Hearts in Service

We are off to visit grandma & grandpa for a few days! Talk to you soon. :-)

It's Foto Friday at Rebecca's blog . The theme this week was an enjoyable one. It was SPRING. I wasn't thrilled with my pictures this week, but here they are. Spring means warm weather for outdoor chores. Pouring over gardening books and planning out my garden. It also means planting cool weather vegetables. Playing outdoors after supper. Blooming flowers. As well as sprouting rhubarb. Spring is also a time to celebrate special days like Palm Sunday. For more springtime pictures, check out Rebecca's blog.

Psalm 104:33-34 ~ I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. I have so many things to praise the Lord for this week! ♫ An unexpected family outing. ♫ Beauty everywhere I look. ♫ A little girl's wish coming true and getting to make a basket during a game. ♫ Beautiful days to enjoy outdoor activities, like washing the car. ♫ God opening a door to minister to a young woman that has been struggling with a horrible tragedy. Can you sing His praises this week?

I thought it was time to devote a post to Emily. Besides, Grandma & Grandpa need to see some updated pictures. I can't believe how fast she is growing. She is strong, athletic, and extremely energetic. I can't keep up with her half the time. She played basketball for the first time this year and loved it. It was so neat to see how much better she got as the season progressed. She also scored her first basket of the season at the last game which was AWESOME!! She has a great sense of humor and is always cracking jokes. Of course, I think her jokes are funnier to her than to anyone else! ;-) She is very sensitive too. She goes out of her way to make new friends and is very thoughtful. She is always looking for little gifts for her friends or ways to include them. She is affectionate and tells her father and me that she loves us fifteen times a day. She loves to give hugs and kisses and so far, is not embarrassed to do that in front of her friends. I'm so glad tha

It's Foto Friday at Rebecca's blog . We switched gears this week and are photographing colors. The theme this week was GREEN. It was St. Patrick's Day this week, but since I'm not Irish I don't really celebrate it. So green was really kind of sparse around here this week. The few photos I did take have nothing to do with shamrocks! :-) Green fabric. A table runner I've been working on. I just have the binding to do around the edge. A bug's eye view. I love how this photo turned out. It seems that the photos where I let the camera do all the work are the ones that turn out the best. I also like how the sunlight helped on this photo. A few little green shoots from my daffodils are coming up. In a few weeks there will be gorgeous colors showing. Well, those are my offerings for this week. If you want to turn green with envy go check out the other photos on Rebecca's blog. ;-)

I haven't participated in Sew Crafty Friday in a long, long time. Shereen wasn't doing it for awhile and I didn't realize it was back. I do participate in the Foto Friday's but since I have a project I finished, I thought I'd do both today! Check out Shereen's blog at Waiting For Him to see everyone's crafts. I'm trying to use up my fabric stash before I buy anymore. A nice way to use up all the little bits and pieces is to make a table runner. A friend just moved into a new home so I made her a table runner. This was the first time that I did anything fancier than plain squares and I was pleased with how it turned out. Close-up. I have a few other projects in the works that should be completed this week, so I'll try to post them for next Friday. For other crafty things, click on the link to see Shereen's blog.

Psalm 103:20-22 ~ 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I love looking back over my week and taking time each Thursday to acknowledge all that the Lord has done for me. We are all commanded to give God glory and praise and I know that when I take the time to do that, it creates and attitude of gratitude in my heart. Here are some things I'm thankful for this week. ♫ Teen boys who are willing to help me with whatever I ask of them. This week it was yard work. ♫ Beautiful days to hang out laundry and enjoy the sunshine. ♫ Gorgeous flowers showing their beautiful faces. ♫ A young man who we've prayed for is home for a short time from Marine bootcamp with a renewed purpose for his life. ♫ God continually revealing areas that

I realize that I haven't had many pictures of the boys the past few months, so I spent some time taking pictures of them the other day. Their personalities are reflected in these photos. Nathan is such a happy kid. He has so many problems (learning, physical, social, neurological) and yet, for the most part, he is upbeat and positive. One of the cafeteria workers at school asked him why he was always smiling and he told her, "Because I feel happy all the time!" It's true too. In many ways, he has a pretty simple view of life. A lot of this has to do with his neurological disabilities, but in many ways it's refreshing. He fills in on the drums at church when our regular drummer is gone and on Sunday, our worship leader asked him to pray. His prayer was that they would do their best and have fun! Shouldn't we all have that attitude about our work and ministry? Nathan also runs the powerpoint during our morning services. He feels things intensely, but a

I used to love those illusion books where you would look at these abstract shapes and gradually your eyes would see a picture of a particular thing. Do you know what I mean? If you looked at it another way, something else would emerge. I was taking pictures of the boys yesterday and moved them next to our maple tree in the backyard. I had them lean up against either side of a knothole and started snapping shots. When I came in to edit them, I realized that the large knots and lines in the tree looked exactly like an owl. Can you see it? See it's two large eyes and beak? There is a wing running down the left side and a little tail feather at the bottom. The little hump at the bottom right, almost to the center looks like it's talons clinging to a branch. I thought it was neat. Of course, now that I'm trying to edit the picture of the boys all I can see is the owl! :-)

I've been trying to experiment with different types of grains lately and bought some oat bran. I found a recipe for oat bran cookies with molasses and they were delicious. Molasses Oat Bran Cookies Recipe * 1 cup sugar * 3/4 cup butter * 1 large egg or 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute * 1/4 cup molasses * 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour * 1 1/2 cups rolled oats * 1/2 cup oat bran or wheat bran * 2 teaspoons baking soda * 1 teaspoon cinnamon * 1/2 teaspoon ginger * 1/4 teaspoon salt * 1/4 teaspoon clove * 1/4 cup sugar 1. In a large bowl, mix the oil, egg, 1 cup sugar and molasses and mix very well. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oats, bran, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves. 3. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until well-blended. 4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (This is for easier handling). 5. Heat oven to 375°F. 6. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parch

It's Foto Friday at Rebecca's blog . The theme this week was LINES. Lines was a relatively easy subject because they are everywhere! Spring has sprung in the Northeast and I was able to start hanging out clothes. Bright, sunny weather helped with the rest of these photos. I was standing around in the backyard trying to find something to photograph when I happened to look down and saw this silhouette. The lines of the tree were running everywhere. I should say that my math geek husband looked at this and said, "Geometrically, that doesn't fit the definition of a line." I say, it's the out LINE so it works. ;-) Edited to add: Elizabeth's comment reminded me that I really did want to get the lines in an older person's face. However, I wasn't brave enough to go up to someone and ask, "Can I photograph your wrinkles?" LOL To see others interpretation of lines, go check out Rebecca's blog. The link is at the beginning of this post.

Psalm 103:13-18 ~ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Thanking God for the following things today: ♫ Absolutely gorgeous weather since Saturday that is a welcome relief from the gray, dreary winter. ♫ Nathan was able to go and look at the Career & Technical Institute yesterday. There are only two programs available to Nathan because of his disabilities: auto mechanics and food service basics. He has no interest in auto at all and does like to cook. Th

I've had all kinds of thoughts mulling around in my brain lately and thought I'd share some of them here. I don't think this will be a weekly event, but who knows! Disclaimer: Before I start I should say that I am not in any way, shape or form judging those who do work outside the home. I don't think God calls everyone the same way. We are all in different seasons of our lives and have different circumstances. I'm talking about what He has been speaking to *me* about the past few months. I love staying at home and taking care of my family. I truly believe that my children feel secure knowing that when they come home I'm there. There is a snack waiting for them and dinner is planned out and cooking. I'm there to talk about their day and work out any issues. I'm available to volunteer in their schools and see their programs and whatnot. I'm home if one of them are sick from school or needs to go to an appointment. In fact, the school calle

Today the sky was blue, the air was warm (well warmish) and everywhere I looked were signs of spring. Snowdrops in my flower bed. Sap flowing, waiting to be made into maple syrup. Clothes drying in the wind. Outdoor chairs set up for some quiet time in the backyard. It was 52 degrees today, but the wind was cold and picked up as the afternoon wore on. However, spring is coming and I'm enjoying the bright sunshine and little signs of the changing season.