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August 27, 2003 4:49:33 PM
We've been dealing with some distressing issues this week. Lack of sleep also makes life that much more difficult to deal with. I'm slipping a little with my diet, and I'm trying to maintain my sanity. We are called to forgive our neighbor seven times seventy, or whatever that number is, and yet I'm struggling with my tendency to hold grudges. I need to pray that God will give me the strength to let it go.
The girls are all excited about starting school next week. Last weekend I bought some fabric and cut out a bunch of outfits for Leila. She is so skinny that I was able to get a vest and a skirt from 1 yard of fabric! I am making these cute little jumpers, and skirts and pants. We also picked some adorable embroidered patches to sew on to embellish the little garments with. I really try to make cute, stylish clothes for the girls because I can remember when I was a kid, my mom sewed for all of my sisters and brother and me. She'd find a piece of fabric on sale and buy it regardless of whether we liked it or not. She made us clothes that were well made and sturdy, but not always attractive and never in style. I can remember that the kids used to make fun of us in our home-made outfits. I never appreciated the time and effort she put in to make our clothes herself.
Try this. It's a great little exercise to jump-start the creative writing juices
August 22, 2003 12:48:06 PM
One of the wonderful perks of working for an elected official is that we sometimes get to leave the office and go out into the ward and meet the people that we represent. Today, my chief of staff and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of our constituents who is an artist. She makes absolutely beautiful hand painted and decoupage floor cloths and handknit scarves. Her scarves are made with hand-dyes wool and knit on large needles. She uses beautiful colors and the scarves are just dreamy. We had a lovely visit to her home and I felt like I got a huge dose of inspiration from such a creative woman who is has such a positive spirit despite the many challenges that she and her family have had to face.
August 20, 2003 10:40:26 AM
Some mornings I get the rare treat of hearing amazing, live classical music as I trudge up the escalator in the Metro on my way to work. The musicians stand in the station and play their music and people throw them tips. This morning, a man was playing a guitar and singing a slow, bluesy rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” It was beautiful, worshipful music that made me smile and whisper a short prayer of thanks for that unexpected opportunity to bring adoration for God into the more dull routines of the day and make them feel that much more sacred.
August 19, 2003 11:15:22 AM
We’re back from our little mini-vacation. We drove down to Rocky Mount, North Carolina for a family reunion.
The reunion was actually in a quaint little town called Whitaker, which was a
few miles down the road from Rocky Mount. We drove down in a convoy of five
vehicles containing most of Daryll’s relatives on his mother’s side who live
here in the D.C. area.
On Friday night there was a Fish Fry, which was lots
of fun and the food was excellent. I learned that down here hush puppies are
served with almost every meal. Atkins was quickly thrown out the window. I
discovered that down in North Carolina it’s all about the pork barbeque. I do
not eat any red meat or chicken, so I was out of luck for the most part. I
ended up eating just the hush puppies and cole slaw. There was not a salad in
sight.
The reunion was Saturday afternoon at an elementary
school. It was raining outside, yet still steamy hot. They had a series of
ceiling fans that kept the air circulating and two big fans in the front of the
room helped to keep the place from getting too hot, but after about two hours,
a circuit blew and we had our own private black-out. They could not figure out
how to get the electricity back on, so we just had to sweat it out. We made the
best of things and had a good time anyway.
The next day we all worshiped together at the Red
Hills Baptist Church on Sunday morning. The cemetery where Daryll’s
grandparents are buried is across the road from the church, and we went over to
visit their graves. Daryll’s mother told us about her parents and her brother
who was killed in the war at age 18. Two of her cousins walked over and shared
stories of their parents and their days growing up. It was another reminder of
just how short our time here on earth is. We live for just a little while and
then we are gone. The legacy that we leave is in the hearts and minds of those
who we love.
I found North Carolina to be a lovely place.
Everyone went out of his or her way to be friendly and helpful. The weather was
extremely hot and humid, and we did enjoy swimming in the hotel pool. Jordan
especially enjoyed being in the pool and did not want to come out. I got in
some time in the exercise room early on Saturday morning and then I enjoyed a
brisk walk around the hotel property and watched the sun coming up.
We also visited Mrs. Gould’s old family home, which
is all boarded up now. We walked around the property and she pointed out where
everything used to be. The pigs were still out in the yard, and she called to
them and they came running. We all had a great time, and we’re looking forward
to next year.
August 14, 2003 12:32:47 PM
My blog will be on hiatus for the next few days. We'll be travelling to North Carolina for a family reunion. Tonight I'll be doing laundry and packing and trying not to lose my mind. Pray for me. We'll be back next week.
August 13, 2003 11:09:25 AM
I love it when I over-hear someone sharing
their faith. It is not always something that is easy to do, but it is every
Christian’s duty to tell others about the hope they have in Jesus Christ. One
morning while riding on the Metro, I shamelessly strained my ears to eaves-drop
as a confident, intelligent-sounding woman shared her faith with another
passenger. How encouraging in this
corrupt city to witness my fellow sister glorifying God by sharing her
testimony with a stranger.
I hate it when people are rude and crowd me
or cut in line. The other morning on the Metro, a man who was obviously running
a tad bit late, attempted to cut right in front of me as I was stepping on the
escalator but I was reaching my hand forward to grab hold of the rail, so he
was unable to scoot in front of me. Well, the harried little man came up and
purposefully stepped right in front of me as I was getting ready to put my
ticket in the turn-style to exit. He let out a satisfied little grunt and
marched quickly away in a huff. Poor fellow! I hope that whatever he was
rushing towards was worth his having to be nasty and rude to his fellow
passengers.
Ok, so I’m in full rant mode here, but I’m operating
on just a few hours of sleep because Jordan keeps waking up in the night and
wants to play. Anyway, another huge pet peeve is when I’m standing at the food
bar or salad bar and people reach in beside me or get right up under me while I
am putting food on my plate. I just think it’s so incredibly rude. I need to
not allow it to bug me so much, but I really wish that people would slow down
and think about how their actions and thoughtlessness has an impact on those
around them.
August 11, 2003 4:37:09 PM
I found a wonderful community art project that I am going to participate in called the Beaded Prayer Project. I have set up a page on my craft site if you want to exchange beaded prayer amulets with me and also contribute one to the traveling exhibit.
Brianna came to work with me today and we got our eyebrows waxed and she got her nails done. She has long, strong beautiful nails, so she got a French manicure. Both of us now have stinging eyebrows, but we're lookin' pretty good.;-)
August 11, 2003 11:11:47 AM
I am so thankful to have my husband back at home with me. He went to Atlanta on Thursday morning on a business trip and was supposed to return on Saturday afternoon, but his flight was over-booked, so he had to stay over another day and fly home on Sunday. Jordan really missed her daddy, and all Sunday afternoon she would not let him out of her sight without her letting out screams and wails of protest. Leila was happy to see daddy, too. When we got home from the airport, Daryll laid on the floor in the living room and let both girls climb on him and give him kisses and hugs. He was happy to be home.
I was a busy mommy while Daryll was out of town. On Friday night I completed my first zine ever. I subscribe to a zine-swapping email list on yahoo, and this month's activity was a 24 hour zine. We set a date and everyone will from sundown on Friday 'til Sundown on Saturday create a zine of any size, style or topic. The rule is that it must be made from start to finish in that 24 hour period. Since I am going to be in North Carolina next weekend when the rest of the group does their zines, I did mine all by myself this weekend. It was actually kind of exhilirating because, thankfully, my muse was with me and I was on a creative roll. I actually hed to stop myself from going on and on. The zine is decorated with my own hand-carved stamp designs. I am pleased and proud of how it came out. I can't wait 'til next week when I can see the results of the rest of the group's work.
Last night we took the girls to the Rain Forest Cafe at Tyson's Corner Mall. It is a theme restaurant where the ceiling is dripping with vines and flowers and they have huge fishtanks with brightly-colored tropical fish and along the walls there are animatronic guerillas and apes with sound effects. Periodically, there is the sound of booming thunder and lightning as well. The kids got a huge kick out of it. We could barely keep Leila in her seat during dinner. The food was nothing to write home about, but we had a lovely time.
August 6, 2003 10:54:23 PM
I got some new batteries for the digi cam, so here's some pictures.
Jordan is walking!
Awww, sad baby.
The back of Leila's back-to-school sweater is done.
I'm almost finished with Jordan's Christening blanket. This was supposed to be done before she was born. I worked on this throughout my pregnancy, and I am very please with how it came out. This will definitely be an heirloom.
August 6, 2003 4:09:06 PM
A good friend sent this little bit of encouragement to me in my email this morning. It blessed me, so I'm posting it here to share.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.
August 4, 2003 9:11:34 PM
Happy Birthday Brianna!
On Sunday, my first-born child turned 14 years old. All day I walked around feeling moody. I was, of course, happy for her, but I could not help thinking back to the girl I was when she was born and how much becoming a mother has changed who I am as a person. There is no room in my heart and mind for regret, and I have long forgiven her father for leaving us when I was still pregnant with her. Still, I wonder how my life would have turned out had I gone on that study-abroad trip to Avignon, France, and then gone on to Law School as I had been planning. If my 36 years has taught me anything it's that God always has a plan. My life is what He wants it to be and I will just be satisfied with that.
Brianna had a lovely birthday. We had dinner and cake and ice cream at Daryll's mother's house. After dessert, we watched Antoine Fisher. Daryll had Reserve duty this weekend, so we did not go to the Rainforest Cafe ans she had wanted to. We'll do that next weekend.
I am pleased and proud of how well Brianna has turned out. I honestly feel that she is the young woman she is in spite of me rather than because of anything I have done. She is trul a blessing in my life and I thank God for her. I pray that as she begins high school in September she would not trun from waht she was taught as a child. I pray that she would be a leader and not a follower and that she would set a positive example for her peers to follow.
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