My First Quilt

Well I finally finished my quilt. Here's the grand unveiling.

 Let me just say that although it looks simple, this took a lot of work, especially since everything was done by hand.  Here's the picture I drew originally.  

It served as my road map for the quilt.  Towards the end, I decided that I didn't want the fence and bird, because I think all that brown in the main part of the quilt would have been too dark.  Instead, I opted for a chicken house with three chickens.  I also decided to use the brown for the borders to make it look like a brown picture frame.  I have to say, even though this took me a long time, I'm very pleased with the way it came out.  I sewed on three attachments on the back and stuck a dowel through it so that it could be hung up.

Here's a picture of us during the Feast of Booths.  We have some friends coming to visit us!

We also had a very nice and quiet Hanukkah.  Here is our Hannukiah.  We bought it in the Old City in Jerusalem some years back.  It's handmade and very unique.

Phillipians 4:13 (ESV)

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Diagnosis: Sockitis / Treatment: Knit More Socks

Well, I finally finished my second sock after a 1.5 year hiatus.  I don't know why it took me so long.  I finished the first one rather quickly but when it came to making the second one, I procrastinated.  I finally decided to finish it before we moved to Minnesota.  Here's the finished product.

I think there's something wrong with my tension.  One sock is way bigger than the other one.  Regardless, I was thrilled with getting done.  I was so excited that I actually started making another pair for Chad.  I finished the first sock in Missouri and finished the second one in Minnesota.  Here they are.  I think they look pretty good.

I've already finished a pair for myself.   I'm currently on a sock knitting kick and am planning to knit a few more pair for myself.

I know this has nothing to do with knitting socks but I thought I'd throw in this picture of Chad with his childhood teddy bears.  I can't tell which is cuter - Chad or the bears.

Psalm 139:13 (ESV)

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb 

1st Gear or A Ride in an Amish Buggy

After Shabbat, we took our little Torahmobile and went to the store to pick up some snacks for the evening.  Chad was going to make his famous chocolate chip barley cookies and we needed butter. Since we were out, we made a quick dash over to the library, which was only about 2 minutes away.  

After finishing our errands, we decided to take a short ride in the country.   It was about 7:15 p.m. and we were about 15 miles outside of town when the gear shift popped.  Chad tried shifting out of 1st gear but was unable to - we were stuck going 15 miles per hour and no more.

At first we felt panic.  How were we going to get home?  After all, we were 15 miles out and there were a lot of hills to go back over.  Not only that - how were we going to drive in heavy traffic only going 15 miles per hour?  It was a Saturday night and there was bound to be lots of cars on the road.

The Lord was with us.  Here are some examples of how He helped us on the drive back.

1)  Although it took us an hour to get home, we made it.  

2) Our car didn't overheat.  

3) Most of the stoplights worked in our favor

4) There was hardly any traffic and no one honked at us or was rude in any way

5) We took the scenic route and got to enjoy lovely tree along the way,  like weeping willows which are one of my favorites

6) We laughed and had a good time.  It was almost like we were riding an Amish buggy and taking it "slow."

7) We were reminded that the Lord is with us, even in difficult times

8) We got to spend time together

The last neat thing the Lord did was help us park our car.  Because the gear shift couldn't move into reverse, we had figured that we would need to back the car in the parking lot by having Chad push it while I steered.  When we got to the parking lot, Chad swung wide and the car literally backed itself in to the parking space right next to our truck.  That was where we usually parked.  No pushing on our part!  Thank You Lord!

We had a great a time and this will be one of our many memories of how the Lord always delivers!

Matthew 6: 25-34 (NASB)

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,  yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!  Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

345678

Our little car reached a milestone today - 345, 678 miles!  Can you believe it?  The Lord has definitely blessed us.  We like to call our car our little Torah - mobile.  That's  because we spent a lot of time in Alaska riding around in it,  listening to Torah teachings with George and Katie (our dogs).  Those were some wonderful times!

Here's a little card that we kept in the car to remind us to watch for 345, 678!  

We took a little ride today and waited for the the miles to turn over.  We bought some snacks to take a long with us.  In this picture, we already ate our donuts.

Riding down the road

Chad is so excited, he can't wait!

I'm excited too!

Here it is!

We even stopped to take some pictures!

The faithful driver!

The faithful passenger!

What a nice view.  Such a beautiful day!

Numbers 6:24-26 (NASB)

The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’

A Nice Walk

Yesterday, we took a nice walk at the Springfield Botanical Gardens.  It was a really nice day and we took some pictures along the way.

I love weeping willows!

The world's largest dragonfly!

We celebrated Shavuot here last summer!  I like to think of this as our Shavuot bench.

Genesis 1: 1 (NASB)

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

Blood Moon

We just came back in from seeing the blood moon - the lunar eclipse on the first night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which we are observing by the way.  Last night, we observed Passover - we had our Seder meal.

We went out at 2 AM CST to see the blood moon.  It was a little chilly so we didn't stay out there long. The moon was a sight to see.  The planet Mars was very close to the blood moon, which was kind of interesting since that name is associated with the pagan diety of war.  Standing there in our apartment complex parking lot, we prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and asked Him to bless and protect Israel, which I believe, as followers of Yeshua, includes us as well.  The scriptures tell us that once we are in a covenant with Yeshua, we are considered the seed of Abraham!

I was really tired when we went out.  I had on my sweats and a sweat shirt as Chad and I made our way down from our 2nd floor apartment to the parking lot.  We met an older lady on her way out to; I'm not sure where she was going since we were going the opposite way but I'm guessing that she was on her way down to see the lunar eclipse too!  I was still struggling to get my eyes open and from the look she gave me, I must have looked kind of funny.

Here's a picture of us when we got back to our apartment.  I'm much more awake now!  We were both awake so I made Chad a cup of coffee and I had some warmed spiced wine.

Thank You Father for letting us see this tonight.  We are blessed to be part of the commonwealth of Israel and look forward to the day when we are ordered into one of the 12 tribes, all under the headship of Yeshua, our Messiah!

Joel 2:31 ( NASB)

“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

First Day of Kindergarten (Oops! I Mean Basic Drawing Class)

Today was the first day of my basic drawing class.  It started off real dark - we were under a tornado warning.  It was so dark that it almost felt like it was evening.  Here is our living room and kitchen.  Granted the blinds were closed, but it was still dark outside too.

Here's my art bag, all packed and ready to go.  I have a sketch pad, a ruler, eraser, pencils, pencil sharpener, charcoal, q-tips for bending, and a board to draw on.

It got lighter the closer I got to my class.  It was still hot and humid though.  Here's me, feeling nervous because I haven't had art class since junior high.  I'm worried that I'll be the only one that won't be able to draw.  I wonder, is it too late to drop out and get my money back?

I feel like a little kid going off to kindergarten the first day.  I even have a cup of coffee.  I don't think kindergarteners drink coffee, do they?  Chad was like a parent on the first day of school - he took my picture, straightened my sweater, said a prayer for me, and gave a quick little kiss before he sent me on his way.  I think he was tempted to walk me to the school bus (really our car).  I'll be expecting cookies and milk after class!

Isaiah 64:8 (NASB)

But now, O Lord, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.