A Birthday Person

I’m a birthday person. I really, really love birthdays. Honestly, not so much my own. I mean, I do like it. A lot. But I love celebrating other people’s birthdays because I love celebrating people close to my heart. So when a group of my girl friends got together recently to paint pottery, I knew what I wanted to paint: A birthday plate! I take a dessert to work on all of my coworker’s birthdays, so I knew I’d get a lot of use out of it! 

 In the Studio

Fired and Glazed

My pottery painting experience also reminded me of why I don’t typically paint. I am not an artist! My friends were free handing monograms and chevrons… I was just trying to avoid looking like a kindergarten craft project.

Independence Day

My mom was the first to use my birthday plate!

A Key Lime Cookie with Toasted Almonds and Coconut courtesy of my sis... It kind of looks like mashed potatoes with bacon in the picture. I promise it's not! Although I do love mashed potatoes with bacon.

A 4th of July baby. What a great birthday to have! In fact, my grandparents were married on Christmas Eve and had two daughters – my aunt born on Thanksgiving Day and my mom on Independence Day! No wonder I love holidays!

This year our 4^th of July in Tennessee was extremely rainy, but we all kind of loved it. The rain is just so beautiful and instantly makes the farm greener. And shiny, I think. We also kind of loved it because we didn’t have outdoor plans. For everyone else, it was a bummer. My sister and I took my mom to Jackson’s Orchard in Kentucky to get some fresh peaches…

And then to Chaney’s for some ice cream…

My mom is sweet and thoughtful and patient and practically just plain perfect. It was wonderful spending a whole day celebrating her!

And judging by some recent photos, I am turning into her after all…

Could we be posing any more alike???

Happy birthday, momma! And America!

Fray (“Rag”) Quilt Tips

One of my 2012 resolutions was to learn how to sew. So after taking a class and making a tote bag, makeup bag, and skirt I thought – “Hey! Why not just make a whole quilt!” You know how I am… I always just dive right in! Sink or swim, baby.

It was ambitious.

I must say, though, that the sewing was one of the quickest parts. Cutting 390 squares of fabric evenly (130 patterned squares for both the front and the back and 130 squares of flannel for the middle instead of quilt batting), laying them out...

pinning the rows...

And then trimming the final product took up most of the time. Technically the quilt took four months from start to finish because I would work on it a little here and there and then put it away for weeks at a time. Homemade gifts always seem like a great idea in September, but during the week before Christmas when I was spending hours every night finishing this thing it didn’t seem so great! If I had worked on it consistently I probably could have finished it in about two weeks.

I used a tutorial on pinterest for specific instructions on how to create and sew the quilt, but have lots of tips below that I learned from my experience!

Fray (“Rag”) Quilt Tips:

I made several deviations from the tutorial. I’m apparently not very good with instructions. Or sewing. Most frayed (or “rag”) quilts have a definite front and back – with all of the fray on the front side. I, however, can’t sew that well yet and when I tried to put all of the fray on one side the back looked terrible because it showed every crooked seam and imperfect stitch.

 My experiment row… not very good!

So I just made mine double sided! I layered my squares on top of each other (one square’s edges all showed on top, the next squares edges all showed on the bottom)

And then layered my rows the same way so that fray would show on both sides. 

This made the seams much more forgiving because the fray covers them up in the end for the most part!!

I bought new fabric for this. If you do, wash and dry it all first so that it will shrink some before you sew it.

I saw this same method of quilting done with strips instead of squares after I had done all of the cutting. Considering that for next time…

Cut all of your squares to be exactly the same size THE FIRST TIME! Yeah, I didn’t do that and ended up squaring them all up again. Total waste of time.

Use a light colored thread that will blend in easily. I used chocolate brown and you can see every seam.

Use flannel as your middle pieces instead of quilt batting. It is easier to sew, warmer, and frays better.

Once the sewing is finished and you have cut off all of the extra threads, snip all of the excess fabric about 1/8 inch apart to allow for fraying. Use spring-loaded scissors when snipping the edges before you wash it (this is what allows the blanket to fray). I got a blister from my regular fabric scissors.

Don’t get discouraged when you sew your quilt together and it looks imperfect. Trust me, the fraying works wonders for the appearance of it!

When its time to wash and dry your quilt to fray it, use a laundromat. I’m pretty sure that my strings clogged my machine. Oops. 

The Finished Product:

My First Quilt!

It ended up being about 6ft x 4.5 ft which is a great size for curling up on the couch, but not quite big enough for a queen sized bed. The best part of this type of quilt is that you can just keep adding squares until it gets to the size you want! 

I gave it to my sister Allison on Christmas morning.

Ally enjoying her quilt

The main point is this – If you want to learn how to sew. Do it. Take a class. Ask a friend. And then you will figure things out as you go. As with most things, you can’t get caught up with absolute perfection and following the “rules”. I usually start projects and change directions a hundred times before it’s all said and done. My squares weren’t all even and my seams were sometimes crooked but fray quilts are very forgiving. And my sister loved it. And now I have about 3,000 requests for one. Yes, I will probably be getting better at these! 

My Christmas Wish

Emmy, what do you want for Christmas?

Toys and Big Bird.

What kind of toys?

Toys and Big Bird.

What will Santa be bringing you this year?

Toys and Big Bird.

What is on your Christmas list?

Toys and Big Bird.

I was two that Christmas and had never wanted anything as much as I wanted a Big Bird. My answer always stayed the same. “Toys and Big Bird.” I said it so often that our family and friends just kept asking me more and more often to see if my answer would ever change. It never did. I was unwaveringly certain of what I wished for that year. And under my tree that Christmas?

Toys and Big Bird, of course.

 Bottom Right: Toys and Big Bird

Still going strong... and going a little bit blind.

Unless you are a wishing for a trampoline, Santa never lets you down.

I have wished for many things over the years. And my favorite Christmases were the year of Big Bird, the year of the doll house, and the year of the basketball goal.

But the best Christmas present that I ever got was something that I never even knew that I wanted. I was in seventh grade and my Granny had just been diagnosed with cancer 4 months earlier. Because she lived next door, I was able to visit her every day while she was sick. Every single day. I never missed one. I always showed up with cookies in hand or a handmade card or most of the time just a big smile – because that is what she wanted the most. She would always pat my cheeks and tell me that she loved to see me smile. Long before I ever thought I could be beautiful, Granny would tell me so.

I recently found a school picture that I gave Granny in 96-97. On the back she had written "Beautiful".

Granny and I just before my first Christmas.

And that year for Christmas, her very last one, Granny had a special gift for me. She had wrapped up a little angel pin. The pin that the doctors gave her when she took her very last chemo treatment.

It was the first time that I wished for something bigger than a Christmas present. It was a Christmas present that made me wish for hope. It was a gift that changed my heart.

From that point on she always called me “Angel”. She would talk to me about how I was part of her heart. How I was her gift that made fighting a battle worthwhile. How I was her joy when she didn’t feel like smiling. How I was her delight and anticipation when the days felt long but she knew that I would soon be stopping by. So I kept showing up every day with a big smile and a lot of hope because that is what calmed her heart. And mine.

And just a few short months later when Granny moved from the arms of the people who loved her heart to the arms of the One who loves her soul, I wore my angel pin on my dress and prayed for a sign of hope. And that bright April morning, a day far too warm for any such thing, it began to snow. My restless heart settled as sweet snowflakes fell on my face while I cried her into a better place - her Home.

Oh, and over ten years later when we laid our Pa down beside his bride on Valentine’s Day, even though it was nowhere in the forecast, it began to snow again – another reminder of hope from above.

Christmas isn’t the same for me anymore. I have always been known for loving gifts, but gifts look a lot different to me now. For one thing, getting something like a vacuum cleaner makes me really happy. But now the presents don’t matter nearly as much as presence. As joy. As hope. As love. And now my wishes can't be wrapped and left waiting for me under a tree.

Now I wish for things like joy – for bright smiles and homes full of laughter.

It’s why things like my mom dropping an entire plate of cornbread on the floor is more memorable than the thousands of times that she made it perfectly.

Or why we laugh so hard that our eyes water when my sister wears my grandma’s wig. Again.

It’s why I send an ornament to my nephews every year after Thanksgiving. Because the anticipation of Christmas always brings a smile.

Or why I dance around singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs – no matter how terrible I sound. And I blare my favorite Christmas song on my way to work every morning – Unspeakable Joy – and my coworkers always ask why I am in such an exceptionally good mood lately.

Or why, when it comes time to give, we all give big. We buy toys for children that we will never meet, and donate food to families we may never know, and say prayers for everyone who may be alone.

I wish for memories – to be shared and to be made.

It’s why I like putting up the family Christmas tree – because digging out the Christmas decorations, sorting the branches, and untangling the lights is half of the fun.

And why I take my time hanging all of my ornaments on my side of the tree – because each one has a story and was, at one time, a favorite.

 My 1/3 of the family tree.

And why I adore when my sister comes to my condo to help me decorate my own place.

Because putting up a tree while using only one arm would have been quite difficult. 

And why I love holiday crafts that will tell stories for years to come.

They say things like: “I made this one night with my mom.” Or “This hung in my first home.” Or “This was the first Christmas decoration that I ever owned.”

And why I mix in a little bit of “old” with the new – because it reminds me of Christmases in Granny and Pa’s den – passing out brown paper sacks full of fruit and nuts while laughing at Pa for sneaking into his presents out of turn.

The star from Granny and Pa’s tree.

The star actually hung from the wall behind the Christmas tree. I never did ask why...

I'm on the bottom right in the reindeer handprint shirt (that I wish I still owned).

I wish for time. Something so valuable that we don’t just give it, we spend it. Because today is the oldest that I have ever been and the youngest that I will ever be again. This time and this place and this moment. It is my treasure.

Its why having surgery on my arm isn’t quite so bad when it means more dinners around the table, more visits from friends, and more phone calls from people who are a part of my heart.

 A Sleep CD and Dream Catcher from a sweet friend

Get Well Soon balloons just to make me smile. They did.

And it's why I look forward to every time that I meet with my 8^th grade girls at church.

It’s why I say “Yes.” more than “No.” and ignore a To-Do list to hang out with friends and stay up late to talk on the phone to friends far away.

It’s why I make sure that everyone that I love knows just how much they mean to me. And why when something is on my heart – a compliment, a memory, a “You mean the world to me” - I share it. Because I wish for time, but I will never know how much of it we have.

And I wish for Jesus, Himself.

For the world to see and love Him this Christmas season.

And I wish for Him to be born in our hearts over and over again.

I wish for Him to be welcomed in our world.

And, as always, I wish for the thrill of hope that makes the weary world rejoice.

A Life Worth Living

Moments with my family are anticipated and savored and adored. This weekend we all gathered to celebrate Easter on the farm – the place where our roots run deep and where our most treasured memories are stored – to celebrate the life within our family and the life within our hearts.

We hear laughter and giggles and the patter of toddling feet that remind us of the life in the generations to come.

We sing the little cousins into their next year of life.

We cherish the legacy of the Easters before us.

We rest in the relationships that sustain us.

 The color coordinated gals - great minds think alike.

 The parents

The awesome cookie baker

Today is one of my favorite days of the year because it is a celebration of Life. 

You see, Jesus’ death absolutely changed me. But His resurrection? It saved me. The victory is won. And that God? The God who was and is and is to come? The God who was not held by death? He LIVES. That God left a grave to live forever in our hearts. The temple’s curtain that separated us from God was torn. And now nothing can separate us from the Life that lives within us.

And when I look at my life and realize that I have nothing to offer but empty hands, a broken heart, and a story gone wrong, God looks at me and sees all that He needs. He is a God of The Empty.  He brings us fullness and satisfies our hunger.  He works with empty hands and empty hearts and empty tombs. He fills it with beauty and grace and redemption. A life that could not be held by death is held in our hearts. And the beauty and wonder of it all is that Easter is for all of humankind, but Easter is also just for you. And He moved heaven and earth to get to you. YOU. You are His desire. His intention. His plan. His purpose. Even if you were the only person in the entire world – if no one else ever had or ever would exist – He still would have come here for you. He would have died for you. And He would rise for you.

What a promise and a victory and a Life we have! A Life worth living.  A Life worth dying for. A Life worth celebrating!

The Best Christmas

You know how my family's Thanksgiving was just perfect? Well, it turns out that our Christmas is too.

 

We have tons of happy children.

Big imaginations.

 Apparently I gave lots of costumes this year...

Multiple generations.

 

Anticipated traditions. 

 Touring Opryland Hotel with Mom

New memories.

 

Quality Time.

Mario Kart

And as I have gotten older the Christmas scene has changed a bit. Traditions are altered. Festivities are relocated. Schedules are moved around. But I am thankful, because that means that my family is growing and changing and that legacies are living on through new generations.  And even though we might celebrate on the wrong day or in a new way, the miracle of Christmas lives on because Christmas is so much more than a day. Christmas is an entire season. A spirit. A love. A baby. A gathering. Plus, I have finagled these new schedules to my benefit. I have been Christmasing for two months now. That's how I like it. 

 

P.S. - I hope I still appreciate the Christmas season when I get back from Hawaii and my decorations are still up. I never got around to that...

 

Speaking of Hawaii, my friend helped me pick my outfits for the trip. Check out her blog post with specific tips for me. Have an event or trip coming up and don't know what to wear? Drop her a note on her blog. She can piece together cute, affordable styles in a flash. And you know that we all need a friend like that.