zion's quilt

My sweet friend Brittney is expecting her fourth child next month. She is having a little girl. I made her a patchwork baby quilt and matching garland. Here's some photos of them and also how I wrapped it all. Hope you enjoy them! I really loved making these special gifts and praying for baby Zion as I sewed. :)

nautical patchwork baby quilt

My next door neighbor and friend Natalie is expecting her sixth child (a baby boy) in a few weeks. I made a little nautical themed patchwork baby quilt to take to her baby shower today. I thought y'all might like to see some photos! I am really pleased with how it turned out!

i used two really cute sailboat print fabric, one starfish print, a fun cloud print, and lots of gingham and ticking, mixed in with some solid blues.

i put a layer of flannel in between the front and back of the quilt to add a little weight to the feel of the blanket. it's nice and warm and cuddly!

i was excited to make a little sailboat applique for the solid blue cotton backing. isn't it cute?!

As you can tell from this photo, it's not perfectly sewn.
But I still really like it, and I think that it adds a little bit of whimsy to the quilt.

And my sweet friend Melissa made this adorable embroidered burpcloth to go with the quilt! 

She is launching her own website, Sweet Needle Co., in a month or so! I'm really excited for her!

Here's the little card I made :)  AHOY!

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I really really enjoyed making this little patchwork quilt! It was fun to dust off my sewing machine and sew something again. It had been awhile! I am so glad that I can sew. It really brings me so much joy! 

 

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

hello 2014

We had a really fun New Year's Eve last night! My friend Melissa invited us all over for dinner. I decided to make a special cake to bring to celebrate the new year!

Ruth got all dressed up in her party dress. She was so excited! Isn't she beautiful?!

There were 11 kids in total there between the three couples that were there at the party! 

Such a fun time together!

I really love this photo of Clint and I

Melissa and Josh

Joy and Brian 

sparklers! 

cutie pie 

so fun! 

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We all stayed there till midnight. It was so great. I was shocked that all the kids stayed up that late. Benjamin was the only one that fell asleep before midnight (and he was the oldest!). He konked out on the couch around 11 oclock. I had to wake him up when we counted down at midnight.

We all toasted our glasses of champagne (and sparkling grape juice for the kids). We hugged and prayed for eachother and worshiped. It was a really special time. 

I am truly grateful for the wonderful new friends that the Lord has been bringing into my life lately. Such a blessing and answer to prayer! 

Happy New Year!!

Lora

Real Food for the Real Homemaker

I have some fun news! Jaimie of Living in the Light, a sweet young lady that has been a faithful reader of my blog for a few years, is launching her new cookbook today that she and two other women co-wrote called Real Food for the Real Homemaker. (The two other co-authors are Jami Balmet of Young Wife's Guide and Elsie Callender of Richly Rooted.)

Real Food for the Real Homemaker is a 170-page whole foods cookbook with 78 individually-introduced recipes, many of which include photos. The book also has 8 non-recipe chapters on topics like frugal grocery shopping and hospitality. The book will appeal to young homemakers who need a resource for the basics (like slow-cooked chicken, granola, or pie crust). It will also appeal to busy moms who want to cut their time in the kitchen. They have specifically tried to keep the recipes simple and condensed.

If you want to read more about the book or download it, you can check out Jaimie's blog or the book's website. It's a good time to check it out because they are having a special sale this week only to celebrate the launch of the book!

I am so excited for Jaimie! She is such a sweet Christian woman who reflects the light of Jesus so beautifully! Its so awesome to see how the Lord brings dreams to reality in the lives of His children, isn't it?!

 

the ripple effect

I dusted off my crochet hook this evening to make some dishcloths. Gosh, it felt good to crochet! It's been too long. This is where the whole {eager hands} thing began. With a skein of yarn, a little metal crochet hook, and my two unsure hands. Guided by my 84 year old neighbor Pauline, I was introduced to the beauty and fulfillment that comes with making things with your hands.  And more importantly, my Creator began to stir up the gifts inside of me!

After crocheting for a little bit, I looked up Pauline's number in Atlanta and gave her a call. To be honest, I was a little surprised that she was still there! We had a nice little chat. She's 94 now and fiesty as ever. I told her I was still crocheting and thanked her for teaching me how. She forgot that she had taught me! I told her about how I now also sew and make jewelry, and that I have an online shop. When I got off the phone, I couldn't shake this thought:

You really never know how one small act of kindness can change the course of someone else's life!

Pauline thought she was just being sweet to her young newlywed neighbor, sharing a little skill that she knew that she had learned from her grandmother. But when I learned how to crochet, God woke up a creative gift inside of me! And that little gift has spread into sewing and making jewelry. And God has used the little things that I have made and dedicated to Him to bless and encourage women all over the world! And if Pauline hadn't had shown me how to crochet (with her shaking arthritic hands) that day, you never know if any of this {eager hands} business and ministry would even exist today! 

Wow. I know - deep, right? But, honestly, it really got me to think about how everyday God puts opportunities in our path to share something that He has put inside of us with someone else. To pass on a skill or a craft to them. To speak truths into their life. To encourage them. To bless them. To help them. 

And, like a pebble in a lake can create thousands of ripples, one small act of service or love can impact thousands of lives!

So awesome!! 

That gets me REALLY EXCITED. Can you tell?! 

 

gifts from a friend's garden

 wildflower bouquet in a mason jar

a whole bushel of string beans

(leo had fun snappin' them. :))

homemade raspberry jam on my toast this morning

{SIMPLE PLEASURES}

what little things are bringing you joy this summer?

 

my week in instagram

I recently joined Instagram. It's a great little thing you can do if you have a smartphone (which I haven't had until just last month). You can take photos with your phone, put a cool filter on the picture, and then post it to your little photo album of sorts. Here's my past week in instagram photos that I took with my phone. (If you want to look at all of my photos or follow me on Instagram, here's my page. )

happy to have my phone back. 

the screen broke and i didn't have it for 9 days. talk about feeling disconnected!

I burned my hand pretty badly with steam from my rice cooker. the pain was so intense that I immediately burst into tears and got very nauseous. Clint brought this little aloe plant home that night (he keeps it in his classroom). I was totally amazed at how quickly my hand healed, thanks to this little plant and the gooey aloe vera inside the leaves.

I thank God for that little aloe plant! He is so creative and amazing!

one of my themes for the week. 

I was so blessed to go to a baby shower for my friend LaSaunda. She is expecting her fourth child (and first girl!). It was held in our church, and it was decorated just beautifully! So much fun!

isn't she cute?! they put a tiara and "mommy-to-be" sash on her while she opened the gifts. :)

latkes (aka potato pancakes)!

if you've never tried them before, I highly recommend them! 

(you can get a mix in the Jewish food section in your grocery store - usually near the mexican food, indian food, chinese food, etc..)

enjoying a glass on champagne with clint on our backyard patio as the sun went down.

Benjamin and Leo made Clint this breakfast for Father's Day. (I helped just a teeny bit)

So cute!

breakfast in bed!

later that morning, I got a text from my next door neighbor asking us if we wanted their old sectional. They were having new furniture delivered the next day. Clint and I moved two couches and a recliner upstairs to make room for the new sectional. It is only 5 years old, and in very good condition. What a blessing!!

last night, Clint and I enjoyed some quiet time sitting on our comfy new sectional 

(that reclines in four places!)

We stayed up very late watching a live concert video from 1999 of Donna Summer.

(it was my Father's Day gift to Clint :) - he's a big fan!)

When I stumbled downstairs this morning, sleepy eyed from a late night, I was delighted to see that the children had marked the sectional as their own. 

There's plenty of room for pillows and blankets and stuffed animals. :)

the Lord gave me this little prayer the other day. 

that is the cry of my heart. 

to have eyes to see. 

eyes to see His beauty. 

in the little things.

in the mundane.

in the day-to-day goings on of my life. 

His beauty is everywhere. 

I just have to look for it!