Melody - Faith

My faith in Jesus Christ has been the one constant thing in my life. I became a Christian as a child, but solidified my faith and personal relationship with God as a late teen/young adult. I did a lot of soul and scripture searching to find what I truly believed. I grew up in an extremely legalistic church full of false guilt and hypocrisy. Ironically my husband and I did ministry in that very church later on. We were youth pastors there for 5 years. Additionally, we were youth leaders at our current church for 3 years. I have also worked in children's ministry, media and productions, and lead praise and worship.

My greatest test of faith has been the long struggle we had with infertility and loss. Infertility shaped my faith in ways I never knew possible. It is still an area that stings when I think about it. We lost many little ones, of course, my heart still longs for them. I blogged about that in the past and wish to move on, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it here.

I have a great passion for people and strive to see beyond the exterior of people. I seek to see their heart and choose to believe in the potential of the individual. My heart hurts when others hurt. I wholeheartedly desire to see an end to hatred and shaming. Nothing bothers me more than racism and predjuice.

Although my devotional writings won't be the focus of this blog, occasionally something provokes my heart and I must write it out. I'll put those directly into the devotional archive. There are a few posts there from my old blogs. You are welcome to read those and share your thoughts if you wish.

My life verses...3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  
                   2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Melody - Natural Living Momma

I'm a very passionate person in general and mothering is no exception. I take my role as Momma and wife seriously. Long before I became a mother, I knew that attachment parenting was for us. I'm a breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, and cloth diapering Momma. We practice baby led weaning and gentle discipline. I'm also an advocate for car seat safety and extended rear facing. You'll see these topics in further detail throughout the blog, not in a specific section or regular post at the present time.

Having a handmade home is another great passion of mine. We strive to have an all natural diet, filled with real foods and scratch made meals. Occasionally I'll share tips and recipes that we love. Growing our own foods brings great satisfaction. I'll be sharing about gardening in the spring and summer.

We also have lots of DIY projects around our home. Currently we're doing some home renovations. I'll be sharing those along with my own survival tips for living in a small home. We strive to make do with what we have and approach life in a frugal manner.

Lastly, we cut chemical cleaners, including skincare products from our lives. I'll be sharing my tips and share our journey to eliminating those from our every day. In line with my handmade home philosophy, we keep our use of disposable products to a bare minimum, which saves us a lot of money.

Its my dream to be a homesteader with a small flock of sheep and other livestock. We'd have the grandparents nearby and be able to care for them as well. I call myself a wannabe homesteader.

You've probably already figured this is going to be the 'crunch' section of the blog. There will be a monthly DIY Home and Natural Living post.

(One last post in the About Me series. I'll be talking about faith next.)

Family

I felt that I couldn't post any more without first introducing my family to everyone.

My husband, RL and I were high school sweethearts and have been married for 15 years. We love to be creative together. He has a wonderful eye for color and I regularly consult with him during my designing process. He works in retail and is a fireman and rescue technician in his down time. I couldn't have asked for a more loving and supportive husband.

Our son, Dealan, was born in April 2013 after a long battle with infertility and losses. He is our miracle, hope revealed, and constant joy. We are so thankful God chose to bless us with this wonderful child. He's full of wonder, energy and determination. He loves being surrounded by people and commands their attention. He's such a happy child and is the most loving little boy I've ever met. He loves with his whole heart and its incredible to witness how he affects other people.

I'll be writing about family life from time to time. We are blessed to have lots of grandparents and extended family around us. After waiting so long to have a family of our own, its made us appreciate just how important it is to enjoy today for today. We do our best to enjoy the simple joys of life. Family life is too precious to waste. 

There are 2 more posts in the About Me series to complete premiere week. 

Melody - Fiber Artist

As a child, I explored many different crafting and creative avenues. Much of my sewing skills can be attributed to my mother, who taught me to love and respect the relationship of fabric and thread. She dabbled a little bit with yarn as well. As a teen, I began painting and making unconventional things into something new and purposeful. A few years ago, I began the love affair with all things yarn. I taught myself to knit and the rest...well the rest is my next adventure.

A large part of this blog will focus on my life as a fiber artist. You may ask, what is a fiber artist? Basically a fiber artist is someone who uses fiber as their medium; fleece, yarn, fabric, thread, etc.

Wearing a cowl I designed and knit from my handspun

I enjoy spinning clean fleece/roving into yarn, knitting yarn into a garment and transforming a flat piece of fabric into something wearable with shape. Occasionally I find myself dyeing yarn with some unique color combo that goes along with one of my designs. Designing custom clothing and new knitting patterns for others to enjoy are my latest passions. My patterns will be available to purchase in 2015.

I'll be sharing my latest knitting, spinning and design projects with you throughout the month, along with a few tutorials and techniques posts. You can find all of those linked at the top of the page. In addition, I'll post dates and information on how you can purchase any of my designs and any shows/local sales.

Blogging : Why?

(Premier Week - I'll be featuring a series of About Me posts in addition to my regular weekly and monthly posts. These will later be found together under the Contact/About Me tab.)

When I began to think about blogging again on a regular basis I posted several informal polls to my Facebook friends. One comment from an old friend prompted a lot of thought. Why did I care so much about blogging again? What changed that made my interest in writing suddenly reemerged?

When I really took the time to think about it, I found that my main desire is to keep memories alive. I have the ability to remember many things. For instance, I still remember a good portion of the call codes from my days of working a hospital switch board at age 15. I remember the placements of things hung on classroom walls from various rooms in elementary school through college. I can recall account numbers from my days working in state budgeting and accounting. Memories of color, drawings, and smells often drift in and out. However, I lack the ability to recall many of the things most important to me, like specific memories of family, friends in school, unique days in life, etc. I remember general things but the specifics always slip away in time.

My desire is to have a tangible form of memories. Throughout my life, journalling has proven to be a way of not only documenting life, but also sparking my ability to recall events when I desire to do so. A pen and paper or fingers and keys have always been a great personal asset to better my life.

I suposse it was only natural that I should make my living and be most content by using my hands and my mind together.

Hello Again and Welcome

Hi, I'm Melody. Hello again. You may remember me from a past blog, Transitions of an Overachiever, or this may be our first meeting. With either case, sit back for a few and let me reintroduce myself and tell you a bit about this new blog.

I'm no stranger to barring my heart, soul and creative ideas on the internet. I began journaling online long before the days of Facebook and quickly formed some lasting relationships with a small group of women. Life has evolved in so many ways since those humble beginnings but writing online seems to be the one thing that always draws me back.

This blog is first and foremost for me. I want to write about things that I'm passionate for, thoughts that stir me from the mundane, and document life as I know it. I love the community a blog brings and I welcome that. This will be a way to share me, in all my quirky forms.

I'm a person who finds delight in many different things. I enjoy interacting with all sorts of people. I take comfort in the variety and diversity of others. People inspire me. Art and nature color my life. Music moves my very soul. My faith in God empowers me. Working with my hands drives me. Love and family make life worth living.

So won't you join me as I document my life? I'm currently a work at home Mom and wife of 15 years to my high school sweetheart. I spend most of my days chasing around the miracle we waited 12 years for. He is full of energy, joy and love; the typical 1 year old toddler. In my downtime, I'm a knitwear designer and a wannabe homesteader. Here you'll find a whole lot of fiber; knitting, spinning, and designing; and a little bit of crunch; natural living, cooking, gardening and some diy home. I'll also be throwing in family posts, things that inspire me and the occasional devotion (or archived posts).

Welcome to Fiber With A Little Crunch!