Sew Cute--Part II

Hooray for snow days!  We ate pancakes, played UNO and Yahtzee, the kids watched PBS kids, we watched three episodes of Castle with Trev's brother and his wife (Trav and Jennifer) while the kids played with their cousins Isaac and Karissa, Melia went to gymnastics, we celebrated my dad's birthday at a local pizza parlor, AND I made my second teeny, tiny project...

brown and white damask-print fabric coasters! :)

I have some of these coasters in a different print that my SIL bought us when we moved in and I LOVE them!  They are super absorbent (not to mention super cute!).

So, what do you think?  Do you like them?

I hope so, because I made some extras. :)  Two sets of four, to be exact. 


And, I'm putting them in my upcoming auction to benefit our adoption, along with 30 + other handmade items that have been donated!

Look for them (and bid on them) January 29th to February 5th!!

P.S. Heard from our social worker today.  We are now number...

Sew Cute--Part I

I'm a sucker for cute!  When my kiddos got these little iPOD shuffles for Christmas, I knew they needed something to carry them in.  What a great excuse to sew something tiny!  So, here they are...

Teeny, tiny drawstring bags!  :)

Melia picked a pretty floral print and I coordinated it with a pink polka-dotted ribbon.

Camden went with Mickey Mouse and I used a thin white rope (a little more "manly" :)).

I think they liked them.:)

I have one more itty bitty project in the works, so tune in next time for Sew Cute--Part II.:)



Curtains and a Camera Strap

I just realized that I never posted about our room since I finished the curtains.  So, here it is...

I used this damask fabric...

I love how the curtains make our room feel warm and complete!  If I would have known, I wouldn't have waited four years to put them up. :)

Also, I spent the afternoon with my SIL, Jennifer, today and we made this for her Camera strap...

I know these camera straps are all over the blogworld, but I am not fortunate enough to have an SLR, so this was the first opportunity I've had to make one.  I really loved the look of this quilted guitar strap, so I combined it with this camera strap tutorial.  It was a little tight, so if I was going to make another (like when I am fortunate enough to buy my own camera:)), I would make each side 3.25" instead of 2.75".  Anyway, I LOVE how it turned out and I hope Jen loves it, too! :)

One Habit, Two Orphans

Happy New Year!

If you are still looking for a New Years Resolution, I have got a great one for you!! Around the end of October 2009, I joined the ranks of the majority of Americans and became a coffee drinker. I know, I know, it's not exactly the BEST habit, but it certainly became one quickly and to this day, I have one cup of coffee each day. So, I started thinking, how could I combine our love of coffee and our passion of bringing our children home from Ethiopia? (Don't worry...I am NOT going to ask you to give up your coffee!)

That's when I found out about this on-line coffee company, Just Love Coffee. They are a business that offers coffees from around the world and sets up shops for fundraising for adoptive families! So, we set one up.

Here is where your resolution comes in. Would you consider changing one habit (buying coffee from your local grocery store or *Starbucks*) to help us bring our two babies home from Ethiopia? Basically, you would be purchasing something that you use anyway and our family would receive a portion of your purchase for our adoption fund! It's a win-win! We receive $5 from every bag of coffee purchased (and a portion of all their other products)! AND, they have this awesome feature where you can determine how many bags you use each month and set it up for them to automatically send you your coffee in the quantity you specify. You don't even have to THINK about it after you set it up!

So, if this is something you would like to add to your list of resolutions (or perhaps, like me, this is your ONLY resolution :)), please visit our store at http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TeamChase. Or, you can access our store by clicking on the Just Love Coffee widget on the sidebar.

Thank you so much for your prayerful and financial support!!

Top Eleven Things I Will Miss About Christmas Break

1.  My hubby as my hubby, not my boss.
2.  My kiddos coming in to wake me up each morning, not the other way around.
3.  Playing, coloring, and eating with C and M.
4.  Staying in my jammies past 6:00 a.m.
5.  Hours and hours of talking with Trev about anything besides school-related issues.
6.  Staying up until mid-night for no particular reason and with no particular regret.
7.  Coffee in a mug vs. a travel cup.
8.  Family movie time.
9.  Making a list and accomplishing every. single. thing. on it in one day instead of a week or two.
10. A perpetually clean house.
11. An up-to-date blog.

Good thing I love my job, or tomorrow (the last day of break) might just be a very depressing day! :)

This is probably the last time I'll see *almost* midnight until Spring Break!

Coming Soon-Adoption Auction!

I am doing an adoption auction January 29th through February 5th. I have had some amazing things donated and am looking for more.

Do you craft or create? Do you have a business that would be willing to donate? I sure could use all the donations I can get!

If you have something you would like to donate to my auction, please E-mail me at jnchase311@yahoo.com to let me know! I would like to have all donations by January 15th.

In addition, watch my blog for details on how you can score some pretty awesome items and help us bring our babies home all at one time! :)

Happy New Year 2011

There is exactly one hour and 17 minutes left in the first day of 2011 and I should be in bed, but I CANNOT let the day go by without just a little blogging! :)  After all, it's only 1-1-11 once, right?!  I'll just ask the Sophomores to forgive my drooping eyes as I present the gospel in their Sunday School class tomorrow! :)

Anyway, when I think about the potential for 2011, it is quite overwhelming!  I'm not much of a NY resolution kinda girl...I never have been and the years that I've thought maybe I was, I broke my resolution within a couple of weeks!  What I have found is that life is WAY TOO unpredictable to think I know what I will do better, lose more of, etc. etc. for an entire year!  That's a lot of days, people! 

The fact is, when I think of all the things that could happen in 2011, there are SO MANY UNKNOWNS!  Will I have the same job?  Drive the same car?  Have the same size family?  Have the same friends?  Live in the same place?  The questions could go on and on, but the fact is, I have no idea!!  Some of these things I sure hope are the same (for example, I better still be driving my new-to-me van in one year!) and some of them I hope are different (I hope we increase our family by 33.3% by the end of next year). 

But the fact is, all of these questions (and more!) are things I cannot know the answer to and that's part of the fun.  Because, let's face it, when I realize that I have NO CONTROL over my life situations, I have to realize that GOD IS IN TOTAL CONTROL!  He knows exactly what my life will look like in one year from now and He allows me to take this journey with Him.  How amazing is that?!

I read a blog post that kicked my tail by Missy over at It's Almost Naptime.  I wanted to share it, cuz I think we can all use a little tail-whippin' sometimes! http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2011/01/crazy-in-2011.html