A Patchwork Mommy

Another Wednesday Night

2012-01-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

Here are highlights of our second Wednesday night home church group.

We SO need to find a better name for it!

Dad's Bible lesson.

A few of the kids role playing.

Working on a project

A little impromptu mentoring...don't say anything like 'how sweet'. Trust me. It wrecks the mood. I just know.

The 'braiding' of the bread.

Someone is pleased with his braiding!

This will be a good treat!

Hot potato!!

Ok, I just HAD to include this video!

THIS IS A MUST WATCH!!!

We are some crazy cats!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

P.S.

Wondering what Jeff taught about?

He talked about compassion using the story of Jesus healing the lame man (found in John 5) as illustration.

We made sleeping mats out of construction paper.

Worked on memorizing:

Be kind and compassionate to one another,forgiving each other,just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

Worked on a word search.

We made Challah bread.

Colored, sang, and prayed.

We are still fine tuning everything but this is a fun time!

A Winter Photo Shoot

2012-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

I was out and about not long ago and thought I would have a winter photo shoot.

You know, a few random things to remember January 2012 with.

Homemade construction paper confetti we used to help ring in the New Year.

Pretty Grace (7)

Hmmm...stickers on the mail box

Our winter garden

Ekie (10) and Anya (9)

Remnants of the bowl of lettus Nicki (our cat) knocked over on Christmas. I thought that a few hungry critters would find this a nice winter feast...I guess not.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Oh, You Silly Little Guys

2012-01-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

I think they think they are in the wild.

I will not spoil their fun right now.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

It's a Mess Again!

2012-01-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

This means a new project is in the works!

I am making a new church dress for Odell. She grew about 4 inches this past year!!

I am now at a stand still because I can not find where I put my pink thread. It is around somewhere.

I think this dress will turn out SO pretty!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Day 3 of 10 Days Of Proverbs 31

2012-01-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

...She provides food for her family...

Proverbs 31:15

Now most all of you know we are a large family.

A very large family.

Seventeen of us in all.

Since my topic for the next 8 days is creativity I thought I would share some large family logistics and how needing to be creative in almost every area over here is a necessity!

When we were first praying about adopting we already had seven children.

Seven children seems large to most but we were comfortable financially maybe even had a little splurging wiggle room.

Jeff had a good stable job.

The economy seemed stable to us.

We knew adopting would cost money up front and we knew living expenses like groceries, etc...would go up. We knew we would need to tighten our belts some. God had called us to step forward in faith. We stepped. We knew God would provide. Yet, it was scary. We had no idea at the time just how much and fast our family would grow. We did not realise just how much belt tightening we would need to do. Now we know. It is a very tight belt!!

There has not been very many things we directly asked others for if we were in need. We have usually trusted God and he would provide it for us.

I have clung to this verse over the years. Some months I clung tighter than others.

I was once young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging for bread.

Psalm 37:25

I could wow you with the cost of utilities, groceries, how much toilet paper we use,but for today I will just wow you with my creative Proverbs 31 woman breakfast!

One way that God provides for us is gifts of food from others.

I LOVE that!!

We are so thankful!

We use EVERYTHING!

We sometimes end up with a can of this and a can of that.

Sometimes we get very special cans of things that usually we can not afford.

It might be silly to most but I spend a lot of time thinking and asking God exactly what is the best use of our food. I really do.

For a week I have been pondering how to use these five cans of fruit pie filling we were given. They are almost like gold to me. Of course, one of my teens could just open up a can and down it in a few minutes but I wanted to make something very special. Something that honored the gift we were given. I wanted it to be something the kids would step back and notice how kind God was to give us these five pie fillings.

No laughing!

Ok, so they are just a few cans of pie filling.

You see pie filling.

I see God's faithfulness.

I decided on a warm breakfast cobbler.

Ugh...Nicki you are distracting me from my cobbler making! Is there a reason you are pathetically clinging to the door like that?

Ah...this looks very tasty.

See, isn't this a nice special breakfast.

God's faithfulness demonstrated.

Practical creativity at it's finest.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are the other twelve blogs joining in on this 10 Days of Proverbs 31 adventure.

Enjoy!!

Contributing to family income/2 better than 1

The Fear of the Lord/ Satisfied by Love

Using time wisely/BlessedBeyondMeasure

Taking care of needy/ Shadow Wonder

Using money wisely/Jennifer Sikora

Keeping an eye on home/Just a Glimpse

She can laugh at the days ahead/faith filled food for moms

Clothed in strength and dignity/One thing I’ve Learned

Taking care of others/ 2 savvy gals

Bringing Variety to Family/ Karen Dawkins

Extending your Hand to the Poor/ Women’s Fellowship House

Organization/Teaching what is Good

Just Beautiful!

2012-01-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Thank you Byrons!!!!!!!

They gave us two hundred of these beauties!

How very very thoughtful.

Not one went to waste.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Day Two of 10 Days of Proverbs 31

2012-01-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I struggled greatly with being involved with this 10 day blog event.

First off, I am not a writer.

I am a very poor communicator.

Ha ha. Sentence structure and things like spelling and punctuation are SO very over-rated!

I have a lot to say about things like sewing, laundry, raising a large family, orphans, adoption, homeschooling, being a wife. All which developed from the lengthy list of what I have done wrong in those areas.

In fact, I can communicate very passionately about a few of those subjects.

But when it comes to God's word I get very flustered and my thoughts jumble up. Yes, even more than they usually do.

If you ever met me in real life you would know how much I ramble. You would also have been caught in one of the 'Tina never got to the point or answered the actual question' conversations.

A simple question on your part like " How is the weather?" would commit you (unknowingly) to ten minutes of odd obscure rambling that had absolutely nothing to do with the weather!

To top it all off I am sort of a Proverbs 31 woman rebel.

Did I just hear a few gasps?

It is not because I do not agree or desire to have the character traits this woman has.

I do.

Maybe a more accurate statement is that I rebel against the 'look' of this particular woman. You know ,the stereo type image of the Proverbs 31 woman that pops into our minds.

For years I felt that to be the best wife/mother/christian I could be, I would need to 'look' like her.

I would strive.

I would try.

I would fail.

How dare she (really meaning God) put me in a small box, a box so small I can not even move about in and to top it off, create me with my own unique quirks, oddities, talents,etc...but say sorry Tina here is the mold. You need to be her.

No!

I am me!!

So I rebel.

I thought how unfair is it that here is this woman, this standard so seemingly lofty and hard to obtain in my own life.

Then it clicked.

Even without Proverbs 31:10-31 being included in the Bible everything she demonstrates, the character qualities she possesses can be found and also modeled in other areas of the Bible.

And to top it all off, this is the real zinger, If you get to the core, to the bottom line of who/what exactly this Proverbs 31 woman was about you will find it has little to do with whether she sews, or buys fields, or makes terrific meals for the whole city.

No.

Look real close.

It is about this:

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

John 15: 13-14

and this

" I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it will produce many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it,while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

John 12:24-25

I think that her whole life was a purposeful choice to die to herself and serve others and most of all Love God with a confidence and depth that not many do.

That I want to do.

So whether my sewing machine breaks down, my dinner burns, I over sleep, or my kids wear un-matching hand-me-downs, I can live my life with a purpose, with a choice. A choice to serve, to love, to die to myself. Most of all I can cling on to a very powerful, strong, compassionate, understanding, patient God.

The God who made this quirky, odd, rebel named Tina

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are the other twelve blogs joining in on this 10 Days of Proverbs 31 adventure.

Enjoy!!

Contributing to famHeily income/2 better than 1

The Fear of the Lord/ Satisfied by Love

Using time wisely/BlessedBeyondMeasure

Taking care of needy/ Shadow Wonder

Using money wisely/Jennifer Sikora

Keeping an eye on home/Just a Glimpse

She can laugh at the days ahead/faith filled food for moms

Clothed in strength and dignity/One thing I’ve Learned

Taking care of others/ 2 savvy gals

Bringing Variety to Family/ Karen Dawkins

Extending your Hand to the Poor/ Women’s Fellowship House

Organization/Teaching what is Good

Our Very First

2012-01-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night Home Church group was January 11th.

We had a lot of fun!

It was a good start to our newest family adventure.

We had prayer and praise

a little coloring

verse memorizing

some snacks

a project

a Bible lesson and skit

and games!

One more thing...

I just had to include a snippet of the Joseph skit Jeff and the boys entertained us with!

Forgive the poor quality.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy Birthday Lily!!!

2012-01-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

My blog respite made me a little behind in Frye house news!!!

So for a few days I will be double posting!!

This way I can get in our fun random family stuff and my 10 Days of Proverbs 31 posts.

So ready for a great but crazy double day posting ride?!!

Here we goooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Shouts out to our youngest!!!

Lily turned 4 January 7th!!

Happy birthday to my baby.

My princess.

My Lily!!!

I LOVE YOU!!

A little Frye trivia.

This is the first time we have had our youngest this old.

Usually,there has always a younger baby hanging around.

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

10 Days of Proverbs 31

2012-01-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

I am back!

I took a little blog respite this last few weeks.

I kept up with blog posts in my mind but they never made it to my actual blog!

I bet you were all wondering what I was up to.

Well...

I sat on the couch a lot...

Thinking

And just enjoying the slow down after the holidays.

I have not been called in for Jury duty yet. Just 3 1/2 more months left!

Our Christmas tree is still up.

I have not washed our bed linens in what seems like years.

I decided I have a special gift. It is called Poopy Sense. You know like Spidey Sense but instead of being able to swing from building to building using spider webs, I can smell a poopy diaper in my sleep. It is a handy gift. I have not had to buy diaper rash cream for years.

See...

Lots of thinking.

Ok

Ok

On to the actual real part of today's post.

For the next ten days I am going to be doing something new on my blog.

A sweet friend of mine over at 2 Are Better Than One organized a group of 13 of us to participate in 10 Days of Proverbs 31.

Each of us 13 will address a particular attribute of the Proverbs 31 woman for 10 days.

The attribute I will be sharing about for the next ten days is being creative.

I LOVE being creative!!

There are many attributes of the Proverbs 31 woman that I fall very very short with.

I am not an early riser.

I have a hard time taking my worries about tomorrow to God. I tend to hold tightly to them and am most of the time pretty sure the sky will actually fall tomorrow.

I do eat the bread of idleness. In fact,it is one of my favorite dishes.

but I love to put on my creative thinking cap. I have so many ideas that flow through my head that sometimes my head feels like it will explode.

In my opinion, there is almost nothing as exciting as taking a bunch of scraps of this or that and making something beautiful out of it.

Creating something out of a bunch of nothing.

Seeing a seed of an idea in my thoughts become a final product.

Do not laugh, but sometimes I get so exited in the process of making something that it is hard to breath.

I am very thankful God saw fit to include that part of himself in us his created ones.

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

Hmm...there are SO many ways the Proverbs 31 woman demonstrated her creativity.

Her creativity was not just confined to sewing garments and robes.

I will post more tomorrow!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are the other twelve blogs joining in on this 10 Days of Proverbs 31 adventure.

Enjoy!!

Contributing to family income/2 better than 1

The Fear of the Lord/ Satisfied by Love

Using time wisely/BlessedBeyondMeasure

Taking care of needy/ Shadow Wonder

Using money wisely/Jennifer Sikora

Keeping an eye on home/Just a Glimpse

She can laugh at the days ahead/faith filled food for moms

Clothed in strength and dignity/One thing I’ve Learned

Taking care of others/ 2 savvy gals

Bringing Variety to Family/ Karen Dawkins

Extending your Hand to the Poor/ Women’s Fellowship House

Organization/Teaching what is Good

The Mission

2012-01-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

to provide warmth for the cold children...

and animals in the house.

using a steel wool scrub pad and a nine-volt battery.

Is the mission possible?

Well, lets put it this way, if this was a true survival situation we would not be alive to let you know.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Random Thursday

2012-01-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

Today is a day of rambling thought.

Nothing profound.

Just a string of disjointed Pooh brained musings.

Are you ready for some reading?

Here goes.

I started jury duty this week.

In our county one is on jury duty for four months. I am not sure if that means there are a lot of trials by jury in our county or not very many. I am supposed to call a hotline in every Monday evening to see if I am needed to go to the court house for duty that week.

My initial thoughts when I received my notice last month was utter panic. I was not sure if this timing had God's hand in it or not. I know by faith it does but in my Pooh brain it seems so unfortunate.

Of course, if I am off in a jury Jeff will not get paid and that will be very bad. Then again, this is the beginning of Jeff's new vacation period so I could not claim that being on a short trial would create a hardship on our family. It would not be what I would call a fun use of Jeff's vacation time but then again we really do not use his vacation time for vacations anyway. They are usually used for things like taking the kids to the doctors or dentist,car troubles, or if Jeff or myself are sick.

The biggest thing that bothers me about the timing is that there are friends of ours that will be going to trial sometime in 2012. I assume it would be a trial by jury. That could fall within my four months of service. Although, Jeff is sure because we know them and a bit about their situation I would not be picked as a juror as it would be hard to be non-biased. I still lay awake at night worrying a bit. Still sitting on a jury no matter who is on trial will be stressful. Besides in a county our size wouldn't most of the jurors know each other and possibly the ones on trial?

One thing I know is God's timing is good. I might even enjoy the time away from the house for a bit. It would also be exciting to see how a non Law and Order trial would be like. This four months will go fast enough and I probably would find my worries are not needed.

On a much more exciting note, Jeff and I made the decision to take our kids out of the AWANA program at our church. Currently, Jeff is one of the AWANA T&T leaders,our six older kids are AWANA helpers, and our other nine children participate in the AWANA program (ok,ok I just stayed home to relax). HaHa Do you think our absence will be noticed?

We so enjoyed the AWANA program. It worked well for our family for so many years but it is time to move on. We had been seeing the signs for a couple years. There were recent circumstances that motivated us to make this decision mid year but then again these circumstances were a blessing in disguise.

What will we do instead? This is the exciting part.

Jeff will head our own Wednesday night kids church and I am his side kick! I really think Jeff will shine doing this. I REALLY am looking forward to being a part of Jeff's vision. The things Jeff is the most excited about is the singing/worship and what AWANA referred to as council time. The meaty/teaching part. He is good at that. Some of the older kids will help Jeff with behind the scene planning or helping the kids work on their verses etc...much like they did for AWANA. HaHa and guess who gets to plan the projects?! Me!!! I LOVE that part!! The news was met with a mixture of tears and/or enthusiasm but even with tears this is a good thing. The older kids will still go to their own youth group,though.

Now this is an answer to desire for me. Why? well, most of you will understand what I am saying...or maybe not...I am an odd-ball. We can as husbands and wives, forget that we were put together to work together. God had a plan, a vision. We are one as husband and wife. It is false (in my opinion) to think that we will have greater success independent from each other. Second to our independent relationships with the Lord, our spouse is the well we should be drawing from. In the case with Jeff and myself, it seems that Jeff and I have been maintaining things side by side but not together, not as one. We can raise kids side by side, have a relationship with each other side be side but forget that we will be most usable by God being a unit of one. It is kind of like two people putting together the same puzzle but using two different tables to place their completed pieces on. Sometimes all it takes is just one thing, to work as one to remind us of God's vision for our family. In this case, Wednesday night kids church. Of course, not forgetting to mention that we have the greatest group of kids around to work with!!

Ok, I understand that there must be SO many holes in my reasoning. Please forgive me for that. A reminder this is our situation, our family, our experience, our leading by God. My words fail me in getting my point out but I get it and so does Jeff. He understands my disjointed thoughts

Whew...long winded I am today...

I need to end my post with a few highlights of this week.

Grant is playing his different cell phone ring tones to Joel and Lily.

A couple computer artwork pictures from Joel.

Ham and noodle soup with my ultimate favorite, fresh cilantro. SO SO good. If you ever met me in person you would understand my food pictures on my blog. I am not a thin woman. I am short but not thin. And I LOVE food.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Bug Bit!

2012-01-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

The quilting bug that is!

So out came the books

and the scraps

I finally decided on a book

I decided on the Quarter Log Cabin pattern. I am going for the scrappy look so I am not paying much mind to the placement of lights, mediums, and darks so the end result will not look as orderly as the quilt in the book...it will look much better.

So far,so good!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Who Can...

2012-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Who can turn a moment like this down?

An intense round of The Bear Matching Game

A bowl of very buttery (and Oh SO good) popcorn

Watching these little toddler hands finding all the matches at record speed

And seeing this pretty little smile.

Who can turn this moment down!?

Actually, I almost did miss it (you know the busy mom things that need to get done) but I am glad I didn't.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Sweet Carol!!!!

2012-01-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

Oh, I LOVE getting surprise packages!!!!

It is from a sweet friend I knew since my early college days!

Gee...has it been 25 years that we have known each other,Carol?

I wonder what is is?

Homemade granola!!!!

This really is beautiful granola!

And it tastes SO very good!!

Thank you Carol!!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy New Year!!!!

2012-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here are my

BIG

BIG

BIG

HAPPY NEW YEARS

wishes to you everyone!!!!!

Sadly, my camera was having major issues New Years Eve!!!!

What was the deal!!??

Nothing focused.

Some might have hinted around that it was operator error.

Hmmm....

Well, that could have been the case if I was not the operator but I was the operator.

Directions are very overrated anyway.

Needless to say, life is not always neat and tidy and picture perfect, at least not life over at our house.

But we have a blast

so

on with my less than perfect New Years Eve pictures!!

We never get tired of Christmas sugar cookies so we thought we would sneak in one more batch before the New Year.

We were a pretty unorganised group so midnight came and went as we were still assembling to get ready to

go out with the old (you know out the back door)

an out with the old straggler

and in with the new (in the front door)

Happy New years!!!

The below is an attempt to reenact the stroke of midnight.

Take one

Happy New Years!!!!

Take two

Happy New Years!!!!

Take three

Happy New Years!!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

An All Time Favorite

2011-12-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

This might seem random but one of my all time favorite things to make is homemade tortillas with melted cheese and tuna.

Yes, I ate all three of them!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Can He Do It?

2011-12-28T17:22:00.000-08:00

Last evening, Jeff came home from work just in time to finish up the game of Jenga I was playing by myself.

Just the thing to help him unwind and shake off the day's stresses.

If those old windows were not so drafty...I think he would have gotten that last block placed!

Do not worry Jeff,you are still my number #1 guy !!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Few Random Pictures

2011-12-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ok as I was scanning the pictures onto the computer for yesterday's post I came across a few more fun random pictures!

Ok, this might be semi boring for you but it humors me to no end!

This picture goes way back to 2001!!

Alan (our 3rd child) age 4 , Nolan (our fourth) about 18 months , and Josh (our 5th) maybe 2 or 3 months.

Elena our oldest child age 12 in 2006 (I think) dressed up as Elsie Dinsmore for Halloween

Chubby baby Anya (our sixth baby) in 2004 about 1 1/2.

Another referral picture of Ekie (5), and Grace(2) summer 2006.

Remember yesterday when I said that Grace would usually have that blank stare her first year here? Like in the picture above?

I think it must have been just my skewed perspective that first year because I came across these just adorable smiley pictures of Grace and there are many more just like this!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The First Year. Behind The Scenes!

2011-12-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve five years ago we went from a family of nine to a family of twelve!

These past five years have gone very fast but yet very slow.

That first year was pretty intense.

Our first three Liberians, Cyrus,Ekie,and Grace had not even been here a few months and we were already making plans to adopt three more Liberian children.

It was a crazy thing to do but we thought if we are going to do this let's just do it. Kind of like just jump in and worry about learning to swim later.

Looking back we are SO glad we did it the way we did insane as it must have seemed to most.

To top it off, our first three Liberian children were here just four months and we found out we were pregnant with our 8th bio child, sweet little Lily.

So we ended up going from a family of nine to a family of sixteen in just fourteen months!!

I can not even begin to describe how intense things were. I failed so miserably that first year. I still cringe when I think of it.

Haha. God was not just doing some light pruning of my character, he was doing some major uprooting of everything in my life. I mean everything. Nothing seemed untouched.

One would think with all the major refining God has been doing in my life over these past five years, I would feel a little bit closer to a tiny diamond in-the-ruff but I feel even more like a lump of coal that I did before!

~Sigh~

For today

I thought I would entertain you with pictures from that first very intense year.

Here we are in 2006 as a family of nine the Easter before our first three Liberian children came. We took this picture for our dossier.

Here are Grace, Cyrus, and Ekie in Liberia August 2006. This was our referral picture.

Cyrus was 8, Ekie 5,and Grace 2.

This was us as a family of 12 just a few weeks after Cyrus, Ekie, and Grace came home to us.

This is a picture of our first Easter as a family of 12. I will tell you a secret. I had such a hard time adjusting those first few months I did not even get out of bed that Easter. Jeff did everything solo that day. Grant was taking this picture. As you can see,I knew nothing at all about fixing African hair. Poor Ekie and Grace had such sad looking hair for the whole year until Joyce came.

Here is Grace on her first birthday here. She had turned 3. I am not sure why but for most of Grace's first year this was her 'normal' facial expression. It took almost a year for her stools to become normal,as well. I felt so horrible because I felt very little love for Grace that first year. All I could think about was that she always smelled so bad and she would just have such a blank stare most of the time. I did not tell very many people how much I struggled that first year loving Grace because I was so ashamed. I mean,look how just adorably cute she was!!!! Grace herself was such a sweet little girl. The lack of bonding was on my end not hers.

Ekie the first spring she was here. What a little beauty she is!!

It is amazing how much Cyrus has grown these five years. This is the same boy who is with Santa in my Christmas post below.

Now, I feel like my writing in this post is very dry. My words are not flowing out right. But I will leave it as it is, if you do not mind.

I know that I mentioned that that first year that Cyrus, Ekie, and Grace came was very hard and intense. Well, it was but in a heart beat I would do it again. I would change how I responded to different things but as far as adopting all of the kids, I would not change that.

Never.

Never.

Never!

Warmly, A Patchwork Mommy

A Merry Christmas to All!!!

2011-12-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Fryes is very fun.

Christmas at the Fryes can not be out done!

Christmas at the Fryes is a party and a half!

Christmas at the Fryes will make you want to laugh!!

Haha. I am a poem momma! Christmas just does that to me.

Anyway, here is a peek at our Christmas day festivities!

The Frye Kids 15 with ~~dad~~ .

oh...umm...Santa.

I mean Santa.

Dad just stepped out for a bit.

Pretty Joyce

Now Cyrus,isn't there some sort of rule that ones children can not grow bigger than Santa?

Elena's FF5 Toboggan. Now for those who are not as hip as I am that stands for Family Force 5 winter hat.

Stay looking fly, yet warm, this winter with a FF5 Toboggan.

A picture of Alan just because

The food

And more food

A full table

The overflow room for those who were planning on eating ALOT and needed that extra space for expansion.

Tasty!

A dad who only thinks he is going to win against me. Not a chance!

A little suspense.

A chocolaty face

A line of cars

and SO much was not captured on film!!

Polly Pocket action
Tea parties
PS2 game testing
Coloring
and just your general teen boy horsing around.

AND a certain cat (yes,you Nicky!) who decided one of our bowls of salad had a sign (written in cat language of course) that said "cat knock this salad bowl onto the floor and lick off all the cheese from each lettuce leaf because we only wanted the lettuce anyway".

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Frye household!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Little Christmas Eve Action

2011-12-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

A little popcorn stringing.

I just love the look of popcorn garland. It looks so old fashion.

Twelve of the kids waiting for The Grinch Who Stole Christmas to start. Umm...I am all for family unity unless it is being packed like sardines in one small room that smells like spaghetti, popcorn,feet, and some other unidentified odors. Needless to say, I skipped this Christmas Eve activity. Sorry kids.

Walmart was giving away free Poinsettias today! Ah, this was my little Christmas gift for myself. Thanks Walmart!!

I hope you are able to get a little sleep!!

I am guessing we will not.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Eve of Christmas Eve

2011-12-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day!

Now that means there was lots of fun going on today!!!

Actually, the Christmas tree project was a few days ago. I tend to be a little behind with my posts.

BUT here is what you would have found going on if you rang out bell this evening!

Ha! Our friend Stacey A. over at Two Savvy Gals did. By the way, Thank you SO much Stacey for thinking of us!

Anyway, I bought this just beautiful ornament fabric panel this past fall so some of us were working on making ornaments.

umm...one of us napped

Anya and Elena made cookies!

A few kids were watching a dvd, two kids were dog sitting for a few hours, and one child was weight lifting.

That was out Christmas Eve Eve!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

It started off with me having a bad day.

I tried to drop the attitude.

I added a beautiful pile of ribbons and buttons.

There were then some smiles

Some chair standing

Some fur coat wearing

And a lot of creativity

The end result? Some VERY pretty Christmas trees!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Girls B-Squad

2011-12-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

I am so pleased that I figured out our scanner a few months back.

I thought I would scan in Joyce's basketball picture.

What a beautiful young lady Joyce is!!

We should be getting Alan and Josiah's basketball pictures soon.

Cyrus's basketball season did not start yet but I will make sure I get pictures for him when the time comes!

Sadly, our district dropped JV boys basketball so Grant could not play school ball this year. He is too old for B squad and the coach already had a full varsity team. Many boys were left with no way to play basketball this year. I am SO thankful for our Waseca FCA chapter (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). They formed a Sunday night league for all interested highschooler basketball players to form teams and play each other. The only requirement? One can not be playing on the varsity team.

For those who remember, our kids are still performing with the HeavenWord Handlers.

They had a performance last week in Waterville and a possible performance next week in Janesville.

Here is a great must see promo video! You will notice many of our kids if you look close!

Warmly, A Patchwork Mommy

Meeting New Friends

2011-12-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

New friends are always a blessing.

I love my Furryville friends collection.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Silly Cats...

2011-12-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Umm...

you two do know this is not a real tree don't you?

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

It Is Birthday Boy Time!!

2011-12-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

A week late does not mean less love!!!

Happy birthday

to my

special man!

Jeff what are some highlights of your past year?

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Ah, Another Gem!

2011-12-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE this gift from Lily!

A side note: I never get discouraged because Lily is so small and I love those fingerprints she leaves all over!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Few Gems

2011-12-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE gifts like this!

Grace (7)

Joel (7)

Warmly, A Patchwork Mommy

Bed-Head

2011-12-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

My friend Barb over at The Zoo had a post a few weeks ago showing the great bed-head some of her children wake up with.

Lily woke up with this a few days ago and I thought for sure this must be the worst bed-head I have seen in a long time!

It took a while to brush this out, but like a trooper, Lily did not fuss much at all.

Warmly,

A Patchwork Mommy

Christmas Owls

2011-12-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Maybe they are looking a little more like Christmas mice...?

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

6th Annual Caroling Party

2011-12-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

What a fun time we had this past Sunday afternoon at our

6th Annual Caroling Party!!!

We had an invitation mix up in the form of them not all getting passed out so many apologies to those of you who might have felt overlooked.

For all of you that were able to make it

Thank you!!!!

Wasn't it fun?!

Frye parties are always fun if I do say so myself.

I forgot to take pictures during the festivities but I did remember to snap a few as the group left to carol.

The group assembling.

How would you like to see this group at your doorstep?

Pretty impressive, wouldn't it be?

They sounded great!

Mark your calenders for next year!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Thank You!

2011-12-12T16:49:00.000-08:00

What a treat to find these on our front porch last Friday!

Aren't these cookies just beautiful!?

Thank you, Heide!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Sweet Dose of Lily

2011-12-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Fake is Great!

2011-12-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Jeff grew up with real Christmas trees.

I grew up with artificial Christmas trees.

We have had years of tease banter back and forth about which is best.

Real always won out.

But we usually never had money to actually buy a real Christmas tree.

So many years we were tree-less. Some years we were not,though. If one waits until Christmas eve there are some real cheap trees around...if you do not mind the Charley Brown looking ones or dumpster diving.

The past few years I had secretly prayed for a artificial tree to be passed our way. Finally last year one did!!!!

I was SO booed!!

My answer to prayer was not greeted with a lot of fan fair or rejoicing by the family.

We put it up anyway. Better than another tree-less year, right?

Guess what I heard this year?

Many family members (all who were the biggest scoffers last year) vocalising how nice it is to actually have our artificial tree because we are guaranteed a tree this year!

SO here we are on 'tree day' last week.

How very pretty!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

See You There!!

2011-12-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

You and your family are invited to:

The 6th Annual Frye Caroling Party!

When: Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Time: 2:00 pm

Where: The Frye House (leave a comment with your email address for directions)

What to bring: A favorite Christmas treat to share, warm clothing (we will be outside), and the whole family! :)

R.S.V.P: Leave a comment

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Treat a Day

2011-12-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

December 1st marked the starting of twenty five days of sugary treats each morning.

Each morning through Christmas Day the kids hurry down to see what treat they have in their little stocking.

Nothing like starting each day with a dose of sugar!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

And First # 3

2011-12-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

Last week was Josiah and Alan's first basketball game of the season. I usually can not make it to the kids games but I did take a picture of them heading out before their first game.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

First # 2

2011-12-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Our first (and only so far) Christmas card from the mail.

Thanks Heide!

Warmly,

A Patchwork Mommy

A Few Days of Firsts

2011-12-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

First # 1

Our first snow of the season.

Cyrus, Josiah, and Nolan

Ekie,Naomi,Grace,Odell

Look at this face!

Lily's lip got zipped up in her snow jacket.

Poor tot.

If you notice in this last picture of Lily, her hands look see through. Weird...She really does not have see through hands.

Warmly,

A Patchwork Mommy

To Dad

2011-12-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

I was walking by our dining room buffet the other day and noticed this...

Isn't that very sweet!

I can not take credit for it but this dad is very much loved by many!!!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Can You Believe?

2011-12-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Aren't these just a vision of beauty?

They are pizza rolls, just in case you can not quite tell.

This is just a random tid bit of info- between our bread for breakfast and these pizza rolls for lunch I used 24 cups of flour and not a bit was left over. That really is not uncommon. Some days we use 36 cups of flour if I make tortillas or another bread-y thing for dinner.

If I was a health conscious mom I would grind my own wheat but 'I've been there-done that' and is was semi torture, not the taste but the effort and I only had 7 children then so I will stick to unhealthy bleached flour.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Thanksgiving Meal Time!!

2011-12-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

I forgot to show off our Thanksgiving Day meal!

How did that happen?

Well,we did not have Thanksgiving Day guests this year.

That is ok because we are pretty much a party on our own anyway!

We opted out on the common Thanksgiving turkey mostly because we have turkey a few times a month anyway. We all agreed that lasagna would be a BIG Thanksgiving meal treat!

Josiah, Dad, and Anya getting the food table set up.

Odell,Grace,Naomi,Josiah,Dad, and Lily waiting for the feast to start.

Joel

Elena and Dad were in charge of the meal. It was SO good!!

Picnic style

Dad...Isn't there a rule about phones at the table? That's ok you earned a little texting time!!

Thanks for the great meal!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Couldn't Decide

2011-11-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

I could not decide to title this post

Drama Queen?

or

Some days are just that bad...

The issue if you are wondering is she is upset because she can not use the PS2 because she is too little.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Any Mom With A Toddler Knows

2011-11-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

it is hard to find alone time in the bathroom.

and this is the extent of your privacy.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Handsome Or What!

2011-11-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Alan (14)

I just have to show him off.

Mom's can do that, you know.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Few Quilts

2011-11-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a few quilts I have been working on.

I hope to finish them up soon.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Big Thank You!

2011-11-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

to Stacy over at Two Savvy Gals!

Last week Stacy dropped off extras from an AWANA dinner they had.

Baked potatoes are one of my favorites!!

This is for you Stacy.

Remember that pan of rice I had? Well thanks to you I added the broccoli and ham and cooked it up for dinner the next evening. Looks much tastier than when you saw it!

Thanks for thinking of us Stacy!!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Super Cat

2011-11-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

Our super parenting skills do not stop with the kids.

Nicki is about to Facebook an old cat friend he reconnected with.

Nicki!!! Close the door! This is SO embarrassing. And please remember to wipe this time.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Mission

2011-11-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

"Your mission Frye kids, if you choose to accept it, is to make oatmeal, chocolate chip, and sugar cookies with minimum amount of mess, noise, fighting,and general goofing around. As always, should you or any of your sibling force be caught or killed, this mother will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This disc will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Frye kids."

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Gobble Gobble!

2011-11-24T04:33:00.000-08:00

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Icon For Hire Rock and Roll Challenge

2011-11-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, one thing you will not find with us as a Christian, homeschooling, large family is the stereotypical Christian, homeschooling, large family!

No violin playing, spelling bee winning, whole wheat eating, skirt wearing large family here. Not that I have not tried. For years I struggled with trying to form our family into my version of the perfect family.

It was sort of like fitting a square peg into a round hole. And why would it not be? I am a sort of feisty rebel myself. Why would I want my children to conform to an image rather than be themselves!?

Anyway my oldest daughter beats to her own drum and you know what? I want her to.

Sure, I had visions of mother/daughter tea parties, quiet evenings discussing Jane Austen, passing along to her tidbits of how to be a good wife and mother as she eagerly takes notes, grinding wheat together and then side by side kneading loaf after loaf of healthy bread to nourish the littles as we teach them their school lessons.

Umm...well that is not what goes on around here.

Most of the things I like she (maybe on purpose?) steers clear from.

BUT

GUESS WHAT!?

My oldest saw this challenge from Icon For Hire

and wanted me to help!

I was mostly her sounding board and stood back and let her creative juices flow.

Ha Ha My tidbits of advice here and there proved valuable because she would do just the opposite which in the end resulted in a very impressive outfit!

AND she let me take pictures!!!!

so I took a LOT of them!

What is neat about this sewing challenge is Ariel(Icon For Hire)uses old t-shirts and such for her outfits. So everything Elena used for her outfit we had around the house.

The skirt Elena made was from a old t-shirt and a pink cami she did not wear anymore.
The black lace was leftovers from some of the Halloween skirts I made for my Etsy shop and the lace was just stuff I had in my lace bin.

Elena had an old 'momish' looking tank top that she added letters from another old t-shirt she had.

I had to sneak in this one of Grant hanging around the table while Elena was hand sewing the letters on her top. I think they were talking music.

Elena did an excellent job! I am SO impressed. I hope she wins!!!!!!

Notice her pop can tab necklace and ragstock gloves? Pretty cool!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Happy Birthday To Nolan!!

2011-11-22T18:36:00.000-08:00

How did you get to be 12?!!!

You are very special indeed!

This mom's heart would not have been complete with out you!!!

I love you LOTS and LOTS!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Nolan looking 12.

Some of Nolan's 'peeps'

Ekie,Joyce,Anya,Naomi,Grace,Odell,Joel,and Lily

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

History

2011-11-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

My 5th,4th,and 3rd graders and I are slowly working through Sonlight World History part one.

I am a big Sonlight fan. We must have most of the cores.

In fact, we have 5 Sonlight cores being used this year!

Not all of our kids enjoy Sonlight,though.

It is so unfun to certain children so we do not used Sonlight across the board.

But some really do like all the books and reading.

Anyway...ramble...

I bought this book as a project supplement to our Sonlight world history core and thought we would go through it. It kind of naturally flows along with our science books. I am not sure if the kids are taking as much away from this as they are our science but it is fun all the same.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Cupcake Nap Mat

2011-11-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

It has been fun trying out new sewing projects.

I just love this nap mat!!

Like my attempt at being photo artsy?

I had some extra fabric so I am in the process of making a cupcake quilt that matches the nap mat. I should have it done this week.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Purple Purple

2011-11-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

I was just goofing around with some fabric I had sitting about and this is what I came up with.

A purple flannel reversible skirt

Here is the reverse side.

I had a little extra of the birdies on white and thought it would make a cute top.

If the purple skirt was not flannel this would make a cute outfit.

I wonder if the top was worn over a long sleeve t-shirt or turtleneck that would look ok?

I do have some purple plaid seersucker that I am thinking of making to go with the top sometime.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

English

2011-11-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

I found this gem of a book this summer and it is perfect for teaching English as a group to my grade school kids 5th,4th,and 3rd.

We had typically been using Bob Jones English which is very good but I find hard to teach it as a group of children who are at different levels of reading.

I am pleased.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Pajama Bag

2011-11-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

Just darling

Need I say more?

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Caught On Video

2011-11-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Joel birthday fun just keeps on coming!!

This video is for all of you who wonder what goes on behind the scenes in video!

Is there love just flowing from this house or what!!!

I just love my two teen girls!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Behind The Scenes

2011-11-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Wondering what it is like behind the scenes at a Frye birthday party?

Let me give you a quick look!

Behind the scenes of Joel's big day.

Ready.

Set.

Go!

Lily, Josiah, Anya, Josh, and Naomi putting the finishing touches on Joel's train cake.

Yes, Naomi is wearing green and white yarn hair. She says she likes the way her yarn hair feels. Who am I to argue.

Anya,Skittles,Ekie,Naomi,Odell,Grace,Joel,and Lily

Lily. I guess I forgot to brush her hair today.

Joyce and Elena

Dad and Alan watching Nolan with humorous curiosity

and Nolan...umm...just being...umm...Nolan

There you have it!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy 7th Joel!!!

2011-11-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

How can you already be 7 Joel!?

You are a wonderful boy!

Please do not get any bigger.

Do you promise?

I love you SO much!!!

Joel's cute train cake.

This is a cool picture!

Guess who is on the phone with Joel wishing him a Happy Birthday?

Non other than Family Force 5's Chap Stique!

Now how totally cool is that!!!!

Elena and Chap Stique

Joel racing his cars on his new car track

I love you Joel!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Fly On Our Wall

2011-11-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

or maybe a butterfly in our midst.

Here is the science I am using this year for Josh,Odell,Ekie,Naomi,Anya,Joel,and Grace.

I had been struggling with multi level teaching my 5th-1st graders their science,history,and English.

I just happened to be going through some used clothes that were passed along to us (Thank you Farmington Bakery!) and one of the bags had a booklet of 1st grade Daily Science sheets in it.

I thought now this is just perfect!!

I did a little research and decided on 2nd grade because it was perfect to dress up or down depending on where each child was with their reading skills.

I then added a little this and that.

We are really enjoying it!

And it is EASY for me to prepare and teach!!!

I had some other fun science programs that I tried over the years with my grade school kids but I would not have ever labeled them easy from a teacher/mom point of view.

The kids are real proud of their finished books.

I hope they are learning something!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Gotta Love

2011-11-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

the name of this book!

I thought I would try out the zigzag dress pattern in the Sew Tina book I bought a while back. This is a very fun book.

Well, the dresses look cute and were easy to make. They took just a few hours each. The frustrating thing is the fit, mainly the sleeve width, is horrible! I do not think I did anything wrong but whatever happened I have no clue!

I am thinking these dresses are not even wearable. Good thing I just used stash fabric! I have tossed around the idea of taking them apart and adding a different bodice.

I am not giving up on this zigzag dress pattern,though. I think after I toss about what went wrong and how I can fix it I will be back!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Just a Random Thing

2011-11-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

I was thinking that to me this is a regular sight but to others maybe not.

Three bread machines and two crock pots plugged into a power strip all to provide parts of three different meals for one day.

Let's see...

The three bread machine loaves are for breakfast.

One crock pot is the main portion of our lunch.

The other crock pot is the broth part of our chicken noodle soup for dinner.

Just a random thing.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy Birthday Josiah!!!

2011-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HAPPY 15th BIRTHAY

to

JOSIAH!!!!!!!!

This is Josiah's first birthday with us!

I can not express in words just how fortunate we are to have this young man in our family.

We love you Josiah SO much!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Big Thank You!!

2011-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

To whoever you are

a

big

huge

THANK YOU!!!

You must have visited and saw our food shelf!

Now this will fill it up!

A few claimed their favorites

Elena knew right away.

Josiah just couldn't decide!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Look At This

2011-11-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

I was making another project (an elephant p.j. bag) out of these fabrics. I had the tiniest bit left and thought I would make a baby boy vest.

Too bad I do not have a baby boy around to wear it!

I am horrible at buttonholes so I thought I would use snaps instead of buttons.

Snaps are kind of hard to put on.

I will show you my elephant p.j. bag soon!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

My Rock 'n Roll Princess

2011-11-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

A sneak peak into the life of my rock 'n roll princess.

or as Elena might title this post

" Help!!I have a really creepy, bothersome, stalker mom who won't leave me alone!"

I was up on the third floor (attic) where Elena, Grant, and Alan have there rooms.

I was on the hunt for Cyrus who I suspected snuck up into Grant's room to use Grant's xbox without official permission.

Yep. Just what I thought. There he is!

Well I thought I would pop in on Elena to see what she is up to.

"Hi Elena! Whats up?"

Of course, she would hide under her covers when the camera comes out.

Can I sit on your bed?

No?

Looks like Elena is finishing up her school for the day.

Do you need help?

No?

Can I look at what's on your dresser?

No?

Can I try some of your lotion?

No?

How about some of your nail polish?

No?

Can I touch your cool lamp?

No?

Hmmm...

Can I look at the things on your cork board?

No?

Can I look at your cd's?

No?

How about your guitar? Can I try playing it?

No?

Can I have some of your Halloween candy?

No?

Hmmm...

Well then Elena what can I do?

Leave?

Hmmm...Now that is not much fun.

I am getting the feeling that I am bothering you.

I'm so sorry...Am I...?

~~Wink~~

Warmly,
A Patchwork Mommy

A Perfect Fall Day

2011-11-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

What a very nice day today was!

I even got most all of our school done by 1 pm !!!

How great is that!!!

The rest of the day the kids spent having fun.

Here some of the kids are organizing a kickball game.

The nice thing about many siblings is there are always enough eager kids around to play games like this.

I believe Joyce and Josiah are taking turns choosing their teams.

Josiah and his fellow teammate Lily

Naomi looking picture pretty in the kickball outfield.

Fall is my favorite time of the year.

A few other things of great importance...

*** A certain young Josiah turned 15 yesterday!!

Birthday festivities coming Sunday!!!

This is his first birthday with us and I am very excited.

Stay tuned!!

**There is a free concert Friday evening in Mankato so if you are Tru-Serva or Flame fans, THIS is the show for you!!! Dad and some of the kids will be there.

**There is another free concert up on the St Thomas campus Saturday evening. Guess who will be there? Well besides Elena and dad... Eleventyseven! Elena has been looking forward to the Eleventyseven concert for a while.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Mama Lily

2011-11-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

This mama's love needs no description

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Huge Haul!

2011-11-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

Yes I took pictures of everyone's pile of Halloween goodies! Well,everyone but Grant. The busy life of a 16 year old just does not stop for pictures...

I realized that is a lot of pictures but hey, this is a large family blog of what else...a large family so no apologies here. Besides, it has been awhile since you were able to see most all the kids in one post.

Lily

Grace

Joel

Joyce

Nolan

Dad

Ekie

Naomi

Odell

Josh

Elena's bag

Anya

Josiah

Alan

Cyrus

Dad relaxing before a night of bedtime sugar crash issues.
I think he forgot he had his red cheek make-up on...Should I tell him?

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

How can I not 'show off' my kids on their way to trick or treat!

Ekie and Josh

Elena

Odell, Anya, Grace, and Naomi

Dad

Josiah

Naomi and Grace

Joel, Grace, and Lily

Elena (My camra shy young lady let me take two pictures of her! I have to take advantage of this and post both!)

Cyrus, Grant, Alan, Joyce, and Nolan were so eager to get some candy they left before the camera was ready. Ok,a few were not as eager but I am proud to say that all of the kids 17 down to 3 went to at least a few doors to trick or treat!

I encourage all teens to ring a few bells, you are never too old to trick or treat!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Rice Party!

2011-10-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of being guests at the Rice's annual Halloween party Saturday night!

It is a pretty big deal to open one's home to all 17 of us. We are a party and a half all on our own!

I did not get many picture cause we were all having too much fun to stop and picture take but here are the few we thought to snap!

Thank you SO mush Rice family!!!!!

We all had a lot of fun!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Whimsical Cookie

2011-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

When the sky is gray

and you need a sweet treat to brighten your day,

Snickerdoodles

What a funny word to say!

Will make everything seem ok.

Josh, my snickerdoodle helper

~Smile~

Another original poem by me

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

And Who Are You?

2011-10-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Not long ago this pretty little stray cat decided he belonged in our house and walked in.

He looks like our baby cat Skittles. I wonder if they are related in some way.

Maybe this cat heard we have a household of kind hearted animal loving children living here or maybe he thought "hey, what's one more. They will never notice."

Now here he sits like the king of the couch.

Ok, he is a keeper.

If you are his real owner, do not worry he is well loved.

You can come and get him anytime but I am pretty sure he will just find his way back to us. Our couch is cozier and the kids pick out the Frisky colors he does not like.

Warmly, A Patchwork Mommy

The Mysterious Visitor

2011-10-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

The other evening I was walking in the laundry room and saw this pretty visitor just resting on the floor.

I do not know where he came from.

It seems a tad cold out for butterflies. Besides, a butterfly of his caliber being caught by one of the kids would have been met with almost party type celebration.

Upon closer inspection I realized he was missing a leg and could not fly.

I suppose he was not resting on the ground by choice.

Lily took him into her tender 3 year old hands to help him.

If butterflies could shake with fear, I believe this one would have.

He was carried away by my little well meaning tot to never be seen alive again.

Poor guy.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

More Sewing Fun

2011-10-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

My endless entertainment.

I have been experimenting with different skirt hems and here is my latest batch. I think I like these very much!

I have been trying to figure out how to conceal the raw fabric seams without a bunch of extra work. I have not gotten there yet.

I really am not fond of using a serger which I know would be very fast and make my sewing look non-handmade. But there is just something about the french seam that is so pretty. Doesn't ask my why. Too bad I can not use it on all my seams.

And remember the adorable Holly Hobbie art fabric? Here is the project I was exited to make with it.

Surprise what else but another skirt!!

It did turn out rather cute. My picture taking is kind of lame,though.

And the fun thing is a customer in Australia bought three yards of this fabric within a few days of me listing it in my shop! I knew others would enjoy it as much as I do!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

She's Dressed In Style!

2011-10-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!!!!

The smile

The full length view

The biscuit view

A very happy birthday girl!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Crisp Find

2011-10-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha!

Crisp!

I heard the kids youth pastor was trying to make the word crisp to be the new sweet.

I thought I would help by spreading it through blog-land.

I am all for sounding hip.

So here is my crisp fabric find!!!

I found this real fun fabric featuring Holly Hobbie artwork.

Did you know Holly Hobbie is an actual person?

Really.

I just love her artwork!

Anyway, I think it might be more on the vintage side but not sure.

It says American Greetings Corporation Fabrics by Manes Fabrics Co,Inc on the selvage. Never heard of American Greetings being in the fabric business but this is great fabric they put out.

I think it is a polyester/cotton combo but not for sure.

Isn't it just so cute!! Oh,I mean crisp!!

I am SO exited!!!

Some I will put in my Etsy shop but I have a sewing project in mind for a little of it.

What 'till you see!

I am very excited!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Watch Out Dad!!

2011-10-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

Be worried.

Be afraid.

Try to be a good sport.

Put on your thinking cap 'cause

You are playing against the master.

The number one.

The Battle Ship Queen.

Yes, that's right look concerned.

You might as well forfeit now.

I have my lucky helper and you don't.

Oh man!

This can't be happening!!

You sank all my battleships!!!

* SIGH *

It's ok to celebrate in the other room.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy Birthday Anya!!!

2011-10-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Oh how fun it would be to be nine again!

What a fun age to be

and guess what!?

Our Anya is

NINE!!!

Happy birthday Anya!!!!

The birthday girl

The Celebration

The song

The big kid couch

I LOVE you Anya!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Sunshine-y Day!!

2011-10-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

If I could stop time

I would give you a dime

Lily (3) and Skittles

An original poem by me

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

P.S Hello semi creepy puppet peeking in the background.

Hello There!

2011-10-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, a ten day blog silents is too long!!!

I just can not shake this gray cloud over my head and who wants to visit a depressing whining blog!

I will just make my own sunshine!!

Ha Ha Fake it 'till you make it.

So I delcare today a sunshine-y day!!

I wanted to show you these fun t-shirts Elena made for her dad and herself for a recent Remedy Drive/Lightswitch concert they went to.

They are pretty cool.

Jeff went for a simple look for the back of his t-shirt.

A little more blog sunshine-y catch up tomorrow!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Last Bit Of Summer Beauty

2011-10-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

More Skirts!

2011-10-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

This little skirt model makes me smile.

I thought I would take advantage of the nice weather a few weekends ago and take some photos of my newest Etsy shop skirt additions.

I was trying to be all artsy.

I might have shown this dress to you before.

I made this dress this past winter and am just now getting in my shop.

It was one of my first attempts at designing a dress from no pattern.

Lily got cold so we moved the tot modeling part of the shot inside.

Now this is the skirt I am most pleased about because it's...

reversable!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Rock Cakes

2011-10-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

I have a few Harry Potter fans around here.

I know, I know Harry Potter is one of those controversial topics in some circles

BUT

Ha Ha

I declared myself free from those circles a while back.

They are a tad tiring

and so

with that freedom

we ate delicious Rock Cakes made by Nolan and Alan.

And boy were they tasty!

I was a tad too lazy to actually type out the recipe so I took a picture of it for you.

I think you can read it well enough to make it.

Enjoy!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

The Ick Factor

2011-10-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Toilets are just icky. I am thankful that we do not use an outhouse or buckets but toilets are still just icky.

And do you know what makes toilets even more icky? Put them in an almost 100 year old bathroom in dire need of remodeling and then add to the bathroom traffic of 16 people with boys.

That is VERY ICKY!!

Story:

About three years ago our then toddler Joel decided to flush an Elmer's Glue bottle down the toilet. We had just a few months before shelled out over 800 dollars for a plumber visit for various issues (half of which he never really corrected) so we decided to just not address the glue bottle in the toilet thing. God can do glue bottle in the toilet miracles, can't he?

About a zillion toilet over-flows and a damaged ceiling later Jeff did a little research and decided to tackle the glue bottle thing himself.

The pictures:

Blah!!

Jeff working hard to pull out that glue bottle.

I can not boast of a brand new toilet because Jeff just reinstalled the old toilet but we now have a toilet that we can flush without it over-flowing!!

Jeff you ROCK!!

and

now we can flush!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Foot Note- Jeff did clean and bleach the floor and walls before he reinstalled the toilet. What a guy. Thanks Jeff!

Waseca Home Coming 2011

2011-10-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Parade!

the audience

and the candy

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

It's Been A While!!

2011-10-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Since we had a working stove top, that is.

Over two years in fact!

For over two years we had only one working burner and even that burner did not work all the time.

I am used to cooking for the family that way and now I have to re-learn.

Not a difficult dilemma, I would say.

Maybe my cooking will actually improve now!

And look I am using TWO burners!!! This seems SO eccentric!!

I am REAL thankful for this stove!

An extra bonus is that the stove top is glass and not just the electric coils.

See what a little (lots of) waiting and $75.00 can get?!

A blessing!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Sisters

2011-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Thoughtful kindness in the end
Is bound to win for you a friend.

~~ Billy Mink

Odell and Lily

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A New Creation

2011-09-28T17:37:00.001-07:00

I had been thinking of trying my hand at making a few fun cape type jackets for my Etsy shop.

I thought I would first make one for Lily and see how it turned out.

Pretty cute.

I think with the ones for my Etsy shop I will not include the little hand slits.

I am working with fleece which I find rather difficult mostly because I am not familiar with how to iron the cotton lining without damaging the outer fleece. My top stitching was a little messy on Lily's. The second one I made for my Etsy shop does not look as messy.

I even learned how to make a covered button! Now that is pretty neat.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Little

2011-09-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

trike action

Ha ha you can almost not tell there is a 14 year age gap between these two can you!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Slow Down

2011-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am guessing that there are a few wondering how things are going with bringing our two newest children home. Well, we hit a snag a few weeks ago...a somewhat big one. I am still pretty discouraged about the whole situation. It kind of was like getting punched in the stomach. We are still hoping that things will work themselves out. We will wait and see what the next little while brings. Sorry for the lack of details and this post being so vague. If or when things work out I will let you know.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Happy Birthday!!

2011-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

to Cyrus!!!

The BIG 13!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

Well Said, Billy

2011-09-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Enough to eat, a place to sleep,
A coat to shut out winter's chill-
What more can anybody ask
Their cup of happiness to fill?

Billy Mink

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Few

2011-09-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

of the casualties of summer.

A hole ridden pool.

Very grass-less grass from the hole ridden pool.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A VERY Late

2011-09-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

but

Happy

10th

Birthday

to

Ekie!!

I LOVE you

Ekie

my

princess!!!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Little Bit

2011-09-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

of school action

in the

SUN!

It was just a beautiful day Monday!!!

Ah, I would not mind ALWAYS doing school outside in this weather!

Not sure what Anya is doing.

Maybe her school is just that boring!

Anya and Grace

Ekie

Naomi schooling with the guinea pigs keeping her company.

Odell found a great place to do her math.

Too bad it snows in the winter.

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

A Summer Breakfast

2011-09-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe summer is coming to an end.

I thought that the girls and I would eat outside before we started school.

Flowers for the table.

Josh added one from his garden.

Mmmm...my makeshift 'we have nothing for breakfast' breakfast. *

Naomi and Odell do not seem to mind it!

Warmly,A Patchwork Mommy

My makeshift 'we have nothing for breakfast' breakfast recipe

A greased 13 x 17 pan
a dozen eggs mixed with about 2 cups of milk
a loaf of bread ripped into little pieces
About 1/4 cup sugar
cinnamon

Put the bread pieces in the greased pan. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in with the egg mixture. Pour that over the bread. Bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or it looks done. Serve warm drizzled with syrup.