a lost voice

based on my number of posts last year, I lost my voice in 2013. 

I wonder if you've ever felt like me? I found myself getting lost in the lives of my favorite bloggers and not my own. I found myself wanting to have the perfect post instead of a honest sharing of my heart. I found myself creating just so I could share it in this space. then I found myself disliking more about blogging than I liked. so I made a decision to take a pause. that pause turned into a stop. 

unfortunately when the words stopped flowing on my blog, my creative juices stop flowing as well. It wasn't until November that I started knitting and finishing...anything.

 

a few of his creations as the loom craze hit our house

one of my 2014 goals is to rekindle my love of creating, writing, and connecting in this space and in yours. I invite you to travel along with me this year. welcome back.

birthday blessings to you!

today is my best friend's birthday!

happy birthday lisa!

lisa and I met at Grove City College all the way back in 1986 as freshmen! It was in her dorm room that I rededicated my life to Christ. It amazes me that we've been friends for 23 years!! A lot has happened in that amount of time-weddings, jobs, homes, children, moves, more children, lots of long distance phone calls, tears, crafts, thanksgiving visits, vacations, knitting, lots of laughs and memories too many to count! oh the places we have been. and oh the places we have yet to go!

lisa is one of the women I look to as a "gold standard" of godly women. this girl is a godly woman! she does everything so beautifully and with such love! I admire her knowledge and application of God's word, her dedication to her children's education by using hers to homeschool, her 'just try it' attitude, the amount of love she invests in each of her friends (and their families), the care with which she decorates her home, the economical way she feeds and tends to her family's needs, and the help meet that she is to her dear husband. I have learned so much from her! thanks for all the ways you bless me lisa!

I am SO blessed to have this godly woman in my life! I only hope I can be the friend she needs as well.
Love you Girl!
little one

yellow: day five

yellow week is coming to an end. I've enjoyed seeking out the yellow in my home. with all the grey outside, it was fun to find small pieces of sunshine to focus on inside. these are my last two yellows.

yellow: day five

scrap quote by lisa

and kitchen cookbooks

(just can't get enough light into the house for good shots! sorry.)

this week started off really grey for me. my spirit was heavy, bogged down, and tired. ever have one of those weeks where you know something is just not right, but you just can't figure out what it is? this was that week for me. I think I'm going stir crazy. we've had so much snow, so many grey days, and not much outdoor time. who wouldn't be restless? but in the restlessness I need to be able to find peace. we're not promised bright sunny days, warm sunshine, and happiness every day. we're promised a heavenly father who is beside us each step of each day helping us make the most of a life honoring Him. so in the end, my week ended just fine. my MIT (most important tasks) for my business are complete! my laundry is caught up! my house is clean! and the boys and I are going on a road trip! get ready aunt kathy...here we come! humm...seeking out...I was seeking out yellow each day, and I found it. what if I seek out Him each day? I'm guaranteed to find Him!
have fun seeking out the blessings in this weekend. check back next week for a few finished knitting gifts and a peek at my new cross stitch project!

createthursday

so if you read my last post, you know yesterday was a day I was looking forward to. these photos summarize of my activities.

I started with my favorite- blueberry pancakes. we put together connor's valentine's- a bookmark, pencil, and a star wars valentine.I found a great shot of the cousins to put in this stamp block frame.
I worked on my christmas daily scrapbook. yes...christmas...yes...I'm still working on it.I updated my project 365 cards.I made a bit of progress on my punch needle.
I also made some progress on the pink paper bag hat. you'll see just a peak of my crafting lounge pants made my lisa. I even wore them into subway to get lunch. connor asked, "mom, why do you have your pjs on?" all I could think was why not?
I finished the afternoon and evening making pretzel buttons for spencer's class.I'm not sure what I was thinking. I was thinking I'd have more time. but where was it to come from? I still had c.e.r. home in the morning, the same few hours with both at school, and my same responsibilities waiting in the evening. what was I thinking?

thanks for the day, lord, it was a good day.

anticipation

so I was a busy, busy bee today wrapping up loose ends around our home, so that I could have an entire day free to do what I want. what's the "I want?" craft, create, knit and watch a few dvds!! I've not conciously done this before, but I'm full of anxious anticipation for my createthursday!

what spurred this on? an outburst about three weeks ago. I broke down crying in the kitchen (while the boys were at school, of course) yelling "when do I get to do what I want to do??!!??" some days feel like that. you're probably like me-a willing giver of your time, energy, talents, and gifts. all that giving without some refilling, and I had a recipe for a crying fit.

so I'm off to finish my laundry, so my mind is free to start a few new projects tomorrow.

grandmother's needles

the end of my day and no 365 picture taken.

"maybe I'll just skip it today. no. take your time and find something meaningful," I thought. while mark put the boys to bed, I went to my craft room. remembering flylady's montra "you can do anything for 15 minutes" and the mission of decluttering this month, I had a plan.

as I began to clear spaces and put things away something became clear...as I looked around the floor and counter, all I could see were my grandmother's craft items- stacks of quilt squares yet to be put together, framed projects from her home that I choose to add to our home, lots of yarn, and lots of knitting needles. back in november when she died, I received all the 'craft items.' I was happy and thankful to take them as I wanted to be sure a family member inherited all those precious tools. but since then, I haven't been able to do anything with them. her memory too fresh.

tonight my latest clearance find-this large jar from target ($2.37 thank you very much) has found a purpose! It now holds my cherished collection of knitting and crocheting supplies from grandmother. May the projects I make with these needles be as well loved as hers always were.

and as leslie said, "like her hands are holding yours."

craft to relax

sunday afternoons are pj days for our family. once we arrive home from church, we all get "comfy" and begin a day of recharging. it's quiet around here, and I like it that way. on a typical sunday afternoon, connor takes a nap; spencer reads or plays his psp; mark watches sports and is found not far from the couch; and I flutter about-sleeping for a spell, maybe a load of laundry or two to get a jump on the week and possibly some craft time.

I spent a good portion of yesterday crafting. kathy and I started making cards before church, and I continued after she left for home. funny how all crafters are unique in their tastes and styles. my aunt and my sister like to make one unique card after another, while I like to spend time planning out ideas to find one I love, so I can make multiples. so yesterday I lifted an idea my sister created with one of my stamp sets and made multiples. some of these sets will be used for birthday gifts for special friends.

kathy purchased 100 of these pale pink, postcard style cards at a local high end stationery store that was closing it's doors. she picked them all up for $6.00! I added some $1.99 ribbon from michaels and my stamp design, and called them delicate.

after my cards, I moved on to knitting. I finished another "rosebud" baby hat for one of mark's co-workers and started the "pink paper bag" hat for a special friend. both of these hats are found in itty bitty hats by susan b. anderson. those pictures will come tomorrow.

cancer free

kris is cancer free!
you may remember this post from last year. a lot has happened to my friend kris since her surgery (many things she keeps hidden away from all to see), but today is a joyous celebration!! her oncologist said the words she fought so hard to receive- "you're cancer free!" yippee kris is cancer free!!

praise the Lord for this blessing!

at some point during her chemo treatments, I remember asking kris "how do you know the treatments are working?" she replied, "we don't. we just trust that based on previous patients this course of treatment will work." wow! trust that it will work. faith that it will work. kris trusted by praying her way through each and every visit.

being a survivor will bring it's own set of challenges. but in kris' words- each day from here on has sunlight shining on my face. blessings to you kris, my dear friend, blessings indeed.

65 minutes

when I'm in an "off" kind of mood, I go to comfort activities- cleaning and organizing. so today, stacy, encouraged her readers to see what they could do in 33 minutes. I had a little more time than that, so in the past 65 minutes I have:

:: cleaned the bedrooms- dust, swiffer, sweep, straighten

{these are my favorite crying pictures of the boys that sit on my dresser. after all, they're not always smiling.}

:: put away three small loads of laundry
:: started 1 one load of towels
:: put my newly developed pictures in my project 365 album :: watered our three plants

:: swept and wiped down the van
:: made spencer a small art gallery of projects on his desk :: updated the pictures on connor's picture tree

:: and returned these "lost" items back to their homes
so, what do you do when you're feeling blue?

three posts; one night

mark blessed me with time tonight. time to update my flickr and blog. thank you for your love bud man.

so with all that time I share three {count them} three posts, so don't miss a bit- crafting wip, big rocks of my life, and card making. thanks for visiting my family and friends!

big rocks of my life

one word + big rocks = big rocks of my life project

this year ali edwards encouraged her blog readers to choose a word for 2009. a single word that would be your focus for the year. take the time to read her post and then read the words her readers shared. this idea was one part of the inspiration for my big rocks of my life project.

over my years of using the franklin planner system, I've heard the illustration of rocks a few times. in case you haven't...you have a collection of large rocks, pebbles, and sand. your job is to get all three items into a glass cylinder. where do you start? you begin by putting in the large rocks then add the pebbles then pour in the sand. if you visually imagine yourself doing this, you see yourself setting in, planning for, arranging everything to place the big rocks. when you add the pebbles you don't have to be as precise because they will fill the space the large rocks couldn't take. and the sand, well the sand can go anywhere. this illustration is shared to relate back to your life and your task list. when you begin with your most important tasks (large rocks) first then add important tasks (pebbles) and finally the sand (least important) you have a much more balanced life. balance-humm that could be another word for 2009. this was the second part of my inspiration.

the two ideas came together, and I created the "big rocks of my life" project. I started with rocks found during my time walking, purchased my favorite paint colors and a paint pen.
this past weekend the project came together. as we started creating cards, I also started painting rocks. "what are you doing with those rocks, mom?" "painting them" "for what?" "a project I'm creating." over and over again until they were done.

after the rocks were painted, I added my 2009 words: grace, discipline, act, create, bless, love, joy, and peace. these are the qualities I want reflected in my life. I'm praying that God will add and increase in these areas, and I will decrease. when others see these shining they will see God shining through me.
my big rocks now sit in my fiesta ware bowl on my dresser. I see them every morning when I rise and every night when I go to rest.

happy birthday katie!

I've known you longer than any other friend. we had only a few short years to be "best friends" while living in the same state, yet reconnecting and staying connected with you has been a treasure in my life.

I remember: activities with your youth group-especially christmas caroling; tretorn sneakers-they always looked great on your feet, not so much on mine; your never ending creativity; changing schools with you; long talks; sleepovers; laughing; whether happy moments or sad, we were together!

Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the other gold.

I pray blessings on you and your family in this year and all to come. continue blessing others with your talents and gifts. I will forever be a cheerleader for you. birthday blessings!

link love

for today, a few links that go away from my sidebar favorites.
:: lisa leonard has a few new designs. beautiful.

:: and on her blog in her January 9th post on recipe help, lisa asked her readers for easy mealtime solutions. some of these sound so easy and so delish! I hope you try a few.

:: I'm not sure how I found A Year of CrockPotting, but I'm sure it will be useful this year. this site has plenty of recipes to try in my new crock pot.

:: and simple mom, well if you're like me and sometimes have a difficult time starting with the most important instead of the most fun, this post is for you (and me)!

:: and stop by passionate homemaking for a book give away.

hope your wednesday was wonderful!

blessing the boys is so much fun!

today I had fun blessing all my boys!

blessing #1

It started early...I buttoned up and went out to start pmr's car and clean off the inch of snow covering it. I try to start it and warm it up as many days as I can. I know how much I hate to get into a freezing cold car {I'm now so spoiled with my remote start}, and I want him to enjoy his ride to work in a warm car.

After bundling up sor for his walk to school, cer and I went outside to play in the snow. you see, yesterday he got new black snow pants and was eager to try them out! so he ran around the backyard, while I used the snow blower to clear off the driveway. after that was finished I started making snowballs.

"what are you doing mom?"

"making snowballs for you and spencer."

"for what?"

"I thought it might be fun for the two of you to have a snowball fight after school. what do you think?"

"sounds fun. will you make some for me too?"

"yes. I'll put all the snowballs in the flower box and you can share them with spencer."

"oh. okay." and off he went leaping into the snow.

blessing #2

I made 60 snowballs for them to play with. they sat in the window box all day until my boys arrived home. I looked at them so many times today and smiled each time thinking about all the fun they would have when they arrived home. **see more about the snowballs at the end of this post**

blessing#3 was motivated by our goal of simplifying in 2009.

I was inspired by erin's packing list to create an errand list for cer in an effort to help him 1. stay occupied during errand days and 2. begin spelling and reading on his own. I listed our usual errand stops along with an illustration to help him figure out the word, added a box for him to check each stop off the list, and made copies. here you'll see our first list with cer's check marks and my numbers showing the order of our stops.

and here you'll see his clip board and the letters he practiced along the way. how fun is that?

you should have seen cer's face as I presented him with his own clipboard, errand list and pencil. he was so proud to be my helper. I explained how the errand list would work; we went through each word together; and we were off! it was so fun! I'm so proud of cer and to be honest, I'm proud of myself as well. my list wasn't perfectly written or illustrated. it wasn't on special paper. it wasn't...perfect. I resisted my perfectionist tendencies and did the project anyway!

back to blessing #2

the fun the boys had didn't disappoint. cer on one side of the yard; sor on the other. throwing until their pile was gone and then restocking and walking back to their positions. it took all of about 20 minutes for the snowballs to be thrown and end up somewhere in the backyard. well worth the time it took me to make them.

"blessing the boys is so much fun!"

waiting for inspiration

I've been waiting to come to this space when I was inspired and had something wonderful to say. I guess if I wait until that happens, I won't be here very much. life is happening...I've been busy getting back to what is our routine.

:: I took down and packed away all the Christmas decorations. {I think we'll put up less next year.}

:: I did loads of laundry. {I completed it all this week; trying not to do laundry on the weekends.}

:: I cleaned and purged rooms to re-purpose old items and make room for new treasures. {we need to do this more often.}

:: I've gone through piles, piles, and more piles of mail and lists. {I need to find one place for all my lists!}

:: I've been baking banana breads. bought a huge bag of bananas at the market for .99 and knew they would be perfect for lisa's recipe. that .99 bag of bananas went a long way- into 16 mini loaves of bread. {we've already blessed 5 others with loaves, and have tucked the rest away in the freezer for when we need just the right treat.}

:: pmr and I started a new study- The Love Dare. {the daily dares have been fun!}

:: I volunteered my time at school doing the estimation station. {love using that spiritual gift-helps!}

:: I've been knitting; just no models to take pictures of during day light. {one hat done and fingerless for boys}

:: I started the 365 project- day by day in 2009. I will be taking a photo a day and sharing it out on flickr, then scrapbooking the day in my new 365 project kit from becky higgins. {inspired by leslie, erin, and becky. it's been a fun start to 2009 using photos.}

:: I've been balancing checkbooks, paying bills, and using my favorite thin markers-flairs.

:: I've been planning for 2009. {more on this in future posts}

:: so, I guess this week my daily routine was the inspiration. {that will have to be enough.}

:: have a wonderful weekend friends!

:: and since I don't like to post without pictures, here are a couple from my week:

a crown to bear, casting my care

approximately a year ago, my dentist warned me of a damaged filling in an upper rear tooth. he recommended it's replacement. I put it off... and off... and off, until early this month when I fractured off two pieces of that same tooth. small pieces to be sure, but more damage to be sure as well. for many months I haven't been eating on that side do to what I called a "zing" feeling I would receive every once in awhile. his new recommendation was a crown for that tooth. a crown?$$? this time I did as I was told and made the appointment.

for those of you just getting to know me, the dentist is my absolute LEAST favorite place to be (thus the procrastination for over a year). for a woman who delivered two 8 lb. babies without epidurals, you'd think I could handle some novocaine and some drilling. oh, the drilling. for all the medical advances, don't you think someone could invent a silent drill?? 

my appointment day had come. ipod in hand. I had to go. I had to go alone. I thought of not going, putting off the inevitable again. could I really overcome such fear? such fear as I've never experienced before. such fear that I couldn't control my trembling in the chair? by the grace of God and the patience of Job my dentist exercised, I did. I made it through the first stage of the crown process, only to come out the other side with the most intense tooth ache of my life. again, another warning from the dentist. "there was such decay under your filling; I think I may have come close to the pulp of the tooth. you may need a root canal." a root canal?$$? I was doing this crown thing to AVOID a root canal!!

an emergency root canal one week later was my fate. unfortunately a referral to an endodontist was my fate as well, for my dentist doesn't specialize in root canals. a new dentist?? this added an entirely new complication to the root canal. for you see, my dentist is the most sensitive, caring, almost too much nice kind of man, that I couldn't even think about another doing this procedure. but it was my path. armed with my ipod and verses, I walked into the office. on the other side of the waiting room door was my endodontist- the complete opposite of what I prayed for and thought I needed. all business. no chit chat. sweet and simple. just another patient needing a root canal was I. continual novocaine. fear beyond belief bringing tears and more trembling. I was blessed with friends and family praying me through the day and with two great verses on a post it on my ipod screen (now on my sidebar). 

so today (after returning from florida yesterday) was my second and hopefully final appointment with my dentist to complete the filling and set the crown. I was much calmer today. I requested novocaine just to be sure. I trembled ever so slightly {the assistant commented on how much I trembled last time}. I made it through.

so what have I learned?

:: I don't face life's challenges and fears alone, God is with me.

:: I can pray as a warrior, but it's better when I assemble an army.

:: Walking into fear allows you to walk through fear. 

:: I love the caring spirit of my dentist.

:: I still hate the sound of the drill.

:: I will not procrastinate dental issues again.

date night tradition

one of my most anticipated Christmas traditions is the date night mark and I schedule in early fall when we order our tickets for Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village. the village is a collection of historic buildings from the 18th century- from the Firestone Farm, to Thomas Edison's laboratories, and of course Henry Ford's Model Ts. during Holiday Nights, employees dress in costume; fire pits and warming stations are set up all around the village; carolers stroll through the streets; houses are decorated period style; the Model Ts run with passengers covered in blankets; horse drawn wagons ride up and down the streets carrying guests singing Christmas carols; and the ice skating rink is full of young and old alike.

the first year we attempted to make a special family memory by taking the boys. needless to say, it wasn't the evening mark and I had envisioned. after our early departure year one, year two we made it a date night. last year, mark injured his back in early december, and we were unable to attend. so this year, we were both looking forward to continuing our Christmas tradition.

we asked s.o.r. to get behind the camera and take a rare photo of just mom and dad:

and then we turned the camera on ourselves, just for fun:
the village carolers: it was really cold saturday night and snowing off and on during the entire night. when we reached the ice skating rink, mark encouraged me to give it a try. he had given me skating lessons for Christmas in 2006. the first lesson, shelly asked me why I wanted to learn how to skate. my response was- "to be able to skate at Greenfield Village during Holiday Nights." how surprised was I when she said- "I do that." "You do that?" "Yes, the village hires me to skate around the rink all night in costume." oh my goodness!

so I learned how to make my way around the rink without falling and actually graduated level 1 with flying colors. unfortunately I haven't been on the ice for over a year and the skates I borrowed didn't have toe picks! yikes! my beginning wasn't pretty, but I managed a few laps around the rink. and guess who was there? shelly! my ice skating instructor!

needless to say, it was an all round special evening with my wonderful husband! thanks sweet!

rhythms of life

life has been C R A Z Y since we returned home from thanksgiving. I have so much I want to share with you! so we'll just take it one photo at a time {grab a cup of hot cocoa and stay for awhile}. we had a wonderful thankskgiving visit with my dad's side of our family in maryland.

this was the store my grandmother's family owned; it stands at the end of my aunt's road.we then had an active (with five young adults/children how could it not be) visit with our family/friends the Quicks. you remember lisa. it doesn't matter how we spend the time; there is never enough of it and never a lack of things to do.

after a wonderful visit, it was then time to travel home. growing up, one of our family traditions was the annual "car packing" for the trip home from thanksgiving. I can still remember my mom, sister and me lining up all our "stuff" on my grandmother's front porch ready to return home from Maryland. after a lot of shopping, our "stuff" would inevitably be much more than was originally brought. and each year you could almost guarantee my dad's response: "how am I going to get all this in the car?!?!" {or something close to that} these photos show my husband now playing the part of my dad. his job was to get all our "stuff" in the back of the van! and I'm proud to say {just like my dad did every year} he got it all in!!

once home it was back to work for me with a show Thursday. then Friday was family night as the holiday decorating and family chill time began. Saturday brought the completion of the outside lights and inside we decked the halls. Saturday night was our annual date night and will receive it's own post all together. Sunday the boys starred in the Christmas program at church. and today...well today was catch my breath and organize day. I can't handle messes. And until today I didn't have one room completely "clean" and straightened. so it's a good feeling to sit and share knowing the bedrooms are all set, the living room is back to being a room without piles and suitcases, the kitchen is now my staging area for tomorrow's errands, and the family room is comfortable and cozy. the hum of the dryer and the splash of the washer are what I hear as I sit in the quiet. tonight the Christmas cards were completed and ready to mail! Yeah!! I was also able to touch my holiday planner tonight. are you like me? do you enjoy checking things off your list? by the end of this week, we should be all Christmas set.