I just received this via email from my friends Mike & Barb in Missouri. As my friend Mike said, "Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive."

Saint Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Look at Nancy's beautiful crochet loop bracelet from today's class at Bead Haven! Click on the picture to zoom-in on her cool bracelet!

Here are Cookie's and Sheliah's beautiful "Buttons & Beads" bracelets from a class earlier in the month. They did such a great job and their buttons were so unique and creatively placed in the composition of the bracelets! Click on the photo to zoom-in and get a closer look at the buttons and the stunning workmanship. These are two very talented ladies! (Thanks Cindi for the photo.)

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life--happiness, freedom, and peace of mind--are always attained by giving them to someone else."

...General Peyton C. March

Snowflakes in June... This is a beaded snowflake I recently made using different seed bead finishes (size 11/0-Miyuki) and 4 mm Austrian crystals. (Thanks for the photo, Cindi.)

The sun sets over Coralville Lake. Water level in the Coralville Reservoir finally fell below the spillway yesterday, Mon. June 23.

Thank You...

Volunteer Bret Loes, a teacher from Washington D.C., takes a break from gutting the basement of St. Wenceslaus Church (my home parish) in Cedar Rapids. After seeing the effects of the flood, Bret felt compelled to help, so he drove to Iowa and started volunteering.

Here are some beautiful creations started today in two different classes at Bead Haven. The one directly above (golds/greens) is Mary's from the "Freeform Stringing" class. What a stunning beginning to a beautiful necklace!

The other bracelets (top 2 photos) are in various beginnings from the "Santa Fe Sunset" class. Joy's bracelet features blue-purple-cream-brown. Tami's creation has shades of brown & khaki. Kellie's bracelet has purple-yellow-cobalt blue. The gals did such a wonderful job and aren't the color combinations great! Click on these pictures to zoom-in for a closer look.

This is a new sample made with Miyuki seed beads size 11, 8, and 6!

Tonight I taught a bead embroidery class. Laurie and Cindi are doing a fantastic job on their cuffs! ...The stiffened felt base is first embroidered. When finished, the black base will be trimmed and a brass cuff blank will be sandwiched between the embroidered base and Ultra suede. Then a beaded edging is added, attaching the base and suede. Pictured is an embroidered base from a previous project.

Here are some of my mother's beautiful buttons...miniature pieces of art evolving into a bracelet. Click on the photo to zoom-in on detail.

The above is a "Sidewinder" bracelet that my friend Peggy taught me earlier this month. She was visiting the area from Texas. The picture does not do it justice-it's a real stunner! It has over 120 Swarovski bicone crystals!

This is an earlier aerial image of downtown Cedar Rapids...Friday or Saturday?...I don't really know, the days have blurred together. Hopefully, this is a site that we will never see again. (As a point of reference-the red roof in the right hand corner is the National Czech & Slovak Museum.) A sincere thank you to those who have emailed or called to see how I am doing-I live approx 4 miles from the downtown area so I am okay--but so, so many people are hurting.

A search and rescue dog rests in the back of a National Guard truck as strike teams assemble in Southwest Cedar Rapids on Sunday, June 15, 2008. Ten teams searched flood damaged homes throughout Sunday and will continue Monday to ensure homes are safe for residents to return and gather belongings.

A storm that moved through Eastern Iowa Saturday, June 14, 2008 passes over Burlington Street in Iowa City near the bridge over the Iowa River. The storm, which brought with it heavy rain, hail, and possibly a tornado in West Branch, could affect the predicted crest of the Iowa River later this week.

Floodwater inundates a farmstead along Highway 13 near the Cedar River.
Within the city of Cedar Rapids it is now estimated that 438 blocks are under water and over 24,000 people have been evacuated.

Above- Cedar Rapids City Hall early Friday, June 13, 2008, in Cedar Rapids.

Above-the First Avenue NW Dairy Queen photographed early Friday, June 13, 2008, in southeast Cedar Rapids.Volunteers form a human chain to carry sandbags for the effort of protecting Mercy Medical Center from the rising flood waters early Friday, June 13, 2008, in southeast Cedar Rapids. The hospital along with a care facility was evacuated...

Downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Part of Mays Island, which is home for City Hall and the Linn County Courthouse, is underwater as flood waters continue to rise in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thursday June 12, 2008. Heavy rains continue to pound large portions of Iowa. The faint lines that you see are the railings of the Cedar Rapids bridges that are submerged. The only remaining and passable bridge is I 380 that you see in the background.

Most of the CRANDIC railroad bridge over the Cedar River next to the Eighth Street bridge has collapsed in downtown Cedar Rapids on the morning of Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Here, St. Wenceslaus is surrounded by floodwaters.

Mt. Vernon firefighter Dan Gines pauses after launching a boat to recover a Cedar Rapids resident trapped on a rooftop in Cedar Rapids on Thursday evening, June 12, 2008.

Little Bo's Pub & Grill is reflected in flood waters at the intersection of 14th Avenue SE and Third Street SE as the sun rises Wednesday morning, June 11, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The 3rd Ave bridge (photos I took yesterday afternoon-picture below) over the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids is now closed. Parts of Cedar Rapids are now under mandatory evacuation. The entire city of Palo (a town close to Cedar Rapids) is under mandatory evacuation. ...and in the last hour it has started to rain.

Above Flood Stage

The Cedar River is above Flood Stage. These pictures are of the 3rd avenue bridge that connect with May's Island here in Cedar Rapids. Did you know that only 2 cities in the world have their city government located on an island? Yep--Paris, France and Cedar Rapids, Iowa!

I was always told to respect my elders, but they're getting harder and harder to find.

It's still evolving--although I have decided that it will be a component of a necklace. But stay tuned-I just might change my mind. The colors are still growing on this piece. I do not often work with reds and pinks so I am having fun working with colors that are a bit different for me.

(Ah, but the gold and bronzes are still there and a splash of violet.)

I am working on a new embroidered piece pictured above. I'm not sure of the color combination yet-so stay tuned as to how it evolves. It will be a pin or a pendant... I'm not sure where it will lead me.

Look at the above beautiful crochet-loop bracelets that were created tonight in class! The brown one was made by Kellie and the purple one was made by Wendy. The gals really did a fantastic job on their bracelets! Click on the photos to zoom-in on their beautiful creations.

Santa Fe Sunset...

This is a new technique that I finished this morning. I like the texture and the flexibility of this bracelet! I am going to offer this as a new class. It is a really easy project for the beginner and still so fun and quick for anyone! (Don't we need some fast gratification projects?) The possibilities with this bracelet are endless. It really got me thinking. Click on the photo for a closer look...