Blessings....I've been counting!!!

I have been counting & counting...and reminding myself how truly blessed I am. I haven't had much good to post about lately with my DH not working steady at all. And my fears for our future.
But when I look around me...we may be broke...but we are blessed. I have a wonderful, loving, caring, husband, two beautiful kids and a supportive family that loves me no matter what!!! This pictures was taken last Mother's Day at my parents house in Stoneham, Colorado. It is about 120 NE of Denver. It is a very, VERY small community that has had it's share of tragedy the past few years that makes me realize how lucky I have to have all my siblings, their spouses, both parents, nieces, nephews and even my 98 yoa Grandma still!!! And all the friends I have...the ones I have never meant from my eBay groups, to right here in blog land. Without you, I would be a goner!!! Thank you ALL!! Each day is a gift and what we chose to do with it is up to us, not anyone else.
Aren't we all so pretty!!! I love them all!! I don't tell them enough. So I love you all with all my heart. I'll try to tell you or show you more!!!

I am blessed that we had a terrible snow storm last week. It meant two more precious days with my kids at home safe and some much needed moisture for our very dry prairie..... Keep counting....

I am so blessed to have my sweet Ashie Jo!!! She had such a rough few months, but now look at her!!! She has become a quite the helper in the kitchen. She can crack eggs with the best of them and even scramble and cook her own, of course with moms help, but not to much, because she is all into doing it "by myself"....oh keep counting..but not to fast, she is growing up way too fast for my liking!!!

I'm not sure what she is making here but I'm sure it was delicious!!! She has a "Hulk" tattoo on her hand... she is a bit of a Tomboy!!! lol I'm still counting!!!

And we can't forget about Brandon, what a good boy he is and he is growing into such a handsome young man. My hubby just said that if few minutes ago what a good kid he is. He is just the light of our lives and makes us proud to be his parents. I look at him at times and it feels as if he is changing before my very eyes, His face is changing and he is getting so tall and really is a loving and caring big brother. He is very protective of Ashley and I hope he always will be and he will be the one she will go to when she needs to talk or to feel safe and never left out of the crowd..
DH and I both know the day will come when both of our kids will grow up and we won't be cool anymore, but until then we will keep counting our blessings and not what we may or may not have in our bank accounts because at the end of the day, the greatest things in life aren't THINGS....they look us in the face each day and tell us they love us and that we are the "best ever"!!!!
I'll keep counting and praying, because we still do need the prayers but I will try not to dwell on the things that we really can't control right now.
Until next time I'm off to count.......I'm not even close to being done!!!

Ahhh....Springtime in Colorado!!!

Yes, it is officially spring in Colorado!! It is snowing and blowing and the kids are home with a snow day!!!! After a weekend of beautiful weather, yes it was 86 here on Sunday!! And where was I?? I was helping my mom and sister-in-law paint the inside of a house!!! Oh the price we pay for some $$$ !!!! lol. It was worth it though, we need the money and the kids got to spend two great days outside with DH, great bonding time for them!!! The flower isn't from my yard but typical for Colorado to have your daffodils blooming and then blanketed with snow!!

The next picture IS our yard from our living room window. This morning the phone rang at 5:45!! That just scares the puddin' out of me to have the phone ring that early in the morning!!! The school has an automatic system that calls on such a day. So I left sleeping children and DH in bed and had
my morning coffee and watched the weather!! Brandon came flying out of the bedroom at 6:50 almost in tears because he thought he was going to be in trouble and miss the bus!!! Ash was all happy to, she gets a whole day with big brother!!!
DH isn't happy today.. AT ALL... he got ONE day of work and then they shut him off again!! He is just sick about it, but we keep praying things are going to get better!!

I just have to share my pretties with you too!!! My friend Grethen, Caw of the Crow Primitiives, she has some of the neatest things in her Lemon Poppy Seed Shop. I meant her in eBay and she is just a wonderful person and has a beautiful family with a inspiring story. Her son Ty is a cancer survivor and his little sister Sammy saved his life with a bone marrow transplant. Go to her blog and read all about her great family... and while you are there you will see my dish towel I got from her!!! Her momma made them and I just had to have the one with the little girl and chicken on it!! But it is way to cute to use so I paired it up with this old fiesta pitcher and one of my lamps that didn't sell and tucked it in the corner of my kitchen counter!!! SO DARN CUTE!! I think she has a couple designs left and may have more!!! Go take a peek!!!
Well, I'd better to something on this blustery day!!! I have a new cheesecake recipe that is calling my name to try. If it turns out good I'll share with you!!! Have a wonder day my friends.. Until next post!!! Hug someone you love today!!!!

Whatca Working on Wednesday!!!???

I know, I know ....it's been awhile!!! But I have no good excuse so I won't give you one!! I haven't been sewing very much lately but do need to get back to it. It has been so beautiful here that we have been trying to do more outside. DH went back to work briefly, now he is out of work again and more worried than ever before about it now. It is sad to see him so dejected!! He has always been able to find work without fail or problem. So now we are working on his waiver so he can run all 50 states. With the blindness in his right eye he has extra steps and lots and lots of paperwork to turn in so he can drive in any state not just Colorado. I have been volunteering at Ash's school in the library so that keeps me busy and my mind off of "stuff". But I'm done now, so I need to get busy sewing and other "stuff".. lol

But we both try to stay positive and have planned to go to him mom's house in Quincy IL for Easter. If he does get some work the kids and I will go without him, which we don't want to do, but we need the break and the change of scenery!!
Now for what I have been working on... I have listed a couple of Easter things, the two lamps way at the bottom of this post. They are so darn cute and NOT selling!! Makes me sad really, they are cute and I just love them, but there are a lot of very talented artists on eBay so I do have some tough competition, plus the economy, so I try not to let it get me down, but when you need the money it makes it worse. They are listed for a couple more days and then I will pack them away for next year of give them to family, so they do get to be enjoyed!!
But I am very excited about these Americana Flags banners I just go done!! I saw the idea in a new sewing book a got awhile back and just fell in love with them, and they would be so cute hanging from a mantel, banister or even outside on a porch. I have none of those things, so I hung them from our old fence, but they look cool there also. I do have them listed on eBay right now, so go take a peek. I have some fun ideas running around in my head for other holidays too!! Halloween, Christmas and I think I'm going to make a set for Ash's room with her name on them!! They are fun and fun to make also.!!

I think of all of my blog friends a lot and look forward to hearing from you. I just haven't been
very good company here lately!!! I hope your lives are all full of happiness and that the spring weather is creeping into your homes and hearts and that the new life that comes with spring will also bring new life into our lives and things will somehow get back to some sense of normalcy!!

There are nine flags all in red/white, blue/white, stars and stripe fabrics!!

Have a wonderful day all of my dear friends!! Love to you all!!!

Happy Square Root Day!! 3/3/09 & Other stuff!!

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Happy Square Root day!! I just heard this on the Today show and then again on the radio!! 9 is the square root of 3, hence where they get square root day, and it won't happen again until 040416!!! Just a bit of useless trivia that you might need some day!! lol

The above picture is a beautiful site!!! My hubby's truck pulling out of our drive, and heading BACK TO WORK!! We don't know for how long, but at this point a day or two is better than none. He went back yesterday and again today, I just pray it isn't short lived and we can start getting back to normal again!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us..I know there are a lot of good people out of work and I pray for everyone each night!!

And these are my Ity Bity Chicks!! They are so cute!!! They are only about 3" tall and 2" across. I have them listed on eBay, so go take a peep...err peek at them. I also have some eggs listed that I just love and won't be heart broken if they don't sell!!!

Thanks for stopping by and leave me a comment so I know you were here... I love meeting all of you!!!
Have a Wonderful Day!!!

Burn Baby Burn!!!

Hoping our dreams aren't going up in smoke!!!

It seems like it has been a very long time since my last post. So I thought I'd better get to it!! I just haven't been up to posting much lately, I know that with the shape our country is in right now it is effecting a lot of people, and yours truly isn't immune to it!! My hubby has been out of work for almost a month. He is an independent truck driver and relies on brokers to find him loads, he is legally blind in one eye, so has a restriction on his license and can only drive in Colorado ,in the winter months he hauls corn and in the summer works on road construction hauling asphalt. So when no corn is moving he isn't either, and he can only haul asphalt when there are road jobs working and in the winter in Colorado it is to cold for that. Needless to say, it has been very stressful on us and on him as the sole provider for our family. He really feels like he is letting us down. I have offered to go get a job, but then there aren't any jobs in a town this size and I sure can't make what we need to keep up. So he has sold a truck that he was so thrilled to be able to have. It was a classic Peterbilt, one like his dad drove when Joe was very young, and since Joe's dad died when Joe was only 11, he had a very soft spot for that truck. He was going to restore it and then drive it, but hard times mean some very hard decisions, he sold it to a very nice man in Iowa that collects and restores trucks and shows them, so we know it went to a good home and will more than likely be on the cover of a Trucking Magazine or on a calendar sometime in the near future, but that really didn't make it any easier to let go. So that took some pressure off for awhile, but that money will all go to bills and will soon be gone also, Joe has been trying to find work all over the place and hasn't had much luck. The price of corn is way down so the farmers aren't selling, which we understand, being a farm girl myself, the farmers have to look out for themselves as much as everyone else, if not more!! But it isn't doing us any good either. He is just sick with worry and so am I. And on top of all of this, I have been a mess, worry, stress, menopause!! lol!! I cry a lot and he just gives me my space but is very understanding also, so I can deal with my hormones!!! Have a said what a great guy he is?? So with all of this,neither one of us sleeps much anymore,but we try to make light of it and not let the kids know how worried we really are. They keep us sane at times like these. Thank God For Kids!!! SOOOO, since my honey isn't running up and down the road in his truck we have tackled the mountains of tumble weeds that found a home in our windbreak over the winter!! And apparently the wind blew a lot!! lol We raked and burned weeds for 5 hours the other day and still have a windbreak line to do. And since we are shamelessly out of shape, we both felt it the next day. It was good to get out in the fresh air and clear our heads for a bit. Ashley thought it was great fun to make the big fire!!!

Burn Baby Burn!!!

My honey watching over things, I wonder what he is thinking about!! I'm sure there are many worried thoughts going through his mind. I hope something breaks for him soon!! He is such a good man and hates not being able to work for us!! I really do think he feels like ours lives are going up in smoke also right now!! I know we will get through this rough patch, and hopefully will come out smelling like a rose not a burnt tumble weed!!! Hugs to you all!!!

Monster Jam crashes & then one of our own!!!

This past weekend we got to go to Monster Jam in Denver. We had gone before, but this is the first time Ashley got to go! She was more excited than Brandon I think. She loves her Monster Trucks especially MONSTER MUTT!! Thank goodness he was one of the trucks that were there. GRAVE DIGGER is always there, that truck is the big draw but they you never know which trucks may be at this show. We went to the Pit Party and got all the drives autographs and pictures with each one. We had great seats close to the auction. Ashley is already talking about next year!!
It was a great family day and the kids and Hubby and I had a great day together. But we had a little smash up of your own on the way home. We were only about 10 miles from home when we hit a deer on a bridge!! My car won, but that deer did some damage. See below pictures. But none of us were hurt and the kids really didn't get upset about it. Brandon just couldn't understand why the deer just didn't wait to cross the road!! Don't we all wonder that!!

The kids and Me with the driver to Grave Digger. Of course look, Mom has all the stuff in her hands to carry around!!! lol

Brandon with his El Toro Loco Banner!!! His favorite truck and that truck was there too!! With the driver, Lupe Sosa, that is the original driver of it!! You think Brandon had just meant the President!! He was so excited!!!

Ashley with her Monster Mutt hat, it look like a slipper on her head!!!

Headed for home. A good time had by all!!! It was such a fun day and it was suppose to snow and didn't!!! Yippee we didn't have to drive two hours on the ice!!

The damage from the deer.. good thing we only hit his hind end!!
Have a great week all my friends. I need to get busy with my Easter goodies!!!

Win this giveaway and have a pretty new blog!!

While surfing all of the awesome blogs late tonight, I came across this nice giveaway from Graphic Pretties!! She has a beautiful blog and is giving away a Blog Makeover!! How fun it that? So go check out her pretty blog and get entered, she gives you four different ways to play. Hurry she is drawing out the lucky winner on Feb 14th!!!

Have a wonderful day my blogging friends, it makes me happy to see your comments, so leave me a diddy just to say 'Hi, I dropped by'.

Hug someone you love today!!!

Fun with glue, paper and paint!!! lol

Good day all!!! I've been having so much fun with paint and glue!! No, I haven't been helping in Ashley's pre-school. My GF Susie, Yankee Lane Primitives, sent me some of her hotter than hot labels and I got busy right away!! SuXie, as we call her in our eBay group!!, long story!!, has been buried in labels and I can see why, they are great and so much fun to cut and paste with!!! My hubby needed a box or something in his bathroom for Q-tips so I found this cute paper mache box at Wal-mart for less than $1, I think it was .97!! And I sprayed the inside matte black. Then I took some of my leftover wallpaper from the same bathroom, and covered the
bottom of the box with it and then I painted the top black then put on some crackle medium, let that dry then painted it a color called THICKET, Once that was dry I used Mod Podge and adhered the label that I fancy cut with some scissors I had from my wedding, I knew I get to use them again!! Then to really prim it up I brushed on some strong coffee mixed with paint called COFFEE BEAN to give it a good aged look, then sprayed it with a clear coat and let it dry!! My hubby said that it was a pretty fancy box for Q-tips!! lol, He really does like it and it now has a new home in his bathroom!!
Go check out Susie's labels
on eBay and she also has a Lemon Poppy Seed site and a blog. She is a busy girl these days!! Tell her I sent ya, she may throw me a goodie or two again!!
I got the plaque at Wal-mart also for less than $2 and I sanded it first then painted it Raw Sienna and then sanded it again, then painted it Barn Red, sanded, dry brushed on some black, glued on the label with mod podge, then let it dry, added the holes and wire then I dry brushed it with some black again in some places and sanded for a good worn look!! I love it and now I just need to fix up my laundry room so it will be as cute as my plaque!!! Oh all the paint I used it the FOLK ART brand you get at Wal-mart!! Can you tell that is the ONLY shopping place I have here!!! lol
Thanks SuXie!!! Love ya girlie!!!

New Listings for Easter on eBay & A New Friend!!

Oh my, where did a week go??? I had a great time with my sister at my nephews games. It was a lot of driving but well worth the time away and with my sister. Ashley was a perfect little traveler. She never once said she was bored or asked "are we there yet". She slept a lot and just sat back and watched the scenery. We went through the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70, it is a very large, long tunnel, she was so excited to get to go through the mountain. I am finally getting my house caught back up and back in my routine again. And I finally did get a few things for Easter listed. My Valentine's hearts did okay, nothing to ease the national debt but they moved so that is good. So here is what I have listed this week, I hope to have more done soon. This cheese box has two 3-D egg and a "JUST HATCHED" chick!!

This door doll was fun to make and she is ready for Easter.

This lamp is in a blue swirl chamber pot. They are all listed on eBay if you want to take a peek!!
Also when I was gone a got a nice message from a fellow blogger, CJ, from Sweet Harvest Farms asked if we could exchange links, go take a peek at her blog it is wonderful. Thank CJ and I'll be visiting again soon!!
Hope you are all having a wonderful week, it has been cold and windy here, I'm ready for Spring to arrive, and soon!!!

ROAD TRIP!!!

My sister emailed me yesterday and asked if Ash and I would like to go to Grand Junction and Gunnison to watch my two nephews play basketball, they both play for CSU-Pueblo, if you look at this site, my nephew is Jake #34, he is 6' 9" and has been playing very well the last few games!! Brother, Ty is only a freshman so doesn't get a lot of play time, but he will. Anyway, we are leaving this afternoon to go her house and then leaving in the morning. It is about a 6 hour drive and she wanted some company. It will be good to get away for a few days. Ash is just excited to get to stay in a hotel, she was laying out all her clothes this morning and telling me what she wants to wear each day!!! It will be fun and will nice to spend some time with my sister and Brandon and Hubby will get some good Dad & Me time also.
Have a great weekend everyone!! Go T-Wolves!!!