Wise Warrior

That's what we call him. He's very proud of his name, and will tell you exactly what Trevor Kellen means. It's so hard to believe that it's been 6 years since he came into our lives! I often think of him being so big, becuase I remember how tiny he used to be. Six years seems like such a long time, that sometimes I forget how little he still is. I see how responsible he is and how mature in so many ways. But in other ways I will always see him as my fearless toddler, outgoing preschooler and clowning youngster. I don't suppose it gets much easier as he gets older! I'm his mommy, and I always will be. He bring so much joy into our home! We praise and thank the Lord for blessing us with such a wonderful gift! Happy Birthday, Trevor!

Pumpkin Scones

The first in my parade of autumn baking, these hit the spot on sunday morning. They are just the right texture- not too cakey- and the Ginger-Molasses glaze drizzled on top was the perfect touch. It was our free day, so I made it with the butter. In the future, I plan on trying it with margarine or maybe canola oil. I'll have plenty of chances to experiment because they were a hugely popular with the breakfast crowd!

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 sp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

6 Tbs unsalted butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 435 degrees. Sift dry ingredients into small bowl. Combine pumpkin, milk, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using pastry blender until it is coarse crumbs. Pour all at once into pumpkin mixture, stirring until everything is just combined. The dough will be crumbly- this is as it should be. Turn onto a piece of wax paper, knead it until it sticks together. Don't over-knead. Pat the dough into a 1" thick circle. Cut into 8 pie pieces. Place on baking sheets, and bake for 15 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown. Cool slightly on baking racks, and drizzle with glaze while still warm. Serve warm.

Ginger-Molasses Glaze

1 Tbs milk

1 Tbs molasses

1/4 tps ginger

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Adjust the ratio of milk to sugar to suit your tastes. I prefer it to be rather thin so I can drizzle it.

What are School Days Made of?

Practicing B's (To write his name),





Eating green O's (From the color wheel game),














Dressing like the samurai (a japanese warrior),

























Hanging carp kites (or koinobori). Oh,


That's what our school days are made of.

Snuggle Puppy

We've had lots of new additions recently, and all girls! Girls are great, but so easy to sew for. I've been itching to try some of the patterns from my new embroidery book, Sublime Stitching. I bought it especially for some of the adorable little-boy patterns.

(That means, "Welcome, Andrew!")

Making Music

The newest activity around here these days is piano lessons. He's so excited that he gets to "really play," and diligently practices...everytime I remind him.

Quilt Away

I finished my quilt a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't show it to you because it was a gift. Well, it's been officially gifted, and now I can share some pictures. Maybe you've guessed that it was made with much love and prayers for my niece, Violet.

This quilt sort of took on a mind of it's own. It started out as a way to showcase some embroidery. I love to embroider, but had not quilted in ages. Well...I found this quilt pattern in Denyse Schmidt's book, aptly named, Quilts. She has some great, contemporary quilt patterns that are very reminiscent of the simplicity of amish quilts, but with a modern flair. This pattern is called, Hop, Skip & A Jump. It uses rows of slightly wacky rectangles.

I fell in love with it, and decided to use it. I chose to use many different fabrics to give it a coordinating-but-scrappy look; feminine, but not too babyish, I hope. After I pieced the quilt top, I did the embroiery work. The first verse of Jesus Loves Me is spread across the quilt. I used white thread on white pieces so as not to distract from the overall appearance of the design.

All that was left was to do the quilting and binding. My free-quilting practice didn't go so well, so I opted for something a little simpler: vertical, slightly wacky lines the length of the quilt. Also, because of the simplicity of the piecing, I didn't want to over-do the quilting. In the end, I was really happy with the look that I got. After I took these pictures, I went ahead and washed it to give it an oh-so-slightly-puckery look; just enough to look soft and cozy. I pray that every time Violet looks at her quilt, she will remember how much we love her- and even more, how much she is loved by Christ.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8