Something Profound

I have no idea what I want to ramble about today.
But I feel like rambling.
I read others' blogs and envy their life. Their ramblings. Their freedom.
Freedom.
I wouldn't trade my life for anything else in the world. Ever. I love my husband. I love our baby. I love our ministry. I love our family and friends. I love our pup. I love our situation. I realize how fortunate I am to have the life that I do. But I miss my freedom sometimes.

Freedom to:
- Sleep in if I want to (not with a 4 month old singing in his bed at 7:30am)
- Take a shower without a whole lot of thought/planning
- Pursue endeavors on a whim
- Support people I love and what they do
- Have a bigger budget (would it then be a budget?)
- Read a book for more than 15 minutes, uninterrupted
- Start and complete a project in the same day
- Randomly road trip. Anywhere. Anytime.
- Follow ambitions. Photography. Sewing. Coffee Shops.
- Make a difference for others. Peace. Love. Hope.

I could still do those things. Well, maybe only a few.
I know that God is bigger than me and bigger than the limits I put on myself. The question is where do I start and how? I would trade the sleeping and showering to be a part of something bigger, something significant. It's as though, at times, I have too many options of where I can pour my energy and passion. Right now, a little fella about 2 feet tall consumes the majority of that energy and passion, which is fine by me. He can have all of me and my love as long as he lets me share it with his daddy. I just yearn to do more. To be more. Do I better myself at the things I know how to do? Or do I take on something new, a random adventure, and hope that it works out? Will it be fulfilling or will it just fill my time?

To fill or fulfill, that is the question.

It's like spring cleaning. You try to get all of the unnecessary junk out of your closets, cabinets, storage bins. You either give it away to someone who could use it more, love it more, need it more or you throw it away if it's no longer any use to anyone (like those select articles of clothing you've been carrying around since high school that will NEVER fit again, time to pass those on). I think I need to do a figurative "spring cleaning" of the things that clutter my life. It seems I try to dabble in too much, and it all ends up being mediocre. Blah.
I want to be great at something. It's like I can't focus on any one thing. You should see our house. Sewing projects. Photo projects. Crochet project. Cleaning (not my fave) projects. Organization projects. All undone. Unfinished. Unraveled?
I mean, read this post again. It's all over the place.
Much like my life.

I suppose I should be thankful. Thankful I can be selfish; though I should not be so selfish, I can be if I want to. And I am. Thankful and selfish.

For this:

And this:

This too:

Her, too:

These as well:

 And especially this:

And for all the things and people these represent.

And for all the things they don't.

Baby Wine-O?

Noah is taking after his Ford side of the family and their love for a good glass of wine a LITTLE young. Maybe its the bright, shiny glass. Maybe it's the glass' resemblance to his (ahem) current feeding vessels. Maybe he just has good taste.

Peek-a-Boo

Cutest laughing baby ever. Seriously. Ever.

 

Spare Time

Spare time... is that a joke?
Anyway.
I have been trying my hand at sewing projects, to learn more and hopefully get better. I have been toying with the idea of trying to find local co-ops that would sell my projects or even putting together an etsy site. That would require me to come up with some sort of catchy name for my stuff, and right now that seems overwhelming. Any thoughts?

I wouldn't say that I am GOOD yet, but I am getting better. I mean, I would buy what I make, but I am also not a hard-to-please person. My labors-of-love have a handcrafted look to them and I try to make each one unique.Something about someone putting time and care into their creation makes it that much more beautiful, and in my eyes, so much more valuable. But that's just me.

As our budget allows I hope to expand my horizons, but for now it's what I can find on clearance or the remnants bin. I think I have been pretty successful so far with what I've worked with. I bought 8 yards of felt for less than $10. Not too shabby. Here are a few samples of what I've started putting together:

 

 Green Flower

Black BubbleTree

The Fight

Over the past three months Chris and I have been kicking butt and taking names of people/places who like to disrupt a sleeping baby. Okay, maybe not kicking butt, but definitely taking names. It's been mostly during our travels to here, there, and everywhere when Noah has just nodded off or we are counting down exits to our final destination and BUMP BANG BUMP. Daggum. There is also the occasional individual contributor who lets out a HOOT or HOLLAR equaling a waking baby. Daggum.

Joining the Fight: (if you are on the list, we still love you even if you are loud at times):
* Departments of Transportation (of several states) & your road work
     - Georgia
     - Alabama
     - Florida
     - South Carolina
* Wal-Mart and your bumpy ground outside the front entrance
* Matthew Cushing with your love and devotion to Alabama football (you've improved from SEC to BCS)
* Gramma Nan with your excitement for Florida State football
* Papa Bowen with your home improvements (much appreciated and welcome anytime)

And when you are tempted, just remember this face:

And know that this one is taking names, and just might start kicking butt: