Goodbye, 2011!

Is it already December 31, 2011?  Wow!

I hope you had a wonderfully, extraordinarily, blessed Christmas!  We did, although it goes by way too fast! :)

 

After Christmas is over, I am ready to get the house back in order and get everything back to "normal."  (Though, I still have to have some Christmas music!)  Homeschool starts back on January 2nd...(Yippee!!!)...and then, in May, my sweet cousin, Katy, and I will be graduating from homeschool high school. (Another big "Wow!") :) 

Speaking of cousins, here are some pictures of us Brown-Church cousins at Christmas...

(Christmas at MaMaw and PaPaw Brown's)

For a craft update, I am working on a red-felt-rosette wreath and have been crocheting several pom-pom scarves.  (No sewing, this go around!)

 

Finished scarf!

 

It's one long, skinny scarf, folded in half several times to give it texture and fullness.

(Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest...it was the best I could do for now.)

Lately, I have been reminded of the song "Great is Thy Faithfulness."  Looking back over 2011, I find that it is so true.

 

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!"

                

May 2012 be a year we do more for our Savior, than ever before!

Many blessings in the upcoming year!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas is finally here...it is HERE!!!  Four...more...days!  I am glad my family starts celebrating before Thanksgiving, because if we didn't, it would go by way too fast!  (It already does, but at least we're enjoying it!)  I LOVE CHRISTMAS! 

The past few weeks have been full of coconut cakes, fudge, Oreo truffles, favorite carols, balsam candles, pictures, wrapping presents, Christmas movies, such as "It's a Wonderful Life," plenty of smiles, and thoughts and ponderings about Jesus' birth...the most important part of Christmas!  Though I dearly love the festivities, let us not get so caught up in the all the "stuff" that we miss the greatest Gift of all.  Without Christ, there is no Christmas!

If I don't blog again before the 25th, "Merry Christmas!!!"  Enjoy the day celebrating Christ's birth! 

"Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing."

Much love and blessings!

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:21 (KJV)

Craft Gift Exchange-Pt.2

After sending my craft gift exchange partner her gift (see here), I anxiously awaited the arrival of my gift in the mail!  On Monday, my package from Mrs. Amber in Texas came! 

Here it is:

...a beautiful wire cross!

It is such a special reminder of what Christ did for us! 

"But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:7-11

Thank you, Mrs. Amber, for the the beautiful cross!  It will be put in a special place!

Have a blessed weekend!



Christmas Newsletter

For those interested, here is my family's Christmas newsletter...

Please follow this link...

http://www.craigchurchministries.org/christmas-newsletter.html

Enjoy!



Craft Gift Exchange

This was my first time participating in a craft "Gift Exchange."  It is really neat...

My assigned crafting partner, is Mrs. Amber (http://www.luckylees.com/) from Texas.  After emailing back and forth, sharing our interests, I decided to make her an apron.  (She, like me, enjoys cooking!)

Here is the picture of the apron I made especially for her...

The apron was made in lovely polka-dot browns and pinks, with some of my favorite fabric...Farmdale Crossing in Pink.

Here is the pretty frayed flower!

I hope she likes it as much as I do and gets lots of use out of it! 

I am looking forward to receiving my little goody in the mail...all the way from Texas!

Merry Christmas, Mrs. Amber!

Love and blessings,

Back to sewing...

It's been awhile since I have posted on sewing...oh, how I've missed it!  Now that I am out of school, I have more time to sew and craft!  I have wanted to applique (the kind that you let the edges fray) for some time, but haven't had the opportunity to get some "Heat n Bond."  I finally got to Joann's and got some...it is SO fun to work with!!!  Here are two projects I used it on...

Here is a shirt for my sweet cousin, Clara! 

(Sorry for the "bed" background...it was way too windy to take pictures outside.)  :)

And now for my other little cousin, Andrew...a minky lined pouch to keep his glasses in, appliqued with a big "A."

(Those are my pink glasses, not his...just wanted to clarify.)  :)

Some other things on the "crafting" list are:

Glass etching

Christmas gifts

and

More Appliqueing

I have some lovely fabric with which I want to get started sewing!

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  It has come so quickly.  Today we cooked and prepared some Thanksgiving goodies for tomorrow.  I love this time of year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! 

May your day be blessed as we give thanks for His blessings!

Much love,

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

Psalm 100:4 



Oh, Christmas tree...

Yes, we have our Christmas tree!!!  Thursday night, we bundled up in our warm coats and headed up the mountain to beautiful Jefferson, NC (or as the locals say, "God's Country").  Here is a photo journey of our tree "hunt."

The beautiful mountains!

The perfect Christmas tree!

We claimed it with our pink ribbon...

Mr. Miller always has a smile on his face!  He has some beautiful trees!

The glory of our God!

Needless to say, we were a bit chilly...36 degrees with high wind gusts! 

Getting the Christmas tree is a special event for our family.  We take our time looking for the perfect one!  We make memories and look forward to it every year...wonderful family time!

Here is one of our favorite Christmas books...we've read it every Christmas since I was just a little girl.  We haven't gotten the Christmas books out yet...though I look forward to it!

http://www.amazon.com/Year-Perfect-Christmas-Tree-Appalachian/dp/080370299X#_

Hope you have a blessed Lord's day, tomorrow!  In the meantime, enjoy the day He has given you!  I'm enjoying the fragrance and beauty of the tree!  :)

Blessings,

It's that time of year!

Christmas is in the air...and it's only the first of November!  Christmas music was on the radio this weekend, the commercials are in full swing, and it's time to start getting those lists together.  Though some people say "wait until after Thanksgiving," I think the sooner you start the celebration of Jesus' birth, the better!  (Not that we skip over Thanksgiving, we just "give thanks" while listening to Christmas music!)  :) 

It is in this special season, I am reminded how blessed I really am.  I sometimes use that term flippantly, but I am truly, truly blessed!  My family has a roof over our heads, food to eat, clothes to wear, health, and I could go on and on...

"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.  O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."

Psalm 95:1-6

Let us be thankful, everyday, for His blessings!



An Old Fashioned Singing

It's that time of year...the "in-between" season when you must change out your closets to your fall/winter clothes and say "goodbye" to the pretty pastels of spring and bright colors of summer.  I am looking forward to the warm sweaters and scarves!  Did I ever mention that I LOVE fall?  :)

Last Sunday (at church), we had our Homecoming/Old Fashion Day.  We donned our old-timey skirts and dresses and celebrated days gone by.  My cousins, sister, and I had the privilege of singing and playing our instruments during the service.  "The Solid Rock (On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand)," "At the Cross," and "I'll Fly Away" were in our repertoire for the day. 
Here are some pictures:

Me and Leah

4ever His

Kandace, Katy, Leah, and Me

Here are two video clips...

I tried uploading them directly through my blog (not through youtube), but it was taking a while.  Sorry for all the ads.

At the Cross

I'll Fly Away

It has been glorious the past few weeks with the peak of the changing leaves.

Here is a picture of our view of the mountains with a little color boost...

Have a blessed weekend!

Remaining faithful until He returns...

Taylor

P.S.  I just have to show you what you missed out on...

Sliced bananas and strawberry icecream...

Topped with chocolate syrup and chopped pecans...

(here in the south, it's okay to say "PEE-cans")  :)

YUM!

Full Throttle

It has been crazy (last week)!  After coming off a relaxing vacation with family (pictures below), everything went full throttle when we got home.  :)  From homeschool to designing some things for our upcoming 4 year anniversary of Craig Church Ministries to getting my driver's license, it has been a bit hectic!

Yes, I said getting my driver's license!  Not that I wanted to get it (I had no desire, whatsoever), but because I needed to.  :)  I must confess, I was more anxious than I should have been.  (Human nature rising up!)  The Lord always gives us what we need, when we need it!  He has never let me down!  I was blessed to have a good "evaluator" or whatever you want to call the person who rides around with you and "grades" your driving.  :)  It was actually better than I anticipated!  (All that stress for nothing.)  I guess that is why the Lord, so often, tells us not to worry...He has it all under control! 

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." 

Deuteronomy 31:6 

^"I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." 

Psalm 34:4

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into

the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging."

Psalm 46:1-3

There are so many verses like these that offer comfort and tell us not to worry!  It is something I must work on!  :)

Here are some beach pictures from our recent vacation:

A lovely day by the ocean!

A game of beach baseball...running for "home!"

Sweet Clara

The Whole Family

I have some new projects I need to get started on, but in the meantime, I am loving this weather!  The leaves are just starting to change and the air has had a little "nip" in it!  It has been perfect!

Here is a sample of some of the design work I have been doing...

(Sorry it's kind of small, but I had to fit it on the blog.)

Drop by if you can!  :)

Enjoy the beautiful weather that exclaims the majesty of our Creator!

Remaining in Him...

Taylor