She Reads Truth

As we ring in the New Year. We have the chance to start afresh. Getting organized, making plans, changing, growing etc.... This last year 2014 was a difficult one for me personally which melted into the home as well and made home life difficult at times too. When 2014 rang in...The year started out a bit shaky with the deterioration of my Gramma's health and her passing. The fact our boy is going to settle 1,000's of miles away... It really struck a heart chord with me and led me to fall into an unexplained depression. I stopped doing things I loved, like crafting for my little business etc... I had sleeping issues, insomnia, disturbances in my REM and had a hard time waking up in the morning.  My family ( Freckles and Mr. Darling ) stood by me and still does, and tried to encourage me out. This last Fall I started feeling a bit better. I have been busy with Freckles and her schedule and our season of life is changing. I have yet to take out that sewing machine to start any projects though. I am still struggling with some things within, in hopes and with lot's of prayer that I will find myself back to the person the Lord wants me to be. And surely our Lord is a good Lord and wouldn't want me to be in the darkness. It has been a long year. I have tried to put a happy face on...And only led to completely give it all to God. We are  planning on making drastic changes with our life and planning yet another move to the town where Mr. Darling Pastors our church. It is a little stressful...But I am trying my hardest to just let God control the unknown. He has the perfect place for us to settle a bit. 

This New Year 2015 will be focused more on God, our walk with Him, our hearts and minds to grow and embrace the truths He has bestowed to us. I want to be a good example of this for our daughter. She will be 15 this Summer. She is growing into such a gem. I want us to stay close and a great way to do that is to make lot's of time for her. Especially for her spiritual needs. I found these sweet Bible Studies on shereadstruth.com. With Mr. Darling's approval of content. We ordered three different studies that are tailored to women. I just know this will be great for us both, to bond with Christ and His word and to bond together. Character training is always a good thing. In the past we went through a study on Girlhood...But, now that she is getting older, I felt these would be perfect. The story of Ruth, and a study on Hospitality...Perfect for a young lady or any woman to glean and implement in their homes. Because it is commanded that we be Hospitable and open our homes to people. And of course just studying through the word is good for our souls. 

And...The beautiful colors and illustrations are right up our alley. I know it's not the main purpose of the study itself, but always nice to have something pretty to look at. I pray this year will be a little better than the last. May the Lord continue giving us grace.

God Answers Prayer~Be Patient

If you have been a long time reader here, you would know the hard seasons we have gone through when it comes to friendships or encouraging people in our lives. It has been a long season of many years and prayers to God that He would bring good friendships our way. It has been years of feeling alone at times. Yes even though we have our little family unit, there is always a crave for friendship with others. I myself still struggle with finding that really good friendship with another woman...And knowing what that has been like made me pray even harder. "Lord please bring, Christian, like minded, fruitful friendships to my girl". The road has been rough with a lot of tears and a lot of hurt feelings by others who just are not so kind. It has been very unfortunate that she has not had a strong family female role model in her life. Yes, she has had me and thank God for that. We are very close and have a delightful relationship.

 But as far as an outside female role model who has sought her out to be an encourager to her, who looks for her to talk, or really takes the time to get to know her has not been there. That is one reason I have been so adamant in being in her life as a mom, a friend and a prayer warrior for both my children. I know her inside and out, I know what she loves, what she dislikes, what her favorite color is or her favorite food. I can tell when she is upset or sad or when she just needs an encouraging hug. I have known her desires to have just one girlfriend at least. Someone in her age group that she can just be a girl with. We have prayed and prayed and prayed and never did we give up. Even though our prayers may seem silly or small to others, they do mean something to God. He cares very much. But, as a Christian we need to trust God. Sometimes He doesn't answer prayers when we want them answered. It is in His good time.He knows what is best. And sometimes our prayers may not be what God thinks is best for us. So as time passed, we still prayed for just one friendship to blossom.

The last handful of years have been the hardest with our transition and change in my husband's career. We have moved a handful of times. We have met some nice people on the way. Then we would have to move again and leave those friendships behind and start all over again. Which is not easy. We keep in touch with only one special family back in So. Cal. But it is so hard because there is quite a distance between us. We moved here a little over a year ago thinking for sure we would meet people right away. Sad thing is the church we attended before my husband started our church plant didn't have much youth there. There were a couple potential girls only a couple years older than my girl, but they never seemed interested in wanting her friendship. She was pretty much ignored week after week. I felt like I promised something to her that didn't happen and it broke my heart. Well, to make a long story short. We started our church plant. Still no youth for my girl...So we decided to put her in the Academy for part time home schooling and joined a speech club. It has been a little over six weeks and I am so thrilled beyond words to share with you...God answers prayers, even the little ones that don't seem like they significant. God has answered our prayers with friendships for my girl.

Day one she felt like she actually fit in with the girls in her class and even some that are not even in her classes wanted to get to know her. She has been so happy. I have watched her bloom even more so, in just the last several weeks. She actually isn't as shy as we thought. There are girls even more shy than her. She chuckles about it now. She hangs out and exchanges giggles and hugs, she has been invited to a few engagements like swimming parties and movies and has had a sleepover.

 A couple weeks ago she came to me and said.. 

HER: "I'm not sure why they like me mom."

 ME: "uhhhh! Are you kidding??!!!"

 "Because they see you for who you are inside and out, you glow with special qualities and sweetness with lot's of love to give and so much to offer and they want to get to know you...

Because well, you are just so awesome"! 

God is good.

 He is always good. Even when we don't see it right away.

 He is always at work for us. We just need to trust Him.

We need to be patient. 

But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! 

~ Habakkuk 2:3

She's Quirky

When I think of my daughter, Freckles. I think of her as being very quiet, somewhat shy and very sweet inside and out. However, if you knew her well enough or if she decides to let you in, you would learn that she is quite funny and witty too. She makes us laugh all the time. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is very sensitive. She is also very creative...The past several years she has become quite the avid reader, she loves Doctor Who and Sherlock along with many other British television shows and she enjoys writing her stories on vintage typewriters. Oh and not to forget, she loves a good cup of tea in a cute cup. Her recent hobby is journaling. She loves certain fashions and usually pulls off her very unique style which her friends call "Briness"... She is just so fun to be with...I think of her as a sweet soul and full of quirkiness...

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Definition:

Quirky~

 An individual peculiarity : mannerism or foible.

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The most important thing to understand is that quirky is "weird" in an endearing way. People who are quirky are just weird enough to be interesting and intriguing but not weird enough to repel. Someone whose quirky has a few odd traits and habits but is not creepy or off-putting. "Quirky" really means lovable because of your faults, not in spite of them. Here are some quick-spotting tips for quirky girls:

Quirky girls love quaint clothing. They'll always choose A-line dresses to bandage dresses, hair ribbons to updos, pajama sets to teddys, and everything in-between. Vintage is highly prized but not a requirement. Quirky girls tend to fall for dresses with pockets and a fun pattern but are just as often seen in strange ensembles of flowy blouses, tunics, and pants. Their style usually is not in keep with current fashion and in all likelihood would never have been considered fashionable. They like loose-fitting clothing and pockets to hold all of the quirky do-bobs they pick up. A quirky girls' wardrobe can be described as classic at its best, as 1950's-French-housewife at its worst.

• Quirky girls can seem as though they often have their heads in the clouds. There are times when she's completely off in her own world, it's true, but she's by no means flighty. She just was chasing down a thought that seemed more intriguing at the time than the conversation at hand.

• Quirky girls are very into nature. They often like to garden and spend as much time as possible outside. Spring and summer are the seasons where quirky girls shine, largely because they love sundresses and the outdoors. Things like a new patch of irises randomly stumbled upon will excite her more than most.

Quirky girls are constantly doing unexpected things that seem completely natural and logical to them but no one else gets. Her understanding of the world is fundamentally different from others' and she acts accordingly. If you ask her to explain why in the world she did something, she'll give you a confused glance, as if surprised by your inability to understand why.

Quirky girls are clever. They've gone to college and sometimes have advanced degrees, majoring in something, well, quirky (like anthropology or a self-designed major). They take care to do well in school and are naturally bright, asking lots of questions and expecting good answers. In high school, they weren't part of the "in" crowd but they weren't misfits either. Quirky girls express themselves well and love learning. You can always have an intelligent and interesting conversation with a quirky girl,

 just as long as she respects you enough to engage with you. 

• Quirky girls have weird hobbies. They might have one or two mainstream interests, like yoga, but usually they're kind of odd, like beekeeping, scrapbooking or quilting.

 

• Quirky girls also like and get excited about weird things. The girl who loves puppies and baby animals is not a quirky girl. Look for the one who likes creatures like anteaters, sloths, or hedgehogs -- there's your quirky girl.

 

Quirky girls usually have big, expressive eyes which,

 when combined with their moderately conservative attire almost always appear younger than they actually are.

Quirky girls are playful and whimsical. If you're friends with one you'll find yourself laughing at yourself more and taking things less seriously. You might find yourself trying things you hadn't considered before, like going olallieberry picking, practicing archery, or doing crossword puzzles for hours. Their moods are somewhat capricious, usually cheerful and content with occasional bouts of unease or unhappiness when coming across something like roadkill or when thinking too much about one of her causes.

I found these quirky traits through the web...
Many of them are very accurate when it comes to my girl. Thought I would share...
I think quirky people just make the world so much more interesting, don't you.
I love my quirky girl.

School Pictures....7th Grade 2012

Our home school year starts once again after Labor Day weekend. We had a little photo shoot of Freckles to commemerate her 7th grade year. It was hard to choose just a couple to share with y'all, so I picked out my favorites from the many, many snapshots we took. Hope you like them.

This & That

I spent the last couple days preparing for this school year...So glad to be done with that part. Now, we're ready to go starting after this next weekend. Thanks again for all your prayers regarding my illness. Well, I am still sick with bronchitus and getting over the flu...No fun...no fun at all. It has really worn me out....Yet, I am trying my hardest to stay on track with my everyday duties. I have really been enjoying listening to a bunch of old records I found thrifting a while back. Each record cost 99 cents. I love them....Music from the 30's & 40's...like Artie Shaw, Leroy Anderson, Jo Stafford and others.

 There's nothing like the sound of an old record playing on a phonograph.

In other news...Freckles spent a lovely long weekend a couple weeks back with her friend, celebrating her birthday. They went to The American Girl store in L.A, had a sleep over with a few girls one night, watched movies, had many giggles and sang songs all weekend long.

They also hung out at the mall and had another sleepover with their friend Cozi

( The young actress from the movie, Dolphin Tale.)

If you haven't seen the movie...see it...What a sweet story inspired

by the true story about a dolphin named Winter.

It's a Great, wholesome family film.

It was a great way to end the Summer.

Now to get ready for school next week.

Bring on the 7th grade.