What’s Been Going On?

Has it really been 2 months since I last posted? Life seems to have taken me by storm, but is sure is nice to sit down and take a breather. I have always marveled at the women who can blog while giving birth. When things get intense in my life, I usually turn on autopilot and hyper-focus. And maybe because of my introverted nature, I hunker down a bit.

Back to Texas

I have finally pulled out of the cave and am so thankful for God’s goodness. Our family has officially moved once again. My husband has retired from the Air Force after 20 years and we have come full circle back to where it all started…right here in Texas. We had been married for almost a year when he joined up and boy has it been a ride.

We started off in Albuquerque, NM where we had our first 2 children. We were there for 5 years before we headed to Germany for the next 4 years. Next was a loooong 7 years in California, 2 short years in Spain, 1 1/2 years in Kansas, and our final destination here in bluebonnet country.

Last week we were hit by an ice storm in Kansas and I truly felt that winter was never going to end. However, when we arrived here in Texas we were greeted by the most beautiful blanket of wildflowers I have ever seen. Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, Evening Primrose, Winecups and so many more. What a blessed welcome home!

Lil’ Firecracker quilt

I have also been busy with a few other projects in the works. Cooper turned 2 on April 1st. I wanted to make a larger quilt for him as he had long outgrew his baby quilt. I designed a quilt called Lil’ Firecracker that reminds me so much exploding fireworks. It also reminds me of Cooper’s blast of energy!

I am sharing the tutorial for the quilt at the Cutting Corners College and I would love to have you check it out. The Riley Blake Designs website always has tons of cute projects to inspire and it was so much fun to work with them on this project.

New E-book Collaboration

I have wanted to write a book for a very long time now, but it seems like such a daunting task. So I am starting out with baby steps. In January, I was so blessed to be included with a great group of ladies in writing an e-book entitled “iBlog: everything you need to know about blogging from 30 top bloggers”. I really think it should read “29 top blogger and 1 wannabe”, but they were gracious in including me with them.

The book will be released at the end of the month. I am so excited to read it in it’s entirety. I have only read the chapter I wrote, so it will be fun to see what everyone else wrote. The book is almost 400 pages long, so I am certain it is full of great information!

Christian Herbal Website

For many years now I have hoped to create a Christian Herbal website. As anyone who has studied herbal medicine knows, it is so very hard to avoid the pagan culture that has it’s grip on herbal medicine.

I truly believe that herbal medicine was God’s gift to mankind and as Christians we should be at the forefront of herbal knowledge. This should be another tool that we can use to minister to a hurt and dying world. Instead we are having to tread lightly in an area that has been take over by those who wish to worship the created rather than the Creator.

There are so many families out there that are trying to learn how to care for their own, but it is sometimes difficult. I don’t know how many times I have read through herbal texts and just have to skip large portions because of the pagan ideas presented.

Another problem is finding other Christian herbalists to serve as mentors. It is one thing reading from a text, but it is another to work with someone who has practiced herbalism for many years and understands the practical aspects of it.

I want to create a website that presents herbal information from a Christian worldview and creates a community of Christian herbalists that are willing to share freely their knowledge of herbal medicine. I am currently in the process of creating the site and looking forward to launching it in the fall.

In the meantime, I several herbal medicine making posts that have been in my draft for some time. I will try to get those finished up and posted.

On a final note, I think it was Shakespeare who said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I certainly missed blogging and all my readers. It is good to be back!