It's Springtime in the Rockies....

I love this old song.  It hits my mind many times in in the springtime.  We still have lots of snow from the 7 inches we acquired 4 days ago, but it is rapidly melting.  Our pond is partially melted and we've had visitors the last couple of days.  Yesterday our 'watch dog' let us know there were strangers on the property.  I looked out the window and saw Mr. and Mrs. Goose waddling down the drive to the creek.  They disappeared into the brush.  This morning looking out we had Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.  They didn't stay long.  We enjoy these visitors.  Just wish they didn't leave behind such a messy calling card!

I'm so happy to have gotten all my Easter orders done with time to spare.  I'm so thankful for how God has blessed my efforts in the making and selling of these Totes.

I went to JoAnn's yesterday and got more fabric.  I have orders for 2 purple bags, and my purple collection wasn't enough for an entire bag.  I have discovered that some colors are hard to find.  Purple is one of them.  I got fabric for a fun kitty bag for a dear friend that loves cats.  I got silly chicken fabric for another friend that loves chickens.  Its intoxicating for me to design these bags.  Such fun!

We are off to our daughters for the Easter weekend.  We will trade our mountains for the countryside.

The beginning

This is the first posting on my new blog.  It leaves wide-open all kinds of possibilies and wonders of what is ahead.  I began this blog in preparation of starting an Etsy Store to sell items and bring in some money to help us out financially.  I pray God will bless this effort.

I have so many wonderfully talented friends that I thought Etsy would be a way to showcase the items they make, and bring them some extra money too. I hope to include them along the way, and also share the life my family enjoys up in the Colorado Mountains.

I took a sewing idea I first saw on Pinterest and expanded it, and tried to perfect it into a product that people would like.  I'm thrilled to say it has worked so far, and my friend Dianna and I have been selling as fast as we can sew.

So, my first item I will be offering on Etsy (as soon as I figure out how to open an account) will be Tote Bags.  These Totes begin on strong canvas of various colors.  We then add four layers of 100% cotton fabric in ruffled rows.  Each layer is double fabric.  There are no unfinished edges on these Totes.  We have tried to make them into a high quality product for cutomers to purchase.

Life Changes

Once again we have had a major change in our life.  Yesterday our daughter's family left their home 2 hours away from us to travel across the country to begin a new adventure in their lives.  As a mama, this has been hard to let go - to say goodbye.  As I spent a few days helping with the packing and trying to get in every last minute I could with my 4 year old grandson, my thoughts were all over the place.  I kept thinking of families in the past.  When Pioneers left their homes to travel across the country in a covered wagon, there were no telephones, no computers, no Skype.  Goodbye usually meant goodbye.  I'm so very thankful I don't live in that time and space for that very reason.  I also kept going over and over in my mind scenes from my past when my family left our families and moved 500 plus miles away.  We also took our children away from their grandparents, their aunts and uncles and cousins.  I kept remembering the look in my mother's eyes and the tremor in her voice as I told her we were moving away - far away from her and taking her precious grandchildren with us.

So today I begin my new life also, and I will be fine.  As long as my daughter and her family are okay, I will be okay.  I'm not foolish enough to pretend there won't be moments, even days of sadness and longing for that little hand to be reaching for mine.  The little voice that would say to me, "I love you so much, Grandma" will come over the phone now and be minus those big brown eyes that he inherited from me and from his mother.  We will need to find new ways to stay connected until a visit can occur.

I will enjoy time with my son and his family that live locally.  I will get to know my brand new granddaughter and enjoy watching her grow and discover life around her.  I will look forward to the day when she will put her little hand in mind and say, "Grandma, I love you so much".

I will enjoy time with my wonderful husband, my childhood sweetheart.  We will work together, side by side, on this mountain.  We will continue to make sure this Retreat Center is a place where folks can come and rest, restore and reconnect with God and each other.  We will laugh together, cry together, and remember together.  We will plan and save and look forward to a trip out East to visit and enjoy.  We will pray and thank our Heavenly Father four our amazing blessings of life, health, joy and yes, even trials.

God is GOOD...All The Time!