Hearts in Service

I have so much going on in our lives right now and to be honest, I have neither the time nor desire to blog at the moment. Hopefully, I'll be back in a week or two but I didn't want to just stay silent here. Thank you for your prayers!

I put together the following cards last night. I love card making because it's fairly quick and I get to do all different kinds of things as far as being creative. I made a couple of graduation cards. I need to get some more scrapbooking papers because I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. I think this one is my favorite of the bunch.

Our days have been so full lately with all the outdoor work. The boys have taken over the yard and mow and weed whack the entire thing once a week. I think half their enthusiasm comes from being able to play with power tools! There were massive weeds and trees growing in front of the fence that surrounds the property which looked so ugly. So this past weekend they dug up the whole area. I will be planting some flowers there, but it looks so much better now. Dan helped them a bit with the pulling out the unintentional trees that were growing there. Obviously, the maple seeds fell there and started to grow. However, eventually the fence would be destroyed so they had to go. We only rent so many people would say, "Why bother?" Our feeling is that we live here and want to take care of it. Also, it is good experience for the boys so they can take care of their own homes some day. Our landlord does pay them to do the yard that is on the adjacent lot, but they do our yard a...

Our church participated in the local town's community day yesterday. I organized a craft table for children to promote our Vacation Bible School and provide exposure for our church. We had such a beautiful day. The sun was out and there was a large turnout. I did an under the sea theme. We had lots of little visitors. Enjoying food and fellowship. Emily went off with her friends and at one point someone said, "Look isn't that Emily up there?" I looked where they were pointing and this is what I saw. The little daredevil made it all the way to the top and rung the bell. She ended up climbing five times and even made to the top on the expert level. At the end of the day we settled down to chat with friends and view the fireworks. I think she looks like she had a great day! We came home and fell into bed. We accomplished what we set out do and had fun in the process!

One thing I love about our new house is the flower garden. We moved here at the end of July and I'm finding so many new surprises every day. It looks like an overgrown mess, but I'm hesitant to pull anything because I don't know the difference between a flower and weed unless it blooms. :-) It's a good thing I didn't pull what I thought were weeds, because I am finding unexpected beauty in all of these things. I'm not sure what these are, but aren't they pretty? Wild roses (I think). It looks like a rose bush, but I've never seen flowers like this. Here is a close-up. Peonies Poppies Again, another thing that looked like thick grass blades and I almost pulled it all up. Shame on me! I have no clue, but I found these little beauties tucked away. I do know that in the back of this flower garden, along the side of the house are day lilies. There will be bee balm and black-eyed susan too. Whoever planned this garden did a great job because just as one t...

Kelli hosts Show & Tell Friday each week. I thought I would participate this week by showing you little treasures that my children and husband have given me over the years. We don't have a lot of money, and most people wouldn't think much of my treasures. However, I know the thought and love behind each thing so they are special to me. Dan wrote me a poem for our 11th anniversary and had it framed. The children know I love tea pots but I hate the clutter, so for Mother's Day this year they got me this cute set that is also compact. I love candles and I love birdhouses so this is a great combination! Stephen made me this, with help from Grandma, one Christmas. Dan went to Ecuador on a mission trip one year and brought back these. I love Willow Tree angels, so the children have bought me quite a few the past couple of years. I love this little trinket holder that Dan got me for Christmas one year. Well, there are many others but I thought I'd share a few of my fav...

Dan came home from his retreat on Sunday night, but it turned out he had been running a fever since Friday night. Yesterday was the sickest I've ever seen him. He had all the flu symptoms - fever, massive headache, aches and pains, and chest pain. So my day yesterday was spent with cold compresses, ice water, ibuprofen, and chicken broth. I knew he was on the mend this morning when he woke up and wanted to eat a bowl of cereal. He is back to his old self tonight. Now, I just need to keep those nasty germs away from the rest of us!