3/31/2014 0 Comments Purim 2014This month (March) is the Jewish festival of Purim, a holiday remembering how GOD used Esther to save the Jewish race from being totally massacred in Persia (see the book of Esther in The Bible). Our Bible Study Group, (The Branch) hosted a party a couple of Sunday ago to celebrate. Traditionally, Purim is celebrated with a masquerade party as a reminder that Esther's "Jewishness" was hidden from the royal court and the fact that GOD is never mentioned in the book of Esther (but His power is clearly evident!). So that's exactly what we did (I may or may not have stood up and declared that, as a costumer, I never get a chance to wear any of my costumes but once. So we were dressing up and that was that!). Mama and Daddy went as Daddy's grandparents on his dad's side (my great-grandparents). Daddy's grandfather served in World War II in the Army Air Force. So Daddy wore a uniform and Mama based her costume off of a picture of great Granny we have in our home. Christopher and I went as two blue-bellied rollers (a type of bird from Africa). Christopher told me if I found something that wasn't too girly he would try to match me. I knew I wanted to wear my Titanic era dress so Mama looked up and found these birds and guess what? They have the EXACT same colors that are in my dress! Call it destiny if you like. Jonathan and Gideon went as two characters from The Wingfeather Saga . Jonathan dressed as Pete, a half bird half man character and Gideon dressed as Kelmar, a half wolf half boy character (sorry, I didn't get a picture of Gideon's costume. You can see some of it in another picture below). Other costumes created from members of our group included: superman, batman, a cowboy, a very adorable princess and the cutest ever Mary Poppins and Bert! We had a great time listening to the story of Esther, acting it out, dancing, singing and of course, DRESSING UP! Oh yeah, and there was TONS of food! It wouldn't be a Jewish holiday without it! (making "groggers" and noise makers for the reading of Esther) Some friends from a messianic congregation in Nashville (who helped us get our group started) came down to join us! We were so excited to see them again! (Daddy teaching on the account of Esther) (Acting out a skit based on the story of Esther) "and that these days would be remembered and observed throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and that these days of Purim would never cease among the Jews or their memory be lost by their descendants." Esther 9:28
As the Jew's grafted in brothers and sisters in The LORD we gentiles celebrate their holidays as a reminder that GOD will always deliver HIS people. No matter how impossible the odds seem. If we forget that we will lose sight of GOD's power and HE will no long be the great wonder HE really is to us. Love, Susan
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3/3/2014 0 Comments 4 Teenagers Under 1 RoofMy 3 brothers and I are all 2 years apart from each other in age (and no, that was not planned). Also, all of our birthdays fall in either January or February (that wasn't planned either). So every year when our birthdays roll around we end up with either all even ages (like 2, 4, 6 and 8) or all odd ages (like 3, 5, 7 and 9). It's kinda cool to see what ages we end up being in relations to each other. But this year was definitely the coolest! Why you ask? Because this year our ages are 13, 15, 17 and 19. Did you catch that? We are ALL TEENAGERS! This year and this year only! The boys and I have been waiting for when we all were teenagers for forever! So we combined birthdays this year into one celebration instead of 4 separate ones. The only difference was that Mamaw and Papaw only drove down once, we had one "cake" and Mom got bragging rights that she had ALL TEENAGERS now! (pity her.) Presents were opened outside since the weather was so nice. Oops that's another difference...we normally have to do everything inside because it's always SO COLD! Christopher received a pancake flipper from Gideon, (remember he's the pancake master) striped arm warmers from Jonathan, blue jeans (that actually fit him!) from Mamaw and Papaw and a ticket to see The LEGO Movie from me. We have this thing with tissue paper. Every Christmas we have a competition over who gets the most and the prettiest. Christopher was trying to redeem himself here with how much he got. Sorry bro, Christmas has already past. It's over. I won. Gideon got a book from Christopher, two LEGO mini figures from Mamaw and Papaw, a ticket to see The LEGO Movie from me and a little LEGO creature thing from Jonathan. Before he opened Jonathan's present he had to complete a series of puzzles Jonathan cooked up. (Gloating because he got more money than we did in our presents. Guess we know who the favorite is now :) Jonathan's presents consisted of two new cups from Christopher (we each have our "own" and his others broke), two (soft) t-shirts from Mamaw and Papaw, a LEGO set from Gideon, and a movie ticket from me (I'll let you guess what movie :) ("Ooh feel it. Feel how soft!") Last, but most certainly not the least, moiré got M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Village on DVD from my extremely-cool-grandparents-who-take-hints-really-well, and the boys all went in together to buy me a sewing device that marks straight hems on skirts and/or dresses. For those of you who don't sew, just know my life is now a WHOLE LOT EASIER! I suspected that's what it was... ...and I was right! A friend of mine owned this movie when I first saw it but she took it when she moved. You're forgiven now Ms. Lindsey :) (Big box. I like big boxes!) Then all 4 of us got an outdoor game set from Papaw (sorry Mamaw, you did say it was his idea)! By this time it had started getting chilly so we cleaned up and headed inside for our "birthday meal" of chicken fajitas, beans, guacamole salad and salsa. All made from scratch by our wonderful Mommy! Except the guacamole salad, that was made by me. Sorry Mom, gotta give credit where credit is due! :) A couple we call "our third set of grandparents", their daughter and two granddaughters stopped by just in time for cake (now that I think was planned :) Our "cake" was really homemade almond joy bars. But we couldn't get the bars to shape like bars. So we turned them into cupcakes. Because they stayed in that shape :) And that's how we celebrate birthdays the Stewart way! Thank you to all who celebrated with us whether present or in your heart! I have an amazing family!
Love, Susan 3/1/2014 0 Comments MiraclesSometimes GOD likes to do miracles... ...like making it snow in Southeast Tennessee! Yep! That's right! We got about six and a half inches of beautiful, perfect ball forming, fairy tale worthy snow! That's the most snow we've gotten since my family moved to Tennessee almost fourteen years ago! Look at that! This was taken in a part of our woods we call "Narnia". It really looks like Narnia now! (My wonderful parents; aren't they so cute together? Twenty years and counting) After Mama took her *required* snow photos, we finally got to play around and get messy! Snowball fights, Tree climbing, Snowman Building, (Gideon and Christopher's snowman "Charlie") (Mama and her "snow girl") Gideon and I made a "snow cat" and "snow boy " to go with Mama's "snow girl" (Also known as "Ma" & "Pa"). Now they're one big happy family! (Our doggies) (Fuzzy) (Pippi) And then, of course, we had to go sledding. (What snow day would be complete without it?) So the boys and Deddy got to work building up a path and ramp on our front drive. Christopher took some pictures as we sledded and, because we're Stewarts, some of us had to title ourselves. Gideon-"The Ramp Jumper" (because he never stayed on the track) Jonathan- "The Adventurer" (because he just looked so epic!) Me- "The Wipe-Out Queen" ('cuz I fell off the sled. Every. Single. Time. No lie) Mama- "The Face Maker" and "The Sleeping Wonder" (because she laid down in the sled) Yep, sometimes GOD does miracles; like letting me grow up in a family that puts HIM first and loves me unconditionally. I'm SO BLESSED to get to spend days like this with them. Celebrating GOD's love and wonders! Love, Susan 2/19/2014 1 Comment Because God Always Knows BestI can still clearly remember the day we all sat in the bathroom with the white envelope that would tell us if our new little sibling was a boy or a girl. I knew it was a girl. I had begged GOD for a baby sister and I knew He was going to give me one! But instead on February 20th the day after my 6th birthday The Stewart's welcomed another little boy into our Family... HE gave me this cute little bundle of joy. Another little brother that makes three. I was devastated. Why didn't GOD give me a sister like I had asked for? After all, God always answers prayers; at least, that's what I had always been taught in church all my life. But on that day, I learned that GOD does always answers prayers. HE just doesn't always give us the answer we want. Because you know what? GOD always knows what's best for us and HE knew what was best for me too. (Gideon and his dog Caprice) He knew I didn't need a sister; I needed another brother to protect and love me. That I needed a brother to still give me hugs at age 19 when the other two decide that it's "weird" to hug their sister anymore. HE gave me a goofy, curly blond hair, guy who always brightens my day. A brother who is not afraid to show people love in sometimes the strangest ways. For example, Gideon has this thing with ears. When he was little Gideon would tell people he loved them by holding or playing with their ears. While some thought it odd, once explained everyone loved to have him do that. And today he's turning 13. He's officially a teenager! Soon his sweet little voice is going to change and he's going to get taller and bulkier as he becomes a man. But he's already a man in so many ways! (Yes, he killed that squirrel all by himself!) Every birthday, every day, every moment, every time I look at him, I hear HIM inside whisper, "I told you so" Yes, yes YOU did. Gideon completes our family and we would all be so lost without him. [Gideon with his look-a-likes: (left) cousin David (who calls him his "mini") and family friend Riley (I swear they have to be related! Look at those grins and tell me we are not all from Adam!)] Yes, there are days that I still wish I had a little sister, but if that meant replacing Gideon... You might as well shoot me. I will NEVER give him up or any of my other brothers for that matter. Yes God knew what was best, I just wish I had realized that at the time and saved the three of us from a lot of heartbreak. Gideon loves to help and teach people. Gideon you taught me one of the greatest lessons I've learned so far the day you were born. You taught me that when GOD says no, it can bring great joy not sorrow which is a lesson that has helped me a lot since then. Especially after Dad quit camp. Happy Birthday to my little birthday present!
I love you, Your very-grateful-that-you're-a-boy-not-a-girl sister, Susan 2/3/2014 2 Comments The Impossible BoyToday my second youngest brother is turning 15 but... he's not suppose to. You see, when Jonathan was born his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he wasn't breathing. The nurses and doctor immediately rushed him aside and hoped to get by without mom noticing anything was wrong. But my mom is smart, and she did notice something. Her baby wasn't crying. When Mom asked why he wasn't crying the doctor responded that he was "ok just a little flopsy". They took Jonathan away but not before Mom saw the tiny ash gray bundle held in the nurse's arms. Moments later, all that seemed like just a bad dream as we all held the newest member of the Stewarts in our arms. Don't you EVER tell me that our Great GOD can't do miracles. Jonathan is the hardest of my three brothers to describe. Unlike Christopher, he doesn't enjoy the lime light and doesn't have much to say. But when he does speak, his words are impactful. (Playing King Herod in a church play) [At a 4H speech competition. (he won 2nd place in his grade division)] Jonathan doesn't like to draw attention to himself, he'd much rather let others receive the glory and he gets so excited to see others win. He has this little thing he does when that happens. He will stand up on his toes straighten out his arms and fingers and open his mouth wide. I love watching him do that! [Look at his grin! (He's the one on the right) He doesn't care that it's not his birthday. He's still excited!] He helps others out even when he doesn't want to work. His best friend shares his bedroom and almost every night I can hear them in there giggling like two little girls. He's the thinker of the group. The one who solves all the problems but doesn't want the credit. He's real quiet and likes to stay in the shadows most of the time. But when he does get goofy, man he gets goofy! [Christopher had gotten a pocket watch for his birthday. Jonathan (on the right) was showing him how to carry it and speak in a british accent.] (My men: ain't you jelly?) Jonathan is a people person. Now he's no social butterfly, but he cares about people. Really cares. He loves them for who they are, nothing more, nothing less. His family... (With our cousin Izzy pretending to be Bibleman and "sidekick") His friends... Even animals. (With his hamster Alex) Such the gentleman, he watches out for others in ways that usually gets overlooked. Like the time he guided me through our snowy woods. He took me through the easier paths that he knew I could walk better. It's the little things he does to shows others how much he loves them. So another birthday comes and our "Gift of GOD" is another year older. Walking proof that THE LORD ALMIGHTY is full of surprises! He's strong, gentle, loving and wise with the best mustache a teenage boy can have. I'm so very blessed to have this handsome guy as my brother. I love watching him grow into the great man of GOD that his Creator has made him to be right from the start. (At his Baptism) (He's so cool he's got an apple named after him!) Happy Birthday Mr. Master Myster Sir! Never forget how much I love you!
Love, Susan I've got to be honest, this was the part of making this veil that I was dreading the most. Mostly, because I had no idea how I was going to pull it off! The comb on the top of the veil (see my post Kate Moss Wedding Veil Re-creation Part 3 here) was the part that held up the majority of the weight so now I had to find a way of holding up the veil in the back while creating a poof. But as I was making it and talking with Shelby through a turn of events, she wanted to changed the design, which was fine by me! (actually ended up making my job easier!) First off I measured 9 1/2 inches from the top comb' center straight down. Then I just angled it into where the end of the combs were. You really will need to take some time with this step to try and find the right "shape" of the "cap" part. Be sure you use a FABRIC SAFE DISAPPEARING pen (not a washable one) or sewing pins to mark your sewing line. *NOTE* don't make a round curve or you'll mess up the shape of the poof. Just angle it like pictured below. Sew a basting stitch along this line and gather it up then tie off your ends to keep your gathers in place until you can sew over with a permanent stitch on the machine. Here is what it looks like on a person's head. And that's it! As you can see it doesn't exactly look like Kate's but this is what Shelby wanted and as her lowly seamstress, I can only do as I'm told. :) :P
We're almost done! just one more step and Shelby can get married! ('Cuz you know, the wedding can't happen without my veil :) Love, Susan 1/13/2014 2 Comments Guess Who?He came into this world on January the 14th, 1997 and I loved him. All four chubby limbs, 20 1/2 inches, 8 pounds 6 ounces of him. I was his big sister. We did everything together. We were each other's best friend. He had (and still does!) those little tricks that would drive Mom and me up the wall! Like putting food in his mouth and holding it there even 10 mins after a meal was over! (Good little brother playing dolls with me! BAD LITTLE BROTHER PLAYING WITH MY DOLLS!) (He never took an activity seriously which frustrated me to no end!) He has the cutest smile and the only person ever in history to be able to pull off a mullet! He's a photo bomber and whenever you take a picture of him, he's going to pose for ya! He has always been creative in several ways and blows my mind with what he comes up with next. (A butterfly trap using only rope and some net) (Art lessons) (Making AWESOME movies) He and his best friend drive me crazy and he makes me laugh! (Couldn't blow his candles out like a normal human being now could he?) He makes his own style and loves wearing suits. With some outfits he even has a different identity. (The Magical Hobo) (Doug Hoop) (Stripes and Plaids...a favorite of his!) (More Stripes and Plaids...see what I mean?) He shows me Jesus in the way he lives his life and, even though I joke that I pray hard for the woman who marries him, I must admit, she is one lucky gal. Who is he? He's my brother, and I love him. All four lanky limbs, 5 ft. 13 in. (that's his way of saying it) and 125+ pounds of him. Happy Birthday Mr. Epic!
I love you, Susan P.S. Now go find your present from Riley. I'll give you a hint: You'll be hot when you find somewhere dark but that has a light. :) 1/6/2014 1 Comment HE is Here When Others Can't BeYou know that helpless feeling when you realize you can't control the things that happen around you?
My Aunt calls it falling without a net I call it groping around in the darkness screaming for help and you can't see or feel anything. That's where I've been since Monday Dec 23 2013 at around 10:00 am Central time when we first got the call that Petepaw was failing. Fast. I grope around in this ever present darkness searching for something, anything, but wanting my Father. I scream for HIM. I call out in anger and fear. Then when I finally stop and listen I hear HIM whisper my name sweetly: "I'm right behind you Dear. I've been back here this whole time. Just turn around and you'll see me." But I don't turn around and rush into HIS loving arms, even though I so desperately want to. Because all to often I let fear control me. So I sit down in the darkness and HE sits beside me. "My world is falling apart." I tell HIM "I know Baby" "and I can't make it stop!" I cry "I know." We sit there in silence for some time. He's waiting for me to speak. "I'm sorry I'm crying. I know I shouldn't. I should be happy for Petepaw instead of selfishly crying for him. He's happy now and so I should be happy for him too I guess. Isn't that how it works?" "If your crying is selfish, then why did I cry when my friend Lazarus died?" HE says (HE like to say things like that to make me stop and think. Guess that's WHO my earthly Daddy gets it from) I sit again in silence once again, thinking over HIS words. HE is right. HE always is. "Is Petepaw happy?" I ask unsure if I can even ask such a question. "What do you think? What did you tell Izzy at the hospital after you saw him?" HE is right. I told Izzy, who sat crying on the floor, after I saw Petepaw that he was happy. Because he was. If he felt happy the last day he was alive, how did I think he felt now that he was in his eternal home? "Did he find Patt and Aren?" I ask referring to my sister and brother who were never born "Yes. And he loves them." Tears weld up in my eyes again and I cry. And HE loves me for crying anyway. HE wraps me in HIS arms and tells me: "I know you feel alone. I know you hurt. I know there are times you feel like you need to be the strong one for everyone else. I know there are times you just want to crawl in a corner, curl up in a ball and cry. And I know you wish that this was all a dream and could go back asleep, wake up and everything be perfect. But it doesn't work that way Baby, I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way. Everyone has their time and that time must end at one point, it always does." He strokes my hair in a way only someone with fatherly love can. "But I promise, I'll be here. I'll be here during all those times you don't understand and those times you think you do. I won't leave you. I never did. I was there in the Pearl Community Room when Aunt Rie got the call to go to the hospital and left you, Delia, Shelby, Max and Izzy all confused and worried. I was there In the hall when you called Hannah seeking help and advice. I was sitting in the chair with you when you called your daddy who was hours away and you wished he was there with you instead. I was in room #326 with you and gave you the strength you asked for to tell Petepaw how much you loved him. I was holding you when you found out that I had taken him home. I was there as you watched your brothers and two boy cousins carry his lifeless body to his grave. I was with you when you traveled home without your mom. I was holding you every time you felt alone and you didn't realize I was there. I was with you then and I'm with you now. I'm here when others can't be and I'm still here when they are. And I promise I'll never let you go." I cry at those words, while HE loves me. And He doesn't let go until I push away from HIM. "Are you ready, my love, to walk this long road ahead of you? The road that leads to where you can say "I'm all right now?"" I nod and sniff back my tears. "Just hold my hand please." HE smiles down at me "Oh Honey I'll do better than that." and HE picks me up in HIS wonderful strong arms. The same arms that made the universe, destroyed nations and carried the sick. The same arms that carried my Petepaw and now, HE carries me. Into the light down the long road to where I can say "I'm alright now" until I can walk it myself. Then HE holds my hand and never lets go and never leaves. Now that the veil was all hemmed, it was time to move on to getting it to stay on Shelby's head! When Shelby first sent me the fabric and I was draping it on my head to kinda get a feel for how it was going to lay and flow, I quickly realized that I had a problem. Chiffon naturally, is a very light weight fabric, but when there are YARDS upon YARDS of it trailing behind you, it can get pretty heavy. So whenever I walked around the house (I may or may not have been singing "Here Comes the Bride" very loudly) the long train kept pulling the veil off my head! So I sat down and had a little talk with this fabric (yes, I really do talk to the materials I'm working with and it really does help. So deal with it) and told it that we couldn't have this kind of behavior. It was going to have to stay on Shelby's head throughout the whole ceremony. So I came up with a solution. Since the part on the veil that had the most drag on it (and the part that kept falling down) was the section that laid on top of my head, I figured it needed something to keep it in place. Smart cookie ain't I? So my wonderful Mommy found this long clear comb that you see below at Wal-Mart to attach to the top of the veil to help keep it in place... ...along with some 1/4 inch wide organza ribbon (Hobby Lobby). To start off, I took Shelby's head measurement (from ear to ear over the top of her head) and cut a piece of ribbon that size tapering the ends a bit. Then I added some no-fray to the ends. (me like no-fray) I did all the below steps to a practice piece of fabric the same length of the chiffon Shelby sent me. (just in case I messed up) So all of the pictures are of the veil itself, not the practice one (because I forgot to take pictures of the practice piece :). So after I measured and cut the ribbon, I hand sewed the long comb to the piece of ribbon. I took the top part of the veil and folded it in half and put a pin in the center. Next I measured the comb's length and marked the center of it. Then I matched the two up placing the comb underneath the fabric right next to the hem with the ribbon side against the wrong side of the fabric (the side that would go against her head). Since I couldn't really pin the comb in place because of all the teeth, I held it in place with my hand and whipped stitched around the edges of the ribbon. I tried to keep my stitches close enough to hold everything securely, but far enough apart that the stitches weren't that noticeable. Make sense? My idea worked! the comb kept the veil in place as I walked around the house and (just as an extra precaution) danced down the imaginary isle (aka the living room). Yeah...
the jif movie thing wasn't my idea. But anyway... *NOTE* If you prefer to cover the top part just over where the comb is sewed with ribbon (like Kate's) to try to cover your previous stitching do so now. So there you have it! Next up, creating the gathers and poof in the back. Love, Susan 12/31/2013 0 Comments Two CelebrationsLast week my family welcomed a new member into the Donald side. We also said goodbye to another member of our family. On December 28th at 6:00pm my cousin, Shelby, married Joseph Hennessy and he became an offical part of our family. On December 24th at 3:00pm my beloved Petepaw left his earthly family to be with his heavenly Father and the other members of his heavenly family. We laughed, we cried a lot but over all, we celebrated life. A life well lived and the beginning of a new stage with two people. It was hard but in the end we made it through stronger and closer. Please pray for my family during this crazy time especially my Grandma as she is trying to move on alone (yet not alone) and my cousin and her husband as they start their life together. They started off this week in a rough situation but, like one of my other cousins and I agreed, if it had to happen to one of us, it needed to happen to Shelby and Joe. They're the only ones who can go through this and come back out closer to not only themselves but to God as well. Welcome to the family Joe! We love you and are happy to have you be a part of us! Goodbye Petepaw, you are greatly missed but we know that you are in a better place now. Love you both,
Susan |
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