Sprightly Beanie Crochet Pattern

This time of year screams to me to crochet. During the summer months I crochet some but not NEARLY to the extent that I like to crochet during the fall and the winter months. There is something awesome about being curled up on the couch after the toddler is asleep, the dog curled up next to me, the husband engrossed in his book, a warm quilt over my lap, and yarn moving through my fingers.

A couple weeks ago I got to pattern test for Melody's Making and her Sprightly Beanie Crochet pattern. SUCH A FUN PATTERN. It works from the bottom up, which early on in my crochet days I despised. Something about it drove me nuts. HOWEVER, now I LOVE working from the bottom up, it is a bit of a change of pace and it is fun to see how it all comes together.

While I adore making hats for my sweet Lucy girl - she really only needs so many hats before it is excessive (she maybe on the verge now) and so I have been making hats for friends and their kids. There is something absolutely delightful about a set of hats, same pattern, similar colors, and in multiples. It seems many friends have three kids and so sets of three have been fun.

These are off to a woman whose blog I follow. Her words speak hope and grace to my soul to say the least. We've never actually met face to face. She has a boy and a girl currently with a sweet little one set to arrive in a few months. I love that all three of these hats have the same pattern, look completely different in terms of colors, and all have a matching light grey stripe. I am addicted to making sibling hats. So fun.


What have you been doing in your free time?
What are your favorite fall/winter activities?

Cardia Deo 2013: Called

This past weekend I got to spend with a couple hundred or so of the high schoolers from around my synod. We dove into what it means to be called, spent time in prayer, worship, and bible studies, work on a couple serve projects, and played and laughed hard. It was a glorious weekend. High schoolers renew my hope for the future. These youth are AMAZING, seriously, their generations is already moving mountains and I can only imagine the impact they will have when they no longer live hearing that they are too young, or not smart enough, or not old enough, or simply just not enough.

It is an honor to gather alongside them, to hear their joys and struggles, and to accompany them as we walk this road of faith together. I am always impressed with the ways in which this peer led weekend goes so well and God shows up in big ways. I had a fabulous group of kids from the congregation I serve (twelve of them) and it was wonderful to see how they worked together, grew as a group, challenged one another, and most of all supported one another.

I give thanks for this generation of youth coming up.
I pray for wisdom to know how to continue to equip them to do ministry in the world.
I give thanks for the gift of accompaniment.
I pray for energy to keep up with the youth and the changing technology.
I give thanks for the congregation who continues to affirm my call to full time ministry.
I pray for a diligence in listening to the stirring of the Holy Spirit.

Foodie Pen Pal Surprise

I got a great package a couple days ago in the mail from the person that I mailed my Foodie Pen Pal package to, what a wonderful surprise. I figure snce this isn't technically my box from the person mailing me yummy goodness I can reveal this earlier than the end of the month. I will have a full reveal of the box I recieve at the end of the month. Brande at the Adventures of the Nubby Tongue mailed me a little something. She mailed me PB2 the chocolate flavor. At first I was a little confused and (in all honesty) very skeptical of this stuff. I LOVE peanut butter and wasn't certain what I would think about this powdery peanut butter type stuff. Brande attached a note and said to sprinkle it over my cereal, add it to pancake mix, and that the sky is the limit. For my first taste I decided to be very nonadventurous and to just try it like the directions say, use 2 tablespoons of the powder and add water. I had it on my toast this morning and it was WONDERFUL! Not to mention is has about a fourth of the calories of regular peanut butter. I am excited to try it in many other ways! THANKS BRANDE!!!!


Toast with the chocolate pb2 on it. YUMMY

I definitely recommend you at least give it a try