Semester Vocab. test

We started out this year doing vocabulary words on 3x5 cards. My youngest daughter came up with this idea and I love it. It has worked.

 Every week we would do three to four words. At the end of the week the student had to match the meaning to the definition. Almost every week she did very well. Some weeks went into two. But the meaning was beginning to stick in the mind. At the end of the first quarter we took the words and did a small test with all of them.

This week we are ending our second quarter and we are doing all of them. We have been going over them for two weeks now. I really hope that she holds the understanding of these words forever. They are not really second grade words but okay so we stretched her a bit. They all came out of her reading text, somewhere. Any way I will be away the next few days and hope that when I get back to school I see an A+ on the test score.
Mom will give the test.

 Good Luck    Punkin,   you go girl....

January Days

It was a great day.

                        The weather was in the low eighties and the skies were blue and we were in shorts. Love being in the sun in January. It isn't really hot and it just warms me up inside. Love it!

bright natural lighting

   We were able to be outside doing our school work.

    Reading about fairies and hide and seek, imagining playing it ourselves.

   The joy of freedom from the four
walls of a class room, is so relaxing.

     Having lunch in the great out doors with the animals on the ranch.
     Even if they only get the left-overs.

 Then to top off the day with a sewing project. Oh my favorite subject, SEWING. We made a cell phone -over the shoulder- bag and a hide in purse-snack bag.

 

This is great. We had a good time.
 I tried a new to be released pattern and Punkin designed and made me a snack bag. So this weekend while I am at 'Road to California Quilt Show', I can take some snacks in my purse where they won't be seen by the security.
  I will be working for one of the vendors and won't be able to get away for lunch. Besides it will be pricy.  So now I won't be hungry and PECKISH.
        
All things work together for those who love the Lord and are called for His purpose.

Ministry Fellowship

                   It was GREAT. We ( the Harvest Community) arrived anywhere between 8 and 9:00, and registered.
    We( lots of people) got our pictures taken and signed our lives away. Not really, we( those who had not already done so in the last three months) just had to fill out paperwork so they knew where we( servants of the Lord who help out in different church ministries at different campuses) helped out.
  We( the people and all who attended) worshiped with the best worship team ever, Harvest Christian Band.
  We( the people) heard great comedy and good clean laughter coming from the crowds. It was fun.
  They( the staff of the church) gave away prizes and one was a all expense paid trip to Australia for the next Harvest Crusade. I just wish it could have been me, but the good Lord knows who He wants there.
   We( servants) got a free burger or hotdog with chips and a drink. ALL the while the wind was blowing. Sure the enemy tried to stir stuff up but we( everyone) all a good time anyway.
      We were reminded of the beliefs that the church is based on. You know things like,
We believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God. All Scripture is  inspired by God.             (2 Timothy 3:16).
 That the trinity is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And eight others that I can not remember all of. But it is what I believe, and so I was glad to hear them all again, Should have taken notes.
   All the Pastors were there. It was a blessed day and it just reminds me how blessed I am that I am able to help serve my Lord in church that teaches the gospel truth, straight from the pages of scripture.  I  am also blessed to be so close to one of the best churches in America.

Punkin loved going to school there

This is where I serve now, both in Children's Ministry and As a teacher for my Punkin.

  

It is a great way to spend the day with love in my heart for those who I love and who love me.

 God has put me here and I am where I am supposed to be.

Blogging

                   I am so new to this that I don't make sense of what I am saying. I am just blogging.
    I have been following Ree Drummond /The pioneer Woman's blog and am engrossed by her abilities to write. She has contests and all kinds of different subjects that she writes about. She is really good.
    I so enjoy them all. Maybe someday I can write like her or her contributors. Even Heather from OMSH is  really helpful in the homeschooling ideas.
     I love the recipes that are available through Tasty Kitchen.

    So, someday, if I don't get intimidated by all these great bloggers and stop blogging myself, I may be able to blog like the best of them.

Until then I will just take baby steps and do my best with what I have.

Quilters Newsletter Article

Remembering Phyllis Schneck, Lost in Tucson Shooting

by Dana Jones

“Phyllis Schneck, quilter.”

That’s what the TV reporter said as he read a list of those killed in this week’s tragic shootings at an appearance by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.

“Phyllis Schneck, quilter.”

As the reporter read her name, her picture appeared on the screen. It was the smiling face of the 79-year-old-grandmother and great grandmother. Her son said his mother wasn’t particularly political but did want to meet Giffords.

I wanted to know more about Phyllis Schneck. It’s not the norm to hear someone identified on national TV news as a quilter. Here’s what I learned from searching for her on the Internet: Phyllis Schneck spent summers in her native New Jersey and the rest of the year in Tucson, where she and her husband of 56 years, Ernest Schneck Sr., moved in 2000. Ernest died in 2007. In New Jersey and Arizona, Phyllis Schneck was active in church and women’s clubs. Family and friends interviewed in the wake of her death, all noted two things: she was a great cook and a whiz with a needle and thread. Her daughter, B.J. Offutt said her mother was active in quilting, crafting and Bible-study groups at her church. She helped create quilts the church sold two or three times a year to raise money for mission.

A New Jersey friend called Phyllis Schenck “an activitst for her community,” and many noted her generosity. A pastor at her Tucson church said: “Phyllis just had this very sweet spirit…She had sort of a quiet way about her, but on the other hand, she just had a poignant sense of humor.”

I never met Phyllis Schneck but feel I know her just a bit. She sounds like so many women in our quilting world who value the art of hand-crafted items and are willing to give many hours to make beautiful things for others –even folks they’ve never met. I hope the quilt world will join me in mourning the loss of one from our community. Please take a moment to think about the void in the lives of all who knew her, those who benefited from her labors of love, and especially her three children–B.J. Orcutt of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Phyllis Rautenberg of Calabasas, California; and Ernest Schneck Jr. of Rutherford, New Jersey–and her grandchildren and great grandchild.

Quilting quilts

This is my passion.
     To be the best of my kind. Professional Quilt-Top Constructor. I received a call from a  gal who I have had quilt some of the tops I have pieced. I have made four to date this year. (Three of which were on my camera, which was lost to every viewers eye but mine. That mistake I learned from after I reformatted my disc in the camera one night.) Okay enough of that, Anyway I so wish I could do that task much more than I am hired to do.

No, I don't have business cards and nor do I have a website or advertise. I do these jobs by word of mouth.
Tonight I got a call and it was nice to hear from Trina, but then the doubt has crept in. I hate that slimy devil, who does that to me. Makes me wonder if I am good enough for the quote. I think I am and I feel I am, but who can...,
 see there he goes again. It's like STOP Already.  I will find out if someone wants me to do a job for them or not. It is totally up to the Lord and His will.

Last year I did a couple of shirt quilts for a gal and they were stunning in the end. But sure the questions were there. Is it really worth the money. The owner of the quilts thought so when she received them.

He loved the "Angels"

silk and rayon and cotton shirts from her
belated wonderful husband

This was the center of the back and the
sky in the back was part of the same shirt

BQ with hubby's shirts

I can't go on doubting myself. I am a Professional Quilt-top Constructor, and I love it.

Tough times

      So we are going thru our day doing our studies and we are laughing, when all of a sudden, back she goes and I can not stop her. She hits her head and then it comes. The crying. Oh my, what do I do.                      

 I grab her up from under her stool and there is blood. Where is it coming from . "Run to the bathroom", I tell her. Like right, run? Well we get to the bathroom and I tell her to close her eyes so she doesn't see all the blood coming out of her mouth. I am rinsing her mouth out hoping no teeth are going to go down the drain. As time goes by I can see it is not her teeth, Thank the Lord. But is it her nose?  No.  She has a pretty good bite in her bottom lip though. We put gauze in between the bottom lip and her teeth.

         So we go back to the classroom and I try to get her focus on something other than the pain, and I keep seeing the gauze in her mouth getting redder and redder.
  All of a sudden I become very dizzy and remember that I faint at the site of blood. So we have to go back to the bathroom and change the gauze, as well as allow me to sit down, before I fall down. She see's me go very pale and gives me a big hug for comfort. That's my girl. Take care of the big baby.
We ended the day early.( One of her spelling words this week. In fact the only one she miss spelled.)
 But we read "Molly Saves the Day" until mommy got here. It was still somewhat bleeding up to at least a half a hour.
I am so 'Thankful" for the strength of the Lord for He is the one who was totally in control.

On Time..

      Some times it takes a kick in the pants to get started. Yesterday I got it and today it helped. My Star student- Punkin,(grand-daughter) was on time and fed when she arrived for school this morning.
  As I stated yesterday, I told them school was over at four and any undone seat work would be homework. So today, they were here at 8:00 am and ready to hit the books. I  was amazed. Also today, I put a note card with the word Craft in front of her and she was done by 3:30 and had two bike ride breaks and lunch break, snack break and work for the day finished. She ended up wanting to ride her bike until 4:00 and I was okay with that. Clean up was then a breeze.
  I do not know why everyone can say that their days are over in four hours. Ours are forever long, but they are getting better with attitudes and that's okay with me too, for now.

 The Lord is so good. I love days like this.

Fresh Start

       So today was our first day back to school. Home-school that is.
   As I was doing my daily reading with my lord. I asked Him what must I do to do this teaching thing right with good results.
   He reminded me of Isaiah 41:9c-10. 'I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' And then in verse 13 of the same chapter He say's, "For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, "Do not fear, I will help you.' "   I love it. He is so good....

    So as I started my day, He gave me the thought to not go beyond 4:00 in the afternoon. Since school started in September, we have very long days. My grand-daughter has no sense of urgency in anything. Time is like "What is that". She dilly-dallies . She is not dumb in any sense of the word, but SLOW. Oh my, is she slow. Just plain not in a hurry at all.
So this morning after her mommy brought her a hour late. I explained to her that anything that did not get done before 4:00 would be homework. Then at that time she would have to deal with her mommy being a teacher at night. Oh she didn't think mommy would like that. So she seemed to not dilly-dally as long today. It was a great day. We really did miss each other over the two week break.
 Of course at the end of the day is when I told her mommy the new rules and maybe that may get her to bring the child on time. That is when my grand-daughter decided to want to do a craft,. I had to tell her that comes when she has done her required work in the school hours of the day. She just may have got the idea. We will see what tomorrow brings.

We did take a 30 minute Key board break though. We got it for her for Christmas and she has not been able to play it since Christmas day. She was at her moms and then her dads. So today was a fresh start and we enjoyed it.

           This morning I found a young finch at the bottom of the avery. It was so cold I brought in to try to keep it alive. It wasn't doing well and I just felt sorry for it out there.

                  This is the first time Punkin has ever held a real bird. 

She was hoping for it to be her new bird, but after it drank a few sips of water and hopped around a bit, it went to birdie heaven.

     

At least we tried and she was able to hold it.

Made her day. 

 I

1-1-11

A new day in a new year.
    Time , what a precious gift yet so much of it is wasted. As I talked to my brother this morning we talked about time. I have this subject come up a lot  lately.
    Time can not be saved. It can not be redeemed. It can not be be built up. It is what it is when it is. It is forever ticking and always going and each day has enough to make it a day. No more no less. Once today is over. The time is gone. Cannot save any part of yesterday's time for tomorrow. It is today's allotted time and that is it.
  So yesterday was last year and those things are now history in time. I feel like I wasted time because I sat and watched The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. I have not sat for so long in what it seems like forever. I do not watch television. And I haven't seen a movie in probably 6 months or more. But yesterday, my husband and I watched his favorite movies. He just loves the books really.
But wow, what a waste of time, if I was to do that every day or even once a week. I have other things to do. But that is how I took out the old year.

Today has been quiet different. Although not what I wished it could have been.
    Tried to sew on my scrappy quilt, but after baking oatmeal raisin cookies and preparing a pot roast in the crock pot, I read and took a little nap.
Now back to the second to the last book, Armageddon, of The Left Behind series. Almost done with it and the celebration of The Glorious Appearing,The end of Days, and then I will enjoy Joel Rosenbergs',
The Twelfth Imam.

    So I have no more time this evening to blog, I need to go and read so as to enjoy all the books I can read in the time I have here.
    Until next time, ....happy reading

Freezing...

       Okay so 28* is freezing here where we are. My birds water dish was frozen on top. I have Zebra finch in an avery.  The pipes needed to have water ran thru them a bit to keep from breaking and my chickens were fine, Thank the Lord.
     Cold, yes we are cold here and yet in the home we have a fire burning in the fire place and the little dog has her sweat-shirt on, and the coffee is brewing, again.
     Last day of 2010 and we are counting our blessings still. The Lord is so good and we acknowledge that it is all of His provisions that keeps us here where we are, today.
  
   Maybe I'll post more later, but I feel the need to bake cookies and maybe Snuggle with a book or sit with my husband and watch The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Who knows, sewing sounds wonderful too, but doesn't look promising.
 Happy New Year .....

The Bride of Christ..

      Today I went to the year end Koinonia of my summer Thursday bible study group. The theme was "The Bride of Christ". We all dressed in black and white and we were to choose a Covenant Promise scripture to share. We could wear veils if we wanted to and had them. We were to bring our favorite appetizer, and bring our favorite wedding picture.
    I arrived at least a half an hour early. Thought I was only 15 minutes. But it just prepared me for the day.

    The setting was beautiful. The food everyone brought was fabulous and in abundance. The ladies arrived in mostly black and with veils. It was great fun.
   The photos were view by all and of course mine was in a photo album of our trip to Israel, where we got married on The Mount of Beatitudes. It caused questions but it was all good.
   We all got a number that was on the back of a poker chip. I was 4. Okay. Wow, I really like the #3. But oh well. So we all fellowship like a bunch of hens in a hen house. lots of laughter and cameras flashing.
  We began the worship with a poem and then singing. Soon to share our Covenant Promise. I had chosen Romans 8:38-39.
We learned that we would read our scripture to the person with the next # and that would be ours. Wow, I would get #3 after all and I received    2 Corinthians 11:2. Another wow. I love what the Lord has promised me in this scripture and as each woman received what the Lord had ordained, it was great to see how it fit perfectly. The Lord is so good.
    I had a great time and ate to much good food and was full of the Spirit of the Lord .
 I love days like this.

Playing in the house..

Today, We ( Alex and I ) played in my sewing room. We chatted and sewed and ironed and laughed, all the while it was raining outside. It was a great day for this quilters' playhouse.
 Next week we go back to homeschooling and not so much sewing. But we will still be in the sewing room. It is all together , sooo maybe I will be able to continue to work on that scrappy quilt that is using up most of my scraps.
I made an apron last night and will upload a picture later. As for now I want to go read and see if I can't finish another book before the end of the week.

Stash...

             I have been trying to use up my stash for almost two years now. I have only been purchasing the fabric needed for the backs of my quilts.

    Now I am making aprons. I won't have to purchase backs, plus I can give them away faster. Maybe even sell a few. They are not as costly to others as a quilt would be.

 They are user friendly and every one needs to be in the kitchen once in awhile. Home made taco's or chocolate chip cookies. Protect your clothes and wear a cute apron.

I have made many but in my spare time I reformatted my camera disk( not knowing what I was doing) and cleared it out of over two months worth of memories never to be shared.

But hey, there's always tomorrow to make more. I also know not to repeat a bad mistake.

   So until next time, happy sewing.....

Christmas Blessings

doll bed and pillow and quilt

We had a wonderful day today. We, my husband and I spent the day relaxing. We tinkered and waited for my grand-daughter to arrive to open her Christmas gifts. Not many.  Some home-made.The doll bed and blanket and sheet and pillow. Oh so cute.
  We laughed and Papa just kept getting another gift. He had no idea. 6 books in all. Just heard him say that he just blew threw 5 chapters, unstoppable. I guess he really likes at least one of them. That is a good thing.
This is the first Christmas we have really celebrated since 1993. Wow... Don't ask, just wow.
It was great. Spent yesterday with one of my daughters helping out serving the Lord by volunteering at Los Angeles Mission. And then today seeing my other daughter laugh.
My grand-daughter got gifts from everyone she knows. She got two  bikes and boots, jewelry, books and clothes, and Barbies and doll bake sets and a Key board. (Hope she will open up to a desire to worship in music. We will see. If that is where the Lord wants her, I hope we have provided the tool to start it). She had a good Christmas.

jumping up & down with joy

  Okay, with all this said, I need some more rest. Have to be ready to serve in Children Ministry tomorrow morning.

Visions of Los Angeles

Wow, I was so open to serve the Lord and That I did. Went to Los Angeles Mission yesterday and helped out at their Christmas dinner function. My daughter and her boy-friend were going and I have always wanted to do something like serving the needy. This was my opportunity. I had a ride and a place to go. I was ready by 6:45am. Waiting for my ride to pick me up, seeing as I do not drive if I do not have to. Arrived in L.A. with the cool of the morning and the Toy District still not even opened all the way. People already waiting outside the mission for their freebie things. We were in charge of the give away jackets. There were pallets of these boxes of jackets and there were sizes from children's XS to MXL. Of course everyone wanted the MXL. We had to be diplomatic about who got what by sizing them up, why you might ask. Well there were many more children sizes than mens and then very few MXL. Some wanted to take them even if it didn't fit them, they would give it to their family someone. Very few didn't take them because they would not fit them. I smiled a lot and seemed to call everyone 'sweetie' or 'hon'. The weather was very nice, sun was shining and warm. I believe I may have got a slight tan from the left side of my face.
Seen celebrities that I didn't know, were celebrities. Saw a character in my daughter that made me laugh inside, cause I seen and heard 'Me'. And Time flew by. Before I knew it it was 2:30 pm and I don't think I was ready to go, but my team-mates (daughter and boy-friend) were. So we left the others holding down the fort. so to speak.
The people I had seen I still can not wash from my sights. Not that I wish I could or even trying to. I just keep seeing them go by, in want, in need, in hopes. I just keep seeing them and yet there is no face really. They are all the same type and seem to carry themselves the same way and are okay with it.
    I am in awe at how BLESSED I am. I am still 'Thanking the LORD' for the many blessings His has poured out on me and my family and loved one's. I am in a warm home, with clean sheets on a real bed. I have a pillow and heat in my home that allows me to be comfortable and I have food that I cooked in my kitchen with my dishes and it is all clean. I am so blessed and I know it. There are people who don't have much that they can call their own and they sleep on the dirty streets of L.A. and beg for what ever they have and take whatever hand outs others are willing to give them and they are cold. But tonight they may have a jacket that I handed them yesterday. No I did not give it to them. The jackets were donated by someone else. I do not know who, but I did hand it to them and some took it and were thankful.
Needless to say, at the end of the day, I was exhausted. I was pooped out and Oh So Thankful that I had my pillow in my home with my warm bed to sleep comfortably in and I did.

Prep work

            So tonight I need to prepare myself for service tomorrow. I have volunteered to serve at a mission in L.A. tomorrow.
  I have always wanted to serve the Lord by serving others and this year, I am doing it.  I have no idea what I will be doing and that kind of is not me so there I am stepping outside my box. But I am not the one driving there so I think I will be okay. I usually need to know in advance what is happening and at this time, the only thing I know is that I am signed to go and serve. May prove to be very interesting.
  I prayed this year for the Lord to use me in sharing the truth about Him and serving Him. If this is part of the answer, I am not going to question Him about it. I am just going to rely on Him to carry me through.
   He has blessed me in ways that I could never explain, so I don't question it either.
So until tomorrow.....

Rainy Day feeling...

Okay so today I couldn't help but have that rainy day feeling, again.  Some may know that it has been raining since Sunday here and we don't usually have days like this. We may get a sprinkle here and there and sometimes a bit of real rain. But Rain that just keeps coming down and really has nowhere to go except down. Down that is in the dry soil and bedrock. I thought we may get a lake out back if it didn't stop soon. Then just like that it did. But a bit later it just let loose, The heavens I mean and it came down in buckets. And then stopped again. I think it may be over for now, here in these parts anyway.
Mama said there would be days like this and I can not remember too many of them as it was today and yesterday, but we needed it and I pray it is not all we get this season. Lord know we can use more .
Days like this causes one to go to their stash of fabrics and pull them out and start sewing. So that is what I did. Started to sew on a scrappy quilt I cut scraps for a few weeks ago. Been saving scraps since the late 90's. Found a really good pattern that I can use lots of them on and now we are in business. I think it's like a scrappy Buck-Eye Beauty. Hey and I like scrappy. It keeps the eyes moving. Anyway lots of pinning and then some stitching and of course trimming up and squaring up and we should have a really cool quilt in about three months. Quilt top possibly if nothing else. I'll see how far I get with it before we go back to school.

In the mean time, it's time to go read.....

Quilters' Playhouse: new day,more rain

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

New to this....

I am so new to this that It is scary that I am doing it, So I thought I would give it a go. It is almost Christmas and 32 years ago today,would have been my daddy's 44th birthday, which you do the math would make him ?
This is the first Christmas since 1993 that I have a Christmas tree in my home. My oldest daughter came home in 2007 and brought hers here so that my grand-daughter could have one but it was theirs. This year my youngest daughter, bought me one that is about three feet tall and covered in lights. I am enjoying it and it will be around till the end of my time, I figure.
Rain and still more rain has been falling for a few days now. We can use it that's for sure. Great way to water all my gardens.
As of today, we have received 5 eggs from our chickens that we purchased in October. I am so happy about it too. Fresh eggs and free range, YES!!! Makes for a great omelet that I can put my fresh grown chilies and bell peppers in.

Made a apron for a Christmas gift that someone else is giving to someone else. Yet I had picked out the fabric not five minutes before I got the call to make an apron. Okay...
Two days ago I dreamed of someone calling me from jail because of bad choices, and today I received the call to warn me of that someone possibly going to jail for bad choices....
The Lord is definitely working and I am witnessing it.
Well I think this is enough for the first time, except to say, I love to see how the Lord works.

Posted by judith at 9:16 PM Quilters' Playhouse: new day,more rain: "Still raining, and enjoying the quiet time with it."