The Return to England

December 12 - December 30, 2013

It had been almost 18 months since my last visit to England. Too long indeed!! With a new addition to the family in July, it was time for Eva to meet her Auntie Heather in person. With lots of first time experiences and times full of games, a little drama, and just plain silliness, my time flew by too quickly. I look forward to more fun times with the Sephton Family!

The pipe organ from the boys choir performance.

Taking advantage of the sunshine

An English Robin - the winter songbird

Gingerbread cookies!

Decorating the Gingerbread house

The final product!

My first pantomime: Jack and the Beanstalk 

Santa Sunday at the Hilton

Marbleizing paper with shaving cream and food coloring!

Such fun and smells great too!

Christmas Morning! Lois with her marble run. 

 Casey showing off with his new construction worker uniform

Eva with new PJs from Nana

And a Teething ring in the shape of Michigan from Granddad Westbrook

Lois bird watching with her new binoculars

Mark staying warm with his neck gator 

Random Thunderstorm that produced Hail! 

Journey to Become

November 1, 2013

Here is the final result of the latest graphic design project I was privileged enough to collaborate on. Christine Labrum is a fantastic illustrator who gives us the opportunity to walk along side through the pains and joys of life in her book Journey to Become.

Learn more about her and her work at at www.creatingspacetolisten.com

One Last Hook

October 21, 2013

 My move to Pennsylvania didn’t stop my scarf production. Before I left, the ladies jammed two bags full of yarn to continue my efforts remotely. With Christmas fast approaching, I was on schedule to meet my goal. One of those instances when the pace of project gets shifted into 5^th gear arrived via a facebook post. The deadline to get the scarves in has moved up to November 4^th! The group had found someone to deliver the scarves and the flight was coming up fast.

Now I look at the two boxes on the floor full of scarves. At this point, I decided it was okay to be amazed by my own efforts. I had made 95 scarves this year! 95 seems so small and yet so HUGH! Over the course of 7 months, through countless hours, one stitch after another this project is coming to a close.  The number I actually turned in was an even 100. This was due to the fabulous people that contributed and support me along the way: Vickie Graham, Sue Schmidt, Aletheia Schmidt, Chris Pipkin, and Hilary Sephton.

Are my crocheting days over? Not by any means. I have bigger projects envisioned for the future. But first, I think I will give my wrists a break.

Finding a Name

October 16, 2013

Having a child count of ZERO, I often wondered why some parents found it so hard to pick a name for their child. Well, now I understand. It isn’t because I am expecting a child (which I am NOT), it is because Aletheia and I are starting a business, and we have been toiling over a name for the past I-don’t-know-how-many weeks.

This new business venture in many ways feels like a first child—not knowing for certain that you are ready for it, wondering if you have what it takes to help it grow, and hoping that the choices you make don’t screw things up for the rest of its life. Still at the same time you want the best for it and you know that in some many ways the name can cause a lot of grief (to all of those children out there with uncommon names that people don’t know how to pronounce or to those with common names that are uniquely spelled, I feel for you…well with a common name like Heather I really don’t, but Aletheia sure does!).  Needless to say, the process has been somewhat torturous and relentless. At many points, I have just wanted to through my hands up and say “Let’s just pick one already!”

Now I think the filtering process has finally worked, the hours of panning and screening has finally revealed a little glimmer of gold. Now the refining process begins. Hopefully, come January, all will be ready to reveal.

Memorial Lake

October 4, 2013

So far I have to say that where I am now is a better fit for me landscape wise than Durham. The trees in North Carolina seemed to create walls on either side of the road. A great beauty at times, but often I felt somewhat trapped. Here trees are in abundance as well but the rolling hills provide depth as the fields break up the tree line to allow a glimpse of the horizon.

Pennsylvania has also shown some other great advantages:

1: There is no sales tax on clothes or food (with some exceptions like fast food)

2. It has a lower sales tax than North Carolina

3. It costs a significant amount less to register your car and get plates plus my car insurance is less

4. You don’t have to take a test to get a driver’s license

5. You can get into any state park for FREE!

The ladder point was one that really made me smile. Although the area that I live in is full of many of the beautiful aspects of nature, I realized there was still something missing – the presence of water. Fortunately, just up the road is Memorial Lake State Park. Calming and rejuvenating, Memorial Lake filled the gap by providing a new place to explore and discover and witness the beauty of the changing seasons.   

New Season

The desire to experiment brought me to the table to paint.

The result left me unattached--indifferent. I returned to look back at it many times trying to see if I missed something. Was there something hidden just beyond my mind’s grasp?

Still days later--I saw nothing that sparked interest.

Then came an accident. After some ink was spilled, I decided to take the plunge using my piece to help clean-up the mess. I pressed the paper on the puddle of ink again and again. Then lifting some off here and there with a paper towel. A new layer emerged - potential.

And then it waited.

Like a reflection of my own personality, the time came to highlight what was hidden. All of the other layers are still there, taking part in bringing me to where I am--ready to reveal the new season growing within me.

An Intersection

September 7, 2013

As is becoming more and more common, Aletheia was invited to a local event to paint. As is also common, the information that is received about the event is somewhat lacking in detail.

I must interject here that Aletheia and I are VERY different people. We are exact opposites in so many ways that we can’t help but laugh at the fact, as evidence to support the case springs forth on a daily occurrence.The amount of detail revealed about this event was just one of those cases. As I am a very detail oriented person, Aletheia looks to the big picture. The details that I would think important to know, she doesn’t even concern herself with. Through her correspondence with the organizer, she has an over-arching concept of what the event is to be and works with it.  So, the only choice I have is to flip my roll-with-it switch that is always easy to find.

A day that had a lot of uncertainties, turned out to be an amazing day filled with art, music, food and the chance to spend some much needed time in the outdoors. I also found myself marveling at the hand of God as a succession of events unfolded: God speaks to one through a dream, to another revealing a song, and yet another through the art of painting. Willing to listen, all three know little of the moment that will transpire when the song that spoke to the artist leads to a painting that was revealed in someone else’s dream. On this beautiful day in the park, as the dreamer stands next to the artist’s hand listening to the lyrics of the song, all three finally intersected to reveal a new definition of amazing.

Art Camp: VA Style

August 19-22, 2013

What better way to explore the non-traditional ways of art then with a cracker-jack group of girls?! By the end of our four days of creating, we were sad to see them go. Our ride back to PA was filled with plans to make next year even better!

New Home…..for Now

August 11, 2013

After spending the night in Lancaster, PA at Aletheia’s old place, we worked most of the day getting everything packed and loaded. About an hour later, we arrived at our new home --- for now. The few certainties I have gathered thus far is that the location where we are to call home is only temporary. I cannot help but be grateful for anything at this point! I went into this knowing I had a place to lay my head. It didn’t matter that it was in someone’s basement.

When we arrived, I was shocked to see how what I envisioned this basement to be was far from the reality of it.  After surveying the 15 acres of land that surrounded us and peaking through the window to get a glimpse of the inside, I was struck my the realization that this was one of the nicest places I have ever lived.

You might be wondering how I came to this place? Well, it was all Aletheia’s doing. Her network of people is 10 times the size of mine, which lead to her connection with the Millers. With an amazing heart for helping people, these empty nesters felt the call to offer this place for people in transition. With the allotted time to live here three months, I took a quick tour of the fully furnished living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms and new instantly it would was going to be hard to leave.

The Road Ahead

August 10, 2013

The one picture that I took to commemorate my move represents my life better than I expected. When I first looked at it, I was rather disappointed that it was blurry, as the opportunity to capture the moment was once in a lifetime. However, the visual result of the picture truly parallels the amount of clarity in my life: 

• I have a vague understanding of where I am headed but can’t quite make out all of the detailed information. 
• I follow Aletheia (literally in the photo as well) to a place that she is familiar with trusting that my role will reveal itself in due course. 
• It is inevitable that detours and construction will be along the way, but the exact place and time is unknown. 

So I continue to move forward in faith. I have confidence in what I already know how to do, and trust that the unknown elements of the future will come into focus exactly when they are supposed to.

Durham Farewell

August 9, 2013

This is it, my final evening in Durham, NC. To some this may seem as quite a shock. For me, I started contemplating this idea many months ago. With my physical state of health still preventing me from “doing my job” at Duke, I had to start thinking of other courses of action for my life. I feel myself getting stronger every week, but timing is everything. The speed of my recovery hasn’t been matching other’s expectations. The reality of that I can do nothing about, and I have made the choice to accept it.

With the amount of times I have moved in the past, this transition is familiar. Some might find it a bit un-nerving. I will admit I used to. However, now I have learned the importance of closure, which requires so much attention that fear doesn’t have anything to hold on to.

This week has been a whirlwind of tasks and events that revolve around leaving well.   A checklist of things I must do is always part of the deal, but this round had some tailored events reflecting my efforts to be involved.

Ice cream with my roommate Ting 

From a flower-making party to lunch with co-workers to ice cream with a roommate, I have never experienced such a full social calendar! When I think about leaving, this is one of the hardest things to cope with. I often think about those relationships that have just begun that won’t have time to be nurtured. I know the temptation to keep people at arm’s length because of it. The wonderful moments that I have experienced this week would have never come if I had decided not to risk it, to invest in relationships without knowing the outcome. I am thankful to all of those who took the risk with me. You will be missed.

Flower making with the Grace ladies

Members of the Scarves for Moldova crew

Servolution Reprise

August 5, 2013

As it ended up – the 4^th of July was only the start of the events I got involved in.
Here is a great recap of the month’s events: