Thoughts on becoming a mother...

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be good too if given the chance..

I will be a good mother not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed. I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see. Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love. I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body, I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.

I have succeeded.

I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immerse power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother!

A pretty good weekend

This past weekend was my nephew Michaels first birthday and he lives in North Carolina (where most of our family resides.) So we took a trip there so we could #1 celebrate Michaels 1st birthday at his party and #2 meet our niece Lexi for the first time!

Unfortunately my poor hubby had an accident at work on Thursday night resulting in a hospital stay and 5 bulging discs in his back! :( He was a trooper and didn't want to let his nephew down so we still took the trip. The drive down was ok until we hit the Virginia/North Carolina line and hit some CRAZY weather! It had me pretty freaked out! I hate heavy rain and not being able to see where we are going!

Just check out these crazy storm clouds! 

The party was Sunday morning and it was small but really fun. Michael was in a wonderful mood, and I was so happy to see him and spend time with him. He had a fascination with my locket and tried to make a snack of it a few times. LOL.

I was laughing at him because he wanted the camera. 

Tim's Parents with their grandson

My hubby with Michael

His totally cute cake!

He tried to get messy but he was more interested in the toys than
the actual cake lol. 

This guy was wandering around the park..

And Michael really enjoyed meeting him!

After the party we said goodbye to everyone there and headed to see my brother, sister in law, and baby niece Lexi. I was so excited to meet her for the first time! We didn't get the best pictures and folks I was looking rough by the time we got there! LOL. It was hot and I was tired, so please forgive my funkiness! ;)

Uncle Tim and Lexi

She's such a beautiful little girl, and her smile really makes the trip worth it!

I made Lexi a baby blanket shaped like a star in her nursery colors of pink, cream, and brown and her parents seemed to really like it. Our trip home was looong and tiring but I was sooo happily surprised when I was settled at home and sat down to check my email to find a beautiful picture of Lexi with her blanket! It really made me happy and surprised me in the best of ways!

I'm so glad everyone liked it :) I'm kinda proud of it! 

I finished a hat that I made for her and am working on a male version for my nephew. I will be selling these in my shop as well if anyone is interested! 

Minnie Mouse Beanie

Today I started a purple, white and black throw for my niece Clair and actually got a good bit of it finished... I will post pictures and everything soon. I need to work on a tutorial for the Exploding box I made for my mil for Mother's Day as well. My husband has been dealing with workman's comp and getting a work release from the doctors. Thats a big headache! The hospital referred him to a Neurologist and we called today for an appointment and they said they can't see him until June 9th. So now we are trying to find another doctor that can hopefully see him sooner and release him so he can go back to work, otherwise we are going to be in a BIG ko-ink-e-denk! Why do they always make things sooo difficult?! Other than that there's nothing much going on... I do have an important personal blog to post in a few about a situation that we recently went through, but thats another blog and I don't want to bring this one down much. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!! 

All my love, 

I would die for that...

Over at Real Life Reslers she posted a touching blog entry about her struggles with PCOS and shared this video. I had to share this because like Trinity, we are also struggling with having a baby. We have been trying since 2003 and it seems to be getting harder and harder each month that nothing happens. I constantly have conflicting thoughts about how unfair it is that children are born every single day that no one wants, or that are neglected or abused by their parents. I know that its in God's hands, but its so unfair. This song and video literally made me cry like a baby, and sort of brought me down a little tonight because its making me think about the time ticking away, and wanting answers as to why this is happening to us....

Anyway, I just wanted to share this video, and for anyone who is also struggling with this issue, know that you're not alone. I know just how you must be feeling, and I'm there to support anyone who is in need of it.

With Love,

Andrea

Introducing my Godson!

Its official! Im an Aunt and a Godmother =D On December 12, 2009 at 1:47 am, Adam Christopher was born! He weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long. My brother and sister in law had the happiest day of their lifes that day and I was so blessed to be able to be there with them! It was truly love at first sight =)

Chris and Cheryl made Tim and I his Godparents, which is the ultimate Christmas gift! We are sooo honored and are totally in loved with the little man!

I wanted to take the time to introduce him and share some of the great pics of him that I have so far! This is a new road on my journey in life.... so you will probably see TONS of pictures of this little man here, along with stories etc. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present!

HEY remember me?

I really need to make an effort to blog more often here like I used to. I have had so much going on though that it makes it almost impossible some times. The shop is doing pretty well and keeps me really busy. I'm actually amazed at just how well we are doing. We are currently working on a custom order for 2 knitted baby blankets one in baby blue and one in baby pink. Yesterday we took another trip to Michaels to get supplies. Its the 3rd trip we've made this week! LOL. You might think 'big deal' but for us it is because Michaels is about an hour drive from our home. We usually only go once or twice a month! LoL. I finally got a set of Looms to work with. Im really excited about that! Now I'm going to be a loomin fool this fall/winter! Hee hee! I've already gotten into knitting and crocheting like crazy. I think I spend more time on those things then I do on any of the other crafts I enjoy!

I was excited to sell my painting 'Through the Mists' this week too! That was a happy surprise for me! It was just a spur of the moment sort of painting that I had an urge to do. I didnt even know that was what I was painting until I sat down with my supplies and started. lol. I really need to start painting again. I have ookoo-bootles of prim signs to make for the shop that I have been planning on do for months it seems! Its so hard to believe that its already October!!!

My husband is joining the Army. Its something he really wants and I support him 110%! Folks keep asking me if Im ok, and if Im sure this is something I can handle and things like that. They sort of look at me like Im insane when I say that Im fine and I am happy with Tim's decision because honestly how can you be happy with that sort of decision... Here's my answer:

Tim know's what he wants. He wants to make something of himself. He wants to make a difference in some sort of way. He's a very patriotic person and he wants to show that. I am his wife. I love him more than anyone could know, and part of my job as a wife is to support him and his decisions. Does it scare me, yes it does. But I trust him, and I know he can do this. I'm a strong person, I've been through ALOT in my life. I will miss him more than I can even explain when he's away... but my pride for him and my love for him will keep me going. Choosing a job like this is a life changing decision and I am VERY proud of my husband for even deciding to take a step like this in his life. It takes a real man to want to do a job like this. I may sound insane but this is what makes me happy about his decision.

He had a little snaffoo when he went for his physical and things. They had a record of Tim having bronchitis in his childhood, so they require him to get them medical records showing that it didnt give any damage to him, and he didnt acquire asthma or anything... those records are 10 years old and in North Carolina, sooo... he has to get those records and turn them in then finish all of his stuff. Hopefully on October 30th he will be heading to Arkansas for 5 weeks. Im happy to have him for the rest of this month! Things always happen for a reason.

Welll..... Im not getting any baby blankets knitted this way so I should close for now. I will try and update more often, at least weekly if I can.

Hope all are doing well!

Been Busy, shop updates!

We've added many new items to the shop this week, and we are also working on more! Today we will be posting 8 NEW items! A fine art drawing, 6 sets of stitch markers for knitting and crocheting, and another cool little handpainted wood sign. I've got so much to post and catch up on its insane! I havent been here in ages it seems. We have a blog for the shop http://homespun-creations.blogspot.com/ and we are also on Facebook, you can become a fan of the shop there, just type HomespunCreations in the search bar and you'll find us! We made a treasury of all of our favorite Halloween Creations on Etsy as well... Check it out, you wont be disappointed. There's a variety of items. You can leave comments on the treasury too, it stays open until Monday. The link to our Witches Brew treasury is... http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=78685
I've also been working on a knitted baby blanket for my brother's baby Adam. He is due on Dec. 14th and we are all sooo excited! I will be a first time Aunt and my brother has asked me and Tim to be Adam's Godparents, so I am super humbled and doubly excited to meet the little guy! I will have to post pics of the ultrasounds they sent me and share pics of the blanket and things. Its only taken me 2 weeks to do 1 panel lol. I have 2 more panels to go, and finished panel 1 at 1 am last night haha. Good thing I have time huh? Im just so excited! I want to make a complete set of booties, a blanket, a hat, and maybe mittens or something for him since he will be here in the winter. I have some other things to share that I've created and been doing for the months that I've been away. I will try my best to post all of the new things soon. I just wanted to share a little of whats been going on. Hope everyone's doing well!

B is for Baby painted frame

It seems like a long while since I updated with my creations. I have had so much going on and havent been feeling well either. I hand painted this wooden picture frame last week. The white sparkles. I enjoyed putting this together. I have added it to my shop as well. It was fun to create. I love the fact that it can be used for a girl or a boy.

~andrea