Hiatus, Grandbabies, Life

As you probably noticed, I took an unexpected hiatus from this space. My son, his girlfriend and my grandbabies where here visiting. I planned on taking tons of pictures, and sharing the visit, but that didn't happen.

Life happened.

There was laughter, hugs, kisses, but also arguments, long talks and tears.

They were here for 2 weeks and this morning about 4am I dropped them off at the airport with hugs, kisses, I love yous and plenty of prayers in my heart. Prayers for healing, prayers for patience, prayers for understanding, prayers for love. Prayers for life.....

Monster Mission of Love Has Begun!

The first monsters for my Monster Mission of Love have arrived all the way from California! I'm so excited!

Scary Night and Shadow Love

We had a scary night.

4:00am our alarm system went off. I jumped up, pushed and yelled to Fonzy (hubby) that the alarm was going off. He ran to get the boys in our room, and went downstairs. Shaking, I called 911 to let them know someone may have tried to break into our house, and that my husband was downstairs checking it out. The 911 operator said officers were on the way and that he would stay on the phone until they arrived.

The door leading into the garage was open. Luckily we have a safety lock, so if anyone tries to enter, the door will not open all the way. Fonzy didn't see anyone, and wasn't sure if the outside garage door was open. We waited for the police to arrive to check any further. I was literally shaking while waiting for the police and so was Elijah as he sat on our bed. Ezekiel seemed to be ok. The police arrived, walked around our house to make sure no one was there, then came inside. I heard Fonzy and the cop talking. Fonzy mentioned the garage door may not have been closed all the way, and with the strong winds we had last night, maybe it pushed it open. The outside garage door was not open and no one was found. The cop and Fonzy continued to chat. I was still upstairs tyring to hear what they were talking about, when I heard something about basketball! My husband is the head basketball coach of one of the middle schools in the area. The cop noticed a picture of him and his team, and next thing you know they are talking about basketball. Men!

The boys decided they wanted to sleep the rest of the night in our room. We all were a little shaken up, and it took me a while to fall back to sleep. I was thinking we needed a gun. I'm not comfortable with having a gun in the house, but I can only imagine if someone had actually broken in. What would we have done? It's scary thinking about it.

We woke up to bright sunshine, and blue skies. The terror of the night replaced with a beautiful day. The boys haven't mentioned what happened last night. It's just another day. Me - I'm thinking of what could have happened.

You are probably wondering what the picture has to do with this post. Absolutely nothing! Today's challenge was a shadow. Elijah, our Valentine baby helped me with this challenge. He thinks Valentines Day is his own special holiday, and all hearts belong to him.

Weekending

Still in pj's.....still working on babydoll.....

February Challenge - red

Heart Chocolate

It's going to be a chilly weekend!

Perfect weather for my knitting marathon and some heart chocolate.

Knitting Mojo

Thank God it's Friday!

And I truly mean that! It's been a long week and I'm so ready for the slower pace of the weekend. Even though this weekend I will be having a knitting marathon! I have got to finish this babydoll before next week Tuesday and I still have 1 arm, 2 legs, a diaper and her dress to make!  After the babydoll, I'm using that blue up there to make a whale for Jonah, my grandson. I would really like to have that done by Tuesday too, but probably NOT happening! Unless I knit continuously without sleeping this whole weekend! I need some knitting MOJO! If you have any, send some my way please!

Junk

Today's challenge isn't something I would normally take a picture of - our junk drawer. Most every house has a junk drawer. Why is that?

What can you tell from a person's junk drawer? What does this drawer say about us?

We play cards

We like Sharpies

We have kids in our house - safety scissors

We like things that smell good - glade plug-in

Film - I wonder what's on that film? I haven't shoot with a camera that uses film in a long time! I need to get that developed. Do they still develop film?

What would your junk drawer say about you?

Country Heart

Since this past summer, I have been listening to country music. Since Elijah rides with me everyday to work/school he has no choice but to listen to country. He now knows every country song they play on the radio and who sings it.

For Christmas he got a guitar. He strums the strings, trying to mimic the country singers he's seen. He's been so busy with school and basketball season we haven't had time to look into lessons. Tonight when I asked him to play for me while I took pictures, he happily obliged. Once finished he asked when he was going to get lessons, because he wanted to play the guitar for real. This is the last week of basketball season, and a break for a few weeks, I think now is the time to look into lessons. His country heart is ready to play!

Monster Mission of Love

 I'm on a Mission - A Monster Mission of Love!

Anyone who has followed my blog knows I love to knit monsters. They are my favorite thing to knit. Most of the monsters have been given away, except the few I made for my boys. If I left it up to my youngest son, all the monsters would be his. He tries to claim all of them, our house would be taken over by monsters! Can't have that!

In this post I mentioned my word for the year is Create. Creating smiles, happiness, and caring. What better way to create, then with Monsters. I was thinking about donating my monsters, and wanted someplace local that could benefit from them. I was researching a local battered women's shelter when I realized the perfect person to receive monsters! An awesome lady in our church who is a foster parent. She is one of the sweetest people I know, and any child placed with her is lucky. She provides so much love to them all, and the perfect candidate for monsters. I can’t imagine how scary it would be for these kids. To be taken from their home/parents and put with a stranger! I’m hoping the monsters will provide some comfort during such a traumatic time.

I posted on a few Ravelry boards about my mission and have had several knitters donating monsters to the cause! The knitting and crafting community is so AWESOME! If any of my crafty readers would like to donate a monster or softie leave a comment with your email address (email address will not be shared) and I will get in touch with you with details. The more monsters, the merrier!

Depending on the number of monsters I receive, we may be able to give to other foster homes. I'm so excited to see how much Monster Lovin' we can send out!

Friends - How Many of Us Have Them

Today's February Challenge was Friendship. I really wanted to take a picture with a friend, but didn't have one readily available. This challenge had me thinking of all the friends I've had, past and present.

I lost contact with my best friend from childhood after I moved away from my hometown, but found her again on Facebook. I have so many fond memories of sleepovers on her family's dairy farm. I spent many weekends at her house and love her dearly. And even though we lost contact for many years,  I feel she will be one of my forever friends.

As an adult, I have had several close friends, but only a few have stood the test of time and distance. Life gets so busy and before you know it, it's been weeks, even months, since you have spoken to a friend. That's sad. I truly believe we all need at least one true friend.

I have one friend that I spoke to every day, until recently and it breaks my heart. We would text pictures of our day to each other, all day long. What we were eating, what we were doing, our kids. Just life. And even though we were 1,394 miles apart, it didn't feel like it. She was such a big part of my life. We have been friends for over 14 years. Right now she is in a crisis and has decided to cut me out of her life because I do not agree with destructive decisions she is making right now. She has decided to keep someone in her life that is toxic and I fear for her life and her kids, but no matter what I say, she has made that decision. It hurts and I miss her, but there is nothing I can do, except pray for her and hope she will come to her senses before something bad happens. Not having this friend in my life left a void, but I have a new friend who is filling that void.

I met my new friend years ago online. We lost contact, then a few months ago, I saw her online and started chatting with her. Since that day, we have been talking, and texting every day all day. She shared with me that she was going through a tough time and prayed to God for a friend to talk to, and I IM'd her out of the blue. Isn't God amazing? I hadn't spoken to her in a few years, never met her in real life, but that day I reached out to her, and we haven't stopped talking since! We have so many things in common and I look forward to our talks everyday. I pray one day we will be together so I can give her a great big hug and we can talk face to face! She will definitely be a forever friend!

Winter Blues

We've had a mild winter. Not bitterly cold, but cold enough. Any hope for snow has slowly diminished. Since we haven't hope of snow, I'm ready for summer! I know I should enjoy the season we are in, but these short days and cold nights have taken it's toll. It seems I never have enough energy and by 9:30pm everybody in our house is already in bed, snuggling under covers.

Now that I think about it...that's really not a bad thing.

My Grandbabies

My Grandbabies - Lil' Miss Carmen and Jonah

Soon.......

Blaxirican

Blaxirican ~ Black/Mexican/Puerto Rican

Most of this afternoon was spent helping Ezekiel write the story of his life. A trip down memory lane, recalling his birth, how his name was chosen, and his favorite memories. In a few short months he will be a teenager. The time goes by so fast!

"This is my story so far, the rest is still unwritten" ~ Ezekiel

Weekending

Don't you just love Saturday mornings.

Sleeping in a little later, no rush to get up and out the house. Savoring a big breakfast in pj's.

My kinda morning.

Passion

Knitting - a passion I'm glad I found again.

What are you passionate about?

View From My Window - Car Window That Is

It's hard to get a view from the window when you leave home so early it's dark and you don't return home until it's dark again. So most times the view I have is out my car window.
When you shuttle kids back and forth from school and sporting events, and also attend your husbands sporting events, you spend a lot of time in the vehicle. I spent so much time in my truck it feels like a second home.

So this was my view today, on our way to a basketball game. The setting sun over a pond on a farm. It was nice slowing down and capturing the beauty that we speed past several times a week.

February Challenge - You

I've always liked the time before dawn because there's no one around to remind me who I'm supposed to be, so it's easier to remember who I am. ~ storypeople

February Challenge - You

February Photo Challenge

So if you've noticed, I've been doing a 365 Photo Project. Yes, I know there are 366 days this year, but I missed one day. I wasn't going to let that stop me though. I've tried doing a 365 project before and failed. I'm determined not to fail this time.

It's sometimes hard to decide what to make your photo of the day, so found this challenge for February and decided to play along.

Let the fun begin!