MY BLOG HAS MOVED! I’m now on blog spot. my site is RAISED FROM DUST, please continue to follow!
.Changing the Blog.
Well, I’ve decided to make the switch to blogger. WordPress has left me always changing the appearance of my blog and never really liking it too much, and also a bunch of other things that make it difficult to do what I want. So, maybe tomorrow or so I’ll have my new link to my blog. I’ll try to bring over as many old posts as I can, which is why it’s taken me so long to want to decide to switch to a new site. See you then!
Tablet Cover
A couple weeks ago I received an early Christmas gift from Ernie! I know, it wasn’t even December yet. We marched into Barnes and Noble to purchase the Nook Tablet. YAY! It has been one amazing productive gadget. As I was waiting for the lady to hand me the box, I noticed the covers were expensive…and at the same time not all that great to me. A week or so later I was browsing some homemade covers people have thought of…also not too great. One was crocheted, looking like a sock. I thought, well you know I can half-way crochet so let’s try this, and add a flap with a button. SO here it is!
My cover! It’s made from this cool bundle of yarn ( I think made of jersey fabric) that my bro gave me from Anthropology with instructions to make this cool blanket pattern. After I lost the pattern on accident, and Daniel said he couldn’t get me another set of directions, I sadly put placed the yarn in my yarn basket and waited to use it another time. And I thankfully I put it to great use!
.Colored Houses.
I’m in the process of a really fun Christmas card order. The complete card has a marquee on the left bottom corner that says “Warm Wishes from Our House to Yours.” I love making them! The colors picked for this specific order is are so great. It’s really given me a nice project to work on while Ernie works. If you’d like any Christmas cards this year, I’d be happy to make them!
.When He Returns, With Him I’ll Rise.
I’ll have to admit, when Haddon’s grave marker came I didn’t feel ready to see it. Even though I wanted him to have one, it was difficult to see something that was going to remind me of his body, which is not where our hope lies, but our hope lies in his life now with Jesus. But I’m thankful it didn’t take me long to come to love looking at it and feeling so proud of his name that is printed in big letters. Also, our quote we decided to use on it will always remind us of what’s to come: Jesus Lives and So Shall I, When He Returns With Him I’ll Rise. I remember the first time I heard this song was very soon after Haddon passed, it was a sweet thing that the Lord brought to my ears in time of sorrow. Ernie and I both found this to be very fitting to add to his grave marker, in hopes that it will encourage others who come to the cemetery to visit their children’s graves. Ernie told me a few days ago that there is a new grave of a baby next to Haddon, and the service for this baby was just ending as he was walking up to visit Haddon’s grave. We especially hope that our words we placed on Haddon’s grave can be used by God to comfort them in their grief that has begun only days ago.
I thought I’d also bring up a fear I have, and how the Lord is growing me in it. I know at some point my memories with Haddon in the hospital will not be as detailed, and they won’t feel as if they were yesterday, sometimes that brings great fear. Usually, about once a week, as I’m trying to fall asleep, my mind goes back to the hospital and replays the nearly 5 days we were there as if I’m testing myself to see how much I’m remembering and what it is I’ve forgotten. I feel like I don’t really realize that’s what I’m doing until I’ve reached the end and I’ll think oh why do I do that? So, this is where I pray to have truthful thoughts that reflect God’s word. On this earth, my memory is affected by sin, which brings about forgetfulness or blurry memories, and a lot of precious things to me won’t always be crystal clear after time. This shows my need for Jesus, not only is my memory affected by sin, but everything is. Also, if I really think about why I’m so afraid to lose details about Haddon, what it comes down to is me fearing that it affects him somehow. His brothers and sisters will have memories with us and we will treasure those, so I don’t want to lose any short moments we had with Haddon and my heart frets. But this isn’t what God wants for us, when the things he gives us on earth are gone or begin to fade, he does not want us to fret or put our firm hope in them. My hope is not in detailed memories of Haddon, but that he is standing with Jesus, and we know that when those of us who belong to Jesus actually see him face to face, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).
The lyrics put on Haddon’s grave are only part of a whole song, and actually a whole album called Risen, that is so encouraging, so I wanted to post the entire song. In God’s providence, this album came out very close to when Haddon was born:
.Cleaning and Homemaking Inspiration.
This blog: http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2011/10/31-days-to-organized-home-day-one.html has really helped me take some steps to organizing our house better. Do you feel overwhelmed like I do? I’ll have days where I want to clean it and organize it all, but all in one day is unrealistic (well, for me it is). Taking it one day at a time, with certain goals each day is perfect.
What I have done so far:
-Cleaned our laundry room. Well, really it’s doors that open up to a wall space only big enough to hold a washer/dryer and a shelf. But it took some time, things just get thrown in there and that shelf is so high, the dust was amazing.
-Organized the top of our dresser. Don’t you hate that things just get dumped on there?
-Tore a part our office. Which is a several days project. Our closet in there held whatever boxes we didn’t feel like unpacking (…a year and a half ago) and random junk. Now things are spread everywhere so I HAVE to do something with them. So that is in the process and my goal is to do a bit at a time.
-Organized and filed our papers that get stacked miles high on our kitchen counter. This takes time but you can SIT while you do it! So that was nice.
Hopefully soon I can organize our kitchen cubbards. This is all pretty slow for me, I’m just now climbing out of my first trimester, but it’s nice to have some goals.
So take a look at that website, she’s very disciplined and uses practical ways to get things clean and de-cluttered.
.Swimming Baby.
Our second ultra-sound 2 weeks ago was so much fun. This was taken at nine weeks. The sweet lady who has done them is so wonderful and just loves her job, she tells us all the details she knows about the stages of our baby. She gets excited when they move, and it’s great to see her be in such awe of all the things that happen in a developing baby–it’s clear that these are the types of things that point to God’s greatness and his work in us, even when we are the size of a kidney bean.
Here is baby Blanco everyone:
.A Brand New Joy.
We wanted to share some news that has brought us tremendous joy. In his deep kindness to us, Lord has given us another baby. On September 18, 2011 we took this pregnancy test and were overwhelmed at the thought of another precious baby to love! I am 10 weeks, marching through my first trimester (well, marching with a lot of sleep). You could pray for us, we’re trusting that God has brought this about for his good purposes. We are very much dependent upon Him, how this baby grows and develops is carefully crafted by God each day, and he knows the number of this little ones’ days. Each day I can’t wait for my belly to grow bigger, I keep dreaming of the moment I feel the baby kick. It’s such a sweet feeling to know you carry your little one everywhere you go while they grow. We will be finding out the gender in 8 more weeks, something else I am very anxious about!
. The Many Talents and Joys of Rufus.
Along with his name being totally awesome, Rufus has been a fun and adventurous addition to our family. Here are some things about him him we try to remember when we see an item chewed to bits that we would have rather kept whole:
-Rufus can take walks on a TREADMILL.
-He loves you so much it hurts.
-In the early morning, he’s so incredibly drowsy but is quietly at your side everywhere you go as you get ready.
-He has a sweet spot under his neck if you scratch it awhile, he’ll pass out from his love for it.
-When you scratch his belly, he kicks the air like it’s so good he can’t stand it.
-He has a black patch on his eye. And a patch on his rear.
-He howls like a wolf.
-When I bring him home from anything he runs to the bedroom to check if Ernie’s there.
-When Ernie leaves he stays by the door in hopes that he’s coming back inside.
I love him.
.Raised From Dust.
Today I changed my blog’s name from The Ballpoint Pen to Raised from Dust. I thought I’d explain a bit on why I wanted to do that. The resurrection of God’s people has been an anchor truth to us in our past 7 months, we have seen it’s a promise of God that we will continue to love and hope for until the day comes where the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. God told Adam when he sinned that he was made from dust and to dust he shall return, death was inevitable. But 1 Corinthains 15 tells us what happens for the people God has redeemed through Jesus and his resurrection before us: “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” And hope radiates as you read verse 49: Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Our hearts have the sure hope to bear the image of the Man of heaven, Jesus Christ, as our bodies will one day rise from the dust.
