Your Word for the Year?

I ran across a very cool "challenge" this morning, on Ali Edward's blog. It was thought provoking and intriguing! The challenge is to choose one powerful word for yourself for the year to come. Something that will help you keep on the track that you wish to be on. Who do you want to be, or become? What are your goals this year? What do you wish you could have done better in 2008? Where do you want your focus to be? What one word will translate all of those things? Go read her post on this, and leave a comment to be included in the drawing for ... well... you'll see! :D (hint: it's awesome!)

This is my word for 2009...

We all have choices to make every day, in every situation, every action and reaction, every hour of the day.

Your choices reflect who you are. You can choose to go the positive route, or the negative. You can choose to stand strong on something or bend.

Am I making the right choices in my relationships? In my word choices? How i handle situations or challenges. How i deal with my teenagers and 6 year old? (choosing not to strangle them each day counts, right??!)

Am I choosing the easy way, or the right way??

Are my choices keeping my priorities where they belong?

I need to make a choice each morning to be in God's word - or else i am off and running and doing 10 other things! I need to choose to react to that snotty comment muttered by daughter, or choose to bite my tongue and walk away. Choice of quality time with my family, rather than letting all the other "should do's" get in the way and missing out on those wonderful moments in time!

So my word this year is to remind me constantly to stop... & evaluate... and make the right choice. I think it comes naturally to make instantanious decisions... and sadly i don't always pause long enough to actually think about them.. and sometimes later wish i had!

What's YOUR word going to be for this year?

Go see Ali Edwards ' challenge. I would love to hear what your word is too!

Bright blessings for the year to come! Happy New Year!!

Well, I be sick :(

Goin to the doctor today for drugs. Can't put it off any longer.

I got a new camera for Christmas. Still trying to figure out how to resize my photos, and retrieve them! Not as easy as the software on my last camera.

Maybe i can use the old software??

Anyway, no pics until I get this durn thing figured out! LOL

We were given a wii console for Christmas!!!

Needless to say the whole family is now in the throes of big competitions. And we are all

incredibly SORE!! hahaha! How pathetic, huh?

None of us are used to swinging cows over our heads and catapulting them. Nor are we used to "running with our arms" as fast as we can, or wacking bunnies or shaking one arm till you think it's gonna fall off!! It is hilarious. And I'm learning how to be a guitar hero!! Mind you... i said LEARNING. Ha! At the moment i am still getting booed off the stage! (yes i'm that bad!)LOLOL But because I'm totally dedicated to my kids, and not embarrassing them, I WILL get better! Can't let them down now, can i ?

I am so uninformed about new technology. I had heard of the wii, but had no idea what made it any different from other games. Well WOW was i surprised!! LOL I am totally into it now! :) It's a TOTALLY physically active game!! None of that sitting on your butt playing a game! Noooo sirreee!! You are standing up and moving in all these weird contortions - using your body make the game move! Baseball... just like playing baseball... golf... hanggliding... they even have a fitness program with your own personal trainer (from what i've heard! lol we don't have that .. yet) arobics, yoga... holy cow!

And according to my son, we have now become like everyone else and "jumped on the wii bandwagon" ! hahaha! Granted... HE is the most obsessed out of all of us! So i'm thinkin he's not TOO dissapointed! :D

I have been hooking a bit on my little birdie rug, from an earlier post. It's coming along nicely, and about 2/3rds done. I will post a picture when i get it finished - IF i can figger out my new camera software! LOL

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families!! And may God bless you in abundance in the coming year!!

xoxo bren :)

The Christmas Truth

The greatest gift of all time.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

He who believes in Him is not condemned: but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:16-21

Let me just say...

There is NOTHING that you could have done in your life, that God will not forgive!!! Nothing!

So no matter what you have done, felt, thought... the Lord already knows and is just waiting for you to come to Him and ask forgiveness. And He will lovingly, and willingly wash you clean, and tuck you under his wing as one of His children!

It's not about "religion"!

It's not about rituals.

It's not about being perfect!

None of us CAN be!!

ONLY Jesus was able to lead a sin free life!

It's about recognizing this one basic truth, and admitting it to yourself and to God.

It's about seeking Him out for a relationship.

For help, guidance, forgiveness, friendship.

It's ALL about relationship.

Period. Has God been knocking on your door? Asking to be invited in?

That's all it takes.

The invitation.

Ask Him to come into your life.

He loves you like no other can!

The Gift has already been given - and it's just sitting there waiting for you to open it and receive it!! Don't turn away from the most amazing, life changing present you will EVER receive!!

No other gift will ever compare!

Have you accepted your Christmas present from God?

If not, don't put off opening it!!

It's yours - free and clear!

Your life has been paid for in full, all debts paid.

Telestai.

All because of LOVE

Merry Christmas!!

Santa's on his way

I have 3 very giddy, very excited children right now, tracking Santa's whereabouts on norad.com !!

Calli is beside herself!! LOL I think Christmas Eve is literally THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR!!! I don't care what the scientists say. lol For kids (and adults) it is the day that seems to last forever!! :D I am taking the kids roller skating today. To help pass the time!!

Then we're coming home and baking cookies.

Then it's off to church.

Then we're going to Grama's for Christmas Even dinner and presents exchanged between Gramas and kids.

THEN

home and trying to get them to fall asleep!!

LOLOLOLL

ya.... right!!! :D

Can you remember the excitement YOU felt when you were their age???

I CAN!!!

And sleep was NO WHERE to be found!! LOL I still hear the bell. So do my kids! :)

Do YOU?? *****

I started on a new rug last night. It's been forever since i hooked last. Been going thru major withdrawls!! My friend Kelley designed a sweet little pattern, and I was eager to get going on it!

Felt SO GOOD to just sit and pull some loops and reeelaaaxx!!

Don't know if this color scheme is going to work or not? Still trying to decide.

Medium value backgrounds have been my self imposed challenge this year. (well that and florals lol) They're a booger to work with! But it can be done - and they turn out awesomely old if you can get it right! So we'll see where this one goes! :)

All my chores are done. Wrapping is done. Grocery shopping is done. House is clean. I am as ready as I'll ever be! LOL Still can't believe it's Christmas already!! This year has FLOWN by!! :(

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas Eve day!!!

xoxo

Blessings, Bren

Christmas Quilt

Well, my girlfriend Jacque got her Christmas present the other day, and just couldn't wait to open it - called me BEGGING to open it early!! LOL

So the softy that i am... i said - ok!! :)

She opened it on the phone with me... love that! It's almost as good as being there! And she loved it! Yay!!! I was so nervous that she wouldn't! I made SO MANY MISTAKES it wasn't even funny!! And i am THE WORST quilter in the world!! I love to piece though!! And i love making quilt tops! hahaha! But every one i have ever machine quilted, i have boogered up beyond belief! EXCEPT this one!! (woohoo!!!) I used machine quilting thread - and it was a lap size quilt like 60x60 or something - so it was "just" doable!! But alas.. i still made all kinds of other boogers on it! haha! I almost used that as an excuse to not give it to her, and keep it instead! LOLOLOL!! She's glad i didn't though - boogers and all! Yay!

So that's one of the things i was diligently working on! :)

Hope you have a WONDERFUL CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!!! :D

Sick Baby

Well my baby woke up feeling sick this morning. Complaining of her stomach hurting :(

Poor thing!! :( She was trying to rest in this picture. Isn't it pathetic when little ones are sick?!

Wellll she finally threw up, and then she felt a bit better. I have a lot of things to finish sewing today, for Christmas. So I took her and the little dvd player downstairs with me, made her a little bed to snuggle up in, and put on Santa Claus is Coming to Town movie! :) (one of my all time faves. lol) She got soooo into it this year!!! It was right up her alley - answering all her questions! Yay!!

So now she's watching Rudolph :)

And after that Frosty of course!

And then if there's still a little movie time left... the Polar Express!!

What a fun sick day!!! :) LOL And i'm sooooo enjoying having her next to me down in my sewing room... singing together... answering Santa questions!!! I have been missing all that one on one time since she started school full time!! So.. i'm sad she didn't feel well. BUT i'm thrilled to have "stolen" a sick day with her! Definitely a blessing in my eyes!

Now.. all you "tadults" out there who are NOT in the Christmas spirit - i fully reccomend pulling out your favorite Christmas movies and watching some of them!! It will change your whole mood! :D

Calli has decided this weekend she needs to watch "The Santa Clause", Miracle on 34th st., and veggie tales The Toy that Saved Christmas. hahaha... i'm thinkin the next 9 days her anticipation level will be soooo high, she won't be able to sit still! LOL

Merry Christmas!!

I'ma slacker when it comes to my blog lately!! Mostly because i have been working on several projects that are "secret" !!! Pictures will be taken and shown after Christmas. LOL :) Have been busy running back and forth to the shop, and working. Kids' concerts, and Christmas shopping. I have had several requests for more pics of our little retail space... so did snap some the last time I was down there! It's packed full right now - but looks better in person than in the pics. Remember we only have a little 130 square feet space to work with!! Please ignore my coffee cup that made it into two pics! LOL Cheryl made some absolutely gorgeous shibori dyed wool scarves! That's what you see hanging next to the yellow cabinet. They are so beautiful!! Sadly though.. many that come through our room now think ALL that wool in there is wool scarves!! hahaha!! Most people have no clue what rug hooking is, nor have they seen a hand hooked rug in person! But they are amazed when you explain to them that these rugs are made of wool - and they are instantly intrigued!! So that's tons of fun!! :) Our lights were falling down that night, and I got them back in place after taking pics. But they seem to keep falling back down. grrrr.

Have been working on some pillows for the shop. These are the tops i have done, and just need to sew them up and stuff them, and get them down there!!! I have found that the whimsical sells well down there, and after seeing these two blogs (Michelle My Belle, Red Shoes Blog), was totally inspired to do a few snowmen of my own!! LOL Granted, they are not nearly as cute as those two talented girls!! But it was still fun and got me in the spirit :)

I have a couple others in the works, and will share them as i get them finished.

Finally got OUR tree up and decorated!! woohooo!! And i need to start wrapping presents and getting things ready. Sooo fun!! I am still stumped on what to get my husband this year... but i have a small inkling of an idea... just don't know if i will be able to make it happen! And nooo... sadly i can't share that here either, as he occasionally reads the blog! LOL

I am VERY excited about being able to play Santa for a few friends this year!!! Have been giggling like a school girl for two days - and just can't contain this silly grin and excitement being able to do something fun and off the wall!! Was going around the house doing HO HO HO 's yesterday. LOL kids thought mom had been drinking!! hahaha! But once they found out what was going on, their mouths hit the floor and THEY started HO HOing!! :D

God has blessed us in abundance this year. He has provided for all our needs, and then some. And for the first time in many years, we have a little extra and are able to do a little extra this year to spread the blessing around :)

Are you in the Christmas spirit?

We are getting hit with a cold snap, snow and ice that will be lasting at least 2 weeks here. ugh. It is DANG COLD!! And as much as i dislike that kind of cold - i do so love big cozy sweaters, snow boots, fun scarves and snow angels!!! So... i'm trying to embrace it!

May you have a gorgeous Holy Spirit inspired day!

xo

Bren

A MUST SEE!!

Wow - 2 posts in one day!! Can you believe it??!?!

This is a quickie! If you haven't seen this -The Star of Bethlehem - drop what you are doing and get it NOW!! I can't reccomend it enough!! For believers and non believers - this will blow your mind! This is something I think EVERYONE should see. It will change your perspective on a lot of things, move you to tears, and bring you closer to God. This is recounting of a factual scientific discovery of God's hand at work. You don't want to miss this!! We are giving a copy to everyone on our list this year! Here are the links to the website. I hope you take the time to order it, and watch it as soon as you get it! http://thestarofbethlehemmovie.com/index.php http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ May you be as blessed by it as we were!!

Alive and Well

Yep, I'm alive and well :) Just a terrible blogger the whole month of november! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and were surrounded by friends and family and lots of laughter! I have been working on many different things lately. But sadly can only show you a few of them. The others are for gifts and I don't want to give away the surprise!! :) I've been dinkin around with the needle felting tools. Decided to make some purses for the shop. I still need to sew everything together.. but try to picture them finished! :) I'm going to put some big antique buttons on the front centers, with a flap closure. The one below was just fun to play with all the different yarns and rovings i had, so it's just a hodge podge of everything i could find! LOL

And of course, was called in by the polka dots. Why am i such a sucker for them??

Here's a quick snapshot of my curious George cat (her name is actually Pounce). But she was up there pokin around and when she saw me looking at her, she stood stalk still... like "you can't see me, but i can see you!" LOLOL I guess chubby doesn't realize she needs to hide her back end too!

I received the most wonderful gift this week!!!!! I just couldn't believe it!! I participated in a UFO Challenge, that was put together by my friend Kelley. And actually got quite a few rugs done, so was put in a drawing for a prize. Couldn't believe I won!! Well... this was the LAST thing i expected to see when I opened the box that Kelley sent!!!!!!!

Holy cow!!!!!!! I was speechless!! This is much bigger than "gift size" !! LOL Talk about an amazing, generous, gift that made me feel soo... honored!! It's just so rare that people who create, get handmade gifts!! And as someone that creates, they are top on my list to get!!! This was just soo wonderful! I was doing the happy dance all over the house, my kids thought i was nuts. LOL And this is now proudly hanging in my studio - front and center! Can you say deliriously happy?!?!?

****So just a little side note to you hookers out there - hook one of your hooker friends a rug!! No one else in this world will appreciate every little loop that you pulled, as much as they do!! And don't go thinking.. well they hook... they probably don't like the way i hook, or.. they could make it themselves.. blah blah blah. It's soooo different receiving a piece of someone else's work, that just being surrounded by things you yourself have done!!

I proudly show off things my friend or other artists have done, and very rarely bring mine into the spotlight!! ****

Ok.. i'm out of time for today. Who knows when I'll be back? I have so many goodies to finish up by Christmas - if you don't hear from me by January 1st - please send the (cute) firemen over to my house to dig me out of my craft room - i might be buried alive in wool!! (heyy... it could happen!! LOL You haven't seen my craft room!!)

Until next time... wishing you much brightness and cheer, blessings in abundance and the true warmth of the Spirit this Christmas season!!! Let Jesus shine through you!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!