Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 in RECAP.




2012 has been a fun and exciting year for the Scarberry’s! 

This year we bought our home! That’s HUGE for us! I think we’ve hit a record for the number of years without moving =) We love our little home and we love our town….while great adventure around the country may be in our future, a move is not! It is peaceful to know we have found our forever home.

This year we reconnected with Ronnie’s mom. Wow. To see the Lord’s work in her life is truly amazing. We could never have guessed that we would have such great relationship with her!

Mark and Michelle moved to Florida this year! Another great blessing! 5(!) Nieces and nephews just a hop, skip and a jump away now…makes me happy!

Eddie and Nancy came to Florida for a time. It was VERY much a blessing to have some time with them. We had SO much fun! It was great having them so close, even if for a short time.

My step sis, Crystal gave birth to my first niece from my side of the family! Aria has STOLEN my heart!!

My SIL, Amanda is pregnant and is having her baby Wednesday! (if she doesn’t go into labor sooner)…While that may fall into 2013….it is extremely relevant to 2012! She's been preggers almost all year! We have gained true relationship with her and Johnny this year. Words cannot express how much that means to Ronnie and I. We are ANXIOUSLY awaiting the arrival of Macy Jeanne!!!!!

My step brother, Kevin got married this year!!! He and Jen have been together for years and she stuck by him while he was away at school to become a minister. He blessed me with a wonderful SIL….also a fellow cat lover! I am excited for them and to see where their lives together lead them.

Sadly, we lost my step brother, Josh this year. A heart-rendering time. While we miss him here, he would NOT trade heaven for earth. And I would never wish him here instead of there. The blessing of this scenario was that the night before he was killed we ALL….and I mean ALL…got together to find out the gender of Johnny and Amanda’s baby!  Looking back, it is so clear to see that that time was a gift from God. Our heavenly Father is so loving and blesses us abundantly.

On much lighter notes...............

I have added to my sewing room this year! Ronnie purchased me a QUILTING FRAME AND LONG ARM! Well, technically a short-arm, but it does the same!! I also got the Accuquilt Go! for Christmas! I am VERY excited about my sewing goals for 2013! I did not do nearly as much sewing this year as in years past. 
I started doing hand embroidery this year as well. And…I learned how to knit a specific scarf—great for working on in the car!

We changed our eating habits in August or September…bigtime. Nothing processed. It seemed difficult at first but in addition to the regular and expected benefits, there has been some surprising ones as well! SO totally worth it! We are now also making our own laundry detergent (IT’S FABULOUS BTW!) and I am trying a recipe for homemade deodorant too! God is helping me bless my home and my family in unexpected ways!

I discovered YOGA! NOTHING I have ever done for my back, medically, procedurally or otherwise, has helped me as much as Yoga! Wow…whoodathunkit!

This year, I also got to experience life in Amish country. Lisa and I made a wonderful trip to Ohio and spent two days there! It was SUCH a great experience!!

Kyle discovered his love for competitive swimming this summer! He swims about 2100 meters per day, Mon- Fri. He amazes me with his abilities. 
He has upgraded to an RM 80 dirtbike this year…SCARY! But he is siked!  
And his great love of science and reading has continued to grow as well. He truly amazes me.

Kyle experienced public school this year as well. While he definitely enjoyed it for a time, he quickly realized the reasons he preferred to be homeschooled. It was great for Ronnie and I to see him work through the issues and make a decision as to his preference. Had we not allowed him to try it, he would always wonder! Homeschooling after that, has been like a privilege to him. We have been intentionally taking a much more laid back approach to school this year. We adopted the skills VS knowledge approach. It is wonderful and makes our school days enjoyable and FUN!

Ronnie, through a series of trades, ended up with an E-mod racecar this year. It has been disappointing that the track he wanted to race at is still not opened. He has considered other tracks for 2013 if it does not open. At the same time, with the possibility of upcoming adventures….he may be racing out West this year! 

Ronnie has also stepped into a bit more leadership at our church. He has begun teaching the Youth! I would NEVER have thought he would have a desire to do this, but apparently the Lord has placed it in his heart. He leads the Middle and High school kiddos. He truly enjoys it and hates it when we do not have Wed night church (like this past week, lol). I have seen Ronnie go to new levels in his faith this year. I am thrilled to see him independently seeking the Lord in most all things.

We also had family portraits done this year! That is a FIRST-TIME for us! Isn’t that crazy!?! The photographer took almost 500 shots and we are anxiously awaiting the disc!

Hopefully I didn’t leave out any major events…if I did, I'm sorry!!...it wasn’t on purpose! 

I am eagerly looking forward to 2013! I will be posting a list of my goals soon!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Process Post!~Oct. 26th

I have unburied my sewing room and began working on some Christmas projects!

Poor 'ol Betsy hasn't been used in months!!
 For the past couple of months, all I have done is quilt on my frame. I had SO many quilts that needed to be quilted! I still am not done with them all but am ready to start piecing some projects.
And...Christmas is coming!!!!!!!!!!!
 

So...I pulled out some of my Christmas fabrics! Especially those that I had assigned to projects in my mind :)
This is my future Advent Calendar!!!

Here are all 25 pieces! Baby Jesus goes on last :)
I love my cat Christmas fabric!

leaders and enders project! More postage stamps!!
I ironed fusible onto the back of these and started cutting them out. Next I'll be attaching them to black felt and then sewing a loop of embroidery thread on them. They get hung on the advent calendar piece...after I quilt it and sew buttons all over it.

My Jacob....lounging in the sewing room.


and Patches curled up...around a roll of cotton batting...on top of a pile of polyester batting :)


She's so cute!

 I started working on a Christmas gift  too!


***************DAD AND RUTH***************
DO NOT READ / LOOK ANY FURTHER IN THIS POST!!! **************************************

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I purchased this cardinal Christmas fabric back in 2008 ish?  I think I bought it my first year quilting because it reminded me of my dad :) He always pointed out cardinals to me and my brother when we were growing up.

 So...I decided to make a Christmas wall hanging quilt.

But, I couldn't decide whether I should put the tan next to the printed fabric or the red next to it....



I ended up going with the tan first then the red...
Next, I am going to put a 3" finished border of the pinecones




What do you think? Would you have gone with the tan first?

What projects are you working on?


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the home of 'Winter'!

We had the privilege of going on a homeschool field trip to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium earlier this month!
It was so super neat!
Before going, we read the book of Winter, the dolphin (the true story of her entanglement with a crab trap in Mosquito Lagoon and her rescue and recovery) and also watched the movie "Dolphin Tale". (Which several of our local homeschoolers were extras in!!)

It was really exciting to go meet Winter!
making our lunch!

and dinner's in the crock pot!

ready to go!

I can't tell you how many countless time I drove past this sign while living over here...it felt strange to get a picture of it, lol.


the boat house!



crab trap
both of these birds actually played "Rufus" in the movie!
 


This is Winter's prosthetic!


this is Winter Rubber...it goes on before and after her prosthesis
 We got to meet Nicholas!...he is quite spunky and LOVES to get the crowd wet!






Nicholas waving!
looking in from the bottom of Nicholas's tank was really cool! a lady came by and waved a box in front of the window and Nicholas came over to check things out.
 

 Touch and feel.....


Winter's Xray!
 
 River Otters!

 Here's WINTER!!


Winter and Panama!

 They allow Winter to swim in her adapted way most of the time. Her prosthesis is only used for short therapy sessions to slow down the curve in her spine.





Panama!

Winter

Winter, holding still for her trainer to put on her prosthetic fin.




and off she goes!!

racing her trainer!

 After seeing Winter and Panama...we took a boat ride over to the second facility.
 

this is the back side of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium as we were heading over to the second facility.
 Facility # 2 is ALL about the movie. Movie props, etc. As well as interesting facts!





this is a second "eagle's nest" the other one was at CMA...they actually used both of them in the move!


SO COOL!

From the carnival they had in the movie! :)
 We had a GREAT time! It is definitely not an "all day" experience. You need about a half day to experience both facilities.

Kyle working on his Winter the Dolphin book that we downloaded from the educational page on the Clearwater Marine Aquarium's website.