My Pride...My Joy...My Baby Boy...

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I have one child, a boy, whose name is Colvin. I affectionately call him my "Gentle Giant" as he is 14 years old, 6'1", and still growing! Although he is a big boy, he uses his size only for good and not evil. He has been taught to treat others like he wants to be treated, a moral that is sadly lacking in some youth of today.

Colvin just finished up his first year in Freshman football. The Montrose Meteors Freshman Football team had a very successful season with only 2 losses. In all honestly, I wasn't flipping cartwheels when he asked if he could play football. After all, what mother wants to see her son on the bottom of the heap and potentially getting seriously hurt? But I decided that he deserved the chance to play and prayed for his safety each and every game. I am happy to report that the position he plays ensures that he will not end up eating grass on the bottom of the pile. I am one happy momma!

With the fall in full swing, it came time to capture Colvin's smiling face for school pictures. This is the third year that I have taken his photo and it's getting to be more of a challenge each year. But I was able to FINALLY capture a moment that looks so "naturally Colvin"......

The setting for his 9th grade picture was upstairs in the old horse barn at my Grandpa's old farm. Colvin grew VERY impatient with me while I scrambled to get "THE" perfect picture. But I persevered and I am extremely pleased with the final results. I am proud to say that it was a successful photo session and that I managed to complete it without inflicting any harm to my lovely 14 year old. Even though I was very frustrated, all I have to do is look at that face and I am reminded just how much I LOVE that boy. End of Gush!

Thanks for visiting!
Diane

Ch....Ch....Ch....Changes

I have not been kidnapped, abducted by aliens, or entered into the Witness Protection Program. I've been going through CHANGES! Not "The" Change...(heavens, I'm MUCH too young for that!) but changes nonetheless. My husband Alan, started a new job about a month ago, at a book distribution company. We are all happy with this new job. The pay and benefits are terrific BUT.........it's second shift. So we are 2 ships passing in the night. or morning, whichever way you choose to look at it.

The second BIG change is ME! On September 21, I decided to turn over a new leaf. After many years and almost (gulp) 75 extra pounds, I've once again bought my one-way ticket for a trip on the weight loss wagon. I hope this will be my LAST trip. I'm sure you all understand. As of this long overdue post, I am proudly down 30 pounds.

I've had every excuse in the book.....and I'm done and ready to burn that highly overused book.

I also started a love affair with Ted Mill. He and I meet up every morning, 6 days a week, on the outskirts of my sewing corner in the basement. He graciously accepted my apology for neglecting him for sooo long, and enjoyed the thorough dusting that he so desperately needed. I aim for 2.75 miles each morning beginning around 6am. Ted is quite amazing. We've had an on-again off-again relationship for the past 10 years and even though I walk all over him, he is always waiting for me to return the next day. Alan has been very supportive of my time spent with Ted and although I spend a lot of time with him, he's really not my type. He's a bit too mechanical for my tastes. But we will continue to remain close friends until he plum wears out.

Because of these changes, I haven't been stitching much. So hang in there friends... there's more new designs yet to come....as soon as the dust settles from all these changes.

Thanks for stopping by. We'll talk again soon!

Diane

Inquiring Minds Want to Know....

where the heck I've been hiding..............................................
I know it's been a very long time since we visited last, and for that, I'm so very sorry. I was busy living the good life. August brought forth our 156th county fair in Harford, Pennsylvania. I entered 3 samplers. Dare to Fly and Sing a Sampler series earned first and 47 Hearts placed third. I entered a pint of maple syrup which didn't place at all, but will still taste yummy, and a digitally altered picture from Gettysburg which earned a third place ribbon.

Colvin took maple syrup for his 4-H project this year. He was the only 4-Her in the entire county to enter maple syrup, which he proudly earned a blue ribbon for. It was a very successful year at the fair!

Colvin started back to school on August 28. He is now a freshman, all 6' of him! Shoe shopping is getting more and more difficult with every passing year. He is wearing a 13! I told him if his feet keep growing like they have been, he'll have to wear the shoe BOXES!

The apple trees have been VERY gracious to us this year. I've been busy making applesauce and will take a stab at canning apple pie filling. While making my first batch of applesauce, I received a sweet reminder of God's love for me....

Which leads me to my next order of busy-ness.......NEW RELEASES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Johnny Appleseed"

"Old Black Clock"

These 2 new designs are on their way to my distributors as I write this. I hope you like them. I'm busy stitching a Christmas sampler in hopes of releasing it sometime in October. Maybe I'll share a peek in my next post.

I also forsee in the near future, another give-away of some sort. I'm almost up to 100 followers, so perhaps then.....

Whew! I'm out of breath now that I've caught you up on all of the "goings-ons" here at Silver Creek. I'll try to not stay away so long next time! Thanks for stopping by and an even bigger thanks for not filing a missing persons report!

We'll talk again soon,
Diane

Standing in the need of prayer....

To any and all prayer warriors out in blogland: please pray for my friend Holly. She is the face behind Misty Hill Studio cross stitch designs (another talented PA designer!). I won't go into detail (God knows them all) but she is experiencing some very difficult and discouraging storms in her life. Let's lift her up and pray that the Son will shed light and love on Holly and her whole family.

Matthew 18:20: For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Thank you all. I know Holly will appreciate it. 

Blessings from the creek,

Diane

Canon in G... (long post with many pictures)

The 'G' stands for Gettysburg. I just returned Friday from a 5-day camping trip with our Boy Scout troop. This year marked the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I couldn't have asked for better camping weather, although it was VERY humid. We only had to endure a few brief showers which fortunately made their appearance after we had turned in for the night.

Our Boy Scout Troop 50. We may be small in number, but we are BIG in fun!

On July 1, after partaking in a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausage, we began our almost 14 mile hike, which took us all throughout the park. We walked across the field where so many men, both union and confederate, had lost their lives fighting for our freedom. It was a chilling and moving experience. We passed by many of the memorial monuments, old homes, and barns which were witnesses to the battle that occurred in 1863.

The Pennsylvania Memorial

 On July 2nd, my body was unhappy with me and the EXTENSIVE hiking I had put it through the day before, so while the rest of the troop went on yet another hike (this one being ONLY 10 miles) I stayed at camp. I took a small opportunity to put a few stitches into my patriotic sampler which is a tribute to the Civil War. Here are a couple sneak peeks...

July 4th brought the highlight of the trip....the re-enactment. Thursday was VERY hot and the prices of cold beverages were at a premium, so we filled our hydration packs, leaving us a bit more money to spend on other non-essentials. I came home with a fife, a small pair of reproduction scissors and 3 t-shirts. I felt like I had traveled back in a time machine. The soldiers as well as civilians young and old, were dressed in period attire...

The battle included over 11,000 re-enactors. There were horses, canons, muskets, drummer boys and fifers. On the battlefield, was a horse pulling an ambulance wagon to recover the "wounded and dead". The battle was about 50 minutes long. This was the actual length of the original battle that took place in 1863.

The Confederate Soldiers identified by their gray uniforms

The Union Soldiers identified by their blue uniforms

In the upper left corner you can see the "ambulance wagon"

It was an amazing experience to be part of history. I came away from Gettysburg tired and sunburned, but filled with pride and appreciation for what had taken place there exactly 150 years ago. No matter where you may be from, north or south, we are ALL Americans. One Nation under God and united we will stand. Long may she wave.

Stakes and Hot Dogs

Recently I received 2 new orders from Hoffman Distributors. The total quantity consisted of 216 patterns. With summer vacation here, and LOTS of idle time to fill, Colvin was recruited to stuff the patterns into bags. I thought I was doing him a favor by providing a great source of "entertainment" which would make the summer hours pass by with great speed. He accepted the assignment and was polite enough to wait until I was out of the room before rolling his eyes in true teen-age defiance.

After arriving home from work, I found the stuffed patterns in neat stacks on the dining room table. Colvin helped me pack them into the shipping box. I tried to get him into the box too, but soon realized that I would never be successful, as his weight FAR exceeds the 70 pound limit of the United States Postal Service.

After adding the ship to/from labels, Colvin commented that the "S" in my logo, looks like a snake. I assured him it wasn't and that it was he who inspired the fishing boy who sits on the "S" of my Silver Creek Samplers logo. Colvin then asked if that meant he had a stake in the company. Without missing a beat I replied, "A hot dog maybe, but no stake!"

This time, his eyes rolled BEFORE I left the room!

Thanks for visiting with me down by the creek,
Diane

...and you thought ALL blue-haired ladies were OLD?

SO NOT TRUE!
That's right dear blogger friends.......I've gone blue!

Allow me to explain....... Thursday night I finished up a week of fun and folly at Vacation Bible School. The theme was Everywhere Fun Fair, and what fun we had! I was "Telly Ticket" the Assembly Leader. It's a great job that allows me to use my God-given big mouth! The kids learned all about who their neighbors are and that they need to be friendly, giving, bold, welcoming, and forgiving....just as Jesus is to all of us! I also worked with my friendly little neighbors by teaching them many new songs and dancing up a storm! It's a tiring week (leave work at 4:45pm, arrive home at 5:20, change clothes, grab a bite to eat and arrive at VBS by 6:00pm!) but the rewards are SO VERY WORTH IT!

Ok. On to the blue hair. I presented a challenge to the VBS kids. If attendance reached 35, I would dye my hair some crazy color. They came SO close, but not quite close enough. Therefore, I decided that I would include all of the teachers and helpers in that count. The kids were quite amazed, as were the adults, that I actually went through with it! Hey, just because you're an adult, doesn't mean you still can't have fun, right?! Colvin was my technical teen, helping run the laptop with the DVD as well as giving life to our puppet mascot, Godwin the Bird! He wanted in on the blue hair fun too....

His hair is so short and dark that the blue chalk dye didn't show very well, but he still enjoyed being included in the crazy hair challenge! I do so love that boy!

Vacation Bible School may be over for yet another year, but the pictures and memories will linger and won't ever wash out......(much like the blue tint that now clings to my white bath towel!)***sigh***

Thanks for being a friendly neighbor and visiting me down by the creek!
Diane