a welcoming home gift.

 

Our good friends are almost to the anticipated day of bringing their adopted son home. When she let me get a sneak peak of his room - and his shelf had some very adorable knit animals on it - I knew I wanted to add to his collection of animals.  I quickly found a pattern (from "Knit Simple" Winter 2011?)to knit up and add to his shelf to welcome him home.

Such an amazing time in their lives. I am truly thankful to get to see how God has worked out all the details to prepare them and Ethan for this next adventure in their lives.

roses in the spring.

Last Fall I moved my rose bushes to the north side of our property. They are surrounded by mint and soon, I am sure a tomato plant will be tall enough to see coming up along side the roses.  If I were to start adding some of the things I learned over the last almost 38 years, planting rose bushes and tending to flowers or plants would have to be on that list. Not only do they look beautiful - even a well-tended garden is lovely, but the few (or many) minutes spent tending to them always are good for the soul. The mint goes in my ice tea all summer, and vegetables from your garden are far better then from the market. And flowers on a counter or table are a gift for all who seem them and smell them.

May so far...

So I have managed to drop the ball on my birthday list of things I've learned over the years. April was a whirlwind of busy! At work we have added embroidery and a heat press to the list of what we offer and so I have been sneaking in time after hours working on jobs and trying to get past the learning curve of the embroidery machine. Things are getting ready to pick back up, however this month has started out so amazingly wonderful that I had to post about it.

April ended with lunch at Five Guys with my guy, and a quick shopping trip for just the two of us. Followed soon with Cheesecake Factory and and a giant purple bag full of gifts from Chris (handmade cards, basket, tote bag with with Quince and scarves to name a few of the gifts - she know me so well. :) Breaking new running records with Megan -when she sets her mind to it - she pushes us both right along. ;)

Tree climbing. Softball throwing. Time in the yard and on the porch swing. Reading aloud -and even a few rows of knitting! Flowers in bloom... Oh how I love the month of May... and my family and friends and peonies and roses and the list goes on.

almost 38 - cash only! (day 4)

Ok, I haven't gotten that good yet. But we have been taking Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. And it is a lot harder to hand over your cash then your debit/credit card. Plus, when you only have so much in an envelope to spend... well, it can help curb some not so healthy spending habits. We are in month 2 and even though we have lived on a budget for years - it has had its cracks - we are hoping to fill some of those holes by time we have finished the 3 month course.

Knitted cupcake, a photo by ReginaLC on Flickr. 2008-
(The photo has nothing to do with cash - but I wish I still had this pattern. :))

almost 38 - perfume! (day 3)

Number 2 

Juicy Couture Peace Love & Eau De Parfum Spray

Before children, I wore perfume. Then the season of children came. With that came nursings, and diapers, and more sensitive skin up against mine and I eventually stopped. Then I started to using nice smelling natural soaps and lotions. And then, more recently my husband asked me about some perfume. So, I did a bit looking - and some scratching and sniffing - quite comical I am sure, and ended up with this one. 

12ish years ago, I wore SUNG, by Alfred Sung and Benetton Colors.

almost 38 - Easter! (day 2)

It is Easter today!

As I was running yesterday morning, I startled a deer that was near a brook not far off the road. I hadn't noticed the deer until I heard him bonding off in the opposite direction. For some reason, the old song based off Psalm 42 came to mind.

As the Deer

Out of all the "almost 38" topics, this one goes to my core. This is why I am who I am, and who I want to be. When I read the words from the "As the Deer" song - they just seem plain corny. Thankfully, as a believer in Jesus Christ, those words - as corny as they may sound, help me keep moving forward in life. Even on the days I would rather stay in bed, or I can't fall asleep because of all that comes with living.

There are two scriptures that are fundamentally important to why I believe what I believe, and why I strive to live the way I do.

1. Genesis 1:1 "And God created the heavens and the earth." Honestly, evolution makes no sense to me. Just for the sheer fact that we are returning to organic gardening, because as time passes, the "new methods" are not healthy, they don't taste as good as the heirloom varieties... everything I see makes me believe that with time, comes the break down of things - our own human bodies even - so how, "millions of years ago" could that very opposite be true to such an extreme that the earth just came together?? And that we evolved to be humans over time? Sorry, that seems far fetched to me, and the only other way it could have happened was for someone or something to make it so. God's design and story is the most logical - you just have to give up the idea that humans are really not supreme. And that is a relief to me.

2. Romans 3:17 paraphrased, "Jesus came to save us from our sin that we may believe in Him". I am not perfect, and I haven't met anyone that is. I know I fall short of that, and if I believe that He (God) created the Earth, then I am also going to believe that God would love me enough to send His Son, that I may have live in Him. After I pass, but just as importantly to me - day to day. Whenever I try to fill my soul up with the things of this world (how I spend my time, what I make, my husband, my kids, what people think of me...) I am left feeling like there is still a void. When I intentionally strive to live with Christ at the center of my focus - I don't constantly feel like I come up short. Am I perfect? Far from it. Are any other followers of Christ perfect? No, but it helps change the focus and my heart. And not only do I need that, but I want that.

And so today I celebrate that not only did He create the heavens and earth, send His Son, but that His Son rose from the crave on the third day. Happy Easter!

almost 38 - what I've learned and am learning.

If I were to think back to what I thought I would be doing at almost 38, it would look a bit differently then what I am doing. Even more so 5, 10, 20 years ago... And as this birthday approaches, well, I've been thinking about some simple - and not so simple - things I've learned on this journey so far. 

So, my birthday goal is to try to post one a day until then. Some are superficial, but hopefully there will be some nuggets of truth that will be good to re-read at a later date. 

Number 1

Aveeno Positively Ageless Daily Exfoliating Cleanser

Why I waited so long to try a daily exfoliating cleanser, I have no idea. I do know that with my mix of dry/oily skin, it has been a wonderful thing. My skin is sensitive to a lot of products, Aveeno always seems to work for me. If you don't use one yet, try it. You just might enjoy your morning shower a bit more.