Church Pew Signs...

Hello out there! Considering the weather up here has been so terrible, you would think that I would still have plenty of computer time, but alas, I have been very busy despite the unusually cool temps and MAJOR rain!
Camp starts two weeks from tomorrow, and the grounds needs a bit of sprucing up, so I am painting cottages! Weather permitting, of course. We decided to take the day off today, it is kind of rainy this morning, and the housework has severely suffered in our absence. So this is giving me the chance to catch up on not only chores, but computer time and other odds and ends.
Last week, I did complete two new church pew signs. I posted about these recently, and have a couple up in my Etsy store. These were custom pieces-specially requested with these specific verses. The photos aren't great, but I was in a tear, and the lighting wasn't great..but you get the idea...




So that is what we have been up to! I am still struggling with lack of employment--like so many others right now. Cody is healing well from his recent oral surgery, and Peter is back to work, so we are very fortunate right now.
Thanks for visiting!
**Keri**

Ahh, the dog days of summer.....

You all know how goofy Brodie is...this is one thing we never get sick of--her ridiculous sleeping positions. She is like a pretzel. Needless to say, Harley NEVER sleeps on anything other than her tummy, or her side...so this was a real shocker to us when she came home with us two years ago!If you remember, when we brought her home, she was only 5 weeks old, cause her mother had kicked her and her siblings off. Brodie was already sleeping silly like this, at 5 weeks old! Hard to believe we just passed our 2 year anniversary with her!
Remember this??

Also wanted to add that Cody had his oral surgery on Monday, to expose teeth #6, and #11. (Eye teeth) They were coming in crooked, one in front of this front teeth, one behind his front teeth. The Dr. exposed them--that is a very kind term, huh? And attached chains to them. The chains will be incorporated into his braces, and the teeth will be pulled straight. One of those things that had to be done! He is taking it pretty well--the pain meds are helping!! We are officially on summer break, as Cody is out of school, and I am out of work! I lost all three of my daycare jobs in a week's span. My new position fell through, and the other kid's parents have decided to send their kids to preschool.. It was very unexpected, and left me feeling more than a little bit stressed and heartbroken, but I have had wonderful support from family and friends, and I hope that new opportunities are coming my way! Please keep me in your prayers, as I don't like not working!! Thanks to all my friends (you know who you are) who came to my rescue last week!

**keri**

Have a great day!!

June in Northern New York...

I thought I would share with you all, a view through my eyes, at the past month. Things really move along in June--animals everywhere--butterflies, bugs, birds, frogs, turtles--everything is on the move.
The first pic is of a Luna moth, or as Cody calls them, a Lunesta Moth!! It was just gorgeous!!

This one is one of our many snapping turtles. This time of year they are traveling and you see them EVERYWHERE you go. You have to be careful not to hit them on the roads, and we found ourselves moving them to safety and out of harm's way this spring! This little guy's shell was about a foot long. Not too big, but pretty old, nonetheless!


June is also a big month for my flowers. The daffodils are dying down, but the iris and peony plants are blooming like crazy in June! I got some really gorgeous iris rhizomes from Brecks/Springhill many years ago, and they are really pretty, unusual colors. I thought I would share a few of those pics with you, also!
The very pale pink:: *my fave!*


Very unusual apricot tangerine color:

burgundy:

sky blue::

blue and white::

Aren't they just divine?? God's Creations!!
Have a blessed night!
**Keri**

Father's Day Re-cap

Good morning! I thought I would share a few photos from Sunday morning, of Peter and Cody. Cody got Peter these really cool placemats made out of photographs. If you are interested, visit www.TreasureMats.com to check them out. The gal lives a couple towns over and runs a small copy store. She perfected how to make these durable, and they retain their color beautifully! Check em out! Anyway, as you can see, we now have hunting photos on our kitchen table...(eyes wide in slight terror!!)


Here is a close up on my boys--Cody is looking more and more like his father (if that is possible) every day. He is getting so tall, and his face is changing so much! He is now on summer vacation officially--so he is a happy camper up in his bed right now!!

I have been keeping a few cards in a cute enamel dish, at my dear friend's beauty shop, for sale. I have sold quite a few cards so far, and these are a few of the graduation ones I made. The traffic that goes through her shop is amazing! These fit into a business envelope!

I have also been adding more cards to my etsy shop. www.KeriLouNewYork.etsy.com I had my 7th sale last week, and currently have over 40 items in my shop. I got some exciting new last night-one of my items was included in a treasury, and made the front page on etsy!! I am tweaking the store constantly, so be sure to check back for new items often!
Have a great day!
**Keri**

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!

Good Sunday morning, everyone, and Happy Father's Day to my father, and all the others out there...I thought I would first, share some photos that show the fathers that came before me, the reason I am here today!!
This is my Great Great Grandfather's family, on the family farm, circa 1870's.
John Brooks was his name, and believed to be from Nova Scotia. He is sitting in the chair, sporting the beard. This is the house I grew up in!

This is the next generation, my Great Grandfather, who you see on the far left. His name was Wallace Brooks. My grandfather is the one standing in the back-the middle man.

Next, we have my Grandfather, Lyle Brooks. My dad and his brother and all his sisters, and his Mom. Pa is in the back, Daddy is the younger boy.

This one is Daddy, with me and my brothers, a few years ago. 4, I think. Time for a new pic!

This is another one of Pa, my father's father--just cause I think it is cool!

This is my Mom's Dad and Mom-Papa has been gone for nearly 30 years, and Mom is gonna kill me for putting this in, but I came from him, too! This is the lovely Omi, who you all know and love!!

My Great Grandfather, Leonard Drown, my Grandma Brooks' father:

And last but certainly not least, Daddy and Pa, back before Pa passed, and we spent all of our holidays and celebrations in the nursing home. This one always makes me smile!

I come from a very long, very strong line of men, as you can see! My brothers are no exception. I just want to take this time to thank the strongest one, Daddy- for your kindness, your generosity, and your strength. You have always set a wonderful example, not just for me, growing up, but for Peter and Cody as well. You always do the right thing, (at least in my eyes) and you will never know how much I respect and love you. Thanks for being the best Daddy *EVER*!! I LOVE YOU!
Happy Father's Day!
**Keri**

My Latest Creation...

So, I mentioned last week on my Etsy post, that I had some new creations in this crazy maze I call my brain...Geri from Saddlepotatoes had given me a suggestion for some barn signs, and I decided to run with it, and see what I could come up with...and anyone that knows me, knows that once I get a picture of something in my head, I am not satisfied until I get it created!!
So, I just happened to have some old boards laying around--okay, so Daddy just sent them home with Peter and I a couple weeks ago, and as soon as Geri suggested barn signs, these boards had a purpose! The board for the initial one I made, came from a 100+ year old church pew. Re-purposed? Re-cycled? YUP! And what has more character than an old piece of wood--who knows what kind of stories it could tell..It even has remnants of an old square nail in it! The back is covered in brown paint, but the front is the original wood (underside of the seat) and it was barely touched before I painted it. Just a VERY light sanding...I painted, sanded lightly again, and sprayed it with matte sealer. The wire hanger I added is old rusty wire, to add a bit more character! Everything in my house is pretty much mismatched, antique, or just plain old, so this would fit in well! I think I will make one for myself, and make some for the Etsy store, with several different sayings on them...What do YOU think??

Have a great night!

**Keri**

Friday Greetings!!

Can you believe it has been more than a week? I tried to update all day yesterday, but blogger was not cooperating with me! Things around here have been pretty crazy these past couple of weeks. School is wrapping up for Cody, and he will be a freshman in the fall! Hard to believe! My daycare kids will be with their teacher/moms all summer, but I picked up a new daycare job that will start next week, so I will be as busy as ever! It is such a huge blessing, and relief to have employment through the summer, though!

I added a new header to my etsy store. It is not the permanent one, but better than the one I have, so let's just call it the "interim" header. I have added some of my paper star ornaments to my store, as you can see below. I will be added three dozen more, hopefully, today! Depends on the kids..You know how that goes. I also have another idea floating around in my head, thanks to Geri from the SaddlePotatoes blog (linked on right). I have some reclaimed church pew wood, and grainery wood, that I am going to put to good use, and paint up to put in my shop. Stay tuned to see the first creation! And thanks, G, for the inspiration!

Peter and Cody have been fishing every available minute they have...Now I need to figure out how to cook the stuff..not that I will eat it, but they will! Here they are with one of their most recent catches:

Cody's cousin miss Bea came for a visit last week, and she LOVES to smile for the camera, just about as much as she loves cousin Cody! Aren't they cute?


And last but not least, I bet *YOU * have never seen a killer cucumber before! Cody grew this cuke plant in tech class at school. The tech part was how they actually grew it-is some kind of water bottle apparatus with vermiculite and miracle grow. Pretty cool, actually. We transplanted it, and it was in the kitchen window, waiting for the last threatening frost to pass, when Peter came in one day and said---someone is choking your President...I was like..."WHAT??" He said it three times, when I finally came over to see what the heck he was talking about....apparently the cucumber doesn't feel very patriotic, cause he wrapped his killer tendril right around Uncle Sam's neck!! When Code came home that day and I pointed it out, he couldn't stop laughing...I asked him what kind of seeds they raise at that school of his! Uncle Sam was rescued, and will live to see another Independence Day!

That is it from here, have a great weekend everyone!!

**Keri**