You Marry Their Family; For better or worse.

This post is dedicated to my amazing mother-in-law as she faces the last few weeks of her treatment. Hang in there! You are almost through it. And remember, what ever comes next, we are here!

I was married on a Saturday in late July in the church that my dad started over 20 years ago now. For years we had met in various rental locations, until when I was 16 we finally had finished building our own building. Six years later I stood at the front of the building pledging to love one man, this man, my man, for the rest of my life, for better or worse.
    That was three and a half years ago. I am still in love with my husband and enjoy my daily roll as wife and mother to our two daughters. Over the past three plus years we have spent together we have celebrated abundant "better" and struggled through our  share of "worse". Having two beautiful daughters in just under three years of marriage, buying a house, and watching God provide for us in new an unexpected ways are just a few of the "better" moments we have had. While an unexpected pregnancy while I was uninsured, difficulties at both of our jobs, and a tough economy have been just a few of the "worse" moments we have had to navigate. But what I wasn't expecting was how much of the "better" and "worse" would have nothing really to do with us.
    You are always told that you don't just marry your spouse, your marry their family. I never doubted this statement truth. My husband and I are both very close to our families, and I knew that they would play a huge roll in our lives. What I wasn't expecting is for our vows, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health to be nearly as true in our relationships with them as with each other.
    We have been married for nearly four years and in those years we have celebrated our families together. We have traveled to Gatlinburg, TN with his family to celebrate his parent's 30th wedding anniversary. We have spent a weekend in MD all crammed into my parents house, taking a dinner cruise around DC, to celebrated 40 years of marriage for my parents. We have celebrated my father's 60th birthday. We have rejoiced at the birth of a niece and nephew. We have celebrated the marriage of his brother. We have been touched to be involved in my younger brother's life as he attended college in the same town that we live in. We have watched him meet, court, fall in love with, and propose to an amazing young women.  And come next June we will celebrate their love at a beautiful wedding that our two daughters will be flower girls in. We have toasted new jobs, and praised God for restored health. Together we have truly celebrated the "better", the "richer", and the "health" of our families.
    But just as our marriage has had it's low points so have our families. We have watched women on both sides of the family battle cancer. We have watched as family members have lost jobs. We have struggled to help out when there are more bills then money. We have watched and prayed as marriages struggled, hearts were broken, and loss to personal to share in a blog were suffered.
    We have loved, laughed, prayed, cried, rolled our eyes, fumed, forgiven, and held each other and each others families. It may be clique, but "no man is an island" so we live through the better moments and the not so good ones, the days of abundance and the periods of lean, the healthy days as well as the ones full of pain. Because we married their son, their daughter, their brother, their sister and in doing so pledge ourselves to these people. Till death do us part. 

It's Summer Time and the Living is Easy

I came into the room and found them like this. It melts my heart.

It's hard to see but we were catching fire flies.

 My kitchen window makes me happy.

The first laundry out on the line at the new house.

It's a horrible picture, but it's a post card from a dear friend out in Montana. Every year for the past three Summers she sends me post cards while she is at camp. It makes my summer. 

These are the things making me happy these days. Summer is here and we are figuring out what that means around here this year. Finding that balance between staying busy and enjoying a slower pace. What's Summer look like over your way?

Give away at lovely little handmades

OOOOO SO excited Lovely Little Handmades is doing a give away. Go check it out over here.

Ravenhill giveaway!!

So one of my favorites Bloggers EVER Emily over at Ravenhill is doing a give away. She is an amazing artist and a lovely person. I had been following her blog since before Christmas, then last February I bought the book Blogging for Bliss. She is featured in it and my interested was raised even more. Then she posted on my blog. It made my WEEK!  She has commented on my blog posts on and off and she always is encouraging and inspiring. Check out her give away.

An update.

It is Sunday afternoon and for the first time in what feels like weeks I actually have a few moments to rest and reflect. Josh has finally finished his six week, six-day-work-weeks. We are exhausted and drained and looking forward to going back to have a regular day off every week, other than Sundays.

I've been thinking lately about this past year. It's been rather crazy. A year ago I was still six weeks from my due date for Goose. A year ago we were just finding out about my mother-in-laws cancer. A year ago we were still living in a tiny duplex. A year ago this blog was something I hardly ever visited. A year ago sewing was something I was still trying to figure out. A year ago having an etsy shop and selling my items was something I only dreamed about.

Now Goose is almost a year old. She has been walking for almost two months and she and Bear are amazing to watch together. Now Ruth is almost done with her cancer treatment. It has been a long journey for her as well as those dear to here. It has changed a lot of things and effected the dynamics of all of our relationships. It has not been easy, but we had all grown. Now, we are living in a beautiful home that we are making mortgage payments on, instead of paying rent. Now, this blog is a place that I use to truly express myself. My followers have grown from zero to 45 which is so exciting. Though I worry that i may have lost my way some how, some of my favorite most loyal commentors from last spring haven't been heard from in months. I'm saddened by this and not sure what to do about it. Now, I am sewing constantly. I have a rather large space set aside for just that. Now I have an etsy shop! It has been slow in taking off, but it is something I am committed too.

So what about you? How have things changed for you this year?

The week started out crazy and hectic but has finally slowed down. A sliced toe on Bear has called for a lot of time on the sofa watching movies. I resurrected a long forgotten Christmas stocking and have been enjoying some hand work. Amazing how a few crazy days can make you appreciate that slower summer rhythm so much more.

Cluck Cluck Sew Giveaway!

OK so with ALL the sewing I did the past two days I didn't buy a single thing. I used only stuff I already had. Which means, my stash is now majorly depleted. So for fun I have been searching for giveaways. Here's a list of the best ones.

Cluck Cluck Sew is giving away a whole set of fat quarters!

There is also a cool charm square give away over here.

Layer Cake  give away.

Here is a jelly roll giveaway.

HAVE FUN!

A Summer Solstice Bag for My Nephew

I have been sewing none stop for the past two days. I can't show a lot of it here yet becuase it's a surprise. So I won't post anything until it's safely to it's destination. (Hopefully by Friday!) However, since my 6 year old nephew doesn't know how to find my blog, I think it's safe to post his stuff.

He turned six back in February, but due to packing up my house I kind of forgot his birthday. So to make it up I am sending him a bag of goodies for his Summer Festival this weekend.My apologies for the dark picture it was really cloudy all morning and I had to get it packed up.

A drawstring back pack. I used pinking shears instead of turning in the seams. I used a different fabric for the front and the back. I use roughly a fat quarter for each side. 

 These are felt circle garlands. I got the idea over here. This is actually was inspired the entire project. The Lion loves decorating!! I didn't use wool felt becuase I was trying to de-stash and I had a ton of the eco stuff in my house.

A picnic place mat and napkin for picnics down by the lake. 

 A fabric ball.

A little Waldorf inspired Gnome with sleeping bag and pillow. I figured he was just the right sized to be a perfect buddy on Summer adventures. I used the dolls house doll pattern from  Making Waldorf Dolls.

After making him I swore I would never use the pattern again. Something about it just didn't work for me. However, Bear found him and fell in love. So... I may be making another one after all. I did use wool felt for his cloths/cap and sleeping bag/pillow. I love it so much better then the eco stuff. 

 

Last Week, This Week

 

Last Week:

I finally seemed to pull out of my funk. A visit from Mom and a variety of activities seemed to help. Getting out the house with the girls during the day helped. Getting out of the house in the evening as a family, a couple, and just me also helped a lot. The fog has even lifted enough that I am looking forward to sewing again. Which is a good thing since.....

 

This Week:

(I am looking forward to)

* Sewing up a number of orders/gifts that need finishing.

*Having coffee tonight with a friend from church.

*Having coffee tomography night with my sister-in-law and another dear friend.

*Having my old college house mate visit for the weekend and

*Getting together with her and our other house mate (who lives here in town) on Saturday

*And most likely hitting up the pool again because Summer isn't Summer with out the pool.

And So Summer Begins

It hasn't been the easiest start to summer. Hubby's crazy work schedule, Goose's new found mobility, and Abi's crazy energy, and a overwhelming bought of loneliness have warped this season I once loved into one I am dreading. But a season it is. One that I will look back on wishing it hadn't passed by quite so quickly. So I pause, and breath, and remind myself that this is my adventure to live.