Living History

MMM and I have been fortunate to make some new friends here in the SLC area and I'd like to tell you about some of them.
Our very first day here, we met an elderly couple. But in fact, we didn't realize how elderly they were until quite a bit later! The husband is going on 95 (and looks like he's 75) and his wife is going on 88!
We both have really enjoyed the chances we've had to interact with this couple who has been married for over 50 years! And it just makes me hope that my generation really appreciates the examples we have before us.
The husband, well, he's got quite the character! He is one feisty man! He served in the Greek Army during WWII. He has told me about some of the things he experienced during the war. It is so interesting for me to realize that he is one of a rapidly decreasing number of men who lived through the war. He personally saw one of the concentration camps and the absolute devastation it brought. It seriously brings tears to my eyes. It is such a different experience to read about the war in books than to sit in front of a man who lived it. He saw so much, he felt so much...
I don't want to take our relationship for granted. At the most, he has maybe 10 years left to live. I want to learn as much from him as I can. I don't want his life to be forgotten. And even more so, I don't want his experiences to be forgotten. I certainly am  not a professional writer, but I am considering asking him if I could write about his life. Would you pray for me to have wisdom in that? I feel as if I don't know what I'm getting myself into even thinking about doing it. But, I think it would be worth it. I want to do him justice, and I want to do something that he could show his grandkids and be proud of, but I don't know if I am capable. I just don't know.
This I do know. Whether or not I do this project, I am going to take every chance I can to meet with them both and learn from them what I can. Surely being married over 50 years gives you some wisdom, right? :D I am excited to become a regular part of their lives.

100 Day Challenge – Day 3

Lately I have been struggling with the big “Why?” Why do godly people get hurt? Why do plans go awry? Why is there tension among the body of Christ? Why do we experience loss? Why does God give good things to people who don’t love Him and don’t want His gifts, but doesn’t give the same good things to people who do love Him and would cherish His gifts? It has been a struggle in which I’ve almost felt betrayed by God. The overwhelming question of “Why does God let bad things happen?”

In several conversations I’ve had lately I’ve been given little tidbits of wisdom, maybe even a couple of answers to my questions.  Why do godly people get hurt? Could it be that God is allowing this trial in their life to draw them closer to Himself. I think of Job and horrible turn his life took and yet in the midst of his desolation he was praising the Lord for the things he had already received.  And then there is the passage “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”. It doesn’t say all things are good, but that all things work together for good.  Maybe God is allowing this trouble and will give them a testimony from it.

Why do plans go awry? Well, maybe God’s plan is better!  I’m learning that God knows me better than I know myself and maybe He doesn’t give me everything I want because He knows that’s not really what I need. (For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you a hope and a future. – Jer. 29:11)

Why is there tension amongst the body of Christ? Maybe this is our God-given opportunity to learn and grow in unity by expressing humility.  Maybe this is our chance to take a step back and listen to one another and dive deep into what is causing the issue. I was fortunate to see this theory in action recently and man was it a blessing to see a disastrous situation turn into an edifying situation.

Why are gifts given where they aren’t wanted? Maybe it’s because God is going to use that gift to turn lives around. Maybe that gift is going to be such a huge blessing in that person’s life that they will never be the same. Maybe that gift is going to open new doors of opportunity. And really, maybe I just don’t need to know why that gift was given, because it’s not really any of my business.

Why do we experience loss? I don’t think there’s one good answer for any of these questions really, but the first thing that comes to mind for this is that in our suffering we can be a witness for Christ. In our pain we can be comfort to others walking our same path. So that we can learn not to rely on ourselves for our strength but to lean upon one who is greater. So we can stop with our busyness and thank God for the blessings we’ve received.

I’ve started a challenge. Air1 talked about doing a 100 day challenge and I decided to join them. Their only guideline was doing something purposefully every day for 100 days. I decided to keep a journal of gratefulness. I want to write at least one thing each day.  So I’m writing down things that I’m grateful for in that moment. Some are simple and even silly, but I believe the more I focus on having a thankful heart the happier I will be. How can my spirit not be encouraged when God is showing me His works in even the most minute way. I want to get away from asking God “why?” and get to a place of say “thanks for what I do have”.  I’m going to try to make Thursday the day I post about something I’ve been grateful for in the last week.  I welcome you to join me on this journey towards having a thankful heart.

Another Project

So, I took it upon myself to make another art project.  We were cleaning out and organizing at the church and we found a couple big bags of cheap crayons from an old project. It was confirm that we didn't need the crayons, so I got to have fun with them. 

I already had this cork board that I ended up not using for a different project, so I got to work on this one. It was quite the adventure! First I thought of just spelling out a phrase or word, but that didn't go well. So then I decided to make an actual picture! Above you can see the start of the 'grass' and 'tree trunk'.

I had a lot of crayons to work with!!! And I found that the most efficient way to remove the wrapper was using a small knife (the back edge actually) and digging a line into the crayon. This always cut the paper, and I was able to use the edge of the knife to lift the wrapper off. I had a lot of crayons to do this with and it took a long time...

The hot glue gun was my best friend for a few days while I was working on this. Obviously you see the grass, tree, sun, and cabin in the picture above. Here's the point where I most likely should have stopped. :P It was only after this that I kept making bad decisions. Mhmm..


I glued the crayons up for the sky with the intention of melting them together (I saw melted crayon art online and thought I'd improvise..it didn't work quite the same) but that really didn't work that well.

So then I had an ugly looking sky with no real hope of fixing it. However, I did get the idea to warm up all the crayons (hair dryer is being used this whole time, btw) and just use my fingers to smooth the crayons down and merge them together. It took some doing but I got it to a point where I could be content (though it wasn't what I truly wanted).

Then I got the brilliant idea to completely melt the wax crayons before applying it to the board. This brilliant decision ended up being the dumbest move I made. It wasn't easy to get the crayons completely melted, and then as soon as I poured it on the board it started to set.

Here I thought I'd get this nice smooth background layer of crayon, and what I got so so beyond ugly. I ended up scraping up all the melted wax ( some cork board came along for the ride :( ) with that same small knife. It took an annoying long time. And every piece I got up was another reminder of how poor a decision that had been. Oh well.

So now I was faced with funky sky and a torn up background. What was to be done? I went back to my handy dandy paint! The same paint that is now on our wall AND our table. It's the only good paint we have. And it was a neutral color, so why not. I painted the remaining background on the cork board (it soaked up a lot, who would have guessed) and also the frame ('cuz I'd made lots of messes on that while melting crayons). That actually worked out! So my unfixable disaster may have a happy ending after all.

All that was left was to figure out how to make this random piece of art directly glorifying to God (since it was intended to go back in the children's room at church). I ended up going with the different names of God. I just used a regular permanent marker....and here is the result...

It was not an easy project. I made my fair share of mistakes. But you know, despite all that, I really did enjoy doing it. It is currently at the church, waiting to be put up. Even if it's never hung up, I'm happy I did it.

Earning Points

I have been working on my 'domestic goddess' points lately. Mostly just for my own fun. So I have been working on my projects, which I've already showed you. I finally finished Thor's sweater!! Hurray!

Here he is proudly wearing his new sweater. When I first finished it the sweater was way too big. So I altered it for my little guy and it fits perfectly.

I've started on my third blanket because I just enjoy it so much.

Yesterday i was given the opportunity to gain some more points. I invited two guys to come and eat supper with us! So, I made two soups:

Vegetable Beef (ooh so yummy!)

and Pureed Carrot.

 ( I experimented with this by putting cabbage and rice in before pureeing it)

I also made a lemon cake. I did experimenting with all of the food for yesterday, but the cake was the only one that didn't turn out for the best. It ended up being a bit too dense. So I called it my lemon pound cake! I added a lemon glaze and some blueberries.

It didn't end up being terrible, but I am hoping next time will be better.

I had fun setting up the table with nice napkins and all ready for a nice meal together.

I had a lot of fun playing Susie homemaker. It was a great night with great friends.

We ate good food and played fun games. I hope to keep hosting friends as we continue to make new friends. Oh this is so much fun!

Me in my cute apron.

Projects

My hubby has been pretty busy with work lately. With all the extra time by myself, I have been working on projects! My first project was painting the top on our dining table. We had already painted the legs.

I decided to use the main color as my base coat. I had a lot of problems with texture. It took many coats to get it how I wanted it.

Then I taped out the outline for my red boxes.

I have found that red paint requires a lot of coats to make it look truly red.

Here is the finished table with the gloss. And you even get a sneak peak of another project!

My second project is knitting Thor a sweater! I definitely admit that knitting is not my best skill, but, I am doing my best. Poor buddy is out-growing the sweater we bought him, so I need to hurry up! I'm nowhere close to being done with it. Unfortunately, knitting is a chore for me, so I'm finding it hard to be motivated. But I have been bringing it with me to friend's house to knit while watching movies.

This here is my third project! I finished this blanket a couple of days ago. It took me somewhere around 20-25 hours to complete. I enjoy crocheting a lot more than I do knitting, but it's not nearly as portable.

And here is the beginning of my next project. (Yes, I started this before finishing Thor's sweater. I'm such a mean mommy.) I'm doing another blanket with the same pattern as the first. The first blanket is for my nephew, and this is for my youngest niece.

A couple years ago I did a post about my baby gift for my eldest niece. It was a quilt that I'd made. And just a couple of weeks ago I got to thinking that it's just not fair for only the eldest child to get that from their Aunt Lizzie. So now I'm making up for lost time. I'm going to do my best to crochet a blanket for every future baby in my whole family. I'm also hoping to continue learning new stitches so I can make each blanket unique in some way.

It has been so nice for me to have these projects to keep me occupied. I love to be working on them while watching movies or listening to sermons. It makes the day go by so quickly, and I really feel like I accomplished something. I really enjoy working with my hands.

I've also really enjoyed teaching MMM how to both knit and crochet! He's done quite well, and I'm very proud of him for learning it. He has been helping me with Thor's sweater the most (hurray!), so hopefully we'll get it done soon.

What kind of projects have you been working on?