God's Snowballs in our yard and area

Yesterday morning we got up to an amazing sight- there were snowballs (actually snow rollers) all over our yard and fields near our home. Gary said he watched a few of them actually roll as he was getting ready for work at 4am. He said it was kind of creepy to watch them creep along the ground - slowly! Anyhow these were some pictures that we took of them.

Shooting through a roller

Shooting through a roller

Frozen water balloons

Last week when we experienced the "Polar Vortex" and had the extreme cold, the boys and I experimented with frozen water balloons. We did this last year, but they wanted to do it again and with the extreme cold this worked well. 

We started with regular balloons, food coloring and water.  You do need to be careful that once your water balloon is filled that you carefully hold the throat of the balloon down low and add the coloring. Then grab the throat at the end and massage the coloring down into the balloon. Then tie off the balloon. We then took them out side and sat them on the porch where the cats won't bother them and let them there at least 24 hours. It does take some time for them to freeze. We have found that the balloons sometimes will break when the balloon is completely frozen. But we then take our frozen orbs and line the sidewalk and enjoy some beautiful color with our snow. These almost look like large glass paperweights - they are very cool!

Garrett with his long frozen water balloon

This one had a hole in the middle- like a bowling ball

Children's Radio programming

Family Life Network is locally available on several stations, but the neat part is that it can get your kids mind's working. Let their imagination flow. Teach them to listen better and to focus on what they are hearing. Each evening between 7-8pm there is the Children's hour. This broadcast includes Adventures in Odyssey- a program from Focus on the Family; then they have "The Pond", "The Lamplighter Theater", "Jonathan Parkes" and more.  Several of these programs are also aired on Saturday mornings starting at 8am til usually 10am.  These are great programs when you start asking questions about the shows, like well what does this character look like? This is especially true if the children haven't seen any of the video that these shows are now making.


Above is their coverage area, click on their web address below to zoom in and take a better look. This is a radio station with so much more. They are based out of Bath, New York, but we have been so blessed by them here in Northwest PA. Check out all of their resources here http://www.fln.org/

Completed quilting projects

I have still been quilting this year, I have helped Andrew finish his quilt, I made a wall hanging for my in-law's 50th anniversary and then my mom and I worked on this special project. We were at a quilt show when she saw this piece of fabric with the "Cancer cannot..." sayings. After she picked it up, she then researched what the different colors of ribbons were for each different type of cancer.  She then found fabrics to go with those colors and started making the quilt blocks. She and I worked at laying them out before she sewed them together.  Once she had the quilt top sewn, then it came to my house. While at my house I hand quilted the design and at each intersection of the black borders, there is a cancer ribbon in different colors to correspond with the other colors in the fabric.  I also finished it up with the binding.  But as we were working on this quilt, we have had some very dear people battling cancer near us, some have won the battle while others have moved on to a better place.  But as we worked on this, we had time to think about, remember and pray for those people.  We have donated this quilt to a relay for life team so that they can raffle it off.  But I just wanted to share this quilt.

I also made a smaller wall hanging for my sister-in-law for Christmas and it turned out beautiful(my opinion) and I recently saw it in the room where she is planning on hanging it and I didn't realize that the background color is a perfect match.

 

So there are some of the projects that I've been working on this past year.

New Year's Eve

Unlike many years, when we usually go to Oil City and watch the fireworks at 7pm and then spend the rest of the evening at home playing games or making crafts, we brought the New Year in with our local community at a Square Dance. The Salem Community had a Square Dance that they also had party favors, sparkling juice for a toast and we had fun for the evening together. Gary was able to squeeze in a nap earlier in the day so he was even able to join us at midnight!

Winners of the cake walk

Ready to toast the New Year

Happy New Year Nanny!

Christmas with our Family

This year Christmas was spread out over a whole week!! Caren was home the weekend before Christmas, so we had Christmas with her and the rest of my family on Monday. Then Christmas Eve was a full house with 10 have dinner at my house before heading to church with 12 of our family all in attendance. Following the Christmas Eve service we got to provide a friend with her Christmas Gift from her husband with a small live nativity in her front year. We had Mary, Jospeh and baby Jesus, 3 shepherds, 2 angels and a narrator and a goat (no one has sheep in our family so we have to make due and use goats) This was really cool with it being Christmas Eve- it was a neat way to remember the real reason for the season.

Caren opening her scarf from Robert that looked like a "nest" when she started opening it

Christmas Day we spent at home, the boys were busy assembling their new garden wagon to haul supplies to the barn and shooting each other with rubberband guns. Gary's parents came and spend the day with us too and it was a nice relaxing day.

You mean they know how to read the directions

Friday we went back to my parent's for Christmas with the Walls' side of the family and you just never know what might happen there.

Oh it's a heat lamp- not a hat, but it looks so good!

And Finally on Monday we were able to get together with the Schick side of the family and exchange gifts and spend the day together.

Robert with "his girls"

Garrett taking on Elizabeth

I must say it is kind of nice to be able to spread out the events into several days rather than cram it all into a short period of time.

Santa withe the Schick Boys

Santa- how can you turn down those big brown eyes?

Honest I'm not too old for this!!!

Christmas Events

Yes I am once again behind in updating and posting, and I have no excuse other than I like to sleep once in a while. December came and went with all of it's merriment. Garrett had 2 performances and Robert had 2 performances.  Garrett was in our Church's children's play "Star of Wonder" and then he was also in the school play "A Day at Santa's Workshop"  He did a wonderful job performing in both. He was the "Falling Star" at church- which was the comedian's part of the play.

Garrett as the "Falling Star"

Garrett was "elf 12"

Robert had 2 performances also, first was the Keystone Band concert and then the Choral concert. Both concerts were very good and added to the Christmas season

Robert at his band concert