15 things that i love

in honor of the day of my birth, i want to share with you a few of my favorite things.  though not an all inclusive list, these are some things i truly do love (not necessarily in any order, though the hubby does get the top billing that he is due).

1. my wonderful hubby bill.  yes, i think we were wiping my kiss off, or was it my lip gloss?  regardless, my purple hair rocked and so does my husband of ten years.

above two pictures by myriah grubbs photography

 

2. baby feet.  i love them.  like, maybe way too much.  maybe that is why i keep having babies. (wink, wink)

3. the ocean.  pretty much any body of water will do something inside this heart of mine, but there is something extra special about the ocean.

4. this lovely instrument called a piano.  my mom made me take lessons when i was a kid, through me liking it then not liking it, practicing then not practicing, wanting to quit then so thankful that i didn't!!! (thank you mommy!!)  these beautiful ivories are my connecting place with the Lord more often than not.

5. the Word - and i love that i have a bible that is in english and spanish... and that it was a gift from my husband when i first met him. 

6. baby lips.  kissable. loveable. eatable. baby. lips.  tell me you can't resist either.

7. homegrown tomatoes.  my homegrown tomatoes.  i love gardening and eating from the garden.

8. knitting.  there is something soothing in the rhythm.  i also always remember that when i read a tale of two cities my sophomore year of high school i decided i wanted to knit.  it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

9. singing.  writing music.  recording my music.  someday i will record a cd of my music for you to enjoy.

10. tulips.  my favorite flower.  then comes roses and calla lilies as close seconds.  but there is just something about a tulip that gets me every time.

11. fireworks!  i love the crash.  i love the lights.  i love the glitter falling from the sky.  i hoped simeon, who was due in july, would be born on the 4th so i could tell him that the fireworks were for his birthday every year.  he waited and was both the 16th.  oh well!  but... he did start walking on the 4th of july.  i told him the fireworks were in honor of him walking.  we will go with it til he is too old to believe me.  aw, beautiful fireworks!

12. creating.  i have had so much fun finding a new creative side of me that i didn't know i had... i have always been a musician.  i have been an actress.  i have been a writer.  i have been a painter.  i have been a cook (an artist in the kitchen you may say since i can't follow a recipe but have to make it my own and create as i go).  but to create with my hands and a bit of yarn?  well, this is still fairly new to me and i am loving it.

13. did i mention that i love baby feet?  aw, the love is welling up inside right now.

above picture by myriah grubbs photography

14. i love blogging.  i love my readers - those who comment and those who just read that i may never know. 

15. much much more!  i love my family, my kiddos (all 5 of these boys!), my church community, my Savior, and all that God gives me every single day.  i am incredibly blessed and celebrate another year of knowing the goodness of God.  there is so much to be thankful for!


still counting gifts to 1000...


629 - 653:

629. fun new colorful yarn to make a gift for a friend.

630. tandem nursing going well.

631. hubby working hard to clean the tons of pollen from our roof, driveway, yard, and street - it looked like tumble weeds.

632. wednesday night date nights with or without a babysitter... kids in bed and blackberry cobbler in the oven.

633. the bad dream was only a dream and not real life.

634. the opportunity to use a very broken area of my life to encourage a friend who is struggling.

635. fresh squeezed orange juice.

636. time to celebrate my siblings birthdays.

637. learning psalm 5 as a family and getting to teach the boys the old chorus that is the 1st couple verses.

638. brightly colored flowers blooming on the front porch.

639. a freshly mowed lawn.

640. the hens started laying eggs again after mourning their lost sister.

641. reading the book of acts and having the stories come alive.

642. listening to my little ones go to sleep listening to the book of the revelation of Jesus on cd.

643. God's provision for us.

644. clean water to drink whenever i want.

645. cuddles with my simeon.

646. a kitchen to create in.

647. the pinched nerve in my shoulder is finally loose.  feels so much better.

648. cute new baby clothes - feels like i am dressing up a baby doll.

649. a garden in a pot - a thoughtful gift from a gardening friend who knew i haven't had time to plant my garden this year.

650. more meals brought by friends and leftovers for lunches.

651. another year and more thankful than ever before.

652. bbq at the lake with family.

653. grace to memorize the Word.


i am linked up at a holy experience.

if you have a blog, let me know if you have a list of your grace gifts so i can visit!  if you don't, write something you are thankful for in the comment section.  i love hearing from you!

if you haven't liked this facebook page, you can to the upper right of this post.  i would love to keep in better touch with you!

charis

never too old to learn something new!

i thought you all might like a little peak into part of my life that i don't usually write about on this blog.  sound like fun?  okay, well here we go!

i have been really into making things the past couple years.  now, i haven't been someone who has been super talented in crafting my whole life.  no, no, no!  i had 3 different people try to teach me how to crochet when i was a kid to no avail!  i am a leftie, and they were all righties, so it just never clicked more than being able to make a simple long chain.

fast forward to just a couple years ago.  my sister had recently learned how to knit.  i was actually there when she first learned, but i didn't have interest in learning for myself.  i think i was probably discouraged from the fact that i could never learn how to crochet, so i didn't even have interest in trying.

but about a year after my sister learned, i went to her and asked her if she would try to teach me how to make a very simple scarf.  even though she is right-handed, somehow she just knew how to teach me how to do it and it did click for me!  i successfully made a few scarves and was having so much fun doing it.

the following year a friend told me that she learned to crochet a hat by watching a you tube video.  i thought that sounded completely crazy!  she told me i should try it, but since people couldn't even teach me in person i wasn't sure how it would work to just watch a video on the internet.  the more i thought about it, the more curious i became as to whether it would work for me or not.  i finally took the plunge and started searching for online videos to teach me how to crochet.  i didn't know a thing, so i had to watch and learn everything from the simplest first step, but in the end i successfully crocheted my first hat!  a video or two (or ten) were able to teach me what no one could teach me in person in the past.

we didn't have very much money for christmas gifts that year, and my family always does a big gift exchange, so i started feverishly trying to learn how to make more and more.  i decided to try to do a homemade christmas.  i wasn't the fastest crocheter, and probably had bad technique as well, but i did it!  i was able to give everyone gifts i had made.
 
i cannot believe how quickly i learned as an adult when it so difficult as a child... i really have to credit it to my sister teaching me how to knit because i think it made even crocheting make more sense.  very soon after learning how to do a simple hat, i started making up my own patterns and making things i just thought of in my head like coffee mug sleeves, leg warmers, gloves, and iphone covers.  

however the love of knitting - the craft that i was interested in first - never went away though most people can crochet so much faster and easier.  so i have slowly plugged away at teaching myself new stitches in knitting and trying to learn how to read a pattern.

just recently i decided, since i have enough time til our new baby is born to do something slowly, to knit a more complex hat for our little one.  i looked for a pattern idea on ravelry and went to michael's to get the right size needles to do the job.

*money saving tip - don't ever buy anything at michael's without a coupon.  you can print them online or they also have an app for the iphone that they will just scan the coupon directly from your phone.  brilliant!

so, here is the little aviator hat that i knit for my new baby.  it is by far the most difficult thing i have ever knit and i had quite a bit of frustration trying to figure out how to even read the pattern and look up what they different stitches were that the gal was referring to in it.  but it worked!  and it is cute!  i am starting to feel like a legit knitter!

 sorry for the low quality pics - i just took them quickly with photo booth on my computer so i could post them on facebook as soon as it was finished.  oh, and sorry for the deformed looking baby doll!  ha!  i have no idea where this baby's clothes are and he really doesn't look that funny, it was just the way i was holding him up for the camera. 

the moral of the story:  it is never too late to learn something that you don't know how to do!  even if you failed at learning it before, maybe if you try now it will click.  it happened for me.  i teach piano and have had students from 5 to 75... and usually my adult students are my most disciplined and make progress the quickest.  it is so silly to think that we are only able to learn well when we are young though i admit i have thought the same thing about myself.

if there is a desire on your heart that you have never explored, maybe today is the day.  you will never know what you can do until you try!

go try something new!

still counting gifts to 1000...

493 - 509:

493. money He provided to pay the bills... yet again.

494. our internet is working better!

495. sweet friends who surprised me with my favorite chocolate and tea for heart day.


496. 12 jars of blessings from a dear friend - encouragement right when i needed it.


497. a great worship set - the Holy Spirit stirred my heart once again towards falling more in love with my Jesus.


498. the warmth of my comfy bed.


499. laughing and laughing with bill.


500. walking with my kids and hubby while they ride bikes on the river trail and enjoying the nice weather.


501. the cute little strut of my 18 month old simeon was he walks across the sun dial bridge feeling like a big boy.


502. watching david dance his heart out like no one else was in the room during our family worship time.


503. late night talks and asking questions... still getting to know my husband better as we approach completing ten years of marriage.


504. all three of my older boys earning a dollar a piece for reciting psalm 3 to my mom.  i love that they are hiding His Word in their hearts.


505. hearing some good doctors' reports for a couple different people i have even praying for these past couple weeks.


506. the opportunity to give our tithe to the Lord and the reminder of how much He has provided for us every step of the way.


507. the way simeon plays with my hair as he sucks his thumb and cuddles.


508. a new tiny grey wool hat that i knit for our new little one in the belly.


509. a little more drizzles of rain today - we need it.  i love that God is watering our earth, but also love that it hasn't been solid rain either. 


i am linked up at a holy experience.

if you have a blog, let me know if you have a list of your grace gifts so i can visit!  if you don't, write something you are thankful for in the comment section.  i love hearing from you!

charis

simple woman's daybook 4.6.11

 

for today:

outside my window... it is another beautiful spring day.  not too hot.  not too cold.  i wish weather like this lasted around here.

i am thinking... about a series of posts i am working on about how to study the book of isaiah.  i think i will post the first of the three part series later this week!  be looking for it.

i am thankful... for the colors of spring popping up all over!  i love the beauty of flowers!  too bad they make me sniffle.  they add so much life to everywhere i look.

remembering... that everything will get done in time.  i need to be patient with myself and with others.  there isn't a rush to life.  when i rush, i miss enjoying the process and the journey.   

from the learning rooms... i am learning how to knit in the round on circular needles.  it is taking me forever,  but it is looking so good!  i love learning!

from the kitchen... i am making homemade peanut butter as we speak!  easy recipe: salted roasted peanuts in a food processor... and there you have it!  peanut butter.
 

i am wearing... jean shorts, brown leather sandles, a grey t-shirt with a vintage gold and grey sweater on top.  how is that for california dressing?!

i am creating... my first knit hat on circular needles.  i will try to post a picture when i finish.  it may end up on my etsy store or maybe it will be a gift.  we will see...

i am going... on a date with the love of my life tonight!  where or what?  i have no idea, but i will have good company.

i am reading... just finished the book of isaiah in my Bible reading challenge.  as i said, i am working on a 3 part series of blog posts about the book of isaiah!  you will not want to miss them.

i am hoping... the nice weather stays.

 

i am hearing... my middle two sons singing worship songs to Jesus in the other room at the top of their lungs.  what could bring a smile to my face faster than hearing them sing to their Savior?!

around the house... we are working, working, working on the backyard demo.  and by we, i mean bill.  not me.  did i mention that now we have more room he talked me into getting chickens? um, yeah.  now i am researching raising backyard chickens like a mad woman.  we will be our own little supermarket before long... garden, check. chickens, check.  what next?  

  
one of my favorite things... mangos.  i believe they are sweet nectar from heaven.

pondering... what does it mean to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ?  why would the apostle paul pray this for those who already believed?  i don't really get it, so i ponder and ask the Holy Spirit to teach me.

a few plans for the rest of the week: date night, back yard demo, soccer, night and day prayer sunday school... and of course hanging with the 4 coolest boys in the world.

picture for the day:

peanut butter in process as i type away on this blog post.

peanut butter finished!  whew, that was easy!

here is where i am linked up for the simple woman's daybook.  

charis

simple woman's daybook 3.2.11

 

 

for today:

outside my window...it is raining.  i am sitting in starbucks, just finished up with my isaiah study, and looking at the rain come down.  we need it.  even as much as i don't like getting wet, we need it.  thank you Lord for your blessing upon us in sending the rain.

i am thinking...the faithfulness of God.  i am so thankful His faithfulness is not contingent on the faithfulness or faithlessness of people.  He is faithful because that is who He is!  what a solid place to put my faith.

i am thankful for... supernatural provision.  we had a tough month last month financially (just being rather transparent with all of you, more than i often feel comfortable doing).  we prayed and prayed and prayed for provision.  even on the other side of it i am amazed at how we even got through.  it wasn't easy.  it wasn't instantaneous.  it was painful and slow and exposing of all the cracks in my faith that the Lord wants to fill with Himself and His goodness and care for me.  i am left feeling broken and poor in spirit (matthew 5), but so very thankful that, i said before, His faithfulness isn't up to something inside of me. 


in the midst of a very hard month we had about $600 of unexpected cash gifts from people - some were anonymous and we don't even know who to thank.  if that isn't humbling, i don't know what is.  i don't know if it is harder to know who it is who makes sacrifices to give to us or to not know.  either way i am so extremely thankful to all who were obedient to the leading of the Lord to give so generously to us, not even knowing what a tough time it has been because we are not super quick to share about it. 


besides this, we had someone (bill's parents who are missionaries themselves in guatemala) buy us a brand new refrigerator.  the one we have had the past 7.5 years was left in the house we bought and on its way out even then.  in the midst of such a trying month, we were so blessed and God is reminding me again and again that mere man is not my provider.  He alone is my Provider. 


remembering... to start each day in thankfulness - it changes so much to just simply change my perspective and where i am focusing my attention.  

from the learning rooms... well, we are still in the throws of making the decision of where to send our #2 son to school.  part of me wants him at the school he is at right now, parts wonders it at home would be a better option for this year.  we are seeking the Lord for His direction for this year and trusting He will lead us to make the best choice for him for this season.

from the kitchen... i made a big pot of beef stew last night and i have to say it was the best beef stew i have ever made.  what was the difference you ask?  well, i seasoned the meat with steak seasoning as i browned it, then dry sauted the mushrooms adding white wine when they lost their juices and sooo yummy!  we have enough left to have it again tonight!

i am wearing... my skinny jeans, cute red shoes that i got for christmas, a chunky gray sweater that has a big cowl neck, and a plaid red coat that is honestly my favorite.  i love red as an accent color!

i am creating... this amazing knit scarf... i decided to use big fat needles and skinny little angora/wool yarn.  the effect is a loopy delicate scarf that would be perfect as an accent to any outfit. 

i am going... on a little date tonight.  woohoo!  fun little coffee date with my babe of almost 9 years! 

i am reading... psalms still in my Bible reading challenge.  i must say that as much as i love it, i have been falling behind again because the way you version set up the reading for each day, they assigned like 6 psalms most days and that gets to be a bit more than i can do right now.  when i divided the chapters of the Bible by 365, i got that most days i should be reading 3 chapters to stay on track.  so, that makes me ask, are they only going to have me read 1 chapter at a time when i get to the book of isaiah?! 

i am hoping... to have a good tax appointment tomorrow.  are you all done with your taxes already?  anyone last minute about it?  i am glad our accountant sets up the next year's appointment on the same date as the current appointment or i know i would totally forget and procrastinate until the very last moment.

i am hearing... the sounds of starbucks music and conversation all around me.  it is busy here today.

around the house... i am so needing the motivation i had a couple weeks ago for organizing.  i dug into a dreaded hall closet that had become a catch all, and i am about half done with a box of things now sitting in the hall that need a permanent home.  unfortunately, i have been lacking both time and motivation to find it for them.  for some reason i would rather things out of sight and out of mind than sitting there in the hallway reminding me that i haven't finished what i started.  i am resisting the temptation to just shove them back into the closet and forget about them.

  
one of my favorite things... is a warm meal on a cold day. 


pondering... this quote from a Bible scholar by the name of grogan from the isaiah study i am doing:

it is a strange paradox that nothing makes a being less like God than the urge to be His equal, for He who was God stepped down from the throne of his glory to display to the wondering eyes of men the humility of God (Phil 2:5-8).

a few plans for the rest of the week:  tomorrow is the dreaded tax appointment.  for some reason i always dread it, but always feel such relief when it is over.  i had a new niece born yesterday, so i hope to see her at some point later this week.  i am watching another niece for my sister on friday.  have i ever mentioned that i have 12 nieces and 3 nephews.  is something a bit strange about this picture?  12 nieces! (including 2 in utero)... yet i only have boys.  crazy!

picture for the day:

here is the outfit i wore today so you can get a look.  are you a fan of skinny jeans?  i wasn't until i wore them.  yes, i know... i am such a follower.  hahaha! 

more of the simple woman's daybook.  

charis

simple woman's daybook 2.7.11

 

 

for today:

outside my window... is a ridiculously beautiful day!  hello??!!  it is the start of february.  it is winter.  it has been in the seventies for the past couple weeks.  i am not complaining, but it is rather strange even for california.

i am thinking...about how to be a better blogger.  my sister just gave me tons of advice on how to improve... why didn't i ask her like two years ago??!!  these ideas are rocking my world!

i am thankful for... peace in knowing what this season of my life is supposed to be about.  do you ever feel uneasy when you are unsure of what you are supposed to be focusing on in the current season?  i sure do.  just the fact that i know my focus right now is supposed to be on primarily being a mom.  knowing that everything else, even our ministry, is supposed to come second right now brings me so much freedom and so much peace!


remembering... how much i love to sing and worship God.  

from the learning rooms... i have to little goal... okay, little is majorly an understatement.  every since someone gave us homemade knit baby socks when simeon was born, i have been obsessed with the idea of knitting baby socks.  the problem is i am a self-taught, extremely novice knitter.  so... i am working on specific knitting skills i will need to conquer the goal of making socks.  the current skill i am learning is how to do ribbing.  my picture for the day is my current progress on this knitting skill.  the next skill i need is how to fix a knitting mistake without having to completely start over!  at this point whenever i make a mistake i have to take it all out and begin again!  my patience is majorly being refined. 

from the kitchen... i am back to meal planning - saves money and gives us some planned variety in what we are eating.  has anyone else tried stretching taco meat by adding lentils to the ground beef?  genius idea i tell you!  (not my own.)  my kids didn't even notice because it blended so well.

i am wearing... jammies.  it is monday morning.  i promise i will get dressed as soon as i am done blogging.

i am creating... a new song.  have i ever told you that a dream of mine is to record a cd with all original songs?  if i haven't, i am telling you now.  someday i would love to have a link to download my music here so you all can hear what i love to do.  until then... you will have to come to somewhere i am leading worship to get a taste of what i write. 

i am going... to grocery shop today.  i don't have time for all the stops i would like to make, so i am trying to decide: tackle costco or do the normal grocery store stuff first? 

i am reading... psalms in my Bible reading challenge!  i am so excited to be in my favorite book!  fact:  i spent two years only reading the book of psalms over and over again.  the love of the book of psalms goes hand in hand with my love to worship God with singing.  the psalms are so easy to sing to God!  sometimes when i am leading a devotional set in the house of prayer i will just open my Bible to a psalm and start to sing.  it always brings so much life to my soul.  i just love it.

i am hoping...to finish the last part of my new song this week.  sometimes as a song writer i will have an amazing verse and chorus and then get stuck on that finishing element of a bridge or a tag.  i guess this is why people co-write. 

i am hearing... the musical presents my mom got the kids for their birthdays.  in this house of musicians, there is always music. 

around the house... i am into the organizing thing.  it isn't as much a new year's resolution thing as it is the early spring weather thing.  i feel the spring cleaning bug big time.  since i have been pregnant and/or nursing for the past almost 8 years, i am way behind in a lot of the normal organizing and need to majorly play catch up. 

  
one of my favorite things... is hearing my kids sing.  hearing little voices worshiping God is just the best thing to bring a smile to my face. 


pondering... what to do about the kids' education next year.  i love the school they are in right now, but we try to take one year at a time and make a decision just for that year, and not have the pressure of deciding the education for the rest of their lives.  so... what does this next year entail?

a few plans for the rest of the week: we have one more birthday this week, so i will be making another amazing fudge brownie cake.  i will also be working on:  finishing my song, knitting the ribbed scarf to prepare for socks, organizing a hall closet that became our catch all for things that had no place, working on my isaiah Bible study, laundry, grocery shopping, leading worship at an amazing mom's group i go to called raising tomorrow's leaders, hopefully going to a prayer set for the watch of the Lord, and spending some time enjoying my kids.  did i forget anything??? 

picture for the day:

more of the simple woman's daybook.

please feel free to add a link in the comments below to your own simple woman's (or man's) daybook as well as link up at the link above.  i would love to read yours as well!

charis