Concerning crown molding and Hobbits and combines and picnics

So early Monday morning Galen R. came to install the crown molding around the top of our cabinets.  It was very exciting, although the girls were not impressed with the nail gun.  After he left Emmy thought she was going to help me move the extra pieces.  

It looks so finished... finally... it's only been since May.  *grin* 

Last thing on the list is the light over the sink... My counters are never this clear, I took the pictures right after he was done.

Boxes are the best toys.  And she's mimicking her book, "Christina Katerina and the Box." 

On Tuesday, Nathan and Michelle invited us to celebrate Bilbo's birthday.  We wore hobbit inspired clothing and ate a feast fit for a hobbit.  I brought meat pies and stuffed mushrooms, we also had chicken, mushroom soup, seed cakes, mini apple pies, bread, and Bilbo's birthday cake!  It was great fun. 

The girls ate supper at the farm and then got dressed up in their cute little hobbit dresses and came over later.  Cecily has on a hand-me-down dress from Aunt Shelly... she had to take it off because the dye was rubbing off onto her skin.  Emmy still has on her hobbit outfit.  Such a little hobbit.

After Thursdays lovely news from CAT, we spent Friday visiting Bob at work and going to his division picnic.  The girls enjoyed the white board at the office, the gift shop, and the playground at the park.

It was a really pretty day.  Little Bee is totally Daddy's girl. 

Cecily spent most of the time on the swings.

We headed home when Emmy started getting tired.  She fell asleep before we were out of the parking lot. Playing with their new CAT train. 

On Saturday I left the girls with Bob (who took them to his parents for the day) and headed to IKEA with Mom and Shelly.  I drove, as per tradition.  Ha.  Such a cool store.  I came home with lots of stuff we probably don't need.  Good times.

Sunday evening we went to Rustin and Sharon's for his Mom's birthday.  I made the cake and it turned out pretty good. 

Monday I had a dentist appointment to get a cavity filled.  Woot.  The girls and I took lunch out to the field and then they got to stay for combine rides while I got a filling.  I think they had more fun.  Nothing better than chicken nuggets at the field with Grandma and Grandpa.  *grin* 

Big sister's in bed so I get the toys all to myself! 

Little Bee has been done nursing for a week!  And she has been sleeping 10-12 hours at night for a week!!  I have been able to stay in my bed for at least 8 straight hours for a week!!  I feel like I'm alive again!!  It's amazing.  16.5 months is a good run though, I'm kind of proud of that.  *grin* 

Blessings.

Anniversary giveaway #5!!

 One final book to close out this month- poetry!   I named my blog after a poem... and I like poetry... I especially enjoy random acts of poetry.  So I'm giving away "Heaven's Embroidered Cloths" a collection of the poetry of W.B. Yeats. 

Leave a comment and I will enter your name into the next drawing!  I'll let the girls pick a name next Friday.  *grin*

Happy Anniversary Blog!  Here's to the next 10 years!

Blessings.

Anniversary giveaway #4!!

Cecily picked Wendi!  

And then Emmy wandered up and picked Rachel... and since I happen to have an extra copy in my gift stash, it's your lucky day too!  *grin*

Next stage... the girls!  You've all got to endure enjoy my thoughts on pregnancy and motherhood... ha! 

This week the books I'm going to give away are part of the BabyLit series.  These books are written to introduce kids to classic literature....  in board book form.  They are pretty great, and my girls like them.

"Edgar Gets Ready For Bed" is a play on Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven."  It's very cute.  And "Jane Eyre" is a counting book!  (1 governess, 2 trunks, etc.)

Leave a comment and I will enter your name into the next drawing!  I'll let the girls pick a name again next Friday.  *grin*

Blessings.

O me, I got stung by a bee



It's been quiet around here this last week. No major projects, or disasters, or crisis.

This little one likes to help me unload the dishwasher.

 And she loves it when Daddy brings home snacks from work.

 Oh these two... still in their pj's with their matching cowboy boots. 

 So we were outside last Saturday and somehow a bee that I had shooed away from Cecily ended up under the hem of my shirt and I got stung, right on my stomach.  Probably for the first time since I was a kid and hadn't figured out that I had to watch my step if I was going to wander barefoot through clover.  It hurt really bad and left a red itchy ring...  woot woot.  We also discovered two different wasp nests on the east side of the house.  Ugh.  Fall is not my favorite season because it is all-of-the-spiders-try-to-come-in-the-house season, but it will be nice for the stinging insects to disappear.

Saturday evening I went to Kyle's testimony.  It was a blessing, of course.  We were in W-ton on Sunday for the baptisms.  Cecily was excited to go to Sunday school with Summer at 'Grandma Kathy's church.'  She walked right in and stood next to Summer, until she saw Auntie Shelly; then she had to stand by her for singing.  We went to the farm for a little bit after church, home for supper, and Bob went to a presentation in the evening. 

Poor Cecily has had a plantar wart for a looooong time.  The over the counter stuff was not helping, so we finally went to the Doctor to have him burn it off.  She was very brave so she got a treat afterward.  She picked chicken nuggets and she wanted to go inside... not just the drive thru.  Her foot must not have been hurting her too much because she spent most of the time playing in the play place (barefoot.  ick.) with a little boy while Emmy ate her nuggets. 

Emmy's had it with us and is shipping herself to Australia. 

 So we inherited a hummingbird feeder that the ants discovered.  It was really interesting to watch them go up normal sized (on the right ) and come down swollen with syrup (on the left).

 This little bee loves raspberries.  Um!! Um!!

 After the girls go to bed I've been painting the last two cabinet doors (Since I had to reorder-  I measured twice this time.)  This is my awesome spray tent because I ended up buying a cheap sprayer so they would match. Or at least blend.  I'm very glad we had Herb paint the bulk of the doors and drawers.  So. Much. Work. And his look way better than mine.   

 It rained a lot one day so the girls helped me check another room off my Spring Yearly cleaning list. Or something.  I told Bob that I cleaned our room and he looked at me like I was crazy.  Which, no, it wasn't filthy.  However, I can't fit the vacuum under one of our dressers and the dust bunnies get pretty large and scary.  

Saturday morning we all woke up to the neighbor's granddaughter ringing the doorbell.  She was bored and wanted Cecily to ride bikes with her.  So the girls got up and got breakfast and spent the morning going up and down the street, and in our back yard, and their back yard, until finally it was time for lunch.  She rang the door bell a couple more times to see if we were done.  Bob took the afternoon shift... haha.  Their house is now officially on the market and I'm not sure if I should pray for neighbor kids or not.....  

They had time to sail boats in the sink with Daddy in between playing with Jovie.  They were both soaked. 

 Ok, so this poor little cubbyhole in the kitchen:  It's very weird.  It only goes halfway back so the only things that fit in it are my springerle rollers.  I vote to just nail the door on and be done with it.  Bob votes to hinge it.  Hinging would require figuring out how to drill the special hole to fit the hinges so they all match.  We are at an impasse.  Thoughts?

 The Beutel Chili supper was Saturday evening.  The chili was delicious, the weather was great, and the girls had a lot of fun.  We didn't stay late though since the girls were up early and Bob's allergies are bothering him.

Tonight was pizza night and Emmy grabbed the box of breadsticks and carried it to the table all by herself.  Hehe.  Um!! Um!!

 And then while we were eating, this large bird perched on the fence in our back yard.  It was pretty cool.  It flew away before we could get a picture from outside. 

Busy little bee likes to push buttons on the laptop and then acts all innocent when she gets caught... Cecily is doing all of the squealing/talking.

Blessings

Anniversary giveaway #3!!

Cecily picked Tate!!  We will get it to you soon so you can brush up on your elemental knowledge.

Thanks for commenting!!

This week the books I'm going to give away are "The Prayers of an Excellent Wife" and "Water of the Word" by Andrew Case, because I got married in the course of writing this blog! 

These books are great. They are devotional/ prayer books for wives and husbands....  Each page has a different scripture that has been written out in the form of a prayer for your spouse.  There are also different quotes about prayer throughout. 

For example, if you've never seen anything like this before (I hadn't!):
pg. 64 of "The Prayers of an Excellent Wife"
Almighty God,
Be to my dear husband a rock of refuge, to which he may continually come.  For You, O Lord, are his hope.  May his mouth be filled with Your praise, and with Your glory all the day.  O God, be not far from him; O my God, make haste to help him!  May he hope continually and praise You yet more and more.  Let his mouth tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past knowledge.
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake him, until he proclaims Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come (Psalm 71).
Among all the formative influences which go to make up a man honoured of God in the ministry, I know of none more mighty than his own familiarity with the mercy-seat.  All that a college course can do for a student is coarse and external compared with the spiritual and delicate refinement obtained by communion with God.  While the unformed minister is revolving upon the wheel of preparation, prayer is the tool of the great potter by which he moulds the vessel.  All our libraries and studies are mere emptiness compared with our closets.  We grow, we wax mighty, we prevail in private prayer. ~Charles Spurgeon

I have appreciated this book because I'm not good at knowing how to pray for Bob beyond the basics. 

Leave a comment and I will enter your name into the next drawing!  If you aren't married- they make great gifts so you should still comment!  I'll let the girls pick a name next Friday.  *grin*

Blessings.

Anniversary giveaway #2!

Cecily picked Carmen!!  We will get "Illini Loyalty" to you soon!

This week the book I'm going to give away is "The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe" by Theodore Gray.  I thought it was appropriate since I spent four years working as a chemist.  And it's one of the coolest books I've ever read.  It's an excellent coffee table book and conversation starter.  You know you've always wanted to have your very own...

Leave a comment and I will enter your name into the next drawing!  I'll let the girls pick a name next Friday.  *grin*

Blessings.

Labor day and other happenings

We "camped" again over Labor Day Weekend.  Friday was a crazy day... I did 5 pounds of pears in the morning, ran my sewing machine to the repair place, cleaned the house, and got ready for the weekend.  And I was super grumpy and in a bad mood.  And it was hot and humid.  So when Bob got home at 6 I informed him that we were not sleeping in a tent and I was not cooking over a fire.  It simplified packing and the girls and I got our supper at a decent time.  We went out to the timber for the evening and snacks.

Saturday the girls and I met everyone at the lake and swam. I took no pictures. Emmy loved the sand and the water; Cecily is not a fan of moss, even with water shoes.  We ate lunch there and then came home for naps. 

This little bee was rested and refreshed after a 2 hour nap (unheard of!!) and sooo excited to go back to the timber.

 They both got very full of sand.

 Emmy was getting close to their "zoo."  Unfortunately for them, her mother did not care in the slightest if she wrecked it... 

 It was hot.  They didn't light the fire Saturday evening.

 I have a bar and a cup of water and nothing in the world could make me happier...

 Three girls in a hammock.

 

Everyone went home Saturday night... the girls ready for church Sunday morning!  Someone told me Emmy's cute little tweed dress was the 'most unique' dress they'd ever seen on a little girl.  I don't think it was a compliment.  I found it amusing... *grin*

 

After naps we went back to the timber for supper.  And then Bob went home because he wasn't feeling well.  So I was tired and flying solo and it kept her happy so yes, she did walk around with a can of Pepsi.  I don't think she actually drank much of it, mostly just spilled it on herself.

Brent took the kids on gator rides.  

We played a bunch of 'Minute to win it' games before it got dark and I did not take any pictures.  Not that I would have shared them anyway. I brought the girls home pretty soon after that since Emmy was grouchy and it's hard to keep track of kids in the dark.  It was a good weekend, in spite of my mood.

We all slept in on labor day... woot woot.  I made homemade ice cream.  Cecily said Emmy looked like Noah.

 Usually she will only eat 'brown' ice cream, but she made an exception.

 They were fixing their vehicles.  With a pencil and a crayon. 

 Since it hasn't been quite so hot we walked up to the library...

Today I voted. Cecily got pink cowboy boots.  And spent quite a while digging holes in the mulch while Emmy played in the rainwater by the downspout. It was a good day.

Blessings.

10 years!!!

Happy Anniversary to this blog! 
On September 4th, 2005 I posted this poem:

He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

William Butler Yeats

I'm not sure how I've managed to blog for 10 years....  when I was a kid I always thought keeping a diary or journal was the coolest thing (in theory) and I never lasted more than a week.  *grin*  In retrospect that's probably a good thing.  I'm not sure I would want my childhood thoughts and grammar available for reading.... not that it has gotten any better... sometimes I re-read the archives and am embarrassed for myself.    
Anyway, somehow and against all odds, "Had I the Heaven's Embroidered Cloths" has survived for an entire decade.  Craziness.  Looking back, I'm glad I started blogging.  Since I'm not a journal-er, or a true scrapbook-er, or a post-everything-on-facebook-er this is the most complete record of my life and times extant. 

In honor of this momentous occasion I am going to give away some books that represent the stages of my life since I have started blogging to my faithful readers.  This week I'll start with college- where it all began! 

Good old 709 days at U of I....  I still miss it sometimes. 
"Illini Loyalty:  The University of Illinois" by Larry Kanfer, is a lovely book of photographs of the University of Illinois campus.  The copy I'm giving away doesn't have a jacket, but it is signed by the author.  Here are some shots from inside the book- they're gorgeous!

If you leave me a comment I will put your name in a drawing for this book!  Even if you've never commented before- you should!  I will have Cecily draw a name next Friday. 
Blessings!