A new year and a new challenge..

New Year’s Day. January 1st always brings the promise of newness, and an expectancy for the future. Today I’m mostly feeling nostalgic. The last few days I’ve been looking back at my life here in KC and I’m so thankful for where I’ve been and what I’ve done. I have such a rich history in the faithfulness of God, and His desire and ability to meet me in every circumstance and situation. Today I’m not filled with excitement for the coming year. I’m filled with a sobriety for what the next month holds for my family. If you know me at all, you know that my mom is a survivor. She embodies the word. She has faced sickness in her life that most people can’t fathom, and by the hand of the Lord she has overcome.

Because of the nature of her previous cancers & their treatments, she is monitored regularly. Her most recent scan showed a spot in her lungs. Doctors are not sure what the spot is. It could be benign scar tissue. It could be a metastasis of the Hodgkin’s disease that she faced at a 14 year old. It could be a metastasis of the colon cancer she beat 5 years ago. It could be something entirely new. The only way to know what we are looking at it is lung surgery; a thoracotomy. Out of the literal dozen plus surgeries that my mom has undergone, this is by far the most invasive, and the most painful. This will be her 4th thoracotomy. In all honesty, its the surgery and recovery that is most nerve racking. Whatever is found, we are confident that the Lord will come through, and she will again prevail. Recovery on the other hand is going to be tough.

All of this said, I’m asking you to join us in praying for my family & my mom’s health. Surgery is scheduled for the 3rd – two days from now. She will be in the hospital for about 5 days and will then be at home for the remainder of  the recovery time. I will not be there for the surgery, but Micah will drive Ava and me down for her immediate recovery so that I can help in any way that I can.

I know that God is faithful & I know that He is near. I know that He desires justice and healing for the sick and that disease cannot stand in His presence.

Crocheting like crazy…

Just about every day I think to myself, “I should update my blog. Someone might read it, and I have outdated content!” And then just as quickly as the thought occurs to me, dishes, laundry, baby feeding/diapering/playing/napping, and cooking/meal planning fill my vision for the day and blogging is pushed out of mind.

One of the things that has been taking my time away from blogging is crochet. Over the past few months I’ve been posting pictures of my crocheted headbands & slippers on my Facebook and Twitter accounts and out of that I’ve had 5 orders! In the past month and a half I’ve made 20 pairs of slippers, and 5 headbands that have all been sold! It’s been fun! It can be a little intimidating to know that you are making a product that will be given as a gift. Add in the fact that I have a very active little girl, and the only time I can really work on projects is during nap times and it can be overwhelming! But, I have a sweet little angel baby and I was able to knock out all of the orders! It felt so good to make things that I would make anyway and get paid for it! I was able to buy all of my gifts for Micah and Ava with money made with my little home shop :)

With the interest in and success of my crochet products, I decided to open an Esty Shop! You can find me here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HandmadeByKBlosser. I’ll be adding new product as the holidays wind down. Currently I’m working on some cozy baby boots and adult mukluks… look for them!

Busy life, little update.

Mom life has taken over completely! I seriously don’t have enough hours in the day for everything. Blogging is definitely not high on my list of priorities lately. But I feel so unresolved when I know I have a blog just sitting here with outdated content. So here are some bullet point updates!

- Ava is 7 months old today! I can’t believe it.
- She sits & rolls. Falls over when try to reach/crawl for something.
- She’s tried banana, pear, apple, and avocado, mostly for texture and flavor. Pear is her favorite.

- I’ve been crocheting like crazy and I’ve even sold a few pieces! I’d do it for fun anyways, so why not make a little Christmas cash?!
- Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK! We have some friends and their little girl coming over for dinner on Thursday and we’re really looking forward to a laid-back, fun evening.

-Micah has been working like crazy! Black friday is looming and I’ve heard rumors that my family might sneak a visit in that day!

I think that’s all I’m going to make time for at the moment… I’ve got to eat & get some laundry in while Ava naps!

Pushy or passionate? And, am I learning to love?

So what I’ve been thinking about all morning is this – am I learning to love? No matter what someone else’s choices or lifestyle may be, am I loving them? I never want to push my way of life on another person or their family and I will never ask someone to make the choices I’ve made. But I will not apologize for following the Holy Spirit’s leading of my family. I want to know that I’m making decisions with Micah that are the best for OUR family for the season that we are in and that by our lives Jesus is glorified. People will be offended by this. It’s so easy to mistake someone’s passion for living a certain way as condemnation to those who don’t live the same way. That grieves my heart because I never want to judge or be thought of as judging someone because their choices were not my own. In this season of my life I’m learning more than ever about what it means to hear the Lord for my family. I’m learning that making informed choices and listening to the Holy Spirit is what I want for those around me. Know what your options are. Know the pros & cons. But above all listen to the Spirit! He will lead you into what is right for YOUR family and what is needed in a particular season for life & godliness. And hopefully the response will be love. Loving others right where they are at. Being passionate – not pushy. Living your life with your family knowing that sometimes people will be offended because they feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But above all, loving no matter what. It’s so easy to say and so very hard to walk out, but if we ask the Lord for help, surely He will meet us. He is love.