I was tagged by Elizabeth and Everly Pleasant, so here are ten Honest Facts about myself!  ;)

1. I used to pray that my teddy bear Timmy would come to life.

2. One of my favorite parts about gardening is the weeding!

3. My greatest fear is either The Shark or the Sun Fish. It’s a toss-up.

4. I like to climb trees, but due to a friend’s accident (fell 6′, right arm broken in two places) I haven’t climbed for six years.

5. The summer before my friend’s accident, I had climbed 60′ high in a sycamore tree. And made it safely down.

6. At the age of four I decided to cut my bangs on my own. Not my best idea.

(Me, age 4, Preschool…Mom said, “Remember to tuck your hair behind you ears. Well, I remembered one.)

7. My “brain type” is ISFP. (I have mixed feelings about personality tests and brain typing. They can be helpful, but they’re often used as excuses.)

8. My sister and I have a pet cockatiel named Pickles. (He doesn’t like our camera lens, so we don’t have many good pictures of him.)

9. I played the flute for three months when I was 13, but gave it up for the piano.

10. I’m a water-spiller. Just about every day I miss the cup, knock it over, or over-fill. The other day I even knocked over a jar of pickles. Needless to say, Mom is reluctant to buy anything other than vinyl table cloths.

If you’d like to grab up this tag for yourself, feel free!

Illustration by E.H Shepard

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

- G.K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy

And the word of the Lord came to me and said,
“Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see an almond branch.”
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”
(In the ESV it says that “almond” sounds like “watching.” What a beautiful reminder of the Lord’s provision.)

-Jeremiah 1:11-12

Thus says the Lord, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

-Jeremiah 9:23-24

These verses have been holding me together this morning. I have a few butterflies: Emily and I have been invited to a meeting this afternoon to give our testimonies, and talk about home education, art and “our futures.” It begins around 12:00pm, and if you think of us, prayers are most welcomed.  :)

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Update (3:33pm): Thank you all for your support! Everything went really smooth and we were warmly received. The people were very kind and supportive, and we enjoyed visiting with them all. Thanks again for your payers - it was a blessing.  :)

My Writing Nook - I recently found this site where you can write with out all the clutter. I’m not sure how long it’s been around, but I just found it this morning and started using it this evening. You can use it by logging into your Google account and type to your heart’s content.

TV.Esty.com - Etsy has been a great place for Emily and I (and lots of friends) to sell handmade goods online, and if you’ve bought or sold anything there, you know what a neat community it is. If you’re a member, you can vote on which “Handmade Moment” video is your favorite. My favorites are “A Robot Gets Its Wings” and “Mr. Squid’s Handmade Moment.”

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It was Tuesday night, September 8, approximately 9:03 pm.

Emily, Maggie and I, along with our parents were walking down the campsite road to a large open space away from the trees.  We had been told by a friendly camping neighbor that we would be able to see the ISS and the Discovery in the night sky at 9:14 pm. But at 9:07, I saw the first one.  It was the tiniest pinprick of a shimmer, sliding in and out of our sight.  The second soon followed, and then they were lost.

On our way back the campsite, we stopped in the ladies’ room.  But just as we were exiting, Aunt Lou came running to tell us that now we could really see them.  We all rushed back out into the darkness, hoping for one last peek.

Apparently, what I naïvely pointed out to my family were either some minor satellites or jets.  But now at 9:14, there they really were.  Two stately, shining orbs were about a hand’s span apart.  Both were like Venus, only larger and more brilliant, and swiftly slipped across the sea of stars.  It nearly took my breathe away to experience such a celestial event.

Tonight, Dad, Mom and I waited in our backyard around 9:40 to see if we could spy it once more.  Again, they were there, but fainter and farther apart.

Jesus, thank You for creating such a fascinating universe for us so that we can admire your splendor and creativity.  And thank You for granting mankind the ability to explore the nearest heavens.

(Find out if you’ll be able to see them within the next few days by clicking here.)

Last Tuesday was the big day. We had completely finished the paper dolls, read and re-read everything, and then kissed it goodbye. As we uploaded them to the printer’s website, I cranked up Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus (a favorite).

Every step of the way God was teaching me to lean on Him. Learned to trust. Trust Him for strength. . . endurance. . . inspiration. . . His timing. When I felt I was running dry, I only had to ask and He filled me up.

His sovereignty and timing is so perfect. Once or twice someone forgot an important email had come. A date on the calendar would approach, anxiety would set in. And then we realized all was in place and we had everything we needed. It was one step at a time, trusting Him with the process, the results, trusting Him to provide what we didn’t know we needed.

He is always faithful. Always has been and always will be. And through something as seemingly insignificant as a new series of paper dolls, He’s showing me how beautiful it is to let go and really trust.

Welcome, one and all! Today’s the day that our big mysterious project will be revealed. There have been many guesses, and a few were very close if not spot-on.

Emily Rose and I have been making. . . drum roll please!

Our very own Daughters of His Story Paper Doll Series!

Each collection includes two women from history and three changes of dress each. It also includes the stands, a storage pocket, two time line portraits, and a short biographical sketch of each lady.

We wanted to provide young girls with something they could play with and be encouraged in femininity and godliness. They are modestly dressed paper dolls that mothers can give their daughters without feeling the least bit uneasy.

We’re still working on getting the website up and running so you can buy your own copies. We’ll let you in on that soon, too!

You may be wondering about a few pictures: What does a basket, mixing bowl, and brushes have to do with paper dolls? Aside from the ladies all being hospitable homemakers, I needed a hand model for all the different dresses!

The confusion between and the “C1, C2, C3″ on Emily Rose’s blog and my “CCC” recipe was definitely an accident. Not only did we not realize we both used CCC, but we didn’t notice that Collection One, Collection Two, and Collection Three would be confused with Chocolate Chip Cookies until it was too late!

And the “invitations”. . . well, when I said, “You’ll need one of these,” I meant the scissors. :)

All our work is done, and now you have a little more time to guess for a chance to enter our giveaway. The big announcement is Friday, so here are some more clues for you to ponder over. Keep visiting Emily Rose’s blog for more clues, too! Comment here or at Emily Rose’s blog with your guess.

You’ll need one of these.