today’s projects

Ashley and I stopped at the little farm down the road and bought some fresh strawberries……

After we ate about half of them, we covered some in dark chocolate……

Yum, yum, yum! Ashley said, “Every pregnant woman should have a stash of dark chocolate-covered fresh strawberries.” LOL

Ashley asked me to make a blanket for her…….she chose the yarn.

This is the purse Ashley is working on…….

Here’s a link to the pattern she’s using: http://stitchesoffaith.blogspot.com/2007/03/anatomy-of-strapping-young-lad.html

razorback fans

The first time we moved to Arkansas was 1993. Sawyer was about 7 months old, and Patrick was 3 years old. The day we pulled into Jacksonville, Arkansas, the temperature was a balmy 114 degrees. For a Montana girl, 114 degrees is H.O.T. Not to mention the ever-present humidity of about 98% (or so it seems to me). The real bonus was that the apartment we were moving into had no electricity. And was on the second floor. The electricity had been off for at least a week. Which meant there was no air conditioning. For at least a week. And did I mention the apartment was on the second floor?

Let’s just say my first impression of Arkansas left a lot to be desired.

Since that first day in July of 1993, we’ve spent quite a bit of time in Arkansas. As a family, I think we’ve spent about 7 years or so here. Roger has spent even more time here going through different types of training for his job. And while I can honestly say that, given the chance, I’d move back up to the northwest in a heartbeat, I must admit that Arkansas has begun to grow on me a bit.

When we moved (back) to Arkansas after 3 years in Alaska (heaven), Roger and I decided to buy a house here. We figured this would be Roger’s last assignment in the Air Force, and his best chances of getting a decent job after retiring from the AF would be here as a C-130 simulator instructor. So we made a conscious choice to make Arkansas our home for a while. We’re figuring the next 30 years or so.

When my dad became too ill to really be completely on his own without someone around to help when needed, we decided to move him down to Arkansas. And when my daughter and her fiance’ just weren’t quite making it on their own in Minnesota, we decided to move them down to Arkansas.

Our first grandchild will be born in about 2 1/2 months ~ here, in Arkansas.

And if all of those things weren’t enough ties to keep us firmly rooted in Arkansas for the next few years, we now have one more reason to stay.

Patrick will graduate from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts at the end of May. That’s not the added reason for us to stay here, though. This is: Patrick was offered a fellowship to the Honors College at the University of Arkansas.

A fellowship.

And, he was awarded the Arkansas Governor’s Distinguished Scholar award ~ a scholarship on top of the fellowship.

Today Patrick notified the UofA he would accept the fellowship. He also accepted the Governor’s Distinguished award. He has notified the other schools ~ a couple of really good schools that also offered him good scholarships ~ that he will be attending UofA. The deal-maker (or deal-breaker, depending on how you look at it) was the fellowship. “Honors College Fellow” just looks so much better on a resume’ than anything else he was offered from any of the other schools.

Now for the sticky part. Do you know what the University of Arkansas chose as their mascot? A razorback. A hog. A big, wild pig. And do you know what their school cheer is? Woooo, pig! Sooie!

No, I’m not kidding. “Woooo, pig! Sooie!”

So……….needless to say, we’re extremely proud of Patrick. He has done an amazing job of keeping a high GPA at one of the top high schools in the nation. He will graduate from high school with over 40 college credits; he will be entering college this fall academically as what he calls a-sophomore-and-a-half. Everything will be paid for by his fellowship ~ tuition, room, board, activity fees, books, a new computer, a semester abroad ……. and more. The Governor’s Distinguished award is just icing on the cake.

It’s a good thing Roger and I had already decided that we were going to stay in Arkansas for a while.

Now if we could just do something about the University’s choice of mascot and school cheer ~ because really, there’s just something W.R.O.N.G. about wearing a big red pig snout on your head, yelling, “Woooo, pig! Sooie!”

do hard things drawing

Congrats to Beverly ~ she won the free copy of Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris!

quick service

Wednesday night I ordered 52 wallet-size prints of Patrick’s senior picture to be sent out with his graduation announcements. Yesterday I received a notice from Shutterfly that they had been sent out to me. Wow! Now that’s fast service! The order was small, so I paid the extra $5 for USPS Priority Shipping. I think we’ll be ordering digital prints online from now on. I’m kinda diggin’ this!

finished before bedtime

Just as I expected, Ashley finished her hat ~ her first knitting project ~ before bedtime yesterday.

It’s an adorable hat, and it looks really cute on her. She was thrilled with it. And it ONLY took her all day to do it!

We she and Jacob first moved down to Arkansas, Ashley was telling me about an afghan she had seen somewhere that was $300. She was outraged that someone would have the nerve to ask so much for a blanket. Well, now that she has had some experience with how long it takes to make a simple item, she’s a little less indignant about the cost of that afghan! LOL

learning to knit

Ashley has taken to knitting like a fish to water. I have never, never, in my 31 years of knitting, seen ANYONE pick up and take off with knitting like she has. She is the easiest student I’ve ever had!

She found a pattern for a really cute floppy bohemian-like hat that she has decided to make. It’s in 2×2 rib, and she started it this morning. If she keeps working the way she has, she’ll have the hat finished before she goes to bed! (She has been able to spend a large majority of the day sitting on the couch knitting because we both feel yucky today. I talked to Sawyer this morning ~ he’s still at a baseball tournament in Texas, and he said he’s not feeling well ~ neither is Roger, so it’s obviously something going around our home. I blame Patrick for bringing it home………he came home with a sore throat last weekend, and he left the rest of us a yucky little bug!)

ebook giveaway

Lisa at Homestead Originals is giving away a copy of her ebook Homestead Simplicity: A Primer. Head on over and check it out! (If you haven’t been to Lisa’s site before, you will have to register in order to leave a comment. It’s a painless process, and takes about 2 minutes tops. It’s worth the effort. )

and the winner is…….

This is the one Patrick has chosen as the senior picture to be sent out with his graduation announcements. Personally, this is my favorite of the whole bunch, so I’m pleased he chose this one.

Tomorrow I will continue to address the envelopes for the graduation announcements. Sometime next week the photos will be delivered to my home, and I’ll be able to put them into the announcements and get the whole kit and kaboodle in the mail. I’ll be glad to have that done; I know Patrick wants them to be sent out as soon as possible.

By the way, have you seen Shutterfly? I know Snapfish’s prints are less expensive, but from the other scrapbooker’s and photographer’s blogs I read, Shutterfly’s prints are better than Snapfish’s. Either way, I got 52 wallet-size prints for MUCH less than I would locally, including shipping!

more baby clothes than i know what to do with!

Just before Ashley and Jacob moved to Arkansas, one of Ashley’s friends gave her some baby clothes. Actually, Ashley’s friend gave her a LOT of baby clothes. Five or six boxes full of baby clothes, in sizes from newborn to 18 months.

One of the projects I tackled once we got Ashley and Jacob all moved in and settled was to take the baby clothes out of the boxes, sort them (keep, give away, throw away ~ then sort them by size), and wash them. I washed load after load after load ~ it took me 2 days to get everything washed, dried and put away. That’s a LOT of baby clothes. I have a high efficiency front-loading washer and dryer; I can wash and dry a king size down comforter in my washer and dryer. Just imagine how many baby clothes I can fit into one load. Now multiply that by 5 or 6 ~ that’s how many loads I can reasonably get done in one day. So, using my math skills, I come up with somewhere around 12 loads of baby clothes. In my INDUSTRIAL SIZE washer and dryer! I will admit, those loads were the most fun I’ve ever had doing laundry (one of the dreaded household chores that Roger and I usually share because I thoroughly dislike doing laundry). Baby clothes are so cute ~ especially little baby girl clothes!

Once I started getting the clothes folded or on hangers, I realized I had a problem. There were a lot more clothes than I was prepared to store. So, I confiscated half of Patrick’s closet ~ he’s at school until the end of next month, so he’s not really using his closet right now ~ and I went to the store and bought a plastic storage tall boy-like thing. Oh, and I also confiscated one of those large plastic storage drawers that was not being used.

I filled up half of Patrick’s closet with baby clothes:

I filled up the plastic storage tall boy-like thing:

And I filled up the plastic storage drawer:

And even all of that wasn’t enough storage. If you’ll notice in the picture of the tall boy-like thing, there’s a box on the floor to the right. That’s a regular size moving box ~ it’s full of baby clothes. Next to that, which you can’t see in the picture, is a regular kitchen size garbage bag that’s also full of baby stuff, as well as an additional regular size moving box! Good gracious!

Attison is going to be the best-dressed baby in all of Arkansas, and maybe even the surrounding states. We’re not going to have to buy her any clothes until she’s almost 2 years old ~ and if she’s as small as we’re thinking she might be, it may be even longer before we have to buy any clothes for her.

Don’t take me wrong ~ I’m thrilled to have so many baby clothes. Ashley’s friend was SO generous. She also gave Ashley 2 infant car seats, a johnny jump-up, a small swinging basinet, and a crib set (bumper, 3 sheets, comforter and matching pillow). Kathryn has said she has an older child’s car seat she wants to give to Ashley, and just this morning a lady at co-op offered to let us borrow her hand-crafted cradle. I’m so amazed at how giving people have been with this baby!

I’m thankful beyond words to all of you who have been praying for Ashley, Jacob and Attison. And I can’t even begin to express my thanks to those who have so generously given Ashley baby clothes and other baby items. We’re fairly well prepared for Attison’s arrival ~ now we just have to wait until it’s time for her to be born!

my newest toy

Well, I’ve finally taken the plunge. I bought a sewing machine. And I fully intend to learn how to use it. No, really ~ I do!

Growing up sewing never held any kind of appeal for me, so I never learned how. And to be honest, until about a month ago I didn’t really have much of an interest in learning how to sew. But for some reason, lately learning to sew has become just slightly less than an obsession for me. Maybe it has something to do with finding out I’m going to be a grandparent in a couple of months ~ oh! the cute little dresses and outfits I’ll be able to make for my granddaughter!

Now I just need to learn how to do more than wind a bobbin. But, I have successfully wound my first bobbin, so I’m on my way.

do hard things

With over 10 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins’ revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential. Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I have a brand new copy of Do Hard Things to give away. If you would like to be entered into the drawing, just send me an email. Please put “do hard things” in the subject box so my spaminator won’t eat it!

I will draw a winner next Monday, April 21 ~ entries will close at 12:00pm (noon) CST that day. Because this giveaway came with a postage-paid envelope from the publisher, the drawing is open to residents of the lower 48 contiguous US.

baby shower slideshow

Here are a few pictures from the baby shower my friends held for Ashley and Attison last month. I’m still combing through all of the pictures the photographer gave me ~ these are a few to get you started, though. As you can see, we had a fantastic time. One of my favorite pictures from this group is the one where there’s a line of ladies sitting in chairs in front of a window ~ if you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll recognize my friend Kathryn in the middle of them ~ they’re laughing (I like the word chortling to describe their belly-laughing) and having a great ol’ time!

the "new" car

Yesterday Roger bought us a new car. Actually, it’s a used car, so it’s a “new-to-us” car. I L.O.V.E. my Suburban, but have you noticed the price of gas lately? Geez! It’s ridiculous. So, Roger found us a nice used car that is bigger than our 1999 Honda Accord but smaller than the Suburban, gets pretty good gas mileage, and will seat 5 or 6 people in a crunch ~ it will seat 4 comfortably. As much as I hate to give up driving my Suburban everyday, for now I’ll be driving the new-to-us car. Roger and I chuckled because, quite honestly, the “new” car is a total granny car ~ a 2001 Buick Custom La Sabre, V6, automatic, white with gray interior. It has decent mileage for a 2001 model, and when Roger had our mechanic check it out the guy said it was in good shape. And for the asking price, it was a good deal. Roger even managed to talk the guy down $500 from his original asking price, so Rog did pretty good!

The best part was Roger’s suggestion for a vanity plate: Go Nana. LOL!

weather, weather, weather

I think Ashley and Jacob brought all the bad weather we’re having with them when they moved here!

Actually, I know that’s not true. Poor kids ~ we’ve had 2 days of tornado warnings in the 10 days they’ve been here. They’re certainly getting a crash course in Arkansas spring weather ~ we’ve had wet, chilly days, warm humid days, rainy days, days with tornadoes, and days with nothing but sunshine. At least the pretty flowers and trees are blooming (even if Ashley is allergic to everything in bloom!).

We’re expecting more bad weather over the next day or so. Tonight the whole family is together though. Roger drove down to pick up Patrick and Ariel who each have a scholarship interview at the University of Central Arkansas tomorrow. Prayerfully the weather will cooperate and they’ll be able to get to Conway and back without any problems.

elefante giveaway

photo by Susan B. Anderson

Is he the cutest little knitted elephant you’ve ever seen or what?! This little guy was knitted by Susan Anderson, author of Itty-Bitty Hats and Itty-Bitty Nursery. Susan is having a giveaway right now ~ you could win this elephante! Just go to Susan’s site and leave her a comment. The contest ends Friday, April 11 at 12:00pm Central time.

auntie em! auntie em!

Well, Jacob and Ashley have had their first taste of spring in Arkansas. What do I mean by that? Why, tornadoes, of course! And lightning that lights up a lovely green sky.

There are possibly more tornadoes in store for us this evening/early morning. The tornadoes that hit in our area didn’t hit in our neighborhood, but that’s the best that I can determine for now. Kathryn called to let me know they’re ok, too. They live about 30 miles south of us, and they were also in the direct path of the storm that passed through earlier. We’re still under tornado watches and warnings, so there’s more to come.

about ashley

My daughter Ashley is my child from my first marriage. Most people don’t know that I was married once before I married Roger. I was 18, young, foolish, and honestly I was in complete rebellion towards my parents.

As you can imagine, it’s a very long story. The short version of the long story is that by 14 months into the marriage, my (ex)husband had been involved in several extra-marital affairs. At that point I felt it was best that I end the marriage. I will not bash on my ex-husband ~ it was a LONG time ago. God has forgiven me of my sins, and I have been given the strength and mercy to forgive my ex and move on.

About a week after I left that marriage, I found out I was pregnant. I don’t know that words can adequately describe the emotional flood and turmoil I experienced. I felt caught between a rock and a hard place at that point in my life ~ but in the end, it was decided that adoption would be best for the child. It was without a doubt the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life.

On August 22, 1988, I gave birth to an amazing, perfect, beautiful little girl. I spent a couple of days in the hospital with her, then had to give her over to the attorney who was handling the adoption. I was able to see my daughter one more time before she was given to her adopting parents. Since then I have had no contact with either her or her adoptive parents.

My heart has always ached to know where my daughter was, how she was, who she was ~ but I thought finding her would be very difficult. Recently Roger began urging me to find my daughter ~ she’s 19 years old now, and Roger knows how much I’ve wanted to find her. Patrick and Sawyer have known about Ashley all of their lives, and they were (and are) also very supportive of me finding her.

I contacted a couple of Search Angels who have the birth records for Ohio and asked if they could help me find my daughter. They were able to locate her, and passed the information along to me.

I fretted over contacting her, because obviously I didn’t really know anything about her situation or how she would feel if I contacted her. But I went ahead and sent her a message, praying that whatever her reaction would be, I would handle it well and that the Lord’s hand would guide me.

Shortly after sending her a message through her MySpace page, I heard back from Ashley. She sent me her phone number in an email and asked me to call her. She was as excited about being found as I was about finding her! God worked this whole thing out so amazingly well ~ and I am so incredibly thankful to Him.

When Ashley told me she is pregnant with her first child, I was over-the-moon elated. Not only have I found my daughter, but I’m going to be a grandmother in late June or early July! Wow ~ and I just recently celebrated my 40th birthday. It has been a lot to digest.

Roger and I arranged for Ashley to come to Arkansas in March. At that point I felt that it was appropriate to let people know about my previous marriage and the adoption. The warm reception and love my friends have shown since I began telling them this story has been incredible. When I told Ashley that my friends, who don’t even know her yet, want to give her a baby shower while she is here visiting, she was overwhelmed.

As is my habit, please allow me be frank and upfront. Ashley is not a Christian; she does not know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She currently lives with her fiancé Jacob, and they plan to marry sometime after the baby is born. While this is, of course, not the ideal situation, I pray that you would see her through the eyes of Jesus as one of His precious children who He loves and with who He desires to have a relationship. Ashley and I have begun conversing about God and about Jesus. I want Ashley to know the love of God, and to see Jesus in me and my family. I’m praying that the seeds will be planted, and that the Holy Spirit would move and work in her life in order to bring her to Him.

Ashley had an ultrasound last week which revealed she is going to have a girl. She and Jacob have decided to name the baby Attison Cole Lloyd. Roger and I are absolutely thrilled about being grandparents, and are thrilled to be receiving a granddaughter. We truly love Ashley, Jacob and Attison, and we are praying that our love for them will be apparent as well as transparent.

That, in essence, is the basic story. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. I can be contacted by email at simplescrapperATgmailDOTcom if you would like to get more information from me about our story.

I am truly humbled and feel blessed beyond measure by the sweet welcome and love my daughter and soon-to-arrive granddaughter have received from family and friends alike. Roger and I covet your prayers as we enter this new phase in our lives.

There are so many more details to our story ~ it would take pages and pages to relate them all. But more than anything we look forward to watching as God unfolds this miracle in our lives, and how He uses it to His glory.


To read updates about our story, please click here.

new winner

Karin won a copy of The Family Squeeze on another giveaway, so I’ve drawn a new winner. Congratulations to Abi!

book drawing winners

Congratulations to Cyndy and Karin. They’re the winners of the book giveaways ~ Cyndy gets a copy of Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear, and Karin gets a copy of Family Squeeze!