Smocking

I love little girls in smocked dress & I love to smock.  I made my great niece Hailey a smocked Bishop for her 5th birthday.  She is all girlie and loves dresses! 

Today was a perfect day for an outdoor birthday party and Miss Hailey was beautiful in her dress.  It was really sweet when she ran down the sidewalk hollering, Aunt Donna, Aunt Donna, I have on my dress you made for me! 

Thankful for ~

this sweet great niece & her beautiful mommy

my great nephew's 1st birthday

a beautiful day to party

yummy barbeque for lunch

the blessing of family

And here is are 2 pictures of the birthday boy ~  my great nephew & Haileys cousin ~ Daniel

Daniel's bib is my first applique project.

shortcut to eating the cupcake!  Face plant into the icing.

More Truth

Our Tuesday night Bible study has been a time of fellowship, reflection, mentoring, sharing, laughing, & prayer.  We have studied the book "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  The ladies in our group range from highschool age to retired grandmas. 

We are at the end of our book and here are TRUTHS that will set us free from Satans lies & deception ~ 

page 254 "In the days ahead, anytime you realize you are believing lies, go back and review this list; renew your mind; counsel your heart according to the Truth."

1. God is good (Psalm 119:68, 136:1)

2. God loves me and wants me to have His best (Romans 8:32, 38-39)

3. I am complete and accepted in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6)

4. God is enough (Psalm 23:1)

5. God can be trusted (Isaiah 28:16)

6. God doesn't make any mistakes (Isaiah 46:10)

7. God's grace is sufficient for me (2Corinthians 12:9)

8. The blood of Christ is sufficient to cover all my sin (1John 1:7)

9. The Cross of Christ is sufficient to conquer my sinful flesh (Romans 6:6-7)

10. My past does not have to plague me (1Corinthians 6:9-11)

11. Gods word is sufficient to lead me, teach me, and heal me (Psalm 17:7, 107:20, 119:105)

12. Through the power of His Holy Spirit, God will enable me to do anything He commands me to do (1Thessalonians 5:24)

13. I am responsible before God for my behavior, responses and choices (Ezekiel 18:19-22)

14. I will reap whatever I sow (Galatians 6:7-8)

15. The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control (Matthew 16:25, Luke 1:38, 1Peter 5:7)

16. The greatest freedom I can experience is found through submission to God-ordained authority (Ephesians 5:21)

17. In the will of God, there is ho higher, holier calling than to be a wife and mother (Titus 2:4-5)

18. Personal holiness is more important than temporal happiness (Ephesians 5:26-27)

19. God is more concerned about changing me and glorifying Himself than solving my problems (Romans 8:29)

20. It is impossible to be Godly without suffering (1Peter 5:10)

21. My suffering will not last forever (2Corinthians 4:17-18)

22. It's not about me; it's all about Him (Colossians 1:16-18)

Thankful for ~

Laura, Kathy, Amy, Cheyenne, Denise, Henrietta, Jordan, Lilliana, Lisa, & Eileen

designated time in the Word

sharing, crying and loving fellowship

Truth that sets us Free

What Else Would You Do?

We have replaced both potties at our house...they ran all the time and we couldn't get replacement guts for them.  Which left me with 2 potties and a pinterest idea....

PRESENTING POTTY PLANTER -

And yes, this is in my backyard.  I mean what else would you do with this terrific item?  The dump was too predictable!

Thankful for -

No HOA telling me I can't do this

2 new potties at our house

Fun Ideas on pinterest

A husband who didn't care if I did this

A beautiful day to carry out my plan

Now, to figure out what to do with the other one.   A friend suggested I paint  it purple.....great idea, Angel!

Machine Embroidery

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been making gifts with my embroidery machine ~  I discovered a "new" file in my embroidery program that had tiny designs in it that were perfect for the wash cloths I bought my mom for her birthday.  And when I say discovered I mean, its always been there I just never paid much attention to it ~ the company I bought my machine from labeled this file Ornaments.  To me ornaments meant of the Christmas variety, so I didn't pay much attention to it since my ornament collection was huge.  I was very please with the tiny designs in the file.  I did the wash cloths for mom and now I am going to do pot holders for my kitchen ~ and maybe some to add to a hope chest.

Bath towel set for a wedding gift ~ fullsize towels are labeled Yours & mine, hand towel is Ours

Pretty little "ornaments" from the file

The tiny details are gorgeous ~ I did change some of the colors to show up on the white cloths

this size is probably 1 x 1/5 inches

Another towel set for a shower gift

Moms other birthday gift ~ story below

 For Aprils Fools Day 2015, Annies came up with a mock up of a new mac & cheese box ~ Bunny Butts in Butter sauce ~ we thought it was funny.  Everyone went crazy over this and wanted to buy these, so their joke became a new product.  They did change the name to bunny tails in butter sauce.  Mom had looked for these at a store and we found out they were only offered online ~ so I ordered them off Amazon for her birthday!  A fun, useful, edible gift!

wedding gift all ready for giving!

Thankful for ~

discovering treasures I didn't know I had

time to create

fun ideas

making gifts for other people

DIY projects

Around the Farm

beautiful purple iris

This iris stem is over 4 feet tall.

the azaleas are really showing off!

Amy & I picked 4 gallons of strawberries at a local farm

decided to color yesterday!

Thankful for -
The local strawberry farm
GODS gorgeous spring paintbrush
A phone that takes pictures
Beginning the cabinet demolition
Time to color

More Truth from "Lies Women Believe"

Here is more truth for us all the cling to from my bible study "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  This is taken from pages 198-199 in the chapter on Emotions.

*God's word promises, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). Therefore, we don't have to be overcome by loneliness.

*God's word promises, "My God will meet all your needs" (Philipans 4:19). Therefore, we don't have to stay awake at night worrying about how the mortgage will get paid.

* God's word promises, "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken." Therefore, we don't have to live in dread of an uncertain future.

*God's word says, "Do not be afraid." (John 14:27). That means we don't have to give in to fear; regardless of our circumstances.

*God's word says, "Don't worry about anything" (Philippians 4:6), That means in the midst of stressful circumstances, we don't have to be anxious.

*God's word says, "Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18) That means we can choose to be thankful, even when everything around us seems to be falling apart.

*God's word says, "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44). That means, by the power of the Spirit, we can choose to love anyone ~ not matter how greatly they have wronged us.

*God's word says, "If you hold anything against anyone, forgive him" (Mark 11:25). That eans there is no one we cannot choose to forgive, no matter how deeply they may have hurt us or sinned against us.

When we fix our minds on Christ and bring every thought into subjection to the Truth, the Holy Spirit sanctifies our emotions and grants supernatural grace, comfort, and peace:

"Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts o things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."  Colossians 3:1-2

Thankful for~
the reminders of God's truth
gentle reminders to not give in to our emotions
the ability to forgive (much harder however to forget)
a clear, concise study of the Lords word
good teachers
fun learning & discussions on Tuesday night with the ladies at church
TRUTH that sets us free

4 Grandsons

All our boys were here on Saturday ~ what a fun time! 

kisses for MaMa

Gotta give PaPa kisses too!

Our Thomas on Thomas the train

Robert loves the digger tractor

Running through the pasture!

Auntie Amy & Robert wagonning down Great Granny's hill

Mommy (Katie) & Alvin take a turn

Helping Auntie Amy push the wagon back up the hill

Brave Robert riding by himself

Alvin wasn't real impressed with the backyard fun

tree climbing

Aiden lays down to drive his cars ~ these are the same cars his daddy played with!

Alvin is almost crawling

Aiden got brave and rode the motorized train ~ he loved it!

baby hugs before they leave

Thankful for 4 healthy, happy, little grandsons ~ their laughter and giggles, their hugs, their inquisitive natures, their energy, and their love.  We are blessed beyond measure.

Farm-a-versary

Its our one year Farmaversary!  One year ago today, we had the closing for our little farm!  We were so excited and still are....we love our land.  We have updated quite a bit with more to come....we've replaced both toilets (yay! and our water bill has gone down $20 a month ~ thanks to Bryant for doing this), we've replaced a rickety back deck with a new larger and non rickety one for our table chairs and grill (thank Bryant & Katie), we've replaced the living room/dining area carpet with wood flooring (thanks Greg, James. Will, and Andy), we ripped out the sewing room carpet and replaced with vinyl tile (G,W,J), taken down tons of floral wallpaper with loads of help from my sister and her family, and Amy & James, replaced the ceiling fans and some light fixtures, and I am sure there is more.  Next on the agenda is my kitchen remodel.....I am so excited!  The white formica cabinets with blue doors will be replaced with wood cabinets.....yippee!  Oh, we've also replaced the oven, stove top, dishwasher and heating/air.  Buying a house "as is" can be pricey and we've determined that the home warranty isn't worth the paper its written on. 

Here are some outside pics ~

Thankful for~

3 acres of our own

a one level house

basement storage

loads of azalea bushes

flowering wisteria

handy man helpers

projects to beautify our home

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY LYNN

Amy Lynn is 20 years old today!  Happy birthday to my daughter & friend!

Amy loves the Lord, owls, animals, the beach, Disney, chocolate, pasta, shopping, sleeping late, baking cupcakes, children, mission trips, her family and a certain young man.

She is a daughter, sister, grand daughter, neice, cousin, Auntie, and sister in law.

Here are some pictures...at birth ~

Look at that hair!  She is about an hour old in that picture.

She obviously was not impressed with the headband!

And Now ~

The leather jacket, Stetson and cowboy boots belonged to her granddaddy Bill

Amy & Austin

I pray this coming year will bring you ~ much happiness, many surprises, and lots of love!  We love you bunches!

Mom

I am thankful for ~
special days
moments to reflect
remembering fun milestones
the blessing of a daughter
graduating as a mom from having teens
the future