{hello}

Hello, again, world!

2 blog posts in a weeks time. This might be a record.

It would seem by the lack of blog posts that our little family has fallen off the face of the planet.  I won't lie, sometimes I wonder if I have too.  Life gets BUSY.  I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you that, you're all living busy lives too.

Anyway, we're alive and functioning. As a mom, I sometimes wonder when DFACS is going to roll up because I'm the mom pulling up at the school on two wheels, wearing Christmas PJ's and rain boots, with no bra.  Yes'em, true story.  In fact, I wear my rain boots often with my PJ's in the car rider line. But, the kid makes it to school and that's all that matters, right?

Avery had his tonsils and adneoids removed and his lingual frenulum cut a little over a week ago. The little guy was pitiful!  Between an ER visit for him getting too dehydrated from not being able to drink anything, to me having finals and trying to work, to my Christmas rush at my shop, to Avery ending up with a nasty croupy cough and on steroids and breathing treatments, I may or may not have wondered if I was going to have to check myself into the pshyc ward.  But, we made it.  Little dude is on the mend, and everything else is working itself out. (Oh, and I forgot to mention that our Christmas tree died after only having it a week. True story.)

Trevor is still rocking 6th grade and has taken up playing the trumpet.  He's actually doing well with it.  We still make him practice outside though (just kidding, maybe).  He and Chris are gearing up for the new Star Wars movie this weekend, I'm sure that'll be a hit for them, and a night alone at home for me (not complaining)!

I'm hoping this week brings a bit more stability and sleep.  Maybe I'll make it through the car rider line in 'real' clothes this week....probably not, but anything could happen in this family!

Peace & Love to you all!

I believe

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and earth;

And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virign Mary;

suffered under Pointius Pilate, cruicfied, dead, and was buried;

the third day he arose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, 

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic church, the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

This time of year I see more and more articles and debates regarding the ‘true’ meaning of Christmas.  Within these articles and debates, I always see the comments where a Christian is being torn apart by a nonbeliever.  My heart always sinks.  Many times, I'm the Christian being attacked. It's an awful feeling, it really is.  I always wonder in these instances why nonbelievers get so defensive and, a lot of times, rude to us believers.  Why does my belief anger these folks?  

It was only a few short months ago, I got into what I thought would be a friendly debate on a 'friends' Facebook post regarding my faith.  It turned ugly, fast.  I felt like I had been chewed up and spit out because I was a Christian.  I was called ugly names and was harassed to the point that I was literally curled up in a tiny ball and crying my eyes out all night.  Not only was I hurt that people I considered 'friends' could speak to me in such a way, but my heart hurt because I couldn't help but wonder what in their life was hurting them so badly that the thought of me being a Christian angered them.

Admittedly, I don't study my Bible regularly.  I miss church more than I go.  And I sin on a regular basis.  However, I believe wholeheartedly in Jesus Christ and I believe He's my Lord and Savior.  I've seen his presence and I've witnessed his miracles.  

In a six months’ time, I experienced life and death.  In August 2008, I gave birth to my own miracle, Avery.  For 37 weeks, I carried this angel in my tummy.  I felt every movement and I excitedly watched my belly move around daily.  From the first ultrasound where my baby was only a spec, to the day I delivered, I knew without a doubt that Jesus existed.  No amount of science could explain the love I had for my baby. 

As I celebrated the life of my newborn baby, six months later I found myself standing at my Pop's bedside.  I'm watching my Pop's chest slowly rise and then slowly fall.  My 6 month old baby was one room over cooing and babbling.  We all knew it was just a matter of time before Pop left this world.  His face grew paler and his breathing got slower and slower.  He looked sick and uncomfortable.  He gave my Nanny one last squeeze on the hand and took his last breath.  At that very moment the most peaceful presence came over my Pop's body.  No more pain, no more suffering.  I knew that instant that I had just felt the hands of Jesus.  I'll never be able to adequately explain the feeling, but I felt Jesus more than any other time in my life that day.  He took my Pop straight to the gates of Heaven and he made sure his love sustained us all through our grief.  We would need it badly.  Three months to the day later, we were in the same house, saying goodbye to my Nanny.  As we prayed over her and sung our favorite hymns, Jesus came and took her home.  I saw that same peace and I felt His presence.  He was there, my friends, He was there.

To me, the presence of the Lord isn't defined by literature, history notes, or 'lack of scientific proof.'  I don't need it to feel the love of Jesus.  I feel it in my bones, in my heart, and I've seen it with my eyes. The love of Jesus is real.  He is the reason for the season.  He is the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas, and he is the one I live for every day.  No nonbeliever will take that away from me.  My faith can’t be shaken.  I encourage all of you who believe to not get discouraged or angered by those who try to tear your faith down.  Don't give them the power.  Instead, pray that they too find the peace you have found in Jesus and continue to share His love with all.  Amen!

living by faith

Living by Faith is sometimes easier said than done, or so I've found in my own life.  During the last few months, I've had to cling to Faith more than anything.  We all experience seasons in our lives that bring us to our knees.  I recently realized that I had not been turning straight to my Savior when life came slapping me in the face, I was turning to worry and fear--flight or fight mode.
 
Losing your job can make you feel worthless and incompetent.  I worried for weeks wondering how in the world my family was going to survive this time in our lives.  Then, a few weeks later, we had to make the decision to put our precious fur baby, Molly, down.  Talk about kicking someone when they are down--I was lost!  Our home seemed lonely without our Molly girl and our hearts absolutely broken. Trying to explain death to children is tough. Actually, trying to understand death at any age is difficult.

I took Avery to see a counselor the day after Molly died.  He kept asking why we couldn't dig her up from her grave.  He asked if he got sick, would he die too?  I had a hard time answering his questions because in reality, I was asking myself the same ones.  Sitting with Avery as this sweet and God sent lady talked to us, my heart was truly opened and my Faith changed.  Avery talked about how Molly still lived because she's with Jesus, and Jesus lives in his heart.  He talked about Heaven and how amazing it was.  He talked with such confidence in his Faith. I sat in amazement. If only we all had a child-like Faith.

From that day on, I have turned to Jesus more than ever.  My Faith has grown so much in these passing weeks. God has shown me that he's in control and he has our back.  He's given me peace, taught me patience, and provided for my family.  I don't know what this season means, or where it's going to lead me and my family, but I know that my Faith is in Him, and I know that He doesn't close doors, he opens them if you just have Faith!

Hebrews 11:1

 

patience and obedience

A lot has changed since my last blog update on January 12, 2015.  A.LOT! 

The kids are doing well.  We are all counting down the days until school is out, we recently rescued a new puppy, Josie, Chris is still trucking along at Coca-Cola, and me, I’m in a phase of life that requires much patience and obedience to God.  

This past February, I took a new job.  A job that I was hopeful for.  A job that I thought would be the answer to many prayers for my family.  Today, I sit from home, typing this blog, and am now unemployed.  The job didn’t work out.

My anxiety and depression took over me the last few weeks and I’m just now beginning to feel somewhat “normal” again.  Our lives have changed.  I have changed.  The word “normal” has changed.

We’ve had to cut back on everything we do.  Our house is a few degrees warmer to save on electricity.  Food is only bought when needed and on sale.  Meal plans, budgets, a whole lotta’ coupons, and many prayers are making our lives function right now.  I’ve been able to get a few odd jobs to help, but losing a yearly salary and a nice paycheck every month was something I certainly took for granted.

Looking for a new job stinks.  I hate interviews.  I get sweaty palmed, anxious, and I am an all-around nervous wreck for the 30-60 minutes I’m having to talk about myself.  Walking into the unemployment office and taking a seat also really stinks.  I never thought I would be in that line, but I am. 

Coming home after dropping Avery off at school seems weird to me.  I’ve been getting up and going to school or work for 20 something years.  It’s been hard to feel accomplished each day.  Some days it’s been hard to function at all. 

Changes require patience and obedience to God.  I’ve never been great with patience.  I’m a go-getter’ and I like to have a plan.  These changes weren’t in my plan.  This was not how it was supposed to be, but it is what it is.  God has never not provided for me, but as a human being, it’s so hard to let go and let God sometimes.  I’m trying.  I keep praying, I keep praising, and I keep believing.  I keep telling myself that this is just a bump in the road on the way to something greater and better.  I’m not going to lie, waiting on the better is hard work.  But, in all this messiness, I’m learning that we have it way better than we deserve and never realized it.  I’m learning money doesn’t buy happiness and that family and friends are what makes me happy.  I’m learning that patience and obedience were lacking in my life and I’m now leaning on them more than ever.  I’m learning that God still hasn’t let me down, and that he has provided me with a great support system to get through this.

It’s still not easy, I’m still trying to cope with the changes, and I’m still waiting to see where this road will lead.  But, I have faith (boy, oh, boy have I had to show faith!) and I have the promises of God to get my family and me through this time—it just requires patience and obedience.

Please be in prayer as my family and I navigate through these changes.

Also, I’ve been doing many updates on my monogram Facebook page, check it out: https://facebook.com/thesilverneedleshop

paint

After my busy monogramming season, I decided to take a few weeks off from sewing and catch up on a few projects around my house.  I discovered the world of chalk paint and LOVE it!  Chalk paint allows for quick and easy updates to most any wood surface!

Here are a few projects I've done:

 

I used latex paint on the China cabinet.  I roughly sanded it and primed it and then added 2 layers of paint.

 

This picture doesn't do this little table justice.  It's an earth tone greenish/blue and adds a lot of character to my living room.  My husband hasn't caught onto the "rough" paint look and said it looks like I missed a few spots.  He'll catch on soon enough.

 

This beauty has always been a favorite piece.  It belonged to my in-laws.  The wood had chipped some and with our dark brown couch, it got lost in the mix in our living room. I brightened it up with a coat of white chalk paint.

This is my $20 find on a yard sale page.  Luckily, I knew the seller of the table and chairs and he gave me a great deal.  Our dinning area is a bit small, and the table we had was a bit large.  I was worried that this table was going to be too small, but once I got it into the dinning area, I fell in love. I sanded the top and stained it a dark cherry/espresso color.  I then used antique white chalk paint and painted the chairs and bottom parts of the table.  I sealed the top of the table to polyethylene.  I love how the table has little drawers!