Backseats, Baptisms and Birthdays!

To stay with the "B" theme of my title, I will start by saying it's been a busy, Busy, BUSY week!!! All good things, and I am now on Spring Break (yay!), but I could also use some rest!

Last Saturday, while the blog was going live, I was just arriving in Louisville, KY for a kind of girls' weekend with some online friends. These are very special friends indeed, and it was the first time many of us had met in person! Members of our little, online Bible study group live in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Great Britain and South Africa! 

Not everyone made it (we were missing 2 of our lovely friends), 

This is the "Backseat" portion of the blog!

and not everyone was able to spend the whole weekend (we arrived from Thursday through Saturday), but once we got there, we hugged and laughed and ate and took photos and spent our time together with smiles, tears, LOTS of talking and all the good things about great relationships between women!

There were even gifts, including some "peeps" I made for my peeps 

and this beaded beauty from South Africa (now residing in my office, thank you, Rita!).

We had come together in this place for a very special occasion. One of our friends had made the decision to be baptized, and she wanted to do that at the church that brought us all together online, Southeast Christian Church. (Thank you to the online team that made our Bible study group possible, and then facilitated the baptism and our time together at church on Sunday morning!) 

We enjoyed a time to meet the senior pastor of Southeast, 

and a sweet time of worship in the sanctuary we see each Sunday online;

some of our group was interviewed, 

and then we baptized Kathleen into Christ! Happy spiritual birthday, Kathleen!

After that, we celebrated with more hugs, laughter and photos, 

I love this church, coming or going!
Thank you Southeast and SE Online!

and a final meal before we all got on the road back to our homes (OR the rest of our US tour, right Rita?). As for me, high on the fumes of a great weekend, I returned to work in a bit of a fog. But I kept on going to make it to this weekend's birthday party! Somebody is 3 this year...

That's right! It's Casey, and we had a lovely party with him and the family last night, 

presents and cake, and all that jazz,

including the new puppy! 

Wait, I didn't tell you about the puppy at the boys' house? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's another...

Yes, she's adorable. Super cute, and we all love her! Again, it was the start of another busy weekend, I'm already a little tired (I stayed up late to watch the Good Friday Service recorded from Southeast)...but it's almost Resurrection Sunday! So, the eggs and bunnies have been delivered...

and the baking has begun!

Bread will be baked before breakfast, and we will all gather to celebrate some more tomorrow! I know that Easter isn't everyone's tradition, but it is mine, so Happy Easter, Peeps! 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! 

Whatever your tradition around this time of year, regardless of whether you knit or knot, I wish you the best, and I hope you'll leave me a little comment about what's keeping you busy this Spring (or Autumn, if you're on the other side of the earth!).

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Even Pop Pop had some fun on my road trip, where he met his favorite vegetable, a giant jelly bean!

My 2025 Era

Another new year, another new snow

Looks like winter finally decided to show up! On cold, snowy days like this, I'm glad my hobby is a cozy one! I have plans for hats and mittens, but first, I'm knitting some whimsy! 

A dozen hearts to share with friends that I won't see as often in 2025, because I'm starting a new job a week from Monday. More details about that next week...for now, I'm sharing my heart with the friends I work with here...

and knitting housewarming gifts for friends in new homes...

and thinking about moving onto a little selfish knitting for the rest of this month. 

How have your first four days of the new year treated you? I hope that you are well and that this fresh, new year has been good to you so far. Drop a comment to let me know if you have any fun plans! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Ahoy!

How does one follow a post about puppy love and family funtimes?

With Vacation Bible School, of course!

We Set Sail at Avon UMC for 5 days of songs, crafts, games and all kinds of crazy fun!

On the last night of VBS, even parents and little brothers were invited to join the chaos, amd everyone had a ridiculously good time!

I've spent the last two days recovering and knitting...working up a quick housewarming gift,

and starting in on a pair of socks and a rainbow, balloon dog (as one does, when requested by a 5-year-old). 

Not sure how that last one is going to end up, but I'm hopeful that it will be fun! I mean, who doesn't love a balloon amimal? And this one should not pop...like, ever!

This summer has been nonstop, and I'm occasionally struggling to find some down time. But I am hopeful that the coming week will be a little slower-paced...after all, I have some knitting to get done!

How has your summer been? Whether it's been "fast and furious" or "slow and steady," I hope you've had small moments of calm along the way. When you've spent all your time and energy doing for others,  peace and joy can be the fuel that fills your emotional gas tank. That's what I wish for the rest of your summer. 

Maybe try to catch a butterfly!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Busy, But Loved

This past week has been a bit of a blur. It started with a 3-day trip to see the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, and also the Creation Museum in Petersburg.

Then back to the office to prepare for the end of week madness of two worship services, a funeral and a large meeting, all taking place over the next two days. #churchlife 

For what it's worth, church life can be a very good life. ☺ I am happy to work and worship in the places that I do those things, and visiting KY this week has reinforced that for me. There are challenges, as there are with any group of people, because we are often not all on the same page about everything.

What we are on the same page about is Jesus. God's Son, and our Lord and Savior, he is the basis of our faith. Visiting the Ark and Museum reminded me that Jesus doesn't mean much if we don't first believe in God and his creation. It also reminded me that there are many who do not start there, and many who start there and then take some questionable turns...including myself, from time to time.

I know that some of you reading, if you are still reading, have very different beliefs than I do. I would venture to guess that we start at different places, and it might be difficult for us to be on the same page ever. I'm ok with that, and I promise to never force my beliefs on you, because I love Jesus. He did not say, "Force this down your neighbor's throat, in the name of God!" Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God...and love your neighbor as yourself." That's what I'm about, and I hope that you know that you are loved, by me at least. I don't ever want anyone to feel that they are unloved or unlovable...so, always know that you've got a friend in me. 

Besides, I don't typically blog about all of that. This is a blog about knitting, and yarn, and family...right?!? Right!!! So, what am I knitting (besides frogs)?

Well, there are the purple socks, which are coming right along! (After all, I had, like 10 hours of car knitting this week!)

And I'm working on a Farm Doodle Cowl as a test knit for Pacific Knit Co!

Just for fun, my pretty, knitty brain decided that we would like to do this double-knit (or two-sided), which has slowed me down considerably...but wow! Check this out!

Super-fun! After the cowl is finished, and perhaps after the socks are finished also, I am most likely going to go back to make a few more pieces for the frog's wardrobe, and perhaps a frog-friend as well. After all, what's better than a knitted frog?

TWO knitted frogs! Lolz...well, it's better to me at least! 

What's going on in your world this week? I hope that whatever it is, you are finding time to spend with the people who mean the most to you, and that you are feeling the love that is all around you. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Oh!, and my morning glory
seeds have sprouted!