I am from.....

I am from leather couches
from kuerig machines and induction stove tops.
I am from the charming two story farmhouse
fresh bread baking and essential oils.
I am from the manicured lawns of underground sprinklers,
old gnarled maples and stately elms,
perennial beds with old wagon wheels perched close.

I am from evenings sitting around the fire
and meals at consistent times every day,
from Klassen and Isaac,
from quiet humor and impulsive story telling
and a giant heart for the down and out.

I am from voices full of inflection while reading
and 'it will all be better in the morning'.
I am from large Christmas gatherings.
I am from Grande Prairie, AB and German Mennonites,
roast beef in a crock-pot and rhubarb crisp with ice-cream,
from manly interest in planes, dirt-bikes, drones,
a tableful of men discussing mechanics,
tents, axes, jackknives and guns,
a favourite island on Otter Lake,
loons, bear, wild strawberries and pounding falls.

These Days

• First day of school for my littlest boy. I need a dozen emojis.
• coffee with Melanie, our tradition for the first day of school. And this will be our last year as this is her girls last year in school.
• FALL - I'm not sure at all how we hit September so quickly. But here we are with colored leaves and chilly nights and fresh corn on the cob.
• Last week I managed a three in one week; a week of helping/visiting Grandpa Esau once or twice a day, a week of Alex, and a week of school prep and shopping.
• My two oldest are officially enrolled in grade 10. I have no idea how this will go.
• Our two oldest got baptized in August.
• These two have both worked full time all summer. Praises be.
• We totally outdid ourselves with camping trips this summer. I shall write about them all someday. I hope.
• I am so excited to go forth from here...

IFF - An Animal

A cat is a beautiful, sleek, aloof creature which should on no terms ever be allowed to live in my house. A cat must feed on rodents and keep their population under control. A cat must be smart and agile and keep itself clean. It is playful and cute and baby kitties shall be the sweetest thing ever with their fluffy fur and playful ways. But a cat must keep it's distance. And it shall never ride in my vehicle during the winter. And it must sit and preen itself in the sunshine and cast a lovely shadow on the deck.

IFF - 10 Things I'd Tell My Before Marriage/Children Self

1. Life isn't fair. I did know this but I wish I had been taught better to accept life and it's uncertainties and not to dramatize so much.

2. Thankfulness is everything. The bible says, in everything give thanks. This one thing makes life okay. Thankfulness really is the answer.

3. Core Values. I wish I had had more of an idea what I wanted for core values before I had children. I suppose we all have our things and it's okay. But it doesn't hurt to think about where we want our children to go as adults and how we want to get there. Only looking back I realize that these are my top core values.

• Jesus first.
• Be nice to EVERYONE.
• Respect yourself and everyone else.

4. Confidence. I really do wish I had been taught more confidence and especially in the area of food. We have to have confidence ourselves to teach our children confidence. You can do this. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Learn to laugh at yourself.

5. Laughter is truly the best medicine. If you can laugh at yourself, it's gonna be okay. Let go.

6. Mental health is important. Exercise. Take your vitamins. Get enough sleep. Drink lots of water. Practice thankfulness.

7. Love is a choice. You decide to love and respect your husband. Your in-laws. Your children. Your fellow board wives. Your staff wives. Sometimes it's hard. That's okay.

8. Everyone means well. Maybe they don't but practice thinking that they do. It's not your problem if they don't.

9. Let the kiddos be creative. Don't let others judgement of neatness, cleanliness and properness affect your own judgment. They are your kiddos. What's most important to you? That they have an imagination and can figure things out on their own? Or that your house was clean for company on the weekend? I know. We want both. But sometimes we have to choose.

10. Choose JOY!!! It's a choice. When life looks big and scary, go small-small with your joy bucket. Do things like examining a single snowflake, building a fire in the fireplace and inhaling the outdoor, woodsy smell or sniffing your little boys head after a bath. Or how about this. When the entrance door bursts open and little bodies clamor in, falling over each other and the boots, toques and gloves get flung under the chairs and on top of the gun-case, you smile and look into their sparkling eyes, kiss their cheeks and smell the clean winter-y smell of fresh air and oxygen.

IFF - Black & Blue, Physically Hurt

So here's the thing. I need to walk and exercise. I've got this lifetime struggle with big hips and a mommy-tummy. And it may seem silly, but only a couple months of no walking - Nov, Dec, Jan - really had me packing on the pounds. Not to mention Christmas and goodies and self-control. It's just hard to squeeze them all together. So... wam-bam.

It was time for me the trail. The treadmill. The exercises.

I walked two miles at four point two miles per hour like I (ahem) usually do. I did my 9-minute session of squats and donkey-kicks and crunches.

Well. Lo and behold. It was not an easy day, er, week. My super long toenails cut my feet. My legs ached. My feet ached. It took me a while to start walking each time I stood up. I tried not to look at my husband grinning behind his book as he watched me out of the corner of his eye.

I am proud to say I made myself walk again the next day.

And the next.

And the next.

I've missed some days but I'm confident that my exercising hiatus is officially over. My muscles are no longer black and blue. I'm gonna be okay.

IFF - Something That Feeds Your Soul

I wrote about this in January. I was using an old IFF list, you all. Confessions over, I'm excited to write about more things that feed my soul. Namely, artsy things and beautiful things. So, in no particular order, here are my thoughts.

• Quilting - the colors, the shapes, the designs, the actual quilting. I love it all.
• Painting - My sis, Bren, got me started on water color painting and it's been so much fun! My favourite way to water color paint, I quickly found out, is to draw a picture (like, copy someone else's work) and paint it full of colour and then outline it in black pen or paint. So much fun!
• Drawing - I have always loved charcoal drawing; shading, perspective and whimsical designs and maybe best of all, faces.
• Decor - I have this thing about decor. I love, love bright colors but I try to keep the colourfulness to accessories and not walls. This is for my families sake. Ha. But surprises make me happy. Like, my bright coral/pink pantry, behind closed doors. And the old bench Pat made when he was in school which I painted a brilliant pink. I also love to rearrange things and use and reuse what I have and paint and change things for variety.
• Lettering - My mantel chalkboard has been one of my favourite creative outlets. I like to match the season outside and the season of our life. And I try to always use words of encouragement up there because it's a main focal point of my house.
• Plants & Gardens - Most things in life I wing. Like, either the plants live or die. Ha ha. But plants bring me so much joy! Here are some favourites that don't need much sunshine or consistent watering: spider plant, snake plant, African violets, most succulents and golden pothos plant. I actually don't especially love the African violets but they remind me of Pat's grandma and that's special.
• Gardening - is my happy spot. I spend hours dreaming and ordering and planning and then, of course, the actual work in summer is harder to get done. Gardening is my alone time and I love it. Plus it feeds my family. Fortunately, I love doing up the produce too. There's nothing like rows of red tomato juice and green beans and jars of salsa lining the pantry walls. 

Thrifty or Splurging

Here's my thrifty breakfast that feels like splurging.

Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp oil

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

Butter Syrup

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup cream

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Sometimes basic is truly best.

Have a blessed day! 

IFF - reward

tears blur as

sunlight sparkles,

rainbows form

in the corner of

her eyes

a reward

a silver lining

for almost

everything

A Random Survey

1. What's your favorite company breakfast?

2. What does your local seamstress charge per dress?

3. Do you love or hate playing games? 

4. If you love playing games which would you be most likely to play?

5. What kind of fabric and pattern are you planning on or most likely to sew next?

6. What's your favorite hobby?

7. What do you do with your children when they fight?

8. Should I resurrect Mrs. Brown??

9. Are you a time-planner or list writer or just wing it type of person?

My Soul Is Fed With Needle And Thread

Sew...

My lovely new sewing machine was at the doctor for six months. I finally called in in November and asked about it. Oh, they said, the parts aren't in yet. Then a few days later they called me and told me it was fixed. Go figure.

Anyway, I took my old machine to sewing yesterday again and I've enjoyed my new machine again and hopefully, soon... I will sew fun projects again.

Projects finished in 2018:

• Wyatt's train quilt - much like this one above
• My star scrap lap quilt using this pattern 
  
• My blue and white star quilt that I started when I was seventeen years old. It's huge, a large queen size and I machine quilted it. I hand wrote our marriage ribbon verse around the edge and our wedding date and it feels verily personalized and unique. And each of the twenty blocks is comprised of 140 pieces, with lots of triangles that needed squaring. This is such a large accomplishment for me.
• Revamped Nicole's 'practice' wedding dress to fit her.
• An extra large Dresden table topper in black and red and white.
• Backed and bound and quilted a quilt top from Grandma Esau's things.
• Random Baby Quilts
• A mini quilt with itty-bitty tiny pieces.
• Numerous dresses but only one bridesmaid dress. It was a bit of a challenge because the bridesmaid had never worn a tight weave polyester and only had patterns for stretch fabric. But it turned out and she informed me on the day of the wedding how much she loved it. :)

Projects to finish in 2019

• First off I have about six dresses to sew for my dear MIL
• Hem a pair of pants for Grandpa Esau

Sewing Dreams

•  I've wanted to do a Lori Holt quilt like this for a long time too.

• I have the most giant collection of stretch fabric scraps that I've saved to make braided rugs. Do you think I could manage this project in 2019??
• I have wanted to do a quilt along project for a long time... which one should I try?
• Also I have oodles of 2" patches from my Grandma Eidse. This is what I'm dreaming of making