Ripples of Memories (with link to Ripple Afghan Pattern)

I have been crocheting and crocheting and crocheting some more. I was completely and mindlessly addicted to making this easy ripple blanket. You can see my sweet Boston Terrier Opus posing on the ripples. I have only made one other blanket in my crochet history, a pretty flowered granny afghan for my moms birthday two years ago. I can usually be found working on projects that can be completed in one or two sittings, its a patience thing. :-SS

I had such a great time making this because my daughter M'Kayla was right along side me knitting a baby blanket for her friend. We would take any empty time slot, throw a movie in and "yarn" away. Such good memories all stitched together. I had originally planned to give this blanket away. I wasn't sure to whom, but I usually don't hang on to the things that I make. But as I thought about it, I came to the realization that M'Kayla being 18, will not have so much time in the future to knit and crochet with her mama.
I think that this will be a mothers day present to myself. A weaving of memories.
I used up so much of my yarn stash, which is what I had intended to do. Some of the yarn was probably 7 years old and left over from projects that I had made for my family. Again, so many memories and woven together. We watched some great movies including Penelope, Twilight, Blast From The Past, Lord of the RIngs, Becoming Jane, Emma, Love Comes Softly, I Am Legend, I Robot, Hancock, Transformers, Kate and Leopold and more that I can't remember right now.
I used this great simple pattern here if anyone wants to give it a go. Its easy, mindless, and great relaxation :)

Note to self...

From My Pictures

When you pour bleach into a tub of water....look away! Ask my eye how it knows this. Today as I was adding a few drops of bleach to a tub of water, the bleach hit the water just right (or wrong depending on how you LOOK at it) and splashed directly into my eye.

Yes, there was squealing and running in circles and throwing huge splashes of water into my eye to clean it out. After a while my eye realized it was going to live and stopped shutting without my permission, and then the bleach decided it wasn't a great place to hang out and the burning eventually subsided.

The "bleach incident", as I will heretofore refer to it, really made me think though, about accidents and how fast they happen, and how a small bit of "slow it down girl you don't have to clean the kitchen in 6.2 seconds flat" goes a long way in being able to think before you act.

So.. the new me is slower, more cautious, and wearing safety goggles when I clean. Okay so it isn't the new me, but I am going to be more careful!

Breaking News: It is with great sadness that I report to you that my Snug Black T-Shirt was damaged in the bleach incident and will no longer be appearing in my wardrobe. An innocent bystander, Snug Black Tee took a direct hit to the front and will be layed to rest in the rag drawer. Snug was a good tee, full of life and elasticity. I accept full responsibility for her demise. She will be missed.

Operation Christmas Child

Yesterday I received in the mail a letter from someone I had never heard of. It came from the Philippines and so I was very curious as I opened it. Inside I was delighted to find a letter and a photo from a little girl named Arabella Angel who received one of the shoe boxes we donated last year at Christmas time to Operation Christmas Child. If you haven't heard of it, OCC is an amazing organization that is part of Samaritans Purse, which is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ. (This was from their mission statement)
At Christmas last year we had so much fun putting together shoe boxes full of toys, candy, clothing items, pencils, paper, stickers, tooth brushes and tooth paste, hair ribbons and books. Our family went shopping together carefully choosing the items that we would place in the boxes. At one point I broke down and could not contain my tears because I knew these precious babies had next to nothing and I wanted to make these boxes perfect for them!
We enclosed Christmas cards in our boxes and a little note to each child that might receive the box. We also enclosed photos of our family and Montana and a return address in case they might want to correspond with us.
To our delight Arabella wrote to us with the help of her aunt! Her letter was decorated with the crayons and pencils we had sent her. When my daughter and I read it, we were both in tears. It is amazing how close we feel to this precious little 6 year old girl!

If I get my scanner working I will scan the cute little letter.

My Daughters First Knitted Baby Blanket

This morning, my daughter M'kayla put the finishing stitches on the baby blanket she has been knitting for her friend Kayla who just had her baby.
She chose the colors purple and black because when Kayla first found out she was pregnant (which seems ages ago but was just 9 months) they were both working at Taco Bell.
I think it turned out fabulous! She chose to crochet scalloped edges to make the blanket look more finished.
I am SO proud of her! She loves to knit, finding it much more relaxing and much easier than crochet. I on the other hand, love to crochet. I like knitting okay... but when I have to do more than knit and purl it makes my brain cry.
For the past month, she and I have been partners in fun, she knitting, me crocheting as we watched gobs of movies, some old, some new and some well worn favorites.
She wants to start next on a baby blanket for her hope chest. I love the idea!
I will find the pattern that she used and post it here in a few days.
I am still in work mode on the vintage feel ripple scrap blanket that I am crocheting. When I finish, I'll post it here as well.
Happy May!!

Thoughts on Wonderful

(This is Peanut, the little life inside my sister Jenna)

When I first began this post, I had initially titled it "Thoughts On Tragedy". My sister Jenna (you can read her blog here) is expecting a baby this August, and until a few weeks ago she thought that everything was perfect. But everything wasn't perfect as her 20 week ultrasound showed. The baby boy growing inside of her is not perfect.

20 years ago I walked into labor and delivery with a perfect daughter inside of my body. A child I had known intimately for 9 months. A child I had named, dreamed about, sang to and loved. Hours later, I lay in a hospital room with my daughter, only I felt as if she were a changeling from an old fairy story. She was not perfect. She was broken. The list of what was wrong with her was so long it threatened to wrap itself around my throat and refuse me another breath. It took a couple of hours before I could even hold her. I felt betrayed and alone. I did hold her though, and God poured his love through her eyes into mine and I saw that she was perfect after all.

I wonder now, as I think back on the life and death of my daughter Whitney, whether I would have wanted to know ahead of time what was going to be. I think about Jen, carrying her baby that for 20 weeks was perfect, was hers. Now he is someone else. She has 4 months left to think and contemplate on what life will bring when he is born. 4 months to worry if he will be okay.

There is good and bad in both I suppose.

Whitney had something entirely different than Nick and Jen's baby. He may have something far gentler, or it could be much more severe. Tests and time will tell.

I absolutely hate that my sister has to endure this. I am angry that she cannot continue to be the Jenna 'before'. But I praise God, because she will never be the Jenna "before" again. She will be so much stronger, be filled with love she never knew existed, and have an empathy born inside of her that she never knew possible "before". If you knew my sister, you would know that this is saying a lot. She is loving, caring, giving and empathetic already. She is a mother, every inch of her a mother.

I ask your prayers for little "peanut". I believe in the promises of God and the miracles that he can and does cause to be because of prayer. I know that if it is His good will, that He will heal that precious life inside of my sister, and make him whole and healthy and strong. But I know too, that if His will is something else, that it will be just as beautiful. I look at the ultrasound photo of him and my chest cannot contain the love I feel. I am literally brought to my knees with the enormity of it. I cannot imagine how Nick and Jenna must feel. He is so beautiful and wonderful. His disease is a tragedy, but he is a miracle.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 ff. (NIV)

The Art Of Letter Writing

DUE TO A PRISONER TAKING MY ADDRESS FROM THE PHOTO AND WRITING ME, I TOOK THIS PHOTO DOWN.

Today I opened my front door to check my mail and found this beautiful letter from my friend Shana in New York. I haven't even opened the letter yet, because the entire presentation is so artfully done and just plain beautiful that I need to just be in its presence for a while, soaking in the peace and vintage feel of the envelope.

Letter writing is a lost art. In the age of electronic communication, we have almost forgotton how to put pen to paper and write with our hands, the feelings of our hearts. I have friends that I write to all over the world. The UK, Germany, France, Sweden and India are all countries I am blessed to visit through the eyes and hearts of the women I have come to know and love. Here in the states, I receive mail from dear friends in Colorado and as the letter above shows, New York.

I also receive letters from Florida, where my friend Vonda lives. Vonda and I have been friends for over 20 years and raised our babies together in the same town before she moved away. In the last several months we have rekindled our relationship through hand written words. It is such an amazing thing to open up the envelope and feel her presence.

Words and paper are not the only thing we exchange. Often little gifts are tucked neatly into the envelopes. Tea bags, books of stamps, post cards and cute stickers find themselves nestled between the pages of the letter as a sweet little suprise for the receiver. Packages are exchanged as well filled with heart felt and well thought out gifts. It is such a pleasure to find special things that you know another woman is going to appreciate.

My friend Cate in the UK and I have developed such a deep friendship and sharing of our joys and heart aches that we do hope to be able to meet one day, whether it be in Wales or in Montana. Her children are precious to me and her friendship vital to my life and walk with Christ. We even opt for the occasional video chat via ICQ.

Shana in New York has chickens just like I do, and we share a love for simple things, for traditional womanhod and of course... for chickens.

There are some great websites out there for anyone who would like to try finding some pen friends. Here are a few of the ones I like:

Penpal International at http://ppi.searchy.net/

Christian Pen Pals at http://christianpenpals.com/

and Sassociations at http://www.sassociations.net/

So try it! Pick up a pen and some paper and write a letter. You'll be amazed at how theraputic it is!

FOR TODAY April 16, 2009

Outside my window...Spring begins, filling me with hope.

I am thinking...of so many things that I need to do, paint my kitchen, bedroom and hall for one. Finish the floor trim in the living room and hall. Replace the carpeting in my bedroom. Clean the back porch and the shed...so much to do!

I am thankful for...God bringing me to Fresh Life Church where my soul is fed the spiritual food it craves.

From the kitchen...Last night I made ham and musroom casserole. Tonight for dinner I will make spaghetti using italian sausage and served with soft garlic bread and a green salad.

I am wearing...My comfy clothes of course, Navy Blue pants and a white long sleeved top that is embroidered with colorful flowers. Very hippie looking today.

I am creating...Dishcloths. I have been knitting and crocheting them both lately.

I am going...to the College at 4 pm. I completed High School, but was missing a 1/4 credit in History in 1985. I am getting my GED so I can begin Nursing in the fall.

I am reading...Currently I am not reading anything, but next on my list is Love Comes Softly by Janette Oak.

I am praying...that I can become more patient, more loving, more quiet and that I can be a blessing rather than a burden.

I am hearing...The rumble of the dryer, which will soon be a thing of the past, for the summer at least. Mike is stretching the clothesline today.

Around the house...Life is strange. Our kids are grown and almost always gone and I am unsure what to do with me. I feel strangely useless and unsure of who or what I am supposed to be now.

One of my favorite things... Is finding old hand written recipes and thinking about the women that wrote them and what their lives might have been like.

A few plans for the rest of the week: GED on Friday, Church on Saturday, Financial Aid and registration for Nursing on Monday.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...