Bloom, right where you are planted

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "For everything you have missed, you have gained something else."



Spring has sprung in Northern California and it is so wonderful to watch in amazement.  The days are getting longer and the anticipation of planting our garden is mounting.  Which got me thinking about a quote I have often heard. . .



Mary Engelbreiht's quote, "Bloom where you are planted"



After being here in Northern California for the last year and a half and struggling with trying to "break into" a small, close-knit community, I think I understand the meaning of this quote just a little bit better. 

You see, God planted the gardens and I can imagine some of the plants blooming and wondering, "Why was I planted here?  God in His infinite wisdom knew why and where the plants would bloom the best, where they would be the most beneficial and serve the most purpose.  He didn't give them a choice to plant themselves in a location that "they" wanted. . . .  He chose for them.  Just like He chose to place us in Northern California, reasons unbeknownst to all of us, for better or worse. 


Every day I feel like I am constantly falling on my knees in prayer, asking God to forgive me for my struggle with discontentment and longing for something greater in life.  What I am beginning to realize is that God will show me the way. . . the reason that He wants our family here, the "why" behind our being planted.   He will take care of me, He will be my strong tower, my everlasting hope which I can stand upon.   It is what started me journaling my "1000 gifts" - the reasons for living and breathing - the God given purpose to my life.  I want to remember every day just how grateful I am and to fully be open to His ways in my life.   I pray when I get to that end I can look behind and see a deep, straight path, right to Jesus.
So for now, I may feel like I am missing something, but God knows I am gaining something even greater.  I will be content to wait out the reason that I've been called to "bloom" here, right where I've been planted.

Bloom, bloom where you're planted

You will find your way
Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted
You will have your day.

Look at the flowers, look at them growing
They never worry, they never work
Look at the way our Father clothes them
Each with beauty all its own

Each with beauty all its own

Some plant the seeds that others will water
But in all things, God give the growth
Come let Him garden the flowers within you
Come and discover some you've never known
Come and discover some you've never known

Look at the love that lies deep within you
Let yourself be! Let yourself be!
Look at the gifts you have been given
Let them go free! Let them go free!
Let them go free! Let them go free!

#200 - # 208

*    dirty spoons under the dining room table, babas, wanies and shirtless boy

*     chocolate frosting, chocolate cake and Lindsay who is now no longer in a car seat

*     playing trains with George late one Thursday evening after Bible Study

*     birthday girls during the month of March

*     "Dadda, Dadda, Where momma go?"  early in the morning coming from the crib

*     ice cream cakes and eight year old

*     birthdays and another year of serving God

*     talking to old friends early in the morning - so uplifting and just what I needed

*     quilting in bed late at night for new arriving babies amongst our friends

Couponing is not for the weary. . .

After watching the TLC episode of "Extreme Couponing" my daughter, Anne and I have teamed up our efforts to saving our family money by couponing again. 

We began in January by doing several things.  First, we set a budget as to how much we'd spend in groceries and personal care items.  That being said, we also decided that just because something was on sale, a great deal and that we had a coupon for the item,  if the family wasn't going to use the item, we wouldn't buy it.  We also said that we didn't want to be "extreme" in that we'd clear shelves and go overboard and end up with a year's suppy of toliet paper (which when I think about that with six girls in the house, might be near impossible to store up!)

So we  began searching blogs for other ladies who had traveled the coupon road before us, one in particular from the show, Joanie Demer, The Krazy Coupon Lady.  She offers coupon match-ups to the weekly sales fliers, tips for beginners and videos on how to shop.  While I haven't read her book, "Pick Another Check-Out Lane Honey," it sounds interesting.

Since, logistics and lack of shopping selections were going to be a battle for us to overcome, we decided to focus on Walgreens, CVS and Safeway.  We were not new to couponing - we had tried it in years past, but simply got overly burnt out on shopping at too many stores, missing those really "great sales" and having to go back in several times a week, and driving all over the city to the different stores.  So, we knew we needed a better "game plan" this time since CVS is a 30 minute drive north and Walgreens and Safeway are a 20 minute drive south.  I wish I could say that we've come up with a "fool proof" plan thus far, but we haven't - we are still stumbling through, but it has been fun to see some of the great deals we've found - even if we get overly excited over buying laundry detergent or toothpaste for almost nothing - have you ever seen the coupon dance??  Perhaps that should be my next post - a video of the coupon dance!

I thought I would show you a week worth of shopping for us and the amount of money that can be saved by simply spending a couple hours a week clipping coupons and printing them from the internet.

So, for the totals. . .  drum roll please. . . . .

Total Spent. . . * $86.92

Total Saved. . . * $219.93

Total of all Goods Purchased. . . . .* $306.85

(We forgot to take a picture of the items we got at Target which were two packages of Huggies diapers, two Suave Professionals products, and two Secret deodorant and four boxes of fruit snacks)

This gave us a 72% savings on all of the items and we purchased 100 items this week.  If you divide that by our cost, that is less than $.90 per item.  We are so blessed by these savings and some of these items we'll be enjoying for several months.

Blessings,

Michelle



Advice from our tree

Advice from a Tree
By Ilan Shamir
Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view! 

Years ago I saw a wonderful idea on how to chronicle all of the books my children read throughout the years. . .  a wall of books in essence.  This year we decided upon a reading tree; a tree because of new growth and old, sturdy knowledge.  Each year that a tree grows, it's core trunk remains steadfast, strong and full of life while the outer branches spread far and wide with new growth.  My children are so similiar; each year they retain the knowledge learned from past years, helping them to remain strong while their tender branches are reaching forth to grow and absorb new nutrients in the way of new knowledge.

Each leaf on our tree carefully lists the name of the book read and whichever child's name read the book or had it read to them.  At the end of the year, we make a big deal of taking down the tree, sorting out the leaves and recording all of the books that we've consumed during the year.  Each year I am utterly amazed at the number of books we read and just how many interesting subjects we perused throughout the year.  This is a wonderful confidence booster if the dreaded "Homeschooling Doubt" has settled into your thought pattern.  I love nothing more than  than seeing a very long list of books read over the last year to reassure myself that the girls are learning and glorifying God.

Reading is so important in our children's lives.  If it was not so, we would not have so many great quotes about how reading takes us to places we've never been before, how it opens doors, how we meet and get to know people we have never met before. . . .  .

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

I've traveled the world twice over,

Met the famous; saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I've been where no-one's been before,

Learned secrets from writers and cooks

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.

     Unknown

I suppose I should get back to reading, we are enjoying another Circle C Beginnings series book, Andi's Scary School Days and an amazing classic, Robinson Crusoe.  Have you read with your child today?

Just Quiet Days

How I wish I had something amazing to post

Something so heartfelt and inspiring to cause you to ponder and wonder

Something so God spoken that His words would create that "awe" moment for you,


But, for now, I just have the wonder of our days passing by

Delighting in every moment. . .

Ever so sweet, that if I am not careful, I might just blink and miss that special something. . . . . .


As I spoke with a dear friend of ours this week, she made me realize something so wonderful.  My kids are thriving, even if I feel as if I am failing.

After each interruption to our school day, I feel I get further and further behind, that somehow they are not learning or experiencing the same as their counterparts - those in school from morning until afternoon.  Each night it is the same replay over and over again in my head - that somehow they will not stack up, per se, to those children who have spent so many hours in a classroom. 

Her "awe" moment words touched me and made me see that they are learning, even if it is in an unconventional way, that when they leave this home they will be prepared for life.  They will have meditated on God's law  day and night, they will be stronger for it.  They will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. 

And, I will have Delighted in every moment. .  . my heart is overflowing right now

Don't let your fear of failing hinder you from     DELIGHTING    in your children today. . .

Psalm 37: 3- 4

Trust in the LORD, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD,

and he will(I) give you the desires of your heart.

So many birthdays this month

Our month of March is crazy with birthdays.  Our Hannah's birthday falls exactly one week later than little Lindsay.  She is turning eight this year and what a blessing she is to the family.  She is so much like her father - with her deep brown eyes, her dark skin, her amazing ability to make someone laugh and her extra gentle spirit (I'm not sure her Dad would admit that he's a big softie when it comes to her - all she has to do is bat her big brown eyes and she has him eating out of her hands - so to speak)



We just returned from the monthly 4-H meeting, where all the March birthday kids had to get up in front so that everyone could sing "Happy Birthday" to them.  Her face was so red - she was a little embarassed.  She even made her momma go up, since my birthday happens to be next week.  I love how she loves her sisters and little brother and they are always busy playing something.  She's rather quite the tomboy, even though I desperately try to get her to wear her skirts and dresses. 

Her birth story was another fun story for our family, just like Lindsay's.  The General Manager was out of town when I went into labor, so he, in a panic, drove way too fast to make it back in time.  He met me at the hospital shortly after I arrived.   While the nurses were checking me in and I was waiting for my epidural, he went down to the cafeteria to get some lunch.  While I was in the pangs of labor, he was next to me eating a bowl of gumbo, calm as can be, as if I'd been birthing babies forever (she was only my second birth).  Dr. Helman and him jibber -jabbered while I was birthing Hannah.  Even today, I can almost remember the smell of the gumbo and how it was so overpowering to me while I was trying to concentrate through contractions.  Dr. Helman said, "she has a lot of hair and I could use some of it to pull her out."  Thankfully, she came out all on her own.  She was a very sweet baby, but she only wanted momma.  She was also the only baby I've had that refused to take a bottle, which meant we were inseperable for the entire time she nursed.

She is such a sweet girl and I know she loves the Lord.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her future.

Happy Birthday sweetheart!  We love you very much. . . . .

No More Carseats for her

Today is our 6 year old, Lindsay's birthday.  The alarm on my cell phone went off at 3:30 a.m. this morning waking several. Unbeknownst to all, Anne had apparently set my phone alarm to go off to remind us just how early Lindsay was born. 


When she was born, I was smitten from the start.  She was so sweet with her baby blue eyes, light blond hair and cute button nose.  She slept well, she didn't fuss much and she loved to be held and snuggled with her older sisters.  Anyone could hold her and she didn't mind.  I remember back to the General Manager's Chief Promotion, which was shortly after she was born.  A dear friend of ours held her almost the entire party while I took care of the rest of the arrangements.

Her Daddy loves to tell the story of how she was born the night before he was to attend a very important meeting with a 3-star General (he got to miss that meeting of course) and how Momma woke the neighborhood up with all of her screaming.  I think he likes this story as much as the story of eating gumbo . . .  that post will have to come next week.

We have many nicknames for our sweet girl in the middle:  Doodler (her artwork started on the walls), Wigi, Squishy, Winsey; each I think an enduring name to describe her character.  She loves playing with her sisters, everything from Barbies, Polly Pockets, house and the most imaginative one of all, prairie girls.  She's quiet natured, kind, smart as a tack when I can get her to focus and oh so gentle.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her.

We all love you very much Lindsay.  May your day be special.

My blinders are on

I hear Pastor preaching on Sunday, about having blinders on.   Does anyone else hear the lesson he is teaching, or is he just talking directly to me?    I try to look away, but I hear him anyhow.

It is that point where we have begun to focus on something so hard . . .  that thing that WE want, but is it of God?  Does God want it in our lives . . . .  is it part of His will for us?

But, I really, really want it, you say, and I deserve it - God should grant it to me because I have been praying about it for so long.

Sitting there, I realize that I have been so easily distracted by analyzing others "blinders" that I forgot to take a look at my own.  It's times like these that God is taking us out of our comfort zone - to give us a gift - a place where we can lean on Him and know Him more intimately - something we would never do in our comfort zone.

I struggle to concentrate on the sermon, yet my mind wanders to my blinders. . . . the one thing that consumes my thoughts daily. 



My arms are so full, yet empty at the same time - I can feel the blinders around my eyes - wanting, struggling with a selfish desire to hold another little one, to smell the sweet baby "smell," to hear the baby babbles, to see the toothless smiles. . .  .  To beat the "clock" that is ticking away on my child bearing days.  That somehow, just one more child would complete my life. 

He's almost two now and he is still my baby, but reality sets in. . . he is not going to be for much longer.  What if he is the last and I never have anymore blessings - any more gifts - Children are a gift from the Lord and I want my arms so full of them!

But with these blinders I have closed myself off to God's will - it's as if I've told Him that His way is NOT sufficient or good enough for my liking.

So I come to Him, heavy hearted, repentive of my blinders - counting the gifts that I have, reminding myself to wait upon the Lord. . . Psalm 27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.   My blinders need to be removed if I am to see my gifts.

Counting gifts is about gratitude -  and I need to count these hard things too.

#190 - #198

two more baby chicks born, including one incredibly fuzzy yellow one

tendrils of curls outlining Abby's face because her hair is finally growing back from twisting it off so many times

little ones arms wrapped around my neck playing with my hair clips or twirling "myz hair"

the sound of snow falling, having it change to hail and then back again to snow

snowflakes and daffodils

cold, really cold days spent wrapped up inside

hundreds of sweet little birds landing on fences, building nests and laying eggs

a furnace that is working

patience - it is a constant struggle to attain

removing my blinders

Baby Chicks

Last week I believe I told you about our three newest baby chicks, but I did not post pictures of them.  One is two weeks old and the other two are one week old as of Saturday.  I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to give us two more babies after the first one because I was afraid she was going to be so lonely.




It was such a fun experience to watch the chick peck her way out of the shell.  Those shells are very hard, so I know she must have worked long and hard during that journey. 

What a truth to perserverence that little chick showed us.  She never once complained, "This is too hard, I think I'll quit now."  She didn't give up, she just kept on pecking away until the shell finally broke free. 

We too need to peck away at the tasks we have laid before us.  God will never give us more than we can handle.  He never once told us that life would always be easy, filled with simple tasks.  He tells us life will be filled with challenges and we are to persevere through them. 

I look around, close my eyes and constantly remind myself that this time my circumstances will never be more than I can handle - He is with me - He is with me.  And then I'll need to do that all over for the next circumstance.

A friend recently shared this beautiful verse with me and I think it shows us the blessing that God will give to us when we persevere.

I Corinthians 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Nothing we do is in vain, when it is done for the Lord.  Perhaps this needs to be on a sticky note somewhere near my mind every moment of the day. . .

How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place

"How sweet and awesome is the place with Christ within the doors, while everlasting love displays the choicest of her stores."

"Why was I made to hear your voice and enter while there's room, when thousands make a wretched choice, and rather starve than come?"

"We long to see your churches full, that all the chosen race may, with one voice and heart and soul, sing your redeeming grace."

We sang this beautiful hymn this Sunday in worship service and I was struck by the words so strongly.  I wanted to share them with you.  These are three stanzas from hymn 469, from the Trinity Hymnal.  We received one as a gift from Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which was one of the many churches we attended during the years that the General Manager moved us around the countryside during his Air Force career.  This hymnal is so special to us, as the whole congregation signed it and put their mark on their favorite hymns to sing.

Tonight, I read over and over the many wonderful sayings to us and each of the beautiful hymns that each family chose for their own. . . all from each of our dear friends from Dayton, Ohio.  What a surprise when I saw that Pastor and his adorable wife Sue, put their mark on this same hymn and told us in their sweet note. . . . "We have delighted to know you and your family.  You will be missed.  Our prayer is that the Lord will direct our paths to cross again in this life.  Pastor & Sue"   Another one that touched my heart was from Mark and Jody . . ."It seems like yesterday that we were helping you move in.  So many things have happened in our lives to prove otherwise though!  God will be with you in your military travels.  He is always faithful to His children.  We'll miss you!" 

We have re-connected with many of these beautiful families through facebook and I'm so thankful to the creators of facebook and for the technology that has come about for us to be able to stay in touch with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is so important that we stay in touch with other Christians - fellowship is something that God purposed in our lives for our good - it's our way of staying accountable to God.   Hebrews 4:13   Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  

We have three new chicks - hatched over the weekend to add to our flock in six short weeks.  They will spend their precious time in the garage until then, under the protection of wire fencing and a heater lamp, until they are big enough to fend for their own with the rest of the girls.  Two are multi-brown colored and one is a sweet fuzzy yellow.  She was the last one to be born on Sunday.  The girls have all held them and Georgie is awaiting his turn to hold one - that might be awhile since he could very easily crush one with his over-zealous boy strength!

We've had many warm, sunny days where we've sat on the front porch learning, while watching Abby climb the trees and Georgie dig in the rocks in the front yard.  Hannah's Netherland Dwarf rabbits are finally growing and are very sweet to hold.  I'm thankful that we got two because they are so happy together - two peas in a pod.

My counting of blessings continues on - it's amazing to see that I'm up to 189 already.  This has been such a joyous experience for me and I love being able to look back over the months to see what we've been doing around the homestead.  But alas for now, I hear the pitter patter of feet above me that are getting ready for the rainy morning inside.  I believe I have some chores to finish myself as I take care of our home - what a privilege to be a homemaker.

May God bless your day today!
Michelle


#166 - #189

Mom's night out hosted here at the house - lovely fellowship with many like-minded ladies

So many good soups and salads to share

"momma, baba, momma, baba" - Georgie's favorite saying these days . .  next to John Deere

pitter patter of a rain storm on the windows

back tickling from a 3 year old

watching Hamlet movie with all the children

daffadils peaking up out of the ground

the seasons changing so quickly

bitten baby tongue that heals so quickly

a week of sunshine

eggs in an incubator

the anticipation of having baby chicks

dinner with family

reading through the Bible and sticking to the plan

getting my quilted table runner completed

tea with a friend celebrating her birthday

Abby kisses

fun new signs about the chickens that the town can talk about

beautifully dressed little girls

well children - sickness gone

new baby chicks born from an incubator

being humbled to my knees, thinking that I displeased God

Cozy Sunday Happenings

It's a quiet day today, drizzles falling down, chilly damp cold in the air.  When I say quiet . . .Georgie just fell asleep for a second nap.  My body laid down next to him and I too drifted into a nice peaceful nap, until the little girls wanted to take an afternoon bath, or more pleasantly known as "spa day."

Church was so sweet this morning - especially since the entire family could go because we were all feeling better from last week's sickness.  The coughing and sniffles are still lingering, but the heart wrenching sore throats are gone by the wayside.  When I miss a week from church I feel lost for that week and the next  . . . .until, at last, I can hear God's word and fill my mind and soul back up with His nourishing words.  I so needed it today as last week was a rough week with some very discouraging happenings spiritually for me.  God's word is the breath of life, manna in it's fullest sense.  It is our life-blood, that which can comfort, restore, renew, shelter, provide, refresh, and create anew each and everyday.

Our church happens to be situated right near the homeless mission, so we often get a few homeless people that find their way into our church.  Today was one of those days, where a gentleman came in for the first time.  Usually what happens is that they drink their free coffee, listen to the message, get their free lunch after service and go on their way, not really talking to anyone, but when Pastor made a special announcement that this man had specifically asked for prayer for God's will to be done in his life, my heart ached for him.  Thirty years he's been homeless, wandering the streets, struggling with life, feeling empty inside, worthless, helpless, and afraid.  It was so bittersweet to see him on his knees during service - really feeling the brokenness that we all feel in its entirety every day.  No one, not one is righteous enough to stand before God - we must be on our knees before Him, clothed in the blood of Jesus, and here this man was doing so. .  I could see the life-blood renewing and restoring him.  It was a beautiful display of God's healing love.

The table is set, candles lit and the savory smell of dinner is on it's way. . . left over lobster from our evening yesterday will be turned into yummy lobster alfredo. .  my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  The smells of it cooking are absolutely heavenly.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

-Philippians 4:4

Everyday drawings

Every week the girls and I spend awhile in the afternoon drawing different objects around the house.  We've used several books to learn art from.  One of my favorites was Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes - we used that last year.  We are trying something new that I found at the library (free is always good for me) Art for Kid's Drawing by Kathryn Temple.  It seems that for us, the less complicated the instructions are the better the art projects become. 

I thought I'd share some of the work that the girls have been designing.  I haven't seen a strong desire out of any of the girls to pursue drawing on a more deeper level, but I do enjoy seeing how their drawings evolve over the years.  It's so sweet to watch the stick figures with big circle heads evolve into something with clothes, hands, fingers, shoes, facial features and so much more.  We've been trying our hands at quite a bit of shading and color variations as you can see by their drawings.

I love how Kathryn Temple states that "Everyone can draw and there is no one right way to draw."  So often we get hung up on our pictures being a perfect replication of what we see, rather than seeing that our drawings reflect how we look at the world, how we interpret the information that our eyes have seen.  My favorite blog just happens to be called "Eyes of Wonder," and so often when I look at the girls drawings I get immersed in thinking about how they came about drawing what they did - more about the "wonder" of how they saw that particular object.

Scrappy Table Runner

I have spent many moments sewing and quilting a table runner.  I got my inspiration from a blog, Pleasant Home



It started out like this. . . .





And ended up like this. . . .

I had all of these strips in my scrap pile.  Each of the strips are 2 1/2" by 11" inches long.  I sewed 18 strips together with a 1 1/2 inch white polka dot border.  I quilted around each strip and then sewed the backing to the front, right sides together,  leaving an opening  to turn.  Turn right side out, hand stitch the opening closed and then top stitch 1/4" around the outside border.

I liked it so much I made a second one.  Now I just need to decide if I should put it in my Etsy shop.

January Happenings

Please forgive my absence with posting of our happenings here at One Blessed Acre.. . .  the days are shorter and we have been enjoying the last few days of sunny, beautiful weather outside.  We've been busy with school, sewing projects (post to come soon), learning to finger knit, crochet projects and life in general.



Let me catch you up on our exciting news.  Our chickens are finally back to laying again, which means that soon the "Chickens on Vacation" sign will come down from our egg stand and our local customers will be so joyful!  We also bought an incubator and currently have six eggs being kept warm and cozy in hopes of having babies in 21 days.  The General Manager keeps saying that his garage is turning into a farm nursery, what with the addition of our bunnies and our soon to arrive baby goats.



With the loss of several of our birds to the busy road in front of our house, we've been wanting to replace them.  We are also thinking of expanding the flock to increase the egg supply this summer.  It still amazes me how blessed we've been by this stand.  Everyone in town just loves to come and get eggs from us and it seems as if we are always "sold out."    It is so special to watch the tourists drive by the house, slowly back up and pull out their camera to take pictures of the stand.  I would have never thought that my egg stand would bring so much attention.



The daffadils in front of the picket fence are starting to pop up all along the fence line.  Last weekend I spent several hours outside weeding the beds so that the sweet buds wouldn't have to compete with the overgrown weeds. 

I'm mulling over several gardening books trying to decide what to do with my front flower beds.  I truly want an herb garden this year and it needs to be inside the picket fence so that the roaming ladies do not scratch and trample my delicate herbs and flowers.  I just keep realizing that gardening and choosing plants and placement of those plants is not one of the skills that I have been gifted, so the process is slowly becoming a little grueling.  I have also been trying to decide on some paint colors for the interior rooms, mostly out of necessity - little Georgie has learned what fun color crayons can be on the walls. The paint we currently have on the walls is NOT washable - which while the artwork of an 19 month old is beautiful to look at and I cherish these moments because they won't last long, at some point I have to wash them off the wall somehow.

Whenever I get a free moment these are some of my favorite decorating blogs to gain some inspiration.

Cherry Hill Cottage

The Inspired Room

Cherry Menlove

These may or may not be your style of decorating, but perhaps they will lead you somewhere new or inspire you in your own personal decorating.  May your day be filled with sweet visions of spring to come.

I can hardly believe

I can hardly believe it's in the 50's and it's January.  The girls and George are outside running around in the front yard barefoot and in short sleeve shirts.  Lindsay was enjoying the tire swing, that is after she dumped out the gallons of water on the inside.  We are nearing the hour to take Anne to piano lessons, but it's such a joy to see them outside and not cooped up inside.  We've had our share of rain for the last few weeks and I praise God that he gives us the sun to enjoy every now and again.  

I got the girls started back to school last week.  It's much better being on a routine and following a schedule - the girls seem to handle things better when they know what to expect.  I still receive the ocassional big brown eye look of, "can't we have the afternoon off, pleasssseee."



Charlie is growing so quickly and has fit right into this family.  He loves to be inside, but lately his favorite pasttime is stalking the chickens - I think he gets a secret thrill out of trying to pounce on them.  They just squawk and fly off.  I'm waiting for the day he tries it to the rooster, Hawk.  He might think twice about his pouncing on unsuspecting birds after that. . . .



Georgie loves to play with Charlie and chase him around the house.  Charlie is a good cat to tolerate little George.



My little boy loves to help out with dishes in the morning.  He doesn't do much washing, but is a great water sorter from one side of the sink to the other.  He absolutely adores the funnel and watches the water pour out from the bottom.  You can only imagine what is going on inside his brain as he watches the water flow out.  He is very busy in the morning and this keeps his hands from being idle, or from coloring on the walls with the new crayons that Grammie got him for Christmas.



Just a parting thought for the day.  With all the challenges that raising little ones bring, sometimes we just need to know that it's in our perseverance that God's work in us is done.  Through faith we can realize that our children will turn out all right, the laundry will get done, the house will look normal again, our husband will be fed a decent meal and our extra projects will get finished eventually.  

The spirit of godly womanhood is present in the woman who, with courage and fortitude, perseveres through the many challenges of life. She realizes that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and consequently strives for the principled course of action." -Christine Russel



more counting of my One Thousand gifts. . . . .
#152  spending the day with the family

#153  another year with the man that I love and cherish

#154  giggles and squeels of delight

#155  tractors all lit up

#156  rain stopping during the parade

#157  hot cocoa after a long parade and tons of rain

#158  church family

#159  happy smiles on Christmas morn

#160  spending the evening with my parents

#161  the priceless look on Anne's face when she got her hope chest

#162  cloudy day nestled inside with the littles

#163  helping Abby fill her purse reminded me of when Anne was two years old and carried her purse everywhere we went

#164  free turkey broth

#165  quilting day spent with new friends

#166  Christmas cards from friends and family, even if they are received after the holidays