{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ May 18, 2014

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr} . . .

{Pretty}

I haven't taken many pictures this week (more on that in a minute), so I snitched this one from Lizzie.

This little sweetie will be two years old in less than a month.  In about three months, she'll be a big sister!  People always say grandchildren are a blessing, and you know what?  They are absolutely correct!

{Real}

Now we are skipping straight to {real}, the reason being that we are moving!

Moving was not something we had planned to do in 2014.  I mean, it was not on our agenda for the year, but events transpired to bring it about.  First, Dave's father died in April after a rapidly progressing illness.  Then, out of necessity, his mother went to an assisted living facility.  On a scale of retirement apartment to full-out nursing home, it falls somewhere in the middle.  We explored other options, and this is the one she chose.  But we will all be happier if we are close by.  So it's off to Missouri where we will be living in her house and keeping an eye on it and her.  

It's hard to leave the congregation we have grown to love these past three years.  Two congregations, really, as we added Sunday afternoon services at a local retirement home eighteen months ago.  We have met some dear people who have enriched our lives, and we will miss them. Our last Sunday is next week, and we will head to Missouri at the end of the month.

Ministry opportunities in our new home are already in the planning stages.  It is not possible for my husband to be anywhere and not be spreading the Gospel and caring for peoples' souls.  And I'm blessed to be right there beside him, helping and encouraging as I can.

So now we are packing up our worldly possessions, and there are boxes everywhere.  We are in the "chaos" stage of moving, which I decidedly don't like but which I know we will be in for awhile yet.  Prayers are coveted. :)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ May 11, 2014

It's time for {phfr}!

{Pretty}

Our little apple trees bloomed recently.  We planted these trees three springs ago, so they are still very small, but the blooms are lovely!

Is there anything lovelier than an apple blossom?

{Happy}

I always enjoy the initial exuberance of dandelions in spring.  They don't take turns to bloom; oh, no, they all burst out at once.  A poem on this phenomenon from my mother-in-law, Sylvia Spotts~

Spring Puzzle

Who threw all those

big yellow buttons

on our yard?

And what's that curve

of funny colors

on the sky?

They weren't here before.

I know, for I was

on guard.

But now, here they are.

Who did it, I wonder--

and why?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I am happy I finished this dress for my granddaughter.  I used Simplicity's New Look A6578.  Is it just me, or is sewing clothing much harder than any other kind of sewing?  The minimalist instructions included in patterns are little help to novices like me.  Thank goodness for Youtube!  

                                                 

This was my first experience with interfacing, and I tackled my very first buttonholes with this dress.  They turned out pretty well, but I'm glad the buttons cover them.  They are functional, and that's the main thing.

Now tomorrow I'll put this in the mail for her.  I hope she likes it!

{Funny}

Speaking of growing things, our old rusty pick-up had some remainders of compost and soil in the bed leftover from the fall.  When the weather got warm, this happened:

{Real}

Sorry for the awful light.  It was dark when I took these.

The last thing I did to the aforementioned dress was to sew on the buttons.  I was absolutely, positively sure I had two striped buttons.  But then I couldn't find the second one!  So I used a polka-dotted button instead.  The mismatched buttons are cute, right?  Right??

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more {phfr} fun!