Prepared Heart...

Ezra was a scribe that was in Babylon during the exile...

He requested of the king to return to Jerusalem...

His request was granted to him

because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

He had the blessing of God upon him because he had prepared his heart...

Today, I'm sharing my Bible journaling 

of the verse in Ezra 7 that talks of Ezra's prepared heart.

Beautiful Fall Day...

This afternoon warmed up nicely after a chilly start this morning...so the girls went outside to play in the leaves. I was able to catch some of the fun with the camera...

Out on the trampoline...

 Laughing on the large tree swing...

 Sweet girl...

 Swinging contentment...

 Watching the sun...

 Adorable girls :)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" 

~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 ~

Thanks for stopping by...
Amanda

My store at www.thegiftcove.com has some great gifts to give for the coming holidays... more items will be added soon!

Calendar Board...

The crafting time that has been found this week was devoted to finishing a calendar board for Quarter-Acre Academy :) We are now using it each school morning after our opening (which is a few songs, prayer, reciting the books of the Bible, and our school verse [Rom. 12:2])...

Liz also has a daily sheet to work on that goes with our board... I saw a bunch on different sites, but none were exactly right, so I made my own!

Liz has to fill in the sections using the calendar board... once she fills in the number for the day, I help her count (by 5's) the boxes for her to filling in. I am also still helping her learn the 5's for tally marks...then we use the boxes to help us do the BIG addition problem! 

While I was deciding where to put our calendar board in our school area (aka. the dining room) I decided that since I was moving things around and it was almost mid-August, I would get the fall decorations for the dining room out and redecorate at the same time!

So here is now how the table and dresser look... (all our board games and some of my recipe books are in the tall cabinet)

I use the table lamp more for when I'm just working here...during school we usually use the overhead light.

The school books and tools are neatly arranged and looking ready for Autumn :)

...whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 

Autumn Views...

Welcome to almost the last day of the Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop hosted by Madam Samm and Cherry, our hop cheerleader.

As of the first day of the hop, I had an idea for my block but had not started making it yet...and as blog hops are to do, I was inspired by one of the other blocks :) 

So, my original plan was altered (and changed) to make room for my favorite fall poem to be added.

About the only thing that remained from the original idea is the small patchwork square borders on the top and bottom...however, even throughout this design, they were suppose to go the whole way around...but I messed up my measurements - again! They are going to start telling me 'no' when I want to join a hop because I can never seem to get an accurate block of 10.5 or 12.5! :)

I actually did some fussy cutting for the leaves to show the "Autumn Views" (as I'll name this block) of this great material I got at JoAnn's and appliqued them on.

 This wall hanging finished at 12 x 15 and fits great right where it was designed for...on my wall just to the left of my sewing machine... I LOVE Autumn!!!!!!!! and now I can 'enjoy the views' all year!

As I was using this fabric, I was also inspired to make a couple of potholders...

A pair of fall hued Granny Squares...these unfinished tops are 8 3/4 inches square...with a nice (roughly) 1 inch piece of material to each side would bring me to about 10 1/2 inch  block...but these are currently a nicer size for potholders without the border.

Amazingly, I love math and really do try to get my measurements accurate...but I guess I do it more in the construction so everything goes together well...not so much about the size of the finished project! oops...

And since this is a fall blog hop and I love fall, here are some fun family photos of our fall here...

Until I was going through the pictures, I hadn't realized how quickly it "falled"! This is our back yard on Wednesday, October 3...and just look at how many leaves and colors changed in 5 days! Not to mention the drop in temperature as well :)

Hope you are enjoying fall and to keep it going, be sure to check out these other ladies posting today...

Tuesday 9

Till We Quilt Again

Sheilas quilt world

ferristhoughts

Home Designs by Amanda - You are here! :)

Quilt n Queen

Polka dot classic

Moonbeams in a Jar

Stitch, stitch, stitch

Sew Me Something Good

quiltingbydawn

My collection of Things
Jessisca

I still have a handful of things ready to blog about...and not as many deadlines, so, I hope to get those things up on here soon! 

 And He changeth the times and the seasons; 

He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: 

He giveth wisdom unto the wise, 

and knowledge to them that know understanding.

Daniel 2:21

Here Daniel is praising God for revealing secrets to him. Daniel is showing that God is in control of everything...He can even change the time and seasons! It is a comfort to know that God is controlling things and allowing some circumstances to come through our lives to grow us, make us more reliant on Him, and build our faith in Him. The road sometimes seems long, but He will see us through!

PRAISE GOD for His Awesome Love for Us!

Celebrate Color...

Autumn has great colors...so, it's the perfect time to Celebrate Color! That's what Rachel over at Stitched in Color has planned for us for this great season...and as you all know...my favorite season!

I saw the inspiration post she put up on Thursday...and just couldn't bear it! Friday, I pulled out the Fall tote and transformed the house to a haven of orange, brown, gold, and dark red...LOVE IT! I typically try to decorate for fall right around Labor Day, so this year fell right into tradition.

Here are my main points of decoration...

My Orange Colorway :)

I'd have to say that I think Orange is definitely my favorite fall color...but all the fall colors mixed together make for great possibilities!

For most of the summer I have been admiring Sandy Garvais' Grand Finale...and I finally got some! You can see it sitting beautifully on my computer desk in the middle right picture...a jelly roll (my 2nd EVER!) and some yardage. I'm waiting on a Grand Finale charm pack to arrive...then I'll take some fabric pictures, so I can dig in and see how I can transform a great bundle of fall into a quilt.

It may be a little bit before that quilt actually gets as much attention as I'd love to give it because life around here seems to be making sewing time very elusive! Over the long weekend I did stay up the one night a put Amber's quilt on my design wall...also, LOVING IT!!! I'll try to fill you in on that and show pictures tomorrow.

But back to our fall Celebrate Color inspiration...

Here is my photo collage for Brown...

(all pictures are from google images search)

and for Dark Red...

(all pictures are from google images search)

I'll leave this Celebrate Color Inspiration with this quote from Country Living magazine (Oct. '07). (**Note...I changed the one line because it spoke of Jack-o-lanterns...and I don't really care for them. I prefer a nice smooth pumpkin...maybe with a painted/decor leaf put on it.)

Against the backdrop of twilight's blue,

windows glow amber as candles beckon.

A chilly gust sends up a swirl of leaves.

Set out on a walking tour of autumn.

Take in the sights of cornfields

and hay bales and sunflowers.

The views have never been better.

She girdeth her loins with strength

and strengtheneth her arms.

She preceiveth that her merchandise is good:

her candle goeth not out by night.

Proverbs 31:17-18

Proverbs 31 is a great passage for women, to show us how we are to take care of our household...I read this the other day and thought that the late nights I've been having are all part of keeping the house running sometimes. Another section of this passage also talks about rising while it is still night... I find it easier to stay up at night once everyone is tucked in bed than it is for me to get out of bed earlier than needed...but either way you need a 'candle' to get the work done!

Have a great time enjoying the great scenes of fall as they begin to pass by and thank God for the beauty he has established in the season's for us to enjoy!

Amanda

As always...check ou the great links on the right side bar for some inspiration...whether needed or unneeded!

A Baby Shower...

Today I went to a baby shower for a lady that used to go to our church (she moved to NY when she got married). This week I packed her a box of baby things...which I had plenty of since she is also going to be having a little girl too. However, the packed box was a little plain. So, to remedy the situation I decided to make her a 'scrapbooked' picture, which I started yesterday and finished this morning not very long before needing to leave. Someday I think I'd like to make this into a quilted/appliqued fabric piece.

Then, when at the shower I found that the plates, the cake and the cookies were baby buggies...I thought how appropriate, don't you think? God even works in the small decorative things we do.

 

Yesterday also brought 'down' a big event...the tree beside our house. It has been dieing as of late and Chad had already delimbed a small portion of it, but the whole thing need to be removed. It was a sad day, very gloomy and rainy. Typical Northwestern PA.

This tree was a very nice tree. It was just outside the kitchen window. It was wonderful to me in the fall because it made the falling of the leaves begin in late August...and then with the other trees beside our house, I had leaves falling into November. I loved it! Fall is my favorite season. (Spring is probably my second, although I do enjoy a warm cozy house and big snowflakes falling outside in the winter.)

But the tree had to come down...as some of the limbs hit the ground, they shattered because they were so rotten. It assured me that, although I'll miss it, it's better it came down this way rather than onto the house during a storm.

 

Good Bye Tree...

You'll keep the house warm in the near future!

As I near the end of this post, I wanted to show an adorable picture of the girls.

Next week is going to be busy...extra days at school, a dentist appointment, and a ladies meeting...but I'm still hoping to get some sewing done and post what I get done.

But today I'll leave you with Psalm 127:1 & 3:

Except the Lord build the house,

they labor in vain that build it:

except the Lord keep the city,

the watchmen waketh in vain...

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:

and the fruit of the womb is his reward,



Build your house right...attend church on Sunday!

Amanda