How Many BoxTops....

until we have enough for a long arm quilting machine??? I am just saying that might be a good investment...just think about it???

Ok so I am actively quilting my HUGE Christmas quilt. I am pretty sure I may need a blood transfusion from all the pin sticks I have from trying to manhandle it under my machine. I have a feeling hand quilting is in my future with this one.

But I am not complaining....

An Inconvenient Truth...I mean book

Ok, I am a huge Glenn Beck fan and this book is too funny. I browsed through it at the Barnes and Noble and put it back because I knew I could get it cheaper on Amazon. Well guess what, it is on BACKORDER. Who knew there were so many fans!!

And The Winner Is.....

**MOESMOM**



Yes I have changed my email to moesmom@embarqmail.com. If you have not been notified the MOE is for Madeleine, Olivia & Ethan, and in correct order!! I also could squeeze a Shelby or Sean in there playing off the "S" for future possibilities.....Yeah Right!



So who won the quilt square...well noone, I came up with moes mom
2nd runner up was berrypatchmama , but I didn't want to type a long email address anymore.
honorable mention, 3kidsandnolife@...., HaHa

Now I have to tell everyone, No I do not have a kid named Moe (perish the thought)

We Are Home

Minnie please put the load in the dryer!

While cooking and cleaning I stumbled on this Tea Party

604 emails to wade through, 3 mountains of laundry, a complete pantry and refridgerator to unload and we are HOME!! There is truly NO place like home. I missed everyone. I just wanted to check in and say hi. I will catch up on blogs and emails tonight.

Letters from the Road

Hi everyone, we are in Washington DC and having a great time. We left Thursday morning and after a rocky start (we stopped like 5 times before Daytona Beach) we finally got into the traveling groove. We made it to North Carolina by midnight and slept for a few hours and then pulled into DC Friday at 10:30 AM. Needless to say, Mike was beat, but we were meeting my sister for some sightseeing. So we made the mistake of driving into DC and trying to park. We found a spot at Arlington, but it was raining/flurrying and my kids already had colds and to get to the monuments it was a 3+ mile walk. Well we ended up caught in rush hour traffic and sat on the freeway for 2 hours with starving exhausted children & hubby. Yes fun times!! I think Lyndsay was thanking God for birth control at that moment.

Well after a good nights sleep, Lyns, Liv , Maddy and I took the metro into DC to do some sightseeing. Mike and Ethan hung out at the camper. Ethan was still coughing pretty bad and I think Mike was looking for a little peace and quiet away from 4 girls ;)
I didn't realize we were in town for Veterans day weekend (duh) so we got to see the Vietnam Memorial Parade, and the ceremony at the wall. It was pretty heart wrenching to see all the veterans tracing names and crying at the wall. We got to pray and be a part of the ceremony at the Vietnam Nurses monument which was really touching. They had a thousand flags set up on the mall and you could walk among them. We also went to the Natural History Smithsonian and I could spend weeks in there. All I could think about was how cool it would be to do unit studies on this and that then visit. One big visit is too overwhelming for me, so I know the kids weren't soaking it all in.

Sunday, Mike, the kids and I all road the metro in and toured the Air & space museum, the National Archives and the Renwick art Smithsonian. Once again you need hours to tour each Smithsonian, which we did not have. The National Archives was amazing. I remembered going as a kid, and it is no less awe inspiring. The domed room that they are housed in is dimly lit and marble is everywhere. Maddy was so funny when she walked in. She said, I am so excited and gasped... She insisted I take pictures with our flash off since there is no flash photography to prove that she was there. When we left she told Mike she was going to be famous at coop because she saw the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and our Constitution. I was so proud that she thought it was fame- worthy to be in the presence of the documents that ensure our liberty. Well after that we had to trek 14 blocks to the Renwick Smithsonian because they were having a Going West exhibit of pioneer quilts. We had 1 hour before they closed so we sprinted most of the way, poor Liv! But it was sooo worth it. The quilt were amazing, I could not even fathom how they hand quilted them. I couldn't even do some of the designs with a machine. Unfortunately there was no photography so I have no pics to share, but lots of great ideas. Liv and Maddy loved it and I think are inspired to create a new flag quilt. I found at the end of the exhibit why there was no photos, they had a nice big pricey book with all the quilts. Well since we made a pact this trip on no souvenirs, or eating out (ouch) I had to pass...

anyway that is our trip so far, pics to follow... Mike and Maddy are visiting Gettysburg today, Liv has an ear infection so please pray for the kids health while we are travelling. The cold (40's) and wet weather is not helping.

We leave tomorrow for Monticello ~ Thomas Jefferson's home

We Are Finally Ready To Go

Well we are leaving in the morning instead of today. We just could not get it together. I finished my other cousin's baby quilt. Unfortunately my Christmas quilt has been neglected, so when I return I must finish it =) They are huge Auburn fans, so I made their baby boy and Auburn quilt. I am ready to make a quilt to keep. My poor babies haven't even had a quilt made by their mother. Well I will post from the road..



Mmm... that soft minky fabric is so yummy..

Ethan Got His First Haircut

Wahhhhhh... My baby got his curls cut off, and he doesn't look like a baby anymore..wahhhh....

He sat up like a big boy and let the barber cut and trim.



I have decided that I am not cutting it short again! He is going to be a hippie homeschooler ;)

Wanna Know Why I didn't Post For 2 Weeks

I made a baby quilt for my cousin, Thanks to debi for all the binding help ;) Now have to make one for my other cousin's baby ~sigh~ and finish my Christmas quilt. I am close to having the top finished..

Ethan had a fever virus for 5 days. All I did was hold and rock a baby;) It was kind of nice to sit in the lazy boy and just hold a baby all day ;)

I did school with Maddy EVERY day~~~woo-hoo~~~

I cleaned out all the closets and rooms upstairs, my mom came over for reinforcements. With all the kids rooms upstairs by themselves I often don't see all the mess until it is trailing down the stairs...or smelling down the stairs ( I found a couple of rotten sippys~~oh my~~)

Maddy's room I pulled out 2 garbage bags of craft "crap", ribbons and scraps and buttons and thread and cloth and more crap.......

The foyer is clean
Liv's room


And Ethan's room

The Camper Is Back In The Driveway!

Oh, goody. I am so excited to hit the open road again. We are off for the month of November up the east coast for some more American History adventures. Now if I can just pack without over packing like last time.... Debi come help me....

We will be leaving Wednesday, and I will try to update my blog, maybe. DC, Monticello, Gettysburg, Williamsburg and the mountains are on the itinerary for this trip.

Let Me See you Jelly Roll!!!

Ok, a bad knock off to the tootsie roll song, but hey I like it.. And I LOVE Jelly Rolls, that is quilting Jelly Rolls. The low calorie treat that is pre cut in 2.5 inch by 40 inch strips of glorious fabric. No cutting and cutting, and cussing and cutting to do. Just glorious strips of flowing cotton to piece and log cabin until your heart is content. Yes, I am in LOVE! I am thinking of writing an ode to the jelly roll. ...oh, your perfect edge....wrapped tight with a string....long beautiful pieces, no we won't make a wedding ring... Well maybe I should stick to quilting. Anyway I am going to introduce you all to these amazing rolls....

http://www.fatquartershop.com/Moda_Jelly_Rolls_Moda_Strips_Moda_Strip_Club_Moda_Jelly_Rolls.asp?Store_id=499&T=1

Commrade???

I don't make it a habit of sending out call to action emails, however I feel that this deserves all Americans to educate themselves and speak with their representatives on this matter. This is a perfect opportunity to teach our children about how a representative democracy works and what our "representatives" should be doing such as listening to the American people not the UN.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301279,00.html, http://www.rightsidenews.com/u.s./united-nations-law-of-the-sea-treaty.html,http://www.rightsidenews.com/u.s./tell-your-senator-to-vote-no-on-the-law-of-the-sea-treaty.html, http://www.unlawoftheseatreaty.org/, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57745,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea

Please educate your self on The law of the Sea Treaty. It has left committee in the Senate and will go before the Senate for a vote at some time. It strongly undermines our Sovreignty as a nation, and would allow the UN, who on a good day can hardly be called pro-American, have court jurisdiction at times over decisions with our armed forces. Any "Sea" dispute resolution would go through the UN set up court, and how often is the UN sympathetic to the US? It would call for redistribution of wealth to poor countries in forms of taxes on mining. Can we say socialism/communism? This bill was rejected by Ronald Reagan and shot down by conservatives under Clinton's presidency. Why we are seeing it again when the American people have said no to it before is beyond arrogance of our Government. So please investigate and speak with you representatives as you feel led.


http://martinez.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactForm
Oh, I called Martinez's office and he has not made up his mind on his position yet, so phonecalls and emails may help. They did not know the date for it to go to a vote in the senate yet.

Leisa

Sometimes Good Is Good Enough

This week we have had a major adjustment in our curriculum. I have been so lax with "doing" any type of formal school this year it has been pathetic. I have kept up with Math and that is about it. I was supposed to go on to Core 4 in Sonlight and use Bob Jones this year for Bible, Math, and English along with SWR. Well since I had decided to stretch Core 4 over 2 years I have felt no need to rush in and get started. So I have totally been procrastinating. Well, the BJU homesat was teaching math, Bible and english IF I could get it consistently to record. Since I am a technologically retarded I have missed classes, recorded the wrong feed and on and on... So, I decided to turn off the satellite, and order the grade 4 DVD's as a comprehensive teacher taught, TV watching curriculum. It is text booky, and totally different from what I am used to but so far Maddy is loving it. I sit in the room and assist (ie. sew, fold laundry, hold the baby...) So we are text booking it this year and switching back to Sonlight for next year. As crazy as this year has been, I am hoping this will be a good fit for this year.

I am posting TONIGHT! Don't miss it!!