Pumpkin Pillow

I thought I would show you the cute pumpkin pillow I made.

It was very easy and cheap  budget friendly.

It is made completely out of 29 cent sheets of felt from Micheal's, stuffing from another pillow, beads and embroidery thread.

**hint I stuffed under each section of the pumpkins to give them a bit of dimension**

I am linking

and here

Disney 2010

Did you miss me......

or did you even know I was missing?

We spent last week in the beautiful state of Florida,

Orlando to be exact,

while there we enjoyed some time at a famous mouse's house.

I am going to let the pictures do the talking and make the grandparents happy, (these are for your viewing pleasure Grandma, hope you like).

**well I thought I would let the picture do all of the talking but I can't help but comment on some of them**

 

Little Sister got these Minnie ears for being brave and riding Splash Mountain more than once

Every princess needs her picture taken in front of the castle

over

and over again.

We stopped here for food on the way home, This McDonald's is more overstimulating than Disney, be warned

Waiting in line for our favorite ride Toy Story Mania

The girls doing there best to pretend to be cold in the FL heat

watching our favorite street performers

This was my view for most of the time at Disney, my manly man following our two little girls carrying a pink backpack,

a pink backpack with Tinker Bell.

The Lego store at Downtown Disney is always fun.

My girls made their own Lego girls

A close up of their Lego girls.

I have much more to share about out week, but I have more painting to do right now.

Cha Cha

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

We have had a very productive garden this year

but it is slowly coming to an end.

This is all there was a few weeks ago.

I had to come up with something  to use lots of pumpkin in.

Hmmmm

Chocolate and pumpkin muffins sound so good.

I sliced the pumpkin in half and scooped out all the inside.

Baked at 350 in a roasting pan for 1 hour of until tender

Cut the rinds off and pureed.

This very easy work, I did it all while talking on the phone to my friend Lisa.

Just in case you were wondering what I do while I cook.

Then I bagged it up in 2 cup bags and froze, to bake with all year long

After all that was done

I got busy making the muffins

Ingredients:

                                                          2 cups pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)
                                                          3 eggs
                                                          2 cups sugar
                                                          3/4 cup cooking oil
                                                          2 cups all-purpose flour
                                                          2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
                                                          3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip
                                                          3T cinnamon
                                                          1t salt
                                                          1/2t baking powder
                                                          1t baking soda
                                        

                                                           Mix and scoop into a muffin tin, bake a 350 for 20 min or until done
                                                            in the middle.  Enjoy

Yes, Kellie and I know we are posting the same thing.

Great minds think alike.

We did not plan it but are not surprised.

We seem to think alike.

linking here

41-63 One Thousand Gifts

*****update*****
For those of you who follow me in reader this has already come through once.  For that I am sorry but I could not move forward with this post until I spent some time on my knees.  What I have written below is but a small crack in the crumbling walls I have built up around myself, walls of self importance and self worth.  I hope  today that those walls are crumbling to the ground never to be rebuilt. I live a life so full of excess that it is an embarassment to post this in contrast to where Ann has been serving.  My heart hurts at how full of stuff my life is, stuff that will never be enough, that will never fill that void, only God can fill that void and I am crying out to him today.  I don't know where today is going to take me but I want to go to sleep tonight a different person.  I pray that you know what is enough and if not that you would give me  the chance to talk with and pray with you.
jjones523@gmail.com

I love you, not because of anything you have done or will do but because He loves you.

Charity (or Cha Cha to you)






 Saturday morning started off very ordinary. Nothing to set it apart from any other Saturday. We prepared to go have lunch with family. Hubby went to crank my Suburban so it could be cooling and was washing off the bird gifts that were on the windshield when it happened, the air conditioner stopped. It (the AC) had been making a noise for awhile and we knew that it was only a matter of time, well Saturday was the time. So we decided to take Hubby's 1972 Chevy Blazer instead, it is convertible. This was only a small set back and then we were off. On the drive we had the first honest discussion about money that we have had in a long time. Do you want to know where the biggest waste has been? Food! We eat out far to often, I am embarrassed even as I think about how often and how much money it cost each time we go. Our eating out is a result of my laziness and disorganization. The sad (to me) thing is that the only thing we have to show for that money is extra pounds. Pounds that make me angry. So I am shifting gears and planning to make taking care of my family a much higher priority than were it has slipped to.
So today I choose to be thankful for my air conditioner breaking, thankful for the ride in the convertible and time spent with family.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-
Isaiah 55:2&3


41. My job as caretaker of my family
42. Broken air conditioner
43. Honesty
44. Forgiveness
45. Fresh air blowing through my hair
46. Sun shinning on me
47. The sweet smell of kudzu
48. A husband who never complains when I (not the kids) have to stop and go potty on car rides
49. Lunch with family
50. My favorite meal cooked just because I asked
51. Seeing my girls through others eyes
52. Watching my girls love on their family
53. The gift of cookbooks (sorry I forgot them)
54. Rain holding off until we got home
55. Singing loud to Southern Rock and Country music (that is never played in my car)
56. The cool that comes from driving over the lake and under the shade of trees.


Sunday we visited the church my sister and her family go to. It was such a nice day and I am thankful for:
57. Sitting beside my sister and hearing God's word
58. Signing hymns with my sister's voice clear and strong in my ear.
59. My oldest daughter seeing a friend again
60. My youngest daughter buzzing around with her cousin, having fun being in God's house together
61. My sister's warm pumpkin bread
62. Watching my oldest take sermon notes
63. Hearing my girls talking about what they learned in church today


I had such a blessed, wondeful, and ordinary weekend and I am thankful for it,


Cha Cha

To Paint or Not To Paint?

That has been a question that has weighed heavily on my mind for the last 5 year.  For anyone new around here, we bought the house I grew up in 5 years ago and have been s-l-o-w-l-y making it our own ever since.  Everything in me respects and loves this home that my parents built with their own hands (my sister and I helped too).  We chose to buy this house over building new because it was the closest plan we could get to what we wanted without having one designed.  But there were and are changes to be made to make it more us.  Some decisions on change were easy: paint colors, removing wallpaper, and space layout.  Other decisions have proven to be harder to make: bathroom remodels, basement finishing and trim painting.  I have always loved painted trim and any other house have picked it over any other option.  But in this home it was harder.  Harder because other people I love have feelings about this house ( not that anyone would ever try to stop me from changing it).  This home holds 25 years of memories for 3 other people besides me, people who continue to live beside it.  They are not all perfect memories but they are our memories and I sometimes fear the more I white wash this house the more I am white washing the memories that were made here.

Then one day during my quiet time with the Lord, I was praying for the future legacy of my family and how thankful I was for my past and that because of who my parents are I could be a better parent for my children.  Because I had been given more spiritually I had more to give to my children than they (my parents)  had to give to us.  I am so thankful for the sacrifice they made so that our family legacy can grow, change and become what God desires for it to be. 

Just like that I also knew I could change anything in this house.  I was given the gift of a good house foundation also from my parents.  And just like God does not plan for us to stay the same, but to change and grow, my home doesn't need to stay the same.  I am not white washing old memories but change things so new ones can be made.

                                                               ( I also changed the wall color)
Who knew deciding to paint your trim could come from a quiet moment with the Lord.
Trust in the lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him.
And He shall direct your paths.
                            Proverbs 3:5&6

So, I did it I painted my trim, or part of it.  It is a time consuming process, but well worth it.  I hope to have a tutorial soon.

(you can see the next  project I am working on in the mirror)

Cha Cha

Before                                                                                After