i am blessed.

recently i read something that made me stop and think.  am i waiting to be blessed in the future, or am i blessed now?

i am blessed now.

this very moment, i am very blessed.

i have a wonderful husband who loves me more than i will ever understand.

my little girl is so sweet, and i love (most of the time {wink!}) being able to help her grow.

i have great family that all live close, so i can see them often.  (both sets of grandparents live 20 minutes away!)

my needs are all met, as well as some of my wants.

i have a roof over my head (with a view that continually reminds me how blessed i really am), and food in the pantry.

don’t get me wrong, not everything in my life is perfect.  my house is in serious need of cleaning.  sometimes i get lonely.  i get tired.  i just want a break from life’s responsibilities.

but if you asked me right now, in this stage of life, are you blessed?

my answer is 100% YES.  i am blessed beyond measure, and i cannot wish for anything different.

do you feel blessed?  would you change your life if you had the chance, or would you leave it the same? 

]]> http://www.happygirlsews.com/tell-me-tuesday-i-am-blessed/feed/ 1 http://www.happygirlsews.com/its-friday-the-weekend-is-here/ http://www.happygirlsews.com/its-friday-the-weekend-is-here/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:24:57 +0000 happy girl sews http://www.happygirlsews.com/?p=156 Read More]]> happy friday my friends!  the weekend is here:)  and what a fun weekend this will be!  tomorrow is my husband’s birthday, and we are going to have a small get together for him.  i have always had a party for him where we invite all family and friends, while he loves to spend time with all the people he loves, he does not love a big group of them together.  so this year i have finally listened, and we are not having a party.  it will be a nice low-key day, just like my nice, low-key husband.  happiness:)

sunday is going to be awesome!  our neighbor is having their annual branding, complete with real cowboys, branding irons and a bucket of rocky mountain oysters.  scott gets to join in the fun some too and brand a few cows.  oh, i can’t wait!

i didn’t take very many pictures this week, but here are the ones that i did take:

on monday mom, mabel jo and i went to stitch and snip, a *local* quilt shop to find some fabric for mabel jo’s big girl bed.  i am always inspired by the quilts on display.  this sunflower is especially beautiful!

i have been diligently saving all my scraps, even from my happy girl bags, and will someday make a scrappy quilt from them.

here are some of the fabrics that i will be using for the big girl quilt.  i love, love, love the green!  it reminds me of my view in the spring out the front window.

speaking of view, it is a beautiful morning today!

and a view from an almost 2 year old when they get a hold of your phone.  my question: how does she know how to unlock it, find the camera and take a picture?!?!?!

on saturday mornings we make breakfast together as a family.  i love saturday mornings.  these blueberry muffins were awesome:)

what plans do you have for the weekend?  are you celebrating anything?

 smiles:), Julie

last week, we were in the big city and i picked up some bolts, nuts and washers for my husbands fun project.  i can’t wait till it is done and we can use it!

when i got home from the big city it was raining and cold.  a nice warm fire in the fireplace took the chill right off!

my husband has been taking the little girl to work on the project with him.  i love that they can have some father/daughter time, bonding over old Fords.  (oh, and that i get some alone time, that is nice too:))  she loves to explore outside and play in the dirt and climb on transmissions and such.

i got some really fun fabric to line my happy bags with.  this will add lots of personality to the insides of my already happy bags:)

speaking of happy bags, have you seen my shop?  you really should check it out!  there are so many fun zippers there (attached to happy bags, of course!) and always free shipping!  how could you refuse?

just going for another fun drive in the woods.  one of my very favorite things to do!

this week the loggers are gearing up for the season.  every day there is a new piece of equipment that goes by (or several, depending on the day!)  my little girl loves any kind of equipment, so this has been quite fun for her!

we are so blessed to live here in idaho, where the sunsets are breathtaking.

how about you?  how was your week?  did you do anything fun?

Smiles, Julie:)

it is a bit stormy outside today, which makes it a perfect day to sew pleated smiles!  i am working on some e-reader cases today, that will be in my shop soon!

what are you working on today?  i would love to know!

i thought it was a fun idea before, but now that i have done it, i have to say it is brilliant.  brilliant, you ask?  yes, it is, because it forces me to sit down and move the pictures from my phone, to my computer.  this is good.  very good.

you see, i got a new phone about a month ago.  i wanted to update from my good ‘ole flip phone.  i had noticed that i was taking  pictures of my little girl with my phone, but the quality was so poor, that i knew i would never do anything with them.

so i updated.  and now i have an awesome phone that takes amazing pictures and videos.  and i am taking lots of pictures and videos.

let me share with you!

it rained last thursday.  she waned to go outside.  she decided that she didn’t really like the rain falling on her head, so she just watched it in the puddle.

after the rain the clouds were so beautiful.  i love living here.

and then it snowed.  the biggest snowflakes i have ever seen.  breathtaking.

last friday night my husband arranged child-care so he could whisk me away on a romantic dinner/coffee date.  i am one lucky woman.

for lunch on monday we had a little hot-dog roast.  my parents were burning a few slash piles on their property.  scott came and met us.  we are so blessed to live in such a great place!

the weather has been perfect, so after dinner walks have become standard practice.

another after dinner walk.

3 bull elk in the field one morning.  what amazing animals!

as i look back over my week, i am reminded that i am so blessed!

stepping in the mud puddle

what is it about mud puddles that draw us in and call for us to leave all caution and care behind and just jump in?

mud puddle

to stop caring that you will get your clothes dirty, that there might be stains.  sometimes you gotta be messy to get to the good stuff.  you gotta take risks to see what awaits you.

enjoying the mud puddles

having a child helps me to see the world through a perspective that i had lost as a grown-up.  when do we go from seeing everything as new and needing to be discovered, to getting stuck in our way of doing life without seeing the potential around us?

discovering the mud puddle

i have sewn my whole life.  only just recently have i seen the potential to make beautiful bags and pouches for you to enjoy.  i am creating them with the same sense of awe and wonder that my little girl has in discovering the world around her.  i am discovering how to see through her eyes, how each stitch and pleated smile are special and unique.

Brown with Green and Turquoise Dots and Green Pleated Smile Tote

i am excited about this journey that i am on.  being a wife. being a mom.  being happy girl sews.

what have you seen through child-like eyes recently?  please share with us, so we can see it too.

I have always loved stickers.

When I was a young girl there was a store a few miles from my home called “Just for Fun”.  It was a store full of all kinds of fun things, but my favorite was their wall of stickers.  One entire wall full of rolls of stickers, from floor to ceiling.  I have many memories standing in front of the stickers, pondering how to spend the coins in my hand.

Happy Girl Sews Stickers!

Now I have my very own Happy Girl Sews stickers!  Oh, my heart is just giddy with how fun they are!

I have several packages to go out this week, and I can’t wait to use them!

What did you love as a child?  Stickers?  Crayons?  Bugs?  Share with us in the comments below.  I would love to know!

Tropical Medium Zip

Wow.  What a great day!  I got so much accomplished.  My sewing machine and I were super busy, getting stocked up for a craft fair this weekend at the local senior center.

Dad and I are going to share a table.  Neither of us have ever participated in a craft fair, and it is going to be great to share the experience with him.  My dad and I are very similar, both of us are mechanical engineers, but we both really enjoy creating.  He is a master woodworker.  Most of the furniture that I own he has either made or helped me make.  I am very blessed to have him in my life.

What did you accomplish today?  Was it what you set out to do?

Our local vet had a shot clinic on Saturday so we took Blue (our chocolate lab) in for his shots.  The fun thing about living in such a small town, is everywhere you go you see someone you know.  I waited about an hour for them to see Blue, but it gave me a great opportunity to chat with my friends.  One of the ladies that I quilt with on Fridays was there with her two cats.  Mabel Jo thought it was just the greatest thing to have two cats in a cage, right at her level.  She had a ball talking to them.

After the vet’s office, Scott, Mabel Jo and I had lunch in town at our favorite restaurant.  Then we headed over to the local white water park and enjoyed the sunshine and river.  Saturday evening our former neighbor from Boise came up to visit.  We bbq’d hamburgers, made potato salad, home canned green beans and home made burger buns.  Yum.  For dessert I made a lemon cake that I found on Make It Do.  It was awesome!

The weather Sunday was amazing.  We explored down by the creek for a bit, but most of the day was spent on the front porch, just enjoying the sun, slight breeze and view. Five elk wandered by in the morning.  That was the first time we have seen them this year.  I love watching them.

Elk in the field

What did you do this weekend?  Was your weather as beautiful as ours was?  Did you try any new recipes?  If so, please share!