Cousins

My friend Delphine is an only child married to an only child. This means her children have no aunts and uncles and no cousins. This seems so strange to me. Growing up we were always with our cousins, from both sides of the family. We spent holidays together and most weekends someone was having a sleepover.

On my mother's side there were girls close to my age. Shelia was 2yrs older and Tami was 2yrs younger. We would play school, office, Barbie's, and jump rope . In my dad's family all  the cousins that lived close were boys. We still saw them a lot and had fun when we were together. We played outside on the swing set or played tag. Sometimes we would  pretend we were in Atlantis,  the furniture was  islands and the carpet was the ocean. I can still remember jumping from the sofa to a chair looking for other survivors. Of course my aunt would not be home or we would not have been playing in the living room.

Often my parents would go out with my aunt and uncle and we would all stay home together. We would pop popcorn (in a pan with oil) and watch T.V. until we feel asleep. On nights like this our cousins usually spent the night at our house. For years Shelia and Robby went to church with us. Aunt Diane and Uncle Billy and their fours kids came over later Sunday afternoon and ate dinner with us.

I have very good memories of time spent with my cousins.

New Friends

   I don't make New Year's resolutions simply because I know I cannot keep them. Instead I make New Year's goals. For many years one of my goals has been to make a new friend. Not a casual friendship but one that will last. In 2009, I was able to work on two new friendships. I have known both Dawn and Charlene for a while. Dawn and I went to grade school together and I met Charlene while I worked at a cross-stitch shop  Also, she is the mother of one of Bryce's friends from high school.
   Dawn and I go to the same church and we would say hi whenever our paths would cross but that's as far as it went. Then another lady in my Bible Study asked her to join and she started coming on Tuesdays. I had always liked her but I did not realize how much we had in common. We even met a few times along with Charlene to knit together. Again we discovered we had a lot of the same interests. A few months ago Dawn gave me a small gift in an envelope she made herself. Inside were two vintage hankies she found while thrifting. It was a perfect gift, she understood me! I felt like we had wasted so many years.
    I liked Charlene as soon as I met her. First, she was as obsessed with stitching as I was. And she is not a phony. She is who she is. She is smart, kind, caring and not prissy.   We have a lot of fun together and she gets my humor. She is a very good knitter and loves yarn even more than I do. We also have a lot in common and talk on the phone for hours even though she lives only a few miles away.
    I don't know who God will bring into my life this year but I am looking forward to making new friends. God has blessed me with wonderful friends all my life. Some are here for only a season and some will be my friend forever. I thank Him for all these women and the good times we have shared.

Amanda this is for you!

A must read for quilters

I just finished reading this book and I enjoyed it so much. I probably would not have read a book about slaves during the Civil War but it is part of a series, The Elm Creek Quilts, that I have been reading for a few years. Even though this book is fiction it touched my soul. Quilting is the original bond, but it goes much farther than that. This is a story about one woman's quest for freedom and a desire to care for her family. Her quilts are more than coverings, they are history written in fabric. This book is fiction but it tells a story of so many women, women who are part of our heritage. Just another reason I love quilting so much.

Wednesday's Wonderful Woman

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[c] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

When God called Mary she listened. Do I listen when He speaks to me?

James 1:26-27

 

 ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Yesterday at Bible Study we filled 55 pillow cases with items for boys at a school in Joliet. Most of  these boys are either homeless or in foster care and have very little. We were very lucky to be working with a local organization... My Joyful Heart.  They asked us if we could sign cards for the boys and by the time the ladies were finished each boy will receive a pillow case full of things including a hat, gloves, scarf, toothbrushes, soap, socks, and lots of candy. We were able to get the names of all the boys so each pillow case was personalized with their name and a Christmas message. Many hands made light work and we were finished in about an hour. Kim for My Joyful Heart was there to pick up the bags.