HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!

Happy birthday to our loving wife and mommy!

Love,
Shane and Emma

A Hard Goodbye...

Today I had to say a hard and sad goodbye to my good ole' buddy, Chase. Chase was our family pet I got the summer between 5th and 6th grade. He was 13+ years, and ready to go. I will miss him. I had to say goodbye via webcam. I so wish I could have been there with him when he went. Here are a few pictures to remember him by.

Chase L.J. Blackman
April 3rd, 1996 to December 8th, 2009

Bella and Chase hanging out

Chase and my mom

Chase, thanks for the great years of your unconditional love and companionship. I pray you had a good life and are chasing rabbits now! You are loved and will be missed!

May I Go Now?

May I go now?
Do you think the time is right?
May I say goodbye to pain filled days
and endless lonely nights?
I've lived my life and done my best,
an example tried to be.
So can I take that step beyond
and set my spirit free?

I didn't want to go at first,
I fought with all my might.
But something seems to draw me now
to a warm and loving light.
I want to go
I really do.
It's difficult to stay.

But I will try as best I can
to live just one more day.
To give you time to care for me
and share your love and fears.
I know you're sad and afraid,
because I see your tears.

I'll not be far,
I promise that, and hope you'll always know
that my spirit will be close to you
wherever you may go.
Thank you so for loving me.
You know I love you too,
that's why it's hard to say goodbye
and end this life with you.

So hold me now just one more time
and let me hear you say,
because you care so much for me,
you'll let me go today
Susan A. Jackson

PUT ME TO REST

Time to let me go my friend,
Because my life no-one can mend,
It’s better to let me go this way,
Than watch me suffer night and day.

I'm happy to go, my time has come,
My quality of life is no longer fun,
I’ve been so ill, so it’s not a bad thing,
To let me go forever resting.

Stay with me till I drift away,
Fast asleep forever I pray,
To relieve me from suffering and pain,
What more can I ask from my best friend.

Don't be sad, I'll be free from pain,
Never to be ill ever again,
I know you'll miss me being there,
But all the memories you have to share.

Thank you for being my best friend,
And all my needs that you did tend,
Try not to be sad, try not to cry,
Now is the time to say goodbye
Put me to rest.

Tryin' to Catch Up...

I am way behind here, so here are a ton of pictures! We are all doing well, extremely busy. Shane has had to do some traveling for work, and will be gone again some this week. I have several sewing projects in the works with my deadline fast approaching, which is before we leave to go home on the 19th for 2 weeks. I still have tons of Christmas shopping to do, and all my wrapping!
Emma's dress and shoes are done, and I am in the middle of working on her coat. The shoes took me a few tries to get to fit right since I had to make some adjustments to the pattern, I would really like to take one more shot at them, but only if I have time. I won't post pics until after Christmas...I don't want to spoil it! I knocked out 2 diapers bags last week, and have one more to do before Christmas, with more to work on when I get back.
I received my resellers permit, and after the first of year will start ordering stuff to prep for some craft shows I am going to do next year. I need to figure out all the stuff I want to make and how much of it to make.
Well, I am off to bed. We have church and small group tomorrow, and then will probably spend the afternoon sewing, while Emma naps and Shane works on Emma's Christmas present (wood block set...they are looking awesome!)

Emma excited to see her daddy after he was gone for work

Emma hiding behind the shower curtain

Thanksgiving Day

Dancing in the kitchen...we do this often!
Emma loves to dance and loves music

Emma with her cute pink hat...I ordered it online this time last year from Old Navy for her to wear (its 0-3 months) but it was huge, but fits perfect now!

Emma did not like walking on the grass, I wanted to get some pics of her outside, but it didn't happen!

She still wears this headband all the time, she has played with it for months!

Emma with my Christmas bear that I got from my Aunt Cami I believe when I was little, Emma loves it!

She carries it all over the place

Thanks be to God!

The Thanksgiving holiday has been an annual tradition in the U.S. since 1863, as a day to give thanks to GOD! Here are some things that I am most grateful for that my God has blessed me with:

-I thank God for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins

-I thank God for my husband, Shane, who is my best friend
-I thank God for my daughter, Emma, who brings me incredible joy everyday, but also has made me grow in so many ways
-I thank God for my mom and dad, who I love and miss dearly
-I thank God for my family and friends who I get to share life with
-I thank God for being debt free (besides the mortgage)
-I thank God for my church, where I can go and worship Him freely
-I thank God for my bible study groups and small group where I can fellowship with other Christians
-I thank God for my warm, cozy little house
-I thank God for an outlet for my creativeness
-I thank God of a husband who dreams with me, and allows me to pursue my dreams
-I thank God for a job for my husband, and the ability for me to stay at home with Emma
-I thank God for a furball named, Bella, that keeps the other side of me warm at night (Shane does the other side obviously)
-I thank God clean water and all the other conveniences and luxuries I take advantage of
-I thank God for our soldiers and their families, who make the ultimate sacrifice
-I thank God for high speed internet, so that I can feel closer to my family and friends that live so far away
-I thank God for the Harrisons', who always welcome us into their home on holidays that we don't make the trip home to Nebraska, and make us feel like family
-I thank God for the 2 weeks vacation over Christmas to go home and spend with our families

Well, that is just to name a few! Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, The Struckmans!

Where did the weekend go?

Wow, the weekend just flew by! It was a nice and relaxing one though! We stayed home all day on Saturday. Shane, of course, watched and listened to football (we didn't get the Huskers game). I tried my hand at making some fabric labels (which you will see pics of in future sewing projects). They are real simple, I didn't want anything real decorative, they just say 'kt designs' for now.

Today, we made a spur of the moment decision to go to Moline to Lowe's and Hancock Fabrics. I have been looking at patterns online to make Emma a Christmas dress after spotting this beautiful silk dupioni a few weeks ago and finally settled on one, so we went to see if I could find everything I needed for it today. It includes a dress and coat and I didn't know what I was gonna make the coat out of so on our drive their I prayed that God would have His hand in this sewing project (I am not very good, nor have much experience with garment construction) and that He would just make the decisions for me with picking out fabric. We get to Hancocks and I go over to the beautiful silk, picked it up and 2 seconds later this adorable older lady walked by and commented on how beautiful the fabric was, and that even at her age she still wears that bright color, she even took some of it and held it up and said "see it still looks good on me!". She was so sweet, we started talking and turns out she has been a seamstress and designer for the last 60 years (she was in her late 70's). She lived in Europe and studied under someone there, and spent some time in England as well, studying under someone else! I showed her the pattern I was making and that I didn't have any clue on what to use to make the coat, or use for lining, or what to use to layer with it to make the coat heavier (since the pattern didn't call for a lining)...so she said, well lets have a look! So off we go, walking thru the fabric and she pulls out a beautiful wool blend to use for the coat that goes beautifully with the silk for the dress, then we move on to finding a matching lining, then some fabric to layer with the coat! I didn't have to pick any of the fabric out! And during all this she told me that when she woke up today, she had prayed that she would be able to help one person out today, I then told her that I had prayed! How awesome is God! It was such a blessing just to meet this woman, named Elizabeth, and then to have God use her to pick out Emma's Christmas outfit! The coat also calls for buttons, and guessed who picked those out...Shane! I am really nervous about tackling this outfit, and not sure if it will be a success, but I figure if God answered those prayers, He will carry it on thru the rest of this project! (I will have to remember to tell myself that when I am pulling my hair out in the middle of it!) Whether it is a success or not, meeting Elizabeth was a blessing!
Below is the picture of the dress and coat fabric! Its not your traditional Christmas colors, but I wanted something fun!

Below are some fun pics of Emma from this weekend:

Emma's funny face...

more funny face...

and some more funny face!

Emma being silly!

Havin' some cheese and milk

Emma sitting in yet another tote

This was a first, Emma used her rocking chair to get into her grocery cart!

It will only hold her if it is pushed up against something so that it doesn't tip forward

Getting a little too big to squeeze into this!

I also learned this week that Emma is now tall enough to crawl into the bathtub while I am showering! This kid loves water! The second she hears the tub faucet, she is in the bathroom!
Well, its bed time! Have a good week, everyone!