Hearts in Service

Here is the fence by the road before we started. There is another fence that is the same length on the other side of the property. Here is the same fence after two weekends, 7 cans of red barn paint, 22 bags of red cedar mulch and 20 plants. By the way, I still have to plant flowers along the other side of the fence. I used Alyssum which will spread out and look like a carpet of white and purple flowers. We just need to sweep up a little, but this is a major project done.

Philippians 4:6 ~ "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God." As much as I don't like to think so, I'm pretty much a glass half empty type of person. It's hard for me to always think positively about things. I tend to get very anxious. All three of my children struggle with anxieties and they came by it honestly. ;-) So as I read this verse and understand that I should not be anxious, and that I should give the Lord all my concerns the thing that jumps out at me is the words, "with thanksgiving." We are to thank the Lord for those things that cause us to be anxious. I think the main reason is that it causes us to go to the only solution we have - the Lord. I haven't done this in a few weeks, mainly because I've allowed busyness and anxiousness to get in the way of thinking of all the ways God has blessed me. So here is my list of thankful things.... ♫ I'm...

I tried a new recipe tonight and as I looked at the ingredients I wasn't sure how it would be but WOW! Everyone loved it and went back for seconds and thirds. I served it with garlic bread and fresh fruit salad. Chicken, Leek and Fennel Soup Ingredients * 2 tablespoons olive oil * 1 large chicken breast, cooked and diced * 3 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced * 4 large stalks celery, thinly sliced * 1 large white onions, sliced * 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced * 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes * 2 tsp. salt * 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper * 8 cups water Directions 1. In a large saucepan or soup kettle over medium-low heat, place the olive oil, leeks, celery, onions, fennel, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook and stir until the onions are translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften, about 10 minutes. 2. Pour 8 cups of water over the vegetables, add chicken and bring to a boil, reduce the hea...

This is the best rhubarb cobbler recipe I ever found. In fact, it's so good that I decided to share. Edited to add: I took it to an after funeral luncheon today and came back with an empty dish. People kept coming up to the table and saying, "So and so said I have to get some of this cobbler." So I think that says it all! :-) Rhubarb Cobbler 4 cups chopped rhubarb 1 cup flour 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup melted butter 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 3 Tbsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter. Mix well. Press half of the mixture into a greased (important point) 8 x 8 baking pan for the crust. 3. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cornstarch and vanilla. Cook over medium heat until very thick and transparent, stirring constantly, about 4-6 minutes. Add the rhubarb, stir and then spread over the crust. ...

I had planned on not subbing today so I could get some housecleaning done, but we had a change of plans. Yesterday at church, Emily was swinging and in mid-air the swing broke. She did a flip in the air and landed on her arm, fracturing the bone right above her wrist. So this morning was spent at the orthopedist's office. Oh well. It goes with the parenting territory. She is home today and we are taking it easy.

Our home is in such a strange location. We live on a commercial street that dead ends into the train parking lot next to our house. The property holds three buildings: a huge white home that used to be the local funeral home, a building behind it that I used for 3D Girls last year and our home where the funeral director used to live. Directly across the street is the train platform and other than the few minutes the train is in the station, the street is deserted. While our front yard overlooks the train platform, the backyard looks out over rolling hills and a meadow. So it's the best of both worlds. We have a picket fence that surrounds the front of the property. It gives us some privacy and protection. Parts of it were replaced this year when a car hit it and knocked it down. The parts that were not replaced have seen better days and we really felt that it was an eyesore. Fortunately for us, we have a wonderful landlord who is a blessing to us. He is a Christian and he ...

After my whiny post yesterday and going to bed feeling very sick to my stomach last night, I woke up and felt kind of blah this morning. However, after lounging around for about an hour or so, I got up and got productive! Here is what I did so far today: ♥ Did a crossword puzzle and watched a movie (that was the lazy part of the day) ♥ Made blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast ♥ Cleaned up breakfast dishes ♥ Showered & dressed ♥ Made French baguettes for lunch ♥ 3 loads of laundry - washed, dried, folded & put away ♥ Planted herb garden - basil, cilantro, dill, rosemary, and spearmint ♥ Planted vegetable garden - beans, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkin (tomatoes & peppers will go in next week) ♥ Picked & washed lettuce and spinach ♥ Made lunch (tossed salad, fruit salad, baguettes, cheese) ♥ Cleaned up lunch dishes ♥ Made, copied and folded church bulletins ♥ Made lemon poppy seed and molasses crinkle cookie dough and chilled ♥...

This is how I feel lately. Dry, uninteresting, uncreative, nothing new to say. Much of it is because I have been subbing a lot lately...A LOT! I love teaching and I love children, but by the end of the day every creative, interesting thing has been sucked right out of my brain! We've had car repairs, as well as needing money for a couple of other big bills so I don't want to turn down these opportunities when they arise. So, I'm not sure how interesting or fresh some of my blog posts will be over the next few weeks, but I'll try! I'm going to be working in my garden this weekend so hopefully I will get inspired. My thirsty creative juices certainly could use some water!

Psalm 19:1-6 ~ 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

I was sick all day yesterday and did nothing more than read a book, lay on the couch and finally, drag myself to the table to make some cards. I thought I would show you some of the latest creations. I needed to make a card for Stephen. He is going on a retreat this weekend and the parents are supposed to write their teen a letter. All I have is flowers, which I knew wouldn't go over well! I did manage to find these little doodads so I added them to the card. Okay, I love velium letters and words but I cannot for the life of me find something to stick them on with so that they don't look sloppy. Glue is horrible no matter what kind. Someone gave me a little dispenser with tape which is better, but as you can see on the next two cards it still doesn't look good. It is annoying to spend all this time making a card that looks great except for the words. Okay, last two cards. I'm hoping to have something different to show you next time, but I never seem to have enoug...

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's luncheon. I don't have too many because I kept forgetting to take pictures! The decorated tables (ignore the ugly red chairs)! Different women shared what God has taught them about being a mom. We have a lot of very young mothers, so I hope it was what they needed to hear. Baby B looks very content with her aunt! Grandma watching the babies while the moms get their food. Everyone seemed to have a very nice time and it was nice to just be able to sit and chat with different women. I don't always get to do that on Sundays so these type of events give me that opportunity. Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all have a blessed day.

I had so much fun the past few days making decorations for a mother-daughter luncheon I'm hosting at church today. I love doing things like this because it's a way I feel like I can bless the women in my church and it really does relax me. Here are the centerpieces. I also made some favors for the women to take home. These are little teabag holders. I found a wonderful poem online and made up some bookmarks too. I also put together some chocolate flowers and butterflies. All of the favors were easy to make but make the table look beautiful.

My lilac bushes are in full bloom in the yard and it smells wonderful! They are my favorite flower and I love their scent. We have a large crab apple tree in our yard and a few weeks ago there was not one bloom on it. I thought for sure we were not going to get any fruit this year. However, the weather has been extremely warm and we've also had a few rain showers and yesterday I walked outside to this sight. The tree is loaded with blossoms so it looks like we may be getting a good crop this year. Between the lilacs and the apple blossoms, my yard smells heavenly!

Nathan turned 19 years old today. It's so hard to believe that he is so old. It seems like just yesterday, he was a sweet little baby. The past year has probably been the most challenging of his life, yet we have seen him grow by leaps and bounds. The tradition at our house is that you get to pick the meal. So Nathan chose a Middle Eastern dinner. We had Pakistani kima (curried beef dish), flat bread, fattoush (salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, mint & parsley) and I have cookies and cream ice cream churning in the ice cream maker. It was kind of a weird day because we had a church work day so the majority of the day was spent working. However, he enjoyed his day and definitely enjoyed the dinner! Happy Birthday, Nathan!