Becoming a Woman of Worth | The Singleness Adventure

Huge thanks to a certain reader named Ashley Rose who left me a super-sized comment on the introduction to this series, because she totally sparked the idea for this post in my little head! :)

Have you stopped to think, in between adding more things to your "Future Husband's Must-Have Qualities" list... that perhaps there is work to do on YOU? That it isn't all on the guy's shoulders to make himself ready for your marriage, preparing and improving himself?

*Nods* I'm sure you have. I have too. But all the grand intentions of the world come to naught if they're not followed up by actions.

For example, let's talk about becoming a woman of worth.

(absolutely no mention of that woman in that certain 31st chapter of a certain book in the holy scriptures will be contained herein this blog post. Ya'll have read that over and over again. We know, already. ;) I'll try to keep this fresh!)

When I think of a woman of worth, the person who instantly springs to my mind is my mom. She has incredibly desirable qualities and it's no small wonder my dad was instantly drawn to her like a moth to a candle flame. For one thing, when they met she was a slim beauty with a mass of golden hair and a dazzling smile.

But the real catch was her character. This lady is a go-to gal. She will GET THINGS DONE. Her attention to detail, organizational skills, born teaching talent, and selfless servant's heart are huge benefits in a helpmeet. She's also an inventive entrepreneur! Time and time again she has made our household flourish because of these many gifts.

If I can be half the awesome wife my mom has been over the years, I'll be doing well! No pressure, right?! ;)

Me, on the other hand - I still have work to do, although in all fairness I've been attempting my whole life to learn and do things that will benefit my present and future family. Just the other day my dad was enthusiastically saying "Mmmm!" over a meal I'd cooked (Lemon-Rosemary slow-roasted crockpot chicken) and told me the fellow I marry will be a blessed one. May those words be true!

I'm glad to be able to know how to plan a menu, cook delicious and healthy meals, clean + organize a house (We've got Dutch ancestry, so cleanliness is highly valued) and I can tackle any load of laundry with confidence that I won't cause something to bleed or shrink. All of these skills are things my own mom learned after she was in college. (Therefore, I have hope) ;)

But is there more? Oh yes! I am grateful for many talents that I've pursued with equal energy. Graphic design, photography, writing, jewelry-making (for profit) and several other hobbies have all had the nice side effect of giving me skills I can use in the future.

But no, I haven't really thrown myself full-steam into learning as much as I can while I'm still free and single. But I am now. 

These are some things I'm working towards.

• Treat my body like a temple (Stay hydrated, active, eating well, and getting better sleep)
• Draw closer to my Lord (earnestly seeking wisdom through daily morning quiet time)
• Be a Christlike, uncomplaining servant at every possible opportunity
• Earn more money to save for my future (and save more than I spend!)...
• Start a wedding fund for someday
• Make my writing career flourish, publish more novels
• Blog regularly again (check!) 
• Get into more graphic design projects
• Run a successful Etsy shop for my jewelry (coming soon!) 
• Take self-defense classes and get a concealed carry permit
• Take regular voice lessons from my mom (instead of sporadic coaching)
• Take photoshop lessons from my brother (Using photoshop is a valuable life skill!) 
• Dance again
• Crochet things to donate to worthy causes
• Branch out, be social, make new friends

Be doing. Be learning! Don't be like me and excel in procrastination until you're of the age of 24! :D

I do have a small word of encouragement in the opposite direction. (Balance is everything!) NOBODY IS WONDER-WOMAN. (Except my mom. But she's the only exception.) You will not be able to learn 100% of all the great wifely skills out there by the time you get married. Unless you put it off to, oh, about age 75! But do this - give it your best shot!

Pray about what the Lord would have you learn to best assist YOUR future husband in your delightful future together. Not every man is going to need a woman who knows how to fix the plumbing, but maybe yours will find that a very beneficial skill for some reason we don't know now. (I do advise learning how to cook, though. I have two grown brothers and one father and they all very much enjoy their meals).

Get out there. DO things. Meet people. Forge new friendships. Share with the body of Christ, and be edified likewise by their heart-stories.

 But all that great work of polishing up your resume and everything on the outside PALES in comparison to the job of refining your character.

 To anyone who has read or seen Pride & Prejudice (the real version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) that ^ is a powerful kick in the gut. We do not want to be a Lydia, laughing and snorting and cavorting with any red-coated Officer that casts her half a glance. We want to be the witty, principled, courageous Lizzie Bennet, who captivated Mr. Darcy, a man of estimable judgment and high character.

I don't know about you, but I want to be a prize worth winning!

Saw this on Pinterest and had to share it. It's so true. Great guys are looking for girls who have hearts of gold and are doing wonderful things. 

Also, girlies, I have a Pinterest Board dedicated to the topic of "Becoming" - everything inspiring in any way that molds me into a better version of myself. I thought some of you would enjoy perusing it! Find it here. :D

I hope this post encouraged and challenged you today. I tried not to "slap you upside the head" with the thoughts I was attempting to share. But I know for sure I needed a little fire lit under me, so here I come with my matchbox to help my fellow fair maidens! :D

Now - get thee to the comment box and fire away! Is there a particular point of The Singleness Adventure you are curious about/struggle with/want my perspective on? What are some new goals you'll be working on?

I bought MYSELF a big red heart...

... just because I like chocolate. :D

No, I don't have a valentine. Never had a boyfriend, actually. I'm waiting for the one special man that God has already chosen for me. One day I'll meet him, and I'll get to tell him that I never held hands with, kissed, or gave my heart away to anybody else but him. How precious will that be?
So - yes. Valentine's day brings thoughts of love and marriage into my head. But it also reminds me to stay strong in my convictions and remain pure and unspoiled for my future husband.

February is a month of birthdays in our family! My sweet Mama had her birthday on the 9th, and my handsome brother Mark celebrates his today, on the 14th. He's 18 years old now! He's never been that thrilled about having a birthday on Valentine's Day, but the rest of us think it's pretty neat. :)

We made Mama a tasty, healthy, sugar-free chocolate cake for her birthday. ;) We did lots of little things to make her day special... waffles for breakfast, a fresh bouquet of dandelions, and going out to Ryan's for dinner.

I wrote her a letter that I'd like to reproduce here to show you, because it give you some idea of how blessed I am to have Mama for my mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mama,
I did not know what to get you for your birthday this year, so I decided to give you my words in this letter. I am so blessed to have you as my mother. All my life, you have nurtured and cherished me, daily making sacrifices for my benefit.
You say that you're so imperfect, and that you wish you had been a better mom, but Mama... you are the best, bravest, most devoted mother I have ever seen. I would not trade you for any other mom on earth.
You constantly battle against tremendous pain, and over and over again, I see you win. You are an amazing picture of perseverance and dedication.
Daddy has a faithful wife in you, for you support and encourage him in a sterling example of a godly helpmeet. I pray that one day I will have a chance to love and honor a man as you do him.
Mark and Steven don't know I'm writing this, but I know they would agree with me in saying that we have the most wonderful mommy in the world.
I love you so much! Have a very happy birthday!
Proud to be your daughter,

~Julia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning we surprised Mark with the board game Settlers of Catan, a fancy duct tape sword and knife that Steven custom-made for him, and a big heart-shaped box full of chocolates. I think he was happy. We're also planning a trip to the LEGO store up in Atlanta sometime soon.

Later this evening we'll have one of Mark's favorite meals, Amish Chicken, and then enjoy a delicious "Turtle Cake" for his birthday cake. One of our very favorite desserts to make, it's a Mennonite recipe that involves German chocolate cake mix, a gooey caramel filling, and chocolate chips on top. It's best eaten with a dollop of whipped cream. Yummmm.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Learning Never Ceases

Hello world!

Boy, sometimes it's scary thinking that anybody in the world who finds my blog can read what little me has to say. Then other times I laugh and say "Hello world, isn't it a beautiful day?" ;)

I spent a ton of money this week on beads. You see, after my last jewelry show I was cleaned out, and my little (okay, HUGE) stash of beads needed to be replenished with both some basics, and some fresh items to jazz up my existing inventory.

I was feeling euphoric when I walked out of Jo-Ann fabrics with a sack full of plunder a few days ago (they had a 40% off sale on their beads, woohoo!) But the order to Fire Mountain (the online place I get my basics like headpins, beading wire, and crimp tubes... you know, the stuff that holds my bits of glorious sparkle together...) left me feeling ukky. I cringed when I looked at the total. (gold and silver has gone waaaay up. Forget about through the roof, we're banging into the moon at this point) And then I sent up a devout prayer that I would sell enough jewelry to cover my expenses... and maybe, perhaps, possibly, make a teensy bit of profit. :D

I'm still praying.

As for other news...

I found this free wordart the other day and saved it for inspiration. :D



My mom and dad talked to us recently about 'the finishing process' and how their job now is to give us the final polish for us to be ready to be adults. ;) Mom compared us to a green tomato... how we're fully grown but not ripened all the way yet. :D It was very inspiring and I thought her object prop was brilliant. :D My mommy is so wise.

One of the gifts and skills Mama wants to pass on to me is learning to play the piano by chords, so that I could play for a worship service if I ever had the opportunity. I already play by ear but haven't learned my chords yet. Should be fun! :)

 She also wants to help me develop my voice. Mama is fully equipped to be a voice teacher, packing a double major in music and education. So now those teaching skills are going to be turned full blast my way. :) I'm looking forward to it. I love to sing, and I'm excited about polishing my voice.

Another thing I want to 'polish' is... my writing.

I hope to be back soon with a recipe for my very favoritest it's-so-good-I-could-just-sink-through-the-floor soup, made with a delectable creamy broth and ham and potatoes. Also celery. And we're having it for dinner! *dances*

Until then, I hope you have a lovely week!

I'm Thankful for Flowers...

Day 5 of the 30 Days of Thankfulness is here! :) I'm so enjoying this challenge and coming up with different things to be thankful for every day. It makes me feel pollyannaish and delightfully happy to have so many things for which to give thanks. :)

Today I am thankful for... flowers.

 I know flowers are usually associated with springtime, but lately we've seen so many pretty little wildflowers blooming at the edge of our woods! I've been keeping our vases full of them and it's been such a delight having fresh flowers in the house.

We actually have some white jonquils pop up in our yard every spring. We found them the first year we lived here as a lovely surprise one spring morning! :) They have the most *delicious* scent.

Azaleas always remind me of the Father-Daughter retreat my Daddy took me to... we had such a lovely time. We also have some azalea bushes in the circle of our driveway that bloom a bright fuchsia every year.

Purple pansies remind me of my mom. Her favorite color is purple, and they have such an elegant sweetness about them that makes me think of her. :) Love you mommy.

And I happen to know my sweet friend Rachel loves sunflowers! :D I do too. The epitome of "Cheerfulness", they are! :D

Have a lovely day!

I'm Thankful for... my Family

Annnnnd welcome to day 3 of the 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge! :) Visit HERE to see the other posts for today. ;)

Don't know how I put this one off for so long, because one of the things I am MOST thankful for in my life is......... my wonderful family.

Dad, Mama, Mark, and Steven. (I was taking the picture) :D

I just love our family. We all mesh together like a perfect puzzle with all the pieces. All of us are so different, but our personalities and special gifts and traits all complement each other beautifully.

Daddy is creative, gentle, and wise.
Mama is smart, visionary, and so amazingly supportive of us all!
Mark is analytical, clever, and honest.
Steven is so tuned in to God, sweet, and strong.
I am creative like daddy, have ideas like Mama, and am working on being the best big sister that I can. :D

("Big" being a relative term, of course...) Mark and Steven tower over me now... and this picture is almost a year old. They've grown since then. :D Not only are they great brothers, they're a pretty awesome pair of bodyguards too.... :D

I love my family, and I thank God for each one of them. :)

Gettin' Ready

Hey Ya'll!

This is a notice that all my blogging will be put on hold indefinitely (HAH, just kidding... not indefinitely) ;) ... until our YARD SALE is done on Saturday afternoon.

Hey, if you know our family in real life and are going to be in the area tomorrow (Friday the 16th) or Saturday (the 17th) come on over! We'd love to see you, and we'd love it even more if you leave with some of our stuff in hand. Lol!

Really though, we have TONS of AWESOME stuff. I'll post pictures of it all later so that you people who can't come won't miss out on the beauteous sight! :D I'm selling high-quality handmade earrings for only $1.00 a pair (a rare occurence!) And I'm also parting with many lovely treasures (including a really big wooden dollhouse...) that someone surely will be delighted to discover! :D

I'm afraid some of us who will *cough* remain unnamed *cough*-parents-*cough* have caught "Get-ridda-it" fever and have frenetically turned the house upside down, searching for any loose objects they can find to sell with a manaical gleam in their eye. I've tried to rescue a few things from this frenzied pilfering but with little success. Do you think we all have a little pack-rat inside us somewhere? I think I must. ;)

The reason I have not posted at all on here this week is because we've been running around like ... well, never mind what like... we've been extremely busy this week sorting out lots of things that we no longer want, that OTHER people will hopefully want and pay for with cold hard cash! (Every little bit helps, and the electric bill isn't getting any prettier any time soon!) :D lol! That's why I've been so scarce in bloggy-land.

Ok, I must run for now. The shower is now open and we have a BIG day tomorrow!

Please Pray for a successful sale for us! Your prayers are very much appreciated. :)

Blessings,



P.S. What do you think of my absolutely gorgeous new blog makeover? I did it all myself and I'm thrilled top to bottom with how it came out!! :) Want a new background yourself? Click Here.

Some Black and White Photography

Last month I finally got around to filling up a cute photo collage frame I found at Ross. The frame was black with a white mat and there was room for four photographs in it, and there was a scripture verse traced on the glass in black script - it said

The Lord Rejoices... In All He Has Made.

My bright idea was to take four photographs, one of my parents, one of me, and two of my two brothers, in black and white, to fill the frame. My camera, an Olympus PEN E-PL1, has a pretty awesome 'grainy black-&-white' art mode and the pictures came out nicely. I thought you might like to see the photos (... ok, I admit, I wanted to show them to you regardless of whether you want to see them or not) So here they are:

Me, Julia, a self-portrait in the mirror

My Parents.

 I love them so much... I'll always have a special memory of shooting this photo on the porch of our log home - they were both so happy and in such a good mood when I took this shot after a rainstorm that had left the air smelling clean and fresh. Daddy and Mama have dedicated their lives to raising me and my two brothers to be godly and righteous believers, and I will be forever grateful to them. :)

Mark

 Mark is such a kidder. This is the 14th or 15th shot I took of this guy... (the others were either funny faces or blurry) ... and it's so him. He has the nicest smile when he chooses to use it - and of course the cut-off jeans are a part of his usual outfit. One of my favorite things about Mark is his sense of humor, which is absolutely hilarious, but he's also super-smart. And if you ask him any question concerning an ancient civilization, he'll have the answer.

Steven

Another very special photo - this is a glimpse of the gentle sweetness that makes up my youngest brother's character. He's like a big teddy bear at 6'2" (Almost as tall as Mark's 6'3")and built like a linebacker... and only 15 years old! He's got a deep voice to match, and he's so talented at thinking up new designs for the duct tape weapons business (Warfare by Duct Tape). He's great at working with his hands and can juggle and play the harmonica at the same time. ;)


Those are all the pictures in the frame hanging in my bedroom right now.

And now, a preview of my stunning bedroom makeover...

That's all you get for now, until I ... um ... get the (color) pictures downloaded. :D

Also - I gave my blog a makeover! I went with a black & white theme accented with bright aqua. What do you think? I love it except for the slightest suspicion that it's a bit 'stark'. Oh well. ;)

Blessings,

Thank You for the Birthday Wishes!

Awwww. I am blown away by all the sweet comments I got on the Birthday post my mom put on here! Thank you all so much! It really made my day to read them. I wish I could reply to each one individually but I unfortunately am so short on free time right now that I can't. So I'm issuing a corporate "THANKS!!" to everyone, and it comes from the bottom of my heart! :)

Well, I was hoping to hide for the rest of my days, filled with guilt for not posting since before Thanksgiving... but Mom blew my cover and hijacked my blog, so now I have to say something. (Ha-ha!) :)

Well, next month (The first weekend in May) will find me up in Atlanta at the Georgia Home Educators Association (GHEA) Convention, running a booth selling my handcrafted jewelry. As you may well imagine, I've been as busy as a bee... no, busier than that... :D ... making jewelry for my booth. What came as a surprise to me was the sudden and unforeseen projects that jumped into first place in the middle of my work schedule.
I thought about keeping it a surprise until they were all done... but I just have to tell you! So here goes... I'm writing jewelry instruction e-Books! One on how to create earrings, one for bracelets, and one about necklaces! I'll even give you a sneak peek at the cover for the first one...

What do you think? Isn't it adorable? I took the photo myself and designed the whole thing. (and the inside is even better!!) :)

So that's all for now. I probably will not be able to post again until after the convention, and to let you know when my new website is up and running to sell the e-Books from. Until then, ta-ta-for-now!

Newest Family Photo

Hey Friends!
Life has been full and rich for me the past few months. It's been wonderful! Unfortunately, I haven't been blogging very often. :( I've been doing more real-life activities instead of being at the computer. Which is good in some ways but not so great in others. So, a few news snippets before I share the newest family picture (The impatient reader will have already scrolled down to see it by now...) Yes, I've got you pegged. :D

News Snippet 01:
I'm writing a book. Not like I haven't always written little stories here and there, kept a journal since I was 11, and blogged for 2+ years, but this time it's.... different. I have the whole framework already written out in notes, and all that remains is to fill in the nooks and crannies and flesh out my creation.

The book is about a young woman named Felicity living in the 1800's in Derbyshire, England. My story was hugely inspired by none other than Jane Austen. I've loved her work for a long time, and then one day I thought, "Hey, what if I tried writing my own Jane Austen story?" and... Lissie was born.

I wrote one third of the book just thinking I was doing it for my own pleasure and would never actually share it with the outside world. But then I mentioned it to a few friends, and the response was so enthusiastic that I decided that I just 'might' publish it in e-book format once the whole thing is complete.

So that's where that news snippet ends. I'll let you know when I'm done with the book. (I currently have about a hundred pages written and it's going to be a full 350+ page novel, so I'm about one-third of the way there). :)

News Snippet 02:
We have baby chicks! Well... actually, they'll be a month old this saturday, but they're still small and adorable compared to our huge adult hens. We ordered a whole batch of Buff Orphingtons after getting one in a mix of chickens and loving it the best. They have a sweet disposition and are excellent for either meat or egg chickens. (Ours will be kept for the eggs!!) :D And, they should be laying by this spring.

News Snippet 03:
My mom and I have joined the local Fitness Center (our ladies' gym closed about a year and a half ago... sniff!) and we are both getting back into a regular workout routine. I am already seeing a big difference in muscle strength, and mama has been more flexible recently after swimming in the pool. Yaaaay! :)

News Snippet 04 - The Picture!
I took this family picture yesterday with the timer on my new camera on Sunday afternoon (Before we'd changed out of our church clothes) and we are going to send it along with a letter to our little orphan boy in Thailand that we've supported for ten years. It's a pretty great picture, so I thought I'd share it with you! :)

Awww... I love my family. :)

DISCLAIMER: The height is actually not accurate in this picture, because the kids are standing downhill. I am taller than Mom, and the boys are a couple inches taller than Daddy. :D

I wuv it, regardless! :)

Leaving for the 2010 GHEA convention!

Hi Readers!

My family and I are packed and ready for our departure tomorrow afternoon. We're going to the 2010 Georgia Home Educators Association convention in Atlanta! I am SO excited. This trip will be a lot of fun for my family, as we're staying in a hotel up there for the duration of the convention. In a suite. With indoor pool. *oh yeah*. :D

The primary reason we are going is because we are running booth 105 in the exhibit hall! I am selling my handcrafted fine glass and swarovski crystal jewelry, and my two brothers Mark and Steven are selling their padded, duct tape swords, spears, battle axes, and a completely enthralling e-book with instructions on how to make each item! Woohoo! We are so excited. The jewelry takes up most of the booth, but the boys will have a square table in the corner. Mama and the boys and I created some eye-catching fabric signs to hang on the wall behind us. The boys' is brown, with duct tape letters saying "WARFARE BY DUCT TAPE" and mine is a light pink with darker pink fabric letters saying "Jewels by Julia". I will be taking my camera and hope to post pictures of the booth from the hotel room. :D So check back for that!

But before I sign off, I have one plea. Could you please pray for us? We hope that our merchandise will sell very well, because it would be such a blessing for our family, and all the hard work we've put into this effort will be worth it. :) Thank you.

Blessings!

Spring Blog Makeover

My delightful mother picked out an ADORABLE new blog background for her spring makeover. :) I helped her with the font colors and designed a cute new header and blog button for her.

And, the obligatory sneak peek... ;)

I melted when I saw how sweet the finished project looked. You really must head on over to her blog, Gloria In Excelsis Deo, and drop her a little note! I know it would brighten her day to hear how you like her new look. :)

I am frightfully behind in posting pictures of the 8 inches of snow we were blessed with one week ago, but I plan on sharing those very soon. :) (in fact, if I don't post them soon, feel free to send me a little reminder via the comment section saying something like "Julia! Where are those snow pictures you promised??") :D

Love & Hugs!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my dear, sweet Mama has her birthday. :) I love you so much Mama!

 Love & Hugs,

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I had a major dilemma this afternoon.

I'm currently on the South Beach Diet phase one (for two weeks) during which I am not eating any carbs or sugars. Then, today's lunch came along and threw a wrench into the works. Mama wanted to make a nice hot *delicious* lunch of homemade pizza, one of our favorite meals. I can't have pizza crust, it's a carb.
Thus: DILEMMA.

Mama was not to be swayed by a little problem like that, (harhar) so she set her mind to work on how we could make a pizza that I could eat. She began pondering what we could do as a substitute for her crunchy, amazing whole wheat crust... *drool* ... and came up with a happy alternative.

We opened up a can of black beans and heated them up on the stove. Then we threw in some leftover cooked chicken to give it a little more body. We spread out a layer of the black beans/chicken (using about half of the pot) in a glass pie pan, and topped that with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and my favorite pizza toppings.. pepperoni, black olives, and pickles. :D Yummmm.

And, we sprinkled the whole thing with parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, and basil. Then, into the oven it went!

We broiled it for about 6 minutes, watching it carefully to make sure it didn't get too crispy. Then... out it came. I wasn't sure how the black beans would taste, topped like a pizza. But then I took my first bite.

Oh. My. Word.

It was AWESOME! I loved it! All my favorite pizza flavors were combined with a delicate chicken taste, subtly underscored by the mild black beans. Ooooooh. :)

I was only able to finish about half of this filling dish, and wrapped up the rest and put it in the fridge for tomorrow.

Hurrah for inventive mothers!

Yes, We are Moving

The time has come for us to leave our rurally located, rustic, charming log home, and venture north one hour to the area in which my dad works. We will be living closer to two larger cities, both of which are beautiful, and have lovely stores, and there will me many more opportunities for my two brothers and I... I to sell my jewelry in the shops, and my brothers to maybe start a business of their own. Mama is also planning on starting a Music Studio and teaching voice lessons, and I will be brushing up my piano skills and teaching beginner piano lessons. :)

I am feeling lots of emotions about the move, the top ones being excitement, interest, a small regret that we must leave our gorgeous God-given house, expectancy, and a feeling of uncertainty. We don't have a house picked out yet... or at least 'officially' picked out yet... we have seen quite a few lovely homes in the area that would be best for my dad to drive to work from, and there is one in particular that has a creek in the yard with a quaint little bridge over it that my brothers and I are especially fond of... so we shall see what comes of that. :D

Once we move, I am sure Daddy will enjoy not having to commute 2 hours (1 there, 1 back) every day except Saturday... we also attend a sweet homechurch group that mostly meets up in Peachtree City, and when we move we will be able to get together with some of the families and do activities together on weekdays, not just when we're up there for church on Sunday.

We have been pondering this move for about a year, so I've had some time to get used to the idea, and I am very excited to see what chapter I'm about to journey through in this new season of life and what my Lord has in store for my family and I... I have a feeling he has something special and wonderful waiting for us.

So far, we have had two unofficial 'showings' of our house that had us working like busy beavers to make sure everything was in "apple-pie order"... and since we are planning on listing it on the market later this week, I am sure we will be kept on our toes working to keep everything nice and tidy in case somebody surprises us with a sudden request to see the house. :) We have a wonderful realtor though, and I am confident that she will do her best for us. She helped us buy this home four years ago and bent over backwards to do everything she could for us! I have absolute confidence that she will do just as good a job this time as she did then. :)

My family and I would appreciate your prayers for us in this time of change. Thank you! :)

Hugs,

(New signature! :D)

What Ho! Home from the Show.

We're home from the show! Actually, it was done on Saturday, but it took me a while to get around to posting about it. We were very tired afterwards.
Mama and I did rather well, getting about 1/5 the profit we made at the GHEA homeschool convention in May... but then our town is a small town and we had much less people stop by than at the convention.

Here are all the new doughnuts I crocheted for the Fall Fest...


Aren't they neat? I just love them. Unfortunately, not one sold! I was rather disappointed, but now this means you have a chance to purchase them from my Etsy Shop! (give me a few weeks to get them on there...)
Here's our little booth... my jewelry table is the one with the pink tablecloth and Mama's 'craft' table is the one with the cute little autumn ribbon running around the top edge.

This is the garland we made to hang around our booth... we took square fabric 'charms', folded them in half to make triangles, and sewed them all together in a straight line! :) I thought it was quite adorable. :)

I had lots of jewelry for sale...

...mostly earrings and necklace & earring sets, with a few bracelets...

And some stunning beaded watches that I designed and Mama put together. (Will have better pics soon!)

Here is Mama's table. She was selling all-natural heating bags, crocheted hotpads/potholders, homemade peach jam, and gift baskets with two jars of jam and two potholders inside.

We were giving away free samples of the jam on wheat thins... I think that helped sell it! :) Once people tasted it, they wanted to buy some.

We also had the doughnuts on a dessert stand on Mama's table. So many people stopped and picked them up and exclaimed "how cute!"... yet I didn't sell any! :( sigh.... (let it go, Julia....) :D

Now, for some breaking news from Julia's Family...

Yesterday, Daddy, Mama, and I started the South Beach Diet! :) I never thought I would try something like this, with rules and a menu plan... but we found the book at a yard sale for only $1.00, so... we thought we'd give it a try! :) I'm excited about it, yet also a little sad because for the first 2 weeks, we won't be eating sugar, fruit, bread, rice, pasta, or carbs, and no dairy except low-fat cheese. However, there are lots of tasty things we can eat, like my mom's homemade chili, black-bean soup, and crockpot chicken, and I'm SO thankful that I can still have all the dill pickles I want. Whew! Those would have been very hard for me to give up.

I will try and keep you updated with our progress! :)

Love & Hugs,

Post-a-Day #27

I would like to request prayer for my Mom... she has a bad cold that is worse now than it has been, and seems a lot like the 2-month thing my brothers and I struggled with. Please pray for her! We would really appreciate it.

Sigh - well, I didn't get the pictures of the Rock Ranch downloaded yet. You will have to wait until tomorrow.

:( Sorry about that!

Instead, I spend the day making something else. I'll give you a hint.

They're round.

They're soft.

You can't eat them but you wish you could.

:D Those were some pretty good hints! Let's see if any of you can guess what it is. :) I'll post pics of that when I get the Rock Ranch ones uploaded. :)

I do have something new in my Etsy Banner Shop! (Click picture below to see a larger version)

I designed that recently, and loved it so much I almost put it on my jewelry shop! :)

One last thing - I'd like to remind you to enter my 200th post celebration giveaway! :)

Love & Hugs,

Announcing The High School Graduation of...

We celebrate the blessing of our homeschooling journey by announcing the High School graduation of our daughter,

Julia.
We thank God for the privilege it is to invest in her life and education.
Robert & Gloria

I would like to take this opportunity to say how extremely grateful I am to my loving parents, Bob and Gloria, for caring so tenderly for me all my life, giving me the best possible education by schooling me in our home, and being such excellent role models for me to look up to and strive to reflect. I love them more than words can express, and I firmly believe that God has been very, very good to me in providing me with such wonderful parents.

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My homeschooling has been such a pleasure to me. I have learned valuable life lessons and I have been protected from so much of the heartache, struggles, and pain that I would have been subjected to if I hadn't been homeschooled. I have developed an awesome relationship with my two younger brothers and my parents are my two best mentors, guardians, and friends.

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Mama, you are such an inspiration to me. The way you have persevered and kept on homeschooling us in the midst of many trials and constant pain from your Rheumatoid Arthritis is truly awe-inspiring. I am so glad that we have hope for the first time in 12 years for your recovery! You are the true picture of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I am hereby rising up and calling you blessed. I love you.

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Daddy - thank you so much for being the best father, protector, leader of our home, and wise patriarch that I could have ever had. You are the shining example by which I will measure all the potential suitors that will come across my path in the years to come. I am so blessed by the fact that until the time comes for me to start my own family, I will be under your loving protection and care. I love you.

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Mark and Steven,

I am so thankful that you are my brothers. It is so exciting to see the many ways you are growing up and maturing into godly young men. What would I have ever done if I had not had you two around? The house would have been so still and silent and lonely without you. You guys are the best brothers I could ever wish for. I love you.