HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is the young man on the left in this picture. We took this at Christmas with all of his grandchildren. The beautiful baby is his great-grandchild. How quickly time flies. He is my hero. I admire his faith, commitment and relationship with God. He is the 5th of 6 sons. I realize I am biased but I think my dad is special. He is the head you want in an emergency situation. He worked for the state of KY for years in the mining division of first aid and safety. While he is officially retired from the state department, he continues to consult and teach when he finds the time.

He still lives on the farm that he grew up on. The house is different, he built a new house across the garden from the old when I was in middle school. He and his wife Pat work in their church, they keep an eye on their 101 year old neighbor (who still lives in her home), they garden, and when the grass growing season is upon us you can not believe how much grass they keep mowed. He has been a deacon in that church for more than 40 years. He is a perfect example of the Biblical "Deacon".

My sisters and I consider ourselves "Daddy's girls". He has given us unconditional love and as a testimony to his life all three of us and our families are active in our local churches. Again, he provided the role model. I love you Dad. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So Proud!

This past week was an extremely busy one. For those of you that I've talked with, you realize I felt extreme pressure waiting for the UPS man. He was suppose to deliver FCCLA items 2 weeks ago. Circumstances being what they were, he brought my package at 1:00 on Thursday afternoon. That was the deadline. A cheer went up by myself and students when the secretary announced over the intercom that my package was in. You had to be there.
In case you were wondering what FCCLA stands for: Family, Career, Community Leaders of America. The name was FHA prior to 1997 or so. This organization has a long tradition of preparing young people for leadership roles in their community and families. As a part of this leadership experience students can participate in many different events, called STAR events. I had 10 students to take on this challenge. My daughter, her roommate and my dh all volunteered to be judges for the category I was responsible for(thank you!). Hence, the above picture. My sweetheart of a daughter took that photo as I was giving a pep talk to my students.
The above young ladies are the BEST! I am so PROUD of them! They rose to the challenge and met high expectations. I am hoping to raise enough $$ to take the entire group to Nashville, to the state leadership meeting. It is a wonderful experience and I don't want them to miss out.
As much "fun" as I had last week preparing for that huge event, I was completely worn out by the time I arrived home on Friday afternoon. I walked into the house and immediately put on my pj's. It was so nice! The house was quiet. Our church had D-Now for our youth and all of my crew was involved with that activity. I took the opportunity to recoup from my week, do laundry ( I even did the kids since they were busy with church), and learn to make hearts. My dh asked me last night what I was going to do with all those hearts and I told him, at the moment it was the challenge of learning to read a pattern. I was quiet proud of myself!

On a prayerful note, the daughter of my friend left this earth yesterday morning. Please pray for her family. Jesus, please send comfort and peace to Terri's family as they adjust to the loss of their daughter, mother and grandmother. In Jesus name, Amen.

XOXO Theresa

The Cold Wind Doth Blow!

A cold front is moving through NETN. It is soooooo cold! We took the momma van to the fix it shop this morning. She was abused by another driver not too long ago. Poor thing. Yesterday was over 60 degrees so I only wore a light jacket this morning. Not Smart! I nearly froze. I was glad to come back home and stay in where it is warm. Thank you for electricity!
This is a close up of the chest in the entry way. The plate was a gift from my children a few years ago. We change the ribbon and message often. It is the cutest thing!
This gorgeous handmade crochet lace was given to me several years ago by a dear lady in our church. I love it! Her handwork is exquisite.

I have a prayer request. A dear lady in my life is sitting with her daughter in the hospital. The daughter is in the last stage of what began as lung cancer and now it is in her brain. This is a very difficult time for them and I ask that you join me in praying for peace and comfort and strength. Amen

True Love

Last Tuesday my darling H. went to the dentist ( he is going to have an implant). While there the dentist shared with H. that he recommends his patients use water piks instead of dental floss. Less stress on the gums. With that information, I decided it would be a "perfect" gift for my honey for valentines. LOL Our daughter was appalled that I would consider that a romantic gift. I told her I was concerned about her Daddy's health and this was the "perfect" gift. On valentine's evening, H. gave me my gift to open and inside the package, yep, you guessed it was a water pik! I had a stunned look on my face and he began immediately saying that A(daughter) tried to talk him out of it, that she thought it was a sad romantic gift. He said it was only part of the gift, the other was pieces of a dish set I have been admiring whenever I walk into Belk's. This is the first time in all of our years of marriage that we have gotten each other the same gift and had no clue that we had. True Love!

P.S. I'm not wild about it, but he loves his. LOL

We had the opportunity to entertain friends this weekend. It was so much fun! It reminded me of when I was in college and had to prepare appetizers as well as the meal. I decided to have a small appetizer (seen above). It was pretty good. Simple but tasty.
A.'s boyfriend arrived before our other guests so I put him to work. I gave him the camera and asked him to please take pictures. A was still upstairs getting ready. LOL He was a good sport. He always is! I found those pink placemats and napkins at TJ Maxx our first summer here. I loved them immediately and the price was right! The plates are white and I used the pink tulip shaped glasses I found at Belks's last year.
This vase belonged to my mother. I love the simple pink roses in that odd shaped vase.
You can't really see the "pagan" tree. I bought this white feather tree our first spring here in TN. I decorated it for Easter. My minister H. immediately titled it "pagan" and the name has stuck. I used it in the dining room at Christmas and moved it to the entry hall for February. I found vintage valentines at Hobby Lobby and placed them on the tree. It looks so sweet. I love that little tree!

I am headed to watch "Extreme Home Makeover". The story is about a young blind, multi disability young man in Louisville, KY. He plays the trumpet in the marching band for the University of Louisville. It is an incredible story. The courier journal has this story on their web page. Go check it out!

xoxo Theresa

The Greatest of these is LOVE

Beautiful, Beautiful Valentine!

My darling daughter and a gift she made. From scratch red velvet cupcakes. I made the icing for her. She was rushed. LOL I hope your evening made your wishes come true. I love you!
I had a hair appointment this afternoon and when I walked into the house, this was my welcome! My darling H prepared the most delicious and beautiful dinner. He had grilled steak, baked potatoes, ss rolls, and vegetables. It was a good thing!
The heart shaped cupcake behind the candle was what he made for dessert! He really was thoughtful and romantic. I love you darling! XOXO

To the other 2 young men in my life, A & A. I hope your day was great. I love you both bunches. I wish you were here, I understand you are where God wants you to be. Thank you for being responsible and Christian young men. Some young lady will be blessed!

To all my family in Kentucky, IN & IL. I pray you had a beautiful day. I miss you and pray for you daily. God Bless you All.

We Made the Front Page!

The newspaper article was fabulous! I wish you could read it. Those are my kids on the front page of that paper. I am so proud! Another proud moment. The above picture is the stage at the KY Center for the ARTS. I have had several opportunities over the years to attend Broadway plays and concerts in this center. Our oldest son was chosen to be in the all-state choir his junior and senior year of high school. If I didn't have to grade papers I would dig through photos and post those. LOL Our middle child was also a member of the all-state high school choir his senior year of high school. I am a proud mother! I thought those days would be behind me. I was pleased when my middle child, who is a Junior at Alice Lloyd College, e-mailed me that he had been chosen by his choir director to be a part of the all-state collegiate choir! I realize you can't pick him out from the above picture, but with a wonderful zoom lens on my camera you can see his smiling face below.
God has blessed both of my boys with musical talent. OS(oldest son) teaches guitar and voice lessons in the evenings and sings regularly. MS(middle son) joined the choir at ALC and is thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to study music and sing. Their sister has talent as well, but doesn't enjoy the performing aspect. That's ok, she is creative, smart and a beautiful young woman. I love all three of you! XOXO Theresa

Did you Vote?

Did you vote today?

I had my patience tested, and I truly debated in my head whither it was worth it or not, but I DID vote! I happen to live in a state that had primary elections today. While I am not always pleased with the choices, I realize that as a citizen of this great country, it is my responsibility to vote.

The weather here was so beautiful that I enjoyed being out and about. I had a few appointments I had to meet and then I took the opportunity to stop at a few of my favorite stores. I was very careful in my selection of merchandise, which should thrill my checkbook. I picked up construction paper and stencils for school. I'm always running out of school supplies.

The above bear is what I had planned on doing today, but... I think I will do that another day. That adorable clip art is found here.

She has the most precious free clip art. You should drop over and see her selection. I envy her skills.

It was Beautiful!

Students designed this board as a welcome to the guests that had been invited.
Dessert. YUM! It was a chocolate gooey cake with peanut butter. They swirled caramel for the garnish. It was perfect!
The main course, well part of it. Guests had a choice of Taco Soup, or Loaded Potato Soup or a sampler plate. This is a picture of the LPS. They also had a choice of grilled cheese, chicken salad croissant, or egg salad croissant sandwiches.
This was taken as you enter the door into my new room. There are almost 20 students working down this line as a perfect team. The front group is making the croissant sandwiches. Can you see the slice of tomato for a garnish?
The appetizer salad. I'm afraid you can't see the beautiful garnish, but they made lemon curls, jello salad on lettuce. The salad was sitting on the table waiting for the guests as they arrived. I have more pictures, but the site won't allow me to upload more than this at a time. I will show you more tomorrow. I really wish you could have been there! We evaluated the event today, the students and I, they want uniforms (or t-shirts) and want to give our team a name. I can't wait to see what they come up with. The newsman told the students that they planned on running the article in Sunday's paper. This has been a hectic but rewarding week for me. Thank you for your prayers. I felt them!

XOXO Theresa

WISH YOU WERE HERE

The pictures really don't do this table display justice! Tomorrow the Maintenance Crew from our school system, the manager from Lowe's, the custodial staff from our school, the local newspaper and all administration have been invited to my classroom for lunch to say "Thank You" for a job well done! These sweet people transformed my classroom environment. My CTE director took on the task of working with all of these groups and the budget. Her dedication to our CTE program is evident in her continued support and program improvement. She is a miracle worker!

The kitchen designer from Lowe's was absolutely the best! She came out to the school and drew the plan up. She listened carefully to the functions that happen in that room and designed work areas to meet those needs. I am amazed!

She was instrumental in working with cabinet companies to get the best price for all new materials. Consequently, my classroom has new cabinetry, new flooring, a wonderful floor plan, beautiful counter top and amazing storage space. I am blessed.
As a way to say "Thank You" the students in my classes have worked diligently all week to prepare a special meal for the above mentioned groups. I have creative students and put them to the task of working on "atmosphere" for the dining area. They chose a "tool" theme. These pictures do not begin to express all of the creativity that has happened in that room. The tables are covered with denim fabric that was left in the classroom by the former teacher. Duct tape was used to outline each place setting, the napkins rings are nuts(nuts & bolts) strung on plastic ties, napkins are handi' wipes, the center pieces are electrical "stuff" I found at Lowe's. The "Thanks" cards are on sand paper. I provided the materials and they went to work.
I wish you could really see these "flowers". They used wire cutters and pliers to twist and turn that wire into flowers. We have table settings for 30 guests. I cannot wait for tomorrow and our guests to see what wonderful young people I have the priviledge of working with each day.

I have not forgotten all of the food that has been prepared. I will take photos of that tomorrow and share with you then. The food is as pretty as the tables. I LOVE MY JOB! Thank you, Jesus for allowing me the opportunity to earn a paycheck for doing what I love. AMEN

XOXO Theresa

Brrrrrr

The cold wind doth blow! It blows so hard they canceled school. Unfortunately, it never dawned on me they would do that and I was already up and getting ready when I heard on the radio my school was closed. UGH! It took effort but I was able to snooze on the couch for a while. I love unexpected snow days.

I have spent some of my day learning computer "stuff". I have worked on the design of this blog spot. I'm sure there are easier ways and better ways, but for what I did I am pleased with the looks. I would love to take a computer graphics class for fun. Maybe another day.
Enjoy your weekend. XOXO Theresa

Time Flies

January is over 1/2 gone! Can you believe it? I can remember when I was a little girl I would think I would never grow up. Now, I'm praying, I never grow up. LOL

I have had a couple of creative moments since my last blog.

These small bags went together fairly quickly once I had all the correct supplies. I can't tell you the last time I needed a zipper. I have helped students put them into projects, but I personally haven't used a zipper in a project in forever. I found this fabric in my "stash" and thought it would make cute bags. Everyone can use a small bag. This is the inside of the bags. I love the red, black and white. The dressed up dolls on the fabric remind me of playing "Barbie" when I was a little girl with my sister. That's another story.
I admit, I'm having feelings of nostalgia this week. My grandmother was a "crafty" lady. She had the patience to work with me and encouraged me to learn what I considered at the time, really cool things! As I became a young wife and then mother, I didn't have the time to continue the crafts she had taught me. This brings me to the above flowers. I have several beautiful pieces of crochet work that my grandmother did for me. I decided that I needed to "relearn" those skills. This is easier said than done. I remember grandma showing me step by step how to make each of those stitches. What I don't remember is learning how to read the instructions. It has taken me a few hours, but I was determined to make a crochet flower. The above flowers are the product of my labor. I think grandma would be proud. I'm not sure yet what I will do with those flowers, they are larger than I thought they would be. I'm not sure you can tell what this is, but it is going to be a valentine quilt. Last Thursday when we were out for snow, I began this little project. I thought I would have it finished, but as you can tell, it's still a work in progress. My mother was the queen of 9 patch quilts. She painstakingly cut each square, with scissors, mind you, and then would sew those squares into perfect blocks. Her seams matched, or out the seam ripper would come. I have a few pieces of her work still. I used a rotary cutter and sewed into strips, re-cut then made them into blocks. Pretty easy. I wish it were done, but I got tired of sitting at the sewing machine.

A stomach virus has hit our house. I'm hoping it stays with the person that has it and the rest of us NEVER get it! My washing machine has gone non-stop today, trying to wash those germs down the drain. I hope they stay there!

I haven't checked the forecast to see if there is a possibility of snow. We had one snow day last week. With today being a holiday this should be a quick week. I hope you are having a wonderful week. xoxo Theresa

Good Night!

Girls night. These girls are spending the night together before they head back to their respective college campuses. Fun!

Homemade chicken pot pie. I was craving a comfort food and decided this would fit the bill. It was perfect. I hate that you can't have a bite. YUM! I made the white sauce from scratch with real cream and it was incredible.
The applique blankets were a joint effort. Ashley did the design work and I did the sewing. To be fair, she WAS going to do the sewing, but ran out of time. LOL

I have to finish up grades for report cards. Enjoy your week.

XOXO Theresa

BACK TO SCHOOL

No photos tonight. I am trying to prepare myself mentally for a new semester. It was suppose to begin last Thursday but... due to snow in the mountains, we haven't returned to school from the Christmas break. I love my job, I LOVE teaching, but there is just something wonderful about hearing those words on the radio, "no school for.." and knowing you can sleep in. What makes this beginning so difficult is my honey is on vacation and my two yac(young adult children) have not returned to college dorm life. We have had a glorious time staying up late and sleeping without concern of an alarm clock going off. They will all be staying up late tonight without me and then sound asleep when I leave in the morning. Such is life.

On a positive note, our church focus for the year of 2008 is reading the Bible through. Due to cranky eyes, I have difficulty with reading texts these days, so I am going to be listening to it on CD. I have discovered the joy of listening to books being read aloud to me. It makes my 40 minute journey to and from school pass quickly and enjoyable. If you haven't listened to a good book lately, other than the Bible, I can suggest you pick up "The Christmas Promise" by Donna VanLiere. She not only wrote the book but reads it. She reads beautifully, and my brain allows me to see her spoken word as if it were a movie. If you aren't familiar with her work, she is also the author of The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing. Both of those books have been made into movies. Another enjoyable activity, watching good movies.

Well, as the saying goes, I'd better get to bed. Morning comes quickly! XOXO Theresa

ORGANIZATION

A dear friend of my m'n'l passed away this past summer

and she left a tremendous amount of sewing notions. Because of my love of sewing and creating my m'n'l passed the sewing beauties on to me. I was determined to organize before adding them to my sewing room. I always have good intentions to organize but never seem to find the time. LOL

For the first time in my adult life I finally have a room to call my own! I did let my oldest son sleep in there when he was home for Christmas but otherwise it is all MINE! I have been inspired by the beautiful studio rooms I have seen on the web. Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey and Portabellapixie are three of my favorites. I have listed their blogs on the side. If you haven't been to these sites yet, you should go! They are creative and inspiring young women.

Ribbon is always a dilemma for me. I want to see it but have yet to find a creative way to organize those beautiful spools. Upon observing the above mentioned studio rooms I thought I had found the perfect wrought iron piece at Hobby Lobby a few hours ago. My hubby was with me and he didn't find the piece nearly as ideal as I. We were looking through a magazine while there and no, the above picture is not what was shown in the magazine, but it did give me the idea of what I could do. This is my solution to organizing ribbon. I purchased enough materials to make two of these, but have discovered I need at least two more. I bought 2, 1/4" dowel rods for .39 each and a pkg. of wooden disks to place on the end. Now if I were really creative I could paint them, but for the time being I think they will stay simple. Those ribbons look gorgeous and ready to become a project.

Isn't life "Grand"

Beautiful "Grand" Nephew Levi
He is so cuddly and has a sweet disposition.
Thanks to my niece and sister for sharing this precious treasure with all of us. He is blessed to have wonderful Christian parents and grandparents. He is loved. Thank you God for this addition to our family. God is Good!

xoxo Theresa

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

January 1, 1979
December 30, 2007

29 Years! Wow! How Quickly time flies! It seems like yesterday when we began this journey. God has blessed us and I wouldn't have missed this trip for anything. Thank you, honey, for a life time of joy! I love you! XOXO Theresa

Productive Day!

I've had a great day! I thought you might enjoy seeing the projects I worked on today. The towels are for grand nephew Levi. There will be tons of pics in a few days of him!
Gift, I appliqued the "P" on a purchased fleece blanket and made the pincushion to match.
These pincushions look like candy! I have made several of these for gifts this season, these are the only ones I've been able to photograph as I'm usually doing this at the last minute.

xoxo Theresa