Beauty in The Roots

So, today is a beautiful day outside, and it's not scorching hot like it has been, but it's warm...

Makes me think of roots...different kinds.

There are the roots of our lives, what was planted in us from a very early age, that made the foundations of who we are today.

~And in thinking this, it makes me think of how the roots grow in plants, and especially flowers, the farther down they grow, the healthier and bigger the plant will be.

Then, there are the roots of our names...where they are derived from, various origins of our names, which has always fascinated me.

So this post is really just meant to be colorful, and exploring so many different attributes of roots...

I chose the Lotus first because that is the flower for July. I have seen them several different colors, like pinks and reds but never blue!!

I thought, "How interesting...and beautiful!" A bright blue lotus...how could this not make it on my page? haha...

I thought this was an unusual type of flower, and its just because I've never really seen this before!! It's so pretty, and its so small...it's called the Clover; the Oregon Coast wildflower.

The petals are thin, but lovely...

Have you ever wondered what certain flowers "mean"? In the old days, If you gave a woman a particular type of flower, it had a generalized meaning behind it...

These are pictures of a Camellia flower. These were meant to say "Have courage...Be brave and you will succeed."

This a peach colored Hibiscus flower. How incredible?

These were given to denote gentle beauty; saying "The beauty of your face is matched by your heart". How incredibly loved, or even adored would you feel if you received a bouquet of these, maybe even different colors, from someone you loved so very much?

Pansies are small...simple...and yet so full of various colors, that they are just as beautiful as other, larger flowers, and they have their own space. So lovely, they signified the reflection of pleasant memories...as if to say," Remember the night we danced..."

And for the flowers, last, but most certainly not least, my two very, whole-hearted favorites...

These are various types of Orchids...They are so very precious to me, and I will always love them, because they are so delicate, and fresh.

Orchids denote abundance...saying,"I will give you everything your heart desires..." How incredible, to be given the things truly of your heart? What else could possibly make you feel complete?

These are various lilies, my very favorite being the Stargazer, the second picture. I love all kinds of lilies, but by and far, those are the dearest and most precious to my soul...and they were reflective of purity, saying, "I love you without expectations..."

The reason I love Lilies and Orchids so much is because of what they "signify"...the expressions "I love you without expectations..." and "I will give you everything your heart desires..."

Who does that sound like?

There is only one that can make those promises and fulfill them completely...Christ.

As he molds us, shapes us, and creates these beautiful blossoms inside of us that no other could ever match, it really stops me...and makes me wonder...WHY ME?

Sometimes it feels like a heavy job interview...you've been selected out of 50 to 100 other applicants; weeded through for weeks, and each having nearly the same qualifications...and when you get the phone call that YOU have been chosen, out of all those others, you cannot help but wonder, "WHY ME?" "What was so special about me, that they wanted me for the job, and no one else?" "What was it they saw in me?"

But with my God, the crazy part is...we don't have to 'measure up', or try to have the greatest, most incredible resume ever seen, we don't need references for others to vouch for us or our character.

He says, "Come as YOU ARE...and I will give you everything your heart desires...and Oh, how I love you, without expectations..."

He does not require anything of us...except that we yield the only thing we have to Him...our lives. My life. Whatever fruit I produce in it, if I produce it for Him, that is the ONLY thing that is asked of me.

~My roots are Hebrew~

I love the roots of my name...Danielle. It's the female form of Daniel (and I was named after my grandfather, and I'm so proud to say that.) In Hebrew, Daniel looks like this: דניאל. It means God Is My Judge. As does mine, Danielle.

my son, Levi is so precious. Even before he was born, it really seemed to be the only name that truly fit him, and even more so after he was born. And I chose his name because it's biblical, and it's beautiful.

In Hebrew, his name looks like this: שבט לוי.

Levi means Joined In Harmony, or to Accompany.

Our names come from deep roots, somewhere...and I really love knowing where mine came from, and my son's....how precious it is to me.

In Matthew 21, the story is about the Pharisees, and the "teachers" whose main goal was to steal from the poor masses, in the courts of God, every day. His confrontation with them opened their eyes, and His words pierced like swords in them...The owner of a vineyard rented out to vine growers...who promised to care for his servants, and once he was gone, killed each of his servants, and eventually murdered his only son, and threw his body outside the vineyard. In doing this, they hoped to gain all the profits for themselves.

This story exposed the roots of the Pharisees, these "teachers" and "holy priests" for what they were...withered and shallow, without nutrients.

I love His words to them...

"The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous to our eyes...He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

Those are powerful words...

So, if my faith is shallow, and has no real roots, I'm a fake. no better than all the priests and teachers who ridiculed Him, and tried so vehemently to trap Him...But if I welcome Him, and allow Him to take root, just as I am, I will not remain the same...the remains of the day will change, as much as I allow them to be.

So, it's up to me...I love my roots...where I've come from...and I'm so glad that I'm no longer left to my own roots! It begs the question..."Where do my roots lie~Near the topsoil, or deep beneath?"

Feelin' Kinda Patchy

I just love quilts...as a matter of fact, I still have my baby quilts. There are 2 of them. One my auntie Babe made, I've been told anyways. She passed away around the time i was actually born, so i never got to meet her, but my mom and Grandma told me she would have just adored me. :)The other one, my Aunt Diane made for me when I was around a year old or so. It's beautiful and pink with pretty colors.


I just love patchwork quilts...and it just so happens that I really love to sew by hand, but haven't done it for years. I have to say that is noe thing I think i would really enjoy doing...making a quilt all by hand. Perhaps someday I will have the time to learn.

I just love the colors, and the different designs, and how they can just mimic our hearts...most of us, as we go along in life, we get patchwork hearts...but they are just as beautiful if not more, than anything else...so I just wanted to share some beautiful work here...

~This is called the Mariner's Compass... its so shiny!!









~ This is huge...but it blows me away, a few women made this isn't it gorgeous???


Can you guess what this picture is of?


~Return To Zion is the name of this quilt What an awesome image...















This one is so vibrant...I just love the colors...a colorburst....

~This is called Birth of a Star

It sure looks like one doesn't it? Like something you might see from space...


















I love Humming Birds...I love everything about them, their colors, the sound their wings make...and the size of this quilt just amazes me...this takes so much talent...bravo!!!!

~This is called Grandma's Patches.

This one just has so many patches, and they are sooo pretty; this one really reminds me of a patchwork heart...maybe my own heart...different patches for different pieces of my life, and how they all come together to make something beautiful and complete...

~This one doesn't have a name, but I love the colors. So pretty and vibrant...I just can't believe how much time and effort it takes to create something as gorgeous as this...

~This is called the Reunion Star.

This is just really pretty!!

Refining Silver

So, my dearest most precious friend Jen sent me an email the other day, and I loved it...I needed to read that...I've been in a bit of a slump lately, and I have been thinking about so many things, trying to do so well in school, and struggling a bit here and there, and it was just perfect. I don't want to stay the way I am...I want to change, be refined, ultimately being purified each and every day a little more...

It's just so easy to forget the "grand scheme" of things, and

so I guess we need little nudges every now and then...I just thought how awesome, to be refined new a little more and more every day...

This is the email I got from Jen:

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God...

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her

curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

(I know this first picture is very small, but it is a man holding his piece up to the flames...the "slow cooker" for silver and other precious metals)

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ' He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, ' Oh, that's easy --when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

These are a few pictures of Maker's Marks...Hundreds of years old, and yet, even today, they are recognizable; Those who are interested,and even knowledgable can look at these, and discover exactly who created them; they can find out as much information about the piece, and its creator that are indefinitely bound to each other as they desire...

This piece is from London, England made in 1729. This is a tea strainer.

This piece was created in London in the early 18th century; it is a silver coffee pot.

Pass this on, someone needs to know that God is watching over them.

And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.

' Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.'

Thank you God, for teaching me to laugh again......

but please Lord, don't ever let me forget that I cried..."

And that was the end of the email~ But I just love this~these things are beautifully master-crafted, and each piece is unique, not any other piece is exactly alike...Just the fact that it takes so much time, sweat and effort to create each piece, is just awesome...Have you ever seen silver-smithing up close and personal?

It really is an incredible process....to literally watch the impurities just melt away, to see something so crude turned into a beautiful masterpiece...it's awesome...

And the fact that the older each piece is, the more its worth, especially with it's Maker's Mark on it...but ours is most invaluable...in every sense...it makes us who we are...

Sometimes all we need is a change of perspective to feel refreshed, and to be able to look at things from the outside in, or the long run as opposed to what is right in front of us this very moment which can just flat out be way to much...I'm so lucky to have friends that say I can help them do that; and I'm even more soooo super glad for friends that can do that for me!

My Lovin' Spoonful...

My little man...these are the days that seem to just fly by...This would be snack time, with the family, Gramma on the left, Grandpa on the right, and our little Chihuahua, Isabella smack in the middle, hoping to get some sort of crumbs...He is learning how to sit in the "big boy" chair now, but he doesn't get to very often, we are still working on that...but he really loves it, I guess it makes him feel all "grown up" and more a part of the family than anything...it's hard for me to see him just growing every single day, it seems like now...

This is my long, tall drink of water...he can reach the air-conditioning buttons when he stands on his train!

I took a little test today on my baby website, you put in your child's age, m/f, their height, weight and then they give you an "estimate" of what your child's height will be by the time they hit 18 years old...ok....are you ready for this?

(Keep in mind, that I am only 5'6, his father is about 6' or 6'1) They told me that based on his measurements right now, at age 2 1/2, by the time he is 18, Levi will be somewhere between 6'4 and 6'5!!!

Can you believe it? Even if they are close, he is still going to tower over me...I just know he is going to be a football player, or a soccer player, or even a baseball player...this kid was built and designed for athletics...his arm and accuracy are remarkable, and his coordination is great!!!!

I love this look...I just had to put it on here...he is sooooo scheming something...and mommy probably won't find out what it is until I hear a Crash, Bang, or Boom!

Either that, or I will mysteriously lose another remote control, or my wallet, or perhaps I will even mysteriously discover where my prescription sunglasses (which are NOT cheap) had disappeared too...I'm still hunting for those...two weeks ago, I lost my keys while we were getting ready to leave for daycare and school...I was rushing to get breakfast all done and over with, and a sudden silence came over the house...I searched for over an hour for them...had to call his daycare cuz we were so late...I was getting frantic. Finally, I stopped in my tracks...and I thought to myself..."Now if I were Levi, where would I hide those keys?" Then, I thought f the cupboards in the kitchen...I searched in 4 of them...and low and behold....Ta-Da!! They were stuffed in a bunch of stacked cups n the very back of a cupboard...How he got them there...the world may never know...heehee!

Oh, these are my favorite...This is most definitely a "Gramma Thing". I am learning what those types of things are...just special little things that He and Gramma share...its really adorable too!

He takes all of her nail polishes out, and lines them up, one by one, counting at least to 2 or 3, and then he would take one to her at a time, and point to his toes, indicating he just "wanted some too!" So naturally, Gramma had to oblige...and he actually sat still long enough to let her do it...that's what cracks me up!! But I suppose the colors are pretty...hhhmmm.....tropical, just like his momma? Or his Mi-Ma? (I think that is my mom's new 'gramma' nickname) Levi seems to like it...He is just so precious...

These are just a few of the moments that make my heart joyful, and make my soul just soar...he is my little coconut! Single parenthood is not easy, but I see my blessings, and my future, in his eyes every morning...all the time...when he smiles, all you see is teeth, and its just...awesome...This is my lovin' spoonful!