Maybe you can relate?

I almost didn't post this, because it's not about arts, or crafts, or home decor, or beautiful children. I don't normally discuss personal issues a lot here, but after sleeping on it, I decided I wanted to share. Maybe you can relate?
I think I'm having some sort of a mid-life crisis.

Let me start sort of from the beginning...

I'm pretty much what you would consider a "new" Christian. I was raised in a Presbyterian church but after losing a friend in a drunk driving accident at age 13 I decided if there was a God then bad things wouldn't happen.

I searched for something else for a long time. Mostly dabbling in some Buddhism practices.

I've made some serious mistakes in my life. I won't go into personal details, but I was pretty good at sinning. Hurt some people, made some bad decisions, wasn't very responsible. I started going back to church about six or seven years. While our family was growing, I started to feel like God needed to be at the center of our lives. But it wasn't until almost two years ago that I accepted Jesus into my heart.

Is anyone else out there a "new" Christian? Sometimes I feel like a phony. A fraud. Or that I've changed so much that I don't know the person I used to be. Some of my oldest and dearest friendships are a little akward sometimes. I have a few guilt issues for my old ways. I struggle daily with spending more time with God. I have a lot of idols: the computer and work for instance.

I remember one weekend our pastor was telling us that being a Christian wasn't easy. That people think that when they find God that their lives will get easier, but that sometimes it may even get harder!

I love my life. I am blessed beyond words. I love that God lives in our house and that our children know him. But I am struggling a little right now. Have any of you been through something similar to this? Did you pray your way through?

Without further ado...

The native americans obviously didn't get a lot of attention in our schools this year. Let me introduce you to the pilgrims!

Lucky Logan didn't get a costume this year. I guess in fourth grade it's not obilgatory in school anymore!:)

They are pretty cute pilgrims though, right?

What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? I'm hosting and cooking this year, with a little bit of a pot-luck theme going on. As you can see our decorations are a mix of homemade and storebought. My favorite is the paper bag turkey.

We started our gratitude tree tree this week. I used leftover ribbon and paper from this project. I had the glass vase and just placed the twig in it and filled it with clear glass marbles. Every night we all write on the paper leaves.

I'm sort of partial to some of the gratitude.;)

Our turkey day menu:

Starting with salami, cream cheese, and green olive rolls, a veggie tray, cranberry pineapple minis, and a cheese and cracker platter

• Orange-Rosemary Roasted Turkey and orange-rosemary gravy
• Garlicky mashed potatoes with thyme
• Squash Casserole
• Green bean casserole
• Sweet potato casserole
• pearl onions
• cole slaw
• rolls (would love to make some homemade but not sure it's gonna happen)

Pies: Pumpkin, Sour Cream Apple, and a chocolate surprise
What about you? Are you cooking this year? Are you nervous or excited? I think I'm both!

Some of my new Favorites...

I'm playing along with this linky party today from 320 Sycamore. It's really fun so if you haven't joined in, it's not too late!

We don't watch a lot of TV, but the new show Modern Family is my new favorite. I think it's hilarious. Check it out, it's on Wednesday nights on ABC.

I think I've been living under a rock, because I just found out about Brandi Carlile. I can't stop listening to her. Beautiful voice and beautiful lyrics.

Ummm...canned mandarin oranges? They are like my new candy. For lunch I love hummus spread on a whole wheat flat with mandarin oranges and sliced cucumbers. For a snack they are delicious in vanilla yogurt. For Thanksgiving I'm using them to make a "dessert pizza". Tell me if you eat them in any other way...

I know this book was published a long time ago , but I just recently picked up a copy at Goodwill for $1.99. Before bed we've been having family reading (similar to devotions time) and I've chosen a story from this book every night. It is huge! If your children go to public school like mine, there is a chance that they will not hear a lot of important stories that we all know. I love that this book has traditional stories like King Midas, and biblical stories too. In my opinion this is a must have family book!

This part of my favorites could also be subtitled "Wish List". It is a compilation of items that I would love to have:

this poster

this figure

this doll

this snail

this fabric for new kitchen curtains

and these items for my camera:

this strap

this lens

and this one too.

Wow, that was fun! What are your favorite things right now?

Etsy Update

**UPDATED: The larger "faith" piece went very quickly and I will be making a couple of custom ones if your interested. I'll be making some Christmas plaques this week too.
I also finally printed off some more coloring books and they are now available. :)

I've been making lots of new stuff but it's been a crazy week so far!

I am so excited to finally have made some pillows out of my artwork...and some Christmas ornaments too. I have more plaques as well, in addition to the ones shown.

I will be working on uploading everything to Etsy by tonite, but if you want to reserve any of these just leave me a comment or drop me an email.

I got a couple of emails about custom orders. I would love to do some more custom orders for y'all, my deadline for accepting them will be December 1.

Thanks again to all my faithful readers and bloggy friends...:) I see that I've gotten some new "followers" and I'm slowly making my rounds to visit you!

I am grateful for the fellowship I receive here, and it's all because of you!:)

xo,

Chrissie

35 things to do before I turn 35 (MSAM)

It's Week 4 of Make Some Art Monday and our assignment was to make a list. These to-do lists are going around all over bloggy-land, and I've been wanting to make one. I won't turn 35 until June, but I'm not quite sure I'll finish this whole list by then. I sure am going to try though! I will be updating on my list so I can share my experiences with you.


1. Run a 5K
This is probably the biggest one. I really need to get my body back into good physical shape, and having this tangible goal will help keep me on track.

2. Be able to do 5 pull-ups
I can't even do one. Can you? If you can you are my hero.

3. Plant a veggie garden
My husband are researching the best way to do this for our type of climate, soil, and road distance.

4. Finish paying off all debt.
I started off last January at almost $30,000. That included student loans, car loans, credit cards, a business loan, and dental bills. As of today we are down to 16,506. By the new year we should be down to 15,000, which is half of where we were last year. However, we did also almost fully fill our emergency fund. So we have made big strides, and I want to continue our frugal savings. Thanks Dave.

5. Mosaic backsplash in kitchen

6. Do a Beth Moore study at my church

7. Make cloth baggies to replace plastic ones

8. Make cloth pads

9. Learn to use my bread machine
I bought a really nice one (I think) for $10 at a garage sale last year and still haven't used it yet.

10. Learn how to REALLY use my camera.
I took a class last year and I'm still not happy with my skills. I would like a new lens but I what I really need to do is practice!

11. 365 photos
Starting in January I'm planning on starting a new blog in which I take one photo a day.

12. Go bowling with the family

13. Play putt-putt golf with the family

14. Update all scrapbooks and photo albums
I am way behind on my kids books, and the pictures are piling up. I've got to get a handle on them!

15. Moo cards

16. Sign at least one licensing contract
I've dreamt of this for a long time, and after chasing this dream too hard, I let it go for awhile. But I still want it to happen!

17. Couples Massage
Just Mike and I

18. Contract fourth book

19. Finish my Master Bedroom quilt

20. Go on a real camp out with the kids.
I may end up regretting this one!:)

21. Weekend trip with Mike
We've been so busy having kids that we haven't gone on a trip alone in five years. So we are going to make it happen this year! (the trip, not another baby...:)

22. Bake an apple pie from scratch

23. Learn to can

24. Reach 500 sales in my Etsy shop

25. Rebuild my website

26. Art retreat
This one was hard for me. I feel like it's a very selfish one, but I would still love it.

27. Take more deep breaths.

28. Pray more.

29. Volunteer with Logan and Ashton
The last couple of years Logan and I did some volunteering together and I think Ashton is ready.

30. Go rollerblading.
I used to go with my bf Courtney all the time. I don't have rollerblades anymore, but we'll see what happens.

31. Get down to $500 a month grocery shopping.
We are currently at $600, and for feeding a family of six that's pretty good. But I know if I was better at menu planning and shopping around sales I could get it down even more.

32. Go strawberry picking.

33. Sew from a pattern.
Not a quilt though. I'd like to try an Amy Butler pattern.

34. Go to the park more.
We have a lot of nice parks pretty close by. I'd like to take advantage of them and take the kids more while the weather is nice and not too hot.

35. Start Ava and Jax college funds.



Okay, I want to see your list. Link up, but please remember the rules:

1. Link to your post, not your whole blog.

2. Please link back to this post so we can get traffic flowing both ways.

3. Leave some comment love for those participating.

Remember you can link up any art you've made, it doesn't have to be in this theme!
I will not be doing MSAM next week because my kids will be out of school and we will be preparing for Thanksgiving. But I will come back next weekend with a new theme.
Okay, time to share!:)

Jamie's 61

This is my mom's entry for the week. She said she couldn't come up with 61, but I think the 12 she has are all very heartfelt and sincere. Great job Mom!:)

Elephants and Water

Remember this summer when I made these cards? I wanted to bring them to life and made this Mama and baby girl out of wood. Is it wrong to be so in love with them? I want your honest feedback...would they do well in my etsy shop? I would love to offer them in custom colors and sets. Tell me what you think, please. I have been working on some other stuff and will be having an etsy shop update this coming Tuesday, November 17th.

On another note, I'm trying to work on my photography skills. It probably would have helped to iron that white fabric in the background. :) Everything is a learning process and I am a forever student.

More importantly, today is the day to buy your first Christmas present ($10!!!) and save lives.

4500 mothers bury their children EVERY DAY due to contaminated water. The lack of access to clean water is the leading cause of death in underdeveloped nations.and it doesn't have to be.

All donations are tax deductible.

100% of the profit goes directly to clean water solutions in west africa.

Please go there today and spread the news. The blogging community is sooooo huge and we can make a huge impact on many lives! It feels good to be able to do something.

Have a great weekend friends! I'll be back Sunday night with Make Some Art Monday. Get your list ready and link up!

xo, Chrissie