My light, how does it shine?

How does your light shine?

Do you have a candle?

Is it broken?

Did some one take a bite out of it?

I heard a really good sermon from Mike Fisher on Christmas. The gist is that God come to Mary, Gideon and Jeremiah at times when they did not value themselves a lot. God valued them, that is what's important.

Shoot Gideon was hiding from life. Mary thought that she was unworthy. Jeremiah couldn't communicate.

God used all of them, he can use all of us broken candles. He can melt us and reshape us, give us a new wick to burn and light our passions in his will.

Rain and wanting to fix the world

It is 80 F degrees here in Chennai at 7:30 am. It is Monsoon Season but we have not seen rain in a week. I am assured by others we will see more rain this and next month. Sometimes the rain is a blessing when it is so hot and will only get hotter in May, like up to 120 F.



Here are some pictures from our Auto ride to church 2 weeks ago and what happens to the slums when the rain hits. I hate to get wet but I feel a lot worse for those whose homes are on the water. You can't bail out if you house is in the river. We can find places inside to hang our laundry but these homes are 8 x 10 there isn't room to move much less find higher ground. Like my wise friend points out with my American mentality I want to fix everything and in some cases I have to let others do it themselves. They won't learn if they don't do it themselves.

(Make take a couple days to be some where with a strong internet conection to get the pictures uploaded :)

New Links

I attached a list of links to Mystery Shopping sites I have trusted in the past. I am not responsible if you have a bad time. Those I did not like are not up there anyway. They pay by Paypal, Check or deposit in your bank account. Until you have seen the cash with a company don't give out your Social Security number. Just like the cartoon some companies disappear before you know it.

Mystery Shopping

So what is Mystery Shopping? You get paid to go to a store, restaurant, gas station, bank or tire store and evaluate food, service, personnel, stock and content to find out if the company is doing its job. That and you get paid, not a whole lot but something to make it worth your while. Some you get reimbursed for what you buy including memberships, bowling games, clothes and food. Some you are authorized to reveal yourself and take pictures of what they need to improve on. In this case they needed to stock their shelves a bit more.

I have been doing this for 3 years now. I started because I was pregnant and too sick to have a job. To get a little cash I tried it out and now I have worked for maybe 15 companies. The jobs available depend on the company and where you are living. Some chains only shop certain districts so you move and you may not be able to do what you did before. I have earned between $1.75 and $35 in fees for a job. I am not getting rich but it does give me some spending money.

I think the hardest ones are the cell phone shops because I have done so many of them. I don't want to reveal that I know too much of they think you are a mystery shopper. I had one guess I was one and I had to play dumb. I think I failed that mission.

Summer Time

Grandma has a little helper. Anna is not a carbon copy but herself and she really loves all her grandparents. Here she is feeding Grandma Diane some string cheese. I am grateful that Anna is willing to share with people who she loves. Now she needs to learn how to share with those who she may not know or many not even like.

We are on week 2 of potty training. Some times it just works to give her some reading material. Here it is the Dell catalog. She loves looking for the mice and the keyboard. We are only getting one accident a day from her. Only one accident from me too - I dropped my phone in the potty one day while putting her on. Oops, all my hubby said to me is I guess you are a Voit.

Anna loves her computer time with her grandpa too. I think Papa is playing Pogo here. Look at the smile on Grandpa :)

Food Bank

Today we went with GCC church to the Elkart Food Bank. We got to sort school supplies. Here is the deal: one man who works with the youth had a vision.

At the end of the school year kids clean out their lockers and trash a bunch of usable stuff. He organised 10 schools to have those roll away bins and for the kids to put clothes, papers, books, pens and assorted stuff like that in it. After 64 bins and a bus of people we got it all sorted and it will be off to school kids in Benton Harbor, Chicago and Mexico. In Mexico you can't go to school without supplies and this will help them.

Anna had a ball with the other kids working. She helped in the sorting and taking things to such and such pile. I am proud of her. I think her favorite thing though was the ride there and back on a Real Bus! Check out how dirty I got, well at least my toes :)

Birthday Party

Today is our friend Clair's Birthday Party. We plan to rejoice that she survived to being 16! Wow, I can't believe that in only 14 years my little one will be 16. No dating or driving for her. I am going to keep her in a bubble. She will only eat sugarless candy and love her vegetables. Her life will be perfect.

HA HA!

Like that will work with the little one as well as it worked with me. God can protect her so much more than I can.

Her uncle Q loves her too!

We moved

Some day I would like to do a landscape quilt. Maybe one of these pictures of the veiw from where we lived. We are out of the chalet and I haven't touched my quilting items since then.

I am still alive

Hello everyone,

Since we are working on getting letters out to our friends and making contact with others right now my quilting is on the back burner.

I live vicariously though my friends. Here is a great quilt by Michelle. I never liked tans until I met this quilt. The points are amazing! She was in my Moving in after Moving On class which I would highly recommend everyone taking.

Good night,

Nancy

We will be doing a lot of driving in the next few months visiting lots of friends and family. Friday and Saturday we hung out with Jeff and Barb. Anna got to play with their toys, have hamburgers and a root beer float. It was good to get away, I just forget that when you travel it takes time and when you are in the passenger seat there is NOTHING to do. I need work on that.

It is as exciting as a toddler asleep on you on a couch.




Nancy

OOPS

Ryan took a bunch of our stuff and put it in storage. That is fine, took lots of trains, toys and by accident my sewing stuff. Scissors, thread, fabric, all notions so I can't work anything. Oops, I guess I will have to wait to fix my PJ's, pants and quilts. At least Anna can keep playing with her little people.

Have fun,

Nancy

Jewel Box Quilt

This is one that's been in storage for a few years. Ryan bought the fabric and it took a while to find just the right pattern for it.

This is next in my pile to finish, hopefully before we go to India.

Opps, you can see my foot in the picture.

Nancy

Quilts

Here are a few quilts I am working on. The green one was designed and colored by my loving husband Ryan. He has a much better eye that I do. As I write this I have the border edge done, all it needs is a lable and a little spot fixed.

This rag quilt is for a few freinds in Detroit who had their first son. Featured is our friend Pocken, Anna's favoite buddy. Anna said bye to Pocken 5 times this morning and none to her dad. Some day ....

I will post another quilt from my stash soon.

I can hear the wind howl right now outside.

This is lake effect and you can't get much closer than I am. I love looking at the trees plastered in snow and seeing how fluffy it is.

I wish I had my snow shoes here by the Michigan Lake Shore.

It is so beautiful it takes your breath away.

Take care,
Nancy

Snow

Yep, we have snow, lots of it on the cars and the roads. About the time you think that you have the car clean it comes again. I am enjoying this beauty and thanking God for the blessings He has given us. I wonder how it will be to adjust to a low of 60.4 degrees F in India. No snow there.

I have the backing done on my current quilt, now I just need some one with a long arm quilting machine to help.

Good night,

Nancy

Quilts

Well I am at the same place I go to when I am about to finish a quilt. I have the whole front done, will have some one quilt it and I am stuck with finishing the back. Now I want to start something else versus finishing what I have to do. I think I will make a rag quilt next for some friends from Detroit.

http://www.craftsofchaddsford.com/makeragquilt.htm

It should looking cute with baby flannel.

Great Book

Recently at the pediatricians office I found a great book for teaching little ones that even if we are not with them we are there in their hearts and minds. The title is the Kissing Hand. Take a look at it the next time you are at Borders or Barns and Noble. Quick store is that the mom kisses the baby raccoons hand and when the baby is lonely it can look at its hand and know mom loves it.

http://www.amazon.com/Kissing-Hand-Audrey-Penn/dp/0878685855

Amazons description:

Chester Raccoon doesn't want to go to school--he wants to stay home with his mother. She assures him that he'll love school--with its promise of new friends, new toys, and new books. Even better, she has a special secret that's been in the family for years--the Kissing Hand. This secret, she tells him, will make school seem as cozy as home. She takes her son's hand, spreads his tiny fingers into a fan and kisses his palm--smack dab in the middle: "Chester felt his mother's kiss rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart." Whenever he feels lonely at school, all he has to do is press his hand to his cheek to feel the warmth of his mother's kiss. Chester is so pleased with his Kissing Hand that he--in a genuinely touching moment--gives his mom a Kissing Hand, too, to comfort her when he is away. Audrey Penn's The Kissing Hand, published by the Child Welfare League of America, is just the right book for any child taking that fledgling plunge into preschool--or for any youngster who is temporarily separated from home or loved ones. The rough but endearing raccoon illustrations are as satisfying and soothing for anxious children as the simple story. (Ages 5 and older) --Karin Snelson

My Little One

As I sit here my husband is reading to Anna. She loves it so much and I am glad, she must take after me. I remember devouring books when I was in High School and at Michigan Tech. After having Anna it took over a year for me to read anything other than just short stories, readers digest or a Get Fuzzy book. Now I am being able to read adult books again and even do some bible studies. Right now I am in one called Moving on after Moving in. How to get into where you live and how to leave your past behind. More or less, get a life.

In half a hour if all goes well she will be sleeping snuggly in her bed with Mortimer, Pinky and Rocky. What a world I wish I lived in.

Shopping

Today I got to go shopping for myself. Ryan gave me cash for Christmas and the mission to get some new clothing. Most of the time when I go shopping, I am looking for sale items for my daughter, she always needs socks or pants. Toys are great to shop for because you can play with most things before buying them. Then I looks for things my husband needs/wants/expects. Today I got to shop for me, how in the world do I do that?
I thought of what I would like and I got it :) That meant some good socks, some unmentionables and 2 sweaters and a blouse. Only the blouse survived the husband test. That just means some more shopping for another day.