A Sewing We Will Go!

Alright! My friend Meredith and I have officially started sewing on our new quilting project! On Friday, we completed lessons one and two of our quilting book, which took us quite a few hours to finish. :) First, we cut out the many strips that are going to be used for the inward borders in our quilt and also the outward border. After that, she and I broke out the sewing machines and pieced together our first block, the "rail fence". We are both really happy with the way our first squares turned out!

We decided to work on the next lesson on our own over the weekend. In this lesson, we had to make the "double nine patch" square. Pay no mind to the crooked squares and stray strings...I am still learning. :) I can't wait to see Meredith's when we meet up again for the next lesson. I'm sure it turned out beautifully with those colors! I can't wait to start our next lesson during the upcoming week! Thanks again Sarah for getting us hooked on this quilt. It is so much fun! ~Alli

And the Winner Is...

Aunt Rhonda!!!!!!

Congratulations Aunt!

Thank you everyone for participating! We may have another give away soon!

Last Day!

Today is the last day to post a comment to win the strawberry pin cushion! Please leave a comment to get your name in the hat. We will be drawing tonight. We will post our winner tomorrow. :) Alli and I are going to our favorite thrift store today. Maybe we will find some bargains. Have a blessed day! ~Julie

A Fun Day In Farmville

Yesterday, I was able to spend a whole day in the small city of Farmville with my friend Meredith! Our main objective for going was to purchase some fabric for our quilts that we are going to start. After seeing the sampler quilt that Sarah had made, we were each inspired to make one for our hope chests! After we had browsed the fabric area for several hours, Meredith and I were able to put together some pretty colors and patterns for our new project. She went with different shades of blues and yellows, and I chose shades of pinks and greens.

After purchasing our fabric, we decided that we would cruise the quaint little town for a while. She and I found a wonderful little cafe to have lunch at, went looking around in the various shops, and grabbed smoothies for our walk back to the car. It was definitely a fun day to remember, and I can't wait to start sewing! ~Alli

Remember to leave a comment on the post below before Thursday for the pin cushion drawing! It's okay if you don't leave a cleaning tip. Just put your name in the hat. :)

Our First Give-Away!

Does this look familiar? Perhaps you have seen it a number of times on here, my Etsy shop, and even several times on eBay! Mom and I have decided that she finally needs a home.

In an effort to pull all of you lurkers out of hiding, we thought it would be fun to have a give-away! All you have to do is leave a comment and share your favorite Spring cleaning tip! That's it, and your name will be added to the hat. If you can't think of one, just leave a comment, and we will place your name in the hat anyway. :)

Mom and I thought we would leave the drawing open until next Thursday, May 24 at 8:00pm. Then, we will draw to see who wins this little strawberry pin cushion. Have fun!~Alli

Financial Freedom

Recently our family viewed The Financial Freedom Seminar by Jim Sammons. I will say that this set of DVDs is very convicting. We learned a lot about what God has to say about achieving financial freedom. Below is just a sampling of what you can expect.


What It Really Means to Be Financially Free

1. Financial freedom is realizing that true prosperity comes only from God.

2. Financial freedom is committing ourselves to God's purposes for money.

3. Financial freedom is recognizing and rejecting false financial concepts.

4. Financial freedom is responding to God's reproofs for wrong financial decisions.

5. Financial freedom is choosing to serve God rather than money.

6. Financial freedom is giving God tithes and offerings.

7. Financial freedom is keeping out of debt.

8. Financial freedom is learning how to abound and how to suffer need.

9. Financial freedom is having sales resistance.

10. Financial freedom is recognizing and rejecting swindlers...

There is so much great information in this seminar. We are slowly trying to implement what we have learned. I will suggest that you order the Men's Manual II from IBLP to go along with the seminar. ~ Julie

A New Wreath For Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

We hope your Mother's Day is a blessing to you, as you are such a blessing in each of our lives!

We love you!

~ the kids

A Tribute to Mothers

Nobody Knows But Mother
by Mary Morrison

How many buttons are missing today?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many playthings are strewn in her way?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many thimbles and spools has she missed?
How many burns on each fat little fist?
How many bumps to be cuddled and kissed?
Nobody knows but Mother.

How many hats has she hunted today?
No body knows but Mother.
Carelessly hiding themselves in the hay-
No body knows but Mother.
How many handkerchiefs willfully strayed?
How many ribbons for each little maid?
How for her care can a mother be paid?
Nobody knows but Mother.

How many muddy shoes all in a row?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many stockings to darn, do you know?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many little torn aprons to mend?
How many hours of toil must she spend?
What is the time when her day's work shall end?
Nobody knows but Mother.

How many cares does a mother's heart know?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many joys from her mother love flow?
Nobody knows but Mother.
How many prayers for each little white bed?
How many tears for her babes has she shed?
How many kisses for each curly head?
Nobody knows but Mother.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sewing Frenzy

Help! I can't seem to stop making these! :) I'm hoping to start selling these on eBay. Stay tuned for some girly onesies!

Strawberry Pin Cushion

I just posted this one on eBay if you want to take a look! It should be listed on this page with the other strawberry pin cushions. ~Alli

Garden Update

A few days ago, Mom, my aunt, my cousin, and I took a trip to a local nursery and that inspired me to get my garden into shape! Mom bought many flowers to plant around her red swing, and I was able to purchase a few herbs to freshen up my herb garden. I also bought a couple of packs of flowers for some spring color!

Basil, Italian parsley, oregano, and thyme all found homes in my garden along with some zinnias and vincas. It's looking better already... minus the snake I came across while I was weeding. :)


Our vegetable garden is growing well also! Mom found a great tip off of the Pleasant View Schoolhouse blog that will help take the bitterness out of garden greens. To make them sweet, all you have to do it soak the picked greens in a bowl of cold water. Mom soaked ours for a few minutes one night for dinner and it really works! The greens are crisper and much sweeter. A great tip! ~Alli

Warm Winter Lemon Cake

Well it's not winter, but we thought we would give this new recipe a try. :) My grandma found this recipe off of kraftfoods.com, and she thought it sounded interesting. We both thought that you can't go wrong with cake and pudding together! It was actually really good, and I will definitely be making it again. If you don't like lemon pudding, the recipe says you can use vanilla pudding instead. Thanks Nan for the great recipe!

Warm Winter Lemon Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
2 cups cold milk
1-1/4 cups water
2 pkg. (4 serving size each) JELLO-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour into greased 13x9- inch baking dish; set aside.

Pour milk and water into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and granulated sugar. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Pour over batter. Place baking dish on baking sheet to catch any sauce that might bubble over sides of dish as dessert bakes.

Bake 55 minutes to an hour or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes. (Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Spoon into serving dishes to serve warm. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Enjoy! ~Alli