Christmas Cheer Give-away

Sharing some Christmas cheer, I will be hosting a giveaway on my blog! I'm so glad you stopped by! All you have to do is post with how you share some Christmas Cheer! The drawing will be held December 19th! The wonderful prize will be, homemade goatmilk soap with some wonderful scents, old feedsack material with gorgeous prints, and a surprise or two! Goodluck, and have a Merry Christmas!!!

I was very pleased to have had my story "Grandma's Dirty Knees" published in MaryJanes Farm Magazine. It's a wonderful magazine if you haven't enjoyed it yet I hope you do. I hope this story takes you back to some precious memories from your own childhood, Blessings to you!


GRANDMA'S DIRTY KNEES
Grandma's porcelain skin, graced ever so softly with tiny brown speckles. Her legs are slenderbut strong, her knees coveredwith fresh earth. As she stood she gathered her blue trimmed apron together with one hand,gently, so as not to bruise thered ripe tomatoes. While in the other hand, she carried a white chipped pail of savorystrawberries. With her shoulder shereached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead, catching it just before it ran down into her eyesand at the same time archingher wrist, carefully balancing the pail of berries.I continued to play, pushing my doll carriage up and down the hill. I stopped to watch asGrandpa stood in the shade ofthe old gray barn, brushing a chestnut mare till it shined like a new penny. I busied myself with mybaby-doll in her lavendersatiny dress. My faded tin dishes, trimmed a sage green with delicate pink flowers clinkedtogether as I washed them likegrandma had taught me. And Grandma was busy herself.She washed the small harvest she had just plucked from the vine, still warm in her handsfrom the hot sun. She driedher hands on her apron's skirt tail and placed a tub of water on the cook stove to heat for her dailychores.It was getting on in the day and I felt my tummy rumble. I could hear grandma singing fromthe wash-house as sherhythmically scrubbed back and forth and back and forth on her old scrub board, the corners slickand shiny from so manywashings. She turned grandpa's dingy clothes a bright white.I hurried in the back door, the old gruff screen door screeched it's welcome and then blammedshut. There it was, sittingwhere grandma left it, waiting just for me. A fresh bowl of strawberries and cream, sweetenedwith a spoonful of sugar and aprayer.It was always the biggest treat to rush in the back door to find my bowl of berries sitting onthe table. And mygrandma's little knees, covered with the fresh earth as she knelt to pick those strawberries. Andas she knelt, she prayed.She prayed for each of her children, grandchildren, and my grandpa. She always sought out littleniches of time as if it werea treasure of spun gold, and never put off anything she could do today.As the years flew by and her body became frail with age, she told me she missed being able tokneel down on her knees to prayand holding a handful of fresh warm soil in her hands. I wonder if she knows that I finally see thewisdom in such humble andsimple accounts. Thank you Lord for my Grandma's dirty knees.
©Mikki Jo Howard 2007

BLESSINGS

After all that my family has been through and all we have lost, I guess we could just lay down and give up and nobody would blame us. But I come from a family with deep roots, roots that reach far above my imagination. But I see them, I hear them, I feel them. They were present even before this country was founded. They were the courage that stood against the enemy in the Revolutionary War with my GGGGGGrandfather Edward Polly, and even another grandfather and some uncles. They were the strength that my Great Grandparents used as they lived through the Great Depression. The wisdom of my Grandparents who knew how to prepare for future generations. And love, the love of my parents. Love and hope they shared with us. A love so great that it brings with it, the courage, the strength, and the wisdom from past generations, that bind together this present generation. I grew up watching the grandest love story ever told. My Dad and Mom is and will always be the greatest and purest influence in my life. The love they shared is still, even in my moms absence, so sweet and gentle, tender and beautiful. I was taught the importance of tradition, commitment, family, honesty, the blessings of simply living and loving. Our house was and still is filled with laughter, tears, memories, and many many stories. When I say "our house", I am referring to our family structure. Their are many of us, but we are a single unit. And I am proud of that fact. You've heard the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"??? Well, around here when the going gets tough, we were already going. Standing together, hand in hand, a wall of love and strength, courage and wisdom, and hope with a foundation already set and unmoveable with the roots of generations past, and built upon the rock. That rock is Christ. So, after all we've been through, all we've lost. We stand strong in the promise of Christ, and life everlasting. I'm thankful for such a wonderful family. In the past four years we have lost my grandfather, my uncle James, my uncle Frankie, a dear family friend Virl, my Mom Sally, my uncle Silas, and my aunt Norma. We have so much to look forward to.

Precious Stones

The tiny stones in these old glass bottles are more precious by far than any rubies, diamonds, or pearls. These old glass bottles contain tiny stones of wisdom, strength, and hope. This is their story. My grandpa would gather the eggs each day from the barn, and he would be to get each one so as not to be wasteful, and it didn't matter what nook or cranny near or far, he'd find the very last egg. He was a strong willed man, and would not admit that at his age he shouldn't be climbing. As he climbed up to the barn loft he lost his footing and fell backwards out of the loft. After awhile, realizing he couldn't make it to the house, he crawled to the fence row. Every car that passed he tried to get their attention by waving. Finally about 2 hours later a car stopped. The man ran up to the house to call an ambulance. After sometime, the paramedics finally got inside the gate to him, grandpa's horse was bucking and pawing at them. In his horse mind, he was protecting my grandpa. It turned out grandpa had a badly broken hip. In his late 70's this was a dangerous break. After surgery and a long recovery, my grandpa was back on his feet. He knew he would have to exercise and take care of himself if he was ever to gain his strength back. Years later, I found shelves overstuffed with big bottles, little bottles, fat ones and skinny ones. Each bottle filled to the top with tiny stones. There was probably up to 70 bottles or more. I asked about these bottles filled with tiny pebbles. My grandpa began to explain to me how everyday he walked the edge of the creek bed, and every step or two he'd bend to pick up two or three tiny stones. He went on to explain how that was his way of exercising, strengthening his hip and the muscles that had grown weak. It may not have seemed like such a great feat, had there not been soooo many bottles filled with so many of these tiny stones. What I seen was wisdom, strength, and hope for the future. Each one of my family members have their own bottle of precious stones. When I look at mine, I see the strong loving hands of my grandpa. The heart of a man that held on to hope. And the simple wisdom, that made all the difference.

Rain Rain Go Away

I sure wish the rain would go away and some sweet Spring Sunshine would come. It's another dreary lazy day outside! Where are you Spring?

Mom's Coverlet

My mother has woven threads of love, strength, strong traditions and faithfulness that has knit our family together with ties that can never be broken. She is a strong, confident, and beautiful woman, and my best friend. She is very creative and I am sooooo proud of this coverlet that she crafted on her loom. The pattern is unbelievably gorgeous. I just can't say enough about it, and the picture really doesn't do it justice. Now, if I could just be patient enough to let her teach me.

THE SPINDLE AND THE GREAT WHEEL

I watched as the little spindle whirled and whirled, the soft cloud like wool spun into an elegant thread. Maybe to later be knit into a pair of warm socks or woolen mittens. The wooden spindle was as thin as a pencil, with a small round wheel on one end and a tiny eye hook on the end of that, a marvelous little contraption. Not a complicated little piece at all. Just kind of plain but effective, simple but skillful, small but very capable.

Next to the spindle set a great wheel. It stood ever so tall over the little spindle. It was grand. Almost princely, noble. I was waiting, very still, to see what this magnificent creation could do. Patiently I watched as the young woman spun the broad wheel with her hand. The wheel began to spin. It spun gracefully, around and around. The young woman held in her hand the same cloud like wool fiber. The same elegant thread began to flow through her fingers. I was amazed! It took every stately inch of the great wheel, to do the work of one small spindle. In this big world, we may sometimes feel as small and inappropriate as the simple wooden spindle. But no matter our stature, God can use us to move mountains. Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
And just like the well known story of David and Goliath, stature did not matter. 1Samuel 17:33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. You see, David, small as he was, overcame the giant. With the Lord of hosts by his side, he used a stone to do what others needed a sword and elaborate battle attire to achieve.