Beauty and excitement

#31 - Cool nights, warm days

#32 - Finally having a grip on the housework

#33 - Refreshment from God's Word

#34 - Beautiful, God-honoring music

#35 - Excitement of a new business

#36 - Health and the absence of all the viruses that everyone else is getting

#37 - A church that doesn't try to be like the world

#38 - Hubby's good, steady job

#39 - Those rare days when the kids are motivated

#40 - Practicing Christmas music in choir

A Blogger's Prayer

A wonderful poem from one of my favorite bloggers:

A Blogger's Prayer

Funny how so much of it should reflect our whole life, not just our online presence.

Couple's retreat

What a wonderful time we had this weekend! We went with four other couples from church to The Wilds christian camp in the mountains of North Carolina for their Couple's Retreat. We heard some great challenges from God's word and had good fellowship with spouse and friends, all enjoying being kids for a short while instead of parents. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my camera to take it with me, so I'll be dependent on the pictures that others took.

#21 - Time to reconnect with my husband

#22 - Assurance from God's word that He is in control...of everything

#23 - Fun with friends

#24 - A beautiful campground facility nestled in the middle of mountains covered with colorful trees

#25 - Finally experiencing the zipline, even if we never got a chance to play gazeeball

#26 - Friends and family to trust with our kiddos

#27 - An uneventful week ahead in which to prioritize, train and get some things in order

#28 - A very small weight gain, despite consuming a lot of good food

#29 - A return home to my own bed

#30 - Rain! for the first time in over 2 months

Reversible corduroy jacket

I finally got around to using this gorgeous pin-whale corduroy print I bought several years ago. It was just too pretty to cut, and I couldn't decide what to do with it. I didn't want to make the wrong choice and regret not making something different! It's crazy, I know. Only you fabric lovers will understand.
So I decided to finally make something versatile with it, something that I could use on our upcoming trip to the couples' retreat at the Wilds this weekend. It tends to be pretty chilly there this time of year and besides, I don't have many fall clothes. It seems that the closet has been shrinking all my jeans. Ahem. Or maybe Molly is to blame--she is wearing them now. But I digress...I used this pattern that I also bought a few years ago and have never used:

I decided to use a solid pink twill for the lining. It gets wrinkled, but it still looks OK that way anyway. I used vintage white buttons on the corduroy side and buttons covered with the corduroy print on the pink side.

I am planning to post some tutorials, and I'll include a reversible jacket, if I can remember to take pictures as I finish the Christmas one I've got cut out.

Thankfulness for some of the little things...

  #11 - ideal outside temperatures after a really hot summer

#12 - the garbage men--what would we really do without them?

#13 - an awesome husband who has taken charge of his own health and improved it dramatically

#14 - so many dishes that have piled up--people in parts of the world only have one

#15 - the peace that passes all understanding

#16 - a Sunday spent honoring a dear pastor

#17 - strength to do what needs to be done

#18 - sewing that must be done

#19 - the chance to have my kids at home with me all day

#20 - access to some great books

Beginning the one thousand

  #1 - Crickets chirping outside the open window on an unusually warm fall evening

#2 - The sound of kids laughing together instead of arguing

#3 - Having the laundry completely done

#4 - Quiet times with soft music to hear and encouraging words to read

#5 - Freedom to sleep later when body and mind need it

#6 - Fabric so beautiful I don't want to cut it

#7 - God's everlasting, ever-patient grace and mercy

#8 - The rare occasions when the cat wants to lay on my shoulder

#9 - Sewing just because I want to

#10 - Looking forward to time spent with friends

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