A trip down memory lane.....

We all have colds here at Cainberly, save Abby.  The hot tea has brewed and I've looked at every blog in all of blogdom.  No, the dishes aren't done, the house is untidy, and there's plenty of sewing to be done.  And suddenly, it hit me.....

I need a vacation.

Well, that is not in our budget at this moment, and my beloved doesn't have any time off from work to amount to anything.  My wanderlust will have to wait.  But ah, there's a box of unscrapbooked photos (imagine that!) on the butler's hallway shelf!

Oh, my London!  1999 seems like a lifetime ago....and there's Andy at the Tower of London.

and there's the Tower Bridge!  We walked across it one evening- magical!

and here's a low quality pic of me inside a Harrod's elevator- taken in said 'lift' because its illegal to take pics in the store!

and here's Andy being equally felonious!  We had to ask permission for him to come into the store because he was 'under-dressed'!!

oh how I loved that trip with him.

Wait, I spy pics from another trip- only we had company that time.....2003

That's me and a little bitty Abby in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Aren't the colors just beautiful?

We rented the Balmoral Fam and it was the best vacation ever.  The owners came and took care of the animals while we enjoyed playing with them and sight-seeing.


Ahhh....ok, I think that helped to stave off the wanderlust........for now. Off to brew more tea.

 

357 Things to Blog About.....

I see that I have waited too long to post- and now I have 357 things floating around in my head that I want to blog about!  But don't worry!  I don't have time to blog about all 357 of them, so how about just a glimpse of what I made for Valentine's Day?  This is the first year that I actually got into the day of Love- and boy did I!

I got these placemats at the Dollar Tree and then used a cookie cutter and Sharpie to add the heart.  The napkin came from DT as well, and I just sewed a felt heart and button to each.

Then I needed something for the middle of the table so I found this candle and holder at DT, placed it on a silver tarnished tray on a doily, and sprinkled some punched hearts around.

Then I Sizzixed up some bees and hung them from the light with a heart that said "Bee Mine".

Then it was time for a craft break.....

Back at it....

Kitchen towel from DT, with added ribbon and piping from my stash- then I embroidered the letters and sewed on a button.  I crocheted the heart and it slides off the button for washing.
 
Ok, what you are about to see is too adorable for words......All I can say is "Thank you, Aimee Ray!" (She's from Little Dear Tracks over there to the right)

For Ben

For Abby (oops- sideways!)

I worked on these snugglies for hours and was so worried the kids wouldn't like them but they ABSOLUTELY loved them!  And here's Andy's...

It's a box of Earl Gray tea that has been given a bit of a makeover!

I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day!  Now to get crackin on the Spring and Easter crafts!!!  :o)  Got any ideas???

For all the Mommas out there...

It was only a matter of time until my little ones grew enough to understand the mighty power of the computer.  They've been tempted along the way with Webkins, and PBS constantly flashing its website, and even by Momma playing a game or two here and there- but we've managed to mostly hold off on letting the puter-monster loose.  Now the time has come when the computer is a useful beast, helping Abby with her spelling and encouraging Ben to consider the joys of a book.

Because I have spent time looking for FREE, clean, acceptable websites that my children would enjoy- I've decided that I would save YOU that time and pass my list on to you.  Before I list the kids websites, I want to share MY favorite homeschooling site, http://www.homeschoolshare.com/. It is actually for anyone who enjoys spending some extra time with their kiddos.  It is absolutely chock FULL of resources such as lapbooks, printable coloring and game sheets, and unit studies.  My fav that I am loving right now is the Cranberry Valentine lapbook printables.  This is one of our favorite in a series written by Wende Devlin (you may have seen the Christmas special on ABC).  There are all sorts of flaps, copywork, resources regarding the book, Valentine's day, and mailing ettiquette. Check it out! 

Ok now, onto the list of free educational kids sites!
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://www.spellingcity.com/
http://www.pbskids.com/
http://www.learningplanet.com/
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/
http://www.edheads.com/
http://www.itoadu.com/
http://www.kidscoop.com/
http://www.wiglingtonandwenks.com/
www.si.edu/kids
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/
http://www.bigbibletown.com/

SpellingCity is AWESOME because you just plug in your child's spelling list for the week and it makes games/word searches/tests out of that list!!!  CoolMath4Kids has a more advanced pre-algebra site for kids 13+ at http://www.coolmath.com/

SO spend a few minutes and check them out!  Let me know what you think, and if you have some that your littles love that I don't have listed- please share in the comments!

Blogging makes you feel better.....

Well, at least it helps you to not feel quite so miserable!  Dear friends, I have barely been out of bed for two days now!  You know it's bad when your daughter, upon seeing you come out of your bedroom in the morning, says, "Oh yea, Momma!  You have real clothes on today!"  It's true, I've been one....

(sick puppy!)

With no energy to do anything else, I have been exploring blogland- and what a grand adventure it has been!  I've added quite a few new favorites to my blog roll over there to the right.  Wanna see some great, lovely, and creative treats???

Head over to http://www.bustleandsew.blogspot.com/ for the most lovely of sewing delights!  She has adorable embroidery and sewing patterns!

Need a lavishly worded boost to your spirit today? http://www.aholyexperience.com/ is very moving and she plays the most beautiful music in the background that soothes me whilst her words do more than speak to me.

http://www.sewhomegrown.blogspot.com/ has it all!  BEAUTIFUL whole/unrefined food recipes, sewing, embroidery- chock absolutely full of goodness!

Lastly, if you need an idea for a cute skirt to sew....for you or your little one, http://www.dana-made-it.com/ is the place for you!  People who make their own patterns simply amaze me! (I'm such a follower!)

A great and godly man I know posted a scripture to his FB status this morning.  He continuously encourages me with his posts, and I haven't even seen his face in three years. It instantly brought tears to my eyes....(sorry, but I'm a little emotional right now too) and I want to share it with you before I close. Here's his post:

Here is the beginning of Jeremiah 20:11- "But the LORD is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior"  Truth sets u free.

-M.C. (not Marla Cain)

A (blog)World Without Pictures?

Oh friends....its a black day in the Cain house! I made the cutest birthday bunting for Abby- bright and colorful just like her!  I took photos of each and every step...careful to cover everything.  I was so excited about sharing it, then I sat down to the computer, went to plug my camera's card in and

                                                                     GASP!!!!!!!

Oh the horror!

It didn't fit!!!!!!  Is that possible in this day and age?  What do I do?  That's it- I'm just going to have to give up blogging! (She says as she throws her hands in the air)

But wait!

Ahhh....the cell phone!  It's not the process, but at least it's the finished product! (albeit a smidge blurry- boo.)

Oh My Goodness! I'm back!

Dear Friends, it is with great joy and complete contentedness that I write to you from a REAL keyboard!  HOORAY!!!!!  Since the ol' hard drive mishap I have been confined to conducting 99% of my online affairs by iPhone!  Does anyone HATE typing on that thing as much as I do???  I have missed blogging.....  My momma gave us her old computer, for which I am so incredibly grateful- so I'm back!  And eager to check out everyone else's blogs that I have missed over the last 4 months!  Also, I wanna know what Christmas crafts y'all worked on!  I was a busy bee this year!

That being said, I have avoided my blog intentionally.  Just after the hard drive incident things went from bad to worse and, honestly, I couldn't truly find one happy thing to blog about.  Andy's daddy was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.  I totalled the van.  Abby got a debilitating rash that took 2 months, 3 doctors, 9 perscriptions, and the Cain family fortune to get rid of.  My dearest uncle passed away.  Even now, I am packing to go say good-bye to Andy's daddy.  Not much happy material there, huh?

But if I may be allowed to preach for a moment.....(well, it is MY blog after all)
   God is soooo good.  We have a new-to-us van.  Abby is well.  And Andy's daddy will be ushered into the halls of Heaven soon, with the Saints in glory- to be in the the presence of the Most High forever and ever, Amen! 

  A dear and precious friend of mine reminded me to look to Joshua 1:9... one of my most favorite scriptures:
  Be strong and courageous!  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged.  For the Lord God is with you wherever you go.

So much comfort and strength to be found in one verse.

I'll see ya again soon!

If I didnt know better.....

I'd say the technology gods have it in for me!  First, my iPhone died at my momma's over the summer- completely killing EVERYTHING on it! Now......woof.....

My hard drive died.

Yep, died.

Initially I didn't panic because my precious, generous, thoughtful momma had sent me a flash drive to back up my pics because SHE treasures them and didn't want anything  to happen to them.  Then I realized......uuuugghh (it hurts to type it).....my FLIP videos!  Disneyworld, Abby's birthday, me and Ben playing in the snow.....*sigh**

So the hard drive is at Best Buy as we speak.  Andy guffawed last night when he looked at our copy of the work order that states very clearly..."Customer mostly cares for Flip video files"

"What did you say to them, Marla???????"

"Well, um, mostly that I just really care about them retrieving my FLIP files."  (she said as she innocently grinned, tilted her head down slightly, and batted her eyes.  WHAT? Momma said it worked on my Daddy!)

Hopefully we'll get it back soon, buy a new operating system, and get back to blogging with photos.  Until then, I'm afraid you only get my thoughts....and not my views. And you only get those when dear hubby is feeling generous with his laptop! ;o)