A Make-up {ARTIST}

yep. nolan is doing evyn's makeup!!!
and the scary thing is...
he is using the correct brush in the correct place!


no she's not crying, but look at that concentration!!!

 

love this one!

BE-U- tiFUL!!!
well done No No!!!
{let's not tell dad ;)}

Thanksgiving Feast

nolan had his thanksgiving feast at preschool.
he was an indian


a happy, cute indian

happy feasting!

Today...

From Masyn {in a very serious, somewhat concerned voice} 

"Mom. If you don't have a plan for the things that go crazy, your life will be out of control. You have to have a plan for the things that go crazy and then it won't be so bad."

{she's referring to the kids craziness}

From Nolan...{running into the house hollering} 

"MOM, i need your help!" Me, "What's WRONGG?" Him, "There's a LIZARD in the playhouse, I need you to get it!" Me, "NO, you get it!" Him, "NO, I'm scared!"  -   

Evyn, "I get it por you No No"....

From Evyn to Mikaela... "My dad's name is sawn" Mikaela, "Really? Whats your mom's name?" Evyn, "Honey".

They crack me up!

p.s. as i write this, nolan and masyn are arguing, nolan's crying, evyn is trying to comfort him and masyn is TOTALLY irritated that i am sharing all this on my blog!

Thankful...

yes. thankful for all that the Lord has blessed me with, i am.
but tired...i'm that too!

with the ok from a close and very good friend and one who believes that christmas
should NOT come out until thanksgiving is over, i decided that the front porch is the extent of my thansgiving decorations and as soon as shawn returns, the christmas bins will be coming down.


i know. i don't want to hear any complaining.
but sometimes, you just have to do, what you have to do.
and this year, i just have to...

so with that said,
i will leave with you this wonderful quote i found here.
you can download the printable too, if you can't hand draw it.

next up...
CHRISTMAS!!!
{somebody shoot me!}

November's Midnight Madness

was early this month.
this is the quilt we made.
i LOVE this pattern. it is so versatile.



so here's the scoop...

the goods...

the gals...

and the quilts!

i am sooooo grateful to have these women in my life.
i love all of them and they make me laugh.
especially when two {and i won't name names} STEAL caramels!

i am really thankful for the opportunity to "teach" them every month.
i'm not sure how much i teach them, but we have a lot of fun!

happy quilting!!!
i love you all!

A very {HAPPY} Halloween!

and lots of great memories!

 

 

this year we started a new tradition with a great group of friends
and in the words of nolan...
"it was the GREATEST halloween!"

things to remember...
"they're RICH!"{ohhh...masyn...}
"i just wanted to tell you, i like your fish." {love aiden}
new friends, young friends and long time friendships
HUGE candybars
nolan. happy. always.
sara & masyn...hand in hand
wilson was a confused feline {for all of two seconds}
a bumble bee and a {not so} dressed up exterminator :/
"bittersweet" love u kaela
GREAT "haunted" houses!
good food and GREAT cornbread! hehehe
the AWE & enthusiasm of little kids!
and last and still lingering...
"my forehead hurts" poor rose...came down with something the minute she hit the bed.

it was a fantastic halloween.
looking forward to many more just like it!

Pumpkin Carving

 always seems to turn into a competion around here
grandma and i tried desperately to stop it, but to no avail...


nolan, as usual was his happy self.
showing his competitive side, he drew on a piece of paper
how he wanted his pumpkin to look.
so, with dad's help they carved the pumpkin.
he told me later that night, that dad didn't make it the way he wanted it.
hahaha. poor guy, next time i'll help him :)
shawn, of course, disagreed with nolan's statement. of course ;)

masyn...
well. let's see. first she HATES the pumpkin guts and refused to gut her pumpkin.
i almost let it stop there but didn't want the night to go south that fast.
so i cleaned out her pumpkin and started a very small pumpkin gut fight.
{she deserved it}
then...she wanted to carve a sophisticated pumpkin that was waayyy to hard for her.
she got mad and searched the internet for what seemed like forever unitl she found a casper pattern.
long story short.
it was still too hard. she refused help. shawn offered a dozen times. she coninued to decline his help. and in the end they worked together to keep it from falling apart.
can we say STUBBORN!

grandma & rose were by far the easiest going group!
thank goodness!!!
with smiling faces they grandma carved the pumpkin.

this was mikaela's first time EVER carving pumpkins!!!
LOVED that!
she was super focused and gavin was annoying concerned.
he just didn't want her to stab herself.
her's was a lady with eyelashes and his was spoooky!

pumpkin carving! it's all good...

Trunk OR Treat!!!

last friday our church had a trunk or treat.
Finn McMissile, our 80's Rock Star & Miss Big Bird
had a great time!
{ok...well maybe not Miss Big Bird. She wasn't in the partying mood :/}

 

 

and even though we had waayyyy more people than expected,
a fun time was had by all!



p.s. if you are serving soup...you need triple the amount of bowls :/

eeK!!!

halloween is right around the corner
and i am scrambling to find simple ideas for some cute goodies.
i came across this awesome blog in my search for free halloween printables



and i think you will be just as happy to bookmark it as i am!
go HERE for really good free printables!

The {MYSTERY} is Revealed!!!

do you love it???
i hope you do!



Here's the layout.

(click on the picture, save it and print it out)

yes. you lay it out on the diagonal. but it's easier than it looks.
start with the center strip (minus the corner triangles)

then, using the diagram above, piece each strip one at a time AND one side at a time.
then lay it out, like this...

do both sides, THEN add the corner triangles.

(photo courtesy of my good friend colleen)

then using the left over strips (you may need to cut more dark 1 3/4" strips)
and add the borders.
the outer border is the 5" strips that you cut in the very beginning...

(photo courtesy of my good friend mardy and her quilting buddy)

i had fun doing this, i hope you did too!
i'd love to hear from you and see your version of the MYSTERY Quilt!!!
lots of love,
Happy Halloween!!!