Important Life Questions

Some days I'm very introspective. I did a lot of cleaning today, and I'm always introspective while I'm cleaning.

The same three questions keep popping up for me, as a recurring theme in my life. I'll throw them out here with my answers. Maybe you've thought about them, too.

1. What is your greatest fear in life?
My greatest fear is that people won't like me, or will disapprove of me, or will be disappointed in me. One one level, that impacts every human interaction I have. It makes me shy. It makes me wish I was smarter, or had a better education, or a better sense of humor. On another level, it impacts my relationship with God every single moment. Obviously, I'm not perfect because I'm human, so I already fall far short of His goal, and there's no way to achieve that goal.

2. What would you do if you were told you only had a few months to live?
I would be more bold in the way I live my life. I would give my honest opinion regardless of how other people's impression of me might change. I wouldn't be a wall flower; I'd KNOW others would want a relationship with me. I would study, fast, and pray more often to build my relationship with God; He's the most important thing in my life, but I'm not sure He knows that because I let other things interfere too often.

3. We're all dying, from the moment we're born. Our time here on earth is limited. Knowing THAT, what are you going to do about questions 1 and 2?
That's the big question for me. Time goes so quickly, and we must make the best use of it. I was always a good student, but life is not like school; am I failing Life 101? I have a plan, but sometimes I have to remind myself of it. As much as I'd like it to be, life is not all about sewing or reading. Here's what I've come up with.
- Take a deep breath and be real, every moment of my life, even if taking that chance hurts.
- Re-evaluate my day before I sleep every night.
- Start my days with prayer and Bible study.
- Set aside time to fast and study.
- Be thankful for the time I have.
- Try to make progress on all my goals.
- Realize that each day is a chance for a fresh start - and sometimes you have to start fresh several times in the day.
- Take a deep breath and keep going.

One of my favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson and it goes like this:
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely."

Good advice. Enough said.

Bliss and More Bliss

BOO HOO! My camera is sick right now. I'm not sure, but it may need a **complete hysterectomy** so I'll send it in to Kodak and see what they say. When it gets out of the hospital, I'll take pictures of my "finished" studio, which is very messy right now, even though I finally have a place to put everything... I'm creating!

MONDAY WAS BLISS -- Michelle called early to see if I wanted to go do some errands with her and the girls. We started at Michael's Crafts, but since my wallet was empty, I didn't find anything I needed. (The girls each got a CUTE pink foam cowgirl hat, and they've been galloping ever since. Giddyap!!)

Then I asked Michelle to drop me at Borders across the street while she did her shopping. She called me a few hours later to see if I was ready to go home. I hadn't read all the sewing / quilting books and magazines yet, so I told her I'd catch the bus home. Once all the books and magazines were read, I walked around the corner (stopping for lunch at McDonald's) to Barnes and Noble and read all of their sewing / quilting books and magazines.

Denny finally called me about 5:30 to see where I was (he got off work early), and since I was ready for dinner, he came and picked me up. I thoroughly enjoyed my day visiting the books; I think I'll do it again very soon!

Time + books = total bliss

MORE BLISS -- Yesterday, Nadara picked me up and we went shopping for a new sewing machine for her. Hancock's was hosting a sale on Singer student models. These machines sew AND serge -- for $99. They're left-over stock from high school orders, so should be good machines.

After Hancock's we went to Hobby Lobby, which I had never been in before. What a gi-normous store! We checked out the sewing department, of course, and not much else.

Then we hit Joann's where Nadara found the perfect fabric for a sewing hussif. It's got all manner of sewing tools on a happy yellow background. She'll add solids (blue, green and/or red) for the insides of the hussif.

Speaking of hussifs, I finally finished writing up directions for my hussif, and will make them available for sale.

Saying Good-bye at Billings International Airport

The sun was bright! We're all squinting!
Den and DJ


Annie, Den, and Mom


When we drove away, we both agreed that we missed Mom and DJ already (and still do)!!!

SURPRISE VISIT!

Thursday, May 1 was our 25th wedding anniversary. That and our recent illnesses prompted a SURPRISE visit from my mom and our son DJ. Here's how it happened...

It was my last week at home before returning to work. My doorbell rang, but when I opened the door, nobody was there - but there were flowers, fruit and chocolate on the doorstep. A moment later, Debbie, Michelle, and Mia popped out from around the corner! They came in and we had a brief but lovely visit.

As they were leaving, we stopped to talk with the door open, and I saw DJ come around the corner - and I screamed!!! Then my mom came around the corner!!! I was busy hugging them and crying, thinking what a wonderful, amazing surprise this was. It's on the short list of the best days of my life.

They planned the surprise for two weeks and successfully kept it a secret! Mom had been asking me if I would be home that day in case she sent flowers, and sure enough, she brought flowers, wine and chocolate.

We visited for a while, then went to Denny's job to surprise him. Here we are outside his office.





We had our special anniversary meal at The Granery (a 5-star restaurant).
Here's Mom.


DJ taking a picture of me taking a picture of him.


Everyone say "cheese!"


They stayed for 5 days. I went back to work the day after they went home. What amazing timing! They didn't know when I was going back to work; I didn't know they were coming. I'm so happy it turned out the way it did! It will be one of my best memories ever.

Proverbs 31 Gathering - March 2008

Our last Proverbs 31 gathering was at Nadara's home. The next one is Sunday!


Jasmine's beautiful smile



Debbie and Jacob



Jazzy with Nadara's kid-sized tea set






Ardith


Deb


Tasha with her precious babes




Tasha sharing fabrics


Deb and Nadara


La belle Michelle

Back to "Normal" - WHEW!

I forgot to post pictures of me AFTER my recovery in the previous post -- well, I'm really still recovering, but I'm very close to "normal" again. See for yourself...

Our Cute Apartment

I want to show you our cute apartment... I LOVE living here! Michelle, Debbie, and Marjorie are so close by, and I cherish being able to see these friends and their families throughout the week. They took such good care of me during my illness, too, and I knew I could count on them if I needed anything!

KITCHEN









More apartment pics below...

Here are some pics of me during my recovery. I was tired and in pain all the time (and it shows). This was a GOOD DAY...










Sorry if the picture of my incision (previous post) was TMI!!

Back to the apartment...

BEDROOM (doubles as our office, too)


















































































BATHROOM







LINEN CLOSET




I'll take pictures of the living room and my studio very soon and post them. These rooms are FINALLY FINISHED!!