just poppin in

....to say "hello!"  We're deep in the throes of play offs...two teams down, one team to go!  Our Varsity Girls are headed to the state Semi finals...so exciting!  We wrapped up Middle School basketball last week and this weekend we finished off with Jammer's 10U team.  They both finished well....not quite what everyone wanted, but that doesn't take away from amazing seasons.

Jammer shooting free throws in round two of the playoffs.

I decided I'm done hoping for snow.  I packed away all my taunting snowmen.  They just sat there, reminding me of the fact that we haven't had any measurable snow since December.  Boo.  I've moved on.  I'm ready for daffodils and crocuses.

my old sled...on the front step....with no snow.  

My wonderful family threw me a surprise party over the weekend.  I knew about it.  (I know it's shameful)    Last week on the way to church, John asked me to send an email for him to his team.  When he handed me his iPad to send the email, and I opened up the app and there was a blank email right on top that read "Re: Lisa's Surprise Party".  Stink!  I didn't want to know that.  There is nothing harder than trying to figure out when you're going to be surprised and then how you're going to act surprised when it happens. ...but it was still an awesome party with all of my favorite people (minus a few that couldn't make it :)).  I really had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and enjoying my awesome friends and family.   My dad even made it.  He decided to skip the post game show and high tail it back to Maryland for the party.  He does the color commentary for the WVU men's basketball team and they had a game on Saturday.  He missed just for me.

flowers at the party from my mother in law....I only got pictures after the party of the decorations

Reflecting on the party, I thought I was a pretty laid back wife...you know, compliant, easy going, flexible.  But this surprise party made me realize that I'm not quite as flexible as I might like to believe.  After Jammer's morning basketball game, we came back to the house and my husband suggested that he and I go out and do some shopping.  Hello!  West Virginia was playing at 2 o'clock.  I did not want to go shopping.  I wanted to stay home and watch the game.  The girls suggested that I DVR the game.  Hello!  Who DVR's sporting events?  Not me.  Just as I was about to be stubborn, it dawned on me that it was all about getting me out of the house.  So I said "Sure!"  And off we went.  We had a great time - just the two of us.  We actually listened to the broadcast of the game as we traveled to the outlets.  It all was great (well not the game...they lost).  But I knew that if it hadn't been for my suspicion about the party, I would have been less likely to agree to this interruption in my agenda.  Ouch!  So, I'm working on it....you know, being who I thought I was!  Trying to not hold onto my agenda...to allow myself to be open to change.

party favors from my mom for everyone at the party

It's been a good week....lots of basketball, plenty of love and surprises and a bit of stretching and learning on my part!  Hope your days are filled with all that makes you smile and that along the way, you grow, learn and keep on enjoying the blessings around you!

on the other side of last week

Last week was jam packed.  If we weren't busy with a basketball game, we were hosting a party.  Out of the five games that we had, we had 4 wins and 1 loss.  Not bad for a week of basketball! Maggie hit her very first three point shot in a game last week....that was fun!  You can't really do an excessive amount of celebrating when it happens (unless you want to sit the bench) so we got this instagram shot in the car on the way home.

 In the middle of the week, Maggie invited the senior basketball players over for pizza and fun.  They worked on the banners that they'll run through on Senior night and they did some crazy skits that my John will incorporate into the end of the season video that he does for all 4 basketball teams.

  There was a lot of laughter! Some of the clips had to be done over several times.  But they were all good sports and made a lot of memories.  It poured all night and one of the girls who lives farther away, spent the night.  Nothing like getting rained in!

(instagram photo)

On Thursday, Mckenzie turned 16!!  I always call her Kenzie Love and so her birthday chalkboard had to reflect that as well.  We had classes on Thursday, but we celebrated with birthday pancakes and she got to open her gift before everyone headed out the door. 

 She'd been wanting these headphones for awhile...I think we were successful in surprising her!  They of course had to be pink so she was beyond excited about them.

On Saturday we had her sweet 16 party.  We had a photo scavenger hunt.  27 kids and 5 adults met in the parking lot of the local grocery store.  I think the manager of the store was a bit concerned about the number of kids who showed up.  (my mother in law has a picture of the group on her camera...I just can't figure out how to get it off)

 They were divided up into teams and off they went with their drivers to collect points by finding and documenting different tasks.  At the cut off time, everyone met back at the house and got to see everyone's photos on our TV screen.  It was so fun!  They got pictures with firemen on fire trucks, pictures doing a good deed for strangers, waddling across the street like a line of ducklings and tons of other crazy things.

(these girls won!  They joked that they were the under-dog team.  They were the only team without guys and they had a grandma driving them...) 

The winners ended up with the most points accumulated.  After that, the kids danced and ate and giggled their way through the evening.  We set up a candy bar and for their party favors, the kids got to fill a Chinese take out box full of candy to take home.

I made this bunting for Kenzie's party.  She wanted some zebra stripes, but since I didn't have any we went with all pinks and decided we'd leave it up for Valentine's day.  After that, she can put it in her room which is pink, pink and more pink.  It will go perfectly.

I also realized that I love how paper whites look, but I can't stand their smell.  My neighbor gave me the bulbs about a month ago and I've loved watching the progress of the plants as they were forced to life.

 But about a week ago I kept getting a whiff of something odd....I couldn't figure out what it was. As more and more blooms opened I finally realized it was the paper whites.  boo!  I guess everything can't be beautiful and smell good too...

Well, that's last week in a blur.  I hope you're enjoy the other side of last week as much as I am!  Welcome February!  Good bye paper whites!

MIA

I've been missing in action around these parts....for multiple reasons, but I've missed being here, so I'm hopeful to be back here more regularly.  Here's a quick peek at what's been going on via my instagram photos.  I haven't taken any pictures with my 'real' camera lately, but I am sure that will be changing soon because basketball season has started and my girls have their first game tomorrow.

For book club last month, we read The Great Gatsby and came dressed for the discussion.   I think the book was chosen merely for the costume factor.  Most of us found the book lacking in positive role models.  We came away feeling sorry for the characters and their hollow, self centered lives.  What we decided is that they really needed to get involved in some kind of charity work and get outside themselves!  Anyways, this is my mom and I with our glamorous cigarettes....mom kept losing hers in the egg casserole!  Isn't she adorable!?

We made it through Hurricane Sandy with very minor damage...it was so good to wake up the next morning and see all our trees still standing!  This one is right outside our front door.  We were praising the Lord for His protection.

We don't celebrate Halloween but we couldn't resist getting dressed up for $2 burritos from Chipotle.  We met our friends (along with about 100 other people) and brought dinner back to the house.  It was a fun night of catching up with dear friends.  (John who was taking this photo was dressed up as a coach....how original!)

 My two sweet girls hacked my instagram with their ever expressive faces.... they are such jewels!

 We got to go over to Morgantown, WV for a football game.  There was snow on the way over and we had every blanket and jacket we owned with us!  We tailgated before the game with my aunt and uncle and 850 other fans.  My uncle tailgates before every home game in a tent bigger than my house.  He and about 15 other guys cook and serve the best food right outside the stadium.  They've been doing it for years...and it was great to be a part of it again.  They know how to tailgate....we're talking flat screen tvs, heaters, tables with tablecloths, and a completely themed gourmet meal!

 The Mountaineers ended up losing the game in overtime...but we had such a great time we didn't even seem to mind the loss...or else we were so numb we didn't know what we were doing...our feet and noses were frozen...it was cold!

 I got another cold and this time I ended up at the doctor's with a sinus infection.  On my way home from the doctor's I stopped for a bit of medicine at Joann's....isn't this the cutest fabric!  No idea what I'm going to do with it, but I couldn't resist.

 Maggie finished all of her applications for college a while ago and the acceptance letters have been arriving. It's been very exciting.  We've been thanking the Lord all along the way.  The final school that she has yet to hear from, won't send theirs until mid-December, but they did interview her via skype the other day.  She wore her glasses (they make her look scholarly) and she did a fabulous job.  I kept peeking in and listening.  I'm so proud of her and the hard work she's put in, but I'm more proud of how she keeps turning to the Lord for wisdom and direction.  She's right where she needs to be...waiting on the Lord!

 I found this scripture in one of my notebooks and it was just what I needed that particular day.  I've been fighting some type of cold/allergy/sinus thing for about a month and I was just so sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.  It was a timely reminder to me that His mercies are new every morning....and that's a good thing, because I've been using more than my share of those mercies every day (along with the tissues and the decongestant)!

I did get a bit of sewing in that I'll be able to share in the next week or so.  We're going to be on break this coming week...we all need a chance to breathe and with all of our classes taking a break for Thanksgiving, we decided to do the same.  I'm planning on doing some decorating for the holidays and catching up on some reading and scrapbooking!  Hopefully it won't be a month before I'm back here...but in case it's not before Thursday - Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

journaling

 I love the idea of journaling, but I struggle with the consistency of it.  My problem lies in the fact that I want to record too much.  I will start off strong for a while journaling pages every day and then I just can't keep up with it.  I burn myself out and then I quit, only to start up again.  Well, I found a journal that seems to be helping me stay consistent.

I purchased this journal from paper coterie about a month ago.  It's one that you customize yourself.  You drop your photos in and add quotes and sentiments that just speak to your heart.   It's pretty and personal.

It has about 5 lines set aside for each day for journaling or listing.  It's been tricky trying to condense my thoughts into 5 lines, but what I've found is that because I'm being less wordy...I've actually stuck with it!

Yeah for consistency!! I'm still figuring out what exactly to record each day, but I'm learning.  For example, I don't need to write that we did school each day...that's a given, but I do want to remember the triple that my boy hit in the baseball game or the fun that the girls and I had shopping for clothes!

I use these fun colorful pens and it's like I'm recording a rainbow.  One of my kids opened the journal up the other day and you could hear the ohhs and ahhhs.  Gotta love that!  And that pencil pouch that I made for the girls and I this fall is perfect for holding all my pens!   So, do you journal?  How do you make it work for you?

back to school sewing

I ordered a mini bundle of fabric from bloomerie.  They have the cutest little bundles and pre cuts of assorted fabrics.  I like that some of the bundles are a mixed grouping of fabric and not all just from one specific fabric line.  I ordered the summer breeze bundle back when it was summer time and it just sat and looked pretty on my table until right before the start of school.  That's when I had the time and the notion to get a project going!

I made some pencil pouches for my girls for back to school.  It was so fun to mix and match the stack of fabrics and pair up the different prints.  (all the fabrics are from the summer breeze bundle except the yellow and white print...that was in my stash.  It came from Joann's)

Each pouch is a little bit different, in either size or embellishment...but that was what made these so fun to make.  I just did what I wanted to do without worrying about it.  (note to self:  do that more often!)

And if you know me at all, you know I only have 2 girls and since I made three pouches, that meant there was one left over for me!  I'll show you later, how I'm using mine!

And before you start to scold me, I did not leave my boy out.  I just knew he wouldn't want a girly pencil pouch.  Instead, he got a lego mini figure holder.  I put pencils (lego ones!!) in it for back to school, but he decided to use it for his extensive mini- fig collection!

Here's our breakfast bar all set up for the first day of school.  I've got kiddos in 5th grade, 10th grade and 12th grade this year!  The little dishes are holding their vitamins...their daddy faithfully lays those out for them every. single. morning.  They are not thrilled about that...but one day they will appreciate the sweetness of it.

 When I ordered summer breeze, I also ordered another fabric bundle (I'm not seeing that one on the website anymore)...but I'm thinking I need to find some time to make a table runner for autumn! Aren't these just the best colors for right now?! This stack of fabrics is just begging to be worked with!  I hope you find some time to work on something that makes you happy!

insta friday

 I'm linking up again with Jeannett at Life Rearranged for Insta-Friday!  

Here are some sneak peeks into last week...all taken with my cell phone:

A dear friend brought over some sweets and we caught up over coffee....it was a great way to start off my day.  She made me feel very special with the gourmet box of goodies.

 I was hosting book club on Saturday, so on Friday I made 2 kinds of muffins:  blueberry  and good morning muffins.  The favorite were the blueberry!  We also had egg muffins, fruit and wonderful conversation!  It was one of those relaxing, sit back and chat kind of mornings...I needed it so much!

 Our book club ladies are so generous...they often have little gifts at the table.  Since it was my month to host, I made everyone a bookmark (I know, how original!) and I packaged them with a a highlighter (for marking quotes) and sticky page tabs (for finding those highlighted quotes).

Someone is also playing some type of ball...these just stay on our entryway bench, waiting for the next player to grab them and go!   Someone is always heading somewhere! I'm just trying to 'roll' with it!

 I think I've finally finished gathering up all of our school supplies....we start on Monday!  yikes!!

 This is my mom's car.  She has little notes and scriptures and recipes tucked all over the place.  Her cup holders are full of coupons and fliers and reminders.  We went shopping on Thursday and I had to get a picture of it.  She calls it her brain!  Without those little pieces of paper...she'd be in a mess.  Too funny!

Me and my kiddos....they really are the best kids a mom could ask for.  I'm a very blessed mama!
It's fun looking back over my cell phone pics and seeing all the silly, wonderful, crazy blessings that fill up my days.  I hope you can find the blessings in your life too!