What Becomes of the Broken-Armed?

Knamma is what my middle grandson calls me, when his tongue is too lazy for the "gr" sound...lol, and I am a knitting knamma! As you (and Taylor Swift) know, knitters gonna knit, knit, knit, knit, knit...and I've been knitting for the grandkids from the beginning. It started with sweaters for their little, baby bodies before it moved into toys, and these three monsters were one of the first toy adventures for the boys' house, in 2019:

Now that the boys have a dog, sometimes toys are caught in battle situations. While I am no Doc McStuffins, when I saw this poor guy's arm last week, my heart broke a little: 

So, as a knitting knamma does, I mustered the troops (actually a small collection of rubber duck nurses), and readied the operating arena and surgical tools...

You may not know this, but this type of prosthetic surgery is typically done with no anesthesia, so it was really no surprise that the patient wanted to try out that new arm before I was even finished with the procedure.

In the end, the hardest part of prosthetic surgery turned out to be matching skin tones. Just like flesh, yellow yarns come in many shades, and even though I got close(-ish?)...we will always be able to see where I mended that broken heart...errr, arm. (The "nurses" seem quite impressed with my work, yay!)

At least toys are easy to fix. I've come across three broken-heart situations in the last 6 months that I'd fix if I could, but there just isn't enough yarn in the world. Instead, I have prayed for the families of two young dads (Tony and Erik) and one young mom (Mandy), terminally ill and/or taken from their families far too soon. Their stories are not mine to tell, and I only knew one of them personally, but I have agonized through my prayers for friends at the pain these losses have brought.

I've also been reminded that this life is full of uncertainty and things that are out of my control. I am glad to know that there is One greater than me who is in control, and I have prayed that He will watch over these families, weaving his love through their broken hearts and surrounding them with the love of family and friends who point to an eternity of hope. 

If you have lost a loved one recently, or too soon, or ever...I pray that you would lean into faith, call on the name of Jesus, and trust that He is enough. The Bible tells me that He has prepared a place for me, and that there will be no more pain or tears in heaven. I lean on this when I have pain and tears on earth, and I remember that answering his call is something I must do daily...hourly even. 

And now, celebrating like it's the end of a major sporting event for those gone to heaven (some far too soon in my mind), I lift my John 3:16 sign and remind you that "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Physical life is fleeting, but spiritual life can be an eternity of joy. I hope you will reach for that joy in all things, especially if you are feeling broken-hearted today. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Recovering (?) Type-A

Quick! Name something that comes back to "bite you in the butt" in life! I'll start...

PERFECTIONIST PERSONALITIES!

You know what else starts with P? That's right, Pretty starts with P, and Pretty has a perfectionist personality PLUS. As a recovering type-A (am I recovering though, or just continually backsliding?), I make mistakes then berate myself pretty hard on a fairly regular schedule. It's partly rushing (because I love a finished task), and partly doing too many things at one time (I'm doing this and this and this...might as well do that too), which is not an equation for perfection, but failure. It's like being impatient to finish a hand-knit sweater, maybe because I also want to finish the matching socks and bake some cookies, so I convince myself that a mistake isn't a mistake until I've bound off a sweater that has three sleeves! 

Special Note: This knitter, like most knitters, has only two arms. Thankfully, that is also true of the sweater she is currently working on...

Still, there is evidence all over my world of the mistakes I've made. Some of my blunders were bigger than others, and I am most thankful for the ones I have owned up to, shared with appropriate people, and learned from. 

I am thankful that I had another opportunity to learn to slow down again this week. Error Ahoy! Believe me when I tell you that I am not continually thankful for this mistake or any other, but in hindsight I am hopeful that I have learned from it. In this moment, what I am always thankful for is the people God has surrounded me with. The ladies in my Bible study have prayed for me as I floundered through the week, and they brought me back from the brink of feeling badly and beating myself up to admitting guilt and working through it. Ultimately, there was nothing I could do (this time) to fix the flub, so I admitted fault and apologized profusely while I prayed and knit my way through it, almost finishing sock 1 of a new pair as well as the progress on the sweater. 

All of that to say this: Everyone makes mistakes, and errors are almost always inconvenient. Nobody died, so it could be worse, and isn't that a good place to sit? As long as I can say, "It could be worse," I know it's probably going to be ok. This is true all throughout life, whether it refers to my mistakes or the consequences of another's actions, and I have been in situations that I don't think could have been worse...but most of life is somewhere between "Great!" and "Can't-Get-Worse," so that's where I live best. Could it be worse? Yes? Then it's going to be ok! Maybe not "Great!," but that's what a recovering Type-A needs to know...it doesn't have to be perfect. Sometimes ok is truly OK!

Are you like me, a straight-A student that can't let go of that one B in 7th grade, or the mistake that she made last week? Or are you gentle with yourself because not one of us is perfect? I hope you tend toward the latter, as it is a kinder and gentler way to treat both with yourself others. If you're struggling like I am, I hope you'll hop up onto the bus. When we struggle and grow together, we all get a little further down the road. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good health!

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!

Storms of Life

Hi there, Blog Friends! I am borrowing from something I wrote a little earlier in the week, and I hope you don't mind. We had a pretty big storm around here last Tuesday, and some of my local friends are still waiting for their power to be restored and storm damages to be cleaned up. 

Everyone is ok, and the Pretties have power, but this is still super relevant:

Psalm 34:4 was the first piece of scripture I memorized as an adult. I still carry it with me everywhere, because I tend toward anxiety. Right or wrong, fear seems to be my default. 

The first time I really understood how calming scripture can be was more than several summers ago. My husband and I had 2 small children, and we had just spent a rainy day at Cedar Point. On our way out of the park, in the dark, another storm was rolling in as we drove along the causeway. I felt very small in that minivan, buffeted by rain and wind and unable to see much in the dark. 

Except when the lightning flashed. Each time the sky blazed with light, I could look to the left and to the right at the churning lake, and at the trees bending over their houses along the road in between the waters. Was there a tornado brewing? Would the wind blow us off the road? How were the kids already falling asleep in the back?

Realizing that there was nothing for me to do as my husband drove us calmly through the storm, I started to pray. Then I started to repeat Psalm 34:4: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” And do you know what? He, the God of the storm, delivered me from my fears. 

The storm subsided in time, or we drove out of it, I really don’t remember which. What I do remember is that God delivered me from my FEAR. The storm was secondary. Praise God!

As our community recovers from Tuesday’s storm, I'm finding so much to be thankful for. I spent 20 minutes in my daughter's basement with toddlers, and we were not harmed. That same daughter was driving with one of those boys, just before the storm hit,  and they were not harmed. I know of folks who lost homes in the storm (there were at least 2 tornado touchdowns confirmed in our area), and they were not harmed. So much to be thankful for.

I am most thankful that the boys did not seem anxious during our time in the basement. I desperately don't want to pass my anxiety default onto them. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us calm in the storm!

What kinds of storms have been happening around you this week? Dysfunctional families, financial  hardship, stress at work and much more can make us all fearful and anxious. If you don't yet know the God of the storm, who is able to deliver you from all your fears, I hope you'll take a moment to introduce yourself. Reading the Psalms in the Bible is one good place to start. Talking with me is another! 

(Psst! If you start with a reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app, it'll even read to you! I like to knit and listen sometimes. 🙂)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

A nice, calm image for your mind. 🙂

X-es and Ohs

Between VBS and work, I was sure hoppin' last week!

(I don't think this frog dances...)

But this week has been super-chill, which I am so thankful for! It's given me the chance to get out into nature...

To see the birds and the bees,

(We saw this eagle fishin'!)

and the flowers and the trees... 

(Mmmmm...sweet, sun-warmed berries!)

You know the good stuff of summer! I've even had a moment to knit something fun...I mean, who doesn't love a balloon dog?

(The pig apparently loves the balloon dog!)

I'm also currently working on a crochet project I hope to take on our next family vacation! Hence the X-es and Ohs in today's blog title!

Eventually, it should be a soft, portable,  washable tic-tac-toe game for the kiddos! For now, this single X and O are waiting patiently for friends and a place to sleep. It shouldn't take too long! 😉

That's about all I'm up to at the moment, and it's good to have a bit of "down time" on these lazy, summer days. I hope you are finding some down time in your life, too. I assume you are, since you're here! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

One more...
outdoor Sunday school!
It's the best!

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!