A Peaceful Start

I woke up to rumbles of thunder and rain this morning.  I love opening my eyes to this kind of day. Rainy days beckon us to stay in, sit still and ponder life a bit.  If I had any energy I would clean like crazy but I've landed a cold and the couch sounds more appealing to me.  The painter started yesterday.  I have been telling my family for days now that once the walls are painted and we can hang our pictures and shelves and fill them with the familiar, that they will feel more settled.  The relief was almost audible when the painters walked in and I think even they were surprised at how thrilled we were to see them.  I happily made my coffee and took my sniffling self to the couch.  I read from my Bible, C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and Shauna Niequist's "Bread & Wine".  I'm not sure what the rest of today holds, but with a start like this, I'm prepared.  Have a blessed day!

Hugs,

Change is Hard

It has been a rough couple of days.  The kids and I are missing our friends and our old house.  I knew it would happen, we were bound to hit a wall sooner or later.  This was our list of complaints on Tuesday:

1.  Not one neighbor has come over to introduce themselves and say hello.  What did we learn from this?  Remember to be sensitive to the needs of new neighbors when we see people moving into our development.

2.  We live off a very busy street.  My daughter and I were waiting to pull out of the development, Maddie was driving and a person from our neighborhood began blowing their horn, impatient that we weren't moving faster.  What did we learn from this?  The next time we are impatient with someone, remember that we don't know what's going on in their lives.  For example, my daughter just got her drivers license two weeks ago at age 18.  She lost a dear friend in an auto accident and refused to learn to drive when she was 15.  The horn blowing could have easily caused her to pull into traffic and we would have been hit for sure.

3.   My son got a speeding ticket for doing 35mph in a 25mph zone.  The area was new to him and he didn't see any signs.  What did we learn from this?  $125 later, go slower than you normally would in an unfamiliar area.

4.  We're having problems with our hot water heater.  Two people can't shower at the same time or both get cold water.  What did we learn from this?  Try to be the first one in!

5.  The air conditioning quit working in the house.  What did we learn from this?  I can't think of one stinking thing.

6.  The internet quit working.  What did we learn from this?  It's a good thing to have a computer savvy son around, even though it took hours to fix, at least he could fix it.

That was just Tuesday.  Both Maddie and I had complete crying meltdowns at different times that day. Moving is much harder than it appears.  We grow accustomed to familiar things and change is hard. Even my son was feeling it yesterday.  I felt better after I purchased some peonies at Whole Foods.  I had been missing my peonies at the other house.  I also found a box marked fabric and took some out to dream for a few moments about sewing again.  The painter doesn't come till the 24th so theres no need to unpack the sewing room just to pack it up again.  God is teaching me patience in all kinds of new ways right now.  I hope you don't mind me venting.  You help me to keep things in perspective.

Hugs,

A Short Break...

Tomorrow my youngest graduates from high school.  Yesterday she glued and glittered the top of her graduation cap.  As I type this I am surrounded by moving boxes, numerous piles awaiting sorting.  It's raining outside and my eyes are drawn to the overgrown weeds in the flower beds, will I have time to clear them before the movers come on Tuesday, I wonder.  The calendar this week is dotted with all kinds of appointments from the doctor to the dentist to the hair salon.  The goodbyes started yesterday and though I know that saying goodbye is a necessary part of transitioning forward, it sure is hard.  I've been hiding from it for months.  Yesterday I sat and finished hand quilting this quilt.  It's just what I needed, the gentle rhythm of hand stitching.  For me, the ebb and flow of life is doable with needle in hand.  I will be absent from blogging for the next week or so, as you can understand.  It won't be long though, promise.

Sweet blessings,

Thankful

Today I am thankful for…

the hope of spring when all I can see is snow
hot showers and good coffee
God's word
friends who make you smile
winter boots
fabric and yarn
a family who loves me
paw prints in the snow
lotion that nourishes skin
a pot of simmering food
pieced double wedding rings found at an antique store
blogging friends.

Smiles,

Sparkle

My husband and I had a wonderful dinner with friends last night.  I laughed so hard that I gave myself a tummy ache and almost couldn't eat my food.  They live in a loft in downtown Kalamazoo and the energy of the city last night was magical.  Near midnight we walked over to the park to watch the ball drop with hundreds of people.  We have a ball like the one you see in Times Square, just much smaller. Maddie was somewhere in the crowd with her best friend.  Taylor was celebrating in the Dominican Republic having left yesterday for a month of cultural studies.  As the new year began I thought once again about what this year will hold.  So much to be thankful for…

I had to show you the little box of ornaments I found on Etsy for my dollhouse.  Can you believe it? It is so delicate and so small.  I just love it!  I'm trying to finish this sparkly scarf today for myself.  I think one of my new year's resolutions will be to wear sparkles every day.

Sparkling,

For Today

The Christmas Amaryllis put on quite the show this year.  I'm always amazed at what beauty can come from a bulb.  There is so much going on inside of that bulb that we don't see until just the right time. Flowers are such a metaphor for life in so many ways.  As we are on the cusp of a new year, I wonder what is ready to burst forth.  There will be good with bad, joy with sorrow, happy with sad.  I'm so thankful that all of it rests in the hands of our all-knowing Savior who did not give us a spirit of fear. Let's go boldly into the new year with a thankful and trusting heart.  Blessings!

xoxo,

A Special Day

Today marks 25 years with my husband.

Asking God to bless the next chapter of

our lives as we start out on our new

adventure.  Time does go by fast, treasure

each day with your husband and children.

Thanking the Lord for his protective hand

upon us and his grace and love shown to us~

With joy,

You're Coming With Me

Source: misshappy.ro via Renee on Pinterest

There has been so much going on here in the past couple of weeks that I haven't been able to sit long enough to write a proper post and fill you in.   My husband has taken a new job, one that is veering him off his normal path and on to something new.  It will require us to be apart for an extended time period but in the end we will all be together and moved to a new city about and hour and a half from where we currently live.  I apologize for being so vague, but I'm not sure what is proper to share online.  I am currently in the process of getting the house ready to put on the market.  This week I will participate in a very large barn sale at the farm where we host weddings.  My employer is also embarking on a new adventure.  After this September we will no longer be hosting weddings at the farm.  The farm is officially up for sale.  They have decided to focus on their new restaurant and will be moving closer to it.  We have five weddings in September and then we will be shutting down our business.  I will be updating you as we venture down this new path.  I could'nt do it without you.  Your support and encouragement have been such a blessing and I plan on taking you with me every step of the way.  In the meantime, plan on lots more sewing and quilting.  I'm thinking maybe it's time to make some inventory and look for a place to sell my creations in my new hometown.  Time to take a deep breath, grab your hand and go...

Joyfully,

Have a Good Weekend

What a pretty image to start the weekend.

Thank you Susan Branch for such pretties.

I hope you have a delightful weekend, friends!

Hugs,

How to be Happy

I think we should keep this list going…

What would you add?

I'll start ~

Read a Psalm

Pick strawberries

Tag, you're it!


image Susan Branch

Mama-ache

Sunday afternoon my son, Taylor, called me.  He was giving his testimony to his Bible study group at college that night and he was feeling nervous.  I could relate having shared the story of my journey to God recently with a large group.  My eyes went back to the puzzle he made in middle school wood shop.  What was it like for him then, just 13, in the public school carving a picture of the resurrection? Did he get ridiculed?  My eyes rested on the open tomb.  Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe…  I decided to go to church that night.  Pastor was speaking on prayer.  Four times that night we sang, "I love you, Lord".  That's when the Mama-ache started.

When Taylor was little, he had a hard time going to sleep.  For quite some time I would rub his back and sing "I love you, Lord" to get him to sleep at night.  Three years ago, on our last Sunday at church, before he was leaving for college, we sang that song.  My eyes welled up as I remembered all those nights.  I took Taylor's hand.  He leaned over to me and said, "I remember".  That's when the ugly cry started.  That moment is as vivid as if it happened yesterday.

Today, Mama-ache was unbearable.  His schedule hasn't permitted him to come home lately so I decided to go see him.  I wrapped his valentines gift and started out.  He and I arrived at his apartment at the same time.  I had to look twice at him.  "You cut your hair?", I said.  "Yes, it was really long and with baseball starting…", he replied.  And for a moment he wasn't 21, he was the buzz-cut little boy that left me valentines cut out of construction paper.

At times I've noticed that when you share that you miss your child who's away at college people think that you haven't let go or that you don't embrace where they are in their lives right now.  I disagree.  I am so pleased with the man he is becoming but there are times when Mama-ache, for whatever reason, takes hold and brings us back to what was and for a little while I mourn that passing.  I don't find anything wrong with that.  A couple hours later, Mama-ache subsided, I was back on the road. The sun was shining brightly and I thanked God for Taylor and for a wonderful visit.

Joyfully,

Sew Happy!

This lovely little hoop came from Shann at Daisy's Are My Favorite Flower.  It was a fun birthday surprise she made for me.  Shann's right, I'm sew happy!  I have a little story to tell you about Shann and I.  It's a story of God working and God revealing.  I love it when He allows us to see His hand in our lives. A couple years back, Shann lived in another state and she started reading my blog.   Her husband had a job change and it brought them to Michigan.  I blogged one day about a barn sale I was involved in and she figured out it was not far from her.  So to my delight, she came to the barn sale and introduced herself.   I was so thrilled to meet a blogging buddy.  When I asked her where she lived now, she told me.  I'm certain that my jaw remained on the ground the whole day - she lives about 5 minutes from my house.  One Sunday later I turned around to find her and her husband at the church we attend.  We both broke out in giggles.  It was confirmed, we were to be friends.  I don't get to see Shann often as she is a working lady with a busy household, like me, but when we do get together, we talk as if we've known each other forever.  We may have only known each other for a short time, but one thing is certain, God has known forever that we would be friends.  Don't you love it when God does that?


Joyfully,

I Agree Miss Mouse

Source: s3.amazonaws.com via Simply on Pinterest

Such a charming illustration and such a wise group of ladies.  Hope you are having a good Saturday.  The sun is shining brightly on a couple feet of snow.  A Cardinal sits at the bird feeder, such bright red against all the white.  My husband is fifty today as well.  I'm making eggplant lasagna and Italian vegetable soup by Giada.  The perfect end to the birthday week.  Blessings today!


With joy,

Dreaming

Last night I asked my friends on Face Book

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
I''m having so much fun reading their answers.

I am asking you, dear blog friends, the same question.

My answer ~

Learn to play the Electric Violin


Your turn!

Joyfully,

Little Bits of Happy

Little things are making me happy today...

new Denyse Schmidt fabric at JoAnns.

Sewing the pieces of a tiny sweater together

for a sweet little one entering the world next month.

The morning sun shining into my sewing room,

it's 37 this morning, a few snowflakes yesterday.

Thanking the Lord for His love and grace

and for giving me little bits of happy today and everyday!

Joyfully,

Wrapped in His Love

School started for my kids this past Tuesday.  My son loaded his car and mine and we made the trip to his apartment on campus.  He starts his junior year of college and my daughter started her junior year of high school.

My daughter, the organized, everything has a certain order, life is best lived a certain way, not one for surprises or unexpected changes in routine, was feeling a bit anxious about her first day.  I wanted to remind her of the one she can depend on when she's in school and stressed and I found these wonderful sandwich wrappers here.

I have quite a busy schedule for the next few days.  A wedding this weekend as well as a big luncheon at the farm.  I watched the most beautiful tent get put up at the farm today.  I also watched my stress level raise as I looked at all the things that must be accomplished in the next 72 hours and felt that familiar knot in my chest.  That pang of doubt, that nasty little voice that says you'll never get it all done, you're just not good enough.  Well, I thought, I don't have to be good enough because I know the One who is and who can see me through it all.  So I place the next 72 hours in His capable hands and I'll follow His lead because "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil.4:13

With joy, 

It's August

Gift from my Mom (so true)

The month of August, for me, is a month of feeling out of sorts.  Whenever something can't be explained, or something isn't right or momentary blues occur my answer is always, "It's August."  Everyday seems to be a day of decisions.  Do we hit the back to school stuff at Target before the good folders are gone or do we go to the beach?  Do we sort through old clothes to make room for new fall clothes or do we pack a picnic and head out into the sunshine?

Gift from my Mom for someday, future spouses (love)

The weather can't seem to decide what it wants to do either.  Sunny and warm? or overcast and cool?  The garden starts to let me know that it's on it's way out.  Once the Black-eyes Susans are in full bloom, I know what lies ahead.  When all watering doesn't perk up the flowers much and the colors seem to not be as bright I know that change is on the horizon.  Each year in August I feel melancholy and I'm wondering today, am I the only one?

It's August,

The Things That Matter

I had one of those days yesterday that I know I will be remembering in the years to come.  One of those rare moments when God allows us to know that there is really something special going on.  My son, Taylor, and I went to visit his Grammie to help her build a rustic garden arch from some trees that she had taken down.  I thoroughly enjoyed my two hour trip with him in the car as we talked and laughed and talked some more.  

He really is growing into quite a fine young man.  He didn't even need our help at all.  We stepped back and let him take over the building of it.  I was so pleased to see his twenty year old mind in action, planning and sawing, and figuring it all out.  Now it's ready for grapevine to be woven through it to give it some texture.

One of my favorite parts of the day was sitting down for lunch and listening to Taylor and Grammie talk about hiking in the mountains.  Taylor has just gotten back from a trip to Montana and Martha has been a hiker for many years.  He is just developing this love of hiking and Martha has loved doing it herself.  They both "got" each other, while I sat and listened, thankful for the moment.

We just let life get too busy.  I was reminded how precious time is with the ones you love.  We all have things we have to do, should do, don't need to do.  It's good to do a bit of weeding out in our schedules.  Perhaps with a little more open space we can let God plan some special times for us.

Once the arch was up and I stepped back to look at it, it looked like it belonged there, as if it had been waiting to land in that spot.  I guess it had been.  I think of how easily we could have missed the opportunity if we decided we had been too busy to go.  I wonder how many things I've missed that God had planned to bless me with.  I've got some thinking to do on this one.  Asking God to give you a special blessing today!

Joyfully,