sock puppy dog and kitty cat

Erin (my crafting partner in crime), bought this cute book Sock and Glove and crafted an adorable sock elephant for her daughter's Christmas stocking.  While I tried to avoid yet another project, I finally gave in and bought the book and started sock animals for Stone and Audrey. Now won't these cuties be perfect sticking out of their stockings Christmas morning.  

stone's first christmas program

We are not sure where the cowboy theme came from, but all the kids looked cute and sang so sweetly.

"tis the season"

We are trying to pack the most into our Christmas season.  Here's a little of we've been up to:

Thanks to Jennifer and her wonderful dough recipe for fantastic cookie ornaments, we made lots of ornaments to share!  Here is the recipe in case any of you want to try these yourself.

Dough Ornaments

1 cup corn starch

2 cups baking soda

1 1/4-1 1/2 cups water

Mix in saucepan stirring until smooth.   Cover and cook over medium heat to a mashed potato consistency.  Remove from heat.  Cover with a damp cloth until cool to touch.  Coat hands and surface with corn starch and kneed dough until smooth and pliable.  Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters. *Use a toothpick or straw to make a hole for the ribbon hanger.  Dry in a 150-200 degree oven on a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes or until hard. (We actually let our dry over night).  Dust any cornstarch from surface and paint with acrylic paints.

Rock Videos

Daddy Blog.

As Stone would say, "This is my favorite song".  As you can see from the video, he is learning to play and sing pinball wizard.  Notice the tattoo on the guitar playing hand.  

all is quiet

Ahhh....the sweet sound of nothing.... In an effort to get a head start on household chores, to make time to devote to the Word, to maybe fit in some kind of exercise, to get to work early, etc, I have been trying to drag myself out of bed a bit earlier than normal.  This morning what I am relishing most is the stillness and quiet of a house not yet woken.  Of course the hustle and bustle is soon to come but for a few moments, all is quiet.

sweet escape

Reading for me is such a sweet escape.  Lately, I have been indulging myself and reading much more than I usually do during the school year.  The summer just isn't long enough to quench my thirst for the written word.  Over the past few months I  have had the opportunity to experience books in a couple of different ways that I have found surprisingly enjoyable.  While Clay was on his 4 week Wisconsin work trip, he sent me an extravagant gift-an Amazon Kindle.  This little device brings a whole new dimension to reading since one has hundreds of thousands of books literally at your fingertips.  It is so easy to hit a button and have a new book to read in mere minutes.  Clay had no idea what the ramifications of this gift would be, but since reading is one of the only things that I do with any kind of speed the Kindle somehow enhances that and a limitless supply of reading material at my fingertips is terribly tempting. My friend Erin inspired me to listen to audio books during my commutes between schools. Auditory comprehension has never been one of my strong points, but with a little practice I am improving these skills and have found such an enjoyable way to pass the time I spend driving from school to school across the county.  Admittedly, I am taking full advantage of all of these literary options.  I am always interested in book suggestions (hint hint).  The following are some recent reads that I have enjoyed.  While I do enjoy reading thought provoking, intelligent lit, I also enjoy a little light reading mind candy now and again, and of course family reading time is a nightly ritual, children's books are the absolute best.

Stone's Recent Picks:  Green Eggs and Ham, Go Dog, Go!

Audrey's Recent Pick (notice the singular...she only wants to read this book and this book only-for months now!):  Where is Baby's Belly Button

Christi's Recent Reads:

Rick Bragg's The Prince of Frogtown, All Over but the Shouting, and Ava's Man (Josh's recommendations and good ones at that)

The Twilight Saga Series by Stephenie Myer  (I typically do not read vampire themed books, but...)

The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Can't Wait To Get To Heaven by Fannie Flagg (the audio book is read by the author)

The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo

Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof

Eight by Katherine Neville

My List goes on and on, but I will stop here for now.

fall is in the air...

Today was cloudy, breezy and cool.  Well, by cool I mean not 90 degrees.  It is beginning to feel like autumn.  Of course, these breezy days are few and far between and are a mere tease to us in the deep south.  But I look forward to them and enjoy them none the less.  Fall and spring bring about a nagging restlessness and an excitement simultaneously.  I have already started too many projects and have more in my head; we'll just have to see how many I finish. Pa and Bebe found the rocking chairs that Pa Sr. built for Josh and me...now Stone and Audrey are enjoying them.  One project down, many more to go.

Out With A Bang

Well, summer is nearing an end and a new school year is beginning.  In an effort to squeeze every last bit of fun out of my time off from work, Teeny and I planned a trip to the beach.  Luckily, Maria was in town and she joined us for our fun in the sun day and provided an extra pair of hands and eyes to help us with the two little sea monsters.  The day trip was lots of fun, but it was not without its challenges.  Thanks to Grammie and Pappaw, we were able to use their condo facilities, pool and beach access.  Since there was a tropical disturbance brewing, the pool was a welcomed amenity as the gulf water was incredibly rough and those tiny but ferocious jelly fish were strewn about the edge of the water.  Audrey had not one but two BIG blowout poopy diapers and had to be hosed off (not literally, but you get the idea) both times.  Audrey also refused to get in her floaty, but had lots of fun in the kiddy pool and in the arms of mom and Teeny.  Perhaps this trip will be the beginning of a summer tradition (minus the poopy).  

Homemaking Skills

Thanks to Sara, I was inspired to pull out the fabulous canning set that I convinced Clay that I had to have about 5 years ago.  I claimed to "have always wanted a canning set" when I came across one on sale at the feed and seed store.  Until this summer it sat neatly packaged collecting dust on the top shelf of my pantry, beckoning snide remarks from Clay on occasion.  With Clay in WI, I felt more at liberty to begin projects that often cause him undue stress.  Canning would be one such project.  On our trip to MS, Sara wowed me with her outstanding homemaking endeavors which include a garden that she, Anthony(her husband) and our cousin Shane are keeping, canning tomatoes, fig preserves, jelly, putting up corn and probably more that I am unaware of.  All while she is wife, mom of two, looking after Grandma Stuart, and taking college classes.  I left MS with the cargo area of my minivan loaded with tomatoes and figs from Uncle William's, the largest yet sweetest tasting zucchini squash I had ever tasted, yellow squash, 3 gallons of fresh picked blueberries and a big juicy watermelon that was just begging to be cut.  Thank goodness for the book that came with my Ball canning set and for the sage canning advise from Granny Ford.  For without the two I would have had no idea where to even begin.  In the end, I successfully canned about 14 jars of tomatoes.  And so far, the ones I have cooked have been very tasty.  Next, I plan to tackle Blueberry Lime Jam.

Granny Ford and Audrey

Audrey gives us all a run for our money with those little legs, but not surprisingly, Granny keeps right up with her!

Special Delivery for Stone!

What a great surprise!  Stone woke up from his nap to find a big box with his name on it!  Thank you Uncle Chad, Aunt Diana, Jake and Ava for the cool new ride!  

Daddy's Home!

It is bad enough when our daddy is gone for a few days at the time, but 4 weeks seems like forever.  We are so glad that you are home!  

Summertime Fun

This summer has been filled with some of our favorite things fun in the sun, swimming, playing on the swings and learning about sharing with our sister and brother.  We've had visits with the grands, a tea party at Erin & Ella's, play dates at the Wharf, a botched trip to the Audubon Zoo and lots of family, friends and fun.  Stone turned the big 3 this year and celebrated with a Mickey Mouse Birthday Party and a shake from Big Time Diner (nothing beats a Big Time shake).  Audrey is exhibiting advanced gross motor skills (don't we all like to claim our children as "advanced" every now and then) as she clammers to keep up with her big brother; at just under 1 1/2, she runs rather than walks, she climbs and jumps, she falls down and gets right up seeing no obstacles ahead just opportunities. Thankfully, the summer is not over, yet, so more is to come.  The worst part is that Daddy is missing out on the last half of our summertime fun while he is working in Wisconsin for 4 continuos weeks.

The River

Stone had a fun-filled weekend thanks to Aunt Bek, Aunt Pam, Uncle Paul and Tyler.  And mom had a bit of a break to get the house ready for Theresa's baby shower (and make her gift).  On Sunday,  Audrey and I drove to Pam and Paul's land to  pick up Stone and have some fun in the sun.  We all had a great time!  I hope Tyler had as much fun as Stone!  

First Time Blogger

This is so very new to me, and I am feeling quite savvy having set this blog spot up without the help of Clay.  I was inspired by Heather's blog and how nice it is to see comments along with the pictures of her family.  I hope that this will be another way that we can better stay in touch with all of our loved ones.  Of course, this is just one more task added to my never ending "To Do" list. We'll see how it goes!  Wish me luck.