A Little Help 'er'

I had a great  weekend.  My Saturday was extra 'Sweet'.  
And I had a little help with a project I was working on .

I became lost in this smile.  Mainly because it's been awhile since I've seen it!
I was working on a project for school some little Bible Character dolls.  I recruited some great help.

In case your a new friend... This is my grandson.  He had an injury last June.  When the doctors 
investigated the injury they realized that he had a disease that affected his 'growth plate'. 



This June he under went surgery.  He was in a case for 8 weeks.  He is still recovering.  He cannot walk without a walker and still has to use a wheelchair.  

Last July shortly after the injury his father was arrested and spent 10 months in jail for domestic abuse.  
As soon as he was released he tried to get visitation including overnight visits.  Thankfully 
he was only allowed supervised visitation at the court house.  With trained city employees supervising. 

It's been along time since I've seen silliness.  Thank You God for silliness
I can't get enough of this face.  Especially when it' happy and silly.

Today if your facing trials or struggles.  And your wondering if 
God is actually, really with you.  
Don't give up.  It's been a very long ordeal for us.  It's been over 4 years of fear and struggles.  
This innocent and sweet little boy had to endure 2 years of overnight and weekend visits at his dads house.  During that time those smiles disappeared.  Anger and frustration replaced the smiles.
The thing is in our human minds we want it 'now'.  But the reality is God's timing is not ours.  He's in control he knows whats going on.  
We just need to 'Be still' and trust.  
You might have family struggling through similar situations.  And even though I encourage you to 'Be Still' and to 'Trust' I also encourage you to be proactive.  Do what ever you can to keep your children and your grandchildren safe.   As we had to deal with the court system our only recourse for a very long time was to pray every day that God would protect this sweet little boy.   


Linking our Smiles at . . .
Blue Monday 
Mosaic Monday
Titus Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday
Share Your Cup-Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things
Simple And Sweet Fridays
Free And Fun Friday
No Rules Weekend Party
Sweet Saturday

Cozy Friday Nights

I spend my Friday nights all cozy and cuddly and dreaming about my next quilt project. 
I enjoy visiting over at Crazy Moms linky party.
Tonight I followed a link and saw this . . . 
This fun quilt is offered in a giveaway!

A Sweet Spirit?

Today I'm sharing an archived post and picture story with Wit and Wisdom.  It's still relevant.  Enjoy.

                                        A Not So Sweet Spirit . . . 



. . .
I never know what to expect when I arrive at the halfway house. In fact I was there early in the day for a luncheon board meeting. Our meeting room was being used and we waited for awhile before deciding to start the meeting in the day room. Then when the room became available we had to move in the middle of the meeting.

Not such a sweet spirit

When it was time for Bible study/ Reading Group the girls were in the middle of a movie because staff was having a meeting in our room again. 

Well when our room was ready what was I to do? Tell the girls to turn off the tv in the middle of the movie. I patiently waited and finally staff decided to tell the girls that it was time for reading group. 6 of the 12 girls decided to come to the group.

We took a little diversion from our regular text we have been reading Women of the Bible a wonderful study book that has daily readings beginning with the story of the woman written more like a novel it is followed by history and then prayer and devotion. I love the book.

We read last night a Cowboy joke book because we wanted to talk to the girls about prayer and about the new building project. My Cowboy began telling them about the project and before he could even ask them to pray one of the girls said "let's pray now." . And we did. She said Let's hold hands and we prayed. There was a sweet spirit in that place.

Those girls lifted me up and God gave me affirmation. What we are doing is making a difference. They are learning what we are teaching them. I am learning patience and I am learning to Wait on God and trust him. I am stumbling trying not to step out on my own and work at making the new building a reality but I know that if I put my faith and trust in the Lord that he will lead me where he wants me to go and I know I will find A Sweet Sweet Spirit.

The above story is a repost.  

I chose to share this special story because of the prompt from last Fridays 5 Minute Friday at Katie's blog.

The topic was "Yes".  A lot of the ladies shared their struggles with listening to God and following through 

with saying and doing "Yes" to him.  I shared here my recent 'Yes' story.    

Dear Friends I am here to tell you that when it seems like the hardest thing.  Or the most unlikely thing that God is asking you to do that it will indeed turn out to be the biggest Blessing you can imagine.  

The years that I spent in ministering to these girls were the best years of my life. (Aside from my kids.LOL)

There were times it was hard.  There were times when I felt like it wasn't worth the effort.  And then God just laughs at me (I think) and he allows A Sweet Spirit to take over and show me that it's all worth it.  

Yes. . . It is worth it.

Linking with Linda Kay at Wit and Wisdom

Linking with Five Minute Friday
Linking with Friendship Friday at Create With Joy

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday . . . 
                       
                                        This photo taken at the office of our apartment complex
Linking with
The Fabulous Fall Linky Party
Linking with Busy Monday
Wordless Wednesday
Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday @ 5 Minuted Fo Mom
Wordless Wednesday @ Create With Joy
Wordless Wednesday @ Mary's
Picture Perfect @ Amanda's Books and More
Wordless Wednesday with NC Sue
Wordless Wednesday at Heartfully Heather
Camera Critters
Saturday Camera Critters at Viewing Nature with Eileen
Sincerly Paula 'No Rules'
My Sweet Saturday

Fabulous Fall Pumpkins(I made)/Party

I made a few pumpkins today. While I waited for the party to start. 
My party linky is below.  I'm linking with some fun parties check the links below my party.  

I displayed them on my kitchen counter.  The large pumpkins are resting on a vintagy looking pedstal or cake stand I bought at Hobby Lobby.  With a wonderful gift card I got from a student for Christmas. I waited
till after Christmas to shop.  I think the final cost was about $3.00.   The pedstal is sitting on a red enamel tray I got back in the day at Container Store.  I used American Express at the time and got rewards.  I bought a lot of things from Pottery Barn and The container store.  They were actually 'free'.
This ones a little closer shot so you can see the damask (I think..the white one)pumpkin. I made the stem out of burlap.  This fabric was very thick and didn't bunch up like I wanted.  The leaves are from Dollar Tree from last year.   I have a few more to make yet.  I'll share them once I harvest.

And now I know some of you are here only for this!
Come over and link your Fall posts or your Linky Party. 
This is a Fall post.  Please see the Halloween Party button on the sidebar.  
Join the fun . . . 

Linking with DIY Show Off

Blue Monday/Barn Edition

This is a repost from 2012. 

Way before I knew very much about blogging.  All the photo's were found via google.  

Someday I will have a . . .

It might look like this . . .

     
or something like this . . .

It might be sitting in a field . . .                    
And I will probably paint a quilt.  Or hang a quilt on it.  There might be snow on some days.

And it will be filled with these . . .




And there will be this sign . . .





I want a barn.  And even if it isn't Blue I'll be happy.  But wouldn't a Blue Barn be cool.

Just ask Sally over at Smiling Sally.  She loves everything in Blue.  Click Here to join Sally at . . .

Blue Monday

All images via Google

Sunday Sketch

Just a sketch I've been working on to practise my sketching for Bible Journaling and Illustrating for
my daughters Christmas present.

Not sure how to color in the flumes.  I'm having to train my mind. It's really a process for me.
 But I'm enjoying it . . .

I am trying to practise.  I just can't seem to draw a simple flower.  I do like the flower in the corner.
Not sure I like my flower but like the idea of the flower.
I am still learning.  And, I could use some pointers on types of pens, watercolors etc. to buy.
.
Sorry this one is blurry.
This is a rough sketch in my composition book.  Just practise.  I'll probably add watercolors when I do the actual sketch with scripture.

My lettering is becoming better.  Last Sunday I wrote all the music videos that we used in church . . .


Liking how this is looking.  I'm getting better. Can't spell though. LOL.  Did you notice?
And did you notice the sad flower at the top of the page.  I really need some help with flowers.

Had to turn on the side of the page to get it all in . . .

I know it's not great.  But it's better than a month ago.  I keep telling myself practise makes perfect.

Linking with Sunday Sketch.

Happy Saturday/Yes

Spending my day sewing and a few other things.  I have JCtv on.  I heard this song and thought of a friend . . .


My it make you smile and Bless your day

Update...I'm glad I listened to the small (big) voice.  I went to my friends blog to invite her over to read my post.  She  was/is having a bad day.  I am glad I said 'Yes'

Linking with Five Minute Friday.

Historic Homes part 1

                                                 

 Today I'm sharing a little mini virtual tour of Historic Texas homes.  In years past I always loved spending weekends traveling to near by towns visiting antique shops searching for treasures for our home.
I just love walking through an antique shop in an old home
                                    

But I also loved looking at and dreaming of living in a beautiful old home.


                                                             Source
Home for sale in Austin.  This a new build designed to resemble and old farm house.  Love that picket fence!
                                      

The link didn't work on this one I found on Pinterest.  Love this little place.  I sure could live here.
                                    
My dream house of course would have a garden with a really cool fence . . .


                                              Source
Historic Home in Houston.  Even a smaller bungalow house makes my heart go pitter patter.


                                           Source
Historic Home in Terrell.  I've never been to Terrell but the article where this photo was found showed
a lot of other homes.  I think I need to talk the Cowboy into a road trip.

 Source
Home in McKinney.  I've been to and through McKinney many times.  I don't think I've ever seen this little treasure.  This photo was found on the McKinney Chamber page.


                                                                     Source
This beautiful home is in Grandbury featured in 4 Reasons Why Restoring Historical Homes is a good investment.   And so this is the reason this post is Part One.  I'm off to read this very interesting article.                             
Linking with Good Fences

                               

Fall Sewing

I've been doing some Fall sewing.  I've been wanting to make a quilt from this book  for years . . .

 Love the rabbit. He's on my list.
This is the quilt I'm working on . . .

This photo was found on Christals website ChristalCarter.com.
The quilt is a very simple pattern.  But a challenge because there are so many pieces.  The blocks are
traditional log cabins and variations of traditional blocks.

 The blocks are made using a strip piecing piecing method.  The strips are cut 1".  Each block contains 9 strips and is 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" when it is finished.

  There are 646 total blocks.  The quilt is pieced in sections.  I am about 3/4 done with piecing.

I photographed these blocks with a sweet pumpkin that one of my students parents gave me yesterday.

She gave it to my for Happy Fall.

That was so sweet.  There was a new Fall color plastic glass with a lid and straw.  A calendar.  A package of  M & M's and hand lotion.   Also in the photo are a few of the flowers I bought at Dollar Tree today.

Quess what I'm doing tomorrow afternoon when I'm not sewing?


Linking with The Fabulous Fall Party.
Linking with Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Linking with Dream Create Inspire
Linking with Wake Up Wednesday 
Linking with Hope In Every Season
Linking with Home and Garden Thursday
Linking with Favorite Things Thursday
Linking with Grand Ma Ideas
Linking with Crazy Mom Quilts
Linking with Sweet Saturday
Linking with Busy Hands Quilt Party
Linking with Can I Get A Whoop?

Fabulous Fall Linky Party

Welcome to the 4th week of The Fabulous Fall linky party. 
And Week 1 of Link the Linky.  This week I thought it would be fun to party with all the other Fabulous linky parties!  
                          

So this week feel free to link your Fabulous Fall posts and linky parties!  
                  

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom

Sharing today with Linda Kay's Wit and Wisdom . . .
Todays post is difficult for me to write.  But there is an important message.  And I really, really hope that someone that needs to hear this story will be led here.
                                    
The story starts when my sweet grandson was about 15 months.  He was a very active normal little boy.
I was blessed to be his 'day time' care giver until he was 18 months.  That's when he went to preschool.
It was bittersweet for me.  But preschool is a good thing.  (I teach preschool now)

I/we(The Cowboy and I) were always careful.  Most of the time just hanging back and allowing our
daughter and her husband to make contact.  We learned very early on that being too clingy pushed 'them' away.

We suspected very early on about the 3rd month of their marriage that our daughter was emotionally abused.  Unfortunately our suspicions were confirmed when our grandson was about 2.

They became more and more reclusive.

We prayed.

We cried.

We prayed.

We waited.  There is so much I could write.  So many worries and feelings.

It was so hard. Because I am the kind of person that I am the 'fixer'.  I wanted to jump in drag them out and
hide them away and help them start over.

But, until she was ready it wasn't an option.  For many months we prayed that God would just protect them.
And he did.

Finally our daughter managed to get away and after a very long separation they were divorced.

But our worries weren't over.  Because with divorce there is always visitation. The court ordered weekly overnight visits.  So began another 3 long years of worry, concern and heart break.

Last July our grandsons father was arrested for domestic abuse.  In a fit of rage he tried to strangle his live in girlfriend.  He had gone to her work place taking our grandson and his half sister.  Our grand son was left in the car. (In July)  The half sister was taken inside and witnessed the events.  Long story short the police were called.  He was arrested for domestic violence and was in jail for 9 months.  There were no charges pressed for child endangerment.

Just before this incident happened our grandson started limping.  The limp became really severe and he was taken to a couple of different doctors.  An MRI was ordered and it was determined that there was an injury that damaged the growth plate.

In June of this year he had to go through major surgery.  He was in a cast for 8 weeks.

It's been a long ordeal.  After many, many hours.  And many, many dollars spent our daughter managed to get full custody.  But, the court still allows supervised visitation.  There are no more over night visits.

We know that the journey isn't over.  It's a situation like you see in a movie.  Or hear about on the news.
The situation where parents 'fight' over kids.  It is truly a 'fight'.  But believe me it's not a fight at least from our end to manipulate.  It's a fight to keep him safe.  And it is on going. It's not over.  Right now we have a reprieve.  We know it's only a matter of time before we're back in court.

That's when we begin praying instead for thanksgiving, we pray for safety.

I know this isn't a normal Wit and Wisdom post.  But I write this in the hopes that someone that needs to hear this story will read it.

I pray that someone will be Blessed by these words . . .

. . . Don't give up.  Don't give in.  Pray.  God will sustain you.  God will protect.  And, it is ok to give in.
To give up.  To walk away.  To Run away.   Reach out to those that love you.  No matter what your being told there are people that love you.  Trust God for protection and healing.

. . . And, if your the parent and your child is in an abusive situation don't give up.  If he/she won't contact you don't give in.  Be there.  Be ready for when they reach out.  Don't be pushy.  That is the worst thing you can do.  It's hard but you have to 'wait' till they are ready to hear the words.

And, pray.  Pray for guidance.  Pray for wisdom.  Pray for their safety.  And realize that God is in control.

Linking with Titus Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday

Have a good day . . .             

                                             

Linking with . . .
Picture Perfect
Wordless Wednesday 
Wordless Wednesday At Create With Joy

Childrens Book Review

I couldn't help but use this analogy for the review of this book. 
                 Do witches Make Fishes? by Jason Mayo
You see the whole subject of Halloween just tends to put people on the fence. 
Personally I am sittin' right there with the best of them.  I mean those of us that are o.k.  with the dress up the kids for the Trick r Treat party part of the whole thing. 
                      
I just finished reading this fun little children's book.  It included a cute way of giving kids a lesson in eating healthy.  It is meant for ages 4-8.

I have a personal custom of doing a little research about the books that I review.  I always check to see where they can be bought.  I check to see if the author has a website or I will include the publisher's site.  Because personally I think a lot of times the author or the marketing folk's can do a better job of describing the book than I can.

I have to say I was in some ways  many ways I was pleasantly surprised about this book.  When I finished reading the book I noticed at the end that proceeds were going to charity.  So you know me I checked it out.   I was so intrigued I checked out the authors blog next.  And that is where I stopped.

 Here's what I found . . .
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2009 Hockey Heals...                            
I've been going to New York Rangers games with the same buddies for the past 13 years. This year is different. Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. One of those buddies moved away. The other one has Cancer. This year, Opening Night at Madison Square Garden was a date marked on my calendar for all the wrong reasons. Hockey has always been a distraction for us. Through the good times and the bad. This year it was hard to predict who would even be at the game with me. Year after year, we would meet at the seats. The start of each new season brought a sense of hope. That's the beauty of sports. With each new year, comes a fresh start. With one of my friends hundreds of miles away and the other one battling for his life, Hockey season hardly seemed a priority.

Then I realized that Opening Night was actually more important this year than it has ever been. I spoke to my friend who is sick, during the week leading up to the game. I told him that I'd keep the ticket available for him until the last minute. I knew he'd been feeling awful as of late and it would be tough for him to commit

"Dude. If you feel up to it, just call me that day. I'd love to see you there on Opening Night."

He said he can't make any promises but he'd try his best to make it.

"I want to be there bro. I just don't know how I'm gonna feel."

The night before the game, I thought to myself that if my buddy was gonna make it out, then I needed to let him know how important it was to me to have him there. I wanted him to know that it was more than a game.

Adam Graves is a former New York Ranger. He happens to be one of the greatest Blueshirts to ever don the sweater. Adam is still a prominent figure in the organization and is known for his selfless commitment to local philanthropies, as well as, being a stellar human being. I took a chance and sent him an email in the hope that my buddy would indeed make it to the game.

This is what I wrote:

Adam,

I've been a Rangers fan my whole life and a season subscriber for 13 years. I'll be at opening night tomorrow and for many reasons, it will be an emotional night for me. For the past 13 years, myself and two of my best friends have been going to the games together. Lot's of great times. This year one moved away with his family, so he won't be going to the games with us. Then a few months ago, the other one found out that he has Cancer. He's been pretty sick. He had to stop working and he's lost about 30 lbs. It's in his stomach, liver and lungs. We've known each other since we were 12 and reconnected after years apart in 1994 at MSG of all places during the cup run. We've been going to the games together ever since. Obviously because of his health, it's impossible for him to commit to the games this year. This leaves me with an empty seat on most nights. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my buddy and the battle he's having right now. We both have little kids and stuff like this really hits you in the heart. His health is obviously bigger than any game but The Blueshirts have always bonded us through the years. I spoke to him yesterday and he said he's going to do whatever he can to get to opening night tomorrow. I'm hoping he feels up to it. I know it's last minute but I was hoping that if he made it to the game with me, there might be some way you could arrange to have some sort of meet and greet or special experience, no matter how simple, for him before or after the game. I'm not sure how many of these he'll get to see in the coming months and something tells me that if I can, I should try and make it a special night for him. I understand if you're too busy. I know you probably get 100's of these a week. I just thought I'd give it a shot.

Respect, 

Jason

The morning of the game, I received a call on my cell phone. It was Adam Graves. He asked how my friend was feeling and if I thought he'd make it to Opening Night. I told him that as of yesterday, he planned on coming. Adam said he would send someone to our seats to get us during the game. He said that he reserved a private sky box for us to watch a period with him. Just the three of us. I was blown away by his kindness. I had goosebumps.

My buddy made it out that night and we saw our beloved Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2. We also spent about 40 minutes with one of our heroes. My buddy cried when he realized that Adam and I arranged the whole night for him. I cried too. Everyone always asks me why Hockey is so important to me. Everyone always wants to know why I get so crazy over a Rangers win or a loss.

The answer couldn't be clearer. Hockey heals. Sometimes heroes really make a difference.

This story was the authors inspiration for the book Do Witches Make Fishes?  

There were two things that impressed me about the author Jason Mayo.

• He used his idea and talent to help others
• He stepped out and is making a difference

I have know nothing else about Mr. Mayo.  I have no idea which side of the fence he is on concerning Halloween or anything else for that matter.

And frankly I don't care.  But what I do know is that the proceeds of this book are helping kids.

The proceeds for the book are donated to:

The Garden of Dreams Foundation is committed to helping children in crisis in the tri state area, whether they are suffering from devastating illness, homelessness, abuse, hunger, extreme poverty or tragedy. Garden of Dreams works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall to build meaningful, unforgettable programs for children affiliated with 18 local partner organizations.

Excerpts from Amazon reviews . . . 
This is a wonderful book for children from four to eight...perhaps even three. It's about a little boy who loves "sweets" so much that he refuses to eat the healthy vegetables and fish his mother cooks for him. Something he does causes his mother to disappear and a witch appears in her place. The witch threatens the boy with all kinds of silly things if he doesn't eat what she cooks for him. The boy is more surprised than frightened because this is not that kind of really scary witch. When he finds his voice, he demands his mother back, pulls some "boy tricks" on the witch and the problem is resolved in a very satisfactory manner. The boy has learned a lesson about minding his mother and about eating healthy, so perhaps your children will, also.

. . .
I love the illustrations by Justin Wolfson because they're colorful and placed in the appropriate places to match the text. But what I enjoy most about them is that they're extra-large, making the characters jump off the pages right into your life. My grandson Devon giggled when he saw them and his eyes just about popped out when I turned to where the boy's head fills the entire page. I giggled right along with him
. . .

So whether your on the fence about Halloween or not this is a great book recommended by many for your child.  
This book is available at Amazon.  Click Here.

Linking with The Fabulous Fall Party.
Linking with Blue Monday
Linking with Tuesdays At Home 
Linking with Show and Share
Linking with Tweek It Tuesday
Linking with Inspire Me Tuesday
Linking with Brag About It Tuesday

Linking with Party in Your PJs
Linking with  What's It Wednesday
Linking with  Grand Ma Ideas

Fall Fun

We enjoyed some times last Fall.  But I didn't get to share pics because my computer was on the fritz.
Here's a few photo's never before seen . . .

I loved this house made out of straw.  I had never seen one!

My sweet boy was in a bit of a mood that day.  It was really, really hot and there were a bijillon people
at the Pumpkin Patch . . .

I did share this one Saturday . . .

It was also my first time in a corn maze.  I was actually a little nervous.  Silly me.  He kept saying
'I think this is the right way GiGi.'


Can you tell this is one of those I'm not in the mood photos.   Silly boy.

We had a fun day.  The pumpkin patch was at a local farm.  Half of the acreage is planted in corn for the maze.  The other half is a vegtable garden.  When the veggies are done the area becomes the pumpkin patch. Its a great place for a fun Fall outing!

And one more from a few years ago . . .

He does smile!  This is a different pumpkin patch at a local goat farm and dairy.  They have a produce
stand.

 I love playing with Pic Monkey and sharing over at  Mosaic Monday.

Here's my attempt at a Mosaic today . . .



Linking today with
Blue Monday
Mosaic Monday
Strange Visitors In The Garden
Fabulous Fall Linky Party
Picture Perfect
Finding Silver Pennies Linky Party
Sundays at Home