So Long, Farewell

We’re going to be closing down this blog. (This is not an April Fools joke.) You’ve probably all noticed that our posts have been getting fewer and far between and that only Susi posts…which brings us to say…

I (Susi) will be starting a new blog with my other email address. Now, for those of you who would like an invitation, here is what you have to do (and if you don’t do it all right, you don’t get invited! Ehehe!)

Leave a comment saying…

-You’d like an invitation to my new blog

-You’re favorite post on “Hensie and Susi’s Scratchpad”

-What book(s) you are reading

-Your full name

-The name of your favorite cartoon character

-The last thing you ate

Yep, they’re random, even stupid, questions, but you must answer them in order to get an invite. The reason for the questions? Well, if you really want to read my blog, you’ve got to be serious enough to answer all the questions.

We just want to thank all of you for being such great friends, and thanks for taking time to read our blog and leave comments!

Blessings,

Hannah R. Criss and Susanna R. Criss 

Just About to Head Out...

We'll be camping somewhere in Washington with Jon and Kelsie, Betty, and Phil over Memorial Weekend. What are you plans for the long weekend?

After Four Months...

...I've finished it!! Though I didn't read it faithfully, I really did enjoy this book - I learned a lot about Ike (even wrote a short story about him...it'll be on the writing blog someday. ;-), as well as a bunch on WWII. Still, I'm glad to be on to other books...=) 

Happy 17th Birthday, Krista Joy!!!

17 years ago...

I love you!

Bookshelves...

Matthew and Hensie organizing and putting books away right after moving the family room upstairs. 

CH Home School Conference

I know...it's been two weeks today since the first day of the conference and most of you have probably forgotten it. But, posting this has been on my to-do list for a while and I can't leave one box empty on my list.

So, here are some of my highlights...

-Spending time with great friends - the Van Cleves, Susanna Cash, Bryans, Hainlines, Booys, and many others!
-Having a "Jamba Juice date" with Krissy, even though it only last about fifteen minutes.
-Meeting Allen Wolfe, S.M. Davis (I didn't officially meet him, like "Hi, My name's Susanna", but I did help him, his wife, and grandson take down their booth in the vendor hall), Diego Rodriguez's wife and daughters, Steve Riddle, and Ryan Yamane. I almost had my picture taken with Voddie Baucham (that was NOT my idea =P), but he left just as we were getting close to him. =)
-Diago Rodriguez's message "Astronomy in the Bible". I wasn't able to go to the "How Big is God" session, but we bought the DVD and watched that Sunday afternoon. It was amazing!
-Singing in the Choral
-Fainting Saturday night (it's the one thing that I will remember most about this conference.=)

Thursday Night

My Three Adorable Nieces

Grace Carolyn, Hope Felicity, and Elisabeth Jean...aka...Graceable, Hopealee, Betta-Jean

New skirt!

Last night, Hensie finished this skirt which she's been working on (by hand!) for a couple months. (I couldn't figure out how to crop this picture...)

In the mirror. =)

Lazy Cats

Going Through My Old Hope Chest....

...I found this Colonial doll dress I had sewn by hand several years ago.

The back.

Without the cape.

Off-set rose buttons. I thought they were cute. =)

Up close on the front.

What fun projects did you do when you were younger?

Forgot This One...

Another "newie" - Bekah's mirror.

I Forgot...

...but better late than never!

Happy birthday, Sarah!! =)

The New-ies

I considered titling this post "The News" but that wouldn't work. I'd have you all thinking that I was going to announce something big (like perhaps the reason for my absence from the internet world. The reason? Well, um, busy-ness. Guests. Nieces. Reading. Dishes. Aerobics. House-cleaning. Going through our crocheting stuff, sewing stuff, and hope chests. Baking bread and cookies. CH Chorlae music. Life.).  

 

Anyway, on with the post. Daddy bought a new family computer since the old one was getting on in years and was slowing down with all the stuff we had on it. Once he unloaded all the stuff, he gave it to me for writing. It fits great(ly? didn't want to say perfectly) on the desk, though it kicks the mirror out of business. (No need to worry, though. We've got three other mirrors in our room and two more in the next, and still another in the next room, so we can still see ourselves. =P)

When we were up in Lynden, Hannah McD. and Krista gave me this quilt for a late Christmas gift! I love it!! (Thank you bunches, girls!! Did I tell you that green is my new favorite color? =) I think it goes nicely with the dark-wood bed. (Notice that adorable little dog by the pillow - his name is Lavey-Rob. Stop laughing. He's stuffed with fluff and lavender - Lavey - and Matthew said he looked like Rob.) 

Krissy also gave me this plaque. I love it, Kris!! =)

When Grandma and Grandpa were here last week, they brought Aunt Diane's old hope chest for one of us girls. Hensie was the next in line, so she got it! =)

Filled with her favorite books! =)

Goings On

On Saturday, we girls (with Sar and the babies) went to Sarah's Stelzer's bridal shower.

Sunday, we played volleyball, ate cookies, read books, and practiced our CH choral music. 

Today, really clean the house. 

Tomorrow, shopping. 

Wednesday, Grandma and Grandpa are coming!

Friday, G&G leave, Good Friday service at church, Sarah and the girls will spend the weekend with us while Stephen is away hiking. 

And Jon and Kelsie, Betty and (hopefully!) Phil will be coming either this weekend or the next. 

Next weekend, the other Oregon Crisses - cousin Russ and Debi and family and cousin Andy and Dorothy and family - will be coming for the weekend. 

And, in three weeks, we'll be leaving for Lynden. 

Then, the conference! =) 

Happy 1st. Birthday, Graceable!

I love you, Smudgy, Oompa Loompa, Taz, Pun'kin! 

Happy 26th Birthday, Laura!

Happy 24th Birthday, Jon!

Love you!

My Newest Niece...

Hope Felicity Hainline!

It's Snowing like Crazy...

...and I thought it was spring! =)

It's a GIRL!!!

I now have three nieces!! Looking forward to finding out her name!! =)

Visit from the Booys!

Thank you so much, Booy family, for stopping by! It was tons of fun! =)

Baby-sitting, Painting, Watching Gracie...

The last couple days have been very full!

On Wednesday, Momma, Joe, Lydia, and I went to Lori's (Hainline) to watch her four children while she had a midwife appointment. We were there from around ten to five. We had a very good time - the children were very sweet! Lydia and Graciela played with dolls while listening to music, then Graciela and I tried to play tennis outside (she was the better player! =). When it was lunch time, the girls and I ate in their tree fort. Half way through our meal, it started raining, so we pulled out an umbrella and ate under that! =) That afternoon, we played with play dough, watched "Winnie the Poor" (my absolute favorite child's movie! =), read a book, had a pillow fight, and played with dinosaurs, then Lori came home.

Yesterday (Thursday), Momma drove Hensie and me to Sarah's house to paint, then she took Gracie back to our house, then drove Sar to her chiropractor appointment. When we first opened the can of paint, we realized that their wasn't enough to give the whole room a second coat, so we just painted what we could, then cleaned their house. Daddy picked us up around five forty-five. Sarah and Stephen we able to stay for dinner, which was lots of fun!

And, today, while Stephen and Sarah go to some appointment, we're watching Gracie! =)

Our latest "Gracie news" is - she can walk! Only a few steps at a time, then she gets so excited she falls over! =) It won't be long until she's running around! =)

It was a Great Weekend!

My highlights -

-Seeing Jon, Kelsie, Betty Jean, and Phil

-Being able to stay with the Weeses - thank you so much! 

-Seeing everyone at Family Night

-Talking in the trailer with Krista and Hannah McD. 

-Playing "Wally ball" at the YMCA - thank you Will and Phil! It was TONS of fun!

Can't wait to see a lot of you all at the Christian Heritage Conference! 

Silent Blog...

...sorry about that. I've been busy with my new writing blog (if you'd like an invitation, comment and I'll send you one!)

Let's see...what we've been doing that last couple days -

-Volleyball. It's that time of year again! Yesterday, Hensie and I went online and watched some instructional movies on setting, serving, etc. and then worked on those things all afternoon.
-Reading. I'm still reading "Ike the Soldier". It's pretty interesting. I finished reading "Wagon Wheels to Oregon" (they talk about the Wasco Indians. =), and started reading "The Five Little Peppers".
-Watching Gracie. Two days this week, Sarah has come over/dropped Gracie off and we've gotten to watch her! She's a very busy child! She's standing on her own, crawls everywhere, likes to climb stairs and get into toilets, and loves to be tickled and thrown in the air by Auntie Sussy. =)
-Up-coming Trip to Lynden. We'll be leaving on Thursday and leaving Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing you all up there! (And maybe playing a little volleyball, too! ;-)
-Painting. We painted our kitchen a couple weeks back (I still need to take the "after" pictures.) and we're going to be painting Sarah's room today.

And...any day now, Sarah could go into labor! When that happens, we'll go over there and watch Gracie for a couple days. I can't wait for this little niece or nephew! (Leave a comment and guess if it'll be a boy or girl. I'm guessing a boy. =)

Snow's on the Ground

Sunday...

It started out like a normal, rushed Sunday morning. We got in the van on time, most of us had had breakfast, and got to church a couple minutes early.

Then Pastor Keeney came up and asked, "Are you ready to serve the Lord today, Susanna?" Gulp. I'm thinking sing a solo, give my testimony, go to the missions field...yikes! Then, he looked over at the vacant piano. The three pianist weren't there this morning. So, I agreed. I knew two of the hymns, but didn't know the other two. And I didn't know any of the choruses (one of them didn't have any left hand notes - just the chords.) The first couple hymns were okay. Then the projector didn't work, so I didn't have to play the choruses (Praise the Lord! =P) The other hymns were okay - by the end of the forth verse, I was able to play them without making an mistakes. Afterwards, everyone came by, complimenting and thanking me for playing.

When we got back, we had lunch, then played volley ball for two hours.

In the evening, there was a bluegrass gospel concert in Kent (about 27 miles from us). Pastor picked us up in the church bus, which was a lot of fun. We were his first stop - I think we picked up around 7 other people before reaching the church in Kent.

The concert was GREAT - their style is very similar to my favorite bluegrass group - Bluegrass Brethren. Afterwards, they served cookies and punch, then we loaded back into the bus and headed back home.

We got back a few minutes ago. Popcorn was just popped for a late dinner. After eating, we'll head upstairs for a Gomer Pyle episode.

How did your Sunday go?

Just about to head outside...

...and play volleyball! And it was snowing this afternoon. No need to worry, spring really is coming. =)

Happy President's Day!

Celebrating two great men's birthdays! 

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

In our family, we celebrate Valentines Day by having a good dinner (a Thanksgiving meal this year!), and give each other valentines and candy. Tonight, we'll have Gracie with us!

What are you all doing today? 

Books and Our Room

(Sorry the picture is grainy. With the light from the window, I can't seem to get a good-colored picture. So if you really want to see how it looks, you'll have to come and visit us! =) When we were up in Lynden, Grandpa Bob (Mrs. Weese's father) gave us two of these heaters. Momma has one is her room and we claimed the other one. We love it! It's wonderful to curl up in front of it with a book (sometimes, it's a little tight, since lots of people like to sit up close =) and read for hours while totally spoiling ourselves. Thank you so much, Grandpa Bob! 

This bookshelf has been bothering me so quite some time. If you take one book off, the rest are like dominoes and go flying behind the bed. So, yesterday, I bought bookends. This is the before picture...

...And this is after! (You can tell that first picture was taken a while ago, as a lot of the books have been switched!  =) 

I've had some cheap bookends before that didn't hold the books up and my bookshelf ended up looking like a fan, but not so with these! They're nice and sturdy! 

While taking pictures of the new stuff in our room, I thought I'd show you a couple random photos of the room. This is the top of our bookshelf.

To the side of the bookshelf is this stack of Phil's books that can't fit with the rest of the books. We're working our way (slowly ;-) through this stack. 

The bookshelf. 

The color didn't turn out very nicely on this picture. =/

If Jesus Came to Your House

If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If he came unexpectedly, I wonder what you’d do.
Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honored Guest,
And all the food you’d serve to Him would be the very best,
And you keep assuring Him you’re glad to have Him there
That serving Him in your own home is joy beyond compare.

But when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome to your heavenly Visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in?
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they’d been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn’t heard?
And wish you hadn’t uttered that last, loud, hasty word?

Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?
And I wonder if the Savior spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would your family conversation keep up its usual pace?
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing, and read the books you read,
And let him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you’d planned to go?
Or would you, maybe, change your plans for just a day or so?

Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends?
Or would you hope they’d stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do?
If Jesus Christ in person came to spend some time with you.

(Thanks for posting this on Google+, Jesse!)

Fluff N' Stuff

Look Who Showed Up This Morning!

No Smiling!

That's better! =)

 

Playing with Auntie Lydia's Stuffed animals.

With Auntie Hannah

Hannah McD. and Me

Hunka Munka

Trip to Lynden

We had a wonderful time up in Lynden this past weekend! It was great to spend time with Jon, Kelsie, Phil, Betta Jean, and all the Weeses. We got there late Friday night, then on Saturday, while the girls went shopping, I stayed home to watch Gracie. It was really fun to surprise everyone at church Sunday morning! That afternoon, the Van Cleves came over to the Weeses, so were were able to spend more time with them. (Laura wrote up a long post complete with lots of pictures, so check there for more details of our weekend.) 

Sunday night, Kris and I went out to the trailer, and we listened to music, munched on cookies, took pictures, and talked.

Trying to get creative with my picture taking. =) 

Having too much fun. =)