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...