Summer Flashback

I'd intended on doing a summer flashback with fun pictures, and my friend Laura just reminded me to do it by asking a question about our girls' sandbox. Here's for you, Laura!

This used to be our girls' sandbox:

Jacob built the girls a new one this summer.

It's on wheels so it can be moved for lawn mowing (or moving, eventually, since we're renting). In my parents' shed, we found wheels on my great-grandfather's lawn mower which we recycled for this project! Jacob built a cover, too, since there are cats in the area. The girls are loving it!

Other highlights this summer include making bread. Often when I'd make bread I'd prepare a double batch of dough so we could do something fun with one of them--making cinnamon breadsticks or fun-shaped bread (turtle, elephant, etc.).


One day we got sticky-back magnets and the girls stuck them to magazine pictures and photos.


Kardelen discovered they stick to the futon frame as well! We had the most creative-looking futon for a week or so!


More summer flashback photos to come. . .

Feelin' Crafty

Thought I'd share some fun projects I've made lately. I've really enjoyed them!

First, I made a wooden lettered sign for my kitchen from a tutorial at The Homespun Heart:


The words say "Rejoicing In Hope," and they're from a scripture that's been especially meaningful to me lately.

I followed the advice in one of her comments in that post and, instead of making stencils out of the printed-out text, merely traced the words with a pencil on the wrong side of the paper, then rubbed the tracings on the wood to transfer the letters. Then you just color in the words with permanent marker. Easy and lots of fun.

Next, a clothespin apron from this 10-minute pillowcase apron tutorial. It really is nearly that quick (except if you iron out the wrinkles from your pillowcase, or have to trim the ends because it's homemade and they don't line up). Beware: this sewing project is addictive.


I actually made two of these last night, planning to keep one and give the other as a gift, but then when I showed Kardelen this morning, she wanted one, too! So I cut the other one in half and made them each of the girls a little one of their own.



Kardelen also quickly discovered that her clothespin apron can also be used as a pocket for holding stuffed animals. :)

Bear with me as I go on a little rabbit trail here--but taking the picture of my wooden sign made me do a little decorating (to make the counter a little more presentable, you know). That put me in a decorating mood, so I did a little more.


And since I shined the counter so nicely for that first picture, I'd probably better confess that the rest of my kitchen looks like this tonight :


I'd love to hear what you've been making!

This is Why I'm Home

One beautiful day last week, I kept thinking over and over how thankful I was to be at home with our girls full-time. I can't imagine having missed these moments:

jumping on our neighbors' trampoline


painting with acorns


giving rocks some personality with chalk


practicing writing names on our chalkboards


silly lunches


crafting and wrapping an early Christmas present


more monkey hanging with Daddy


making chocolate chip cookies


Not that we do this many fun activities every day--but it sure was a blast! And I'm so thankful to have been there for all of it.

THIS is why I'm home.

Chokecherry Syrup

My new friend Kelley alerted us to the abundance of chokecherries in our yard. In one day we picked 6 pounds of them! The girls and I made chokecherry syrup using the recipe from the University of Minnesota Extension Service here, and it yielded roughly 16 delicious pints!

Since then we keep finding more and more ripe chokecherries, so now I'm off to start batch number two. Only four pounds of cherries this time, though. These will probably become Christmas presents.

The girls love how it turns their homemade yogurt purple, and I love it on pancakes. Thanks, Kelley! :)