Your Daily Dose of Cuteness...

My little boy is 3 months old today!!!

Isn't he the cutest thing *ever*? :)

She's Making a List...

I know it is not even November yet, but now is the time of year I begin to think about making presents for people. Mama, Grace, Anna, Daniel, Benjamin, two aunts, and several good friends have their birthdays before Christmas, and then there are Christmas presents to get too. Needless to say, I could start much earlier and not be amiss! Naturally, I haven't the funds to buy presents for everybody, and I detest cheaply made things. Homemade can be amazing, or ridiculous. I vote for the amazing side of things. It's pretty easily done, actually! Some of the ideas I've had (and executed) are:

• A Christmas-themed novelette: "A Tale of Fairfax and Cloves"
• Aprons

not mine. :)

• Flower bobby-pins

Looks easy enough but no, I didn't make these. :)

• water-color painting

This belongs to an unfinished children's book about a toad named Mr. Otis Puddleby. :)

• homemade cordial cherries and cookie-dough truffles
• a bird-cage made out of Popsicle-sticks with a tiny fake bird for a younger sister--she *adored* it!
• hand-made dolls
• crocheted hats or scarves. Please, nothing lumpy. The idea is fashion. ;) 
• straw-hat work-basket. (instructions from the 1800's! :)
• Elaborately decorated and decoupaged book of quotes
• tea-stained stationary

My hand-decorated Pride and Prejudice stationary: "It is a truth universally acknowledged..."

• Egg-dolls

This is Miss Eglantine Benedict. She was recently shipped off to Washington a girl who won her. :)

•  Decoupaged paste-board boxes

I made this for a recent contest on my writing blog

There are so many many things you can make to give as gifts that cost little or no money. Handmade doesn't have to mean a sorry excuse for a present. Some of the best gifts I've been given were made with bits and pieces from around the giver's house. Don't be afraid to go wild. You'll come up with something, I know. But if you have the funds to buy gifts, I am not belittling you. It would be a whole lot easier to be able to buy something you really know the person will love. It just seems my budget entitles me to the Dollar Tree or my own resources...I prefer my own hands to those of some factory-workers in China. ;)

Fireside Dreams: Across the Way

I will be posting my Fireside Dreams each Monday, that being rather a slow day for our family and I will have had time on the weekends [perhaps] to make up my painting or sketch. Today I betook myself out to the front porch to capture the scenery Across the Way. That is how I always think of it. At one point I was assigned (as a school project) to name places on our land...the Maidenhair Mirror is one of the only names that stuck out of the several places we named. I don't think I ever did choose a name for the field Across the Way...one field around our house I lovingly call "Nettesheim Moor", but that's another story.
How often I have sat on the porch or peeped out of one of the dozen windows on the front of the house admiring the view! Last year the colors were so vibrant I still cry "Shame!" that I didn't paint them.
I delight to watch the seasons changing in that little band of brave trees. Many's the time I've watched the trees pencilled black against a fiery sunset, or the merry greening of the woods in May when it all looks like a Kentish orchard and the wheat is just growing tall enough to play with the wandering breezes. At the time of this painting the sun was a good deal Westward already and shone with a fierce intensity upon the band of trees across the way, showing them all black and purple and other broody colors, while it paled the field and everything else in a reckless sheen of hazy light. A queer sort of day to paint on, but now was my chance, and I'm rather pleased at how it turned out. :)

 In the top left-hand corner you will see my "Bear-tree". It is a tree that looks precisely like a lumbering bear rising out of the trees to look around and view the countryside or keep an eye out for a shooting star. :) At the bottom right-hand corner you can see a patch of the volunteer sunflowers, randomly planted by the flock of wild canaries. [or goldfinches, as we generally call them] And last but not least you can see our mailbox at the end of our driveway where I await the delights of the P.O., wondering if an adventure will come today in the form of a letter.
I hope you enjoyed this peep into my life! And feel free to begin a series of Fireside Dreams yourself! :)

A Dose of Elisabeth Elliot

  ‎"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." -C.S. Lewis

Do you ever feel this way? I know I do. Too often, in fact. :D I think Jesus understands our human dilemma...not having minds big enough to realize His vastness. But sometimes our fear, perhaps, of the unknown [unknown to us] can cause us some consternation. Especially when we are seeking Him over a particular issue, trying to understand His will and hear His voice. In moments like this, after we've turned to Scripture and are continuing in prayer, it helps to consult some brothers and sisters in Christ who have walked this road before us. Some of my favorite ways are rummaging through quotes from these Greats in the faith. Elisabeth Elliot....you are a blessing to me and so many other young ladies striving to live in the Lord's will for our lives. Here are some amazing quotes from this great woman of faith on discerning God's will:

“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.”
     ~Elisabeth Elliot

"The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It may seem to be much worse, but in the end it's going to be a lot better and a lot bigger." ~Elisabeth Elliot

“I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one’s thoughts. Its easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence – easier sometimes than to wait patiently.”  ~Elisabeth Elliot

“It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place.” ~Elisabeth Elliot

“Leave it all in the Hands that were wounded for you”~Elisabeth Elliot

Heaven-Kissed

Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?

There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.

The clouds are at play in the azure space
And their shadows at play on the bright-green vale,
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the easy gale.

There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.

And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,

On the leaping waters and gay young isles;

Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away.

                             ~ "The Gladness of Nature" by William Cullen Bryant

Sometimes I see beauty so massive, so breathtaking, so pure that my heart almost breaks. It often comes in the overwhelming glory of an evening sky. Our land might be flat as a pancake, but our porch faces squarely West and the skies are more than enough to make up for our single dimensions in the land. This is a picture of only one of the skies God gives me daily. I'm a single girl with a romantic heart--I take these as tender words and love-gifts from the Lover of my soul. With such a gift before me, how can I long for anything mortal? Look for these kisses from Heaven, and your soul will be filled to over-flowing with the goodness of our Lord.

"The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no language where their voice is not heard."

                         ~From Psalm 19

Fireside Dreams: A Memory-Catching Blog Event

I happened to catch my sister in a moment where I thought, "Jiminy! This would make a smashing painting!" and I then and there promised myself I'd do a little watercolor of her later on. I began thinking how many of these quaint moments I let slide through my fingers, and what a treasure they'd be if I could capture them in a quick painting or sketch. It wouldn't take that long, and oh, how precious they would be later on in life! So I'm pledging here and now to do a sketch or painting each week of a family member, a memorable occasion, a familiar view from a window, or anything else that catches my fancy, and share it with you along with the story behind it. It'll be a weekly blog event, so mark it on your...whatever you mark these things on! :D In fact, I challenge you, if you have even the smallest amount of skill with a pencil, pen, or paintbrush, to catch these moments. I'm doing it part as a reminder of myself to remember these moments, and also as a heritage project--each sketch or painting will be put away in my hope-chest for later amusement.
I'm calling it Fireside Dreams--a Memory-Catching Blog Event. :) The name comes from the captivating moments by a fire when the cares of present and future fade away and we are left pondering the past. Memories are so golden and beautiful in those moments--any pain or embarrassment are dropped away like a sheer curtain, leaving only the polished beauty of old times. This blog event is designed to help us capture those Fireside Dreams in the present, that we may never forget them. Ready? If you want to join, just leave a comment with a link to your post below, and even if you don't have skill in this area, please spread the news around! :)
Now for Fireside Dreams Week One: "Oh, Fudge!"

My youngest sister, Gracie, is absolutely incorrigible. She's got so much personality I constantly expect to her explode. The other day I was making fudge and Gracie ran in, hair flying, cheeks dimpling. I had to pay homage to her adorableness in some way, so I handed her the fudge spoon. A moment later I peeped into the study and saw Grace standing on a strange contraption of chairs and pillows, her mouth, nose, and hands covered in fudge, with Supreme Happiness written on each cheek. :)
When asked what on earth she was doing, she shrugged and replied [in between two huge licks of the spoon] "Doing my Gyn-nastics!" I suppose she had been inspired by Curious George that morning and decided to make some sort of gymnastics set-up. Silly girl! So I painted her, much to her satisfaction, this morning. In the picture also is her Dolly, [a very real person in her mind] her crazy purple-fuzzy-hat, and several other tokens of her eclectic dress-up style. :)

There you have this week's edition! :)

A Short Story for you

The week up at Daughters of Destiny was absolutely amazing. I made several new friendships that I hope to keep up, was edified, encouraged, inspired, and generally felt as if I left half my heart on the peak of Pinnacle Mountain. :) I'll write more about the week later, but here's something I scribbled one morning [very early] before staff-meeting:

"Nazarene Noon"

 By Rachel Heffington

Mary took the earthen jug into her work-worn hands and turned it over. She felt the familiar warmth of the sun-soaked clay, the same ridges on the rim that had always been there. She smiled--an expression laced with tears--and marveled that the jug could remain unchanged after...Mary put her hand to her belly as a movement, gentle and soft as the spring's first butterfly, reminded her of all that had changed. 
She sighed and ducked through the low door-frame into the hot Israeli afternoon. The cistern in the garden, crowded over with a riot of almond-blossoms from Papa's tree, was where it had all begun. Mary approached the well with hushed footsteps, half-fearing, and almost expecting the angel to be there. She had never been more frightened in all her fifteen years, she recalled. First the blinding, flaming light, then the deep voice speaking in tones far richer than any Abba could coax out of his lyre. Mary had thrown herself to the ground at the first sound of the awesome voice. He told her not to fear, and all at once a deep peace, more encompassing and filling than any she'd ever known flowed through ever fiber in her being.
Then the angel, Gabriel, told her things so wondrous they could not be true, or so it seemed. Mary smiled as she felt the fluttering again. They could not be true, but they were true. She knew that more wholly than ever after the angel had spoken.
It was strange, of course, and Mary felt she must ask the question that crowded her tongue before it asked itself. "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
The angel's countenance brightened with laughter till it shone, no longer like a flame, but with the joyful light of the year's first snow. Then the angel told her the strangest thing yet: the Holy Spirit would come upon her and overshadow her and, well....this.
Mary glanced up at the sun and rubbed her belly. "How are you, my King?" she whispered, then giggle as a tiny kick replied.
She filled her earthen jug with haste, spilling a little on the dusty ground, and returned to the house. She must leave early tomorrow morning to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, of whom the angel had also spoken.
Her cousin, pregnant? Elizabeth--with her wealth of iron-grey hair and deep smile lines, her calloused hands and bent back--to have a son? But if she herself, a virgin yet, was with child, who was she to question it? After all, stranger things had--Mary broke off there. She wasn't sure anything stranger had happened. She would stay with Elizabeth till her cousin's time came--three months at least. She would miss Abba and their quiet home, and Joseph. Oh, how she would miss Joseph! He of the warm brown eyes and gentle smile, the big strong hands that could do such delicate carpentry. Joseph of the courageous heart and just nature, who treated her with love and tenderness! How the news of her pregnancy would hurt him!
Mary bowed her head, the folds of her mantle falling forward and her thick, dark hair almost covering her face. She clasped her hands across her heart and rocked.
"Oh Lord," she sobbed, "Let it be unto me as Thou hast said! If I am never to be Joseph's wife I will not cry against Thee! But oh, do not let me despise me for what has come upon me!" Mary lifted her head and dried her years. Abba would be home soon and she knew he would be hungry.
She mixed flour and olive oil in a bowl, and stirred a pot of stew simmering on the fire. Should she tell Abba tonight? No, she would keep this news from her family a short while longer. She must tell Joseph in just the right way. By the time she returned from Elizabeth's house her condition would be too plain to be concealed.
What a day for the Galilean gossips! But God would not forsake her--she knew that. And despite the bewilderment and anxiety, the deep peace flowed again, and Mary smiled, knowing she was indeed blessed among all women.