Out of the Norm

So I had spent the weekend away with a group of ladies for crafting and much needed rest and relaxation. I thought for sure I would come home to a house that had been at least tidied up. Why would I think this? Call it the fairytale thinking, no actually Scott my DH has been so much better about cleaning up and getting the kids to help but I came home instead to a son not feeling so great and a daughter that was hanging out with friends and my DH was just trying to get through the weekend-lol, apparently mom does make a difference. So last night after getting home around 11 I decided that was the best time to clean the kitchen, and let me tell you how nice it was to wake up this morning to a clean kitchen. Now the rest of the house will be a breeze to clean. It's not normal after working all night to feel like cleaning at all but I did drink a diet coke at closing, that might have had something to do with it.

I wanted to leave you with a few more blocks. This is a 6x6 block I just found and I love how it turned out. My MIL reminded me of the little ice cube blocks I had stored away. So I added 3 to the top, and it was so cute!

This one is made with a paper flower technique that believe it or not my older sister told me about. FYI sister is not the crafty one, but she's learning. This one's drilled for lights too.

This was the first one I made with the painting. I wish I had drilled for lights in this one but I did photograph it with a t-light behind and it pulls the look off just the same.

Introducing "Glassy Art"

Here's my new adventure in life. After a scrapbooking weekend where I did almost no actual scrapbooking, I'm ready to release pictures of my new art. Thanks to my friend Teresa for the idea and visuals to begin with, and my scrapbook friends for more inspirational ideas.

This first one is a hand stamped snowman image with glitter around the edge and framing the snowman. There is a 3/4 inch hole in the back for a string of white lights. The pics show it with and without lights:

This next one does't have a hole in the back for lights but I've shown a picture with a light behind it. You could use a t-light or a battery operated light:

That's all for now, I'll put more up this week.

This one's for you Sarah

This was the first day of summer, I took pics from my newspaper route-beautiful!

Kirstens Bedroom


These are early pictures of my garden (pay no attention to the chipped paint on the house, I'm hoping we'll be painting this summer)

I need to take new pics, these don't do it justice

My crab apple tree has only bloomed twice since we've lived here, It's so pretty!
My favorite daisy

I took the kids up the north shore to Gooseberry falls on the 4th of July. It was a perfect day!

Kirsten's slumber party, it was a great time (we went rolling skating first)
That's all I have time for right now, but I thought it would be better than nothing :) Enjoy!

Gretch

I realize...

I realize that Duluth is not dealing with as cold of temps as they are further up north on the Iron Range or in Alaska, but most of those people don't have a newspaper route that causes them to be outside for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I get out of my car about 80-90 times a day. There isn't much time for a warm up when your opening the door every minute. Now, I've learned how to keep somewhat warm-it's called 4 pairs of pants and running. However the problem with running while wearing 4 pairs of pants and 3 shirts plus a winter jacket and all the accessories (hat, mittens, scarf, ear headband) is that you sweat! And sweating in 35 degree's below zero weather is none to pleasant. I'm anxiously awaiting spring when sweating in 40 degree's above 0 doesn't cause me to go into hypothermia when I change.

Things on the home front have been good. Luke just got his report card and it was good-no major problem area's. His language arts slipped a little so we struck a reading deal. He has to read for half an hour everyday to earn his computer time. If you can log an extra hour he gets another half hour and so on and so forth. He thought it was a great idea, we'll see. Kirsten's report card hasn't come home yet (don't worry she's not hiding it, the teacher had an emergency with her own son over the weekend).

I'm anxiously awaiting next weekend (Feb 1-3). I'll be going on another scrapbooking retreat with some of the same girls from last time plus a few that I've not met yet. I'm really excited as I feel that I need this weekend off more than ever. I can't wait to lounge around and not have any obligations to anything or anyone.

This weekend I will be serving at our church's food shelf called Fruit of the Vine. It's the 3rd largest food shelf in Duluth, serving around 400-500 families a month. Last weekend we had a free medical clinic with a doctor, nurses to check blood pressure, glucose, prescription medication lists, people were on hand to pray with those that wanted it, a chiropractor, also a message therapist, and several other things going on. I loved being able to help out. It never fails to amaze me to watch God work as you reach out to his people. Our church is dedicated to the Kingdom work. We do all sorts of things to reach out to the needy, the poor, the unchurched, the spiritually hungry.

I've learned so much about the person that God created me to be. I love being vulnerable in the presence of the Holy Spirit. God has dissected things in my past and put healing on issue's that I had been harboring all the way back to my youngest years. I've come full circle in the past year. I continue to find more passion for God's work and I'm filled with compassion for God's people, regardless of where they've come from or there present circumstances. I'm able to see people the way that God does and I've even experienced some heartbreak in a way that showed me the way God's heart breaks for his people. I really feel that God is leading me to take on a small group leader roll of some sort. I can't yet see what kind of small group he wants for me, but I do know it's down the road quit a ways. I would like to start a scrapbooking group of some sort but I'm not sure how God would want it used for his purpose, so I continue to pray for direction for that. I also believe that I will lead a small group in a home setting as well but again through prayer I know God will reveal that in time. I'm able to hear God speak to me. It's an amazing feeling to know that your not making choices blindly but that God is guiding you through every bit of life. I continue to pray for more understanding, knowledge, more compassion, gifts of healing, discernment, and anything else he wants to pour into me.

On another note, Scott and I are joining a new fitness facility today called Snap Fitness. Were really looking forward to it. I'm excited to see Scott really take a step towards wanting to be healthier before it becomes a big issue. I'm also just excited to have something else to do with him. We've grown so much in our relationship over the past year. It seems that we have more understanding for each other's needs and were generally just more in tune with one another. I love him more deeply than ever before. God- 1,387,456/ me- 0 :)

I've put in a few random pictures for you to look at.

This is Luke making his invention. In fourth grade all the students have to come up with and make an invention to be judged. It can be something completely new or a better version of something already available that improves on the design. Luke made a "Food Carrier" He put a screw with a hook in the bottom of a basket for hanging bananas and the basket hold apples and oranges. There is 4 other hooks on the outside rim for holding bags of onions, garlic, peppers etc... All the classes in the school get to vote and the top 20 go to the area judging show. Luke's was chosen! I was floored since we only put it together the day before it was due (talk about last minute! 8) Anyways, the judging event is on Feb 1rst.

Don't worry I'm still here!

I haven't stopped blogging, I was just missing in action from the Internet for a short time-what a busy month December is for us! I have lots to share so here goes...

Last I left you we were going to go to Bentleyville. However something big and huge happened the next day on Dec. 13th that I'll remember forever. I had been listening to a radio station that would normally play all oldies rock/pop stuff bat Christmas time they play 24/7 Christmas music. For the 12 days of Christmas (or in this case, the first 12 days in Dec.) they played games to get you qualified for a grand prize drawing. Now, as some of you may know, I like to play games and I can get a little competitive. So on Mon. the 11th one of their games was a trivia question. In order to win you first needed the answer and to be caller 5. The question was: "What is the name of the magician in the movie Frosty the Snowman". Now I knew, that I knew the answer but couldn't quit remember, but a quick yahoo search confirmed that it is of course Professor Hinckle. I dialed figuring there was no way I'd get through, but the phone rang and I had won because caller 5 didn't have the right answer. At the time I was just excited that I had won because it was fun to play. I didn't even know what I had won other than the qualifying for the drawing, which I quickly dismissed and went on with my day. So 4:06pm on Wed. the 13th I turned on the radio, because I wanted to hear the person win. The drawing wasn't until 5:00 but I didn't want to miss listening. About 10 seconds after switching on the radio the phone rang. The conversation went something like this:

"Is Gretchen there?"

"This is"

"Please hold..."

I got switched to hold with the same music that was currently playing on the radio-The Little Drummer Boy. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was on hold with the radio station. My hands started to sweat, there was instant shaking in my body and my mind was going about 20,000 miles an hour-"why would the radio station be calling me?" "there's no way I could have won, the drawing isn't for another hour" (by this time I'm pacing and feeling some butterflies) "maybe there calling because I didn't pick up my other prize yet" "that's dumb, why would they do that" (I hate having conversation's with myself) "(I was doing the math in my head, 3 qualifiers on air for 12 days plus any number of qualifiers in the local sponsoring stores= any body's guess as to the number of entries)"why would they put me on hold on air?" (if you've ever called a radio station you would know the difference between the office putting you on hold and the on air putting you on hold) I could tell that the "someone" was waiting for the song to end, I waited with lots of anticipation. The rest went something like this:

"Hi, who's this?"

"Gretchen...?"

"Gretchen, guess what?"

"what? (somewhat hesitantly)"

"Santa Claus has chosen you to be our grand prize double cash shopping spree winner!"

by the time the word "chosen" was spoken: "OH, MY GOSH! THAT'S INCREDIBLE! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU"

"We hope this helps make your Christmas an extra good one."

"Oh my gosh, you have no idea..." (lots of crying, shaking thank yous-you get the picture)

I couldn't believe that I had won this amazing prize. God had been looking out for us, because at the time it looked like buying anymore presents was out, as our finances were on the rocks (all ok now).

The prize was $2000! 4 $250 gift cards to spend at the 4 local stores that sponsored the contest and $1000 cash! WOW!!!!!!

So about a week later after calming down and receiving the gift cards (the cash was to come later) Scott and I went shopping. We both got new winter jackets. We got a beautiful pine coffee table. I got arch supports for my feet. I also got an alpaca fleece pullover, and a sweatshirt. We spent 3 certificates in an hour. It was really fun picking things out without batting an eye, $200 dollars for a jacket? ok-get it. 75$ for a sweater-sure! 250$ for a table-no problem-great idea! We had to spend the money in the stores so it was really fun. The stores were Duluth Pack, which sells all things outdoor related plus The North Face brand (which is what my jacket is). Columbia clothing downtown, which sells mostly men's Ralph Lauren, Polo, Columbia (that's where Scott got his jacket and my alpaca fleece-boy did we feel out of our league in that store). Unpainted Sawmill Furniture, which of course sells all natural wood furniture (obviously where the coffee table came from). And The Good Feet store, which sells arch supports to correct your arch's and to help with problem pain issues, such as your back, neck, knees, feet etc... (I got a pair of supports and found out that one of my arch's is flatter than the other and is the reason for many of my pains). I'll take pic's of some of our fun stuff when my batteries recharge. With the cash, we were able to get new cell phones, and finish our Christmas shopping. It was a lot of fun and I'm extremely grateful!

Here are a few pictures from Bentleyville. More topics to come in the week.

Waiting in line for the bus from the parking lot (the other girl is Jocelyn, our friend-in case your wondering, she's one month YOUNGER than Luke who is 10)

Oh' yeah this one's gonna get us the best picture of the year award (or get us qualified for makeovers :)
This is the entrance

Downtown

Inside the cookie house

What's better than smore's in the summer? Smore's in the winter!

Look, this is how to be a seal

Holding the world in their hands

Well, that's all I have for now (really I'm just tired of blogging for today) but I'll be back soon. Thanks, and goody bye :)

Hello everyone!

Life with the Kelley's is nothing short of crazy, chaotic, stressful, fun, etc... I'm sure it's much the same in every other house, as we "prepare" for the all important celebration.

I've decided to not do all the baking I was hoping to get too-yes I had to face the fact that the supermom award would once again NOT go too me, maybe next year:) (I won't hold my breath) LOL

I think this Friday night were going to go to Bentleyville. For those that don't know, it's the coolest light display in our area. They offer cookies, hot cider, s'mores that you make over the open burning bins, popcorn, Santa, free knit hat, music and lights galore. Everything is in cute little huts built specifically for the event. I'll try to take some good pictures.

Here are pictures of the album I made for my mother-in-law, Judy. Not to worry, she's computer illiterate, so she won't see this. :)

This is Judy's niece that is living with them now, she's from Virginia, and her name is Samantha.

I love these two pages. I used my fun swirly stamps, I think it turned out great!

The kids in the picture below are some of Judy's cousin's grand kids. (what that makes them to Judy is some generation of cousins, but don't ask me to figure it out-I don't do math:)

The four people in the large group of people are Gordy, Randy, Diane, and Judy (the short one). This is the first time that all 4 had been together in 13 years. And than of course the other picture is with Grandpa :)

I'm now working on a calendar to complete her gift this year. (If your my family and wondering why I'm not making a calendar for you, the answer is simple, give me pictures and I could work with it-no pictures, no fun album's) lol :)

I hope that all your holiday "things" are going well. Have a great rest of the week!

Hi Everyone! I know it's been a while, but here I am. Thanks for waiting:)

I had a great weekend off and really enjoyed my shopping extravaganza! I was able to get the kids done and some stuff for several other people, plus we all got new pillows-what a difference that makes at night, ahhhh sweet dreams :)

I tried taking some nice pictures of my decorations, so here's a few of those.

My new stocking holders. This was my 5$ find after Christmas last year. This same set is 25$ at Target this year. Ahhhh, see it pays to shop the crazy sales. The other side of the mantel has a Santa and a tree.Scrappy's favorite hiding place. It figures, since it won't be staying. The first time he was down there, we went looking for him forever. It's not easy to find a black dog on a dark green fabric (guess that's something to keep in mind if we ever get to change the carpet)

my "homage" to snowmen.

The kids were really excited when I'd put up their little tree on the landing for them to decorate. I also got them a few new ornaments, they had a great time putting it all together.

Luke helped me get the impossible garland up in the doorway from the kitchen to the living room. I thought it would be fun to have it there and tie on the cards we receive, little did I know that the arch was plaster! (there's a little repair work to do once the garland comes down-oops :))

I couldn't resist buying this cute basket at Michael's, it's filled with cinnamon scented pine cones. I'll put a candle can in the middle once I get it made.

Here's one of the candle can's I made for one of Luke's two teachers. Luke picked the colors. I have 3 more teacher gifts to make and than 4 daycare moms and anyone else who I think this would be good for :) I used formula cans and I've been stocking up. I love this idea because it's so easy and they can be tailored for anyone. Find me a girl who doesn't love candles (than I'd say, fill it with chocolate :)

It's been great getting all my stuff out for Christmas this year. When I get the outside done, I'll take pictures there too. I have little things in the kitchen and bathroom too. Last year before my dad died I had bought quit a few new items and since everything came to a halt when it happened, opening my bins has been like opening presents with all the things I didn't put out and use last year.

As the day comes closer and closer, marking a year since my dad died, I'm reminded of just how very precious time is. We are only on this earth for a short time compared to the eternity we will spend in Heaven. I love the Joy that God has spread in my life and I plan on living in that glory this Christmas season. I'm taking the time to enjoy the little things, like Luke helping with decorations, the kids putting up their tree, time spent as a family playing games. I even managed to get us all to sit at the dinner table with no t.v. last night (I hope to make it a regular Wed. event-the only day with nothing going on). I love the memories were building every day. Making life special here and now before it's too late.

Take a minute today, too reflect on what your doing to let go of the needless stress's in your life, surrounding the holiday season. What are you doing to capture the moments?