Happy Birthday, Sara!

Fourteen years ago today, I was joined by my little sister Sara. Since then, we've been the best of friends. Sara's such a lovely little sister. :-) And even though we don't always share the same hobbies, we do so much together and have lots of fun. My sister Sara will always be my best friend!

Happy 14th Birthday, little sister!

 Sara just started her blog a few weeks ago. You can visit her blog here: Live, Love, Laugh.

My sister and I: I'm 6yrs. old and in red | Sara's 4 yrs old and in yellow

S incere

A ppreciative

R esourceful

A nimated

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 

3 John 1:2

Knit and Crochet-Along for Romania

Lately, God has been putting it on my heart to use the talents that He's blessed me with for the benefit of others. A few weeks ago I was reading through Scripture and came across this verse:

 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good until all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. ~Galatians 6:10

Last month while in the craft shop with my Dad picking up some yarn, he had a thought. Why don't we purchase some extra yarn to knit and crochet hats for the orphans in Botosani, Romania? Our family has known the Hand of Help orphanage for several years and have been amazed at the work that God has been doing through their ministry. Hand of Help is a nondenominational, Christian organization that is dedicated to " providing spiritual and physical aid to the forsaken of society throughout Eastern Europe". Their orphanage, located in northeast Romania, cares for nearly 100 children and each of them receive the individual care and attention that every child needs. Several years ago when my sister and I were practicing our knitting skills, we made several hat and scarf sets for the orphanage. They appreciated the clothing so much and it made my sister and I feel happy that we had an opportunity to use our God-given talents to be a blessing to others.

So now that I have improved my knitting skills and have learned to crochet, I quickly agreed with Dad and thought this would be the perfect project for my blog's next knit & crochet along project!

Since the friendship afghans project is still ongoing, I didn't plan to start this month. But after discussing my plans with Hand of Help, I learned that their winter container leaves the US in October and I realized that we need to start soon if the hats are to arrive at the orphanage in time for the winter. This knit & crochet along is great for both beginners and pros because you can choose what you would like to make (a hat or scarf), and use any yarn you like. Here are the guidelines, please read them carefully:

{1}  There are almost 100 children in the orphanage and the goal is to make a warm winter hat for each child in the orphanage.You can make hat and scarf sets or just hats.

{2} The children's ages range from 0-18 so the hats and scarfs can be any size and any color. Please remember that it gets quite cold during Romania's winter so the hats shouldn't be lacy or thin. You can use any needle or crochet hook you prefer and all yarns are accepted.

{3} If you finish the hats and scarfs on or before October 15, please mail them to this address:

Hand of Help - Shipping

1012 South 3rd. St.

Watertown, Wisconsin 53094

U.S.A.

Hats and scarves received before the end of October will be placed in the ministry's container and shipped from there to Romania. If you miss the container deadline, you'll have to send the hats and scarves directly to the Romanian orphanage or wait for another container to leave the ministry early next year. You can find the address for the orphanage here.

{4} And if you've read through this looooong post, you can enter my giveaway! Yes, you read correctly. I'm hosting my second giveaway! (You never know where you'll find a giveaway, do you!?!) It's important to spread the word about this knit and crochet-along so we can meet our goal of 100 hats for the orphans of Romania. To encourage you to tell all you friends about it, there will be a free apron (hand-made by me) for the person who refers the most participants! To enter the giveaway, let your friends know about the knit & crochet-along, ask them to join and let me know who referred them. You can write a blog post, mention it on Facebook, and even tweet about it. And to make it even easier for you to refer your friends here, I've made a blog button! 

To grab this code for your blog, copy
the code in my right sidebar!

At the end of this month, I'll announce the winner of the giveaway who will receive a free, custom-made apron! So get started and spread the word! 

If you want join us, please leave a comment below and let me know you'd like to be counted as a participant. All participants will be listed in my sidebar. Once you've finished your hats and scarves, let me know how many you made so I can know when the goal has been reached!

Happy knitting and crocheting!

A Fixed Blog and Stormy Weather

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about a technical glitch that was making it difficult to visit my blog from Blogger's Dashboard. Well, I'm happy to announce that it's been fixed! I was editing my blog's HTML about a month ago hoping to make changes the comments section of my blog. The tutorial that I was following didn't work so I forgot all about the editing and didn't bother to undo it. Someone else who also tried the tutorial left a comment mentioning that it didn't work for them either but following the tutorial caused another problem...the same one I was having! I was delighted to find the solution to the problem and fix it. :-) Now you can visit my blog either by visiting the homepage or clicking on the post title in your Blogger Dashboard! If you're having the same problem with your blog, send me an email and I'll be happy to show you how to fix it.

On Friday, I mentioned that a tropical storm was heading our way and we were expecting to feel its effects last night. However, the storm decided to stall just a couple hundred miles to our south yesterday morning. This caused a delay in the stormy weather...and yesterday turned out sunny instead of stormy! According to our local weather website, the worst of the storm is now expected this afternoon. But the good news is that the tropical storm weakened a bit when it stalled so the weather won't be as bad as forecasted late last week. We've already gotten some rain which is always good!

I'm still feeling dizzy and sore so I have a follow up appointment with the oral surgeon for this Wednesday. Hopefully, the dizziness will go away before then! And I'm looking forward to eating "real" food, after nearly a week of smoothies. :-)

Again, I must apologize for the lack of photos here lately. I just might try to use the camera today...so look out for some photos soon. :-)

Have a blessed week, friends!

Summer With A Purpose: Week Eight

I'm back from my short blogging break! I'm glad that I took the break...I really needed it this week. Overall, it's  been a rough week for me. As you all know, I got my four wisdom teeth pulled on Monday at the hospital. Since then, I've been just resting and waiting for everything to heal so I can get back to "normal". I've been having almost constant dizziness which the oral surgeon said might be from one of the prescribed medications I'm taking. It's been hard for me to get much done because I'm so dizzy and Mom has been such a great help to me! She makes delicious smoothies for me and helps me keep track of the medications I need to take. My sisters and brother have been doing my chores which is a big help too!

One thing I accomplished while resting was that I finished reading the book I started last week, In the Presence of My Enemies. It's a really good book and with not much to do but relax, I truly enjoyed reading it! Aside from reading and relaxing, I haven't been doing much else. I did no crafting whatsoever which is a first since I started SWAP two months ago. Feeling sore and dizzy, I don't really feel like crocheting, sewing or doing any of the other hobbies I'm usually so busy with. I haven't even touched my camera all week --which is why there are no photos for this post. :(

On a different note, I would like to say thank you to everyone who's filled out my blog reader survey. So far, I've gotten more than twenty responses and I really appreciate all your input. I'll be making changes based on the survey once it ends so if you haven't done it yet --I'm still waiting to hear from you! The survey closes next Wednesday so head over and do it while you can! Click here to start!

I should mention that there's a tropical storm heading toward us just as I write this post. It looks like Tropical Storm Colin will be coming within 100 miles of our little island Bermuda with the worst weather forecasted to take place tomorrow night. While tropical storms rarely cause serious damage to Bermuda, the weather service always stresses the importance of taking all the necessary precautions to remain safe. We'll probably be getting some extra candles/batteries in case the power goes out, and we'll be sure to bring in any outdoor furniture and stuff that can be blown away. If we lose power, the internet cuts out as well and I won't be able to keep all of you updated if that happens. :(  There's always the possibility that the storm will strengthen before it actually gets here so we're praying that Colin doesn't become a hurricane as that would increase the likelihood of damage.  Hopefully, we'll just get some much-needed rain and won't lose the electricity!

Since I've been restricted to a soft-food diet this week, I've been looking for good smoothie recipes. If you have a favorite smoothie recipe that you think I'll enjoy, please send it to me by clicking here. If I like your recipe, maybe I'll feature it in a later post! :-) Thanks in advance!

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Reader Survey

While I'm on blogging break, I thought it would be a good time to have each of you fill out a simple 10-question survey that I put together for all of my blog readers. The questions are easy and just ask for your opinion about my blog. It's anonymous and takes only 2 minutes to complete so please consider participating. I plan to post the survey results on my blog next week after the survey ends, and depending on the results I may do some changes to my blog as well. The survey will be open from now until next Wednesday so head over and submit your answers soon. Click here to start!

Thanks in advance for your help!

*This is a scheduled blog post that I wrote last week. I'm currently on a mini-blog break but I'm still moderating comments so feel free to leave one below! Thanks!*

Where He Leads Me

A few months ago I came across this song while browsing YouTube's praise and worship songs. It was such a blessing to me, and I feel encouraged whenever I listen to this video. It's one of those songs that just touch your heart and leave you feeling refreshed. I thought to share it with all of you, hopefully you'll find it a blessing too!

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 

~ Psalm 139: 9,10

Will you follow the Savior where He leads you? Will you hear Him when He calls?

*This is a scheduled blog post that I wrote last week. I'm currently on a mini-blog break but I'm still moderating comments so feel free to leave one below! Thanks!*

Surgery Update

{Photo credit}

Dear friends, just thought to give everyone a quick update. I went in for surgery first thing this morning to get my four wisdom teeth pulled. Even though I wasn't the bravest girl going into it, the surgery itself went well and I was able to go home about 4 hours later. So far, the recovery hasn't been too bad but I have to eat soft foods. Mom just made a delicious smoothie for me this evening -- thanks Mom!!

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me and wishing me well. I'm hoping and praying that recovery doesn't take too long and I'm back to normal soon.

I'm still on a mini blogging break so I have two scheduled posts that will be published later this week so keep your eye out for them.

Blessings!

A Time To Rest

Wow, can you all believe it's the first day of August? Where has the year gone so fast? It seems like we were celebrating New Years Day not very long ago. Since my surgery is tomorrow morning and I'll probably feel a bit sore for at least the next day or so afterwards, I've decided to take a short blogging break this week. Yep, this is my first blogging break since I started last September. Don't worry though! You probably won't miss me that much because I've written two scheduled posts that will be published later this week. And I should be back in time to post this Friday's SWAP post.

I may do a short post to let you all know how the surgery went but can't really promise that. And depending on how I feel, I'll continue to read everyone's blog posts and leave a few comments too! I'm planning to do a little tweeting before and after my surgery so keep an eye on the Twitter widget in my right sidebar to read about how everything's going. Oh, and if you're on Twitter you can become a follower too. :-)

Hope everyone has a blessed week! And I appreciate everyones prayers for my surgery tomorrow.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." Eccl. 3:1