Here's What's New

I guess updating my blog once a month is getting to be the norm. Shane came home on leave on January 13th for eighteen days. It was wonderful to have him home again. We got to do quite a few things together as a family.

We all went to Osceola, WI to watch Natalie in a clogging program. It was the cutest thing I have seen. I will post a video. It takes awhile to download so I wanted to post pictures first.

She is drinking chocolate milk after a
night of performing and pinching the
little girl next to her. lol

Some of her fans!



Of course we had to go play BINGO.
The girls showed the guys what it was like
to WIN (I won twice and Alecia won once)
Shane's friend Mohammed joined us (Shane
played Anoka football with him)

After a lot of online shopping we found a
truck that Shane bought. It's a 2003
Chevy Silverado with about 80,000 miles
on it. It was Divine Intervention that we
found it and I totally believe that God provided.

Here are the two travelers ready to drive 1,400
miles to North Carolina.

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Zack & Becky's New House
They closed on their house on Friday, Jan 27th. We all went over there on Saturday and helped them paint. Kelly and I went back on Sunday to finish up. It was fun, but we were exhausted.

Here is Natalie's princess room. It is actually a
beautiful purple. Once they get her bed and dresser
in there it won't may your eye hurt just looking at
the walls.

Here is a shot of the living room. It was painted
a soft lemon yellow, but it was so dirty it was
amazing the transformation this new color made.

We painted a tan on two of the walls, white
on the wall that connects to the entry way,
and then a darker brown (Hot Chocolate)
on the other walls. It turned out BEAUTIFUL.

Hopefully this is a better picture so you can see
the contrast. They are installing laminate wood
floors, which will make this room look amazing.
Needless to say, Zack and Becky are on cloud nine!

Well, Shane is gone back to NC and everything is back to normal. It always takes me a few days to settle back in. I LOVED having him home (and back in the good old United States). I cherish the time we get to spend with him. All I can say is God is SO good and has blessed me with wonderful boys, a beautiful daughter-in-law and a precious grand daughter. Life is good!

Blessings,
Sheilda

December Happenings

I can't believe it's December AND it's half over! I guess no snow is part of the problem. However, I am enjoying driving on dry roads. I hope the weather holds out so we can spend Christmas Eve with family in Spooner!

My flowering cactus is BEAUTIFUL
and ready for Christmas. This plant was
my elderly neighbor lady, Lena's. She passed
away probably 8 years ago, but her cactus
lives on!

I did two more Craft Shows in December.
It was a lot of work hauling in, setting up,
and hauling out. But I met some really nice
ladies and had fun at both shows and made
a little Christmas money.

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Last Saturday Kelly and I went to Natalie's
clogging Holiday Show. It was SO adorable.
I had never seen clogging and would totally
love doing it (it looks like great exercise too!)

Natalie ringing her bells during the
tiny tot portion of the show.






Video to be added soon!

You have to watch this video. I have been
playing it over and over. She is so
adorable and I am glad I had my video on!

After the Holiday Show we went and looked
at the house Zack and Becky put a bid on.
Their bid was accepted and they are waiting
to hear from their bank.

The house was built in 2007 and sits on about
an acre and a half lot. Pray that everything
works out for them and they can call this
HOME.

Have a very Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

To my son, though we won't be together again this
year for the holidays, you are in our hearts and
only a thought away. Love you very much and
we are SO proud of you!!!

Sheilda

November Craft Show complete

I was in my first craft show of the season in November. My sis came down and helped me. She's got such a decorative touch and had everything looking so inviting to the shoppers.

I have to say that my jellies were the hot item.
There were two other vendors selling jelly, but
mine was the cheapest (and the best tasting if
I do say so myself).

Next year I have to find some old doors so I
can hang stuff on them. But the makeshift display
we had worked.

Another shot of our booth.

I just finished this cute light box for the
Holiday Boutique I'm in this coming Saturday. I am
hoping to have another successful sale. After
that I am done for this season and can
concentrate on decorating my house for the
holiday.

Blessings to all my family. See you in a few weeks when we celebrate the birthday of our King! Love you Shane, we will miss you but someday we'll have a big celebration with you there!!

Sheilda

Crafting Weekend

While my husband was away deer hunting, I spent the weekend crafting. I am in a Craft Show at the Blaine United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 19th. I was having trouble getting started, my heart just wasn't in it. I missed talking with my sister about what we are working on, and sharing pictures of our projects. Her focus right now is to finish school. After I finally got started I had a wonderful time creating things again. My sister is coming down for the Craft Show, so it will be great to have her (and some of her creations) there with me.

Here are the adorable cats I made. I hope
other people think they are adorable too
and buy them!


Here's the group. Some are still waiting for
faces, but I wanted to at least show you what
I accomplished.

Snowman Door Doll

Last but not least, this lighted man and
woman snowman in an old wood cheese box.
Right now I only made one, but I am
going to try and make another being it turned
out so cute!


Along with my primitive crafts I have 49 pints of salsa, 62 half-pints of a variety of jellies, homemade laundry soap, and bird suet. Hopefully it will be a successful Craft Show.

Blessings to all,

Sheilda

November Already

Wow...two posts within two weeks. I guess we have had a lot going on around here lately! Sunday we went over to Zack and Becky's and brought them one of our rocker recliners. They needed one, and I needed to make room for the new addition you will see below!

Natalie knows that Grandpa always has a treat
for her in his pocket. She LOVES treats!!

Becky was able to finally coax her into
putting on her Princess costume so we
could see. She's the cutest Princess I've
ever seen!!!!

Like I said in my last posting...the blue recliner
did not find its way back upstairs. Zack was thrilled
to get it (and they needed one). I found this chair
at HOM Furniture on sale. It goes PERFECT in
the living room with the new floor.

And a bonus...it's a recliner.

Here is our new shed that Kelly has wanted for
years. He'd be happier if a 4-wheeler was parked
inside. But right now that ain't going to happen!

An inside look. Lots and lots of room
for storage.

One last picture. The truck is fixed like brand
new. It's amazing how they can do that. What
I thought as I looked at our broken truck with
dangling parts was, Jesus can take our broken parts
and make us brand new too! All we have to do is give
Him all the pieces!!!

Have an awesome November. Watch for deer!

Sheilda

October...a month of changes

After waiting for almost a month, our living room is finally done. It turned out beautiful! We also had our front landscaping redone. It was turning into a jungle and the weeds were taking over. We just didn't have the time to get it done ourselves so when they leveled the spot for our new shed we had them do the landscape. The shed was finished today, but it was too dark to get pictures so I'll save that for another post.

Another change that was TOTALLY unexpected was this morning my husband hit a deer almost head on while traveling down Highway 65 at 65 mph. Thank goodness he was wearing his seat belt (which will need to be replaced). The truck can be repaired and I am so grateful my husband came out of it without a scratch.

Tire tracks where he hit the ditch.
He hit the deer back where the white
van is in the picture.

The bumper took the major impact of the hit.
The front panel on the passenger side has a small
dent and will need to be replaced. Otherwise
no other panel parts buckled. We will definitely
need a new radiator though!

An up close look! All that's left of the headlight
is the dangling bulbs!!

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NEW LANDSCAPING

Here is a before picture of our front landscaping.
Out of control bushes, weeds, and white rock.

After...new bushes, new edging, and river rock.
Love it!

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Here are before pictures of our living room

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AFTER PICTURES

New wood flooring, baseboard trim, stairs,
and railing.

I am so pleased with how everything turned out (even if the contractor had to order ALL new wood for the railing because he stained it the wrong color). I still need to put everything back in place, but right now I am enjoying the newness of it. I do know that the blue Lazyboy recliner we have just might not find its way back upstairs. I think a new leather upright chair may go in it's spot (after we get the truck fixed of course). All I know is that I am so blessed to be able to make updates to our home!

More posts again soon...I promise!

Blessings,

Sheilda

Summer's End

My vacation was very productive and I enjoyed every minute of being home. I canned beans, zucchini relish, candied cucumbers, hot pepper jelly and of course salsa. The days went by WAY too fast and all of a sudden I found myself back at work.

I had been seeing turkeys in our garden, but one
day I looked out the window and there were four
of them heading to the bird feeder. I quick got
their picture, but they heard me and quickly
took off running to the woods.

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Zack asked me to watch Natalie last weekend.
It was perfect timing because we had our Fall
Family Fun Fest at Church and my work had
an Open House. So there was plenty to keep
her busy with.

This was her first time in an inflatable bouncy
house. At first she wasn't quite sure what to do.

She quickly got the hang of it! Some of the kids
helped her up the stairs to the slide. She
LOVED it and kept saying "do again".

She got a sucker and a tattoo (not as many or as
big as Uncle Shane's though). :o)

She is proudly showing off her Tinkerbell
tattoo (and her blue lips).

The girls helped her make her way through
the BIG obstacle course and down the slide
(about 5 times).

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Our garden is winding down and we had to
pick most of the hot peppers and tomatoes
because of the early frost. I have about 5
bags full of tomatoes! That means more salsa
and spaghetti sauce. This weekend I made
what's in this picture (salsa & pickled hot peppers).
It took me all day Sunday. I love to can but it is
time consuming!

We are getting a new shed (finally). The one we
have has a big hole in the floor, a leaky roof, and
is mice infested. Kelly cleared a spot in the back
yard, between the two gardens. We should have
it in about 3 weeks.

Blessings to all! Shane if you are reading this...Dad and I love you and miss you!!!

Sheilda