About a week ago, we were watching this video on you tube, and I was inspired to learn, and teach my girls, how to cross-stitch! Uh…you probably will want to watch this video, as it explains why Tim’s life verse is so bizarre.

Tim’s Life Verse

So, our family made him a “special”, brick-shaped pillow (and we even found brick material…for his “Dodge Brick” Tim’s Good Advice And Violent Sons connection) with his life verse cross-stitched on there (“My loins are filled with a loathsome disease.”). I found a cross-stitch font at dafont.com and downloaded it for free. I just printed the verse in bold and used it as my pattern. I traced the X’s in pencil on the white fabric. Then, we just used black embroidery thread.We’ll probably make more now that we know how easy it was (same font, different verse though).

We were blessed to be allowed to meet him personally, and shake his hand, due to our hand-stitching efforts. I had wished that we all (not just my immediate family) could have met him, but that is how Tim’s brother needed it to be (and I had to beg just to bring my own family along). After shaking hands with Tim, I turned towards my family and exclaimed, “I shook his hand!”,  and we joked about using the hand-sanitizer. However, Tim really does deserve a hand! He is crazy funny!

Guess how many similar pillows he has received with his “life verse” on there?  A laughable thirteen! So, evidently, there really is nothing new under the sun! Paige wrote more about our weekend on her blog…

Here is Tim’s new homeschool song…

The Homeschool Blues

This was our second picture with Tim. He's too funny!

You can't just make one!

I mentioned in my last post how I would be making duct tape wallets with my boys. Well, my husband (my biggest boy) requested that I make him one, too! He went on and on about how nice it was…especially about how thin it is. Personally, I would think a fat wallet would be preferred over a thin one:). But…these size matters never really mattered to me-probably because I don’t carry a wallet in my back pocket:).

He asked me for a see-through flap for his driver’s license. So, I sent him on a “plastic hunt” through our house. He was successful! He brought me the packaging lid that stored our thin-sliced cheese. I was hoping the wallet wasn’t too cheesy-looking!

Here are some more pics…

Making the cool duct tape "fabric"!

Completion of the back pocket

Out with the old, in with the new

Let's add some color

A card holder

Two inside side pockets were added on this one!

I think I got carried away with the wallet thing...here is my clear wallet!

I went on you tube and a very helpful boy showed us how to make these wallets…

The best thing about these wallets is that you will always have duct tape handy!

My Industrious Friend: “CC, Do you have time to talk?” (This question is always appreciated by me. Sometimes there are better time slots to talk on the phone than others)

Me: “Uh, well, not a whole lot of time tonight (we were listening to the Bible)…what’s up?”

My Industrious Friend: “Well, I just wanted to tell you that you are “the bomb”.

Me: “Hey, I can listen to you talk all night, if you’re saying stuff like that!” (We laugh). But I’m just curious, exactly why am I “the bomb”?

For those of you who don’t know, to call someone “the bomb” is the equivalent to saying you think they are totally awesome, cool, etc. I remember hearing, in my early days, when someone referred to someone else as a “walking time bomb“…uh…that was not very complimentary!” But this was definitely meant as a compliment, and yeah…it was pretty powerful. Oh…but if bomb is used as a verb, it basically means that you failed. For example, “I totally bombed that pop quiz”.

Getting back to our story…my friend proceeded to explain how I had helped her to finish her quilt by telling her earlier in the day, during our church break, what to buy, and how to sew it on her quilt. So, I no longer felt like the bomb, but I passed that title back to my industrious friend, who had actually completed her quilting project that same day.

Meanwhile, I was feeling inspired. The girls had started a quilt almost three years ago, and we were almost finished, but we lacked the ruffled trim (okay, and maybe motivation). So, on the Thursday afternoon when we read about the sluggard who doesn’t finish what he started, we all knew what we had to do-finish the quilt. The girls worked very hard and finished the quilt late that evening. Amazing! So, they were also dubbed as “bombs”!

Here is the finished quilt. They have worked on this project with their sweet Nonnie during the summer break, and here and there, as time allowed…sweet memories. I did very little work on this project. I was delighted to watch my little women using their hands in such a practical way. They plan to make more.

Praise the Lord, the “Balm in Gilead” (Jeremiah 8:22). I remember hearing BC’s grandmother remark that “There is a Balm in Gilead” was her favorite hymn, and I thought she said, “There is a Bomb in Gilead”. It never sounded  very “hymn-like” to me. As we completed this quilt/comforter, we thank God for the comfort that He alone gives, and we praise Him for the ability to accomplish everything we do!

While making this quilt, I have especially been reminded of a dear great Aunt Colleen, who made each one of my sisters (there were four of us) our own hand-made quilt-back when we were living at home. She was the ultimate bomb in quilting! She is no longer living, and is missed. I wish she could see this, but this totally pales in comparison to Whom she now sees!

Yesterday, we had a nice breakfast picnic (donuts) in the park. That was the only time when it would be relatively “cool”. We thought we were going to get attacked…as we crossed paths with the cross-country runners…who gazed at the glazed donuts. Oops! We didn’t think to hide these. How cruel of us!

We were hiking along, and then we saw someone else having a picnic—a coyote eating a dead deer! He ran away, and so did we (in different directions)! I grabbed a stick, and wondered what I was thinking when I suggested going for a hike…with nine kiddos.

Then, I remembered…as my boys cowboys were absolutely thrilled about seeing this coyote. My young scouts “Lewis and Clark” (Benjamin and Bradley) had spotted the coyote.

Lewis said, “Hey look mom, it’s a coyote!”

Clark said: “It is…isn’t that neat? I’ve always wanted to see one!” Part of me was hoping these boys were crying “coyote”, but no…

This week, the house has been filled mostly with girl stuff—paper dolls, painted nails, and such. So, for my boys, hiking and protecting us was great fun for them. When we saw the coyote, they headed in the direction of the coyote…not away! I’m so glad they listened as I told them we were not going to face (or chase) this fear, but move away…and quickly. I was thankful we stayed safe, and had an “adventure” (my kids call most outings an adventure).

Oh…my dear niece M made me laugh when she told her dad that we saw a dead body at the park. Well, it was a dead body, but it was a dead deer body…rather than a human body! Oh dear, it could always be worse…

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” The NIV says it this way:

…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion (bold-added by me) until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

The other day, I found my unfinished wood-carved plaque (from 25 years ago) that read, “Clean up the world tomorrow, today just clean your room”. Ouch! A painful reminder of another project I need to complete (the plaque), and one I feel will never be completed (my side of our bedroom)! There are some projects that I have left unfinished, some I have actually finished, and some I have finished well. But most of the time my mind goes back to my “unfinished business”. Last spring I painted the kitchen, yet I still have not put the “finishing touches” on the baseboards. The list could go on….

Well, praise the LORD, He allowed a sewing project to be completed in record time! We estimate it took us ten hours to complete five denim/plaid skirts, and three plaid ties (you know, there is nothing like family ties). We all so enjoyed sewing together and wearing our matching outfits! I have to honestly say that bc does not love his new tie (or any of his old ones for that matter), but he does love me. I am so thankful for his sweetness in wearing the tie and that we “tied the knot” years ago. It prompted me to sing to bc the lines of an old hymn: “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love…” (unfortunately, that’s about all I could remember). However, I do remember a time I made bc a tie with baby animals in the shape of clouds (to match our dresses), and he wore it. What was I thinking?

I am thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for being about His Father’s business and for finishing strong.

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I think Paige and Michelle will be blogging about what we did right (and wrong) in their blogs. Paige has been taking pictures! Bc says I should categorize this one under “Sew What?”. So today starts this new category. Well, we are ready to sew again, and the twin in me is absolutely loving it (the matching clothes and all)!

Don’t worry, we aren’t making any skirts for the boys. However, Paige mentioned possibly making matching ties!