Advent

Well, it's been a while so this one will be kind of long...

Day 4 - December 4, 2010

The verse:

This ... will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead ...
                         - Exodus 13:9

The gift:

A holder for a small sticky note pad.  (The 'black' dot is actually a dark red gemstone.)

Day 5 - December 5, 2010

The verse:

... "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen..."
                                                  - Isaiah 8:1

The gift:

A beautiful pen.



Day 6 - December 6, 2010

The verse:

Everyone with me sends you greetings...
                             - Titus 3:15

The gift:

A card with an angel on the front...
(no flash because you couldn't see the angel with the flash on)

...and a note inside:

"May the wonder and peace of Christmas be yours."

We are going to send it out to someone special who Zoe has picked, but I don't want to say because it's a good possibility they are reading this.  =)


Day 7 - December 7, 2010

The verse:

... "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
                            - Isaiah 1:18

The gift:

A snowman candy cane holder that hangs as an ornament on the Christmas tree.



Day 8 - December 8, 2010

The verse:

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky..."
                                           - Genesis 1:14

The gift:

A glittery, gold star ornament.  (It looks great on the tree!  The lights make the star sparkle.)

(There was also a long, skinny piece of paper with the star.  It said, "Shine Your Light - Work with joy, Pray with love, Dream from your heart, Share what you have, Live simply, Love deeply, Thank God always!)


Day 9 - December 9, 2010

The verse:

What shall I give you?
                                           - Genesis 30:3

The gift:

A gift card holder.

The ribbon wraps around the gift card and you pull up on the knot of the bow and the gift card comes out from the holder.  (I messed it up and can't figure out how to fix it.)


Day 10 - December 10, 2010

The verse:

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
                         - Psalm 126:5

The gift:

A red pouch that holds the travel size packs of tissues and a poem.
The poem:
"This Xmas try to end a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust... Write a love letter. Share some treasure.  Give a soft answer.  Encourage youth.  Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.  Keep a promise.  Find the time.  Forgo a grudge, forgive an enemy.  Listen.  Apologize if you were wrong.  Try to understand.  Flout envy.  Examine your demands on others.  Think first of someone else.  Appreciate.  be kind; be gentle.  Laugh a little.  Laugh a little more.  Deserve confidence.  Take up arms against malice.  Decry complacency.  Express your gratitude.  Go to church.  Welcome a stranger.  Gladden the heart of a child or a senior.  Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.  Speak your love.  Yes, please do speak your love - Speak it again. Speak it still once again."
                                                                       - "Christmas Spirit" by John Paul

Advent

Day 3 - December 3, 2010

The verse:

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
                     - Psalm 119:103

The gift:

A handmade candy cane ornament.

Advent - Day 2

Advent - Day 2
December 2, 2010

The verse:

The sound of bells will be heard when he enters ... and when he comes out ...
                      - Exodus 28:35

The gift:

"This handcrafted door knob hanger was made on a round loom using a Japanese braiding technique called Kumihimo (Ku-me-he-mo)."

Advent - Day 1

My Aunt Lois got our family an Advent gift bag.  You open 1 gift a day starting December 1st and ending on Christmas Eve.  Each gift comes with a Bible verse which is a clue to the gift inside.  I thought it would be fun to read each verse and open the gift with the girls.

Advent - Day 1
December 1, 2010

The verse:

May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.                                                     - Psalm 115:15

The gift:

A magnet that says "Blessed are those who give without remembering and receive without forgetting."

Good Music

Here's a few songs that I've really been digging lately.


Plain White T's - Rhythm of Love



Train - Marry Me

(I couldn't find the official video on YouTube but thought this one was good with the lyrics.)


Neon Trees - Animal

Another One Bites The Dust

Grace is not in my genes.  It just doesn't run in the family.  We are all pretty clumsy.  I can't count the times I've tripped over my own feet NOTHING.  I can remember growing up and my sister tripping UP the stairs ALL the time.

Luckily, it seems that Zoe and Gwen have a little more grace than I do.  Maybe it came from the Anderson's?

Well, the other night, we weren't so lucky.  And I have to admit, it was partially my fault.

You see, Gwen likes to get behind the couch.  It was bedtime and I was in the bathroom with Zoe watching her brush her teeth.  I peek into the living room.  The Diaper Genie was knocked over (it's 'blocking' the entrance to behind the couch) and Gwen is nowhere in sight.

The only way for me to get her out of there is to lift up the end of the couch and pull it out.  I pull the couch out and grab Gwen and put her over on the opposite wall.  Just as I'm moving the couch back, Gwen goes running toward the couch.  And just as I'm moving the couch back towards the wall, she lunges, hoping to propel herself on top of the couch.  However, as you've read, I was moving it.  So she missed.  Completely.  She face-planted into the front of the couch.

Holy mother of...!  She's screaming and there's blood.  Not a ton, but quite a bit.  It's all over my hands and arms and shirt.  Her pj's have blood on them and her hand is covered.  It's dripping off her chin.  Zoe went into frantic mode.  She just didn't know what to do.  I asked her to grab me a washcloth from the bathroom.  She scaled the gate in the living room in 2 seconds flat.  (She will make an awesome hurdler someday!!)  She brought it to the gate and I asked her to get it wet with cold water and squeeze as much out as she could.  She came back with the washcloth and I put it on Gwen's mouth.

It instantly calmed her.  Every time I took the washcloth away to check to see if the bleeding stopped, she moved her face forward and tried to press her mouth against it.  It didn't take long for the bleeding to stop.  I noticed 3 teeth marks in the top of her bottom lip.  The only thing I can figure is that her top teeth went in when she hit the couch.

Now what?  We're covered in blood.

I know!

Bath time!!

I ran the water and threw Gwen in.  She likes LOVES bath time so this made her feel even better.  It also gave me a chance to get the blood off my arms.

Zoe kept coming into the bathroom to make sure Gwennie was ok and to ask how she could make her feel better.  I told her that Gwen was fine now, everything was ok.

About a minute before I was going to pull Gwen out of the tub, Zoe comes in and tells me to make Gwennie close her eyes when I bring her in the living room because she has a super, super, super special surprise for her.  (Awww, how sweet!)

We get out to the living room and Zoe has piled up about 6 or 7 of her stuffed animals and does a "Ta-da!" when we see them.  She is just the best big sister ever!

Now, you'd think there would be a fat lip and a major bruise.  But you'd be wrong.  The next day you could just barely see 3 white 'scabs' on the top of her lip and by the day after that, nothing.  NOTHING.

Is my kid related to Wolverine?  I swear she has super healing powers.

Special Olympics Scarves

Last year, my sister Jeni crocheted scarves for the Special Olympics.  This year I decided to do the same.

They have a few 'restrictions,' but mostly just so all the scarves are uniform.

The colors:

Blue

Turqua

They are also need to be no bigger than 6" wide and 54"-60" inches long.


Without further ado, the 2 I have completed so far:

I've been crocheting for a very long time (since I was in elementary school) but I still consider myself a beginner.  It's hard for me to keep my stitches uniform and to keep my tension uniform.  I'm pretty excited and proud of myself for finishing these and I do have 1 more in the works right now and plans for at least 2 more.

The Beginning...

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while.  I've actually had it set up for quite a few months but decided today that I really wanted to get started on it.  So, without further delay, let me introduce myself.

My name is Keeley.  I'm 29-years-old and married to most wonderful man on Earth; Harvey.  I have 2 beautiful girls; Zoe and Gwendolynn.  Zoe turned 4 in September and Gwen will be 2 in January.

I decided to start the blog just because there's random stuff that I do/happens to me/etc. that I thought would be fun to share.  Honestly, I'll be really surprised if I get any followers.