Crafty

So I'm not very artistic or crafty. I have no idea how some people do it. I feel like i don't have enough time (not to mention enough talent - ha!). But i try to do simple things. I've picked up painting again, which is fun - and i will not share those with you. My favorite "craft" is paper crafts. I guess i just like to work with paper because it's cheap and fast and easy. I mostly like to make cards, which also applies my love for the written word - i haven't done this in a long time though, i'm not sure why.


Well, I'm an avid journaler and so is my sister. I decided that a hand-made journal would be a great gift idea. Her birthday was in May, yet i didn't get around to making her a journal until a few weeks ago, when i have been couch-ridden because of my ankle surgery. I was really happy with how it turned out and i think i'll try to make some more in the future! I checked out 5 books at my local library to learn how to make a book, but i'm including a link to the book that was the best below. It was really great in explaining different kind of books and bindings. I made the typical journal, forget the accordion book, apple book, picture book, etc... maybe for a more ambitious paper-crafter. It was a lot of fun and i think it was a great idea.

I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts and i definitely think that hand-made is the way to go. This is a good idea - inexpensive and simple. Don't worry, i'm not planning on making everyone journals this year. If i can't make something i'll still try to buy gifts handmade on Etsy or somewhere else.

HOT Motorcycle FOR SALE:

If you know anyone looking for a great deal on a bike, hook us up! This is a 2006 Yamaha FZ6 with only 3,492 miles on it. We listed it on Craigslist yesterday. It was a sad day.

Healing beautifully!

Welp, it's been 38 days since my ankle surgery. 3 days ago my doctor told me that i can put "partial" weight on my ankle, so that's great news! of course, partial weight does not allow me to abandon my crutches and boot or start to stand in the shower or drive myself anywhere, but it is progress nonetheless. We took some pictures this morning so that those of you who have asked for pictures can see!


my outer ankle where i have a plate and 5 screws in my fibula.


my inner ankle where i have one large screw in my tibia. This is where the bike fell on my ankle, so i still have the abrasion healing here also. I had just finished putting ointment on this one, so it's a little more difficult to see.


This one is a shot of both of my ankles. Looks pretty good, huh? I can't really move my left ankle much yet, but landon's been trying to help me remember how to bend it and use the tendons and muscles again. haha, and you can tell that my calf muscle has shrunk considerably.

don't they look great?! My surgeon did a wonderful job!

sunny saturday

Right now i'm nibbling on a cucumber sandwich. Yummm. My mums are blooming!! Well, 3 of the 10 I laid to rest last fall are back to life! I don't know if you remember my issues with them last year. And i'm putting up some autumn decorations around the house. it's nice.

Westcomb clinic

One of the perks that Landon has working at Erehwon, is getting visits from product reps every once in awhile. Tonight he invited me to a Westcomb clinic. (see picture of our rep - Gabriel - sportin Westcomb gear above) They cooked burgers and brats beforehand. Gosh, this stuff is REALLY AMAZING. I am not an outdoor great geek or anything, but this stuff is seriously some of the best stuff on the market as far as mountain gear goes, no doubt about it. It was really exciting to learn about how they make their fabrics and design their garments. Landon and I got to try on some of the soft shells and hard shells (don't tempt me!) (Landon had been drooling over their website for the last few weeks). I thought it was awesome.

oh, and linds, he told us that he's heading down to CO next: Neptune and Mountain chalet. Too bad he wasn't handing out pro-deals!

p.s. been trying to kill a mosquito that is annoying buzzing around my head while i've been typing this. so if i typed in incomplete sentences, that's why. i'm not thinking in sequence: Westcomb...."die!"...e-vent shell..."aaah!"...chocolate cake..."where'd that sucker go?"....how many beers did that rep have?...."such an elusive little sucker!!!"

Just thinking of home....

aaah! there's this thing that i can never articulate in speech or write. it's so frustrating... but this is it: I want to live well, but i don't want to live the life that everyone else lives and expects of us. i don't understand why i can't just move into the mountains and work at an ice cream shop or something, where i make only enough to make our life possible... we could do this, right? I WANT TO LIVE WILD - I WANT TO BE FREE!!! and i tell myself that this is childish - but...no, it's not! who is it that put this burden in my mind? it's not childish to want to live freely and completely. I want to have my children and have them able to distinguish birds and trees before fast-food chains. i want the world to slow when the snow comes. I want to wake in the morning and go for a jog through the woods and then come home and drink a cup of coffee over a book of poetry. I want to go to sleep at night without planning my agenda for work the next day.

I feel so trapped. wow, i hate to say that, but that's exactly it. And it's not my job entirely that has me feeling this way. I have a PRECIOUS ministry with my job, which is such a blessing - not many people get spend 8 hours a day like this! i want to be able to leave with our camp gear on our backs when we're done with a work day and spend the night in the woods. i want to leave for an entire day and light a fire and eat wild raspberries and put my feet into a freezing mountain stream. i want to be so alone in the wild - with just my husband and my duvi-boy.

the longer we're here, the more i like it, and that simple fact terrifies me. may i never feel comfortable living like this.

we were talking yesterday - can't we just pack our stuff into a storage unit and move to alaska for 6 months once landon's done with school? why is it "responsible" to work at a job that stresses you out and determines when and where you can enjoy your time off? do we seriously have to "settle down" for my child-bearing years? why does "responsibility" require acquiring money? I know that most people that love us are hoping that this is where our future is headed - financial success and "responsibility". Landon has never pursued higher education for a larger pay-check - it has always been for knowledge. it has always been to satisfy his heart desires and pursue what he thinks is most important in this life.

i hope we always will live like that - these few years here are driving me crazy - this is not us - we can't live like this. we need wilderness, we need to be free from traffic and neighborhoods and shopping centers. oh, please, will someone tell me that this is not crazy or childish? is this making any sense at all?

and i read over this and noticed that i never mentioned God's will here, and honestly, i don't know where that fits. I mean, i know that God is glorified when our lives are lived in worship of him. I know that he has plans for us, but just because he has "plans" doesn't automatically mean that they are plans of "significance" as you would think of them. Reading L'Abri has brought to light a ministry that is one that i never considered, but has been so impactful. Landon talks about opening a "camp" in the mountains for seeking God and growing in knowledge through adventure and outdoors. He still wants to pursue his education. I want to be a mother more than anything else right now. And i wonder when people tell us that we must have certain things in line before we start a family - i'm afraid they're right. but just because they were "practical" in their childbearing, does not mean that i must be their kind of "practical" in mine. A family is a family with or without a 2-story house and a 401K. I would hate for my children to grow up with their favorite hobby being spending money or watching television. Not with this beautiful world that screams God's glory and power surrounding us.

And many people warned us when we wanted to get married. That we were too young. We had no money saved. I wasn't out of school yet. Neither of us had jobs. We were going into the mission field for a year and we had just gotten married. This would be too hard. This was not wise. AND GOD HAS BLESSED US tremendously in our marriage, and in our ministry in Africa. He has always provided beyond abundantly for us. We have never been in need or want. Whatever it was that everyone else said - they had never considered what God had in store, they had not considered that we were not so foolish and we had spent time in prayer and fasting and could not live our lives and serve God in any other way at that time. We were living in obedience. God blessed us. And we ARE blessed!

I'm uncertain of how to live.

Weekend with Mom, Dad, and Roll-a-bout

See the video that Landon took (unbeknownst to me)as i was using my Roll-a-bout for the first time. There is no sound, so you can't hear landon cracking up or my grumbling - but it is there.

Truly, the roll-a-bout proved essential as i spent a few hours with Mom at the mall Friday and Saturday at Millennium Park and the streets of Chicago. As you can see in the video, it goes in a straight line very well, but it was a challenge to turn. It amazed me how people would stare (and glare) at me, yet not open my door or step a bit to the side so i could get by. Oh well, people are perplexing anyway.

Really wonderful weekend with the folks - miss them already! I will wait to post pictures and stories until when i can get some pictures from my dad. i didn't take any pictures with our camera because he was so trigger happy with his new digital.

check this out!

One month

Today is the one month anniversary of our motorcycle accident.

Still on crutches, still not putting any weight on my foot, still taking careful baths, still can't drive, still not working at Starbucks, and Landon is still doing all the work around here. Nothin' much has changed, except that my bones are back together now and i'm healing (and not hurting)!

Mom and Dad are coming out here for their first visit to our home here in Gurnee this weekend. We're excited. Mom (who also has a broken ankle) just called to inform me that she is renting this rolling thingy so that i can keep up with her while she is here (www.roll-a-bout.com).


yeah....not kidding, though...

Humidity

This past weekend of RAIN, the humidity rose to 100% (obviously) outside, and was really close to it inside! I've never lived in a place with extreme humidity, so i'm still amazed and surprised (and disgusted) by the humidity here. Our bed sheets were cool and moist-feeling each night, our bathroom towels began to smell because they didn't dry for a few days. The rugs in our house start to stink too - i don't know what it is, but this whole house smells when the humidity gets inside. The toilet bowl sweats, and so does the freezer. I have pictures of the freezer - can you see the condensation forming and running down the front of the fridge onto the ground? wild, huh? (i'm expecting our CO friends and family to be amused at this - for the GA croud, this is probably common-place for you...is it?)

missing Kenya today

today, there were a few things that reminded me so much of moments from our year in Kenya, that i was missing it terribly. The first thing that has me reminiscing, is the weather here. We have had a downpour for 3 days straight. It reminds me of the rainy season, though it is much less muddy here :). It makes me want to lay inside and sleep and bake cookies and read. The living space in our home here is just about the same size as our place in Kenya, so sometimes the cold floors and lack-of-a-dishwasher, bring me back to our days there. But i do miss the tin roof. This unceasing rain could never be the same without the banging of the tin roof and the sight of children running through the mud in boots too big for their feet, and woolen hats tight upon their heads and beneath their chins. my sweeties.


hehe, i remember one afternoon while i was at the orphanage, we were stuck in a sudden downpour. The children were so thrilled about the rain and the adults ushered their muddy feet and drenched little bodies below the tin roofs. These kids couldn't stay out of the rain, they were reaching out and opening their mouths beneth the little streams running off the grooves in the tin roof. They were splashing each other and spitting water at each other. I thought it was adorable and i found such joy in seeing them enjoy the rain instead of cower from it.

Also, in church today, i was fighting back tears immediately: the family in front of us had a toddler girl. She was sitting on her mommy's lap, stroking her face, touching her clothes and jewelry and hair and digging into her purse and it reminded me instantly of my orphans. Every sunday i would take a van full of 25 orphans to church. Mary and Daniel, the two toddlers would sit on my lap - one on each knee. I would hold them during worship and they would just stare at me while i tried to sing the swahili. during the service, they both sat there taking off my jewelry, stickying my hair in their fingers, stroking the white skin and freckles on my arms and hands, and in the most precious moments, resting their heads on my chest and sleeping... i miss those precious mornings with my babes.

today i miss them more than usual - more of a painful missing than a joyful recollection in missing.

Brittlee somehow got me hooked on this website (click the logo to get there). It's a wonderful marketplace where everything is handmade. I am so inspired by the creativity of the people on this site. I also love the idea of buying things from these people verses the mall when it comes to gifts or whatever else. I do not have a shop on etsy (YET!!! maybe i'll discover that i have a secret creative talent!), but i love, love to peruse all the handicrafts.

I have recently put some of my favorite items on my side-bar so that you can get hooked too!!!

Yesterday, they gave me the boot!

My visit to the doctor yesterday was good. They peeled the cast off of my leg (exposing my horrifying harry and the hendersons hairy legs!). I was actually pretty nervous about what my leg would look like - especially the incisions. I looked online to find out more about my procedure and came across many picture with thick purple 6inch scars with staple-scars beside them. when my doctor took off all bandages to take out my "stitches", these was nothing there but what looked like fishing line! really! i told him that if i knew he was going to use screws and fishing line, i would have just let my dad do it for much cheaper! well, he just pulled on the plastic line from the top of the incision and somehow unthreaded the entire thing - just pulled it right through! (i almost passed out the second time - a weird and painful feeling).

Landon and i were so surprised - he said that he had studied "plastics" (plastic surgery?) 6 months before he decided to go into orthopedics. so, wow, what a blessing! i may not have the gnarley scars that i've seen pictures of. of course, these will scar - they are very deep and long cuts. i'm grateful, i will be living in this body for the rest of my life!

i got a big black boot put on my leg which i am to treat no differently than a cast, except i can take it off to take a bath. which, because my ankle wasn't protected, took me much longer to bathe and i needed much more assistance from landon. i'm kind of done being a gimp now. yep. i'm ready to run around and enjoy the autumn and drive to starbucks if i want to and stand in the shower and feel warm and... i've just never had to be this patient for my body to heal before. but i do remain grateful - that i can still work at ACSI, which is the job that really pays our bills, even though we're down a considerable amount of mullah with my taking leave from starbucks. but it's been amazing for me to get some rest and recover from this last year of 2 jobs - crazy life. i'm grateful for this time.

oh, how i love to read...

I was talking with my sister yesterday about how when i was in college i carried a book with me everywhere. Yes, college began my necessity for "book bags" instead of purses. And, to make it easier, many of my classes gave me 25lb anthologies filled with beautiful writings of Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Brit and American literature. I do have some friends that have teased me that they don't remember me in college without a book. well, now i have a degree in Literature to prove my love for the written word, but you wouldn't have known it this last year.

This past month has given me the opportunity to enjoy reading. Of course i've read some books this last year (though not many), but it was more of a guilty pleasure - which reading should never be. it is so important, it should never inspire guilt (well, unless it's a trashy romance or something). Anyways, i'm just thinking about how fortunate i am to have been reading so much lately and i wanted to share with you the stars:

Ayan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

Edith Shaeffer, L'Abri

Paul Young, The Shack

Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Jay E Adams, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible

Have you read any good books lately?

bimalleolar fracture

so today i went to see my doctor and learned the technical term for my injury. so i decided to look up some not-so-graphic pictures so y'all can see! today i got to see x-rays of my new ankle and the x-rays look pretty much exactly like the one in the picture below. the doc. told me that i had to keep my cast on for a few more days - i was SO sad to hear it (he TOLD me that after 10 days i could get it off - it's been 13!!!) but i'll be an adult about it and continue to pretend i feel clean and happy eventhough i haven't showered in 3 weeks, still can't sleep through the night, and really don't have the mullah to stop by and say hi once a week if he's not going to DO anything. enough complaining. here they are.

Labor Day with the Franzen's

We were so fortunate to meet up with some old and good college friends Sunday and Monday. Wow - what a blessing to be with such dear friends. We met up with Sara and Aaron near Indiana Dunes State Park. The Franzen's live in St. Louis, MO these last 3 years as they're both in school there. We had the opportunity of seeing them this last summer on our way mid-west from CO. I'm glad that we've finally gotten to see them again, as they are the closest CO friends within 1000 miles of us!

We just talked and camped and ate and wined Sunday into the evening. on Monday we went to the beach of lake Michigan, which was really beautiful. I thought that it was much nicer than our little beach of lake Michigan in Waukegan. It was quite strenuous for me to hobble on the sand in my crutches, but once i was in my chair, i just got to enjoy the view, my book, and watching friends in the water.

We just recently purchased a new tent and got to use it for the first time this trip - that was fun!

aaron, sara, and i hangin in the sand!
sara, aaron, landon and duvick playing frisbee in the water
the franzens fireside
Duvick LOVED the beach!
Duvi's swollen eye - he dug up a yellow-jacket nest and he and landon had a heck of a time running away from those lil' stingers.

Mostly, we were just so blessed by our friendship with Aaron and Sara. It's amazing to get to be with those that you know and love who know and love you. I know you all know this - it's just a rare thing for us these days.