Quilts for Missions

Michael and I are going to Rwanda and Ethiopia this December to love on sweet children! I have seen pictures of the orphanages we are going to and I am already in love with their precious faces!

My last post described a little of what we will be doing...

As many of you know, international travel IS NOT cheap. We need to raise $4,000!

I decided to put my craftiness to good use and sell some things I have made to raise money for the trip.

First thing I am posting are some baby quilts I made:
I am selling all 3 quilts for $100 each.

 Here is a close up of the fabric. The flowers are the back of the quilt

 I love the little creatures on this quilt. It is more of a whimsical, scrap fabric quilt

Let me know if you are interested in buying any of these quilts or if you had a custom quilt idea in mind. All the proceeds go directly to the trip! 

For those of you that simply want to donate, you can do so at:
https://www.visitingorphans.org/donations/donate.aspx
Select the "December Ethiopia/Rwanda" trip
And put Merrill Durham in the memo

Enjoy your weekend!

On my birthday

It is so interesting how people seem more reflective on their birthdays. I find myself thinking, 

"Where do I see us in 5 years?"

"What do I want to accomplish in the next year?"

"Wow...look at all that God has done in our life this last year!"

This weekend I had the wonderful privilege of spending 2 days with 80 team leaders who came from around the country to participate in the official training conference of my work, the nonprofit Visiting Orphans. 

I felt like I was meeting my distant family for the first time. These are the people I email, call and contact everyday and here they all are together. It was so amazing to feel the passion of the leaders and to know that the work that our staff does at Visiting Orphans is supported by so many people! It can be easy to loose sight of the big picture when ministry is your full time job. Everyday is filled with discussions about money, policies, applications, etc. And I found it so encouraging to see so many people willing to give up weeks of their year to lead trips around the world. It was as if, as a staff, we were seeing the fruit of our labor. This is what it is all about... training more leaders so that more and more team members and orphans are touched by the love of God.

I was listening to all the stories of team leaders who experienced the love of God in a very real way while "visiting orphans". Since I started at VO I have found that I have often had to defend the work that I do. This weekend reminded me that one planted seed, one "I love you", one American heart awakened, is worth every second and every penny. And as we sat for 8 hours yesterday discussing policy and trip etiquette, I was encouraged that VO is doing it right and we truly are helping. 

Pure Religion is this, to visit orphans in their distress -James 1:27

My husband and I are given the opportunity to go to Rwanda and Ethiopia this December. This weekend tripled that fire inside of us. We were both born overseas, Michael in Europe,  myself in Africa. We have both been on numerous short term trips all over the world. But this is our first trip as a married couple to walk into what we strongly believe God has called us to. (And for some reason I feel God stirring in my heart for the country of Rwanda....) We will be working in multiple orphanages, including the largest orphanage in Rwanda, where there are over 200 children under 2 years old. There will be lots of baby holding! We will also be working in the Korah trash dump in Ethiopia, a tough place to stomach but a place that God has filled with such hope! 

We need your support. We need at least $4000. 

If you are interested in partnering with us and investing in our future, please go to: www.visitingorphans.org

and click on the donate tab in the top right corner. You can designate the donation to the December Ethiopia/Rwanda trip and put Michael and Merrill Durham in the memo.  Call it a birthday gift to us :) (Michael's is on Wednesday) 

This weekend has truly reignited a fire in both my husband and me for the nations. And we are so blessed to be part of the work of Visiting Orphans and all the leaders that we met this weekend! 

And as I sat at training today, with tears in my eyes, I knew that God was beginning to unfold an exciting and new chapter in our lives. Walking with God is such an adventure! 

The incredible staff at Visiting Orphans

By the way...I have the most amazing coworkers, whom I call my friends! 

DIY Magazine Bowl

I have been so inspired recently by lots of DIY crafts. I think I will tackle a new one each week!
If you want endless hours of inspiration go to:

www.pintrest.com

 or

www.craftgawker.com

First Project - Paper Bowl: 














Supplies: 
-Magazine
-Paper Cutter (or mad folding and ripping skills)
-Hot Glue Gun
-Modge Podge

 1. You need to gather a few magazines. 

2. With a paper cutter or precise folding, cut the paper long ways 8 times. (They should be 1 inch wide)

 3. Fold the strip in half

 4. Open the fold and then fold each side in towards the middle crease.

 5. Then fold it all in half. 

6. This is where it gets extremely tedious, start hot gluing a strip of paper into a coil. 

7. Continue for a few hours, slowly adding more and more strips of paper

8. This is what I currently have. 

I will post a follow up blog to show you how to finish the bowl! (Once I find a few extra hours in my day!)

Other things I hope to make:

1. Glass Tile pendants

 

2. Scrabble Tile Pendant

3. Twine Lanterns

4. Button Letters

5. Scrap fabric art

6. Mason Jar Herb Garden

7. Wreath

to name a few....

Yummy Healthy Quiche

So my sister discovered through a bunch of tests that she has a severe intolerance to yeast and a mild intolerance to gluten. Recently I have been exposed to so many people who are embracing the gluten free diet. I discovered that a lot of my fatigue, nausea, headaches, acne, etc. could be because of a food intolerance. Although this has not been 'officially' proven, my twin sister has it, so might as well try this new diet.

Last night I decided to make a quiche because I wanted to use up some vegetables we had.

*By the way, 3 tomatoes, 2 onions, a red pepper, a head of cabbage, a bushel of kale, 5 sweet potatoes and some chives cost us $10 at the Farmer's Market! So we will now be shopping there every weekend for our produce. And the farmer himself bagged our veggies, it does not get more local than that! The website: Nashville's Farmer Market will show you what vendors are there, times they are open and what is currently in season. 

I love quiche because you can use just about anything! It really is one of those 'kitchen sink' meals. 

1. I chopped up some tomatoes, onions, red peppers, chives and kale. 

You could also use zucchini, squash, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms- really most vegetables. 

You can also add bacon, sausage, ground turkey, and cheese. I added some cooked turkey bacon to my quiche. 

2. I then sauteed some garlic, added the onions, and then added the rest of the veggies. I let that cook for a few minutes.

Because I am trying to avoid gluten, I made a crust with sweet potato slices. 

3. Peel two sweet potatoes and slice them really thin. Arrange them in a pie pan like the one below:

4. Whisk 8 eggs together and then add your cooked veggies and cooked bacon/sausage to the eggs. I also added some sundried-tomatoes!
5. Pour mixture into your pie pan and season with some salt and pepper.

 6. Put into a 350 degree preheated oven for 40 minutes- or until the eggs solidify.

7. Ta Da! Slice and serve :) 

It was delicious!

To summarize:
-Preheat ove to 350 degrees
-Peel and thinly slice 2 sweet potatoes, arrange in a pie pan
-Chop:      Kale
                Red Pepper
                Onion
                Tomato
                Chives
-Add to sauteed garlic, cook for 5 minutes
-Whisk 8 eggs together
-Add vegetable mixture, cooked bacon and sun-dried tomatoes to the eggs
-Pour into pie pan and season with salt and pepper
-Cook for 40 minutes
-And done, easy!

I will be experimenting over the next few weeks with other yummy recipes that make a gluten free diet doable! Send me some of your recipes!

Pillow DIY

So this guy likes this girl so much... that he decided to make her a pillow.

For those of you that need a starter DIY, here you go. It does not get more simple than this!

1. Find a pillow and measure it
(This pillow was $1 at Goodwill).

This one is 14 inches by 14 inches.






2. Cut out a square of fabric the same size as the pillow, this will be the front of your pillow case.

3. Then cut out 2 pieces that are about 4 inches smaller in width- so I cut out two 14 X 10 inch pieces. This is the back of the pillow.

4. *optional* For those of you who want to be extra creative, create your own design with scrap fabric on the front panel.

For those of you that want to keep it simple, just find some fabric with a cute pattern on it!


Here is Tyler's design:

 He created the Nashville/Seattle Skyline.

    

Sew the design to the front panel.








5. Hem the length of each of the back panels.

6. Lay the back panels on top of the front panel with front sides touching. The back panels should overlap by about 5 inches.

7. Sew all four sides together (I marked in yellow where you should sew)

8. Flip inside out and stuff the pillow.

Ta Da! A new pillow.

Handy Man

Michael never ceases to amaze me.
I am the crafty one in the house. I have a room designated to crafty things. I love to quilt, paint, draw, create, and everything DIY. Well Michael decided that he wanted to make a few things as well.

1. I found this picture on pinterest.com:

Michael craigslisted "free pallets" and whipped together a couch for our new house:

With some arm rests and new pillows, it really worked out! I also love having the storage underneath for things like our cookbooks and magazines.

2. We needed a big dining room table so we could entertain big groups of people (We love to cook). Michael decided to tear down his families old tree house and reuse the wood:

After hours of sanding and a few coats of stain, we got:

He also made a matching bench so we could fit even more people around the table.

3. After hours of slaving away in the sun he painted our entire house and added cute shutters:

What would I do without my handyman??

4. My latest project... another scrap quilt!

I really wanted a quilt that was just simple squares. Funny how after all the quilts I made I don't have a single block quilt!


I love our new home and actual space to make things!

Round Two

I began a blog one year ago hoping to record life as a creative, young, newlywed. I created my first post and then decided it wasn't for me.

Here I am one year later ready to give it another shot.

My heart is to share the things we make, the home we've created, the places we visit, the food we enjoy, and our future adventures as two people happy in love.

So welcome.

(Our new home)