May 28, 2011

Egypt and Rag Rugs

I was sorting through coupons the other day when Caleb came bounding into the kitchen.

"Where Daddy go?" he asked. He asks this question often. Most every day, in fact.

"Daddy's at work, little boy," I replied, as I usually do. Most every day, in fact.

Caleb thought about this for a moment, then announced grandly:

"Nope. Daddy went to Egypt."

I looked up from my coupons. "Oh?" This was a new development.

"Are you sure Daddy went to Egypt, Caleb? That's awfully far away."

"Yes. Daddy went to Egypt to get a mummy!"

I had to laugh. Apparently I married Indianna Jones and didn't even know it. :)

~~~
In other news, I did actually finish Caleb's rug the other night. As promised, I also took a picture of it. But you promised not to laugh. Remember that please. I haz a fragile ego.

(Ok, not really. You can laugh if you want. I sure did :)




As you can see, it's no longer a semi-circle. I suppose it could be 1/3 of a circle. Or the dancing skirt, as I call it. But no matter the shape, it is finished. It's warm and soft, and Caleb likes it, so hey, it's all good. Right?

Right. ;)

Happy Weekend, all!

May 26, 2011

Weather or Not

I am quite determined to finish Caleb's rag rug tonight. I worked on it over the weekend, and it's almost there.

And yet I find myself here, blogging. Now why is that?

The clouds outside are restless. They gather and disperse, only to gather again a little later. Perhaps they are wondering where to spend their summer holidays. For summer is indeed coming. It doesn't feel like summer yet; temperatures are still in the 40s every morning and we've had a good deal of rain this month, more than is usual.

But in two short weeks, preschool will be over and Caleb will begin his summer vacation. And next weekend, we're leaving for a family camping trip around the Cascade Loop. We've been planning it since January, but even so, I feel as though June has snuck up on me. Where did May go, anyhow?

So we find summer upon us, whether the weather cooperates or not. :) I've been looking forward to it since winter began and I only hope it doesn't rush by too quickly.

The wind is restless tonight, too, though wind often is. I wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow. Tabitha and I have plans in the morning, and Jason and I are taking Caleb to the drive-in tomorrow night. Double feature: Kung-Fu Panda and Pirates 4. :) Should be an adventure! Only hope it's not raining.

Anyway, I'd better get to work on that rug. If I suceed tonight, I shall try to post of picture of it tomorrow. But only if you promise not to laugh. The rug is, after all, a very odd shape and speaks poorly of my abilities with a crochet hook.

Sighhhh. At least I try, right? Isn't it the thought that counts?

Good night, everyone!

May 20, 2011

Just When You Thought it was Safe to Turn on the Water

There's nothing like getting called out of the shower by the doorbell and a polite high-schooler informing you that your son is in the front yard giving hugs to random teenagers as they walk home from school. Said boy was supposed to be sick and watching Scooby-Doo in the livingroom, not gallavanting around the greater outdoors without adult supervision.

Yeah, that's pretty much my life. :) Just a little Friday humor to share with y'all! Have a great weekend!

May 18, 2011

Let It Go

Some people bring you gifts, some bring you bricks to weigh you down
So they can swim a little higher while you drown
Some people mean so well, their way was the best way that they've found
But any other way you choose is a brick that weighs you down

So tell me what do I do with this backpack full of bricks?
Of sticks and stones and words that stuck to me like ticks?

(Chorus)
Let it go, let it be
Brick by brick we can be free
Of all the words we say til we were our own enemies
Let it go, let it be
Brick by brick we can believe
In the person God intended us to be
Let it be.

{He holds me close, holds me tight. Through my tears and my confusion. Through the music that brings me to my knees. My sisters worship all around me, each alone with Him.

And then he whispers in my ear, "Let Me lead."

I smile. Lay my head on his shoulder. The questions begin to melt away. I'm so tired of trying, so tired of striving. And in my surrender, He begins to sing sofly.

A new song.

Just for me.}

~~~

My friend Tabitha shared this song with us Sunday morning at the women's retreat. It completely captures everything we learned last weekend, down to the very detail of bricks and backpacks. So, of course, I wanted to share it with you. :) Enjoy!



May 17, 2011

Cedar Springs Women's Retreat

I got to spend this last weekend up in beautiful, bucolic northern Washington.


Oh, I had such a good time!


It was our church's annual women's retreat. And it was phenomenal. :) I drove up Friday afternoon with my mother-in-law and my good friend Helen. We sorta got a little camera-happy over all the barns we passed. Here's two of our favorites (but rest assured, we took pictures of many, many more):



{Red barn in the rain}


{Me taking a picture of Helen taking a picture of the ranch house, where we stayed}



{Lovely, wonderful friends}

{With whom I had serious and silly conversations, sweet fellowship and many moments of laughter, the life-blood of friendship}


{Walking the grounds around the retreat center}



{Calves and Baby Swans}



{Yours truly}


{Reflections}

I will share more from the weekend over the next few days. It was amazing and awesome and I can't remember the last time I was so totally blessed. The Lord spoke words of comfort and assurance to my heart. Memories were made, laughter and tears visited by turns, and our two nights and two days of rest flew by entirely too fast.


As I said, I will share more later. But at least I have posted pictures! And y'all didn't have to wait months to see them!


(Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this bloggie thing!)


Happy Tuesday, y'all!

May 11, 2011

What I Do When I'm Sick

(besides watching TV, that is)

(because I do a lot of that when I'm sick, too)

Mom left yesterday and this morning, I woke up with whatever bug Jason had last week. Joy. I have two days till our church's Women's Retreat, so I took the day off to rest and GET BETTER. Caleb watched lots of cartoons while I sacked out on the couch, but when that got old, we went downstairs.

He played with toys and so did I. :)

Here's some of the fruits of my labor. My restful, sitting-down "labor."



These are just the first two pages. I have two more to do for this set, but I am very pleased with how these turned out. :) Made me miss teaching. And Korean lessons.


An-yung, y'all!



May 4, 2011

Lovlies All Around

I'm really excited tonight because this lovely lady is coming to see us tomorrow.




{ My mama }



Caleb is watching Blue's Clues and I wanted to blog tonight because I probably won't blog much over the next few days. :) Mom and I are going to be terribly busy while she's here. We have coffee houses to explore, trails to hike, conversations to have . . . you get the picture. :) It is Mother's Day, after all. And I feel especially blessed that I get to spend it with her She isn't just my mom; she's one of my bestest friends. And I wuv her.


{ Ok, I'm done now. I promise. No more mushy stuff. }


I'm also excited tonight because I found some beautiful bowls at the thrift store yesterday and I want you to see!



Confession: These did not come from the thrift store. The green and blue actually came from Wal-Mart. They have a new line of dishes out; same pattern, but in every color of the rainbow. Blue, black, brown, green, orange, red, yellow, and white. They are available in individual pieces, so you can mix and match to your heart's delight. Which is exactly what I did yesterday. Squeeeeeee! Plus, they were only $1.50 each. :)

Excuse me while I do the happy dance. . .

. . . nope, not done yet . . .

. . . ok, now I'm good!

The backstory here is that I've been looking for new dishes for several years. I never registered for dishes when we got married, so basically we've been stuck with Jason's bachelor set. I'm also extraordinarily picky when it comes to dishes, so even though I've been looking for years, I've only found two or three patterns that I actually like. And those were always too expensive.

Last summer I finally ditched the whole single-pattern-everything-matches idea and decided to go with a general theme and color scheme instead. That allows me to mix and match as I find things and as I can afford them.

And honestly, I like the fact that my dishes don't match. It adds character and variety to the dining table and gives us something to talk about with guests. :)

So without any further ado, here are the bowls from the thrift store!

I love these. They are the color of organic chicken eggs, and they're even speckled like eggs, too, although you can't really see the speckles here. Speckles totally rock. Just so ya know.


I also found two of these: tiny fruit or dessert bowls. Perfect for serving ice cream. Obviously two is not enough, but eventually I'll find more. :)


Here's the bowls, showing off their acrobatic skill. (Or was that me, trying to be photographically crafty? Nah.) In any case, I think we all failed. :)





I also found this bread plate. It's small, but isn't it lovely? So artistic and detailed! I love the ship pictured in the middle. I find I am beginning to love all things sea-related. Perhaps that comes from living on an island? Regardless, I fell in love with this plate and it came home with me. End of story.

So now I'm curious. Do you have any opinions on dinnerware? Do you like everything to match? Do you have a favorite color or theme? I'd like to know!

See y'all next week! I promise California pictures and stories then! (Finally!!). Plus some other catching up I have to do . . . :) Stay tuned!