Happy Anniversary!

Today, on this Thanksgiving Day, and our 14th anniversary, I am thankful for my husband!

14 reasons why I love my husband:

1.  He looks so handsome in his new glasses.

2.  He goes to work every day, on time, and never misses a day of work (except for legitimate vacation).

3.  He can keep a secret.

4. He spends countless hours making sure my hens have the best coop in town.

5. He has always remembered our anniversary and my birthday.

6. He can fix anything!

7. He calls home from work to see how I am doing, and listens when it's not a good day.

8. He looks hot in work boots.

9.  He's funny.

10. He helped Boyson with his Lego Robotics project so that I didn't have to.

11. He's Catholic.

12. He helps me with homeschooling.

13.  He doesn't ask how much I spent when a box comes in the mail, or when I come home with shopping bags.

14.  He loves me (even when I don't deserve it)!

 

Happy Anniversary baby! 

I love you!

All Dressed Up and Ready to Go!

Mini banana bread loaves for our parish bazaar this weekend!

 

Amazing! Check this out . . .

We have quite a few hummingbirds that hang around our house as we keep our hummingbird feeders full all winter.  It is rare that we go outside and DON'T hear a hummingbird buzzing by or hear them calling from the trees for us to move away from the feeder!

This morning, two hummingbirds managed to make their way into our garage; my husband had the large door open.  One of them couldn't figure out how to get back out of the garage and was 'stuck' hovering around the window on the side of our garage trying to get out.  My husband and Boyson were trying to scare him towards the door, but he was really not getting it.  I think the little bird was getting tired, because he actually stopped flying and sat in the window sill. So my husband grabbed a small wooden dowel and the little hummingbird actually hopped onto the dowel and sat on it long enough for me to run and get the camera! 

 

 He did finally fly off the stick and out the door when my husband started walking towards it.  

Wow!  What a neat thing.  You don't see that everyday!

My Daybook - November 15th

Outside my window... a nice, "medium" day - 57 degrees, slightly breezy, and a bit of sunshine peeking through.  The breeze is knocking most of the rest of the leaves in our big oak tree down;  we are going to go out today and rake.  It would be great to have this job done!

I am thinking... that I can't believe that Thanksgiving is just over a week away!  Where has the time gone???

I am thankful... for a successful hunting trip for my husband's hunting group - they filled both of the tags they had.  That means meat in the freezer this winter!

From the schoolroom... a light week this week.  We have a couple of 'outside' activities things on the morning schedule this week, so I decided that instead of getting behind (translated: not crossing everything off the list) that I would just not schedule it this week.  Besides - we've been going at it pretty strong since mid-August, so it's time for a bit of a break.

From the kitchen... leftovers tonight.

I am wearing... jeans, a burgundy t-shirt and a black Columbia fleece sweater.

I am creating... the crafts for our parish Advent Event.  There's not a lot of prep work this year, but the laces don't tie very well for this craft that I chose, so I might have to come up with something different to tie these with.

I am going...to have to return most of the clothes I bought on Saturday.  What I thought looked or felt good in the dressing room, didn't seem so much so at home.  Hmmm.  Buying clothes is so hard for me.

I am reading... Mara, Daughter of the Nile to the kids (we are almost finished - they really liked it!), and The Boleyn Inheritance for me

One of my favorite things... hearing Lil Guhl practicing her piano.

I am hoping...  that the kids can sell some (or all!) of these gourds at the Young Entrepreneur's Fair tomorrow.  Otherwise they are going in our yard cart because they are taking up a lot of room in the garage right now.

I am hearing... Lil Guhl breaking into the candy jar, and Boyson turning pages in his reader.

A few plans for the rest of the week: 

• The Young Entrepreneur's Fair at our local homeschooling community 
• Veterinary Explorations Class and Piano for Lil Guhl
• Lego Robotics
• Helping to package baked goods for our parish bazaar

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

This is what I came up with for a craft for the 11-12 year-olds for our Little Flowers group.  The embossed candle idea came from St. Nicholas Center, and the pipe cleaner poinsettias I got from here. (Although I used gold seed beads instead of wooden ones). The girls will each be making 4 of the poinsettias and fashioning them into a candle ring.  This craft turned out far more beautiful than the picture illustrates.  I hope they like it!

To read more daybooks and to participate, head over to Peggy's

Katy LOVES hunting season!

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Veteran's Day - Movie Recommendation

Thursday is Veteran's Day.  I have had the movie "Taking Chance" sitting here for a couple of weeks, and finally got around to watching it last night.  It was so very moving and I would strongly encourage you to watch it if you can.  I don't think very many of us realize the beauty and dignity with which our fallen servicemen and women are treated on their final journey home.

Based on an article by Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, this HBO original film tells the story of Strobl's emotional experience traveling across America as a volunteer escort officer for the body of fallen 19-year-old marine Chance Phelps. Along the 2004 journey to Phelps' hometown in Wyoming, Strobl (portrayed by Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon) witnesses -- and is moved by -- acts of respect by everyday Americans.

I am a United States Navy veteran, yet I have never known or witnessed the process of escorting the remains of fallen soldiers.  But I am so very proud of our military in the honor and respect that is shown to these people who have given their lives in defense of our country.  May they rest in peace.

Our Artist Trading Cards

Lil Guhl and I finished our ATC's tonight for the swap - 

just in the nick of time - I have to put them in the mail tomorrow!  

Here's what we came up with:

I used a St. Nicholas stamp that I have to emboss these cards.  St. Nicholas is often pictured with three gold balls symbolizing the gold coins that he gave to the three daughters to save them from a life of slavery, so I included three gold sequins.  These pictures don't do these justice, really, (I really would like a better camera!)  because the embossing powder is glittery (it's called Red Tinsel).  Anyways, I think they turned out okay.

And then I had the idea to make a collage of saints using these stickers that I bought some time ago and never finished using.  I made three cards - one with men saints, one with women saints and one with both.  I put a layer of Mod-Podge over the top.  I am really pleased with how they turned out.

We are not drawers here, you see, so we have to resort to alternative means to create art!  Well, Lil Guhl is  a drawer, but she does not like to draw people.  Anyways, moving on:

Here's Lil Guhl's cards:

She used scrapbook paper, holy cards and sequins to create these beauties of St. Therese and St. Anthony.  

We have really enjoyed doing these cards and the possibilities really are endless.  I am even going to be incorporating an Artist Trading Card swap into our Little Flowers Girls' Club in February.  I will be sure to post pics of that when it happens.

Anyways, now I have to go clean up the huge mess we made on the dining room table and get these ready to go in the mail tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday

For anyone who knows my son . . .

My Daybook - November 1st

Outside my window... it is rainy and a bit windy - but a warm 60 degrees today.


I am thinking... about our lunch with friends on Saturday.  We are doing an "Eat Your Way Around the World" as part of our geography studies this year.  So we are taking turns hosting a lunch with food from a certain continent or country.  I have to get my shopping list done and get to the store.

I am thankful... that we will be continuing the rosary before Mass at our parish. We have been praying the rosary before Mass during the month of October, since October is The Month of the Holy Rosary, and it was announced at Mass yesterday that they will be continuing it.  I have been really liking going early to participate in this with our parish family, and was thinking about asking our priest if we could continue once a month or something like that.  Well, it appears that there were other people who were thinking the same thing as me, and now they are planning to continue!  Great news if you ask me!

From the schoolroom... Week 11!  The only significant thing to report is that we will now be giving this a try for Boyson for math:  ALEKS  This has become an area of overwhelming frustration for both of us, so we are setting all other math aside and are going to use this for now.  The best part:  it takes me 'out of the loop' so to speak, which I think will be really great for both of us.  I will let you know how it goes.

From the kitchen... my usual:  ????

I am wearing... jeans, and a blue Columbia fleece sweather.

I am creating...  e-mails to go out to our Little Flowers group for the meeting on Friday.  Also, instructions for the crafts.  We will be making portable icons.

I am going...to volunteer tonight with Lil Guhl at a children's outreach organization.  I think we are going to be sorting clothing.

I am reading... Mara, Daughter of the Nile to the kids, but nothing for me right now.

I am hoping...  to have time to get our Artist Trading Cards finished and in the mail by Friday!  I do not usually operate this close to the wire, but with the last couple of weeks having quite a bit on the calendar, I have had a hard time getting going on this.

I am hearing...Boyson wasting time in the other room (he should be doing his schoolwork, but he's singing).

One of my favorite things... that Halloween is over.  It's my least favorite 'holiday' as I am not into the whole dress up thing.  I just am not creative in that way, so it just seems like extra work and I could really just do with out it.

A few plans for the rest of the week: 

• Volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul
• Book Club
• Veterinary Explorations Class and Piano for Lil Guhl
• Husband leaving for hunting
• Little Flowers
• Lego Robotics
• Eating your Way Around the World lunch with friends
• My daughter's 20th birthday (although we already celebrated since husband will be gone

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Lil Guhl helping to make granola.

 

For more daybooks, head on over to The Simple Woman