Thanks to Rachel for getting a bunch of us mums (one dad too) to the park for a picnic lunch and Bible study...

What would yours say?

Saw this on another blog and loved it.




Mine could say: "Bitter, depressed and lonely." And on the flip side: "Forgiven, free, part of a family."

So thankful to be home

As one friend said, "Isn't it great to be a unit again?" I know exactly what she means. Sean is such a part of who I am that I miss him terribly when we're apart. (Sorry if that's too sappy, but its true.) By the end of our little four day trip I was getting teary eyed seeing a little chubby girl in Schlotsky's who reminded me of my Catherine. Her laughter bubbled over when she saw me in the airport. Priceless. Today she walked around saying, "Missed you, Kaelin. Missed Chase too." Ahhh... good to be home.
We spent yesterday regrouping, catching up on laundry, and admiring the floors in the house. Sean had scrubbed them by hand for me while I was gone. I LOVE clean floors and with five children and two dogs it is a neverending uphill battle. It's good to be home and have Christopher's blond head to kiss as I send him outdoors with another slice of watermelon.
We picnicked tonight in the yard under the trees with peas from the garden, scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob, peach iced tea and more watermelon. As the sun was setting I took the kids across the road to a hay field for some photos.
Catherine helped me make some ghiradelli chocolate chip cookies and we called it a day with a tall glass of milk in hand.

Dining room chair covers (easy project)

Our dining room chairs are sturdy and old. They've come from local auctions, ebay, and relatives. None of them match. So here's what I do:Two yards of decorator fabric from Joann's and a bit of time makes a world of difference. I had first tried this out with some fabric I just had laying around (plaid) but really don't consider myself a plaid kind of girl. This new fabric is a bit more formal, darker in color (important to the utmost with small children), and coordinates great with our blue and white dish collection.
I fold the fabric in half and then fold each half into half, as seen above. Then I simply tip over the chair I'm covering onto the floor and leaving enough room on either side for a seam allowance - cut.

Hem the two bottoms and sew up the side seams.

I zig-zagged because this seemed to be great fabric for unraveling in the wash...

Pull over your chairs and voila!

I'm not a perfectionist and these took about a half hour to sew. I don't prewash either. My trick is to wash the covers in cold water and when they are about 90 percent air dried, just a wee bit damp, pull them over the chair backs. This cuts out the need for ironing and also stretches the fabric back out.

If you were stuck in Charlotte yesterday:

Photos of Photos

My Grandma and her three boys. My Dad is wearing the glasses and missing teeth. Too cute.


My Grandma and her brother.

My great grandparents and my grandmother and her brother. I love the big white bow in her hair and the teddy bear she is holding.

My Grandma and Pop Pop on their wedding day.

My Grandma is the lady on the right and my Dad is the baby.

I think this is Pop Pop's mother.

My great, great grandparents and their six boys! Pop Pop's father is second from the right in the top row. I would love to know where the rest of those boys and their descendants ended up!

Here they are again, grown up. Great Grandpa Speer Andrews is second from the right again.

Janet Lock as a little girl. Her mother made her little embroidered dress.