Christmas crafts

Here are some aprons that I made over summer while I was still full of energy. This one I am particularly fond of. It was my first sewing project and I made it with no pattern and for free using a dress, some lace and a pair of black pants that someone was discarding.

This was my 2nd project and, wow, it was sooo much quicker and nicer using a pattern. Thank you to the ladies at church who helped my sewing grow!

And this apron was made from a pattern found in the Excellent book "A is for Apron". I have borrowed this book from the library 3 times now. It has lots of funky apron ideas and they make great presents!

I've never been one to do crafts before but I have lots of friends that are into it - so when I was invited to a Christmas wreath making day I joined in for the love of fellowship. Here is my finished project, thanks to the help of Jael! Sometimes I like it and sometimes the words 'bling' and 'tacky' come to mind - which is why I'm not a craft person - I can never seem to get the colour/design right. I obviously like this one enough for it to make this post though :)

And here is my latest Christmas project. Do you all know about Picassa? I LOVE it. It's a photo organising program that you can download for free. Look at the fun things you can do with it!

Winter Birthdays

One thing that blesses me in our marriage is that I love surprises and Nate loves to give them. So this year for our birthdays Nate told me to pack my bags as the 3 of us were going on a journey somewhere. He never let on where we were going until we arrived - in Gatlinburg. Nate had reserved a cabin in the Smokey Mountains complete with log fire, hot tub, a pool table and an air hockey table! It is an adjustment for me to go from celebrating my birthday with Summer pool parties in Australia to Winter get-aways in the States but I couldn't have asked for a better way to enter into the 30s. Thank you, my most wonderful hubby.

Clifty Falls

It was "Fall Break" this week so us Schoens decided to spend 2 nights camping at Clifty Falls in Indiana. It was beautiful weather during the day and very cold at night but our champion daughter took it all in her stride (mostly:))

It is a beautiful time of year to go bush walking here. Unfortunately the lack of rain over Summer has left everything dry and dying quickly, but there are still amazing splashes of colour to see everywhere.

Eliana has started enjoying parks a lot lately, or I guess I've been taking her to them much more often now that the weather is bearable during the day. She loves swings and slippery dips. She also loves crawling around any piece of equipment that looks like a safety hazard.

It was an excellent, excellent, time away. Camping has got to be one of our all time favourite activities. It's a lot of work before and after but worth it. There is nothing like being surrounded by the quiet of God's creation, the smell of camp fire and having nothing to do but relax.

A new love

I have fallen in love with sewing. It is so much fun and so rewarding! Admittedly, I'm only at the apron making stage, but I enjoy learning more each week. Below is my latest creation:

A weekend with the Whites

We headed to Paducah in West Kentucky last weekend to visit the Whites. Nate was there five years ago to work as an engineer. He was a new Christian and an eligible bachelor so the Whites took him under their wing. They are a wonderful, hospitable, godly family and it was a delight to stay with them and to see how a family lives out the bible.

We had some fun outside in their pool, enjoying the last of the summer days. The water felt pretty cold (25 C/75 F) but Eliana LOVED it! She was all a talkin' and a splashin'. I think her 3 hour nap and big lunch just before we dipped her in helped!

Gotta love the classic 'kid in a bucket' shot! Below, I think Daddy is taking a bit too long to put the spoon in Eliana's mouth...

Thank you, Whites, for an awesome weekend gettaway!

Soil, Sunshine and Showers

Jesus said - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

I love how lessons from the Bible sometimes come at me from all directions. Last blog entry I was thinking about how pruning and watering produces fruit in our garden and how God uses the same means to produce fruit in our lives. Since then, John 15 has again and again been laid before me this week. In particular, God has given me fresh food for thought through the biography, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret.

This quote from Taylor adds so much more depth to the desire of bearing fruit for God.

"As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in wishing to get the sap out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus will never leave me, but that I am a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit. And Jesus is not that alone - He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for or needed."

I have to hold back from quoting so much more. Please read the book. You will be blessed.

P.s. - Hudson Taylor was used mightily by God throughout England, China and the World. His "Spiritual Secret" was a devotion to prayer and Bible reading. May we not let such a lesson fall on hardened hearts!

Fruit

Nate has once again proven his green thumb this summer. Our small veranda is over run with tomatoes, bell peppers/capsicums, herbs and various plants. We have already harvested five or six tomatoes and one capsicum not to mention the many times fresh basil and coriander/cilantro have been added to our meals.



And there are more little beauties coming through...

It seems that the more I chop the basil, the better is grows. Look at that healthy fella!

What is Nate's secret to success? Watering and pruning.

As I watch our summer crop grow I am compelled to remember one of my favourite bible chapters, John 15. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

May God, our tender, loving Father, prune our lives so that we bear more fruit for His glory.