I Need Help

Update: Someone in my homeschool group is going to be making the quilt. Thanks to all who responded here and to my email!

When we were adopting Betsie, I collected quilt squares from family, friends, and many in the adoption community. Now I have a bunch of quilt squares and no quilt. (By the way, this tradition is called a 100 good wishes quilt...it kept me busy while we waited on the referral...I felt like I was DOING something!)



I am hoping to get Betsie out of the crib and into a big girl bed in the next...I don't know...4 years? (Ha ha!) Actually, it'll be as soon as we buy furniture for the big girls and give her their hand me downs. I would love to put this not yet made quilt on her "new" big girl bed! But I can't find anyone to make it for me! And believe me, I cannot do it myself. I got a sewing machine for Christmas about 5 years ago and I tried to thread it. Mom helped me with that. Then I tried to play around with it by putting some fabric in and just getting used to the feel of it. That fabric is still stuck in the machine, which is in the box in the hall closet. Ain't gonna happen. It's a great machine by Singer and like new. Make me an offer.


Anyway, if you or someone you know can make a quilt (I am willing to pay you of course), please let me know. I will ship fabric if you are not local. I have all the quilt squares plus fabric for the back of the quilt and borders. I am not picky about the design of the quilt and I am not a perfectionist. It can be crooked as all get out if you can just make the thing!


By the way, here are some pictures of the fabrics I have...





This "china doll" fabric is for the back of the quilt. I have a ton of it. I hope there will be enough for a few pillow shams too.

This is some pink ladybug fabric and yellow butterfly fabric I bought for the borders around the outside of the front of the quilt or for between the squares. I don't have a particular design in mind so whoever makes it can use this where it's needed.

These are a few of the quilt squares I received. I have over 100 squares. They are pretty much all colors and designs so it will be a real patchwork. So let me know if you are interested!!!

Tea Girls

This is just a picture of my big girls serving tea at the Food For Life ministry the other night. For now, Jason takes them. When Betsie gets a bit older, I hope she and I can join them.

You can read more about the ministry at the Homeless on Tuesday blog.

What's Your Travel IQ?

Sorry...haven't had time to blog this week. I've used my computer time to play this game. And by the way, I can find the continent of Africa but only a few countries there...otherwise I do okay. How 'bout you?

We Got Snow!!!

Hooray! My girls were so excited this morning when they got up! It's our first snow of the year. Actually, some years we get no snow and it rarely snows more than a couple of times at the most. It seems our "winter weather" is usually a nasty ice storm. So when we see the white stuff, it's BIG NEWS!!! Betsie loves it but she gets SO COLD! Rachel and Mary Evelyn have been in and out all day, but they are having so much fun. They managed to make a pretty impressive snow lady, but we don't have a decent hill for sledding...of course we don't have a sled either. But they are enjoying themselves and we have lots of blessings for our blessing jar today.

Snow in Changsha

This is a picture from Changsha earlier today. It has been snowing in Hunan, China, which is apparantly very unusual. It was HOT when we were there. Betsie was found near this same river (in Zhuzhou, not Changsha) on a sandpile. I have always been grateful that Betsie was found before she was too dehydrated in that August heat. I have heard that there are not as many abandoned babies in China as there once were, but I have no idea what to believe. Still, I am praying today for any little helpless babies that NEED to be found and taken to warm places today.

Uh Oh...A Political Post

I don't like conflict. That's probably why I usually avoid watching political debates. However, this year I have struggled with making a decision and our state's primaries are coming up SOON! So I watched the debates this year. I have also watched several interviews with the candidates on You Tube, plus read a bunch of articles about their views and voting records. I felt it was necessary since I was undecided. I noticed that the candidates had plenty to say about many things. But something bugged me.

I think something needs to be put into perspective.

The candidates and the media talk a lot about foreign policy (and they should). Some focus on how many of our military have been killed in Iraq. There is blame all over the place. I am so thankful for our military. They serve us in ways I'll probably never understand. The sacrifice their families make is enormous. But I do think we need to remember that our nation has a VOLUNTEER military.

I dug around a little on the internet for a few statistics about another issue. Did you know that well over a million babies are killed every single year by abortion? You can look here for one set of statistics. That means since the war on terror began that well over 6 million children have died. About as many Jews who were murdered during the holocaust. They did not have the chance to volunteer.

The candidates want a strong military or a strong economy or any number of other things. Besides the fact that every single one of those babies had value and dignity because they were made in the image of God, do any of the candidates realize that the 40 million babies killed by abortion may have assisted us in building a strong military, a strong economy, or may have figured out how in the world to slow global warming? If you really want to take care of our nation, then life must be valued and protected.

I know many people think Christians are single issue voters. I am not. But this issue is crucial. It comes first. You are automatically eliminated as someone I can support if you are not pro-life. Once you are eliminated, then I can move on to the other issues and the other candidates. And believe me, I have. I have studied the pro-life candidates and their views on foreign and domestic policy, their personal character (yes, that matters too), their ideas about education, the economy, immigration, and a ton of other issues. And I have almost made a decision. Almost.

I thank God that He is in control of this election and our nation no matter who is elected. I pray that my decision will honor Him and that the outcome will bring Him glory.

The Blessing Jar

I made mention of our Blessing Jar in my New Year's Eve post and my sweet friend Leslie asked about it in the comments. Since I have been lacking in blog-worthy ideas lately, I appreciate a chance to respond! So Leslie, thanks for asking!

I am sure this idea must have come from the Five in a Row boards because I am a great copycat. Basically, our jar is just a big pitcher. We try to record as many blessings as we can on little pieces of paper (whatever is handy, not pre-cut fancy slips or anything!) throughout the year and drop it in the jar. We read these to each other as a part of our New Year's Eve celebration. It was a joy to remember the free dishwasher and dryer that friends from our homeschool group gave us last January...or the time Jason almost backed over Mary Evelyn in the driveway -but didn't because for some odd reason his trunk was open - and he stopped to get out and close it just as she was running across the driveway...or the time we went rollerskating as a family for Rachel's birthday...or the day Betsie finally reached 20 pounds...etc. You get the idea.

There are little everyday blessings like a child doing school with a sweet attitude that day or another child being very helpful without being asked or hearing from an old friend. Sometimes at family devotion Jason or I will pass out an index card to everyone and we'll all record at least one or two blessings. We do this when we have been a few weeks and kind of forgotten that we have a blessing jar! It's a nice way to keep Thanksgiving going all year long. Afterall, we are told in scripture to give thanks always, not just in November! 2007 was the first year we did this. It was an easy little project that we could all do and we found it to be a blessing in itself.

Stepping Heavenward

I just finished reading Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. I love reading books that make me want to be a better Christian, wife, mother, etc. when I am done. This one did that and also made me want to keep a journal.

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There is so, so much in this book. As you read it, it is as if you are reading the journal of a young woman in the 1800s, from her 15th birthday until she is in her forties. We get to see the ups and downs of her daily life as well as her overall growth as a believer.

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Woven into the book are themes such as sin, self-denial, commitment, love, death, marriage, parenting, prayer, worldliness, suffering, submission, joy, perseverance, salvation, sanctification, eternity, and more. We see the main character deal with all of these themes as she grows older and more mature.

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I read a biography of Elizabeth Prentiss about a year or so ago and so much of this book seems to be based on her own life. Her greatest desire was to love Christ more, and much of that love came as a result of her suffering. There is such a difference in the character's perspective from the beginning of the book to the end, but it is interesting that the change is gradual. She often feels as though she is making no progress in her walk with Christ, and yet overtime, it is clear that she loves Him more and more. What an encouragement!

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Though the book deals with heavy themes, it is a quick read. I plan to hang onto it and read it again at some point. Just wanted to recommend it in case you were looking for something else to add to your own book pile. ;) It's a new favorite for me.

Happy New Year!

Well, last night we had a wild and crazy New Year's Eve bash. True, there were only five of us, six if you count the dog, and one had to go to bed around 8pm. Still, I heard one guest exclaim, "Mom really knows how to throw a party!" LOL!

We kicked off the evening around 5pm by going out to eat at The Olive Garden. We had a gift card so it was the logical choice...that and it's my favorite. Don't my girlies look ready to party?

And here is Mary Evelyn totally ready to enjoy her dinner. It was a lovely meal unless you count Betsie being whiney through most of it. So we choose NOT to count that!

We got back home just before 7:00. The next hour was for crafts and play dough. We did sand art (from an activity we never got around to when studying the desert!). We also read the pieces of paper we had put into our blessing jar for 2007. This was pretty neat and we agreed that we need to add more in 2008!

No pictures from the 8 o'clock hour. I read aloud to them during that time while Jason got Betsie to bed. We are reading These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They also got to enjoy a chocolate milkshake while I read.

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At 9:00, we stopped reading and pulled out the party games; 2007 pictionary and Twister. For pictionary, I just wrote down a bunch of things that would remind us of 2007 and we took turns drawing and guessing what they were. I was not allowed to guess since I knew the answers. Below, Rachel is drawing "rollerskating." For the record, I did participate in Twister, but somebody has to be the photographer.

At ten o'clock we sat down to watch Ratatouille and eat some popcorn. No pictures from that. Cute movie.

When the movie was over, there were only 8 minutes left in 2007. We headed outside and lit our sparklers, counted down the New Year, then came inside and went to bed. It was a special night and we are excited to see what blessings will come in 2008.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Getting Ready for Real Life Again

Christmas just about did me in. My house is filled to the brim with toys of all kinds (and for all ages). My brain is tired from trying to figure out my palm pilot. (very cool gift from Jason) My heart is full from special times with family.

Now it's time to get back to normal. We have 100 days of school left. I meant to only have 80 days left at this point, but well, uh... Yeah, no good reason except this has been a tough school year in ways I'd rather just ignore for this post. We start back tomorrow with Rachel having lessons from the book, Hanna's Cold Winter. I'm excited about this one because it is set in World War II Europe and we have not studied WWII much. We'll have a chance to learn so many new things together. Mary Evelyn's lessons will come from the book, A Pair of Red Clogs, which is set in Japan. Many, many good lessons in store for our time together this week. These lessons are in addition to the three R's, Bible study, and read aloud time. Speaking of read aloud time, we finished up Little Town on the Prairie last night and will begin These Happy Golden Years tonight. Only two more books in the Little House series. I am going to miss the Ingalls family when we are done...good thing I can read them to Betsie in a few years! If you have a suggestion for what to read next, I'm ready to hear it.

We also have a little family New Year's Eve party tomorrow night. We'll do things like read the blessings from our 2007 blessing jar, play pictionary using 2007 events, play Twister, eat out at Olive Garden using a gift card we received for Christmas, watch a movie, etc. This is the first year the older girls have cared about staying up until midnight so I am trying to make it fun and memorable for them. School the next day will happen, but it will have to be very low key because I am sure we'll all be very tired!

Happy New Year everyone! I'll post pics from our little party later in the week.

More Christmas Pictures

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Of course it wouldn't be Christmas if someone wasn't sick...this year it is Jason with a yucky cough and Rachel running a fever. They both seem to have turned a corner and be recovering now. Christmas Eve was a work day for me...cooking and cleaning. But I enjoyed it. The girls were a tad on the wild and excited side!

We were able to stay home all day on Christmas Day. Jason's parents, brother and sister-in-law, and my parents came over for supper in the evening. The pictures below are all from Christmas Day.

Christmas With My Family

My family celebrated Christmas together on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from our time together.

My Mom, sister's daughter Claire, and brother's daughter Alyssa

My brother's daughter Libby with my Rachel

My sister Laura with her her girls, Claire and Lydia

Mary Evelyn opening her animals

Rachel and her doll Julie

Me with Betsie

Alyssa and her Dad, my brother Billy, reading the Christmas story before our meal

Jason, postponing eating his own meal so that Betsie will eat something!

Jason, my sister Laura, my grandmother Evelyn, and my mom Elaine

My bother's wife Liz, my Aunt Mary, sister's husband Jim, and Jason

Help is on the Way! (Christmas Came Early)

Either I am a really rotten housekeeper or I just have a VERY thoughtful husband...or BOTH! Jason just gave me my Christmas present a little early. Starting in January someone will be cleaning our house every other week. I am in shock. I might just go spill something and let it get good and sticky over the next few weeks just so someone else can clean it. (Not necessary. I have three kids. I'll let them handle that.)

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Jason gave me a note, written ever so eloquently in green crayon - on the back of a torn paper that Betsie had scribbled on. Somewhere in the note was the phrase, "I know you need help." Yes, it's true. I do need help. I did laugh at his presentation, but it was oh, so sweet. Actually, since he also said, "I love you," and is sending someone to rescue me every other week, I am considering that little note a treasure to keep.

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I have been teasing him, but it is such a thoughtful gift. It shows that he knows me and he cares about me. He knows I am struggling to teach and plan and clean and get the raisins out of the bathroom sink all at the same time. He is lightening my load and I am so grateful. God has surely blessed me with a husband who is living with me in an understanding way. I will remember his kindness every time SOMEONE ELSE cleans my bathrooms!

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Thank you Honey! I love you!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

For to us a child is born,to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Crafting

My girls are having fun this afternoon making this fun and easy craft. Thanks to Alicia for this idea! They are making a BUNCH to take to my parents' house this Saturday. They are having a blast.