Thanksgiving- I am blessed ( Part 2 )

So for whatever reason the computer did not want me to add more pictures to the previous post so I am adding part 2 because I have more pictures from our great day spent with family. I am glad that I got as many pictures as I did- plus its easier to be able to share them with family on the blog.

Getting ready for the next song. Such concentration on my aunts face.

My Aunt Cheryl was there as well helping with the singing before she had to go to work.

Mikhaila trying her hand at some music.

All I can say is yuck! I need to dye my hair! I was giving Mikhaila a lesson on how she could hold the instrument.

Olivia with Dahlia- we brought the puppies up with us and the kids like playing with them.

Everyone is playing and singing along at this point.

After the music it was time for home made ice cream and dessert. Cards anyone??

Yummmmmmm- Mikhaila was enjoying herself. So was Uncle Rich.

Michelle and Olivia putting up the tree at Aunt Bonnie's

Micah and Grandma seeing what they can help with.

Putting the finishing touches on the beautiful tree.

Making sure all the things that they want are out.

So that was our trip up north to see the family. It was good to see all of them as I never get to really spend any time with any of them. It would be nice if we were closer and could see them regularly however that is not really an option. 
Thanks so much for spending some time with me and my family. I hope that each and every one of you had a great holiday no matter how you  spent it. Please remember to be thankful each and every day for everything that you have. Until we talk again.... be blessed abundantly!

Thanksgiving Day...I am blessed.

Good morning folks, please come in and have a cup of tea and tell me what you are thankful for? I am sure that you are in the midst of having a wonderful time with friends, family. Or maybe you just have time off from work and are able to be doing something that you like to do- quilting, sewing, reading. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday.
I am thankful for alot of things in my life right now...but I was really thankful this year that I had the actual day of Thanksgiving off and was able to go and spend time with family. Being I work with vulnerable adults I usually work the holidays and have not had them off in years!
So Mikhaila and I were able to go up north (Minnesota) and spend some time with the family and eat some wonderful food!! It was well worth the travel time to be able to be with family. 















Whenever we get together we have to play some music. There are some real musicians in the group that was there on Thursday but I am sad to say am not one of them. So most of us play G and C LOL!!! Its really about having a good time and spending time together, listening to some great music, laughing, signing the old songs like I'll Fly Away. Things my Great Grandma would have done, I can still hear her playing She'll be coming around the mountain- she would make that piano jump right off the floor!!

Roger is awesome on the mandolin. The Mandolin adds so much to the music, I can listen to it all day!!

Operation Christmas Child Boxes- getting donations

Hello there friends, please come in and sit down and have a cup of tea. How have you been? Things here have been alittle busy with getting things together for a ministry that we are so happy to support. We have had fun getting  things together for them.

Mikhaila decided that she was going to get more involved with Operation Christmas Child this year. So she went and got the word out to people that she was collecting donations for her boxes. She decided that she would go ahead and plan for 20 boxes to be done. After she had them collected and put together she would then have me drive her down to the Cities and we would drop them off at the KTIS radio station. We planned for November 19th so that we could drop them off and take a tour of the radio station as well. The radio station was broadcasting live as they took donations and put them in the long semi that was parked in the parking lot.

So that was the plan..... first she told a friend about collecting things for Operation Christmas Child. The friend  said she had some more items that were left  from putting her own  boxes together and that Mikhaila could have those for her boxes.

So here are the goodies that were donated by that great friend.Thanks so much!

 

Then Mikhaila talked to Angel Ministries, they sat down and had a meeting and decided that their ministry would pair up with Mikhaila and donate things for 20 child boxes. Mikhaila was pretty excited that they talked to her and took her mission seriously. She was also very excited that they would help her get 20 boxes put together.

Here is the great bin of goodies that they donated. Thanks to them and thanks to the person who donated the blue monkey ! We appreciate all the help!

This is the goodies laid out as she started putting the boxes together. As you can see the boxes in the background are starting to get things put in them.

Mikhaila also asked her youth to stretch themselves and come up with some things to put together for an additional box.They had one put together already and well they came through with some extra stuff..... Thanks guys!

Then it was time to put the boxes together..... but first we had to come up with some boxes and while we were at it we had to buy our  own goodies to throw into the pile. So off we went to the store.

The empty boxes waiting to be filled. We ended up buying all the boxes out at the store! We still did not have enough for all the boxes we ended up doing.

Some of the items that we purchased. The kids will love their bars of soap and their great wash clothes!Time to put it all together! This was the fun time, Mikhaila had two helpers, one a lady I work with- she supervised. She would let Mikhaila know if she thought there should be something extra in a box or if we forgot to put something in there. Then the other a fuzzy helper named Daisy.

Keeping records of what was donated, she needs to write thank you cards. Plus it will help with collecting things for next year!

Mikhaila's  friend Daisy who was helping us as well!

Putting the labels on the boxes so they know if they go to a boy or a girl  and what age.

All beautifully packaged and ready to go....

There ended up being 24 boxes!!! WOOT WOOT!! Way to go Team Lampert! It took others helping Mikhaila, they did great as a team! I am proud of all that helped with this ministry outreach. Thanks so much!

There were 8 boxes that we had no boxes for! So we bagged them up, put the paper inside so we would know if they are for boys or girls and tied them up and brought them with. When we got to the station they had 4 boxes that they had left, they took the other 4 in the bags and they will get a box when they go to the warehouse.

There are plenty of organizations that get things together for others during the holidays that otherwise might not have anything. Please remember to donate to a charity of your choice, donations of all sorts are needed and that does not always mean money and toys. There are alot of places that need volunteers and just some one who cares and will listen. Why not start a new tradition with your family? Have a family meeting and see how you can be a blessing to someone. I guarantee it will change the way  you look at the world around you. Have a wonderful night my friend.

Christmas Wreath blocks

Hey, there! So these past few days have been crazy busy with work, sewing, and the cold weather starting to set! But I am happy to say I've gotten the last three blocks done for my Christmas Wreath swap through Mary Jane's website!! That makes 12 blocks.
Here they are:

I am really happy with how they turned out, and both my daughter and I really like the penguin one! It was a fun fabric because the penguin bodies were silver and shimmery, almost like a gel pen.
 In other news, we had our first snow last week, and it has been freezing overnight. Not fun for the animals! My daughter wrapped the chicken coop with a weather-plastic to insulate it, and the geese and ducks were very happy! They talked to her the whole time she was there.

I have been working with some ladies I know to organize craft days and fun things to do as well.I think it'd be really great to get some events going during the winter, especially, that got people who enjoyed crafts and get-togethers out and about, instead of sitting home all winter. Quilting bees, knitting club, sewing days; all these are fun ways to make friends!
That's all for now folks! Stay warm with hot apple cider and cocoa!

First Snow!!

Good morning friends! Please come in and get warmed up, have a cup of tea and lets talk about what is going on around here. 

This morning we woke up here and the first thing we saw looking out the window was a white substance..... yup you guessed it SNOW!! My daughter of course had to inform me that it was actually frost. I think I know what snow looks like, it has not been that long since we saw it!! In my opinion  summer went way to quickly and of course winter will be way too long for me! I am happy to know it will not last long on the ground today!

So what does that mean for me today?? I have to get some stuff done outside- no the dahlias are still in the ground, so are the spuds and well all the garden stuff is not up by the house yet! I am so excited that  we have a Garden Club meeting tonight, we are going to make willow trivets I think this should be a whole lot of fun!! I also am excited to go to the Beginning Farm course that is being held over in Frederic. I took this course years ago and learned a lot. I do not feel like I used all the info to my advantage so I am going to retake it. This time around and well I am really going to focus on the info and put it into practice! I want to get some money back from this hobby farm, even if it is just food in MY freezer! 

So that is what is going on in our neck of the woods Have a wonderful day!

Surprised By Oxford by Carolyn Weber

   

  Surprised by Oxford was a very interesting book to read. At first I was intrigued with the thought of even going to Oxford and being surrounded by such history, such intellect, such dedication to academics. I was not disappointed as Weber shares with us her journey to Oxford and how she is immersed in her study  of Romantic Literature. I appreciate that she has included at the beginning of each chapter, and sprinkled throughout great quotes or parts of great literature that most of us either have not read or have not read in quite some time.

     I appreciate the fact that Weber was very honest with where she came from, what role she found her self playing in the family- especially when dealing with her father. She has hard conversations with both the academic people she is at University with as well as at home with her family. She really goes into Oxford as an intellect that relies on thinking things through, she does not see a need for God. However, she makes friends with people that challenge her, especially TDH. TDH poses hard questions that she as an intellect really has to think about, research and figure out for herself. By doing this deep inner study she is lead to actually read the Bible - front to back- a feat most folks Christian or Non-Christian have not done. While she does this she finds herself discovering  her real identity, having a different purpose in life then she originally thought she had and in the end having the one true relationship her life had been lacking. A relationship with God.

     I would really suggest reading this book, if you are from an academic point of view you will appreciate how Webers' mind works and  how she has to read, analyze and come to her own conclusion. If you are from a family that has challenges you will find you are not alone. I believe this book will challenge anyone that takes the time to read it.

     I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for supplying me with this book free of charge. In receiving this book the only thing that was asked of me was to write a review of the book with my  honest opinion.

To Have and To Hold By T.Peterson & J. Miller

 This was a great book to curl-up with as the nights around here are getting colder.
     Audrey Cunningham has had some challenges in life that we can all connect with whether it be alcoholism, moving unexpectedly, losing a loved one, or searching for that person to spend the rest of your life with. Audrey is a very real character as she struggles at times with what is going on in her life, having to move to the island her father was raised on , dealing with saving her ancestral home, losing people that are dear to her and then actually finding true love. She may question the reasons of why it is happening, or why it is happening to her. However she does not give up on her faith or God's ability to get her through it. Actually she grows stronger in her faith as she sees the other believers in her life deal with what has been dealt them in a positive way.
     The way the authors mix some history, romance, struggles, and life in general is very refreshing. This is a book a person can connect with as so many of us have or are currently going through similar situations.
     I would recommend this book for yourself as well as a good holiday gift for the readers in your life.
     I would like to thank Bethany House for the free copy. All I had to do was share my honest opinion of the book with others. Enjoy!

Scouting The Divine by Margaret Feinberg

I was so impressed with the creative story-telling and the creative ways that Feinberg came up with finding the people that she would pose her thought provoking questions too.
    I thought the book was well rounded with Feinberg talking to a Shepherdess, a Beekeeper, a Farmer, and a Vintner.These four occupations are addressed in the Bible, are used actually as teaching tools for both the past as well as for us today . To fully understand the teachings that God is trying to get across to us we need to fully understand what it truly means to be a sheep that hears the Shepherd's voice, to be a worker bee in the hive of God, to be a good steward of the land and to be patient enough to wait on God to grow us into producing vines. We need to work with God as a partner in all that we do and this book helped clarify a lot of the Whys that I personally have asked in my journey through the Bible.
As a generation that is removed from our agricultural background Feinberg poses questions that are thought provoking and when they are answered you have that "awe that is what it meant" moment! It deepens the meanings of the verses and the lessons that are peppered throughout the Bible.
     I would Highly recommend this book to both Believer and Non-Believer alike. The only suggestion I would say is to read an occupation and then meditate on it before going on to the next one. It will be hard, I wanted to keep reading the whole book once I started. However I think it really makes the book that much richer if you slowly digest the lessons that are so beautifully explained.
     I will definitely look for more books written by Margaret Feinberg in the future. I was given this book by Zondervan, free of charge for my honest review of the book.

New Crumb blocks

Good morning friends. I hope this finds you doing well, in a good mood and well staying warm. Our house is a little on the cool side today. I have been trying to get the sewing area cleaned off a little so when I get home from work I am able to get some sewing done. So while I was cleaning I found the crumb blocks that have not been shared her on the blog. I am really behind in making crumb blocks as I have been working, having car problems and well sometimes life is just to busy to get the fun things done! So the plan today is to get some things sewn when I get home.

Ok so here we go....

So now that I looked at them again I remember I was into doing some 4 patches. I guess I got carried away with them. LOL  I had not done a lot of squares and they were fun to do but I have to say I really am ready to make the stars and the hearts. They are what I am planning for today!

 

 

 

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Pattern of Wounds by J. Mark Bertrand

Here is a Book Review for all those that are looking for a good read. I would suggest curling up with this book and a cup of coffee and enjoy!

I found Pattern of Wounds a great detective book. After being called to a scene of a woman that is murdered March has a rough road ahead of him. He realizes that the scene looks very familiar, it is staged to look like a case he had previously worked on. The case takes many twists and turns as March tries to find out what really happened to this woman. In the course of working the case he finds out who his friends are, who he can trust, plus goes through some challenging times in his marriage. He uses all that he has learned through the years to solve this case, sometimes that is done by playing pretty close to the line of being a good cop or a rogue cop. 

Detective Roland March is a very believable character that you feel sorry for at times, thinking that he is a little too misunderstood by the people he works with. A person does have to respect him being he really tells it like it is and doesn't let others opinions sidetrack him from his course of action. March is a complex person that does struggle with dealing with the horrors that he investigates as a Detective and the struggles of not bringing all the work home to his wife. I was impressed that even though he has seen and gone through a lot he is still very human. I would strongly recommend reading this book.. I received this book free from Bethany House. All they ask for is my honest opinion and for me to post a review of the book. 

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. Happy reading!

Windy,windy,windy

Hello there friends. What are you doing on this fall Sunday? Come on in and chat with me a moment. If I had you over we would have some tea and chat about some projects we are working on or ones we would like to start.. What are you doing in your craft room? Do yo have a pattern to talk about?  On days like today when the wind is whipping like 90 mph what do you do but stay in and get cozy with a book, some knitting, maybe some quilting.

I went to the www.fabshophop.com site and did some research on the different quilt shops that are out there on-line. There are quite a few. I went through this site as I can get information for the sites, I can save the sites that I like and go back to them later for my shopping convenience. Also when you participate in finding the bunny on each retail website you get entered for different things that the shop hop are giving away. There are some fabulous prizes!!! Go check them out. Also some of the shops have a free block that will show up after you register, visit their site, and then enter the contest. I never know when those free block patterns will show up but it is fun when they do! They are lovely.

So that is about it here today. A cool fall day with lots of wind.

Its my mothers birthday today. I was lucky enough to send our gift with my brother who went to see her. She liked her mug rug.I am a little bummed as I did not get a picture of it before it left my house. The camera has dead batteries. Soooo no new  pics for you guys. =(

Mikhaila is under the weather so I am going to go get some knitting out and snuggle with her as I work all day tomorrow.

Until the next time we talk remember each of you is so very special.

Hugs! (Also remember yo can hit the bunny button on the side of my blog.)

Crumbs..a couple more.

Hello there friends. I am going to make just a short entry and post the crumb blocks that I have made and then they are going to be lovingly put in the block box! LOL  I got these done on Friday and being I worked all weekend I did not get them posted on here. As soon as I post I can then go and  make the blocks for today which are ......log cabins. I have never made a log cabin block so I am really excited to do these. I am having alot of fun doing this quilt and I am so happy that Jo decided to have a crumb-a-long. Remember you can still join with us to make this fun crib quilt or you can make it larger, Jo has the details on her blog www.joscountryjunction.com. Come crumb with us!

This is one of my favorite blocks! Love the colors!

This is a crumb block for Mikhaila's quilt. She likes the brights.

Here is a four patch. I will be making some nine patches and hmm maybe a 16 patch. I  have not made these anything bigger than a four patch before.

Why is the sewing area the choice place to sit? Or the big bag of fabric so fun to sit on? Just because it all soft and squishy! I always have to move a cat off the ironing board too! Just think... if they could sew, I could get a lot more done!

I also got some awesome mail today!

Here is one of the blocks I received from my Autumn leaves block swap. Very pretty and I love the colors! Toni did a great job!

This was also in the envelope from Toni... what a nice card and a hand written letter! Can you believe it? I really feel like hand written letters are becoming extinct. I think they are so nice to receive. What can I say about the fabric? The fabric is wonderful! I am so grateful! You really  brightened my day!

 

 Wow what a fantastic mail day! I like to get good mail. I love to just receive mail, any mail- well I suppose I draw the line at bills. My daughter really thinks its funny as I want the mail as soon as it comes. Hmmm maybe I should host a pattern swap or something? LOL Then I would get more fun mail. Ok here is the other good mail. Another block from the Autumn leaves block swap, this one from Tanya. She did a great job- the picture is not really good as the batteries were dieing.

 Are you in a block swap? What patterns are you working on? Please let me know as I am putting a list together of patterns I would like to do in the future. How about doing a really nice thing today...take some fabric and surprise someone you know that sews. Either take it over and give it in person, or  put it on their doorstep or in their mailbox- if you want to be anonymous0- maybe mail it to them.
                                                           Have  a great fall day!