Pray for me?

It's official! I'm teaching VBS to preschoolers in Maryland for a week in June and giving eye glasses to children in India in September! (!!!#SSOOOO EXCITED!) Pray for me? Please? I didn't put it on my prayer card, but I would just be so grateful if you'd pray that I'd have creativity in teaching my class and that I'd be able to know how to make it fun and make it stick! I don't have a natural supply of creativity, so I'm trusting God to come through on that one! =)

popsicles&parks

I took my camera to work with me the other day, and the boys and I just had a blast!

It was a really warm day, so we got out the popsicles and went on a walk to the park!

 

Dom really wanted that popsicle!

 

Uh-oh, where'd it go?

:)

 

Sliding with broccoli! We munched on broccoli all morning long! Shameless health nuts! =)

 

"What'd ya want woman?"

 

And my favorite...

I love my babies! =]
 Linking up at The Simple Things...

DIY: Make a SLR Camera Cozy

We've all seen those extremely adorable camera bags that we wished we could have...until we saw the price tag. As I thought about the trips I'm going to be taking this summer, I was especially wishing for something small that would protect my camera without the bulk. After browsing the web and trying a few things and just not getting what I wanted, I decided that I really wanted something like the popular(and totally cute!!) Camera Coats. After some measuring and so forth, I came up with my own pattern for something pretty similar. You can find it here and use it to make your own camera cozy or to inspire your own pattern! I made this for my Canon T21 Rebel, so you may need to make it smaller or larger as the case may be. The pattern has the measurements on it that I designed it for.  I'll show you here how to make it! Keep in mind that I just grabbed some scrap fabric and threw this together, and I didn't stop to make sure my seams were exactly straight and all that, so the finished product isn't quite as polished as I'd like it to look. I bought some more fabric for two more cozies, so when I finally get around to making them I'll post pictures. That said, I greatly encourage you to make this with scrap fabric first! Just do it please! It doesn't take long and it will save you so much trouble!  Also, if the directions don't make complete sense, I'm sorry! Written directions trump the pictures! =) Don't be afraid to just do it and figure out what works. I used directions for another type of bag to figure out how to do this and even though they sounded confusing once I started doing it it fell together really easily....so I'm hoping this will be the same way, although I'll try to avoid the confusing part as much as possible! =)With all that said, let's begin!
Materials:
fabric
Lining, such as flannel or fleece
Velcro or button
 Embellishments

1. Tape the flap pattern piece to the body piece and place on the fold of your fabric.  The front piece does not need a flap, so you can cut that off of the front and leave it only on the back. It should look like this:

Do the same with your lining. (The picture above is my scrap fabric:)

2.Sew the top of the front body piece to the same of the lining, wrong sides together. (Yes, this picture shows the lining already sewed together; I forgot to take a picture of the cozy before doing that step.)

3. Next, sew around the pieces, as you can see in the picture above.The lining and outside fabric will only be attached by that middle seam; you will have two different "pockets", like you can see in the next two pictures.

 The piece that I'm holding in this picture is the sewn-together outside pocket.

4. Lay your fabric like the picture above and below, and sew the flaps of the lining and the outer fabric together, except for the top seam, which you will close later.

5. Pull the body pieces out through the top of the flap. It's pretty easy to see how they fit together.

You should put your camera in at this point and see if there is anything you want to modify. If there is, just push it back through the flap neck and then pull it out again when you're finished. When you're satisfied, fold in enough of the flap for a seam allowance and handstitch or top stitch closed. Add a button and buttonhole or a large piece of velcro to close, and embellish as you like!

I  modified the flap on this, but I really wish I hadn't. It just doesn't fit my camera as well. The next one I make I'm going to stick to my pattern....mostly. =) 

And...the finished product! I'm very happy with it! It keeps my camera protected, without the need to carry a big camera bag around all the time. (Since I can't afford an amazing Jo Tote! =) It's very nice for just tossing in my purse or the children's wagon or wherever!

I'd like to add a pocket on the inside of my next one for my phone and some cash, as well as some kind of strap so that I can just hang it on my wrist or my neck or something while I use the camera. If you'd like to add a pocket, I'd recommend doing it before step 3. I'll let ya'll know how that goes! =)

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions or if you make one successfully(or unsuccessfully!=) do let me know!

Stand in AWE

I had a post forming in my mind after reading Ezekial's "Vision of the Wheels" and some of Ecclesiastes about how great God is...and then I read this passage, and just had to stop and be silent.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. 

Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, 

who do not know that they do wrong.

 Do not be quick with your mouth,
    do not be hasty in your heart
    to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
    and you are on earth,
    so let your words be few.  

 As a dream comes when there are many cares,
    so the speech of a fool when there are many words. 

  Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

Ecc. 5:1-3 &7

***Dancing in the Rain***

This evening I walked a mile--barefoot--in the rain--down a dirt road. =]] It was at sunset, and it was one of those rains like you see in movies, with a beautiful rain falling and an amazing glow  over the rolling hills...you know, the kind you want to be kissed in. =)(You thought it too!;)

And if you had been spying, you may or may not have seen a little girl singing and dancing a joy song for Jesus. Possibly, you would've laughed, or you might have concluded she lost it, like my sister who locked me out of the house after seeing just the tail end of my little walk and declaring I was insane.

Think, "Singing in the Rain" by Gene Kelly.

Or, "God Girl", by Jamie Grace. Or the two mixed together. =)

 

Can I just say--

I have an amazing God. 

I tried attempting to write how much I'm amazed by how He loves me and holds me and other things that just don't quite work with words. Things that can only be explained by bubbling giggles and dancing and jubilant joy. 

So, next time it rains....

go dance.

If You say go, we will go
If You say wait, we will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can't be done
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
We'll gaze into the flames and look for You.

Real prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind 

but about finding God’s heart 

— and letting His heart change my mind.

~Ann Voskamp