Our parish is having a coffee house this coming Sunday as a fundraiser for the youth group. It's loads of fun with talent from many corners of the parish, food and fellowship. To help raise a bit more cash, there will be a raffle. I thought I'd try to make some things for the raffle. I made a doll, her cat and a quilt for them both to snuggle under. When Nolan saw the cat he asked if it was Jaws (our cat...yes, I know the name is crazy). You have to understand that Nolan has a love/hate relationship with Jaws. Jaws enjoys batting at Nolan when he walks by and, well, that cat's claws are sharp. Anyway, I said, I was thinking it wasn't a very good looking cat and Nolan replied that he thought it was a devil (horns on top and all) that's why he thought it was Jaws. LOL! Well, it was my first attempt at a simple kitty. I thought the quilt turned out quite nice......
In other quilty news, I finished up a baby quilt for a friend. Since she reads this blog, I can't show you the whole thing yet. Here's a little snippet from the machine. I'll show the whole thing after I give it to her. And the quilt I donated? Sold in under 7 hours! Yeah. Wish I had more time. If you do, consider donating something to Stitching Hope. Proceeds benefit Haiti relief.
Wow. I knew I hadn't posted in a while but I guess I didn't realize just how long it had been. One of the reasons I blog (I'm sure I've said this many times) is to keep a record of some parts of our lives. So this post is March in a nutshell. We found it to be very busy and I'm glad April is around the corner. Seeing the spring bulbs blooming always brightens my outlook on life. The boys and I have been trying to take daily walks. We are watching the trees come to life with buds and birds. One glorious Friday we stopped school at noon and went on a hike at a local nature preserve called Tucquan Glen. One of the first things we came upon was this skeleton.
Of course the boys instantly began making hypotheses about what kind of animal it was and how it met it's demise. Very entertaining. We didn't have time to make it the whole length of the hike but we saw some really beautiful scenery. 
Of course, the boys each did what they do best. Nolan climbed and jumped, Nathan observed in a more serious manner. The water fall that I put at the beginning of my post was one of the best parts of the hike (after the skeleton, of course).
As a homeschooling mom I am thankful that I have the time to give the boys some experiences that we wouldn't have time for if they were in school. I feel strongly about teaching the boys to help others and to give of their time and other resources.
With that in mind, we offered to paint a room of the Catholic Worker House that is being opened by one of our parishioners. I don't have an "after" picture yet but it was quite a transformation. 
The boys liked getting out of several days of regular school work but by the end of the week they realized that painting isn't necessarily easier than math and grammar. All in all it was a great project for our family.
Of course, March is always the birthday month for Nathan. He rarely asks for more than one or two presents. This year he was VERY surprised by the gift his Nana gave him....Mario Kart!
Finally, I made another hanging with one of Mike's Nana's broken medals. Mike's cousin is getting married in June and I attended her bridal shower over the weekend. I used a St. Anne medal and a design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. I'm in the process of working on another baby quilt for a dear friend. I love how it's turning out so far. I'll try to get a sneak peak up next week. As this is Holy Week I know I won't be posting again until after Easter. Have a blessed Holy week and a glorious Easter everyone.
