~ Waiting , Waiting and Waiting ~

Monday was my daughter's due date , but the little fellow decided it wasn't time. We've been at the hospital today , she had to be there this morning for induction. They induced her , but the induction didn't go so well , so they stopped it late today and will try again tomorrow unless natural labor starts.

So , we're still waiting and wondering if he'll be here before the New Year. I'm exhausted and I'm heading to bed , Praying we'll have a healthy baby boy sometime tomorrow. Please keep us in your Prayers and Thoughts.

~ Much Love & Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Shadow Bug Enjoying his Christmas Gift ~

Santa brought Shadow a new squeaker toy , he's enjoyed it. But , he still has his favorite near , a little giraffe that rattles , found it at the thrift store for a .25.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Favorite Simple Christmas Gifts ~

My niece made everyone a Memory Photo Album , it was my Favorite gift. She put Mom and Dad's photo on the cover , since I'm the oldest of 3 , I was the 1st page of the book. Don't you love all my funky hairstyles through the years ? I don't like the bottom left photo , my hair was flat on one side and flipped up on the other side. My niece said it was her favorite photo of me . The book included a page for my sister , brother and lots of family memories. It was a wonderful gift and will be treasured forever.

My DH made me a garden bench from an old iron antique bed , it was another favorite gift. I've been wanting him to make me one for awhile , he needs to add the seat . I'll take a pic of it when he is finished , now I need to decide were I want to put it.

My sil made homemade bread , pound cake and candy for everyone . The homemade bread ( another favorite ) is delicious , I want to learn to make bread in the coming New Year.

My sister gave everyone a box of stuff , it included everything but the kitchen sink (LOL). Actually it had some great needs in it for a homesteader and was another favorite gift. Garden gloves , jiffy pots , bird suet & holder , garden plaque and a cute wooden ladybug garden ornament , I 've already placed it near my front porch (so cute ).

There were 2 packs of cheesecloth , recipes from a jar cookbook , a small note book ( plan to use it for an inventory list of canned goods ). The box included smelly good stuff , lotion , sprays , incense sticks , potpourri and a sweet little book about " Sisters ". She also give me a bottle of her homemade wine. My Mom gave me a favorite gift too , beautiful wine glasses to drink my homemade wine in.

We had a wonderful get together at my Mom's Christmas Eve , Santa made a visit to see all the kids. Curious J and my nephew's kids were amazed. Little Missy and Little Man weren't to excited about him , they enjoyed watching him from afar. I had a very Blessed Christmas , hope your Christmas was Blessed too.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Merry Christmas to My Blogging Friends ~

Merry Christmas

Blessings of Love , Peace and Happiness to all of You .....

~ JoyceAnn ~

~ Curious J Spends the Night ~

Curious J spent Saturday night with us , we watched a movie , played a game , made ornaments and had a jolly good time. I created a game called " Help Santa find Rudolph " , Curious J loved it. I made it simple and easy for a 4 year old , we probably played it 50 times or more , so I guess it's a winner.

We made reindeer ornaments from ice cream sticks and decorated a small tree in the Grands bedroom. The ornaments will become gifts for the family on Christmas Day.

I always enjoy spending time with the Grands , but after the tragic news of the weekend , it was really special having him here and giving him lots of hugs and knowing how Blessed I am to have this time together.

I attended the funeral Sunday for my cousin . He left behind a young wife and a 3 month old daughter , please keep them in your Prayers and Thoughts , as they start a life without him.Thanks , for all the Prayers and Thoughts , I truly appreciate your Friendship and sentiments.

~ Special Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Sad Day ~ Please Pray ~

I received sad news this morning , my cousin's 22 year old son died in a car wreck yesterday. Please say a Prayer for her and her family.

Hug your Loved ones , Enjoy each day you're Blessed with their Presence !!

~ Love to all my Blogging Friends ~

JoyceAnn

~ Recycling & Reindeer Poop ~

I've saved quite a few infant formula cans last year. I thought they would come in handy at Christmas for storing cookies , candy and such. Last Christmas I saw a cute idea for kids , someone had made chocolate oatmeal cookies and called them " Reindeer Poop". So I'm decorating the cans and plan to make some reindeer poop , I think the kids will have a good time with them. I can see them giggling and wrinkling up their noses at them (LoL).

I washed the cans out and air dried them. I gessoed (primed) the lid and around the side of the can. I let them dry overnight , then sponge painted them with acrylic paint , I used poetry green on the cans. I mixed some glitter in with the paint , the cans have a wonderful sparkle to them.

I was going to do fingerprint deer , but thought they would look to small , so I cut another sponge into a deer head shape and sponged 3 heads on each can . I used a paint color called maple syrup for the heads. I then took a brown permanent marker and drew the antlers. I painted the ears and eyes with a brush. The nose has red glitter , I mixed the glitter with the paint and painted them. I want to find some small red pom poms for the noses , but if I don't they're fine just as they are.

I'm adding these to a gift bag with homemade reindeer food , a pair of antlers and a Christmas book. I'm making these gift bags for all the kids on my list.

~ Sweet Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ We finished the Chicken Coop ~

The chicken coop is finished , just in time. It looks great and didn't cost much , DH used many recycled items. We did buy the chicken wire and post for the fencing.

The building was the girls playhouse when they were young , DH made it from recycled lumber leftover from a job site many years ago. It has held up well over the years. We moved it from the backyard , out near the garden.

DH built the nesting boxes this weekend , they're heavy duty and should last many years. My Mom had an old door he made to fit , it never had a door as a playhouse. We had to close it up around the top , I did get a chance to help with that. I also added some cedar limbs for them to perch on.

I swept it out and put some pine shavings down yesterday. We put the guinea out there yesterday evening , they seemed happy to be able to flap their wings and move about. They were all fine this morning , we'll keep them inside the coop for a few more weeks , then let them out in the fenced area on warm days.

I'm getting some Christmas decorating done today , I'm so behind. We've all been sick with some viral bug that's going around , first Curious J , then me and Little Man , now Little Missy and my daughters. Tomorrow I'm going with oldest daughter for another ultrasound. They are checking to see how big the baby is , they're planning to induce her next week. I wish she would let it happen naturally but she wants to get it over.

I've been busy working on some Christmas gifts , will post about them tomorrow or the next day. Hope you had a great weekend , and may your week be Blessed .

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Baby , Baby , Baby ~

It's been a busy week or so , my oldest daugther is due Dec 29th , but I think they're planning to induce her the week before , unless she goes before that. We have a full moon coming up , I hope she goes naturally so they don't have to induce her. I think she should let nature take its course , but she wants to get it over . Her blood pressure was slightly elevated last week , so I've been keeping a close eye on her and helping with Little Missy.

And ....... speaking of babies , the Guinea fowl are 5 weeks old now , they're growing so fast. I'll be moving them out to chicken coop next week.

Shadow Bug is getting big , he's really great with the Grand kids. Little Missy loves him , she yells Pup Pup each time she sees him.

And ......... remember the stray kitty , she's cute as can be and I'm calling her Lily Bell. It didn't take long to tame her , she loves to be petted now , I've decided to keep her too.

Hope the week is going well for everyone.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Gobble , Gobble ~

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I celebrated twice , went to my Mom's on Thanksgiving Day. Yesterday I cooked for my hubby's family , actually everyone brought side dishes. I cooked the turkey , gravy , stuffing and collards. I also made 12 sweet potato pies and some Gobble , Gobble cupcakes for the kids.

My late MIL , always made 12 sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving. We would have some to eat with our meal and she sent everyone home with a pie. I try to keep her tradition going , she was a wonderful woman , I sure do miss her.

I found the recipe for the cupcakes on the Family Fun website , I tweaked mine a little bit. The kids loved them , Curious J sure got a kick out of them. He said one of the turkey cupcakes looked " Mean " and he wanted it , he choose 2 and sit at the table playing with them like they were toys , it was a cute scene. Little Man liked the turkey heads , he kept grabbing the heads every chance he got.

I'm tired from the cooking and cleaning , today I plan to rest and enjoy some quiet time.

~ May You be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn