Breathe

So far so good. Things are going well and we are so grateful! I still find it hard to breathe but I am trying.



Constantly reminding myself that God is in control. (why do I continually want to do it myself?) Trying to let go and TRUST! Thanking God for good friends and family. Feeling truly blessed.




Exciting news: my oldest son is offically engaged! He proposed to his girlfriend of 4 years on Saturday. Even got down on one knee. So awesome! We are so excited for them both. They want to get married in our yard next April. Oh, that will be so much fun!

Sharing My Heart

From the book' "Praying the Bible for Your Children" by David & Heather Kopp....

On this journey of prayer we never pray alone. We are actually joining with Christ in His greatest work in heaven today. He too stands before the Father interceding for His children--us! -- as well as our children (Rom 8:34). And He gives us His spirit to help us as we pray.
Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

In their book they also write:
In Jesus' name we pray and are confident that the God who gives endurance, encouragement, and hope (Rom 15:5, 13) will accomplish immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine because His own power-the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (1Peter 1:21) is at work in you and in the children you love (Eph 3:20)

TRUST

It all comes back to Trust.
Our family has been facing some difficult medical issues. Our hearts are filled with fear and longing for things to be back to normal. For all of this to skip over us and disappear. But that isn't how it works. We are to face our fears and trust in God. So we prayerfully place all we have in His hands. Knowing that he is the God of the Universe, the Great I AM. It isn't easy...even though it should be. We are human after all and weak in spirit so many times.

In 1 Peter 5:7 we are reminded to:
"cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you."

And in Psalm 56:3 it says:
"when I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee."

We are clinging to these truths, praying hard, and Trusting.......

Flower Power

A Sweet 16 Birthday Party is where we are headed today. And you know at that age all they really want is ca$h. So..I found this idea on Nora Griffin's blog. Super cute and super easy.

First off gather your items:
* scrap paper
* 3 nesting punches (could be round, scalloped, flowers or mixed-up)
* floral wire
* masking tape
* ink (color of your choice)
* wooden skewers
* buttons
* paper piercer
* wire cutters
* scissors




Punch out three sizes for each flower. Crinkle the flowers and then ink the edges. Matching the holes on your buttons; use a paper piercer to poke holes in the center of each layer of your flower. Fasten them together with wire using a button for the middle. Twist to secure. Once they were together I cut a few notches on each flower and bent them a bit to add some dimension.





Repeat this for each flower you want to make. I made "16" since that was the theme for the party today. Now fasten each flower to a wooden skewer. I wrapped the wire around the skewer and taped it with a small bit of masking tape on the back. It doesn't look perfect but that's ok with me.





Now it is time to wrap the ca$h around each flower stem. Secure with a small bow.
You get the idea.




I painted a small can and added polka dots to put the flower bouquet in. At the bottom of the can is a small square of floral foam. Once the flowers are poked into the foam and arranged to your liking you can top it off with some shredded paper for a cute effect. Tie a bow around the can and you are good to go! Very easy and really cute! Give it a try!

Cropping, Class & Cold Stone

So far this weekend has been a busy one, but a good one. Last night was our private crop at Paper Vineyard. Once a month the owner closes the crop room & we enjoy an "employees only" night. It is a fun evening to get together and crop. We bring friends and just generally kick back and enjoy working on our own projects. I really love my job & I love the people I work with! Last night Sherry came with me. We haven't spent that much time together in the past, so it was really nice to have time to just chat and get to know each other a little better. Thanks for coming Sherry! :)

Today was the Spring Mini Book class at the store. I had such a great group of gals. The class went very smoothly and we even finished on time. (I always under-estimate how long it will take to complete a project) It was just a really nice day.

And of course...any day that ends with a trip to Cold Stone is a good one! Yum Yum

Wow! My First Award

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers."

When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with.

I am so very excited to have received an award! My good friend Sherry has bestowed a "Friendly Blog" award on me. Isn't that so cool! I am to pass it along to more friends. I would love to send it on to eight friends as requested but I have to be honest...being new at this I don't think I can come up with that many. So here are the ones that I have chosen:
Kim
Michelle
Julie
Tina

Yum, Yum

Our tree was just jam-packed with lemons this year. So I decided to make some Lemon Bread the other day. Oh boy did it turn out yummy! Here's the recipe:


Lemon Bread:




1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Cream together.

Add:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Grated peel of whole lemon



Bake in loaf pan, greased and floured. 350* for 1 hour (be sure to watch it as mine only took about 40-45 min) Remove from oven and prick top with fork. Pour over the following mixture:
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of one lemon

Optional: Sprinkle with powdered sugar.




Now the best part- Share with those you love & ENJOY!

You're Kidding Me...Right!

So I decided to check a few blogs last night before I headed off to bed. Boy oh boy, was that a mistake. :) I clicked on Kim'sblog and I found that I had been tagged. Well...not having blogged for long I always thought it would be so fun to be tagged for something. That is until I found out what I had been tagged for....a photo on the spot! Yup! One right then and there! At first I was reluctant. I took a few shots and then chickened out. And I really don't know that many people in the blog world so I didn't have too many to tag. But this morning I thought....part of the reason I started this blog was to have fun and meet new people. So....here goes. I am putting myself out there. I am wearing the appropriate St Patrick's Day green and all my glorious freckles. Hello blogworld!
I am officially tagging Michelle, Rebecca, Sherry, Julie and my newest friend Tina

Have fun girls!!! Remember, take a photo on the spot, post it to your blog and then tag 5 friends.

Another Project

Finished up another project for Paper Vineyard. I have been slacking with all that is going on so I needed to complete a few things. This one is a patchwork frame about family. Idea taken from Studio Calico. I changed it up a bit. I like how it turned out.

Birds of a Feather

I have been working on a project for Paper Vineyard. Something geared toward Spring. It was fun to put together. It will be offered in April at the store. I really hope everyone likes it!
Have a great weekend!

Well this was suppose to be posted yesterday but blogger kept placing the photos in odd arrangements no matter how I specified. ?? Not sure why. This looks a bit better.

Wishin'

A few photos from our trip to Cozumel a few years back. Wishing we were there again. Just lounging on the beach and enjoying the beautiful views. A drink with a little umbrella wouldn't be bad either. Hey...a gal can dream!!

As some of you may know we have been going through quite a bit with our family lately; medically. I try not to talk about it because I want this blog to be light, positive and a bit more creative. But sometimes things just weigh heavily on my mind. Today is one of those days.
I am trying to look up and remain focused on God's promises. I found this in my journal from a year ago when I was reading Timothy Keller's book, "The Reason for God-Belief in an Age of Skepticism". It is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. On page 96 he speaks about creation.


God didn't originally create the world to have disease, hunger and death. Jesus came to redeem where it is wrong & heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proof of his power but also wonderful foretastes of what He is going to do with that power. A PROMISE to our HEARTS that the world we all want is coming!

What a great reminder that everything is in God's hands. He loves us and is faithful. We can trust Him!
Just wanted to share. :)

A Spring in my Step

It's finally starting to look like spring around here. My husband has amazing gardening skills. Even in the heat of the desert. Things are starting to pop up with wonderful colors. The cactus too! And even though we didn't really have a harsh winter; spring is always welcome! A time for change and fresh outlooks. I'm ready! Ready for good things to happen and life to be sweet. Come on springtime!!