I did it!

The family rules canvas is finished!  While I am not entirely happy with the way it turned out (I ended up having to hand write alot of it, and I really don't like some of my writing!), I love the fact that it is done, and I am searching for the perfect place to put it. 

Since this is a really crappy picture (sorry for the glare, was in a hurry)- my rules are below:

Have a positive attitude.  Never give up.

Be strong in the Lord- take your time and pray.

Hands are for hugging, not hitting.

Always use your manners- yes, please and no, thank you.

Choose to be a blessing- take joy in serving others.

Never leave angry.

Be kind, ask first, no whining, clean up after yourself.

Keep your promises.

Thank God for your blessings- pray for our family.

Let all that you do be done in love.

Act responsibly, be respectful, choose wisely.

Always tell the truth.

Encourage your siblings... share in their joy.

Have fun and be silly!

Love the Lord your God.

I also am mostly finished with a couple of other projects.  I made name letters for my friend's daughter (thick foam board cut into letter shapes and scrapbook paper mod podged on.  Painted the sides of the letters brown, and just have to get to Hobby Lobby to get some coordinating ribbon to hang them with). 

And all that is left on my mother-in-law's Christmas gift is the sides need to be painted, and a picture needs to be put in.  I am also thinking of a small embellishment for the side..). 

I painted one letter of my FALL banner last night, and am hoping the baby sleeps long enough for me to go get 2 more finished.  After that, we will eat lunch, and then walk to our friend's house for a double birthday party. 

Anyone have any cool ideas for homemade Christmas gifts?  I would love to share your ideas!

Now, on to Thanksgiving!

Well, another Halloween has come and gone.  This one was better than the last two have been. Last year, we were just getting settled into our new house at Fort Hood.  And the year before that, we were in Hawaii, and it didn't feel much like Halloween- we were still getting used to the year-round temperature.  Plus, Daddy was gone. 

This year we trick-or-treated with a couple of friends from church, while Daddy stayed home to pass out candy.  Caitlynn was a ballerina bunny, and Jacob was a Transformer. I'm posting a couple of the shots I took on Halloween. 

Yesterday, we moved parts of the house around again.  Those of you who know me, know that I do this on a semi-regular basis.  I get tired of looking at the same old, same old.  Anyhow, this was prompted by the fact that the baby has almost grown out of his bassinette.  We moved the playpen upstairs and the bassinette down.  Which meant I had to move some of the bedroom furniture around, too.  :) 

We also moved the air hockey table into the other part of the living room, and moved the shelves in front of it so that it is somewhat blocked from the rest of the room.  I bet that sounds clear as mud, huh?  :)  It basically helps the puck stay on the table.  Now the dining room feels much bigger, and is not so cluttered up.  We had a bad tendency to pile things on the air hockey table when unloading the dining room table, and now have eliminated that.  In the afternoon, we walked around the block and went to a friend's house- got to stay and chat and play for several hours.  Came home, had dinner, kids took baths and went to bed.  I got some more crafty stuff done, and Jon got some of his hobby stuff done.

 All in all, it was a very good day.  Relaxing, just as it should be.  I'm looking forward to making some Thanksgiving items for around the house (I'm looking for ideas today), so look for some pictures in the next few days. 

Today was crazy busy, but sooo fun!

We started with Caitlynn's dance class this morning.  Her teacher had a family emergency, and they had to cancel class, so she actually got to go to gymnastics instead.  She had a blast!

We came home for a couple of hours, and I got some work done on my family rules canvas (all the paper applied)..  then we got the kids dressed up for the fall festival at our church.  We made popcorn balls, and did the cakewalk (Jon made mini pineapple upside down cakes and Halloween funfetti cupcakes for it, but we still ended up bringing home a different cake).  The kids did face painting, and learned about apple peeling, coring, slicing, and juicing.  That fresh apple juice was AMAZING! 

After the festival, we came home, ate dinner and went trick or treating with some friends.  We actually had to call Jon to come and get us, because we walked too far before I noticed, and were quite aways away.  Of course, I took my keys for some reason, and he couldn't get his car out from in front of mine.  So, when the ever-present MP's drove down the road we were on, I flagged them down and asked them to deliver the keys to Jon.  :P  They seemed a bit taken aback, but they did it.  And we made it home with no issues other than two sugared up kids asking for more candy. :)

The house was decorated pretty nicely- Jon said that most of the little kids wouldn't come up to the porch, they sent older siblings up instead.  Kudos to him!

we played hooky today.. :)

I have been so inspired by the creative blogs that I have been finding all over the place.  It seems that I can't check one blog without finding a link to several others that I want to check out.  And of course, each of them has tons of great ideas for things I want to try out.  I'm thankful that they are making me want to get out and do something! 
This is my take on Ashley's Apothecary Jars  (found here- http://shanty2chic.blogspot.com/2009/10/ashleys-fall-apothecary.html)- I used the same candlesticks, instead of having different heights, and I decided on Oil Rubbed Bronze as my color.  Turned out really nice- definitely loving the gorilla glue.  Its my entry for the 'I made it with Gorilla Glue' party.  I'll have the button soon (when I can figure out how to use it correctly)! 

I'll have to take pictures of the way it looks now, I've added some pumpkins that we painted, and one that I decoupaged.  At least, I think that's what I did to it.  I mod podge'd a whole bunch of pieces of paper all over it.  Is that decoupage or just papier mache'ing?  :D

Anyhow, there were acorns in one jar (til they got moldy when I forgot to air dry them-d'oh!), and there are some pretty but fake fall leaves in the other. 

And I am in LOVE with Lindsey Cheney's family rules canvas.  So much so that that is the first thing that popped into my head when I woke up, that I had to go buy a canvas!  :P

http://lindseycheney.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blogger-nicole-my-family.html

Off to go make my to do list for tomorrow, and then to write down all of the projects I have swirling around in my head. Cause if not, they will be forgotten and won't come back until I have absolutely no money or willpower to be creative.  Go figure.