Thankful

We've had so much to be thankful for this year. Our new home just to name one. But I will say the last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. I'm slowly getting on my feet cognitively and literally.

The thanksgiving weekend has been wonderful. I've had a bit of a chance to get some things in order. My mom and her sister have been here visiting and we have had a great time together. We've also been spending time with Jonathan's brother and he has been a great help around the little farm.

The last two days have been fun and tiring. The guys worked on clearing out the large trees from our future orchard and we all started working on clearing the fences. My brother-in-law has even gotten to practice blocking our driveway ;)

 

It has been great having him around and needless to say we have been living outside. The last couple days have been just beautiful...I love this place. We have a lot of work to do here but God has really blessed us with this land.

As far as school goes the educational experiences are endless! Relating what we are doing to what the first colonists to America went through...it really helps it to come alive. We've been taking a bit of a break from our structured lessons and moved to more, um, living school. I guess that's the best way to describe it. Next week Jonathan will be back at work and we'll start back to some of our more traditional learning. But the kids have really learned a lot lately and had a lot of fun doing it too.

How many two year olds do you know that know what a level is? My boy does...so what if he uses it to dig with he's just learning how to adapt...right? The girls have been attached to their Gran and loving this time to spend with her.

And we've all enjoyed sitting back in the golf cart watching the big guys work hard. Even Jeb, our dog, loves the entertainment.

We started the fence clearing today and I think it will be a winter long project. The way the vines have grown through the fences it will be a slow process. It was hard not to think of how this relates to our lives. Just how when we don't maintain the Godly boundaries in our lives things start to get woven in. And let me tell you it takes a lot to get them out.

God is everywhere in His creation. There is no better classroom!

Wood Stove take Two

So last night and this morning Jonathan searched the internet and called around everywhere trying to find another stove. The problem was the style of stove that we had to have. He failed to find used one but did find one on sale about an hour away. While we were discussing when he might go one of our wonderful friends, Dave, unexpectedly stopped by. He brought a plate full of cookies to welcome us to our new home.

While we took him on a tour of what we had accomplished, we showed him our cracked stove. As he studied the damage he mentioned, "I might have a stove that would work...I have four." ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!

So our angel gifting us with cookies gave us an awesome deal of a new/used stove. It's twice the size of our old one and it heats our home perfectly! And it cost a third of what it was going to cost. All I could think of was how blessed we are and what kind of cookies or pie could I make for Dave.

We are so blessed!

Exploring our new backyard

We took a break from moving/unpacking and went exploring around our new home. We found several large rocks that the kids could pose on.

The woods on our property are just beautiful. There is a particular tree that Jonathan and I have named our favorite. It is a huge Beech tree. As with many things in nature it's size is difficult to capture in a picture. I'm looking forward to more attempts but for now..

There were so many beautiful things to see this time of year. Fall is definitely my favorite. It was a great time for the kids to find trees they wanted to identify as well as other neat finds.

I enjoy every morning I wake up here even though I'm exhausted from our move. Hopefully the move part of things will be over very soon. Until then I can still take a walk and see this.

Learnin'

Our internet is up and running and I've found my cord for my camera! I'm still missing some clothes but priorities..right?!

So tonight is our first fire in our wood stove!!! So excited and Jonathan has worked so hard the past few days hooking up the stove. And with help from a friend, lining the chimney. So hear we go.....

 Everything was set to go, when......

See the orange line on the side of this here stove? Yep, that's a crack. We now have a big donation to our scrap metal pile.

Jonathan is off to craig's list and hopefully we will have a replacement soon. We're a learnin'!

The Rescuers

Today has been some what restful. We had an awesome lunch with the inlaws. Jonathan and the girls went adventuring around the house. They decided to walk the pasture and the perimeter of the property. I stayed at the house and arranged furniture and boxes while little Buster watched Cars. He started running a fever this morning and has slept most of the day. Hoping it's just fatigue.

So while Jonathan and the girls were on their little hike the came across a big box turtle. Apparently he had tried to traverse a fallen fence and had gotten stuck. Who knows how long the poor guy had been there but he was quickly rescued by the trio of explorers.

We'll be starting back our normal school routine this week and I am looking forward to all the nature studies we can do here at home. Jonathan is planning on helping the girls make a leaf book...they better hurry. The girls have already collected wildflower, leaves, lizards and frogs. Who knows what else we will find on our little farm in the woods.

home

We are now finally in our new home and we are so happy and exhausted. We are so thankful for all the help we had today and for all the prayers getting us to this point....so blessed. Pictures to come.

tough

Read this verse tonight at Bible study and it stuck with me. I thought about our oldest and how hard she is on herself. She wants to be perfect the first time on anything she tries. I think I know where she gets it from.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 

Hebrews 12:11


We're still working hard to get moved in. Saturday is the big move. Hope I can make it til then!

back

Just back from a wonderful journey to the beach. Worked hard today on the little farm and got some painting done with a wonderful helper Jodi. Looking forward to a productive week and stories from the beach.

a blessing

I was reading through my blogs tonight and felt this fit perfectly with life right now found here.


Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Good morning!
I hope that you all are having a pleasant week. This week has been challenging for me in a variety of ways, but I am always reminded how faithful the Lord our God is! This morning, I would encourage you to meditate on Psalm 103:1-5 written above.
v.1: Consider what it means to bless the Lord. We are His handiwork, and the Lord has created us for His glory, for His good pleasure. We were created to bless Him!
v.2: Cherish all of His many blessings and benefits. He has done so much for each of us ~ it is far more than I may comprehend.
v.3: The Lord forgives us. The Creator Himself provided a way for all of our sins to be forgiven ~ every sin I have ever committed has been forgiven by Jesus Christ. I am forgiven. ♥ He comforts us, heals us, and takes away the pain.
v.4: Jesus has redeemed His children! His love is everlasting, His mercy is forever.
v.5: He alone satisfies our hearts. Jesus Christ fulfills us. He loves you so much! He provides strength when we are weak.



I have had calls the last few days of: we are closing on the house...we are not closing...we are closing...we are not closing.

Today was the last day on our contract and had a closing set for 3pm. Jonathan had moved his day off for the second time and we had arranged our day to be near town at 3. Two hours before the set time I received a call that the closing would not happen and it would be a while until things were cleared up.

I've been trying to have faith and believe that if God doesn't want us to have this then He should stop it. But I was sad and pretty ticked off and consumed by my little world. Then we stopped by a gas station and I got a reality check.

Jonathan noticed Thomas was choking. He is now sitting in the far back of the car and had been given a piece of candy. He probably tried to swallow it. We rushed to him and he coughed it up and was just fine.

Then it slapped me in the face...this is just a piece of land and a building. Look at how much we have to be grateful for and how blessed we are. We are blessed that we get to experience this trouble so long as we glean from it and use it to glorify Him. I don't completely understand what all that means but I am trying to.

We are now closing tomorrow at 5pm. We will see but I hope I am better at having joy when I have trials...although I don't really consider this much of a trial...just life. Praying for God's will.

let the fun begin

Check out those boots..belong to his sister.

So the work begins. Well really I've already been packing so I guess technically I've already been working. And I guess being a wife, a mom and everything else means I've been working. So let me say it like this...It's about to get much busier than usual.








We will be closing on our new home next Wednesday if the Lord wills it. And Jonathan has given me permission to get excited now!!!!!!!! those show my excitement!!!!!!!!

Ok, I'm trying to get it together.

Her other eye is just as blue

So to add to the excitement, this little girl, my baby girl, my momma's girl is having a birthday! She makes me look at life with such wonder. I want to enjoy life like she does. We're having her birthday party tomorrow. I can't wait to share the pictures....that little girl just makes me smile..and makes her daddy buy another gun.

This girl here, she's excited about going shopping with her daddy to get her little sister a birthday present. She's such a good big sister. And she started her daddy's gun collection.

I hate it for my future son-in-laws....it's going to be rough.

Aside from the big birthday celebration the kids are so excited about our new home. Every time we go there they ask "When they can we stay there longer?" and "Why do we have to leave?"

But for now I have little buster here show you our trampoline. See it over there? That's where Jonathan shot a skunk about 30 minutes ago. And to the right is our back porch. That's where I was standing with the spot light. And yes it still stinks in my house. Unfortunately, poor Jeb wasn't as lucky and is still trying to wipe the stink of off his face.

And this little guy, I can't imagine the girls without him. It's so funny coming from a having no siblings. I can't imagine any of my little ones without the other. They so complete each other and bless my life every day.

slowly moving, moving slowly

So God is teaching us patience. We were told that they were working to close by the end of the month. Well, we didn't close today...so we wait.

Realistically the closing on our contract states September 15 or earlier so there is plenty of time. I feel like a little impatient child, stomping my foot that things haven't gone my way. So I need to grow up a little and get over it!

I am blessed with so many friends that have offered to help us move. One friend is going to be my painting buddy! I have my paint chips and my list and I am ready to go. Just so excited to see how we are going to be able to use this land in part of God's plan.

Meanwhile I box things up...a little each day...well, not today...but tomorrow.

Future plans are also to plan my baby girls birthday tea party! She is so excited and I don't want her to get lost in the busyness of the move. We have the plates and invitations ready to go. Plenty of pictures to come!

what He has done

1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.