There are times when you want to help make the world a better place, but you don’t know how.

Where do you even start?

You are just one person.

Can you really make a difference?

So often we find comfort in our “not doing” because we don’t think we have a great talent that the world needs.

We justify our inaction because others are more capable, qualified and called.

Not that we don’t want to help.

We do.

But maybe another day. When we have more time. When we can dedicate a portion of our life to figuring out what we are good at and then doing something about it.

And, deep inside, we are pretty sure that day will probably not come.

Life will always be busy.

But never too busy to do something.

Don’t put off for tomorrow what can be done today.

God can use you, where you are, in your situation, right now.

He can use a basic skill that just about anyone can learn (and many of us know how) and change the world.

Or, perhaps, just bless one person’s life.

And if one person is blessed, then it will have all been worth it.

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This has been the conviction of my sister, Emily’s, heart.

Really, it should be the conviction of all of our hearts.

How can we help those who are in need? How can we love our neighbors? How can I, in my current situation, make a difference?

A seed was planted in Emily’s mind and it took several months to cultivate… to weed out the doubts and uncertainties…and take action. And, as a result Squares that Care was born.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” Ecclesiastes 9:10

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Do you know how to crochet? Or knit?

If not, do you want to learn?

The premise of Squares that Care is this:

Make granny squares. Any color combination. Mail them to Emily. She will assemble an afghan to be auctioned. All proceeds will go to a charity that has been selected in advance.

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Requirements:

6″x6″ Squares
Any color/pattern
straight edges
crochet or knit
acrylic yarn

For fun, there will be optional “challenges”… February is flowers. All of the details can be found here.

Or you can just make simple, easy 6 x 6 granny squares.

Just pop any amount of squares into the mail. 1 square or 10 squares… it doesn’t matter. Send them to:

Emily Fontaine
2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-148
Corona, Ca 92883

Then, look for your square in the afghan!

How fun, right?

And, now you are a part of something making a difference.

You are loving your neighbor, helping those in need and being used to make a difference.

Amen to that!

The proceeds from this afghan will go to:

Read all about this wonderful charity here.

What a great idea! Get all of the details (and follow along) with the Squares that Care blog!

I can’t wait to get started. And I certainly can’t wait to see the final product!

Crocheters and Knitters unite!

…and so it began. Morning sickness.

I decided with Jon being gone, I’d stay with my parents for a little bit. It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands (or two) on the days that were more difficult and unpleasant.

Oh, and I cut my hair.

Blog Sugar.

I went to my first blog conference!

I had purchased a ticket long before I found out I was pregnant…

and, due to sickness, I almost didn’t go.

But I sucked it up. And went.

…and I’m glad I did.

I got to meet Miss Rachel herself.

She is the mastermind behind this conference… and everything about it showed how much her heart was in it.

It was just a beautiful thing to see a person willing to be used by God, and in turn, God moving lives through this event.

There were so many “well known” bloggers there…

me not being one of them. haha

Maggie from Gussy Sews, Me, Emily from Le Quaintrelle and Maegan from Chesterrific.

It was a lot of fun…

even for a social fraidy cat like me.

At the end of September, we took an extremely quick girls trip to Texas Antique Week.

It was Layla’s first trip (outside the womb) to Texas.

My favorite booth at Warrenton… Junk Gypsy!

Ugh.

When I grow up, I want to be a junk gypsy.

I loved these buckets!

It wouldn’t be Texas without the completely unpredictable weather.

Batten down the hatches!

Oh my goodness…did I forget what Texas weather was like.

Lightning striking all around, torrential downpours, and the constant fear that a tornado is coming.

No matter what, in my mind… a tornado is always coming.

Even the flags think so…as they flapped violently in the wind!

I’m sure other things happened in September… but those were the ones to note.

I consumed a whole lot of ginger candy.

It helps relieve the nausea for the 3 minutes that it is in your mouth.

I must say, I will be perfectly fine if I never have another ginger candy again.

October was a much easier month…

I started feeling better, Fall was in the air…and Halloween festivities were in full swing.

I just love October! (Good thing, because it’s coming up next!)

My sister and family came for a visit.

Layla loved her play time with her cousins.

Sugar Pine Railroad.

We celebrated Jessica’s birthday at the Sugar Pine Railroad…

…dinner and a train ride into the night through the pines of Yosemite Mountain.

My favorite part was Jessica being sung happy birthday by this guy.

hahaha.

All aboard!

Sequoia.

Another day while my family was visiting, we took a trip to Sequoia National Park.

Layla was ready to go!

And so was my niece…

As was my bird watching brother.

Piggy backs.

Excited to skip, hop and run through the forest.

…and walk through fallen trees.

Peek-a-boo!

It was such nice weather for an afternoon hike through Sequoia.

Beach Trip: Central Coast, CA

We took a fun little trip to the beach with my friend Amy.

Layla thoroughly enjoyed herself.

It was a beautiful sunny day at Avila Beach.

Using Amy as a jungle gym.

We saw all sorts of sea life popping out of the water… including dolphins and sea lions (or maybe seals, it was hard to tell).

The next day we enjoyed a day in San Luis Obispo.

At the Mission…

Avila Valley Barn.

Oh my goodness, have I been wanting to visit Avila Valley Barn FOREVER.

It is a little too long of a drive for a day trip from where we live…but since we were in the area, we just HAD to go!

The pictures speak for themselves…it was my kind of place.

They even had animals to visit.

(again, my kind of place!)

So much fun was had in August.

We were keeping busy during Jon’s first full month of deployment.

Of course, this was the month that we found out our big news… Layla was a big sister.

I wanted to take full advantage of the days when I was still feeling well… because I knew the probable road ahead was going to be rough with morning sickness. And I was right.

Next up… September!

What exactly do you call a completely unintentional estrangement from your blog?

And, by unintentional, I mean it wasn’t particularly planned…I didn’t just decide one day that I didn’t feel like blogging anymore and quit. Quite the contrary.

But an innocent momentary absence turned into an extended blog abandonment. It was more or less unavoidable but, nevertheless, was not what I expected would happen.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I didn’t plan on falling off the face of the blogearth.

It’s been one thing after another.

Morning Sickness (which was more accurately ALL DAY sickness) for months coupled with a very active little Miss Layla Mae that needs a whole lot of Mama’s attention…doesn’t leave a whole lot of extra time to sit down at a computer. So I didn’t. I didn’t even check my blog email. (WHAT!? I know.) It was one more extra helping on a plate that was already too full. I had to make a few priority adjustments (read: basic survival) for my new situation.

This second pregnancy has really taken it’s toll on this ol’ hen. haha

I guess it doesn’t help that Jon is gone, that I am chasing a one year old all day,  or that we haven’t spent a lot of time in our “routine” at home. Or the fact that either Layla or I have been sick (flu, colds, etc) since the beginning of December. Apparently we thought it would be fun to pass it back and forth to each other.

Boy, oh boy, what a season of our lives it has been!

I have missed blogging.

And I have missed reading blogs.

I haven’t read blogs in forever…and I found myself wondering how some of my favorite bloggers were doing. It’s like not being able to talk to some good friends, as silly as it sounds. You begin to miss their stories and their creativity and their conversation. By golly, it’s like there is a sense of community out there in the blogging world. I think this whole blogging thing is on to something.

I actually logged on to my blog email and was sincerely overwhelmed that some of y’all had emailed me about my blogging absence. I guess I figured that no one probably even noticed (said in my best Eeyore voice haha). But really though…it meant so much that people cared. I am making my rounds, catching up on your blogs and emails…a little each day. And, I’m working on a “catch up” post (or two or three) of my own.

I’m here. I’m back. We are alive and (mostly) well. And I am going to tell you all about it. (whether you want to hear it or not! haha)

Estranged blogger no more,

So, naturally, Layla and I had to go support her with the loudest hoots, hollers and whistles from the crowd. haha

Layla picked out her outfit.

With the biggest bow in the closet.

(maybe I helped.)

Emily being interviewed pre-style challenge. (The baby he is talking about is LAYLA! haha)

And… Nick’s hilarious demonstration of a runway walk:

They were given a $200 gift card and free rein of the mall for only one hour.

Their mission was to find, style and come back with a completed outfit with accessories that represents their style.

“Sounds challenging” -Layla

“I will just sit here with my blue steel face until I get discovered” -Layla

And that took approximately 3.2 seconds. haha

Nick Verreos wanted Layla to come up on the runway and declared her the Project Style 2011 Winner for the “under 12 months” division. haha

She had her 5 seconds of fame.

She nervously fidgeted with my scarf…

…and enjoyed the attention.

Until she saw the big crowd staring at her.

Then she got scared and wanted to hide in my shoulder.

It was just about time for the competition anyway.

The finalists in their outfits of choice.

Emily working the runway in her Fall Casual outfit.

Unfortunately, Emily was not chosen as the winner of the contest (the other girl, 2nd from the left, won).

However, she was the crowd favorite and a winner in our eyes.

I think it was a great experience for her… and, she gets to keep the outfits… so, no loss there.

As for Nick Verreos… he was hilarious and very entertaining.

A good time was had by all.

There was so much going on around here that I needed to prioritize my attention for a few weeks.  I know y’all understand how that goes.

A little recap…

Since my last post:

♥ I’ve been to the doctors and have a due date of April 8th. I can’t tell you how perfect the timing is on this pregnancy. Had it been a month before, Jon would surely miss the birth. But, as it stands now, he should be home for my last month of pregnancy and the birth of the baby. WOOHOO.

♥ I have just really started feeling sick this past week.  I knew that chasing an almost 10 month old around while you just want to lay on the couch to ease the nauseousness would be challenging. But BOY is it challenging.

♥ Layla is crawling all over the place. She is just growing like a weed. She just got another tooth, too.

♥ I had family come and visit (my sister, brother-in-law and their three children as well as my brother). We took a drive up near Yosemite and rode the Sugar Pine Railroad at night (totally spooky) and we also went to Sequoia. (More posts on that to come).

♥ I took a little coastal getaway with a friend for a few days. LOVE the central coast. (More on that, too!)

♥ Chopped off my hair. I’m in the post-shock “what have I done?” phase… mixed with feeling refreshed with a new style. The verdict hasn’t come back yet with whether I’m going to keep the new look or not.

♥ I have had the worst cravings EVER this time around. And the most random things. Like one minute I just want Chinese food noodles (which I craved with Layla, too)… and then I will have to have refried beans with cheese (like at Mexican food restaurants)… and today I want KFC mashed potatoes and gravy with coleslaw like no body’s business. A friend of mine (who is also pregnant and we have the same exact due date!!!) and I were joking around that we feel like we’re on the Britney Spears diet. haha! Of course, I don’t always give into my cravings… Some days I’m just too tired to get in the car to go get it.

♥ We just booked our tickets for TEXAS Antique week in late September and I CANNOT wait! I haven’t been back to Texas since I moved from there in March 2010. Needless to say, I miss it like crazy. Besides, a little girls trip to antique shop and eat BBQ always sounds like a good time to me! And it will be Layla’s first trip (outside the womb) to Texas! Yeehaw!

So that is the last few weeks in a nutshell! Pictures and posts to come! Stay tuned.

PS. My sister, Emily, is in a styling contest for her local mall and needs votes! She has been trailing the entire time and JUST took the lead! The contest ends today. If you have a moment, go vote for her pretty please. It only takes a second! Spread the word… I know this means a lot to her! VOTE HERE! Thank you!!!

I need some ideas.

I want us all to be on the same page with the direction things are going…

but I’m having a hard time finding the right words.

I would love input or suggestions, if you have any.

Hypothetically speaking…

if I was trying to brainstorm a clever way to share with my friends and readers…

that our house will be increasing in size…

Though, we’re not moving houses.

Not getting a room addition…

or increasing square footage.

Not getting a puppy or a kitten…

or a pet of any kind.

If I wanted to reveal that this change isn’t going to happen overnight…

or even a month or two or three.

It will take time.

But it will be worth the wait.

If I could only think of a way to let y’all know,

that things will be changing around here.

I won’t have very much free time.

Or sleep.

Or sanity.

If only I could give  you a time-frame…

for now, the best I can predict is T minus 8ish months.

April showers will bring Layla Mae

“big sister” powers.

Do you guys have any suggestion on how I can cleverly spill the beans on this little secret?

Because I’m all out of ideas.

Never underestimate the power of simple crafts.

Just because it is easy, doesn’t mean it won’t have an impact on your home decor.

It’s all about the details.

I just love the simplistic, romantic nature of lace doilies on candles.

And, y’all know how I feel about mason jars.

The combination is just perfect.

What you need:

Dainty Doilies…just simple paper doilies.

Mod Podge.

Paint Brush.

Mason Jar…or any jar/candle.

A votive candle.

Give yourself a dab of Mod Podge.

I use a paper plate every time I use Mod Podge or paint.

It’s just what I do.

Paint the Mod Podge onto the back of a doily.

Smooth the doily onto the jar.

Paint a coat of the Mod Podge onto the outside of the doily.

Smooth down any loose edges.

Then… just let it dry.

That’s it.

I like how the Mason Jar writing shines through…

but you can flip it around to the smooth side, too.

But wait!

There are so many variations.

Add a sticker…

You don’t have to use a mason jar.

I used a candle from Walmart, too.

Peel off the label.

And measure your doily to the jar so you can trim it down.

Mod Podge it to the jar the same way as above.

Finish the look with some jute.

OR…

Paint the front of the doily with chalkboard paint.

Let it dry in between coats…

Wipe clean with a damp paper towel to change the sayings.

OR!!

If you want a glazed, frosted look to the jar…

Make brush strokes in different directions with the Mod Podge.

Cover the entire jar and let dry.

There are so many different things you can do to make your doily candles unique!

A simple, cheap way to change up the look of your candles.

Not to mention, you can complete the entire craft in less than 10 minutes!

It is light and pretty…and perfect for pretty much every season.

Have fun coming up with different variations!

I took these pictures the day she turned 8 months, however, I could not show them on my blog since I was surprising Jon with them in a project that was being sent to the boat.

Layla was going to make her daddy proud in her Arkansas Razorbacks onesie and her Naval Officer build-a-bear Dog, Lulu.

She just keeps growing, growing, growing!

She was all smiles in the beginning.

…and quickly turned into her being a ham. haha

She was more interested in getting a hold of my camera.

She is an absolute wiggle worm now.

Inside the donut hole.

…and trying to get the camera again. haha

Oh. Hello, Lulu.

We meet again.

Yup.

Your ears are just as soft as I remember them.

BFFs.

Hey Daddy, my stuffed dog out-ranks you.

Please salute Lulu.

haha.

Ok Lulu. You stay right there.

I need to show off my chunky chunks.

Piggies!

Would you like butter with those rolls?

Always with her tongue out.

I think this is her non-verbal communication for “I’m done”.

Very well.

Here’s a little comparison on her “every two month” growth and changes:

She is so interactive now! She loves to play peek-a-boo and giggle.

She is very mobile… she shimmied and scooted everywhere at the beginning of 8 months and progressed to a full on crawl through her 8th month. Even though she is into everything, she is just so much fun.

See you again in September for 10 months!

Our church has a program to feed the hungry in our community,

which is something I was so excited to be a part of.

I feel like it is something that is really on my heart.

It is hard to believe that our “first world” nation still has millions of people that go

hungry every night. I can’t stand the thought of someone going without food. It really breaks my heart.

With our abundance, it is our responsibility to remember the needs of our neighbors.

Today we made burritos.

We learned how to make homemade flour tortillas and beans.

I really enjoyed our cooking lesson. I have never made either of these from scratch before… and now I am happy to have the knowledge of how to make these for my own family, as well as a good, homemade meal for those who might not have had one in a while.

After we were finished, Layla and I ran some errands.

I picked up some ingredients to make cookies to be passed out with the burritos.

Just a little after dinner treat.

The entire time I was baking, Layla was standing directly behind me holding onto my legs.

She can’t completely stand on her own yet, but she can balance really well while she holds onto something.

Her “something” of choice today were my legs. haha

I thought it was just the cutest thing to look down and see this:

haha

We baked our cookies…

…and stamped a couple of verses on them.

You never know who might need to be encouraged with one of God’s promises.

I really enjoyed putting these cookies together because I feel like someone could be blessed by them.

Someone that may realize that there ARE people who care about their situation.

That God cares about them.

I think so often, we Christians think that we are not truly “serving” unless we are doing something that requires a lot of work, effort and generally a task that we don’t genuinely enjoy. Because if it’s not hard, it doesn’t really count…we aren’t sacrificing ourselves in service.

I believe just the opposite.

I believe that God has specially equipped you with gifts and talents that you are not only good at, but will also enjoy.

When you use these God-given gifts to do His work, He is glorified.

And, because you enjoy it, your heart will be in it.

And that is what matters.

God cares about the state your heart.

Because, truth be known, His will is going to be accomplished with or without you.

It is our honor and privilege to be used by God.

It is easy to assign levels of interpreted importance to gifts within the church…and then feel guilty when you don’t fit into any of the “important” roles.

Not everyone will be called to the same three or four conventional roles that are “the face” of church.

What you don’t see, are the gazillions of things you could be involved with behind the scenes.

Someone out there will LOVE ministering to children in Sunday School.

It will be their passion, where they feel at peace, knowing they are serving God’s little children.

And for others, being in a room full five year olds would be the definition of their worst nightmare. haha

And that is OK!

Don’t force yourself into somewhere you don’t fit.

The body of Christ is like a big beautiful puzzle. And you are a piece.

One, beautiful piece.

A part of a bigger picture.

You have a special place in that puzzle that will fit perfectly.

God made all of our pieces unique.

Sometimes we just need to accept what piece we are (instead of trying to be a piece that we think we should be) so we can discover where we really fit.

It is then, that we can start doing some serious work.

When we know who we are in Christ, we can be used to make a difference.

Even if you think it your role is small or unimportant.

Remember, you can’t see the big, beautiful picture like God can.

What are your talents? What do you enjoy?

Answer that question for yourself and I guarantee there is a way to serve God and to love others through it.

Those gifts are not an accident.

Go. Serve. Love.

It’s really that simple.