Sock Bun Curls!!

I am a member of Pintrest and love looking at new hairstyles amongst other things. One of the easy styles I found to try was a "Sock Bun" for rolling your hair. I wanted to try it for several reasons so last night my daughter and niece who are both 11 1/2  and have long thick hair, one with naturally wavy hair that usually OVER curls and one with board straight hair that won't curl normally, and I decided to give it a try so we rolled our hair on a sock according to directions from.
http://madeinpretoria.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/the-sock-bun-diy-big-hair-bun/ which is the site I found on Pintrest. She explains it really well. It is super easy. The only thing I did different was in the beginning where she suggests cutting out the original hairband, I bypassed that by tying a ribbon close to the head below the band and slid the band off before rolling. Then when I was done rolling I untied the ribbon and slid it out...No waste of bands and no ring mark around the head in the am from the band!!

Niece - straight hair- sock bun

Daughter- wavy hair- sock bun

Just unrolled the sock from her hair!

From straight to curly with no pins or rollers and it stayed up all night!

Wavy - Curled up in big bouncy curls!

No marks from hairbands or divider lines between rollers.

Thank you Pintrest and
MadeinPretoria.wordpress.com  !!

Proverbs 31 Woman

I'm sitting here tonight crocheting a hat for my husband. It's that time of year again in Alaska! Mornings are getting chilly. A little frost on the windows a few times and rain cooling it down with the winds. Autumn is hear and our winter is JUST around any corner!
So I have started taking stock. Buying coats and boots that have been outgrown. Making slippers, hats, scarves and adding length to gloves. Stocking up for winter season!
I always think of the Proverbs 31 Woman while I am doing these things. It gives me such joy to make things to keep my family warm and protected from the elements! I love verse 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed...
That is what I think about when I am sewing and crocheting and felting things for my family to wear. So as 2011/ 2012 winter is upon us...I am not afraid because I am preparing for my families needs!

Benjamin Dewayne Noel

Benjamin Dewayne Noel
Congratulations on your wedding Ben and Jessica!! 9/10/11.

Missionary Cemetery

This is kind of a continuation of the previous thought process. I don't know what to do with it or who to go to with this kind of an idea so I will just write it here and see what happens....


There is a church here in Alaska that has it's own cemetery. I remember when they created it and set the ground aside for it. One of their own, a young girl died unexpectedly and the family couldn't afford the enormous cost of a funeral and burial in Alaska.


So the Church got together, got permission from the proper authorities and set aside some ground and dedicated it for it's special use. Then they came together and built a simple wooden casket and buried her.


Over the years others...old people, preemie babies, car wreck accident victims from the church...the list goes on.


Now we get to the point of my thought and perhaps idea or question...is there or could there be, with out all the financial and political trappings, a place such as that created and set aside for Preachers, Evangelists, Missionaries and their families? From here and abroad that God sees fit to take home early who have no finances and no where for a final resting place because they have given all (home, lands and jobs) for God's service.


A place that for free to the family helped answer all those big unknown questions. Someone with heart and love that was there to help and guide them through the steps of getting their loved one where they need to be, a casket, a final resting place and a place they know they can come back to to visit their loved one.


But also a place that offered these services of help to them if they needed to take the lost loved one home to a family cemetery. Still keeping them from the worry of cost and questions of who, what and how. Someone to ease the way.


This would be a ministry of the heart and of love. I wonder if God has this ministry for someone? Does anyone else have an opinion or idea or thought on this???

God's Mighty Men 2011

In the last year and a half there have been so very many great men who have been instrumental in making me who I am today as a Christian and even as a woman and a mother die. I can't seem to keep my "weeble wobbling"! It's like I keep taking one hit after the other and wondering which one is going to be the one that knocks me down for the KO.


There have been Evangelists, Preachers & Missionaries. Some I have known for 7 years some for 25 some since I was in Kindergarten and some since in the womb. Some were new friends, some were Dear Memories of days and years gone by, some were family who have faithfully served God for over 50 years as assistant Pastor and others were missionaries and Uncles who were Preachers and Pastors. Some just friends who were faithful men who served God and took care of and loved their families!


Now I look at my Dad and his heart problems which are VERY serious. I see one of my Dearest  and Longest Friends and her Dad (Also a preacher) is battling cancer. Another Friends Dad (An Evangelist) lost his battle with Cancer.


We have lost some Mighty Men of God in a very short time as far as this old earth is concerned. (Another dear Evangelist went Home to be with God last Night on the way back from preaching.) But God knows what He is doing and he never leaves us Comfortless! Nor does he leave us without guidance. 


Is this a shake-up and wake-up call? Maybe, I think so! I think we have set back for years and let the old and faithful work themselves to death! And now it is time for some younger men, REAL MEN to step up and fill in the gaps that have been left open! Are you a gap filler?

16 On the HighWay

Yesterday, was it only yesterday, James and I, against our desires as parents allowed Mathew to drive our car to Eagle River, Alaska on the other side of Anchorage from us. At least a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. The plan was for them to drive up after school (Mathew 16 and in 11th grade and our friend who is in his early 20's that we have known for years) and work to get a car that the friend was buying and turn around and drive back that night.
We really only had two concerns...Mathew driving in downtown Anchorage for the first time alone and them driving tired so late at night. We had them check the car for oil, fluids, ect... Change the busted headlight that went out on the car and warning Mathew about all the things to be careful for and when and where to call home...we forgot to have him check the spare tire and make sure the jack was in the car!
So off they went on their grand adventure!! They called and texted as told before leaving town, when arriving in Eagle River...Then Mathew got separated from his friend in the traffic in Anchorage he did just what he should. We were so proud! Then they headed out for home. A couple of hours later Mathew called, he had had a flat and had no jack and once again was separated from his friend. It was 1am.
Finally, after much deliberation, with James having to work a 12 hour day today and me being unable to drive,  James' brother Allen volunteered to drive up in the middle of the night to take him what he needed for repairs.
All in all they got home around 6:30am and they were exhausted!!!!
"My God shall supply ALL your needs according his riches in Christ Jesus!"

Writing with Joanna

I have had a love of Journaling or keeping a Diary for years. I'm not good at it. But have always picked up and collected and picked up the "style" of book or Journal that spoke to me. Whatever caught my eye. 


My Mamaw Barlow, was a diary keeper for years and my Mom has them now. I wish I could be more faithful at it like she was but I am to very sporadic with it.


This weekend when we went camping as a family I told everyone to take a couple of small items (book or toy) for in the tent in case it rained one day. To my delight and surprise, Joanna brought a notebook for journaling in!!! I was so thrilled that she is picking that up also!


It was fun to sit in the tent with her and write in our journals together! So very special!!!

Joanna Journaling in the tent with me!

Serious concentration with her writing!