To My Best Friend...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is my husband's 28th birthday... he is a wonderful husband and definitely my best friend! I love him very much and am thankful that God has allowed us to be together. Just a week and a half ago we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary (while we were at camp) and it has been a GOOD 8 years!

We spent the whole weekend together at home...it was very nice, even if we were working on some papers for his class almost the whole time - him writing and me proof reading :)  I loved just being with him!

So, again, Happy Birthday Chad... and Happy Anniversary, Love you!

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, 

or return from following after thee: 

for wither thou goest, I will go;

 and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:

 thy people shall be my people, 

and thy God my God:

Ruth 1:16

Back from Camp...

Last week Chad and I took six kids from church to Junior Camp. I always love going to camp...but it takes a while to get ready to go and a while to get things back in there place once home....and I'm almost there!

Camp is always a treat for the time spent with the precious kids and hearing great preaching...here is a picture presentation of our week.

Yes, the girls are more highly favored in the pictures, but hey, I'm with the girls and the one with the camera! :)

The theme this year was Deep Space... our girls team was the Comets and our boys were on the Space Invaders.

For more information about this great camp, Commonground Baptist Camp, see a previous post or go to their website or FB page. It is a great camp centered around God!

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, 

the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? 

and the son of man, that thou visited him?

Psalm 8:3-4

Skirt to Dress...

On the 4th of July, I was given a skirt that was my size, but fit a little funny around my waist. So, since it was a long skirt and had no slit, a thought came to mind... make it a dress!

So yesterday I transformed it into a dress...

It still falls nicely below my knees, even when sitting :)
...and since it obviously become a strapless dress, I needed to find something to wear over it.

I found a long sleeve shirt in my closet that I hardly wore, looked at a few shirts refashioned into shrugs on Pinterest, and made one of my own. I think it will get a lot of use!

I cut the shirt up the middle, taking out the three buttons where there is now two snaps, and sewed a casing on each side. In the casing is a piece of material used to gather it up. Also, I never really liked the original length of the sleeves so I cut and hemmed them to just over the elbow in length.

Here's a look at it from the back...

And since it was a skirt, it was slightly sack like, so I did some gathering in the back with elastic thread so it looks a little more fitted. This gathered section falls right about at my 'low' waist...

I can't wait to wear my new outfit to one of our evening services at camp :)

Yesterday, I also made Chad and myself washcloth travel kits for camp...similar to the ones floating around on Pinterest.

His is the tan, mine is the burgundy.

However, while working on the stuff for camp, it leaves a pile of fabric just waiting...and really wanting... to become swim dresses for the girls; and I just haven't had time to touch the two piles of squares cut for quilts. They just sit patiently waiting on me!

And like time isn't fleeting enough, Amber has decided to want to start potty training...ugh! She's almost 20 months old, so I knew it was coming soon, but she is speeding things along by (sometimes) telling me she needs to go (or just went...). I haven't gotten into the intense training with her, so she is still doing diapers and pull-ups. Maybe after camp we'll get her some underwear and see what happens!

Hope you are having a great week!
Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

And David said to Solomon his son,

Be strong and of good courage, and do it: 

fear not, nor be dismayed: 

for the Lord God, even my God, 

will be with thee; 

he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, 

until thou has finished all the work 

for the service of the house of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 29:20 

When I read this yesterday, it was a good admonish to keep on doing the work God has called us to...and in that work God with be with us, guiding us, and comforting us. We do not need to worry or fear over what is going on...because we know that if we are doing the work of the Lord we will run into some contentions and hard situations. But God is always there for us! A verse earlier in the chapter, when Solomon was getting the charge to build the temple, he was told to "Take heed now....be strong, and do it."

We need to just do the will and work of God.

Red, White, and Blue...

Today is the day I'm one of the hostess' for the Red, White, and Blue blog hop being head-up by Jane over at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts.

I designed my block with a few small basics put together...and it ended up turning out to have a Southwestern flair - at least to me :)

So, here it is...it finish slightly under size...at 12.25, instead of 12.5 even though that is what I entered into the  quilt program as the finished size.

However, it is a free program and it was really helpful in getting templates for the triangle borders. I also learned that the squared off corners on the templates are a necessity for more nicely 'squared-up' triangle sections.

Update: I've had a few people ask about the program I used... and Miss Jane, our Hop Hostess, suggested I add the link. I used Quilt Assistant. It is a relatively quick download [if I remember right :)], but do keep in mind, it is free, so it has a few quirks to work around :)

I love these fabrics together and made two more blocks...

then I took the three blocks, rotated them a little, added a small white border around the outside, and made a table runner/wall hanging... bound in a great red and white striped material.

This is my results of my first design for my first blog hop!

In this, I used a thin, plain white flannel (reminds me of homemade diaper material) that I got at the local Mennonite bulk food store. It made it a wonderful weight for this purpose... and would make a great batting for a summer quilt!

On the back is red and white gingham, also from the bulk store!

Be sure to check out the other ladies hosting today on the blog hop...

July 9th

Home Designs by Amanda - you're here! :)

A Stitch in Time

Karen ~ Briarside Lane

Stitching by the Lake

Moose Stash Quilting

It's been fun trying to design something and see the progression of it into something!

Another Update: In an attempt to get back into the swing of things...I'm going to link up this post to Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday, see my sidebar for their button :)

And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good,

and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2

This verse was discussed in Sunday School yesterday...the part about conformed, and that the meaning refers to being squeezed into a mold. We need to watch that we are not conformed - aka squeezed - into the mold that the world would have for us. As a Christian, I need to make sure I am doing what God wants me to do, with all aspects of my life... including my blog. This encouraged me to keep including the Spiritual Reflections sections even if it seems that that section may turn some people off from my blog.

God's Word will not return void (Isa. 55:11)... 

Happy 4th...

We had a wonderful Independence day here, despite the heat and humidity...hope you had a great day as well!

Happy 4th of July...

If my people, which are called by my name,

shall humble themselves, and pray,

and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways;

then will I hear from heaven,

and will forgive their sin,

and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

I posted this last year for the 4th of July and so again, as we reflect on the founding of our country...which was founded on Christian principles...we need to pray and follow after God to return to what our founding father's foresaw for our country.

Hope you had a happy 4th of July...