Attitude of Gratitude

This week has been a trying week for me, but I made it through. I hope next week gets better. I do have a lot of things to be grateful for despite having some rough patches here and there. I did end the week on a nice peaceful way. My church had a Nativity Exhibit Friday and Saturday. I was able to go over tonight and see it. There was lots and lots of Nativity things. There was also lots of music going on through this whole event. It was just a wonderful peaceful thing to see. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to see it. This is something from what I understand that is going to be an every year activity. The total exhibit was from Nativity items that belonged to the members of my church in my area. There were Christmas trees, garlands, pictures everywhere. There were poinsettias, red and white ones everywhere also that were bought by the members and then after the exhibit is over we will be able to get them and use them in our homes. This really was a beautiful thing to see and a lot of work went into getting it all accomplished. Here is the website for the Nativity Exhibit if anyone wants to check it out www.valparaisonativityexhibit.blogspot.com

I took some pictures of some of the exhibits that I thought I would share. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did seeing them in person.



This was a crocheted set that was really cute.


The above picture was taken so you could sort of see an overall look of the gym as it was decorated. The Nativity's were all around the perimeter of the gym.
This was in the center of the gym and had the white Nativity's surrounding the tree.
Some Precious Moments Nativity sets.The above was an edible Nativity set. It smelled wonderful in that room and I am so sure that this took a long time to make. There is also a closeup of some of the sheep and of the roof so you get an idea of what it looked like.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead and takes time to enjoy the season and be nice to everyone. Smile always it makes for a nice day and you never know it may mean a lot to someone.

Days like today UGH

For the most part I lead a very happy satisfied life. Yes I wish I had more at times and then there are days like today.

Nothing has gone right today. Nothing major has happened, just a lot of little stuff. I think mostly it's because I have not had any time to myself in more then 3 weeks. Everyone needs a little down time to do what they wish. Even 30 min would and could do a world of good.

I keep having to remind myself to just take a deep breath and breathe, slowly and relax. It's not working very well though.

I really do love my kids, grandchildren and great granddaughter, I really do love my kids, grandchildren and great granddaughter, I really do love my kids, grandchildren and great granddaughter, I really do love my kids, grandchildren and great granddaughter... I think if I keep reminding myself of this maybe it will go better.

I just needed to rant today, I really would like to just scream but I won't. Maybe a good cry would help???? No then my eyes will get all puffy. I don't even think "Calgon take me away" would work.

Well tomorrow is another day. I hope everyone has a good one and stays safe and smiles. God loves you!!

Thanksgiving 2011

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family this year. We had lots of good food and everyone enjoyed themselves. Randi was happy and running around to everyone and grazing off their plates. Well until she spotted the bowl of black olives, then that all ended. She grabbed the bowl, got up on a chair and ate the whole bowl. She would put them on her fingers then eat them off. Her mother used to do the same thing along with my girls. We will be going over to my mothers later today to have leftovers. Yum Yum always good the next day.

Randi had not taken a nap all day yesterday because she was just to excited to see everyone. By the time we got home she was pretty tired but it was to late to put her down for a nap and to early to put her to bed. So we did the next best thing, we turned on Spongebob Square Pants for her on the TV. BobBob is her favorite thing to watch. She was perfectly content to sit in her chair with her feet up with her sippy cup of juice and watch her favorite show and relax after a long fun filled day.




I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

Attitude of Gratitude

I have many things to be grateful for. Sometimes you take those things for granted. You don't mean to but life happens.

I have been busy it seems lately just living life. Between babysitting and taking care of daily things, time just gets away from you.

My granddaughter and great granddaughter are now living with me. I am happy she has left her boyfriend as he is not a very nice person to put it mildly. You don't have to be physically abused to be abused. Verbally can also be a bad thing. I hope she sticks with it this time. She needs to focus on her daughter and make a better life for both of them. I wish I had the answers but I don't.

I am grateful for the still half way decent weather we have been having. I am keeping my fingers crossed we don't get bombarded with snow for a long time. I know living in Northern Indiana you can expect snow but I can still hope it delays happening.

I am grateful that my cousin Dale is doing well after having to have a defibrillator put in a little over a month ago. He is back to work now and getting stronger every day. He still worries over little twinges he gets because he ignored these twinges before and he ended up in the hospital. But it will take time and he will get through this and continue to enjoy life.

I am grateful for my own health and my families. Everyone at the moment seems to be healthy and well.

I am grateful for the many blessings I receive daily. I am grateful for my faith. I am grateful for the Priesthood and the keys they hold. I am grateful for the friends I have. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have and the ability to do the things I want. I am grateful for the freedom I have to explore the opportunities and religion as I see fit.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful life experience. Please take time to enjoy life.

Halloween Party

Tonight my church had a Halloween, Trunk or Treat and Chili Cook Off Party. This was the best so far for turnout. Pretty much everyone from church was there. So many kids dressed up in cute costumes. We had the cook off and ate first then we all headed outside for the trunk or treat. It was so much fun to see all the kids dressed up and getting so excited about getting candy. I tried to take some pictures outside but they didn't turn out. Oh well that happens sometimes. I did get a few pictures of my family at the party and of course of my grandson Noah, which this is his first Halloween, and my great granddaughter Randi. She just loved seeing all the kids at the party and kept running from table to table to see everyone. She had a blast. By the time the night was over and all the candy gathered, Noah was out like a light. He seemed to have a blast also and kept smiling at everyone. It's nice to get together like this from time to time. I look forward to the next activity.



I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween no matter how you celebrate or not celebrate the day.

Pumpkins in Classroom

I remembered this time to take a picture of my classroom after I hung up some decorations. My daughter and her boyfriend came and helped me tonight to hang up the pumpkins in my classroom at church. The kids are going to be happy and surprised to see the change in the classroom. Tonight was Young Women (YW) activity so there were a lot of kids around. Everytime someone came by they made a comment on the pumpkins and said they liked them. It looks cute in the room.I also showed the YW president how to make tissue paper flowers. She wants to make some for the table decorations for an upcoming program for the young women. I told her if need be I would help them. So will see what happens. :)

Have a good day everyone :)

A little craftyness

Hmmm I wonder if " craftyness" is actually a word? Oh well sounds good to me. Anyway...I have been busy as usual with babysitting, which seems to be what I do everyday. But I did find sometime to get in some crafts this past couple weeks. I need to change the decor in my classroom at church and I saw these cute pumpkins on Pinterest a while back and decided these would be good for Oct and Nov. I made a few with the orange construction paper that I had on hand and need to go to the store to get some more orange. They turned out cute and will look nice hanging from the ceiling in the classroom. I am sure the kids will like them. I will have to remember to stick my camera in my purse so that I can take a picture of them hanging in the classroom.
I also needed to make some things to go along with my lesson for last Sunday. The lesson was on "I can be honest" I was trying to think of something that my kids could relate to as they are only 4yrs old. Well my very good friend Deana had sent me link to some Halloween items to make and they were just what I was looking for to relate to this lesson. I already had the Perler beads on hand so that wasn't a problem to make these spider webs. I explained to the kids in class that we shouldn't "spin a web of lies" hence the spider webs. Well its a stretch but they really liked it. I put magnets on the back so the kids could put them on their refrigerator at home and they would be reminded to always be honest. I also gave them some spider rings I had on hand to go along with the webs. One of the kids was so happy to tell their parent about why they had a spider and web. It was cute to see them explain it.
I took some fun foam strips and some letter beads that I had and glued "I can be Honest" down the front of them and also added magnets on the back. They also loved these. The kids really love taking things home with them. I usually let them make something in class and they did draw their own spider web and then drew a line through it to remind them not to lie.I really enjoy working with these kids at this age. They are so much fun. I will only have these kids till the end of December. Come Jan I will have a new group. Not sure how many I will have next year. I probably should actually look in the Nursery and see. Who knows I may not have any kids for this age group and they may move me to another age group. One of the little girls told me she wanted me to stay as her teacher because she likes me and I make cool things and let them make fun stuff. I thought that was so sweet.

I have a few more projects in store for myself in the very near future. Including making my great granddaughter a trick or treat bag that matches her costume. She is going as a ladybug. Her mother found some really cute pink ladybug fabric so will get on that this week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead and take time to do things for themselves. Everyone be safe.

Will it ever end

Seems like lately things keep happening all at once. I keep wondering if it will ever end anytime soon. I have been busy babysitting Wyatt a 4yr old very good but headstrong boy and also my great granddaughter who is almost 2. They really get along very well, but at times I wonder if I have lost my mind at my age in taking on babysitting on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong I love kids very much and really enjoy being with them and doing all sorts of activities and crafts but...I am tired. I find myself falling asleep in my recliner within a half hour of them leaving and my house being quiet. I find myself many night falling asleep before 9p. This past couple weeks also have been busy for me as I have been up to the hospital visiting my cousin who long story short ended up having to have a pace maker/defibrillator put in. He is home now and doing great, but can't do much at the moment. I have been going over there helping him do some things and taking him to pick up meds, groceries etc since he can't drive at the moment. I also have been battling my own health problems but I do believe they are all taken care of for now. I had a kidney infection on top of having an upper respiratory infection. So after 2 rounds of antibiotics things are looking better, just some lingering gunk I keep coughing up. But that's a good thing.

I also needed to finish up a few gifts for a baby shower yesterday at church for the Bishop and his wife who adopted a baby boy the end of August. He is adorable. I made a cross stitch birth announcement, which I truly like but I just wasn't happy with the lightness of part of the lettering after it was all finished. I kept telling myself it was fine that it was just me being picky. But the more I looked at it the more I disliked it. So yesterday morning around 5a I woke up and could not get it out of my mind so I decided to change the color of the lettering by going over it with a darker color. I also was not happy with the ironing of the fabric. I tried and tried to get the folds out of it. I steamed it, completely wet it down then ironed it, no matter what I tried it just wouldn't go flat and look neat. I didn't want to try to much as I didn't want to mess it up. It looks fine and the couple really liked it but I am not happy with it, which is my problem not anyone else.
I also made 3 bibs from a tshirt and 2 little boys shirts. They turned out really cute. The couple are avid readers and love Harry Potter so when I found the Hogwarts tshirt I knew I had to get it and use it. I still wanted to make one more shirt with a tie but just ran out of time to get it done. I may still try and get it made this week and just give it to them at church next week.

I have some plans this next week to get some Halloween decorations to get done for my classroom at church and for my home, and to make a couple of trick or treat bags. None of which will take much time at all, its just finding the time to get it done along with the daily things I need to do. Then it will be time to make some Christmas decorations I have in mind and some gifts. I can't believe this year is coming to an end already. I am so enjoying the nice beautiful fall weather we have been having the last couple weeks because I know it won't last.Here is a picture of my great granddaughter Randi wearing Wyatt's hat. She would not wear it any other way then that no matter how many times I tried to turn it around. We just kept laughing and she seemed to like that all the more.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and taking the time to do the things they love.

Catching Up

I have been missing from Blog world for a little bit. Seems like everything was happening at once around here. Which actually I should be used to that after all these years. But somehow it always surprises me when things happen. We have had sickness, car issues, due to a blown utility transformer we ended up with a fried wireless router, fried main component on my furnace, fried computer in my daughters high efficiency washer and dryer and some crafts that needed to get finished. I had to get another round of antibiotics and have to have some bloodwork repeated in a couple weeks. Randi is finally over her sickness and feeling really good. I had to have my brakes fixed on my car which turned out to be a 9hr job. My daughters boyfriend was nice enough to do the work for me so I wouldn't have to pay for labor. Turned out I had to have all 4 rotors and brakes replaced and of course nothing works like it should. They apparently were original equipment to my car and of course they did not want to come off. But at least that part of it is fixed now I just have to take care of the minor shaking in the steering. I still think its in need of a front end alignment so we will see. The utility transformer first caused a power surge which in turn fried the above mentioned things. The washer and dryer were under warranty so that won't cost her any money but my router and furnace cost me close to $200. Which had to have taken care of no matter what. I swear the old saying is so true...When it rains it pours...
I did get some crafts done that needed to be taken care of. I finished a cross stitch birth announcement for a baby shower and now all I need to do is iron it and get a frame for it this weekend. I still need to make a couple of bibs for this shower before October 8th. I have no doubt I will get them done.
I was asked a couple weeks ago to make a pinata for a 4yr old birthday party. The little girl hadn't decided what she wanted her birthday party to be so of course she didn't know what kind of pinata she wanted. I talked to her mother and suggested a "P" or "4" and that way no matter what her theme was the letter would be for her first name or the number for her age. They discussed that and decided on the letter P. She also decided to do the whole party in things that start with the letter P that the little girl likes, so for starters the pinata needed to be pink and purple. I had seen a cute round pinata on the internet that was covered in tissue paper flowers. So of course that is what I thought would be a cute idea for a girl party. I didn't think I would ever finish making the flowers it seemed to go on and on forever. Just when I thought I had enough to cover the pinata it turned out I needed more. But it's finally finished and I will be taking it them tonight for the party on Sunday. I think it really turned out cute. I have a feeling I might be seeing more pinata's in my future.

I took one day and put up all my summer decorations and got out my fall decorations. I love fall and all the warm rich colors. I have a couple projects in the works for more decorations. I will get those started once I get the things done that have a more pressing time frame.

I hope everyone is enjoying this nice weather we are having. I love the cooler weather and the thought of having some bonfires. Love it Love it Love it. Take time to enjoy nature and all its beautiful glory.

Crafty Day

I have had my great granddaughter Randi here since last Thursday due to her mother having to go to school and work many days in a row and it just saves on gas if she just stays here rather then them driving back and forth. Unfortunately she also has been sick. Poor baby has been running a fever of at least 101 pretty much the whole time until this morning. She is now on an antibiotic. The doctor wanted to wait till a urine culture was done. Turns out she has a UTI and the culprit is bubble baths. Which Randi loves to take. She loves to play for long times in the tub and her bubbles. Well no more bubble baths for her for a long long time that is for sure. She hasn't eaten much at all since Thursday, but I did get her some Cranberry Grape juice and that has helped a lot in helping her at least feel a little better. Today was the first day that she was herself. She actually played and just was in a good mood the whole day. But even though she was sick she really was a good baby, and was very clingy which is okay.Today I took the opportunity to make these cute elephant toys I saw on Etsy and since Randi was feeling so much better and didn't require so much of my attention. I just thought they were so cute and I had lots of fabric to choose from to make these. I made 3 of them. One for Randi, one for my grandson and one for the little boy I babysit for. He was so enthralled with the sewing machine. He just could not quite get it and ask questions the whole time I was sewing. When I first saw these elephants it was just a picture on Etsy that someone was selling. So of course no pattern or anything. I just winged it in drawing out the elephant and then taking it from there. Granted mine don't look as professional as the ones I saw, I don't mind. They are cute and the kids like them. They took a couple hours to make so that wasn't so bad. I might make a couple more for a couple baby showers I will be going to in the near future.I also was asked to make a pinata for a friend at church little girls 4th birthday. I am going to be making the letter "P" . I have a couple weeks to get it done. I need to get busy as it takes some time in-between for the drying process.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. I know for us in Northern Indiana we are looking at some cooler weather, which is okay in my book as I love having the windows open and nice fresh air.

A new week

I was sick last week and pretty much did absolutely nothing but try and rest best I could. I got sick on Sat 8-27 and finally went to the doctor on 9-2. Some tests were run but nothing conclusive came back. She put me on an antibiotic that pretty much covers everything. After just one day of taking this med I felt so much better. Still not well but at least able to function. I was severely dehydrated even though I was drinking lots and lots of water because that was the only thing I could seem to keep in and down. I really am not a good patient as I hate not being in control of what is going on around me. UGH But onto a new week and I am sure onto a full recovery.My daughter Amanda, who's car caught on fire the same day I woke up sick finally got everything settled with the insurance and she was able to get a new car. She got a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. It's a very beautiful car and with being a new one it has that new car smell which is so wonderful. I am happy everything is all done and over with. Of course I am so thankful and relieved that she was not hurt. I can't even imagine.

My daughter Angela who had moved back up here to Indiana from Georgia back in Feb, ended up going back to Georgia yesterday morning. This isn't something she was planning on doing but with jobs the way it is around here she felt she didn't have much choice. She was able to get her old job back down there and can start as soon as she gets there. I have thoroughly enjoyed having her here. She was gone for over 11yrs. But things just were beyond anyone's control. I hope she can find everything she is looking for. But it won't change the fact I will miss her very much.I have some things on my plate here that I need to get done. Being pretty much out of commission for all of last week put me behind in getting some craft things done that I had planned. I was able to get 3 sets of matching games done for my great granddaughter Randi and the little boy I babysit. I have a few more sets to get done. I also need to get 5 plastic coupon holders done like I made for my mom. A friend of the family saw the one I made and ask me to make her 5 to give as gifts. She will be here over the weekend visiting my sister so I need to get those done for her. They don't take long, it's just finding a couple hours to myself to do it. I don't like to get the iron out when the little ones are here. Just to many things can happen. I also need to get some ladybugs done to hang in my church classroom. The butterflies will come down and be put away for next summer. The kids in class wanted ladybugs to be hanging. I have plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving and December. The kids really enjoy having a bright fun classroom. Gee so many things to do and lots of fun for me.I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. Around here the cooler fall weather is upon us which I love. Both the weather and the changing of the season is a welcome relief. I need to also change out my decor from summer to fall. I love fall decorating :)

Attitude of Gratitude

This past week has been a busy one. I have been babysitting
my great granddaughter while her mother is going to
college and also a friends little boy while the dad
works. So busy busy busy.

Yesterday turned out to be a crappy day as I woke up
at 4:30am very very sick. My great granddaughter was
spending the night so I called my daughter to come
over and take care of her while I was sick in bed.
And boy was I sick. Could barely keep awake
or even move around without having issues.
I can't remember the last time being that sick.
This morning I am feeling a little bit better. I can
at least keep food and liquids down.

Yesterday morning my daughter Amanda ran in a 5K for a
charity for our local hospital. I was planning on going to watch
her but of course couldn't because of being sick.
She came home and told me how she did and then went
back to her half of house (we live in a duplex) and within
5 min after she left her boyfriend looked out the window
and her car was on fire sitting out front of house.
911 was called and of course our hose would not reach around
front of house but the water did at least reach the car to help
keep it under control till fire dept got here.
No clue as to what started the fire but her car is a total loss.

BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT NO ONE WAS HURT.
Items can be replaced, people can not.

Have a wonderful week ahead. Mine can only get better after yesterday.
Take time to tell the people you care about how you feel. You
never know what can happen in a matter of minutes

Just an update on my friend Andrea's son who had a heart transplant last week. He is doing wonderful. The doctors are amazed at how well he is doing. He is getting stronger and stronger daily and will be moved out of the ICU beginning of week and moved to heart wing as long as he continues to improve as he has.

Attitude of Gratitude

It's been awhile since I have been on here to post anything. I have been busy taking care of my great granddaughter Randi and also my grandson Noah. I have a lot of things to be grateful for and those two grands are top on the list. I have been able to spend time with family a lot in the last weeks or so. We have been having some fun. I also have been able to spend time with some friends and that has also been fun. We have gone to the movies, went to an outdoor jazz concert, went to the park, had a picnic and many other things. I am very happy and grateful for these wonderful memories I have now.

I am also grateful for a friend of mine, Andrea, who's son underwent surgery this morning in getting a new heart. Aaron is 18yr old and was born with some heart problems and they have plagued him through his life. His parent's were told that he eventually would need to have a heart transplant. This past year has been bad on him with so many health issues. They were in and out of Riley's Childrens hospital so many times. In the last 2 months it seemed like they were there more times then they were home in Terre Haute. They got a call last night around midnight or so that they needed to head to the hospital. They live about a little over an hour or so away, so off they headed. As soon as they got to the hospital he was taken to surgery. Surgery lasted about 12hrs. But his mother called and said he came through surgery great and the doctor said he was doing great and the outlook was very good. I am so happy for Aaron and his family. But there is the other side to this good news...in order for Aaron to get a new heart...someone else had to die and those family members had to in their grief make the decision to donate the organs. They made the ultimate sacrifice and I can only imagine what they are going through. I am praying for both families.

I also have been busy doing some crafts, gee didn't see that coming did you??? LOL I also have been scouring the internet, magazines and my mind looking for different things to do for my grands, my primary class at church and the little boy I am going to start babysitting for. Trying to find simple things to do with children from age 18mo -4yrs old has been challenging but I think I have a start. I have been saving a lot of things on Pinterest, which I recently signed up for and am having a ball with. So many things, so little time lol

I saw these balls made from Birthday cards and thought they were cute. In the picture I saw they had all different sizes of the balls and they had them hanging from the ceiling over a crib. So I got out my card stock and tried my hand at it. It was fun, and lots of possibilities. I only made one just to see if I could and now I just have to start saving my cards from different things so that I gain a stash. Might even look at the dollar stores for the boxed ones. See what I can come up with.I have been trying to think of something to use on my cupboards so that when I am baking/cooking I can post the recipe on the cupboard doors so that it is easier to see. I didn't want to tape anything to them because that makes a mess in my opinion. Then I had one of those DUH moments when Randi was putting magnets on my frig and washer. I could use a cookie sheet or metal tray, cover it and then mount it on my cupboard doors with those Command strips that are removable. I found a tray at goodwill that was pretty beat up but I didn't care because I was not leaving it the way it was. It was .50 so couldn't beat that. I painted it black and then used some of my scrapbooking paper to jazz it up.I sanded the tray a little to get the shine off of it and take care of the few rough spots it had on it. I then painted it with a couple coats of some craft paint I had on hand. I let it dry overnight then this morning I picked out my paper I wanted to use and got out my Mod Podge and adhered it to the tray and then gave the whole tray a coat of the Mod Podge. I thought I had some sealer in my craft stash but I don't so I still have to get some, but that can be added later. I also thought I had a couple of the Command hooks in the drawer but alas no, so that is also on my list to get at the store. I glued a couple of pop can tabs to the back of the tray so that it can hang on the hooks once I get them. I am excited about this recipe holder. In this picture you can see my hand :) because it is not actually hung on my cupboards yet, but I wanted to show you what it would look like. Of course I will center it better on the doors when I actually hang it, but you get the idea. I think I might make some of those clear marble magnets I have been seeing on the internet to use on here. HMMM

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and stays safe. Spend time with your family and friends as much as you can. Make lots of memories.

Plastic craft

I tried out a new craft today. I had seen this craft idea on the web and have been wanting to try it. It's called Fusing Plastic bags. A really good way to use up some of your plastic grocery bags and make them into something useful. I decided to make my mother a coupon holder for her purse. The one she was using was pretty bad, but then a paper envelope will only last so long. It was fun, easy and a quick craft. I will be making more of these I am sure.

Materials needed:
Plastic bags
paper big enough to fit under and over the plastic while ironing ( I used some plain color wrapping paper I had on hand)
Iron and Ironing board
sewing machine
velcro
You need any type of plastic bag or garbage bag you have on hand. You need at least 6 pieces to make it sturdy enough. 8 pieces is about the most you want to use because you want to make sure it will fuse together with the iron. I guesstimated the size piece I should cut based on the size I wanted to make the coupon holder. You can always trim it up later if to big.I made this coupon holder from a clear garbage bag. I cut 7 pieces of plastic from the bag and layered 6 of them one on top of another. I placed them on top of the paper that I placed on my ironing board. Preheat your iron to your setting for rayon, or med heat. I then placed another piece of paper on top of plastic. DO NOT IRON DIRECTLY ON PLASTIC. Do make sure you have a fan going or a window open while ironing as with all plactics there is some fumes when heated. Keep your iron moving back and forth and top to bottom for at least 10 sec on each pass. Press down firmly, don't let iron set to long in one spot or you will get dimples from your steam holes. You must iron both sides of the plastic. I iron each side about 10 min total. You can test to see if the plastic is fused together by pulling lightly on the edges. If not fused, just cover with paper again and iron again.

I did try to put some plastic shred (the kind you use in gift baskets) between a layer but all it did was melt and I had to tear all that off. So I tried putting some small sequins I had on hand. I sprinkled a few on the fused plastic and then layed another layer of plastic on top and then covered it with paper and ironed that layer down. Again test to make sure it is sealed.
I then trimmed up some of the uneven edges and folded it up where I wanted to form a pocket for the coupons to go into. I also decided to fold over the top edge of the pocket and flap and then stitch down to make it a little stiffer edge. Then just use a zigzag stitch all around to make your holder.I had some stick on velcro squares to use for closure. You could glue them down, or use a type where you sew it on. That part is up to you on how you want to close this.

My mother loved her new coupon holder. I showed this to my sister and her best friend Terri who is visiting this week and they both loved it and as a matter of fact Terri asked me if she could commission me to make 5 more for her to give as presents. I told her sure not a problem. So looks like I will be making more sooner then I thought. She is only going to be in town till the end of the week. So I need to get busy in next couple of days and get them made.

This was a fun and easy craft to make. And a good way to recycle some of those multiplying plastic bags we all have around. There are so many colors of bags out there, and you can make whatever style or color you want. You can make these as big or as small as you want. Just experiment to your hearts content. These are basically free bags to use in whatever way you want.

I hope you were able to follow my directions. I didn't take pictures of me ironing or folding edges or even sewing, but I think you will be able to understand what I was trying to explain.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and take time to enjoy yourself and your family. :)

Attitude of Gratitude

I have had a wonderful week!!! Randi, my great granddaughter was with me all week and she kept me busy. The little stinker also taught herself how to get out of the portable crib that she sleeps in when she is here. I would put her down, and within maybe 5 minutes she would peek her head out the bedroom door and smile and say "Hi" and the process would start all over again. This grandma will have to figure out something different for the next time she stays with me. We went to some garage sales this past week also and found some good bargains. I found a Power Wheels Kawasaki 4 wheeler. It was in great condition and she loved it. It was only $5 so I could not pass it up. I need to get a charger for it, but that's ok, it will get lots and lots of use I am sure with Randi and then by next summer my grandson Noah will be old enough to ride it.

My daughter Amanda put together a wonderful cookout for me on Saturday for my birthday. The weather was warm but nice. Everyone had a good time. Lots of good food, cake, kids played in the sprinkler, (big ones and little ones), and just lots of good time spent with family. My cousin Dale was able to come by to help in the celebration which was nice.
A couple of my surrogate children/grandchildren could not make it, but that's ok. Ann I am sure had a wonderful time at Lalapalooza in Chicago. And unfortunately Cassie was not here due to her brother being in a motorcycle accident early Sat morning and passed away. My heart goes out to her and her family. I know my granddaughter Morgyn was having a very hard time with this news as Junior was like a brother to her and they all spent a lot of time together. It's hard and you never know what to do to ease the pain. But Please keep them in your prayers.

After a long day of eating, playing and celebrating, this is how the day ended. I think if Randi would have stayed there 5 min more she would have been out. She was such a party girl.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and stays safe. Spend time with family and friends as much as you can. Unfortunately we never know when we won't be able to. Again please keep Cassie and her family in your prayers during this time of loss.