Michigan Trip, Part 1

We had an awesome trip to Michigan that included time to hang out with Papa and Nana, see some sites up north (to which Jared has never been), and in general, have a relaxing time.  Here is the first part of the trip...

We baked some cookies before we left.  Also, Timothy ran his head into my hair stylist's door.  Ouch!

Timothy LOVED Oscar, my dog who now lives with my parents.  First, because we aren't allowed to have a dog at our parsonage.  Second, our cat would hunt him down like prey.  Seriously.  

We checked out all of the toys at papa and nana's house...

and their wagon...

and 3 of the 4 playgrounds at the park down the street.  :)

For the Nanas and Papas

I know you want to see some updated pics...here is a little of what we did this week:

Eating more and more...

now we can include peanut butter cups on the "will eat" list :)

Harvest festival night...so excited to get our face painted and go on the horse-pulled wagon ride!

Fun with watercolors on a crummy weather day. 

Several times he went through his tray and named every color and he had a great time mixing colors.  

Unfortunately, the rainbow of wells are now all brownish/black.  :)

Between sewing like a madwoman, getting the house whipped back into shape, getting my 12 piano students (!) back into the fall school schedule, running Sunday School, and helping with the quilt show coming up, not many pictures have been taking...or time left for blogging or quilting (I have several lined up in the wings).  I am praying that this week things calm down as I add packing for our trip to Michigan to the list to get done.  

Probably not going to calm down yet. :)

No news on the adoption, keep praying!  

Camping Trip

Last week we headed up to the family trailer in the hills to spend a few days relaxing.  This was Timothy's first time spending the night camping and he did great!  He took to canoeing like a champ, helped daddy build campfires, and watched the stars appear before sleeping in the trailer without any complaining.  :)  

Here are some of the highlights:

Dinosaur Hill:

Throwing rocks in Spearfish Creek:

Snacking on cereal:

With beer, yum!  :)

Cousin time!

We had a great time and looking forward to our trip to Michigan at the end of the month!

Baby Quilts for Sale and some Yummies...

So, I have been sewing for my craft show booth, even if I haven't been posting too many pictures.  I thought it would be fun to take a picture of all of these quilts at the same time.  But I couldn't wait anymore - here are the first 8, with 4 more in the works!

My little helper :)  I have had a lot of help with these quilts, too.  A friend quilted all of them with perfection, complete with minky backs!  She also whipped a couple of the tops up too.  :)  When I got them back from her, I have been sewing the bindings on the front and passing them to my mother-in-law who has been hand stitching the bindings on the back.  Thank you to both of you!

Timothy really enjoyed the farm ones...especially the tractor blocks.  My favorite of the group has to be the pastel one on the right in the picture above.  Lots of pretty little flowers, bunnies, and little girls sitting cross-legged and reading books to chickens.  :)

The pastel one in this picture is flannel.  The rest of them are quilting cotton from good shops with cotton batting.

I have been enjoying the work with all of the minky backs!

So there you go.  8 blankets done with 4 more that I will show you when they are completed.  They all measure in at 27" x 32", perfect for tucking in a carseat, stroller, or your diaper bag.  I am selling them for $40, so if you need a blanket or know someone who would like to receive one as a gift, let me know.  :)  My first craft show will be in October, so act now, or the one you want may be gone!

More craft-showing items to come.  :)

Adoption update:  No news.  Praying continuously.

Canning update: (because you love knowing what is in my pantry...admit it)

 9 - 12 oz. jars of chokecherry syrup (soooo good!)

8 - 8 oz. jars of peach salsa (yummy!)

9 - 8 oz. jars of pizza sauce!  (super easy, and so nice to know we can whip out pizza night and have sauce from our tomatoes!)