Hearts in Service

This was the first, full week of summer and it's been enjoyable.  Playing games with Grandma. Watching baby birds. Enjoying an outdoor concert. Swimming. Smelling beautiful flowers in my garden. Reading good books. Playing with our newest edition - a kitten who showed up shivering and skin and bones almost 2 weeks ago.  She's filling out nicely. It's been a great week!

There are those milestones in life that will leave lasting memories for years to come.  This weekend was one of those. It started on Saturday with Stephen's graduation from high school.  The humidity dropped, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for it. I have to be honest and say that I wasn't enthused about going because of where it was held. The boys were in a small school last year but because we moved had to transfer to a school with 3,000 students.  Stephen's graduating class had 813 in it and the graduation was held in a baseball stadium.  It was going to be long and I honestly didn't think we would be able to see him at all. We knew he was going to be on the left side of the field but had no idea where he specifically was going to be.  Imagine my surprise and delight when the seats we chose were right on the aisle he proceeded down.  So I got some wonderful shots of him! I got a picture of him up in the stands before the proce...

  Today, Dan & I celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary.  We are one year shy of a quarter of a century together!  What a wonderful life we've had together.  It hasn't always been easy and we've had our share of ups and downs and some of the downs have been really deep down.  But we are committed to each other.  We make each other laugh.  We enjoy the life we have.  We love each other! When I said, "I do!" 24 years ago, I had no idea what that meant.  But God blessed me with a wonderful, Godly husband who loves his family and is committed to them.  Happy Anniversary, Honey!  Looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

This weekend is going to be extremely busy and memorable in our house.  Stephen graduates from high school on Saturday and we are having a graduation party for both Stephen & Nathan on Sunday. Technically, Nathan finished last year though he went one more year to his technical school so he too is finished and since he was continuing this year and we didn't do anything for him last, we decided to combine the parties.  I have pictures from the time I was in college until I went digital all stuffed in boxes.  I never put them in albums so it's been a busy week trying to get things organized.  I've been pouring over the pictures to make a collage for the party and it's brought back such wonderful memories.   Memories of when they were growing up. Memories of our time doing inner city ministry where they spent most of their formative years. Memories of family vacations, outings, and milestones. I'm so glad I did this and often I would dissol...

Every year I plant a fairly large garden and every year it produces basically enough to eat from all summer.  Most of what I put by comes from the generosity of friends.  It's frustrating because I have visions of tons of vegetables, enough to get us through the winter.  I want to be able to grow enough to live on in order to save money in this area. This year for the very first time ever a friend donated a truckload of compost from cow manure.  Wow!!!  What a difference.  I planted three weeks ago and my plants are giant size.  This is the first time that I actually have tomatoes on the vine in the middle of June. Big full, beautiful heads of lettuce. Tomato plants loaded with blossoms. Potatoes growing well in buckets. Beans & squash growing too. The only thing that makes me sick to my stomach is that there is a very large woodchuck who found a way under the fence.  I caught him today sitting in the middle of the cabb...

I had some reminders this week.  Reminders of what really matters in my life.   ► My relationship with God. ► My husband and children. ► My church family & friends. Sometimes I need that reminder.  I can get caught up in things that while are good, aren't necessarily beneficial to me.  I can get my priorities mixed up.  I can sometimes get my focus on the wrong things.  When that happens, I get overwhelmed, distracted, anxious and frazzled.  I'm glad when God pulls me up short to remind me of the important things.  It helps get my head back where it should be and focused on where He wants me to look, which is to Him and the people in my life that I interact with on a daily basis.  And when that happens, I feel peaceful, focused, calm and steady. Reminders can be very good!  This week I'm thankful for blessings #1,048-1,060. ♥ Beautiful colored birds. ♥ Family Dinners. ♥ A loving husband. ♥ A quiet spot f...

  I didn't get as much done this week as far as projects I can show you because most of what I accomplished was alterations.  We had a ladies luncheon on Saturday and I did the table decorations for that. I made recipe card holders. I made Dan a shirt for his birthday. I ran out of fabric when it came time to cut the collar and neck band.  A friend gave me the idea of using a contrasting color and it worked out great. Now is your chance to share.  Please feel free to link up so that others can see your creations.  Here are the rules with the linky. 1.  Type in the URL of your crafty things blog post (not just the blog address). 2.  Your post must be about something crafty you are doing - sewing, knitting, crocheting, or any other kind of craft. 3.  Please link back to my blog on yours.  The point of this is to get as many people as possible to join in. :-)  You can use my Crafty Things button if you wo...

I'm reading a book I got from the library called, Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style by Marjorie Harris.  It is packed full of practical ideas on living frugally, but living well. In the last chapter she gives twenty of the more important tips found in the book, and I thought I would share them here. Understand the difference between your needs and your wants.  Being thrifty means being self-aware. Define and redefine your needs until you are confident you know just who are you are. To thrive is important.  Being thrifty should enhance a feeling of well-being rather than deprivation. De-clutter your life.  Organizing your life is the first step toward organizing your finances. Always have a budget in the supermarket, in the garden, in life. Never borrow more money than you can afford to pay back. Consolidate your debts. Figure out your net worth; you may  not be as poor as you think. Take a percentage of everything you make and save it month...

Today is my husband's 49th birthday!  I'm so thankful for the day he was born and that the Lord brought us together.   Some words to describe him.... ► Godly ► Peace-loving ► Merciful ► Compassionate ► Funny ► Giving ► Just ► Forgiving ► Fun Loving ► Talker ► Wise ► Handsome ► Wonderful father ► Organized ► Musical ► Artistic ► Helpful and finally.... ► The best husband anyone could ever ask for! Happy Birthday, Honey!

It's so easy to focus on the negative, isn't it?  It's so easy to look at things that the few things that are going wrong and ignore the multitude that is right and good.  I fall into that trap almost every single day.  I feel anxious about the problems and totally ignore the blessings. And you know what?  That makes the devil happy!  If he can keep our heads down and our thoughts burdened, he has won.  If he can keep us forgetting that the God of the universe is on our side then he has done his job. Look up!  Look at what God is doing.  Look at the miracles that are around you every single day.  The miracle of waking up each morning and having lungs that draw in breath so you can live another day.  The miracle of the sun coming up and setting each day.  The miracle of a multitude of blessings. This week I'm thankful for blessings #1,031-1,047.     ♥  God is working to restore a marriage of a couple we know. ...