honey vanilla chamomile tea. [crochet]

So, I've been on a crocheting binge lately, when I should be working on papers and school work--a house wife's version of senioritis. I've made 5 pairs of fingerless mittens, and 2 hats (a pair of mittens and a hat going to Laurel for her birthday). But my most recent creations are my favorite. I learned a new stitch, called a herringbone double crochet which I made my favorite pair of glovies with, and I just finished a hat with awesome military-looking buttons on it to match my herringbone glovies. Here is a photo of my new hat. Be in awe. Be proud. Now, I must get back to work, this hat will be the last of my creations until I'm finished with school.

A quick shout out to my lovely Laura, who has eclipsed the set goal for NaNoWriMo of 50,000 words in a month--yet, the month is not over and she is going for 60,000 as a personal goal. Go Laura!

sleepy time with valerian. [tension]

It's getting to be crunch time. Only one week of classes left after Thanksgiving break, then exams, then graduation. I still have a good amount of work to do, but next week should be well used to get everything finished. Keep praying for me, I've got a ways to go yet, but I have a first draft of my graduation speech done, and begun research for my theology papers.
Pray for my health, I've been sneezing a lot, and been getting migraine headaches that last for an entire day. I can do this; I know I can, but I need my strength--pray that it fails me not.

Holding fast,

Caitlin

vanilla black tea. [strength]

Many sincere thanks to those who have been praying for me. I have felt the Lord's hand upon my life lately, though things are still toilsome and arduous for me (and Jeremy), God has given me a kind of peace about it all. Though I am still stressed, I am not drowning--and God is giving me the strength to get through it. So thanks again, all you gracious friends and family--keep praying, the culmination approaches.

honey vanilla chamomile tea. [elastic.]

Lately I've had a perpetual feeling of tightness in my chest, and that feeling seems to echo the character of my life in days of late. I feel like a rubber band, and that I'm being stretched and pulled until the tension grows just shy of my breaking point, only to be released ever so slightly to stay intact, then just as I let out a breath of relief--the tension begins again. I am reminded of a line in The Fellowship of the Ring, one that I've actually always rather poked fun at, until now, when I know exactly what Bilbo means when he says he feels "like butter scraped over too much bread."
I am coming up on the home stretch of my college career and I scarcely feel that I can make it. I have numerous in-depth papers to write, The Whetstone to keep on task, photography jobs to shoot and edit, and on top of everything else I now have a graduation speech to write, practice, and stress over delivering in front my graduating class without stuttering. I'm not sure exactly what God is trying to do to me here, and I hope that he intervenes soon to give me just one breath before I am plunged back into the sea of my anxiety.
Have you ever stretched a rubber band, grasping it fully with both of your hands, until it snaps--stinging your hands, but you hold it tightly together to keep it from completely falling apart? I feel as if that's what God is doing with me right now. Though he stretches me to my absolute breaking point--complete with spur of the moment blubberings, and unnecessary trenchant remarks aimed at helpless victims--he is holding me intact with his strong and able grasp. Though I am broken, he is the mortar that holds my pieces intact. He has also blessed me with a master stone mason to help pick up, and carefully put back, the pieces that I force to the ground.
I am at my breaking point, but hold to the hope that I have in my Savior and the gift of my faithfully strong husband. Please pray for me. Pray that I can get it all done without falling apart, and pray that even if I do break, that I allow those who love me to help put me back together again.
God can make me into the most magnificent mosaic, but I must be willing to become His restored masterpiece.
I am no Humpty-Dumpty.

Tryingly,

Caitlin

[hannah and jordan]

I had the amazing privilege to shoot Hannah and Jordan's engagement photos today. They were so cute, and I had a wonderful evening enjoying the adoration for each other that emanates from each of their smiles. Here's a sneak peek.

hot apple cider. [poesy]

I tried my hand at poetry for the first time in two years. I long to be a poet. Here is my attempt.

"Sway Once More"
It is twilight of autumn, the chill in the air is sharper, biting.
Once vivid hues but few dawns hitherto enraptured my senses,
Now grow dim to dour shades of brown.
Winds beat the brethren of leaves from their lofty seats,
Ghosting to their mass grave of fading autumn shades.

The once full arms, now bare bones of branches left destitute.
Gale after gale moans through the boughs of birch, maple, and oak alike;
Each leaf that lightly falls is one step closer to the bleak of winter.
Soon only skeletons remain, barely a whisper of the splendor they once held.

The long winter approaches, already breathing into the misty valley.
I ignore it while I can, remembering the peak of autumn’s glory,
While I dance among the fallen comrades; they follow my twists and turns.
One last dance before the color altogether dies,
Right foot, turn, left foot, turn, a curtsy and a bow.

Fare thee well, we shall dance once again
When passes harsh winter, demure spring, and sultry summer,
And once again the air grows crisp with your presence,
Promising shades of sweet orange, gold, and crimson.
Then I will sway once more with the refrain of the autumnal muse.

irish breakfast tea. [the day after]

Yesterday was an important day for our country, we voted and elected a new president that will guide and govern our country for the next four years at least. It was also actually my first time voting; I had just missed it in 2004, as I didn't turn 18 until March of 05. It was rather exciting walking up to the building, entering, giving my name and receiving my first ballot as a voting citizen of the United States--lucky I took so many 'bubble-in' tests in high school. Our country waited with eager anticipation as the voting closed in each time zone, getting closer and closer to knowing the outcome. McCain or Obama? I'll go ahead and tell you that I voted for McCain, and I have my reasons which would be too lengthy to impart to my readers here, but if you would like to know don't hesitate to ask me.
Though Obama won, and I was rather disappointed (along with 49% of the popular voters), I have complete faith that the outcome was what God intended. Though I passionately mourn for the multitude of unborn children that my tax dollars will pay to murder if the Freedom of Choice Act is passed, I know that God has a plan. I know that God can use even the most evil of people and events to carry out his will--not to say that Obama is evil, of course, but that if God can use those kinds of men, he can surely use Barack Obama. To paraphrase my dear friend, Laura-- I will pray for Barack Obama and his decisions regarding my country just as I would have prayed for John McCain in the same way. Like it or not, Obama is our president, and we must acknowledge that, give him the respect that any President of the United States is due, and pray that God can use him in great ways that we cannot even imagine.

Patriotically,

Caitlin