Baby Shower Gifts

Here are some pictures of the things I made for some baby showers.

-Photo Curtsy of Allison
Blue and Brown
2 Burp rags, Fold out changing table, and 2 diaper&wipe holders.

-Photo Curtsy of Allison
Frogs and Ducky's
2 bibs and burp rag.
Both the above sets were given to one Mother.

-Photo Curtsy of Allison
Purple Flower Set.
3 burp rags, 2 bibs, and a towel.

-Photo Curtsy of Allison (Sorry for the bad quality in some of these pictures, the lighting was terrible, and we were sort of limited on time)
Pink Flower Set.
Burp rag, Bib, Fold out changing table, and Towel.

Blessings,

A Change or Two

Generally when someone creates a blog they do a welcome post or what I like to call a purpose post. They inform you to some extent what their blog is going to be about and what they hope to post, so as to provide you a suggestion of what to expect. In my “history” of blogging I have never done this and I regret it. That is why I am doing it now; but not as you might think. This is not going to be a “Hello and welcome to my blog” kinda post but a quick look at my worldview and what I hope to accomplish in my current blog.
When I took a 3 month computer break I really began to notice the lack of purpose in my blog. I played through my mind what my blog looked like and how purposeless it really was.

Here are 2 things I like about other blogs and that I plan on adding into my own.

• I want my blog to be pleasing to the Lord. Mathew 5:16 says,"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." . My blog, and everything I do, should not be done me for but for God glory so that He may receive all praise. My sister did an great post called Representative of Christ that I would encourage you to read.

• I want my blog to be encouraging and meaningful to others. I feel it is important that my blog not only pleases God but is also encouraging to others. All my posts may not fall under that category completely, such as an occasional picture post or tag, but that is my goal.

I hope to apply these things to most, if not all, of my posts. I hope you receive some sort of idea of how I plan on improving my blog.

Thanks for reading!
Blessings,

Rose Emporium

Here are those pictures of the Rose Emporium I promised you in my Bluebonnets post.
The rosebud was taken outside Bluebell Creameries. I also mentioned that I might write something about the occasion but I found I really don't have anything to say. So the pictures will have to suffice.



Note: I just wanted to give a quick up-date. Yesterday night I came down with a temperature of 102 , sore throat and head ache. Its not a big deal, we all get sick, but this was a really bad week for me. I really need to be well my Friday so I can finished up some stuff for Saturday and Sunday. Thus I probably won't post again till the middle of next week. Thanks for your patience.

"God Bless America", can we really say?

"God Bless America", can we really say?

Have we raised a nation today

That hates it when God receives glory and praise?

"God Bless America", can we really say?

When we’ve banned him from schools, and most public places,

"God Bless America", can we really say?

When our nation has forgotten our founding day?

When the colors of red, white and blue,

Mean nothing more then a party or two?

"God Bless America", can we really say?

Is anything worth blessing in our country today?

"God Bless America", can we really say?

When the church has forgotten its roles just the same?

"God Bless America", can we really say?

When we vote for leaders who don’t follow Gods ways

“God Bless America”, can we really say?

When our nation is no longer Christian today

"God Bless America", can we really say?

For does “The Star Spangled Banner” not say:

Then Conquer we must, for our cause it is just—

And this be our motto—“In God do we trust”

All we can do is bow on our knees

And pray to God for great mercy.

We’ve raised up a nation that curses His name,

Forgets His blessings, and flings ‘side His ways,

Our nation does not deserved to be blessed,

For it has forgotten the ways of the past

Did we not learn from history’s time

What happens to nations who fling God aside?

So "God Bless America", can we really say?

That is the question I ask you today.

-Written by Katie, Inspired by Allison.

Backyard Pictures

Here are some pictures I took in the backyard a while ago.
Enjoy!
Please comment and tell me your favorites!

Investing Time in Those Younger then you

You would think that such a thing as Investing in those younger then you would be easy! But it tends to be out of peoples comfort zones. I know it can be for me. While I was looking at some old e-mails I stumbled upon one with this story:

A Vision for the Overlooked

Three years ago, David first walked through the door of a church in the middle of nowhere. His family had moved a lot with his dad's work. Like most teenagers, he was in a desperate, silent search for acceptance. Did anyone care that he existed? Why did Christians talk about love, but no one seemed to have time for him? The last four churches were just the same: everyone was polite, but no one took the time to get to know him.

It was at this church in the middle of nowhere that he met Rachel and Jeff, a very unusual brother and sister team. Rachel was 23 and Jeff was 18. A few months before, both had been convicted by how much time they spent with their circle of friends at church and how little time spent investing in the lives of younger children who could someday be leaders in the church and community. They felt they had overlooked and missed some great opportunities.

Together, they decided to push past their comfort zones. By the time 15-year old David's family came to their church, the brother and sister had developed a strategy. Jeff immediately greeted David with a smile and a handshake. While Jeff plied David with questions about his hobbies, Rachel introduced herself to Jeff's younger sister. Yeah, it was a little awkward at first to make conversation with the younger kids, but before long the friendships took root.

Over time, Rachel and Jeff made hundreds of little sacrifices to invest in the young people at their church:

• They noticed that most adults don't use children's names when they talk to them, so they made a point to always use their name when they greeted them in the hallway.
• They asked questions of their younger friends and actually listened to their answers!
• Jeff called or e-mailed his growing group of "little brothers" on their birthdays.
• Rachel bought a box of journals and gave one to each of her "adopted sisters" at Christmas.
• They reinforced the faith of David and his siblings with stories from their own lives on how God had actively protected, directed, and taught them.
• They prayed for their friends by name.
• They respected their parents and lived out what a Godly young person could look like.
• One spring, Jeff started David and a group of teenage guys memorizing Bible verses. When they finished, Jeff planned a bike trip with all of their dads to a nearby state park.
• Rachel and Jeff convinced their friends to do a Fourth of July program at a nursing home. They were all nervous to take this risk, but doing it together gave everyone courage to try something they had never done before.
• The next summer, Rachel and Jeff cleared three weeks of their lives to take a missions trip to Peru with David and his sister. David's heart was captured by the needs he saw in Peru, and now he wants to go back as a medical missionary.

David's family just moved across the country again. He's 18 now and preparing for pre-med. David's the same age now that Jeff was when he met him. David looks at people differently — and the world—because Jeff did. Instead of looking for friends, he's looking for opportunities to sacrificially invest in others.

Why did all of this happen? Because a brother and sister at a church in the middle of nowhere had vision to invest in "little kids." Together they believed in their hearts that "Whoever wants the next generation the most will win them."

- The author prays to be among the first
to turn this fiction into reality.

This is a great reminder of what is really means to invest in peoples lives; especially those younger then you. But what I see, and I'm very grateful for a sister who continually reminds me this, is that I cannot invest in younger girls lives until I've invested in my own younger siblings.
So as a challenge this week upcoming week I plan on doing something special and important every day with my two younger brothers. It may be as simple as playing cars with them or pushing them on the swings, but to them is means so much more!
I would encourage you to do the same. Not necessarily investing in younger sibling, some of you may not even have any, but I would encourage you to pick something to invest more of your time in for at least a week. It may be spending more time reading the Bible. Just take an extra 10 minutes to an hour and invest your time in something bigger then the computer, TV, or videos games. Remember Do Hard Things.
Blessings,


Note: I may post about my week a week or two after the selected time. :)

Summer Goals

Hey everyone,
I'd thought I'd share with you some of my summer goals this year. Lindsay, from Content in Christ, reminded me how important it is to pick something to try to achieve each summer. Though I had planned on writing something about my current summer schedule and some of my summer goals to post on 4-homeschoolers, due to lack of time right now we have decided to close 4-homeschoolers for the summer. During this time we hope to re-think the point of 4-homeschoolers, write more posts and maybe a few other surprises. Some of these things we'll be included in my Family summer schedule other will be done in my free time. We hope to get it back up this fall. So without further adieu here are 5 of my summer goals that I think are the most important right now.

♦ Work on diligence and patience
♦ Be able to run 30 minutes continuously.
♦ Continue getting up at 7:30
♦ Play through my current piano books, hopefully I will progress faster.
♦ Improve on singing as well as learning a few songs in 3 part harmony to sing with my older siblings Luke and Allison.

I would also enjoy sewing a dress at the end of the summer, but that is least of my priorities. I may not complete all of the listed above but I can try. And as for diligence and patience I won't every be perfect, but I can strive to improve in those areas. Other things of low priorities would be staying on top of writing letters, taking time to make cards, bake (bread in particular), and work of some post ideas.
I hope you all have a great week!
Blessings,


Note: Just as a note I'm going to be deleting some old post. Such as all my "Verse of the Week" posts and maybe some others.

Fathers Day

Every Fathers Day and Mothers Day at church the children have a time where they are able to share something their Father/Mother has done in there lives and/or share what they like about their Father/Mother. Below is what I wrote and read to honor my Father today. I know the rhythm of the poem is not perfect, it was written on Saturday and I am not a poet. I hope you all had a special chance to really honor your Father today!

Today is a special day when I have the chance to really honor my father.
I wanted to focus on my dad many character quality's. After listing them I decided to combine them into a poem.
It has been a humongous blessing to have a dad who loves God with all his heart, soul, and mind. I named this poem A Fathers Love because I hope to express all the love I have received from the Father and how much I am truly grateful to God for him.

A Fathers Love
Written By Katie
My Father loves me very much for he shows me everyday,
as he prays for me and provides me with plenty of food, fabric and praise.
He patiently teaches me my square roots and right angles,
and gives me praise when I achieve the goal of a new purse style.
He diligently teaches me a Biblical way of thinking,
and shows me that God is not a once a week thing.
His laughers rings through the house as we sit down to play a game,
and he leads us in family worship every night as we read, sing, and pray.
His goal in life is this, that through him others may give glory to God,
And set an example for others to follow God.
He homeschools his children so they will not be touch by the things of this world,
for that would tear down our faith, but
he may now teach and nurture us about Gods holy ways.
He is very wise indeed for his vision is not small,
but extends great indeed, for generations to follow.
Every day he strives to gain his children hearts,
I would have to say he's gained mine more then once.
My fathers love is great and he deserves to be honored,
not just once a year but every day to follow.
There are men in the world who are great by far,
But my dads best for me 'Cause he was picked by God,
To protect me and keep me safe from the worlds evil taunts,
he has done so all his life and will continue on and on.
My daddy's love has shown me so much through the years,
it would take all day to express how much he really cares.

I love you Daddy!

God Bless!

P.s. Sorry to confuse you guys, but I accidentally posted a post named "Summer Goals" which I meant to schedule, and when I went back to fix it (it was late at night!) I accidentally rescheduled my Fathers Day post instead of my Summer Goals post. My Summer Goals post will be posted the 25! ~Katie

The Joy of Running...

Well I haven't quite gotten it yet, but I'm working on it! (well the joy of running that is) A mother from church, Mrs. Tigges, offered to teach an eight week running class to my family and Caleb's family. We gladly accepted. At 9 A.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we get together at a nearby park and walk, jog, and run. We started Monday and its been fun and a real blessing! I've learned how out of shape I am! Monday we started off slowly. We stretched then walked around a small loop for warm up, then walked for 2 minutes then jogged for 2 minutes. Even though it was for such a short period of time is was still hard. Wednesday we stretched then walked around a small loop for warm up, then walked for a minute, jogged for a minute, then ran for a minute. We repeated that process 3 times. Fortunately for her students, Mrs. Tigges is very kind and encourages us to stop and walk if we feel the need.

My goal this summer is, at the end of the eight weeks, to be able to run at least a mile, hopefully 30 minutes continuously running/jogging/walking. I am really looking forward to these next seven weeks. It is such a blessing to see how Mrs. Tigges finds joy in running and is taking the time to teach us!

Blessings All,

Bluebonnets

Sometime while I was off my family took a trip to the Texas Bluebonnets. This was our first year to go. Here are some pictures I took of the occasion.



We also went to the Rose Emporium and Bluebell Creameries. I may write more about this trip another time as well as post a few pictures that I took at the Rose Emporium. (all floral pictures of course :) )
Comment and tell me what you think!
Blessings,

My Birthday

I had my 13 birthday in February. I was flooded with presents from both family and friends. Here’s a list:
gifts from friends: A fleece blanket and basket of material and sewing accessories, a scrapbooking kit, a purple and green photo album, a Willow Tree angel holding a puppy (it’s so precious!), a handmade bookmark with “Happy Birthday” embroidered on it.
Gifts from family: gift card to Hobby Lobby, a jewelry box and a Vision Forum book called “The Princess Adelina”. Each year our parents let us pick and activity or something fun to do on our birthday. I went shopping with Mom and my sister Allison. While we were out I got my ears pierced. After we came home and ate dinner the whole family sat down to watch the “Swiss Family Robinson” because we had recently read it in school.

That is the sum of my birthday.

Poll

Hey guys,
I'm mainly posting to tell those who use Google Reader that I posted a new poll on my sidebar so please come and vote!
I have quite a few post I'm working on that will be posted in time. But I am curios to know what kind of post you prefer.
Blessings,

New Purse Style

Of course while I was off the computer I did quite a bit of sewing. Here is a new purse style I partially designed. At a garage sale I happily picked up the book Simple and Sensational Purses from Placemats! In this book they show 13 cute purses to make using placemats. One called the Michelle purse is similar to the purse shown below. But because I do not use placemats mine is slightly a better design. Below are pictures of a pink polka-dot purse for Callie and a red and yellow purse for myself. All the purses I make look slightly different. So I am always changing things around. Enjoy!

Well I'm back

I'm back from my 3 months without computer. Even though I had been off for 92 days I was hesitant to get back on June 1. It turned out to be a fun and a very enjoyable time! I was able to accomplish quite a lot.

I filled my time baking, sewing, piano, playing with my little brothers, reading, and a few other things. It was very nice not to have computer as a temptation at the very end of the school year. I could concentrate on finishing school instead of dying to check my e-mail. I felt free to do things like baking and investing in my little brothers when before I would get annoyed if they asked when I was on the computer. I was able to excel in piano and maturing new sewing skills.

Needless to say I was not completely off the computer. Often I would check a recipe or the library site. I've also played a few computer games with my brothers and typed a letter. I will try to have a variety of post about what I was able to accomplish over the past few months. I think one of the most important things was that I was able to really sit and think about my blog and how desperately it needs to be changed. So in the next few weeks I'll be on working on some changes or different kinds. Thanks to everyone who voted on my poll.

God Bless,

Where is Katie??

Hello, this is Allison for her sister Katie. You see, Katie has recently disappeared from the blogging world--and forgot to tell you! :( She has decided to take 90 days, yes 90 days, of NO INTERNET. Don't worry, after this break she will return to you promptly. However, you will not see a post here until early June. Wow, you may think, someone can actually stay offline for 90 whole days? No internet, no email for 90 days?!?! Yep, and she's doing it! So don't cry too long and return in June! :)

~Allison, for Katie

Lemonade Blog Award

I received the Lemonade Blog Award from my sister Allison from Letter From Christ. The Lemonade Blog Award is presented to bloggers who show thankfulness and gratefulness. Thank you Allison! I am glad you think my blog worthy of this award!
You may tag up to 10 bloggers whose blog demonstrates this quality. I choose to award:

Haley from Haley Happenings

Lindsay from Content in Christ

Moriah from Growing In His Amazing Grace

Callie from Callie's Adventures

Excellence In Blogcatsing Award

I was graciously awarded the 'Excellence in Blogcasting' award by Haley from Haley's Happenings Thank you so much Haley!

Here are the Rules:

1) Post the award on my blog;
2) Pass it on to some friends, up to 15; and

3) I have to let them know they've received the award.

Here are the people I'm passing the award on to.

Allison from Letter From Christ- Allison is my dear sister and always encourages me in real life and through her posts.

Moriah from Growing In His Amazing Grace- Moriah is a dear friend and I do so enjoy visiting her blog!

Lindsay from Content In Christ- Another great friend and like-minded young lady. I cannot wait to read her post.

Caleb from Ember Island- Caleb is another friend. His post are both funny and interesting!

61 and counting!

I mentioned a an earlier post that I had just bought 61 colors of embroidery thread! They arrived a few weeks ago. I haven't had much time to embroider with my new machine but here is what I've done so far. Enjoy!

This was the first project I set out to do. I had picked it out before hand and couldn't wait to get started! Its a bushel of flowers. The 3 roses and done in 2 different shades of pink, then there are blue/purples violets type flowers, and the leaves and steams are done in 2 different color greens.
The original was more purpley but I wanted it to match my room so I picked out different color green and changed the roses to pink.

I did this when I was playing around with different borders. I embroidered a heart border with the half circle look then I spelled "Love" and embroidered it in the the middle of the heart.

Unfortunately because I did this in yellow its hard to see. It's really beautiful and incredible detail.

God Bless,

Ooo...More Purses

Here are the 3 latest purses! My purses have been getting better as I've used the pattern more. I know the pattern by heart but will still check every once in a while. I hope to become a much better seamstress so I've been trying to prefect my sewing.

Pink and brown poka-dot and paisley. I made this for a friend who turned 11 it has that cute Younger look.

Blue paisley and white stripe. I gave this to Lindsay from Content In Christ when she turned 16. I fell in love with the fabric! It reminded me of her.


Blue flower and white stripe. This one I made for Lindsay's sister, Haley from Haley's Happenings on her 14th Birthday. I accidentally missed Haley's (thinking it was in March) and so she got her purse late but that gave me the opportunity to mix some of the fabrics from both purses.
It was very interesting. The white stripe fabric you see in both purses are the same but I bought them at separate times in different fabric stores!
God Bless,

50 things about yourself!

I am Sure someones done this before but that o.k. Here we go again!

Rules: Try to come up with as many facts about yourself as you can. If your tagged you must try to do it! Its o.k. if you don't make it all the way to 50. At least I didn't pick 100! You may use things from previous tags. Just have fun!

1. My hair's naturally curly
2. When I was five I climbed on a wall and touched a power line. (and I'm still alive!)
3. I don't have any allergies (to my knowledge I don't even get mosquito bites.)
4. I'm a VERY picky eater.
5. I took ballet when I was 5-6
6. I've taken tennis lessons.
7. I wear my watch on my right hand even though I'm right handed.
8. My favorite flower is the rose.
9. I like all shades of purple most blues and most greens.
10. I don't like eating fish but I like fishing
11. I've had a palate retainer and broke it 3-4 times.
12. I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on mom's old violin.
13. My favorite songs are As the Deer, Come Thou Fount and Sanctuary
14. I hardly ever listen to music, but….
15. I love to sing!

16. I love to be able to hold babies and serve others in our church family.
17. I play the piano and the play the clarinet
18. I was in a homeschool band for 3 years.
19. I've sewn 8 purses; 3 in the last month.
20. I have a cream colored bulletin board in my room.
21. I have 3 clocks in my room.
22. I have 2 pen-pals.
23. I have at least 6 nick names.
24. I collect stuffed animals.
25. I like Winnie the Pooh!
26. The ironing board's in my room.
27. Our ironing board cover is green with white dot thingy's.
28. I recently went through and cleaned my closet and under my bed.
29. Half of my dresser drawers are filled with fabric.
30. I still have clothes of my dad’s and brother’s in my closet from when I ironed them 2 weeks ago!
31. My favorite scents are vanilla, freshly baked bread, and cinnamon.
32. I use Google Reader.
33. My computer takes 10-15 minutes to boot up.
34. I know very basic HTML and BBCode
35. Part of our backyard fence is still down.
36. My birthday's soon!
37. I've only taken my dog to the vet once since we got him 2 years ago.
38. I have over 80 spools of thread in my room.
39. I don't have a single nail hole in my wall.
40. I haven't scrapbooked in forever!
41. I will not allow white furniture in my room. (but there is a white bookshelf in my closet...)
42. I've never used the # sign in a sentence. ('til now)
43. Never liked bracelets.
44. I don't like bright colors.
45. I have a 2009 puppy calendar stuck in my drawer!
46. There's a grey rock looking bouncy ball sitting right next to me with white, black, yellow, and red dots in it.
47. I try to hand-make all my cards.
48. Once we accidentally drove into Mexico.
49. My computer doesn't sense any kind of CDs on my CD drive.
50. I don't like forwards.

I tag. Allison from Letter From Christ, Caleb from Ember Island, and Moriah from Growing In His Amazing Grace.