Never a dull moment between crocheting and Mother Nature!

SO on Saturday I was completely TICKLED with myself!  Why, you may wonder?!  Becuase I have done it again!  I have taught myself something new off YouTube!!  First was embroidering, now crocheting, and even ornamental napkin folding! (No, sadly, I'm not kidding about that last one!)  My sista, Lolly, had a fabulous flower week not too long ago and had these beautiful little crocheted flowers that I instantly fell in love with!  SO I set my mind (and fingers, a crochet hook, and some yarn) to figuring out how to accomplish this!  And LOOK!  Yippee!

I was so entirely proud of myself! But....the ego fest lasted less than 24 hours because then THIS.......

happenned!!!  Before you get too worked up, no one was hurt and our only casualty was our grill......which truthfully is a HUGE loss to the Cain family!  Upon returning from soccer yesterday, we dawddled in the van for a moment or two before openning the doors.  When we did open the doors, we heard "POP!POP!POP!"  and I yelled "Annnnnnnnnndddddyyy????!!" We shut the doors VERY quickly and braced ourselves because we didn't know where, or how much. of the tree was falling!  I swear people, I litterally saw my life flash before my eyes.....and then I watched......as a huge piece of tree dropped to the ground RIGHT INFRONT of us!!!!  I jumped out yelling "Thank you Jesus!  Thank you Lord!  Praise you Jesus!" (Picture Fred Sanford holding his chest here!)  But all is well! (Minus the grill!)

Never a dull moment at the Cain house!  Never!

Celebrations Galore!

Weekend before last was Andy's birthday.  I had wanted to have a party for him, but when I sent emails around I didn't seem to get much of a response so I Figured everyone was busy and wrote it off.  But my precious friends...and Andy's precious friends.....they got together and had him a birthday party to beat all birthday parties!  They got his favorite BBQ, his favorite desert (cheesecake, of course), and even- after all of that- gave him gifts!  It was so awesome!  I love celebrating Andy's birthday.  Andy was a miracle baby- his Momma's heart stopped when she was having his older sister and the doctors told her no more babies.  Thank Heavens she didn't listen!  It's hard for me to think there would be no Abby or Ben...or Us....if his Momma hadn't have had the courage to have him!

THEN, my dear friend is having a baby so we girlfriends decided to have a tea for her at my house because...well...I am the QUEEN of having tea!  ;o)  I loved getting the china out and shopping for the perfect table cloth, and even learning how to fold a pretty napkin on youtube!  Whatya think???

And my dear friend, Lori, made this adorable cake!  She is the QUEEN of fondant!

Wanna celebrate something?  Oh all I need is an excuse to whip out the china and a spot o tea!  :o)

Re-Evaluating

I've been away for a bit.  Some of you have probably heard that a tragedy befell some dear and precious friends of mine- their two year old little girl was killed when their 18 year old neighbor backed out of his driveway and ran her over.  It's truly horrible, and my heart breaks every time I think of it and I NEVER want to have to attend a baby funeral again.  I've been at their house most every day, trying to just be there for them. (But now I have a cold and they have a 5 week old, so I'm home for mending)

For a little over a week now, all I can think about is "Do my kids know I love them?"  And I don't mean do I kiss them before bed and hug them when they wake up- I mean do they KNOW that I LOVE them?  Do they know that my day doesn't start right if I don't kiss their cheeks?  Do they know that if they fall asleep without "goodnight loves" I get weepy and feel I've missed out?  Do they know that every time they cry out "Moooooooommmmmaaaa??????" I secretly whisper a prayer of thanks to the Lord?  Do they know that I actually get teary eyes thinking of the day when they won't fit in my lap anymore or want to kiss Momma?  Do they know that I keep them home with me not just because of society and a failing education system, but because I just can't bear to be away from them everyday from 7 to 3?  Do they know that no matter what they do, I will be their biggest fan, greatest supporter, and fiercest advocate?

Love your babies.  LOVE your babies.  Make them know.

10 Things I'm Loving This Week

1. My house during Spring. (See above pic...yes it was taken 8 years ago, but it looks exactly the same today- tulips and all- only minus the dead elm tree..sniff....sniff)

2. Lolly, my sista-from-anotha-motha.....check her out here.

3. Orangette's recipe for Caramel Corn.....gonna have to make some for our bake sale tomorrow if I have time after soccer!

4. The Haiti Nutrition Project- The girls from Abby's school (all 5 of them) have decided that they want to have a yard sale and send the money to Haiti.  They came up with this all on their own...so one of the moms planned it for her yard in the morning!  The money will go to the Haiti Nutrition Project.  Isn't that precious?!  I heart those girls!  We're also having a bake sale so come by if ya wanna pick up a yummy for breakfast!

5.Amy over at Living Locurto!  Check out this "Mad Scientist" party she threw for her son!  I'm wanting to throw one for Andy!

6. This blog...House on Hill Road.  Fabulous!  Check out the twirly skirt tutorial! And I love the study on the ranunculas!

7. My new Sizzix!  I haven't even received it yet, but I eagerly await it's coming!  I've already dreamed of a thousand things to make and do with it!

8. My dear hubby...just because he makes my heart smile.

9.  My hairdresser, Kristen, at the Salon on Crescent.  She rocks my curly-headed socks!  Go see her!  Seriously!  RIGHT NOW!

10.My sup club.  They are the greatest of great friends, and we love to spend time together.  Five families that came together because one person suggested we try to draw our sunday school class a little closer...now we're going into our third year!  We meet once a month and rotate homes and dishes.  It's the best commitment I've ever made....next to marriage..... and parenting.....and accepting Jesus as my Savior.

Easter Egg Bunnies a la Martha!

I saw this Easter Egg craft on a Martha Stewart email and me and Ben fell in love with it!  It's so incredibly easy...too bad taking good pictures weren't as easy!  (I should have "Flip"ed it!  That thing makes the BEST stills! Chase the link, they have FABULOUS, professional -paid-to-take-em-pics!)

Start off with some dyed eggs...

then you'll need either some crepe paper or scrapbooking paper for ears, pom poms for nose and tail, a sharpie for faces, mini cupcake holder, and green crepe paper.

Use glue dots to apply nose and tail, then use sharpie to draw on cute bunny face.

Next cut out some ears and affix them to the egg with glue dots.  Set eggs in cupcake holder lined with a strip of green crepe paper that has been fringed with scissors.

This one's for my Daddy.  Easter was his last holiday on Earth- and that man LOVED to fish!  I think it's a stunning likeness! :o)

This?  This is just a little sumpn I whipped up for Easter lunch......

And this is the Cains!  Wishing you a very blessed Easter and a Spring filled with more rejuvenation and joy than you can stand!  ;o)

A Brief Visit to Atlanta

Spring has certainly sprung in lively Atlanta!  Our homeschool cover had a field-trip planned to the Atlanta Aquarium and the World of Coke, so we seized the opportunity to kidnap Daddy and have some good ol' family QT!

We started off at the aquarium....

then we headed over to the World of Coke!

Then to the zoo....

because I had been promising...

a certain precious little boy....

that he WOULD see a LIVE Panda Bear sometime in his life!

And this one?  This one's for Poppy...

Yes, I do craft!

Oh sweet confirmation!  Though life does occassionally get hectic, I can and do create!  I know I showed you this dress previously, but I wanted you to see (blurry as it may be) it finished with the embroidery. (See that previous post for the link to Samantha at The Handmade Dress to find this and many other adorable, simple patterns)  I just love this dress.  It makes my heart happy....may have to make ten more just like it.

On a different note entirely, I was sittin' on my porch this afternoon.  Just a stitchin and listening to some old Elton John again......I do that quite often.  The kids were playing in the yard while Andy was doing some yard work.  The smell of freshly cut grass wafted up to me, and I'll be if I didn't get a little misty eyed with the anticipation of spring!  That, or it could have been from prickin my finger while embroiderin'!  ;o)  We even had dinner out on the porch- and it was beautiful.  Thank you Jesus, for your refreshing renewal of the earth.....and my spirit.