Sunday, July 29, 2012

Psst ...

                                  
                                    this Saturday is downtown market
                   and for those those of you who know me well ...

                               you know that i am pulling all nighters


                                                                 i am 

cramming everything i should have been getting done last week
 into these next few days

*sigh*

i thrive on the last minute


it.is.out.of.control
how i thrive on waiting til the last minute






this Saturday i will be at a new location
on 5th street next to green square park 

stop by and see me  and be sure and stop by Early Bird for a coffee. 
because those Early Bird Folks ... well... they are just some kind of wonderful
xo

p.s ... tell everyone !


p.s.s ... to listen to my music click the play button at the bottom of the page




Tuesday, May 22, 2012



gatherings by kate ford
will be at the
downtown market
june 2nd & 16th
august 4th
sept 1st & 21st
reinventing found items not only recycles the old... but brings beauty to those pieces that possess a story.

for those of you familiar with the downtown
i will be located on 2nd street
the first two market dates in june
and on 5th street next to Green Square Park
the following dates.

you can view a map of the market here


Thursday, February 23, 2012

the list ...


beds for four kids
a bed for mom
sheets
blankets
shower curtain
bathroom things
dishes
microwave
clothes for new born baby boy
car seat
living room furniture
soap
tissue
bleach
laundry things
laundry basket
throw rugs
pillows

pretty much anything and everything that makes a home


*sigh*
this was her list

the list of my son's best friend's mom
a mom who only days ago was homeless
shuttling her four children place to place
and she is 7 months pregnant

a lady who just yesterday ... stood in front of me saying 
i just do not understand why you are helping me?
and as tears fell down her cheeks
she looked at me and said
Kate i am nothing

you see i know a lot of you maybe reading this and thinking
well ...
stop having kids
where is the husband
why is this my problem
get a job
isn't this why there is Federal assistance

and as i stood there in this dirty apartment landing
in a less than pretty part of Cedar Rapids
holding the hands of a woman who described herself as nothing
i felt shame
IT IS NOT MY JOB TO JUDGE ... IT IS MY JOB TO LOVE
to show
HIS LOVE

and so i hugged her and as i did i whispered in her ear
you are not nothing
you are loved
you are desired
you are worth far more than all of this
and HE is gonna show you

1 Samuel 12 ...
now stand still and see the great things the Lord
is about to do before your eyes!

if you would like to contribute any of the items above or
feel it in your heart to give and help secure a place for her
and her family to call home
email me at kbsibed@aol.com 

once your eyes have been opened
you can not pretend like you do not see
God who knows your heart and weighs your soul knows that you know
and holds you responsible to act. Proverbs 24:12






Thursday, February 16, 2012

Blessed ...

 

this week my eyes have been opened

...

it is so easy sometimes to get into your little routine

life is back to somewhat normal here in the Ford house
kids are healthy
husband home from deployment
we are starting on some home improvments
er...
finishing some home improvments that i started long ago

kids are doing well in school
paying debt off
adjusting ... attempting to adjust to life without my father

things are good.
really good



and then ...
one day last week my eyes were opened

you see my son Sib has a new bff
and by bff i mean ... joined at the hip ... belly laughing ... can we play everyday
kinda bff
and this child is the kind of child you dream of your child having
as a bff

beautiful manners
tells Sib to be nice to his sister
just brings this light to our home every time he is here
my kids adore him

i adore him





 then this week i discovered that this beautiful child

has no home

this beautiful child goes from homeless shelter to homeless shelter
with his mama and brothers and sisters
night after night

and yet despite his circumstances
despite the fact that he has said his mama gave away all his toys
despite that every time i drop him off he is staying somewhere new

he is joy
he has this beautiful light that just shines

and last night on our way home from dropping him off 
and after stopping to pick up our $90.00 worth of organic food ...
and getting in our perfectly running suv
and getting all my healthy kids buckled in their car seats
and sliding the expensive hand held video game off of my seat

i sobbed

how blessed are we ... how much we take for granted

 every.single.day

and i know this and yet ...

 every.single.day

 i take it for granted

a beautiful home
a solid husband
healthy children
food
money in our account
family
clothing options


we have been tithing to this family we have been praying for this family
this family
needs to feel love
HIS love.

and today i pray that He ... continues to guide
continues to provide
continues to open people's heart
including my own
to just showing HIS love.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12































Wednesday, September 28, 2011

35 and some goals ...



this past weekend
i turned
... gulp ...

35

yes ... i am now officially in my mid thirties

and I am ... okay with that.




but i was thinking last night of a few good goals ...
a few things i wanna become better at ... 
a few things that i want to focus more on ...



1. take more pictures
2. maybe give Pilate's a try
3. save my pennies for the beach
4. learn to sew
5. family comes first ALWAYS
6. write more letters
7.  HE must become greater ... i must become less John 3:30
8. read more
9. tell those who i love in my life why i love them in my life
10. God... others ... myself - in that order
11. be a better listener
12. when a friend stops over ... stop what i am doing and just enjoy the conversation
13. Answer all phone calls ... exp. from friends and family... never hit ignore
... gulp ...
i mean not that i ever do ... hit ignore ... gulp ...
14. Be still and know that HE is God
15. allow myself to be more in the moment
16. let my light shine
17.  tackle something new ... for instance today that would be replacing the whole inner part of my upstairs toilet... gulp ... good thing my mama is here and unlike me
good thing she tends to finish things until completed.
18. finish more projects that i start... er ... or maybe just finish the ones i have already started.
19. start each day in the word
20. just simply ... love.


xo


Monday, September 19, 2011

All in a name ...




i am in love with something i have been working on

it's a piece for my own home
a piece that is so personal ... so emotional for me





you see i believe that ...
 sometimes decorating your home does not mean
to fill it with items you have purchased
or items that hold no meaning

too often i feel you walk into someones home and you have no idea who they are

you get no view into the person who actually lives there
what their interests are ... where they came from... what they enjoy
and i am a big believer
in that your home ... well it should tell your story





your home should be made and not bought


a home needs to reflect your heart ... your loves...






and well this piece ...

a beautiful copy of my father's third grade

cursive handwriting skills

which also includes the month i was born

yes ...

this piece speaks my heart

xo





Saturday, July 16, 2011

One day at a time ...


so today i woke up and as i started my morning
... after only a few hours of sleep
i was looking back on all that has been going on these past few months ...




my father passing away
my husband coming home only to leave again
meeting my new niece from Sierra Leone Africa
a good friend announcing that her husband and her are divorcing
my aunt getting news that the cancer currently in her bones is stable
er visits
re connecting with an old friend


and the list could go on and on ...


i thought of one of my favorite scriptures

... this is the day the Lord has made let us REJOICE and be glad in it
Psalm 118:24

 


did you catch that part ... REJOICE.

this is the day the Lord has made let us REJOICE and be glad in it.

you see regardless of what we may be facing ... regardless
of how hard it is or how much maybe we do not understand it

we are to REJOICE.

and honestly ... on certain days that's a tough one.

there are days that i just simply do not feel like rejoicing... days when
i do not want to hear about someones problems... days i long to be having
a conversation with my dad... days i just want to be able to laugh with my husband

days when i simply just want to say ... i m done




and yet there also are the good days...

the days when you see your daughter playing with her new cousin ...
a cousin that only months ago
 was close to death and living at an orphanage in Africa

the days when thru technology your kids are able to show their dad...
who is at war in Iraq ...  their new shoes over skype

the days when i think of my father and i simply smile without tears

yes ...

... this is the day the Lord has made , let us REJOICE and be glad in it

the good days...
the bad days ...

HE has made.
xo


p.s  back to decor soon. promise.