Being Crafty

So many of you will remember the superhero tshirt blanket that I made this summer for my nephew, Christian. If you need a little reminder, click here. I am so not crafty. I had never used a sewing machine before this project. However, I was determined to learn something new. And therefore I did. I will say that I was impressed with myself. While my projects are not perfect and I would not call myself a sewing expert, I am way more confident with my abilities now! Not only did I make a blanket for my nephew, Christian Brody, I also made two more for my nephews, Jack and Luke. Same process as before, but they turned out better than Christain's. Sorry Christian! I gave these blankets to Jack and Luke for Christmas. Here they are!

So not only did I make three superhero tshirt blankets, I also made a blanket for my nephew Wyatt who turned 9 months old on Christmas day. I knew he would not love a superhero blanket as much as his brother, I decided to make one a little easier. I unfortunately did not take pictures during the process for documentation, so I will give you a brief run down. I grabbed two different fabrics from Joann Fabrics, both a yard in length. I pinned them together right side out and cut off any excess then sewed all the way around. That was the easy part. Then I got this silk border and my mom helped me get it on all neatly and the corners in place. She is better at that stuff - making things look good. Then I sewed that down and called it good. It was a little trickier then it sounds, but it was my first blanket of this kind so I think the next time I do this.

 Here is one side - if you cannot see it well - those are multi-colored

circles on an off white/cream background with the blue silk border.

 The flip side is that fun fabric with the bubbles, if you will. I do

not know what it is really called...

This is what it looks like together.

So yes, now I am definitely more confident with a sewing machine and I actually enjoy using it. I am in no way an expert. Now I am definitely ready for the shooting range. Kory, you can help with this when I come back out the Ranch, right?

A Year Later

One year ago today at about this time, I was sitting in the Applebees in Redmond, Oregon with my dearest friends (and siblings) and their kids before they dropped me off at the airport with lots of tears on my end. It was the last thing I did before moving back to Virginia. The few weeks before I left had been such an emotionally heavy period of time and it was hard leaving the Canyon with all that was going on especially having my brother, Kory, still so busted from his accident and really having no clue what the Lord was trying to say or what He wanted the next phase in life to look like.

As I look back on this last year, I don't have a ton of answers for much. However I can say I have seen the Lord work and in some big ways - even in the last few days. Now more than ever, I can say that I am confident that Property Staff is where I am suppose to be. I also had a neat conversation last night with a dear friend about seeing and hearing the Lord through multiple, unrelated people with the same message - of being still before the Lord, letting the Lord give you peace, and becoming a Mary versus a Martha - which is always hard.

Something that I know that has remained a constant mantra for me this last year is the Lord is good. All the time. The Lord was good a year ago, 6 months ago when I left the Canyon after an amazing six week stay, He was good last week, today, tomorrow, next month, and next year.

In terms of my prayers for this next year (well preferably these next few weeks) I pray for complete healing for two sweet babies - Tucker and Ozzy and for complete healing for Kory so he can get back to work full time and life can be somewhat normal for him, Sara, and the kids. Also praying for a job in Property Staff. I would go anywhere if that is where the Lord wanted me, but if I could choose any camp, I would love more than anything to be back in the Canyon. I trust that the Lord has great things in store. Will y'all join me in prayer? 

Sad

Exactly one year ago this evening, I had a fantastic evening with four friends who taught me how to butcher an elk. It really was a great evening with lots of laughs, great music, and even better memories. So much has changed since that night. I had no clue that it would that change would start the next day.

That following morning my friend, Doug, and fellow "Canyonite" passed away. It was hard and sad. Doug's passing was the beginning of a long month that also included my brother, Kory's, fall from a ladder (to which he still hasn't fully healed) and a move 3000 miles away from that part of my family.

As excited as I am about up coming events like a weekend in Richmond with family and friends, my niece's birthday, my birthday, and Christmas, I also can't help be a little sad thinking of Doug's family and Kory and the rest of Browns. Also thinking about two sweet baby boys, Tucker and Ozzy, who are both in the hospital, one in Boston and one in Portland, who are both needing surgery. Both of these little boys have a Daddy who work for Young Life because they (and their Mommies) have a passion for high school and middle school kids to come to know the Lord. Both sets of parents are super heros in my eyes and they need prayer.

I know this post isn't super long or detailed, but I'm okay with that. But if you think about it, will you lift up these families in prayer?

A Hiatus

So I've been on a bit of a hiatus from this blog, but don't worry, friends, I have not forgotten about you. In reality, life has been busy in these two months since I've last updated this blog. And I'll keep this short I promise.

These last couple of months haven't been bad. Hard? Yes. But I'm learning. I'm growing. Letting the Lord use this time to mature me. Yet, there are some key things that haven't changed about me. Yes, I still the miss the Canyon. No, I haven't been able to land a job yet.  I'm a bit more content in being "here" than I was. Here meaning without a job and in Virginia Beach. Yes, I do want a job and no I don't see myself in Virginia Beach forever. And the Lord knows that. I still trust His will and timing.

In the mean time, I'm working on some things. Some things y'all won't be able to see for a few months. Bummer I know, but you'll see soon enough and I promise it'll be good. Yes, there will be pictures.

Currently, I've been listening to The Great Gatsby on my daily walks and I've been making 2 more Super Hero Blankets for Jack and Luke for Christmas. I'm almost done. So close. This time around, they've been WAY easier than Christian's basically because I know what I'm doing now. 

So here I am. Still waiting on the Lord's voice to say move. Sigh. All in.

The journey's hard

Life is hard and learning new things (or re-learning things) is hard. Recently I've seen grace modeled in new ways - big ways. It's hard for me to receive grace especially from myself. I don't feel worthy to receive grace when I've blown it. But I think that's part of growing and maturing.

I've also been scared lately. I've been scared that I'm never going to have a job again. I'm scared that I'm going to be at my parents house forever. I'm scared I'm going to get "stuck". I know what I want to do in life and it's been affirmed by many people, but because this journey has been a long and hard one, I'm scared it's never going to happen. These last 9 months have been hard. I've applied for close to 150 jobs in and out of Young Life Camping and I haven't landed a job yet. I've begun to ask the questions like "What's wrong with me?" And in that I'm having trouble finding pure joy like it talks about in James 1 where James is talking about considering it a pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. The longer I go without a job, the harder it is to find that pure joy.

Don't get me wrong, the Lord is still good and He is faithful and I have seen him work. I've never gone without food or a place to live. Yes, my funds have been and continue to be tight, but I've never gone without. My brother, Kory, is healing well and he's back to work part time - praise the Lord! The Lord has been faithful in that area for sure. I could go on about how I've seen the Lord.

My heart is a bit weary right now. I'm tired.  I'm trying to trust the Lord when my inner, sinful self is having hard time with that.

This journey has been hard. And I'm ready. Ready for something good.

THE Blanket

I have four nephews - Jack, Luke, Wyatt, and Christian. Jack, Luke, and Wyatt are my brother, Mike's, boys. Christian is the son of my dearest friends, Kory and Sara - so even though there's no blood involved, Christian's still my nephew. 

So I saw this great idea on Pinterest to make a Super Hero Blanket and I thought of Jack, Luke, and Christian who are all really close in age (Luke turned 4 in April, Christian will be 5 on Friday, and Jack will be 6 in November. Wyatt's 4 months old and has no clue what a super hero is!) 

Now keep in mind that when it comes to anything other than photography and pictures, I'm not the most crafty. I have lots of creative ideas but always fail on the execution. This time I was determined. When I came back from the Canyon at the beginning of June, I was set on learning something new this summer. This Super Hero Blanket was the perfect idea. I started with Christian's blanket first because his birthday is first.

So I had to start somewhere - finding tshirts that I knew the boys would love to see on a blanket. I knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money on tshirts that I was about to rip to shreds and sew on a blanket. I went to Target and their boy shirts with cool graphics on it were between $9 - $12 a piece. No thanks. So I went to a bunch of thrift stores and consignment stores and bought shirts there. At this kids' consignment store near my house they have days designated towards certain colored price tags and on those days you could get up to 50% off. I was all over those deals. I knew I wanted about 6 shirts per blanket so when I had about 20 shirts, I called it good.

I also knew that I wanted to alternate the tshirts with these fabric patterns made out of Fabric Quarters that you can get at Joanne Fabrics. So I picked those up.

 My box of supplies - tshirts, fabric quarters, and a cutting board.

 So, naturally, after gathering supplies, I had to cut off all the tags and wash all the tshirts.

A bunch of the fabric squares that I chose.

 After I washed and dried all the shirts, I laid them all out so I could see all of my options and had to pick out which ones  I was going to for Christian's blanket.

The six I had planned on using originally, but at the last minute I made one substitution. 

 So I found the smallest tshirt, taped it to the board, and cut it down to a rectangle.

 Took an empty pizza box and cut it down to the final size of the Cars thsirt so I could size the rest of the shirts and fabric squares.

 I did the same thing for the fabric squares. I then folded the fabric squares in to smaller squares so I could make patterns out of them. Keep scrolling, you'll see what I mean.

 All the tshirts and fabric squares cut out and ready for the machine. At this point I still had to go pick out the blanket material - which I ended up going with a sweatshirt blanket which I love.

 Sewing the different fabric squares together to make the patterns.

 A finished fabric pattern all sewn together.

 I laid out all of the materials - alternating tshirts and fabric patterns onto the blanket to measure out how much fabric I needed. I also pinned the tshits and fabric together but not to the blanket so that way I could just scoop it off and back on the blanket easier.

 The final size of the blanket.

 It's not perfect, but this was my first real sewing project by myself. Note - I didn't straighten it out completely so those wrinkles aren't permanent. 

 I put the tshirt and fabric back on the blanket and sewed it on. That was BY FAR the hardest part of this whole project, but it's done. If you can't tell - there are two tshirts with big machines, two batman tshirts, a spiderman tshirt, and a cars tshirt.

It's not perfect, but there it is. In all it's glory. For my first time using a sewing machine and my first time doing anything crafty, I'm pretty proud of myself. So Christian, I hope you enjoy your blanket - it should be there by your birthday. Jack and Luke, yours will be done by Christmas!

A Different Summer

It's weird. This summer, this season.  I don't know how to put words to it just yet. This is the first summer in my entire life that I won't be at Young Life Camp...at all. I left Washington Family Ranch on June 4th - just less than two weeks before the camping season started. It's kind of weird. I don't know what to make of it. I love Young Life Camping and know that's what I want to do with the rest of my life. So I'm feeling a little like a fish out of water this summer.

I don't have anything big to share. I haven't gotten a job yet. I don't have any big thoughts or anything super encouraging. Just that I'm still here, still trusting the Lord with my future, and trying to be patient in the meantime. Being patient is hard.

For those of you who don't know, one of my brothers, Kory, and I are working on memorizing the book of James. I've got the first two chapters down cold. If you run into me at any point, feel free to quiz me. I love to share. Anyways, there are a few verses in James in particular that have been helpful to me (and I believe to Kory as well) in this season.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance much finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

The Lord doesn't promise that things are going to be easy or good all the time in this life, but He promises some pretty great things on the other side for those who love him and endure those hard times. It's these promises that I'm clinging to in this time. The Lord is good, all the time, my friends.

A longing heart trying to trust the Lord

This entry has taken me a few days to write and I'm not quite sure why. A lot of thinking, almost writing something of substance, saving, thinking, and coming back to work on it more. I'm back in Virginia Beach with a house to myself, not a lot of close friends in the area, still on the job hunt, and missing Central Oregon a lot.


There's a lot I miss about the Canyon and Central Oregon. The traffic isn't ridiculous wherever you go, every store isn't super crowded all time, there's no sales tax, no humidity, very little rain, and well the list can go on and on of the shallow things.


I think the things that I really miss may seem small, but really have significant meanings and can't really be redone in any other fashion. I really miss the family adventures and family devotions I had with the Browns. I LOVED exploring Oregon with them. I miss writing on egg shells before they've be use so people can have fun or encouraging things to read as they're cooking or baking. I miss having "fights" with my brother and sister which consisted of flicking each other in the forehead. I miss laying on a hammock under the vast Central Oregon sky getting lost in conversations with the Lord.


I miss not having to lock the door when you leave the house. I miss having the ability of leaving your car keys in the car. I miss the fact that your neighbors are automatically your friends. I miss coming in from work and being greeted with "Hey sis, how was work?" and a hug. I miss being comfortable in my own skin and knowing who I was and what I want in life. I miss living with my best friends. I miss the simple, slow life that the Canyon can bring.


Sometimes explaining they why behind why I love and miss these things is the hard part. I think the more I have lived the life I love, the more I am able to express what it looks like and the whys won't be as hard to explain. In the mean time, I think I have a new prayer to pray. I still want to get back to the Canyon more than anything, but slightly more than that I want to be where the Lord wants me to be and I can start praying for that kind of life wherever the Lord calls me. Sometimes it isn't easy, but the Lord is good, He is faithful, and He has a plan for our lives that exceed our plans for life. So thankful for that.

The last of my time in Oregon (for now...)

Well here I am. Back in Virginia. For three days now. And I wish I could say that leaving Oregon, the Canyon, and my West Coast family gets easier each time I hop on that plane. However that's not the case. Actually it gets harder. I love Oregon, the Canyon, and my family the more I spend time out there. It was an amazing 6 1/2 weeks out in Antelope and I am so incredibly thankful for the people who made it possible for me to be there so long.

With that being said, I have A LOT of pictures to share. Some y'all have already seen, but really this is an update of my time there and if you can't figure it out yet, I love sharing pictures. So here is a glimpse of what life looked like in Central Oregon.

 This is my tweleve-year-old niece, Bailey. She's super awesome.

 My fourteen-year-old niece, Abby. Also super awesome.

 The community orchard - beginning stages obviously. 

 You only see skies so clear in Antelope. At night, when the moon is 

bright, there's no need for a flashlight.

 A day at the river with Sparky (and Sara and Bri too)

 Kory's and my super awesome mugs

 No caption needed

 Gina and Sara - these ladies are super awesome!

 Brody and Abby - my nephew and niece

 Family adventure to the crematorium 

 Family hike

 My nieces - Abby and Bailey 

 My bother, Kory

 Banana Hammock

 My brother and me with our awesome glasses

 My sister, Sara, and me

 My Oregon family: Sara, Bailey, Abby, Christian, and Kory

 My brother and nephew - Kory and Christian

 Kory and Christian

 Sara and Kory at Imperial River Co. for dinner

 Love Christian Brody

 My sister and I directing traffic

 Family adventure day around Oregon

 Classic for Abby and me

 The fam at The Painted Hills

 Best dog ever - Sparky

 The Painted Hills

 They're the two best friends anyone could ask for!

 Brother!

 Warming up for Pickle Ball

 Better not do any lunges!

 Nice work, K

 Attractive face

 An attempt at "attractive face" but I couldn't help but laugh.

 Right before I got on my first flight out of Central Oregon. So hard.

 Love my sis

Love Brody!

I don't know when the next time I'll be back in Oregon or with that part of my family, but for now I'm trust the Lord has better plans and I'm soaking up my time with my family back east.