28 years ago today...

...Dad and Mom were married. May 29, 1982. And 3 1/2 years ago, that bond was broken. Although to us it seems to make not a bit of sense why God would allow such a thing to happen, ultimately, God was and still is in total control.

As hard as it was that first year without Mom, I think the upcoming months and years will hold days where I wish more than ever that Mom were still here. Mom would have been overjoyed to see Krissa's wedding in a couple of weeks and mine in the months ahead!

It's on those days and special times that I could choose to ask God, "Why? Why would you allow Mom not to be here for weddings of her daughters which she looked forward to so much? Why take Mom now and leave Dad here alone?"

Why? I don't know. I don't understand. But then, God's plan doesn't always make sense to our human minds. I won't always understand or know the reason why, but I can trust. Trust, accept and KNOW that Mom's death was beyond my control and ultimately part of God's unfailing plan. And God's plan far outweighs anything else so why would I want anything different?!

The best birthday gift EVER!! :)

In and amongst daily life, there's another important part of my life that I haven't shared on my blog as of yet. That "important part" is a special someone who came into my life last November...well, maybe I should say August....hmmm...I guess technically it started 2 1/2 years ago in Chicago at a Bernina National Teacher's Retreat......

But that's another story for another time....

That special someone is Luke Nabeta. And he gave me the best birthday gift I could ever ask for - asking me to marry him! :) I could write a huge long blog post about him and the last few months, because I'm very excited about it and cannot believe how God has blessed in so many ways!! But for now....here's a few quick pics! :)

my beautiful ring!! :)

An end to Wednesday afternoons

Kid's Klub on Wednesday afternoons is over for this school year already! Erinn and I have greatly enjoyed the kids trooping into the fellowship hall each Wednesday afternoon with their smiling faces and bursts of energy! What a fun year it's been!

Sunday morning we had a final end-of-the-year program in church and the kids did an excellent job reciting their memory verses, singing and answering questions from our Bible lessons over the past year! It is our prayer that they'll keep that knowledge for years to come!

Creative clutter, right?

VBS stuff is supposed to be all over the floor, right? ;)

VERY large treasure map paper!

Creative projects; can't resist them! Remember the cooked paper? Well, this time I need a HUGE treasure map, so merely cooking 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper in the oven just wasn't possible.

Our theme this year for VBS is sailing...ocean...ships...treasure chest...and yep, treasure maps!

So I took 3' wide white paper and crunched it.

Then spread it out in the hot sun.

Mixed up a batch of strong tea.

And drench the paper.

Then spread it all around.

Then let it "bake".

Iron it flat.

And tape it down.

PERFECT!!

Sunday School Cupcakes

Cupcakes. For. Sunday. School. :)

Just a spoiled dog!

And obedient....most of the time! (Although, she tends to obey orders better when a treat is lurking in your hand! Which I failed to have this time.)

Lady, sit! (sorta, kinda!)

Ok, now look at me! (sure!)

Now shake! No, not yawn!

Roll over! (not happening!)

But she did lay down. Does that count?

Let's try shaking again. Nope, still not working...shaking does not mean scratching.

Now she decides to roll over!

And then she heard Dad over by the shed and decided she'd had enough of me and knew she could have more fun with him.

Bits & Pieces!

The last couple of weeks seem to have flown without getting much accomplished, but here's a little bit of what I've done!

Quilts & Projects! Our local quilt guild did a quilt display at the library and I had a bunch of my quilts and projects there for display. Just last month we took those down and now I've got to stash all that stuff back where it needs to be. All my finished projects/samples needed to be resorted anyway, so this was a perfect opportunity.

WARNING: VBS Spells Very Balanced Stack (and is at any moment threatening to fall over!) Yes! I have multiple table spaces and floor space covered with VBS supplies. That will most likely continue through the end of July.

One of the guys from church dropped by our house last week and brought me these cigar boxes. They are perfect for some future craft project!! What project that will be, I don't quite have figured out yet....but will at some point in the future. They're nice boxes with a hinged lid. I'm sure I can come up with something.

Buttons...buttons...buttons! I'm sure never to need another button in my life! :) (Saying that and knowing myself all too well, I know that I'll have ever single one except the very perfect one I need!) Anyway, someone gave me a ton of buttons..all colors...all sizes! And each organized in their very own little box. :)

Grandma's last jar of pickles! Ahhh...how I've enjoyed that last jar! Somehow this summer I've got to figure out a way to grow or obtain tons of cucumbers just perfect for pickling! And then head over to Grandma's for a day of canning pickles.

Less than 40 days!

I can't believe it - my little sister is getting married! And it's less than 40 days away! Where have the months flown away too?? Who knows, but June 11th will be here...soon! :)

This last weekend Ryan and Krissa have started painting Ryan's house...in and amongst all the wedding details they're trying to finalize! But to me it finally feels like wedding details are coming together...maybe! It must to Krissa as well as her text to me today read..."Finally making progress, I'm excited!"

I'm headed back to Kentucky this month for one of Krissa's showers and the main reason - to sew. By the time I get there, all the bridesmaids dresses should be there plus everything else on my sewing list. Since I'm flying, I'm planning on "swiping" Krissa's car for a day to do some sewing supply shopping (and if I find anything else fabric related, that's ok too!).

For all the latest wedding news, details and photos, check out their wedding website here: www.ryanandkrissa.com