Enough

 So often no matter our talents we're made to feel like we aren't enough. I thought she needed a reminder that who she is matters. There's no measuring stick being held up. She's enough simply because she is.

A Log Cabin for Collin

 For several years now I'd been intending to make a quilt for Collin. I mentioned it to him, and asked him for fabric ideas- colors, patterns, and the like. About two years ago when he bought me a Log Cabin book for Christmas, I took the hint. I was still wrestling with fabric choices, and he assured me he didn't mind flowers, or any pattern on the fabrics really, as long as it had blue. 

I purchased a few Civil War fabrics and raided my stash for the rest. Instead of the traditional, though not mandatory, red centers of the cabins, I went with cheddar. This quilt was started back in January of this year, but got put on hold for baby quilts, spring cleaning, and the like. 

I finally started the binding last Thursday evening, and labeled it Saturday morning after finishing a very rainy 15 mile run with Verne.

I washed it, dried it, and gifted it to Collin Saturday afternoon.

He was very appreciative, and I received several rounds of hugs and kisses.

Back at his own little home late that night, Collin posted the following photo on Instagram.

Now to start planning a quilt for Autumn!

Commencement

There's been lots of talk of quilts, and not much of family around these parts. We've gone from a houseful of children to having only one left at home. This past weekend, Mac graduated from college and will continue to live in an apartment in the same town where he attended university these past four years. He's been employed as a technical writer for an auditing firm over the past year, and was hired full time. Autumn is sharing a house with a friend, attending school, and working several jobs. Collin recently rented a home, and is employed locally. He's attending school as well. That leaves just Abigail here with us. 

It's quiet. Very quiet. 

With everyone scattered here and there, the last time we were all together was Easter 2012. I was thrilled to get to spend Friday evening and most of Saturday with our entire family. 

Time marches on.


Photography credit goes to Mac's friend Sarah who was majoring in photojournalism, but has recently made a switch.

Scattered, But Close

Close to my heart, that is. It's strange these days, with our roof only housing four of us, Mac on his own, even over the summer, and Autumn on her own now, as well. We're scattered several hours from one another, and yet, they'll always be close in my heart.

I love the texts and phone calls from these two- sharing snippets from their days, getting to hear Autumn's amusing speech for her Public Speaking class. I wish I could have heard it first-hand, but even over the phone, I enjoyed it immensely. She'll do well there, I know.

He Gives Good Gifts!

Collin has been working for over a year now and decided that since he has the means to do so he wanted to make gift giving a little more significant than it had been in the past. He wanted to give an experience, more than something tangible. This past December, he took Verne to a Steelers game for his birthday/Christmas gift. The two of them enjoyed an overnight trip which happened to fall right between their birthdays, and the Steelers won to top it off. 

Turns out 2012 is my year for a special gift. (He's limiting this to one person a year since it is very pricey!) Collin and I share a love of Gary Allan's music, and have talked about going to a concert for years. Collin found tickets a few months back, and this past weekend we travelled to Dayton for the Country Music Throwdown Tour. 

We were very pleased when we saw that our seats were just eleven rows back from the stage!
The opening acts were talented, but neither of us is a huge country music fan, and so we patiently waited for Gary.

Not long after dark, we smiled at each other as he came on stage. The next 90 minutes passed super quickly, but we enjoyed every second. We sang along, and had a ton of fun! I loved being there with Collin. He's the only one I know that likes these songs as much as me.

To top it off, we spent the night with Autumn before heading home once again. I'll never forget this weekend. It was perfect!

Mother's Day 2012

It  was such a wonderful weekend with most of my mom's side of the family gathering together to celebrate my grandma's 88th birthday. The last time we gathered like this was 13 years ago for Grandma's 75th. Oh, it's been far too long!

Grandma was surprised to say the least, and we all had a wonderful time visiting. We all stayed in a hotel where we commandeered the breakfast area, and talked and laughed late into the night. 

It's been years since I've actually spent any part of Mother's Day with my own mother. What a treat! Isn't she beautiful?

My grandma and mom. Two huge influences in my life. 

I was happy to be with my dad, too. With 500 miles between us, hugs are few and far between. 

I was blessed by my own four children, of course, although Collin couldn't make the trip with us and was sorely missed. It was wonderful to see Autumn for the first time since her move a few weeks back. She looked great, and didn't seem to mind me loving on her a bit. 

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's day, too!

In the Park

Abigail and I made another visit to see Mac, and spent the hour that he had guitar lessons sipping on ice cold mocha frappes while enjoying the spring flowers in the town square. We were getting a little giddy when a local newspaper reporter snapped our photo, and asked permission to use it the next day. I guess we looked like we were having fun!

Happy Spring! It's much too warm for me already, you?

Devastation and Victory

This is the first break during Mac's college career that he decided not to come home. He had the opportunity to travel to Florida with friends during spring break, and decided to take it. We didn't blame him one bit. Because I hadn't seen him since the beginning of February, and Easter seems so far away, I thought maybe we could squeeze a quick trip in to see him before he left town. As I was perusing a local race calendar site, I noticed a trail run just a little north of Mac. I immediately called him and asked if he might want to join me in a 10k run before he headed south. We both quickly got excited about it, and started counting down the days.

When we woke yesterday morning, I had an email from my friend Paula, who happens to own the quilt shop where we meet to sew every Friday. I'd be missing the fun this week to make the trip west to visit Mac, but I hadn't let her know. In any case, she was informing us that she decided to close the shop for the day because of the impending bad weather. Wise choice.

Meanwhile, Verne and I packed our bags, leaving Autumn, Collin, and Abigail here at home. We called throughout the day, very frequently, I might add, to check on the status of the weather. At one point, we were stuck in a store several hours away from during a tornado warning in the town we were in. Upon calling home, Abigail happily reported back to us that the skies were blue, and the air was calm.

Collin was at work, and was asked to take a fellow employee home. Another co-worker was afraid to go home during the high winds. Collin offered to drive her home, too. She thought the offer over, and decided it was best to stay put. As Collin dropped the first co-worker off, he learned that a tornado had touched down just where he had offered to take Jessie. There's no doubt in my mind that God protected Collin last night.

It's difficult to be several hours away, and to learn that your children are so close to such destruction. It causes one to pray, and to pray hard.

This is an aerial view of the town just to the north of us. The town where Paula's quilt shop (and residence), and Collin's co-worker, Jessie, resides was devastated. Sadly, homes were destroyed, and several lives were lost. I'm so very thankful that those whom I love are all safe today. I'm praying for those who can't say the same.

Dawn came early this morning, after we shared a hotel room with Mac last night close to the site of the race. We all climbed into bed late, and continued to talk into the very early hours of the morning, us in the bed, Mac on the pull out sofa, finding so much to say to one another that it was impossible to fall asleep. Hello 3 A.M.!

I woke shortly after 6, and felt a little queasy from the lack of shut-eye. The air was chilly, but the sun was warm, and before long, we were off, running into the woods, through mud from the heavy rains of the previous day's storms, over rocks, up hills, and across fields. I felt surprising strong.

Mac met me with about .3 mile to go, and ran to the finish with me. As we ran, he explained that he had crossed the finish line first, but actually only ran 4.9 miles. Somehow he missed a turn, and his race was cut short, disqualifying him. BUMMER! Had he finished properly, he would have taken third place overall. So sad!

Not only that, but Verne was running the 5k race due to a torn/pulled hamstring that he's recovering from. He missed a turn, and ran too far! Not a good day for the male runners in our family.

I did the appropriate distance of 6.2 miles, finishing about two minutes shy of an hour, and took first in my age group. The looks on Mac's and Verne's faces were reward enough, but I got a nice little medal to show off, too.

We showered, had a leisurely lunch, and said our good-byes as we headed east, while Mac went south. I hugged Mac, got into the car, and cried. He won't be home this summer, either. Oh, sure, he'll visit now and again, but he landed a job in his chosen field this past week, a full year ahead of graduation, and will be staying close to the college campus this summer. I'm so happy for him! So proud!

It's a wonderful thing to not only love your children, but to like them, too. It's a joy to be able to spend time with one another, and enjoy every minute of it. I'm a blessed woman, and I know it. Don't hesitate to tell those whom you love that it's so. You might not have tomorrow to do it.

Natural Beauty

photo by Collin

Thirteen. Do you remember feeling awkward? I do. And I know Abigail feels it, too. I don't see it in her, though. All I see is beauty. Though she isn't perfect and has her faults like anyone else on this earth, she is sweet, and kind, and gentle. She loves to snuggle with me, and has a tender heart. She's loyal, and funny. She's naturally beautiful, inside and out. I make sure she knows that I think so, too.

I was never comfortable in my own skin, but I want my daughters to know how precious and special they are. I want them to be confidant in my love for them. It's important for both mother and daughter.

Ahhh, Summer!

Summer means longer days, and evenings that stretch far out ahead of us, fireflies darting through the inky black nights, and mockingbirds on fences. Summer means fires in the backyard, chairs pulled around, and toasting sticks uncovered from the shed.

Summer means sticky fingers from melty marshmallows made into s'mores, the entire family gathered under one roof, and Mac's singing "We are Family".

Summer means fresh fruit with nearly every meal, snow cones, and macaroni salad.

Summer is sun-kissed skin, smiles, and lounging in the pool on hot afternoons.

Summer is good!

Patience

Last year for Mother's Day, Autumn bought me several blueberry plants, and I have been anticipating the day when I'll be able to eat from those bushes for over a year now. Not too much longer!

She gifted Verne with grapes for Father's day. Looks like he's going to have to wait a few more months.

Patience is a virtue...

A Walk in the Rain

I'll never be a runner.

I'm married to a man who asks me almost every morning of my life if I'd like to run with him, but I've never taken him up on it, and probably never will. But walking? That I can do. Actually, I can walk much faster than my runner-husband.

I set out this morning to walk in a 5K, and my only goal was to walk it in an hour. It was chilly so I donned long pants rather than shorts, a jacket, and was carrying an umbrella. And keys. And my iPhone. Yeah. Like I said, I'm no runner.

I got very warm as the rain let up, and folded my umbrella as I kept my pace. It wasn't long before the jacket had to come off, too. I tied my jacket around my waist as I walked, and my keys were practically dragging the ground in my coat pocket.


What to do? What to do?

Got it! I put them in the umbrella, which I was carrying horizontally in one hand, and so I kept walking, all the while digging my keys out of my dragging pocket. Yeah- I bet I looked very classy.

Just as I was rounding the cone at the halfway point, my phone rang. I had to fish my iPhone out of my other dragging pocket. Mmmhmm. I answered the phone to hear Abigail asking me questions about homemade yogurt. She was at home, making the recipe that I'd left her with. Not long after I hung up with her, and got my music back on, the rain started again. It felt good, and I didn't bother to put the umbrella back up, but I looked down to realize I was wearing a white t-shirt, and needed to put my jacket back on lest I look like I was in a contest.

More fumbling with the jacket, the umbrella in my hand, and my phone.

Long story short, I was surprised at the finish line when they told me that I finished in 51 minutes. I'll never be a runner, but multi-tasking I can do!

Paper Roses

When made by hand and given in love, they're even better than the real thing!

Flat Tire

I wasn't sure if I was dreaming when I heard, "Mom... the left rear tire on your van is flat. Do you want me to change it?"

It took a second for the words to register when I realized that Collin was standing at my bedroom door speaking to me. Verne was long gone although it was just 7:15 AM. I groggily responded, "If you're going to get to work today, then I guess you're going to have to."

I drug myself out of bed, threw on a robe, and went to watch this event. I settled on the porch steps, phone in hand, in case he needed direction from his father.

He was pretty proud of himself when he finished.

      "Ah, man!"

      "What?"

      "I got to change the tire, and I don't even get to work with Bobby today, so I won't be able to tell him about it."

He's  a man of many talents, Collin is. He's a great baker, loves children and animals, and he can change a flat tire. He must take after his dad.

Saturdays are for Families

Mac, Abigail, Autumn, and Collin- my little chicks, who aren't so little anymore. 

 I've always wanted to be a mother, but I had no idea what a ride I was in for. Oh, the joy these children have brought me! And yes, tears, too, but the good times far outweigh the bad.

Today has been a day of early rising, eggs for breakfast from our own chickens, a family trip to another town so that four could donate blood while two went shopping, and the donut shop when we reunited. And then, just like that, they were gone again. Collin to work, Mac to see a friend, Autumn to get a haircut.

It's just a taste, really, of what life is like. One minute the house is bustling.  Chaotic, even. Laughter and singing, and a full dining room table. And the next minute? Silence. And I can't say that I like it, but day by day, moment by moment, I know He is preparing me for the day they aren't here. Today, I'm cherishing the moments that they are.  

Friends

I'm continually amazed at the relationship between these two. Four years apart, and opposite sexes, and yet the best of friends. They're like peanut butter and jelly, or hot chocolate and marshmallows; where you find one, you're pretty sure to find the other. I cherish every moment that I catch them off somewhere together, side by side, in each other's company.

Six

There were six of us around the dinner table tonight instead of the more common five, and that makes this mama's heart very happy. 

365/2 A Bit of Whimsy on a Saturday Night

The girls and I spent a fun evening at an art show featuring local artists whom donated half of the proceeds from the sales of their creations to a fund to stop malaria. Our admission went to the purchase of mosquito nets.

Some of the art we enjoyed more than others, which is to be expected. Though I'm a very traditional person, and my house is decorated accordingly, I loved the above painting. I seriously debated buying it but couldn't think of a single place it would look right in my home.

Some pieces are best enjoyed at the show, or later on your computer screen. The girls had a fabulous time.

There were several pieces that really caught our eyes, and I kept going back to one in particular.

We enjoyed musical talent, namely Stephen Gordon, who goes to church with Mac while he's away at college. We were glad we had two of his albums on our iPods to enjoy on the way home.

And I couldn't resist bringing a piece of whimsy home with me. Part of me wished the script wasn't on the painting, and I talked to the artist about buying a custom piece without it, but in the end, I decided to let my kids think I'm ubercool for having this hanging in my sewing room. Half of the proceeds did go to the malaria fund after all. Anyone know what the little script part is from without googling it? Brave enough to admit it?

365/1 We Win!

From the time my children were born I've been taking their photos on a regular basis, and filling scrapbook after scrapbook with memories, hoping to pass them down to them when they are grown and on their own. Several years ago life caught up with me and the scrapbooking stopped. Printed pictures turned into digital images that were saved on my computer, and sadly, I didn't back them up. And then I had a computer crash. Nothing could be retrieved from the hard drive. And I cried.

Blogging has helped me preserve some of those memories, but not often enough. I want to remember my children as children. I want them to remember their childhood, too. And so, this is my attempt to take a photo a day for a year. To remember all of the important days, and the not so important days. But you know, its the not so important days that add up to a lifetime, and they are special after all.

Day one. Collin's basketball game this evening was a very exciting night for our family. With Verne as the coach, and this being the first year to have a local home school basketball team, the team won 78-29, and Collin was the lead scorer with 19 points. Definitely a moment to remember.

Wrong Side of the Bed

Ever have days where you feel like you can't do anything right, please anyone, and feel like crying for no particular reason? I do, and apparently it runs in the family. Prescription? Hugs, kisses, and words of affirmation. 

 I love you.

I think you're amazing! 

You bring so much joy to my life! 

 Sometimes, though, my words fail.  They aren't enough. 

But His always are. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.  ~ 1 Peter 5:7