It’s hard to believe that, including today, there are exactly 10 blogging days left of this 40-day adventure. No worries – I don’t intend to fall of the blog-wagon after I complete this. I’ve actually been praying about that – how much does God actually want me to blog anyway? He’s making that clear, and I’ll share more about that the end of this journey.

But, in all honesty…it hasn’t been all that difficult this time around. Maybe I just have more to share. Maybe I enjoy writing again. Maybe…well, who knows? I just know that most days, I look forward to coming to this little cozy cyber space and pouring out my heart. Even more, I always look forward to you joining me here. So, I just wanted to say THANK YOU!

Thank you for staying connected and walking with me on this Grief Road.

Thank you for being my cheerleaders with your words of encouragement, your heartfelt prayers, your comments, your private messages on Facebook and email.

Thank you to so many of you for taking part in my Chris Tree project – something very near and dear to my heart this year.

Thank you for your willingness to read and respond to my “ugly” posts as well as my not-so-ugly writings.
Thank you for being supportive of Anna during her guest posting about her last weekend with Chris.

Thank you to so many of you that have found sneaky little ways to bless me either at home or where I work with surprise flowers, cards, care packages, or singing telegrams (ok – well maybe not the last one – Ha! Ha!)

Thank you for giving me a chance to share my story…the good, the bad, and the ugly parts.

Thank you for participating in my Christmas card project. It’s not too late if you still would to be added to my Christmas card list. Just click here for more information.

Thank you for honoring Chris by taking care of his grieving wife.

Thank you for loving me and comforting me in a way that pleases Christ Jesus!

Simply, THANK YOU!!!!

Late Friday afternoon, I took off on another mini adventure. This time, my travel plans took me to middle Tennessee…first to Bon Aqua, a small rural town about an hour west of Nashville.

It was in Bon Aqua that I met (for the first time) my year-long friend, Deborah – or Quilter Extraordinaire, as I like to call her. I first came in contact with Deborah when working for another company. She and I were email buddies, as I regularly placed purchase orders from the company where she works.

Somehow, throughout this time, she discovered my blog and touched base with me through here and introduced me to her quilting blog and her devotional blog as well. (WOW…I was so impressed…she could keep up with TWO blogs!!!)

I remained in contact with Deborah, even after God opened the door for me to go to work for 106.9 the Light radio station. We’ve both experienced grief this year (she lost her mother and grandmother early in the year within a month of each other), so we could relate on the grief journey, as well.

I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I knew what I had to do! I had seen pictures of Deborah’s quilt work on her blogs and knew she was very talented. And I wondered…would she consider making a scrap quilt for me out of some of Chris’ clothes – the ones he wore most frequently? I asked her about it, and she was thrilled to take on this project.

So, that’s what took me to Bon Aqua. I took a tote full of Chris’ clothes to her for the purpose of starting this project. We looked through patterns, discussed fabrics, quilting terms (that I can’t repeat, because I’m clueless), and I finally found THE PATTERN for Chris’ quilt! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I can’t wait for it to be finished so that I can wrap up in it and feel, in theory, him surrounding me. What a gift! I’m so thankful God connected us over a year ago – not knowing how meaningful that connection would come to mean down the road.

Here are some pics of Deborah and her amazing cabin, built by her husband. Chris would have LOVED this place!

A view of the elk with quilts hanging on both sides of the loft railings



Quilts everywhere!




The loft – Deborah’s quilting space




Eye candy for a quilter!




My hunter man would have drooled over this one!




Deborah – Quilter Extraordinaire!

 After leaving Deborah’s house late morning yesterday, I ventured back to Nashville on my way back home. I planned a quick stop-over visit to see my new She Speaks friend, Leigh Kramer. I would highly encourage you to check out her HopefulLeigh blog sometime. She is an amazing writer and is currently finishing up her first novel!

Leigh and I, along with 6 other amazing women, sat at the infamous Table 73 during She Speaks this past summer. Table 73 shared some pretty amazing things together…one of which I posted about soon after returning home. If you haven’t read about my She Speaks Miracle before, I would encourage you to do so. God blew my mind…yet again that evening!

Leigh and I had a nice, but short, visit catching up while she nannied for little 3-month old Caroline. Here are a few pics from my time with Leigh:

After a couple of hours, it was time to hit the road for home. I love my time in the car. I usually spend lots of time chatting with God. Friday night and yesterday were no different. He spoke right to my heart over some things that I’ve been crying out to Him about! I love that God of mine!