Busy Month...

Wow, has this month flown by! At the beginning of the month we were already part-way into a kitchen remodel...and then a week or two ago, the new floor was put in :) Love!...almost as much as my new kitchen counter, but that story is to be told when the before and after pictures are ready! Pretty soon I can show the changes, but here is a sneak peek at the floor going in...

 

A couple weeks ago, we also had calling hours and funeral service to attend for Chad's grandmother.

I received and made my first order of 5 phone pods...

I also decided that after 3 months of not working on Liz's schooling (which is currently alright because she is technically not in school yet... I'm using this time to find out what is going to work for us), but we did really need to find a routine and way for us to accomplish what needs done regarding our homeschooling...so we are setting up a schedule for that that I think will work (at least for the first part of elementary school)...
However, this week...our second week back to school, I've been rather sick for 3 days and we haven't been able to do school... but back to work tomorrow!

I did get a couple more projects completed to put in my Etsy shop... bowl covers!

I love having these in the kitchen to put over bowls and dishes that don't have lids rather than using plastic wrap!

So, how's your month?

Let all things be done decently and in order.

1 Corinthians 14:40

Working on Liz's school work, trying to do craft work, house work, and church work can tend to get things a little messy and not as organized as I like or should be. However, God wants us to do things in an orderly fashion...but I also have to remember that at time things may not go right along with the schedule and we need to go with that. We need to open to God's leading... He is the author of order, and His order may different than ours!

Phone Pods...

This week I received an inquiry into a Phone Pod I had made for a relative and was asked if I could make some more...

I'm so excited to receive my first craft order :) and a little nervous...
So, the Phone Pods for the order will be made soon, but in the last couple of days I made a few others to put up for sale in my Etsy store.

Black Floral...

Light Floral...

Blue & Tan Floral...

 Pale Yellow...

I made one from this material for myself...more for a sample to refer to and for when we need the GPS in the car so it will sit on the dashboard rather than awkwardly in the middle console :) and because I don't have a phone that would necessarily need a Phone Pod. I did also make a bigger one for my Kindle Fire back when I made the first Phone Pod...

Which does it's job well, but if I may redo it and put a dowel rod in the front roll like the phone pods...that's were Chad comes in, cutting dowel rod to specification for me :) specially if I want to make more of them!

I hope to get the finished Phone Pods listed today :) They were a nice little project to work on!

This week I also did a little quilting...have more to go and then the binding. Can't wait to get that worked on too!

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 

neither have entered into the heart of man, 

the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

It is amazing to see God even work in the little things for us to realize that we really don't fathom the extent of what God has and does for us!

Small Doily...

Not much crafting getting done around here... but I did recently finish a small crochet doily!

I recently basted a quilt, it's a Christmas present....yes, it's a little late and I'm not sure when it will get quilted or bond, but hopefully SOON!!!!
You know, it's a real zoo around here :) !

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

and into His courts with praise: 

be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

Singing our praises to God shows the joy we can have for what He has done and if we are down, singing and praising God helps to lift our spirits. Showing our love to God not only delights Him but also rejuvenates us.

Still Reviewing Christmas...

Not much crafting around here right now... so today I'll show you a few more things from the Christmas season.

Every year I always think it would be nice to do a 12 days of Christmas countdown to Christmas...well, this year I finally did one. I decided to just do something Christmas-y about every other day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A few of those things included:
"Painting" the inside of glass ornaments...

The girls colored a banner for Daddy :)

I made luminaries to greet home the three of them one night when they had been out...

Homemade snowballs for an inside snowball fight... these were fun :)

I first saw this idea on Pinterest... (click on the picture for the pin)

But it wasn't a tutorial to make them...it was a link to buy them for $20 (not paying that for snowballs), not to mention they were unavailable! So, I made my own!!!! Not quite as cute and round as the smiling ones, but mine work! I do plan to post a quick tutorial for how I made them.

Also, a candlelight dinner!

Moreover it is required in stewards,

that a man be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2

Homemade Christmas Gifts...

Here are some of the other homemade gifts I made this past season...

 A small bag for word search books and a pen...

The inside of one of the wallets I made, and a phone pod...

A plastic grocery store bag holder...

My first attempt at a crochet hat...

It's newborn size :)

A crochet infinity scarf...

A wallet...

So, those were some of December's projects :)

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis 6:22

God gave Noah a large job to do, and without excuse or complaint Noah did it immediately. Are we able to do just as God commands us? 

Corresponding with this was what I read this morning about when Abraham was willingly following all God told him to do, including being ready to sacrifice his son... Are we willing to give up the things God asks us to? And taking the actions necessary to give them up?

Thoughts to ponder from my morning readings :)

New Types of Projects...

Not that I didn't already have enough projects to do, but I added another hobby in early November - I started making cheese! It is an interesting process and neat to make...however, it is definitely a learning process! Most of the cheese has turned out a little different than expected, but still edible :)

This was an attempt at Mozzarella... I made more today, but the texture still seems to be not quite right. Still taste good though!

In December, I also began learning (from the internet) how to crochet. I had been using the knitting looms, but I kept breaking the pegs, so since I had a couple of crochet hooks, I decided it was time to get learning!

I made a few mug cozies and a coaster...

and little coasters/wash cloths to go with some bread, cutting boards, and homemade cheese for presents for this past Christmas.

For Christmas I made the girls some 'fancy' princess dresses...

 

and they got a Trampoline :)

A few days before Christmas, Chad's brother & sister-in-law had their little boy...this is Liz with her new cousin when he was a week old!

Delight thyself also in the Lord:

and he shall give thee the desire of thine heart.

~ Psalms 37:4 ~

Happy Holidays...

It has been a busy month and a half...but I wanted to take a few minutes to say that I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Details on my the Christmas gifts that were crafted will come soon...I do plan to get back to blogging in the New Year :)

However, for now, have a Happy New Year! See you in 2013!!

Amanda