Thanksgiving and a craft show

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!  ~Psalm 95:2

Happy month of Thanksgiving!  It is my favorite holiday each year.  I believe it doesn't get enough credit anymore.  Thanksgiving is sandwiched right in the middle of the craziness of the beginning of the school year and the busyness of the Christmas season.  Being a teacher and working in a Hallmark store, I get the most of both of these occasions.  There's something about Thanksgiving though....something that makes me want to slow down....something that makes me appreciate the little things and family and close friends even more than normal.  

Thanksgiving brings togetherness and cozy times with family, mouth-watering aromas of homemade-from-scratch pumpkin pie and roasting turkey, and a break from most working hours.  What do you do for Thanksgiving that warms your heart and fills you with warm fuzzies?

With my true feelings about Thanksgiving shared above, another event happening for me in November is my first craft show.  It's more of a holiday shopping night, but for me it is a first.  This is the first time I am bringing my vases anywhere for the general public to see.  I've been busy preparing some fun new creations for these event.  Enjoy this sneak preview!  The show is at Kenowa Hill's Early Childhood Center on Thursday November 15 from 6-8 pm.  Come see them in person!

2 Corinthains 5:17 and A Candle Holder

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.                           
                                                                                                ~2 Corinthians 5:17

Tonight I write while I am sitting home with my husband, who just had knee surgery.  It's fairly quiet as he is still sleeping off the anesthesia.  I got to thinking...my life has gone through big changes lately.  The biggest being a new job.  It's hard to believe that I am in my ninth year of teaching.  I've spent the last 8 years building colleague relationships and friendships with teachers in Jenison.  I think about those friendships and miss everyone there more than they think.

My new endeavor keeps me in preschool, but moves me to Kenowa Hills Public Schools.  Here I am creating new friendships and colleague relationships.  So far, I have been blessed with a warm reception and feel like the KHECC is a great place to be and will evolve as our staff bond is strengthened.  

Each person with whom I have worked in the education field, at the beginning of my career and presently, have had an impact on my attitudes, work ethic, knowledge, and overall teaching experience.  It is fun to take a look at myself as I teach and say to myself, "I remember learning that from _____." or "_____ used to do it this way."  Thanks to everyone who has been there for me in anyway along my career.  The several children that I babysat for, Robbin's Nest Daycare, West Side Christian  School, Eastern Elementary in Grand Rapids, Jenison Public Schools, the staff at Camp O'Malley, the staff of Indian Trails Camp, and the staff of Kenowa Hills Public Schools.  I appreciate you.  "May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.  May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." ~ Numbers 6:24

I chose this candle holder to highlight on this post because it was in use at my house the night of a bonfire at my house.  The only problem was the RAIN!  I had invited colleagues from Jenison and the entire staff of the KHECC and it rained.  A few people stopped by for a memorable evening inside.  It was fun to see this and the matching Daisy Trio both displayed in my home. 

It looks nice unlit, but when lit it looks like they are twinkling on and off as the tealights flicker.

Joel 2:13 and Hot Pink with Sparkles

 Joel 2:13 Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 

Throughout the past several months, I have seemed to lose my connection with God.  I have found myself longing for Him and I miss being conscious that He is here.  This summer, for me has been a whirlwind of traveling, both near and far.  Shortly after school got out for the summer, my parents took our family to Alaska.  What an adventurous experience!  Just two days after returning home, just enough time to do some laundry, Todd and I jumped in the truck and headed to Iowa for a family wedding.  Alaska + Iowa = Three weeks with family from both sides and all over the world.  Following Iowa, I was home for a week then I spent 6 weeks in Lansing with the Ludlow family.  (Cousins of Todd's)  I thought I would be taking my class in the morning and then having all kinds of time left in the afternoon and evening to read and spend alone.  Wrong!  The girls kept me busy!  It turned out to be an exciting summer all around.  But coming back to the God piece...my Bible was with me...but never in my hands.  I miss it.  I miss the devotionals I used to do every day before school.  The last week in Lansing started listening to The Shack to get me thinking and pondering questions.  The rest of my summer is going to be spent reconnecting and growing with God.  I know He is always there, but I am not always there.   Well, God, I am back.  Thank you for always being, "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love...."

The vase below is one that I just made, no special order, and in fact, I still have it.  It is a uniquely shaped vase done with a hot pink pattern and accented with square Swarovski crystals.  In the sun, they just sparkle!  It still needs a home if any of you reading are the hot pink sparkly type people! 

10 mugs and Psalm 34:18

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. - Psalm 34:18

There are two reasons that I have chosen this verse for this post.  The first is the reason for the mugs...

My cousin Michelle asked me to make these for her as a thank you for her physical therapists and doctors.  She has been in incredible pain for a long time and she was losing hope.  She was brought to God and has kept Him by her side, incredibly close.  After all that she has gone through, God has sent these people and their talents into her life.  Not only is she giving them a mug of flowers, but she's also helping to plan a wedding for one of them who was not going to have a wedding to save money.  She's working hard to put the plans together to help this girl have her dream wedding on a Lake Michigan beach.  God is good!

(Second reason for this post is down the page a bit!) 

Aside from the mugs, I wanted to refer to Psalm34:18 one more time.  This past weekend, a relative of mine was killed in a motorcycle crash.  She and her husband were rear-ended by a drunk driver and he fled the scene.  Both of my relatives were transported by ambulance to the hospital...her injuries worse than his.  After hours of surgery all night, the doctors were unable to save her.   When I think of this couple, I think of how he was quiet and she had a great sense of humor.  She was always so nice.  And the thing that comes to mind is that they were SO in love.  They had just celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary less than a week before the accident.  She mentioned on Facebook that she "hit the jackpot when [she] married him in Vegas."  Along with thinking about all of her wonderful qualities, I have been praying a lot for her husband.  Still in the hospital with his own injuries, he had to say goodbye to the love of his life.  I cannot imagine what that feels like.  I don't want to.  I've also been curious...what is she doing now?  As she looks down from heaven with God by her side, does she want to come back and comfort all of us who are hurting?  Is she up there with complete acceptance of what happened and wanting to make us understand?  With so many questions running through my mind, I have clung to this verse..."The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." - Psalm 34-18  The reminder that the Lord is ALWAYS with us and he "rescues those whose spirits are crushed" is definitely needed at this time.  Please, if you've read this far, say a prayer for our family.  It is hard saying goodbye to someone's physical being, even knowing that they are in a better place.  We all love you, Kim.

With a heavy heart,

Andrea

Daisy Trio and Psalm 27:4-5

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

-Psalm 27:4-5

 

This verse brings a sense of security that nothing here on Earth can bring.  I am in awe of that.  In the fall my grandfather was in the hospital, and currently my grandmother is in the hospital.  They are 90 and 88 years old, respectively.  As of last night, we weren't sure how my grandmother was going to fare through surgery and recovery.  Sometimes when the doctors fix one problem, it leads to more problems.  That's what happened last night and this morning.  This verse brought me comfort.  I try to be realistic.  I know that humans don't last forever, but when you take a close relationship that has been growing for 30 years, there are heartstrings that just break at the thought of losing the other half of that particular relationship.  I want my grandparents to stay here with us on Earth for as long as our good Lord will let them.  But when facing the fact that someday they will both join our God in heaven, the comfort in knowing that part of them is already home and that they are "safe in His dwelling," brings a sense of calm over me.  I hold onto that...knowing that they are, we all are, "safe in His dwelling."  Today I praise Him and thank Him for holding us all "safe in His dwelling."

 

For this Daisy Trio, I stuck to the natural look.  The photos were taken on our new pallet wood floating shelves that Todd made.  The neutral tones in the vases really worked well with the raw wood shelves.  These would work great for flowers or candles!  

 May you feel comfort from the thought that God already has YOU "safe in His dwelling!"

Peace and Joy,

Andrea

Christmas Eve and 1 Peter 4:!0

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

I have gotten into Pier 1's Tasting Party collection.  They are fabulous for serving appetizers and desserts and even drinks.  I love all of the options that are offered and their display options.  I started building my collection last year with these ceramic spoons that and some clear glass mini bowls.  This year for Christmas, Angie blessed me with three more sets.  Two more sets of spoons and a set of mini shot glasses with spoons.  Check out more options here.  This Christmas Eve, I used my tasting party dishes to host some of my family for dinner after church.  What a blessing it is to have gifts that I can use to serve others! 

 These ceramic spoons are sold individually.  Each one has a hole drilled in the handle.  I used it to take red and green beads with red jewelry wire to make little accents for each spoon.  They turned out quite cute if I do say so myself! 

 This was part of my counter on Christmas Eve.  The two sets of spoons toward the top of the picture are the ones Angie gave me for Christmas.  They were eventually filled with cottage cheese and topped with a peach.  The individual spoons had appetizers in them.  They were Phyllo shells that I filled with Philadelphia cooking cream - tomato and basil flavor and topped with a slice of a cherry tomato and a piece of green pepper. 

And these glorious desserts are single serving pies baked in half pint canning jars.  How fun is that?!  Got this idea off from Pinterest.com.  They were delicious.  Next time I display them I would probably add a ribbon around each individual jar, but give that I had 5 hours to clean the house and prep the food, I think it looks quite cute! 

Merry Christmas to you all.  I hope you have a blessed 2012.

This isn't my normal post, but because I am so excited about it, I just have to share!  I've been on Pinterest for a short while now and have been seeing a lot of the melted crayon art.  So, I'm watching Ty and Hanna over night tonight and we gave it a try with our own twist.  Here's Hanna's and hopefully Ty will do his in a bit.  I did a coat of Mod Podge when Hanna was done and it is still a little wet in this photo.  Also, not sure why the photo is sideways...I can't get it to turn the other way.  But it turned out cuter than I expected!