Merry Christmas Honeybear!

Haha!  I think if I actually called my husband Honeybear I'd get the stinkeye.  I've never really been able to use nicknames.  I am great at coming up with them.  I can answer to them.  But calling someone else by something that is not their name?  Even if I try really hard and think it would be so cute and really want to, I just can't do it.

But that's off the subject.

Remember this?

That was a while ago.  It's when I was just learning to embroider.  And I'm still learning, little by little.  It just so happens that I created the following piece for my husband... for Christmas.

And I finished it yesterday.

Yup, six months later, I was finally able to deliver to him his Christmas present.

And you know what the best part is?  His birthday is next week!

If I weren't so nice, I'd just have wrapped it and saved it until then.

Unfortunately he is a really good gift giver.  If I pulled something like that, I would willingly pin on the badge of 'Dweebiest Wife of the Year'.

The picture this piece portrays is the grand dream of a young couple in love.

Yup, a farm.

Actually, we don't want to run a farm for a living, but we want to raise our children on some land where there are gardens and animals to take care of.  Somewhere where we share responsibility.  Somewhere that we all learn together.  A place that we can grow vegetables, and fruits, and flowers.   Where we can learn to be slightly self reliant.

We want to be somewhere that we can help our children learn to play and work and learn together.  A place where we are all kept busy and have no time for the degenerating forces of our world.

Please don't be mistaken.  Our kids are going to a public school.  They will have friends.  And we will definitely watch movies.

But one of my biggest fears as a parent is that my children will not learn how to work, that they will sit and stare at a TV or computer screen all day, soaking in all of the horrid media and expectations for oneself that are flowing from them.

And the scripture is there because it means so much to me.  It was my grandmother's favorite scripture.  There is actually more to it, but I could only fit in this part.

It means that even if our fun dreams of living in the country and having enough money to own land don't come true, 

everything will be all right.

As long as we are trying.

-Becka

This post has been linked up!

A beautiful collection of crafts at:

He knew he could fly.

I wanted to make a nursery pillow.

 One that illustrated that no matter what challenges you face, you can achieve anything.

Either that or this is the first thing that popped into my mind when I thought, "Hmm, I want to embroider for a bit, wonder what I should make?"

Yeah I'm sentimental like that. 

Oh!  And coming up soon, CK will be sharing some home-preschool activities so if you have little kids, stay tuned ;)

Marjorie

This here is the main reason I wanted to learn to embroider.  There is a beautiful little old lady that goes to my church.  Her name is Marjorie.  She is the sweetest thing to bless the planet in my opinion, and hails from California.  She was moved here by her children after she had a stroke a while back.  She has lost a lot of hearing, she walks very very slowly, and speaks with a slur and a stutter, but man is that lady's mind on top of things.  She does not live with her children, instead she lives in a rest home.  She misses her home in California dearly, where her husband, and two of her three children have passed away.   

I feel drawn to this woman because she is drawn to my children.  I was unable to be near my own grandmother the months before she passed away, and hey, if Marjorie likes to hang out with me and my kids, there ain't nothin' stoppin' me from visiting.

Anyways, that sort of got off topic.

Marjorie loves butterflies.  She has them all over her room.  She has collections of real butterflies that have been framed on her walls, and handmade butterflies that hang all around, and butterfly pins that she attaches to her blouse.  

She told me she hasn't always been crazy over them.  

It all started when she went to a butterfly exhibit in California when she was younger.  There were 'worms' she called them, and cocoons, and tons and tons of butterflies flying all over.  They would even come and land on you.

I can tell she just cherishes the beautiful creatures just by the way she talks about them.

Learning new things

I've been wanting to learn the beautiful stitches that come with embroidery for a long time.  I've seen so many amazing pieces of embroidered art, I decided to begin trying to teach myself.

I obviously need a lot of work.

It seems I had to get worse before I could get any better...

And no, that isn't the back,

this is:

  

I'd love for you to learn with me!  Every once in a while I'll update a few posts with easy practice projects and links to amazing artists and tutorials.

If ever you want a fun little hobby to pick up that isn't too expensive, this one sure is fun.