Garage Sale

Just a few things that will be at my garge sale in June.

Chalkboard windows I used to sell at a store.

Lauren's old store sign.

Let It Snow sign.

I have about 15 antique doors.

Cottage Sign.

Childs metal rocker, should I sell this?

Old post, not sure about this one either.  But I am sure about the shutter, or am I?

Old war signs.  Anyone know what language this is and what they say?

When God answers a why?

A favorite picture of mine.  That's my little guy on the left, standing by grandpa's work van.

That was in 1992.

  When I had Josh at 18, I just had no idea what to do. 

But I remember always praying.... praying he would become a man of God.

And praying for God to protect him.

When I divorced his father and remarried and battled over visitation, the praying increased.

Anything you would not want your child around, he was around on a visitation weekend. 

Josh would scream and cry not to have to go.

All I would do is cry and pray, cry and pray, pleading with the Lord to protect him.

To keep him safe.

 To not become like his father.

Those were probably the most nightmarish years of my life.

Then in 2002, we felt like God wanted us to move, for my hubby to accept a job with a new company.

I was so excited, I would think why is God having us move?  How will we serve Him in Oregon?

Are we going to be wildly successful?  Why does God move you out of state?

Turns out, we love it out here.  There are draw backs but there is with anything. 

But all these years I've wondered, have I missed my opportunity to serve God out here?

What was it?  What is it?  Why did we move?

Now I suppose I can be dense, but a couple months ago I was driving, running my errands.

I was probably angry at a cashier.

And I had this thought...

Did God move us out here to protect Josh? 

And I tossed it around in my head for a while and thought sure that could be it.

But surely there is something more, some grand way I am going to serve God, that I've yet to discover.

And then I just let it go.

Well I don't know if you have teenagers, but Josh is 19 now.  He'll be 20 in September.

He rarely says anything deep to me.  He will talk about his motorcycle or his car or his day at work.

But not much else, certianly not God.

So one day I was taking Josh to a dr. appointment, and we were talking....

And just out of the blue he said,

Mom, I think we moved out here so I didn't get into trouble with my family.

(meaning his biological father and his cousins)

I do believe I started crying right then.

For it was a confirmation to me of what God had just told me!

pause....need a tissue

All those years of praying came rushing to my mind.

God heard me!

He answered me!

God protected my son!

How am I so blessed that he did that for me??

What if we had not listened and moved?

And the thought that God cares so much for my son to move our whole family out of state,

is overwhelming to me!

The fact that God loves me enough to answer my cries for my child....

I'm not sure I grasp the Love of God.

I don't think I understand how deep it is.

I tell you I am not over this, I keep saying

WOW, thank you Jesus!

I feel blessed that God chose to reveal the answer to this why.

I have so many other why's

why did my mom have to die?

why did you bless me with 5 children while others have none?

why won't you take my migraines away?

But the answer to one, is enough.

God tells me with that answer...

I love you

I have your best interest at heart

I am sovereign

I hold the future in My hands

Trust Me

True Love

Psalm 139

O Lord, You have searched me and You know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar, You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths,

You are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your

hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.

For You created my inmost being;  You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be!

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

With all the tragedy  going on in the world, take a moment and really read these words and know the love God has for you, that He cared about you before you were born.

That He knows all that has happened to you and all that will happen to you.

If you do not know of this love...

Accept Jesus as your Savior,

Believe that Jesus died for YOU on the cross and rose 3 days later

Confess your sins and repent.

Calling Cards

Hi

I saw these cards on the front page of etsy.

I just fell in love with all of her "calling cards".

I guess that what business cards are called now.

I like that name much better.

So I ordered some from pixelimpress.

I love the old time type writer font.  Mine will read:

dear prudence

lollibags

http://www.lollipookiesoap.etsy.com/

http://www.avintagemom.blogspot.com/

Do you love them?

Life on the Vintage Farm

Sometimes after supper, the girls and I will go out and help hubby with farm chores.

This night hubby had to check the pump that he thought was broke, but really

a turkey vulture landed on the overhead wires and was electrocuted and that in turn blew out the pump.

The pump goes down to the river to pump up water for the cows.

The water goes into a big tub.

This is all down in the lower pasture.

We have water rights from the river that were grandfathered to us.

When we bought the farm we had NO IDEA, any of this farmy stuff.

We found out about them in the nick of time just a couple days before they were set to expire.

Thank you Jesus!!

They do not hand out water rights any more, ever.

The right to pump out of the river, means we can irrigate our crops with river water.

So anyway that was a long time ago, but just thought I'd throw that tidbit out.

Our property sits on the confluence of two rivers.  The Mohawk River and The McKenzie River.

The picture above is the Mohawk River.  The McKenzie river is much larger.

Lauren practiced her sling shot while we waited.

Sophie has an instant "ham" light switch, that turns on when I pull out the camera.

She starts doing all these poses.

So after we got the pump taken care of.  It was time to go back up and send the cows down.

Hubby is in the left field getting them into the field your seeing.

They all come running because they like going down there!

Lauren and her dad opening the gates.

I know it looks boring in photo's, but it really is fun to see.

I love watching the baby calves run to try and keep up with their mama's.

Do you want a hat update?

Lollihats is not to be..... most likely ever.

There are just to many variables. 

I had to take the hat apart

FOUR TIMES

yes 4 times. 

If it was any other material besides Amy Butler I would have thought a

couple of swear words and tossed it in the corner.

But I could not waste Amy Butler fabric!!

With handbags they are pretty much one size fits all, you just find the one you like.

With hats there are different sizes, then the crown part is to big for the brim, or vice versa.

UGH, I tell you I cannot follow patterns.

Here's the pic's.

I am actually under there :)

I love that about it, that it hides you well.

I know what your going to say....

oh it's so cute!  Yes it is cute, but your not seeing it close up.

You can tell it's my first hat.

I will wear it, but won't be attempting to sell them....yet.

And now it is

THE GOLDEN HOUR

yes, Sophie is down for a nap!

gotta run

toodle loo

Hats

I do love a good sun hat.

I am attempting my very first hat.

And if it goes well....

There will be Lollihats.

I am making my first hat with this Amy Butler fabric :)

Shopping in Portland

So every once in a while I drive up to Portland for a day of shopping.

Almost always it's just window shopping.

This time I took all my girls.

Lauren was in charge of my camera. 

It's a two hour drive.

And it's a boring one! 

But they have shops up there, they just don't have down here.

Anthropologie

PBkids

Williams Sonoma

J Crew

And lets not forget The Cheesecake Factory!

I ALWAYS get the Luau Salad.

Notice Sophie's white dress all clean?

Well at Bare Escentuals, she got into the open eye shadow that was dark purple and it was down the whole front of the dress.

I thought, oh that's OK, I just got her a sundress at Gap kids, we'll put that on.

Well my little chunko is a big girl, which people like to tell me every time we venture out of the house.

So the size 4/5 was snug, so seeing she had it on only less than ten minutes, I went back to exchange it for the next size up.

Well they didn't want to do that!  I said , yes , this would be just like her trying it on in the dressing room,

she's had it on less than ten minutes.

Cashier said, well we don't accept worn clothes back.

I said no it's not worn, and were exchanging it for a bigger size.

They did it , reluctantly.

You would think at their prices they would be falling over themselves to make the customer happy.

I would eat the luau salad everyday if I could.

It is so yummy, filled with red and yellow peppers, cucumbers that

taste like my mom's homemade pickles.

Tender chicken, yummy fried crisp wontony things, carrots, macadamia nuts!

Yep there we are.

So after that fabulous lunch, we went to the HUGE Forever 21, where Lauren wanted to look.

Lauren got a shirt and Portia picked out a fishy necklace. 

We were waiting in the checkout line, you know where they have

all the little itty bitty things you can get yourself to buy last second.

I looked down at Sophie and she was putting "lip gloss" on her lips, which really was nail polish!

So I gasped loudly and quick wiped it off of her lips.

So we leave that mall, and drive to Bridgeport, where Anthropologie is.

I could have spent hours in there but Sophie was getting crabby.

Is this the cutest sofa?  It was in the dressing room area. 

Notice Sophie's new dress.  And she has taken out her pig tails.

So here are a few things I tried on.  I tried on alot.

Nothing worked, not for the price anyway.  If I am buying something at Anthro, it is going to

be a perfect fit and I am going to L-O-V-E it.

So this is what I decided on, this sleeveless tank and navy cardigan.

Lolli workin' her magic.

Portia tried to carry out all the clothes that didn't work and they kept dropping them.

I'm glad the sales ladies didn't see that.

There are so many "areas" to explore in that store, and I so much wanted to explore each one.

But you cannot let a 2 1/2 yr old out of your sight for a second with all those breakables.

Portia wanted the boat bed for her room, perfect really since she's a mermaid.

Beautiful Aprons,  I wanted to see each one, but dear sweet Sophie was not having it.

I have always wanted those measuring cups, but have never bought them.

They seem so frivolous, but I am drawn to them every time.

Cute , love these chairs!

I was looking forward to the drive home, just because Sophie would be sleeping and not whining.

I kid  you  not, that girl slept 10 minutes!

Then something woke her and she was up the rest of the way home!

But it was a fun day, honestly it is draining shopping with kids!

I'm Promoting YOU! & new Lollibags

I just love it when I find another gal who loves the same things I do.

And who tries to make a living creating.

When I run into a consultant for some product,

I always try and support that person.

I know how hard it is to sell something.

I think we women should stick together and promote each other.

Don't you?

I have been thinking about this for a while, I'm not sure I'll have one day set aside each week for promoting.

But I will promote women entrepenuers...did I spell that right?

I will choose from my followers first , always, unless ......I RUN OUT!!

I've picked  2 gals for today, I think you'll like them :)

Meet Isabella.  This adorable little girl is just 10.  Her mom is a follower of mine.

Her name is Cheryl and she is the sweetest lady.  You can check out her blog at

http://www.psalm113ptl.blogspot.com/  called A Joyful Mother.

Isabella makes earrings.  Here are some pictured, aren't they cute?  And they are only $10!

I respect this young lady for getting an idea, getting the supplies, making something, and selling it.

She is going to go far in life.

I think more adults could follow her lead. 

~I'm coming back to edit... I just re-read Cheryl's e-mail and she gave me permission to post her daughters blog.  It is http://www.thelilshop10.blogspot.com/

go check it out gals!~

My next gal, I have only traded one or two comments with , but when I saw her aprons, I fell in love with them.  And I noticed she uses vintage sheets just like I do!!  I recognize some of her vintage material as the same as some Lollibag interiors :)

Her name is Caroline.  And her blog is

http://www.carolinejoyhome.blogspot.com/

Look at that apron!  Isn't it cute?

Don't you want one?  She has an etsy site for her aprons.  So go check her out!

Send me your suggestions of women entrepenuers....

honestly I'm so excited about this, I hope I don't  list all the people I want to in one weeks time!!  ha ha!!

OOPS, I almost forgot pictures of my new Lollibags, duh!

This bag has Amy Butler fabric ruffles running diagonal.  I thought I'd try a new angle.

And a soft linen flower up top.  I do love this bag!

This bag has linen ruffles and a cotton flower up top.

This little Lolli is trimmed in vintage crisp cotton.  This is the top of a vintage sheet, I had no idea this sheet was vintage till I saw the tag the other day.  It is in such good condition, so white and cottony crisp.

And the details in this embroidery are amazing!

I'll be listing my bags on my etsy shop today.

If my photos look gloomy, it's because IT IS GLOOMY!!  Another rainy, gray, oregon day, I can't stand it!

Please Lord send sun!

So there you go gals, have a super day!