Legacy Star

While I was in Oklahoma in April, I had the opportunity to sit down and learn a craft that I had been wanting to learn for some time.
I have lots of memories of my grandmother sitting in her chair crocheting and I wanted to learn that from her. It was something I wanted her to pass on to me so I could always say “she taught me that”.
So this last visit, she taught me that.
This is a picture of my first completed project. She was close by to help as needed and it took me about a week and a half. But I’m sure proud of it. And how cool is it that what she taught me I can now pass on to my kids.
Something I remember my grandma doing, now my kids can remember me doing.
I enjoy doing it but I think mostly I like it because it’s something I can share with her and there’s a part of her in my first piece and in every piece I will make from here on out.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Who would have ever thought the day would come that I would think a good afternoon is setting with my hubby watching a baseball game?
I guess his love for the game has rubbed off and here I am, a fan.
Sigh. I don’t know how it happened but I think it has something to do with the whole trying to be interested in what your spouse loves thing. Somehow it became something I enjoy too. Now I totally enjoy curling up on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, some good snacks to fight over and 3 hours of men trying to hit a little white ball. This is a good example of how our spouses change us.
Somewhere in the love what your spouse loves idea one thing has slipped through the cracks though. V still doesn’t seem too thrilled to spend a day shopping, going to museums or reading. I thought this was supposed to work both ways?
But be that as it may, I am totally getting into the game and am looking forward to going to many games with my man. Still a little nervous about flying balls hitting poor unsuspecting people in the stands (that would probably be me) but I refuse to let that stop me and besides, that would be a story, huh?
I really love having things that V and I can do together and this is just one more thing that we can share. That may be the biggest pull for me but whatever the reason, My name is Sondra and I am a baseball fan.

Now, off to watch the game!

Believe It-Live it

I think it was Beth Moore who said-
“It’s time our reality has a head-on collision with our theology”.

That really struck me.

She said...
Do we really believe what we say we do?
Do we live like we believe what we say we believe?
In day in, day out, good times and bad times life, how much of our theology is in our reality; in what we do, say, think?

Do we believe we are forgiven?
Do we believe we are loved?
Do we believe we are loved personaly just as we are?
Do we believe God is watching over us?
Do we believe in grace without works? and mercy?
Do we believe in His death burial and resurrection and what that means for us?
Do we believe He’s coming back soon?
Do we believe He is near us always?
Do we believe He hears our prayers?
Do we believe He is big enough?
Do we believe He knows us?
Do we believe His word is real and every word in scripture is trustworthy and faithful?
Do we believe He guides us?
Do we believe He protects us?
Do we believe He is sovereign?
Do we believe He is real?
Do we believe He cares?
Do we believe we are victorious?
Do we believe we are free?

If we believed it,truely, would we live our lives just as we do now?
Every day, every second with every breath, with every choice, with every word, with every thought, with every deed, in everything.
Would are lives really be the same?

Do our closest loved ones know what we believe as much by examining our lives as by the words we speak?
Does Satan tremble in the face of our belief system or does he question if we really believe it?


Just something to think about.
It sure made me think.

I believe all that with all my heart and I'd stake my life on each and every claim.
But I pray that I really live it every day in everything. In the heat of the moment as well as in the midst of the daily routine. Laid back moments or high stress situations.
I pray that I always stand on these truths and my actions and attitudes reflect them.
No matter what I'm up against.
No matter what the cost.
Oh that my first and final reaction to any situation in life would be to back it up to these truths and respond immediately in light of them.

He IS

I love this song. Vince and I saw them perform it in Tulsa during a concert and it is really powerful.
Enjoy!

Home Sweet Clean Home

You all know that I like having a clean, homey place to live.
It makes me feel good and makes me feel I’ve accomplished something.
So I was reading this book, I don’t remember the title, and it was listing all the things that you can do to make you house a home.
It talked about candles and opening the windows to let the fresh air in, fresh flowers and so on, yada yada yada. Honestly they had some really fun and easy ideas. Some were creative and sounded very nice and reasonable.
But the thing that just blew my mind was the part where the author said she vacuumed her house IN HEELS every day and spent time making patterns in the carpet with her vacuum. You know those star-like shaped patterns you get with the vacuum? Well that’s not enough for her. She designs her own patterns.
I think this may border on insanity.
Is this the same lady that says if you shine your kitchen sink every morning while wearing your Sunday best you’ll feel better about your daily accomplishments all day?
Um, no, I don’t think that’s true. Haven’t tried it though. It might work. If any of you want to try it, go ahead and you tell me if it makes you feel good about yourself.
I don’t even have the motivation to shine my sink every day let alone dress up to do it. I have no delusions about being June Cleaver.
My house is for the most part clean, organized and relatively free of clutter. That’s enough for me.
I’m actually pretty sure that if I took the time to make little patterns in my carpet and had a kitchen sink so shiny I could see myself it would have the opposite effect on me.
I would wonder if I had spent that extra time wisely.
I am almost 100% sure that anyone coming to my house doesn’t think, “Oh man, she doesn’t have teddy bear patterns in her carpet and her sink looks rather dull, I just can’t feel welcome here”.
And really, that’s my ultimate goal, not to have the cleanest, shiniest house on the block, but to have a place where one feels welcome to come in, kick off their shoes and feel at home. As long as I have a home where my family and friends feel comfortable, laughter abounds and good memories are made, I will feel good about myself and my home, no matter what little details aren’t “perfect” by some “experts” standards.
(Do you honestly think she really does all that every day?)

For All The Mom's Out There

Happy Mother's Day

Capturing The Moment

Here are a few pictures of my time in Oklahoma as promised.


This is a tree in Jo-Allen park in Bartlesville. Someone did a good job of carving that heart.
Vince and I spent a lot of evenings walking around this park while we were there. It's very peaceful, if the geese leave you alone.


This is my grandparents dog, Gabby. She is the most spoiled dog you can find. She loves to find the nearest willing lap and sleep just like this. She really likes Vince because he pays a lot of attention to her.

An Oklahoma sunset.

Grandma and Grandpa- aren't they just the cutest couple?

Like A Fitted Sheet

I found a video on one of the blogs I like to read and the whole video is on how to fold a fitted sheet. Now this might seem silly to you but I watched it and actually got some good tips. I am ashamed to admit that folding a fitted sheet is a skill that I have not mastered very well. I try and it always looks passable but it’s not an A+ job.
Now my mom, no one folds a fitted sheet like her. She’s amazing and if there were an award for folding fitted sheets she’d get it. But that particular domestic trick she did not pass on.
I guess I always think, “It’s a sheet, it goes in the linen closet until ready to use and who cares if it’s a little wrinkly.” Apparently my mom cares because when I told her that very thing she just shook her head at me. She deems me a sheet folding failure I’m sure.
I remember one particular time, right before I got married I went to her and begged her to re-teach me how to do this, thinking I would be a domestic failure if I didn’t have the perfectly folded fitted sheets. (Um, I had a lot of stupid thoughts like that, they make me laugh now and I’m totally thankful that my wifely/homemaking grade doesn’t take into consideration fitted sheets and other trivial things.)
Back to the story, she patiently showed me how she does it and then gave it me. Then I tried. It was a mess. I tried a few (dozen) times and finally decided that not everything had to be perfect and as long as I could get it into some resemblance of a folded thing, that was all that mattered. I gave up, handed the thing to mom and said, “do your own sheets, I’ll work on these towels.” They are my specialty. I can fold towels and washcloths like nobody’s business.
How many times do we try and try with the obstacles in our lives. We try to get them folded into nice flat squares that look just right but we can’t seem to get it right, no matter how many times we try. We wrestle with it (especially if it’s King size) and tackle it from every angle but when we’re done we still have something that resembles a blob with loose ends hanging out in places they shouldn’t.
We should hand over the whole mess to Someone who knows just how to shape and fold our circumstances until they are perfectly done, the way they are supposed to be.
I’m glad He is always there to take care of them. He gladly takes them from us once we are done trying on our own. I wonder if He watches us and just shakes His head, wondering why it’s taking us so long to say, “I can’t do it! Will you handle this for me?” I like to think of Him smiling as we hand it over. He really likes doing those things for us. Why do we have such a hard time letting Him?
I can tell you one thing, I wouldn’t have a hard time letting someone fold my fitted sheets if they asked.

To Explain My Absence

Surprise! I’m back.
It has come to my attention that my many fans are going through withdrawal and must have more of me.
So, here I am, promising to get back in the swing of things and start fresh.

Since I’ve been away from blogging I have been around the world and back. Mostly emotionally.
Part of the reason I haven’t put much energy into this beloved blog is that my energies have been spent elsewhere.
I guess I could have mustered the energy if I really wanted to but honestly, March and April were rather hard months for me and I just couldn’t seem to put all my emotions together. Some of it was too personal or real to put down. God got most of my feelings during this time. You can send your thank you cards. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have wanted them.

I won’t try to do my normal re-cap of the time either. I’ll just say that I got through it by God’s help, lots of prayer, and amazing friends. THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU! Now that I'm able to see things from (mostly) the other side I am just thankful that God's promises are trustworthy and He really does stick beside us always.

But I will share with you my favorite picture(s) of my time in Oklahoma, during the month of April. It wasn’t always an easy time but so many precious memories were made. I wouldn’t trade that for anything!

Note: Okay, scratch the pictures for now. For some reason it's not working.
I'll post the pics later.