music: revelation song- Phillips, Craig and Dean

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah...

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

books: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Spend any amount of time around me and you will no doubt discover that I am Christian to the bone. I'm proud of that and I don't have any problems with admitting my faith to anyone who cares to listen. I also love to read. I have lately been combining these two passions and I have been reading a few Christian-based books that I have really enjoyed. No doubt, my favorite book so far that I have read that is Christian-related is called Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

I am not sure where I found out about this book, but I am so happy that I did. The book is basically written by a pastor whose son visited heaven during a near-death battle with extreme acute appendicitis and abdominal abscesses. Pastor Burpo didn't realize this until his son started talking about meeting Jesus and family members that died long before he was born. His son was only four when this happened. The book pretty much tells about how Todd and his son, Colton talked about how Colton saw heaven.

This book is so moving to me because it reinforces the part of my faith that is about the afterlife and Heaven. It also really made me realize that the best kind of faith to have is the raw faith of a child. I realized that children have the kind of faith that is so pure and raw and simple that it really makes you feel closer to God and everything spiritual in your life. Lately I have been trying to make my faith more pure, like a child's by praying simply and not trying to be a "fancy" or "show off" Christian in front of people, but rather a simple disciple of Jesus Christ.

I also remembered a situation in Sunday School earlier this year while reading this book. It was probably March or April and we were talking about God (obviously) in my Kindergarten Sunday School class and one of the little girls who pretty regularly comes to church and Sunday School raised her hand and said "I can't wait until I get to see God". This really touched me and I found connections with Colton's story. Both of these children have the kind of faith that I want. They are just excited about life and super excited about seeing and being with God for eternity in Heaven

I would highly recommend reading Heaven is For Real because it made me view my life so much differently. I realized that I don't want to be a "showy" Christian, all I want is to pure and true in my faith and simple, because you don't need to put on a show and use big abnormal words every time you pray. I hope that if you do read this book, you take something away from it that you can use to really improve your life.

Aidez Progress!

I finally finished the left front of the Aidez sweater I've been working on for ages!  I guess I'm about halfway finished with the sweater, and I still have a little bit of my first skein of Ecological Wool left, so I think I will be able to make the sleeves a size bigger, because they have a reputation of being a little too big.

Now I'm on to the right front of the sweater, which is described in the pattern as identical to the left front with all the shaping reversed, so I typed up a quick sheet that properly shows these decreases and stuff, so I can make sure that I shape correctly. I made it a pdf document, and I think it could be helpful to anyone who is making this sweater and isn't sure how to go about shaping the right side. See the right side pdf here: [click]

So now I am off to do my right front to the sweater, and I really fee like I need to work on my sister's gloves for her clarinet because she will need them this winter! I think I should focus on finishing her left glove instead of the right front of the Aidez. I want the Aidez to be finished by winter/fall, but the gloves will work quick and then they will be finished, which would be fantastic so I don't have to worry about it anymore!

my little lamb

When I got home from school on Friday I blogged and decided to make a little lamb to sit on top of my iHome. I knit all day and finished on Saturday with the assembly, and now I have my very own little lamb that was made with LB Fishermen's Wool in Nature's Brown and Natural!

I'm Bored Already...

For many people around the world, today is the last day of the 2010-2011 school year! Exciting right?
I for one was super excited until I got home from school today and I am sitting in my house. Alone. With nothing to do. My sister isn't here and I have no friends :(



Just kidding, I have friends.

Anyway, summer is here and I have an entire week until I get to go to summer school! I don't HAVE to go, but I am, so I don't experiance the boredom I am experiencing today. Anyway, I will probably end up knitting for hours on end for the next week, but I'm okay with that, because my Aidez is nowhere near finished, and I started it in January.

Good news, though... I'm almost done with the first side! I just did my second decrease at the 11.5" mark, and I am working my way up! I love the pattern and the look of the sweater, I just have no motivation. But now, I don't have anything to distract me, so I am going to renew the love of knitting to my brain/heart and I am going to finish this sweater so I can wear it in the fall! I really am excited about it.

Also, I was at the Kirkwood Knittery the other day (a month or so ago...) and I got some new yarns to make something random sometime soon! I am going to work on a little sheep guy one day probably this week because I want him to sit atop my iHome so I can see him every day! Just wait until you see the pictures! Maybe I should set apart a day this week to do that, because he won't take long, and that would be a good break from the big projects going on right now!

Hopefully I can blog more now that I have more time for yarn! I also have some fishermen's wool set aside for dyeing sometime this summer so I can make my teacher his scarf he has been begging for. Orange and Brown is only good hand-dyed, so that will be another summer project!
 Maybe I won't be lonely like this for the next two months!

the goal of a healthier me

I have been struggling with my weight and body image for a while now and I have finally decided to actually start trying to improve myself. I am not one of those self haters that is anorexic and everything, I just have a goal of feeling healthier and liking the way I look in pictures and stuff. I am only 5'3", so it's difficult enough to find clothes that fit, and my extra flab is not helping that at all.

Anyway... I found a website/iPhone app combo that has been helping me to achieve my goal of a healthier me. They are called "my fitness pal" and the app and website are both free. The basis is calorie and nutrient counting, which helps me to visualize what I am eating and how it is composed (fats, carbs, protein). The website gives me a calorie, fat, carb, and protein goal for the day and I try to be conscious enough of what I am eating that I can stay in those areas. I tried a similar app for a few months before now and I wasn't loving the setup and the range of foods, so I switched, but it was working very well.
I feel like when I was using the other app, I wasn't really thinking about what I was eating much differently because of the app and the calorie restriction, I was just trying to pick healthier options. I am honestly trying to be a healthier person, because habits made now in my life will impact me forever, and I want one of those habitual lifestyle choices to be healthy and happy.
I just wanted to share this with you because I have seen gradual results in the app before (about 5lbs lost) and I am looking forward to even more progress with this one! I am loving the setup and I am happy with my choices lately. I feel like I have been snacking less and when I am, I am snacking healthier, which is awesome!
If you are struggling to be healthier and want to maybe shed a few of those extra lbs, I highly recommend that you check out my fitness pal!

my fitness pal: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

I have a little thing at the bottom of the main page of this blog that shows my progress as far as how many more pounds I have to lose to get to my healthy goal weight for my size, it will update as I log my weight loss on my fitness pal!

knit night

I went to church for the knitting group and nobody was there, so now I am a sad and lonely knitter all alone in the world :(

Music: Glorious Day-Casting Crowns

I love this song, my mom loves this song, my sister loves this song. There is no way you won't love this song!

Glorious Day- Casting Crowns
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine

ROI projects

Full o' Sheep in Peony

Every year my church has an even called Celebrate Trinity (because my church is called Trinity) and they do a return on investment presentation, so for the youth, it ends up being called "Return on Investment Dinner" or "ROI". At the ROI members get to hear testimonials from kids who have gone on mission trips that have been partially supported by the congregation's donations. This is basically a way to get the people who donate to see where their money goes and to give more money. There is also a silent auction that goes on, and each Youth's family has to donate a lot for the auction.
I'm not sure what my family is actually donating, but I am making my own lot of hand-knit hats for people of all ages. (I want this to be my own, not my family's). I am now working at a very fast pace in order to get enough hats of enough sizes for a complete lot before May 7, which is about 2 weeks away. I love this idea because everyone can use a nice hat, and hand knits are good auction items!
This is also a great way to destash some of my piled up yarns that I love but don't have anything good to do with. I can also use skeins of hand dyed yarn that I don't have enough of to make anything substantial.
 
So far I have:
The Cute Noggin Baby Hat in Lion Brand Pound of Love- Turquoise for a baby boy
Foliage in Debbie Stoller Full o Sheep- Peony for a 5-12yr old girl (see my project page for the mods for size)

I made the foliage just tonight and it worked up so quickly! My only problem is that I have two sets of DPNS  and one 16"circular needle, so I don't have much of a variety of needle size. That's okay because most of the yarn I am using is the Full o Sheep I have been collecting/dyeing. I am really excited to make more hats for this because hats are so much fun and they are quick!

My church also is starting their itch to stitch knitting/crocheting group tomorrow and since I no longer have to babysit on Monday's, I am able to go! I can't wait to sit and knit with old ladies because I love to talk to them! I often hang out with the "older" crowd because I love being at my church, it really is my second home. I will definetly post about the group tomorrow or Tuesday because I am super excited!

Easter Thought

someone posted this on Facebook, and it is pretty much the best thing I have ever read. In the spirit of Easter, pass it on!

"Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him..... He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today"

The winter olympics

I'm really sad because I just realized that there won't be another winter Olympics until 2014! curling is like my favorite thing in the world, besides knitting. Maybe I can find a curling channel I can watch, because I don't think I can wait 3 years. Or maybe join a curling team. or club. heh...

later:
It's okay. I found the online curling channel! http://www.livestream.com/curlingtv 

Music: Blessed Redeemer-Casting Crowns

This is one of my favorite songs because it is so inspirational and fun to sing! I hope it will speak to you to the same magnitude that it speaks to me!

Up Calvary's mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn
Facing for sinners, death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
"Father, forgive them," my Savior prayed
Even while His lifeblood flowed fast away
Praying for sinners while in such woe
No one but Jesus ever loved so
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Oh, how I love Him, Savior and Friend
How can my praises ever find end?
Through years unnumbered on Heaven's shore
My songs shall praise Him forevermore
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him

Blessed Redeemer–Casting Crowns

I know, I know

so... I moved the blog again! I know, I need to stop, but I just can't make up my mind. This one I think will be good for a while because I am really liking the setup of blogger the second time around. So... welcome to the new blog (what is this, blog number 4?)