Snowflakes

Today for project Thursday we made snowflakes.

Sent from my iPhone

Trinity's Ornaments

Today Trinity sewed her second thing. She made two Christmas
ornaments. She did a great job sewing these. I did assisst her some
with pinning and talking her through the steps. She really enjoys
sewing.

Sent from my iPhone

Turkey snacks

We didn't get around to doing our "Project Thursday" this week. It has been a very busy week driving back and forth to Duke. But today we did make these cute little turkeys out of oreos, candy corns, kisses and icing. They turned out really cute and as usual the children and I both had fun.

I am working...

... On something other than children's crafts... Lol. I haven't
worked on this blanket in over a year but a dear friend recentley
encouraged me to finish it. So I have been working on this blanket.
Hopefully I'll get it finished!

Sent from my iPhone

Thanksgiving Bears

Today we made Thanksgiving bears. Lots of coloring, cutting, and gluing. But the kids love it, of course. Jhet helped some with coloring and helping me glue the pieces on.

Mine and Jhet's

Trin's

Mycah's

Glitter Pumpkin Scenes

Today we for Project Thursday we made glitter pumpkin scenes. We did this project today while Jhet was napping so he didn't participate.

Mine

Trinity's

Mycah's

Scarecrows

Here is our project for today. Scarecrows....they don't have any straw though...lol. The children did this craft a few years ago. They were both really young so I had to most of the cutting but this time they were able to do it all themselves. Jhet didn't participate in this craft since he isn't feeling good today.

Ta Da

Here's a pic of my sister's rat. It didn't like the coat so here she is with just her hat.

Hmmm..

You are probably wondering what this is.... Well, it's a costume for my little sister's rat. She works at Pets Mart and called me a few weeks ago to see if I could make her rat a costume. The employees are having a costume contest with their pets and since most people are brining their cats and dogs she wanted to bring her rat. This wasn't my original plan for the costume but when I went to get the fabric they didn't have the right kind for plan A or plan B. So this is what I came up with. Hopefully I can get some pics of it on the rat...lol.

Confetti Trees

Today for Project Thursday we made "confetti trees". The children enjoyed it, of course. They always think the crafts are so great...lol. I am really enjoying this time with them.

Mycah's Masterpiece

Trinity's Masterpiece

Jhet's Masterpiece

Now we are off to Chik fil a to eat lunch at play....it's still rainy here........

Very Thankful

I'm just sitting here feeling very grateful for the wonderful life I have. I just had a great (chaotic) dinner with my mom. It so nice that I have an awesome mom who loves me so much. I'm so thankful for the friends in my life. The ones that are there no matter what, no matter how hard things get. I just celebrated 12 wonderful years of marriage with my amazing husband. Which he bought me a mother's ring. I'm so thankful that my baby is growing and thriving despite his disease. I'm so blessed by my two older children who always continue to surprise me with the great little people they are turning into. God is working great things in my life and working on the person he wants me to be. I pray that I continue to listen to him and grow as he wants me too.

Tie Dye Butterflies

This Thursday we made tie dye butterflies using coffee filters for the wings and food coloring for the dye. They also have magnets on the back. All three of the children had fun "painting" the "wings". We had a few extra fuzzy balls that we put on some of the butterflies.

The top two are Mycah's, the middle two are Trin's, and the bottom two are Jhet's. He painted the wings all by himself but I assembled the butterflies for him.

Breaking Free

It has been raining here for the past 3 days. But, today we are breaking out! The kids are going crazy being locked inside and not being able to go outside and play. We had planned a park outing for this week but that didn't happen. So today we are going to our local kids "museum" with our friends. I think the kids are gonna have fun getting out and playing with their friends at this hands on museum.

Jhet hasn't been there since he has been old enough to play so it will be neat to see what he thinks of it all.

We are all also looking forward to craft day tomorrow. We had to change from our original craft because of the rain but we will do it next week. I think we know what we are gonna do. But my sister (who also is doing Project Thursday) and I need to collaborate a little more :)

Bean Mosaics

Today for Project Thursday we made bean mosaics. The kids had a great time. Jhet did really good with his after he stopped trying to eat the playdough and the beans.

Here's Mycah's. He started out making a picture then it turned into this...lol.

The left side his Jhet's side and the right side is mine.

Trin had planned to cover the whole thing with beans but got tired and went to eat lunch...lol

Caramelized onions and goat cheese pizza

Tonight for dinner I made a yummy pizza with caramelized onions, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, sauce, and spinach. It turned out really good and everyone liked it.

Autumn Leaves

Well, I have been deciding for a while to have one set day for doing arts and crafts with the children. So finally I narrowed the day down to Thursdays and told them the great news. Today we made all different kinds of leaves and hung them in the playroom. We all drew some and cut some. Jhet even scribbled on some. The children enjoyed this craft and we decided for winter we would hang snowflakes.

I'm excited about "Project Thursdays". I've been stock piling some really neat ideas.

Jhet's finished quilt

Here is Jhet's finished quilt. It was really simple and didn't take long at all to put together. It was so nice to be able to quilt again!

Jhet's quilt fabric

It's been forever since I have sewn. I have been so busy with Jhet this passed year that I haven't really had time to sew like I would have liked. I started knitting him a blanket over a year ago and there is no hope of that being finished anytime soon..maybe never...lol. So I picked up a pack of fabrics to make him a quilt. I'm excited to get this made. Hopefully it won't take me forever. Here is a pic of the fabrics.

The Scoop on Judging

I came across this article the other day and found it really helpful to me so I thought I'd share :)

found: http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6071

If you've been to Starbucks lately, you might have noticed a new campaign to lift the consciousness of caffeinated patrons. Quotes from intellectual and spiritual virtuosi now grace their talls, ventis, and grandes "to get people talking," their web site says.

Starbucks' moments of truth might become one of yours, a pretext for friendly, thoughtful conversation that might turn into a divine appointment of sorts.

Consider this contribution by popular author Deepak Chopra : "Attractive people judge neither themselves nor others." In this Dr. Chopra seems to reflect the sentiments of Jesus (whom he admires) when He warned, "Do not judge, lest you be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

Jesus' comment, though, is almost universally misunderstood because of an inherent conflict in the condemnation of judging that goes unnoticed to almost everyone but Him.

Here's the problem. Judgment always entails assessment. Is Chopra's analysis an assessment? It seems to be. So is Jesus'. This raises a difficulty. Taken without qualification, the statement "You shouldn't judge" is self-refuting, being itself an example of judgment.

Jesus qualified His comment, however, in a way that Chopra did not.

And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:3, 5)

Jesus did not condemn all judgments, only hypocritical ones - arrogant condemnations characterized by disdain and condescension. Not all judgments are of this sort. In fact, even in this passage Jesus actually enjoins a different kind of judgment once the hypocrisy has been dealt with ("first take the log out of your own eye, then").

There are two other kinds of judging in Scripture that are not condemned, but commanded. Some judgments are judicial, proper when done by proper authorities. Judges judge. They pass sentence. That's their job. Church discipline is of this sort (Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Galatians 6:1).

Jesus did not come initially for this kind of judgment - He offered mercy, not sentencing (John 3:17, 12:47) - but He will certainly return with this kind. Appointed by the Father as final judge (John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:42, 17:31), He will spare no one.

Other judgments are assessments - appraisals of right or wrong, wise or foolish, accurate or inaccurate, rational or irrational. This kind of judgment is not forbidden; it is commanded. Jesus' instructions "Do not give what is holy to dogs" (Matthew 7:6) require this kind of judgment (What is "holy" Who are the "dogs"). Peter reminds us to "be of sound judgment" since "the end of all things is at hand," (1 Peter 4:7).

Some assessments are moral. Paul commands this kind of judgment: "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them" (Ephesians 5:11). This is to be done not "according to appearance," but by "righteous" standards (John 7:24) according to Jesus, who chastised the Jews for their failures here: "And why do you not judge even on your own initiative what is right?" (Luke 12:57)

A judicial action, a factual assessment, a hypocritical arrogance - all are judgments. Only the third is disqualified by Jesus. The first two are actually virtues in their proper settings, and therefore commanded by Scripture.

Let me be clear on why all of this matters. The Christian message at its core entails a message of judgment. The "good news" of the Gospel is only good against the bad news of judgment. As ambassadors for Christ, we cannot avoid this.

Shallow aphorisms like Chopra's "Attractive people judge neither themselves nor others" are wildly popular because they pander to a rebellious heart by promoting an indiscriminate tolerance. But they strike a blow at the very heart of the Gospel.

I have said many times, "The Gospel is offensive enough, don't add any more offense to it; but we dare not remove the offense that is inherent to the Gospel."

The Christian message starts with a judgment and it will end with a judgment for those who do not heed it. Jesus was hated, in part, because he testified of the world's evil deeds (John 7:7). But it is never in bad taste to tell people the truth when the truth really matters. That's what faithful ambassadors do, even over coffee at Starbucks.

Finally Finished!

I finally finished Trin's quilt. This is the longest it has ever taken to get one finished, but a little over a year and it's finally complete!