Fear

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A year ago when I was asked to write on this blog,the first thing that came to my mind was "huh? You have seen how I write, so you have got to know that it is bad." Then I said yes before I could think myself out of it. It was the cool thing to do. I was not going to let down some of my best friends because of my selfish fear.

It is a good thing to be afraid of something and then to do it. I have grown a ton. My writing, I am not so sure about, but with in me I feel I have grown. There are still things I want to do that I have posted about but I am still afraid to try, like the quilt squares I have sitting around waiting for me to piece together. Yeah, that is from almost a year ago. But hey, sometimes you really just have to go with the flow and give in sometimes. As long as you know only good will come from it even if it scares you senseless.

Now I am not saying go and stick you hand in a bowl full of snakes while eating a live spider. That is just gross, creepy and not going to get you anywhere, but we all have rational fears that are holding us back. We all are continually growing and learning. Sometimes we just need that peer pressure and extra push to do something we would normally not do. Sometimes we need that peer pressure to inspire us to become better and to grow. So that quilt I am scared to finish, I promise, I will finish it by Christmas. I will then take a picture of it and put it up here.

Now this is where I invite you for your input here. What are you afraid of? What is holding you back? Is there something you want to do but are scared to do it? A project you have started but never finished? Leave me a comment, or send us an e-mail with pictures. I will post your ideas here, if you want of coarse. Then you can have some positive peer pressure to go for it! Then you can know that you are not alone. We can all work on our fears together and grow. That has been this last year for me. Thanks Cortney, for inspiring me and helping me grow.

Notebook Therapy

I can hardly believe we're celebrating one year on this little ol' blog of ours. Not only am I celebrating for us girls, but my own wedding anniversary is coming up this Monday. Eight years ago right now I was getting ready to make the biggest change in my life to that point. I was 29 years old when I got married, old enough to have completed college, traveled all over, and established my career. I knew I was making the right choice to marry my best friend, knowing my life would change dramatically but not knowing just how much.

That first year was a wake-up call in so many ways. Here I was a mature, independent and capable woman who, as it turned out, was very immature when it came to dependence on someone else, and lacking in communication skills. We grew up together and grew closer together *quickly* that first year, through funny experiences and some tears too.

Why share this with all of you? I've always been a devoted journal-writer, until a couple of years ago. I fell out of the habit of writing regularly, justifying my complacency with our family blog being a "journal" of sorts, and later this blog being a kind of journal. But I know I need somewhere to write for me and only me.

This is one I revisit regularly, bursting with stapled-in newspaper articles, funeral programs, thoughtful notes, movie stubs, to-do lists, and other stuff.

While I seem to look forward most of the time to plan and prepare for what's next or what needs to get done, or where we need to be, I forget to look back and see where I came from...me, just me. This past summer when we hiked here and, as fatigue started setting in, I focused so much on the steep, rocky path ahead that I almost forgot to take time to stop and look how far we'd come.

The older I get, it seems I become more desperate, for lack of a better word, to not forget who I was pre-college, pre-marriage, pre-kids, or whatever. How am I to know where to go if I don't know where I've come from? I'm thankful that I know where I can look back, remember who I was and am, and figure it out.

So, in honor of our blogiversary, my wedding anniversary, and to thank YOU for coming back here and taking a peek into our lives, I'm making one of these to give away:

I'll even make it in your favorite colors, and maybe you can use it to record a little bit of you, for you, to you. Just leave a comment, and let me know a little something you learned about yourself this past year, or two, or eight! :-)

I'll choose a winner next Wednesday, November 24th.

One Year

One year of something new can change your world.  That's all it takes to change a person completely... I'm sure of it.   That's all it takes to develop a love for something and want to share it.  One year is all it took to make my tiny doable pile of scraps turn into this heap of loveliness!

I love this basket!  This is my look-at-it-and-remember-everything-I-actually-finished-this-year basket.  There is something really great about creating something.  We spend most of our days doing tasks that will never be complete...never be finished.  I will always and forever have laundry to do.  I will always get to pick up stuff off the floor.  Dinner will always need to be made and family will always need to be taken care of.  Although these things are extremely important and fulfilling at times these things are never really finished.  A quilt, on the other hand, when completed, is finished, useful and will always be beautiful to look at..unlike my kitchen floor. Sometimes it just feels good to do something and know that it will become a finished work. 

Can you believe it has been a year since we started sharing our lives and ideas on this blog?  It feels like just a week or so ago we were all sitting around my dining room table at 2 in the morning thinking of fun topics to write about and where we wanted this blog to go.  We hoped it would uplift and inspire our readers.  We also hoped it would help us discover new things that are praiseworthy.  For a year now we have sought after those things and it has changed me! 

I am the most unbalanced person on earth.  I always will be.  I try to do it all and I literally feel like I have to.  I put way to much on my plate and I say yes to everything I'm asked to do plus I add on more only to find myself  tired and overwhelmed.  I catch myself grumbling and throwing a pity party the day of the task but the truth is I love everything I do and I should be grateful for all of these experiences.  I don't have to go to work and hate 8 hours of my day.  I take it all on because I know I'll grow and I know that there are hoped upon blessings waiting around the corner for my family. 

Busy schedules push out time for self and for serving others.   I can tell you that this blog has kept me centered on the things that are most important regardless of my workload.  I have made time for sewing, for cooking, for writing and for pondering.  I know myself better.  I know my limits now and I know how to use my time for things that matter.  I have made time for baby quilts on blessing days, time for added holidays traditions and memories, and experienced fun new ways to brighten my home and strengthen my testimony.  Today as I think back on our year, I am happy with what I've learned and so excited to keep seeking after these things that are praiseworthy. 

I wanted some tangible way to share this with you.  So... leave a comment with your name letting us know what keeps you coming back to our little world and one of you will get the scraps from my past - fabric pieces from the things I have made this blog year. Big and small pieces that I love and that I look at often, from our quilt along, tree ornament tutorial, stuffed chickens, skirts for weddings, aprons for newly married sisters, Sadie's baby clothing memory quilt, bibs, a work in progress for a special little girl of mine who needs a quilt for her big girl bed, and blessing quilts 1,2 and 3 soon to 4 and 5.  This way you can make something awesome and pass on the feelings I get when I create.

So leave a comment.  Don't be shy. You know you want to.  I'll pick the random winner next Monday (Nov. 22nd).  You'll also want to keep coming back every day this week.  There will be more!