In the Shadow of the Flames

What started out as a fun day at the pool (across town from our house) ended in my kids and I rushing home to grab what possessions we could from our home. The Waldo Canyon fire was approaching our home in Mountain Shadows neighborhood, here in Colorado Springs, Colorado and we were on mandatory evacuation.
At 12:00pm on Saturday June 23,2012 we noticed smoke on a ridge above where our house is located.
Within an hour it was evident the fire was growing rapidly. A short while after that I was on the phone with my husband, who was home and had turned on the news due to smelling smoke. He informed me of the mandatory evacuation but that at this point the fire was still about 4 or 5 miles from our home. Once I had finished packing a bag as if we were heading out for vacation, I stood there totally unsure what I would grab to save from the fire. During this time the police were up and down our cul-de-sac on the bull horn, telling us to get out now. Wedding albums, my running shoes and clothes, all electronic devices... Then just blank. What more could I possibly need then getting out and knowing my precious children, husband and two doggies were safe! After all it is all wood, hay and stubble is what repeated in my mind. Praise the Lord my treasure is not of this earth but in heaven. We loaded the car and then waited out front as we realized our elderly neighbors were still not out. The husband was a bit frazzled as his wife was a bit stressed. We assured them we would not leave with out them. As I was standing in our street the police continued to come down to encourage our speedy evacuation. Knocking on doors and making note of the homes that had been evacuated. One police officer in the course of talking to me said, "You seem like someone who likes to hear it straight." I am I assured him. "I just spoke to the firemen," he began, "This is really big they told me. Where your house is located they will be the first to go. Please do what you can to get your neighbors to leave!" At that time fire trucks began stationing themselves at the entrance to our street. With that our neighbors exited their home and evacuated with us. Now everyone from our street was safely away. Praise the Lord!
From there we checked into the very last pet friendly hotel room in all of Colorado Springs and immediately flipped on the news as we hung on every word. Waiting for when, not so much if, but when the fire was to reach our home. For those of you who watched the Waldo Canyon Fire rage, you know that it took a turn and headed toward Highway 24 threatening more homes that also were then evacuated. Then once again the fire raged back toward our home. We knew that if the fire entered Queens Canyon it was a matter of time before our house was in serious danger. At this point Mountain Shadows was divided, our half of the neighborhood, under mandatory evacuation and the other half, further from the fire only under voluntary evacuation. On Tuesday June 26,2012 the fire did something no human could have expected, planned for or predicted. The fire went against all typical fire behavior and raced, flew, spun and raged. 60 mile an hour winds, fire of 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, Mountain Shadows had no chance to be completely saved from its flames.
As we looked out from our hotel we watched as flames raced down the hill, heading straight for our home. At that point my husband read to us from Ephesians 3:1-14 as we praised the Lord for His unchanging goodness. We settled into the realization our home was lost. The prayers of my children, "Please Lord may our house burn and our neighbors spared." The same prayer that been echoing in our hearts for days.
About 45 minuets later we were notified that our hotel was being evacuated. The Waldo Canyon Fire left many fleeing for their lives and firefighters retreating to a safe place until they could engage again.

Due to the mass devastation of our area and an active fire we were not allowed back into our neighborhood for several days. It was such a strange and difficult experience not to even know for sure if our home had burned to the ground, sustained damage or survived the fire. We waited and waited, still hanging on every word of every news cast, just hoping we may catch a glimpse of our home. Then we saw this map, that only answered for us that our home did not burn to the ground, but what did that mean exactly? Was there water damage, smoke damage, partial destruction? Clearly the fire approached our home.
In the days to come, different evacuated areas were lifted and we tried to get as close to our neighborhood as possible. We were not the only ones from our neighborhood with the same need as I introduced myself to a couple who pulled up next to our car. After trading stories they invited to take us out for ice cream to which we excitedly accepted. What a wonderful treat and blessing!
Then the day came we had been waiting for. The day we got to go and see our homes or lack there of for some. We first drove throughout our neighborhood, gasping and weeping as we surveyed the damage. Homes burned to the ground and others burned on the perimeters. A war zone, our neighborhood looked like a war zone a scene I will not forget. Then we made the drive to our home. Passing first our neighbor across the street whose home, sadly had burned to the ground. It must have been an ember that landed on the roof. Our hearts broke and reality of the devastation continued to hit us hard.

Then we saw the front of our home. My husband went in first to see what damage may be inside. He came out and said there is nothing, the inside is fine. We were shocked! Amazed and completely in awe to find that, yes the fire did approach our home but it did not burn it! Our home no doubt was saved by firefighters! It is evident to us that not only fire hoses were used to save our home but two garden hoses as well.  It is due to the bravery of our firefighters that they SAVED our home! They saved our home! I just kept repeating, that they saved our home. The home that we were convinced was lost was saved. Praise the Lord for His amazing grace!

We had a welcome home surprise. We were so excited to see deer laying in our yard Not all wildlife was lost! 

We only were able to stay in our home for a handful of hours due to the evacuation orders still being in effect. A couple days later brought us to yesterday, Tuesday July 3, 2012 the day we got to move back into our home.
This was our welcome home... A double rainbow. A reminder to us that our great, mighty God always keeps His promises.

We are home but our hearts break for neighbors and friends who have lost their homes. Please keep our community of Mountain Shadows in your prayers. We all have a long road ahead of us.

We are so thankful to all who worked tirelessly to protect our community not only from flames but from looters as well. 346 homes as of now have been lost, with the expectation that more may need to be leveled due to heat damage, 34,000 evacuated, two lives lost and a total (as of this date) 18,247 acres burned.  The most destructive fire the state of Colorado has ever experienced. We praise God for His unchanging goodness!
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Ruffle Tote Bags

I love ruffles! I do! They just make me giddy like a little girl. So how perfect are ruffles on a plain, boring tote bag? I made these ruffled tote bags for my nieces and just adore how darling they turned out. My four girls fell in love with these ruffled bags as well and have placed their orders... Oh my lots of ruffles in store for me!

For these bags I began with a ready made tote bag that can be purchased at Hobby Lobby or for a tad cheaper at Walmart. Walmart has a package of 3 totes for under $6.00, that is a great deal.

Supplies:
Tote bag
1/4- 1/2 yard each of 2 coordinating fabrics for the ruffles (I always get extra fabric so I chose to go with 1/2 yd. each.)
Ribbon
Fabric for flowers,  if doing fabric flowers
Thread

 There are many different ways to sew a ruffle. I do NOT claim to be a ruffle expert, just a ruffle admirer.  Here is how I chose to sew the ruffles for my bags.

 Lay out your ruffles first to find out where you want them before you begin to sew.

 Once the front of your bag is finished with all it's beautiful ruffles, it is time to finish off the back.

 There are two different looks for your bag. The first option takes the ruffle almost to the top of the bag and  does not leave room for flowers. The second option does leave room at the top to add fabric flowers. I think both are super cute. Just depends on what you prefer.

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Baseball Cake Pops and Baseball Cupcakes

Can it be? An actual post published? I am ecstatic to be back blogging again. So much has happened in my absence. One thing I have definitely come to realize is being a mommy to five young children, the wife of a Pastor and Homeschooling, to really make my plate overflow, keeps me busy! I honestly love the life God has graced me with and wouldn't want it any other way.

One big event in the month of May was my son's first Birthday. For those of you who don't know, the fact he is on this earth is nothing short of God's great hand at work. You can read more about that here.
 To celebrate the joyous occasion, I made baseball cake pops and cupcakes. It seemed to be the perfect choice since my son is named Nolan Ryan after my hubby's favorite baseball player.
I do have to warn that the stitching on the cake pop proves more difficult than I anticipated. I tried different methods and the one that I found to work best was using red candy melts in a piping bag with a small writing tip. The food coloring pens do not get the job done! I also suggest looking at a baseball so you can follow the pattern in which the stitching flows around the ball.

Here is a quick tip I have found when working with candy melts. Since I do not own a double boiler or any other fancy candy melting contraption, I created my own. By using a small sauce pan with water in it and a small metal bowl to sit on top. It works wonderfully in melting the candy coating for the cake pops.

For the inside of the baseballs, I used white cake and white frosting since baseballs are white. The how to, on making cake pops can be found all over the web. Click here to see my Turkey shaped cake pop post to see some websites I have used for the "how to."





For the stitching on the cupcakes I used a gel writing/ decorating tube. The gel can also be used on the cake pops and then place them into the fridge to set. However the gel will not harden like the candy melts do. I must say, the gel is much easier to use! It just depends on what your plans are. If you are wrapping your pops or transporting them I recommend the candy melts and not the gel.

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Hoopla Jars

 Allow me to define what is contained in this little jar of fun...
Hoopla: excitement; bustling excitement or activity; commotion; hullabaloo; to-do. 

Synonyms: action, activity, bustle, buzz, stir, thrill, elation...

What is all the hoopla about you ask? In each jar there is a scroll. On each scroll there is a surprise. Each surprise is bustling with excitement... hoopla in a jar!  

Family night is a regular occurrence in our home. To add to the fun and memory making aspect of it all I came up with Hoopla Jars. On each scroll, in each jar contains a different thing to do as a family. From Hide and Seek to going out for ice cream, indoor family camp out, game night, movie night or even family craft night, in each jar there is sure to be hoopla... excitement. For my scrolls I came up with poems or riddles that lead up to the fun activity spelled out at the end of the scroll.

You can simply roll your scrolls, but I found using a wooden dowel (1/4") made it a lot faster and easier. 

 Here is an example of how I wrote out the fun activity in rhyme.

 Binder clips hold the scroll in place...

So a ribbon may be easily tied to hold it closed.

I used baby food jars and just spray painted the lids. Even if you don't have a baby, to buy several jars it will only be a few dollars. The numbers are scrapbook stickers.
We are taking turns choosing a jar. My girls get to choose the number jar they want to open. For us family night is on  Thursday nights, so needless to say the anticipation of opening a Hoopla Jar lasts all week! You could also roll dice to see which jar you will open or just open them in numerical order. After all the jars have been opened, mix up the scrolls and replace them in the jars or take family suggestions for new fun ideas. Hoopla Jars most definitely will be full of lasting memories!

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Haystacks

Simple. Delicious. Fun. These yummy treats are so easy to make, even a child can do it. In fact a child did make these. All week long my girls have been taking turns preparing dinner and dessert. My two younger girls paired up for this tasty treat called Haystacks.  The Internet is full of variations of Haystacks. We used a recipe from one of our favorite kid's cookbooks and want to share it with you!





Haystacks
2- 6oz. pkg. butterscotch chips
3/4 c. chopped or slivered almonds
5 oz. can chow mein noodles

In your slow cooker on High heat, melt the butterscotch chips. Using a wooden spoon, every few minuets stir the chips until they are melted.  When the chips are completely melted gently stir in the chow mein noodles and the almonds. When the Haystacks are mixed well, roll out a sheet of wax paper. Carefully scoop a spoon into the mixture and drop a spoon full onto the wax paper. Keep the Haystacks on the wax paper until set. You may speed up the process by placing them in the fridge.

Super easy and "kids" of all ages will love them.


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L-O-V-E {Cake Pops}

Happy Valentines Day! A day to celebrate L-O-V- E, love! What a wondrous thing love is. What a difficult thing love can be. What a rewarding life lived when love is expressed.
Learning to love others is a precious gift not always easily attained. Receiving the love of others is a priceless treasure never to be taken for granted. Love is complex, multifaceted and never ending. Love has different faces. That of a romantic love or love from parent to child. Love for chocolate or love of an experience lived. Love of a friend and love for the unknown. Though love may take on different forms there is one thing common among all. The Bible puts it this way...
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1Corinthians 13:4-7)

L-O-V-E... LOVE! Thank God for love!

 

To express my love to my family I made one of their loves... cake pops!

Red Velvet insides scream Valentine's Day!

One of the loves of my life. He laughed at seeing our hands covered in red velvet cake. 

I LOVE his laugh!

 Another love of my life! Sneak peak for a later post is her hair bow.

 Cake Pops all wrapped up and ready to enjoy! Here is how I did it.

Fold a piece of wax paper in half. Cut a square (big enough to cover pop) keeping the fold at the top. Then with a zig zag stitch, place the wax paper on your sewing machine, with the fold end closest to you and the open end away from you. Sew up the side and turn as you go in a continuous stitch. Shaping like a heart. So in the end you will have zig zagged the side, the folded top and then the next side sewn. Leaving the bottom open to insert cake pop. Then tie with thread, ribbon, twist tie or what ever you choose. Just another idea of how to wrap up a cake pop. 

P.S. To make cake pops... the Internet is full of ways. Search my site for my Turkey {Shaped} Cake Pops.
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