bits of sunshine

and the clouds roll away

the Lord's mercies are new every morning ~ Lamentations 3:23
the Lord is the everlasting God. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary ~ Isaiah 40:28-29

Some encouraging bits of sunshine breaking through those clouds yesterday:

Ben works with my brother. They often encourage each other.

So many people were praying for Ben, and I.

All your lovely thoughts and prayers and comments. It's nice to know that there are people thinking of us and praying for us. It lightens the load. Thank you.

My mom and dad live in town. I took all the kids to their house for a while yesterday morning. I did a load of laundry. My girl snuggled with her grandma and watched a movie. My boy worked in the garage and played baseball (in the rain) with his gramps. The girls I babysit got to play with some different toys.

In the afternoon, my dad came over and fixed my washing machine! (For those of you who didn't know, it quit on me last week . . . ) Ben is good with building. My dad is good with electrical stuff. Hurray for my dad!

We got some more good news about work for Ben. It looks like some things are falling in to place. I'm still hesitant to write it out. Because we need a few pieces of paper with signatures before it's all for sure. People can talk all they want - a signed contract is what is going to pay the bills . . . so we wait on the Lord. Hopefully, I will soon be able to tell you all that is in the works. That will be a day of celebration!

We had a cozy supper last night (soup and salad and honey oatmeal muffins), the kids and I did a quick clean-up, and we all snuggled onto the couch to watch Dumbo. All the Pattens, in a pile, under a blanket. Something about just being all bumped into each other . . . it's good.

After we tucked the kids in, Ben and I watched a movie that we've been wanting to see. I love sitting shoulder to shoulder with my husband. Sometimes it's nice to talk things out. Sometimes it nice to just turn the lights down, pull the blankets up, snuggle in, and escape to another world.

We both slept well last night.

And the sun is shining this morning. I have extra kiddos again today, but we'll be able to be outside!

The rain yesterday really helped to green the grass. It is looking more and more like summer is on the way.

Today there will be lots more sun.  Maybe I'll even get a bit of sewing done!

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I'm putting my Honey Oatmeal Muffin recipe in the Bread Recipes on my sidebar for you. They are yummy!

grey, inside and out

i know this blog is called "bits of sunshine"
today is one of those days
when sunshine is going to be hard to come by

it's raining
i have two extra kids
everyone is on edge
i'm going to have to be very creative today
and i don't have a whole lot of internal reserve

ben is really down today
i am praying for him
some things are just really hard
really, really hard
the people we love . . .
the things that are said . . .
or not said . . .
i wish i could fill those holes in his heart
but they aren't elizabeth shaped
so i do my best to just be
right beside him

tonight, when the extra kids are gone
and he gets home from work
we - the four of us - will just snuggle in to our little house
and just be
together
us

_ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _

Psalm 91:4 (KJV)
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

My Gymnast

She has so much fun!
And I love watching her.
She's doing very well.
And is by far the youngest
in her level.
If she continues to do well
over the summer,
she'll be on the prep team come fall.
She's very determined.

The Weather

Today it is supposed to get up to 50 degrees F and be partly sunny and not windy! 
This is a very good thing.  We are having a picnic with ALL of Ben's family.
There will be 14 adults and 11 kids.  And all but two of the kids are under the age of 5!  So we have been hoping for weather that will allow us to be outside . . . we've got it!

Yesterday's weather was crazy.  It was COLD (30's) and SNOWING part of the day.  Quite the contrast to Thursday's 86 degrees and so sunny!

We love the sun!  Maddie told me she wished the day would never end.  "But that would mean Uncle Jake and Auntie Annie couldn't come see us," she realized.  So I told her that we'll just have to wish for lots more warm, sunny days.

In the evening, it slowly cooled down, so after Ben and I tucked the kiddos in, we put on sweatshirts, made some coffee and sat outside under the stars.  Mmmmm.

More Skirt Pictures!

I added the lost pictures to yesterday's post!
I don't have a picture of me wearing my skirt.  Easter Sunday was windy and cold and no one would stand outside and snap more than one picture . . . on a sunny Sunday, I will get a picture of me and my girl in our matching skirts. 

I also finished the post about the worship time that Ben and I had with the teens last Friday night.  You can read about it here.

Easter Skirts

I finished Maddie's and my skirts at 1:00am on Easter Sunday morning.
I really like how they turned out!
And so did Maddie.                          

They were a tablecloth that I found at a thrift shop for oh, two dollars or so.  I loved the scalloped edge, for the hemline.           I didn't use a pattern.  Maddie's is simple - seams down the sides, elastic at the waist.  Mine is pretty simple - seams down the sides, a (little bit bumpy) side zipper, a straight waist-line - which I will always cover. 
The most "intricate" part is the lining I decided they had to have - out of a thrifted cotton sheer.  It does the job!  I may be re-sewing a bit on the sides of my skirt.  But, they looked quite pretty and brought a few compliments. 
And Maddie loved matching Mommy.  (Mommy just might have loved matching Maddie, too.)

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There are supposed to be two more pictures here!  One of the tablecloth, and one of my skirt, too!  Where did they go?  I don't know!  (See previous post . . . . )  I'll find them and get them on here later today!

We interupt the weekend posts to bring you . . .

the terrible, horrible, awful, beautiful Easter Lilly.

I spent far too many hours in our church this weekend with this flower's siblings, and oh, man, is my head an aching mess.  My nose is half stuffy, half runny.  I keep sneezing.  My eyes are red-rimmed and itchy and watery.  I am trying to function . . .

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original photo found here.

The Weekend (Part 1)

Friday afternoon::
I dropped Maddie and Isaac off at Grandma's for a sleep-over.  :)
Ben and I headed up to church to get things set up.
Teens started arriving at 5:00.
We played a goofy warm-up game that involved eggs and nylons and swimming noodles. . .
Pizza delivery!  Supper time!
Then, Ben and an I split the kids into teams of two. 
We assigned the teams, to encourage more interaction
(though these kids are really good at mingling).
We had 6 stations. 
Each team had to complete the station and earn points for their ranking.
The first station - "dizzy bat" - where a person leans over, places their forehead on the handle of a bat, turns around it a specified number of times, then runs to a specified place.
The second we called "drink special" - I had poured up about an ounce of lemon juice, cranberry juice, maple syrup, white grapefruit juice, flat 7up, pickle juice and water.  One kid from each pair had to drink them as fast as they could - and there were bonus points for naming each drink.  (Lots of surprised and sour faces!)
The third - "lightning" - a basketball shooting game.
The fourth - a relay where the kids had to move as many playing cards from one table to another using only their lips.  They had to suck the card to their mouth and keep it there till they could drop it on the next table.
The fifth station - a puzzle.  The catch was, the team member completing the puzzle was blindfolded.  The other team member had to sit across the table and give instructions.  The team that won worked incredibly quickly and well together!  It was so fun to watch the communication styles!
And finally - the sixth station was marshmallow sculptures.  Points were given for tallest                      
and for most creative.

(this is me!)
It was so fun to watch each team interact with each other and grow to understand each other better!

After the games,
we headed up to the church sanctuary for singing and prayer and a challenge.
This time was incredibly powerful.
(You'll be able to read about it on my Reflections blog later today.)

For a late-night snack, I made caramel popcorn.
A couple of the girls helped me,
and mmmmmm, it was good!
(I'll put the recipe on my sidebar soon!)

After some "just hanging out" time, a few of us settled in to go to sleep.
Ben stayed up all night, so I could get about 4 hours of sleep.
(Have I ever told you that he is wonderful?)

In the morning, we put a VeggieTale cartoon on
and ate yummy caramel pull-aparts (from one of the moms)
and doughnuts (from a local bakery).

After breakfast and cartoons,
Ben gave a follow-up, encouraging, lesson.

And we wrote memories on the wall in our youth room.
(It's a black wall; we write on it with silver sharpies; it's very cool.)

We cleaned up.
Gave lots of hugs.
And headed home.

a parcel sticker

Well, Angie was on the right track with "a sticker of some sort."

Then Geertrude said "a sticker on a parcel you got. Those look like delivery vans to me."

And Carmen is the one who "knew" what it was ahead of time. :) It's a sticker on the parcel she sent to me. :) And what a fun parcel to receive!

So - Angie is already waiting on a package from me - I'll add something to it!

Geertrude - I'll put a little something together for you.

And Carmen - I was already planning on sending you a thank-you and some Smarties from the US. They are VERY different than Canadian Smarties. :)

To the rest of you who thought it looked like a fun stencil or applique - go ahead and print out or copy the picture and use it anyway you like! If any of you do anything with it - I'd love to see a picture or hear about what you've made!

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Ben and I are getting ready to do an overnight event with our youth group . . . . it will be fun! And crazy!

Then tomorrow I'm helping out with a fund-raiser rummage/bake sale for Maddie's gymnastics.

And Sunday we'll go to church and then we have a church business meeting in the evening. Ben is presenting some ideas for improving the sound-system and the youth room in our church.

So, I've a busy weekend ahead. I may get in here with another post before Monday. But, if not, have a happy weekend everyone!

Tell Me What This Is . . .

. . . and I'll send you a little something!

Have fun!