She came to me before Mass yesterday. She had heard about it in the dressing room the night before. A teacher was killed, they told her.
Face upturned, eyes searching, "How was a teacher killed?"
"There was a shooting in a school."
"Only one teacher died?"
"No, not just one."
"Did any children die?"
"Yes, they did."
"How old were they?"
I remembered the list I'd just read, the one with all the names of young victims, the one with birthdates beside the names. 2006. Over and over again. The year Karoline was born. I looked into her upturned face, those huge, innocent blue eyes. I could not give voice to the word.
Six.
Tomorrow, we will tell you all about our Nutcracker. Today, we join others in the circle of quiet.
This was supposed to be the St. Lucy's Day edition of needle & thREAD. There were to be three flannel nightgowns here for happy pictures. Alas, I spent the weekend relearning slope-intercept and graphing inequalities. Saturday morning, fabric all smoothed out and newly-traced patterns pinned in place, I recognized that these nightgowns weren't going to happen before exams were taken. They might not even happen before Christmas. When I make them, I'm going to make them extra long. They can wear them in January and February and then again next year.
I do have some things to show you, though. iPhone pictures are beginning to frustrate me. A camera is moving to the top of my list of things to research. Do you love yours? Tell me why.
The drapes for the main floor of the house are finished. Cari and I worked on the sewing room drapes this week and I finished them yesterday morning, early, early. Mike's been working ridiculously long days, splitting his time between here and Miami, so the rods aren't hung yet, but the drapes are so pretty!
I'm nearly finished with the great pillow expedition in the family room. I love the pop of color on some otherwise rather dull couches.
One last pillow remains to be covered. I've been doing a little stitching sampler on a scrap of the drapery fabric. It will be the center of a log cabin square. This seemed a grand idea when I first conceived it. In reality, this fabric is so loosely woven that it frays if you look at it the wrong way. It's not fun to make patchwork with it. I'm determined to make just that one pillow, but my grand plans for lots of them were squashed pretty quickly. I do want to do just this one pillow, though. The needlework competes with my knitting time whenever I sit down these days. I want to finish Sarah's sweater by Patrick's graduation party (the day after the wedding). Knit? Stitch? Math?
I haven't done much reading. Last week, Emily recommended Dirt and the Good Life. I have the book now, but haven't yet begun to read. After the math final...
So what's happening out there in needle and thread world? Are you working on Christmas presents? Racing to the finish with something special? Do tell.
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What started as a traveling surfer's promise to a child in an orphanage in Bali Indonesia became an international movement.
Please don't forget about us!
It was the plea of an older child as the surfer was leaving for the airport after an extended stay.
"Don't worry; I won't," came the answer, steady and sure.
And he didn't. And he hasn't.
Please take a moment or two to get to know this organization: please go read. These are amazing folks who are working so hard on behalf of orphans in Bali.
We did a lot of shopping at GIVE Bracelets last year. The motto at GIVE is One Bracelet-> One Child-> One Week of Food. By the time we finished Christmas shopping, we'd fed thirteen children. Thirteen bracelets! I've now seen every style, from the simple friendship bracelets to an absolutely beautiful silver bracelet. I've shopped (and helped my kids shop) for people from 13 to 40-something.
And then, we did it again this year. I can't tell you what we bought and where it's going because there are still gifts to give. What I can tell you is that as people receive these gifts, they're as excited as we are. The bracelets are lovely and the gift bag spells out the real gift: because of where it was purchased, the bracelet given feeds a child in Bali for a week.
Styles vary widely, as do price points. It's been nice to shop where there is something for everyone.
Here's an update from Charlie on the latest at Give:
The latest news is from the orphanage Charlie visited last year on the island of Timor. This orphanage has 28 children all with different levels of mental and/or physical disabilities. All eight of the children that needed surgeries have gotten them! Six more needed surgeries because of birth defects and with the money Charlie left on this trip, along with the funds Give has been sending, they all have been able to get the needed surgeries! Charlie received a package recently with photos of each of the children before and after their surgeries. Each child had a brand new school uniform. They are each being fed well by the goats and chickens that they now have for milk and eggs and they are drinking freely from a new water well that has been dug!
This video beautifully captures the spirit of Give
Remember to keep this amazing company in your constant prayers as their mission helps so many children. Also, keep Charlie's wife in your prayers as she's expecting in a few weeks.
Now, on to how you can help: Give Bracelets offers a wide variety of bracelets in difference price ranges to meet your needs. Whether it be mothers, grandmothers, daughters, teachers, girlfriends, wives, aunts or sisters there is an appropriate bracelet for all of them. They offer silver, cuff, wrap and many other bracelets that are perfect for gifts! The best part about it is1 bracelet is 1 week of food for a child in need!
AND THE GIVEAWAY
Give Bracelets has graciously offered $200 store credit to the winner of this giveaway. Winner to be announced Thursday evening. All you have to do is like Give Bracelets on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, or Subscribe on YouTube. If you don't do social media, just pass the link along to a friend or two;-). Then leave a comment below.
The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-filled people pray for one another.
Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.
How about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?
{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
Think
For this reason, Advent is synonymous with hope: not the vain waiting for a faceless god, but concrete and certain trust in the return of him who has already visited us, of the "Spouse" who with his blood has sealed with humanity a pact that is an eternal covenant. It is a hope that stimulates vigilance, the characteristic virtue of this special liturgical season. Vigilance in prayer, fostered by a loving expectation; vigilance in the dynamics of concrete charity, aware that the Kingdom of God comes close whenever men learn to live as brothers.
~Blessed Pope John Paul II
Pray
God, help me to remember Advent is synonymous with hope. As I am preparing for your coming, help me to be helpful, happy, and Holy to everyone around me. Help me to keep hope of your coming alive in my home and in the world around me.
Act
Remember that Advent is a little Lent. Consider carefully fasting during the remainder of the season.
In The Heart of My Home
I'm Elizabeth. I'm a happy wife and the mother of nine children. I grab grace with both hands and write to encourage myself and others to seize and nurture the joy of every day. I blog here with my daughter, Mary Beth, a wholehearted young lady on the brink of adulthood.
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