Christian Crafter

What a treat and bye for a few weeks....

2009-06-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, so if you are a country music fan, YEP that is her..... If you are not, this is Jo Dee Messina and I. I was so very blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet her but that wasn't even the real blessing.... more to follow. A few dear friends were able to have a guest when they were invited to meet her and invited me to join them. I jumped like a school girl! I have loved her music for years and hey, she is representing the red heads out there! :) Anyways, she was so nice and down to earth. Jo Dee had come here to perform a free concert for Fort Drum and most of the people that were backstage to meet her were families of soldiers that had been injured while serving. I had the opportunity to talk with a few of them and what a blessing! These families truly have sacrificed and are true heroes! Even living here on Fort Drum I am sheltered from some of what I realized to be true that day and I will surely not forget it!

My family is headed out on a vacation for the next few weeks so I will be missing from my blog and will surely miss visiting all of yours but have a blessed next few weeks and I will blog with all of you soon! = )

Baby Blanket Auction......

2009-06-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope that you all had a great weekend! My family enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend with some sunshine and showers to keep it cool and comfortable. ;)

In my fun however, I had forgotten to give the baby blanket featured on my previous post to my friend who was running the auction at our church to raise money for some youth in our church that are going on summer missions. So, after apologizing profusely I decided that I would go ahead and sell it anyways and give the proceeds to them. Here is a picture again. Please, please, post a link on your blogs in order to help raise money for the teens in our church that are headed out to World Changers this summer.

For those of you who don't know about World Changers, it is an amazing ministry! Hundreds of youth from around the country gather in different cities and learn how to work on houses doing things such as painting, putting on siding, repair work, and even building garages and additions. They work on peoples homes who are unable to do so whether financially or physically and use this as an opportunity to witness to them as well. What a wonderful opportunity for teens to truly learn about service and humility while serving as a witness to God. These teens pay to go help out other families for a week. You definitely don't see this on the news! If you are able, please show your support to the youth of our church and bid on this baby blanket. I will give all of the proceeds to their World Changers Fund. We will just keep a running bid going on the posting. If you are interested, just post a comment and put your bid in the comment section of this posting. I will get the mailing information from the highest bidder. If you are unable to or are not interested in bidding you can still help out by posting a link on your blog. :) Thanks for your support everyone! It is definitely for a good cause!

Here is a link to the World Changers website for you to read more about thier mission and see where they will be this summer. There are also pictures for you to look at to see what these youth do! http://www.world-changers.net/site/c.jjJVJ6MNIwE/b.4117239/k.6C6F/What_is_World_Changers.htm

The auction will close on Friday June 19th at 10am Eastern Time. Again, anyone reading this, please post a link to this auction on your site. :) Let's raise some money for some teens trying to make a difference in the world!

Finished project ....

2009-06-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy at work on this project for the past few weeks. I was inspired to start it by a heart pattern I had seen in one of my baby afghan pattern books. As usual it is practically impossible for me to adhere to the pattern. :) I don't know why but I tend to shift patterns to whatever it is that I have in mind for the project. This particular piece is for a craft auction in order to help the youth in our church raise money for a trip with World Changers next month. While I was working on it I decided that I would start naming my pieces. As you can see in the small tag in the bottom picture I have named this one "Snuggly Sorbet". I hope that this afghan will be a cuddly addition to some sweet baby's crib or car seat. What projects are you working on right now?

Family visits....

2009-06-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope this finds you all prepared for a great weekend! A few weeks ago we took a trip out to Pennsylvania to visit my Grandparents and I thought I would share a few of the pictures I took with all of you. I just love the country view. I always appreciate the peacefulness of the countryside when I am visiting them. The sky was a beautiful shade a blue, the trees were brilliant shades of green and the lawn was plush and freshly mowed by Haali and Mitchell. I have included a few pictures of them below as well. They are growing so quickly! They used Grandpa's riding mower to cut the grass (and there is ALOT of it!). Even my little Mitchell.... when did they grow up? Do you see the other update? Yep, that blonde dog is sweet little Jack. Remember when he was smaller than Jazzy? Not anymore! He is quite large but so well behaved! We love him very much! Last weekend my Grandma Nancy (KnittingPathsofLife) and Grampa George came out and silly me didn't take any pictures! UGH!!! I don't know what I was thinking. Oh wait, I do have one....... LOL! Yep there were three people and three laptops! :) Oh my, the age of technology! :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Thank you and a new stage of life....

2009-06-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

As all of us know, our lives are filled with changes and our family is approaching one of those times in our life as well. I will finish my bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management in September and will be looking for a job in the near future. Because of this I have stepped down from my Craft Coordinator position in MOPS. I have truly been blessed with the many amazing women that I have had the opportunity to get to know better in the past two years. I have posted many of my MOPS crafts here on my blog and will continue to post crafts that I design but just wanted to take a few minutes to thank all of our New Hope MOPS Moms for allowing me to teach the crafts for the past few years. It has been wonderful! On a separate note completely I am looking forward to tomorrow as several ladies from church are meeting and driving down to a Hobby Lobby that has recently opened about an hour from us and then having lunch out. That will be loads of fun and I can't wait! :) Have a great week everyone!!

Home at last!

2009-05-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this post brings wonderful news! My husband came home from a year in Iraq very early Tuesday morning! What a blessing it is to have him home! I know that it goes without saying that we missed him terribly and knowing that he is safely on U.S. soil is a comforting thought indeed! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement through the deployment. For my dear friend whose husband left the same day that mine returned, we love you and are praying for your deployment to pass quickly. May God truly bless the soldiers and families who are going through deployments. Especially those with little ones. :)

Yummy recipe!

2009-05-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I know that I have been missing in action lately and hope to be back in bloggerville very soon. I am nearly finished with my Bachelor's in HRM and my dear hubby will be home in the blink of an eye. :) Here is a recipe that we had at our Bible Study a few weeks ago. It was a hit and I thought I would share it with all of you!
Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble topping and glaze

CAKE:
1 stick plus 2 tsp. butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 individual size raspberry yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples

CRUMBLE:
1/2 cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter softened

GLAZE:
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and bake in 13 x 9 inch pan.
Cream together butter and sugar for cake. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time being sure to stir after each addition. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Next add the yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Now, fold in apples and spread mixture into pre greased pan.
To make topping combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter and mix until it is coarse or crumbly. Sprinkle over cake and bake for 40 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes. While cooling, make glaze by combining the sugar, vanilla, and water. Mix until smooth in consistency and drizzle over cake and let set to harden slightly. Great served warm or room temperature! J

Hello and an Invitation!!

2009-01-26T03:49:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I know it has been a little crazy around my house since Christmas passed. How about yours? I am not complaining though! There have been so many blessings this year for our family despite my husbands' deployment. We are less than two weeks away from getting two weeks together and that is a huge blessing! Tomorrow is our first MOPS meeting for the month and I am so excited because I get to talk about football! I will be posting a portion of the message that I will share tomorrow as well a picture of our craft. Now for the invitation I would like to extend to all of you!

There is a bible study going to be starting here in our small community on this book, "The Power Of A Woman's Words" by Sharon Jaynes next Wednesday. Our Bible Study teacher is absolutely amazing and has said she would lead us in this wonderful exploration of what the Christian aspect of our word power is. We are so very excited about this! What is even better is that we have decided to start a blog for this Bible study so that anyone that wants to participate from a distance can do that. We can all come to the blog for comments, questions, and just to share our opinions. One of the ladies that normally participates will be moving and we have a new member in our study that can't physically be there. So, we are going to try this and see how it goes. If you are interested in participating you can order you book through many different sites but I am posting the link to Sharon Jaynes website directly so you can read more about it.

http://www.sharonjaynes.com/images/books/power-of-a-womans-words.jpg

We will be starting the study in two weeks and the link for the blog is here;

http://womensbiblestudycentral.blogspot.com/

There is a book and a study guide. From what I understand this is a bible study that could be done with just the study guide. I hope that you join us! Just go to the blog and post a comment on the first entry. This is going to be a wonderful study! I hope that you all have a great start to your week! Any of you that would like to put a link to the Bible Study Blog to let your friends know, feel free! I know that we can use the blog community as an opportunity to reach out to other women who may be lost and confused or simply have wandered away from the life the life that God would desire them to have! So, spread the word!

A trip to Ohio.....

2008-12-29T12:38:00.001-08:00

We decided to come out to Ohio for a few days and of COURSE had to make a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is no secret that our family is made up of huge football fans!! We had such a good time!!! My uncle Bill is here with Mitchell in this picture.

This is a picture of Haali with her boyfriend Tyler. He came with us for this trip and enjoyed the Hall of Fame very much! He is an amazing football player and of course they are both in their Giants wear as well as Mitchell in his Cowboys gear!!! Such a photogenic group of people makes an obsessed picture taker like myself a very easy job!!! We are so glad that we could make it out!!!

Surprise!!!

2008-12-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband is so very special to me!! Most of you know that he is currently deployed in Iraq. I had a wonderful surprise when I got the mail a few days ago. He had sent me this ornament from Lenox. It has our names on it and it reads, "Always Together" on the bottom! I just love it!!! We stopped getting each other gifts about five years ago and exchange ornaments instead. How thoughtful of him to have it sent all the way from Iraq!! I love him so very much and am thankful for such an amazing husband!

MEET JACK~!!!!

2008-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!! Well we picked Jack up today and he is just adorable!!! But you can judge for yourself! He weighed 6lb. 9 oz. at his appointment yesterday. He is 6 weeks old and just so sweet! His disposition is wonderful! The other animals are all getting along with him very well, so that is a blessing as well! Isn't he so cute! We love him so much already! He is going to be such a great addition to the family!

Pixie growing up.....

2008-12-19T03:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!! I just thought I would go back through my old pictures and post some pics of Pixie. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, we went to Hawaai prior to my husband deploying and while Jazzy was being boarded she got very pregnant!! We were not expecting it but the puppies were born on Father's Day. She had six puppies. Two of them died at birth and sadly one was involved in an accident and has died since. So, there are three left and all of them are with friends. They all look extremely different as well! I am going to work on getting pictures of the others to post.

This is a picture of Pixie the day that her owners picked her up! She is such a cutie and we have loved her from the moment she was born!! Her color has changed slightly as she has gotten a bit bigger.
This is a picture of her at a few weeks old. She is so tiny and adorable! Look at her tiny paws!!!

And this is sweet Pixie sleeping at one week old. Isn't she precious!!! Who would have guessed she had all that hair from this picture??? :)

Pixie is doing great and having a blast hanging out with her Mommy! They had no issues adapting to one another and every once in a while Pixie tries to eat from Jazzy again. Needless to say, Jazzy is NOT interested in that!! :) What a cutie she is!! We are hoping to have a reunion sometime in the near future for all of the puppies with the mommy! :)

A special visit......

2008-12-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am sure that most of you remember when Jazzy had her puppies on Fathers Day...... Well, this adorable puppy on the left is Pixie....the little black puppy that Jazzy had!!! Yep, that is her! My friend went away for the holidays and left her puppy with us. She is much bigger than Jazzy but they are getting along famously!!!

Movie night

2008-12-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

Well, seeing as how it is only a little over a week from Christmas and I am stilllll not done with presents, I decided to watch a few movies and eat some popcorn last night. We watched Polar Express and had some cheesy popcorn! Yum!!! I have so many projects that I would like to finish and have such a late start that I am not sure if I will finish them all. We are doing very well considering that this our first Christmas without my DH. He will be home in a few months for some R&R though so we are really looking forward to that!!! He is so amazing that he does a great job of being here even though he is not physically by our side. What can I say,?? We are very blessed.

Thank you for all your kind comments!! Jack will be coming home with us on Friday and we are very excited!!! He will be taking his first road trip this month as well!! Jazzy is doing very well and we are hoping that our pets will be very accepting of this sweet bundle of joy that we are adding to our family!

Hello again.....

2008-12-12T13:49:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I know I have been missing for quite some time and wanted to stop in and give a quick update. We are all doing well, just trying to keep everything going while my DH is gone. I have good news to share though. We will have a new fuzzy addition to our family next week. I have put a picture of our dear Jack on this post. ..... He is absolutely adorable!!! He is a golden retriever puppy and comes home next Friday!! I hope all is well with each of you!!!

Bring the Outdoors In....

2008-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

The beautiful fall colors are so warm and inviting so I decided to bring some of those lovely natural colors into my home. This was such a simple project and quick as well but so wonerful for a centerpiece! Unfortunately I could not get the pictures to do it justice but I wanted to share the idea with you! This is so easy! All you do is buy a pumpkin that is flat on the bottom and cut the top off. Then hollow it out. Next you wet some floral foam and put it in the bottom of the pumpkin. Now add fresh cut flowers. It is a wonderful centerpiece that will last for a few weeks. This could be done with squash as well. The thick rinds will stay healthy for some time after being cut open! What have you done to bring the outdoors in to your home?

September MOPS Craft

2008-09-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

What better way to plan out your year than a handmade project that is not only inexpensive, but also tailored to your favorite colors or themes?! Our first MOPS craft this year was a fun one that is extremely practical. God desires for us to be good stewards of the time that he gives us. Staying organized helps us to do just that!

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while you know that one of joys is sharing crafting ideas with the MOPS group that meets at our church (New Hope Baptist Church). This month our theme was time management and in keeping with that we made planners using brag books that can be bought at your local Wal-Mart for $1. This was great fun and I hope that you will find it useful. Remember that you don't have to do it just as I have it here. Get creative and share your ideas too!

This is inside the first cover and the sizes of the papers along with the instructions can be found on the template that will be posted at the bottom of this entry. :) This is a great gift idea for family and friends.

The tabs here add so much convenience and also helps to make this so much cuter from the outside. Who doesn't love cute??? :) The other nice thing is that your pages won't get dirty or torn because they are inside the protectors!

These pages are inserted in the center of the book with simple ribbon. This is a great way to give you some note paper in your planner. Any type of paper can be used for this!

The tabs are staggered for convenience!

There is room for two full 4x6 pictures in the back of the book! :)

This is inside the back cover. More room for pics. You can do this with mats or not... Up to you!!!

Finally, the back of the book. I used coordinating paper for my back. This could also be a picture or a mini scrapbook style page. Totally up to you!

Follow this link for the images of the planner. All you will have to do in this format is print them on the index cards and choose "fit to paper" option when printing! :) Have fun!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristenmhale/MOPSCRAFTSEPTEMBER#

Helllooooo!?!!!

2008-10-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Where to start? I am feeling incredibly loved today and the ironic thing about that is that I began the day off questioning just where I stand with so many different people and subjects. Sometimes God reveals things to us in very subtle ways and other times it as though he is standing in front of us looking as perplexed as ever. You know, those moments when he is not sure how we could not understand what he is saying!! Today was one of those days for me.

You see, I was feeling as though I was getting beat down a bit and I knew that I was supposed to rely on God and not allow myself to worry. I also knew that God had all of it in his hands. What I was not able to do was to get my emotions to listen to my brain! As a Christian woman I know that God has a perfect plan for me and yet I still worry that I will be my largest obstacle. I know that I am blessed with a wonderful family and friends, thriving in wonderful ministries, and am provided for, so it is very difficult to look at any aspect of my life and say it is struggling yet I just felt so inadequate. In that inadequacy, I felt alone.

Today I was surrounded by other Christian women and had God standing there, hands on hips, (figuratively speaking of course) saying "HELLO!!! You are not alone!!" I was reminded of the importance of fellowship with other Christian women! I could have easily gone on having a pity party for myself for the week. Instead I found myself in the arms of amazing women of Christ who are all attempting to live thier life in His glory! God teaches us so many lessons in life and I am thankful for the one that he has taught me this week, especially! This scripture has presented itself so many times throught the past several months I felt I should share it with you.

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Please watch this video....

2008-10-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

What a blessing music is! It can speak to us when we are unable to hear simply words! Don't forget to pause my music player before you play this video. :) Have a great day!!

Crochet rug... Still in Progress!!

2008-10-07T04:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share my progress, as slow as it may be, with you on the crocheted fabric rug that I am working on. As I often do I actually pulled the it completely apart and started over because some of my stitches weren't even. So, now I am past the point of no return. The first fabric is gone and I am now working with another green fabric that I love! It is very simple with a cream flower on it and I love that it isn't the exact same shade of green. I am finding that this project is so nice because I can put it down no matter where I am in it and come right back to it without getting turned around or lost in the "pattern". :) I hope to share a picture of the one my friend is making soon. She is working hers in a square with Americana colors! It is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Ladies Fellowship October 2008!

2008-10-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was the second meeting of the Ladies Fellowship at our church and what a blessing it was! We all brought a dish to share, made a small craft, and also listened to a devotion. This is just a wonderful time to get to know ladies in the church that we might otherwise not get to know. This month our devotion was on depression. In most Christian circles this can be seen as somewhat of a thing that we don't speak of but God had laid it heavily on the heart of our devotion presenter this month! It was amazing to see how we, a group of women of all ages and from all over the world, were able to come together and encourage one another. I truly believe that this is what God wants us to be for each other.

When God brought us to Watertown, New York I was not very happy about it and really did not understand why we needed to live in a place that was so very far from the climate and busy pace that we preferred. I realize now that God is working in our family as well as through the many families of New Hope Baptist Church and I am encouraged by the continuous growth that takes place in our church family!

For our craft this month we made bookmarks like the one you see in these pictures. The scripture, Psalm 51:12 reads, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy spirit." Each lady had the opportunity to stamp the bookmark on the front and back as well as laminate it. Then we added a few pieces of ribbon to the top.

I will always look at mine and remember this meeting! I am blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of ladies!

2008-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I thought I would share a picture of the centerpiece for our PWOC Bible Study this morning with you. I have finally started going back to PWOC (for those of you who aren't familiar it stands for Protestant Women of the Chapel) and am thrilled! I had forgotten how much I have missed it! Our group is doing a wonderful study called Beautiful Place, Spiritual Places by Sharon Hanby-Robie & Deb Strubel and we are only just starting but I love it! The authors give tips on how to make your home an inviting and beautifully decorated place while still making your family and others who enter feel at home! It is wonderful!!

A quick shout out to my friends Jen and Michelle who are on their way to Texas right now for a MOPS convention. You both have a wonderful and safe time! I pray that your time there is fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating! I love you both!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

2008-09-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

I want to be sure to wish my daughter a big Happy Birthday today!!! She turned fifteen and her Dad and I couldn't be more proud of her! She is growing into an amazing young lady! Today was also homecoming at her school! So, Happy Birthday Haali!!! We love you!!!

Come Sit on My Porch....

2008-09-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my front porch and I just love the sign that I picked up earlier this summer! Can you believe that I have actually had people come up and sit on my porch?? Yep, I have gotten to know several of my neighbors better because of it. Crazy what I sign can do, don't you think? God has impressed upon me this scripture today. I know it is a very common set of scripture but still very important. Here it is;

28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
29 "This is the most important," Jesus answered:
Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
31 "The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:28-31 (HCS)

I hope that you are all having a great week!

Happy Birthday....

2008-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my husband a very happy birthday today! He is currently serving in Iraq with the US Army and can't be here to share this special day, so we wish him a very happy birthday or should I say a very cool birthday! :) I can honestly say that I am thrilled to be his wife and am blown away by the amazing man, husband, and father that he is every day! I LOVE YOU BABE!!! Happy Birthday!!!