Happy New Year!

    Well it's almost 2012. I am excited! One thing I am not doing this year is making a resolution of any kind. I have a hard time keeping a resolution, usually because it involves loosing weight. Or getting organized or something that I usually get overwhelmed with because I made a resolution.
    Not this year. Not that I don't need to do those things... I just need to do them. You know, like eating healthier, getting organized, loosing weight, reading my Bible more, working harder, etc. No resolutions for me. Just a prayer.
   Father God, I thank you for the year that you have given me and my family. For the sweet friends and wonderful blessings that you have poured out on us. Lord I pray that as we look forward to 2012 that You would draw us closer to you, help us to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to walk in Your will. I pray for continued blessings on our family that we might be able to bless others in Your name. To You Heavenly Father, I give 2012. Help us as a family to commit to you our whole heart and life.
   In the most precious name of Jesus, Amen

"I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant. Isa. 56:6


My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! "I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. Isa. 66:2


Blessings to All, and a Very HAPPY NEW YEAR! ~S~

Merry Christmas

 
     It is almost Christmas Eve. The gifts have been made or bought. The baking is done, although I'll probably bake a little more before the New Year. How I love this time of year. 
      I have a village that I've been building for several years now. But as time went by I kept looking for a church to put in my little village. This year I found one but, it was kind of expensive and I just didn't have the money for it this year. Well, today we went to the store where it was at and the only one left was the display and it was deeply discounted. I was so excited I couldn't stand it! So now I have a church for my little village!  Thank you Miss Joan for your prayers! 
     So after I set my little church in my village, I started thinking about some of the wonderful things about Christmas. 

•  Jesus, the very best part of Christmas
• my Family and sweet Friends
• the sweet smells of baking breads and sweets
• shopping and hearing total strangers say Merry Christmas
• lots of twinkling lights
• surprises
• and last but not least, LOVE! Which connects to the first one.

I pray that all of you have a very Blessed and joyful Christmas and a wonderful New Year. May you all draw closer to Jesus, with each passing day.
Love, Blessings and Peace to all ~S~


Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Luke 2: 4-14


All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin* will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). Isa. 7:14

What I've been up to

 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

  It's almost Christmas! The last few weeks have been major busy, but we made it through Thanksgiving.                 I've been cleaning other peoples homes, but this week I had none to clean but my own. My home is clean but, it's hard to deep clean your own home when you clean other peoples homes. So we got started. We made progress, but it still isn't where I'd like it to be. Maybe for spring cleaning I will make better progress. :) I need to take down the curtains and wash the dust out of them and then clean the baseboards, and move everything out of a  room give it a good scrubbing and then put it back, in an orderly fashion. That also means throwing much stuff out.

   I will be organized, I will be organized, I will be organized! 

   This spring I am going to get rid of some of my fabric that I have also. I have way more than I will ever use and I don't want it to go to waste. Perhaps if I narrow down what I have I won't be so overwhelmed when I look at it, and actually be able to get a project finished. Let's hope anyway.

   The next two weeks will be spent finishing up the school work that Aimee has before Christmas break. HooRaH for Christmas Break! Then it will be on to Christmas baking. YUM! and finishing up a few last minute shopping details. I'm getting tired just thinking about it and I've only been up for a little while. I think that I need more coffee. 

   I've been making these cute little angel ornaments too. So much fun, and easy to make. I've given a couple of them away, and put one on our tree. Most will go on Christmas presents this year. Then I will probably make some to sell next Christmas.

 

Yesterday we did our family photo for our Christmas cards. Always a fun time. Hard to get one that everyone likes, so we usually end up with several. This year though it only took about 2 or 3. And I'll never tell that Dad was wearing his pajama bottoms. 0: )

Merry Christmas!

too scrunched up.

a little too dark for printing.

    Jessica has a special project that she does every year around this time. If you feel led, go to Anysoldier.com and choose a soldier to send a Christmas care package to or a card. Let our troops know that you haven't forgotten them and that you care and are lifting them up in prayer. We've made several new friends this way and learned a lot about different cultures. Some of them are even our pen pals now.

    Another special project that you might consider is sending Christmas cards or care packages to missionaries. If your church doesn't have missionaries, check with one that does. They will share their list with your family.

Merry Christmas too ALL

Praying that your Christmas is filled with special moments that become special memories. 

Blessings and Love, ~S~

Sharing on Monday

   I have finished another cocoon. It's a little bear. It is too cute. Well, I think it is anyway. :) Wanted to share it with you.
   Sunday, I made a Pumpkin soup. It was made with a small organic pie pumpkin and some organic apples and curry and stock. It was organic, but not vegetarian. I had chicken stock on hand. Any way, it was very tasty. Didn't really have a pumpkin taste to it. I took it to church for our fellowship time and everyone loved it. I hope I get another pumpkin soon, then I can make some more.
Hope that everyone has a great week. I'm off to do school work and house cleaning, and more cooking.

Blessings to all ~S~

Charging for Love

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

    This week, I was showing someone that I met one of the cocoons that I have been crocheting. She asked if I could make one for her to give to a friend. I said, "yes". She started pricing the yarn and then it dawned on her that this could get expensive. After all yarn costs any where from $2 - $6 a skein, depending on the kind that you buy. Baby yarns and specialty yarns tend to cost a little more than everyday sport yarns.
   Then there is the cost of my time. I tend not to put a high price on my time. But, even if I didn't charge but $4 an hour, some projects tend to take between 15 and 20 hours to make. So at this point it's up to $80 plus the cost of yarn, which was around $25.  Most people don't want to, or can't afford to pay that price for a gift, or even for themselves. I can't say that I blame them. I can't afford to pay high prices for gifts, but I want to give nice things to the people that I love.
     I make things one of three ways. I am moved by the Holy Spirit to make it specifically for someone, or I just want to make it and when I'm done it reminds me of someone or someone will ask me to make something in particular. When I make gifts for people, it's a labor of love. That makes it priceless. Each person that gets a handmade gift from me, has something that has been prayed over with each stitch.
     So how do you put a price on that kind of gift? You don't. You put your heart and prayers into it and hand it over to the new owner. Every person that I've ever made a gift for or that I have personalized a store bought for is someone that I love dearly.
     The most precious things that I've ever been given are the things that people took the time to make for me, because I know that they cared enough to put their thoughts and love into it. Even if it was something that was bought and then personalized in some small way.
    I have a beautiful handkerchief that a friend bought in Australia and had her Mom crochet around. I keep it in a special place and pull it out and pray for that precious family every time I look at it.
    You just can't charge for Love. God has never put a price on love,  but He did put a face on love - Jesus.
 Jesus paid a price for my sin, so that I wouldn't have to. Oh how much LOVE He has for me and for YOU.
 Blessings and Grace to All ~S~

Baby Roses

The newest baby cocoon!
Making another one now almost like it. It will be the same colors and style but just a little different. No two exactly alike.
 Blessings to all ~S~

Another Project Finished

  My fingers have been flying lately. Although I started this project several weeks ago, I have worked on it only off and on. Had some things that took precedence. Namely my kids. But also a few other projects jumped in there.
  However, I finished it and can hardly wait to send it to the Mama to be. I'm now ready to start another project and work on a quilt that I started a couple of months ago. Crocheting just seems to go so much faster for me, and right now it seems to be the craft that I'm in the mood for.
   So having said all that... Here are a few pictures of the project that I just finished today. Actually I finished the blanket today. The sweater and bonnet have been finished for awhile. Every time that I look at it, it makes me think of cotton candy. I used a pattern from Leisure Arts leaflet 2019 - Crocheted Layettes for Baby
The pattern that I used was the green and white shell pattern. But since this is for a girl I changed the colors.

 
Enjoy!
Blessings to All ~S~

Baby Cocoon!

 This weekend, I started Friday afternoon, I made a baby cocoon for Jessica to use when she takes pictures of little baby girls. The pattern book called for peach and orange, but I couldn't find those colors. So I chose to use light yellow and a darker yellow. I finished the cocoon on Sunday morning and the bonnet this morning. It is just too cute!
   So currently if you have a baby girl 4 months or younger and would like to have pictures taken let us know. I am going to make one for boys soon. At least as soon as I finish a baby blanket that I'm making as a gift. I'll post pictures of it later.
   Any way, just had to share!
Blessings to all ~S~

My sweet neighbors let me borrow a
 cabbage patch doll for a model.

With You Always

   It's been a bit of a rough week. This past Monday was the family dental cleaning day. Every time we go for our cleaning checkup I end up with a headache the next day. Mostly because as they hold my mouth open it moves my jaw bone joint (tmj) and then my jaw and head hurt for the next day or so. But with the help of a couple of ibuprofen this passes and I am fine. Sometimes it takes more than a couple though. The good news is we all passed with flying colors and no cavities! YEAH!
   On Tuesday, some people came out to clean and inspect our heat pump. It was not a good day. My head was throbbing from the day before, and I had people roaming in and out of my home all morning. It was definitely an Aleve type of day.  It seems that the coils that we just replaced last year have gone out again. So, rather than repair this unit for the fourth time in five years, we are taking estimates on replacing it.
   Wednesday! My birthday! It was mostly quiet this day. My sister called me, and I had tons of sweet wonderful friends wish me Happy Birthday on Facebook. Later that afternoon, one of the guys that we were getting an estimate from came and sat with us for a little while. Seemed like a nice guy, but not sure this company is the one that is going to be replacing our heat pump.
    Thursday. Another estimate. Lining more up for next week. I like talking on the phone to family and friends, but this kind of stuff drives me crazy!
     Then finally Friday arrived! I got up at 5:00 a.m. and had my coffee, while reading my Bible. These words gave me so much comfort.    ...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20  It was suddenly like the world had been lifted up! Jesus is strong, I don't have to carry the load alone. I knew before that everything would work out. That He was in control, but it is always wonderful when He comes along and says "I am with you always".  At 6:00 I was on my way to the grocery store and back home by 7:30. Had two sweet little boys waiting for me. (I was watching them for a good friend) Got Aimee up and ready for dance and then we took off. The best part of the day besides watching my sweet Aimee at ballroom dancing was getting to go to Hobby Lobby and buy some thread and a new crochet pattern book. I bought one this week for baby cocoons.

I also bought one a few weeks ago from Hobby Lobby, but it is put out by Annies Attic.
  The cocoons are the cutest things and I am making up a few of them for Jessica to have as props when she takes baby pictures.

    Then later on Kelly treated my to a birthday dinner. She had to work on my birthday so she planned a little family get together for her day off. Tony, came by to have dinner with us and Aimee baked and decorated my birthday cake. She put several scripture verses on the cake that are my favorites. I have the best kids ever!  Thank You God for my awesome blessings. Later that evening Kelly took her sister to the Hope homecoming game for the Senior walk out. Jessica's friend Melissa is graduating this year.  

   So as my week winds down and we are at the weekend, I praise God our almighty, our comforter, healer and Saviour for the blessings and the grace that He has given. I thank Him for my Grandmas, who taught me to crochet and quilt, and a dear friend who taught me cross stitch.
 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 1 Thes. 4:11 
When you are working with your hands it's hard to not mind your own business. 
  Blessings to All ~S~

Bowling

   This past Tuesday we had a bowling field trip for our school group. This was great fun and Aimee and I both bowled four games, Jessica bowled two.
    Now, you must understand that it's been over a year since we've been bowling. I used to bowl all of the time, but now there is hardly time for it. Any way, none of us are really great at it but, we did laugh a lot!
    The last two days though I've felt muscles that I had pretty much forgotten were in my body. ^+^ They have most assuredly let me know that they are there now!
    Even with the soreness and the achy knees, I think that I want to go back again next week. I mean after all I can only improve, I hope, and it sure wouldn't hurt to use these muscles and let them get toned up. So, maybe this might become a fun thing for my family to start doing once a week for awhile. hmmm...

here we go!

great Throw!

                                                                 

lining up

didn't get a strike :(

 

God's Children

  Jessica decided to take some pictures again the other day. Everyone was busy doing something so, she was her own model. She has a fancy little remote control for her camera, that she is learning to use. She got some good shots. Of course she had a beautiful model. (yea, I know I'm a little on the prejudice side here)
  I look at my children getting all grown up and marvel at how much love one can feel. A friend of mine posted on her site a few day ago, that she wondered if this is how God feels when He looks at us. I think, He must and then even more. What a precious gift He gives us, when He loans us these precious children.

  Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Ps. 127:3
Blessings to All, ~S~

Jessica's Turn

  Yesterday was an exciting day for my Jessica. Actually this past week has been good for her. She was asked by some friends, to go to a concert at Calvin's Cafe and take some pictures of a band. She was so excited to get the experience. She got some really good shots. Thought I'd post my favorite one here. The name of the band is "Joanie Hears Voices".

Then later in the week I decided to model for her. She again got some really good shots.

Did I mention what a proud Mama I am? 

Yesterday, she was babysitting at the neighbors and while outside with the girls they found a little baby ringneck snake. They all got so excited! They got it caught in a bucket and observed it, while they googled it to find out what it was. Once they learned that it was a non-poisonous snake they released it back out in the woods. 

 The pictures make it look kind of big, but it really was a tiny thing. I love that they get so excited over researching one of God's little creations.  God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Gen. 1:25

 How wonderful to see the world and the works of God through the eyes of children. Thank you Father for your precious blessings.

Blessings to All ~S~

Questions?

  Lately we've been listening to a Chris Rice cd that Kelly bought for me. There are a lot of great songs on it, but the one that we've been listening to the most is call "Questions for Heaven".

  It's made me think about when Aimee was little. She would come up to me and say "When I get to Heaven I'm gonna ask God when his real birthday is."  She had a sort of list that she would ask. I wish now that I had written them all down, or recorded them in some way. I still remember a few of them, but there were so many that I can't remember. Makes me sort of sad. How I wish that I had documented so many more things from when my kids were little. So now I will have to sit down and write down all of the things that I remember that my children did when they were little. Perhaps one day I will post them here or maybe just keep them close to my heart in a journal.
   Blessings to all, ~S~
 
 

His Flock

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. Isa. 40:11


   A promise from God.  
   I sit here in the cool morning air of the changing season, summer to autumn. I love the cool mornings and the warm afternoons. It is a time of reflection. 
    This morning I'm thinking of all of the years that I have home schooled my children. This is our twenty-first year. When I started I was so scared. Then God brought this verse to my attention. 
    We are his flock, and He is our shepherd. Such a comfort to know that we are in His arms and close to His heart. He is leading us and has lead us through so much these past years.  He has filled in where my shortcomings were. He has placed wonderful friends in my life for encouragement, for math/algebra, grammar, literature and science. All weak points for me. But not for the creator.
    I see His hand in all the memories that I have with my family.
    Yesterday, my sweet husband's Dad and Mom came for a short visit. I shared with them the salsa that I had canned. They liked it. I had made a green smoothie for our lunch and saved a little for my Father in Law. He liked it! 
     My Mother in Law even told me that she was impressed with the way I had changed over the years. ( I don't think that I've really changed that much, but three years after R and I were married, I gave my life to Christ and that did make a difference. ) I think that she has changed and mellowed over the years too. She told me that I was a very good daughter, wife and mother. (don't mean to sound like I'm bragging here) It brought tears to my eyes, we've been married 25 years. 
    Bit of history. I met my husband through a mutual friend. We didn't date, just talked on the phone a lot and became friends. After about 1 1/2 years he drove almost 700 miles and asked me to marry him. I said yes, how can you refuse your best friend? Four months later I moved south and we were married. Most of his family and friends didn't gives us six months, some didn't even give us six weeks. But God had his hand in our lives. Through a series of events and introductions to people that were very strong Christians, I came to know that it wasn't just knowing that Christ existed, but having a relationship with Him.  Twenty-two years ago I put my hand in His and I haven't looked back. I rest in the knowledge that He is with me everyday and holding my hand. Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Ps. 55:22
    Thank You Lord for your strength, your peace, your guidance.  I am grateful that you are bigger than the problems of this world and that my family fits in your hand and that we each have a place in your heart. I pray that each day you will hold us tightly in your arms and that where I fail as a parent, wife, daughter, teacher, that you will quicken my spirit and guide me back onto the path that is your will. 
     Blessings to All ~ S~ The Quilted YaYa

Family, Heritage & the dreaded GPS

    I know it's been awhile since I posted. But I've been really thinking a lot about how to write this. So many things happened on our trip and I have had a hard time putting my thoughts down into words.
  But here goes...
   Cleaned a house on Wednesday.
  Day 1 of our Adventure:  On Thursday the girls and I got up bright and early, 4:00 a.m. and started loading up the truck. We pulled out around 5:30 and headed for Greensboro, NC. It's about a nine hour trip that took us ten (10) hours to complete. Everything went well until we got to Atlanta, where we sat in traffic for about 20 minutes. Over all not to bad for down town Atlanta. Although I will say at that point the GPS was not my friend! When we finally got passed the traffic the GPS got us back on track and we were headed for South Carolina. So far so good. I liked my GPS again. :)
    As we were driving out of SC, I asked the girls what they wanted to eat. Sonic was the unanimous choice. So we consulted our wonderful GPS and it told us that there was one two exits up from where we were. I drove to the exit, pulled off of the interstate and began following the voice commands of the woman in the GPS. DON'T TRUST HER! Ten miles down the road I still didn't see a Sonic. We turned around only to discover that the exit we got off of the Interstate at didn't have a re-entry! So now I had to travel through the other half of the town we were in to find the entrance. Guess what! The GPS was not my friend again!
    We finally got back on the Interstate and traveled a little further down the road. I saw food signs on the road and I told the girls that if we couldn't see it from the exit we were getting right back on. Fortunately for all our tummies we found an Arby's within two tenths of a mile. It was good, but later that night Jessica didn't feel so well and her roast beef came back up.
    So four hours later we finally arrived at my Sister's home and she had a wonderful home made pizza for us. I love my Veronica!
   Day 2: We woke up early again and loaded our luggage into my sisters truck. Programmed the sometimes dreaded GPS with our next destination. We stopped at Tamarack at Beckley, WV. and spent about two hours there. We could have spent more time exploring but we had to get back on the road and head to Fairmont. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful since we really knew the way without the GPS. We arrived and our sister Tammye was there with our niece - Mariah and nephew - Bill.
  Day 3:  Saturday, Family Reunion Day! Everyone up and ready to go. Well almost... We were all ready by about 11 a.m. We headed for the Italian Heritage Festival first that was being held downtown Wheeling. We arrived 1 1/2 hours later and walked several blocks to get there. Wheeling is a neat little city but I'm telling you they don't know anything about Italian Heritage! The festival was about 4 or 5 blocks and I think  they only had about 2 booths that were actually Italian in the midst of Hispanic, Asian, American, and Greek. We had a great time but didn't stay very long. Even the music was 70's rock and roll or something. We laughed about it and then left for the reunion.
   Once at the reunion, I grabbed my girls and walked into the middle of all of my cousins, Aunts and Uncles that I hadn't seen in a long time. The first family member that remembered me was my Uncle Victor. I have told the girls so many stories about him from when I was a kid.
    When he was young he was injured in an accident at a butcher shop and lost his four fingers on his right hand. When we were kids he'd chase us with the hand that only had a thumb. We had the best time and loved when he would do that. We would scream and run and laugh so hard.

Uncle Victor and Me

the bridge at Wheeling

the Italian Festival that wasn't

The Ohio River

My Cousins Donne and John Ray 

Veronica and myself playing Peek

Veronica & cousin Sam

Tammye (sister) and my Mom (Anna Marie)

Uncle Ray & Aunt Madaline

Antonio, Giovanni, Aimee, Jessica

Gloria, Giovanni

     The first thing he did as I introduced him to Aimee and Jessica was hold that hand up and stick his thumb in the air and said "I'm number ONE!" Aimee, laughed and looked at me and said "He's for real!"
    I love my family.
    The rest of the time was spent eating and playing games while visiting with everyone. The day ended around 8 p.m. and we were home by 9:30 p.m.
      Later that evening a storm moved in and while the storm was a way off we were outside watching the lightning show. Jessica got some really awesome shots. At one point Tammye and her daughter Mariah were outside trying to get shots on their cell phones. The lightning hit and thunder cracked so loud that Tammye almost ran Mariah down trying to get into the house. Aimee was standing on the porch taking video and explaining to the viewer that this was her crazy family standing out in the yard taking pictures of lightning. (See previous post) All in all it was a fun time. We made some great memories.

     Sunday Day 4:  My sister Tammye and Mariah and Bill left to go home this morning. Veronica and I decided to walk to the river and Jessica and Aimee went with us. The walk down was fun. 
Climbing back up the hill was a little different. Aimee has allergies and as we climbed upward in the heat and humidity she had a hard time breathing. (We went to the Dr. when we got back home and found that she has exercise induced asthma) We walked very slowly going back to my Mom's. But that was OK too. We just enjoyed the walk and the exercise.

 After we got home we went to visit our cousin Angie who had been in the hospital due to a fall. It was great visiting her.
Day 5- Monday - Back on the road again heading to NC. Along the way we stopped at a cute little quilt shop in Va.
Tuesday- Day 6: was spent resting at my Sisters home and getting ready to leave on Wed. Pretty uneventful.
Day 7: Homeward Bound. It took us nine hours and I was so ready to be home. I love going and visiting people and places. But, it sure is good to come home and to have a home to come too. I missed my Hubby and my Kelly, and from the way things looked when I got home, they sort of missed me too. :)
   Blessings to everyone ~S~ The Quilted YaYa

It's my Family!

   OK, Well.... I've traveled to WV for a family reunion with the Italian side of my family. Some of them I haven't seen in a very long time. So this should be interesting. :) But more about that in another post. We are headed for the family reunion today.
    We traveled to NC first using the GPS. Well don't you know that was exciting! Detours are adventures that make for interesting stories in our vehicle. : \  More about those adventures later also.
   In the meantime, we had a bit of a thunder storm and Jessica got a couple of awesome pictures of lightning strikes! Yes, we were all standing out under the skies. The doors to the house almost didn't survive the race in the house when the thunder would crack! But OH the excitement! Plus we have made an awesome memory!

The lightning was not hitting the tree, it was behind it.

    Before last night though, my sister and I were traveling up here and we stopped at a place in Beckley WV called Tamarack.  An awesome arts and crafts place. We spent like two hours in there just walking around and looking at all of the wonderful fun arts and crafts.
     Well anyway that has been what we've been doing on our adventure so far.
    Blessings to all, ~S~ The Quilted YaYa

Today I am Thankful

 After my post yesterday, everything in my home was quiet. Projects got accomplished and I had time to sit and spend over an hour with God in a quiet place.
  Today I am thankful. Thankful for quiet time, and projects finished. Food on our table and a roof over our heads, (we know of so many right now that aren't living in their own homes due to natural disasters). A job for my husband. He really is precious and good to us all. For my sweet Hubby and my Children. For dirty dishes and clean dishes in the dishwasher. For dear friends and Sisters. For bunches of fabric that I can use to make things and be wild and creative with.
  Thankful for a God who loves us so much. God has provided so much more than I could ever have thought about. How GREAT is Our GOD!
   I hope that you have a peaceful, blessed and thankful day.
~S~ The Quilted YaYa

I'm Out of the Boat

    Sometimes I want to scream and make the world just stop! It's sort of like things get really out of control and I get so overwhelmed. I think I know how Peter felt when he stepped out of the boat and took his eyes off of Jesus.
    I have too many projects going at one time! I love doing things for people and often will accept things to do for others like make a quilt, crochet or sew, help out with a project, etc. when I really don't have the time or inclination to do it.  When it is spirit led it goes quickly and I don't even have to think about it. I have an afghan throw that I am making now that was totally spirit led, and I am now putting the border around. I have such a peace when I sit down and work on it in the evenings, and I have prayed over each stitch that I have crocheted. When I finally give it to the young lady that it is for, I know that she will be covered in much prayer. I hope that she will know how much I love her and her family and how precious that they have been in my life.
    On the other hand I had a young girl ask me to make a quilt for her. I said I would and I will make it. But it has been slow going. My heart has just not been in it yet. I have the fabric sitting on my table and some of it is even cut out. I know that when the time is right though that God will be with me and I will sit down and in a week or two I will be able to put the top together. To sit down to it right now would be useless, because I would end up messing it up. So there it sits and I go down to my sewing room and look at it every day or two and pray over what to do about it. Soon I will get to it. Then I have a baby quilt to work on also, actually two of them. And a cross stitch project that I've been working on forever. In the meantime, I've been working on a quick project that is major simple!
    My sister, Veronica is quilting and sewing with a group of ladies near her home in NC. They are involved in a project making pillowcases for the Children's Hospital in their area for the children with cancer. These are brightly colored pillowcases to add color and joy to their room. She explained to me how they were made and I found the tutorial on line. Such a simple project and since I have so much fabric that has been given to me I decided I would help her out with a few of them. There are actually a couple of videos online that show how to make them. Pillowcase Tutorial and  The Million Pillowcase Challenge .  So far I've made six of them to give to her when we go to visit later this week.  Here is a picture of the first four that I made. Fun and easy.












So as my week goes this will be a wild one with getting ready to go on a quick trip to see family and friends. I choose to keep my eyes on Jesus and not look at the storm. I can't rely on me, but I know that God is in control and He will calm the storm.
  Blessings to all, ~S~  The Quilted YaYa

I serve an Awesome God!

   It's been a very busy weekend. So Happy Independence Day a day late. Hope that everyone enjoyed their day.
    Our week last week was busy with cleaning and errands and getting ready for the 4th. Thursday I cleaned one house and then as I walked in the door my Father -in- Love called and asked if I wanted veggies from their garden. That was a no brainer. I'm always up for free veggies.  But I had to go to their home an hour away to pick them up. I asked if they would keep until Friday morning and he said "yes".
   So bright and early Friday morning, like 5:30 a.m. I got up and headed for their home. Gave many thanks to God for His provision and thanks to my sweet in-laws for their hard work and generosity. Loaded up our truck, well it was just the back seat, and headed home.
   Once home Jessica and I cleaned the peas and washed them prepared my jars and canned four quarts of peas. Then we got back in the truck and completed a couple more errands. Got back home and started cleaning the green beans and preparing the squash. Two gallon bags of summer squash par-boiled and put in the freezer. When my sweet hubby came home he sat down and grabbed a bowl full of clean green beans and started cutting the ends off for me. He's so helpful. :)  He got home earlier than normal because they had a 4th of July dinner at work. When ever we do things together we have the most wonderful conversations.
   So... There we sit talking over the events of the day, cutting green beans and  he started sharing with me about his supervisors wife, who has breast cancer. We have known about this for awhile but the family very much keeps it to themselves and we only occasionally get updates. Then dear Hubby says, "I pray for them every time she comes to mind, but mostly I pray for their salvation."
   I almost chopped my finger off when he said that. My heart was jumping for joy so hard in my chest that I could hardly contain it! My sweet hubby is a quiet man about his faith, and I'm not. He keeps me grounded and I add spontaneity to his life. I've prayed, along with many friends and family members for his salvation. (Neither one of us was saved when we got married and then 22 years ago I gave my life to Christ.)   Right then I bowed my head as I cut the beans and thanked our Awesome God for all the wonder and blessings that He has poured into my life!
   By the way, I canned 13 quarts of green beans and Saturday morning I cut corn off of the cob and canned 10 pints of whole kernel corn. I will have food for my family this winter that is chemical free. And my shelves are so colorful with pretty jars of good yumminess.
  Blessings to All ~S~ The Quilted YaYa
PS. My computer is on the fritz, so I'm using my daughters. I'll post pictures later.

The Words of Our Tongue

 Let my tongue sing about your word, for all your commands are right. Ps. 119:172
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Ps. 145:6
Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. Pro. 13:3
Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. Pro. 15:4
For the Scriptures say, "'As surely as I live,' says the LORD, 'every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.'" Romans 14:11
If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. James 1:26
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.James 3:2-5
Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:9-10
**
  With my tongue I can praise God. I can build up my children and my husband or tear them down. Sometimes my lack of words speak more than my saying something wrong. Each day I must pray that God will guide me before I open my mouth. I alone can not control my tongue, but if all that is in my heart is God and His love and His word, then maybe I can do more good than harm. I will build up and not tear down. 
 Lord I pray that this day You will hold each of us in your arms and with your mercy and grace lead us to speak kind words and be in Your will. In Jesus name, Amen
Praying that your day is Blessed ~S~ The Quilted YaYa
** all verses NLT **

Happy Father's Day

   Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.
   My Dad (pictured above) was killed in a car accident when I was five years old. So I never really got to know him. But, that didn't stop me from loving him. I tried to imagine what he would have said or done. I treasured stories that my Mom and Grandma told us about him. Would he have been sweet or stern? Maybe he had a wonderful laugh. Would he have had warm hugs? I will never know this side of Heaven.
 But, God is gracious. I had two very loving Grandpa's that stepped in and took up the cause of being the man in the lives of four small children. And when I got older I realized that no matter what happens here on earth I have a most loving, merciful, and precious Father in Heaven who loves and gave His only Son that I could one day join Him in Heaven.
   Do I miss my Dad? Yes, I do to this day. But I have a Father who wraps His loving arms around me and comforts me with warm hugs. That is full of love and disciplines me when I need it with a most gentle touch.
  He can be your Father too. Just accept His Son as your personal saviour and ask for His forgiveness. He is waiting for you to run into His open arms.
  Blessings to All ~S~ The Quilted YaYa
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Orange Marmalade

  I was so excited yesterday! That was yesterday.
  Let me explain.
  Yesterday I ran my errands then raced home so that I could make orange marmalade. I'd never made it before and I wanted to make it so that I could have it this winter with scones or biscuits or toast. So I found a recipe and got to work. I peeled oranges and scraped the white stuff out of the peels and sliced them up and put them in the pot and boiled them just like the recipe said. Then I added the oranges, you know all the pulp stuff. Cooked it just like the recipe said. So far so good. I added the sugar, and the pectin just when the recipe said. The kitchen was smelling wonderful at this point. Yum! I filled my hot jars with the steamy hot marmalade and put them in a hot water bath just like the recipe said. Pulled them out and they looked absolutely beautiful!

   Well, that was yesterday. This morning I awoke, and like a child on Christmas morning I raced in the kitchen to see my pretty jars. The jars were the same, and the liquid inside has not jelled. *sigh* . I am hoping that maybe after a day more the liquid will jell. It took a couple of days for the apple jelly to jell after it's hot bath. It will be heart breaking if it doesn't start to jell just a little in the next couple of days. The last of the liquid in the pot tasted so good after I had filled the jars.
   The good news is that I still have more oranges and more pectin. So I can always try again. What new adventure awaits in my kitchen? Monday is another day.
  Blessings and Joy to All ~S~ The Quilted YaYa

My Life This Week

  OK, well this week I stressed on Monday that I had to go to the Dr. on Tuesday for my yearly checkup that was four years late. I don't like going to the Doctor. Now don't get me wrong. I have one of the most precious Christian doctors around. I absolutely think the world of him. But I just don't do the doctor thing unless I'm really really sick.
   So I went to the Dr. on Tuesday, because my sweet Husband forced me. And with the exception that my bp was a little high, and I need more vitamin D in my diet because my bone density was a little low, and I'm having menopausal symptoms and not sleeping well everything was good. The blood pressure will work down with diet and exercise.
  Well not that much wrong with me. Just three little things, right? I'm going back to my old diet of mostly vegetarian with a minimal amount of meat from here on out. When I do that I have much more energy and my complexion starts to look better, among other things. Exercising again too. Plus, I am also trying to rid my home of as many chemicals as possible.
  I started this morning with making my own underarm deodorant. You can get the recipe at Wellness Mama . There is no aluminum in it! YaY!  for no metals going into your body. If you don't want to make your own you can order it from a wonderful sweet gal known as The Cheeky Maiden. While you are at her website check out the other products that she makes too. The most awesome soaps around! And all natural!
  After I get my home cleaned up today, I might try my hand at making orange marmalade! We will see how that goes. Never made it before so I will report later if I decide to make it, how it turns out. On the other hand  on Monday I also made apple jelly from organic apples. YUM! I turned out delicious. A little softer than the store bought stuff but that's ok. It is very good.
  Well, I'm off for the day. Love and Blessings to all ~S~ The Quilted YaYa

When You Pray

When you pray, expect things to happen. When you pray to the one true God, things will happen. Sometimes they are not "up" things. Sometimes you have to prepare for the attack of the enemy, and know that it might be that you are attacked indirectly. Sometimes it will be in your most tender spots. Your family.
  This past two weeks now I've been praying the Psalms, and other scripture over my family. This week, I've seen my husband get disgusted with movies that have foul language in them, and turn them off. Something that he would have just overlooked before. I've watched my daughters bond together and defend each other and then hug and comfort each other. And one was accused of stealing money from a patron at work.
 I have stressed and prayed over this situation since it happened yesterday. Part of me wants to confront the person that accused her, but as I prayed this morning over it, God gently touched my heart. He is in control and He will go before her and she will be held upright in His hands. She will learn from this experience, that God is on the throne and watching over her.
   
     The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Ps. 9: 9


  How my heart aches when I have to send out my children into the world to be light, as I have tried to train them to be. My mind reels with the attack that would accuse an innocent one. Her fault is that she believes everyone is honest and that no one would try to take advantage of her.
  Father God, she is in your hands, please protect her and send your angels to form a hedge around her that no evil could enter in.
  She and I will pray together again this day and her sisters will join us as we bind together and wrap each other in God's word. She is strong in Jesus. He will give her the words the courage and strength that she needs, and still keep her heart tender towards all of God's children.

Pita Bread

  Today I tried my hand at making pita bread. I went to the nearest market because I wanted chicken salad stuffed in pita bread. Since it is a fairly small grocery store they didn't have pita bread. I didn't feel like driving the extra 3 miles to the larger grocery. So I grabbed a 5lb. sack of unbleached flour and a package of yeast.
  I came home and found a recipe for pita bread and in just a couple of hours I had pita bread. I was so excited! I won't post the recipe that I used here because it came from a cook book that lists everything in pounds and ounces.  But I did find a recipe very similar on line that would probably be just as good. It's called Peppy's Pita Bread Give it a try.
  Here are a couple of pictures of the pita bread and the chicken salad that I made.
Blessings to All ~S~ The Quilted YaYa