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.