Old McDonald

One other earth shaking event happened on Friday noon - it the first time that Keith and I took Brooklyn to McDonald's! LOL! It was so much fun, at least for us. We got her a Happy Meal that had chicken nuggets, apple slices and milk. You can see in the photo that she really liked the apple slices and the milk! The nuggets didn't win any prizes, but that's ok. Another scrapbook-worthy day filled with photos!

Beautiful Timing

Oh what a weekend filled with joy! It all started on Friday when I was able to leave early. But the leaving early wasn't the source of the joy, it was the fact that I got to go by the daycare and pick up Brooklyn. :) My mom, brother and sister-in-law were coming to town on Friday afternoon to stay the weekend and of course I wanted them to see the little one as much as they could.

And on the way home from the daycare, while Brooklyn was sleeping, a most amazing thing happened. I was riding along thinking about what a blessing it's been to have this little girl in our life. Next thing I know the song "The Fingerprints of God" by Steven Curtis Chapman came on the radio. Here are some of the lyrics:

Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand and perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing
Priceless work of art

And I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God

Just look at you
You're a wonder in the making
And God's not through
In fact, He's just getting started!














Lucky for me I came to a red light about that time, so i pulled my trusty "grandma" camera out and reached over the backseat and her car seat to take this picture. Yes, she is indeed covered in the fingerprints of God.

Amen.

Stick A Fork In Me, I'm Done!

Yes me, Queen of Unfinished Projects, has actually completed something!

It all started when I saw the pattern for the Everlasting Bagstopper on Knitty. Cute, but didn't give it another thought really. And then while looking through Ravelry I saw one done in the most amazing colors and fell in love. I emailed the photo and pattern link to some girls at work and thought that was that.

Except that these girls fell in love with the bag and started knitting! The picture is one of our in progress pictures. From left to right: mine, Princis, Loni, Audrey. Since this photo was taken all bags are finished (yeah, I was last!), Lynne' has started one, Audrey has finished another one, and all three girls have started another. Bag making machines I tell you!

One of the comments we make over and over at work during our lunchtime knitting is that "it takes a village to knit a project" because we love to brainstorm. Each bag has some subtle differences as we all discover our favorite methods.

I am one of those people that really dislikes changing colors while knitting, so I bought one of the giant skeins of Bernat cotton so that no joining would be required. ;)

My changes from the pattern: the top edge is stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch and my handles are knitted. I picked up 10 stitches and knit probably about 14 inches, then picked up 10 more stitches on the other side and knit for 6 inches, then used the kitchener stitch to join. A lightbulb went on for me while knitting the second handle and this time I did my kitchener stitch with all knit stitches since it's a garter stitch handle and I'm a lot happier with it.

Too cute! I was absolutely ready to start making another bag, but have a deadline project I'm working on before I can do another. My goal is to have enough to take grocery shopping so that I no longer have to use the plastic bags.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Finally last night I made cupcakes again and I had so much fun doing it. I really need more hours in my day/week to do all the things I enjoy! :)

So far the comments at work have these as the best cupcakes I've brought to date. My car smelled oh so good on the way to work this morning.

These are not the prettiest I've ever made, partly because of the icing. The icing consists of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and frozen strawberry puree. As I was piping it on the icing became less and less able to hold its shape, so I plopped the whole lot into the refrigerator for a while. The second batch did a little better.

Regardless of appearance, these were awesome. Keith is not normally a fan of "scratch" cakes because they are more dense. This recipe made a very light cake full of flavor.

Edited to add link to recipe. :)

Fear

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited as having said "face something you fear every day." I heard this quote a few weeks ago and was so taken with it that I sent it in an email to several people at work. Apparently they were not nearly as smitten as I never heard anything back. ;) But the quote has stayed on my mind and this past weekend I was able to "put my money where my mouth is" so to speak.

I love the concept of the quote. By facing that which we fear we are able to conquer it and fear no longer has any power over us. Between that and having God as my co-pilot it stands to reason that I am king of the world!

Except not so much. There are things that I'm afraid of. And it's a funny thing about fear - those that don't share your fear seem to tsk tsk at it. Sometimes facing a fear is really, really hard. I faced several this past weekend and it wore me out!

The first has to do with the boat. I love the lake and was practically raised on its waters. But at some point in the last couple of years I have developed a deep fear of being on the water. Keith asked me why I'm afraid and really who can ever pinpoint the cause of a fear? So when he asked me if I wanted to start learning to drive the boat the inner me ran and hid in a corner. Exterior me looked that fear in the face and decided to count it as my fear for that day. I sat behind the wheel and I kid you not I had locked elbows and legs! My chin was quivering and I was reciting the 23rd Psalm over and over as I sped up. But God and me, we got through it. His gentle whisperings of encouragement helped me to slowly relax. I can't say that I got to the enjoyment phase of that boat trip, but at least a large part of the fear was faced. And the next day, with water smooth as glass, I drove again and did actually enjoy it!

And then that evening after dinner Keith suggested we go out and ride the motorcycles. Mind you, I've ridden these things for probably 30 years and always enjoyed them. But having the wreck almost two years ago changed the enjoyment to fear. "But Lord, please don't make me face two fears in one day!" "You can do it little one." ~ sigh ~ I walked out to the little scooter and got on. We rode for a while and again, I never got the enjoyment back. But the terror that I've felt each time I think of riding them has now passed.

With all the fear facing this weekend I was glad to get back to work today and relax! :)

Happy Dog!

Home from another fabulous lake weekend and we're all POOPED!

I love this picture of Joe because it shows his big smile. One of the girls I work with didn't know that dogs smile, so I had to dig through some old photos and show her. Who can deny this doggy smile?

We had pulled up to a beach and all jumped in to play in the water. Joe is stylin' in his new life jacket and he gets giggles many times around the lake. But he's a senior citizen and I just worry about him getting over tired. Actually though he's always had a lifejacket for in the boat. Safety first!