Ahhh....Internet Access and a New Blog Post!

Happy last few days of 2010 to you!!!  Crazy!



I just sat down with my caramel machiatto at Starbucks, and my heart skipped a beat as I opened my laptop...internet access!  It's been far too long for a happy blogger like me!  I've also been quite sick with a bad cold the last few days, so this is my first adventure back out into life since Christmas.  Which, by the way, I hope was a very merry one for all of you!!
Though I seriously don't mind being cozy and resting at home, it's great to be out and about, after the Christmas chaos and before the exciting new year.  Of course, however, I don't have my camera cord, so I won't be downloading the pictures I planned for this post.  Next time hopefully!

Christmas break has been quite enjoyable, I have to say. I love having extended time off for some guilt-free relaxation. Here is my randomness…the best way to jump back in –

1. Last week I spent a few days helping my young friend Ellie make a couple super cute pillowcase dresses for her neighbors. We made them without actual pillowcases, and it was my first time making any sort of clothing. We had such a fun time figuring it out, and I look forward to trying out one with an actual pillowcase soon! We basically used this youtube video to walk us through it.

2. My parents and older brother came to stay with us on Christmas Eve, since we were here for the very first service at the multi-site campus my husband has been working so hard to help launch for over a year. It was a prayer and dedication service, and it was really cool to see take place. Launching a multi-site of a church is pretty much like planting a church, which equals A LOT of work. God alone is sustaining the staff, and they are trusting in his timing and provision. I am so proud of Kevin! His role covers discipleship, small groups, new members, men’s and women’s ministry, and I’m sure more that I’m forgetting. He is an awesome pastor!
I’m thankful my family could come celebrate with us, and be here for Christmas morning! A very different but sweet new memory. This was the first time in over 30 years that my mom hasn't been home on Christmas day.  I think it was my first time as well.  Thanks for being adventuresome mom!  We played games, I made our family’s favorite Taco Salad on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed brunch on Christmas morning. We are heading to my parent’s house in Indiana this week to have our actual family Christmas which will include my younger brother, his wife, and two kids. Let the festivities continue!

3. We celebrated Christmas afternoon and evening with Kevin’s family, which was really fun as well. The meal was delicious and the kids were adorable as usual. We also had quite an entertaining time of playing Catch Phrase. Love that game! This is a picture of the canvas I made for Jallen and Jaxon, my two nephews on Kevin’s side, and some other pics from that day, (courtesy of my bro-in-law from posting them on facebook!) :)

(Lovin' on sweet Jaxon - he's so cuddly with me and I love it!)

(Reading the Christmas Story book)

(Sweet Braelyn patiently waiting to open gifts)

(Kevin playing with...Jallen's toys!)

(Kevin playing with Jax)

4. The bummer side of all this – I have been battling a nasty cold since early Friday morning. Ugh. I have to say I spent several Christmases being sick in some way as a child and even as a college student. Weird, one-time-of-year thing. So the last few days have been spent resting, drinking tons of fluids, eating oranges and broccoli, reading, and hanging with my Gilmore Girls.

5. I know I am failing as an entrepreneur with this headband shop. Though I've sold about 50!  And it's all for a great cause... I so want to tell you about it.  I realize I’m being stifled by my lack of camera skills and web design. Oh, and at home internet access. :) Hopefully that will be returning in about 2 ½ weeks!

6. Speaking of weeks, I only have less than 1 week left in my 20’s!!! Wow. It is really happening. But I’ve been sharing that with you all for almost a year, so I think I’ve almost adjusted. I think I’m actually excited about moving on to what I’m hoping to be some wonderful and wiser years!

I think that’s all for now! I am looking forward to heading home this week for a few days! Our trip will include a joyful stop at my grandma’s, and an annual new year’s party with some of our family’s closest and long time friends. Then on Sunday we’ll have our first church services at the new campus!

Many times in the past couple weeks I have thought and prayed for those I know who are having a tough time during this season. It is a reminder that this world is not our home and a prayer for the hope that comes when we trust in our heavenly Father. Whether experiencing loss or loneliness, God is the only one who knows the whole story, and the only one who can truly comfort. I am so grateful that he does.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

Quick Catch-up

Hi friends!  Sorry for my blogging absence!  Last week was crazy but also joy-filled.  We are finally moved and super happy about that!!  Long story short, we are crazy blessed to get to live in a beautiful house for awhile - SO much fun!  What a difference from living in an apartment, and what a sweet time Kevin and I are sharing, constantly grateful for the amazing way God has overwhelmed us with his faithfulness and the generosity of others.  Daily we are praising him for answering a bold prayer in a big way!!  And we are encouraging others to pray boldly...trusting in an all-powerful God, and believing in his desire and ability to answer in a big way!

That said, we don't have the internet as of right now, which means I'll have to be a little more intentional about when I post.  I am loving the Christmas cheer, the Christmas songs, and beautiful snow that blessed me with a snow day yesterday!  And I know I promised you a new shop...my goal is to have it up by the end of this week!  :)

Hopefully I'll be back soon. This has been quite an unconventional few weeks for this time of year in my life! But Kevin and I are finally going to put up the tree tonight, as well as make some cookies and perhaps watch a Christmas classic. Joyful! I'm so thankful for the man God has blessed me with - we are loving the adventure, and learning so much along the way!
The last thing I'll share today is a song I'm loving right now - "You're Here" by Francesca Battistelli.  Click here to listen to it.  A beautiful way to celebrate our sweet and mighty Savior during this season!

Miscellany Monday - ONE MONTH TO 30!!!

Happy Monday fantastic friends! And a happy welcome to the new followers who graciously have joined Crazy Joy lately.  Can I just say how much I am loving browsing through all your Christmas posts?!  In the few moments I had last night after a loooong (and I don't mean extra days!) weekend, I so enjoyed the Christmas cheer out in blog world.  Hopefully by next week I can participate a little bit more.  First, here's my miscellany...

1.  One month from today I will be 30!!!  Isn't that crazy????  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I think pretty good.  Kind of feels like a mile marker in life that I've worked towards.  A sort of 'see ya later' to my youthful ways that hopefully have led to more wisdom.  I've been talking about it for so long as well as considering myself as "almost 30" for quite awhile, so the transition should be easier.  (Although I do hear you wake up that day with more wrinkles, so that should be interesting. :) 



It's been quite an amazing year of saying goodbye to my 20's, that is for sure.  It exhausts and fascinates me just to think of all the different emotions and experiences in my life over the last 10 years.  Some extremely difficult times, some unbelieveably joyful times, and all the times in between.  The theme for sure:  GOD IS FAITHFUL!  I am most thankful for how he has pursued me, and how my relationship with him has grown during this journey.  Besides, how gracious is he to give me the days of life that he has, and the amazing family and friends to share it with.  Ridiculously blessed.  And who knows what new adventures the future holds?!  My birthday will also mark the one year birthday of this blog!  Lots of celebrating ahead!

2.  Craft show success. The craft show this weekend was awesome.  So much fun.  A friend/mentor of mine generously secured the booth for me, and I had the fun of selling my fabric flower headbands!  It snowed much of the night before the event, so the roads were awful, making it a beautiful and perfect Saturday to stay tucked away at home.  That said, the crowd that came to the show was somewhat bleak, but pretty steady.  It was so much fun to see people enjoy and get excited about them.  Kevin was critical in pulling this off...seriously, he's a total Rock Star of a husband, helping me get a vision for the booth, shopping for supplies, creating business cards, AND setting it up for me.  Love him!!!

3.  A new shop coming soon!  All this brings me to my next point....I'm opening an online shop!!  I know I should dedicate a whole post to this, and have a fantastically designed logo to present, but I don't know how to do that yet! (Advice???) My gracious and awesome husband created a big cartel shop for me, and as soon as I upload photos of the headbands I currently have, it will be open for business!  At that time I'll also share the name of it...which is my favorite part!!!

4.  Awesome friends and moving.  All this excitement sounds fun, of course, but I am EXHAUSTED.  I can't even calculate the hours I spent cutting and creating those flower headbands last week.  Very little sleep involved.  On top of that of course, was the joy of packing and moving.  Yikes.  Yesterday a few AMAZING friends helped us spend the afternoon moving in the freezing cold.  As you might know, helping friends move is always an incredible sacrifice of time and energy.  We are beyond thankful.  And although we are tired out of our minds, we are so grateful for what God is doing, how he's providing, and how we are transitioning into the next chapter of our lives.  Almost a month into the 3rd year of marriage, I am loving my husband and this season of life more than ever.

5.  Another big week.  This week is crammed full with a bible study Christmas party tonight, a Christmas Joy event at church tomorrow, a staff Christmas party at church on Thursday, a Marriage event at church on Friday, AND cleaning our old apartment thoroughly while finishing the last bits of moving.  Whew.  Sounds like I need to be sleeping at church with all the excitement going on!  Oh, and of course I'm teaching as usual.  I know it will be a week filled with blessings, Christmas fun, and memories made.  So for a 3rd week in a row, the blog might be a little quiet.  I am hoping to squeeze a couple quick posts in.  If not, I look forward to next week!  Free time returns!!! :)  I'll cheerfully be joining you in celebrating the spirit of Christmas!



Song for the Sabbath

Overwhelmed and Overjoyed

Well hello blog world, how I've missed you!!!  Do you also find that it's so hard to get back into the blogging swing of things once you've been away for awhile??  I have definitely been busy.  I have also had many moments of feeling a bit overwhelmed, which I have started to see as a privilege and a reason to be thankful.  I'm finding that often the stresses of life are the very things that show us how much we have to be grateful for!

I'm sad I missed Miscellany Monday because that's just what I need after being away from the blog for more than a week!  So I'll make this "Random Tuesday" instead:

1.  I am overjoyed because I had the privilege of baptizing my friend Jessica on Sunday!!!  What a special, wonderful day it was, and a powerful moment that I was able to share with her.  We met last year at the school where we both taught.  She has been such an encouragement to me, and I'm so thankful for her friendship.  Like I told her on Sunday, I know the angels are rejoicing over her decision, and I am rejoicing with them!  Praise the Lord - I am in awe of his awesome work!

2.  I am somewhat overwhelmed because...Kevin and I are moving within the next couple weeks.  This has previously been my opinion on this matter: Grrrr.  The apartments we have lived in for 2 years are raising our lease, and it has challenged us to come to terms with making the wisest choice.  This has honestly been what has preoccupied me more than anything over the last few weeks, as the unknown always seems to be an opportunity to either trust completely, or be overwhelmed with stress.  It has actually turned out to be a great opportunity for Kevin and I to see God moving and answering our prayers, and to learn to come together and work as the team God intended us to be.  We truly desire to be faithful to him in every way, and we have no idea what he is preparing us for.  We are learning to be thankful for having to learn how to make necessary sacrifices now, and we know many more will be required in the future.  And we've come face to face with how blessed we are, having way more than we need, even while often struggling with the sinful nature to want more.  Without getting into lots of details, we already know God is using this part of our story to increase our faith in him, as he is showing us how He's the great Provider.  So while at first this seemed like a terrible time of year to go through this, it's actually quite appropriate.  Rather than grumbling my way through this season of joy and generosity, I am starting to see this is really not a bummer...it's actually a blessing that I'm truly thankful for.

3.  I had an awesome opportunity to speak at a high school girls' "True Beauty" retreat a little over a week ago.  It was an awesome weekend, starting with oatmeal facials!  (Recipe for that to come soon!)  I spoke to the girls 3 times, and I was inspired by their hearts for living for Jesus.  I was also reminded what a difficult and confusing time that season of life can be, and how we struggle as women to see ourselves as God sees us: unconditionally loved, and unbelievably beautiful.  I encouraged them to believe and cling to the fact that God is for them, he is pursuing them, and he has a plan for their lives that he longs to lead them through.  Hopefully I will have a better recap on my messages soon!  Thanks, girls, for having me and sharing your hearts that weekend!  I am praying for you and was privileged to get to share my heart with you!

4.  Kevin and I had fun celebrated our anniversary in Nashville...thank you for your advice on some fun things to do!  It was a great time...and will get its own post soon!

5.  Thanksgiving was spent at my Grandma's and we had a fabulous time.  She was a beautiful and gracious hostess.  While there I made a couple pumpkin rolls...yum!!!  I think the best recipe is the one from LIBBY'S pumpkin, found here..  It's so much easier than you think, and it makes a great gift!  (Perhaps I'll do a video blog on how I make this!)  I love this time of year, and I am loving learning from all of your creative ideas how to make it even more special!!

6.  Finally, I am participating in my first craft show this weekend!!!  I will be so excited next week to unveil my vision for these creations with you.  And I'm excited for my first experience of this kind on Saturday.  That said, please forgive me if I'm absent from my blog and yours more than usual this week!  Between teaching, creating, and packing, this week is turning out to be quite the adventure! :)

Song for the Sabbath - "You Can Have Me"

Love, love, love this song...and it is my prayer.  I hope you all enjoy this beautiful Sunday!

An Anniversary Update

Kevin and I had a fun anniversary night on Tuesday, celebrating with dinner and a movie.  I love the Cheesecake Factory, so we ate dinner there and I ordered Stuffed Chicken Tortillas.  Yum!  Kevin had chicken and asparagus.  3 more days until his diet is done!!!  Trust me, cause for rejoice around here!  (By the way, he's lost 15 pounds!!)  I'm amazed and so proud of his perseverance.

Next we went to a $5.00 movie, (which only happens on Tuesdays, so we're thankful our anniversary was on that day this year!), and we saw my new favorite, Secretariat!!!  It is a phenomenal movie, with such heart, especially if you love animals at all.  And even more fun for us because we live in Louisville, KY, the heart of horse racing.  Such a sweet story, and one-hundred percent clean - a true rarity.  It was awesome.  If you haven't seen it, take your whole family and go soon!!

Finally, I got my requested dance party.  We leave the radio on for Chai when we leave the apartment, so how crazy was it that 2 min. after we walked in the door "Amazed" by Lonestar came on!!  The song we danced to at our wedding!  I considered it a sweet little wedding gift from God.  Then we sped things up a bit and brought out the hip-hop heart inside me.  Our playlist included "You're Amazing" by Bruno Mars, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "No One" by Alicia Keys, and "With You" by Chris Brown.  We had a blast and were exhausted by the end of it.  One of the things I look forward to most about having children is the dance parties we will share as well! 

We are also planning to go to Nashville (because it's fairly close), for a night or two to celebrate.  Any suggestions for fun activities or things to do there??

Happy Thursday to you!!

(By the way, how crazy exciting is it that Thanksgiving is 1 week from today!  Love it!!)

Celebrating Two Years!!

(Taken on our honeymoon)

Today Kevin and I are celebrating our 2nd anniversary!  Our marriage is immeasurably more than I could

have ever asked or imagined.  We were crazy in love on this day 2 years ago, and we are crazy in love today.  We began our celebration at midnight last night with a serenade of the first song we danced to - "Amazed" by Lonestar, and the song I sang during our ceremony - "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk.  (That was one of the most nervous moments of my life, but SO worth it!)  Tonight I'll be requesting a dance party to "You're Amazing" by Bruno Mars! :)  If you want to read a post (one of my first!) that I wrote three weeks after our wedding, click here and a month after that I wrote this.

I love you more than ever my Honey-Love!  Looking so forward to year 3!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 

Song for the Sabbath

It is such a blessing and a joy to be able to lay my heart bare on a page for all to see, and have it received and encouraged with such love and kindness!!!  I am blessed by how God is using all of you in my life!  Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post.  What motivation and inspiration for me to live my life with an authentic and grace-filled freedom as I seek to honor God with who I am.  I pray today that you will experience great joy in who you are as well!!

Today's song is a reminder that the Creator is singing over you as he delights in his creation.  Have a wonderful Sunday!

I Am Weak but He is Strong

source

Last night after a leadership small group I have been a part of for the last several weeks, I got out of my car and was walking to the door of our apartment when I thought, "I try way too hard to please people."  I seriously struggle with the desire to win the approval of others.  I found myself exhaustingly convicted, worn out by the mental and emotional energy I have been giving to the thoughts others have or don't have of me.  Lately I've found myself creeping into the pit of feeling like I'm failing.  Self-righteous, I know...yet a struggle that has crept its way into my life many times over my almost 30 years of life.

See, I am not one who possesses the "gift set" that is often touted in our culture as desired or admirable.  I guess I'm a fast typer, but that is the extent of my "administrative strengths." :)  I am often shamefully unorganized, naturally messy, I struggle to focus on any one thing to completion at a time, I have many great intentions that go undone by procrastination, and I am chronically late.  My heart drops even as I type those words, bracing myself for judgment and slander.  I am even a teacher for goodness sakes!!! Yet my gracious, loving husband often gently reminds me that this is who I am.  I immediately scoff at his words saying, "Oh no, I can change!!"  Very often I plead with God to do just that, to change me, knowing that He alone can.  Kevin smiles and reassures me that it is okay to be who I am.  What if this is how God made me to be?  What if it is through all of these things I am able to know Him more, or better yet, if how he made me to be allows me to point others to Christ?  If I were to allow my own perfectionistic, unmet standards to overwhelm me, my so called inadequacies could easily cause me to curl up in a ball, ashamed to think anyone might really know who I am.  But then again, if I had no weaknesses, would I really need a Savior??

Regardless of our striving, not one of us will attain perfection.  When it becomes next to impossible to even see or think straight about what the world says about who we should be as opposed to what God says, we must run quickly to his Word.  We must seek the answers to discover if the standards the world has set for us match up to who God has called us to be.  Quite often, they do not.  In our limited understanding and sinful humanity, we have projected expectations onto one another that are stifling.  In our fears that someone might become a complete mess of life if we let them, we feel the need to cover them with our "wise" advice, give them solutions, and remind ourselves of all we have going because "at least we're not like them."  Or maybe we hate on ourselves because we'll never be like "them."  Either way, we neglect the precious opportunity to celebrate each other's uniqueness.  The honest truth is, it often makes us uncomfortable to disagree with one another and to allow each other to fully become who we were meant to be, regardless of how different it looks than everyone else.  In doing so, we neglect to delight in God's specific design of each individual, rather than reflecting Christ and his limitless grace; that which invites his precious children into an intimate relationship with him.

So here's what God is calling me to acknowledge as truth:  I have weaknesses.  Way more than I've shared with you here.  Blaring ones, if you ask me.  Yet isn't that the point??  Isn't this where my faith walk begins?  My Savior says to me that his strength is made perfect in my weakness.  This truth is as old as the song we sing about it..."Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong."  I am not called to go around dwelling and whining about my weaknesses; instead, I am called to cry out for and acknowledge God's incomprehensible strength.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about how he has been given a thorn in his flesh from Satan, to keep him from becoming conceited about the matter at hand.  Read these next words carefully:

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me,

'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' 

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  1 Corinthians 12:8-10

The Lord loves you dearly.  Grasp that truth with your whole heart and hold onto it.  Quit pointing to yourself and hating what you see; rather, confess your weaknesses to others, following it with, "And yet, look at what my almighty God is doing in my life."  Acknowledge your weaknesses in worship, overwhelmed with how deep the Father's love is for you, and how powerful he is to overcome.  Then go joyfully, praising God for what he will continue to do in the days to come, in spite of your inadequacies, as you surrender to him.  Be who you are...and acknowledge that you need a Savior.  To God alone be the glory.

A Purse and A Picture

 Well, last week I completed my second purse, another from the book Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol.  Due to the unique shape and my inability to sew straight lines just yet, this purse was more difficult than the first.  I did learn several new techniques.  About the fabric...I like it but I'm not loving it for a purse...I'm pretty sure I only bought it because I get so overwhelmed in the store and this one was on sale!  I made the bow from scraps I had at home.  I guess it's all part of the fun of stress free practice projects!!







I also completed something a few weeks ago that I'm very excited about.  I used a canvas to create a gift for my friend Traci and baby Scarlet.  She loved it, and I loved making it!  While I was making it Kevin and I were staying with a teenager while his parents were out of town.  The teenager said, "I didn't know you were an artist."   I responded with, "I am now!"  Loved it.  Definitely a silly moment of joy for me!  Arts and crafts are so much fun. :)

Happy Tuesday to you!

Today I'm linking to New Nostalgia, Today's Creative Blog, and Tip Junkie!

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday my friends.  I am pumping myself up to get my bloggy rhythm back!  A Monday of miscellany is the perfect place to start.  I'm so happy several of you were excited about those roasted vegetables - we had it again last night, and have placed it permanently on our menu.  Along with a delicious dessert of frozen grapes - yum!

(Picture from the super-cute Weelicious website)

1.  Speaking of menu....let's chat again about the Whole 9 thing.  Kevin is on day 16, with wholehearted commitment, even through a 3 day trip to Chicago!!  Though he's more than thankful this will be over before Thanksgiving.  I made it through 6 days....ish.  My eyes have definitely been opened to how unintentional I've been with what I've put in my mouth for over a year, (about the time when I started my first teaching job!), so now I'm definitely exhibiting much more restraint.  However, I went out of town for 3 days and this time of year is just not the best time to try something so crazy (for me!).  And this cup of pure joy from Starbucks did nothing to help the cause:

Joyful Gingerbread Latte with Soy!!!  Worth every sip!!!

2.  Yesterday we celebrated my nephew Jax's birthday.  So fun.  His mom created the cutest cookie monster party, and he was the sweetest 2 yr. old cookie monster!!  Cute, cute, cute.  I'm also quite enthused about the fact that he seems to have a fondness for me at this point in his life.  :)  Love him!  (I'll have to see if I can get a few of my sister-in-law's creative cookie monster pics!)

Our present to him was the "teacher-approved" board book, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom.  I loved doing activities with this book when I student taught kindergarten, to get the children familiar with the alphabet.  Yes, I was going to attempt to sew him a sock monkey, but I ran out of time.  There is always Christmas! :)

3.  I need your advice.  I really want to purchase a sewing book with some fun projects to try, but I'm having a difficult time deciding.  These are the ones I think I've narrowed it down to.  Any thoughts on these or some other wonderful thing I don't know about??

Sew and Stow by Betty Oppenheimer

Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee

One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins

The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam

Amy Butler's In-Stitches

4.  I am loving holiday gift guides!  There are so many great ideas out there right now on many sweet blogs for Christmas gifts!  Many great tutorials as well!  I am especially loving "12 Days of Handmade Christmas" by Life in Grace!

5.  I had the most fabulous "friends and family" weekend!!!  I enjoyed a much needed 3 day trip to Indiana over the weekend.  I drove up to Fort Wayne on Thursday night to surprise my mom at a church where she was speaking for a ladies' event.  It was awesome.  She was quite shocked, and definitely worth it.  It was awesome to hear her share her heart and encourage women to love and live for Jesus, like I have so many times before.  She is working on a book and I am so excited to read her heart through writing some day!  My sweet friend Staci, who was at the event with her family, invited me to come a few weeks ago.  It was great to see her and her family that night as well!

After spending the night at my home in Wabash, (where I so love to be), I enjoyed lunch with my dad, then traveled back up to Fort Wayne to see Staci's new house and her absolutely adorable boys!  So much fun to spend time with them.  My next stop was Indy, where I enjoyed a delicious and special dinner with my mom, who happened to be there for a seminar.

On Saturday I spent a delightful afternoon in Zionsville with my friends Francie and Stacy, and they let me love on their crazy beautiful new baby girls!!!  I told them I think it would be fun to have twins, (I know moms, laugh your heads off), so they thought I should practice.  Very funny.  I will be honest and say the baby fever is coming on strong! :)  (Yes, that is my mom and mother-in-law you hear rejoicing!)

Kinley on the left, and Meredith on the right!  Love them!

Saturday night I was able to love on my sweet little niece and nephew, Kaydance and Chase, in Noblesville.  Poor little Kaydance slipped and fell, hitting the inside of her lip on the fireplace.  Very scary.  She had surgery on Friday and is such a trooper!  She was giggling like usual, enjoying her popsicles.  She also showed us her awesome new reading skills and we had fun dressing up her baby dolls.  We are praising God that she wasn't hurt worse, and praying for a fast recovery!  Little Chase also entertained us with his amazing memory skills and his cute songs.  A very sweet time, for sure!

I wrapped up my weekend by staying the night with my Grandma in Franklin, (which I always love to do!), then returning to Louisville in time for church Sunday!  Whew!  What a fun and refreshing time visiting so many places that are home to me.  Thank you Kevin, for sharing me for the weekend!! :)

Quite obviously I'm squeezing the most out of Miscellany Monday!  I'll see you tomorrow with a much shorter post and a couple new creations!