New Life...

We are so blessed to welcome

the newest addition to our family...

My nephew's wife just gave birth

last week to a sweet little baby girl...

They named her Mollie.

 This fall,

They moved into their new home.

While my brother was helping them move...

He noticed something tossed in the trash...

An old wicker doll carriage.

When he asked about it,

My "niece" said that it used to be hers

(and her mother's before her)

when she was little,

but it was all broken now.

Well, my brother secretly

tucked it in his truck...

And brought it up to Maine.

In hopes that perhaps

we could repair it for Emma,

Mollie's "big" sister,

as a surprise.

My father replaced the wicker handle

and some of the broken pieces on the bed...

And then gave it to me

to make a new cover.

My brother had found a picture

on the internet 

of the original carriage

which was done in red gingham.

I used the picture to make

a hood, mattress, and skirt.

I used some vintage linen

to make a pillow, pillow case,

sheet, and matching doll quilt.

 One day,

While in a dusty old antique shop,

I found this sweet little baby doll

Hidden under some stuffed animals

on a shelf.

I just knew that she was

the perfect doll for

Emma's carriage.

So... I brought her home...

Gave her a bath...

And made her a new nightie

and bonnet out of some

pink flannel.

And, of course,

she needed some 

"itty-bitty" baby booties!

It was so much fun

To give this "broken" carriage...

a "new life"...

I "happened" to run across

this little poem...

Which sums up this project...

and our lives...

so perfectly...

Broken Lives...

As children bring their broken toys

in tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God,

Because He is my Friend.

But then instead of leaving Him

to do His work alone,
I hung around and tried to help

In ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back 

and cried,
"How could you be so slow?"

"My child," He said,

"What could I do, 

You never did let go."

-anonymous-

How amazing...

When we are "broken"...

Our Lord offers us "New life"

If we will only let go

Of our old selves.

What an incredible gift.

Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

 behold, all things are become new.

I Corinthians 5:7