Christmas fun...

I decided I needed to take a few more pictures of the Christmas decorations we have up at our house, so here goes:

As a graduation present Joel added to my nativity collection. The camel, shepherd, and two darker sheep are new to the crew. I love them!

He's my favorite!The other new guys.

Up close of our stockings...

Our tree has not had a topper...at all...so this year I decided maybe a bow would work nicely. Deborah made me one, and I think it looks great!

We also got this beautiful "gift" from Nathan and Deborah this weekend. It's not in its permanent home yet, but I just had to take a picture so I could show it!

Graduation

My graduation was on Friday night. I have officially finished my masters degree...and I can't explain how good it feels just to be finished! Here are a few pictures from the event:

The whole group coming into the coliseum.Mom and Dad, glad they were able to come see me graduate!

Joel, I'm sure he's glad I'm finished as well. He did great dealing with all my tears throughout the program :)


Deborah was so nice to come to my graduation. I was so glad to have her there :)

Brooke, we only got to take one class together, but we helped each other through the last semester and summer. Studying for comps was a major obstacle, but we both overcame it and were able to walk together!

Tasha and I actually work together, and we took one class together in the program. It was nice to be able to walk together.

What we've been doing

Last night I made sugar cookies using this recipe. They were so yummy. (I even had one for breakfast...shhh! :))


I've also been doing some sewing. I made a couple more crayon rolls:

One for a very girly girl.

and
One for a little boy who loves to go hunting.

I also saw this post yesterday and happened to go to Wal-Mart right after I saw it so I picked up a Styrofoam ball. I wish they had had a smaller ball, but it was either this size (which is just a little large) or a tiny one.

It was super easy, and I think it turned out pretty cute. By the way, hopefully in the next couple of weeks you'll see that Christmas fabric reappear in another project!

Our favorite food...

Last night Joel and I made pizza, which is by far on of our favorite foods. The recipe came from www.ourbestbites.com. You should check out that site, it has tons of good recipes. The pizza recipe includes the dough recipe (Joel made the dough last night, and it was good!) and a pizza sauce recipe. There is also a recipe for Alfredo sauce...next time we're going to try an alfredo chicken pizza...yum!

Doesn't that look delicious?


The process makes a pretty big mess...but it's all worth it!

Let me know if you try any recipes from that site so I can try them too! The two I've made so far have been amazing!

Playing Catch Up...

So it's been several days since I last posted...and a lot has been going on during that time! We celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of our families, and enjoyed every minute we got to visit with them. I have been reading all of the different ideas and ways that people celebrated Thanksgiving and how they remembered what they were thankful for...this year my family made a chain (the sort that you take off a chain each day it gets closer to Christmas) and on each chain link we wrote something that we were thankful for. It was really neat and fun to hear the different things people said.

So here's a picture roll of all the things we've been doing this last week...

First off some family pictures:

Wynn is looking so much like Sanders!

Sanders is looking so grown up!

Rebekah posing!
(Isn't her outfit adorable?)


The whole family.

A potential Christmas card photo...
(Check out my mom's new cabinets in the background)

The competing Christmas card picture :)McPhail family Thanksgiving '08

There has been much project work going on over the holiday...

This year we are donating to the Project Linus organization.

From the Project Linus site:

Be a Blanketeer

Our volunteers, known as “blanketeers,” provide new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18. It is Project Linus’ policy to accept blankets of all sizes, depending on local chapter needs. All styles of blankets are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors.

So in order to help with Project Linus we are making and donating a few blankets this year. The picture above is of the one blanket I've made so far and the other one was made by my nine year old niece Madison. This was her first sewing project, and I think she did quite well :)

Madison posing with her almost finished blanket.

This is my first time to quilt on a machine...so let's just say I
need a little practice, but I think it's a good first effort.

I got in the sewing mood on Saturday...

A fabric basket...it's already full!

A Christmas present...

An organization tool...now that I am cutting Joel's hair there are several things that have to be kept up with in order to have everything when it's time for a haircut. So a bag was in order...

PJ Pants made with Amy Butler's pattern from In Stitches. These were a collaborative effort and I think they turned out pretty well. They are super soft flannel!

And finally (if you're even still reading) a few Christmas decorations...

Our tree all decorated

Finally, the presents have a home!

Well, if you even made it through this post I'm impressed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. As you can see we were busy....

Thanksgiving

Well, sorry for the hiatus in blogging around here. Classes have started slowing down (finally), but only for a short time because exams start next week! I have a few more projects to finish up and then exams and I'll be done! Done as in graduating the next week, done. :)

I have several projects in progress right now, but I can't show you the work until after Christmas seeing as how several of them are gifts!

I mostly wanted to post today about this new site I have found...www.ourbestbites.com. I love it. They have really good recipes on there (meaning the recipes are some I'd actually like to eat!). You should go take a look and see what you can cook up this Thanksgiving holiday. This weekend I made Apple Pie. It was SO good. Joel's exact words were, "Now, this is how apple pie is supposed to taste!" I made the crust and lattice top (recipe included on the site). It was the first time I'd ever attempted to make my own crust...so good and really it was easy. You really should try it...it'll make you proud when the finished product turns out so yummy!

(Picture from www.ourbestbites.com, but mine looked pretty close :))

We are excited to get the Thanksgiving season started this week. Joel and I both love holiday's because it guarentees time to spend with our families. We will be having two separate Thanksgiving meals, one for each side of the family. Can't wait for that yummy turkey and dressing! What are your Thanksgiving plans? Any ideas to help your family realize all there is to be thankful for this season?

Holiday project & a little quilting

This weekend was a lot of fun, but it went by too quickly as always! On Thursday and Friday of last week we had a Holiday Bazaar on campus and my sister-in law Deborah had a booth. It was great to get to go over after work and visit with her. I think they had a good time at the bazaar so maybe that means they'll be back next year!

On Saturday Charlotte and I worked on a holiday project...It's a Christmas card holder. (Click on the pictures to see the fabrics better).


I still have a few things to do, like finish the edges and the top to make it stay on the door (we're holding it in the pictures :)).

I never know what to do with my Christmas cards, they are always so beautiful and I want to display them in some way. So here is what we came up with. What do you think of it? Is it something you might use in your own house?

Also...
I've been doing a little quilting...still not very far along, but I thought I'd at least update you.

I got a stencil to go in the blue blocks (it's called simple celtic I think...I like it).

So that's what we've been up to last week and this weekend. Can't believe Thanksgiving is next week...we're excited. We love to visit with all of our family and holidays provide the perfect opportunity.

What have you been up to?

Finally

Well, this week at work has been absolutely crazy. Our department has been stretched to all corners of the state and we have been trying to keep up. Everything went well and relatively smoothly this week though! But, I am definitely glad it's Friday...time for a little break.

This weekend I plan to relax and also do a little more Christmas shopping. As of today I am about halfway finished with the Christmas list (several packages are already wrapped and just waiting for a tree to rest under!) On Saturday I'm going to run some errands (mostly Christmas related) and do a little shopping in town. Then on Saturday afternoon I plan to meet up with a friend to try and make a holiday craft...hopefully I'll be posting it here once it's finished!

I also have a few more projects that I have completed that I need to take pictures of to post, and I have done some more quilting on the quilt. I promise to take a couple of pictures and post those as well.

Hope you have a great weekend! (Remember only 41 days till Christmas!)

Great weekend...

Well, I took off work Friday and my Mom and I headed to Jackson early Friday morning to do some shopping. We met my sister-in-law, Deborah and my sister and niece, Sheri and Madison. We looked at a couple of stores, including Continental Sewing...where I was able to find the sewing machine I have been wanting! So yes, that is right, I now have my very own sewing machine. It is however my Christmas present so I will not be able to play with it for a little while (Really though Christmas is just around the corner).


After purchasing my new machine, we all headed to Mistletoe Marketplace to brave the crowds. There were a LOT of people there as always, but we had a good time looking at the different booths, and my Mom even got a few presents marked off her list! I found a pretty scarf and bought a dip mix from Apple Annie's to make for a Christmas party I'm going to next month! I'm excited because their dips are SO good.

Once we had done all the shopping we could handle for the day my sister, Mom, and I headed to the Women's Conference. There were over 3,000 women in attendance at the Extraordinary Women's Conference this weekend. The speakers were great and the music was amazing. My favorite speaker was Angela Thomas, she is just SO funny and personable. The conference ended with a concert my Mark Schultz. I had no idea I knew so many of his songs. He is a great artist and seemed so very humble during the concert. His words were sincere and heartfelt through his lyrics. Here is one of his new songs that I just love. We got to see the music video while he was singing it on stage...that was really neat!

Mark Schultz - Letters From War

She runs to the mailbox
On that bright summer day
Found a letter from our son
In a war far away

He spoke of the weather
And good friends that he'd made
Said I'd been thinking 'bout dad
And the life that he had
Thats why I'm here today
Then at the end he said
You are what I'm fighting for
It was the first of his letters from war

She started writing
(Chorus)
You're good and you're brave
What a father that you'll be someday
Make it home
Make it safe

She wrote everynight as she prayed

Late in December
A day she'll not forget
Oh her tears stained the paper
With every word that she read

It said "I was up on a hill
I was out there alone
When the shots all rang out
And bombs were exploding
And that's when I saw him
He came back for me
Though he was captured
A man set me free
That man was your son

He asked me to write to you
I told him I would oh I swore

It was the last of the letters from war

And she prayed he was living
Kept on believing and wrote every night just to say

(Chorus)

Still she kept writing each day

Then two years later
Autumn leaves all around
A car pulled in the driveway
And she fell to the ground
And out stepped a captain
Where her boy used to stand

He said, "Mom I'm following orders
From all of your letters
And I've come home again."
He ran in to hold her
And dropped all his bags on the floor
Holding all of her letters from war

Make it home
Make it home
Make it home

This is Mark's new CD...you should check it out sometime if you get the chance.

Find it here

Hoping for a fun weekend

So this weekend is starting off early for me...today is my last day at work this week! Tomorrow my mom and I are heading to Jackson to do some shopping with other family members. We plan to spend the majority of the day at Mistletoe Marketplace! If you haven't ever been you should make plans to attend sometime if you're ever in the area. It's amazing. This will only be the 2nd year I've gotten to go.

After all that shopping, we are headed to a Women's Conference, which I am super excited about. We have been planning to attend this conference since back in the summer, so I am glad it is finally here! The main speaker for the conference is Angela Thomas...I heard her on a DVD after the conference last year, and she is HILARIOUS! I can't wait to see what she (& God) has in store for us this weekend. Should be a lot of fun!

What are you doing this weekend?

P.S. I found out yesterday that I passed my comprehensive exams! I can't tell you how happy I am to finally know that I passed, and that I'll be graduating in December!

Everybody loves a giveaway...

Katie Jean over at See Katie Sew is having a giveaway. Loads of gorgeous fabrics just waiting for a good home. Go check it out! (If you do, let her know that I sent you! :))

A full weekend....

So the weekend started with a package delivery! Did I ever mention how much I LOVE to get packages? They are so exciting. And this one was really exciting...it was my fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew! Remember, last week I won the Free Fabric Friday giveaway, and I got to choose a fabric selection from the shop! Well, here is what I chose! Amy Butler, Martini Yellow, from the Midwest Modern collection. I love it, especially in person!

Here is a picture of all the kids dressed up for Halloween, aren't they cute!?

So the weekend started with a family Halloween party. The kiddos there enjoyed bobbing for apples, painting mini pumpkins, carving a pumpkin, decorating cupcakes, and to top it off - watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

On Saturday I went with my mom to a wedding. It was good to get to visit on the drive over and back, and the actual wedding was fun as well. The wedding took place in a quaint little chapel that had beautiful stained glass windows. The reception was at a very fancy place that had a great view of the city. It was nice to enjoy the great weather and views while catching up with friends. As we were leaving the reception the bride gave us a bouquet of beautiful flowers (They were used to decorate the church and reception). I was worried about how they'd hold up on the drive home, but luckily they all survived! Aren't they beautiful?
And finally, Sunday night we had another (different members) family Halloween party. It was fun to get together and to see everyone dressed up. Here is a picture of the cutest members dressed up in their costumes. (Their grandmother made them the uniforms...Amazing! They are made to match the band uniforms that are being used now at the university).

Hope you had a good weekend!