~Anticipation: Yankee Peddler 2009~

Activity in the woods at Yankee Peddler is in full-swing. Lots of pounding, sweating, and yup.....some swearing, too, as artisans complete the last-minute touches on their booths in anticipation of beautiful weather and record-breaking crowds this coming weekend....the first of three at Yankee Peddler Festival in Canal Fulton, Ohio. If you click on this link, you'll find a video that beautifully portrays the 'feel' of this great festival. Spread over 80 acres, people come from all over the United States to partake in not only the wonderful arts and crafts, but in the education, (everyone is demonstrating their craft) the delicious food, and the entertainment. It's a 'way of life' that Jim and I have missed these last years. Tommy grew up there, as we participated in YPF from the time he was in kindergarten. (Tom....you KNOW you're going to miss wearing those colonial costumes and the fresh strawberry shakes!) And we will miss him, too. (take a peak at Tommy in colonial garb when he was a little tyke at a long-ago Yankee Peddler HERE.













I've spent 12-13 hour days in my studio the past months preparing for this particular show. The amount of inventory needed for these crowds is daunting. There is always the 'Good News/Bad News' part of it: Good News if you run out of items....Bad News if you run out of items!! I've learned over 20+ years, that you need to have a great supply of 'pieces/parts' ready and waiting in the studio. At the end of each weekend, we inventory what we've sold....and get ready to work on finishing up the necessary dolls and jewelry for the next weekend. As you can imagine, we're pretty pooped at the end of this show.....but we'll be on to the next one as soon as we can catch our breath~

So.....if you're anywhere in the Ohio-PA-MI-VA areas in the next three weekends, and have never experienced Yankee Peddler Festival.....please stop by. You'll be SO glad you did! Oh....we're in The Glen....Booth 228. I'm looking forward to seeing my 'old' customers....and meeting many new ones.

~Prayer Over Folded Laundry~

Dear God, How many loads of laundry did I do over the course of my marriage, complaining to you that it just never seemed to end? How many stacks did I fold (sometimes muttering to myself) that the boys wore WAY too many pairs of socks and underwear in one week?

Tom and Jim just left to golf, and having walked into the house with his laundry in tow, Tom threw the loads into the washer and dryer and headed (per usual!) out the door. And here I am, folding my boy-man's laundry once again, and wondering if it will be the last time I will ever have the pleasure (yup...you heard me correctly, Lord) of doing it again?

Next year, he'll be married, and will have a new 'woman' to help him with it. Not me. I will no longer look at the stacks of 'not-too-white' whites, wondering why in tarnation he didn't throw bleach in with the load I'm folding! As his mom, it's no longer my responsibility. Another job taken away from me. Another job I was initially relieved to be rid of, only to find myself mourning its loss in the end. How foolish I was.

And so Lord, I once again thank you for giving me this child, this son you blessed us with. This Child of God who has blossomed into a beautiful adult in his own rite. And thank you, Lord, for lending him to me for the short while I had him under my wing. I have a feeling you approve of the job his father and I have done. He's grown into a fine young man.

Love,

Carol

P.S. I promise never to complain about doing laundry again. But about that ironing.....

~FingerPrints Friday~

Fingerprints Of God
Psalm 139:14-15; Phil 1:6

There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that goes:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

God's fingerprints are everywhere! I see them so so clearly when I look at my sons and grandchildren. When Jeff and Ella took off walking into the ocean on our recent vacation, it just took my breath away. Truly God's fingerprints right there in front of my eyes!

Don't miss the fingerprints all around you as you travel through your day. Stop and take a peek at Beki's blog to read about more fingerprints.

~FingerPrints Friday~

There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called, Fingerprints, that starts:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

Each Christmas I find my heart and my home flooded with memories of long-ago Christmases. Each one has its own distinct 'fingerprint'. We had our sons seven years apart....so Jeffrey, our oldest, had many Christmases with Mom and Dad all to himself. And oh did he have our undivided attention! I just couldn't imagine loving another child as much as I loved him. I feared that I couldn't 'mother' any child with the passion I had for this child. Yes...he was covered in God's fingerprints. I was happy to be the mother to this brilliant (of course!) precious child of God. I would dedicate my life to being the best mother I could be.

Jeffrey got on his knees every nite before bed and prayed for a baby brother. I tried my darndest to persuade him to pray for a baby 'sister'....to no avail! You know what they say about God always listening closely to the prayers of children. He did. And He sent us a new little set of fingerprints when Jeffrey was almost seven: Tommy. We were blessed with another brilliant (of course!) precious son.....and then there were two. The fingerprints continued.

We were going to name this new beautiful bundle, Ryan. Much to our chagrin, Jeffrey refused to call him 'Ryan', calling him 'Tom' after his favorite person in the world: his cousin and our Godchild, Tom. And although I had two gold little boy charms Jim had already had engraved with 'Jeffrey' and 'Tommy', you guessed it: Jeffrey won. We named our new little one Tommy! (Our Godson, Tom is Tommy's Godfather!)

The next Christmas we had two sons. They are the greatest gifts God could ever have sent us. I get very nostalgic each Christmas as the memories flood my heart and my mind with those long-ago memories. Sigh. They seem like just yesterday.


May you have a memorable day today. Be sure to look for the Fingerprints in your life this Friday in December....wherever you are in the world!





Stop by Beki's blog to read about more Fingerprints!


Thank you, David for the mention on Post of the Day!

Stop by his blog for some fine reads! You'll be glad you did!