The Reasons Why I Cherish This Season

I was the typical American child. Treasures found under the tree on Christmas morning were the focal point of my holiday season. I have fond memories of our little family - Dad, Mom, and I - going to purchase a real tree in preparation. Then came the fun of decorating it with our treasured ornaments and tinsel placed one strand at a time. (I hated that part! Why couldn't I just put it on one handful at a time?! Patience was never my virtue.) We also decorated each other and our dog, the black poodle that ran around us like a maniac as she sensed our excitement.

I remember getting up in the early  morning hours and being mesmerized by the gifts under the tree. Being an only child meant that things did not need to be wrapped or labeled. If they were suitable for a child they obviously were for me. There was always the latest baby doll and her accessories there. After a few years I had quite a large family of children in my downstairs playhouse and I dutifully and lovingly cared for each one while playing. (Hmm. Talk about foreshadowing!)

An only child, her treasured spouse, and two generations of doll babies

I knew as a young child about the Christ-child coming as a baby. And I loved Him. I just didn't have a firm grasp of how everything fit together. Still, the scriptural seeds were planted and watered. One Christmas season they bore fruit.

When I was 14 years old my pastor took us to a retreat at Tennessee Temple University. It was there on the night of December 28th I trusted the baby born in Bethlehem as my Savior. (Oh, look! Today is my spiritual birthday!!!!!)

I saw the real treasure of Christmas was the truce offered to me by the Eternal Father! I laid down my arms. The battle was over. That is the image I see whenever I read Luke 2:14.

". . . peace, good will toward men."

The treasure offered is peace. Oh, how I needed it! Spiritual turmoil had been mine for several years. "Good will toward men." Toward me. The God of glory offered me His good will and I took Him at His Word. 

I'm so happy that God came in the flesh! From that night forward I have treasured the gift of the Son that came as a baby, lived a sinless life, died for me, and was resurrected three days later as the payment for my sins so I could experience eternal peace with the Father.

A few years passed. . .

I found myself in another Baptist college, this time as a student. It was there that I met the young man that was to be my husband. We began dating in mid-October and during that Christmas season in 1977 he told me that he loved me and hoped that we could be married sometime in the next year. If you paid any attention at all to the Yule Moon phenomenon last week you know that its last occurrence was in 1977. Now you know why Pastor Dad confessed his love for me when he did: He was moonstruck.  :)

Like all great marriages, ours has had its ups and downs, its joys (example: see picture above) and its heartaches, but since it is built upon a firm foundation of faith it has endured all hardships and celebrated all happy events with eternity in mind. I treasure the gift God gave me when he gave me my husband.

Thank you, God, for making me part of your family that Christmas season when I was 14 years old. Thank you, Pastor Dad, for promising to make me part of your family when I was 18 years old. As much as I loved Christmas when I was a child, these treasured relationships are why I cherish the season even more now. 

To My Favorite Moms

Happy Mother's Day 

to

my mom, my mother-in-law,

and my 3 daughters:

5 of the best mothers I know!

I love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

Both sets of grandparents with our 4 children;
Photo taken at The Bear's graduation party

Helping Mothers (and Fathers) in Haiti

Last week the ladies of our church used our Mother - Daughter - Friend banquet to raise money for families in Haiti by having a jewelry party to sell the items made by moms and dads employed by the Apparent Project. Many of the "earthquake orphans" have parents living who are unable to feed and clothe them. These children end up in orphanages. The mission of the Apparent Project is to help parents earn the money needed to keep their families intact. (We also heard about one orphan facility in Haiti meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the children placed in their care.)

The jewelry is beautiful even though it is all made from trash! The workers take thin cardboard boxes, like the kind that hold cereal, to make beads, and discarded tin cans to make medallions. They also use clay ayiti, the dirt the natives eat to soothe the gnawing in their stomachs when hunger gets unbearable, to make ceramic beads.

The decision to hold this party was made when I read the February 22, 2014 edition of WORLD magazine on my Kindle Fire. (A BIG SHOUT-OUT to WORLD publishers for sending several paper copies of this issue to be displayed at the party!) I had been looking for something slightly different to do than our usual at the banquet. Not, you know, that there is anything wrong with the things we usually do, but after reading the lead article (link here) a plan began to form.

Let's see. . . . What might we need to pull this off?

• Women who like to shop? ü
• Desirable products for them to purchase? ü
• Good food for them to eat and at a reasonable price? Hmm. What if the men grilled steaks to hold down the cost of catering so the women would have more funds to spend for shopping? ü
• A speaker who has been to Haiti on a mission trip? ü

It seemed so doable! And it was! We sold over $500 worth of jewelry and 100% of the proceeds go to the artisans who made them. 

Even having a fire at our church that damaged our fellowship hall couldn't stop us. Praise the Lord!

Many thanks to our wonderful speaker, Debbie!
Many thanks to the wonderful men who cooked, grilled, and served. And ate. :)
Many thanks to the ladies who helped with the logistics including the Plan B facilities, the decorating, the clean-up, and the desserts. Yum!
And many, many thanks to all who bought necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. I know the Apparent Project and their employees thank you, too.

As a pastor's wife I am always looking for ideas that combine ministry with food, fun, and fellowship. I thought this might describe some of my readers, too. Feel free to share what you've tried at your church's ladies events. Like I said, I'm always looking for ideas.

Old-Marrieds Losing and Winning the Newlywed Game

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In honor of St. Valentine's Day, Pastor Dad and I attended a banquet this weekend with other church-going couples. Actually, we attended 3 but at only one did we play the traditional quiz game designed to show everyone how well spouses know each other, The Newlywed Game.

At this banquet it was announced that three games would be played throughout the evening to determine who the participants would be in that final prize-winning game. I looked at my husband and said, "You know that as the guest speaker and wife we are automatically going to be chosen as one of the couples no matter how well we do in the early games." And my theory might have been correct, but we'll never know. As one of the runner-up couples in the preliminary rounds we became one of the six doomed lucky couples. Mmm-hmm.

So there we were. We were the longest-married couple of those chosen. Obviously we should know each other pretty well after 35 years of marriage, right? Well, yes  but the score certainly didn't reflect it! We came in d.e.a.d  l.a.s.t.

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Did we know all the answers? Uh, no. Not only weren't they primarily made up of the standard fact questions like, "What is your wife's favorite perfume?" but even for the ones that were we have a lot more information to remember than those who have been married only a few years! Most questions were more thought provoking though. And one or two were just plain provoking. :)

Then there were the answers that we deliberately missed. Did we lie? No, but we chose answers that were the most edifying and least embarrassing for our spouse:  answers that portrayed our beloved at his or her best and not as the sometimes unpleasant person that each knows the other is capable of being.

We're used to looking at each other through eyes of love and seeing beyond each other's struggles. After all, it isn't unusual to see couples who have been married as long as we have been that are made up of a person who is bald and one whose weight went from 135 to 200 pounds during the child-bearing years. It's just unusual when you consider the way it affects this couple.

The funny thing was that neither of us knew that the other was going to take the edifying approach when answering about each other. Ultimately we each ended up telling on ourselves by choosing answers that we think to be closer to the mark and each was pleasantly surprised by the answers our spouse gave about us.

So, why did we do so poorly in the game? Do we not know each other very well? No, after 35 years of marriage we know each other all too well:  well enough to know where the hot buttons are and well enough to know that we'd like to be married to each other for at least 35 more years if the Lord gives them to us.

In other words, we each esteem the other more highly than we do ourselves. We may have lost a game but we definitely proved that we possess the greatest prize of all.

TAKE TIME: Off!

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Do NOT take time off from reading your Bible! As a matter of fact, today would be a good day to begin reading a chapter a day from the book of Proverbs: 31 chapters, 31 days.

But the TAKE TIME schedule is taking some time off.

This is a very busy time of the year. And if you are anything like me you get behind sometimes.

I'm behind. (You've probably noticed that.)

The schedule will resume on December 30 with the book of Song of Solomon.
 (Check the yearly chronological schedule above to see what follows I Kings 11. It will also show that we covered in 47 weeks the equivalent of what Take Ten readers read through June 15th of their Old Testament assignment.)

Remember that the point of reading the Bible is not to be able to check off a task accomplished each day. It is to learn more about Jesus.  Instead of doing a poor job in haste it is my desire to take the time to do a proper job of updating the journal without digging the hole further. After all, this is God's Word and I want to handle it respectfully and with proper meditation.

So there will still be frequent journal updates. And I'll probably show-and-tell more about our recent Peru trip, too.  ;)

A Day in Lima

That's Lee-muh and not Lie-muh. I don't want you to think the pictures that follow are from a recent trip to northern Ohio. Nope! We crossed the Equator for the first time to make a visit to South America! We celebrated 35 years of marriage this past summer (at church camp) so we decided a special trip was in order.

In the early afternoon of October 15th Pastor Dad and I flew out of CVG and after a moderate layover in DFW caught a flight to Lima, Peru. We arrived there after midnight their time on the morning of the 16th which was after 1 a.m. at home where Daylight Savings Time was still in effect. It was well after 1 a.m. in Peru when we cleared customs and collected our baggage.

Our missionary friend, Sheridan Stanton, had arrived earlier in the day from his home in Huanaco. He had been able to rent a car, check into the hotel, and get a little rest before driving back to the airport to meet us. It was wonderful to see a familiar face waiting beyond the security barriers!

After a few hours of sleep we prepared to tour the city of Lima by daylight. (The post-midnight drive from the airport to the hotel didn't reveal much.) Daylight also revealed that we were staying near the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean as seen from our hotel balcony

We drove to downtown Lima so that we could view the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace at noon.

Just let me interject here that the drivers in Peru must be the worst anywhere. ANYWHERE! I mostly rode in silence because I was afraid that if I opened my mouth Bro. Stanton would be distracted. Believe me, we didn't want him distracted! 

Lanes? Ha! Want to turn left but you're 5 vehicles across (there are only 3 lanes) in the right-hand lane? Don't let that stop you! What's that you say? You're on a motorcycle and you'd need to cross in front of three cars and a double-decker bus? Oh, don't worry about it! They'll see you coming. You can bet your life on it!

(Nope! Not an exaggeration! Worst. Drivers. ANYWHERE! But Bro. Sheridan is an excellent driver. He even managed to return the rental car later that week without a scratch. And that's a miracle pure and simple! A miracle!)

We were told that the changing of the Peruvian Presidential guard isn't as grand as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace but since we've never witnessed the latter ceremony we really have no way to make a comparison. We were impressed enough with this daily noontime ritual though. There were high kicks, ceremonial music, and plenty of pomp and circumstance. We spent several minutes enjoying the view of the rest of the Plaza de Armas, too.

Changing of the Guard

The Presidential Palace with the Changing of the Guards

Another side of the Plaza

The Archbishop's Palace next to the Cathedral of Lima, located to one side of the plaza

We two tourists on our 1st day in Peru, standing by the historic fountain in the center of the Plaza de Armas with the Presidential Palace behind us

The Cathedral of Lima

The Pastor and the Missionary/"Tour Guide," Brother Stanton

Nearby was the Inquisition Museum. Given that Catholicism is the religion of the country it was a bit surprising to find a museum dedicated to remembering her days of persecution of non-conformists. Also somewhat surprising was the way the history has been revised to make it seem as though just a mere handful were actually tortured and killed. (Here is a link telling about the museum. When you visit that site you will understand why I did not take more pictures.)

This museum is a reminder to us of what it cost some of our forebears for holding to their faith. Let us not forget that there are still many Christians around the world who are enduring persecution. As Jesus warned His disciples, His followers might be put to death by those who think they are actually doing God a big favor. (My paraphrase.)

A model of an infidel

A portrait of the Lima Plaza de Armas showing those convicted of crimes against the Church being led to their deaths

The steps down to the dungeons. Even now there are places were a person could lose their head, or knock herself out, if she is not careful! (The ceilings are extremely low in places and made of jagged rock. )

A couple of dungeon cells. People died inside here, which may have been better than the alternatives!

One part of the Inquisition Museum that is actually very beautiful: the courtyard.

After leaving the downtown Lima area we drove down the coast to an oceanside shopping mall at Miraflores. Enough time had passed since we had left the Inquisition Museum that we had regained our appetites. (And by now I was so tired that I closed my eyes part of the way and totally avoided seeing how close we were to the other vehicles we were trying NOT to hit a la "Bumper Cars" carnival ride.) We had the Executive Lunch at Tony Roma's! Since our Cincinnati restaurant closed a few years ago we now must go a long way to get a taste of these ribs.

Good food. Good prices (in sols; at the time $1 USA = s/.2.75)

The view from the shopping center at Miraflores

A skydiver near the restaurant. Feel up to it after lunch? Yeah, right!

Busy 24 hours + full stomachs = 2 tired tourists

Looking for the Starbucks. Or was it the Italian ice cream? Well, we found the Starbucks but not the ice cream. Since it was nippy outside the warm brew tasted and felt good.

Back to the hotel. The statue of Mary in the Magdalena del Mar neighborhood taken from our hotel window. If she still rotated as she used to do she would look directly into the hotel rooms! Hmm.

Another Grandchild T-shirt Project

Little Miss Lili-ladybug loves Lalaloopsy. I confess that until recently I had no idea who or what that might be! However, anything can be found on the Internet so I was soon educated! I used that new knowledge to produce a t-shirt for her that I thought she might like:

I traced a black line drawing picture of a Lalaloopsy girl that I then painted with fabric markers. I embellished this with black buttons for the eyes, a tied red ribbon in the hair, red embroidery floss for the shoe laces, black embroidery thread stitching for the mouth, and gold embroidery thread for textured hair. Then I attached t-shirt material with fusible web to the inside of the shirt to protect Lili's skin from the knotted threads.

Not knowing the story, I had no certain character in mind when choosing the hair or clothing colors. I don't think it was a problem. Since Lili's third birthday was approaching we bought her this doll, one of two blond but non-identical dolls she received.

The t-shirt was finished a couple of weeks before her birthday party where Lili wore the shirt! A friend held her while I snapped this photo:

If you're keeping track you know that I still have one shirt left to make. That would be for Polly. And given that she is a preteen and the weather is cooling off I'm thinking something long sleeves and chic would be in order. Stay tuned.

Summer 2013 Wrap-up

Our 2013 Graduate

Many of the students in our area are heading back to school. Even the homeschooling families are sending in their notifications of intent and making final adjustments to the curriculum. Not I. For the first time in many years, I am not preparing for a new homeschool year.

When our oldest graduated in June, 1999 our youngest was not even ready to begin kindergarten the following autumn. But in June, 2013 The Bear graduated from high school. It took 27 years for us to home educate all 4 of our children from kindergarten through twelfth grade but we did it! 14 years is a long span of time between oldest to youngest siblings, but I am glad for it because it means that I have had at least one of my offspring with me for the past 32 years. And we are still not empty-nesters! The Bear will attend a local college this fall and will live at home. But while he is making preparations to go back to school in a few days, his mother - for once - is not.



After all the paperwork had been filed for The Bear's diploma (I STRONGLY recommend an umbrella school during the high school years because it makes dealing with colleges and employers so much less of a hassle!) we turned our attention to other endeavors. Our church had a wonderful Vacation Bible School week in June in which we were active workers and participants. This is always a MAJOR event for our congregation and we love it!

Then Pastor Dad and I began some much-needed work on our house and lawn. We watched it rain on our lawn and gardens, which helped water all the new plants and some of the lawn reseeding. (It has been a rainy summer.) We have also enjoyed the slightly cooler-than-usual temperatures this year. We even stood in the rain with umbrellas over our heads while watching the grandchildren swim on the 4th of July in my dad's pool. And as usual, we celebrated birthdays with several of our loved ones. Oh, my! It has been a wonderful, busy summer!

A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of picking up Lisa and Roman at the airport. Lisa had agreed to work as a counselor at our church camp as long as someone (uh, that would be me: no arm-twisting necessary!) watched Roman. Since Karen and Philip are directors of our junior camp I also took care of their newest little one.

Gram with her baby grandsons

The boys riding around the campground in style

The 6-month-old Roman and the 3-month-old "Baby Boy" were introduced to each other before we headed to camp. (I think their moms just wanted to know if I could handle two infants at the same time. Ha! Ha!) The boys played together on the floor. Three months can make a big difference at such young ages. Roman picked up Baby Boy's foot as if to show him his toes. If he could talk he looked like he would be saying to his cousin, "See these, dude? You're gonna love them! They're great to suck on whenever you misplace your pacifier!"

After camp, Dan flew into town to join the family. A few days later several of us attended a Red's game. The game itself wasn't much to see, (We lost to the Cards. Boo!) but we had fun in the stands. Our pictures even flashed across the scoreboard briefly as the cameras panned the audience while playing the song "Pretty Woman" (obviously they were highlighting our beautiful daughter, The Princess, but we got to photo bomb).  Pastor Dad said he was glad they didn't show us during the "Kiss Cam" because he and I had several people between us. I had to agree because if either of us had been required to kiss Fen or Diamond Girl right after they ate sticky cotton candy I'm afraid we would have been permanently bonded.  :)

This past Sunday we celebrated The Bear's graduation with an Open House. He had asked that we wait to officially celebrate when Dan, Lisa, and Roman could be in town. Sounded like a good idea to me!

Several pictures were taken at the event.  This one is of our 4 children and their grandparents. Pastor Dad's parents are on the left and mine are on the right in the photo.

The Bear is the youngest grandchild on both sides of the family so all the grandparents have only adult grandchildren now.

Pastor Dad and I were added for this 3 generation portrait.

And finally, here is one of The Bear being supported by his sisters and brothers-in-law, the "siblings" who helped raise him and added much-needed support through the years.

That's Pepper photo-bombing. That dog! ~sigh~ (I guess she thinks she helped raise him, too.)

In Honor of The Bear's Birthday

This is a picture taken just a few weeks ago of me and my youngest child.

Easter, 2013

I'm wearing heels. He isn't. He is not extraordinarily tall, but many of you probably remember pictures of him where the top of his head did not even reach my shoulder.

That seems like yesterday.

Today is his birthday! He turns 18 years old.

I can hardly believe it!

I have been blogging for 4 1/2 years and in that time I have documented growth spurts which were evident by excessive amounts of groceries disappearing almost as quickly as they came in the door (which still happens sometimes), the change of his voice - and those of his friends - marked by awkward high pitched squeals as they transitioned from treble to bass cleft, several taekwondo achievements - including earning his black belt - that helped him learn individual goal setting and accomplishment, basketball that caused us to travel great distances for the thrill of watching him engage in a team sport, our high school years of homeschooling (which are coming to an end later this spring), and teaching him how to drive a car.

Oh, my!!!!!!!

Though the youngest of four children, he has enjoyed the best of both worlds: he has siblings, but in the last few years he has been the only child at home. In order to keep him from being totally spoiled rotten by his three doting older sisters, the Lord gave each of them children of their own to divert some of their mothering tendencies. This has worked. A little. He certainly hasn't suffered from lack of attention from them at any time!

The Bear became an uncle at the ripe old age of 6 1/2. For awhile he was a unique volume bracketed between bookends consisting of 3 girls on each side. On one end were his 3 sisters. On the other, his 3 nieces who were actually closer in age to him than those sisters. Now he is uncle to 5 girls and 3 boys (the newest is a newborn). As such, it is not unusual to hear him arguing discussing with someone from the upper tier of  nieces/nephew or see him carrying (without anyone asking him to do so) one of the nieces/nephews in the lower tier.

The Bear was a child I prayed for by name. I knew, or thought I did, before God ever put him in my womb that He had put him in my heart. And unless I misunderstood the will of God, which would have been evident if the idea of our son had never come to fruition, I knew this child would be a welcome addition to our family. I praise God for answering in the way He did.

Son, I know you do not read blogs (and I am okay with that) so you may never read here how much of a gift we - Dad and I - think you are or just how much I have enjoyed almost every minute of raising you to adulthood. (Let's be honest. There have been a few moments that I would not care to repeat, but we won't go into those. {Grin}) And I know as an introvert this blog post will cause you acute embarrassment if you actually do read it, but I am willing to chance it because this has become a scriptural and family journal blog and so I just could not let today pass without publicly proclaiming how the Lord blessed us by giving us you or without wishing you a very blessed transition into adulthood.

With my continued love and prayers,

Mom

18 years ago today

Sunday Psalm and A Celebratory Passage from the New Testament

Psalm 22

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. 9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. 10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. 25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. 29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. 30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Psalms 22:1-31 (KJV)

Matthew Chapter 28

Christ's resurrection is declared by an angel to the women

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

Matt 28:1-8 (KJV)

imported through Bible Explorer 4 software

Spring and Easter Crafts: Rose Barrette

I made this barrette for one of my granddaughters. You can't see it, but this is attached to a large barrette form. Here are the supplies I used:

• 18 inches of 3 different 3/8 inch ribbons for the rose (I used pink dotted swiss, plain pink, and plain white)
• green ribbon for leaves (I used sheer green dotted swiss) - the length depends upon how large and how many leaves you wish to make
• needle and thread
• large barrette form
• glue (not shown but I used Gorilla Glue)

Instructions:

Braid the ribbons for the rose together into a long strip.

Begin winding the ribbon around itself to make the inner bud. Use the thread to tack any coils that pull loose, including the beginning of the braid. Pull the center out a little and continue winding in a slight cone shape until you reach the end of the braid.

Tuck the end of the braid under and sew it into place.

Make the first leaf by folding the green ribbon into a point. I sewed this into place and crossed the green ribbon across the bottom to the opposite side to make the next leaf. I did this crisscrossing, folding, and sewing into place until I had as many leaves as I wanted. (The reason for the crisscrossing was to add stability.)

Glue a length of ribbon (I used the green) onto the top of the barrette form. Allow to dry. Either tuck and glue the overhanging ribbon or trim it even with the top.

Remove the forked piece on the inside of the barrette.

Barrette with fork out

Barrette with fork in place

Sew the flower onto the top of the barrette by inserting the needle near the bottom center of the rose before wrapping the thread tightly around the barrette. Make several stitches/loops to anchor the rose securely.

Put the fork back onto the barrette.


Give the barrette to one of your favorite princesses!

Looking Back at the Birthdays

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the birthdays of 2 granddaughters, sisters that share a birthday week. That would be Miss Tigger and Little Lili Ladybug. It really was Lili's birthday that day, her second.

To honor Lili on her special day, her two oldest sisters composed a poem in her honor. I neglected to get a copy of the poem but there was an illustration to accompany it, as you can clearly see below.

Polly and Tigger reciting

Two girls opening gifts can make for a lot of excitement (and gift wrapping paper!).

Sometimes one of the gift-givers suffers from separation anxiety.  :)

Hey, Mom, did you mean to give this away?

The birthday girls blowing out the candles on their respective birthday cakes.

I include this photo for Mem and Pop. This is what we saw when you called.  :)

I hope she didn't get blue icing on the telephone!

Don't you just want to kiss that sweet little face? Well, maybe after it is washed. 

Big sister, Tiggeriffic, enjoying her birthday treats, too. I think Miss Tigger ended up having a"Birthday Week," which is not a bad way for an eight-year-old to celebrate, right?

Confidential To Pastor Dad

Happy 34th Anniversary!