All I Really Want for Christmas

This past Thanksgiving was emotional. I really missed (MN) home. I really missed my parents. I really missed my siblings. I really missed my grandparents. I was brought to tears just seeing photos of their Thanksgiving celebration. I am so grateful for my heritage. I am so grateful for all that my parents have sacrificed to raise me and my siblings. I am so grateful for what their parents sacrificed to raise them. I am so honored to call my parents, my parents. They are MY mom and dad. And I'm so happy that the plan that God has for my life included me having a mom and a dad. 

We spent our Thanksgiving day with our wonderful neighbors. They have been there for us so much; so much more than we could ever ask. It was very comforting to have them join us for the day. I was very emotional, missing my family, but at the same time I felt like something else was missing, I felt like the rest of our family was missing. A part of us wasn't there, there were empty chairs at our table that should be filled with more of our family. I had never felt like that before, I felt kinda funny even saying it out loud, but it felt so true. We discussed it with our neighbors and I was comforted. Our neighbor said something like; "be patient, you've heard the call, just hold on... just watch what God's going to do!"

I have to admit, at times I do feel anxious about when and/or if we will be able to add more to our family. Thoughts like;
Why aren't we able to have them join our family now? 
We have more room at our table.
We have more room in our house.
We have more room in our hearts.  
We are now surrounded by three families, three different neighbors, three of our friends have or are in process of adopting, I mean, it's gotta be our turn by now, right?

And then I am blown away by what God has done with adoption in our community and I'm honored to even be able to watch families grow by God's design. It's simply amazing. Wait, that makes 4, I just remembered that another neighbor has adopted their grandchildren. Oh, I can hardly wait to see who is number 5!

Now, Christmas is right upon us. The tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped and all I really want for Christmas is more to my family. I just really want to give the gift of family.

I stumbled upon this song while searching for "holiday specials" on the dvr. I downloaded it, intending to watch it once and then delete it. Well, now I've watched it about 10 times and plan to show it to Erik and the kids.

It's called "All I Really Want For Christmas" by Steven Curtis Chapman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnRNP0Qipws&feature=related

My heart breaks for those without parents, I so want to help, my time has not yet come. I pray desperately that it will come. I pray that we can be "family" to many. I pray that we can be "family" in whatever form that may be. I pray that God will guide us and lead us and I pray that we will be obedient. I pray for God's grace and peace. I pray for God's continued healing of our bodies, hearts and minds. I pray that our lives and hearts will be filled with more of Him. I pray for family.

Greta on GretaBag

I'm wife to Erik, stay at home Mom to Elena and Deacon, sister to many, neighbor to few, friend to any. I love fabric. It’s a special day when I make my way to any fabric store. I love to peruse the remnants, sometimes I’ll pick up a yard simply because it’s interesting and I have a feeling that it will soon become my favorite, I know it will grow on me… until the next one comes along that is. I sew for pleasure, I am happiest when I am sewing. I don’t know if I could live without my sewing machine. We don’t hang out together every day, but like a good friend, I’m comforted to know my sewing machine is always there for me. For the last several years, I have been making homemade gifts for my friends and family. As a I sew the item, I think of the person and my love for them and it transforms into a creation made out of love. I’ve been trying out my patterns and designs on my friends and family and they have lovingly dubbed my bags as “Greta Bags.” I hope you’ll enjoy my homemade items and most of all, I hope you’ll treasure your family and friends!

I have an Etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/GretaBag

Today's bag...

I made another bag today... here's the back...

here's the front...

and here's the inside...

I guess I'm in the mood to sew... ;)

Today's bag

I just finished another bag, I really like it. It's a happy bag that would be great for fall. I'm tempted to keep it, but I decided I will list it on etsy and take a chance that someone else will fall in love with it too.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GretaBag

1st Sale!

Yippee! I just sold my first bag. Wow, that felt good. It feels like a little hint of confirmation that these are sellable...  and the fact that it was bought by a relative, doesn't diminish it too much, I'll take any confirmation I can get! :)
Happy trails "striped bag", I know you will be well loved.
Thank you, sweet relative, you are well loved!

Sauna Bag

The "Sauna Bag" was inspired by my Aunt Sarah’s huge homemade “sauna bag” that she would often bring over on “ sauna nights” (Wednesdays and Saturdays). It held a change of clothes and towels for the whole family, all 11 of them. Saunas were a huge part of our culture growing up in a Finnish community in Minnesota. Living in the Pacific Northwest, saunas are not as handy, so I often find myself packing my own “sauna bag” while in pursuit of the nearest sauna (pronounced sow-na).

Here are other fabrics and colors of "Sauna Bags" that I have done in the past.

 

I did it!

I did it! After months of putting it off, I posted my first items up for sale on etsy.com. 5 GretaBags. I am excited to see where this new adventure will take me. I am certain I will gain new skills, meet new people and have a lot of fun in the process.





Here are the first 5 up for sale.