One More Moving Post

A giggle to start the day:
The movers have been here since 9 a.m. One of them started straight away on my sewing room. He thinks he'll finish around 3:30. He says that room separates the men from the boys--and that he may be a boy. lol Our mug collection from all of our travels and our books are in that room. But mainly it is stash for quilting and cross-stitch. Maybe I should stop buying? Probably not.

Moving Day

Tomorrow is moving day so today is busy doing the last push to declutter things I don't want to go with us. I'll be off-line for at least a week, so no updates. When I get re-connected I'll post pics of the blocks I've been doing for baby quilts.

BTW, I was able to hire one of the teenagers that live around the corner from the new house to come during Bible Study and watch the rugrats. She can't start until June 29, so we'll have 2 weeks of trying to contain them by some other means but at least for the rest of the summer I can know that we have safety in place.

Blessings. *See* you in a couple of weeks....

Can't Stop Shaking

Today was my Bible Study I host at the house. It was a spectacular discussion and God is so at work in the lives of the ladies. But we were focusing on the study. My two darlings (?) and the two year old daughter of one of the other ladies were playing--going from the downstairs toy room to the bedroom upstairs and back. I had closed off the doors to all of the rooms that they were not supposed to be in--kitchen, office, my bedroom and sewing room. My girls do not go through closed doors---they just don't (dd1 can't open them and dd3 has learned that is a no-no). So first they get into the kitchen and get the berries and sliced ham out of the fridge. It is a mess, but I can live with it. I hear them go in my room and know that the only damage they can really do is play with the clothes to be folded on the bed--which they did, also no biggie. But when we went to get them, they had been in my sewing room. And they had climbed up on the shelf (had to move a chair to get there) and got my supply basket down. And they had emptied it and got my roller blade. And they had opened it. And dd3 had cut her finger, just slightly but there was some blood (and no she was not crying at all). I am reeling at what could have happened. If it had been a new blade she could have easily cut off her finger. I thought it was safe, on a top shelf, away from easy access, in a room with a closed door that is known to be off limits. DD3 has had a thorough talking to about not doing that again and I did not accept that she blamed someone else, because she knew it was wrong and didn't come get me (she had tattled on dd1 several times during the morning). I do not know how I am going to keep them out of where they don't belong each week during Bible Study. Maybe the new house has locks on doors? I don't remember. Now I must stop shaking.

Graceful?...not I

My Dad used to say that if I had been meant to be graceful he would have named me grace. Yesterday I proved why that is not my name. I was changing a lightbulb in the bathroom. I successfully changed the light but noticed the spot light over the tub was also out. So I stepped into the tub and onto the large ledge behind tub, unscrewed the bulb and stepped back into the tub. As I stepped OUT of the tub, the easiest part of this maneuver, I caught my foot and came crashing down. Hit the chair that was there to change the bulb, the step into the tub and the bidet on my way down. I have bruises on my right shoulder, upper arm, ribs and hip. I am so sore today it is not even funny! *sigh* Off for more advil. Have a blessed day!

A job and a disastrous celebration dinner

DH finally got confirmation of the job for which we were waiting. Those of you who know who he works for, it is for the only outsourcing group that is bigger. lol He ends with his current company on the 31st and starts with the new company on June 1, so God has graciously allowed us to not have any down time.

We got the prelimary news on Friday and it was confirmed by post on Saturday morning. But Friday night we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH. Okay, so we were going to our favourite Italian restaraunt, which is kind of fancy and fairly expensive. We've taken the girls before, but always early in the evening and never on a Friday when it is packed. But they are good and we are always getting compliments on their behaviour, so this should be easy. right.

So, I am feeling great, think I look pretty good and we are set for a wonderful meal. DD1 was fussy in her highchair and I decided it was just because she had slept a little in the car. So I took her out to sit in my lap. Where she promptly turned and projectile *v'd* all over the wall and my right shoulder (thankfully mostly water). *sigh* So I went to the restroom and washed out my shirt and dried it with the hand dryer (thank you God for one that really dries!) and returned to the table which had been cleaned while I was gone. By now DD1 is giggling and having a great time. So I think it must have been a fluke. right? wrong!

She goes back into the highchair, plays happily until starters come, sees the melon we had ordered for her and begs for it. I think that melon is probably okay so let her have 2 bites. But she wants to eat off of my plate, so again I take her out of the chair. This time she just turned to grace the entire front of my shirt with the melon she just ate. Again we go clean up. I'm contemplating a very stiff drink at this point. *grin*

We get back to the table and she goes to sleep on my shoulder through the rest of the meal. DH took her after he finished his meal so that I could finish eating. She woke up just long enough to *v* down the front of his shirt. At the same time DD3 decided to throw a huge tantrum because I told her to finish her pizza (she was asking for ice cream). So, we finished quickly and went home. So much for our wonderful evening out. But we won't forget our celebration dinner for a long time. *sigh*

Where did these children come from? DD1 ended up having a very fitful night, but is fine now.

Stitching Blogger's Question

I finally signed up for this meme, so here is my first go at it:

When you stitch from a kit and use the supplied floss do you have leftovers? If so, how much and what do you do with them? If not, do you usually have just enough or do you have to dig into your stash to finish?

I rarely use kits, so this doesn't usually apply. The kits I have done I find that I'm holding my breath near the end that there will be enough. Leftovers would go to the girls to play with when they pretend to "stitch" or "quilt".

Thursdays Thoughts

I love Thursdays! It is the day that I lead a ladies Bible Study in my home. It is the day that my soul is refreshed in such a lovely way. We are studying Beth Moore's Breaking Free and todays discussion was on the presence of God, the peace of God, the glory of God and the will of God. Easy topics, lol. But it was so good to hear the practicality of how each individual depends on God. We each come to Him differently because we have individual personalities that He gave us. Yet we complement one another and learn from one another. I'm refreshed and content and ready to face the next few days, confident because He has spoken to me through others.

This afternoon I am stitching. I am almost finished with V's RR7 (Sew Cozy) and I want to be able to mail it tomorrow when I go to town. I'm beginning to plan for H's Band RR. It will be so much fun, because it is blackwork (or in this case pinkwork) and I love blackwork. I hope to have pictures over the weekend. So I'm off to stitch. Have a blessed day everyone....

Where did April go?

Actually, I know where it went, but it was just too quick. April was a whirlwind of travel and decisions. Our trip to visit friends and family in the States was such a pleasure. We really enjoyed the down time and dd3 (especially) really connected with her grandparents this time. The highlight of her trip was riding on my dad's tractor closely followed by going to the zoo with her uncle--without Mom and Dad which made it even better for her.

We came home to a decision that it was time for DH to leave the company for whom he has worked for 18 years. He put in his resignation without a job offer waiting. It is a huge leap of faith, but God is providing in so many ways. We are delighting in the journey. We truly believe that an offer will come before he finishes work on the 31st, but if it doesn't that just means God has something else planned. I've never been this at peace with a decision. Can't wait to share the whole story when I can. The downside of this decision is that we have to move from this house. Our lease was held by the company and the landlord is taking advantage of the change of circumstance and a good real estate market to put the house on the market rather than lease it to us as a private lease. So the second half of April was a flurry to find a house. We have a house and move on the 25th, so all is well.

The last weekend in April we went up to Scotland for a quick holiday knowing that we won't get holiday time for a while starting a new job. Here we are (so you can put faces with our non-names! lol)
It was wonderful and the most relaxed we have been in a long while!

Finally, I have been stitching. Here is my latest finish P's Neighbourhood RR.
I really love how it turned out and find it addictive. I want to just keep adding embelishments to the garden. I've completed two other RR's this week which are small. The next goal is to finish V's RR7 and have it on its way home by the end of the week. Then time to start another neighbourhood and H's Band RR.

Thanks for reading. Blessings today....

April Already?

Can't believe it is already April. Spring has come here and the daffodils are in full glory. DD3 tells me everyday "they (the flowers) are starting again." I think she was ready for spring too. I won't be around much for the next couple of weeks because we are making our annual whirlwind trip to visit friends and family in the US starting Friday. I am so excited! I don't think I've been this ready for a trip home since we became exPats. I'm really not sure what the difference is this time, but I can't wait. DD3 really understands where we are going and is looking forward to driving grandpa's tractor and giving uncle J a surprise. Too cute. DD1 has no clue, but she keeps climbing into the suitcase to be certain she isn't left.

Stitching has almost completely stopped the last 2 weeks, so I think I need some monthly goals to try to motivate me. Here goes:
*Keep up with the Neighbourhood RR and get Band RR ready to go
*Finish V's RR7 and Welcome RR
*Finish 3 states on ALTWL
*Find the rest of the pattern for ALTWL (munchkins have apparently moved 3 of the 6 pages)
With traveling that is probably all that is reasonable at all. I'm taking the band RR and ALTWL on the plane with me. I don't like working on other people's work outside of the house or I'd take other RRs as well.

Blessings....

Science experiments of a 14 month old

aka "Why God Made Them Cute". She had 8 minutes 23 seconds while I was distracted by the phone to learn as much about refrigerator science as she could. Here's what she managed:

• Eggs break when dropped on the floor. It is repeatable. She did it 3 times in 3 different spots of the kitchen.
• Milk puddles on linoleum. But if you walk the 20 steps to the carpet it sinks in.
• (3 year old scientist helped with this one) You can put 1/2 liter of milk, 2 packages of cheese, one egg carton--now empty, and 4 carrots in the doll's pram.
• Niblet corn makes a fun mess on the carpet when poured out. Mommy is not amused by the abstract art.
• Cheese wrapped in plastic should not be bitten before unwrapped.
• Raw carrots are good.

AAARGGHH! It's a good thing DH and I are going out to dinner with adults tonight sans children. They are not "take to a nice restaurant" presentable today. But I am! And they get their favourite baby-sitter so life is good.

*sigh*

Stitching It Forward

This is the piece I completed today for the Stitch it Forward Exchange on the CrossStitch Crazy Board.  It's a great exchange where everyone involved stitches one of two pre-determined designs.  The first person to send (in this case me) will choose a participant and send their completed piece.  That recipient chooses from who is left and sends theirs and so on and so forth until everyone has received one of the two designs.  I hope my chosen recipient likes it.  This design was created by one our very talented board members, Kristin.  It's stitched on Silkweaver Peri-Berri hand-dyed fabric using Kreinik Silk Mori (the lilac), Dragon Floss (Hugs and Stitches) DMC (green) and a lovely floss from www.annickabrial.com (rose) that I received in an exchange.

Who is being Homeschooled?

I consider myself a homeschooling parent, although the girls are only three and one. We do not use any curriculum yet, just life. So this week as life happened and dd3 was learning by asking the incessant "why" "how" "when" questions and God was showing me the parallels I wondered if it is really my daughter who is being homeschooled or me?

Here's just an example. We were going for an afternoon walk and the sun is finally shining so dd3 notices that she has a shadow. She was asking why she had a shadow and what was it for and ... and... and..., you know how it goes with a three year old. I was explaining that the shadow was caused by our bodies blocking the light that was coming from the sun behind us. Then she asked what happened if the light couldn't ever get through? (She was worried about the flowers that were being shadowed at the time). So I explained about how the sun moves and so the shadow is not in the same place all the time (don't get too literal here at 3 she can't understand the sun staying still and the earth turning) and that we would not be standing in the same place for long so the flowers were ok. Later as I was doing my Bible reading about "living in the light" I began to think about dd3 and the shadows. I live in the shadows when I let something get in between me and the SON so that His light is not shining on me. How long can I really survive if I live in the shadows? How long do I want to survive with His light filling my life? On a more personal level, what if my life "shadows" those around me. Are there actions or attitudes that block His light? Am I preventing others from growing. I pray not. But it does seem like a challenge.

Just as I use the things teach my girls, God uses the things of life to teach me. I am being homeschooled by a Heavenly Father. What a joy!
Blessings to you all...

Lovely Weekend

We had a lovely weekend here. Saturday evening we had dinner guests. Entertaining is one of my favourite things. We were entertaining an American couple who are considering joining the same account where my DH works. We were able to answer some of their questions. It is hard to believe that it has already been five years since we sat in their place--considering the move with a myriad of questions. I prepared one of my favourite meals--Coca Cola chicken, roasted potatoes, steamed carrots, salad and cheesecake. The table looked great! It was the first time we had used our "new" antique table that we got at auction a few weeks ago. I was able to set it with lovely spring flowers and my new lace tablecloth we got in Sint Maarten over Christmas. I really felt good about how the evening went.

Yesterday we met with our fellowship group for Bible Study and dinner after. My dd1 who always clamps her mouth shut if we try to feed her off a fork---fingers are so much better---picked up a fork and fed herself melon! It was so cute and she was so proud of herself. It kind of made me sad to know we have crossed yet another threshold away from babyhood.

Today is rainy so I'm just playing around with this. I finally figured out how to add my percentage bars to the sidebar. Thanks Kristina for your help! Now I'm working on learning how to add pictures. Hopefully soon! Have a blessed day!

God Teaches

When I put pen to paper, and it is literally pen to paper the old-fashioned way, it is usually to write about family or what God is teaching me. Today the focus is that He is teaching me that He Teaches. Seems obvious, but I sometimes forget. This message has been brought clearly to light twice this week, so I know it is what I need to be hearing. I teach a weekly ladies Bible Study. We "normally" follow a book or study written by some prominent teachers. But right now we are being a little different. We recently finished an awesome study by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli (Living in Love With Jesus). It was life-deepening, and we wanted time for that deepening to take roots and settle. Plus, the church is doing a Lenten study on the life of David which is Scripture-laden. I did not want to overload the ladies. So, instead of a prepared study, each week we are taking a chorus (or hymn) that is often sung at church and meditating on the words during the week. On Thursdays, we just talk about the insights we garnered during the week.
Anyway, week before last I chose "I Will Never Be the Same Again" by Geoff Bullock. We had a great discussion on the 17th about how our lives are not "the same again" as God leads us day-by-day. Then, Sunday's sermon had the Pastor repeating that phrase more than five times in the short space of a sermon. I told my DH after church that it was a clear reminder that God prepares my lessons not me. It does not matter how clever I think I am, God is so much more clever! He teaches. I'm just the vessel. So cool. But also so humbling.
This week's song was "Great is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O Chisolm. It was an unusual choice for me because my plan had been to focus on 'modern' choruses and this was written in 1923. One of the ladies in the group is from a different denomination than me, and was not familiar with the song. Thursday she shared how the line "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow" had ministered to her all week. Her father had died on Monday and a song that she had never heard before gave her what she needed to cope. God is So Good! God teaches. I'm the vessel. Can't wait to find the next lesson!
Blessings....

Cross Stitching Musings

Since I will frequently be writing about stitching, I'll give a brief intro to what I'm working on at the moment.
First, an admission: "My name is MiPa and I am addicted to Round Robins (hereafter known as RRs)." For the uninitiated, a RR is a cross stitch piece that is stitched on by a group of stitchers. The owner of the piece plans it out and stitches her/his part then sends it to the next stitcher who completes their part and so on until it returns home to the owner for the most-part finished. I say for the most-part because I am notorious for not having my part completed before the first mailing date and then it comes home needing completion, but with other projects on-going it rarely gets done. With the exception of one huge undertaking this year, my goal has been to not join any RRs that I cannot complete my part before it leaves my house the first time. So far, so good, but it is only March. Sane people only join one RR at a time. I'm in five. (yes you read that correctly) I never claimed to be sane. Most RRs have a maximum stitch area of 4900 stitches (70x70). One of my RRs has a max stitch area of 14400. I'm an addict. What else can I say? In my possession I only have two RRs at the moment: P's neighbourhood RR which needs to be mailed end of April and the new Band Sampler RR that has a first mail date of April 30. Can't start it until my sparkly fabric arrives. Of the other three that I am in, I'm the last stitcher on V's Sew Cozy and V's Welcome RR but they are not here yet. I have 4 more pieces to stitch on for the Single Theme RR, but we are a month ahead on it so I won't see another for a while.
In other stitching, 2006 is to be my year to finish things. My 3 main projects are going well right now, but they were all started over a year ago and none of them are 50% complete yet. I have a newly kitted project (Solitude) that I am dying to start, but will wait until at least two projects are at 50%. It will be my reward. I'm also finishing "old" RRs. One down, 6 to go. :-)
Quilting is the red-headed step-child around here right now. Plenty of projects started but I'm not working on any of them.
There it is in a nutshell. Watch this space for updates.
Blessings....

Well here we go...

my first post in my new blog. Hmmm... I've thought of entering this world of blogging for some time, but always find an excuse not to start. But I've decided to take the plunge and see where it leads. My hope is write at least once a week, but more realistically it may be once a fortnight. We'll see what happens.

I guess I need to start with "why the title". Even those of you who know me best are probably saying "huh?" or "who is Miriam?" For years I have dreamed of being a writer. The pen name I have always wanted to use is Miriam Pauline (MiPa) in honour of my two grandmothers Mary John (hebrew deriviative Miriam) and Frances Pauline. That dream has really taken hold over the last dozen months. I play at writing, but have not taken it seriously. Maybe by giving MiPa a public voice I'll eventually have the courage to let her shout.

Thank you for honouring me by "listening" to my monologue. Blessings...