Unexpected

I am going to be a Grandmother. When I look in the mirror, I don't look like a grandma! My parents were actually younger than I am when they became grandparents for the first time.

Our son is going to be a daddy. We believe that all children are a gift from the Lord and that He makes no mistakes. The Lord has a purpose for this baby and for his mommy and daddy.

Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 127:3 - Lo, children are a heritage from the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

Hey, I'm going to be a Grandma! I'd better get knitting!

Fellowship

One thing our church does really well is to fellowship together. It is such a neat way to grow close to one another, share with one another, bear each others burdens, well, you get the idea. We also love to include others in our fun.

This year we hosted our now annual Fall Fest at our home on October 31st. Reformation Day - the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the door of the Wittenburg church. This lead to a huge change in the way believers had access to the scriptures etc...

We hold a bonfire and roast hot dogs, marshmallows and sticks! hee hee

We started out the afternoon with everyone checking out the barn. It needs the doors, interior walls to separate the stalls, and the trim...it really looks good.

The boys all had a good time eating candy and having sword fights. Until the soccer game started!

Here Tim and a couple of good friends are chatting about the barn. They are standing by the fire - can you see the smoke?

We cooked hot dogs and shared a good meal together. The dads played soccer with the kids, even the little ones got to play!

It started to rain so I headed inside and found that most of the adults were already inside and having great conversations. Our pastor Mike was sitting on the couch and grinning. Someone asked him which conversation he was listening to, he pointed to all of them! He was loving the interaction. The great thing about being a part of a family integrated church is that not only families are there. There are singles, teens whose families don't come to church, marrieds with grown children, widows. Everyone is brought into the family and are important to the whole body.

That night a family of friends from church who live 45 minutes away from church stayed the night, so they wouldn't have to drive home that night and turn around and come back the next morning. Also we thought it would be great fun! It was. Amazingly we all got up and ready for church, ate breakfast and got to Sunday School on time! This was inspite of Kelly and I prepping for our fellowship meal at church and the time change!

After church we headed home and several families joined us. Another fire and marshmallows...swords for little boys made by Lindsay,

Little boys having adventures in the woods,

Passing around the baby...

Sitting by the fire into the evening,

Watching the moon come up.

We went inside for coffee and tea - much talk and encouragement was shared. It bonds our hearts together.

Today the teens in the church are going to do yard work at a couple's home from our congregation. The husband recently had neck surgery and his wife had knee replacement this year. When told that the young people were coming to do this the wife cried. When she was told that we would be providing dinner, she cried even more. It is the body caring for one another.

It's a beautiful thing.

I Am Working On A New Post...

of all that went on here this busy weekend.

In the meantime, I wanted to show you one of my daughter Emily's fraktur's. She hand reproduces the the whole thing. She has a wonderful book with designs in it and she also can reproduce designs of a person's choice. Our home is getting filled with these beautiful scripture fraktur's, and she has branched out into making notecards. Recently she has had some inquiries about doing invitations or special pieces to commemorate a special event.

She also has recently made a special birth certificate for a friend whose baby was born early and died. It is beautiful and something they will treasure for ever.

She took an art class several years ago where she learned about this Pennsylvania Dutch art form, and really loved it. It is so special to receive a gift that has been handmade with great thought and care!

She has a bit more posted over at her blog. She would love a visit from you!

Quote

Ah, There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.

Miss Jane Austen

I love this quote – especially on rainy days like we have been having.  I like nothing better than being in my cozy home and baking or cooking, drinking tea and reading a good book.  I love to have all the curtains and blinds open so that the house is filled with natural light.

I like to light candles and use warm throw blankets to toss over a chair or couch so that they are available to use whenever someone feels the need to snuggle up!

I was out for a good portion of the afternoon and was so happy to get home!

I am thankful for my home and the privilege to use it and to share it with others.  It’s a blessing.

Planning

We are in the early planning stages of adding an in-law quarters for my parents on to our house, which basically mean we have been talking about what we could do, how it could look etc. We have looked at houses on line, have gone to look at one in person, and at this point see that our best shot at getting my parents the set up that they would like is to do an addition. Since our property is zoned R1 we are unable to have a separate kitchen for the addition, so we will need to enlarge the kitchen.

We realize that especially for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas where there might be 4-5 of us in the kitchen cooking or working on different food prep, the kitchen being expanded is a must. My girls and I spent an hour or so the other day talking about how it could look! We also practice hospitality at our home, in a big way, so it will be a blessing to have a separate dining area from the kitchen and to have a pantry for storage.

Today, I went to The Inspired Room and saw that she had a whole post about pantries! She has great photos and ideas for storage.

This lead me to look online for photos for inspiration.

There is a lot I like about this kitchen - the cabinets, the high table and chairs the beadboard, the plate rack, the ceiling - but I don't like the blue and white tiles or the floor. I like a warmer look.

I really like the colors of this kitchen and the farmhouse sink! Isn't that wooden countertop and backsplash neat?

I like this pantry. It looks like an old country store! I doubt our ability to keep it looking this way!

I also saw a photo of a closet style pantry that had a red country style screen door on it instead of a solid door! I even had a photo of that but it got deleted. I knew I should have tried out Live Writer today! Well, you will just have to trust me. It was cute!

What kind of kitchen do you have and what things do you like about it? Anything you would change?

Preparing

www.allposters.com- Preparing A Meal -Nicolas-bernard Lepicie

I seem to always be in a state of preparing...

Today I planned the main meal of the day which we ate around 2:00pm before my husband has to leave for work. I was going to be cooking it, but Emily ended up doing it as I was in the middle of mowing the yard, which takes about an hour or so. Even though I didn't prepare the meal I made sure everything was available to make the meal.

That is a huge part of my life - buying food, preparing food, cleaning up after a meal...for some reason these people expect to eat everyday! When Kyle asked for breakfast this morning, I said to him "You don't need to eat today, you ate yesterday." He grinned at me and said "Your just teasing. I like to eat everyday." So precious!

I also prepare for our co-op every week - decisions to make, emails to send, preparing coffee and tea for the Mom's room...it makes me happy to have it be nice for these ladies.

Another way I prepare is by discipling my children - I am preparing them for their adult life. I am preparing them to be followers of Christ in an increasingly hostile culture. This is a huge part of my life, but I am preparing multi-generationally - I am planning on having great, great grandkids who are walking faithfully with the Lord!

I also am preparing for a Harvest party at our place on Saturday - hot dog roast, bonfire, horseback riding, lots of fun stuff..our whole church and lots of friends are coming.

I am preparing to fly to California the week before Thanksgiving for my niece's wedding. So Rachel and I are starting to think about what we need to pack. We also need to go pick out a pretty new dress for her to wear or I need to get started on making her a dress.

Also then I am preparing ahead of time to make sure everything will be in place for Thanksgiving since I won't be back until the Monday right before the holiday.

Now I need to go and prepare for the evening. I like to get settled in, and the kids in jammies, light some candles, read, knit. Oh, before I do that though I need to run to our Christian Library and return some books, and check out their fill a bag sale!

The Most Important Work I Do

is to mother these great children. I am in awe over the way God answered the desires of my heart (placed there by Him) by allowing me to be a wife and mother. It was all I ever wanted to do.

I am not the perfect mother, I have made lots of mistakes, but I am passionate about it and purposeful in it.

It is a priceless treasure to hold the affections of these wonderful people.

I am blessed beyond what I deserve.

Mother, Home, and Heaven

There are three words that sweetly blend,

That on the heart are graven;

A precious soothing balm they lend -

They're Mother, Home and Heaven!

They twine a wreath of beauteous flowers,

Which, placed on memories urn,

Will e'en the longest, gloomiest hours

To golden sunlight turn!

They form a chain whose every link

Is free from base alloy;

A stream where whosoever drinks

Will find refreshing joy!

They build an alter where each day

Love's offering is renewed;

And peace illumes with genial ray

Life's darkened solitude!

If from our side the first has fled,

And Home be but a name,

Let's strive the narrow path to tread,

That we the last may gain!