Hearts in Service

One thing I've noticed is that animals seem to play a central theme in most of my adventures. I seem to attract them like flies to honey. Yet, it's always in the most bizarre way! As I've mentioned we were without power for 12 hours yesterday. Dan put the gas grill up on the front porch so we would have it available if we needed it. About mid-afternoon I decided to try and boil some water on it for tea. I pulled the cover off the grill and opened the lid. It was then that I noticed a pile of grass in the corner under the grate. Well, I know that I can't start a fire in the grill with dry grass in it so I pulled off the grate and lifted up the pile of grass. Out runs a field mouse who was in the MIDDLE of nursing four babies! The mother with two of the babies still attached to her and two other babies are now running around the inside of the grill. All the while, I'm yelping and jumping up and down. Stephen & Emily came to my rescue with glo...

We weathered the tropical storm relatively unscathed. We had no power for 12 hours but it actually turned into a wonderful day of board games and "roughing" it for our family. I certainly wouldn't want to live without power, but once in a while it is good to live without our modern gadgets. Today I'm thankful for Blessings #611-625 ♥ Being prepared. It's not often that you get a chance to prepare ahead of time for no electricity. ♥ The gift of apples and pears from a friend's trees. ♥ An unexpected credit at the doctor's office which paid for the visit. ♥ A friend who bought me this gadget a garage sale a few years back. Tomatoes go in the top, crank, and sauce comes out one side and seeds and skin the other. ♥ Finding out that Stephen's endocrinologist participates in Dan's new health plan. We love her and have used her for years. I wasn't looking forward to finding a new one. ♥ Selling enough bread to he...

We are under a tropical storm warning here and are hunkering down for the brunt of the storm late tonight and all day tomorrow. High winds, heavy rains, and flooding. It just started pouring about 20 minutes ago. I've been through this many times when we lived in New Jersey. The problem here is that we are out in the middle of the woods. Lots and lots of old, dead trees just waiting to fall. We are hoping that we don't lose power because we don't have a generator. However, if we do I'm as prepared as I can be. Bathtub filled with water Pails and other containers filled with water Drinking water Flashlight and candles ready Made a number of food items to last us a few days (bread, cookies, hard boiled eggs, pasta salad, etc.) The grill is up on the porch and available in case we need that Nathan is loving all the activity at the firehouse the past few days and in the days to come. We canceled our church service for tomorrow to keep people safe....

Our lives seem to spin out of control all of the time. Now that Dan is working a full-time job and pastoring it's gotten even crazier! There doesn't seem to be time to fit everything in. Saturday was a rare oasis in the middle of a busy summer. We were invited to go to Lake George for the day with two other families. As we headed up the highway, I could feel my cares melt away and the further from home we got the more relaxed I felt. It was a good day. A day of fun. Of relaxation. Of belly laughs. I haven't laughed so hard in quite a while. It was a great day! Today I'm thankful for Blessings #601-610 ♥ Friends who love each other. ♥ Beautiful flowers. ♥ Skies that were bright blue the day of the trip. ♥ Putt-putt golf. ♥ A gift of peaches. ♥ A beautiful lightning storm. ♥ The opportunity to go to a week long language enrichment training. ♥ Working through parenting issues. ♥ Watching ducklings enjoy th...

I tried my hand a new kind of cucumber this year - lemon. They are round and yellow like a lemon and are supposed to be a bit sweeter. To me they taste like a regular cucumber. The one difference I noticed is that the skin is tougher and they are full of seeds. You can make pickles with them. I won't be growing them again next year, but I enjoyed the experience. The rest of my garden is iffy. Let's just say I hope there isn't a famine or we will be eating dirt! LOL!!! I've only gotten 2 eggplant, a handful of peppers and beans. I have tons of green tomatoes but many of them are getting blossom end rot. I have 1 measly little pumpkin growing and 1 butternut squash and some regular cukes. The only thing that keeps on producing is those lemon cucumbers!

I love living here if not for anything else but the fact that my children love it! There is enough to do to keep them entertained all day long. Nathan pretty much keeps himself busy with firehouse activities and does not have the same love of the outdoors as Stephen and Emily do. Stephen has been clearing paths through the woods all summer. He has a hiking trail carved out and marked and it is looking pretty good. The only downside is that there is poison ivy everywhere you look! A few weeks ago they stumbled upon these vines in the woods and Stephen made a clearing so Emily could swing on them. He has a ladder all set up to climb which gets her high enough to get going. She's off! Then back up the ladder to start all over again. Emily is certainly having a fun summer!

I'm going to be gone all day tomorrow so this is up early. I don't have a lot of words today. I'm just blessed and grateful to the Lord. Today I'm thankful for Blessings #586-600 ♫ The beauty of a full moon. ♫ The smell of fresh baked bread. ♫ The opportunity to get 30 hours of free language enrichment training beginning this week. ♫ Summer bounty. ♫ Vines, perfect for swinging. ♫ A daughter who gives me hugs and kisses every day. ♫ Selling 15 loaves of bread at the community market. ♫ Getting to know new people in our community. ♫ A new addition of five ducklings. ♫ Meeting people in the kid's new schools and feeling some of my apprehension fading away. ♫ A good visit with a friend. ♫ Smiling girls. ♫ Morning glories. ♫ Saving money. and finally... ♫ A husband who continually reminds me that it's all about Jesus!

Heart thumping, hair flying, adrenaline coursing through my veins I ran around the tree hysterically crying. Behind me in hot pursuit was a flying squirrel; something one hardly sees in upstate New York. A chance encounter with one on my way home from school had sent us both into a panic. Each of us trying to get away from the other but both going the same direction in the attempt. I should have known at that moment that my life was going to be an adventure. How many times does the path of a six year old and a flying squirrel cross? Yet, my life has been a series of unusual, exciting and sometimes bizarre experiences. Some have caused exhilaration and excitement while others, heart pumping terror. All have shaped me and been used by God to draw me closer to Him. I thought it would be fun to chronicle some of my adventures from time to time over the next few weeks and months. Kind of a fun way to reflect back over my life. To keep a journal for my ch...

Have you ever noticed how much beauty there is in the everyday, simple things in life? I love seeing the Creator's hand on each and every little thing. Sometimes, I love just walking through the woods and looking for the small details that are so easy to miss. The intricate webbing on a dragonfly's wings. Mammoth sunflowers. Delicate Wildflowers. Sun dappled leaves. Fruit laden vines. Wildlife all around. And His ultimate creation. If you open your eyes, you too can see the beauty around us.

Emily wants to be a veterinarian when she gets older and I think she would be great at it. Wherever she goes, animals follow her. She cares for them. She feeds them. She loves them and they love her in return. The only problem is she is allergic to just about everything there is - cats, dogs, hamsters, feathers, horses. That doesn't seem to stop her though. She is definitely a natural.

"I need to vacuum the living room." "Oops, I forgot the kids have a doctor's appointment." "I must remind Dan to stop at the bank." "I have to order supplies for the church." "I don't know how Nathan is going to handle his new school." There are a million thoughts, concerns, ideas running through my brain every day. It often feels like my mind never shuts off. Many times I have a difficult time relaxing and getting to sleep or I'll wake up in the middle of the night with the dialogue starting up again. So many things that vie for my attention. God is there and present in my daily life, waiting for me to stop and listen. Yet my emotions and thoughts often clamor so loudly that I don't hear Him. When I still my inner thoughts He begins to speak to me. I hear Him whispering to me, "I am here." "I love you." "I have good things for you." When I do stop and listen,...

This is a picture I have of my dad from two years ago at a barbecue we hosted. That actually was the last time I saw him. As the week has gone on and I've had more time to reflect I've been able to be a bit more objective and calm. I talked to his wife last night and it turned out he went out to mow someone's lawn and never came home. The cause of death was a heart attack. He was 73 years old and had remained active way beyond retirement. My dad didn't want a funeral or memorial service and has been cremated. However, today the family will be getting together for a picnic. I'll see cousins, aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in years. I'll get to see my sister whom I haven't seen since February. I'm looking forward to catching up with them all. My dad will be remembered today.

When I was grocery shopping the other day, a local store had whole chickens on sale for $.49 per lb. which was a great price! I ended up buying four of them. Last night, I roasted one of them and we had roast chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed green beans from the garden. Today, I cut all the meat off the bone and made a large pot of chicken soup with the leftover gravy, green beans, potatoes, carrots, corn, celery, onions, garlic, and herbs from my garden. I took the bones and a freezer bag full of vegetable scraps that I had been saving and made 2 quarts of stock for the freezer. So one chicken made 2 full meals and enough stock to use in two other dishes. Not bad for $2.37!

Death is not something we talk about much. It makes people uncomfortable and sad. Most people feel that it's morbid. However, for someone who is sure in their faith and salvation, death is not something to fear. If we know Christ, than we realize that this body is just a shell and we will truly be alive when we go into His presence. Yesterday, Dan & I attended a party for someone who is dying from liver cancer. Her friends threw this event to celebrate her life and so that she would know before she goes how much she was loved. The wonderful thing about this celebration was that Dan had the privilege of leading her to the Lord a few weeks ago. She knows where she is going. It was wonderful to see the absolute joy this woman exuded. I told Dan that if I knew ahead of time that I had only a short time left to live, that is how I would want to go. With a celebration. With love. With joy. Edited to add: In direct contrast to this, I just found out a few moments ago that...