I have been Crafty

So it's been for ever since I have blogged. It's just been a little crazy around this house between birthday's , Holidays,  and life. But I have found time to be crafty, which I Love to do. So this is a post on the things I have made the last couple months. Hope you enjoy.

Only thing I made with this costume  of Amos was the hat.

Nothing made in this costume of Carter

Same with Isaiah's. And all Super hero's wear fire boots right?

Laura Mae spider costume I add the legs to a black jacket thanks to kids black socks.

Here is a view from the back.

for our friend Lori's baby Esther, a snuggle bunny

a bunny gift bag made from a tshirt

Add caption

Laura Mae's skirt for Thanksgiving

Laura Mae's turkey shirt

Necklaces made from a tshirt

another tshirt necklace

Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus ornaments for school teacher gifts

Laura Mae's birthday outfit, painted the UNO shirt and made the skirt

2nd pair of pants I have ever made. The first one's I made form one of Daniel's tshirt

Ribbon Christmas shirt

outfit put together

This is what happens when a Mom can't find her children's ornaments for the year, yup she makes them

Our nativity's we made for Sunday School teachers and Family

It's hard to blog when you are not sitting at the computer :) But when things chill out a little around here I will be back to blogging. So in case I'm not, I pray you all find hope in Jesus this Christmas season and for the New Year. Merry Christmas to you All!

A Bag of Candy

Hershey’s Miniatures

A look at this bag and it might say, A Little something for everyone. 

Family Size.

And inside you will find Milk Chocolate, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, and Special Dark Chocolate

Some with a certain type of chocolate, some with crisped rice, some with nuts.

All different but one thing in common: Chocolate

Now compare that with our life:

Men, Women, Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Children, Grandchildren, Aunt, Uncle, Jobs that define us, color of our skin, American, other nationalities, Christians and Non Christians and many more

We all have labels that tell who, what, or where 

Really no different than this bag of candy

One thing in common with these labels is a God who Loves us. 

Now this bag of candy can tell us a story of labels. 

Such as …..

Milk Chocolate can represent God’s love for us. Very smooth no bumps or things blocking our way with love from Him. We put those bumps and blocking items in the way of our love for Him. 

Krackel : the things that are small items we think we can get away with: White lies, gossip, hurtful words, actions and so on.

Mr. Goodbar: the things in life that make us feel good: Vacations, a certain show on TV, reading a good book, doing nothing, spending money on things we don’t need.

Special Dark Chocolate: Can have a bitter taste but has very good health benefits to us but we don’t always go to it first: Prayer, Reading our Bible, Quite time, Church, Church activities.

No matter what our label is. God’s Love is Free to us All. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to take that bite of Special Dark Chocolate and not taste the bitterness; He wants it to be smooth like Milk Chocolate. He didn’t promise our life would be smooth sailing but he does promise us that our trials will have a Great outcome.

1 Peter 1:4-7

⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

God still loves us through the Krackels and the Mr. Goodbars of life. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness of these bumps. And through them all keep our eyes on Him that his great works will shine through.

Matthew 5:16

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Eight Years Old

 Carter Ray

my little Spitfire, Strong Willed, Big Heart, Smart, Laughing, Singing, Curious Boy. 

You have brought so much joy to this family. I thank God every day for you.

And you have kept your Dad and me on our toes but I wouldn't have it any other way. You came in this world when you were ready not on anyone else time table. I went into labor with you on a Wednesday night. I got to the hospital and they slowed down my contractions because it was to early for you to be born, 6 weeks early. So they kept me in the hospital and said I would go home on Sunday as long as my contractions didn't start back. Well you had other things in mind. Saturday night, I started to have contractions and they weren't going any where. I called Momma Pat at 12 am and told her to come on that you were ready to come. At 5:45 am, I called Uncle Jimmy and told him to get to the hospital because he wanted to be one of the first to meet you. Everyone else we had told not to even call us on Sunday morning until after 10 am, so we could sleep in and would probably be getting to come home. Actually I already knew we wouldn't be, I knew you were going to come on Sunday. At 9:53 am, Carter Ray Snyder came into the world screaming on Sunday, October 3, 2004 at 5 lbs and 15 oz and 19 inches long. Healthy as can be. And since that moment everything has to be in your time. Because you were 6 weeks early you even got to go to your own baby shower that Granny (my mom) had planned for the following Saturday. Several people didn't even know that you had been born yet so it made for an interesting time at the party.

Carter Ray, you have made us, your Dad and me, Very proud. You are turning into a remarkable little boy that one day will do great things in God's name. That's my prayer for you, to always remember to lean on God and do everything for his glory. And for you to know how much you are Loved. 

Love you Carter Ray and Happy 8th Birthday! 

What a joyful adventure the last eight years have been!

Here's some pictures of you growing up...... not any from the day you were born, that was before I had a digital camera so I haven't scanned them into the computer yet, maybe one day.

still new to walking

 6 months old, sitting up

at Rock Island State Park staying in a cabin with Granny and Pa

playing in the leaves

just hanging out in the dryer

sleeping on the kitchen floor

playground fun

wearing Dad's fire helmet

Brotherly Love

one of my favorite pictures

Happy Boy

our own Little Superman or Snyderman 

playing on the zip line in our backyard

a Shepherd at the Live Nativity at our church

always had fire boots on 

 My wild Indian for Spirit week at school

After watching your dad in the Mud Run

climbing the dogwood tree in the front yard at home

reading on Pa and Granny's front porch

 50's day at school

 hanging out on Pa's log truck

Laundry Detergent

Homemade Laundry Detergent 

So I have been making my own laundry detergent for a over a year now.  The reason I started making it was to save my family money. We were spending at least $20 every couple months buying detergent and that adds up. So this was and is a huge savings for our family. Now we can use the money saved for family fun instead. Several friends and family members have asked what is the recipe I use and I have shared it with them. But in case anyone who is reading this would like to know I thought I would share with you. I wished I knew where I got the original recipe but I don't have a clue. If I knew I would give credit where credit is due. There are several through out blogland.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup or bar of Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

All these ingredients can be found on the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart

Grate the soap with a hand grater

soap is kind of thick after grating

Measure out the washing soda and borax into a bowl together

and then add the grated soap

To make it more fine and get mixed really well I put the mixture into the food processor

after mixed together

This also helps break up the borax, it can clump, and it makes the soap more a powder form. 

Now it's ready to put into what ever jar or old Tupperware container you have. 

This is the first time since December 2011 that I have made detergent. At that time this container was full.

 Yields around 3 cups

And this is the best part you only use 1 Tablespoon of detergent per load, yes only 1 Tablespoon compared to a cup or more of the store bought stuff. You can use 2 Tablespoons for heavy soiled loads. Sometimes we do especially in house full of boys.

 And yes our clothes come out clean for A Lot less money.  And remember this mixture will not make suds so it is safe to use in the high efficiency washers. I will shake it up every few loads to make sure it's still mixed well and doesn't form any clumps. We also add a 1/4 cup of white vinegar for the fabric softener compartment and then fill it the rest of the way with water. Your clothes will not come out smelling like pickles, I promise. If any questions feel free to ask. I will answer to the best of my knowledge.

Happy Laundering!

hugs and prayers~ KM

Still Counting

So yes I am a slacker. I have failed behind once again with my Joy Dare. I printed it and like in the past other papers got put on top. And then I forgot. Or I would remember right before and be like I will do that first thing in the morning. And guess what I'd forget again. Does it mean because I am not actually following a list I'm not still counting my blessings.?.? No, I've just been saying Thank you as the day goes on. Have a done it every day  without a list to check off, probably not. Does the list help give me a starting point, yes. So I am human and not always the best. But that is the Great thing about living my life for Christ, he still loves me through everything. Even when I'm being a brat. Does God get mad at me for not following a list of Thanksgiving, that he didn't write in the Bible to a tee? Heck, No. What he truly wants is for me to talk to him, tell others about him and live my life for him. Am I doing that, some days are better than others. Has this list help me stop and think of new ways to say, Thank him, Yes. So do I go back to the being of Septembers list and start there or do I just pick up on today. Or does it matter if I start with a combination of the days I missed. See that's the cool thing about this Joy Dare, I can do it how it works for my life. Because it's truly about just saying, Thanks You God for all the blessings in my life; little and big. I can say that where I haven't been looking at this list of Gifts, life has seemed a lot more crazy and out of control. So to me this list of Gifts is another tool in my life to help me stay connected to God. And that is a Great thing. So I will continue to add to the list one day at a time because God has Blessed me with so much more than stuff.

Day 32 ~3 Something Cut: the lawn that Daniel mows that gives life to the yard, the wrapping paper I cut for a friends gift, the hair I cut off to give to Locks of Love for a child's wig

Day 33 ~  4 Gifts of Autumn: a pot of chilli to feed friends and family, birthdays to celebrate life, cooler evenings, football

Day 34 ~ 3 Gifts framed: Our marriage certificate, pictures of family no longer here, the addition we put on the house
Day 35 ~ 3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful: the scars from csections for healthy babies, the bruises that remind me that even in the fight something good can come out of it, the removing the stuff from life that hinders me from the beauty of God
Day 36 ~ 3 Gifts Growing: Amos, Carter, Isaiah- growing in their faith, Laura Mae holding her bottle and feeding herself, My mom, Jimmy and Me has we figure life with out my Dad
Day 37 ~ 3 Gifts Shared: laughter with friends, the struggles of life, and a spot on the front porch swing
Day 38 ~ 3 Gifts Given : The life God has given me, Family, tools to help me through this life

So today that's my list of Gifts from God. Are these the only things of the day I have been given? No, just a staring point of my day or days. It truly is in the little things. 

hugs and prayers~ KMS

Tuesday, September 11th

11 years ago…… Do you remember??? I had been up all Monday night cleaning our apartment and getting ready for Daniel’s brother Robs birthday dinner Tuesday night. I ended up falling asleep on the couch. I woke to Daniel saying Kim wake up and watch this. He had been at work the day before at the Fire Dept. in Murfreesboro and had just got home a little after 8. I was like hello I haven’t been asleep to long and don’t care to watch the TV. Daniel said, “You don’t want to miss this.  Planes have hit the World Trade Center in New York. And they are saying it’s a terrorist attack.” Well I was awake in a second then.  Next thing I know our neighbor was over and we all 3 sat glued to the TV. Daniel was supposed to be mowing but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the screen or even move. We were all kind of numb. And wondering what all this meant.  What it meant was, America’s way of life was changed, and we weren’t immune to nothing anymore as a country. We had been attacked on our own turf.  Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day. Firefighters, EMS, Police were running into the buildings trying to save as many as they could.  Complete strangers were helping each other move to safety.  The number that stands out at our house is 343, that’s how many Firefighters were lost that day. Who only did the job they loved, Helping others.  Firefighters are the ones running in as everyone else is running out. With one thing on their minds, if there is someone inside get them out and put the fire out. John 15:13 states,  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. And I can say this is true for the Fireman I know.  They do it to save lives not for glory.  It’s not about them it’s about the ones they are helping, whether that’s them stopping the fire from spreading and putting it out, rescuing someone from a burning house or car, to helping a child breathe again, to even getting kittens from trees and under houses. They are here to serve and protect. 

And untimely we all should be living a life of serve and protect and not just for the ones we love.   We should be living out John 15:13. So, on this anniversary I first want to say Thank You to the Fireman, EMS, and Police who put their lives on the line for others.  These men and women are a breed of their own. It’s in their blood. And they love the job they do. The good thing about anniversaries is the remembering and the moving forward. America on that day 11 years ago pulled together. People were willing to help where ever needed.  And though it was a time of heartache it was a time to cherish the ones you loved. So as you move through the day, Remember. Remember God wants us to live a life to helping others and guide them toward him.

Just Some Mud

Labor Day

So this Labor Day weekend, I dropped Amos and Carter off with Daniel's Dad and Stepmom on Friday night for cousin fun and then went and dropped Isaiah and Laura Mae off with my Mom. I also had supper with my Mom, Grandmother, and Aunt. So my house was super quite Friday night with no kids and Daniel at the Fire hall. Saturday morning was a day of fun. Daniel along with a 4 other guys from the Fire Dept. signed up to do a Mud Run for Habitat Humanity at Cane Creek Park. A Mud Run is a type of 5K with obstacles course mixed in. Running up and down hills, through the woods, climb rope walls,get sprayed by a fire hose, climb over walls, run through tires, swim in the pond, crawl under rope, water slides, dive into a mud pit, a ring of Fire and climb over rolls of hay bales all before crossing the finishing line. A fun time for all involved as well as the ones sitting by and watching. The boys were back in time to cheer on their Dad. My Mom kept Isaiah and Laura Mae at home during the race. Isaiah would have wanted to play in the mud :)

This would be the second Mud Run Daniel as done this year. His first one was back in June to help raise money for United Way of Bedford County at the Tennessee Fire and Codes Enforcement Academy, also a portion of the proceeds went back to help Fallen Firefighters too. This run Daniel was joined by his sister, Sarah and her husband, Randy. I think it's more fun when done with friends and family.  So here are some pictures from both runs. Enjoy!

Fire Medic Mudslingers

Daniel and Me

Praying before the Race, Love this!

 

Fire Medic Mudslingers came in 14th place out of 150 teams. Not Bad guys.

the Cheering crew is ready for lunch

Randy, Daniel, and Sarah before the race June 9th

 

a little brother sister competition 

 We are looking forward to more races. The boys can't wait until they are old enough to run these races with their Dad. And I can't wait to cheer them on!