{P,H,F,R}

Linking up this morning with Aunt Leila at Like Mother Like Daughter because :

It's important to maintain the collective memory

{Pretty}

I finished the dress for Miss Lilah Grace for her birthday. She is so into being a Princess and loves the movie Tangled.  I am working on the hair which is a long braid that wraps around her head and continues down her back.  She will be so surprised!

{Happy}

 This time next week Mr. Golfer and I will be on a plane!  His annual golf trip is in Traverse City, Michigan this year and we are flying into Chicago so that I can spend 4 days with my best friend in South Bend, Ind.  She has it all planned out and I know that 2 days involve yarn!

{Funny}

We had a very busy morning yesterday.  I put the two older girls at the table for lunch and sat down to feed the baby.  It got very quiet and when I went over to see why....this is what I found!  Bless her heart!



{Real}

 I know I did an entire post on this 2 days ago, but I am still so thrilled that I had the opportunity to meet Ann Voskamp on Monday night!  She was speaking at an event near me and I could not go.  We have emailed in the past and I told her on her Facebook page I was coming.  She knew me!  It was wonderful and so is she!

I cannot write this post without being aware that just north of us people have had their lives destroyed from tornadoes.  The skies are clear today, but we lift our hearts and hands in prayer for those suffering

.



Yarn Along with odds and ends

It has been a tumultuous few days here in North Texas as we dodge storms. The damage to the north in Oklahoma has been devastating and prayers are going up for everyone.

 

It is Yarn Along day with Ginny at Small Things and I have two projects to present to you!

The Aranami Shawl is coming along.  I have begun the 3rd of the color wedges.  I find this a relaxing little project as it is all garter stitch.

Next week we head out of town on the first of our two summer trips and my plan is to find 5 sock yarns that will work for the next shawl.  I have been knitting this in sport weight because I had it on hand, but can see that fingering weight will make it more wearable in milder temps.

I have also begun the second of the blankets for my new grandson.  My oldest daughter wanted a cabled blanket, so I chose the Debbie Bliss Cabled Blanket from Simply Baby.  I have used this book before and it has delightful patterns.

The poor lighting in my house makes this look blue, but it is a wonderful turquoise pima cotton.

I have 2 books on the nightstand.

Many of you are watching the PBS series Larkrise to Candleford. I highly recommend finding a copy of the book.  It is a pleasant read and gives so many details that the programming leaves out.  I really love reading about the ends and outs of living at all stages of history.

I paused for a short while with The Summer if the Great Grandmother. It has been a hard read for me after the time I cared for my own mother in her last years.  I will finish it, but needed a little breather.

It was amazing to be able to capture the opening of my Easter lilies today.

This time frame was about 8 hours.  You can see the remnants of the storms that passed through today.

The Rapunzel dress for my granddaughter is complete.  Tomorrow I will get the head measurements so I can make the yarn headpiece.  She must have the long hair to really be a princess!

I also did a little updating to the drapes on our back door.  I found this shower curtain that I loved and thought it would be the right length.  Alas it was not, so I added a border along the bottom and trimmed the seam with fringe.

There are lots of ways to use pre-made fabrics in ways they were not intended.  I love the challenge of finding ways to make my home beautiful, but at a low cost. These turned out lovely.

So, what are you knitting and reading?  I can't wait to see!

 Please consider joining us on Mondays for Week Ending where we capture Friday through Monday in pictures.  Grab the button on the top right of the sidebar!

Meeting Ann Voskamp! My 724th gift!

,Absolutely amazing! Tonight I can list as my 724th gift, meeting Ann Voskamp author of One Thousand Gifts.

I read Ann's book at the end of 2012 and was instantly captivated.  Not an easy read, it led me to places deep inside myself.  I identified immediately with the loss she experienced.  I cried as I saw so much of myself in her writing. I bought the devotional, then the DVD, and held a 5 week study of her series in my home.  She may have thought I was stalking her!  I wasn't.  I just finally had found someone who "got it".  Who used the words that were pressing on my heart. I started my own list and tonight Ann is my 724th gift!

There was an event in the DFW area this evening where Ann was a guest.  It was only through a small shout out on her Facebook page that I found out she would be here.  A friend of mine who had completed the study with me said she would go and drive!  Amen!!!!

She wore her "grace boots" to Texas!

Ann told the story of her writing the book.. her sister's death, her ulcer at 7, her years of cutting herself, being diagnosed with agoraphobia.  The writing of the book allowed her to see the gifts that God has given.  She has learned and is passing on to the world how to open our hands to receive the gifts and then to become the gift.

I am blessed to have had this opportunity.  Ann and I had emailed a few times and I follow her Facebook page and blog.  After the event, when we had an opportunity to meet, she knew who I was and I was humbled, then blessed.

And yes, Ann is a knitter, and I took her sock yarn!

During the event, we cannot loose site of the reality that many lost their lives today in more tornadoes. Just north of us in Oklahoma people, children, died today. 

Lord, please grant peace and your grace to the families hurting and suffering.  There are no words that can soothe right now.  But we pray for your peace, for your sovereignty, and for your plan.  Because only you know the plan and the reason.  Amen

This is our sky tonight at sunset, the tails of the storms that did so much damage today. We are due for more tomorrow.  Keep us in your prayers!

All's Grace.

Week Ending Vol 5 ( Wedding Anniversary Issue!)

The weekend in pictures....Friday through Monday.  Just wanted to add that this was our 34th wedding anniversary weekend. Pictures say it all!

It would be lovely to have you join me and link up to the party.  Or maybe just consider adding my button to you r side bar?

To participate, click the "Add Your Link" button below!

Rules are as follows:

(1)  Pictures you post are up to you!

(2) Please put a link in that post back to this post

(3) Optional: grab the button at the top right corner and put it in your post.

Happy Anniversary!

Just a quick shout out to my dear husband, Mr. Golfer, today.  It is our 34th wedding anniversary!!  It is always humbling to me when I think of being married to this man longer that I have not.  Do you ever have those thoughts?

I was 22 and Mt. Golfer was 23 when we walked down the aisle.  Young by today's standards.  But what is most important about today is not us but this:

These are blessings.  Not a house, car, clothes, vacations, jewelry, etc....  These are gifts from God, not man.  There is no comparison and I would give my life for each of them. My greatest desire is that they follow in our footsteps and make their presence know before God in the Sacraments at every opportunity, and that these little, blessed souls know Christ in everything they do.  What more could any parent ask?