WIP Wednesday–and Knitting Excitement!

First up I’ve been working on the 198 Yards of Heaven and am loving it!  Lace knitting never looks pretty until it’s blocked, so keep that in mind.  All I lack is the border and it will be finished.

 

My focus knitting right now is the Mara Shawl by Madelinetosh.  I’m using Brooks Farm Mas Acero yarn and it is a dream to knit with. I cast this on because I needed some knitting that didn’t require much thought to work on during The Loopy Ewe Spring Fling this weekend!

 

And I finished two quilt blocks at the retreat I went on recently. This is a block of the month from my favorite quilt shop and the theme this year is Civil War.

 

On to my “knitting excitement” news, which I referenced above.  I’ll be flying out Thursday morning with my mom, headed to St. Louis for Spring Fling, a knitting retreat! It’s hosted each year by The Loopy Ewe and I’m so glad mom and I have the opportunity to go.

Brooklyn Loves the Easter Bunny!

Hope everybody had a beautiful and blessed Easter today. We had a wonderful service at church this morning and right now we’re getting ready to weather more fierce storms coming through the area.

Here’s a quick picture from yesterday’s egg hunt and carnival at our church.  Brooklyn was a little unsure about Mr. Bunny, but we finally coerced her into going over to see him. 

Brooklyn and The Headband

 

I received an instant message from my daughter-in-law today that made me truly laugh out loud:

 

“I was at target and saw the cutest headband to go with Brooklyn's dress

she said oh wow mommy that is beautiful, I want it

I said ... i don't know you tend to break headbands... Let me see how much

Still me: What? $4! I don't know

Brooklyn: Four dollars? *sigh* no I will just break it. Put it back “

 

Have a blessed Good Friday!

 

(Photo from Sky Turtle on Flickr)

Card #3–Happy Birthday Beloved

So even though his birthday was a bit ago I’m still going to post this card.  

My Beloved celebrated his birthday and I was pretty pleased with how the card came out. His favorite color used to always be orange, so that’s what I went with. And one of his favorite things to say is “Love”, which he pronounces in a monotone (maybe you’d have to be there to fully appreciate it), so I was delighted to find this very old Stampin’ Up set amongst my goodies.

 

The ribbon is also Stampin’ Up and the the little hearts on the sides are free form with Stickles.

A very fast to make card…except for the Stickle drying time. 

Older Is Sometimes Better

Our vacuum has breathed its last. We've tried doing repairs, but this time the repair would be more than the value, so I waved my white hankie at it and said goodbye.

We're not certain yet what kind we want next, so we pulled out the oldie but goodie:

Yes, we have a Kirby. And not just any Kirby, but the Kirby that was a wedding gift for my in-law's. So while we sometimes fall for the flash and bright lights of the newer models, there's something to be said for old faithful. Old faithful that is always there for us. :)

Brooklyn Cuts Her Hair

With little girls it’s really inevitable that they will cut their hair. Brooklyn decided to cut her hair in order to show her daddy the new hair scissors that mommy bought.  This is the text photo I received:

 

 

And this is a few hours later, after the friendly stylist fixed things up a bit:

 

She had been saying that she wanted to have hair like Rapunzel, but cutting off a chunk of it isn’t the way to get there!  Fortunately she’s very happy with her new hairdo and I think she looks ready for spring. 

Review–Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer

Beside Still Waters
by Tricia Goyer
B&H Publishing Group
252 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Marianna Sommer believes she knows where her life is headed. Nineteen years old and Amish, her plan is to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and live in the only community she's ever known.

When Marianna's family moves from Indiana to Montana she discovers life and faith will never be the same. As she builds an easy friendship with local guy, Ben Stone, Ben not only draws her heart, he also gets her thinking about what loving God and living in community is all about.

As Marianna struggles to find "home", she also encounters God in intimate ways. Click here to watch the book trailers. http://triciagoyer.com/contemporaryfiction.html#BesideStillWaters

MY REVIEW:  I am not ordinarily a fan of Amish fiction, whether it’s because I can’t relate or the style of writing I can’t be sure. But I AM a fan of Tricia Goyer, so I starting reading this book with very high hopes. And I was not disappointed.

This book not only gives us a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of the Amish, but also the sharing of what an intimate relationship with God can be.

“In all the years she’d gone to church and lived in her community she’d never met someone who talked about God like He was right there caring about the events of her day. She’d never thought about a God who would make a sunrise to please her for that moment.”

This was just one of the passages in the book that made me stop and ponder Our Father, who loves for us to stop and enjoy what He has created.

Beside Still Waters is a very enjoyable, easy read that I do not hesitate to recommend. Tricia Goyer has brought us another book to pass amongst our friends.

BESIDE STILL WATERS GIVEAWAY BY TRICIA GOYER!

To celebrate the release of the first book in the Big Sky Amish series Tricia is giving away 10 copies of Beside Still Waters and a pair of super cute antique Amish salt & pepper shakers. (photo attached)

Details at Tricia’s blog, It’s Real Life: http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2011/04/beside-still-waters-giveaway.html
BONUS! Each person who enters the giveaway will receive a FABULOUS Montana Amish Calendar. Hurry, it’s only available while supplies last!

 

** Thank you to Litfuse for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

Super Saturday!

Poor Keith had to work today (it happens very rarely though, so we try hard not to complain too much!), so I met the kids and watched little B doing her gymnastics class.

Seriously, she is such a joy to be around and always so happy. When they were to walk  from one area to the next you would see her little legs hopping and her jaunty ponytail bouncing. One time the coach had the girls sit on big poofy blocks so they could see what to do next. B had happy feet and they were dancing to their own beat while she sat there.

After class we all went to lunch together and had a great time. Honestly…I don’t think she stopped talking the entire time! One good thing is that if something becomes really important she’ll tap me on the arm to get my attention. 

The other fun thing is that sings constantly! Little made up songs with lots of extreme facial movements. I tried to get a video of her singing, but she is very aware of the camera phone and starts getting more of the sillies than before. But here for your viewing pleasure:

SSMT Week 7

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 ESV

Sometimes in life we go through periods of time where we are weary and it seems like so much is going on. It’s during those times I am so thankful to have the Scripture to turn to as a lifeline.

Our church gave us cd’s of the New Testament to listen to during the season of Lent – we will be listening to the entire New Testament in 40 days. It’s been such a beautiful experience so far to sit and read/hear the Bible with my beloved every evening.

And in the midst of weariness comes a verse promising our joy to be full.  Ahhh…sweet breath of fresh air.

Amen.

This is my Verse #7 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.