Recapping!

Ummm... whoops.  It's been over a month since I last posted.  

I know I'm not consistent, but even THAT surprised me!  

A lot has been going on.  I guess blogging has been put on the back burner a bit.

So, for a quick recap of the past month.... let me start with....

Audra is now 10 months old!!  She is walking, running and trying to 

keep up with her sisters around every turn!  She babbles incoherently, 

however she repeats the same things and it makes me wonder if she 

really IS trying to say something!  Who knows!  

She started getting all 4 top teeth over the past week and a half or so!  

It has NOT been a pleasant experience for her.  They say it's not true 

that babies get runny noses when they teethe.... but she has literally had a 

runny nose the whole time.  And the rest of us have not gotten sick.  Sooooo... I 

have no clue.  All I know is that I hope she cuts the last 2 pretty soon.  She has been 

quite the cranky pants!  HOWEVER, I am SOOO thankful that she has been 

sleeping through the night for the past week and a half or so also!  This past 

week has been the first time in over a year (the last couple months of my 

pregnancy were not pleasant) that I have gotten 8 hours of sleep without multiple 

interruptions.  I can't tell you how nice that is!  Granted, I am sleeping on an air 

mattress in the living room (Cory claimed the couch!), but I'LL TAKE IT!  

It seems as if Audra wakes up and wants me more when she knows 

I'm in the room.  "Mamamamamamamaaaa!" was a constant at 

11PM, 1AM, 3AM, 5AM and so on.  Not anymore!  Of course, it could 

just be that I don't hear her now!  Ha!

(Not a fan of the crunchy leaves!)

In other "news"... if you have followed along with my posts about 

my Father-in-Law's battle with cancer, I have an update.  Unfortunately, 

it's not a good update.  He had a scan this past Monday that showed three 

of the tumors on his brain that they've been watching are starting to re-grow.  

His last scan was clear in May.  He says that he's not ready to give up yet!  

However, they've exhausted all treatment options up to this point.  We are hopeful 

that perhaps he can get into some sort of clinical trial, so Cory is researching to see 

if he would qualify for any in the near future.  I must say though, we have been 

blessed.  When he was first diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2011, we were 

told that he had 6 months to live.  Here we are 4.5 years later.  It's been a rough road.  

A REALLY rough road, especially for him, my Mother-in-Law and Cory.  But 

through it all, my Father-in-Law has gotten to see two more granddaughters be 

born and bring joy to our lives.  That is so much more than a lot of cancer 

patients can say... and I know that he does not take it for granted!  We would 

appreciate your prayers in his continued battle.  He's not done yet!  

On a side note... his mother (Cory's gram) passed away yesterday morning.  

Prayers for peace and comfort would also be appreciated as we have her 

Memorial and Burial over the next several days.

Eloise and Dinah are doing well!  They enjoy playing... and playing... and playing.  

Eloise has been doing well with her schooling.  We've gotten into a rhythm 

and it's been fun at times, trying at times and even a learning experience for me!

(Sitting on our neighbor's tractor!)

We went to a Fall Festival last weekend for a couple of hours and 

the girls enjoyed seeing friends and family.  I snapped this picture of 

them as "pumpkin heads".  (Maybe you remember me painting it a 

couple years ago...?  Fun!).  

Poor Audra didn't enjoy her first Fall Festival due to teething and a runny nose!

 

 

In closing, though I'm sure I could go on and on and on about life, 

I would just like to say that I have been dealing with some health issues myself.  

I have some tests coming up and would appreciate prayers of peace and 

encouragement... not only for myself but for Cory, who inevitably 

worries about me! 

Fall Fest Fun!

I have to admit... it's pretty humiliating hosting a giveaway... and having no one enter it! I don't know if it's because people aren't visiting my blog... or if people just aren't interested in the product(?). *sigh* Oh well....

Anyway...

This past weekend was the annual Fall Festival that we attend.
Usually my mom and I set up a booth and sell our pottery
and other hand-crafted items...
but being pregnant and then having a baby over the last year means I haven't had
much time for crafting! So instead, my mom brought her pony and did
pony rides... and I painted faces for part of the day.



Eloise got to ride the pony!


She wasn't too sure about it... but she didn't cry.
I think she just didn't know what the heck was going on!
She seems to really love animals, we haven't had issues with
her being afraid of my mom's horses or anything.
And, of course, she loves dogs and cats!!

My grandpa was at the festival for a little bit. I didn't know it because I was
busy painting faces... but Cory disappeared for awhile and came back with
this picture of Eloise, my grandpa and my dad.



I was a little bummed I wasn't there since it was the first time
my grandpa got to meet Eloise. :( But at least they met!!

There was a patch of pumpkins... and we thought it would
be so adorable to have pictures of Eloise amongst the pumpkins
wearing her pumpkin hat (made by Aunt Katy)!



Eloise didn't think that was such a great idea.



I think she felt trapped because she couldn't figure out a way to
crawl out of the pumpkins!



She didn't mind taking some other pictures though!


(This corn one is my favorite!)


Hope you all had a nice weekend!

And.. please.. check out my giveaway!
It ends Friday!

Fall Festival Recap

Every year, I mean to take lots of pictures... every year... I think I take less and less.

Oh well. I'm sure my sister will post about it at some point!

Anyway...

Saturday was the Annual Fall Festival at my sis's in laws Meat Market. My mom and I started off 7 years ago with a booth for pottery. Each year, the pottery has dwindled (pottery is quite the process and it's hard to dedicate time to it when you're busy! Or for me--when you live an hour from the studio!). I have worked on other projects to fill up our table... aaaand, of course... I didn't take any pictures of the table we set up!

It was a beautiful day... the sun was out, the breeze was blowing. Perfect!

Over all, it seemed like a lot of people were looking and not buying. It's kind of frustrating, especially when you put so much work into the stuff you're trying to sell. However, I can relate. I don't have the kind of money to just walk around and freely spend on everything that catches my eye... so it's understandable that some people aren't always ready to spend, spend, spend. Although, I did get quite a few compliments as people browsed the tables!

Here are my nephew (on the top) and his cousin. They are using the steps as a stage and singing into their imaginary microphones!

(That's one of those picture things that you can stick your face in and become a scarecrow, pumpkin or corn cob!)

There is a lady who does Foot Reflexology that comes to give FREE foot massages! I had gotten Cory a gift certificate for his birthday, but he has yet to use it. I persuaded him to go for the free massage to give him a chance to chat with her and of course, enjoy a good foot rub. I don't think he appreciated that I waited until he was comfy in the chair to snag my camera and snap a picture! Haha!


Later on, Cory retreated to the car to nap... and I noticed that my dad had also decided to relax in his tilt bed.

I can't imagine that was comfortable for long!

When we got home, we realized that our faces were sun burnt... which was not pleasant... but I am so thankful that the weather was wonderful and that I did sell a little bit. I am hoping to be able to work on more pottery throughout the next year. We'll see how that goes with a newborn!

**********

I am waiting for the Windshield Repair guy to come to replace the windshield in Cory's car. Yesterday a piece of debris flew off of some guys truck and caused quite the chip... which we watched grow before our eyes as we were driving. *sigh*

Happy Fall!!!

It's my 400th post! Woo hoo!!

And according to my calendar, it's the first day of fall!
(And also my sis and her hubs 10th anniversary!)


The other day, some creepy van pulled off the side of the road and was taking pictures toward my house. I'm assuming they were taking pics of our lovely maple tree... otherwise... that's pretty creepy! But it made me curious to go out and look at the tree myself and I decided that I'd like to take a couple of pictures as well.

(I spied a little nest!)

It's amazing what beauty you can miss when you don't pay attention. I don't know how many times I've walked past that tree to go to the mailbox or my car, and never really looked at how beautiful the leaves are as they change! I'm glad I took the time to notice, even if it did take a creepy van to coax me into it!!

I have a lot to do today to get ready for the Fall Festival on Saturday. I am finishing up some envelopes and packaging/pricing what I have. I don't want to wait until the last minute, although I guess you could say this is last minute!! I want to have everything ready tomorrow and put into the car so all we have to do is hop in and start driving!

So far, the weather forecast is calling for beautious weather!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't change!
Last year was SO cold and rainy!

(Boo enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine!)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Thanks for stopping by!

Gearing Up...

At the end of this month, I will be setting up a table at a Fall Festival that my sister's in-laws host at their meat market. This will be the 7th year!!

In previous years, my mom and I have set up a table with our pottery. The past couple of festivals, though, we haven't had the time to be in the studio (especially me since I live 50 mins away now!). I am a little disappointed. I so much enjoy making pottery and seeing the uniqueness of each piece as it is pulled from the kiln after firing. I enjoy seeing the reactions of the people who see our pottery and appreciate it for it's handmade goodness. Just knowing that someone chooses a mug or bowl to display or use in their own home gives me such satisfaction!

But alas, this year will once again not have our pottery for sale.

Bummer.

So... in the mean time, I have been trying to work on other projects. Unfortunately, I have a short attention span (unless I'm reading a really good book!) and I have a bit of a mish mash of items. That doesn't make for a very appealing table... but I'm doing my best!

Most recently, my days have been filled with envelope making. There is just something about sending or receiving a note or letter in a funky envelope! It makes me happy!

Now... if only other people think the way I do.... (I guess I'll find out at the fest!)

We are Steeler People around these parts... so I thought I'd try to appeal to some people with these Steeler Envelopes made from a book that chronicled the year they won "One for the Thumb!"--woot!


I also started packaging some of my envelopes and putting labels on them (using my vintage typewriter--I must admit, it's been fun!).


Is it weird that I like to package the envelopes more than I like making them? Maybe it's just the satisfaction of having a finished product! haha!

Last year's festival was cold and rainy. We're hoping this year we will be beautiful and full of sunshine!!

The Fall Festival!

The weather held out for most of the day at the Fall Fest! It was pretty dreary, but it wasn't too cold and it only sprinkled toward the end. Thank goodness! It was a long day... but we didn't do too bad and I thought I'd share some pictures. You can also see pictures on my Sis's blog.

This was when we were setting up... my cousin Molly.

This was my mitten tree... but no one bought any mittens... :( Oh well! I'll maybe post them on Etsy!

This was our table set up and some of the items... (sorry, I'm not much of a photographer). We sold our handmade pottery, mittens and jewelry, as well as some garland and prisms. We also set up some items for another lady we know who makes and sells soaps and herbal products... and she also melts glass bottles (which are really cool to use as cutting boards or decorations) (My boss's wife came by and bought the pitcher in the photo above!) :)
My cousin Molly and her mom helped... which was so nice not to be stuck behind the table all day! Molly also helped my mom and me with Face Painting. We took donations to give to the food pantry. I believe we collected around $90! That was a lot of face painting! Here is Molly painting on my nephew's face. We didn't do all of the kids faces like this - usually just on the cheek... but we spoil our own.
What a cutie!!
And last... but not least... here is Cory hard at work. I'm just kidding! He deserved a nap... he always goes above and beyond to help. I just couldn't resist getting his picture!

I hope you all are getting out to those fall festivals! I'm headed out to one next weekend also, only this time... to shop till I drop!!