Let's Just Pretend

I think we should just pretend that I am not crazy busy

and overwhelmed with this wonderful life I live.

Lets just pretend that there is plenty of time in this 

day before I leave for an out of town craft show

to write this blog post and share about

some fun Warren and I had last week.

You see, 

last week I pretended that I had time 

to do this fun thing.

It worked out just fine.

So, here we go again.

Because I miss being here and sharing.

We went to see Petra in concert.

Petra, who had their Farewell Tour some time ago.

Ha!

They just couldn't stay away.

And I am so glad.

It was such a fun night.

With our friends Duane and Kelly.

They are concert lovers like we are.

It is no wonder we have three kids who are so 

into the Contemporary Christian Rock Scene.

They learned it from us.

In our early dating and married days we were 

regulars at Creation Festival.

I've told you before that Warren was a camera man 

who shot video for the big screen.

I would follow behind him making sure his wires 

didn't catch on anything

all the while totally enjoying being on the back end of 

the concert scene.

So anyway, 

back to last Friday night.

Duane and Kelly got there first.

They snagged seats in the sixth row center!

This means that we were right in the eye contact zone.

The concert was in a tent that held just 600 or so people 

so there wasn't a bad seat in the house....

we just happened to have GREAT seats.

Duane and Kelly

Just color me happy!  This was too much fun!

The music was soooo good.

After 40 years, these guys can still play.

Only two were originals.

If you know Petra's history you'll 

recognize them in the photos.

We heard that they were going to come out 

and sign autographs so we hung around

and did what we never did when we were young.

We got autographs and a picture.

I know that many readers won't really care about Petra.

Just be happy for me....

That is enough.

An evening of fun out with my hubby

is golden these days.

Ha.

What's Going On, You Ask?

Well, there is quite a lot happening around here.

Look!  

I decorated for Autumn.

Ha!

This is pretty much it.

There are two small pumpkins with funky stems.

Understated....yeah, I'm going with that.

Warren is working hard to get our leaf collection system 

up and running so that he can take care of the three yards

that are currently full of leaves.

We do this dance every year....

and on the day that he does leaves it is a very beautiful thing.

I happen to LOVE the crunchy leaves and am kind of sorry to 

see them go.

Last week I spent a relaxing evening with 

my friend Melissa.

She served tea and we got to chat 

for a couple of hours.

Her kitty entertained us....

You might remember that Michael broke his collarbone

on October 6th?

Well, yesterday I came back from Bible Study to be met 

with the news that he had gone out for a run

and had fallen right on that shoulder.

First time he ever fell while running.

He caught his foot in a shoelace going down hard.

Michael was sure it was broken again.

We went back to the orthopedist
who ordered an x-ray....

it is not broken again.

Praise God!

He's dealing with significant pain once more though.

He just couldn't sit still one moment longer.

Chelsea is now in Thailand.

She loved her couple of days in Bangkok.

Now she is in another city

where her team will spend three weeks with an 

organization that works to prevent human trafficking.

I don't know if they do active rescues or what.

But very soon Chelsea will be finding out

what that ugly world looks like.

She asks for prayer!

Of course I continue to be busy in the candle kitchen.

Between a new manufacturing job, 

the many fundraisers in progress,

Etsy orders,

upcoming craft shows

and my retail locations I find myself needing to

be more organized than ever before.

The next challenge after that is just to be constantly working

to keep up with it all.

Baby shower favors just keep coming.

Every day I think that soon I'll be taking on a part time

helper.  I've got a good one on stand by.

Rachel....look out!

I'm making a to do list!

There have been some changes at church lately.

Last week we turned the sanctuary around.

As in, moved the front of the sanctuary to another wall.

This meant that Warren spent TONS of hours moving wiring, 

the sound board, lighting and probably more than I know.

Then Pastor Mike and I set up the chairs to an arrangement that 

he envisioned in his mind.

It worked!

 With just a couple of minor adjustments.

It was so much fun to see everyone come in and try to figure out

where they would sit.

I teased that we should just label all of the seats with someone's name.

But this was way more fun.

Shaking things up.

Our ladies spent some time on Sunday afternoon 

sharing testimonies.

It was such a blessing to hear about how God gets 

our attention.

I love to get to know our church ladies better.

Once a month we gather to chat and pray.

It is a very good time.

They are a very special group of women.

So real.

So caring.

Friday night Warren and I will join another couple

at a Petra concert.

I can't believe it.

Petra was the band that Warren and I listened to 

when we were dating and they are still touring.

This should be FUN!

Guess that's about it.

Other than the fact that Georgia is now experiencing

a lot of pain as she goes through physical therapy to 

get her leg back to normal.
We would love prayers for that.

But she is driving again and pretty much back to 

her busy self.

Mom is working in a new department at 

the theater and seems to like it so far.

I know she really misses her friends in the other 

department but she is making new ones to add to 

her friend collection.  

:-)

Jonathan continues to struggle with serious back pain.

He is an inspiration to me, though, as he 

maintains a good attitude and works through 

the pain at all of those crazy hours of a 

security guard.

We would love your prayers that the Lord would lead 

us to the best treatment for him.

Well, I'd better head off for the day.

Just wanted to catch up.

Miss you.

Another Opportunity to Help an Adoptive Family

Hello My Friends,
I should not be sitting here writing. I have customers coming in an hour and I'm still far from finished getting the house at least halfway presentable.  Yikes.
But, I wanted to share this link to our friends blog.  They are the Haines Family and they will, Lord willing be bringing young Wyatt home from China before the end of the year.  At this point they are trusting God to bring in the $20,000 they still need to complete this adoption.
FAITH....it is a common denominator that I've seen in adoptive families.  They don't know HOW God will provide but they trust that HE will.  And HE does.  I love it!

So, anyway, here is the link to their blog and the opportunity to order Wyatt Candles to help them get funded.

Click the candle to go to their blog.

And Yes, that is their precious son in the photo!
Hugs,
Catch you later.

Learning on So Many Levels

My brain is not bored.

Not ever these days.

There is so much trying to work itself out up there.

For example:  Yesterday I was pretty much minding my own 

business and working away on candles when a thought popped into 

my head.

"You should check on Georgia and see if she needs help."

Oh, o.k.

She was driving herself on errands yesterday for the first time

since breaking her leg in July.

I called her phone.

While I was leaving a message she called me back.

I asked if she needed help carrying groceries up the steps.

Absolutely, she did!

Her leg was hurting after physical therapy and several 

stops on the way home and she was just wondering 

how she was going to get her packages up the stairs which 

she has just started using again.

It had to be God.

In His perfect timing.

That incident fit so perfectly with something I heard on the 

radio today that I think I am supposed to pay attention.

This is my paraphrase of what a pastor said....

"Some people follow Jesus with their lives

while others invite Him to follow them in their lives."

Oooh! 

I really want to be in the first category.

I want, so much, to hear His whispers...
 and more than that....

to act on them.

To follow His perfect plan for me each day.

That's one lesson.

Probably the most important.

I'm also learning about the iphone 4s.

Happily so.

I took all of these photos with it.

I'm learning how to get the pictures from the camera to the 

editor and then to the blog.

I'm also learning to listen to my favorite radio station

on my phone.

WTLR is the radio station that my Dad managed for 

many, many years. 

Now I can live stream it any time I want.

Yay!!

Oh, and that is where I heard that thought on following this morning.

I'm learning to know some very smart and talented people.

Amy, the owner of the shop who sponsored me 

in the Strasburg Autumn Fest this past weekend

is the kind of person that you just gravitate to.

She is seriously talented in refinishing furniture, 

home decor and marketing.

 I'm learning more about labeling and my label software.

I thought these turned out pretty cute.

So did my soap maker.

Seriously.

Happy smile.

I'm learning that there are people in the world that just have a passion

for other people.

Luisa is one of those people.

Her passion is for the people in her home country of Peru.

She goes back each year with a team

and shares the gospel and Jesus love with as many people

as she can. 

Mom and Georgia went with her a couple of years ago and 

will be going again early next year.

Luisa works a full time job to support herself 

and then also works most weekends at shows, farmer's markets

and anywhere else she can sell items made by the people of Peru

to help them and 

to fund her return visits.

Mission visits.

Just look at the detailing and consistency of the work here.

Pretty amazing.

So, I'm learning much.

And tomorrow I get to go back to a class that I'm 

enjoying immensely on eating for nutrition.

I've felt so much better and have cut my headaches

at least in half by making some basic changes.

God has been good to me.

I'm thankful.

Oh, and if you get a chance you could pop by

and see my friend Buttercup's awesome blog post 

about my candles.  

I especially love that she featured the Tommy candles.

Tommy is doing great.

Much better these days after having a feeding tube put in.

But if you wouldn't mind praying for him as he has been 

pretty stressed through all of the ordeal of 

stomach pain and time in the hospital.

One of these days I may get back to writing every day.....

or I may not.

But either way

I'm happy to be here now.

Grateful Squirrel

 Look who I found on the deck today.

He was really enjoying the corn that came with 

the corn stalks I got 

for Mikey's party.

 "Delicious!"

 "Well, if you insist....sure I'll have seconds."

 "Nom, Nom, Nom"

"You lookin' at me?"

ER Visit Reveals First Ever Broken Bone

The broken bone is not mine.

It belongs to the birthday boy, Michael.

Not fifteen minutes before
the accident

Michael's friends had been quizzing us about 

his health history

given his tendencies toward the ridiculous

stunts and adventures.

I, without thinking, said that he had never had a broken

bone....but as I did I had that fleeting thought, 

"Did I just say that?"

I'm not superstitious but it just felt wrong.

Well, Michael had built a shaky ramp

and was planning to impress all of his party guests

by jumping over the fire on his dirt bike.

Apparently they had come up with the idea while 

at work the day before.

They had drawn diagrams and everything.

What could go wrong?

The options were endless really.

I refused to watch but heard the aftermath

as he came crashing to the ground.

His bike came down on his leg,

his shoulder ground into dirt and grass.

These are the good things.

For he missed the neighbors macadam

driveway by a couple of feet

and did not land in the fire.

The bike coming down on his midsection 

most likely would have wrecked up 

his insides.

His head hit the ground hard but the helmet 

did it's job.

It didn't take too long to figure out that his 

collarbone was broken.

Bummer!

So, off to the ER we went.

Leaving all of his friends behind to surround

the campfire, to consume his cake and 

to wonder about his well being.

Mikey took turning 21 to a whole new level.

Happy Birthday, Mikey!

We are grateful that you are still with us!

Quick Autumn Outdoor Decor

Today our middle child turns 21.

Hard to believe.

Twenty one years ago today he was without a name.

Somehow he just didn't look like a "Joshua", 

the name we had chosen for him.

But about 24 hours later we knew...

He was a Michael.

Oh boy is he.

Just think about all of the Mikey's you know.

Adventurous, Fun, Mischievous.

That's our Michael.

If I had only known how hard it would be 

on me we might have stayed with 

Joshua.

Oh well.

He is exactly who God made him to be 

and we wouldn't have it any other way.

We are so grateful to watch him grow into a young man

who is caring and ever more thoughtful about things 

that matter.

Today we will celebrate.

He has invited a few friends from work.

We are hoping that it cools down some because

he plans to have a bonfire.

I'll be serving food on the deck before that happens.

Chili

Baked Potatoes

Chips and Salad to turn the chili into Taco Salad.

Hot Dogs

]Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

Fresh Fruits - Pineapple, Grapes and Oranges

Cake

So I wanted to make the deck a little more festive since the 

Summer flowers have retired.

Here's what I gleaned from the front yard and 

brought to my dirt (and weed) filled holders 

on the deck.

 I don't care that they are rough....

and kind of wild.

 The colors are just too cute together.

 Best of all I could do it for free and in just a couple of minutes 

on what is always a busy day for us....Sunday.

Oops...I see I need to dig out some Autumn Ribbon for the Corn Stalks.

They won't last forever, 

but nothing would.

Happy Birthday Mikey!

You are a keeper.