Dorothy's 2nd Birthday in Heaven

As stated in the past, Dorothy loved birthdays! I am sure this year is no exception.

A young boy from church was thinking of Dorothy last summer, and what he told his mom is perfect to remember on her second birthday in Heaven.

"Brock just said out of the blue, 'I bet Dorothy is having fun in heaven with God'!"

And though we miss celebrating Dort's 60th birthday with her, think of the big birthday hugs she can share with her dad and mom again!! 

In fact, some days when I am especially missing her hugs, I just ask Jesus to give her one for me and thank Him for taking such wonderful care of her.

Stepping-Stones or Stumbling Blocks

"Circumstances have formed Ethel."

"Circumstances! What an ambiguous word! Either Providence pointing to duty, or the world drawing us from it."

"Stepping-stones, or stumbling blocks."

- from The Daisy Chain by Charlotte Mary Yonge








Do you like to read aloud, record, and do simple audio-editing? Come join us in recording this book HERE.

A Roundabout Way III

Continued from A Roundabout Way II 

"God did not directly take Israel into the Land of Promise. Had they traveled northeast along the Mediterranean Sea on one of the main trade routes, the 'Philistine Highway,' God would have had them in the land in less than a week. Instead, God led them the opposite direction, south, down to Mount Sinai. This was not because of Israel's unbelief or disobedience, rather this was by God's instruction and direction so that He might reveal more of Himself to them.

"Notice that God's perfect will is not necessarily the shortest distance between two points. His greatest desire for our lives is to transform us from our sinful, estranged state into the likeness of Christ so that we might enjoy intimate fellowship with God. The same such communion Adam experienced with his Creator in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. In a sense, God's purpose for every believer is to return us to that 'pre-fall' state and experience of Adam. However, this is rarely a quick and hurried process. The focus is to be changed into His image, to be like Christ, not to do for Christ. God did not make us 'human doings,' but 'human beings!'"

- Jerry Benjamin

"Spring" Christmas Tree

When driving by our home December through January, you could see white lights on the deck and porch railings and the old "bottle-brush" Christmas tree from the telephone office in our chilly porch.

But from one seat in the family room we could enjoy two Christmas trees at once.

Having needed eye-glasses since grade-school, I cannot remember a Christmas without the colorful, overlapping balls of light when I take my glasses off. 

But this year's tree was unique in that it "thought" it was spring indoors and started growing by New Year's! 

A few years we have had trees cut from our place bud indoors, but never grow this many inches! 

We enjoyed our fragrant, growing Christmas tree into February before "planting" it in a snowbank out front. Now we are enjoying it covered with snow.

Sights of Christmas 2018

Here are a few more scenes from our Christmas past:

This year's family advent book was The First Songs of Christmas by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. You can get a copy HERE.

Once again, we traveled for doctoring close to Christmas, so we got to enjoy a riverside park full of lights.

Every year we have different dietary needs to keep in mind for a variety of family members. This year I managed to tweak a new recipe and make only two variations so all could enjoy our traditional Christmas breakfast of "Heart Shaped Cakes" from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. 

New Projects

This hand-dyed set of half yak/half wool Reywa yarn arrived today so I can test knit a new hat pattern for its designer. Then I get to design mittens to match from the leftover yarn!

Winter Handwork

Nordic mitten pairs #83 and #1

Pair #1 was in need of a wash after keeping me warm while playing in the snow!

Trying a new doily pattern as a Sunday project

A swatch of my new kofte pattern made 

(and already dismantled) from the Norwegian wool yarn...

...which arrived from England with one ball missing 

after the package broke open in transit!

Learning to darn: first a pair of socks and mittens from my Grandma's house,

then my own wool socks from the store

My yak poncho surrounds me with warmth in these weeks of sub-zero temperatures.

A new realm of handwork opened to Elsa and me last summer when we were put in touch with a small, family-owned company that produces lovely yarn from silky, warm yak down.

Reywa Fibers: Reywa means “hope” in Tibetan. 

"We exist to be a catalyst for hope and opportunity in Tibetan communities."

This "Colors of Reywa" cowl sample is now on display in a yarn shop where the patterns are free with purchase, and new projects are on their way for Elsa and me to tackle. We are loving the challenges of helping edit patterns, design new ones, and knit up samples - especially as it helps our new friends touch the lives of precious people in the mountains of Asia... people whom God loves!