Thanks to each one of you who prayed for me and left such sweet and encouraging comments after my puppy kiss gone wrong last week! I am happy to report that the touch of the Lord on my eyes was nothing short of amazing!  My vision is completely normal!  For that I am so very thankful!  You don't realize all that you use and need your eyes for, until they are not working.

In the 48 hours after my injury, I found that because of the dilating drops in my eyes (these are the kind of drops in your eye where you have to wear the dark glasses after you leave the doctor's office), that I was able to see fine, but my eyes were quite sensitive to light, so I just wore my sunglasses about the house.  I also found that looking at the computer screen was quite bright, and I had to limit my time looking at the screen.  One thing I did notice was that I could do anything that didn't involve using a screen or bright light.

Thankfully after 48 hours once the dilating drops wore off, my left eye was clear and there was no pain.  I continue to give the Lord thanks for the quick healing!

I didn't think I would be able to do any sewing because of my injured eye, but found that sewing didn't bother my eyes at all, and so I actually was able to finish up a couple of my sewing projects earlier than I thought.

One of the sewing projects was to finish the tops I had started with my friend T.  The day before my eye incident, I had gone over to T's house and we worked on our tops at her house.

I had the privilege of sewing on a $2000.00 sewing machine!  For the clothing designer school program she was enrolled in, one of the requirements was to use a Juki sewing machine.  I had never heard of them before, but I was thrilled to try it out!  It sewed beautifully - as it well should, costing that much, lol!


The pattern we chose to use for our tops was this one from Simplicity/New Look.  I liked the simple style that is both modest and flattering. T wanted to make the more detailed style B in this pattern, which was adding the grommets and ties to the top.  Had it been me sewing it alone, I probably would have went with style A which was simple! Yet, all in all, this was a really simple pattern to make... even though the grommets did prove to be a little contrary, even in T's talented hands.



http://www.simplicity.com/new-look-pattern-6472-misses-boho-blouses/N6472.html 



I opted to use ribbon for my tie, and because the blue grommets weren't working very well, we added a little twist to my top with the addition of four gold grommets.



For my daughter's top, T wanted to do something a little different. She made her own ties!  It was very, very tedious to do that.


And for her daughter's top she did the same as well.


Her daughter loves fish, and so T made her a little seahorse ornament to add further jazz to this really amazing top.

Note the ribbon detail here in this close-up picture:


T took plain, flat blue ribbon, and pinned by hand each one of those pleats!  Just looking at the detail, and time involved in doing that made me feel tired!


When T and her daughter came over and we revealed the finished tops, my daughter was still working, and not able to be there, so the reveal was broken up into two different times.


It was a complete surprise for my daughter that we had made this top made for her.  We kept it top secret, even though we worked on it while she was there last weekend, lol.  We told her it was for a "friend".  {smiles}


She was thrilled!  She loves the color turquoise, and it fit her perfectly.  It was fun to see how one pattern could look so differently with three different fabrics, and styles changing out on the sleeves, and length of the "flounce".

T has yet to have time to finish her top.  I can't wait to see it.  She used some really nice fabrics, and I think she has another trick or two up her sleeve with it, that I can't wait to see.


This sewing project together was so much fun that we have already planned another fun day of sewing together soon.  T is going to show me how to create my own pattern from my measurements, which will probably take some time to do.  She went to school for years to learn this, and I highly doubt I'll learn it in an afternoon together {smiles}.

While making these tops, we have been hoping, and dreaming for spring...


... but winter surely seems to still be hanging around, showing off its best... and I just can't seem to get too upset with winter when scenes like this abound!


Snow's gentle but icy grip...


Miss Annie loves the snow.  She reigns during winter as the Snow Queen!


And this one isn't too far behind her!


Romping and rolling in the snow just gets more and more fun for her...


 Oh, but she is growing so!  I can hardly stand to see it... it seems as if she grows before our very eyes!


Time for Miss Riley to learn how to walk with a leash.  She was soo sad!  She couldn't understand why she had to be on the leash, and kept biting at it.  Finally she just walked with the leash in her mouth, as if to convince herself that she was walking herself, and not being walked, lol!


But every so often we would stop and she would just sit and look at me, asking "why"... Roaming is so much more fun!


Oh, the snow that we still have!  It is nearing the middle of March... and still the banks of snow sit, defiant to the sun that tries to melt them.


Oh those mountains... !


Back home... the blue skies were hard to leave and go back inside.  I love seeing the bright blue skies of winter contrasted with the dazzling white of the snow.  It was a lovely walk we had, and as I let Miss Riley off the leash to scamper towards the house, and I sauntered up the driveway, I was thankful for the snow covering the layer of ice, making it much easier to walk and enjoy the day.

I continue to give the Lord thanks for my eye that healed so quickly, with no remaining issues.  As I thought of the beauty around me that I am able to enjoy because of my vision, I stopped outside, and just looked up into the blue, blue skies and praised the Lord for allowing me to see clearly, and oh how very thankful I am for His healing touch!

Psalms 40:3 

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works 

which thou hast done, 

and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: 

they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: 

if I would declare and speak of them, 

they are more than can be numbered.

You know I love my sweet Riley so much, but yesterday when she was trying to show me how much she loved me... she hurt me, not meaning to, of course!

When Riley woke up, she came into my room to tell me good morning.  My face was at the side of the bed, and her paws, in her eagerness to say good morning, raked across my face and deeply scratched my left eye.  I sat up in bed and could not see. Everything was a fog. That was so scary!  Instantly I was nauseous and sick to my stomach.  I closed my eyes and made my way to the bathroom, and came close to passing out because of the waves of nausea from my right eye trying to focus without the left eye.  I could not see a thing out of the left eye, and let me tell you... that is a fearful thing!

I called my husband who told me to call my neighbor who is a nurse.  My dear neighbor came over, and got me in her car and took me to the eye doctor.  I was severely nauseated the entire car ride there, but what a blessing it was to visit with my precious neighbor as we drove, and we talked about the blessings of the Lord in our lives.  The presence of the Lord was so strong with us, even while I was scared of what the doctor might say about my eye.  I knew the Lord was with me, whatever the outcome.

When the doctor came and checked my eye, he put numbing drops in the eye and instantly I felt relieved of the nausea, and was able to open my eyes for him to look in them.  He told me I had substantial abrasions on the eye, but that they should heal within 48 hours to 2 weeks and my vision should return to normal in about two weeks.  He put dilating drops in my eye to help the eye relax and heal without the eye trying to work as it usually does.  He said I would suffer an extreme headache later that night that even narcotics would not touch, because the eye was so distressed and the muscles would be spasming.  He said the dilated eye drops would help, but the headache would still be severe.

We came back home, and I rested most of the afternoon.  I woke up and the headache had started.  My head was just pounding and my vision was still very blurry and I couldn't open my eyes for more than a second or two.

I texted my friend whose husband is an elder of our church, and they agreed to come over and pray for me.  They annointed me with oil and prayed in Jesus name for my healing according to James 5:14


14James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

While they were praying, I felt the horrible headache and nausea lift, and when I opened my eyes, I could see!  I could see, and there was only a tiny bit of blurring in my periphery vision but no more headache, and I could open my eyes and talk to them!  It was so amazing!  I had not been able to eat all day, but after they left, my son made me some soup, and I was able to eat and keep it down.

I am so thankful to share that even when difficult situations come our way, that we can pray and the Lord is still faithful to heal!  My husband let family and friends know to pray for me, and my mother called later that evening to say that in their church service that night, she prayed for me, and knew the Lord was going to touch me.  She turned on her phone after service, and got my message that the Lord had touched me. I am so thankful for the prayers of so many, and for the touch of the Lord that came when I was annointed with oil and prayed over in Jesus name.

I am here today to report as a testimony to the great power of praying in Jesus name!  In the name of JESUS many great things are done... and if you have never experienced the healing touch of prayer, I encourage you to be obedient to James 5:14 and see what the Lord can do!

This morning, when I woke up, as I opened my eyes, my vision was clear!  Because my left eye is still dilated from the drops the doctor put in them, I will not be able to focus for long periods of time until the drops wear off, and in fact, just writing this post, I have had to stop and close my eyes as I typed because my left eye can't focus for very long, yet my vision is clear!  I praise the Lord for His care over me in this situation, and for showing me once again that HIS healing power is still able to touch us!

Sweet Riley knew something was wrong after she had scratched my eye yesterday.  She cried and whimpered and would not leave my side.  I knew she felt so very bad for me, even though she could not understand what was wrong.  Animals are very sensitive to our emotions, and know when something is not right.

I give the Lord thanks for this situation, even though it has limited my activities for a few days. I had some sewing projects that I hoped to finish, but this time of rest and quiet will be good for me.  {smiles} I am just thankful that my vision is not impaired, and that by Saturday after the dilation wears off in my eyes, I will be able to be back to my usual routine.  But for now, I will just be resting quietly, and giving thanks to the Lord too.  :)