Lines~~

It's Sunday morning and I walk into the bathroom and this is what's left of Maya playing in the bathroom when everyone had been asked/told/instructed/informed that we all needed to take a short shower and hurry along so we could get to church on time. Normally if this 'art' had greeted me when I walked into the bathroom after such asking/telling/instructing/informing I would not have been pleased with her not listening BUT I am trying to change my ways so today

I just smiled.

It made me do a lot of thinking while I took my shower. 2 + 2 = 4 children for me and my man. The oldest, a 26 year old son, and the third child, a 9 year old daughter, are both the same in so many ways. The second child, a 21 year old son, and the fourth child, a 7 year old son, are both the same in so many ways. 3 were not planned and one was. I never thought I'd have so many children. But we consider ourselves to actually have 7 children. We had two miscarriages and one stillborn child.

I've only told one person, in Oregon, about that. All of our family and all of our friends in California know because they went through it all with us. I'm very thankful that God used them to help us through all trials in our life and I'm thank ful he continues to express his love through others. God is so good to us. The reason I really even mention it is because I believe all happens for a reason. The same reason I think I have four living children.

While my husband and I talk about each one and their personalities, I think about them a lot on a personal level. Why do I have these four living children? Why them? Because I know God has a reason. So this morning while I'm trying to get my mass of curly locks under control with water and conditioner...once again I'm thinking about them on a more personal level.

Maya with her mirror art is just one way of her expressing her joy for life. She loves to wake up. She loves to eat. She loves to socialize. She loves to laugh. She just loves to be part of every day. I was 17 when I had our oldest son. Probably too young but I know he is a blessing to me. Us being so young was not fair to him but to this day, each time we mess up, he is soooo quick to forgive. He never holds a grudge and he finds all people likable until they prove him wrong. Both Maya and Jesse are wide open to everyone they meet and give their all. I admire their qualites to befriend easily.

Tommy, our second son has a very dry sense of humor and he never fails to entertain. His whole life he has only a handful of friends at one time. He is good with his money and he never brags about what he has or complains about what he doesn't have. He is not a materialist person. Ben, the youngest, is very gifted with brain smarts. He taught himself the alphabet at two, he knew how to read by 4, he loves math and science. He writes neat and is constantly exploring. These two don't like to be teased or provoked. I admire their ability to just be who they are.

As I look into the mirror lately and look at my reflection, I see that I'm not the young woman I used to be. I'm seeing the lines, the gray hair and the signs of my inner self. I know family members who are bitter about things that have happened in their lives and it shows in their face and is revealed through what comes out of their heart. As I know I need to simplify my life and change my choices I have to ask myself, what kind of heart will show on my face? Will it be frown lines or laugh lines? I want them to be laugh lines but if I'm not careful, the frown lines that are developing will only get deeper.

I need to learn from my children God has given me. I need to learn from my friends and family who possess qualities that I admire. God puts all people in our lives for a reason. I need to be mindful of my choices. You see, my kids exist for a reason. I need to choose forgiveness every time. I need to choose laughter more. I need to appreciate being part of every day, even if it's not the best day and I need to not waste the natural gifts that God has given me. As my heart swells with thankfulness, I can only say God is so good to me.

Looking forward to~~

~Planting seeds with the family and knowing we like to garden together~

~Seeds turning into these~

~These free clothes line poles put in the ground so we can save energy and money~

~The summer season that will make all the above possible!!~

Sunshine on My Shoulders~~

Makes me happy...

..so does fun mail. Here are my fun swaps I received from the 'vintage button swap deux' and from 'Spring has Sprung' swap.

Sweet yellow flowers, smooth aqua that I'm thrilled with and a set of cheery buttons on the right.

4"x4" collage from Norma. The picture doesn't show it but the collage is coated with wax and I think the birds are stamped on top of that but I'm not too sure of the process but it's very soft and sweet. And look at the envelope. She put a lot of time into the envelope with calligraphy and rubber stamps. How fun it was to open the mailbox and see this fun envelope.

W. In Progres~~

in progress: going on; under way; being done; happening

Feeling like too much in progress. I've just compelted a bird tag swap, a vintage button swap, a 'week in my life' swap, a needlebook swap, a photograph swap, four baby blankets, four appliqued onsies and two stenciled onsies. I still need to finish a bumper pad for a crib and a baby quilt for the girl.

As I mentally move toward slowing down life's pace, I've decided to join one swap at a time so I can fully enjoy the process then take on a new challenge. I'm always game for trying something new and I've done some new crafts that I normally wouldn't have tried without being in a swap so there has been some fun out of it but I didn't like the deadlines coming in sequence and week after week so that I had to mark them on my calendar in fear of forgetting. That part is not enjoyable to me.

With my craft room being turned into a master bedroom walk-in closet I thought I'd just be fine and work out of my room and a corner of my downstairs day basement but I was wrong. My current bedroom has been taken over to the point of madness. I barely have a path on my side of the bed. If I had to get up for an emergency, I'd be doomed before I even started so it's time to make some changes. Let's see if I'm "progressing."

- All craft stuff downstairs now? NO ( I do have some of it moved downstairs though)
- Baby quilt and bumper pad finshed? NO (I told my son I'd have it to him 3 weeks ago...sigh)
-All my craft stuff in order downstairs and organized? NO (I do have cute little piles everywhere. Let me hear you all say ahhh what cute little piles)
-Have I refraimed from joining any new swaps? NO (joined two. Due in July and September so lots of time...right? Come on it's not like they're due next week so they don't count, right?)
-Changed my time wasting ways so I can get to my mess? NO (But I did find a few more blogs that I thought were funny and added them to my favorites so I don't miss them daily)

Hmmm... while I'm on-line maybe I should wander over to dictionary.com and check out the definitions of regress, revert and backslide.

A Lady or NOT~~

Another beautiful day of sunshine. One thing about not having sun, as of late, is we really appreciate it when we get it. Everyone finds any reason to be outside. All day I was thinking of getting home and working in the yard.
Today Maya went to the food bank with her after school program and they had planted seeds in newspaper as a way of promoting growing their own food so when we got home she planted the whole thing in a pot. She too was in the mood for yard work and puttered around the yard doing odd jobs.

Jesse mowed the back and front yards while Ben picked up branches that had fallen from the trees. We have LOTS of trees in our back yard. I weeded the front yard and moved plants around (thanks Kenya for the "just do it" pep talk) in the front. With all the plants growing bigger last year, some needed relocating.
My goal was to do what I could and not stress about how much was going to get done. To be mindful of my surroundings. To hear the neighborhood sounds, enjoy digging in the dirt, take in the smells of yard work and freshly cut grass. To envision how the plants would look at the end of summer so I could place them properly. I even took a break to play Frisbee with Ben.

My latest goals are to be mindful of now and to be engaged in the process instead of thinking of other things or tomorrow. So I'm in the yard, watching the cat play with a snake he caught, pulled weeds without my gloves so I could have direct contact with the dirt and plants, ran my fingers over the lavender so I could release its fragrance, digging holes and relocating plants and working up a sweat. Oh, do ladies sweat or do they perspire? Let's see....looks like sweat, feels like sweat and smells like sweat. Yep, I was working up a sweat. A lady I am NOT.

Went in for dinner about 8:30 and didn't realize how hungry I was until my man said to try some jicama and cucumber he had marinating in lemon, salt and cayenne pepper. I stood at the counter and almost ate the whole bowl. My man says, "So I guess you liked it, huh?" My answer was to peel another cucumber and cut up some more jicama to repeat the process.

He serves me my hamburger off the grill and it. was. so. good. Again I'm standing at the counter eating. My man says, "Do you want to sit down and eat?". I shake my head no and mumble, "Nope I'm good here."

Again... a lady I am NOT.

Simple Pleasures~~

~sunshine~
~homemade bread the man made today~

Hope~~

I pray the people involved in the VA tech tragedy find strength, comfort and hope in the LORD.


Psalm 31:24 (NIV)
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD

I Wonder~~

Ever wonder why some things bother you? Why we do or don't do something? Is this important? No but I do not proclaim to be wise, educated or gifted. I'm a simple girl (again, thus the title of this site) and I know I always have been and always will be.

Why does it bother me that people don't say 'You're welcome"? It has been replaced with "No problem" and I sigh with disappointment when I get that reply. Important? No.

Why can't I wear the same pajamas two nights in a row? I can wear them every other night but not two nights in a row. Why can't I wear nightgowns without them being all twisted and around my chest in the morning? On T.V. or the movies the actresses, of all ages, get out of bed gracefully and without their nightgowns being all twisted up. I know plenty of people who wear nightgowns. Are theirs twisted in the morning? Important? No.

Why do I love to suck and chew on ice? A problem with my iron? No, I take supplements and yet I LUV the taste of ice. You say, how can ice taste like anything when it's frozen water? Well I can tell you it does taste and not all ice is equal. Some tastes better than others and the shape of the ice is important. Not cubes but cylinder ice that's hollow in the middle is the best. It melts to a light crunchiness that makes me happy to chomp on it. Writing about it is making me drool. Important? No.

Why do I do the same actions again and again when I know I'll get the same result and I wasn't happy with the end result before so why do I think I will be now? Why can't I change my actions when I tell myself I'll never do it again? Important? Yes, I think so.

Why do I struggle to live in the now? Why am I always thinking about what could be, what might be, about the next project, the next adventure, the tomorrows? Not so much the past at all but not NOW. I have lots of now moments during the day but I don't always feel fully engaged. The Bible says not to be concerned about tomorrow. Today will give us enough to deal with. I'm not 'concerned' about tomorrow but I do think about it. I totally trust God to take care of tomorrow and yet I think on it too much I think. Important? Yes, I think so.

I wonder... if I succeed at slowing down my pace and living in the now, will time slow down so that I can enjoy the time with my children instead of rushing us through our routine at night? Will I have more time to enjoy with my husband and just talk, walk and laugh? Will I enjoy digging in the dirt while feeling the heat or cold as I garden instead of trying to get as much accomplished in the least amount of time? Will I enjoy my craft projects more if I'm taking the time to be part of the process rather then meeting a deadline? Is my wondering dwelling on the future or living in the now? Important? What are your thoughts?

Finished~~

Here's my needlebook that I I was working on for a swap. I had never made one before and I have to say this is up there with my favorite things to do so far. I like that it's small and I get the fast gratification of a finished product. It's been a long time since I've embroidered and it was good to choose colors and free style a design. NOT a unique design by any means but it was fun just the same. I hope my swap partner likes it. She's learning to embroider and she likes to knit. Some day I'd like to give that a try.

Here's my needlebook that was sent to me. Cute idea from an old jean pocket and I really like the color combinations. I already used it for when I was making my needlebook and the little pocket came in handy to store it in along with my scissors and threads.

Happy Resurrection Sunday~~

Christ has Risen! He has risen indeed.

Fun Day~~

We left the window open last night because it was such a beautiful day yesterday but we woke to RAIN. I'm talking coming down hard rain. It woke me up several times EARLY this morning and I was sad because it was supposed to be sunny today. Well we did end up getting some great sun but it was mostly raining.

I went to Craft Warehouse to pick up some Dover books for the kids' baskets and ended up crafting at some 'make it and take it' tables. I did a birthday card with felt flowers and a rhinestone brad. I also learned to needle felt. I did a cute little polka dot egg and I totally got in to. The whole Craft Warehouse experience was so relaxing. It was so much fun to look at the craft supplies wihtout my name 'mom' being called upon over and over. It was so fun to be spontaneously and sit down to do crafts that I was interested in. Now I am totally recharged.

I brought Maya home from a birthday party then Ben came home from a friends so the kids colored eggs, made cute little cupcakes, we took lots of pictures because the sun was now out, and we bar-b-qued on the grill. Maya had a friend come over to help and all three of them got along and had fun. I had fun, being relaxed and all, because I was flexible and made it all about them having fun. Whatever it was you did today, I hope you were relaxed too doing something you enjoyed.

W.I.P.~~

For a swap.

I Spy a 'Miracle'~~

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