Odds and Ends

I've been meaning to post for so long that I have a lots of odds and ends to share!

Kids being occupied. Does your dinner table ever look like this? Ugghh.

Wyatt receiving his first promotion in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program.

Sweet Girl finishing up a project.

Rewards of a busy, blessed day. First batch of dried apples in my new dehydrator, and first time making lemon curd (mmmmm, mmmm). We also made Italian Wedding Soup for dinner and an angelfood cake from scratch with whipped cream and strawberries. Gotta love those days where you feel like you actually accomplished being a housewife. I love this role and thank God for giving it to me.

P.S. Don't you just love my old-fashioned sparkly countertop?! I have actually grown fond of it except for the fact that it stains easily.

Shelving It

I'd been keeping an eye out for a shelf to go in our dining room. A quaint store in our neighboring town had one before Christmas that I liked. Of course, it was gone when I went back after the holidays. But it was perfectly fine because in it's place was this beautiful shelf! It's actually put together from an old door. It even has a hook-latch up under the shelf. It reminds me of the latch on our old family cabin's screen door. Of course, the picture isn't great, but I hope you get teh idea of it's charm. The color wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind, but I'll just make it work.

Unfortunately, I didn't measure anything before I bought it so it doesn't fit where I had originally planned. It's a bit crammed in the corner instead of in the limelight like I'd hoped, but I love it just the same. I hope to find more great charming additions for our home to share with you! The unfortunate thing is that thrift and antique stores in this corner of the U.S. seem to know that they are "hot" items so there isn't much thrift involved. My acquisitions will probably be far between.

Unwanted Wishes

The other day was one of those days where I found myself wishing it would be over soon. Nothing seemed to go right, the kids were, well, being kids, the dogs were crazier than usual, etc. Fortunately, I came to my senses. How often do we talk about how quickly time goes by and how soon our kids will be out of the house. And here I was wishing one of those days away? The better thing is to take the time to fix my attitude and focus, filling my heart with thanksgiving. Oh, how I pray this is a lesson well learned as I'm sure those unwanted wishes will creep in again.

Blind Faith

Trying to pass the time while Dad was away, we headed to a local area attraction. Who can pass up the awesome wonder of a huge waterfall?! Though there was a bit of fog at our home when we left, we were filled with hope. Less than 10 miles away from our destination, the fog broke and perfectly clear blue skies were revealed. But lo, waterfalls love fog and couldn't let it go.

So as we stood there, looking at this white wall, I assured the kids that there truly was a waterfall out there....I saw it when I was a kid! There were signs that assured them I was telling the truth. The sound was unmistakable, the ground rumbled, and the spray kissed our faces (either that or it was just the fog).

Isn't that just how our relationship is with God sometimes? Our faith tells us that He's there, but we don't feel like it. But that's why it's faith. That's why we get to know Him through His word. It's the foundation that we stand on. So just as I didn't panic when I couldn't see the waterfall because I'd seen it before and the evidence was there, so it is with God. I've seen Him before and the evidence is still there.

Then time will pass and we'll see His handi-work again, proving what our faith already knew. Now, I can't wait to go back to show the kids that glorious sight!

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Friends and Skating

Friday was filled with fun and friends. The kids and I are certainly getting hooked on ice skating. But it's even more fun when you have great friends along. All the kids range from 9 to 13. It's amazing how each family is different. There are several sets of kids that are the same ages, but you sure can't tell by looking! It's pure joy to see such a large group of kids playing and laughing together. And oh, how it touches a mother's heart to see them help the sweet little ones who took nasty tumbles.

It was such a blessed day that even a three hour ride home in ugly traffic with three kids and two dogs couldn't steal the joy away.

Mommies and Chicks

Having fun browsing tonight and wanted to share a couple of new and fun blogs I've found!

The Farm Chicks
Vintage Mommy

Sounds of Peace

The house is quiet, all are in bed. Snow on the ground, now melting away. Nothing to be heard but the pitter, patter, ping of rain drops on the roof. Blessed moment, peaceful sounds.

Revelation in Resolutions

I'll try to keep this short, but I had to record a sort of revelation that I've had in the notion of resolutions. It kind of came about while talking with a dear friend. Thank you, Donna!

As believers in Christ, we are His. He bought us at a price, our lives are no longer ours. So ultimately, resolutions are not ours to make....they are His. Jesus knows what needs to be resolved in us. When we seek Him, surrender ourselves to Him, we will hear Him and He will lead us to those things that He desires to resolve. This is how much He loves us and knows us.

As an example, in my previous post I indicated that Jesus has resolved that our family needs to work on having grace in our speech. He knows that this is an area that hinders us and often separates us from Him. Because we are willing to hear the beautiful voice of our Savior, He is able to reveal these things to us. Oh, how I hope this makes sense. It was just one of those lightbulb moments for me! So, Lord Jesus, resolve away! My life is Yours!

A very freeing revelation, indeed.

A Little Salt with that Grace?

Resolutions. There are a million resolutions I could make. All of them centered around being a better person. Thinking a little deeper about some of those reveals to me that at the heart of it all, I want to be more like Jesus. Any resolution I make outside of Him and His strength will fail anyway. So it seems that I'll save a lot of heartache by narrowing it down to just Him. But, I really don't even like to say that I "resolve" to be more like Him. It's so weighty and lofty. It doesn't seem to fit with His words of comfort to let Him bear our burdens.

The bottom line is that I want more of Him. To embrace more of Him, fills me with more of Him.

I do know one thing that my Savior has already shared with me. He so gently and lovingly whispered to me: "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." (Col. 4:6). This is His work for our family this year. What a privilege to know that my King knows us so well and takes the time to help us be more like Him. So over the next year, this verse and many related to it, will be gone over and over. There will, no doubt, be plenty of opportunities to practice also! I have some ideas for how to help us remember these words while decorating our home as well. I'll keep you posted....it may take me a while. They are only ideas, after all.

Praying this new year brings you deeper into His love,