A whimsy of Gnomes

For the past month or two, in my very rare spare time, I have been working on a whimsy of gnomes. (Did you know that a group of gnomes is called a whimsy? Like a school of fish, a flock of birds, or a herd of elephants!) Well, my whimsy consisted of 7 little men gnomes and just a single little lady gnome. I made them life size, having read in a gnome "guidebook" that gnomes are about 6 inches tall. They are tiny Waldorf style dolls made with 100% cotton bodies, stuffed with pure wool, and wool and cotton clothing and wool hair and beards. 

One little gnome stayed home to play with my children. The rest were carefully packed and sent on their merry way to travel all over the US and Canada as part of a craft swap using natural materials. This time the theme was "gnomes, mushrooms and hedgehogs". I chose to make gnomes! This is the first time I have participated in an exchange with this group and I'm excited to see what we receive in return. I had such a good time creating these little dolls! It was a nice diversion as life has been so full of emotional ups and downs lately! 

Make a Weaving Loom with your Kids!

Today (Well, it was supposed to be yesterday, but... Blogger had issues yesterday, so...) I have a guest post over at HomeSpun-Threads! She is hosting a Summer Soiree, a craft camp for kids, with a new idea every day this month to use over the coming summer. We made homemade looms for the kids to learn how to weave. They had a great time and have asked to use them over and over again! Be sure to pop over to HomeSpun-Threads and check it out!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

Joining in today for the first time with the gals over at Like Mother, Like Daughter for their weekly {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} posts.

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

{Pretty}

Robin's nest in our backyard with four perfect blue eggs.

 {Happy}

I was taking a picture of the roses and peonies when Claire wandered by the window. She was just thrilled to find me standing there! That smile always makes me happy!

Big brother Matthew taking his baby sister out to play. I love seeing them like this, the boys are so gentle and sweet with her. 

{Funny}

 This is what I walked in to find after I asked my 13 year old to please sort and fold a basket of socks...  There were socks spread out everywhere! I couldn't find an angle that actually managed to capture them all!! Sock Art he says...

{Real}

Some brother, who shall remain nameless, left the pantry door open and Claire found a bag of flour... When I came into the room this is what I found! (I'd like to find whoever it was that told me while I was pregnant with Claire, "Oh, you'll have it so much easier now with her. Girls are so much cleaner and less destructive than boys..." HaHa! This little girl makes more messes than 2 boys combined! Maybe not more than all three boys though...)

My Grandma and Mother's Day

Mother's Day was hard this year.

My mom is wonderful! She is (and was!) a great mother, we talk every day. She lives close by so we see each other often. She is the person I talk to and share the most with in the world. (Other than my husband of course!!!) I consider her my best girlfriend!

My children honored me and hugged me and loved me all day. They usually do that everyday. They are such sweet, loving kids. I really enjoy spending my days with them. They each surprised me pretty handmade cards, full of colorful hearts and flowers and butterflies and lots of "I love you Mom" and "Your the best mom" in careful little boy handwriting.

My Grandmother Sadie Mae at Thanksgiving 2009

Mother's Day was hard this year because my Grandmother passed away very unexpectedly this past week. My Grandma was a wonderful Godly woman. She loved to sing and praise God, and could often be heard singing hymns while she worked. She prayed and read her Bible every. single. day. without fail. Her relationship with Him was the single most important thing in her life! She was a sweet lady who loved everyone she ever met. (Well, everyone except my Dad when she first met him maybe... he was a Yankee (a Northerner!) you see and every good Southern lady knew you couldn't trust those Yankees! :-) She got over that soon enough and spent the rest of her life loving my dad like he was her own son. ) She loved gardening and crafting and sewing, and more importantly she loved family.  We were always very close. I loved when my brother and I got to go spend time at her house as children, we would play and explore. She would let us help cook, and garden and craft with her. She taught me to sew when I was just 6 years old. Every year she had a garden and canned and preserved much of their food for the coming winter months. She believed in being as self-sufficient as possible.

This past week she was outside pulling weeds with my Grandpa, when she started feeling very poorly. by the time they got her to the hospital she had had several massive heart attacks. She lived for a few hours more, time enough for my parents to get to her bedside. I didn't quite make it before she had passed away, although I was able to talk to her over the phone, and tell her again how much I loved her. They lived in a neighboring state about 2 and a half hours from our home.

Grandma holding newborn Claire, her first great-granddaughter! She loved her great grandchildren.

We had her funeral service yesterday. It was a celebration of her going home, to be with Jesus. For the most part it was a joyful service in memory of a life spent giving of herself to others. Family and friends came from all over the United States and talked about how much she had meant to them and how she had touched their lives. She had prayed many times with each and every one of them, invited them into her home for a warm home-cooked meal and some company. She was a much loved lady, who will be missed by everyone that knew her.