Just sneaking in to post a Trick Pic...

I actually posted this picture last year, but that was before I started Trick pics, and I thought this would make a fun one. Those of you with good memories might remember this, and those of you with (really) good eyes should get it, too. Or somebody with so much time on their hands that they search my whole blog... but I doubt that happens ;)...
This is the whole picture, so these are all the clues you are going to get to see ;).

As the sloth...

For Christmas, Daddy and Mommy gave us a set of Moody Science Classic videos.
We watched a couple of them today, "Voice of the Deep" and "Of Books and Sloths."
The science they share is really interesting, and they do a great job explaining why they dispel the "conclusions" that they address. At the end, they also include a lesson with the word of God that ties into their topic. I think they are, on average, close to thirty minutes each.
I especially enjoyed the sloth one... I'll admit, I thought that the little sloth that they used as a model for most of it was cute :). But, they took a quote from a book that stated that the "sloth only needed one more "imperfection" in it's (God created!) form to make it unable to survive". They then carefully went through and showed how the examples used to show this were not true... for one thing, it is obvious that the sloth has teeth ;). And as to having no defenses- being able to look like termite nest in the trees when curled up, and having strong skin, along with thick, wiry hair to protect them, sounds like a defense to me! If you ask me, the sloth is just another special creature that points to the fact that we have a creator!

I pray that I may be used to show others that we do have a creator, just as the sloth does!

Nine months today...

Peter-bug, nine months old...

Precious baby...

Five teeth, cruising all the time and absolutely adorable...

He waves "bye-bye" while saying "Bye-bye" all the time... though rarely on cue ;).

And definitely has his own opinions, and his humor has really blossomed lately (he no longer looks at us like we are from some other un-existant planet when we act... strange... ;).)

One of the many precious gifts from God in my life...

I'll be keeping this post up...

Until I've been through the blog, making all the changes in mind. It will probably be coming down after I'm done, but I have no idea how long this will take, so I'll link to it on my sidebar :)... as "The post of many changes", haha ;). At least most of these changes will just be added (older) pictures or added links to something I mentioned... I think I have a few posts to find and give the actually name of some of the books I have mentioned, now that I got the title of the ones I'm thinking of from my Grandma's book shelf :). Anyway, I'm not sure who will want to bother, but, just for fun for those who do wish to see...
(I'll try to put up a Peter-post today, too :)...)
Blueberry picking post... Pictures added to the post about our blueberry picking post for 2012...
Zoo pics... This post was already long, and I only added one picture... but it was of the adorable baby flamingo...
Blueberry picking... Pictures added to the post of our blueberry picking post of 2011...
Emmi's birthday present... I added a picture of her giving her baby doll a hug to this one :)...
This is an entirely new post, but it was promised before, and I just now finished it.I stuck it where it belonged, anyway.
About Virginia Maps  ~Virginia trip Part five I added the title to Agnes Lee's published journal :).
...I won't be posting links to those posts that I just change the photo format ;)...

Thankful Sunday again ;)

Sorry, we were at our Grandparent's house on Thursday, and loving every minute of it :)!
This week I'm thankful for...
~Daddy's surprise visit home!!! He walked in the door about two hours after we got home Friday night, talk about excitement!
~Our trip to our Grandparents.
~Geo-cashing.
~Abbi's little artistic flare she just discovered. She has always colored/drawn, but Grandma gave her a coloring book a couple days ago, and she has really started to add details :).
~The news that Sarah Maxwell is writing the next Moody book! Don't believe me?
~Simple craft ideas. My Aunt showed my sister how to make some ribbon hair things while we were at my Grandparent's, and they are so cute :). So are these ladybugs.... although I can see a child eating the eyes instead of the chocolate, so I'm not sure about doing that one.... Oh, I should ask Aunt Tessa how she and Aunt Amber made those adorable mouse kisses they made several years ago, they would be fun to make with the little ones... although I could see a child eating the ears instead of the chocolate... Hahaha :)!
~Peter snuggles. Not the teething, though, poor baby :(...
~Peter's new little teeth, so cute :). He has gained three teeth since Wednesday....
~That we finally finished a project that Tori and I have been working on. We'll share it soon!
~And that finishing that project means I now know that I CAN make one that I've wanted to make for six months... I've only been able to for one month, though, so I'm not as bad as it sounds ;).
~On the lines of technology, that I didn't absolutely ruin my blog changing it up a bit, heeheehee ;).
~The little "Snugglesaurus" sleeping in my lap ;).
~That we made it to church today :)...
~Beads.
~Jewelry wire. (Do you remember me saying I don't wear much jewelry, just earrings and a few necklaces? Well, despite that, I have found that I love making the jewelry by beading ;). I've made a necklace, but my favorite was the hair pins Mommy, Tori, Bethi and I made for our Aunt's the other day... although they didn't quite turn out the style we hoped they would ;)...)
~Simple, delicious meals... Lasagna and Chicken Caesar wraps  made it on the menu while Daddy is home :).
~Tatting shuttles and thread.
~Bible reading plans.
~And the dear friend who invited me to join her in one :). We have done this a couple times now, and each time it has been a blessing :). Tori joined us, this time, too :)!
~The ability to read the bible openly!

 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

~Philippians 4:4

More blog stuff...

I have decided to go back to my old format for pictures, with the captions as italics centered underneath. I hate the bulky look when the words are larger in the box, but I dislike how small they are if I don't enlarge them, also, so, I'll just go back to the other. I'll probably go back and change the picture format of all the old pictures with the new format, also...
And, I may add some pictures to old posts now that I know how to do so after the pictures are on cards ;). I'll link to them here and there, if I do :).

And of course...

And just two minutes after I wrote the last post out, Daddy came and took over... and it was uploaded three minutes later. On two of our blogs. So... You'll be seeing it soon!!!
(I had been saving our "project" as a draft... to post a video, it has to be saved as a movie, not a draft, and I had already figured that out through trial and error before. Maybe I'll remember this time.)
Thanks, Daddy ;)...

This project is off to a roaring start...

Heheheh.
Tori has this NEAT project she is working on.
But she has requested that I be the technological brains, since I have already figured out how to use the program we are attempting to use for this project, while she puts together the words, actors, pictures, and whatnot.
We are just doing the introduction to projects that we hoped would come. If I can get this one to work, I'll consider helping again in the future. The project finally saves right, but now it won't upload to anything.
See you later...

Blog stuff: Asking advice, and rambling :)...

Did anybody notice the blog design update?
I've tried to install tags to my blog background before, but it never worked (I've been trying off and on since I last changed my background!). I was excited when it worked!
Now, I have a question. Since the very first pictures I posted with Blogger's upgrade, I've been using their little add a caption button, which gives you a picture with a description in it like this...

Is it just me, or is he cute?!

But, I noticed while I was working on the background earlier just how small the letters really are in that box. (I usually view it in draft form, where it is larger...). Before the upgrade, I would do it like this...

He is just too sweet...

But, I can make the type larger in the box (I actually didn't know that until just now!).

Oh, he has also started climbing the stairs... got up two the other night! Yikes!

What do you think I should do in the future? 

On another ramble of blogging thoughts, I realized a couple Thankful Thursday posts ago that I had slowly changed how I did things.

I was typing out a Thankful Thursday post, and I was thinking, "You know, I'd like to start adding bible verses to the ends of these." A few minutes later, I thought "I should start doing these with a list-type format, so it is easier to read with all my ramblings."

A couple weeks later, I was reading through my old posts to slip some old stuff in my Thankful Thanksgiving post...

And do you know what I found as I was doing so?

I found my first post in this category... 

http://homelifefun.blogspot.com/2012/04/thankful-thursday.html

I had slowly some how stopped doing these things, without realizing, and totally forgot that I even did them! 

So, I will be going back through my Thankful posts, slowly but surely, and fix these things :). Then continue them in the future!

Thankful Sunday...

...and look for a mega post for Thankful Thursday posts for weeks 35-40...  or maybe a bunch of shorter posts, I'm not sure yet...
It's been too long since I posted a Thankful Thursday post! But, I missed a few during Christmas, and then since then I have been trying to "catch up". I've decided to just post this week's, and then work on the several weeks full worth I've got sitting in my drafts :)...
This week I'm thankful for...
~The van that Daddy was able to get to replace the car he has been driving. It served us well, but it officially gave out on him right before he came home for New Year's. So, last Thursday, he went to get a new one. The new van is even the van he has wanted since I was a baby, but could never get... we're not sure why the old van gave out now, but it does have it's blessings :).
~Thrift store finds (although we hope we never take three hours to run in and grab sheets again ;).). We found some really good clothes, including a shirt I love- I love one of my shirts, but between painting, cooking without an apron (...bad habit of mine...) and the fact that I have worn it for the past two years regularly... it looks bad. I found the exact shirt at Goodwill!
~Strawberries.
~Bananas.
~Creativity.
~Candy canes.
~Beautiful colors.
(And what do you get when you add those five things together?...

Some of the cutest, and definitely the healthiest, candy canes you've ever seen :). Idea from Pinterest.)

~Listening to a little one talking about or to the Lord... Abbi prayed the other day "Thank you for this life"... it was soooo sweet!
~Thankful Thursday posts :). They are some of the funnest to write, and I love being able to look back and see the blessings I have been given from week to week! (Exactly 100 posts ago, I also posted a Thankful Thursday post. Isn't that a fun bit of trivia?!)
~The new history books we got for Christmas. They are geared for younger readers, but I'll read any history, and some of the people I had never actually read about, although I knew of them :).
~Video cameras.
~Tori's creativity with clay.
~Free sheet music.
~Having fun watching some hilarious clips the other day. Mommy found some short videos online, that are done in a highly funny way. What would you get if a child told a story and an adult acted it out? Something that looked a lot like one of these... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV9CVJr97Yk&list=PLDFD0284A5DA24371
~Peter's little feet... :)

~Gingerbread cake...
~With chocolate frosting.
~The twelve day of Christmas.

~Paint...
~And that we are just about done using it ;).
~Memories, and all that can help us remember them :). (Mommy is going through all that she has saved over the years, and some of it is quite humorous!)

Updated to add...
And one big thing I am very thankful for... but that gets a whole post of it's own :)... Coming soon!

 "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 

for his steadfast love endures forever!"

~Psalms 118:1

A few random pictures...

No, she's not a goose... Why would you ask? Okay, Okay... I admit it... 

she is, and she's proud of it ;).

This beetle was pretty!

Um, Emmi... It's on backwards!

Emmi got into an odd predicament the other day... here she is right after she discovered that she couldn't get the crayon box off her head as easily as she got it on. I wonder if I can find the picture of Andrew in the same situation with a bible cover?...

Peter is starting to pull up on stuff (and even cruise!)!

And he loves the door stoppers :)...

Andrew was very excited to cut his own hair "just like Daddy" the other day, with close supervision ;).

And will you believe me when I say this picture, of Emmi, eating the remaining six strawberries after a couple of mini  chocolate bars, some cheese, and some crackers, was taken at 3:00 in the morning? And that she then grabbed a clementine out of the fridge? Long story...

Trick pic answers, 7 & 8

#8 first. (takes less explanation ;).)

Gramma was completely right- here you have an eye ;).
Bethi was also completely right; this is a turtle's eye :)!

Now for #7...

Now, this one was fun... I'll give it to you in pieces...
Here you have two painted surfaces with an unknown object...

Here you find it is a ceiling, a wall, and a lamb...

And here you find the reason that you have this odd set up of the lamb in the air...

..and yes, that is dignified Bethani...
Credit goes to Tori for taking this humorous picture ;).

So, yes, Kaitlyn... it included a lot of paint ;).
But, Tori definitely got closer ;). She said "A toy sheep thrown up to the ceiling...
Right...?"...
Wait... does it count when she took the pictures?! :)

Oh! Found this while looking for pictures for a (very long ;) ) post I'm working on...

Daddy took this with my "Trick Pic" posts in mind... Although it should have been #6... I forgot about it :P... Therefore, forgive me for posting it as...
Trick pic #8... What is it?
(And I totally agree... this looks kind of gross... the whole picture doesn't look nearly so gooey... ew...)

Another trick pic!

Trick pic #7... And I've got another waiting to post, too, but first things first... What is this picture about?!

Christmas presents stuff

I mentioned that I was using the Turkish knitting cast-on to "convert" a pattern.
I told you all that you would know if I fail, because I wouldn't share it with you ;).
But it worked!
Meet Bullseye from "Toy Story" 2 & 3.
I overheard Andrew in the kitchen a couple months ago musing out loud "I wonder if Bri could knit a Bullseye?!". Well, I was sure going to try. I thought it was too cute to disappoint him :). So, Mommy found me this pattern.
I then changed it up just a tiny smidge. After knitting ten rows on Bullseye's legs, I knit off a stitch off of each needle at the same time (I had five stitches on each needle. I knit off of both needles at once, and was left with five stitches on one needle). I then open the leg back up by using the Turkish cast-on. There you go! Now the leg has that little crease/flap that Bullseye has :). Go on to knit your other ten rows of the leg, and knit his hoof. Since you haven't taken stitches away from the original count, even though you have added some, his legs will also be longer to give it more of a lanky, Bullseye affect :). That is really all the changes I made to the actual knitting!
For the mane and the tail, I took some paper and drew what I thought looked like his mane and tail shape, then cut it out and used it as a pattern to cut out some felt, which I then sewed on.
Here he is (although he can't stand on his own four feet, haha...)!

I shared the pattern for the little pincushion I made for Mommy earlier. I has a little bit of a story to go with it :).

I cut out skirts for Tori, Bethi, Abbi, and Emmi, but didn't have time to actually sew them up :(. The girls are looking forward to helping me, though, so it worked out well :).

Peter did get the stacking toy I linked to last October... most of it anyway. I only have to make the dragonfly ring, haha. Can you tell I should have started earlier than I did this year?! But, despite all that I didn't get done... we got a whole lot more done than I thought possible (like two batches of Christmas cookies for Daddy instead of one, haha... Yes, I completely ruined the first batch...)! We're just going through a season where we're not sure what is around the next bend, and bends are coming close together. But the Lord is obviously using this time, and I'm looking forward to seeing where he takes us!

Have you ever noticed?!

I loved this, you might want to watch it too, especially if you like playing the piano :)!

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.

~Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Cupcakes, anyone?

The little pincushion I made for Mommy...
I saw this idea on this blog post, and just figured that it linked to a pattern. It didn't, it linked to a book. And I had two weeks until Christmas, while I knew that Mommy had really loved the idea when I showed it to her.
Can you believe that I actually finished it?! (Me either. Haha!) Here's how I did it...

Using size 5 needles and four ply yarn in colors A and B of your choice...
Cast on 4 st in Backwards Loop cast on
Set up for knitting in the round
In color A (wrapper)...
1: K all- 4 st
2: *kfb* x4- 8 st
3: *K1, kfb* x4- 12 st
4: *kfb* x12- 24 st
5: K all- 24 st
6: *K1, kfb* x12- 36 st
7: K all- 36 st
8: *K2, kfb* x12- 48 st
9: K all- 48 st
10: Here I bond off and then promptly picked all 48 of my stitches back up with A, but it would have been better to just purl all for this row, like I did for this project, from the same site... Do what you like :).
11-26: *K1, P1* x24- 48 st (Continue for a total of sixteen rows.)
Bind off.
Then I made an I-cord for the frosting in color B, and wrapped it up on the cupcake, securing with stitch every few inches. I didn't measure mine, I'm sorry. But, since gauge and type of yarn I used are not specified (I'm not sure what the white yarn I used was!), I think you would have to play with it anyway. Just make sure it fits the top of your  cupcake, with some hanging off the side.
I stuffed mine with both polyester stuffing, and chair foam (so the needles stuck better).
Sew the top on, and that's it!