Knifty Knitter!

Well its that time of year.. the weather is starting to change and it isn't so lovely outside.. but I have a great reason to stay inside.. I'm knitting!!

What first inspired me was a cause called Click for Babies.. you may have seen the link on my blog. The idea behind it is to knit or crochet purple hats for babies in order to bring awareness to shaken baby syndrome and the period of purple crying.

Often babies go thru a period of time (around 2 weeks of age peaking around 2 months and ending around the fourth month) when they cry and sometimes it feels like they will never stop, but they will.. I promise. I can honestly say with certainty that I have never seen a healthy 2 year old crying 24 hours a day!!

During this period of purple crying, parents can become very overwhelmed and unfortunately, some parents have gone as far as shaken their infants to make them stop crying. What they don't seem to understand is that an infants brain is like a ping pong ball inside their skull and will bounce around and if it doesn't kill them, it can give them severe brain damage. So, if you have to, walk away and take a time out and ask for some help!

Here are some of my hats.. take note that I've had to use a loom because my carpal tunnel is so bad and I've never made a hat before so they aren't perfect but they are made with love!

                                 

 

Sad day in cyberspace..

Although I've been blogging for a few years, I haven't blogged as much as I have until this year.. maybe  it's just that I didn't have much to say until now.. maybe it's just that I needed a therapeutic outlet to put my thoughts and feelings since I have a hard time talking about them.. whatever the reason.. here I am.

I rarely read others blogs unless they are my personal friends, however, a few months back I started to follow Storing up Treasures.. Courtney is the author and she is so inspirational.. when I wake  up and before I do anything else, I check to see if she's posted anything new.. I look forward to reading what she has to say and admiring the photo's she often posts (she's a beautiful photographer).

Courtney is a mother to 11 amazing kiddos.. she's married to her best friend.. she's an inspirational writer.. she's honest and so real! She talks about her personal struggles with depression, her journey and blessings with adoption, the challenges of raising kids with RAD (reactive attachment disorder), her faith, relationships and everything in between.

I'm not married and I don't have kids but I can still relate on so many different levels. I've learned so much about myself thru her blog (and have written about much of it). One of the things I have struggled with for years is really listening to God.. I am not someone who can sit in silence, meditate and have a two way conversation with God.. it doesn't work like that.. maybe I'm just not a good enough Christian, I don't know.. but I do hear him via different avenues and one of those avenues has been, Courtney's blog.

The other day I didn't get a chance to read her post before I went to work so as soon as a I had a minute, I signed on.. always in anticipation to hear what shenanigans Courtney and the kids had been up to.. and I was not only shocked but at a loss of words to find out, she had written her last post.. she was shutting down her blog.

Now, we have e-mailed a few times but other than that, other than me commenting on her blog and her commenting on mine.. we had no relationship.. no lasting friendship.. yet.. I was devastated. I wrote her an e-mail telling her how sad I was and probably sounding like some freaky stalker! But it truly does feel like I'm losing a friend.. someone who I could count on everyday to make me think, laugh, cry and generally be inspired by. Even her photography inspired me to do better.. as a matter of fact, it was because of her I bought my most recent lens (which arrived in the mail today).

Not having Courtney's blog to visit will be a whole that won't soon be filled but but whatever her reason for shutting it down was, I know it was important to her. Many blessings Courtney and all the best in where ever God leads you!!

Don't give up..

After my mom passed away I went to a really dark place. A place where no light could get in. A place that no matter how hard people tried to break in the windows, to bring in some light, to bring in some air... I would board the windows up tight. I didn't want to be happy.

I felt so alone.

It wasn't like I was the only one to lose a mother, my sisters had too.. but i convinced myself that because they all had families and I didn't, no one could understand how I felt. Obviously I was wrong but I couldn't see that at the time.

A friend gave me the Josh Groban CD and told me to listen to this song. It didn't change how I was feeling at the time but it gives me so much comfort now. I hate to admit it, but there are times when I go to that dark place, even today (yes, I still have my moments), but I can listen to this song and know I'm not alone.

Don't give up
It’s just the weight of the world
When your heart’s heavy, I
I will lift it for you
Don’t give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you, I
I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved

Don’t give up
It’s just the hurt
That you hide
When you’re lost inside, I
I’ll be there to find you

Don’t give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you I
I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved

You are loved

Don’t give up
It's just the weight of the world

Don't give up
Everyone needs to be heard

You are loved