In My Heart On Thursday

"We are all busy.  It's easy to find excuses for not reaching out to others, but I imagine they will sound as hollow to our Heavenly Father as the elementary school boy who gave his teacher a note asking that he be excused from school March 30th through March 34th."

-Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

This Is Where I Really Want To Be Today...

In My Heart On Thursday

via http://timothybuckwalter.typepad.com

A Little Piece of Paper Defines Me

My passport has expired.  I'd lost my driver's license and was hunting for the legal documents I needed to replace it when I came across the well-worn little blue book.  I opened it up to take a mini-trip down memory lane and instantly felt a dagger of pain tear through my traveling soul.  I let out a scream and started to cry.  My husband came running to see what was the matter and then stood in a stupor fearing I'd finally completely lost my mind.  I felt like my life was over.

The truth is that my life has been changing.  I've noticed over the past few months that my travel-planning is more of an afterthought.  The dreams are constantly in my mind, but the opportunities pass and I'm left reflecting on how I let practicality or financial responsibility make the decision for me.  Where in the past I would have spent the last two months spontaneously road-tripping, the farthest I've actually been is 2 hours from home on a Sunday afternoon.  It's a numb feeling inside of me that normally would have me kicking and screaming.  Instead I'm resigning to my current reality.

Which is not to say that all is lost for me!  I've written before about the big plans my family has for traveling. That dream is still alive and well.  And to reawaken the life-breath inside of me, I'm going to share the latest rendition of our plans with you...

I recently discovered that kindergarten is not required in the state of Utah.  This is wonderful news for me!  Our little boy Beck will be old enough to start school  in September 2012, one year from now, and so that has become our target date for packing up and leaving.  Rather than loading up with notebooks and pencils, his backpack will be full of maps and traveling activities (he is adorably in love with reading maps and telling us the way).

We're going to go east first for a stay with my family in the Midwest and a chance for my husband to work and make a little more money before leaving the country.  After that the world is wide open for 9 months of traveling.  Right now we're thinking to spend a month at a time divided between cute comfortable cottage-like rentals and camping;  a temporary home-base where we can get get a feel for community, but also venture out for days at a time and see the most of what there is to see.

More details?  No, not yet.  It's still a year away.  Right now I only have one important job to complete:  Tomorrow's mail will carry my passport renewal form and photos away, along with my 18-month-old son Peyton's first application.  I remember the excitement I felt seeing Beck's photo inside his very own passport, and I know it will be a party the day our mailwoman delivers my travel freedom back to me.

I promise future posts on where we're going to go, how we'll make sure Beck gets his kindergarten education on the road, and many other travel-related topics that get me smiling.  Until then, I'd love to hear anything you have to say!

A Blogtastic Extravaganza Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered my three giveaways during A Blogtastic Extravaganza!

Congratulations to the winners:

Prize #1 Upcycled Silverware Jewelry

Allison

Prize #2 Girl's Accessories

Brooke Anna

Prize #3 Family Friendly Folk CD's

Michelle

Winners were chosen by Random.org and have been notified by email. 

 In the event that a winner has not responded within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  

A Blogtastic Extravaganza!!!

The time is finally here and I'm so excited to be offering 3 fabulous prize packages created by members of my uber-talented family.  

#1 For Mom
(or sister, or aunt, or grandma, or any woman who likes looking pretty)

Handmade Upcycled Silverware Jewelry by Petticoat Cachet.

This prize package includes:

1 Bent Fork Watch

1 Bent Fork Pendant

1 pair Silver Earrings

(Value: $85.00)

 #2 For the Little Girl You Love

Handcrafted whimsical fashion accessories by AalbersCreations

This prize package includes:

1 Tutu Skirt-White/Pink tulle & white crochet stretch waistband, Sz Newborn-12 months

1 Pink Zebra Flower Clip

1 Pink stretchy headband

1 White stretchy headband

(Value: $15.00)

#3 For The Whole Family

5 Folk CD's by The Three D's

This Prize package includes:

1 Songs and Stories of the Old Testament CD's vol. 1 & 2

1 Songs of Our American Heritage CD

1 Heritage CD-2 disk set

(Value: $55.00)

Giveaway Requirements:

Each prize package has a simple mandatory requirements as well as additional entry options.  Please fill out form for each entry you are interested in entering.

#1 Upcycled Silverware Jewelry Package

     Mandatory Entry: Visit Petticoat Cachet's Etsy Page, then comment on this entry form about a jewelry item you saw there.  

     Extra Entry Options:

             ~Follow Wandering Still on Google Friend Connect

             ~Follow Petticoat Cachet on Facebook

             ~Heart Petticoat Cachet/Forking Queen on Etsy

             

#2 Infant Tutu Package

      Mandatory Entry: Visit AalbersCreations Etsy Page, then comment on this entry form about an item you saw there.

      Extra Entry Options:              

              ~Follow Wandering Still on Google Friend Connect

              ~Follow AalbersCreations on Facebook

              ~Heart AalbersCreations on Etsy

#3 Family-Friendly Folk CD's      

      Mandatory Entry:  Visit DuaneHiatt.com, then comment here on something you learned there.

       Extra Entry Options:

               ~Follow Wandering Still on Google Friend Connect

               ~Sign up for Duane's weekly email newsletter 

               

Thanks for entering!  
Winners will be announced within 48 hours after giveaway ends.

In My Heart On Thursday

"And I may have seen it from her back, how she pulled herself together and shifted her weight from one place inside her body to another, from where she was, to where she thought maybe I was."

-Per Petterson, I Curse the River of Time

Don't forget to enter my A Blogtastic Extravaganza Giveaways going on now!

Last Chance For Early Entry

A few months ago I wrote about my father-in-law, Duane Hiatt.  Since my #3 giveaway in A Blotgtastic Extravaganza is his fabulous folk music, today's early entry is easy.  Go back to that post (Meet My...) and leave a comment about anything you read there.

See you Wednesday when all the giveaway fun begins!

Back In the Day-Big Sister, Little Sister

I was struggling with the right way to introduce you to Kimberly of AalbersCreations (offering my #2 prize package during next week's A Blogtastic Extravaganza).   And then it came to me...

With 8 years between us, Kimberly and I bookend the family of six girls we grew up in.  Sometime after I grew up and she became a teenager we hit a spell of absolute goofiness and practical joking.  For our lives we can't figure out what triggered it, but to this day our bellies still ache from laughing.

Our interpretation of Julie Roberts' (Runaway Bride) duck-billed platypus 

Our shenanigans almost got out of hand.  I hid a mannequin head in bed; she filled my car with a week's worth of trash. The out and out kicker?  One muddy spring day while she was studiously attending her middle school classes, I moved her bedroom out of the basement and into the backyard.  I disassembled, reassembled, and made up the bed.  Then I waited for the school bus to come down the road and watched for Kimberly's completely confused reaction.  Then, because I was always a nice girl, I stood in the dining room window snapping photos while Kimberly reversed my day of hard work.  Yes, you read that right.  I didn't lift a finger to help her "re-decorate" her room.  In hindsight that might have been taking the joke a little too far...

Eventually I left home and started my grown-up life.  While I was getting established, Kimberly started reaching towards her own dreams.  She started thinking she'd like to get into fashion design and made her first foray with an incredible duct tape dress.  Both of her prom dresses (and suits for her dates) were duct tape and led her into years of designing her own fashion sense and clothing.  It would be a complete understatement to say that she and I had different styles, but she has always been more than willing to take my measurements over the phone and create fashionably original conservative clothes for me.

Life has changed a little bit for both of since those simple joking days.  1000 miles separates us and she has two beautiful little girls keeping her busy.  A little over a year ago her 18-month old daughter was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  And the last months have brought her sweet family other difficulties, but she keeps on smiling and her creativity has thrived through it all.

That's what makes me proud to include Kimberly in my upcoming giveaway.  With AalbersCreations she travels around the Midwest crafting hand-painted ethereal masks and fairy wings on the Renaissance Fair circuit.  Online she has branched out into baby shower gifts and other little girl accessories with new out-of-the-box ideas spilling out of her brain everyday.

Now that I've taken a trip down memory lane, I'm thinking a little long-distance practical joking needs to get underway.  For an extra entry in the #2 Prize Package in next week's giveaway, leave a comment here with an over-the-top idea to get Kimberly and I laughing like we did in the good ol' days.  

In My Heart On Thursday

-as seen this week on Blackpurl's Knitpickings

A Little Spoon Love

Barely a week until A Blogtastic Extravaganza...time to whet your appetite with a deeper look at my giveaway sponsors...

Petticoat Cachet and The Forking Queen

My sister Brooke has been designing and creating modern silverware jewelry for nearly 10 years. She will tell you that she got her start one night after bitterly losing a game of Scrabble to our mother (who has no problem gloating over that sort of thing).  In a moment of revenge, Brooke grabbed the family meat fork, bent it around her wrist, and wore it defiantly for everyone to see.  Innumerable compliments later an artistic business was born.

Over the years Brooke has developed a unique ability to look at a piece of flatware and mold it into exactly what it wants to be.  She never starts with a pattern and is pretty sure she's never created two pieces the same.  It's easy to believe that when you learn that she bends, twirls, curves, and rounds almost all of her pieces with just the strength of her hands and a common set of household pliers.  To add icing to an already impressive feat, there are very few pieces she's found the need to heat before using.  She loves to see the old men's faces when she finally convinces them she cold-bends everything.

Aside from simply being proud of my sister who has supported her family on an odd hobby, I LOVE working shows with her!  From small high school craft shows, to double-booths at the Iowa State Fair, Brooke travels around the central part of the country and every once in awhile takes me with her.  We eat terribly delicious food, laugh way too loud, and listen as new and repeat customer's rave about how excited they are to find jewelry that is so uniquely bold and wearable.

I hope you love Brooke's jewelry!  She gets bored quickly and is ALWAYS working on completely new designs.  Check out her Etsy Page to see what she's working on lately...

Petticoat Cachet/The Forking Queen

And, for an extra early entry to next week's giveaway from Petticoat Cachet, come back here to leave a comment on your favorite item she currently has listed!

In My Heart On Thursday

"You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough.  You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world."

-Sheilah Graham

When the Lord Calls You...

My parents moved to Alabama.  Two months ago my dad volunteered for a one-week missionary & construction trip serving an area devastated by last spring's overactive tornado season.  By the time he returned home, the Lord had spoken to his heart and he knew he was being called to dedicate more time to the work and the people in the hills of Alabama.  Everything else just fell into place...

Within weeks the finances to cover obligations at home had wondrously appeared, as well as the beginnings of what they would need to move from Iowa to Alabama and modestly survive while they are there.  Circumstances at my mother's job had been building towards an opportunity for long-term leave for quite awhile and made sense completely as soon as this opportunity was presented to her.  And another family member seeking a new beginning in her own life was right there to take over the day-to-day responsibilities my parent's would be leaving behind for an undetermined amount of time.

That's how they got to Alabama.  Here is what they are doing:  

Working directly with the organization Carpenter's House and the program Mercy Flows, my parent's find themselves working with volunteer labor and donated resources in an effort to help rebuild a rural area in northeastern Alabama devastated by multiple tornadoes during a one-week time period this last April.  My father's background as a construction foreman and owner of a small construction company have helped him seamlessly step into his new role coordinating the 10+ projects that Mercy Flows currently has in varying stages of the re-building process.  Along with getting her hands dirty right next to his, my mom has found her own niche getting to know the homeowners and community members personally by learning their histories, hearing their tornado-related experiences, and sharing encouraging moments of prayer with them and their families.  Together, they've left a house behind to live in a small camper trailer and serve wherever they are needed.

It's been an interesting few months for my family as we get used to the decision my parent's have made.  Even though I moved far away from home more than 10 years ago, part of me feels sad and alone knowing they are not there.  Some of my sisters were confused at the idea that they would just drop everything and leave; others didn't take it seriously until my parents had packed up and driven away.  Yet, in the first three updates we've received on the work getting done in my mom and dad's new home, it is impossible to deny that the Lord has important work for them to do there.

I hope you will visit my parent's website and learn more about the area in Alabama which they are working, more about the work that is being done, and opportunities for you and the people you know to share your support by getting involved.  Add the link for their blog to your reader.  And if it moves you, remember them, the people of Alabama, and the rest of my family in your prayers.


More information available at Built On Grace Alone.  Once on the site, follow the blog on the News page.  And if you do click over there, please come back to leave a comment on something you have learned.  I'll be happy to return the kindness with an extra entry for each of my upcoming Blogtastic Extravaganza giveaways. 

Three Great Prizes & Some Family

A quick post today to let you know I'm going to be participating in "A Blogtastic Extravaganza" in a few weeks. I'll have three great giveaway packages featuring some of my fabulously talented family.  Here's a sneak peek at what I'll be giving away...

For Mom

(or sister, or aunt, or grandma, or any woman who likes looking pretty)

Handmade Upcycled Silverware Jewelry by Petticoat Cachet

For the Little Girl You Love

Handcrafted whimsical fashion accessories by AalbersCreations

For Quality Entertainment with the Whole Family

5 Folk CD's by The Three D's

Throughout the month of August I'll share a few stories about how these family members found themselves in business and using their creativity.  And I'll introduce you to a few other people that are close to me.

The bonus is this:  Each of my readers are special to me and deserve a little thanks from me.  A Blogtastic Extravaganza beings August 17.  Check back often before now and then for extra entry opportunties....starting today!

Extra Entry Opportunity #1

Leave a comment on this post-any comment, Just say hi if you want.

~Only comment once on this post, multiple comments will not count.

~Comments on this post must be made before 8/16/11, 11:59PM

~Comment will count for 3 extra entries, 1 for each individual giveaway.