A little sugar with a lot of fire...

One of my son's sugar sculptures from school. He made a royal icing jewelry box with a bouquet on top, as well. He is amazing!

Below are fireworks from our county show. Some are taken by me and some were taken by my two youngest.

A New Experience...

My husband's company had their summer get-together last Friday. The owner invited everyone to his home which is right on the river. My two youngest got a few new experiences that day.

The world of Music

My family loves music! Growing up, we had music surrounding us. From the family's gospel group, The Cousins, to the many years many of us have spent in band, we have grown up with music of great variety. Last week I watched the tradition continue.

This was his only concert he had for 5th Grade Beginner Band. He is also the only trombone player in the grade schools that feed into the Middle School in our city. You know, that trombone has been played by four different men in my family. My cousin Matt for one year, then my younger brother for seven years, my oldest son for eight years (WV schools start band one year earlier than Louisiana schools - where younger brother started), and now Mr. Rebel.

That weekend my husband and I woke up to a different type of music. We went camping as a dry run to prepare for this summer's trip to visit my brother and his family. It was wonderful waking up to the sounds of nature. As usual, there is more to the story than just the pictures but I am content to just post a few quick shots and get back to relaxing. I am exhausted! Lol!

A breath of normalcy

Yesterday, I had a rare day off of work. I spent most of it at the yarn shop with Mom and Miss Sandy visiting. I went to lunch with Hubby and then back to the shop. When the time came, I picked up the boys from the bus stop. Mom came with me since I volunteered to take her home and the boys got to spend a few hours running around Grandma's and Grandpap's yard. I got the much-neglected opportunity to take pictures! Oh, the joy! My cousin's husband stopped by to look at a few trees that Pap wants cut down. Since he and my cousin heat with wood, this will benefit both houses.

If you have a few moments during your day, please say a prayer or just think comforting thoughts for my husband's best friend. Her mother's cancer has spread and the doctor's have given her just a few weeks, if that. DH went to visit shortly after getting the call last night and didn't return til after midnight. It was bad. So, if you have a few minutes...

Remembering today...

Hair Delight!

Because I am rushing, and feel a little odd asking hubby to help with a pic tutorial, I don't have any photos to post that will verify what I am going to say, you will just have to understand how excited I am!

My hair has ruled my life in one way or another. It's a good day or a bad day. Mostly, bad days that result in me raking it back into a bun with an elastic and it looking, well, BAD! Until I started taking medication a few years ago for my migraines (I quit taking it, as previous posts about my migraines will attest to) my hair was uber thick and wavy/curly. Granted my younger brother has me beat in aces on both fronts but it just looks better on him when it goes wild. Now, while it is still wavy/curly and I have a lot of it, it is not as thick as it use to be, courtesy of a medication side-effect they neglected to list or tell me about til it was too late. Since then I have been very careful with my hair and what I do, or try to do, to style it.

Anyway, I ramble... I was watching a little television while getting ready for work the other morning and caught a commercial for Goody, the hair accessory company. They came out with a few new products that seemed very interesting and possibly quite easy for hair-styling-deficient me. So, doing something I most definitely DO NOT DO, I stopped at the store before leaving town and bought two items.

The Spin Pins come in a pack of two and each one replaces 12, yes you read that correctly...TWELVE, bobby pins! Super, SUPER easy to use and much better for my hair than pins and ponys!

The Modern Updo Pin is fabulous! I can now do a french twist in my hair with my own two hands! YAY! Granted, there is a bit more of a learning curve with this one but I was still able to figure it out for the most part in less than 10 minutes.

I will hopefully post pics soon. One of the great benefits of this? Since I don't have to use elastics with my hair when using these items, I don't have creases showing when I let my hair down! Just fabulous waves and barrel curls that some people pay hundreds of dollars for in salons. And it cost me less than $6. Gotta love it!

Better late than Never...

A few changes

My life has been pretty hectic the last few months. For one, I completely blanked on mailing my SIL her birthday present because I laid it in the rocker by the front door and, being the guys that I love, my DH and two youngest sons laid their jackets on top of it and left them there. I discovered it a few days ago and now am hoping to get it out in the mail today.

Two, DH resigned from his job. The company he worked in for almost 15 years was bought out by another business. All the employees were kept on at the new company. All this happened on December 1. Since then, DH has been trying to find his place with them. They expanded the territory he was to cover twice over and his health started deteriorating. Much of my family remained unaware of what we were going through because he didn't want anyone knowing.

A gentleman that DH worked with for the entire 15 years at the first company had already left following the buy-out, telling my husband to just hang on for a few months. They would keep in touch with each other every few weeks of the next several months, checking on how things were going. Then came the news. The gentleman's new boss wanted to talk to DH. So, quietly, he went for an interview not expecting anything. It was done as a courtesy for the gentleman that had been a driving force in DH's business life for so many years. A courtesy that became a blessing.

DH ended up taking the job. He was hoping to be have enough time to put in his two weeks' notice, though unsure if he could hang on that long due to stress. It lasted two days. The final straw? Our 11-year-old crawling up on his lap and asking, "Daddy, when are you going to be happy again?" It about broke my husband's heart! So, he told him, "Tomorrow, buddy. Tomorrow."

And that was it. I had a day off from work, so I picked DH up the morning he resigned and turned his company car in. We then went to the new business and met with everyone. Then we went and bought a new-to-us car since there was no company car option.

Since the change, DH hasn't had trouble sleeping, he has stopped grinding his teeth and he smiles! SMILES! Given that DH's brother still works with the company he just left, we have heard how things are going. It took THREE people to cover the territory they insisted DH cover by himself despite telling them how bad it was.

We prayed so hard for their to be a good change in our lives. Something that worked FOR us for once. We have been so incredibly blessed and given so much. The Lord works in His time. Even though we are sometimes hanging on by our fingernails, He will always be there to catch us, give us a ladder, or pull us up.

So, enjoy the small things and cherish each other. When the big decisions arrive, all those small things add up showing that you can hold on through the storm and see the clear sky on the other side.

Just because...

It has been a while since I posted a picture. This was taken last year while visiting Grandma. Laying in her yard and looking up through the trees...just imagining the possibilities.

$12.66

Thank you, Lord, for the check I wrote for $12.66 today.

That was what it cost for me to take my van to the auto shop.

Hello again

Life has been busy and tiring. I have spent more time enjoying the little bit of time I have with the kids than updating my cyberlife. DH and I have managed to gather several things in preparation of our camping trip this summer with my brother and his family. We have also managed to deal with our van, which decided to act up on us. Thankfully, that was a snow day for the kids and a non-work day for me. Six hours stuck in WalMart, not the most desirable thing in the world when you know darn well you have a snow storm from H@** coming. Thankfully, I have a wonderful grandfather and mother who were more than willing to make a run up a ridge for me to get two new-to-me rims for my van. And just so everyone knows, the day my Grandpap can't handle a little snow is the day everyone needs to just STAY HOME! Lol! I love you, Pap! I thank you and God every time I get in my van!

Work has been crazy busy and I have no idea when it is going to let up. I have appointments tomorrow but they are going to go to someone else. Why? Because I procrastinated, that's why. I have to get my vehicle inspected and I know, just KNOW they are going to tell me they have to do more than change my brakes. How do I know this? Because it has been a whole 2 days since the last time my stomach was tied in knots and my heart was in my ankles. You know what, though? It's okay. There are reasons for everything.

Just like a church sign I saw the other day..."God promises us a safe landing, not a calm passage". How do we improve if there is no adversity to challenge us? Though, I would like a little less adversity at times.

There are many other thoughts running through my head right now but they are for another time. It is sufficient that I have three of the four boys home. DH and I made it home from work safely. We still have a home to live in, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. The long and short of it, I woke up today. So did my family. Tomorrow will bring tomorrow. Thank you, Lord, for the thoughts of tomorrow.

Life

Have you ever felt like the rope holding you from falling over the edge of the cliff is fraying? That just when it's about to snap you find solid ground under your feet and you are safe for the moment? I have had that feeling for the past year.

I have been blessed with a job I love and recently found out there is a good possibility I will get to stay on after our busy season ends. My DH has gone through some major changes with his job.

Our family was blessed with being able to come together at Christmas, though not for Thanksgiving due to me getting seriously sick at work. The time we got to spend with all four of our boys is a treasure I will never take for granted.

So, that's it. My life in a few paragraphs. God's blessings...

Mrs. C

Friday evening, my cousin's husband stopped at his mom's house after work, like he does every day, and found her on the floor by her bed. She passed away sometime between their phone call Thursday evening and him stopping by Friday. To add to the heartbreak, her granddaughter asked what they did wrong for this to happen to her grandma.

Mrs. C was an amazing woman. She was a widow who raised her boys on her own. They all turned out to be amazing men. My cousin could not have found a more loving, hard-working man. Along with raising her boys, Mrs. C was a strong and driving force behind several school programs her kids were involved with. She became a second mother to many kids over the years, giving them the support and comfort they needed. Sometimes even the kick in the pants they deserved!

Among her many talents was cooking wonderful food. She catered my wedding 11-1/2 years ago and I will always be thankful for her hard work. She never hesitated to greet me with a hug when we saw one another out and about. I was one of her "kids", after all. God bless you and keep you, Mrs. C. You will be missed.

So, if you have a moment or two to spare, just think of my family and send thoughts their way. It would mean so much. Thank you.

A few moments...

A few moments to share an update. I really like my job at David's Bridal. My managers are fabulous and the other consultants are great! I love Ms. Becky in our Alterations Department. She actually reminds me of my Grandma M. The work environment is great. They are all a bit like a loving disfunctional family. Crazy but still willing to claim you! Lol!

My mom and MIL have made it possible for me to work and I don't know where we would be without them. Slowly but surely things are getting squared away at home. I was very sick over Thanksgiving holiday so we were not able to have everyone over. I ended up getting sick earlier in the week, losing my voice to go along with it, but I continued to try and work. All was well until I got sick AT work. Luckily, not all over a wedding dress. I left shortly thereafter and was five minutes from home when I got sick again, this time at stop light (thank you!). Made life interesting. Mom was at the house with the boys already and told me that I wasn't going to be worth anything to just go to bed and she would stay until John got home. Sleep is an amazing cure. A few hours of hard sleep and I felt like I had some control over my body. It has taken until just yesterday for me to feel more like myself.

There are a few things going on with John's job but God will walk us through them. He has a plan and I pray I have the faith to trust Him. John seems okay but I feel like there is another shoe waiting to drop.

Jonathan has been doing well with his classes at PCI and seems to really enjoy it. He would love to have a different job right now but, as he says, it pays the bills. Isaac seems content with where he is right now. He is waiting on Alysha to transfer to the school down there to finish her classes. They are doing well together. The distance isn't so great (about 2 hours) that they aren't able to manage. I am proud of them for making this work. They have long term plans that will get started when she finishes school. For now, they are happy where they are in life and I could not be more pleased with how they are dealing with everything.

Mom and Grandma and Grandpap are doing okay. They just got Grandma's flu shot today. Her birthday was on 12/2. I thought about her all day at work but neglected to call her until yesterday. I apologized but Grandma just laughed it off, telling me she had a great day and thanked me for calling her. It's better than NOT calling. Lol!

Missed Dad greatly, yesterday.

I work all day tomorrow and then there is a company Christmas party that evening. Just thought I would share a quick ramble on a few things.

Stay safe and Happy Christmas!

Many blessings!

I don't have any pictures to show to you this time around but I have many things to share.

First, I have a job!!! Starting this week, I will be a part-time bridal consultant at David's Bridal! I am so excited! Today, I will fill out the paperwork and receive my schedule. Tomorrow, I go to the bus garage and make changes to the transportation plan for Mr. Rebel and Mr. Pirate for after school. My mom and MIL are both thrilled about this. I don't know if it's because I finally got a call back for a job or because they get the kids. Lol!

Second, DH insisted that I get a few more pieces of clothing to expand my wardrobe for work. Of course, we visited WalMart, which brought in a few fabulous and timeless items. Our best trip of the day was to Goodwill! We stopped on our way to Save-A-Lot (love it!!!) and looked around. We found two skirts, one casual and one work, and then unearthed THREE vintage beauties in the coat section! Um, Dana, you may want to stop reading, now. Just skip the next paragraph, okay?

I was sliding my hand across the coats as I walked by the rack and encountered "fuzzy". I looked at the coat and couldn't believe it! It was a knee-length fur in fabulous condition! The leather trim on the inside seam was still supple and whole. The stitching was perfect and the buttons were original and still attached! A beautiful tan/mocha color, I slid it on and it was a perfect fit! Next to that first fur was a beautiful knee-length knitted "trench-style" coat with a fur collar. Three sets of double-breasted buttons down the front. A snap and inside button at the neck. The collar itself has two hook-and-eye closure to turn the collar into a muff around the neck. For those of you that know my area, THIS coat was sold at Horne's! Fabulous fit, too! The third coat is a beautiful, fully lined cream trench coat (started out kind of a dingy grayish tan but 3-4 washed in Woolite and Oxyclean does wonders!). This coat was made in British Hong Kong! Collector's item! In all, DH spent less than $25 on all the coats plus my two skirts. I hope to take pictures of them soon. I have also pulled out my Great-Great-Aunt Mayre's/Great-Grandmother's fur coat that I inherited years ago. I plan on making use of them.

Third, my room is clean! Living in a small mobile home with limited storage, my and DH's bedroom tends to become dumping grounds for whatever anyone doesn't know what to do with. This weekend, we cleaned our room, weeded through all our clothes and started a new Goodwill collection in our living room, and kept up with the dishes and laundry.

The weekend of Oct. 10th, all my boys were home! DH drove up to Pittsburgh to get Jonathan. Isaac, his girlfriend, and Isaac's laundry arrived Saturday afternoon. It was so wonderful to have my men together again, though just for a short time. We had all gathered because Tom, the Marine I talk about occasionally, was home for a last visit. At this point right now, he and his unit are in "hurry up and wait" mode. They are scheduled to leave for Afghanistan soon. While we are all apprehensive about his orders, we are also happy for him. This is what he wants to do. This is what makes him happy. We know the possible outcome. So does he. We will deal with it when it comes. For now, we treasure the time we have.

Brutal Recess!

My, oh my, the things kids "bring" home these days! Lol! This is what Mr. Rebel, my 10-year-old, looked like when he came home from school today. Apparently, recess was a little more interesting than usual. Lol! There is some swelling, a really nice bruise on the inside of the knee and several layers of skin missing. The bandaids from school were not hanging on very well and, of course, any dirt nearby was instantly attracted to the open wound.

It got washed and disinfected and bandaged. He spent 15 minutes on the couch with a frozen water bottle to bring down some of the swelling. The knee seems to be moving okay and he doesn't complain about it hurting when he puts weight on it. Though, that is just today. Tomorrow it will be stiff and sore. Fun!

Anyone want a Grasshopper...

He's very photogenic. Very patient, too. I came home from running an errand with Jonathan, who is home from Pittsburgh while all the craziness of the G-20 is going on, and found this little guy sitting on the arm of one of my patio chairs. He sat there for over an hour. I have several good photos but this was a quick edit and looked perfect for a post.

A Birthday Party

My middle BIL's girlfriend had her birthday yesterday so we celebrated with a party today at my MIL's house. A few days go DH calls me from work. He and his brothers had cooked up the idea to have a surprise party for their mother (whose birthday is on Tuesday) at the same time as middle BIL's girlfriend. So, I was asked to make the cake.

Now, if you read my post about my youngest's birthday party, you remember that my MIL showed me how to make icing roses. So, I told DH that I would like to try and make her cake a little more than a 9x13 still in the pan with icing slathered on. He was game so I went to the store.

Wilton makes these $12 starter kits with several tips/bags/mini colors/couplings and instructions (I suggest YouTube or Wilton website videos!), so I picked up one. I figured I could at least try. If I was completely inept then I could always call my mom to rescue me. I grew up watching mom decorate the most fantastic cakes (we never had plain, boring cakes until we became teens and were too complicated and moody...lol). So, I figured I had a head start.

So, here we go.This is two 9 inch rounds stacked. I used two boxed chocolate cake mixes and two tubs of chocolate icing. I filled the pans over the halfway mark to let them mound up. When they cooled I cut off the top keeping in line with the top of the pans to create a flat surface.

And here it is. It is far from perfect but God gave me the patience to keep trying. The best part? My MIL loved it!

I am glad I took pictures before we left the house to head over to MIL's because in the midst of DH fixing vegetable beef stew in the dutch ovens outside, the MIL's oil carafe that sat on the back of the stove fell over on the cake and flattened two of the roses! Lol! I had not put it back far enough when I returned it to the kitchen. Hahaha! I had a great time creating this and thank God for the talented women in my life that have taken the time to teach me their craft.

Stitch Markers

These are knitting stitch markers that I have made purely because I hate those little wafer ones you buy in the stores. You can't see them very well if you are working with a bulky yarn, they slip from your fingers so easily, and if you drop one you might as well count it as GONE. So, since I have a ton of beads and findings and wire, I set to making stitch markers.

The top is Rose Quartz with silver-toned findings. It is a set of six and quite heavy. The quartz actually came from a few bracelets that I found on clearance at WalMart. I didn't like the bracelets but loved the quartz so I took them apart and have been waiting for the beads to talk to me and tell me what they wanted to be.

The second is purple glass and is a set of 12. These beads I bought outright because they reminded me of a set of dishes my mom use to have from Viking Glass (that I broke in its entirety when I was young and emptying the dishwasher...I learned not to try and lift an entire stack of plates after that). Again, the beads are paired with silver-toned findings.

I have a few other sets. One in black and white glass, another in autumn-colored "wedding cake" glass beads. I just remembered I hadn't photographed them as I typed. They are in my knitting tote bag and I forgot about them. Maybe later. All my markers are sized on US 15/10mm needles and are real easy to make. As long as I know what beads I am using, it only takes me about 5 minutes per marker since I use wire, not pins, and have to twist them into shape. I am thinking of selling them at the craft show I will be going to with my mom and aunt in November.