Crafting Plus Family Time

. I'm loving my new machine so much! Projects have gotten a teeny bit easier and my knowledge in the whole *world of sewing* has definitely grown leaps and bounds....even though there is a lot more for me to learn. Okay - a TON more for me to learn. I made this little blankie yesterday for my friend that has the most incredibly sweetest baby Joseph. He is the epitome of cuteness....I hope he will be able to cuddle in this soft brown blankie for a long time.

Yesterday was a bit rainy so it was the perfect time to work on a project...I have lots of ideas for the NEXT blankie...I'll just add it to my Never Ending Project List of 2010. The littles love watching me create, so as long as everyone is in a happy mood.....creativity is endless.

A child said, What is the grass?

by Walt Whitman
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.
Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?

And my Forest project is complete now that my friend has released her baby name - James Alexander Riley. Mommy Trish was overjoyed with the results so I'm as proud as a peach (pleased as a peach?) knowing that my stitches are leaving me, to hang a good long while in a lovely nursery, where it will be loved and admired. Ahhhhhh.

Please....don't even think for a moment that I'm super ingenious because I really got all of the inspiration from Melissa - the master of felt applique. She was generous enough to allow me to take her ideas and to weave them into my own. Please pay her a visit sometime....you will be inspired! She has a shop on etsy that is right now offering a 15% discount to her blog readers...happy shopping! You can click on the hyperlink above or I also have her in my sidebar.

And as for the "family time" part in my title....I'm getting to that. Zac was scheduled to coach a tournament in Nashville this past weekend and I was just fine with him going. That is, until I saw him in the yard Friday, sunlight gleaming off his brown hair....his emerald eyes sparkling as he played with our littles-----whoaaaaaaa....you get the point. I just COULDN'T be without him. So, when he came to the porch I asked if he would mind if we all just kind of...went. And if he would also mind calling the hotel and seeing what it would cost to upgrade to a suite...AND if he would mind taking us all to the Opryland hotel to walk around when his games were done. Not to much to ask- don't you think?

Well, he made the call and upgraded our room, I quickly packed the kids and the next morning we were off. The skies were gray and it was easy to see that they day was going to be long and wet. Worked out that the games were canceled after we had already gotten there and had checked in. At this point there was not turning back since Brady has already gotten wind of the fact there was indeed a heated pool and that supper would be eaten at a restaurant....how could you tell the little dude "sorry, due to weather we will no longer be having a fun time. Pack you bags." We let the kids swim and then took them to the Rainforest Cafe (a very loud experience and way too over stimulating. Yes...the kids had big eyes and seemed to enjoy it...but Nashville on a Saturday evening in the busiest mall there.....you catch my drift.) Brady came away with a safari hat ,however, and has been sporting it around for the last 3 days. He keeps telling me that he is shooting crocodiles and going to grill them over a fire and eat them. This all stems from me letting him know that Gran Jan likes to eat fried alligator...you should see his eyes when I tell him that....I can just see the wheels turning in his little head.

My Trin loved the Opryland hotel because there were oodles of flowers and oodles of stairs. Up and down she went, over and over. Brady was impressed at the beginning but the 24 hours of constant change definitely took it's toll on the little fella. Thankfully his fast approaching meltdown happened in the mini van and not the 7 star hotel. Zac handled the situation like a pro even though it was a very LOUD and very LONG meltdown. Brady was finally calmed down, we won...even though I wasn't quite sure how that was going to be possible...and we came home to normalcy. We will be sticking to local parks and ice cream as our "getaways" for awhile - seems the kids prefer it...go figure.

Here's a shot of the Corley Marching Band - all thought up by the harmonica player in the front. Notice his "marching clothes." About every other day he goes to his room and comes out wearing this exact outfit...gray hoodie, fake glasses and just blowing away on his instrument. Trinity's instrument of choice is just a piece of long grass that she waves round and round - Zac is playing the tin bucket/drum.

And an *up close* of our musician. Zac and I just laugh at his adorable dweeb- like cuteness. Isn't he just precious?