Glitter and preparedness

I am of the opinion, at least today, that glitter paper, beads, and metallic pipe cleaners can make any day memorable and brighter.  Our dining room light fixture is now decorated for the holiday season.

 The quilt for our son is both finished and gigantic.  He is due during Epiphany, so we're doing a star theme.  I saw this quilt pattern as a king size bed-spread.  They offered the "lap size" pattern as well.  Which turns out to be 65 inches square.  I don't know whose lap that was sized for, but it's a fairly adult sized quilt.  Oh well....I love the stars.  I keep calling them "Bethlehem stars", but I don't have a good reason to do so. haha.  I did have a friend of the family professionally quilt it for me.  I just couldn't imagine doing that size of a quilt on my machine.  I'm so glad I did!  I love the swirl pattern she chose.  Reminds me a bit of Van Gogh's Starry Night. 






Here's the wall decal we chose for his little corner of our home.  I found it on Etsy.  Again, I am loving the variety of star shapes, not just the traditional 5-point star.  Please pardon the funky yellow tone of the photo.  Our room is kinda dark upstairs, and with the cream colored walls, it was giving me a fit.  You get the idea, nevertheless.



I am thankful for the physical preparations necessary in getting our home ready for our son.  I need it to help me wrap my mind around the fact that in a few months, Lord willing, we will be welcoming home a sweet baby boy.  Next up:  Getting those tiny clothes organized and ready to go!

Corn stalks

We often drive to the larger city in our area for doctor’s appointments, shopping, and whatever else we may need that we can’t find where we live.  And I’ve come to find that I love the drive.  It’s gorgeous.  The farms, the rolling hills, the picturesque views of the way the land unfolds before us…Often I notice the light upon a crop, a barn in the sunset, the autumn leaves filling my entire view, the snowscape of a Wisconsin winter and I wish I had my camera to capture it all.  This particular week, I took our youngest for a well-child check up and noticed a farmer harvesting (could’ve been simply clearing for all I know—I’m not agriculturally inclined) a corn field.  He was finished, but there were a few bent, mangled stalks on the very edge of the field. 

^"A bruised reed he will not break,
   and a faintly burning wick he will not quench”--Isaiah 42:3

My sweet husband took our whole family out on Saturday and was so patient in stopping along our drive home while I took pictures.  

Perhaps it’s this day and age of Facebook, of having everyone else’s accomplishments in front of you at all times.  It is so easy to compare, and there is lots available for comparison.  I read what other mothers are doing with their children or how they take care of their homes (an area I am sorely lacking in).  I see on Pinterest the brilliant creativity and artistry of others.  I listen to women patiently teach, gently discipline and guide their children.  And on the days where our home needs a good vacuuming and I’m certain our children could use gentility and patience from me, I can’t seem to get out of my pajamas, caught up on the dishes, and say more than, “GET OFF YOUR SISTER NOW!”  It is easy to compare, to feel  inadequate in the vocations the Lord has placed us in, to see yourself as useless unto the purpose you’ve been called.  But as I pondered those stalks, the Lord was teaching me.  

First, He has not asked me to be like anyone else.  He’s called me to be me.  To parent the children He’s given to us.  He has not asked anyone else to mother these children; He has asked me, with the unique abilities, personality, and tools He’s given me.  So…enough with the comparison already.  It is lovely to gain insight from others, to be inspired by them, encouraged, and to learn, but not to use others as a measuring tool for success in this vocation.  

Secondly, I thought of my grandmother.  She would often say, towards the end of her life, that she didn’t know why she was here any longer.  She didn’t understand why the Lord didn’t take her already.  As I’ve worked with the elderly, the poor, sick, and dying, I’ve heard lots of people ask the same thing. But the brokenness of others teaches us.  It shows an utter reliance:  relying upon doctors, care facilities, medicine, soup kitchens, the mercy and kindness of others.  And that temporal reliance points ALL of us, regardless of health or physical ability, to our own need for a Savior and our complete reliance upon our merciful Lord.  Reliance upon His provision, both temporally and eternally.  The brokenness of others also provides us, the Body of Christ, the opportunity to serve. (see Matthew 25: 31-40)

The brokenness of others also points out that we are all broken.  Some may be better at hiding it, but it’s there.  I’m learning, as I grow and mature in faith and in life, to embrace the ways that I fall short.  There’s a quote by Leonard Cohen, “There’s a crack in everything.  That’s how the light gets in.”  In my sinfulness, inadequacies, and damaged state, that's where the Lord shines forth.  When I can't do it any longer, the Lord equips and provides.  When I am ashamed and repentant, the Lord forgives.  I remember reading Brennan Manning and his saying that when we acknowledge our sin, our inability, our brokenness, we are filled with Christ. 

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

The brokenness ceases to exist.  Like a vase shattered, but not reassembled.  We are made entirely whole and new in Christ.  All the brokenness is gone.  All of what’s wrong with me is gone.  And being filled with Christ is far better than whatever I can manage on my own.  The best makeup in the world can only cover-up; the blemish is still there underneath.  Christ takes it away and replaces the void with Himself.  

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Back to the corn on the side of the road…

The thing is, you never know how the Lord is using you.  When it seems you’ve been passed over by the farmer, when you aren’t even good enough for the harvest, you may be teaching someone driving by.  Being used by the Lord, in your damaged state, to teach something very powerful.  The Lord is at work in your weakness, in your mangled, bent state.  He will not leave you nor crush you.  

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to his purpose." --Romans 8:28

Birdies!

I'm trying to finish up projects and get whatever Christmas gifts I had in mind to make, completed.

This morning, I finished our youngest's gift from Momma:  birdie blocks. I was inspired by these blocks , but there was no way I was going to pay for a pattern I was pretty sure I could replicate myself.

 

From Left to Right:  The Peacock, the Penguin, the Flamingo

 The peacock was one I made up by myself.  I thought the tail would provide lots of color and fun ribbons for her to pull on. 

Peacock profile.

This whole project was made with scraps.  This birdie is made from a periwinkle jersey knit.  He's definitely squishy.  Those three feathers on top crack me up.

 This little penguin was made from a sturdy cotton woven fabric with large white polka dots.  Had I given myself  a bit more room, I would've drawn a bow tie on him.  Perhaps next time.  I went back and forth about giving him little wings.  But he was so much smaller than the other birdies (3x3 inches versus the other birds' 4x4 inch cubes), I decided it would've been too much.  This is the nature of working with scraps:  the fabric determines the size of the project.

This was actually the first birdie I made and she may be my favorite.  I have this striped fleece fabric and it happened to contain both the dark pink (wings and feet) and the pink gingham for the body.  She's so cozy and snuggly.  

I hope our little girl enjoys them!  I know I do :)

Bread

 

There is something about making homemade bread.  It makes me more mindful of God's provision.  The effort that goes into measuring, mixing, kneading, waiting, shaping, baking...It reminds me that God is constantly at work, to give me all that I need.  The roof over our heads, the food on our table, the life and health of those I love (and my own).  In being mindful of God's temporal provision, I'm pointed to His eternal provision:  The body of Christ, given for us.  In, with, and under the bread at Holy Communion.  Broken for our brokenness.   His provision, sustaining us.  I pray that the little, day-to-day things in life will always point me to the larger picture of what the Lord has done and is doing for me.  For you. 

for those who want it, I used this recipe for artisan bread.

New Diaper Bag

I finished the diaper bag for this baby (due in January).

It was my first time to work with Peltex (super stiff interfacing) and fusible fleece.  I love the body it gave to the bag as well as the sturdy bottom.  I also used home decor weight fabrics for the bag. This thing is DURABLE.

I have four outer pockets and two on the sides.  The last time I made a diaper bag, the side pockets were useless.  They were too deep and not wide enough to get my hand into.  This time, I found a better tutorial  and I'm excited to have useable side pockets.

This bag has a four inner pockets and a divider, which I'm hoping will prove extremely helpful with two little ones in diapers of different sizes.  The last step of assembly on this bag had me a bit confused (I've made enough bags that I was able to assemble the bag, almost entirely, until it was time to put the lining and exterior together), but her directions were quite clear.  I just had to read them a few times. I did modify the tutorial for my preferences:  I don't like hardware on bags, so I omitted the magnetic snap and the loops for the straps.  I wanted the side pockets on the exterior of the bag, rather than interior, so they could be larger.  Plus, I usually put the kids' drinks there and it's more convenient if it's on the outside.

I love the colors of this bag; they remind me of sea glass a bit.  Ok...now I need to get the binding on baby boy's quilt and think about a sling (not to mention all the Christmas presents for our girls I want to make still).

White as Snow

When I was in college, I really struggled to understand God's grace.  I understood it well enough to verbally explain it and I'd defend His gracious love vehemently, but a functional understanding?  I couldn't grasp it.  I felt so compelled to be perfect, that without my efforts, He'd hate me.  He'd give up on me. 





 One day it snowed.  And like a love letter, it spoke to my heart with all the surprise and understanding of God's deep, gracious love for me.  I remember finding my friend, Angie, and grabbing a camera.  I must've taken a whole roll of film.  We ran around campus and I kept saying, "I get it!"  God's love for us, His grace, is like the snow.  It comes to us.  It comes whether I've begged for it or not. 


 
On that particular day, the snow came down with a persistence and covered everything until it was all different.  All pure and white.  I can't make it snow.  I can pray for it. But I can't make it.  And God loves me.  Not because I can make Him love me.  But He chooses to.  He promises. 

Eager footprints in the first snow of the season.

 Now, living in the upper-mid-west, I love the snow.  And we sure get plenty of it. I love it because it continues to be like a love letter from the Lord, reminding me, teaching me.  When all that's left on the ground is dry, dead, void of color and life, the snow comes.  Dressing the earth in splendid white.  Working life deep beneath the ground, for come spring, the bulbs will burst forth with new blossoms, fresh grass will appear, and life will cycle through into a new season.
 

A perfect snow angel.

Being reminded that God is always working life in darkness:  the babies in the darkness of their mother's wombs being knit together, the seeds in the ground, and all of God's baptized children, taken, with Christ, into the darkness of the tomb to be raised to new life with Him.  Funny to be approaching Advent and having an Easter moment, but there it it, nevertheless. 

Quiet Book

Our youngest turns one soon and I've finished a quiet book for her.

I made the cover out of this lovely dark purple twill with owls and stars.  I've had this fabric for over 2 years, so I'm glad to finally use it!

 Next came the lion with the ribbon mane.  (I want to make his face smaller, if I make this kind of book again, so there would be more ribbon to play with.)

A zipper butterfly. 

An under-the-flap tiny butterfly.  I so loved my stash of random items, including this iron-on butterfly.  I've had that for years too.

A button flower and several decorative lady bugs.

My favorite page!  I used eyelet lace for Momma Owl's feathers/apron.  I figured I'm making this book for our girl and only her, so I tried to make it really girly.

Peek-a-boo baby owl.

A few surprises under the leaves and stars.  

A baptismal shell and three dangling drops of water.   On the opposite page, a pocket and a sheep.  I intend on singing "I am Jesus' little lamb" and teach about baptism and the parable of the lost sheep while she plays with these pages.

 

This is already her favorite page.  I blocked out the beads at the bottom, but they spell her name.