Crazy Pics of .....well, Me!

I thought I'd share a couple of the crazier pictures that were taken of me while I was in Kansas.

This is me, my crazy sister Robby and the always nutty Mallory on New Years Eve

Yes, this is me dancing.

I'm right in front of Mallory (in the pink).

I wish more people would have joined in...it was fun!!

This is a picture of 2 of my sisters,

Stacey and Cathy,

and I don't know what the heck happened to me in this picture?!?!?!?

I only had 1 drink???

Okay, I just thought I'd share a few of the funny pictures of me with you.

Have a wonderful day!

Things I've Been Making Lately

I can't really claim these two outfits, Santa brought them to Mallory for Christmas. Santa brought both of Mallory's American Girl Dolls, Sonali and Addy, a dress, a blouse, a hat, a pillow and a blanket. I wish I had the pattern for these because they turned out pretty cute! This is me and my Mom. I made myself a little scarf out of some of my leftover yarn.

I've made several of these hats lately

and here are a few pictures of some of my favorite people wearing them.

This is my grandaughter, Olivia wearing her blue hat

These are two of my beautiful sisters, Cathy and Stacey.

looks so cute in her hat!!

This is my niece, Jessica wearing a gray hat I made for her.

Isn't she beautiful?!?!?!!!!!

I love making the hats and I'm glad all the girls are enjoying them!

I have more things to show you, but I'll save them for another day.

Have a wonderful day!!

Our Belated Family Christmas Dinner

With moving and the weather we just had all 8 of the kids and their families over for a Christmas dinner on Saturday. It was so nice! There were just a few presents, mainly for the little kids, but that didn't even seem to matter to anyone. Earl had a great time talking to my boys. This is Jesse and Jeremy. I made the boys favorite Broccoli Soup with garlic bread from when they were little and Earl made the younger kids favorite Chicken Noodle Soup. Then we had all kinds of other things to eat too, but the soups were the big hit.

My two oldest granddaughters, Sabrina and Vivianna, are growing into beautiful young girls and my DIL looks so cute with her little baby belly. She is due May 31st with a boy!!! Vivianna had gotten an iPod for Christmas so I spent some time with her uploading songs. It was fun spending the time with her. I learned that she likes Demi Lavota and The Jonas Brothers.

When I was moving I found the boys old sports cards. Chad was so excited and couldn't wait to go through them. He gave Ezie a couple, but he wanted to take them home and really go through all of them. I also had found and washed the boys stuffed animals from when they were little. I couldn't believe how excited they were to see there old stuffed friends. Jeremy gave his first Teddy Bear to his son Austin, Jesse took his Smurf Bunny to give to Jesse, Jr. when he is born in May or June, and Daniel took some of his for Jordan and T.J. It was fun seeing the smile on the boys faces and talking about the memories they had.

The twins and Jace had a great time in the pac-n-play. The twins didn't want to stay off the stairs so this was the answer and they didn't seem to mind. Mallory felt so pretty in her new dress that I got the night before at Wal-Mart for $4.00.

This is Daniel.

I had found this blanket that my sister, Cathy, had made for Jesse when he was born. Cathy was only 12 or so and she embroidered all of the Sesame Street characters on the blocks and stitched the quilt together. Jesse was really excited to see it and took it home for his new son.
Here is a picture of my daughter Lexie and me. I don't know where that extra chin came from on me?? Damn!
All in all it was a wonderful night. My DIL Jenn is due next Tuesday with their first baby and she is so cute (and uncomfortable) being pregnant. My new grandson Austin got passed around and enjoyed by all. The little kids all had fun playing and the older kids all had fun going through their memories I had stored away for them. I'm so glad I kept some of their things from when they were little. It made a great night for all! I'm so lucky to have such a great family!!!

Happy Birthday Cathy and Some New ATC's I Made

Happy Birthday Cathy!!!

I wish I was there to share your birthday with you!!

This is my sister Cathy and her husband Steve.

I hope you have a great birthday Cathy!!

These are my first 3 ATC's to make for a Club Creative (a Yahoo Group) that I joined. Angela, who makes gorgeous ATC's, is in the same group and that's how I joined.

These go to my partner in Germany and I receive from Angela. (Yay!)

The theme for was to make 3distressed ATC's.

I hope Ulla likes them!! I was pretty happy with how they turned out!

I bought the cute little bird nest eggs images from

KF Collection

I received the cutest giveaway from Suzie Buttons yesterday.

These are so darn cute and so much bigger than I thought they would be.
Thanks so much Suzie!!!
I love them!!!

Featured Guest

Today my Featured Guest is Cathy from The Life and Adventures of Cateepoo. I don't have any crafty pictures to show you, but some words about an amazing woman.

Cathy is my little sister by six years. I have actually looked at Cathy as more of the big sister since she was in college. Unlike me, Cathy has a great self esteem and she goes after what she wants in life. I might have been the rebellious one and got into trouble for having a smart mouth or for sneaking around, but I always thought Cathy was so daring. She did things that were different than the way my mom did them. Not that either way is wrong, mind you, but I was always scared as an adult to be different than what I thought was expected of me.

If you haven't read Cathy's blog you are missing some wonderful reading!

Cathy UnSchools her two kids, Alexander and Sophia. I'll admit, at first I wasn't sure she was doing the right thing by not sending the kids to school, but she has done an amazing job. Alexander and Sophia are learning, but at there own pace and learning about the things that they are interested in learning about. You'll have to read more on her blog and the blog Wild Indigo Life Learners. It is a great way of teaching if it is right for you and your family.

Cathy was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a little over four years ago. She has taken a very brave step in getting off all her medications and healing herself with a Gluten free diet, Acupuncture, Chiropractor, Orthobionomy, Diffusion and Metaphysics. Cathy has a wonderful husband and kids who are very positive and encouraging of her and what she is doing. To find out more on these subjects click here to go directly to the page where Cathy talks about it. I'm so proud of her and after seven long months of no meds Cathy has been pain free for a whole month now. Yay!!!

Cathy is 40 now and she has decided to let her hair go it's natural color and to quit coloring it. In this day and age I think that is a brave thing for a woman to do. It's one of those double standards. Men look distinguished and handsome with gray hair and women look old. Yes, I still do color my hair, but I think that aging is a beautiful thing. I can remember looking at the age marks on my Granny and Grandma's hands and thinking they were so beautiful. I remember their skin getting thin and thinking that was beautiful too. I would think about all the wonderful things those hands had created and worked hard to get that way.

One of the other things that Cathy has started and I love it is a post on the Simplest Things in Life. It is a wonderful way to remember how just the tiniest things in our lives can be so meaningful and bring us joy.

So if you haven't visited Cathy's blog you should definitely go and visit her. She is a smart and amazing woman and a wonderful sister! She has a very positive attitude regarding life and is a real inspiration to me! I am so proud of her!!

Some of Our Party Guests are Having Giveaways!!

Denise at Polka Dot Moon is having a giveaway. She will draw a name on Saturday, so hurry on over to her blog and sign up! Denise has some great prizes and all you have to do is leave her a comment telling her your best or worst Halloween costume.

Cathy - you had two of the cutest costumes that I ever saw. the sheep and Waldo. Do you have pictures? You should post them if you do because you were so darn cute!!

Missy from Fairy Child Heirlooms is having a giveaway. Make sure to go sign up for it this weekend. Missy made the cutest Christmas cloth, a pacifier or toy holder, and a soft candycane toy for baby to chew on. The candy cane can even be used as a tree ornament! I have a new grandbaby coming before Christmas. Wouldn't it be a great if his Nana won this for him!!

Victoria from Vintage Tea is also having a giveaway on the 16th. She is giving away a really cute bag! I love bags and I guess these particular ones are a big hit in the UK. Make sure and visit Victoria's blog for a chance at winning her giveaway.

Then Susan from Suzie Buttons isn't having an actual giveaway, but, she is giving 100% of her Friday Fleamarket proceeds to the Nielson Family. Make sure and stop by Suzie's site and see the new items she has added this week. You will get something great and at the same time a donation will be going towards a great cause. Your doing a wonderful thing Suzie!!!