pillows right now, including another one of these!

Here's a sheep collector Annie I found on Ebay a few years back! I just love to bring her out in the Spring. I love Raggedy Ann dolls. I have some patterns for some very cute prim Annie's I want to get started on soon!

And here is my little spring block set I have in my kitchen right now. I love it! I am hoping to get one of these for every season, and so far I only have this one and winter, so I am keeping my eyes open for a summer and fall set I can't live without!

One of my problems is I have far too may interests in the area of creative crafting/handwork/etc. I love it all! I still have a knitted scarf, and a quilt in the works as well. Since Jeff has a big wood shop out in the barn, I have been trying my hand at sign making, and primitive birdhouse making as well. One reason I love primitive crafting, is that everything you make looks better imperfect, and I am very imperfect with my sewing skills! Since I had to teach myself a few years ago, I really didn't get the proper training, therefore, primitive Annie's, prim stitchery pillows, and the little kitty above are perfect projects for me!

I am on a roll, and hope to come back soon with more of our projects to share!

Up close and personal nature study!!!

This is the coolest thing! Have you ever wanted to see a live bald eagle up close? Well, here's your chance! When we went to Miranda's piano lesson this afternoon, her teacher was watching this live stream bald eagles nest! She said she has been spending a lot of time watching it and that it's fascinating, as you see the mother and father both caring for their eggs. This nest is actually on an island in British Columbia, Canada, so not too far from us. I love that you can also hear the sounds of the area as well. We hope to watch it daily, and it will be really exciting when the eggs hatch! Have fun!

A giveaway!

My littel raggedy blessings is having a fun giveaway. I love giveaways! Go check it out!

Have you heard?

I have been listening to Jay Sekulo of the American Center for law and Justice for a long time. I am not a person that is very involved in politics at all, but I do know this: This guy and his team are fighting for our rights as Americans and I am so grateful. If you have never heard of him, here is the link: You'll be glad you tuned in!


http://www.aclj.org/OnTheRadio/