Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone ...


(Griffin October 31, 2005 ~ 8 months old)

We have a fun day planned. We are going to our neighbor's house for a Halloween party. Then we are going to a local church to participate in their "Trunk or Treat" event.

Anyone care to guess what Griffin's Halloween costume is?

We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween!

Sarah Palin Is Coming.

Governor Sarah Palin is coming to our area on Saturday night.

I've just RSVP'd for three tickets and printed them out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we will be able to go.

I've never really shared my political views on my blog before ... but my sharing this bit of information should give you an indication of how I plan to vote.


This is a picture of the tickets I just printed

I'm a little bummed because today I dropped my newer "little" camera and now the lense is crooked and stuck. I can't get it to come on or close. I used my older "big" camera to take this picture. You can sure tell a difference can't you?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mike will be able to fix it so I can use my newer camera tomorrow. I can't imagine not being able to take good pictures on Halloween or if we get the chance to attend the Sarah Palin event.

{Big Sigh}

It Feels Like Home.

Most of you know I was born and raised in Central Florida. I lived the first 36 years of my life in my hometown of Winter Haven ... and I will always, always consider it "home".

We've lived in Virginia now for about five and a half years. Every year it seems a little more like home to me.

I so look forward to the seasonal changes ... that's something we never really experienced when living in Florida.

I'm very blessed to be able to call two very special, unique places "home".


This is a picture I took yesterday while driving ... how can you not want to call a place like this home?


These gorgeous fall leaves are right now in my very own backyard.

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today ... can you tell?

Griffin The Flying Ace Cartoon.

While at the Fall Festival on Sunday, this man was offering hand illustrated caricatures ...

I thought it would be fun to have one made of Griffin.


It turned out darling ... he LOVES it ...
and he's SO proud of it!


Here's a closer look at his caricature ... it looks just like him doesn't it?

When I was a little girl I had a similar drawing done of me on our first trip to Disney World. I wish I could put my hands on it and I would take a picture of it to share. I think it's in the attic ... next time Mike is up there, I will ask him to get it down.

Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday ...

Yesterday I was inspired to create these two new Thanksgiving related paper piecings.

If interested you can find them HERE!


Thanksgiving Girl Paper Piecing embellished with a cute handmade pumpkin


Thanksgiving Boy Paper Piecing embellished with a handmade turkey

I hope you all have a GREAT day!

Owl Paper Piecing Embellishments

Hello to my owl loving friends out there ...

Today while Griffin was in preschool, I took some time to create these cute little owl paper piecing embellishments.

You can find them HERE if you are interested.


I think the colors are great for both fall and wintry pages


Here's a closer look ...

Country Fall Festival.

On Sunday our county had a Country Fall Festival down at the local park.

It was GREAT fun ... they really went all out with fun things for the kids to do.


My camera battery died shortly after we got there, but this is a great picture I got of Griffin and his good friend Darius before it died.

They had so many fun things to experience ...

Four bouncy houses
A petting zoo
Horse and pony riding
Carnival like games for the kids
A hayride
Pumpkin Painting
Great food
Crafty booths

It was a great time and one of the best parts was we got to see alot of people that we know and haven't seen in awhile.

Whooooo Is The Winner?

Whoo ... Whooo ....

Whoooooooo is the winner of the Martha Stewart Owl Punch???


Congratulations to DAWN you are the proud new owner!

Please email me (mgmh@aol.com) with your full name and mailing address and I will get your Martha Stewart Owl Punch mailed to you!

Thank you to everyone that played along!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.

After creating our jack-o-lanterns I thought it would be fun to toast the pumpkin seeds.

I've never done this before, so I searched online for a recipe. I took the recipe I found and kind of made it my own. I'll share my version of the recipe below.


Here you see me seperating the seeds from the gooey part of the pumpkin


The seeds all washed and cleaned ... ready for toasting


Yummmmmmmm ... they are soooo good!

Toasting Pumpkin Seeds ... Missy's version:

Seperate pumpkin seeds from the gooey part of the pumpkin

Wash the pumpkin seeds

Mix one egg white with 1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda) and salt.

Add pumpkin seeds to mixture

Pour mixture into collander to drain excess egg white

Arrange on a cookie sheet in a single layer

Cook at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes ... after about 8 minutes I stirred them around

After baking sprinkle with more sugar (Splenda) and salt to taste

There are probably 1000's of recipes out there ... but because this was my first time I decided to do the easiest version I could find. Next year I may try a savory recipe. Do you have a wonderful recipe for toasting pumpkin seeds?

If so ... please share!

Autumn Tear Bear Paper Piecings

Good Morning ...

I thought I would share two of my brand new Tear Bear Paper Piecings this morning.

I am having such fun creating new paper piecings ... as you know, I ♥ Fall ... it's my favorite time to create new things!

You can find these two paper piecings along with many more by clicking HERE!






Happy Weekend ...

Creating Jack-O-Lanterns.

We did something fun yesterday ...
We created jack-o-lanterns!

This is the first time Griffin has done this and he loved it! He loved drawing the picture on the pumpkin and getting the gooey goo and seeds from inside the pumpkin.

C'mon ... I'll show ya!


Our pumpkins before they became jack-o-lanterns


Pop getting ready to draw the face on the big pumpkin


Nana and Griffin drawing the face on the little pumpkin he chose from Mrs. Harris' pumpkin patch


Getting the "guts" out is the FUN part!


Everyone got in on the pumpkin carving action ...


Daddy and Griffin carving away as Mommy looks on ...


This is ALOT of fun!!


Now it's time to get the guts out of the big pumpkin!


Daddy and Griffin showing off their completed pumpkin


The cutest little pumpkin in the patch with his two jack-o-lanterns


I think they look very nice on our porch with the other two pumpkins and scarecrow. I love the multi-colored pumpkin and the white pumpkin too!


And this is what our jack-o-lanterns look like all lit up at night.

This was really fun ... it's definately going to become an annual tradition!

At The Park.

It was such a beautiful day we decided to head over to the park for some fun time with Pop & Nana ...


Pop & Nana on top of one of the big rocks ...


Griffin and Pop having a giggle together ...

We are savoring the days with them ... we do not have enough. They will be headed home to Florida soon ... too soon for us!

Mrs. Harris' Pumpkin Patch.

Griffin's pre-school class went on a field trip to Mrs. Harris' Pumpkin Patch yesterday.

The kids first went through a maze created from grain, then they took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick their favorite pumpkin, and finally everyone had a really fun snack ...


Finding his way through the grain maze ...


Taking a little rest while waiting for the hayride to the pumpkin patch


Mrs. Harris had many fun, colorful pumpkins available for purchase ... guess which one came home with us???


She also had these cute little pumpkins available for purchase ... the kids loved crawling all over her stand


Griffin and me on the hayride ... Pumpkin Patch bound!


I do believe THIS little guy was the cutest pumpkin in the patch!


Mrs. Harris made these darling pumpkin shaped cookies for the kids to enjoy ... along with apple cider


That yummy pumpkin cookie didn't last long ... Griffin devoured two of them!

We had a great time ... and we were so happy that Nana could go with us.