home again.

Well, I WAS caught up on here.....now we have just returned from 16 days of vacation, 11 of which we were on Kaua'i! The children stayed with Eric's parents/family in CA while we had a 'second honeymoon'--a belated 10th anniversary trip (our 11th is Saturday!). What a blessing! We thoroughly enjoyed God's beautiful creation and the uninterrupted time with each other!

Not sure how I'm gonna do this....1500 pictures and all.... I definitely won't be posting them ALL! I'll probably share a day at a time with you all....the highlights at least!

Until next time....

garage sale finds

I just couldn't leave this old card file and alarm box at my neighbors garage sale! I have a few ideas for them, but would love to hear yours! I'll post later what I end up using them for :0)

recent sewing projects

Ever since I MENTIONED making an apron for Miss G. she bugged me about it DAILY until we finally made a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and picked out material and a pattern! She is quite pleased with the results as you can see and I am too! Now I have to let her help me cook/bake....ACK!



Several months ago I finally got my OWN NutriMill to grind my wheat, so I wouldn't have to bug my friend and use her grinder! I've been making our bread since.....um, I'm not sure when......early this year anyway. I didn't have any nice linen towels though, so I found some fabric and made my own! Here is one of them, sorta at least, with my prettiest loaves to date!



We've had this rug since we got married...almost 11 years ago! I've always liked it because it was a simple white and it's reversible....none of that 'grippy' stuff on the bottom. Well, it's had a small hole in it for quite some time and some of the fringe was unraveling. I just couldn't throw it out, so I found some fun remnant pieces and went to work. First was an nice zig-zag all the way around it to tack the fringes down good again, then I went to work cutting out options to applique a patch on. Funny thing is.....a hole goes all the way through--weird, I know.....and since it's a good rug on both sides....I had to figure out something for each side..... Anyway, here's the finished product and I'm pleased enough with it! Maybe it'll last another 11 years, who knows! *Oh, please try not to notice my 'severely in need of a washing' shower curtain, YIKES! -insert embarrassed smile*

random silly kids!

R. built a tower clear to the ceiling!

I. made a guitar and mic from Duplos and gave us a concert...

I. also was a monkey in our hallway!

Miss G. had fun wearing Gpa's slippers :o)

random yummy foods!

Some things we've had over the past several months......


'Panera Bread Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich' on homemade whole wheat bread....it was DELISH!

Cilantro Lime Salad (you can find the recipe here) and frozen peaches and berries


Homemade pizza....before the cheese....I loved the colorfulness of it and the taste was great!

Not sure what to call these...they were an experiment. Homemade english muffin rubbed with garlic and a little butter, then topped with fresh basil, tomato, sea salt, pepper, oregano and mozz cheese. It was a hit!

Ice cream from Al's Sweet Treats! Looks kinda like our family!