16 April, 2009

More Supplies

Finally.
I have purchased the final supplies for "The Quilt." I have thought about calling it "The Quilt of Obsession" because it almost killed me making the top. But then again maybe "The Quilt of Highs and Lows" would be more fitting because it has been an on-again-off-again relationship. I picked out the materials...waited 2 months, built the top....waited one month, and am finally about to put it all together! Yay!
I picked a luscious green color for the back of the quilt and am so excited to finish it and post a picture!
Until that moment, here are happy quilt thoughts.
pink
:t.e:x.t:u.r:e.
cameos
beatrix potter animals
silky edges
shades of green
8x8 squares
p-i-n-k-- s-t-i-t-c-h-i-n-g

08 April, 2009

kidoes

I have started my new job- finally. I'm working with Seeking Sitters, a babysitting/nanny-ing type agency.
I have been around a lot of kids but I have already discovered something very new that I have never really dealt with before...
All the kids I have watched have huge problems with losing- I don't ever remember having an issue with this as a kid. I mean these kids are intense, they will lie, cheat, wine, cry, quit, or hit before they will lose Shoots and Ladders! So weird. I found myself trying to lose the games just so there wouldn't be a fuss. How do you teach a 4 and 5 year old how to be a good loser? How do you explain that its just a game, or that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. When do you make them keep playing because quitting isn't right, or when do you just give it up- its just a game and they asked to play it in the first place.
This whole thing seems so odd to me. I have know people who are bad losers before, maybe this is how it starts!

Well in the mean time I am getting excited for Easter- its my favorite holiday! I love the joy of the day, the church decorated with white lilies and the times with family over food. I would love to know your food plans for this amazing day, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. I am still debating between 500 different dessert options!

02 April, 2009

I have been overwhelmed with the ordinary, so overwhelmed that I haven't been looking for its beauty. I feel sad that I have wasted those precious beautiful things I could have seen, but am comforted by the fact that the ordinary never ceases, there will always be more beauty to find.
So much has happened since I last wrote. I moved back to Tulsa, I wish I could say I faced this adventure more bravely, but that wouldn't be honest. It was a hard day, saying goodbye to my family, but good to know that I was doing the right thing and that God was with me. That sounds silly and so cliche, but really when you know that what you are doing in line with His will, it makes those steps not so hard to take.
Some beautiful things I have seen in being back:
Snow covered flowers
Children pulling weeds from flower beds and laughing all the while
Endless lines of products in clean grocery stores
Tight hugs of old friends
Floors with Carpet
Chilly winds, blowing hair about

17 March, 2009

today its....early spring, late fall, mid summer....

I don't know why, but as long as I can remember I have "classified" the days. I would walk outside and say to myself what sort of a day it was (especially if it was a day that was not in the correct season.) Well in Guatemala they don't really have seasons (just wet and dry), so any time it feels distinctly anything- its out of season. Today it feels like a perfect spring day. When I woke up a bit of cold air was nipping at my toes, but I could feel the warmth of the sun in my chest, it was begging to break out of the clouds. Not being able to see the clock, I crawled out of be, trying not to wake Laura. It was earlier than usual, the parents and the kids weren't off to school yet, so I could hear bustling. Ben was sleeping on the futon and I was a bit chilly, so what did I do? I crawled up into my parents bed! This is a delight I haven't enjoyed for a long time, it felt so right. The warm sunlight streaming in from their huge window, me curled up, and various family members coming in and out. Lydie cuddled with me a bit, Mom rubbed my back, and Davie gave me a kiss.
It was a pretty perfect morning.

09 March, 2009

lack of posts

It has been a while since i posted. i have 2, not 1, but 2, excuses! First the camera stopped working. Yes indeed, I do not know why but it has a mystery problem. I don't much like to post without pictures, becasue I am not a great writer and pictures add the visual element my writing needs (since hand motions are out of the question.) Second the night that Mom and Laura came home ( a bit over a week now) I got sick. Good timing really, if it had been a week earlier their would have been slight chaos. Not only did I start to get sick, but Mom and Laura brought so many good things back with them, I tried to deny the sickness. I threw myself into furiously cutting, piecing and sewing my quilt I had long been awaiting. I was staying up all hours, getting up early, and ignoring everything else but my quilt. By Thursday I was completely dead. I was extremely sick and couldn't do anything. I was so close to finishing but couldn't. I smooshed the quilt to the side and gave into rest. Friday I realized that in my frantic quilting, and horrid sickness I had completely shirked all homework and schooling for the week! So Friday, Saturday and Sunday I spent trying to rest and play catch-up on homework. (You can see by the extreme laziness of the past week how completely horrible it would have been if I had gotten sick when I was in charge of the kids.)
I am finally feeling better, though a pervasive runny nose still plagues me, and I think.......drum roll.....ready to finish piecing my quilt! I have already been looking into designs, colors, and textures for my next (two) quilts so I am feeling anxious to complete this one. I will post pictures as soon as I can!