December | 2010 | Abiding in the True Vine

Archive for December, 2010

Fast Away the Old Year Passes

December 31, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized

Hail the new, ye lads and lasses,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Sing we joyous, all together,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Heedless of the wind and weather,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

I keep singing this song today. I think it is because I am glad to be seeing this year pass. As calendar years go, I have never experienced a year more filled with deep disappointment and nearly unendurable anxiety. I could elaborate, but, instead, I think I’ll recall some of the very good things about this year.

First, Clara and Levi started the year off right by getting married! And that meant that I got to see my brother and sister and their families, again (among hosts of other much-loved friends and relatives, of course!).

And this year, we opened a bakery.

opened

a bakery. Amazing.

Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th anniversary. That meant that I got to see my brother and sister and their families, again (among hosts of other much-loved friends and relatives, of course!).

And, indescribably, miraculously, beautifully, Harriet Alice was born.

I got to spend time with precious long-distance friends (and local friends…I just don’t take a lot of photos of them obviously!).

I even got to take a couple of trips with the kids, thanks to Jacob.

And I got to go to Silver Bella!

We were welcomed into a new church family (this photo was taken at church after we played music one morning, another blessing) which has provided healing.

The most treasured highlight of this year is how much time I’ve been allowed to spend with my whole family. We’ve supported each other on a daily basis, where the rubber meets the road. We’ve celebrated weddings and anniversaries, Thanksgiving…

and Christmas.

I am blessed beyond measure to have spent so much time with this family.

And I’ve had another year of getting to love and work with Joey. Whew. What a year it has been. I’m so glad to be married to someone with inscrutably strong faith and hope, an unbelievable work ethic, genuine integrity…and a cute smile under that goatee.

Yes, amidst the challenges, there were many, many good things this year! I’m looking forward to 2011. Hail the new ye lads and lasses!

Comments (18) »

Harriet’s First Christmas

December 30, 2010 · Filed under Gifts, Holiday

For Harriet’s first Christmas, I crocheted her a mini-afghan to cover her car seat.

Now, when I started this afghan, I didn’t intend for it to end up as a mini-afghan for covering a car seat. I started it as a wedding present for Amelia and Stephen. I had this grand idea that I would make this afghan out of all of the old scraps of pink yarn that Amelia had used in her own crochet projects over the years. Because, OF COURSE, their room would be pink since Amelia’s room is always pink. But, when they filled out their wedding registry at Target, their room became blue and brown. Yikes! So, I set aside my project. Until…Harriet arrived! Aren’t these pink flowers cute?

I also made Harriet a Baby’s First Christmas ornament from my friend, Lynn’s, kit.

Is that not a.dorable?

The kit includes a “bare bootie” and a bunch of embellishments. And this kit was perfect because the bootie was made of music and the embellishments included tatted and crocheted pieces…all things Amelia likes! I love the little sparkly piece I put on the button that reflects the lights of the Christmas tree and the sweet little wreath.

And I personalized the bottom of the bootie.

I’m seriously going to make these for every one of my grandchildren. I LOVED putting it all together! Especially for this little sweetie!

She’s wearing pjs I bought for her last January! And in the next photo, she’s wearing the sweet dress Amelia sewed for her….

Merry First Christmas, dear, dear Harriet!

Comments (9) »

Wrapping Up the Christmas Crafting

December 29, 2010 · Filed under Gifts, Holiday, Silver Bella

The week before Christmas was so splendid! I got out my crochet hooks and dug into the yarn stash and went to town. I have been so intent lately on expanding my crafting skills (like, at Silver Bella), that I have been neglecting one of my first loves: crocheting. Oh, how I LOVE to crochet. So…I made a bunch of twirly scarves for some of the gals in my life….

And some hats for some guys.

It was tons of fun! And on the non-crochet front, I utilized some of Clara’s Silver Bella skills and decorated a frame for Mom and Dad and my siblings and Joey’s family. Also, tons of fun!

Comments (2) »

Inspired Christmas Crafting and MOPS

December 21, 2010 · Filed under Gifts, Holiday, Inspiration

Between participating in the homeschoolers’ Christmas program at the nursing home and hosting the MOPS Christmas Brunch and enjoying the Bunco Christmas party and taking Peter to Omaha for some testing and accompanying Tim to a Christmas Bird Count and celebrating Christmas with Mom and Dad and playing music for the Christmas program at church, last week fairly flew by. There was some crafting involved, though. One big, fun crafting project involved making 32 yo-yo Christmas trees for the MOPS brunch, inspired by Amy Powers and her fabulous e-book!

Thanks to Amelia’s cutting out 320 varying-sized circles of scrap fabric and Amelia’s, Kylie’s, Clara’s and my yo-yo-sewing, we had a veritable forest of adorable trees

We used them for table decorations.

And then each MOPS mom and MOPPETS worker got to take one home as a favor.

Thanks to Amelia, the decorations at the MOPS Christmas Brunch were fun and festive…and I got to craft a little!

Comments (1) »

Life and Crafting

December 7, 2010 · Filed under Whole Life Crafting

Between Peter’s emergency appendectomy and his mental health and behavioral challenges plus trying to “grow” a new business, with all of the uncertainty that comes with that, life has just been entirely overwhelming lately. I know that I need to craft, but I just can’t seem to force myself to do one more thing. It’s like I know that I would benefit from doing something I want to do instead of something I need to do (like whacking away at the laundry mountain or fixing lunch and supper when I haven’t been to the grocery store or taking kids to yet one more appointment), but in the context of all that I HAVE to do, forcing time to do what I WANT to do (what I NEED to do) just seems like one more chore.

Does that make sense? It’s a vicious cycle that I hope I can somehow de-rail soon. But for now….

Comments (1) »

Amelia’s Bracelet

December 4, 2010 · Filed under Gifts

While I had my beads and tools out making Eleanor’s bracelet, I made one for Amelia to thank her for everything she did helping Eleanor and Margaret with their sewing.

It was really fun practicing the techniques I learned in Kaari Meng’s classes. And I was glad to incorporate some Bead for Life beads into the color mix. What fun!

Comments (1) »

Eleanor’s Swap

December 3, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized

Inspired by my participation in some swaps, Eleanor decided that she and I needed to have a one-on-one jewelry swap. She even made up a survey to complete. Consequently, I made her a charm bracelet.

Would you guess that she likes monkeys and the color blue?

What would you guess about me by looking at the necklace I received from her?

Charlotte-the-Crafter

December 2, 2010 · Filed under Holiday

Dear, darling Charlotte loves to craft. So we were REALLY excited about the projects in Amy Powers’ Inspired Ideas. Charlotte has just jumped right in on making a chain from pipe cleaners.