A New Look for (an almost) New Year & ETSY!

I've been busy organizing and designing a new look for the blog over the past week. I was too anxious to wait for the new year to roll in... which was the plan until about 15 minutes ago. ;) This is just the beginning of the makeover... please let me know if you experience any tweaks on your end or if there is anything specific you'd like to see added to the blog.

Be sure to check out my new little "About Me" section.

**And other big news. I'm now selling on ETSY!! This is something I've been contemplating for a few months now and I'm so excited to finally get it up and running. Please visit ShaynaMade.etsy.com. I will gradually be adding handcrafted goodies to the shop.

For now I have a few tunnel scarves!! I made one of these for myself early December and it does a great job at keeping you nice and warm on those cold winter days. Check it out here.

Enjoy!

 

Humble Beginnings

Joey & Chrissie gifted me with several skeins of yarn Christmas morning. They had only one rule - that I use it all to make something for myself. So that evening I started on a colorful afghan and have been working on it off and on since. There are still many rows to add, but I love watching it come together one stitch at a time. I think it will look lovely in our artsy office... we might just have to buy a comfy little sofa to go with it. ;)

Winnie the Pooh

Shayna.Made for baby Cole ~ December 2009

Christmas 2009

Lots of time spent with family!!!!

 

Christmas Eve

My family came over this evening! :) Everyone except Joey & Chrissie because they were spending the evening with her family. For dinner we had chicken fajitas with homemade flour tortillas, rice, corn, and chips. Then came time for them to open their gifts from us.

A crocheted hat with ear flaps - per his request. ;)

We decided it would be good to get a little family photo, you know for memories sake. Before we took the picture we were telling Matthew to not make any faces (it seems like he usually is). It is so funny to look back on the progression of the next three photos... I think someone had a little too much coffee. ;)

Yeah, so we just kind of gave up on the photo shoot. Haha. We played a round of Clue - Brittany was the winner!! Then we enjoyed baked apples with vanilla icecream and finished the night with someguitar playing and Christmas hymns. "Joy to the World" "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" "We Three Men" "Silent Night" and "A Mighty Fortress is Our God"

Finished Product & Cookies

Brittany and I finished decorating our gingercake last night. We admit that it resembles Martha Stewarts perfect cake just a little bit {okay, a very tiny bit}. :) But we had so much fun making it and have decided to make it a yearly tradition. The frosting was kind of disappointing. It tasted good, but the texture was very odd. We laughed so much about the frosting! So I think we may try a different frosting next year. Overall the cake was very tasty! We actually cut into it tonight at my parents house. We also all decorated gingerbread cookies! Dad, Mom, Brittany, Joey, Chrissie, Chris, John, Tony, and Myself. Fun memories!

Baby, it's cold outside...

Brittany spent a few hours with me yesterday afternoon making this lovely

ginger cake that will be turned into a gingerbread house - inspired by

Martha Stewart. :) Jazzy Chrismas music played in the background as

we made a big mess in the kitchen. It was quality sister time.

These pretty cakes will be used for the main frame of the house.

Unfortunately we weren't able to finish our building yesterday... it's

quite the process making all the materials. And then you have to take

into account the chilling time needed. I guess that's why Martha

suggests you make it over a four day period. ;)

These pieces of gingerbread cookies will be used for the door, windows, and roofing.

I'm in charge of making the chocolate swiss meringue buttercream frosting (I know, it

sounds amazing!) for paint and the royal icing for decorative purposes. Can't wait for

Brittany to come back over (maybe) Friday evening so we can put it all together.

But in the mean time, Tony & I just had to sample a piece of the cake

we won't be needing for the house. Hopefully I looked at the blueprint correctly. ;)

Over the weekend

Friday night, some of us went to see the Floatilla Ceremony at the Cliffs of the Neuse. There were about a dozen small boats (kayaks and canoes) decorated in lights, that floated along the water - kind of like a boat parade. They also lit a Christmas tree in the center of the pond. We all enjoyed some free popcorn and hot chocolate. :)

Saturday evening, we attended the beautiful wedding of Brooke & Bucky Boyd. Brittany was one of the lovely bridesmaids!!

83 months of togetherness

Christmas Tree & Traditions

A glimpse of our little Christmas corner,

perfectly snuggled in the main living room.

Glittered stockings hanging from the mantle,

and a tree wrapped in Shayna.Made garland.

About this time, every year,

Tony's mom will make all her kiddos

one of these delicious Hungarian Coffee Cakes.

Wonderful time in Virginia

After a few hours of sleep, we were on the road by 5am Saturday morning. It rained all the way to Virginia. Tony drove and I crocheted the tunnel scarf pictured above, while we listened to several sermons by Driscoll. We met up with others to share the gospel with people at the Richmond Christmas Parade. Afterwards, Neil & Jamie graciously hosted us all for a lunch of chili and hotdogs. Perfect meal, considering the weather!

That afternoon, Tony & I met up with my parents at the Hampton Coliesium to see the Cirque Du Soleil. We had all been looking forward to this little outing and had bought our tickets well in advance. Dad & Mom got seats on the very front row, while Tony and I were on the seventh row. We had a great time and enjoyed the show overall, we even got some freshly roasted almonds and pecans. Yummy! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures. :( After the show, we let Tom Tom (the gps) lead us to an Italian Restaurant that had been closed down. So then we decided to go to the Hampton Pub (dad specifically wanted their shepherds pie), but they said it would be at least an hour wait. Can you believe that? So we just ended up at Applebee's - my parents treat. It was so nice to spend that time with them!! And I regret not having a picture of the four of us together.

Sunday morning we attended church with Nathan & Mary. Very encouraging message on Mark 4:21-34. We enjoyed appetizers (aka samples) and lunch at Costco, then got ready for the Grand Illumination Ceremony in Williamsburg. There were thousands of people waiting for the fireworks to go off. We were able to split up into groups and set up different stations. There were many people that mocked and many that encouraged. I remember this sweet girl and her mom approached Tony, she couldn't hold back the tears as she expressed her gratitude for the preaching of the gospel. Both were encouraged so much. I had a conversation with a young lady, about my age, who had been raised Catholic. She was asking many sincere questions, but her friend was rushing her, so the conversation was cut short. She was a sweet girl and I pray that God will grant her much wisdom concerning the scripture.

From there we enjoyed dinner at Sal's Italian Restaurant - always good food and great fellowship!

Monday morning, we stood in front of the abortion clinic and tried to reason with those that were going to murder their little babies. It's hard to imagine how anyone could do that.

Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast by Chef Nathan and said our farewells.

Grateful Day to Dad's Birthday

This past week has been extremely busy. A week ago today we were celebrating Thanksgiving with our families. And I have no pictures to show for it. Tony's parents served grilled turkey with ample sides and desserts. All very tasty. Then time was spent talking and playing with the neices and nephews. That evening we went to my parents house for baked turkey soaked in brine and lots of flavorful veggies. Chrissie's dad and Uncle (who speak little English) also joined us, making a total of 10 people gathered around the table. :) Love it!! We had lots of fun talking, with Chrissie acting as the translator. :) For dessert we had made.by.Mom pumpkin pie, made.by.Dad mincemeat pie, and made.by.Joey&Chrissie vanilla cake. Yum! Joey also gave me my birthday gift - a nice set of graters for cheese, spices, veggies, etc. :)

Friday morning, Tony & I passed out some gospel tracts to the many shoppers at Wal-Mart. Then we caught a few sales of our own. Back at home, Tony did schoolwork. That evening, James and Tinna hosted a Thanksgiving meal. It was fun fellowshipping with Tinna over several rounds of UNO Attack, while the guys reviewed James' resume.

Satuday was our morning to sleep in... sigh. We ran a few errands that afternoon and enjoyed an elegant little lunch at Aggie's Subs. At home, we fertelized our little trees (hoping that they'll have a huge growth spurt soon) and pulled weeds from the rock bed. That evening we went to work on Pastor Gene's computer. We very much enjoyed hanging out with them, eating homemade pizza and chocolate chip cookies. Talking about a wide array of topics. :)

Sunday, after church we came home and scrubbed the house. It looks much cleaner now!! We finished right as it was getting dark outside. We got all cleaned up and went to my parents house for turkey soup and an episode of Amazing Race.

Tony has had jury duty this week and has traveled back and forth to work, having to work pretty late Tuesday night. I actually met him there at work with a warm veggie casserole. We sat there at his desk eating and talking about our day. I've found myself missing him a lot this week!! The schedule has pretty much been jury duty, work, more work, school work, bed time. Makes me very grateful for the time I'm able to spend with Tony!! My one and only! :) While he's been busy with that, I've spent some quality time with mom and Brittany (shopping), running errands, and decorating our Christmas tree.

Last night, we celebrated my Dad's 46th birthday. On our way to my parents house, Tony got called into work. So we turned around and got his truck. Mom and I packed Tony a dinner to go and off to work he went. : (  The rest of us gathered around the table for spaghetti with meatballs, garlic rolls, and salad. Mmmm.

All us kiddos, minus Tony. : (  I praise God that things went smoothly at work and Tony was able to join us a couple hours later!! I'm very much looking forward to spending lots of time with him this weekend!!!!