Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Blogging in Spurts

Okay so blogging comes in spurts around here. It is called whenever I get more than 2 seconds on the computer. Please be sure to scroll down through all the posts because I have added a ton and did last week as well. This post in particular is pretty random with things that have been going on but don't fit into any subjects.

Ron Babbit and his crew. Kaytie Jo goes to church at Contact Church. It is a place for "urban ministry" to take place. So she has been asking us for years now to go with her and help out. The Church puts on a cookout for the families that live near by in not so great apartment complex. So yesterday we packed up to see what it was all about. For some of these people it will be the only decent meal they get all week. They were very sweet and the kids love all the attention they are given.


I could have taken this sweet little girl home with me. She was precious.

I did take this little girl home with me. She was very intrigued by the boys and girls playing basketball.

We had new windows put in our home a couple of weeks ago. This photo is of a carpenter we had come in and cut a hole for a completely new window!!! If you scroll down to the posting below this you will see my new window installed!
Payton was mesmerized by the whole process of the window cut outs and replacements.
A bicycle made for two? Well they think so.
One last Gerbera Daisy of the season from my garden!

ARTY CRAFTY

So we have been in an artsy mood ever since we returned from St. Louis. It was a city filled with great art experiences. So I thought I would share some of the simple art going on around the house of late.

While Clay was at his art workshop this weekend, Kaytie Jo and the girls and I went garage sale-ing on Saturday morning. We got so many great deals, a new (old) nightstand for the girls' bedroom, a giant star for the front porch, a coat rack, some scrap material for crafty stuff, clothes...but this is my favorite of all!!!! We found this great art easel/drafting table. The lady was asking $75 for it when we walked up and by the time we were leaving she had talked herself down to $25!!! Well I didn't even think twice before we were loading it into the car. The best of all it that it fits great next to my *NEW* window in the den!
Beautiful flowers from the garden in the backyard.
A little embroidery for Christmas gifts.
This is kind of old, but a friend of mine asked me to post it because she is from out of town and wanted to see it. Yes, I painted it. It is just a sheet from Walmart hung on a wire with clips. We simply put a plastic shower curtain behind it on another rod and ta-da! - a fun and funky, one of a kind, shower curtain!
Kaytie Jo got us on this craft recently. She has been cutting up magazines and making sweet little magnets. So while watching movies during "nap" time this weekend I made some too.
Go get crafty - it feels great!
Grace and Peace
~Holly

Mud Balls!

Oh my! I am so stealing this recipe from my dear friend Keirlee! It is heaven. She is trying to get some fiber in her son's diet and ran along this scrumptious thing. She brought me one to OK Food Coop night and I made them for myself today. They are chalked full of delicious and healthy things.

Mud Balls
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup choc chips
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Cook the peanut butter on honey over low heat until melted. Add remaining ingredients. When cool enough to handle roll into oohey gooey mud balls.

Enjoy!

Life is a Journey Have FUN!!!

So Clay got to do something this weekend that I am totally jealous over.  He attended a "Garden Deva" workshop.  Some of you may be totally unaware who the garden Deva is so check out her work at www.gardendeva.com.  We LOVE her work and have several pieces out in the front of our home.  Basically she told you how to work the tools and gave you a piece of sheet metal and let you go to work.  He spent Friday evening, all day Saturday and a good portion of Sunday working on his piece.  I was SUPER impressed.  And how special to have a piece of art in our front bed that has been made by my sweet husband.
So it says "Life is a Journey, Have FUN!!!"  It is kind of hard to read from the angle and background on these photos but I took some quick shots to show some details.
The artist and his girl.
He really did an amazing job.  I didn't expect it be so big.  I love it, but didn't think he would have enough time or trial and error time to make something so awesome.
Close ups so you can see the detail.
these are his flowers that are "planted" around the bottom.  He said this was his favorite thing to make all weekend.
His signature.
grace & peace
~Holly

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A plug for children's music.




Okay - so we spent HOURS in the car with children over the 10 day span or so.  We listened to lots of kids music.  A friend of mine gave me some music for the girls to listen to in the car.  I realized right before we left that I knew this artist!!  His name is T.J. McCloud and I went to high school with him.  If we are being really honest, I dated him for about half a second. :)  He is an incredible and very talented musician and always has been.  So anyways - my little Payton is now addicted to TJ "the cloud" as she likes to call him.  I will tell you that not only does Payton like him, we as parents enjoy singing along and I do NOT feel this way about every children's singer.  TJ also sings songs for big people too - check him out!

Meet me in St. Louis!

So I have been MIA again because we have been on vacation! We went to St. Louis for 7 days! It was really a great time.  We did a ton, and survived our first real vacation with kids.
See below for all the events.  Be warned that I am still very confused on how to load these photos in the correct order. 
ENJOY!!
So we roughed it during the night so that we could take a long and leisurely vacation.  Clay talked us into staying in little KOA cabins.  No potty, no kitchens, just beds and air conditioning.  I was really preparing myself for really roughing it.  But really we had a great time and I would not have wanted it any other way.  Well...maybe softer beds.
Clay, Eden and I at Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, MO.  We had to have this photo taken because 10 years ago we visited here and had a much similar photo taken.
Inside the Cave.
Kaytie Jo squished in the back seat of the Subaru wagon.  We traded back and forth riding between the girls, but I will say that she spent quite a bit more time back there than I did.
Happy to be on VACATION!  This was the first day - if you saw him on day seven he really didn't look like this at all.
Clay and Payton under the Arch.
We could never get far enough away from the arch to get a whole shot.  Here Payton looks like a giant.
There were loft apartments EVERYWHERE in St. Louis!!!  We just had to stop and take some photos outside of one.
This is the Soulard Farmers market.  It is the the oldest Farmer's Market in the U.S..  It was pretty huge.  However, I was a little disappointed because the produce was nowhere near as yummy as it is here in Tulsa.  It was like what you find at the grocery store. :(
This is the City Museum - it was so incredible.  There is really no way in the world for me to describe this place other than amazing.  It is in an old warehouse and all the things in it are recycled and remade into climbing through, on and in obstacles.  Even their gift shop is recycled - it is a thrift store!!  It was a really awesome place and hours of entertainment.  One area that they have is an arts area.  We were in heaven...all recycled objects or donated art supplies and you could spend all the time and effort you wanted making collages, paintings, clay sculptures, magnets...
Inside the city museum in this area you climb through seven stories of roundabouts and then slide down a seven story slide.
Sumo Payton.
The art area - Eden did her first painting here and we thought we would never get her away.
The St. Louis Art Museum.  Very interesting...
Payton playing in the Pizza Parlor at the "Magic House".  It was a children's museum that had a ton of hands on stuff.  She got to work as a librarian, fish, grocery shop, play house, and experiment with several different mediums.
Grocery Shopping - at the Magic House
Eden at the Magic House Crawl through space.
We visited a sculpture park that we all rated as on of our most favorite places to visit. This sculpture was pretty huge.
Kaytie Jo art.
This was the "new" cathedral in St. Louis.  It is home to the world's largest mosaic collection.  The walls, ceilings, paintings are all covered with mosaic tiles.  It took them 70 years to complete it.  It was truly an amazing site to behold.  The photos do not do it justice.
My favorite piece in the St. Louis Art Museum.
A really great art project in the area of town called the "loop".  It is down close to the university so it was full of really cool stores and restaurants.  It was a shame that we found it on our last day.
Eden and Me walking through the trails at the sculpture park.
Payton in one of the sculptures.
Photographer Payton capturing Kaytie Jo's silliness - trying to hold up the sculpture.
On the way home we stopped in Springfield, MO at Lambert's -home of the throwed rolls!  It is an oldie but a goodie.  We have made this a stop for anytime we go through that part of the country.  At this restaurant they are continually coming out with hot homemade rolls and yell"HOT ROLLS".  If you look up at them you better be prepared for a roll being thrown your way.  They are terribly sinful but worth one meal once in a year or two.
So this picture reveals our sinful nature while on the road.  Yes, we had Starbuck's everyday.  I did decide I am officially done with coffee though and now a lover of tea - chi tea.  No Eden is not really drinking my tea, it is empty but she thought she might get some out of the deep bottom.
Oh - St. Louis was SO full of art.  This was a random piece of art we came upon while driving around one day.  It is an old church that is being used as art.  As far as we could tell is that all of these things hanging were lampshade and were to be lit up at night.  VERY COOL!!
One pooped kiddo - yes, she really is asleep.
Another really pooped little girl(s).  This was down on the "loop".

So we came home from our trip and stayed in our bed one night and then got up to go to Dallas the next day.  Kaytie Jo's sister was getting married and I agreed to do the wedding photos.  So this was my sweet Payton's photo of us after the wedding.
Me 
Eden LOVING all the food at Lambert's. She ate and ate and ate...
and ate and ate....