Getting to Know Us - Charissa

Ok, so now it is my turn. In the online world, I tend to do more chatting and forum posting than blogging. I also really enjoy the geeky side of having an online shop.



I am Charissa, Christian, Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, and Lover of all things YARN! I have been married to my husband (MiMi's oldest son, Josh) for almost 8 1/2 years. Wow, time goes by fast. We have three of the most amazing children ever! But I might be a little biased. MiMi has introduced you to my kids but I will remind you again. Andrew is an 8 year old genius (or so I think). Jacob is a 4 year charmer. MiMi calls him Prince Charming! Caleb is a 2 year old organizer. He loves to put things in and take things out. But if you ask him, he'll just say he's Baby.



Knitting and crocheting are a hobby that I have enjoyed for years. I learned to crochet when I was 8 and I can't really remember I time when I didn't have some sort of project going. Dishcloths and baby items are my specialty. I love to make sweet baby hats and blankets.



We live out in the middle of nowhere. Directions to our house include "Go until you think you have gone too far and then go a little further," but we wouldn't have it any other way.



So, there you go. I hope you enjoyed meeting and "getting to know us" better. We are looking forward to telling you more about our lives and our projects in the future.



Currently, I have a couple of custom orders including a stocking cap photography prop for a 9 month old and a newborn baby sweater and hat set. Can't wait to post pictures of those!



Charissa

Getting to Know Us

Charissa said it's time to tell you a little about us. So, here goes.

I'm Mimi, a Christian wife, mother, daughter, grandmother and lover of all things fabric. I've been married to my husband for 35 years, have three grown children--two boys and a girl. My oldest son Josh is married to Charissa and they have three of my four grandsons. Middle son Joey and his beautiful wife Starr have been married for 6 years and ride motorcycles with us (time for a ride!) Daughter Amy is married to Zach and they are the proud parents of my youngest grandson. I am blessed beyond measure!

I love to sew and make things that make people happy. I also do some alterations and make curtains, childrens clothes, all kinds of things. There are a few items on the Etsy store that I make, but not all. Baby gifts are always fun to make and everyone needs a baby gift now and then!

We live in a small community in the country and we love it. Don't have any desire to move back to town. It would be closer to the fabric store, but....

Well, that's enough for now. I have a few bags that I'm working on right now, along with a Civil War era blouse. Maybe next week I'll post some pics.

Stay tuned!

Dishcloths!

I have to tell you, I love these dishcloths! Did you see them on our Etsy store? Oh my, you have to go see. They are so great! Charissa, my wonderful Daughter-in-law and partner in this New Adventure, makes these dishcloths and I love them! I know, we love people and use things. But I really like them a lot!!

These dishcloths are just about the size of your hand. Not too big, not too small. And they have little scrubby like things knit into them. (I don't have any idea how she does that knitting and crocheting thing!)

They are not sissy dishcloths! I'm rough on stuff. Real rough. And I like them. They can take whatever I dish out, pun intended. My kitchen is a deep dark purple, and somehow she found a purple that matches my kitchen! I must have a dozen of them now and I use them. All the time. I use my other dishcloths for cleaning rags now!

Well, obviously the thing for you to do now is to hop on over to the store (http://www.mimisbabies.etsy.com/) and look them over.

If you went to that W store and bought dishcloths you'd be wasting money on dishcloths that won't last you nearly as long as these will, so whatchawaitinfor?

Yeah, I might be gushing a little bit here, but I wouldn't lie to you. I love these dishcloths.

Stay tuned, more to come! Watch for more colors coming soon!

Guard your heart!

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately. Duh. I've been trying to get ideas, find formats, cute little things, and useful things for our blog. Now I'm not the technical genius of this team, by any stretch of the imagination! Charissa is behind the scenes, trying to make my requests realities here in blogland. She's great and she understands the language of computers, genius that she is!

But more important than the cute factor of a blog is what it gives you. What you take away from it. There are many voices in the world today and we must be careful which ones we listen to!! Now I'm not saying that what I have to say is that important or it's the be-all, end-all only voice you should be listening to. At all. No, you should only follow me as I follow Christ. When I veer from that path, feel free to call me on it.

Having said that there are a lot of good blogs out there, by Christian women, young and old who are worthy of a look. Mostly I've been lurking, I guess. That sounds so ugly! But I think in the world of blogs and forums that's what I do. I want to be absolutely sure about content and theology before I recommend that you go reading. Even though this could potentially never be read or shared by anyone, I know that I'm responsible for my words and actions.

So, if you are following or even randomly reading this and have thought that I'm not reading your blog because I havent listed it, that may not be true. The ladies who are listed as blogs I follow are women that I know to be the real deal. I've known them for some time and have seen their lives played out. They know the Lord Jesus Christ and are growing in their faith and devotion to Him and their families.

Bottom line here: Guard your heart!

Anniversary Celebration: Bugaloo Kids giveaway!

Hey all you Moms and Grandma's out there, I found a great giveaway. These are the cutest little leather shoes for little people. Lindsay at http://www.passionatehomemaking.com is hosting this great giveaway. Check out her blog to find out more about it. Anniversary Celebration: Bugaloo Kids giveaway!

Frustration

Frustration.
Dictionary.com defines frustration as: a feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.

Am I the only one who gets so totally frustrated that the brain doesn't work sometimes? Surely not, but I do get frustrated!

The problem is not really in the being frustrated, it's my response to it. (Mostly I tend to speak harshly to inantimate objects.) That doesn't seem too harmful, but it's so needless. Such a waste of time. Life happens, things are going to be frustrating, for various reasons. Sometimes it's other people that frustrate us, sometimes we get in over our heads in a project which can bring on dissatisfaction and sometimes we just try to do too many things at one time and that brings on frustration.

Psalm 46:10 gives me the answer for frustration.

"Be still and know that I am God". That says it all, doesn't it?

Verse 1 of that chapter says "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble."

I have found that to be true. When I'm feeling overcome by frustration (trouble) I can run into that Refuge and Strength. He knows why I'm frustrated and He is the answer!

There is no need for a child of the King to have anxiety, unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems. There is help.

Be still and Know. Rest in our refuge and strength. Let the frustration go.

Buggy Buddy Winner

We have a winner for our Buggy Buddy Giveaway! Thanks to Myra at www.happyhousewifelivinglife.com for hosting this giveaway. I delivered to our winner today, she just lives in the next town! Thought you might like to meet her. This is Heather, she has an almost 8 month old named Sydney and she blogs at www.thegillstraps.blogspot.com and www.shakeitfortheLord.blogspot.com.

Congratulations again Heather. I hope you enjoy using the Buggy Buddy and it helps you to keep little Sydney safe from germs!

May God richly bless you and your family!

Mimi

Mountain Trip

This is a picture I took while riding on the Cherohala Skyway. The picture doesn't do it justice! It was absolutely gorgeous. There was rain on one side of the mountain and on the other side there was sunshine and a rainbow! It was wonderful! In this shot you can see a little bit of both sunshine and rain. It looks like a black and white print, but it 's not.

Isn't that what life is like? Sometimes it's pouring rain and sometimes you have sunshine and blue skies. Things aren't always what they look like. But always we have God's promises to cling to.

While we were away I memorized Psalm 121 as part of a Bible Study I'm doing. This is the Holman Christian Standard Bible version.

"I raise my eyes toward the mountain, where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
The Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip,
your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you.
The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day,
or the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all harm, He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever."

Do you hear that promise of protection? That's God's promise to you and me. Rest in it.

Giveaway Ending Soon!

Don't forget the giveaway ends tomorrow! Check out Myra's blog, Happyhousewifelivinglife.com
to enter. Good luck! And don't forget to check out our store. More to come soon!

So, we had a great time on our weekend trip to Pigeon Forge. The weather was great, the riding was great fun, we visited with some friends I haven't seen lately and there were lots of cars.
Keith found a car he thought we needed, so today we drove back to Pigeon Forge to pick up my "new " car! It's a 1984 Monte Carlo. It really is amazing. It looks almost as good as new. My husband loves old cars. What can I say?

I hope you enjoyed meeting Jacob and Caleb this weekend. Soon I'll introduce you to Andrew and Jackson. I love these guys!

Can't wait to see who wins the Buggy Buddy tomorrow. See ya then!
Mimi

Caleb

This is Caleb. He may tell you that his name is Baby. You guessed it, he's GS number 3. The only blonde haired child in the group. Isn't he a beauty? He's two and a half.

Destined to always be the baby, he really enjoys his role. He's a daddy's boy, but he loves his Mommy, too. He's also really enjoying his new daycare. He loves Ms. Paula, and his Grandma Deedee, but we all do.

He loves to put things in and take things out. Of anything. He is a lot of fun, too. I'm getting a little better at his language. Given up on him learning mine. God is good, isn't He?!

Jacob

Is this not a beautiful face? This is Jacob, Grandson number 2. Thought I'd let you meet my boys while I'm gone. Jacob is 4 and he is full of himself. He goes at everything wide open. Being the middle child, he's never first and he's never the baby. He's a scrapper!! But he also has the sweetest nature. Very loving and thoughtful, most of the time!

He is so fun! I can't bear the thought of him going to school next year. There's no telling what he'll get into. Have I been blessed or what?

Don't forget about the giveaway!

Busy busy day!

Today will be a very busy day for us. Lord willing, we will be leaving early tomorrow morning to go to Pigeon Forge! I'm so excited!! We will ride the Harley, and I love it!
There's nothing like it! But before we can go there are a lot of things that have to be done. I really have to clean this house, at least a little bit. I hate coming home to a messy house. Then there's the dog (we'll talk more about her later) who will be visiting at Joey and Starr's house while we're gone. Gotta go to the drugstore, there's a BIG sale at a local fabric store that I'm just dying to check out, laundry, etc., etc., there are always too many things to get done. Then, the fun part. My grandbabies are coming this evening!! We haven't seen the three older boys for 2 weeks and I'm having withdrawal! Jackson is here a lot, but the other three are further away and have been sick. They won't be here for long, but I can't wait to see them.

While we're gone, the New Adventure gets even more exciting! Myra will begin the giveaway on her blog! Don't forget to check it out! If you have any questions while we're gone Charissa will be taking care of things and I'll check in when I can.

I can't wait to see the mountains again. God's word tells us that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof". That just means it all belongs to Him! It's not ours, we just get to enjoy it this brief time we're here. He made it to bring honor and glory to Himself. Have you ever noticed that trees and flowers and mountains and the ocean don't waste time trying to be something that they're not? That's how they honor Him. Just being what they were created to be. Why don't we do that more?

It's always good for me to be there, in the quiet majesty of the mountains. To watch the river run, see the waterfalls, admire His handiwork, just soak it all in. My desire is to honor God with my life. I want people to see Jesus in me and come to know Him better. If I would get out of the way more, they could. It's a daily renewing my mind, surrendering my life to Him. It's His anyway and He can do more with it than I ever could! God always speaks to me there, in His mountains. Maybe more so there because I'm not so busy I can't hear Him! We try to be too many things to too many people, try to accomplish too many things at one time. Even in our prayer time we tend to do most of the talking, cause we have to get on to the next thing. We need to "be still, and know that I AM GOD", Amen? Take some time today to just be still and know. Get into His Word and let Him speak to your heart. You'll be glad you did. See you soon!

Giveaway!

What beautiful weather for Labor Day here in North Alabama! I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe a little time spent with the family, a little bar-b-que or grilled burgers. Maybe even some homemade ice cream? Our family used to have a get together every Labor Day to mark the passing of summer. I miss those gatherings. Family is important. Our family may not be perfect but it's family. We are missing precious pieces of this family puzzle that God gave us. It will never be quite the same. Family is a blessing, flaws and all. I pray that you will enjoy yours.

Oh yeah, about that giveaway. As part of our new adventure we are giving away a Buggy Buddy from our Etsy Store. You can find out about the giveaway at my friend Myra's blog http://www.happyhousewifelivinglife.com/. She'll tell you all about it later this week. Her blog is always interesting, check it out.

Go to our Etsy store and see the Buggy Buddy that will be given away. If you aren't sure what a Buggy Buddy is, let me know. I'll tell you all about it! I do think that it's a wonderful idea. My daughter-in-law Charissa (Partner in the New Adventure!) and I saw a girl using one in wmart years ago and decided that we needed one of those. That's where my Buggy Buddies began and they have grown and evolved into what they are today.
While you were there did you see those cute little BooBoo Bunnies at the store? Aren't they sweet?
Stay tuned.

Labor Day...Already???

Can it really be Labor Day already? What happened to Summer? What about all the plans I had for enjoying beautiful sunny days in the pool, splashing around with little boys? (Grandbabies, of course) I must have slept in or something, 'cause it's already September 6 according to the calendar.

That can only mean one thing. FALL!! I've always loved fall. It's like...anticipation. You know, new stuff!! New school year, new beginnings (kind of like spring!) new possibilities, new adventures.

Speaking of new adventures, that's what this is. A New Adventure. Come along with us as we jump headlong into this new world. We're going to find out if you really can teach an old dog new tricks!! Not only is the blog a new adventure, so is our Etsy store, Mimi's Babies.

We are so excited to bring some of the items that we love to make to you through this grand adventure. Stay tuned, we're just getting started!