You are not gonna believe your eyes, my friends! I completed a scrapbook page last night! This page was originally started at camp, yes, CAMP back the first week of August!! I had about half of it done, but just couldn't figure out exactly what to do next, so I kept coming back to it, then it would get shoved aside for something else (STARS). I finally got that pit I call a craft room cleaned last night, so I thought this would be my opportunity...I got this really cute pic of Cody and Bea last summer, and I knew it would be a perfect match for this paper I had laying around...I mean there is only so much you can do with bicycle paper...and it is so hard to keep the pages -not so- feminine sometimes!...so here it is!!
The flowers are layered die cuts, with large brads in the centers. The letters are that funky Tim Holtz grungeboard. Kind of feels like really thick suede. I painted them, and added rub ons over the paint. The photo was printed at scrapbookpictures.com.
Let me know what you think!!
Have a happy Sunday!
**Keri**
Here are the last two trees..I ran out of time yesterday! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas today! We are very tired tonight, after opening presents here this morning, we spent the first part of our day at Mom and Daddy's. Then the second part of our day was spent in Churubusco at Peter's Mom's house! I am glad to be home..
Tree number 5 is our family tree in the livingroom. It is 7.5 feet tall. It holds all of my handmade ornaments, Cody's ornaments, etc. I call it the mish mash tree. I put colored lights on this tree, and the topper is a Boyd's Bear santa-hugging the tree top.
This is tree number 6! This tree is in Peter's trophy room. It is 9 feet tall and I have white lights on it. This tree has all sorts of rusty ornaments on it. Snowflakes, stars, jingle bells...as long as it is rusty, it will fit in! It also has a LOT of pinecones, berries, and of course, my german stars! It fits in very well with the rest of the room! I always hate to take this one down!!
Have a great night!! Merry Christmas!
**Keri**
Good morning! Would you believe I had this window open all day yesterday, and never got the post up? Things are slowly coming together at the LaClair house-my elves started wrapping gifts last night...that was a great relief-plus, it kept the elves out of my hair while I was baking!
I was very productive yesterday, got a LOT of baking done, as well as many other loose ends...including getting photos taken of my other trees!
Here is tree number 2--this one is up in our bedroom, in the dormer. I have always liked these white trees, they seem kind of retro to me, and it goes in our bedroom perfectly with all the blue and white...it is blindingly bright at night, with white lights ON the white tree...I have strictly blue and white decorations on it--I found some great snowflakes at Michaels this year to add.
Here is tree number 3. This is a new addition this year--I got it for Cody to put in his room. He barely has any decorations on it--if you look closely you can see Homer Simpson hanging on for dear life as the topper!! He has M&M lights of different colors on his tree.
This is tree number 4. This is also a new addition this year. I have accumulated MANY John Deere ornaments over the years. Mom let me use this extra smaller tree she had, and I added solid green, and solid yellow strands of lights. I also made some green and yellow star ornaments, and some baling twine wreaths. Topped it off with the hat! It looks really cool in the dark!!
So that is it! I will try to get trees 5 and 6 posted later today, or tomorrow! Have a great day!
**Keri**
Here is a pic of tree number one. It is the "Grandma" Tree. I put it up in our kitchen. It is a 4 foot tree, and I decorate it using vintage ornaments that belonged to my Grandmothers, as well as Peter's Grandmother. They are very old, very breakable, and above all else, very beautiful! I finish it off with old fashioned lights, and tinsel like Omi used to use...adding one strand at a time!
Here are a couple of ornamnets I added to the tree, that are my favorites from childhood that Mom gave to me. The cheesy retro santa and elf from the 60's!
Thanks for stopping by, I will be adding more of our trees in the coming days!!
Have a good night!
**Keri**
Okay, here is the evidence!! I was so excited yesterday when the boys came in and said Bernice had laid 2 eggs!! I finished up what I was doing in the house, headed out with my egg carton, and by the time I got out there, there was a THIRD egg!! SO--here is the deal..if you want a dozen fresh eggs from Rusty's place, give me two weeks notice, and keep in mind that some of the eggs will be fresher than others!!!
So, we spent a lot of time in the barn yesterday, I cleaned the coop and the boys cleaned the barn. I decided I would take a few pics of what the barn looks like "fully loaded" so to speak. With Jacob and Red inside, it sure is fully loaded!! We have Jacob and Red, the oxen, along with 3 heifers, and the three calves. Humphrey and Hawkeye are the little oxen, and Hamburg is, well, Hamburg...you can only see Hamburg's butt by Pete's legs!!
The barn is nice and cozy warm. They have classic rock from Montreal playing in the background, and we are almost set for winter!
Here is a photo from last weekend, of Cody with both sets of oxen. I posted this one of Facebook last week. Quite a size difference, huh?
On a side note, I have been *SUPER* busy getting orders made, and shipped out, for my shop. I have been making about 4 dozen German stars a day!! I am sure things will slow down once people get their Christmas trees up and decorated!
I got all my Thanksgiving and fall decorations down yesterday, so I can begin getting my trees up and decorated. All in all, things are very busy here!!
Have a good Sunday!
**Keri**
I know, I know...this poor neglected blog!!
Here is a bit of a catch up...I promise I will try to do better! The good news is, I have been so busy with etsy orders that I haven't had time to devote to the blog!!
Here are a couple of pics from Halloween:
My trick or treats--most of which Cody ate:
My scariest trick or treater EVER!! 
And my Peanuts, along with all of our carved pumpkins!!
Peter's 4 pointer::
Sprinkles the Moose, who has moved in next door to our house::
And the latest picture of Cody with Humphrey and Hawkeye...They are growing fast, all three of them!!
Hi there! I know, the silence was deafening!! I have been so busy folding star ornaments these past few weeks, and painting slates, that I have not been on my blog at ALL!!
I thought I would catch you all up on the status of the new farm!!
The bigger cows are still outside, but the 3 calves have been in the barn all week! The barn is almost done, just a few finishing touches! The chicken coop has been inhabited by these lovlies for a few weeks now--meet Rusty and Bernice!!
Rusty is crowing every morning, at sunrise--and let's just say it is a good thing our neighbors aren't any closer than they are!! Bernice is too young for eggs yet, but I am holding out hope that she will start laying soon!!
Have a great night, and weekend!!
**Keri**
Happy 89th Birthday to our dearest Grandma Omi-I can't believe she is 89 today! She isn't much aware of anything anymore-she won't know it is her birthday until we actually go, and tell her, then she will forget in a couple of hours. And she can never believe how old she is when we tell her! She always looks so shocked! Her late husband, my Papa, would have been 92 today. They shared their birthday..isn't that romantic? Talk about meant to be, huh?
Happy Birthday to Omi-I love you!
xoxoxo
Keri
Welcome to Cody's Pumpkin Patch! We had a WONDERFUL harvest this year...Pumpkin seeds planted in PURE POO...apparently the early onslaught of rain this summer, coupled with the better weather in late August, did the trick! We planted two different kinds of pumpkins this year. One type was a typical jack-o-lantern with green pumpkins that turned orange. The second type was BIG MAX, and they grew VERY fast, and turned from a pale yellow to orange. This type of pumpkin is often used by growers looking to grow HUGE pumpkins weighing hundreds of pounds...We basically plant and leave...and we had over a dozen pumpkins, most of a *very* substantial weight..the largest one weighed 42 pounds!! We finally had to pick the pumpkins the other night as it was VERY cold and we got a heavy frost.
Here is the sign I painted for the patch--
Here is Cody with the first pumpkin he cut from the vine--
Cody and Brodie in the back of the truck with the entire harvest...Brodie loves to be in the middle of the action! She actually weighs the same amount as the largest pumpkin! 
And here is my girl again-she doesn't mind getting her picture taken at all..I think I am gonna scrapbook this one!
So now, we just have to make a point to not let all these pumpkins go to waste, and actually carve them!! I usually plug in one of those foam pumpkins that has a nightlight bulb inside, on Halloween night...Lame, I know...It is hard to get help carving pumpkins when your husband and son are out in a treestand somewhere in the middle of Churubusco!
Have a good night!!
**Keri**
We had the great priviledge of going on a hike yesterday, to Lake Alice in Chazy. The weather was *picture* perfect. It was a flat hike, lots of wooded trails...
We took our picnic lunch, and headed out with a group from church. We were out for a little over 2 hours, then rounded out the afternoon with a bit of fishing...
Here is a group shot:
Just striking out:
Picture of the lake--see the dragonfly I got??
Cody-*forced* to stand still for 5 seconds...
Right before the boys got away from us and lost us ON PURPOSE...not cool...we were almost lost, we thought THEY were lost...that is what happens when the Moms are looking down and chit chatting instead of paying attention to things ahead of us!
The boys pretending to fall off the foot bridge....so dramatic..
It was a really nice time! We are going to try to get in a few more hikes before winter. Hope everyone has a good week!
New items added to my etsy shop!
**Keri**
Good Saturday morning!
It has been a heck of a week-and I thought I would catch up and save myself a bit of time by giving you all a pictoral recap!!
This is the final result of an order I have been working on for a couple of weeks:
Baby shower favors-tiny boxes with candies inside...
Baby girl shower invitations--all pertinent info is already printed on the inside:
And a matching bedroom sign for the baby's room!
A custom "brain in a book" a friend asked me to make...These things are so great to keep in your bag, so you can right all your lists and to-do's inside and keep them in one spot! I go through at least one a year!
This is a great gift I rec'd from a friend this week. We participated in a Halloween mingle, where we send a halloween crafting supply, and a hand made item, to the person below us on the sign up list...I got this tinnie--an altered tin can..So it is recycled, and repurposed! It will look cute hanging in my farmhouse kitchen this fall! Thanks to Michele for sending me some of her awesome Purple Onion Designs rubber stamps, and some Halloween patterned paper, too!
Code-man also went back to school this week. Freshman at NACS! Hard to believe!
We also said goodbye to a dear friend this week...Our hearts are breaking, but we know she is no longer suffering...Harley would have been 11 in December!
So that is it for now! I can hardly keep up with everything-work, family, and orders that keep rolling in-I will have a new fall slate to share with you very soon!
Have a blessed weekend!
**Keri**
Good morning! Thought I would share with y'all exactly what Humphrey and Hawkeye are gonna look like, when they are big boys! This pair of oxen belongs to Peter's cousin. We went and visited them on Sunday afternoon. Meet Jacob and Red!
They are HUGE!!
When these guys are hitched up, they can pull a lot of weight, i.e. logs, etc.
I can't wait to see them in action!!
Have a great day!
**Keri**
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