Sunday, August 24, 2008

He Is Good~~


I'm so grateful to God for my DH, my family~~kids, siblings, parents, in-laws. I'm so grateful to Him for my life. Not a perfect life, but full of signs that He loves me and is watching over me. And I'm so very very grateful for my friends~~~who've loved me and prayed for and with me and listened to me and cared about me. Thank you all. And Praise Him!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Happy Saturday All!

Happy Saturday All!
First, I've been privileged to be a part of Jewelry of the Day and my acrylic hope pendant was featured yesterday~~woo hoo! Anyway, Eric, the gentleman who set this program up, asked me to link my blog to this site. And I forgot. Man, am embarrassed! Anyway, please stop by this site and look at all the cool pieces that Eric is featuring. Each day is a new piece by a different artist and it's fun to oooo and ahhh. Thank you!


I had to show you this picture of my grandbaby Allessa taken last month! Is she going to become a dentist?? And those arms~~~oooooo I want to kiss 'em! Sorry...just had to show some "sugar", as my friend Angie would say.

Last weekend my DH and I drove 1 hour to Sacramento to go to church with my DD and SIL...then we got to see the house that they are buying...wow....light-filled, inviting, great neighborhood. What more could we ask? It does need some work and cleaning up, but it'll be good. Real good.


This weekend is a quieter one. Trying to shovel lots of clutter out of the house. Need a bigger shovel! Need a personal organization team to follow me around all day. Need Jesus to give me strength, a good attitude, and perseverance! AMEN!

Hope your weekend is good~~whether on vacation or at home. Wherever, whatever, may God protect and guide you. And inspire you! In Jesus' strong and precious name we pray~Amen.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Studio Cottage in Sonoma

Isn't this the most magical-looking little cottage? This is the studio of a Sonoma artist friend~~she let me come over to play last week. Oh boy!

This artist has a wonderful tool called a "rolling mill"...for all of you jewelry artists, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For you "normal" people, I'll explain that a rolling mill is this neato tool that you roll sheet metal with ribbon or lace or fabric or other stuff. The rolling mill imprints the pattern of the ribbon, lace or fabric onto your metal...very very cool. I imprinted a couple of pieces of copper with the grosgrain ribbon. And it looks cool. I'm going to use it it in one of my jewelry pieces one of these fine days.

Since the least expensive of these rolling mills cost about $300, I'm not going to have one of these any time real soon. But I can dream. I can drool. I can wait.

May the rest of your week be full of dreams. May He give you optimism and energy~~~and may His will be done. In Jesus' strong name we pray, AMEN!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Beautiful Baby Baptized


My brother's new little baby Sophia was baptized last weekend. She's sooo cute! She's wearing a beautiful crocheted gown that my Mom made. Here's a pic of my Dad, my brother's MIL, my SIL, my brother, and my Mom.

My goddaughter was one of the first people to get to hold Sophia when we arrived at the church....isn't she a darling?

And here's a snapshot of me goofing around with my other brother. I'm the oldest of five kids, and I love 'em all.

The ceremony was very interesting! It was held at a church in Turlock, CA, about 1 and 3/4 hours away from us. It was almost completely in Spanish! I tried to keep up with my high school Spanish, but it was so echo-y in the church that I didn't do well. There were several other babies baptized too, so a lot of crying took place~~

Afterwards, we all met at a city park and ate amazing Mexican food cooked by my brother's MIL and SIL....yum! We were so lucky to be together. We were so happy to have my little niece pledged to Jesus by her parents.... a big day.

May your week be joyful~~God bless you all~~~

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Earrings for Lisa

My dear friend Lisa purchased these earrings and this pendant-necklace from me...she's beautiful, but even more so wearing these pieces~~~LOL!(yes, that was an arrogant statement. Fortunately Lisa has a great sense of humor and will just laugh at me)



I had an amazing day today visiting a Sonoma artist's studio~~~WOW is my head spinning. I took a couple of pics and will share them later. All I'll say is that I want MORE TOOLS!!! A rolling mill, a chasing set up, a hotter new torch...hmmmm...when will I realize that I'm incredibly blessed and have so very much already?

Got my first pair of bifocal contact lenses today. Not used to them yet! My eye doctor said that it can take 1-3 weeks to adjust. Patience, Chris. Patience...

Lord thank you thank you for an amazing day and so many gifts and blessings. May my dear friends and family be protected, guided and inspired by you~~in Jesus' strong name I pray

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Secret to Jewelry Making~~

I have a confession to make~~~my kitty really helps a lot with my jewelry making, and I rarely give her any credit! Her name is Beatrice, but she's known as "Button" around here. And she loves to play with my jewelry-making supplies and move things around on my workbench.

You can see what a big help she is. Lots of times I'll return to my bench and have to pick up chain (her favorite) or beads off of the floor. I believe that the extra exercise and leaning forward introduces more blood to my brain and helps me to create!! Am I lucky or what?

God bless you all today, Wednesday, the middle of the week~~~

Monday, August 11, 2008

Blessings~~~

My daughter and SIL spent the weekend with us. What a blessing! They helped my DH load wood in the truck and deliver it to a church friend. They cleaned my car and helped us buy and install Photoshop elements~~WOW! Now I need to learn how to use it. It's gonna be fun!

I hope your weekend was great. I pray your week is good. Bless you all~

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Great Story to Start the Week

Hello my blogging friends! To start the week out positively, I wanted to share one of my favorite stories, written by Thomas Schwarz.

A Manageable Load

I had been mucking out the horses' stalls for half an hour and I hadn't made a dent. Because the winter of 1994 had been colder and snowier than usual, the horses couldn't be let out for long periods. Now huge heaps of manure were frozen solid.

Hauling the stuff out of the barn was not easy. The path was blocked by a four-foot-high snowbank. Dragging the plastic bucket full of frozen manure and wet hay was a big pain.

Each time I got to the door I looked for an easy way out. And each time, I recalled my mother saying: "Offer it up." That was her answer to life's hardships, large or small--offer them up to the Lord as a show of humility, service and love.

I stepped outside, pulling the heavy, smelly bucket. "Okay, Lord, this one is in petition for the continued happiness of my family." I thought of all the families I knew racked by fighting, separation and divorce. By the time I got back to the barn I had tucked in a prayer for those families not as happy as ours, asking God to grant them peace.

Good health came to mind with the next load. Here I was, strong of body and mind, able to do what had to be done. If I attacked this task in manageable loads I would have the strength to see it through. Again I thought of others not so fortunate. My aches and complaints were nothing in comparison.

Each time I offered up another load I came around to realize how blessed I am--with a home in the country, a well-paying job, good friends, a wonderful wife and two children. "Even this chore isn't all that bad," I finally decided.

As the winter sun set red and glorious behind the knoll of ancient apple trees, my wife, Linda, trudged up the path to do the evening animal chores. But I had beaten her to them, a truly unusual event. "What a load!" she said, staring at the pile the size of a station wagon. "Your back must be broken."


Not really," I said. Instead a weight I had carried had been lifted. My worries were gone, lifted away as lightly as the pale smoke coming from the house's chimney. Each care had been transformed into a prayer. And, in fact, as I stood admiring my work, the sweat chilling beneath my hat and sweater, I felt better than ever.

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So, my friends, if you find yourself lugging big pails of manure---or just slogging through a challenging frustrating week, offer it up. Look for the good. And remember that He is always with you. Always!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Allessa's first birthday




Allessa turned one a little over a week ago...and I believe these pictures say it all! It was a bit overwhelming for her and she did get tired and cranky, but it was certainly fun for the grandparents~~~and the "kids"-Robert and Christine--really set up a nice party and barbeque. How joyful!

May your day be joyful. May God guide you and lead you through every challenge and party that you encounter~~

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Busy Summer Stuff


Happy Sunday All and a blessed week to all my blogger friends~~~crazy busy times, but I think of you all so often!
Here's a pair of copper and crystal quartz earrings I made recently. The copper rings were verdegris-ed in the salt water-solution-encased-in-ammonia-fumes method that I've mentioned before. These are so fun to wear!

Love to you all~~~~~