I think of crafts for girls, and fabrics for girls and patterns for girls.  I cannot help it.  Fabric designers need to think of masculine wares for real boys.  This would help me out greatly. He is the only one good at it, so far. 

Josh was at AWANA last night.  I had selected, enlarged, touched up this image.  Printed it and made it a t-shirt.  I loved it for a boy.  It was fun to lay it out on his bed, waiting for him to come in the door.

“Cool!”, was the response.  Mom’s hand-made’s will not be cool for long, so I will take it while I can.

Last night ended a long day for me. 

 I had two little ones with fevers.  I was fighting all sorts of weird sensations inside myself.  It was a home day- which I fight less and welcome more with time- praise God for that.  My homework to me lately has been this: Just trust God, Maryanne.  Just trust Him, regardless of what and how and where.  I began to pray daily a while back to know God outside of my circumstances.  Outside of the opinions- good or bad- of others.  God does this through changing our cirumstances in strange and unanticipated ways.

He always answers prayer.  Either in a way we like, or not.  What we want is not indicative of His open ears.   Yesterday I faced a choice early in the day.  It was 10:10 am.  I had been needed the evening before by a burning-up toddler, with a high fever.  Then the Baby started sinking, with big circles under his eyes and big cries.

And then I was a little shaky and dizzy, but not enough to call home my back-up.  He WOULD have come home and that is why I was hesitant.  Because I know he is swamped at work and saving me would mean a late, late night for him. I simply knew I HAD to make the day work.  For all of our sakes.

Back to prayer.  I did not FEEL like I was getting anywhere yesterday morning.  A day of spinning wheels and medicine and popcorn and back-rubs and concern. Running up the stairs endlessly- exercise I did get.

But regardless, what I FELT mattered not.  God was there, and at 10:10 am when I was tired and feeling like I was running a fever and thought I might crash and burn- I simply said out loud: God you ARE here in this day.  I do not feel anything like it right now, but believe I will.  Pray I will.  And rejoice I will, because “this is the day the Lord has made”.  Just because it’s a hard day, does not mean it’s without intention.

And what a difference this choice- this actively choosing faith- made.  God gives faith when we are without. Knowing His promises, hiding Scripture away in my heart makes this vastly easier.  Faith has to have a source, and so it is necessary to know what God says, what His patterns are…in order to have a right-directed faith.  Otherwise, we are simply having Faith in Something.  Or Someone.  Or Self.  But God is way more personal than that.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.-Isaiah 40:11-

Kroger has these adorable hair-ties priced at $1.  I like them as ties, but I prefer them as clippies.

I scissored off the elastic and pulled out my alligator clips.  Hot-glued them on and now they are ready for Anna and Emma this summer.

A poor casualty of Spring Break: my little basil plant.

No matter.  I raced out to Kroger as soon as we returned, and replaced dear Basil.  I love to cook with fresh herbs.  I plan to keep this one alive and hope to grow some more on my back deck this summer.  Corrin says I can do it.  We’ll see!

So far, so good.

The kids enjoy helping me cook.  Many times there simply is not….time.  I generally cook dinner in the mornings when the kids are at school.  Or while Emma coats the floor in flour or scribbles art on the walls.  But, sometimes Sundays mornings are excellent opportunities to let them “help”.  We eat dinner at lunch on Sundays, and so Sunday morning before church is prep-time.  They enjoy inputting.  And my pace is a little slower to allow them to.

 This is what we made.  Shish-ke-bobs.  Eew.  Raw chicken.  I was glad they handled it.  I chopped the veggies and chicken up, and they skewered. And yes, we washed the salmonella off after.

I emerged from our trip renewed at so many levels, ready to pursue many of my goals better.  With more energy, with more focus.  With more drive and passion.

I enjoyed my little family sooo much this past week.  Being away from home was an objective measure of where we are at.  I saw many encouraging dynamics amongst all of us.  Whereas before we left, I was seeing more the “dark” side of the six of us, we got along splendidly together and bonded.  We had just shy of two disciplinary issues in one week.  We had moments of correction and steering attitudes straight and in the right direction of course, but express discipline was minimal.  Which showed me the reality of burnout.  When I feel burned out, more often than not they are feeling burned out too.  And time to relax and laugh and be together is refreshing for all of us.  And does as much toward renewing behavior as spankings do at times- just from the opposite angle.

So thankful for a moment to escape our Atlanta-life.  And now back to the grind: but with greater zeal and a steadier heart:).

Every day I get things done: cooking, cleaning, kissing, hugging, praying, listening. 

But my FAVORITE of all days are when I get to used my hands for something more than toil.  For something “just for fun”.  Yesterday I woke up not thinking the world was very fun at all.  Will had wrestled with a congested nose and teething until 1am.  And then tap, tap, tap….Josh was by my bed, with a sore ear.  And so it continued.  And thus my outlook was bleak, in the way it is when sleep-deprived.  It’s not real bleak, it’s just the pitiful outlook of one sleep-deprived.

And so, my Mom having stayed overnight pushed me out the door.  And Josh and I set out on a date together.  He loves these times, and I do too.  He tries to hold the door for me everywhere we go, and it touches me to see his respect and manliness developing. 

I was so refreshed to leave my germ-ridden habitat, to see other people, and to find some creative outlets for the Winter-Breaki-ing kids.

We picked up these adorable paper houses, and the girls painted them- to put in ther rooms.  I am actually thinking this may be the “big project” we work on for Anna’s birthday party in June.  Look how cute it is on her red desk.  Love it!

And Emma’s, on her table.  Did I mention I found a table for her room?  I talked the lady at the thrift store down, since the back leg wobbled.  Thankfully, we have a good relationship, and she smiled and was happy for me to get it out of the way.

Josh put together – with some Mimi-help- this model airplane.  It now sits on his red table.

And I….after all was quiet for the night, I pulled out my fabric scraps and these monogrammed buttons I found, and made the girls some posy flowers for their hair.

My Mom was sitting on the couch saying: “I cannot believe you are my daughter“.  Because I was raving about crafting and photography blogs and such.  And she was reading some vast historical biography, wondering how our genetics even remotely resembled one another’s.

So, it was not a bleak day in the end.  It was a happy one, and my 3 hours away did me an enormous amount of good.

Christmas has come and gone.  And with it the stressful blitz of constant gifting.

This year, I made bunches of ornaments.

And wrapped bunches of ornaments.

The kids love to carry something in hand, to their teachers.  And while as a  class we generally collect money for a teacher gift-card or something “big”, it is behind-the-scenes and nothing  personally presented.  Making something solved the issue of personal pride, allowing the kids to present (and giving $ ensured that the hard-working, underpaid teachers received a “real” gift as well:)).

Any crafting store should carry simple paper bags for 10 cents each. 

These work well hole-punched with ribbon or twine for securing.

Monogrammed transfers can be found with scrap-booking supplies.  (This is how I kept the gifts straight.  One initial per teacher).  Simply rub on.

I lost track of how many I delivered to church, school, etc.  Next year, I plan to make again, but WILL start by November.

Fingers crossed!

My profound apologies to men for this post, but avert your eyes and go ahead an click to a more manly-site.  BBC News is one.  Maybe something about politics…anything but here.

My story begins the other evening.  And the other evening the ironing had to be done.  I tend to avoid the ironing in lieu of almost anything.  Really, any excuse will do.  Consequently, I iron about once a month.   When I do, it is with a vengeance so that I can avoid the task for another month.  I have a pretty fixed clothing-rule for myself that if it requires ironing, I would rather not have it.  In other words, wrinkle-free Dockers for men are really transformative.  As are jersery knits.  But those ruffly, cute blouses I see everywhere right now, just scream high-maintenance!   Too iron-y.

So, there the pile sat, beckoning.  And I looked it right in the face and decided it was not for me.  No ironing, there you will sit.  Until I can get to you.  And that may not be for some time because really, what have you ever done for me?

I had admired so long the ever-popular posy flower on Etsy.  An Etsy-cliche if ever I saw one.  But they ARE cute!

So, I listened to the hot iron steaming and hissing and accusing, and set to work.

(Fold a swatch of fabric in layers.  Six to eight layers.  Draw a circle.  Cut out circle until there are eight or so.  Lay in a “staggered” pattern on the floor.  Thread a needle.  Twist circles into a flowery pattern, and start sewing.  Gather fabric as you sew, so the “flower” forms.  Cover a button.  Thread it through the center of the flower).

And enjoy.  It will not make your ironing disappear, but it will provide gratification for the moment.

p.s.It is now five days later.  My ironing is still not done.