Crafternoon #5: Christmas Quilt and Fat Quarter Idol

First of all, I entered a fat quarter compilation challenge over at Sew,Mama,Sew! It was so fun to do, and probably the best job in the whole world would be to be in charge of making little packets of corresponding fabric. I wonder how you get to be really good at that.

Here's my entry with the theme of "Fresh:"

Even if I don't win, I just want to make a beach blanket/towel with all those fabrics!

My second crafternoon project today took me 3 months to complete. It's a quilt top I made for my mom for Christmas. I'm writing about it now because she sent it out to be quilted and bound, so now it is officially finished! I'm very excited about that, because if it had been left up to me, she wouldn't have seen a finished quilt until 2015 at the earliest.

I made an Americana quilt because while we were in Tennessee this summer, my mom and I went to a quit shop, and she told me she is always on the lookout for a nice Americana quilt. We found a few at the shop, but they were manufactured, and the "piecing" was printed on the fabric. Not as wonderful as a nice homemade quilt.

It's just a twin size. I only had to unpick 6 of the squares to re-sew them so the points lined up. And there is one "unique" square in there somewhere, see if you can find it. (I really just messed it up.)

And here is the finished product. The back is so fun, the quilting came out beautifully, and I love the binding! 

Family Reunion #2

Catching up on last summer again.

We traveled to Idaho in July for the Bean family reunion up past Sun Valley. Wow, that part of Idaho is BEAUTIFUL!

We didn't take as many pictures on this trip, but we had a great time with the Beans! (All 70 of them!)

Andrew and Jason took everyone river rafting. It was so fun to see Andrew in his element! He's a great guide. And no one will forget the time he called it when Jason fell off his raft, leaving his passengers floating away without their guide!

Jill taught me how to knit, starting one of my new crafting obsessions.

Jason also took Andrew paragliding. I was crowned the best wife in the world for letting him attempt such a daring feat with such a daring cousin! But all was well and they had a great time.

There was a fun homemade water slide at the ranch, and everyone had fun going down that (except poor McKenna, whose teeth got rattled when they slammed into her brother's head!)

Jamie and baby Avery. So fun to spend time with them before they moved to the Northeast!

And we got to spend a lot of time with cousin Stephanie, visiting from Switzerland! She was so fun.

Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun family vacation!

Family Reunion #1

Catch up time.

We headed to Tennessee in June for a family reunion.

We all stayed in cabins in the Smokies, and it was the best time.

I love my family, and I am so grateful everyone could make it! We relaxed, played games, went tubing, checked out the National Park and Cade's Cove, ate at the Apple Barn (twice!), go-karted, bungee-jumped (well, some of us did), Andrew golfed, and we left full to the brim with memories and bonding moments.

I love this picture of my siblings and my parents.

Look at this little muffin teaching us how to say "Macaroni."

Here's Chrissy bungee-jumping. Her leg kicks are killin' me.

We had the best time and we can't wait till the next reunion!

Thoughts on Faith

When we were in Tennessee (the week after I lost my job), my dad said, "I have a feeling that something really great is going to happen. This is gonna be a good thing."

My mind thinks back on that now, and all the times I thought about what he said during the job hunt. Man, I wanted to believe him, but there were times when I just had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. And it made me wonder how anything good COULD happen for me if I didn't even know WHAT would be good for me. 

And now I have an awesome job. And it pays me just the right amount. And I only work 30 hours each week. And I have a part time job on the side working for a charity organization. I'm really happy with my job, which honestly, I never have been before! (Now that I know what it feels like to love your job.)

So NOW I believe my dad. He was right. I wish I could tell my doubtful self 2 and 3 months ago that he was right. 

Our Heavenly Father knows this about each of our lives. He knows that great things are in store. He knows that things will work out. He wants us to have faith in Him, to trust in Him. How easy it is to have faith after we know the end of the story. The challenge is to strengthen our faith when we are in the midst of a trial, no matter how large or how small. So 2 and 3 months ago, when I didn't know what would happen for me, for us, I needed to strengthen my faith. Trust in the Lord. Because that's how we grow closer to our Father in Heaven--we look to him for guidance and comfort when we aren't sure where to turn. Then, when the skies brighten and the sun comes out again, we walk hand in hand with the Lord and thank Him for helping us through.

I'm recording this to remind me what to do the next time I'm faced with a challenge I don't think I can handle: trust in the Lord, maintain my perspective on life, and remember that something really great is going to happen.