Music this Friday Night

So I know there are a million other things I should catch up on in this blog post but what I want to think about and post about is new artists I'm enjoying recently.

Gungor, "Beautiful Things"



Kari Jobe, "We Are"

Merry Christmas!

From the Riggs family to yours. We wish you a Merry Christmas and for the peace of Christ to be with you now and into the new year!

"The Christmas Story"


Mona & Gavin 2011

Need a Hobby!

So about 4 years ago I realized I was in desperate need of a hobby. One that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. There was scrap booking that I used to do a lot and enjoyed. But then there's the questions of which picture do I put where and what theme do I for with for this book and lets be honest, scrap booking gets expensive. I have come to enjoy bike riding but that's not something you can do year round or when your pregnant or living in a dangerous city. I also like taking on house projects. I enjoy painting or refinishing a piece of furniture or reupholstering chairs but again, fabric and paint and house decor get pricey and projects never end up as simple and cheep as you expect they will when you go into them.

I was thinking about knitting but had tried that once and failed. So the next thing I thought to try was crocheting. I remembered a close friend of mine from High School had crocheted a blanket for her boyfriends' (now husbands') parents one year and I was impressed with the results. So, that was it, I was going to learn to crochet. Well, lucky for me a friend was coming to visit us and she used to crochet and got me started on the basics and ever since then I can't stop.

This late summer/early fall I was needing to start a new project. I had crocheted all the baby blankets, Afghans and scarfs I could possibly crochet and needed to challenged myself in something new. Thanks to my dear online friend Pinterest and all those who post on there I was inspired to try crocheting a rag rug and a baby hat. So bellow are the results of those effort

Rag Rug

For this project I weeded through Mona's old receiving blankets. I kept about 5 of them and had 10 left over to do something with. I took those 10 and added 2 King size sheets I found up in the attic of our house. After about 2 weeks I got this completed Rag Rug for Mona's new big girl room. If I had to do over I would stick to using just large size sheets so you have less connecting points in the rug. Overall, though, I love it and so does Mona & our dog Winston.

Baby Hat

I made this for our little guy due in December. I'm not sure the hat is small enough but we'll grow into it. Oh and I think I'm going to add some brown buttons up one side of the brim. Next, I'll attempt baby boots that match and a winter hat for Mona... wish me luck!

Music Monday

Alright, so I'm warning you now. If some random person were to come across my blog today not knowing anything about me they would assume I'm some High Schooler dying to fall in love with some boy (based on my song choice). I'm okay with that! Sometimes you just got to love a cheesy love song or two. So today is dedicated to sappy love songs. I hope the High Schooler in you enjoys. :)

Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"



Another artist that I have really come to enjoy lately...
Joshua Radin ft. Schuyler Fisk, "Paperweight"


and another Joshua Radin song, "Today"

not a baby.

Well, its official! Mona is no longer a baby. She is 2 which officially makes her a toddler and not a baby. Not only does her age confirm her lack of babieness but she is potty training, sleeping in a big bed, she's getting more independent and bossy, I can't buy her clothes in the baby section, she likes to brush her own teeth and the list could go on. Surprisingly I'm loving this stage (minus a few headache's from her proclaimed Independence).

I was in Mona's nursery a couple nights ago. I was in her room taking down the butterfly appliques off the wall. I stopped for a moment and I found myself getting rather emotional and teary eyed. At first I wasn't quite sure where the tears and emotions where coming from. I suppose that in all the excitement of Mona moving into a big bed and having another little bundle of joy on the way; I had yet to process that Mona's baby stage is officially a chapter closed. Not that I would ever desire to have time stand still but I wasn't prepared for the emotions that came with changing her nursery.

So to not dwell on the bit of sadness I felt about Mona never being a baby again I want to celebrate her with pictures of Mona in her big bed. We count our blessings everyday for our healthy, growing and learning Mona.

Mona's new big bed in her new room

Shortly after moving into the neighborhood two years ago, I met Terrie, a mid-30s white woman living in an area that is over 99% African-American. She and her “husband,” at the time, stayed in a house just a block away while raising their three boys together. It was not but a few months later that they were kicked out of their home after finding out that it was owned by the city and that the supposed landlord was receiving rent from several tenants under false ownership.

After the city boarded up the home, Terrie and her family stayed at family and friends’ homes in trade for doing house work. Many of the homes were drug homes catering to the addictions of the couple. They were given a place to sleep at night; but often they would find their family locked out during the day, left to roam the streets in search of the next night’s lodging.

Last June, Terrie and her boys joined several other neighbors at our home for Mona’s first birthday party. Following the party, she was gracious to help clean up, and it seemed that the Lord was opening a way for a relationship between two young mothers. Several weeks went by without much contact, then one afternoon I noticed Terrie sitting on the steps of an abandoned house across the street with two friends that were not familiar to me. In speaking to them, it was obvious that they were all heavily under the influence of drugs. Just a week later, I received word that Terrie had been incarcerated, sent to prison for at least a year, leaving her young boys behind. I found myself discouraged, seeing the opportunity to minister to her slipping away.

Over those next few days I began to feel the Lord speaking to me about taking advantage of this time that Terrie would be away from her usual surroundings. Now, after nearly six months, some frustration, and a few returned letters, I received a letter in the mail from Terrie. She was writing to let me know I was officially approved to visit her. She caught Randy and me up on all she has been experiencing in prison. She desires to enroll in CNA classes to prepare herself for a job after prison. She finally got a pair of glasses and is waiting to receive dentures for her mostly rotted teeth that have been pulled.

I am looking forward to visiting her in the very near future, and I ask that you pray for my boldness in sharing Christ with her. Pray that the Lord will direct me in finding her the resources she needs to make a better future for herself. Also pray that, following incarceration, she would be able to return locally and
that contact will not be lost. Pray for her family, especially her children, and pray that Randy would have opportunity to minister to her husband.

We pray, as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

"...but gives us power, love and self-discipline."

One morning while driving home from the store with Mona, I (Hannah) was turning the corner onto our street when I saw a younger man and woman interacting in a way that caused suspicion. He was right up in her face as she flailed her arms around in the air. As I made the turn and was within sight of our house, I had many thoughts circling in my head. A few thoughts were “Were they just playing around? Does this girl really need help? Did I misunderstand what I saw? Would anyone else check on them?”

I had just a moment to decide if I should bypass my house and circle around the block to check on the situation again. In contemplating what to do, I had a whole other circle of thoughts going through my mind. A few of them were “Of course, you should check on them! What would I be able to do if this girl was being hurt? I have Mona in the car with me; what would I do with her if I needed to help?” Yet, I quickly realized that all I needed to know is do what I knew the Lord wanted me to do.

So I bypassed our house and circled around the block again. When I came up on the couple, there were now a few people who were gathering to check on the situation. When offered help, the young woman cursed at those who were offering and seemed to be the aggressor in the situation. I left feeling poorly, knowing that there was nothing more we could do to help.

I share this to encourage you as I was encouraged. That day I could have passed by and had a list of excuses as to why it was okay for me not to help. However, the truth we are called to live by is found in 2 Timothy 1:6-7: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

I am called to live not by fear but through the power of the Holy Spirit. This passage does not say anything about always having perfect circumstances. It challenges us to live in the power of the Holy Spirit at all times, even in those times that push us out of our comfort zone and make us uneasy or nervous. When I practice this truth, my boasting can only be in Him who gives me strength.