Pretty Thrifty Christmas and the Old Year

   My very late edition of Pretty Thrifty for Christmas.

 All our snow melted the week before Christmas.

Then we had an ice storm. That didn't last long enough to have a White Christmas either.

So here are my pictures in my wonderful brown and grey Missouri wonderland.

 Disclaimer:

Amy's to blame for that twig!

Amy took these pics on my mom's Ipod.

I then went on PicMonkey and edited them.

Hopefully I will find my camera soon.
 I wouldn't mind if you prayed I would find it... really!

 I found this scarf at Salvation Army for $.50. I found the sweater last year at the same place.

Earrings (giveaway)

Sweater (thrift store): $2.00

Scarf (thrift store): $.50

Tank (given to me)

Skirt (made by me): $1.00

 Shoes (garage sale): $1.00

Total:

$4.50

So much happened this year. Honestly I don't have the time to narrate it all, so I'll just going to make a list.

~smile~

We got a minivan!
(This in itself is worth an enormous hallelujah!)
I won 2nd place for dance at Teen Talent Expo.
Amy joined me on the dance team.
 3 year anniversary of the Joplin tornado.
I started driving!
Michael and I became CPR certified.

I bought a camera for $5.00 at a garage sale, and it worked!
Rukia had her final batch of kittens.
I went to Youth Camp for the third time and enjoyed it the most this year.
 I started Pretty Thrifty.
Amy got her ears pierced.

We went on the first real family vacation we've been on in, well, a very along time.
Mom started eating the THM way.

Rukia, my cat, died.

I turned sixteen, so I got to start wearing makeup.

I broke a mirror.
~giggle~
Started my Sophmore year in high school.

Grandma moved to Heaven!

Michael and I finally got to see the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Jack Sparrow...
"There should be a captain in there somewhere."

The first year my mom did not make doll clothes for Christmas or buy Legos.

We started to realize this is the end of an era;
from Legos and doll clothes, to knives and electronics.

I saw all three Lord of the Rings and finished the Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers.
(I'm going to start The Return of the King very soon!)

What have I learned?
(Ok. What am I still in the process of learning.)

God is faithful even when I'm not. 

I have to keep fighting without giving up.

God is the only one who can fill loneliness.
I want to love deeper with all purity.

That's what happened this year.

What changed this year for you?
Leave a comment below and tell me about it.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Emily

Shared:

Modest Mondays -  Proverbs 31 Monday  - Mom's the Word - A Mama's Story - Mix it Up Monday - Make it Yourself Monday -  Feminine Mondays - Inspire Me Monday  

Christmas: over?

  This year it doesn't seem like Christmas should be over. We only watched a quarter of our traditional Christmas movies (list below), which is SOOO not normal in our house. But this has not been a normal Christmas anyway. I think we are going to be celebrating the 12 twelve days of Christmas this year. So if I still say Merry Christmas and it annoys you...
Sorry.

   About Pretty Thrifty. I've misplaced my camera. It's somewhere in my house, but I don't know where yet. Oops! I also have been just a little lazy about it. But I'll get on top of it!
   Until next time;
   Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! (?)
   God Bless! 

   Movie List:
   It's a Wonderful Life
   Miracle on 34th Street
   Holiday Inn
   White Christmas
   The Santa Clause
   Christmas Carol (George C. Scott)
   Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
   Christmas in Connecticut (Old Version)
   The Bishop's Wife
   The Preacher's Wife
   Frosty the Snowman
   The Nativity Story
   
   What movies does your family watch every year?
   Emily

Let it snow!

A new Pretty Thrifty!

 Our lovely woods... my very own winter wonderland!

  

Twirly! 

Thanks for the pics, Amy!

Faded Glory Sweater (garage sale): $1.00

Skirt (Good Will thrift store): $4.00

Boots (garage sale): $1.00

Leggings (given to me)

Total: $6.00

We Got our first snow of the season! 

 "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"

Merry Christmas everybody!

Emily

Teen for the Lord

Can we go inside now?

Shared:  Modest Monday

Tradition! Tradition!

 Christmas traditions...
~~sigh~~
We all have them, and those who don't need to develop some, and quick. 

In my family, we have LOTS of traditions. Some of them are not even known to the whole family. Some are personal and that person doesn't even realize it until they say, "But it's tradition!

One of our traditions is decorating the tree. 

Traditionally, we kids put the tree together...

 Mom does the final fru-fru...

and the lights... Well, that varies. 

But it eventually gets done and then comes the fun part...

 Ornaments!

My parents get a decoration for each of us kids and one for them every year, so we have a lot. 

By the end of this year we should have (approximately) 91 official ornaments.

Not to mention all the extras. 

 But in the end, it's worth it. 

Next we decorate the outside of the house.

 Trying to put up the lights without a trip to the E.R. is somewhat challenging, huh?

The finished product! 

Yeah!

 We don't usually make cookies as a family, but we did this year and it was voted to be a family tradition from now on.

 My prize cookie.

 My sister Amy with her "Minions".

The first snow!

 Our woods.

 Tiger

Tiger decided that he was going to test the ice on the creek, but since we live in Missouri, we never get thick ice. I knew that if he jumped and couldn't swim out, then one of us would jump in and rescue him.

So we caught him and carried back home. Obviously, he wasn't thrilled with the idea. 

~grin~

These are only a few of ours. 

What are some of your favorite traditions? 

Leave a comment below.

Merry Christmas!

Emily

Christmas Time!!

  My favorite time of the year! Christmas is finally here! We set up our Christmas tree Saturday, and I spent about an hour and a half making sure we had all our ornaments from every year. A few are broken or missing, but nearly all were accounted for. We have an awesome family tradition for decorating the tree. It is one I will continue with my family one day. I think we are going to decorate  tonight. Yeah!
 Merry Christmas!!

 Sweater: $1.00

Lace top: $.50

Shoes: given to me

(All at the same garage sale!)

Tank top: $.50

Jeans: $1.00

Jewelery from my Grandma

 Total: $3.00

  Photography by my sister Amy. Visit her blog here.

Emily 

Teen for the Lord

"Good guys, and bad guys, and some guys in between. "

  Monday night I saw "Pirates of Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" for the first time. (I know, I know; and it came out how long ago?)  Still, I enjoyed the dialogue; all the various tidbits of comedy sprinkled throughout it just made me giggle! And of course my favorite character was Jack Sparrow... excuse me! That's Captain Jack Sparrow!
  We had to wait until our mom got home from the grocery store, because she wanted to see one scene near the beginning. So by the time we started the movie, it was about 10:30 p.m. Suffice it to say we had a late night. But now I know why she wanted to see it.
  If you're a fan of  the Princess Bride, then you were probably giggling some when Jack Sparrow and Will Turner had their little sword fight in the blacksmith's shop.
  Now if you haven't seen the Princess Bride, then you have been deprived and should proceed to watch it in the very near future. In the mean time, here a a couple snippets from both movies.
 That is why my mom made us wait for her!
   My favorite sword fight ever!

 I hope you enjoyed them both! 
 Emily

Pink, Silver, and (ouch!) Conviction!

Thanks to my sister for the photography

Visit her blog here.

 Ear rings (free)
Scarf (garage sale): $1.00
Shirt (given to me)
Tank top: $5.00
Jeans (garage sale): $1.00
Boots (garage sale): $1.00
Total:
 $8.00
  P.S.
  I wrote this a couple of weeks ago. It was supposed to get posted, but it didn't. I just didn't want to go back and figure all the particulars out. ~~guilty grin~~
  Enjoy anyway!
  About a little over a week ago a lady in our church died. She was a beautiful, loving kind and caring woman of God. My dad worked with her and my mom was rather close to her. We went to her memorial on Saturday. Despite the fact it was a sad reason to get together, it was a good time. We had worship and we ( the church body ) came together and supported each other, helping with food, clean up, and loving one another. God has promised us in His word He will turn things out for our good. Charity's passing has awakened some of us to the fact that we are a family, and we need to act and love like it. We are a family because we have to support each other. After all, WWJD? ~~smile~~

  For me, it has made me wonder what people would say about me if I were to die or suddenly leave. Would they say I was a servant, loved  God and people? Or would they be glad that I was gone? So I guess it has made me want to love completely, without expecting anything from others.

  It's good. God is working on me, and honestly, I'm glad. Sometimes it's hard for me to continue to fight and conquer. Unfortunately, He usually has to give me orders for me to do things. I do a lot on my own.

  But, there is grace in abundance. I was reminded of that this weekend. In the sermon Sunday, my Pastor talked about the verse that says "a righteous man may fall seven times but he will get up again."
(Proverbs 24:16) I needed that. A righteous man fights. He doesn't give up when he falls. He grabs the Commander's hand that is stretched out to pick him up and KEEPS ON FIGHTING!

  Also we are fighting from victory. Christ has conquered everything. Period. So if you are with Him you already have the victory and you just have to defend it. It's like defending a position in a battle. You have the victory, but every once in a while the enemy thinks, " I want that position ", and you'll have to fight him off. Eventually he'll get tired of being beaten and leave you alone. Get the picture?

  In Christ you have the victory! So fight like it! Don't give up! You are a conqueror and coheir with Christ! Live like it!

  God bless you my brother's and sister's.
  "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14) Amen!
   
  Teen for the Lord

 After the memorial we kids had a little photo shoot.

Michael is sooo photogenic. But don't tell him I said so.

~~smile~~

 A sweet picture of my lovely brother and sister.

\

This of course quickly took a turn for the worst.

And (of course) Michael won!

Then he turned his wrath on me!

Help!

In the end, we all made up and we lived happily ever after!

Tank: $5.00
Sweater (garage sale): $1.00
Skirt (given to me)
Shoes (clearance, Wal-mart): $7.00
Bracelet (garage sale): $0.25
Total:
$13.25

Yahweh

An odd time, but God's time.

  Good morning, everyone! This is going to be a good week. I am going to believe the report of the Lord. He is good. He is just. He is a strong foundation. A rock when I need Him most and least. He is, He was, and always will be. He is the Great I am.

  My Grandma passed away Thursday. It was a surprise. She went into Code Blue (was unresponsive). We prayed for God to bring her back or heal her, but it was her time to go. It hurts. It will hurt. But it will heal. Death is not "the end, but the beginning of life" for believers. So I'm not sad for her. She is so joyful and happy. And she'll be there waiting to hug me when I get to Heaven. God is good.

  Grief is funny. This is the first time that I have lost someone close to me. So I'm learning to grieve, and I'm discovering something; grief doesn't work the same for anyone. We all handle it differently. But it's not fun to learn how to grieve. Really, I don't even like the word. But I guess we all have to go through it at one time or another.

  Some people cry through it all, some get angry and try to stuff it, others don't know how to grieve. But they still do. Some struggle to believe it's reality. They keep pressing through without changing things. They try to laugh through it, remembering the good memories. This is me.

   But through it all, God is working things out in me. It's good; but weird. An odd time, but God's time.

  Your prayers are welcome. Pray that God will bring this all about to glorify Him and that His love and comfort will surround me and my family.
   God Bless ya'll!
   You are precious in the eyes of God!
   Now go and have a blessed, wonderful week!
   Emily

Shared:
Faithful Fridays with Joy

What truely "makes you Beautiful"

These guys know what to look for in a girl. 

God bless them all!

Emily

(1:40- 1:41,

2:40-2:48)

Cracks me up!

Jean Skirt Tutorial.... Finally!

  A really long time ago, I said I was going to write a tutorial of my Jean Skirt pattern and then didn't do anything with the idea. I got some new jeans a long time ago and had some old ones that were about ready for the dumpster. So, I pulled them out and started cutting.

What you will need:
2 pairs of jeans. One for the body of your skirt and one for the panels.
Pair of scissors.
Thread that matches the color of the pair of jeans you are using for the body.
Sewing machine.
A strong enough needle to go through the jean material. (Most needles meet this specification.)
Large table or ironing board.

Step #1:
Cut along the inside seam of the first pair of jeans.

 Step#2:
Second pair of jeans.
Be sure that the fabric isn't wrinkled or it will be uneven after you cut it.

Cut along the inside seam of the legs.
When you're done, you should have two pieces that, spread out, look like this.

Step#3:
Pin the back of the first pair of jeans to one of the panels you just cut.
 Here's a close up of the crotch area. Keep trying it will get flat eventually.
( Be sure to fold in the edges of the legs so that they don't fray visibly. I only fold it once, but it doesn't matter as long as the end product is flat.)
                                                                                                                  

Step#4:
Repeat all of Step# 3 on the front of the skirt, except don't fold in the edge (unless you want to).
Pin along the original seam.

Step#5:Now, sew! Stay right outside of the seam in the front and about  a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch from the edge in the back. When you get to the crotch, sew slowly, and just trust your pinning skills. If you have to, take it out, and try again. 

 Step#6:

   You now have a handmade skirt! Congratulations! 

   If you want to, you can add flowers or paisleys; whatever you like! 

             

                                                            I left mine plain this time.

                                                                           ~ smile ~

For a knee length skirt:

Cut off jeans evenly at the knee.

Follow step 1# on jeans and cut off pieces. 

Take one panel and cut it in half. Cut off the hem. This will be your front and back panels. You should have one pant leg left over. 

Follow steps #3 and #4 and #5. 

Now hem the bottom. Fold it in twice for a tight hold. Sew.

Have a great time sewing! God Bless!

Emily

Mumtopia - Inspire Me Monday- Mom's the Word - Modest Mondays -  Proverbs 31 Monday  - Mom's the Word - A Mama's Story - Mix it Up Monday -  Inspire Me Monday  - Feminine Mondays -