February 26th, 2009
When we were little girls, we used to get in trouble if we caught a sister with their eyes open during prayer…because of course, that meant our eyes were open too. When I pray, I like to close my eyes…I can block out all the distractions around me, try to connect my thoughts, “search me and try me o God”. I once tried hiking and praying with my eyes open and praying out-loud. It was a bit awkward for me but I was willing to try it until I ran into another hiker.
In past weeks, Abby has gotten a lot more mobile. During devotion time, she is constantly getting into trouble. Now I must pray with one eye open and less than half of my faculties working well. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when our own prayers are less than coherent!
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February 24th, 2009
Today I was able to finish the blocks and get them all sewed together. The quilt top is finished except for the border that I will put around it. I need something for the inside border but then the outside border will be a thin strip of the red/orange material. I am thinking that I will make this into a duvet cover instead of a traditional quilt since I already have a duvet. By the way, I think I am now addicted to making quilts. It is so much fun to see the fabrics come together!
One thing that I was surprised to learn about making quilts is that they are pretty forgiving with mistakes. I am not so much of a detailed person when it comes to crafts, cooking, etc so this was a lot of fun and hid my mini-failures.
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February 22nd, 2009
Every experience, thought, word, deed, prayer, conversation, and dream make up a part of who we are. We are a piecework of all these parts of our lives – the good, bad, fun, embarrassing, painful, and joyful. I am thankful that God places each piece exactly where it is needed and the result is beautiful!
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February 22nd, 2009
I have a love/hate relationship with buffets. I feel like I always overeat at buffets in order to “get my money’s worth”. I mean, who goes to buffets for a nice gourmet meal? No! You go to buffet to get quantity. So, for the most part, I resist buffets. There are two exceptions to my rule. The first is Chinese. I love Chinese food – it’s my all time comfort food. I would never be able to pick only one dish and be satisfied so Chinese buffet is great. My other exception is indian food. I just love indian food – probably my favorite ethnic food genre. It’s the only place where if I leave feeling overstuffed, I’m okay with it. Since we moved here, we pass an Indian food restaurant every time we leave the apartment. Today we finally went there for lunch. We weren’t planning to go when we left the house for church so we didn’t have any food packed for Abby. She also hadn’t slept at church so she was tired. We decided to risk it anyway and went on in. Paul and I took turns getting our plates full from the buffet. The names of the dishes were the same as other Indian restaurants we’ve been to but the food wasn’t quite the same. It was okay. Probably wouldn’t go back to this same one. There was one dish with curried potatoes and cauliflower. I sliced them up and let Abby at them and boy! did she enjoy it. Her hands and shirt were stained that bright yellow curry color. I’m actually not sure if there was more food on the floor or that she ate. We became that family that left a disaster behind us. Thankfully we were in the back corner and maybe, just maybe no one else would even venture back there.
On a completely different topic – Abby is definitely learning the word “no”. She’s been doing this nasty whining that we’ve been working on with her. This morning when I said “no, ma’m”, she immediately started crying for real. Just a few minutes ago, I told her “no” when she was trying to reach for the computer. Again, she started crying. So….progress!
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February 22nd, 2009
It has been a while since I last posted. I have been busy lately with working on my Jonah Project and now working. I started work earlier this month, doing receiving at a hardware superstore, and I have to say that it is a little weird being back in the working in the world again. I had become so accustomed to being around Christians all the time, that being surrounded by non-Christians all day is . . . well. . . different. The thing is, that is where I am called to be right now, as most believers are. We can not isolate ourselves from the world and live like monks. My prayer is that I can show the love of Christ to those around me.
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February 19th, 2009
Today I went through Abby’s clothes to sort out what she can’t wear anymore. She’s still pretty small for her age so the clothes still fit her except lengthwise. Her pajamas are stretched so that she looks uncomfortable. It was time…past time for me to do this sorting through. It makes me a little bit sad everytime I go through the clothes. I love some of the little outfits. I pray that I will have another little girl someday who can wear these clothes.
As most of you moms probably know, the clothes start dwindling. When Abby was born, we were given so many clothes which was an incredible blessing. I even had a hand-me-down source but her hand-me-down source decided she wanted all the clothes back so ….anyone want to be my hand-me-down source?
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February 14th, 2009
I wanted to make Valentine’s Day special for Paul so first thing in the morning, I put a bottle of wine, some dark chocolate and a card at his place at the table. I also wanted to make him a nice dinner. We didn’t really want to go out and also don’t have a babysitter so chef Sarah took over the kitchen. I asked Paul what he would like several times throughout the week and finally it was up for me to surprise him. I know he loves Mexican food so I decided to try to make fajitas (I’ve never actually made my own before). The meat soaked in lime marinade all day and then I fried it up with some onions and peppers. I also made Spanish rice from scratch – better tasting than the box and pretty easy too! For dessert, I made molten lava cakes. Paul tried to feed Abby before we ate so that he and I could eat at the same time. Abby started throwing a fit, didn’t want to eat, then screamed and screamed. I was trying to pass the Spanish rice and knocked over my wine glass, spilling wine all over the tortillas and Abby’s dinner – hey that might help her sleep J Finally, we decided to put Abby down in her crib and start over. Abby slept for about 30 minutes and was refreshed when she got up. She then ate and played – for those of you worrying that I fed her spinach soaked in wine, never fear, new batch of pureed spinach coming up. During her nap, Paul and I had a very delicious fajita dinner. My molten lava cakes worked!!!! I have a sweet husband who cleaned up after dinner and is now giving Abby a bath so she can go to bed. By the way, he also got me orange roses – my favorite! I love how he loves me – both practically (with dishes, cleaning, Abby) and impractically (roses, cards, etc). God has blessed me with the husband that I needed in so many more ways than I ever knew while we were dating. Random fact: Paul and I never had a Valentine’s Day while we were dating. This is our third as a married couple.
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February 13th, 2009
So today I felt like I really made progress. My mom was still here so I didn’t feel so guilty spending time on the quilt rather than with Abby. The picture shows one strip – it is the width of a queen size bed. I do need to put a border on it after the body of the quilt is finished.
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February 13th, 2009
I started on my quilt this week. I’ve never done one before and actually never wanted to make quilts until recently. I had in my mind that quilts only looked a certain way and I wasn’t a huge fan. And then my friend Bev, showed me quilts from magazines that were not your grandmother’s quilts. Bev let me borrow the pattern which I am now using. At first, I was going to try to do just a small one but then Paul wanted one for our bed…so my quilt grew. My quilt is browns and oranges…the main blocks are african in print. The one I finished today was the african mask…I need to do 4 more like this one. Each block is 18 inches wide so it’s quite a large block.
Who would have thought that I would have become this interested and consumed with quilting? I am already imagining my next one….one at a time…right? :)
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February 9th, 2009
Rating: 
The Kiss by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy is an intriguing story of family and friendships and what happens when touched by power. Shauna woke from being in acoma for 6 months. She doesn’t remember her boyfriend or anything that happened the night of the accident. In addition, Shauna is being charged for being durg impaired while driving. Even though Shauna can’t remember the past 6 months, she knows the accusations are completely out of character. As she struggles to regain the past, Shauna quickly finds out there are many people who don’t want her to figure it out. Shauna learns that no one is to be trusted. Her main way to recover the past is to use other people’s memories. It is through this fascinating ability to “see” that she is able to discover the plot to destroy her father, who is running for President.
The Kiss is a page turner – a fascinating read unlike any other I have read. The book delves into deep issues of medical ethics; both on a corporate level and a personal level. While some of the things that happened in the book probably are science fiction, it does ask the reader to think seriously through his or her own preconceptions. Enjoy reading – you might stay up all night to finish!
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