holding on

sometimes i........

wonder why it is that i sit here

and type away

sending moments that are so personal and private

wonderful and perfect

off into cyberspace

to, well, in all honesty, mostly strangers

yet, so far, warm and kind strangers

who reach across the miles

to leave comments and say hello

trying to make a connection with me

a stranger to them also

each of us just trying to find some common thread

in this great big world

that our God has seen fit to place us in

and i guess my only reason for even pondering all

of this is due to the breathing in of copious amounts

of fresh mountain air today

i was so smitten

with all of my blessings even though

my hair was so

messy and staticky

from the blustery wind

but all i cared about was

the whirlwind of

sticky marshmallowy fingers

all around me

a warm fire

with dancing flames

and precious bare feet on

the hearth

the laughing faces of my family,

my children especially

and well,

i guess there is that part of me

that just wants to keep holding on

to all of the goodness

because i know that life is not

always all good

but as a Christian

i feel it is my duty

to share with you the beauty

that abounds in this life of mine

and in yours too

because it is there

and it has nothing to do

with money or status

popularity or talent

just plain goodness

from a GOD who IS

ALL good and ALL loving

and Who i like to think

is holding on to me

and mine

and you and yours...............

awesome

since this picture got quite a bit of attention yesterday, i thought i'd share something along the same lines with you all.

you see, i met a lovely lady through the faith and family Christmas home tour and we've become flickr friends. after looking through her photo stream one day i saw this:

and she informed me that we could do a craft swap wherein i will make her 12 cotton crochet flowers and this little guy will come to live with us at the end of january. i am so very excited, as we are all pretty smitten over here with his charm. i know i could probably make one for myself, but it would take too long to figure it out, besides, this lady has TALENT i'm telling you and she deserves the proper credit for her handiwork.

all in all i think both of these items are pretty awesome!!!

happy saturday.

may the force be with you.

we're off to the mountains.

what color are you?

apparently i am:

VIOLET

You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

which really ruins my day because
i always thought i was "yellow". =)
but come to think of it violets stand
for faithful don't they?
so maybe i don't mind being violet.
i think i am pretty faithful.
anyway, thanks laura for the invitation to
participate in this interesting meme.
(btw, laura was violet too.)
maybe if i'd picked something racy
like a porn star for my dream job
i would've gotten my desired color,
but we cannot compromise our morals just to
be the color we want, now can we?
here's to a happy, nonsense filled friday!

warm hands

the grey hand-warmers are done.

it isn't very cold outside in these parts,

but they sure are cute.

"and they're both the same, mom!"

she tells me.

like that really matters.

i tweaked the pattern over and over

and it wasn't easy because i had trouble

even deciphering what i'd written in my own language.

but they're finished and i'm pretty happy with them.

i can't wait to start a black pair for myself.

i'll wear them while i sip iced tea......

yarn snob

i hope i didn't sound like a yarn snob in my last post.
i had an opportunity to try some of that beautiful yarn
for the first time and even though
i am usually a -thrift store-joann's-michael's
kind of girl, it is nice to see what else is out there.
i've found that it is kind of like using fine china instead of everyday corel,
getting a pedicure as opposed to doing your toes at home,
or buying roses from the florist instead of picking them from your garden.
the simpler things are fine, but every once in a while, it is nice to splurge if you can!

a first

my first real yarn.

ever.

i found a little store that has the prettiest yarn i've seen.

the lady even rolled my silk skein(see the header picture) with a special machine.

i never even knew there was such a thing.

she did it for me because she said it was yummy!

it is probably better that i don't go there too often.

however, they do have knitting classes

and a knit night.

it is like a paradise.

so if you don't see me for a while, you'll know

that i am busy with my first real yarn.

we saw HIS star

today on the traditional feast of the epiphany we made and wore crowns like kings,

donned capes and rings like kings.

we ate like kings. we gazed in the sky,

searching near and far for the star.

and in the end we found it. we saw HIS star.

and beneath it was HIM, the real KING of KINGS.

wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying out in the cold.

we stopped and adored, gave Him frankincense, myrrh and gold.

and then we brought Him inside,

we read Him a story, His story and He lit up our living room,

as only the TRUE LIGHT of the world could.

we hope you saw HIS star too.

this was a new year's gift from my mama.

like a good mother, she wants to help me any way she can along the rosary path.

and since i am a very visual person this little book is perfect for someone like me.

if you are familiar with michael buccino's drawings (from a year with God) you know that he is an extraordinary artist. he originally drew these pictures for his children as an aid to saying the rosary.

here is a link in case you, too need a little help.

the sorrowful mother

well, here she is, my patron saint for 2009.

i didn't choose her, she chose me.

as my children get older, sassier and harder to deal with,

i have a feeling that she is the only one who could possibly understand

and the only one, besides her SON, who could be of any help to me.

many of the problems here are ones that i have created,

others are inevitable,

after all, original sin is like a disease.

however, with God's grace

and a little help from her, i am sure

that together, we can restore some order around here.

for today

outside my window........ sunny, but very cold

i am thinking............about how i wish there wasn't so much to be done

i am thankful for..........trees full of yummy oranges, heat, healthy kids, a husband who finally went back to work, a functioning washer, true friends, beautiful places to visit that are really close by

from the kitchen............vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries, a new recipe i am going to try out for flax seed and garlic crackers, chicken with brown rice and veggies for dinner

in our schoolroom.............a mess of material, folded laundry, coloring pages, pencils, but not too bad really, today we'll discuss a visit we had from the department of food and agriculture regarding fruit fly traps

i am creating.............3 pairs of fingerless gloves/hand warmers, a few potholders, and some pretty new dishtowels and a new apron

i am going........................to write out a grocery store list, to check for ingredients we'll need for our king's cake

i am wearing................layers-an olive green lacy tank top, black baby doll top and grey sweater, jeans, striped teal, olive, brown, green, blue and beige socks

i am reading..................a mother's rule of life (again), marshmallow to my little one

i am hoping.................to find our epiphany chalk to do the house blessing tomorrow, to take another trip up to my parent's mountain house for more pictures

i am hearing................scissors, cutting, the cats being fed, running, lots of boy noises: fighting, jumping, etc.

around the house................it's messy, but mostly just picking up and putting away to do. i'll be tackling the big stuff room by room, day by day for the next week. it can be overwhelming to think of the house as ONE project. better to do it little by little.

one of my favorite things...............yarn

a few plans for the rest of the week................epiphany tomorrow, lesson plans based on the liturgical year, focus on math and reading, getting rid of some junk

here are some picture thoughts i am sharing with you from our sunday afternoon (yesterday)...

visit peggy for more daybook entries

crochet fingerless gloves

so i've had it in my head lately that i MUST make a pair of fingerless gloves.

i started making my daughter some grey hand warmers and was having a bit of trouble, i got frustrated and tired of looking at the grey yarn, so i started these........

they are coming out better than i thought, however, they still seem kind of funny looking to me. but then again, since i cannot follow a pattern for the life of me, this will have to do. i have written the pattern down in my own language so that i can replicate it for the other hand. i like the pattern, it looks a little different for once. i think i'll try some in black ones after these are done (and after i finish those darn grey ones). they are kind of BRIGHT, if you know what i mean, i am not even sure if i'll wear them!

on a different note, i had another friend offer to teach me how to knit this week coming up. i may just take her up on it because that is one of my goals for this year, after all! during a visit to her home the other day she showed me many different knitting projects she had made and one blanket in particular that she was working on, was so pretty. i left her house very enthusiastic about the prospect of actually learning the skill, but still not sure if i will be able to do it.

well, i need to spend some time with my Lord tonight. thankfully the house is quiet, everyone went to bed early. we have been staying up way too late and i am so ready to get this house back in order again.

goodnight.

gone

i never really cared for dogs. i have always been a cat person, i have had cats all my life. i guess i just felt like dogs need so much more attention than i really have the time to give.

however, last Christmas my husband got this guy and i loved him since the day we brought him home. i took care of him like he was my baby and now he is gone. it has been a week now and there is no sign of him anywhere. he seems to have vanished and it really bothers me that i don't know what happened to him.

i guess this would be another reason why i never really wanted a dog, i get attached to things, especially living things. and now every day i think about how much i miss him.

we have had our share of cats, dogs, lizards and fish come and go, but somehow this is different.

i am seriously affected by the fact that this dog is gone................

i wish that whoever took him would find it in their heart to turn him in to the pound.