~...calls them each by name...~

For today something simple

and yet I found it very unique...

~

My 2nd daughter had a slumber party last

summer. One of her friends took this shot

of all of the girls using their fingers to make a

"friendship" star. I think she laid her camera

on the ground for this shot. I love this creative picture

and the dim lighting at the end of the day that

gave the girls their silhouette look.

Psalm 147:4

He determines the number of the

stars and calls them each by name.

~

If he does that with the stars just

think how much more He knows

you and cares for you!

~

Wishing all a great weekend!

~Take a Guess Tuesday~

One more chance to guess.

Do you know what these pictures

are of? I know I made this one

way too easy!

If you guessed our backdrop for our

slumber party you were right!






Here is next weeks
"Take a Guess Tuesday"
Do you know what these are?


GOOD LUCK!

~Camp Sisterhood~

This weekend is nearly over now

and I am almost rested up from our busy

event of last week...almost!

We had a great time at our 2 day all girl

slumber party! The girls named it

"Camp Sisterhood" We had girls from age 6

to age 17 at this slumber party. The older

girls were there to be helpers and also

to have fun. God provided for this in every way.

From food to crafts, energy to extra hands.

He took care of all the details and it went very

well! We had a week and a half to put this together

and God did it!

~

~GIRLS~

Group photo

~

Decorations and some of the girls!

~

~CABIN~

Our "Cabin"



Our cabin was full of so many girls it

looked like one giant bed!

~

~T-SHIRTS~

Decals on the computer so each girl

could have a matching T-shirt.

~

~FOOD~

Our "Camp" cook!

So thankful for my friend's help to

stay the whole slumber party and

cook and take care of kitchen duty!

This was a God send for sure!

~

Yummy Breakfast!

~
Outside dining!



~DEVOTIONS~

We spent time sharing prayer requests

and praying each day. We also studied

some of the special things Christ is to us.

Our theme for devotions.

~

Devotion craft.

~

Devotion craft making.




~GAMES~

Getting to know each other game.

~

Volleyball

~

Tennis baseball.

~

Scramble...have to grab

other team's flags from their belts.

Scramble

~

Waterbead game...take

2 kids size pools, fill with water,

add one color of beads to one pool

and another to the other one. Each team tries

to get as many of the other teams

beads into their own pool also

rescueing any of their own color beads back

from the other team's pool. It is relay style.

You run down with an bucket scoop in the other

teams pool ( only one try at the scoop)

bring back the bucket and dump the beads into

your own pool. The kids absolutely love this game!

A night game of "Manhunt"

which is sort of like hide and seek with a twist.

Again the kids love this game!

~







~CRAFTS~

Making stepping stones.







~GIRL TIME~

Girls just love a time of fingernail
and toe nail painting...the older teens
helped with this.










~CAMPFIRE TIME~


At campfire time we did smores and also
had worship time together.


~CAKE DECORATING~


" Fish bowl" cakes to take home to
mom and dad for dessert.




~POOL TIME~




A final song for the parents.

Even though we could not completely replace

the camp that got cancelled we

were still able to have a very blessed time

together and create a different yet still special

memory together.

~Summer Camp...Ross Cottage Style~

It is summer time and for the Ross family that

means camp. Our church has it's own each year.

The girls go up as campers or helpers and I go up

as a councelor. This year our camp got cancelled

a week and a half before we were to attend it.

At our house we held a family meeting and decided

to have a 2 day 2 night all girl slumber party

with all the girls who were signed up for camp.

We have been busy preparing for this fun event.

The Lord has made each hour go far and we

have got a lot done. On Wednesday night all

the girls will show up and off we go and a 2 day adventure

with songs, devotions, crafts, night game and day hiking in the woods

daytime games and a Friday night family potluck.

I will be off the blog till the weekend or next week

keep us all in your prayers...thanks!

Our theme

UNDER THE "C"

Painting a backdrop

~

Painting signs for the "new" cabin.

~

Painting decorations

~

The outside of our "Rosscottage" cabin

We used our front porch to make our cabin.

The girls all helped to paint it and even though

we are having a slumber party they used camp

on the signs....they just love camp that much!

Our "cabin" door

~

Inside our "cabin"

Our theme decorations.

UNDER THE "C"

We are so blessed to have a local appliance

company that lets me take all the cardboard

I could ever dream of to make decorations with

each year!

~Take a Guess Tuesday~

Here it is again. Last weeks

Take a Guess Tuesday.

Do you know what it is?

I think that everyone was right, it is a quilt!

Although I did not make it. It was in the Oregon

Trail Museum. For fun I took a picture of my 3rd

daughter next to it. We have relatives that live

in the town where this museum is so we have

been here many times. As a homeschooling family

they let us in for free. Who can turn down that!

I love that they support our homeschooling.

~~

~~

Here is next weeks,

"Take a Guess Tuesday"

I posted several pictures

and I will give you a hint.

It has to do with something I will

be busy doing the rest of this week.

If I have time I will share it with you this

week if not I will share it next week.

After I share it the guess

will be way too easy!

Good luck guessing!

~Dying to Deceive~

Satan has a daily goal that can surround us

if we are not aware of it. His goal is found in

the simple enough places. He is found in the

doubts and wonderings if our God is really there

for us and real. He puts forth doubts to cause

us distance and confusion. Maybe this Lord of

ours just is not the loving God we believe him to be.

If He was there then would we not "feel" good

all the time. Would not each day be one of self

indulgent living. He does not want you to think

that any hardship could possibly be used for growth

that is a true beauty for who we are meant to be.

He just tells us over and over, "You would not

hurt this bad if God really loved you."

The truth though is that Satan is the father

of lies. He will do what ever it takes to

keep us distant from our Lord. Our job

is to ask ourselves the question,

"Who are we going to believe?"

~

Dying To Deceive

I may not feel the Lord's arms around me,

It's all a lie is Satan's plea.

~

If things were really going well all would feel good,

So the Lord must be someone not to be understood.

~

But the Lord loves me more then just the

way a feeling can feel,

He grows me in a way that is nothing less

then completely real.

~

Satan's goal is for the taking of my sole,

The Lord's goal is to grow me and make me fully whole.

~

So who is the one I am going to believe,

the one whose love is real or the one who is dying to deceive.

~

John 8:44

You are of your father the devil,

and you want to do the desires of your father.

He was a murderer from the beginning,

and does not stand in the truth because

there is no truth in him. Whenever he

speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature,

for he is a liar and the father of lies.

~

John 8:31-32

..."If you continue in My word,

then you are truly disciples of Mine;

and you will know the truth

and the truth will set you free."

~

~Teen Room Makeover...Part Three~

Here it is the final post

in our teen room makeover.

Are you ready to see the end result?

My daughter's "new to her" bedspread.

Two years ago I made these flip flop

pillows and a matching quilt for my daughter

for Christmas. My daughter decided to use

the quilt as her curtain. It fit exactly in her window.

These were new when I bought them

but on sale!

This old shelf was also something my

daughter found out in her grandma's

shed. I pressure washed it ( it was a slimy

green color before I did) and she

has her books on it as well as her jewelry box

and some candles/shells.

A desk turned into a place

to do your hair and make up.

A collection of pictures.

There are also paper lantern lights around the

top edge of the ceiling. We collected them

one package at a time while grocery shopping.

This was my only way of being able to afford them.

It took us 2 months to get enough to go around

the room.

The boat shelf.

New Nightstands are made out of

bar stools! I wanted skinnier night

stands and got a creative idea to

add shelves to the cross pieces of

these stools. We have a saw mill so

we usually have pieces of boards hanging

around. I asked my husband if he could cute me 4

boards to a certain size.

He gave me a strange look

and then cut the boards to the size I asked.

He liked the end result of the process.

The pair of lamps were parts

put together from many lamps.

The 2nd hand store I went to had 2 matching

lamp posts but the plastic parts, where the light

bulbs screw in were missing. I found other

parts from other lamps and added them

onto these stands. The lamp shades were

at the same store. They have beads and tiny

little shells on each dangly string. They

seemed to be the perfect fit!

~

Our family lives on a very tight income.

I wanted to share our makeover to show

that a fun room could be made out of

things that have been previously enjoyed

in another home. Shopping for everything brand

new can be fun but it is also fun to see what

creativity and hard work can result in.

About 90% plus of this room is 2nd hand

right down to the bed sheets!

Thank you for taking a peak at

our fun project. I leave you with my daughter's words

when she saw the room.

"It is like staying in a motel room!"

She really does enjoy it.

~

Here it is again...one more chance to guess.

Do you know what this is?

Is it bumble bees?

Is it a dirty splotch on my window?


Taking a closer look will show the truth.

It is a nest of baby spiders on my front room window!

Somehow they seemed cute to me?

Mom of lots and Lissa's Angels you were both right.

Here is next weeks

"Take a Guess Tuesday"

Do you know what this is?

~Room Makerover Part Two...Things we already had~

Welcome to Part Two. I have staggered it in 4 posts even though it is all part two........
These are things my daughter already used/had in her room
before we started her room makeover.
We freshened
up her furniture with new paint before we put it back
in the room.

~Part Two Cont.....Decorations my daughter collected~~

These are things my daughter

collected for her room.

A picture with a special message!

A shell candle holder



Candles...lit up with mirrow behind them

Coconut Shell/Bamboo

windchimes

~

Mirror...it had a brown frame

and my daughter painted it white.

She found this screen in an old shed.

It belonged to her Grandma.

She sanded it and painted it, adding

some scrapbook paper for

added design...(using mod podge).

Finished screen.

~Step Two Cont...Decorations I secretly collected~

These are decorations that I secretly collected for the

decorating makeover. Tropical pillows, shell bedspread,

baskets to hold make up and hair supplies, boat shelf,

glass sailboats, shells, jewelry box, lamps and lamp shades

pictures, glass shell decorations....bar stools with a little work

turned into a surprise new use...

~Teen room makeover...Part Two...A little Secret Revealed!~..~

What is the secret I want to share

about our room makeover? Every picture

shown in part two is .........

.....is a picture of something that is 2nd hand.

Some things came from friends, some from yard sales

and others from 2nd hand stores. All together

they create their own unique look that no one

else has. Everything comes together in a lovely

way. Also these things come at a cost that is

pennies on the dollar.

(Even the tree was 2nd hand....it came from a

friend who was moving!)

~

Stay tuned for part three...

The Reveal.

~ Bedroom makeover.... Part One~

~

Today I want to take you on a mini

tour of a room makeover we

just finished at our house.

During the last 2 weeks our

family, along with the help of some friends,

took on a project to redo our

17 year old daughter's room while

she was gone.

We don't have a big budget for

things like this so it required some

creativity. In step one we

prepared the room to get it ready to paint,

removed the old green carpet,

Cut flooring ( we have a sawmill) cut

trim, freshened up the furniture with

a new coat of paint.

Today I am sharing step one of

the process. Stayed tuned for step

two which is full of some surprise

decorating secrets. Then for step

three when I share the final

outcome.

~

This is two of our daughters in

the room before. Our oldest likes a tropical

theme and had started collecting some stuff

on her own. Her walls were originally

white, she had old green carpet and no trim

any where...just chipped up drywall.

My husband and myself worked on this room,

but not alone. We had a team of sisters and family

friends helps us out. 6 girls in all...each sharing the work.

In this picture the bed is getting painted.

~

Lots of colors to choose from!

Which one will give a just right

tropical look?

Choices, Choices...final Choice...

Apricot Dream.

~


Wall prep...patching old holes.

Washing walls with TSP.
Painting begins!




~OOPS~
A little painting fun!
Drippy paint can!


Trim boards drying.
Painting trim boards.
Hubby nailing up trim.


~REDNECK KNEE PADS~
Hubby is not as young as he used to be
and needed some knee pad help. My
creative thought was hand towels and
duct tape. It worked! that's what really
counts not looks! Poor hubby lives in a house
with 1 wife, 4 daughters and 1 grandma and I
brought him pink towels....but again they worked!

Hubby putting in floor.
Good bye old green carpet!
Hello new floor!


This ends step one of our room makeover.
Next step...share some decorating
secrets. Please come back and enjoy
step 2! The Lord has blessed us
with the tools and creativity to do
this with literally hardly any budget.
That is why I am so excited to share
our project with you.

~A Fun Visit With a Friend~

~

I am a bit behind on posting. It is the time of year

where I get ready to serve at my church's children's camp.

I end up very busy with preparations.

Last week I had a friend and her children come

for a visit. These are some pictures from our visit.

We have our own business and have several pieces

of heavy equipment. My friend's son enjoyed

getting a chance to drive the backhoe.

~

My youngset and my friend's youngest

hanging out together.

My friend's little girl playing the

piano with the kitty's help!

Time to cool off but I can't find our sprinkler.

What to do? Rig up a redneck version!

The kids still get wet and think mom is

very creative!

Three girls enjoy sprinkler time in the sun!



We all had a nice visit and hope to do it again sometime!

~Take a Guess Tuesday~

~

Tuesday is here again and you have

one more chance to take a guess.

Is this really "Mom of lots" Belly Button?

What do you think?

Are you ready to see what it really is?

My daughter took this picture of her...

Animal Cookies!

This is the dot on the cow!

They look good enough to eat!

And they were shortly after this picture!

~

Are you ready for this weeks

"Take a Guess Tuesday?"


What do you think this is?

Any Guesses?

Good Luck!