Home-made Christmas: Fabric Boxes

This year for Christmas I had a genious idea that I would make everyone's presents. And, I had this idea like 3 days before Thanksgiving.

3. Days. Before. Thanksgiving.

This gave me approximately three weeks to complete about 14 presents. It helped that I have a small addiction with this website and especially this website... so I've saved a million and a half crafty things I have mentally put on an impossibly long to-do list. And, I mean impossibly long.

So, on Black Friday, I frantically scoured the racks at JoAnn's with my sister-in-law where I scored major, major deals (like flannel for $1.98/yd and minky fleece for $4.95/yd), all the while creating beautiful and wonderful things in my head that everyone would cherish and love for years to come. I thought I was pretty much invincible when it came to sewing. And, while thinking these crazy thoughts, I was also thinking, "I'll stay up during naptime--after working until 1am the night before--I'll stay up all night if I have to... I did it all the time when I was 19/20. That wasn't that long ago."

Yeah. Right.

Stay up during naptime. Ha! Let alone, "stay up all night?". Is it just me, or has every single mom since having a baby, actually dreamed of sleeping... because I do. There are days that I can't wait to get to just because I know I can actually lay down and take a nap.

Anyway, so I planned on making all these beautiful things for everyone for Christmas. I had it set in my mind that it was going to be a "hand-made Christmas". This only happened for a few people this year. Shocking, I know. Next year will be better planned.

But, I still wanted to write about the ones I did do. So, this entry is about Mom's and Jenni's fabric boxes. I had "pinned" all these different blogs on how to make different fabric boxes and they looked like so much fun and my family and I have this problem with accumulations of small and various odds and ends and need cute little things to hide them in.

Excuse the lack of amazing photos!

Jen's boxes... yellow, her favorite color.

And, Mom's boxes. Green, her favorite color. I've forgotten how to set up the photos so they look nice, since it's been so long since I've actually written anything here. But, there you have it. Part 1 of home-made Christmas! I wish my camera took better pics so you can see the details of the boxes... but, so be it. Maybe next year Santa won't forget about me.... ;)

Let go...

I've been filled with a lot of pent-up frustration. Like a lot. Mostly at myself... but,really, sometimes I don't even know what I'm feeling. Just very discontent and restless. And, worried. Very worried.

And, I hate being a worrier. It gives you wrinkles, turns your hair gray or makes it fall out, and you could get an ulcer... Nothing good ever comes out of worrying.

I know I've posted it before, but, I love it:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

Conviction. Aye, yi, yi.

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

Oy.  

It's like I know these things in the back of my head. Somewhere shoved in the dark corner of my brain I've shoved the knowledge of these verses and buried them in a hole... And, this evil, controlling, scary, selfish person takes over and completely warps my brain into thinking I need to have every situation be a certain way... and I need to say this and do that and blah, blah, blah... craziness. No wonder I'm about ready to burst wide open with anxiety.

I need to calm down. Ever since little B was born I've been a worrying, anxious freak. This is what mother-hood does to you. It turns you into this scary worry-wort. I have no idea how my mom had 4 of us under 4 at one time. I'm just thankful she didn't kill one of us. ;)

Ok, all jokes aside, I need some prayer as I'm working out this little "early-life crisis" (yes, I'm waaaaaay to young for a "mid" life crisis). I know God has a plan for me. A path for me to go down (and I'm praying every day that it includes a new job)... so, I need to chill out, and let God handle it. 

Which is an amazing feeling when you actually let yourself go to God. It's a terrifying feeling, but it is amazing.  

sewing itch.

Today I finally, finally, finally took out my sewing machine. FINALLY! I missed it so much. I hated seeing it packed away in it's box. The table I use to sew on is being used for a garage sale, so I've had nothing to set it up on... and, if anybody knows me I hate starting things and then not being able to finish it, especially sewing projects.

And, I didn't want to set it up somewhere and not be able to organize all my other sewing stuff around it. But, I bit the bullet and set it up on the kitchen table. There wasn't a whole lot of room and B thinks that when I'm sitting at the table, he needs to, too.. and he also needs to pull on the fabric, un-thread the thread and, obviously, hug him over and over and over. ;)

I didn't do a huge project. I just needed to feel fabric again.

I up-cycled a sweater I've never worn.

Before

After

It felt amazing to sew something together again. And, now I have a new summer top to wear! :) 



New places, New beginnings....

We finally have a place to call "home".

With enough room for a growing boy to run around in,

scream in, bang in, jump in, throw himself across the room in...

you get the point.

God definitely knew what He was doing when He provided us with this new place to live. :)

In honor of Lake Mill's cuteness and our new love for this little town,

B and I took a walk and I took pictures of some of the houses/buildings I've fallen in love with.

Yes, I said, some. I haven't walked the entire town yet... I'm sure there's more for me to drool over.

Excuse my lack of photography skills... and my non-professional camera.

I love the porch.

I love the porch, the windows, the decorative touches....

 

The houses are so old and Victorian-like. It makes me want to tour all of them.

Well, this one isn't Victorian... but there's something about it that I like.

It kind of reminds me of a house you'd see on a Disney movie.

How can you not love a big ol' porch like that? I want to sip lemonaide on it in my wooden

rocking chair. P.S. it's for sale... if you have a couple hundred thousand laying around, I would definitely

have no problem living in it for you.

This is my favorite house. And when I say that I mean I purposely walk by it almost every time I go for

a walk so I can imagine living in it. The picture doesn't do it justice. But, there were

other people walking around and I didn't want to look like the nut of the town taking pictures of everyone's house!

This isn't old or big and Victorian. But, I love its little summer cottage cuteness. This happens to be for sale too... but, it's about $400,000... since it has it's own lake access. Chump change.

The public library. Yes, it's the library. I can't wait to take B there to investigate the inside!

Main street. Filled with all it's little shop cuteness.

I would LOVE to take a pottery class here. You can't see it in the picture, but there's a basement studio where they teach and have demonstrations.

This little place intrigues me too. I think it's a kind of antique store. Everytime I go by, there's something new placed out front.

Our street's pier. I would've gone down to take a picture of the lake, but my little walking buddy has 

a melt-down everytime we have to leave.

Last, but not least, our little place. It needs some lovin, but the inside is much nicer. Pictures of that to come later... after I finish unpacking.. and clean. ;)

Anyone know what these tall baby's are?! We thought they were freakishly huge asparagus, but now they're blooming... does asparagus bloom?!

Hair Loss

A little update.....

The past few weeks have been SO stressful! I think I've lost a million strands of hair waiting to see what God has in store for us. Luckily, my hair's pretty thick, so I haven't noticed any bald spots... yet.

We've found someone to sublet our apartment; a cute couple who was so sweet and loved our little place. Which is great, because B hasn't exactly been gentle on the walls or the carpeting. But, they said it was the perfect place for them and they loved B's artwork. ;) Pending their approval from management, they'll be taking over our little home... which made me almost cry when I was talking to them about it (so emotional... I hope I get my "ladies days" soon so I can stop being such a sap). Even though it's been such a frustrating experience to live in the middle of a big city with a 2 year old with no real yard for him to run around in, this is the first place we've lived as a little family and it's bittersweet to think of leaving it.

I also talked to the landlord of the duplex we looked at (and fell in love with) in Edgerton, and he's offering it to another couple that got their application in before us... they must of filled out while they were there, because I filled it out and emailed it back to him within 2 hours of us seeing it. But, the duplex was perfect with the original hardwood floors throughout, a beautifully redone kitchen, a nice yard... the list goes on and on with it's complete perfectness, so we knew it was going to go fast.

We're looking at a new place in Lake Mills today... it's not in the country, but I looked at it with google satellite (which totally creeps me out because you can look at anyone's address and see their home) and it looks nice. It's on a corner lot with a decent sized yard... it definitely needs some yard work lovin', but luckily for me, the hubs is a landscaper by trade and I'm pretty sure I could get the work done for next to nothing. ;)

I feel good about this place, but, I felt good about the other place, too... so, I guess we'll see how God plays it all out. It's frustrating and exciting all at the same time to wait and see what God has in store for us... mostly frustrating because I'm SO not the type of person that's ok with not knowing what's going to happen. I definitely think He's using these past few weeks as a learning experience for me; so, I'm desperately trying to let Him mold and shape me into the woman He's obviously trying to make me in to.

The job posting I applied for at work closes on Tuesday, so I'll know more about the job next week probably (hopefully). But, I do work for the federal government and they aren't exactly known for their speedy response times. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't know anything for another couple of weeks, yet. Which, of course, means more hair loss...

Patience is a virtue....

Romans 8:24-25
We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. (NLT)

Patience is a virtue God did not bless me with. He did however see fit to make me a complete control freak who worries constantly about EVERYTHING!

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

God always knows what I need to hear... that verse convicted me to the point of tears. I'm so anxious about possibly moving and possibly starting a new job. I'm so anxious it's almost all I think about. I over-analyze everything, think about it, analyze it again and then think about it some more. But, God says to call on Him, to lean on Him, to depend on Him. He will provide us with everything we need.

I keep crying out to God (sometimes literally crying because I feel so overwhelmed)... and when I start to feel like everything is going to fall apart, I remember that God said He would provide for those who trust Him. We will never have to worry about the things we need because God will bless those who live for Him.

So, today I'm going to be thankful that God blessed us with a place to live, even though it's in the middle of a loud and noisy city, and be grateful that He gave me an amazing job that a lot of people would be thankful to have.

Please continue to pray for us/me as we wait to hear about the house that Wade and I both fell in love with and as we wait to hear about the job I applied for.

The Giant Beach Bag!

This is mostly for my mom again, who is my biggest fan! :)

I finally finished my beach bag for Florida! I got the idea from Leanne over at Elle Apparel. She has an awesome tutorial on how to make a Canvas Beach Bag.  I mostly followed her tut, but I did my own thing.

         Please excuse my poor photography skills... I am by no means a professional!

   I used red burlap instead of canvas because I wanted it to really last and I lined the inside with matching     fabric because burlaps itchy!

And, I made mine HUMUNGOUS (I don't even know if that's how you spell it).. but, you get the point. It's HUGE! I wanted it to be really big to fit all of the stuff you have to bring when you have a toddler, plus all of our beach things. And, it ended up being extra, extra large! You can't tell in the picture, but I have 4 towels stuffed in there and there's room for A LOT more!

I have so many ideas for another bag and I can't wait to try them :)

Prayer Requests :)

So... I have a couple of prayer requests and I thought I'd quickly ask for people to pray for them before I lay down with the little man and take a MUCH NEEDED nap! :)

1. I applied for a new job within the hospital I already work in. The position is day shift M-F and no holidays. It would really be an answer to prayer if I get this job!

2. I've been looking at a duplex for rent in Edgerton. It's the same price we pay now for our small apartment in Madison, but it's bigger, has a yard, and washer and dryer hook-ups. Please pray that if it's God's will for us to move that we would be able to find a sub-letter.

3. Please, please pray that I won't get wrapped up in all this potential goodness and focus on God and His will for our family.

It's so hard for me to focus on what God wants for us when I continually focus on what I think our family needs. I have a hard time praying about things when I think I can control them myself... so I'm reaching out for some prayer help!

Thankful

I only have a little bit before B and I have a play date... but, I felt like writing something.

I'm so thankful today.

Thankful for my husband who knows how I'm feeling sometimes before even I do.
Thankful for this tiny, little boy who gives me hugs and kisses when I feel like everything I do is falling apart.
Thankful for a family that calls me five times a day just to say hello.
Thankful for a job that although I dislike passionately at times is flexible and allows me to spend a lot of time with my tiny helper.
Thankful for a sewing machine that I've grown so attached to.
Thankful for friends who I can go without talking to for weeks and we can pick up right where we left off.

Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who has blessed me with it all.

Even when the green-eyed jealousy monster stares me right in the face I can smile and know that even if we don't have this perfect little cookie cutter life, we are blessed beyond measure and have the perfect life for us.

Happy Tuesday!

Apron Tuturial

So, this post is mainly for my mamacita, but I wanted to blog about it because it makes me feel more "sewer-ish". Yup, just made that word up.

I had some of this fabric left over from another little project I did (a plastic bag holder... I know, glamorous). And, there's really not much I can do with it, because I don't like it enough to wear it as a dress, and it's cotton so it doesn't stretch as much as I like my clothes to. And so the apron idea was born.

What I used:
Approximately a yard of fabric (hard for me to give exact measurements since it was just folded it my fabric pile)
Matching thread
And, last but certainly not least, my sewing machine

I laid out the fabric (after I had ironed all the little crinkles out) and drew on the apron design (I think everyone knows what an apron looks like), then I cut it out, leaving about 1/2" all the way around for seam allowance.

                                                             Truly not hard at all.
I wanted the edges to look finished, so I folded the edges all the way around about 1/4", ironed them down so they would lay nicely, then I folded them another 1/4" and ironed again. Something like this:

Oh yes, I pinned it all in place so it would retain it's neatness.

After all the folding, ironing and pinning, I sewed this little beauty together. While doing that, I decided I wanted a little pocket in the front to break up the monotony and I wanted a little "V" in the neckline. If you want to do the same, you just need to cut a "V", fold and iron the edges the same way you did the apron and sew in place. Easy peasy. For the pocket, I just cut the shape out of some of the extra fabric, folded the edges, ironed and sewed the edges together.

                                     Something like that... and then I sewed it on!

 I thought it was hard to decipher where the pocket was since it's the same fabric so I stuck my big ugly, squished hand it it. So, excuse the grossness.

Once I was all done with the apron itself, I needed to make the strap that goes around the neck and also the straps that tie it together. To do this, I cut out one strip about 21" long 3" wide (for the neck) and two strips that were about 40" long and 3" wide. I don't have any pics doing this because my little, tiny helper was up from his nap and he required my attention. However, it's fairly simple.

For all three strips, fold the edges in about 1/4" twice (just like for the apron edges). Now, I left my neck strip alone after this because I wanted that strap to be thicker. For the apron straps, I folded them in half and sewed together so they would be thinnner.

And, Wah-Lah, you have an apron. This is pretty simple and I'm sure there's more intricate designs... but, now I have an apron and it was free! ;) The hubs laughed at me because anyone that knows me knows I'm a novice cook at best so why would I need an apron?! If anything, it looks cute hanging in my kitchen! :)   

Muslin, Jersey Knit, Canvas... and all things wonderfully crafty.

I have a weakness....

A gloriously sinful obsession...

And, it doesn't involve anything I could ever get in trouble for.

My love... my passion... is DIY (do-it-yourself for all you non-acronym knowing people).

The more my husband and I buckle down and actually stick to a budget, the more I want to make everything myself. I used to be a buyer. You know, I'd yearn for all the outfits on display at every single seducing, evil store. Now, I'm not saying that I don't go out and leap back into the arms of consumerism. Because let's face it, it's hard to say no to a dress that fits every single curve perfectly making me feel like the person that designed this marvelous creation obviously must of had me in mind.

And, then, it occurred to me: the designer CAN have me in mind. She can create a divine little number that slips over my shoulders and transports me into Jessica Alba's body. Yes, I just said that. So?

I'm sure you're smart enough to put it together now. My little dirty craft secret's out. I've become bewitched with "doing-it-myself". It all started with StumbleUpon. If you haven't discovered this little treasure, do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. It's possibly the most awesome thing invented for those you like to "surf the great-wide web". There's no shortage of amazing, awesomeness in everything you can discover when you "stumble".

Anyway, I chose to spend my time looking up things to make around the house. I've discovered a million and a half things I've added to my "to-do-within the next 10 years" list. And, that's what led me to fabric.com. This sight has entranced me with malicious little green eyes and drawn me in with $2.99 yd. jersey knits and $5.99/white canvas and a whole section devoted to $1.95/yd fabrics. It is crafter heaven. Seriously. And there's so, so, so much more than just fabrics. There's yarn and crafting supplies, trim.. you get the idea. It's like taking a bite out of fresh blueberry muffin that's loaded with butter (yes, I did say butter. I'm from Wisconsin and we like dairy). It's that satisfying feeling when you know you just scored an awesome deal and saved some money. Sweet.

So this little entry is devoted to the amazingly soft  feeling of jersey knits. The smell of canvas. The satisfaction of picking up a simple piece of fabric and making it into something beautiful. Something you created yourself.

So now I have a trillion projects I want to get done right this very second. But here's a few I really am going to start: The Swimsuit Cover-up... cannot resist it. I'm totally going to do my own thing... but, Elle Apparel is pretty much amazing and I love her blog. Plus, she also posted the tutorial for this: My Beach Bag. Which I'm totally making for our trip to Florida.

Alright, I've shared my craft obsession and my need to feed this "DIY-ing" hunger I suddenly have. Hopefully I'll be tackling my projects soon! I just bought all the fabric I need for them from fabric.com. So, I'll be starting them shortly!

A New Day

What to write... what to write...

It's quiet this morning. Wade's left for work and it's just me and the little man. I love this time of the morning... but, it's also when the anxiety about the day starts creeping into my blood and flowing to my brain. Making me think about everything I have to do, everything I should be doing, and suddenly an overwhelming sense of dread fills my body. There's just not enough time in the day to complete my never ending list of wife and mommy things I need to do.

Deep breath.

Depression. 

Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being 'down in the dumps' or 'blue' for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life. Symptoms can include:

• Sadness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Change in weight
• Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
• Energy loss
• Feelings of worthlessness
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Yes, I stole that from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html

The hardest thing I've ever had to do in the world was look my husband in the eyes and tell him that I thought I was depressed. Why was it hard? Because he's my husband. The father of my child. How in the world can I be depressed when God has blessed me with so much? How can I be depressed when God has given me so much hope? How can a Christian woman, born and raised in a Christian family, be depressed? Isn't depression a selfish feeling? I remember a couple of years ago talking to a good friend about how her sister in law had started taking anti-depressants. My friends response was, "Our family doesn't take medication for depression. It's not natural." I think ever since talking to her about it, I've always thought, we don't take medication. It's taboo. I don't want to put my family through the embarressing ordeal of having a wife, mother, daughter, sister on medication. How scandalous!

Well, guess what?! I went to my doctor. And guess what else? He prescribed me a low dose of Zoloft. And, you'll never guess what happened next... I felt better! I took the medication for about 2 months and my doctor and I weaned myself off it and I am cured. Ok, so, you're never really "cured" from depression. I struggle every single day with it. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Zoloft helped me crawl out of my hole. It helped me with my crazy anxiety that still haunts me. It helped me realize that I still have God. That He never left me. That despite the fact that I felt like my world was spinning out of control, that I was losing my grip with reality, God was still beside me holding my hand, gently tugging at me to lean on Him.

It's easy to judge someone. It's easy to look down on someone. It takes a stronger person to admit when something's not right, that they need a little help to stand tall again. So, YES! I took an anti-depressant for anxiety and depression. And, I'm not ashamed (kind of sounds a little like an introduction to an A.A. meeting). Everyone needs a little help every once in a while... and if you think you don't, you're just too prideful to admit it.

You

Sometimes you can try and try and try and try to make the people around you happy. You can bend over backwards breaking every bone in your body trying to do everything physically possible to make everyone around you like you. You can shove your feelings back into the corner of your brain until you forget you ever felt them. You can change your personality (or try to). You can analyze everything you say, everything you write, everything you do to the very last detail. You can change your hair and your clothes to "fit in".

But, the truth is, the more you change yourself to fit someone else, the more you lose yourself. You can shove and suck in and nip and tuck and try to put yourself into a pre-molded box, but the fact is, you're probably going to lose an arm or an ear in the process. Can you live without your arm? Sure. You can live without your ear too... but, do you want to?

You can't make people like you. You can't change their opinions of you. You can't change what they think about you. So, GET OVER IT!

Not everyone is going to be your friend. Not everyone is going to want to spend every last waking second with you. Not everyone is going to be willing to see you when you roll out of bed. Or when you're sick and laying on the couch with snot dripping from your nose. You can't help that! It's out of your control... which is probably one of the hardest sentences anyone can swallow. So, I'll say it again just for the effect:
IT'S OUT OF YOUR CONTROL! Nothing you do is in your control. God is in control. He brings people into your life and out of your life.

I don't understand why God places certain people in my life... He certainly knows I think I could live without some of them. But, He has a purpose and a plan for everyone. We're not meant to know it. That's where faith comes in. We have to trust in God's decisions. As hard as that is... especially when you have a control issue (um, yes, I'm talking about myself).

You can't change yourself to fit someone else. That's why the people that accept you for who you are, love you depsite your mistakes, and tell you when your hair looks like crap (you know, in a loving way) are so incredibly special. Because they love you for you. They love YOU. And, that's more important than the people that don't.

The Beginning...

I could start from the very beginning... but, really, who wants me to blab on and on about my life up until now?! So, I'll do a "skim reading" version... I accepted Christ into my heart when I was 11 years old, actually it was 2 days before my 12th birthday. From the age of 16 (well, it was probably more like 15) I struggled with what I actually believed in. Not that I doubted God existed. I've never doubted His existance because I know He's there, I can feel Him. What I really struggled with was what was actually "wrong" and what was "right". I grew up Baptist and anyone that knows religion knows that Baptist's tend to be more rigid in their beliefs and more strict on what is "acceptable" behavior for a Christian. I struggled with my beliefs because it seemed that everything I grew up thinking was "wrong" changed as I was growing up. Families I knew were getting divorced, friends I knew were drinking and buying cigarettes... basically my little bubble of isolation from the rest of the world was popping fast.
So, I moved out on my 18th birthday and lived my life without boundaries. I have a lot of crazy memories and funny stories from that little period of my life.. but, I also have a burden of guilt because my selfish decisions hurt a lot of people. People that I loved and cared about. Now, this is not the time that I fill this page with loathing and self-pity... because I've asked for God's forgiveness and I believe He has forgiven me. It's time to move on and learn from it because I cannot change it.
Now we're almost right up to the present time. But, I have to back up a little because I met Wade in the "self-discovery" period of my life. I met him at a Christmas party.. he came with his sister and another friend (I worked with his sister at the time). I can't say it was "love at first sight"... because I'm not entirely sure that's possible... but, when I walked into the house (late, as usual) Wade was the first person I saw. I looked at him and he did a double take, which made me smile. I think from that point on we both felt something, albeit chemistry, "sparks", rapid heart beat, "love"... whatever you want to call it, it was that. That feeling that you get when you meet someone and you have an instant connection with them. It was weird and made me feel funny because I'd never felt like that before. I think back on it now and I know that God brought Wade into my life at that exact moment because I needed someone to guide me back to reality. You know, out of my I-don't-need-anyone-I'll-make-my-own-decisions-because-I'm-lost phase. And, Wade did that. He dragged me kicking and screaming and I'm sure swearing right back into God's arms. Please keep in mind that this has been an on-going process and wasn't until probably 3 months ago that I realized just how incredibly controlling I try to be. God gave me Wade to help mold me into the woman I know God wants me to be.
I still struggle... because I'm not going to lie, I'm the oldest of 4 and I tend to be controlling, selfish and a little over-bearing at times. I'll admit it. That is the first step of recovery, right?! Admitting it?! I'm sure my family would agree with my self-diagnosis. :)
So, that was the start of my "transformation".. God bringing Wade into my life (because he's not afraid of telling me when I'm wrong :). The second huge step towards my life of change was God blessing us with Brennan. I can't speak for all mothers, but I believe almost all mothers want the best for their children. The reality of having a little being completely dependent upon me didn't fully take affect until I held my little Brennan for the first time. It was then that I realized God gave Him to me because He knew that Wade and I both would do anything to make sure Brennan grew up knowing God and we would teach him the importance of living a Godly life. Which in turn, would challenge both of us to do the same.
This is how I know God has a plan for me. This is how I know God is there for me. While I may be self-absorbed a lot of the time, He's constantly making chipping away at my pride and showing me that He's in control of my life, of my destiny. And, no matter what I think or what I have planned, God is going to do better.
I didn't start a blog to just blabber on about myself... I enjoy reading other people's blogs, especially when I can relate to them. It feels good to know that other people out there struggle through the same things I do or find joy in the same things I do. So, that's why I started one. Maybe it will touch someone. Maybe not. Either way, it's out there in the open now.