KITTY COLLAR AND REFLECTING...

Pulled this one out of my file "POSSIBLE BLOG TOPICS" when life gets boring. Yep, I said boring. Snow days with a 20 yr.old (who is at college), 18 yr. old, and 14 yr old translate into FRIEND TIME. Not much family time happening here... :( All those people posting about their fun times in the snow on facebook make me want to gag...AHEM! Okay, I didn't say that, did I? I love my life...I am grateful....I enjoy seeing your snow pics! The lesson here is to enjoy your children while you can, they'll grow up too!

BE CONTENT WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES...PHILIPPIANS 4:11

Funny, I always thought that verse was for those that were experiencing troubles, like financial or health. But here it is, encouraging me to be grateful for what I have right now, even if my kids are growing up and most of those family fun times are few and far between...GOD'S WORD IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TARGET FOR LIFE!

Anyway, back to that lovely picture...my college girl was doing a lot of knitting on Christmas break, and she wanted to make a hat, which takes circular needles. Anyway, it didn't quite work out like she wanted, so she decided it would be a KITTY COLLAR, which the cat wore for a total of about 30 seconds...

WHEN TEENAGERS BAKE...

BLUE MOON CAFE AND ONE MORE CONCERT...

Today was the last of the performances for a while! WHEW! January has been one busy month! One or both of the boys have had performances Jan. 9, 16, and 23!

We found this funky little place in Tulsa on Peoria called BLUE MOON CAFE. It was delicious! I had a breakfast wrap with avocado that was wonderful! Try it out next time you're in Tulsa town. We had brunch there before getting our senior back to perform in the OMEA (All State) Mixed Choir. They did an awesome job as usual, but no video today...didn't feel like getting kicked out of the concert for illegally videoing!

LOSING THAT SAMSON LOOK...

Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT long. It's amazing how a fresh haircut can bring a smile to a mother's face!!!

2 FOR 1...

You don't know how rare this is...with the boys 4 years apart, there hasn't been many times they've performed at the same event. I think it happened once before, at the 6th grade music festival, maybe. The EMHS Men's Choir is always invited to come show the 6th graders what they'll sound like in high school. But really, other than that, it's never happened before.

My baby made Jr. High All-State Mixed Choir, and my senior made All-State Jazz Choir. Both groups had practices Thurs/Fri/Sat and a lot of fun partying in downtown OKC hotels. They performed this afternoon in this beautiful church. The Jr. High Mixed Choir sang ZADOK THE PRIEST which is incredible. Their director was a guest from the University of Washington, and just seemed like a great guy to get the teens motivated to sing beautifully. They ended their program with a fun African song.

The Jazz Choir is probably the most elite of all the All-State Choirs (only 24 students in the group) and I'm so happy my senior tried out. He'd never gone for Jazz before. They also had a very accomplished Jazz musician as director who really got them "be-bop-zwey-oo-ing!"

The icing on the top was that our college girl came home for the concert. She knew it was a momentous occasion, being a former All-State singer her senior year.

I thank God for their voices and pray that they will always praise him!

I THINK HE LIKES HIS GIFT FROM HIS SISTER...

even though he may not show it! He just wasn't a fan of having his picture taken at the time. I vividly remember a post I did last year after Christmas about what NOT to get a teenage boy for Christmas (2 sweaters, if you don't remember). Here's a pic of the boys with their custom-made T-shirts by their sister! She made them for their Christmas gifts. She loves to design new shirts out of old ones, and boy do we have boxes and boxes of old ones! Cute, huh?

TAKING THE BAD WITH THE GOOD...

Had one of the those kinda days yesterday... started off at 9:09 a.m. at Juvenile Court with son #1. We are FINALLY FINISHED with the biscuit saga! Thank you, God! The judge saw all four boys plus parents at once, with the defendant. He awarded her a partial amount she requested for a new grill on her car. Thought it was interesting that she did not have to provide pictures or anything. It was based solely on her testimony. No matter that she first said it was her radiator that was damaged. She had one estimate for replacing her cracked grill. But she is the victim of teenage boy biscuit-throwing, so no complaints from me. Nice for the boys to start the new year with a CLEAN SLATE!

Then I got to go up to the school to watch son #2 perform with a friend. I have always had a thing for guys who weren't shy about singing...so now you know why I was attracted to my husband - LOL! Anyway, here's a preview from the assembly. They do a school assembly just as a teaser to get the kids to come to the whole thing at night. ENJOY "LUCKY!"

I HOPE YOUR YEAR IS FILLED WITH MORE GOOD THAN BAD!

I'M NOT THE QUEEN ANYMORE...

The queen of unfinished projects, that is!!! I finished, on January 1, 2010, a jeans blanket that I started approximately 10 years ago. It's been a source of ridicule too long...I know it's been approximately 10 years, because I remember the house I lived in when I tore the page out of a magazine and decided I would make it. And it's not this house, that we've lived in the past 10 years!

Look closely...the seam of the jeans runs across the square diagonally...meaning I could only get about 4 squares from each pair of jeans. That's one reason the STINKIN THANG took so long! I refused to buy jeans for this project. Well, maybe I bought a few pair from garage sales.

I worked on it occasionally, and vividly remember taking jeans, scissors, and template up to the hospital in 2006, when my husband spent many days in the hospital after an accident.

I sewed the pieces together just last year, but had a hard time deciding how to back it, because it is HEAVY! So I let it sit for another year....I finally sewed it all together yesterday.

The cool thing is, when I look at it, and my family looks at it, we see memories. I see the squares with the white piping on the seam and remember the overalls of my 10 year old daughter. I see the faded, almost purple squares that I know belonged to my little boy. The very worn seams of my husband's jeans. My funky 80's pairs with the subtle stripes and windowpane patterns! And the seam with the pockets of my baby's painter's jeans. (I think that's what we called those jeans with all the pockets along the legs)

So I write to give all of you hope. Go get 'em done!

Now I can relax the rest of 2010...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!