Square Dancing at the Alisonville Town Hall

Yeehaw!

What great music! What great dancing!, What a blast!...

What sore muscles this morning LOL

Last night Jay, the kids and I joined up with the Griffins (minus 1), Dave Inch from the 1st Baptist and some of his youth group for an evening of square dancing! What a hoot!

Dancing started around 7:45pm and didn't end till midnight, and I am feeling it in every part of my legs and feet.

There was great music provided of course by Michelle and Blake Found plus my hubby again on bass. A lovely cold buffet meal and 14 dances of which I believe I danced to 11? Not quite sure of the number, it gets kind of blurry after 8.

Simon danced even more than I did and well, I have to say that boy is sure quick on his feet. I would have been lost without him. He picked up most of the dances pretty quick and was guiding me quite capably. He even managed to throw in a couple of his own little moves much to the amusement of our dance instructor and fellow dancers.

Amy was off with her own group and her "man" of the evening Amy Sedore.


What a great night and I can't wait for the next one. Okay...maybe I can wait, the mind is willing but the feet need time to recuperate.


















Paul and Sally. Oh my goodness! Sally was sooooo funny last night. Jay and I were still laughing, after we went to bed, at a funny little incident involving the food line, the topic of square dancing and 4H!

































Simon doesn't look too impressed here, but he was just concentrating hard lol.
















The silverhaired gentleman in the white shirt put on a little tap dance show for us during one of our breaks. He is really quite good :)
















A couple of lovely men.
















Me and my dance partner.
















The 2 Amy's :) Man how they've grown since we first met Amy S. in Emily Fennel's voice classes.
















Michelle, Blake and Jay providing the wonderful music and sometimes musical comic relief (eh honey?)
















This was actually shot 'before' he started dancing. Notice the "I'm in this chair for the long haul stance"? haha
















From this shot you'd think they were bored wouldn't you? Actually they were resting and watching some other dancers practicing. Doing exactly what they were told, "watch and learn". I think Paul was ready to leave at this point, but Colleen wanted to stay right till the end.
















Funny note here: All the way to the hall in the car, Simon was miserable. "I'm not dancing", "I don't like square dancing". To this I replied (in a loving, motherly fashion) "okay then just sit in a corner and be quiet...don't ruin the evening for everyone else". Now you can see me saying that calmly and lovingly can't you?).

Look at the grin on his face!
















Simon and Colleen































































The Amy's

The Passion Promise by Cullen Webb

This video was made by the son of Pastor Rich Webb of Michigan. Pastor Webb has been to Wesley Acres now several times as a Family Camp Evangelist.

This is a very powerful video that Cullen has created, and to be honest, I am still shaking inside after viewing it. You can find more about and by Cullen and his passion at his blog Nation Pains.

Be blessed...

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Scott MacIntyre - 2009 American Idol Contestant

I just heard about this boy recently and found this video of him. What a beautiful song. I've posted the words below.





No Fear by Scott MacIntyre

And when we feel incredible fear

Let us reckon that He's always near

Did you ever think to say a word in prayer

You know that He will hear

And when we feel incredible fear

Let us not shed one single tear

Even when the road is narrow and confused

You know He'll make it clear

Now that i know that

It's gonna be alright tonight

He's watching with his eyes

I have no fear coz He's always near

To me he's right here by my side

I am afraid

When I'm lost at sea

And I cant be brave, no-o

When I trust in me

ooohhh these are the times in which

I called in Him the most

I know He sets me free

Now that I know that

It's gonna be alright tonight

He's watching with His eyes

I have no fear cause He's always near

To me, he's right here by my side

A lonely wonderer
Walkin on in fear

Fearing fear itself

You conquered it

And rose again

What is to fear

Now that I know that

It's gonna be alright tonight

He's watching with His eyes

I have no fear 'cause He's always near

To me, he's right here by my side

Now that I know that

It's gonna be alright tonight

He's watching with His eyes

I have no fear 'cause He's always near

To me, he's right here by my side

Patched Slipper

Okay, I've finished patching Amy's slippers and I think it's gonna work out jes fine.




Oh yeah and I forgot to post a pic of my monthly dishcloth for February which I gave to Michelle.

Knitting post

All right, all right I hear ya...geez I'm being bugged by some people that it's time to start blogging again.

I have to admit I feel as though I've lost my 'blog mojo'. No idea where it went or who it went with...actually, maybe I do know where it went. Michelle? You seemed to have developed quite the blogger ability these days, you seen my 'mojo' hanging around there?

So, upon thinking about what I'd like to write about and what I thought was blog worthy, I came up with zip, zilch, nada.

No one wants to hear about my recent illness (I don't even want to talk about it), our financial woes, or even EAR WAX. Ya hear that Michelle...no one wants to hear about ear wax!

So like I said, I couldn't think of anything I'd like to write about.

But then...

The Leaves of Whimsy socks are finally done and after the second attempt and full year in between attempting them, they fit (although I probably could have gone a touch longer on the leg). I love the pattern on these socks, the pictures just don't do it justice. These are made from a merino tencel in a custom dyed 'Irish Green' by Ann-Marie and knit on 2.25mm circular needles.





I got an order for 4 Christmas stockings and I'm pleased to report that I have 3 done and number 4 is waiting to be cast on. These are the same beautiful stockings that I cut my knitting teeth on a couple years back when I was learning how to knit. I'm very excited to say that they are being sold for a tidy little sum which will help to give me some money to buy soapmaking supplies. *Note* - I am taking orders for Christmas 2009 if you'd like me to knit some for you.



What's that you ask? More soapmaking supplies? Oh yeah baby! I am sooo excited to tell you that I have decided to go for it and start making soap to sell. I fell in love with the soap making process last Christmas and am anxiously waiting for Jay to finish making me another wooden soap mold and some cutters.

Next on my blogging post (yes, my very late, very long over due post) is a little experiment that I am conducting. I made Amy felted slippers a couple years ago and she's worn some holes in the soles. Not nearly as bad as mine so I'm thinking I might be able to patch them.

I've knitted some patches and felted them and will attempt to stitch them onto the bottoms tonight. My hope is that as Amy wears the slippers the patches will thin/smooth out a little
so that she won't feel them.

I've got the patches cut (a really cool thing about felting...you can cut it and it won't unravel lol) and will post pics later. Ah ha, that gives me something else to post about.

Holey sole




This is the uncut felted patch


So there you go...I blogged

My first soap mold

Jay made me my very first wooden soap mold tonight. I am so excited and I can't wait to use it. It holds 2lb of soap. Next he's going to make a soap cutter for me that will hold this size block and it will ensure that all my bars are the same size.

By the way, it's -13 celcius outside and Jay did all this cutting in the unheated garage where I swear it felt at least 10 degrees colder!! We ended up bringing in all the cut pieces to finish assembling and sanding it. I am in love with my mold. Oh and I am so in love with my man!

I have designs for three more molds and cutters that we created and have yet to make that will produce different types and sizes of soaps. Can't wait to get started...gotta get out my Lowes discount card and go shopping for some wood LOL!

Thank you honey for such an awesome job!







Look at this! He cut a groove out so that the lid fits inside and won't touch the soap.


and he made me a nifty handle that is easy for my fingers to grip.



The finished product!


I'm thinking he should go into business building wooden molds and selling them, what do you think? :)

Wow, what a kid...

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word "God" is mentioned a kid in Arizona wrote the attached


Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.



If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.



Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.



For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.



We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierc! e our noses, tong ues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.



We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.



It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

--
http://plurk.com/homeschoolmom/invite

Youth Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

The youth of our church hosted a spaghetti dinner this past Sunday at our church and it was a terrific testimony to how awesome these kids are. The fundraiser was to help the teens raise enough money to go on a retreat to Bancroft with another youth group.

Here are some pics of the evening. They all dressed in black and white and it was a full service evening with Italian music thrown in for atmosphere :)

Our fine wait staff








Richard and Blake waltzing around after cleaning up


Amy and Emily dancing and being...Amy and Emily :P

It Works!!!!

My little knitting felting machine works great! Both pairs of slippers felted more and they are in the dryer now (no, no I know I probably shouldn't put them in there) because it's soooo cold here, Si's and my feet are freezing. We both want out slippers NOW! lol

I'm also doing up a load of delicates, although I'm not sure if it's still termed delicates with Jay's and Si's in there hehe.

This little baby is gonna be a life saver for me. Whenever I need just a tiny load to do I can throw it in there. It's gonna be especially great for me who cannot go a day without spilling something on myself and staining my shirts. Now I will just spray and throw it in my little personal washer and voila! cleaned without a large amount of water and hydro. :-D

One side effect which I think is good, because I kept them out of a bag (normally to protect your washer you put felted items in a pillow case or some such) they are flufflier and I like that :)

Oh oh oh, I had already posted this but I just had another thought! I can take this camping with me woohoo! No more hand washing in the bathtub woot woot!

It's My Hubby's Birthday Today

Jay turned 37 today. In answer to prayer today, God provided him a better day at work with not too much stress. Plus there was a little recognition for all his hard work thrown in as well to sweeten the day. His manager went out of her way to tell him how much she appreciates everything he does in the department and that she notices how hard he's been working and that he always goes that extra mile.

That was nice for him to hear since he's been feeling so discouraged lately with a lot of weirdness going on (too long a story to go into here).

Anyways, when Jay got home he had dinner, birthday cake and is now just relaxing watching one of his favourite tv series and building lego airplanes, ambulances and tanks with Simon.

Here's a few pics of tonight.