Almost here....

-the New Year. Have you made resolutions? Or as someone at Faithfully Yours calls them Re-soul-utions. Lose weight? Exercise? Be healthy? Save money? What about your time with God? Have you thought about how He should be a part of these resolutions? Perhaps they will be easier to follow through on with God front and center...praying for strength and guidance and support through the goals...

We make plans and say we are going to do this or that - but really, we are cautioned to say "If God wills it". How do our plans line up with God's word and God's plan? Not sure? Then pray about it. I have prayed for 12 years for my bulldog pup - and it was in His plan - so my prayer was answered this Christmas. He granted my prayer. but he is not a fairy or a genie - He heard the desires of my heart and after 11 years of "Wait", God gave me a "Yes". He always answers s - prayers of ours to live in our beautiful cabin in the mountains, my prayers to find a man with a heart for God, prayers for my children's lives to be safe, God-centered and happy, prayers to be a help the clients I work with....and small prayers, like a beautiful day and a good cup of coffee and time to create. These are all the blessings God has granted me - and so many more I can not count. Even the ones that seem negative - losing a job - can help us learn what God has for us and how it is better.

So what are your blessings? What are your resolutions? How about a resolution to count your blessings and write them down every day? I think I like that one best of all...
Happy, Healthy New Year - Be blessed, Kim

I would wish you....

a Merry Christmas, but it slid right by - busy time in the homestead with visiting kids and a new puppy. So it will have to be about the new year instead...

2011 had a lot of ups and downs - the loss of loved ones and unemployment was tough - a lot of tough changes - a valley experience - to prepare us for the year 2012 to come - prayerfully a better year ahead - Beautiful daughter will start school this summer to become a Forensics specialist - Football boy will finish his second year of culinary school - and DH will enjoy his first year of retirement. Oldest son and wife continue with the career paths they enjoy - we enjoyed their visit at Thanksgiving...

Christmas was wet, but wonderful, with the wonder children (nee adults) visiting for the weekend. Hard to let them go back to Florida, but they have lives that keep them busy - just happy they could visit. Lots of food and great gifts to share - time at the candlelight service on Christmas Eve - together as a family, including the Queen mother this time...

Big wind storms last night and part of today - possibility of snow flurries tonight and tomorrow morning. Nothing like last Christmas when we had a foot + of snow. This year is wet - but no snow yet. My vacation ends today - but long weekend next weekend. Time at home with the DH and the pups is wonderful - needs to happen more often.

So, a lot to get done to return the homestead to its natural state- take down the decorations and store them away until next year - get rid of the wrapping and other items and store the cards where we can pray over the folks we got cards from. Praying for God's direction in the new year for our everyday lives, our little business and how He wants us to worship and where....

Since I missed the Christmas greetings and it slipped past, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy New Year in 2012. I hope to be on the blog more often and keeping you up to date with the goings on at Restoration House -
Be Blessed -
Kim

And there it goes....

As quickly as it came, it is gone. The leaves have fallen and the ground is covered with them. The trees are bare and gearing up for the long cold winter ahead. They really do look naked. Here on the homestead, their curling shapes are very inspiring and a joy to observe.

I love winter - I especially enjoy snow. That tiny ice crystals accumulate and cover the ground with piles of snow is amazing to me - and incredibly beautiful. So many folks I know are not fond of snow - but I enjoy the peacefulness of it, the look that the earth is pristine. Granted, driving in it is not easy - but maybe God created snow to slow us down a little. I know the animals always seem a little surprised - the squirrels can't find their stashes hidden all over, because the landscape has changed; the dog is not sure what to do about walking in this cold stuff and hates to "take care of business" when the snow touches the tush. Humans (at least when ever possible) hunker down in front of a fire and stay warm. I love to hike in it and take pictures - I took beautiful ones last year and should post a few.

Thanksgiving is coming - it should be every day - but to serious, pious, hard-work ethic Protestants who started the whole she-bang, a few days of feasting to celebrate being thankful, once a year, seems conservative enough. Of course, blessedly, they never heard of "Black Friday", football games, or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I can forgo the first two, but I do really love the parade - it brings back such sweet memories of going to Gram's for Thanksgiving and watching the parade as dinner was finished - turkey and all the trimmings. But it was the delight my Gram showed in watching me watch the parade. Her favorite parade all year was the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day, but she took pleasure in watching Macy's parade with we between stirring gravy and mashing potatoes. It was my version of Norman Rockwell, warts and all. What is your favorite memory of Thanksgiving?

Which leads to my favorite Christmas movie - "Miracle on 34th Street" - preferably in B & W. I just love the gift of hope and kindness it portrays. I will probably be watching it on Thanksgiving night as I address our Christmas cards to mail on Friday. So I wonder, what is your favorite holiday movie? Please share.

And like I said, "there it goes" - we seem to skip Thanksgiving as we (or the retailers) rush toward Christmas. Take a minute to savor the holiday - the smells of food, the joy of family and the time to slow down and relax before the holiday rush. Be mindful of others - invite a stray or lonely person in for dinner. Share the day with someone who is elderly, away from home, or who has no way to get to family...I promise they will be thankful...and your holiday will be richer for it. Happy Thanksgiving from the homestead!
Be Blessed (I know we are)
Kim

Fall has....

arrived. In a sudden rush at the end of last week, the colors burst forth and the leaves are changing. It is a little hard to appreciate right now, in the middle of much needed rain, but the colors where glorious over the weekend and the temperature working on nice crisp mornings and pleasant days. This week - rain - but we need it, so no complaints.

Time for baking breads and getting out the crock pot - hearty beef stew, emphasis on fiber so yams to replace white potatoes - today we'll have arroz con pollo (chicken and yellow rice) and mixed meat chili - ground turkey and boca mix - much healthier - coming attraction. Baked two artisan breads with carrots, apples, cranberries, walnuts and raisins - whole grains - and harvest muffins with apples, pumpkin, carrots, raisins and walnuts - total yum - high fiber - good stuff that is good for you. Keeps you warm. Mornings of oatmeal too with the fixins'. Healthy eating.
Great left-overs and lunches.

Homestead is painted - done before the rains started. DH got the hang of the paint sprayer. Just have window trims and green trim on bottom and top to finish and the porches. Then he is off to the Queen Mother's to pressure wash and stain her house. Lots to keep him busy

Changed the Bumble Lab's food - we make our own - reduced the fur loss that can be so maddening - ground beef and brown rice - with a little kibble on top. She likes it and it seems to like her as well. She is pretty pushy at meal time - and in between wants to be a lap dog, which we have firmly refused. 85 lb. Bumble Lab does not make a good lap dog - at least not if you want to have a lap....

Time to head off to the office and leave my little piece of heaven...maybe, if I am not too tired tonight, I can come home to a great hot meal and come to the studio and play... plenty to work on and play with...

Be blessed,
Kim

Wow, where has

this year gone? Just had a visit from the Passionate Princess this past weekend and she is remarkable - in this period of pain and difficulty, she is keeping her head high and moving forward. She has many conflicting thoughts, but is trying to steer a clear path. She says she can't wait for 2011 to be over with. A visit here gave her a chance to be with her family and touch base with the real world. She did not find our most recent cool snap to her liking, hollering that it was "freezing" when it hit 69 degrees. Each to their own I guess.

Sadly, no chickens for us. Ordering too late and without total agreement or commitment to the project by all involved, we are chickenless and eggless. Our garden is spent and farm season is winding down. One more trip to the Farmer's market this weekend to scoop up what vegetables are left - also have to pick up pumpkins to process for pumpkin breads this winter. Corn season was poor this year and we did not have much to freeze. Season was dry this year and we are in the middle of a drought.

The leaves on the sourwoods and even the dogwoods are turning already - Fall colors should be right around the corner. The apple orchard was busy this weekend and picked up 1/2 bushel of honey-crisps to make apple butter from. Lots of cinnamon will add to the delicious smell as I cook this in the crock pot. All the beautiful jars of apple butter in glorious rich brown on the shelves next to the delicious reds of the strawberry jams and greens of the pickles in so many varieties, a fest for the eyes as well as the palate.

DH will become the house-husband again by the first of next month. Going to paint our homestead and then paint the Queen Mother's manse. He starts collecting SS from Uncle Sam in November and then becomes a man of leisure - if you ever have leisure when we have so much to be working on before true winter sets in. The Bumble Lab will enjoy the company, I am sure.

Baking breads - excellent fruit-laden artisan breads with carrots, walnuts, pecans , apples, raisins - with barely any sugar (2 tsp. brown sugar) they are still deliciously sweet and moist - no butter (1 tsp.) but use buttermilk instead. They are a lovely treat for breakfast on a cold morning. Working on the oatmeal recipes too! Way to get going in the mornings, when you would rather crawl under your blankets and go back to sleep....hmmmm,,,,maybe the bears have the right idea!

Be blessed,
Kim

It is crazy when you welcome

85 degree weather as a relief - really. Of course, the humidity is not as high as it gets in sand country. But, summer lingers on and the temperatures have been insane, even for our well-shaded cabin. Evening storms wash away the pollen, but scare the bumble lab greatly. Here in the mountains, we are looking forward to Fall with its cooler weather and beautiful colours. I think that the shades of green are sadly overlooked and not given the appreciation they deserve. Through the windows of my studio, through the leaves, growing thick on the trees, I see the mountains a soft blue-grey against the light blue skies and the bright white clouds that fill the horizon. Those mountains make every season worth the changes we experience - they are beautiful beyond words.

Working on so many projects - planted flowers in front of the porch and bought the paint for the outside of the cabin - a luscious barn-reddish color called "Chipolte Paste" - richer and deeper than what we used int he past. Since we re-sided the cabin last year, we left it unpainted. In September, DH hopes to spray a layer of primer and 2 luscious layers of the "Chipolte" color to create the feel of the old cabin. Trim work will come in October. Our beauty will blend in with the rich fall leaves. Hope to have our chicks by September and will have to build the chicken house. Still have to take advantage of the summer harvest to freeze up vegetables - made jam - need to add plum jam and maybe blackberry preserves to the pantry shelves - freeze some for pies too. Tomatoes are producing and some squash - not much on the peppers or cukes, sadly. So I will be visiting the market in a couple of weeks to grab up some of the local produce to freeze or can. Teaching the Queen Mother how to use her freezer bag machine and guess we will have a canning Sunday after a visit to the market on Saturday. Lots to save for winter and autumn meals.

Off to make dinner for DH who is due home soon. With all this work, when will we have fun? Guess we will need to set and appointment for that. Our world is just too busy!
Be blessed,
Kim

If summer days....

could always be this pleasant, I would be more of a fan of summer. Temps of 60s and 70s have spoiled us this weekend. I know we are due for increased temperatures this week....but if were up to me, I would love to have it like this all summer. Fans - no air conditioner required!

Garden needs water and DH is out working on an irrigation plan. We got our first Cherokee Purple tomato out of the garden and another squash - some issues with bugs and one of my pepper plants. Cucumbers are not being very productive and corn had a crisis. The tomatoes have gone wild, and the squash is doing us proud - lost the onions due to groundhogs. Beans are a little iffy. I would love to have squash and beans to freeze. We had one plum and a few strawberries, which we used , and a lot of blueberries. Want to get blackberries picked and get peaches to freeze up for winter time. Still figuring out what I will do with the tomatoes if we get a lot - to make a sauce and give away the delicious tomato abundance.

Researching about building the chicken house. Decided to wait until it was a little cooler to get our girls in - did not want to fight the heat and risk losing some - saw a greenhouse built with glass panels and thinking it might be great in a smaller version for winter with a cover for summer to keep it cooled off. Of course they will be totally boxed in with fencing so predators won't bother them or their eggs. The plans continue to percolate.....

Have designs to finish for the business and art journals to work on - lots on the plate....hard to get motivated on a wonderful summer Sunday afternoon - the sound of the cicadas through the windows- brings back memories of being a kid at the lake place- taking to the bunk beds with a good book - taking a nap - I think I hear the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and a Pepsi (I hardly ever drink sodas - maybe once every couple of months- miss the glass bottles) calling my name......maybe a nap after - later then.....Be blessed - Kim

Wow - time moves

so quickly around here! I last posted in April - May and June flew by. I guess the new job AND the new business have taken a lot of time up. That, and moving my mother up to the mountains to live here permanently. Many challenges.
We have been here a little over a year. What a year! There were some difficulties and it was not always fun, but God has cared for us throughout. The good news - both DH and I have jobs and incomes. We have health-care benefits. We are basically healthy. The house is still a work in progress, and the work is mostly the little stuff. We survived a snowy winter and look forward to another this year, we hope. We have put in a lovely garden, and await our first big "harvest" God willing. Our kids are all healthy and doing fine. We have made friends and are enjoying living here, in our mountains.
We lost two parents - my father and Jeff's mother. We don't have as much time as we would like, to visit the fun and beautiful spots around here. Still, we can look forward to some adventures in the future. No time for whining!
Our little business is open and we are busy trying to build some momentum. The goal is to spread the Gospel and encourage others to include their faith in their art-work. It is challenging and can be fun. Mostly, we pray it will be a way of spreading God's Word to others and for generations to come.
On the homestead front, we have lush greens in so many shades at this time of the year. The trees block out most of my view of the mountains, but we get to watch deer and groundhogs, turtles and rabbits. We also have a plethora of spiders and other bugs, but the most beautiful and welcome of them all are the lightening bugs, which we call "fairy lights". They flit and dance through our woods and are fun to watch. They are a delight to watch.
It is peaceful here - busy - but still so much more serene and peaceful. Our lives have transitioned - our lifestyle changed dramatically - but there is not doubt - we are home.

April is almost over...time moves

so quickly. On Monday, I will begin my new job and my time "at home" will be over. Back to the daily grind. Happily, however, because I really do love what I do - my work as a therapist is the richest, most real thing I have ever done. So being back to work M-F 8-5 will be good. This time has allowed me to be refreshed and to over come the trauma and nonsense of the previous 7-8 mos. Time to create, alone, was worth it!

The vegetables are in for the most part - heirloom tomatoes, arugula, broccoli, onions, peppers, squash, cucumbers, eggplant and (though unplanned) pumpkins. We still have to plant the beans and zucchinis - hopeful the spinach will come along - and a small patch of corn. Now we begin the battle with the 4-legged bandits, the squirrels and deer. Need to help them understand that this is not a fresh salad bar for their enjoyment. Have several interventions to be tried. The blueberry bushes and the strawberries have fruit. Have to scan for birds on these. The trees in Serenity Woods have leafed out in a matter of two weeks and my view is of a thousand shades of green. It is still cool and peaceful, a nourishment to my soul.

I continue to cultivate my creative side, with the "SHEArt" Class, Creativity Bootcamp and my journaling class, "Getting Down to Your Nitty-Gritty". In May, it is the "She Has Three Hearts" on Art Journaling and in June, Soul Restoration II. All of this is my therapy. It helps me stay in a happy space without worries and stress. It makes me a better therapist. wife, mother and person. I love to share what I learn with others. I love to show people how to share their faith in their scrapbooking. It is a heritage for their children and grandchildren.

To that end, we are starting our own Internet-based business - Faithful Hearts Papercrafts (faithfulheartspapercrafts.com) where scrapbookers, paper crafters and artists can find supplies that express their faith in their creative work. We are excited about this and working hard to get it off the ground. DH is the CFO and IT Director. I am the creative mind. I see the picture and DH helps make it come to life...in the months to come, I will be busy selecting and bringing together all manner of supplies that allow artists and crafters to honor God and His creation in their work. I will be creating embellishments and seeking out other artists who have their own creative vision of faith-based embellishments to make available to others. We covet the prayers of our friends and spiritual family as we move forward on this, and hope once we have the web-site up and operational, that many people will visit and be inspired by what they see. There are going to be kits for scrapbooking, journals, card-making, ATCs and other delights, all honoring God in some fashion. Hope you will visit us soon.

Lots going on and more to come....new job, new business, the organic garden and soon, our chicks will come and we will have to build a hen house for them...Restoration House is a busy place - but we always have time for our friends to come for a visit and sit on the porch for a cup of tea or glass of lemonade - so come by any time.....

Be Blessed
Kim

Wow, it has been a month...

since I posted here. A busy, but interesting month. I have spent this time working on catching up my lessons from Soul Restoration I class - during the lessons online, I lost my uncle in January and then my dad died on February 10th. I helped my mom deal with some of that and came home, only to be "let go" from my job due to a corporate buy out and their $$ issues. I felt overwhelmed, angry and lost. I decided to get back to my Soul Restoration work, as a sort of therapy. As a family therapist, I often use art activities in my therapy and it is the primary therapy for ME when I am feeling a need to counter-act burn-out. I had NO IDEA the affect this would have for me personally. The Brave Girls were wonderful, extending the time to work on the projects. The videos and lessons stretched me and helped me face the loss and anger. I recognized how negative I had become through things at work - working 55-60 hours a week without comp time, no time for husband, family, faith and art. The death of an uncle had brought up issues of the past that were surprisingly painful - pain thought to be long ago dealt with. Loss of a father brought up the issues of conflict between us and the need to deal with that. Anger over the job, which left unaddressed would lead to more anger, bitterness and negativity if allowed to fester, was addressed. I threw myself into the lessons and my faith - faith being a major part of the artwork as I went. I rediscovered self - became incredibly light, vibrant, joyful. The video in lesson 6 is incredibly, breathtakingly emotion-filled - lighting the candles- we are the light to the WORLD and need to spread joy and light into every life we touch! It brought the soul back to where it began... I regained my energy and enthusiasm - I have thrown myself into touching others in each and every way possible to bring the light and joy to them - from words and deeds to dreams and plans to benefit those around me. With this renewal has come a return to the heart that lead me to be a therapist in the first place - to help the hurting heal. I have begun to dream of a private practice where through therapy and kindness, creativity can be born and hurting people can heal and grow - to have the lives they have never dreamed possible. Steps are being made to work to make it a reality. In the meanwhile, I am interviewing for jobs to help support my family as we work together toward this dreamed of practice. I go to these interviews with more confidence, asking God to choose the position He wants me to take to be of the most benefit to others. Just think of how, from pain, this wonderful course was created (like giving birth) and how you have nurtured it, Melody and Kathy - and as you reached out to the 1400+ women who took this course, you lit that many candles - and those women will continue to nurture one another and light each others candles, when they flicker and threaten to go out. They will reach out and kindle the lights of those not reached by the class directly and spread the words and light of the class to them...and those women will continue to spark the flame. The flame will become a fire within us and within others to create a world of love, respect and kindness - let it be a fire that will never go out and will gradually spread and take over the world - that we will walk in the light and not in the darkness - that we will know love and joy and peace.... That is what the course meant to me - not just the projects - the real project was inside - our hearts - and while we altered pages, we really altered ourselves - we altered and mended our worn hearts - you have passed on amazing blessings to all you have touched, many of whom you have not met...who you may never meet...but you will know them by their love...God bless you richly....we love you deeply.....Kim

Big winds...

bring in March. I sit and watch the leafless trees swaying as the wind pushes in fiercely. They are dark against the stormy sky. Still, it is a wonder to watch from inside the house, where the wind is not touching me. The view of the shadowy mountains in the dim morning light gives me a sense of solidness and safety. God, the maker of the mountains and the trees and the wind, is in control. And I am not. I know that is a good thing.

Today, I leave the safety of this place that so holds my heart - leave to travel to where I came from - to Florida - to provide support to my mother as she (and all of us) transition to a life without my father. Hard for her - painful even - but she has weathered worse and will get through this. Iam sure her heart will be bruised and slightly broken - but she is stronger than she looks and she can build on the strengths of her past to move forward into a positive future. Meanwhile, we will try to help guide and protect her from the harshness of some realities and strengthen her to stand on her own - never alone, because we will keep our promise to take care of her.

I will return quickly - the separation from here brief. I will be back to the earth and to the mountains that strengthen me. I will miss it and feel dispossesed until I return - but return I must. Though pieces of me walk the earth outside my body in the form of my children and those I love, here I have the one I love most with me and I know I am where I belong. Those pieces - my satelites - spin in their own worlds now and I must respect that, honor that and support it with my love and prayers. Each of us must be where we are meant to be. My place is here.

SO much is happening here in our little woods - trees are budding, crocuses popping out their heads. The blueberries, plums and pears are budding. No fruit this year, but next, I am sure. The garden in my mind will be taking seed next week and in the weeks to come. Our organic vegetables and herbs, the flowers to come....

We have been adopted by a cat - I say we, but I really mean me, since DH is so allergic. She is a big black and white with a large head. She is a hunter and obviously a successful one. She landed here to lounge on the furniture outside and drive the Bumble Lab mad. She is elegant, but fierce and loves attention, rubs and being addressed. I have named her "Stinky Paws" (Stinky for short) as she has a habit of sniffing her paws and shaking her head when she goes to groom, as though her paws smell. She is not "ours" as we do not feed her (though I have been tempted to give her treats now and again - still resisting) but she is here on our land much of the time. In her hunts, she keeps down our rodent and squirrel population some - mostly mice, I think. She is not old, yet not young - about 3 years or so, I think. She drives the neighbors' pets mad too, and seems to enjoy it all. So she is a "stinker" in another way as well.

Well, off to pack and then off on the trip. Still praying for a job to come through. It is in God's hands - but then again, isn't everything?

Be blessed.
Kim

Big storms....

last night and in every day life, too. The storms last night brought great rain for the plants as they are waking up. It was windy, but no damage. The further we go into the year the less chance of snow and we reach out to Spring.

In life, there are those who seem to exert their power to hurt and destroy others - coldly, in the name of their ego, money or just because they can. We who do not wish to hurt others will not use the same tools or rules to harm others. We can rely on prayer. It is the best weapon we have. Still, it is hard to know how to respond to or manage the hurt that others cause because we can not be that cold, calculating or hateful. I know I happily lean on a loving God and only He can hold me up. I hold on to this thought - "Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness." Proverbs 14:20. I pray I am in the second group. I hope others pray, too.

Be Blessed,
Kim

Tentatively....

Spring may have come. Slightly fearful that freezes and another snow may come. It has been a harsh winter. Still, the signs are encouraging - daffodils and crocuses poking up through the dried leaves of winter - sprouts and green limbs showing on the blueberry bushes, plum trees and pear trees. The critters have become more active throughout the woods. Green shoots appear to be peeking out from the trees. The winds is blowing - it has a slightly different feel than the fall winds have - the fall winds carry a demanding feel - an "I'm coming - get ready - I'll get colder" feel- a piercing the bones cold.

The spring wind feels more fleeting - that "I have to go now - this is too soon - let me hang on" feeling. There is a suggestion of rain to soak the earth as it prepares for the growing season. I have the seed catalogs out and DH and I are deciding on what to plant. Much to do before we get to that point - a truck-load of horse manure to be added to our compost pile and enzymes to add to make our 'good dirt". The area for the big garden, on the side of the hill, needs tilling and creation of terraces to make it all easy to work. That is planned for March and April, with planting in late April. Lots to do.

Later in the Spring, we will build our chicken house and large enclosure. I would love to allow them to be "free range" but we live in an area heavy with hawks and other chicken and egg lovin' critters. To have them unprotected would be tragic. So a BIG enclosure and hen house with everything they need to produce eggs and be happy and healthy is in order.

There will be monthly trips down to Florida to help out my mom. There may be jobs or changes in jobs for both of us. DH is planning to be baptised. It will be an extremely busy time for us. So much has to be in the hands of God. He will keep us in HIS big enclosure. We have to keep the faith and trust that HE has us in his arms. Tentatively moving forward....

Be Blessed,
Kim

So,,,,other thoughts

Losing my uncle was difficult...losing my father exactly 3 weeks later was dumbfounding. Now, mother has to make her way in the world without him - but she is not alone. She has DH and I to keep her safe and help her - not that she is weak or frail - just a little tenative. It will take a long time to move through the every day without the pangs of loss and instant loss of breath as she experiences events and every day activities without her partner of over 54 years. It will take time...patience...strength and prayers.

Be sure to appreciate those you love....you only have them for this moment...don't take it for granted. The moon at night...the sunrise...a hug...holding hands...everyday moments are worth sharing and being together. Enjoy the little things - they are what adds beautiful threads and fibres to the tapestry that is your life experience.

Be blessed,
Kim

A seriously difficult month...

dealing with three winter storms (pretty much back-to-back), dealing with work issues, being exceptionally tired and now grieving for one lost (uncle) worrying for 3 sick ( dad - pnuemonia; husband-maybe pnuemonia, definitely sick; and daughter with stomach virus) ....need to stop my head from spinning and focus on what is going right and what my blessings are.

DH got oak firewood delivered and is keeping warm by the wood-stove. The couch is ready for a nap. I can cover up and sleep some. We are making it, even though it is tough. I am keeping in touch with mom about dad (remember when long-distance calls were cost prohibitive?) and my daughter about her stomach. We have food and are safe. Most importantly, we know the love of God through his son, Jesus, who gave it all for us. It will never mean life as a Christian will be easy and free of difficulties. It means we have His shoulder to lean on and His hand on our shoulders as we pass through trials.

I know He is with me....so I will stop worrying so much. Time to take a break, since I am not in charge anyway....

Be Blessed,
Kim

So, for something different.....

it is snowing, again. I did not pray for it this time - though I love it, I realize that it is making life tough for a lot of people, so I stopped puttin' my two cents in with God for more of it. It is coming again, anyway. I do love it. It causes a lot of grief, but it is truly beautiful and peaceful. Right now, it is not sticking, it is melting, which creates the more difficult part - icy roads. So, we have been learning from the new experiences...we will park at the bottom of the hill tonight to make it into church and use the nearby gravel right of way to travel out to church tomorrow - and I will park further down than that to travel to work on Monday. Learning curves can be slippery.....

I am getting ready for a new adventure - taking Melody Ross's "Soul Restoration" on-line. It is a form of personal therapy designed to help the individual woman reconnect with her inner child - the one that existed before trauma and negative experiences piled up and she lost who she was. Melody has some wonderful ideas that help women get in touch with themselves and face what is difficult in their past in order to take the strengths from each experience and build from that, while letting go of what is not helpful. I know I will use some of these ideas to help those I work with as they address their addictions. Combining this with visual journaling and written journaling techniques, EMDR and EFT and will lead to healing, as it has in past work. I look forward to it.

The snow has stopped and I have a lot to do to prepare for teaching Sunday school and these new experiences for patients - time to play in the studio! How fun, working to prepare for the learning experiences of others.....

Be blessed,
K.

It is the first day....

of a New Year - 2011. Today has been a rainy one, all day. Gave us time to take down and put away the Christmas decorations and tidy up some. Start the new year fresher and cleaner.

New Year's Day dinner will be a traditional Southern offering -ham, collard greens, hoppin' john, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce and cheddar garlic biscuits (more veggies and fruit). It is supposed to bring good fortune to the consumer. Tradition. DD is cooking a similar meal in her home. Family tradition. They have different traditions up North I am sure.

So, I am preparing to take some classes- those designed to improve my creativity, increase my knowledge and add to my skills in counseling - also designed to improve me. My first classes began today - a year long-one called "One Little Word" - and a month long one called "Picture Winter". For "One Little Word " I had to pick a word for the year - one that has meaning to me - or one that picks me. My word - grow. A lot of work to do on one little word. Work to build my understanding of the word. And the ongoing photograph prompts to spur me to be better at this photography I love so much.

I was overwhelmed and overjoyed by the visit to the Booth Museum yesterday, to see and enjoy the work of Ansel Adams on display there. His work is intense - textured - emotionally powerful - and amazing. It was a wonderful experience and I got to share it with my DH. It was one of the adventures I wanted to experience before the end of the year and did. I only wish I had the eye and half of the talent he had. My photos have improved, but still resemble calendar photos at best. I can only continue to practice and work for improvement - but the talent remains hidden, if there is any. Still, there is a lot to inspire me here in the mountains and I will continue to seek it out in classes and in the land around me.

SO, the beginning of a new year ...new adventures....the time and place to grow....in this house of restoration in my woods of serenity....

Be blessed,
K.