KNOCK, KNOCK...

KNOCK, KNOCK

IS ANYBODY STILL OUT THERE?

Around the Corner...

Winter has not brought us as much snow as last year, however, the winds, bitter cold and more recently the ice, have not been pleasant.  Despite being frozen, it is still so beautiful!  Spring has to be around the corner, right!?!

So, what have we been doing?
We had a wonderful visit from my niece...

 The youngest did some climbing...

We even had some moments where the boys were actually getting along...

 My oldest is now 15 ~ his age finally matches his shoe size!

The older boys' travel teams are now part of the Phenom organization...change is a good thing!

 And while the little brother and I were freezing over President's Day weekend, the older two traveled (with Dad) to Vero Beach for a weekend of baseball...

 So, while they were away, the little brother had some friends over ~ with no big brothers to torment and tease them...I'd say it was a successful sleepover..

Now we are looking forward...school baseball tryouts, travel baseball, triathlon training, garden cleanup and warmer weather!

A very special painting came to my house...my niece, Kellen, has been painting since August of 2013.  She is 19 and has Williams Syndrome.  She has painted some of my photos, my favorite being of the sheep that graces the header of my blog.

The doorknob on the piano is from another photo of mine, taken from one of the outbuildings located on the property where I grew up.  I gifted that one to my mom for Christmas.

Kellen has worked hard at her painting.  She has sold not only some of her paintings, but prints and cards as well.  One was raffled off and the money donated to her fundraising efforts for the Polar Plunge.  Speaking of the Polar Plunge, her efforts raised well over $2,000 this year!!  Many, many thanks goes out to a very special friend and her family for their support this year ~ you know who you are!

Panzer continues to fill our lives ~ he has a birthday coming up soon...hard to believe he's almost three!

The boys find it funny that he tries to fit in this chair...

And as always, I leave the stitching stuff for the end.  I only have a little progress to show.

I do have some wonderful goodies to show from some very generous and sweet friends.
First, I won this from Elena over at BusyHandsCraft 
The chocolates were delicious and I adore this sweet needle~roll.  Thank you, Elena, I absolutely love it!

And then Terri, of the DixieSamplar hosted giveaway on her blog.  Anyone who has ever had a package from Terri, knows it's a treat!  She included some of her wonderful fabrics, some charts and of course some treats ~ had to eat those quickly before the boys found them...hehehe...

 And as if those goodies weren't enough, she had stained this tray and created the most wonderful set of stitching goodies to fill it!!  Thank you so much, Terri!!!

Both of these packages arrived at the same time and the timing couldn't have been better!  Without going into too much detail, the little boy I work with at school had been having some really rough days, therefore my days were rough...so Elena and Terri, thank you again for such beautiful treasures!

And my dear friend, Lainey, from across the pond sent me this calendar.

Hhmmm...not sure why it turned, but anyway, this has become a tradition over the last few years and one day, I hope to visit Lainey in person and get a personal tour of the sights she shares through the calendars!

Have you all been shopping the latest goodies from the Nashville Market!?!  Yikes ~ so many great new things ~ I would love to hear what you all are excited about!  The ladies at the Strawberry Sampler arrived home today and will be working furiously over the next weeks to get all the goodies out to everyone.  From all accounts, this was one of the best markets in a long time, and as a result, they have extended their Market Sale (20% off) through at least Friday...so, if you are still shopping, use the link over there on the side!

With the hopes of Spring being just around the corner, I am feeling like it might be time for me to give a little something away, something to say thank~you for your friendship....stay~tuned!

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Life Can be a Whirlwind...

I can't believe how long it has been since I have taken the time to sit down and connect with everyone.  Thanks to those that have emailed to check in and make sure all is okay, or to just let me know that I am still on your radar.  Life has just been a whirlwind...

 

Since September, the kids are back in school, I am back to work,  and our days have been crazy busy, leaving little time for myself or my stitching.  This Christmas break has given me the time to catch up on a few things:  downloading a ton of pictures and actually putting my needle and thread to fabric.  I have missed my stitching time and truly hope to remedy that problem in the new year!

 

Here's a picture walk of some of our adventures from this past fall:

The youngest had a blast playing paintball with his friends.

He ran cross country...finding that even though he did well, he prefers triathlons.  We'll be back to training for the upcoming series soon.

The middle guy still loves catching...

But is also realizing that he can hold his own on the mound, pitching a complete game.

The oldest continued to do his job...

And explored his options by playing a weekend tournament with a new team...This will be the team he has committed to for the following year...change can be scary, but in this case, after sitting down with him and the offers from both teams, I am comfortable that the decision was a good one. 

 

We were even able to catch one of my niece's soccer games...

 

 

My husband and I took a trip by ourselves to Disney.  Yes, Disney without the kids...needless to say, they were not happy...but we had a blast!  We were there during the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and while the parks were decorated for Halloween.  The highlight of the trip was taking the Behind the Scenes Animal Trek Safari at the Animal Kingdom.  Amazing!!

Beautiful skies and no humidity the entire visit...

We got stuck in a "giraffic jam"

Our safari lunch...so delicious...

 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party...

Hauntingly beautiful dancers during the parade... 

One of my favorites...

Another favorite...The Lion King...

Our home during the visit...The Wildnerness Lodge...

This was during the beginning of the trek...I have a fear of heights, so the smile is twofold...one, because walking directly over the crocodiles was amazing and two, because I made it across the bridges!

 

I also went on a little adventure of my own...a friend invited a few of us to celebrate her 40th birthday in Las Vegas.  I had never been...two words...sensory overload...

The lights and sights, the food and drink, the shows, and best of all, the friends, both old and new...

 

Some more random snaps...

Thanksgiving with cousins, grandma & pappy and uncle...

Bowling with the cousins...

An extremely warm December day, led to a hike..

Some football fun in the park...

Watching the games...

A boy and his dog...

A peaceful spot...

We traveled to Kloby's Smokehouse to meet up with the hubby's brother and family (minus my oldest niece, who is currently over in Asia having a grand adventure).

Kloby's is owned by my husband's cousin and his family...can you tell the men are related by blood?

And the food....omg....delicious...upon arriving home, the comfy stretchy pants went on...

 

For the Panzer followers...

 

Phew....are you still with me!?!

And the little stitching that I have done...

A baby sampler...

My start on His Eye is on the Sparrow by Heartstring Samplery...

I See Trees of Green, also by Heartstring Samplery...one of my favorite songs, so I had to stitch this one!

 

If you have made it this far, thank you.

So much time has come and gone..and in these oh so busy times, I have to remind myself of this...take the time to stop, breathe, take it all in...sometimes looking up brings beautiful rewards...

“When you do the things that you can do, you will find a way.”
― A.A. Milne