Around the World Blog Hop

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since we have posted.  I will let you know what we have been up to. But first, I wanted to introduce this post.  We were invited to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop from Sew Stormy.  Shannon is amazing and we have mentioned her before on our blog.  You will have to click on by and see what she is up to.  If you love quilting and sewing, then don't wait another second...go and check her out!   Now I'm supposed to introduce myself.  I'm Briana and I'm the oldest of the four sisters here.  I am the mother of eight wonderful children.  We are now entering into and right in the middle of the teenage years to a couple of boys.  That is quite the experience!  My husband is finishing up his OB/GYN residency next year and we are all super excited and hope to see him more.  :) I give piano, violin and viola lessons after school as well.   I am currently finishing up my Bachelors degree from Arizona State University.  After this semester, I will have only two classes left.  That has kept me busy along with the demands and joys of motherhood.  That is one of the reasons why our blog has taken the backseat this past year.  We have been really busy with our Etsy shop as well.  If you want to check it out the link is Babblings and More.   But I love to try new recipes and I love to sew, especially quilts.  I love to craft and I go through different "phases" as to what I like to work on.  Sometimes it's jewelry making, sometimes hair bows, sometimes it's refinishing furniture.

Now onto the questions:

WHAT AM I WORKING ON?

Making slips is always a joy when I listen to General Conference that can be found on the Mormon Channel App.  Our slip shop has been keeping us busy and we are also preparing to do a few boutiques this holiday season.

And who doesn't love a good cupcake? These were the cupcakes from my son's birthday.  He was born on my 25th birthday and every year since then I enjoy making his birthday special!

How about some yummy cinnamon rolls.  When it starts to get chilly out, I can't help but make some of these babies!

 

I completed my first quilt using free motion quilting on my machine.  I'm in love!  It was so much fun and I look forward to doing many more.

 

 

 I refinished my coffee table in my front room using chalk paint.  It was so much fun and so easy to do and I love the way it turned out!

Trying out some new recipes...the family has approved.  Look for some recipes in future posts like this Raspberry Chicken Salad Wrap.

A few sewing projects that are nearing completion are:
My teenage son's quilt that we are making together.

My 10 year old son's quilt that we are making together.

And lots of merit badges to sew on.  That's what I get for having 5 boys within 5 years!

*Look for these projects in upcoming posts.  :)

HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS OF IT'S GENRE?

 My work differs from others because I never follow the recipe or pattern the way I should.  I look at something, or taste something, and then think of how I could make it myself.  With quilting, I like to look at different patterns or books, pick one that I like and then recreate it in my own mind and then get to sewing.  With food, I see or taste something and as I start to make it, I begin adding new and different ingredients.  I learned to cook like that from my mom, I hardly ever saw her use a recipe, she would just start adding thing together.  My challenge is remembering to write down what I did so I can share it. 

WHY DO I WRITE/CREATE WHAT I DO?

 I love creating items that people will love.  With quilts, I love it when my big teenage boys go and pick out a "girly" quilt out of the closet because they love cuddling up with one of Mom's Quilts.  I love it when my 10 year old son compliments the dinner on how yummy it tastes.  I love it when my kids ask if I can help them make a quilts or teach them to make bread.  That is when it all pays off. 

HOW DOES MY WRITING AND CREATIVE PROCESS WORK?

 My creative process is working all the time in my head.  I'm constantly looking for different things to make and do and then I'm always working it out in my head on how I what to create it.  As far as the writing goes, I try to write it quickly, so I can get back to doing other things.  (So hopefully there aren't too many grammar and spelling mistakes.) A mother's work in never done!

For the next week I will tag the sisters from the blog Wayward Girls Crafts.  The are a group of sisters, along with their mom that craft and look good doing it!  We have been following them for years now and you will love them just as we do!

Motherhood

I was reflecting on Motherhood this afternoon.  I woke up this morning to one of my sons bringing me a chocolate chip cookie that we made the day before on a plate with a cup of water.  It was really sweet, he is always so thoughtful and he wanted to make the day extra special.

My children

  My husband was still at work from the day before.  He started his shift at 6 or 7 am Saturday morning and was scheduled for a 24 hour shift at the hospital in Labor and Delivery.  When he works these types of shifts, it really isn't a 24 hour shift, but more like a 27 hour shift.  The hours that residents works are crazy, but that's a whole other topic.  He emailed me and sent me a sweet text wishing me Happy Mother's Day.  And he was so thoughtful to buy me airline gift certificates so I could visit my sisters and schedule a fun trip with them since I live a couple states away from them.  This was totally unexpected because I have only been on an airplane one other time in the past 30 years.  Crazy, huh?
So I got out of bed and made my daughter's favorite bread, banana bread, with her.  Which ended up being a baking session with all of my daughters, and I absolutely love it!  Then I taught one of my sons how to make meatloaf.  He made it entirely by himself.  He was so excited to eat it for dinner.  

How people see my boys

  The day went on.  I opened hand made gifts from my children.  Gifts like bookmarks, homemade soap, coasters, cards, coupons to do chores without complaining.  (I love everyone of them!)  I got ready for church as one son cut various fruits to put in drinking water for the women at church and another son washed and wrapped baked potatoes in foil for dinner.  I taught one son how to tie a tie as he got ready for church.  He was so excited that he did it all by himself!
My husband came home...exhausted.  He said good morning to everyone and then went to bed.

How I see my boys

We all finished getting ready for church and hopped in my van.  We arrived early...yeah!  And I listened to my son give a talk...as I wrestled, and I mean wrestle, a couple of kids trying to get them to sit still and be quiet. (Talk are similar to a mini sermon that the youth in our church prepare and give to the congregation.)  He did an amazing job!  If fact, he made me cry from all the sweet words he said.  And let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty cry.  It was a pretty ugly cry.  And it didn't help the situation when my 3 year old daughter kept asking "Mom, why are you crying?" over and over again.  And I couldn't answer her...because I was crying too hard.
So after all that, I just sat there and reflected on Motherhood.  Isn't it amazing!?  It's hard work...really, really hard work.  It's exhausting and tiring and exhausting all over again.  We shed tears of joy, sadness, frustration, and sometimes tears and we don't even know why. We cook and clean and wipe faces and walls and windows.  We survive on little to no sleep.  We laugh and love, we give hugs and get hugs.  We smile when they accomplish something big, we smile when they accomplish something little.  We rejoice in the good that we see in them.  Isn't Motherhood great!  It's a noble and wonderful thing!  As hard as it may be, as demanding as it may seem, the rewards are immeasurable.
Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Moms! 
#itwasmom
 

Another Quilting Project

A few months ago I won a fabric giveaway! 

I can't even tell you how excited I was when I received this package of eye candy!  I thought long and hard about what kind of quilt I should make this time. And the design I came up with is so fun!  I looked at so many different designs and incorporated many of them into one!

 I am almost done with the top of the quilt and I love it!

Stay tuned for the finished product...

Tagged!

We were tagged by Suzanne from the blog Written by Suzanne.  She asked us a few questions and these are our answers.  Hope you enjoy getting to know us a little more.  :)

1. Why did you started blogging?

We started blogging to keep better in touch with each other.  At the time, Brooke and Briana lived in Texas and Brittany and Bridget lived in Arizona.  We didn't get to see each other often, so we decided to post different crafts and recipes that we worked on to keep connected.

2. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

We like blogging because of all the amazing ladies out there.  It is a great way to share ideas and also to get ideas!

3. What kind of posts would you like to do more on your blog?


We would like to do more tutorial posts on our blog.  We like it when other bloggers do tutorial posts, but they are really time consuming and most of the time, we forget to take pictures of every step.  :)

4. What kind of posts do you like reading on blogs?


 Like I mentioned above, we like reading tutorial posts.  But we also love looking at recipe posts.

5. What is your favourite beauty product?


I love lotion.  My skin gets really dry and I like to keep my skin hydrated.  Mascara is my go to makeup item!


6. What is your favourite beauty brand?


I don't have a favorite beauty brand.  I'm always changing things up and trying different brands.

7. What is your favourite colour to wear on your nails during fall and winter? 


During fall and winter, I generally wear darker colors on my nails.  Not very often do I wear any polish on my fingernails because they just get all chipped with everything I do on a daily basis.  My favorite polish is OPI.

8. What is your favourite colour to wear on you nails during spring and summer?


During the Spring and Summer, I wear lighter colors, usually with a little sparkle.  I love it when Brittany paints my nails!  She does some incredible designs with polish!


9. What is your favourite colour to wear this spring and summer?
 

I personally like wearing green.  But during the spring and summer months, I also like to throw in some pink and purple.

10. What is going to be your must have this spring and summer?


Since I just had a baby 2 weeks ago, my must have this spring and summer is my new diaper bag. I love it!

11. What are your favourite tags?



My favorite tags are recipes and furniture tags.  

Thank you Suzanne for asking all these questions.  They were really fun to answer!  

If any of you want to answer these questions, please let us know and we will tag you!

The Bear Reunion

We have been missing in action for a few days.  We all have been having so much fun at the Bear Reunion.  Our Mom's maiden name is Bear.  Isn't that such a fun name!  Grandma and Grandpa Bear host the reunion every year in June and we all look forward to it!

We drove to their cabin in Lakeside, AZ.  The weather was perfect and the company was even better.  The kids spent most of the time on the lake.  The cabin is on a small peninsula on Rainbow Lake.  Grandpa Bear made a small beach near the dock.  We also had fun playing beach volleyball, softball, participating in Ping Pong tournaments and eating lots of yummy food.

The Reed Family at the Bear Reunion

We put together a small orchestra to play for our Sunday Meeting.  It was so much fun!  We had adults and children playing.  Our mom was the conductor.  We had 13 people playing: 2 cellos, 3 violas and 8 violins.  It was really a neat experience!  We played Love One Another arranged by Larry Beebe.  

One big announcement:  Brittany announced the she is pregnant!  She is 20 weeks along!  So now we have Brooke expecting in August and Brittany in November.

Stayed tuned this summer for some fun recipes, crafts and giveaways...

A Very Special Birthday

Our Mom's birthday is today!  And our Dad's birthday was last Sunday!  We are so thankful for the example that they have been to us.  

They have taught us so many skills such as music, hard work, welding, changing the oil, driving a standard transmission, changing the tires, gardening, performing in front of people (we had a family band), canning, cooking (Mom could make a wonderful dish by just throwing things together), baking, riding horses, working at the ranch, shoveling manure, blacksmithing, dutch oven cooking, milking the cow and the list goes on and on...

We had such a fun childhood and it was because of the experiences our parents provided for us.  When someone had an activity, the whole family helped.  We worked hard and played hard.  Life was fun!

One fun memory we share is the time our Dad ran into the house and said he found gummi worms hiding outside under the dirt clods.  We recently had part of our field tilled up and he went out one morning and hid gummi worms under the big dirt clods.  We thought it was amazing that gummi worms were coming out of the ground!  Now that we are older, Brittany has tried to recreate this experience for her kids, but she said that it needs to be a cooler morning and not in the middle of a hot day...the gummi worms melted.  :)

So I talked to my Mom this morning and asked what she wanted to do on her birthday today.  Most Mom's might go and get a pedicure or go shopping or even relax, not our Mom.  She wants to try our her new weed eater and remove the nails out of the boards from the chicken coop they tore down.  Only our Mom...we love her!

We are thankful and blessed to have them as our parents! And love them to pieces!

What have your parents taught you?

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Spring is Here

I love this time of year!  All of the blossoms and warmer weather is something that I look forward to during the cold winter months.  I love the smells of the flowers and the new foliage on the trees.  

For those of you who keep up with our blog, you might know that I have five boys.  So that means we do a lot of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts!  We have amazing Scout leaders here in El Paso and the boys earn so many awards.  It's really impressive!  Last month the Bears (the 9 year old boys) worked and completed their Photography Belt Loop.  Their assignment was to take pictures and show them to the den.  My son was so excited!  He asked his Scout leaders if he could edit them in Photoshop as well.  They told him he could and these are the pictures that he came up with.  I did not take any of these pictures or edit them.  These are all the works of a nine year old boy.  I love how they just scream SPRING!

Happy Spring!

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BillionClicks.org

A couple of weeks ago, all of us sisters went to the Time Out for Women in Albuquerque, NM.  I posted about it last week.  We had so much fun!  There are so many speakers that I absolutely loved, in fact, I loved them all!  I just wanted to take the time to talk about Hilary Weeks and a project that she is doing right now called BillionClicks.org.   

I think that this is such an excellent program that I shared it with my family for Family Home Evening Monday night.  For those of you who don't know, every Monday night we gather together as a family and spend time together.  We sing, have a lesson, activity, pray and always end with a treat!  Anyways, my older kids knew that I had something special to share with them all week and they knew that it involved a clicker and they were so excited about it!

I shared this video with my family.

And then I explained that I have a clicker that each person will take for a day and will "click" their positive thoughts onto.  We will then record our "clicks" onto BillionClicks.org.  They were all so excited!  The only problem is that I only had one clicker and they all wanted to go first.  So we had to come up with a rotation schedule and these boys are really clicking away!

Next week at Family Home Evening we are going to discuss the difference  that clicking made in our personal lives and the difference in our home this experiment makes.  I really think that this was an inspired program that will aim our focus onto the positive things in life.  There are so many distractions in life that can get us down and make us feel useless and worthless.  But with all of the blessings and opportunities that come our way everyday, it's important to acknowledge and focus on the positive things. 

Hilary Weeks and our Sisterhood!

So go ahead and CLICK away!

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Time Out For Women

This past weekend we all drove to Albuquerque to attend the Time Out for Women Conference.  We had such a great time and built many fun memories.  Our mom joined us along with our sister-in-law, Karlee.  She is so beautiful and so fun!  We missed hanging out with our other sister-in-law, Larissa, but she is getting ready to have a baby.

We stopped at this fun place to eat called Sparky's in Hatch, NM.  The food was great and the atmosphere was upbeat.

Brittany ordered a Root Bear Float that was tasty!

Brittany and Mom

The BBQ was yummy, especially on the pulled pork sandwich!

Karlee, Briana, and Bridget

When we left the restaurant, the line was out the door and the parking lot overflowing! We wanted to get a picture of us in front of the building with the Colonel from KFC, so we asked a group of military men to take our picture.  We were a little off centered, but it worked.  

Brooke joined us from Amarillo when we got to our hotel.  We wanted to go and see the Albuquerque Temple.  However, there weren't enough seats in Mom's car, so Karlee sat on the floor.  We looked like a bunch of clowns piling out of a car in the circus!

Brooke, Briana and Karlee

Brittany and Brooke

Briana, Brooke, Brittany, Karlee, Bridget, Mom

Karlee, Brittany, Brooke, Briana and Bridget

Mom, Brittany, Brooke, Briana, and Bridget

Karlee, Brooke, Bridget, Brittany and Briana

Before the Conference started, we stopped by and ate at Chick-fila.  The cow came up behind Karlee and scared her so bad!  We were all laughing so hard!

We were so excited to see and hear Jenny Oaks Baker.  She played amazing!

We heard so many speakers.  Friday night, we listened to Dean Hughes.

After the meeting on Friday night, we ran into our cousin, Julie.  We didn't even know that she was going to be there.  So we were all excited and sat with her and ate lunch with her the next day.

Hilary Weeks performed and spoke on Saturday.  She did a great job and was so fun!  She talked about thinking positive thoughts and counting them on a clicker.  She started a website trying to get to a billion clicks.  So we all bought clickers to count our positive thoughts!

We all had such a great time and would definitely go again!

Julie, Karlee, Bridget, Brittany, Mom, Brooke, and Briana

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Did you know?...

~There are two little tricks you can use to see if you look best in warm or cool colors. You can look at the inside of your wrist and if your veins appear blue you are a "cool", if your veins appear green you are considered "warm". You can also hold something gold and something silver up to your skin, if the gold compliments your skin you are a warm and if the silver compliments you then you are a cool. This is not a strict rule, just a general guideline to help you find the right shade.