Tradition

Every year for the last 30+ years my mom has made a hand made ornament for her family members. I was about 3 when she started making them. I remember all of them and helped make several of them when I was little. It is always a treat to see what she decides on and how she takes the idea and makes it her own.

This year she made felt horses adorned with sequins. They are quite marvelous.

The tree covered with them is really quite something. She wasn't going to put them up this year because she will be moving before Christmas so there wasn't going to be a tree at grandma's house for the first time ever. I am glad she gave it and let my little girls put them on for her.

Here are some more shots. Enjoy!





Merry Christmas

A Brother Like That

December 2nd - Day 2 of the 24 Days of Christmas

Scripture :
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God , The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Song:
"Once in Royal David's City"

Story:

A Brother Like That
A friend of mine named Paul received a new car from his brother as a pre-Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin 'was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it.
"Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
Paul nodded, "My brother gave it to me for Christmas."
The boy looked astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn't cost you anything? Gosh I wish. . ."
He hesitated, and Paul knew what he was going to wish. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.
"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively added, "Would you like a ride in my new car?"
"Oh, yes, I'd love that!",
After a short ride the urchin turned, and with his eyes aglow said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again.
"Will you stop right where those steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He 'was carrying his little polio-crippled brother. He sat down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up right against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, Buddy, just like l told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas, and it didn't cost him a cent, and someday I'm gonna give you one just like it; then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about.
Paul got out and lifted the little lad into the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when He said, "IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE..."
Author Unknown

The Last Straw

I would like to share a little bit of our Christmas traditions with you. My house is currently upside down as the contractor tries to finish things up on my side and on my mom's side of the house. As a result we have a living room that is torn apart and a kitchen that is also torn apart. These two rooms are vital to most of our Christmas traditions of baking and tree decorating and such I have had to think hard about how to make our Home have the Christmas spirit for my children. I was feeling a little blue about this until my little ones reminded me about a book my sister Eileen made for me. She made it with her Relief Society group and has been one of our all time favorite Christmas gifts ever. It is an advent book filled with stories, songs and scriptures about Christmas. Each day has a scripture that tells you about the birth of Christ, a religious Christmas carol and an inspirational story.
Last night being the first night, we read "The Last Straw". It is one of our favorites. I can't find an exact copy of the story but this one is close enough to what we read. The mother in the story is frustrated with the bickering her children do so much of and how it is killing the Christmas spirit in her home. She remembers a tradition from her childhood where the family would put straws into a cradle to prepare for the arrival of the Christ child. Each straw represented a good deed done by family members for each other. The family drew names each week and then did secret acts of kindness for that family member all week. It really is a charming little story.
We changed it a little and this year we get to put pennies in a piggy bank for each act of kindness we do. On Christmas day we get to open the bank and count out what we did and the use that in the next week to do something as a family to celebrate a month of family kindness. The kids are hoping to save enough pennies to go do JJ's and get an ice cream cone. :o) I love how they enjoy simple pleasures and weren't greedy asking for an X Box or something like that. Sweet!
Here is the list of things we read last night in case you want to read them too as a family.

Dec 1st

Scripture:
Isaiah 7:14
".......Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Song:
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Music here

Story:
"The Last Straw"


I would love to hear about your family Christmas Traditions and how you bring the true meaning of Christmas to your homes.

Auction Items

Tomorrow is the first ending day for several of the Auction items for Sweet Baby Josephine. (BTW I got to hold and love and squeeze her for Thanksgiving with a mask on)

Here are some of my favorites that you can go check out. The bidding has been so much fun to watch and there have been some real surprises.

Silver Ring

Sapphire Blue Vixen Corsets Bodice

You can see more of these at Damsel In This Dress at Ebay.

Puppy Pouch

Kenneth Lane Vintage Owl Necklace

Christmas half Apron

Baby Sling

Hand Batiked Fabric from Africa

Fair Isle Hat Knitted

Wool Baby Jacket

Ceramic Bowl by Joe Bennion

Sassy Aprons Made by ME

There is one large one and two small ones. You can put them together for a Mommy and Me set.

Black Sassy Half Apron

Ugly Fabric Table Runner

1930's reproduction Quilt

Sampler Quilt

These quilts were all made by my mother. Some of them have been hand quilted as well. Several siblings and grand children have been bidding over them. It will be interesting to see who gets them.

Benefit for Josephine Elizabeth

I would like you to meet Miss Josephine.

Josephine Elizabeth is the the beautiful daughter of my little brother Jon and his sweet wife Clara. Her beautiful story is posted on their blog.
Josephine was born with Trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is a genetic disorder associated with the presence of extra material from chromosome 18. Fifty percent of infants with this condition do not survive beyond the first week of life. Only 5 -10% of infants survive to their first birthday. The outcome is fatal - however, each case is unique and there is no timeline for Josephine's survival. Josephine has many of the outward characteristics as well as all four of the heart defects associated with T-18.

My niece Angelic and I have come together to create a blog for Miss Josephine to host a benefit auction to help Jon and Clara with Josephine's medical expenses.

We are asking anyone how has been touched by Josephine's story, or by Trisomy 18 in any way to please bid on items in the auction.

If you would like to donate an item to be included in the auction please feel free to contact me through a post here or an email. The auction will be held through Ebay starting on November 26th.
As items are donated they will be posted at the Josephine Blog and here.
If you would like to make a monetary donation, that would be greatly appreciated as well.
THANK YOU!

One Yard Half Apron Tutorial

OK so I don't know what to call this apron but I do love it.

It meets my criteria for a good apron - fast, fun and easy to make and only takes one yard of fabric.

This apron makes a quick gift for birthdays, Christmas, Swaps, or just because you love your friends. It works up in about an hour or less.



Materials



1 yard cotton fabric (the fabric I used is Morning Call by Hoodie's Collection)



4 yard ric-rack trim in a coordinating color





Cutting instructions



Apron:

Lower section - 13" by width of fabric

Upper section - 8 1/2" by 27"

Waistband - 4" by 19"

Ties - 2 1/2" by width of fabric



Pocket:

2 pieces 6 by 6 1/2"



Sewing instructions:



1. Take the lower apron piece and gather the upper edge of it.



2. Pin the top of the lower section to the bottom of the upper apron section. Stitch in place.

You can top stitch this seam for a more professional look if you like.

Be sure to press the seam toward the top to catch it in the top stitching. (by the way I finish all my seams with the serger or with a zig-zag stitch, nothing ruins a fun apron faster than ravelled seams on the back. It is just plain tacky!)

3. Make a narrow hem on the sides and bottom of the joined apron pieces.



4. Gather the top edge of the upper apron section.



5. Pin the apron skirt to the waistband and adjust the gathers. Be sure to leave 1/4" of waistband sticking out and each side of the apron. Stitch in place.



6. Fold the top edge of the waist band down 1/4" to the wrong side and press.



7. Sew up your apron ties. You can do this by folding them in half lengthwise and sewing down one long side and across the end and turning. OR... you can hem both long sides and one end of each tie by turn under a scant 1/4" and turning under again and top stitching. (sorry I forgot to take a picture)



8. Place the apron ties on the waist band right side down pointing toward the apron center and pin or baste in place.



9. Fold the apron waist band down toward the apron front with right sides together and stitch the short ends together. Turn the the right side out and press in place.



10. Top stitch along the base of the waist band catching the front and the back of the waist band making sure the apron skirt seam is inside the band. This will finish off your edges nicely.



11. Sew around the pocket piece leaving an opening at the bottom to turn.



12. Clip the corners and turn and press the pocket. Place 3 rows of the ric-rack trim on the pocket and stitch in place about 1/2" apart. Be sure to leave about 3/4" tails on the trim. Fold these under when attaching the pocket to the apron to make sure they are secure.



13. Position the pocket on the right or left side of your apron upper layer where it is comfortable for you. Top stitch around the sides and bottom of the pocket being sure to back stitch a few times at the top of the pocket to secure.

14. Sew ric-rack trim on the bottom of the apron in three rows about 1" apart. Be sure to leave tails and fold them under to the back side of the apron to secure in place. I am using just a straight stitch to secure the ric-rack.



You are now done and have a fast, fun, and flirty new apron.



This apron fits most. For a smaller or skinnier apron cut the waist band at 16". For a larger apron cut the waist band at about 22 inches and increase the upper portion to 30". The lower section can stay the same and will just have more or less gathers depending on if you are sizing up or down.

Popcorn Balls Recipe

I figured I had better post this before I lose the recipe again. (I post a lot of my favorites here so I can find them when I want them again.)

Popcorn balls

2 big batches of popcorn (that is about 3/4 to 1 cup of kernels popped in an air popper or a stir crazy popper)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
40 marshmallows (regular size not mini marshmallows)
vanilla (or other flavoring you like)

Pop your pop corn and get the unpopped kernels out.
Melt the butter and sugar together in a large pot.
Bring to a boil.
Add the marshmallows and heat until melted.
Remove from heat and add about a teaspoon of vanilla. Orange flavoring is my favorite. You can also add some food coloring drops if you want. We added red and yellow for classic orange popcorn balls.
Pour over the popped corn and stir quickly to evenly coat.
Butter your hands lightly and start forming the mass into balls.
To store, wrap in plastic wrap.
Enjoy!

Edited to add:
We made this again this week and added a blob of molasses when we were boiling the sugar and butter. It was about 2 to 4 Tbsp. of molasses.

OH MY it was wonderful. Very carmely gooey, chewiness.

Happy Birthday Bubba

My little bubba turned Three this weekend.


He had two requests for his birthday this year.

One -- he wanted a Choo Choo train cake.

Two -- he wanted a birthday card.

I love how innocent and uncomplicated he is!



Bryan got him a Thomas card which he loves. My mom saved the day an picked up a card that plays the chicken dance. He stopped opening his present when he saw the card and spent the next five minutes opening it and listening to the music over and over again. It was so funny to watch his face. Pure delight.




Of course it was all finished up with some loud singing of "Happy Birthday To You". All in all a very happy day!

Pumpkin Day at the Byrd House

We have had a very fun week celebrating Pumpkin day yesterday, aka Halloween. We love Halloween and all the fun dress-up play we get to do. The kid's school usually picks a theme that the kids can dress up to. This year is was your favorite G rated Disney character.

The teachers dressed up like characters from 101 Dalmatians. My brother and sister are there in the photo.


The kids just loved it especially Cruella. She works in the library. She was fabulous!



My children dressed up as ... Walt Disney (Joe's idea including a Sharpe mustache), Brier Rose (sleeping beauty), Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Ridding Hood, and Jeb is simply himself (he dressed up as a Robot on Wednesday and wouldn't wear it again).

We also did the traditional pumpkin carving.


We planned out our pumpkin faces,


drew them on the pumpkins,


had dad carve them out, or ....


carved them ourselves.


Then we took them outside and lit them up with candles.





Instead of going Trick-or-Treating which is pointless when you live in the middle of no where, we stayed home and had some family fun. Joe built us a fire and we roasted Weenies and marshmallows. We tried to make biscuits to wrap around the hot dogs but they turned out nasty. So the dog ate the biscuits instead and we ate the hot dogs.


Joe made roasting sticks for everyone. Thank you go for having such good camping out skills. hee hee


Toshi came over to check it all out and helped Hannah and JEB make sure the fire had plenty twigs, grass and such to keep burning well. No campfire can burn properly if little kids aren't throwing junk on it all the time.


Jeddie simply bunt his biscuit rapped hot dog. It turned out ok though. He peeled off the charred biscuit and ate the warm hot dog inside. :o)




Sorry I couldn't resist the hat. I just love this little hat. He wore it all day yesterday. It was a treat from Vea for being so good at the store while we looked at kitchen cabinets with mom. She made it from a pattern she got off Etsy. It is fabulous for Jeddies poo bald little head and he is so stinkin' cute in it!

Last we came home and made traditional popcorn balls.


We went to our neighbor's house and delivered some of these to celebrate the day. Popcorn balls are my all time favorite Halloween treat, well that or sugar cookies with orange frosting and candy corns.
I hope you have enjoyed fall as much as our family did. Now on to Thanks Giving! My next favorite holiday!