Motherly love . . .

This is so sweet. I remember my cousin, Dan's, pig--Sophie. He loved that girl so much, and she was smart--and surprisingly clean. Guess this "mom" loves her piglet too. Nature is so cool! :O

http://www.sonnyradio.com/motheroftheyear.htm

Ok. It's settled.

If Big Daddy doesn't bring home the USB cord for the camera tomorrow, I'm going SHOPPING.

Daily devotional

I get a daily devotional via email everyday. Each day it becomes more and more applicable to my day. I loved today's devotional:

What Has God Done For Me Lately?
Tracie Miles
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Is the glass half full or half empty? Is it partly sunny or partly cloudy? Perspective makes all the difference. Even for strong Christians who are grounded in their faith, discouragement can easily sneak its way into hearts and minds as life deals us chaos. As we struggle with the challenges and difficulties of everyday life, or things that happened to us that were unfair or unwarranted, it is easy to get pulled into a habitual mindset of negativity. Just like that old song from the '80s says, we may find ourselves asking God, "What have you done for me lately?"

Our answer to that question will depend entirely upon our perspective. God does more for us each and every day than we deserve, but it's so easy to lose sight of the good, because we are caught up in the reality of the bad. How do we combat this perfectly human attitude? Resolve to have an attitude like Christ. Take inventory of our every blessing. Life. Your every breath. Your every heart beat. A spouse or loved one. Children. Clothes that need to be washed because God gave you clothes to wear, and a way to wash those clothes. Good health to help those whose health is failing. Trusted and educated doctors to treat you when you are facing health challenges. A house that needs cleaning. A car to drive. The ability to purchase gas for the car. A job to go to. The ability to be a stay at home mom or wife. Healthy kids who can play music or sports. Friends. Family. Freedom. Jesus. Eternal life. What is on your inventory list today? If you were honest with yourself, would you say you have been looking for the positive aspects of the situations in your life? Are you considering how God could be using those things to draw you closer to Him? Or have you been primarily focused on the negative?

During times of negativity, we actually become our own enemy. We wage a battle in our mind because we look at our situation from our own perspective, instead of what God may be doing through our situation. So in order to change our minds, we have to choose to change the way we think -- our perspective. Attitude is a choice. Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." What do you usually see?

To quote an old cliché, today is the first day of the rest of your life, and it is never too late to become an optimist! I have heard it takes 21 days of doing something for it to become a new habit. The more you practice challenging your thought patterns, the more automatic it will become. Changes may not take place immediately, but over time, the challenge gets easier, and optimism becomes the norm instead of the exception.

Are you willing to take the challenge to become an optimist today? The rewards of looking for God's goodness in every situation will be a healthier and happier heart.

Dear Lord, help me with my human tendency to be critical or look for the negative in situations. Forgive me for a lack of gratitude for all You have given me. Thank You for Your patience with me as I strive to be a Godly example. Guide my heart to recognize You at work, instead of seeing things from an earthly perspective. Lead me into a closer relationship with You by helping me remember to count my blessings every day. Amen.

The calm "after" the storm . . .

You've heard the old adage: "the calm before the storm." Today is the calm "after" the storm. We had such storms, thunder, lightning, wind, and destruction last night. Thankfully, our neighborhood was spared; but not all were so lucky. I watched on the news this morning many people unburying themselves from the destruction. And today . . . well, it's beautiful . . . as though God gave us a great bath. The sky is beautiful, many trees and bushes are budding, and I can see the grass in my backyard greening up. The weatherman said it would be windy today, but all I see is a mild breeze. It's good to be alive.

I went to court this morning for the property hearing for the burglary of our house . . . well, not really the burglary, but the three measly pieces that were recovered from the 100+ pieces stolen. The only thing I can say is that my paltry cache is great considering I could have gotten nothing back. Thanks to the alertness of Det. Williams at the Garland PD, I feel really blessed. Sad that none of the heirlooms were recovered. But what was recovered will just have to be the beginnings of new heirlooms. :O) I just wish now that Allstate would get with it and cover the rest of the losses . . . should be several thousand dollars I would think. I hope.

I had a full day yesterday . . . worked at the bookstore at Christ Church at 7:30 a.m. -- it was opened so the guys from the men's On Point Bible Study could do Valentine's Day shopping. We did a great business and the guys were really grateful their gift purchasing dilemmas were satisfied.

Came home and made beds and emptied the dish washer before going to TI for knitting with mien buds (by buddies). Gracia's scarf/stole is looking really pretty (oops . . . I just remembered I offered to mail her dishcloths for her--sorry Gracia); Shannon's hats are ADORABLE for her two nieces (one already here, the other still in China but destined for her new family here in the U.S.); and Susanne socks are so great (thank you, Susanne for the sweet Valentine--you're the best!); and Sally, who couldn't knit because of a meeting she had to attend--but so sweet of her to at least swing by and say hi!

I finished the section I needed to complete for the Baby Surprise Jacket KAL and did a couple of rows on my Lace Ribbon KAL. I'm glad I was able to get more of the SWS--and the different dye lot makes no difference at all because of the variations in the coloring (YEAH!). I'm almost finished with the dog bed I'm making from a $1.00 closeout kit from Tuesday Morning. It's made out of chunky velour "yarn" and is two blues. Rowan was cute when she was examining the blues . . . the light blue was "for Gracie" (the puppy), and the dark blue was "for Rowan." I might have to get more of the dark blue and make something for Rowan.

I started cleaning out my closet yesterday. What can I say . . . it's a BIG job and will probably take the better part of the week. I have WAY TOO MANY CLOTHES--and most of them don't even fit me anymore. Please!!!!!!!! This cleaning out is long overdue!!! Wish me luck!

Felted Bag Exchange . . .

I'm doing a felted bag exchange on Ravelry beginning March 1st. Wish we could start right away. I'm excited to be creative and excited to see what I get from my person. Some of the bags I've looked at really hard are the 98-48 Felted Bag With Flap http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/98-48-felted-bag-with-flap; the Lucy Bag http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lucy-bag; the Oregon Tote http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/oregon-tote; and the Damask http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/damask. Favorite bag I think is the Damask. So much so that I think I'm going to try it in brown, although the heather grey shown in the picture is really pretty! Love them all . . . :O)

Today . . .

I went to Steffanie's farewell dinner tonight. I'll miss her alot. She opened the bookstore and I've been working every Sunday morning opening the store at 8:30 a.m. since. I'd pretty much made up my mind around the 1st of December that it was time for me to take a hiatus . . . I needed some space for awhile. I didn't know when I'd decided to do that that Steff would be leaving the bookstore. So I hope Cindi, the new manager doesn't think she's the reason I left the store. However, I haven't really left--I'm working Tuesday morning after the men's Bible study so the guys can shop after Bible study. I think Cindi was glad I volunteered. She's a sweet hearted person who I think will do a great job.

I most knitted today. I'm still struggling with the baby surprise sweater. The KAL starts tomorrow, so I think that'll help ALOT!!!

Gracie is the best dog ever. She's so sweet and loves us so much. She's doing really well about pottying outside. I'm really glad we have her!!

Ok, I'm outa here. I'm tired am it's time for bed!!!

Hmmmm . . .

I love some of Gwyneth Paltrow's literary picks (or rather, the picks of her friends) http://goop.com/newsletter/18 . . .

Anna Karenina . . . I read this so many years ago . . . maybe 30. It has been my favorite, or maybe second favorite, book of all time. It is an unbelievably beautiful tragedy, love story, emotional journey. Really a fabulous book. Leo Tolstoy was, clearly, a gifted writer. I wonder at how fragile his mind must have been to have been able to release the powerful thoughts and words it did. Wow.

Love In The Time of Cholera . . . I read this book about 10 years ago. It knocked my socks off. If you haven't read this one you really need to treat yourself. Very, very powerful. I couldn't put it down.

Pride and Punishment; Jane Eyre . . . both of the same genre but so totally different. Both are excellent and if you haven't read them you should!!

Crime and Punishment . . . I'm struck that the reviewer here "first" read it back in high school. My experience was the same . . . and I have read it several times since. My take on the book, though, is that the story and feelings I got from the story changed each time I read it . . . more or less mirroring my stage in life. Wow, how profound is a book that it changes with the reader? This is my FAVORITE book of all time. It's an easy read and so, so powerful!!

So, there, Gwyneth Paltrow. These are Mary's recommendations.