Zach's Birthday Party

I haven't been blogging lately.  No reason other than I just haven't been in the mood to blog.

We've had the flu.  We've had the terrible cough.

I switched my medicine and went through a period of adjustment that included being in a bad mood for two weeks.  :/

Now everyone is doing better.  Even me.  :)

January 3rd was Zach's birthday.  

We had a sleep over with a few of his friends from church.

Luckily they were quite able to entertain themselves because I was all alone and in charge -- Dave had to work that night!

The boys were all so great that night.  Easy to deal with . . . but LOUD!  They played video games and played outside.  Even though its was really cold outside, those crazy boys played hide and seek in the dark!  In and out the doors they went . . . over and over again.  :)

Zach doesn't like birthday cake so we had ice cream sundaes instead.

Basically all you need are lots of food and ear plugs to have a successful party with loud, rambunctious 11 year old boys.

Oh and hot chocolate for the cold!  I don't know what's going on with Alex's hair!

After breakfast the next morning . . . egg 'n the hole is always a winner for these boys!  

I also made cinnamon rolls, but they didn't last long enough for me to take a picture!

The boys continued to play outside  . . .  by exploring the pasture and hay bales and riding atvs.

I tried to organize the boys' belongings before their parents arrived to pick them up!  Ha! 

It was a great party!  Zach and his friends had a great time together.  One of the boys said it was the best party ever.  :)

Hopefully I will get back in the blogging mood.  I know many of you enjoy reading about the many adventures and mishaps of . . .

                  the Ferrell boys and me!

Wednesday Word: De-clutter

It's a new year.  A time for new beginnings.  A time for cleaning out . . .  to organize . . .  to de-clutter.

It's been on my mind too.  My sweet momma has come out to the farm to help me go through the boys' rooms, closets, and toy bins. She loves to do that kind of stuff.  Really.  She does.

But so much of my house . . . way more than just their rooms . . . gets cluttered up and messed up with our every day three little boys' life. . . book bags . . . shoes . . coats . . . in the closet floor.

Video games . . . dvds . . . board games . . . on the bookshelves.

I'm really not much better with my stuff either. 

I have so much stuff too.  Really.  And I don't know why or what the reason is for all this stuff either.  My  momma has decided that the master bedroom is her next project.  :/

I haven't been too eager for her to come out and get started on mine and Dave's bedroom.  I really don't want to hear her comments regarding all my clothes (that I can't wear) and craft stuff (I won't ever use) and sewing stuff (that's been a work in progress for years).  

And then my devotion this morning . . .

Matthew 6:19-34

New International Version (NIV)

Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  {source}

Wow!  God really convicted me today with these words.  Am I storing up treasures in my walk-in closet and in my drawers and with the knick-knacks sitting around my house?

Moths and vermin and thieves . . . Yuck!  

Am I storing up treasures in heaven?  Or are my treasures being stored up here on earth?  For where your treasure is . . . there your heart will be also.

Is my heart really committed to my treasures in heaven or is my heart committed to the things of this earth sitting in my closet and packed away in my rubbermaid containers?  

And soooooo today's word is de-clutter.  I'm going to de-clutter my life of all these excess and useless items and clothes and objects that are not treasures to me and my family.  I'm going to clear up my surroundings of all this clutter and focus on storing up treasures in heaven.  :)  And without all this clutter in and about me, I'll be able to focus on my true treasure . . . where my heart truly is . . . with my God and with heavenly treasures.

So join me and my momma this new year as we de-clutter away at Ferrell Farm with . . . 

                                 the Ferrell boys and me!

The 2013 Year in Review

I made this video on Slidely to highlight some of the fun times we shared during this past year.  Hope you enjoy it!


The Ferrell Boys and Me in 2013 by Slidely Slideshow

Happy New Year from . . .

                               the Ferrell boys and me!

Christmas Craft: Nativity Stocking Holders

I saw these awesome Nativity Stocking Holders on U Create blog last year and ordered the vinyl cut-outs immediately.

[source]

But I never got around to making them last year (2012).

I bought some stocking holders during after-Christmas sales last year for 75% off . . .

 and put them back for this Christmas.  Here's what I did:

First I removed the snowman and santa from the glittered base by removing the screws.

I sanded the glitter off and spray painted them white.

I found a 2x6 board out in the barn and got my sweet Daddy to cut it for me to accommodate the vinyl cut-outs.

Painted them all white and after they were completely dry, I lightly sanded them.

I laid out the vinyl cut-outs and carefully applied them to the painted wood.

Carefully peeled the paper off to reveal the sticky part of the vinyl.

Carefully place the sticker on the wood.  Carefully.

And slowly and carefully I applied the vinyl cut-outs to each block of wood.  (I don't know why the seasoning salt is sitting out there.)

At this point, I gathered up all my materials and headed to my Daddy's workshop.  DIY crafting is much more fun with Daddy!  :)

Daddy helped me attach the wooden blocks to the metal base. 

Me and the drill aren't always friendly with each other.  :)

After attaching the metal bases, I sprayed the finished stocking holder with a clear coat acrylic spray.  

I love them! 

Of course, they totally blocked the TV!  That's something I'll have to fix before next year!  

The boys kept moving them to see the TV so I never hung their stockings.  I had actually planned to make some burlap stockings for the boys and replace the Santa stockings that I've used for the past few years, but I didn't get to it.  So that's a project for next Christmas.

You can order the vinyl cut-outs too.  Go to the Ucreate blog and contact Becky. She quit taking orders before December 1st, but will probably sell them again in 2014.  If you go down the comments, you can find her email address and contact her about purchasing them.  I think I paid around $10 for the set.

I know Christmas is past and the new year has begun, but I never finished posting everything we did this Christmas season, so I'll be sharing more of the Christmas adventures and activities of . . .

                            the Ferrell boys and me!

The Wednesday Word

Proverbs 22:6

King James Version (KJV)

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.  [source]

Here we are waiting on the Christmas Parade for this year.  It was really cold that night.  I didn't want to get out in the cold weather for the parade because I had already been out in it earlier. The freezing cold had gotten into my bones, and I couldn't seem to get warm no matter how hard I tried.

The boys came home from school expecting to go to the parade that night.  I hated to disappoint them so I conditioned our trip back into town to watch the parade on their acceptance that we sit in the car until we could see the actual parade floats coming down the road.

I didn't want to stand out in the cold waiting.  I didn't want the boys standing out in the cold waiting either.

They agreed.  When we got there, despite their earlier agreement to my conditions, the boys still pleaded to stand out in the cold with everyone especially their friends.  But I stood firm.

Once we saw the first of the parade topping the hill, I allowed the boys to get out and wait with everyone else.   .  .  with their warm coats on!

It was soooo cold!  They were freezing.  Look at Shane's chattering teeth and red nose! 

It didn't take long before they were huddled next to me trying to warm up.  I didn't have to ask them to get in the car once Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end of the parade rolled past us.

 All this to say that training up children to wear their super warm clothes for the freezing cold during a Christmas parade is best done by letting them "freeze" a little during the parade.  Fortunately, no children got sick from this training exercise, and hopefully they learned a lesson about bundling up for the cold!

Training up boys that sometimes learn the hard way is how it's done with . . .

                              the Ferrell boys and me!

Jeff the Elf's Christmas Mischief

For the past 3 years we've been blessed/cursed with an Elf on the Shelf named Jeff.

I say blessed because my boys love him.

I say cursed because he makes a serious mess!

Here's are some highlights of the mischievous antics that Jeff got into during our Christmas season 2013:

1)  A little Hotty Toddy for the Ole Miss fans in the house:

2)  Some mischief in the dum dum sucker canister:

3)  Motorcycle mayhem:

4)  Our milk mysteriously turned green:

5)  An elfin warning:

6)  A little zip line fun:

7)  A messy snowball fight in my kitchen with the minions:

Jeff caught red-handed with the "snowballs".

The minions are prepared for a battle.

8)  A computer screen message from Jeff:

While Zach was reading this message, Jeff started typing an additional question for Zach.

That totally freaked Zach out!  He ran to the kitchen to see how Jeff could be typing him a message.  I guess some elfin magic?!?

9)  Some fun craft activities hidden in the oven:

10)  Some hot chocolate and cookies are just what an elf needs sometimes:

and finally . . .

11) Jeff said the beards are back!

And so ends the Christmas season and our time with Jeff, our elf on the shelf.  Even though he makes a mess most every where he goes, I wouldn't trade the fun he creates every Christmas season for . . . 

                           the Ferrell boys and me!

Christmas Eve Blunder!

This has not been my finest Christmas ever.

Somewhere along the way . . . I got tired . . . unmotivated . . . and too busy to do everything I normally do.

I had icicle lights hanging on the front porch from last year that only needed to be hooked up to an extension cord.  Didn't do it.

In fact, I didn't decorate the outside of my house except for the single Christmas wreath I hung on the front door.

I didn't mail Christmas cards this year even though I still had last year's Christmas cards in the envelopes, addressed, and ready to go out . . . from last year mind you . . . and I still didn't mail them out!

And then on Christmas eve . . . after all the boys were in the bed . . . and Dave and I were in the bed . . . it hit me!

We didn't leave any reindeer food sprinkled on the lawn!

We didn't leave Santa any cookies and milk!

And Horror upon Horrors!  I forgot to unpack the boys' stockings!

I sat straight up in bed.  What to do?!?  

Little Debbie snack cakes will have to do for Santa . . .

The stockings were packed up in a box in the loft of the barn.  

So I had to improvise.

Rubber boots set out by the fireplace . . . in the hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there!  Ha!

Santa got the hint and filled the boots just like he would have filled their stockings.

The boys loved it!  They thought it was so cool.  (Please excuse the stamped images on Alex's stomach.  Apparently he got bored waiting on me in the car and decided to stamp his stomach several times with my notary seal stamp. )  (This is my life with boys!)  :)  

And so another Christmas has past and . . . .

Even though I didn't do everything I had planned to do or decorate everything I had planned to decorate . . . . 

I still had a wonderful Christmas spent with my boys and my wonderful church family and friends.

And Santa came to see the Ferrell boys . . . 

Even though I didn't leave the magic Reindeer food sprinkled out on the lawn for Santa's reindeer and  . . .

Even though I didn't leave homemade cookies for Santa to snack on and . . .

Even though I didn't have stockings hanging for Santa to fill . . .

The boys got lots of presents and goodies from Santa and a Merry Christmas was had by all including . . .

                         the Ferrell boys and me!