christmas-ne hat & keychain

i made these ne hats for my big girl and my two 'adopted daughters'.  they all live in jersey.  but they loved their summer visit.  who wouldn't?? fireworks are legal here, a little, sand, water & sun.  and our crazy family. so i wanted to give them all something that would remind them each of their ne family.    

i have new appreciation for anyone who sews on hats.  

this heart key chain probably had the most meaning for me as a given gift.  two years ago for my birthday, a gave me the bracelet in the picture.  on the front it says mom.  on the back is 'every princess needs her queen'.   i have twice had to fix the band.  i don't often take it off, it means that much to me.    

so i gave her this saying 'my princess gives more meaning to being a queen'.

remember..... summer doesnt last forever

isn't summer supposed to be the nice slow life?  where you get to sit & just chill? not so for this momma.  we started the end of may with baseball & softball games on four nights a week.  the middle of may brought k here & softball games for her 2 nights a week, putting our normal games a week count at five, sometimes up to up to nine if we had a double header or a tournament.  i put a LOT of miles on.  & thank God that i have a super awesome husband and mom who helped get everyone where they needed to be.  one night we had activities in albion, spalding & pierce at pretty much the same time.  

that is the majority of why i haven't posted anything for such a long time.  & don't get me wrong.  i may complain a bit about all that running, but i wouldn't  trade it for the world.  after ball, we got in a few fun things (like a trip to the zoo, drive in movie & of course some camping) before it was time for k to go back to az & to think about school. 

it has been good having k with us for a month the past few summers.  she got to experience what its like to be the big sister instead of the baby.  the other kids have someone else to pester & give them advice.  i am really happy that she got to play softball here this summer. she made some friends & had a great time.  

since i am not there all the time to offer motherly advice i made her a book of quotes & words that i wanted her to remember & think about.  k can read thru it anytime she is down or upset.  or when she feels that her struggle will drown her.  

we both love winne the pooh

it was fun & trying to come up with different page layouts.  i think i had 50 quotes that i used.

i especially wanted k to know how loved she is. 

 i hope she loves it & thinks of her nebraska family when she reads it.

guest room

don't get me wrong, i love my guest room.  but i REALLY miss little a:( 

she is awesome.  my 1st big girl.  everyone thought i was nuts when i said she was moving here.  but i knew in my mommy heart it was going to be fine.  and it was.  we both gained so much.  

me-a daughter & friend.  

her-knowledge, courage & faith in herself.  

but when she moved out, i knew it was time to repaint her room. 

(sorry little a-dad-maybe all of us-were tired of the pink) 

my talented father in law painted us this far off barn sunset picture.  it was the starting point for the room, drawing colors and a theme.  

 for christmas my uncle had given us all a photo of mom & papa's big red barn.  it was taken from up on a dirt road behind our house.  we used to play in there for hours when we were kids.  unfortunately mom had to burn it down, it just wasnt safe anymore.  but she did take some pictures as it was burning. 

i had gotten this cool old window a while ago.  but didn't have it when we were hanging stuff in the main living areas.  and i didn't know how to hang it when i was working on our room and i may have forgotten about it.  but i knew the perfect new home for it. 

the mirror came from one of the dressers in this room, but i never could figure out how it was supposed to attach.  then little a broke the frame.  so it hung out in the storage room for a while.  i had my father in law make a barn wood frame for it.  the table came from grandma bert's.  if any of you knew her, she is probably where i get my love for antiques from.  i had painted it (i know how could i???) but i stripped it back to it's original beauty.  

lefsa

back row-mom & miranda
middle-megan, bailey, me, marcia
front-piper

i again hosted our annual lefsa making party.  it was SO much fun.  this year we did 5 batches.  for those of you that dont know what lefsa is-cody best described it as a cross between a tortilla & churro.  very yummy! piper will be a good roller when she is older.  boy do the kids love it as much as i do.  we all so make some cookies including kringle.