Christmas gifts.

When I say busy....I really meant busy.  This Christmas I made 4 quilts to give as gifts.  My fingers, back, neck & arms were tired of sewing.......but I'd do it all again to see the look on everyones face.

First, was my mother-in-law.  This summer she gave me boxes of Tim's old jeans and KU t-shirts.  She thought I might like to make my kids a jean quilt.  Right then & there I knew I'd be making her a KU quilt.  We lost Tim back in March to cancer.  He & my mother-in-law were together for over 23 years. 

She loved it and I loved giving it to her. 

 

 

I had a few left over sweatshirts of Tim's so I made a quilt for his mom.  Goldie just turned 91 this month and she has had a rough 2012.  She lost her husband, son Tim, and oldest son, Earl all this year and all to cancer. She is one tough cookie!!  She was so overwhelmed with this quilt.  I couldn't think of a better gift for someone!!!!

I made two of Matt's Grandmas small lap quilts this year.  I forgot to get a picture of one, but they are similar in design just different colors. 

State Champs

We have a State Football Champ in the house! 

My highschooler just won state in 4A football!!!  He has been on cloud 9....that is until basketball started.  We are so proud of him.

That's my kid!!!

Trying to block the punt.

Shut Out!!!! 

 

 

We gave him is letter jacket for Christmas and now I've got to get sewing on some patches!!!  He will be getting his state ring later in Jan.  What a stud!!!!

November birthdays....little late.

November is a VERY busy month for us.  My little family has 3 birthdays....hubby, Kadyn & Cooper.

Kadyn turned 7.  He is too smart for his own good.  He can be very shy and reserved and the next minute he is LOUD and a trouble maker.  :) 

                                                              He just got a phone call from Grandma & Grandpa Voss.  They were singing Happy Birthday to him.  He was so excited.

 

Cooper turned 6 this year.  This little man is our risk taker.  He is not afraid of anything and will try everything.  He is also our orneriest child. 

My kiddos.  I am one lucky momma!!!

 

A little behind....ok...very behind!

Well, I am a bad blogger.  We have been so busy, like most people, that I haven't even thought about blogging. 

What's been going on in our household?  Right now it is Christmas Break and my kids are loving not having to go to school.  They have been busy playing with all of their new toys and I've enjoyed watching them.  We still have one Christmas to go....my side of the family couldn't get everyone together until Jan. 5th.  Better late than never :)

Our youngest is now 1 and she is a mover.  She doesn't walk she RUNS everywhere.  She is a pistol and that is an under statement.  She says so many different things and everyday she impresses us with something new.  A few of her words:  Momma, Dadda, bye-bye, no, thank you, puppy, baby & coopa (Cooper, her brother). 
 Her birthday in Oct.

 

 Our family minus Dylan. He had to work that weekend.

 

We celebrated in Pratt and we also celebrated my Mom & Dad's 25 wedding Annivsary.  I love them!!

 

The grandkids.  All but Nathan & Dylan.

 

My family!!!

Our entire family.

 Later that night we took a sister photo & that is my cousin running after my daughter.  We had so much fun that night :) 

My sisters and my cousins.  Love them all!!

 

 

Miss Makayla's room

This is a project we've had done for a while & I LOVE the way it turned out.

Our nursery was in bad shape so we decided to fix it up!  It was drafty & the bathroom connected to it was in rough shape.

After the walls were fixed my Mother-in-Law & I painted.  As we finished I showed her the wall vinyl I bought of Makayla's name & the cute butterflies I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

My MIL is very crafty & can make just about anything.  She mentioned she would like to make a frame to put these vinyl stickers on instead of just putting them on the wall.  That way if Makayla ever switches rooms or wants to redecorate we won't waste them.

I agreed and this is what she brought me:

She whipped this up with old plywood & trim and left over paint.  I LOVE IT!!!  

I made Makayla bow holders with 3 old frames.

The other art work.  Her footprint butterflies.  Yes, I got the idea from Pinterest.

She has a girly room.  It will be interesting to see if she is girly or a tom boy.  With 4 older brothers I'm leaning toward tom boy. :)

Pond

There is so much I want to catch up on, but I think it will all have to wait for another day.  Our current project right now is a pond.

I am so excited.  When finished and full,  it will have 5 acres of surface water :)  It will be 17-25 feet deep in certain areas.  Talk about HUGE fish in years to come!!!!

They should be done this week or early next week and it will take less than a year to completely fill up.
I can't wait......lots of nights fishing, camping and roasting marshmellows in our future.

Running on the pond

The HUGE Cottonwood that had to come down.  Poor tree.

Riding in the back of the truck.  I LOVE living in the country.  

Big machines.  Can you see the boys standing on the Earth Mover?

The tires are over 6 feet tall.  My hubby is 6'1

Starting the pond.

Black eye

Oh my poor little Coopie.  We live on a farm with some old out buildings and my kids are able to explore, with some rules, but they don't always listen.

One of the rules right now with our 3 little boys (6, 5 & 3) is that one of the out buildings is OFF LIMITS.  This is due to the fact that there are lots of boards on the floor with rusty nails sticking through them.

Well, boys will be boys and my oldest talked the 5 year old into going into it.  Then, my 5 year old stepped on a rusty nail.  Right in the middle of his arch....OUCH!!!  Thank goodness we are up to date with shots.  So, with the help of peroxide & neosporin we kept it from getting infected.

Then, a few days later Cooper was being a dare devil and did a face plant off of our swings.  He had so much dirt in his eye.  We finally got it cleaned out and now he has a pretty shiner and skinned up nose.   I think I need to invest in neosporin stock and always make sure I have GREAT insurance.  :)
As the saying goes, when it rains it pours :)  Poor little guy!!!

Right after it happened.

A few days later. 

Papa Tim

We have had many changes in our lives this year.  One of the saddest was letting Papa Tim go.  At the end of May, Papa lost his battle with cancer and God called him to rest.  He was only 53.  My kids have had a hard time with this.  They LOVED their papa and loved going to see him at the farm.  

Last Friday was the Dash for Life in Topeka.  This was an amazing event.  It was a memorial/fundraiser for Midland Hospice Care and we are grateful for them.  They had a candle burning for Papa and the kids were able to write a note for him on the sidewalk.   I was shocked at all of the activities they had for the kids.  Bouncy houses, face paint, goodie bags, balloons and other little games.  My kids had a ball.  

One of the best parts & our favorite was the butterfly release.  They handed out butterflies so that you could release them in honor of your loved ones.  

                                     Holding their butterflies, getting ready to let them go.  

                                             Our niece, Tyler's butterfly didn't want to go.

We love you dearly Papa Tim & miss you more than we could ever share.  May you rest in peace!!