Countdown

Well, here he is, the Daddy of my 4 beautiful children. He is definitely ready to go to the desert and fight. This will be the first time he's taken weapons with him. It is really quite sombering. We do not enjoy the time spent away for him, but we know that we are sacrificing for the greater good. Someone has to be ready to fight for our freedom.
It has been a tough adjustment living without him, and it has only been a week. I'm sure things will get tougher here at home before they get easier. The kids have their 187 pieces of candy to get them through the countdown until daddy returns. As the candy goes down, they know that it is getting closer until he comes home again. This is the picture I am hanging beside our countdown on the board.
He did everything he could to get our house ready to be without him, including setting up a 4 foot pool to get us through the hot, hot summer, getting the yard bug-free, fixing the swing, cleaning and organizing the garage, fixing the airey faucet, and the list goes on.
We will miss him, and we know that we will all be blessed for our sacrifices.

Quilted Notebook Covers

They are finally completeted after much time and many complications. I didn't think I was ever going to finish them. My good friend April taught me how to make these cute little things, and they are pretty much the only thing I've sewn since. I just love the creative and artistic outlet they afford me. The end result of the whole process is that I am able to give them as gifts to friends and family. The yellow one went to my sister, Ginger and the pink one in the middle went to my friend Wendy. There are still many more to be made. . . If you would like to make one for yourself or a friend, a tutorial is available from April's blog at this address: http://bysmallmeans.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/covered-notebook-tutorial-with-matching-pen/