Look at these cute girls ~

Since Christmas is over I can show you the pictures Michelle and Alex had on their Christmas cards. They are so cute. I love the little dresses Michelle found for them and well, I just love these little girls. Enjoy!

More fun stuff ~

If you get a free minute over the holidays, stop over and visit this blog. She has fun crafty things to see and a fun blog candy up for grabs. Enjoy!

Diggin' out ~

It was lots of work but lots of fun too. Brad and Kristine brushed off cars, shoveled the driveway and moved cars around so they were all off the street. Oh yeah, it was snowing and blowing really hard while they were working, so that just added to the fun. The street crew came during the night and did the street so we can get around today. Since the whole neighborhood drains right in front of our house, our street is a priority and they plow it all to the center and come along with their snow harvester and take it away. It is kind of fun to watch them work. From inside with Hot Cocoa of course.

Winter Fun ~

Winter is here! Kristine took the girls out to the backyard this afternoon. It is so fun to watch them run and jump through the snow. I need to try and get video of them sometime. Their ears are flying and then they disappear into the snow. Kristine got on her knees and made trails around the yard for them to run on. It makes getting around easier for short dogs. They love following trails.

Our Christmas Lights ~

In case you've driven by to see my neighbors light show at night you've probably missed my Christmas Lights. We replaced all three of the front outdoor light fixtures and for the holidays we found these beautiful wreaths to show them off. Looks pretty good. Kristine did put a garland up on the front step rails and put another wreath up on the front door. She said it is her job to help us keep all of the traditions. So far she is doing a good job of keeping us in line. Enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas ~

Now that most of the Christmas cards I mailed have probably arrived, here is a little peek for the rest of you, and for the family that happen to read my blog. Hope all of you have a great week with family. Kristine and I have started on our goodie baking and are gearing up for one last shopping run tomorrow. Saturday we braved the mall. Since some of my shopping was for Kristine, we dropped her off at Pretzel Maker with pretzel money and went shopping. She's 13 so it wasn't illegal to drop her off, and it worked quite well, until she called me and said her small order had run out and she was out of pretzel bites. She got to sit there a while without pretzels because I wasn't done.

The other day we had some high school kids came around caroling. The puppies stood behind their gate and barked and howled along with them. It was pretty cute. If you are in our area you'll have to drive by and see our neighbors fantastic holiday light show. It is quite the show. It runs from about 5:15 pm to 10:30 pm. Tune your car radio to 88.7 FM and get in line to enjoy the show.

What is normal anyway ~

Well the past few weeks have certainly not been normal. Usually my life is pretty even and kind of boring, I like boring. So a few weeks ago, we start getting ready for a new grand daughter by having an Early Thanksgiving Dinner. Yummy, we had all of the good stuff and fun cooking with Michelle here to help. Way too many pies, but they were so good. Wonderful day with all of our family. (That would be all 8 of us.) That night we kept Kymber with us while Michelle and Alex had a night away before getting up early to go have a baby. Now, I am not a night person at all and this little girl is, especially when she isn't in her own home. So after not much sleep we get to take this sweet little girl to meet her new baby sister. What a treat. This new baby is so tiny and cute, makes you totally forget that you didn't sleep a whole lot the night before. We had a lot of trips across town to see this new little family. Kymber started to recognize the hospital halls and knew that was where her Mama was. With this little family safely back at home, it was time for second Thanksgiving. Yup, we did it all again. We had to do more pies too. Nothing is better than homemade chocolate pudding pie. This time there were just 5 of us for dinner, but we still had to have everything. Friday morning Rod and I were up at 4:30 am to go shopping. I still can't believe we went out so early, but it was fun and we got a good start to our shopping and some great deals. Jen had to work at 5 am at the mall, so it was fun to stop in and see her working. Saturday was pretty normal, leftovers, relaxing, just the way I like it. Got stuff moved back into my craft room after doing the wood floor. It looks so good. More about that later. At 9 pm we were getting ready to drop Robert,s Jeep off at the airport so we wouldn't have to stay up until 11 when their flight got in. Then Rod got a call from Heidi, my sisters daughter that is going to school in Rexburg. She had gone for the Holiday week to Colorado with some friends. On the way home, the car broke down and so she was calling for help. They needed a ride from Pinedale, Wyoming. He said, yes, we'd be there then we checked the map to see just where Pinedale was. If all went well, we should be there at midnight. Kristine wanted to come, but we told her to stay home and we would take her sometime during the day so she could actually see Wyoming. We dropped the Jeep off at the airport for the Haws kids, picked up gas (cheap gas, by the way. Just $32 to fill the TrailBlazer.) and Dr. Pepper and peanuts for Rod, and we were on our way. I called my sister to let her know we were on our way. Luckily when I talked to her, the weather and roads were great, so she got a good report. They didn't turn ugly until we were off the phone. Smart Heidi had called and talked to Rod first, so when she called her mom to say she was stranded in Wyoming she could tell her right then that help was on the way. We felt a little like the rescue party for the Martin-Willie handcart company. Except we were so glad for the warm vehicle, 4 wheel drive and bridges. We crossed the Hoback River 14 times and the Snake River 4 times. Wouldn't have wanted to do that on horseback. It was so good to see Heidi and her friends. A nice lady had let them stay in the convenience store until we got there so they were safe and warm. After lots of happy hugs, we loaded up the three girls and their luggage. (It was just as good to see Heidi this Thanksgiving as it was last Thanksgiving when she was able to come after her big surgery.) The two boys wanted to see how far the car would make it without being loaded down. So we followed them all the way home. We got the girls dropped off at their apartment building and made it home by 4:30 am. Kristine had brought the dogs up to her room to keep her company while we were gone. And she read a book and tried to stay up and wait for us. Don't remember much about Sunday, but Monday morning I headed out to help Michelle and the little girls for a few days. So much fun. Michelle does such a good job with her girls. I don't think I could keep up with little ones everyday like all of you young moms do. But I've got the grandma thing down. Back home again to my Mom of a teenager job and a family that really did miss me. The past week has been busy with Rod's work party, working on Christmas gifts, putting up the tree, and getting a cold. We put a baby gate up in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, so the hounds can't get in to see the tree or the presents, or answer the door. So our presents and our tree are safe and when you come visit you won't get mauled by dogs happy to see you. They will just howl from behind the gate. Brad just moved back in, since the semester in Rexburg is over, so I am back to figuring out how much milk it takes to get through the week. Hopefully I am back on top of things now. I'd better be since there are only 9 more sleeps until Christmas. The girls (both daughters and puppies) and I went out to take pictures for Christmas cards yesterday. I played with Photoshop last night and they are ready to pick up this morning. I'd forgotten how much fun (and how frustrating) digital stuff can be. I also did a baby announcement for Michelle. This past month has pretty much flown by. I've been so glad that I've been able to help my family, both as a Wife, a Mom, a Grandma and an Auntie. Can't wait for the next few weeks to see what other fun things happen. Maybe this is the new normal.

Here are a few of the pictures from our photo shoot.

Little Visitors ~

We had a surprise visit from Michelle and her cute little girls yesterday. We watched Sydni while Michelle ran some errands in town. I wish we would have kept Kymber too, it sounds like Michelle would have enjoyed the time without a little helper. Sydni was so sweet and waited patiently for her Mom to come back. Here are a couple of pictures for all of you that can't get over to see the little sweetie.

She is really growing. Yesterday she was up to 6 lbs. 7 ozs.

New Santa ~

We are a little slow, but the Christmas decorations are starting to come out of the box and be out where we can enjoy them. I just got a new Santa to add to my little collection. These are from the Jim Shore Collection. Last year I got the two big ones and just got the little one this weekend. I think they are my new addiction. I'll give you another peek at other fun decorations tomorrow.

I found another fun blog to visit if you are into crafty things. She has a fun give away too.

I'm back ~

Well I just got to spend a few days with the cutest little grand daughters ever. Kymber is so sweet with her tiny little sister, and Michelle is a great Mom. It was fun to be there with them. It will be fun to watch this new little one grow up. And I was glad to get back to my Mom job after doing the Grandma thing. Now we are working to get ready for the holidays and deciding just how many goodies we can squeeze into the diet, without overdoing it. The goodies list is getting quite long.

If you are into cute crafty things you will want to Check out this blog. Bea is doing a give away to celebrate the holidays in Sweden. Such cute stuff!!

Welcome Sydni ~

We welcomed a sweet little grand daughter into our family today. Her name is Sydni Aspen. She was 6 pounds, and 20 inches. Just a tiny, perfect little sweetheart. Here are a couple of pictures we took today when we took Kymber to meet her new little sister.

Just so you know ~

Just wanted you to know that my craft room is torn up and getting a new wood floor. It will be wonderful when it is done, but in the mean time I miss my space. Well, I get to see all of my stuff since it is spread out between Kristine's bedroom, my walk in closet (which you can't walk in any more), and there are piles on both sides of my room and at the bottom of the bed. While we were moving everything, Rod kept saying, "You sure have a lot of stuff", over and over. Yeah, I don't think he knew what was in there, but I think things will go pretty fast getting it done. And I will have time this week to go through things and get rid of, or figure out how to store them better. "The girls", (Cassidy and Candie) were such good helpers. While I was pulling up staples and nails they were right there on my lap trying to help. This is when I am so glad that they are 35 pounds a piece and not the 50 to 60 pounds that some Basset Hounds get to be.

Here are a couple of cute pictures from this past week.

Twist Container Instructions ~

I am teaching a class Thursday night on making a Christmas Countdown with these Twist Containers full of treats to count down each day of December until Christmas Day. What started out as a paper sheet of sketched instructions ended up being a picture tutorial. I hope you enjoy these and find the time to make your own Countdown to Christmas.

1~ Cut your patterned papers into 4 x 6 inch pieces. I used the Holiday Treasures papers from Stampin' Up! (One package of their designer series paper will do three 24 day countdowns.) Add strips of Sticky Strip tape as shown in the photo. One 4 " piece along the short end and a 1 3/4 inch piece in about 1/2" from the first piece, along the top. (It takes about 5 yards of Sticky Strip to do 24, but you have to keep it to 7 and 1/2 inches per container. I know this seems odd, but this way you can keep costs down and kit making much easier.)




2~ Remove the tape backing and roll the paper into a tube. Seal the edge. I over lapped the edge about 1/2 inch.



3~ Remove the backing from the short piece and press the edges together.


4~ Use a paper crimper to seal the end.


5~ Fill the container with candy. You can fit almost 1/4" cup of m&ms in each one, or a few kisses or small candy bars.


6~ Twist the container and put another 1 3/4" piece of sticky strip at the open end. Remove the backing and seal to close.


7~ Crimp the end closed.

8~ Now you can add tags or labels to your containers. Here are a couple of ideas. I used red twine from Stampin' Up! or you can use matching ribbon. For the class I have printed out numbers to be punched out and decorated.

9~ Put all of your twist containers in a basket and make a tag. You could label it with a child's or family name: "Kymber's Countdown to Christmas" or "Haws Family Countdown to Christmas:

Wouldn't a basket like this make a great neighbor gift. These also work great as Baby Shower or Wedding favors.

Quiltin from the heart ~

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to Quiltin from the heart, since I seem to be doing a lot of quilting lately. Maybe it is a change of seasons thing or maybe because I am a Grandma with another grandbaby due in less than two weeks. My Mom always made a new quilt for each of my babies when they were born. But she had to have both a blue one and a pink one ready, because that was back in the day when we didn't know for sure what we were having. It's fun to carry on the tradition.

Whatever the reason, I have enjoyed pulling out the sewing machine and getting back into quilting. Half of my Craft Room is sewing stuff and the other half is Stamping & Paper Crafting. Anyway, I thought I would put up some pictures of what I have been working on lately.

This is a quilt I started thinking it would be a pretty little girl baby quilt. My girls told me it looked more like a grandma quilt. So I finished it anyway and we'll just have to wait and see where it ends up.

This is the real baby girl quilt. The top is done, finally. And the baby will be here in 13 days. I don't know if it will be done to wrap the new little one up in to go home, but we're working on it. I have made a cute Diaper and Wipes Caddy and a Binky Bag that match the quilt. And I have fabric for a Diaper Bag. By the time that they are feeling good enough to go out, they should be ready to go.
This next quilt isn't mine, it is Kristine's. She has been working on this and the top is done and ready to tie. Which of course we have a deadline to try and meet. She wants to show it at Young Women in Excellence that is in 12 days. She has done such a good job and it was so fun to have a projects to work on together.

On to more fun quilting news. I found a fun quilt blog give away. Stop at Simplify by Camille Roskelley and see her fun new patterns. She is originally from our area and is a young mom with two little boys. Pretty cute stuff.

Enjoy your day,

Wendy

More Halloween ~

Look at this cute little Kitty Cat. This was Kymber at the grandkids halloween party.

And this is the family dressed up for the costume party that night. Such a cute little family!

Kissing Candie ~

Don't you love this picture. We are watching Kymber tonight while Michelle and Alex have a well deserved night out. This most patient puppy has put up with A LOT tonight. This was one of the cutest pictures. I love how she is puckering up to kiss the dog. It was fun to learn about eyes, ears and noses when Candies are so big.

Look at this card ~

Isn't this cute!! I got this from a Magnolia Secret Angel so I don't know who to give the credit to. But I love it. There are so many cute details on this. And this is a picture of our latest project. No it isn't cutesy or stamped, but we sure love how it turned out. We still need to change out lighting and add a glass door. It's good to check something else off of the need to remodel list. I think the bathrooms are next.

Happy Halloween ~

We are getting an early start on Halloween today. Jennifer gets to dress up for work and any chance she gets to wear something other than "pizza clothes" she will take it. So here she is ready to go make Jack-o-lantern pizzas at Papa Murphy's today.

She did take the "pizza shoes" because I don't think she could work all day in these.
It is fun to have a dog that likes to play dress up. Cassidy did not! But Candie is pretty patient with being a little witch. She is learning how to sit and pose. Yes, we have been through a lot of bacon treats.
Tonight I will get pictures of Kristine in her Bee costume before her party and then we are off to Michelle and Alex's to baby sit Kymber during their family costume party. The little kids party is early and then the grandkids go to baby sitters and the adults get to party. It is still up in the air as to who will be Fred and who will be Wilma. Guess you'll have to wait for pictures tomorrow to find out.