Mondays at My House

I love Mondays.  Yes, I do!  But, I love every other day of the week for it's various assigned things to do as well.  Mondays are like "let's start fresh" and I love it.

My Mondays are days when I exercise again because I don't purposely exercise over the weekend.  My plans and things look different over the weekend, so it makes sense to just start my day with exercise while everyone is still sleeping.

I love getting back to school with my youngest, getting back in to the groove of schooling and routine.

I plan on Sundays for my week, not heavily, but just getting my brain wrapped around what I need to get done.  Since we finished class days at our homeschool group this past Friday, my days are going to look a little different now.  I'll be spending my Fridays differently, but still planning for next 17-18 school year when classes start again.

Mondays are our "clean up from the weekend" days.  Wrappers that have been forgotten, stray papers, cups, that everyone has forgotten and a host of other things are cleaned up, put away, and things generally tidied up.  As much as I try to clean up after myself when I get up from where I'm sitting, everyone else doesn't follow suit and it gets old reminding everyone of everything.  So, we just clean up Monday mornings.  It works!

Mondays are also days when I "start fresh" with cleaning up the bathroom that is ours.  Why not all the bathrooms?  Well, each of my young adults have their own bathrooms to tend to.  At this time we're getting things together to get the poolhouse bathroom pulled together.  Although there isn't a lot to do, there's still things to purchase to pull it together.  When it is, it will be assigned to one of my young adults.  👍🙌

I need to also set aside time to plan menus.  Strangely enough, having been a person who has planned meals up to 3 months in advance, I have not planned ahead for  meals for quite a while.  I would love to do that, but with the crazy schedules we've been having between my daughter and husband working strange hours and my sons doing Civil Air Patrol things, it makes planning quite challenging.  Then add to that someone who just doesn't feel like eating what we're having, so they go out and buy their own meal.  While that meal may be Ramen noodles and only costs $1, it pretty much makes me feel rather defeated at the time.  I've made preparations and etc for healthy food, so they should eat it right?  Well, I have to choose my battles.  Come to find out, they come out to the refrigerator late at night to get something to eat and invariably reheat what we had for dinner, so it eventually gets eatten!  I still struggle with this, though.

Having young adults in the house is challenging.  I feel like I have to walk a fine line between being a drill sergeant and someone who gives them authorship of their chores and when they need to get done.  There are issues there as well with mental health issues, ADHD issues, medication affects on some, so the juggling is challenging.

So, this Monday, I'm doing what I can do to ensure that the area I'm in charge of is clean, neat, and tidy.  I am in charge of the whole house, yes, but my own chores are in the area of my office/sitting room, our bathroom, bedroom and hallway.  If those are not clean, it is my fault.  I need to be the one setting an example to those under my roof of routine, diligence, and getting things done.  Yes, they are young adults and the expectation is for them to get their things done.  Unfortunately, reminders need to be given.  One day reminders will not need to be given.  One day this entire house will fall on my shoulders to clean daily.  When that happens my routine will change, but until then, this is how things are.

One day they will each have their own homes, by the grace of God.  They will be in charge of getting everything cleaned up without our prompting.  Hopefully, they will each see the need to keep things neat and tidy, eventually.  For now, they are a work in progress, just like me.

Have a Blessed Monday!

Sitting Time

When in the course of living one's life, you have been forced to slow down, you create.  In the past 2 and a half months, I've been down since my surgery.  After making the trip to see a dear friend to get a puppy from her just 2 weeks after my knee surgery, I came down with acute bronchitis.

This is Ginger at 7 weeks.

Ginger at 16 weeks at 26.5 pounds.

So while my new puppy was being cared for me those other than me, I was napping periodically through the day, and with every desire for a walk, I became super winded and had to sit.

A couple things happened during this sitting time.  I started teaching a crochet class at our local homeschool group.  It was important to me to be available to all these folks to learn this long forgotten craft and to pass it on to the next generation.  During my sitting time, I pulled up pattern after pattern and worked them up so every one could see what they looked like.  What a wonderful time it was in class today to see the branching out done by my students!  I am so very proud of them and their hard work!

Another thing that has happened is a subcutaneous blood clot in my left leg.  It runs from my mid-thigh to my mid-calf.  It is not a major artery, but in a very small "return" vein that brings the blood back up to my heart.  My Dr has put me on blood thinners, I wear compression hose during the day, and use heating pads 4x/day.  Every morning I wake up and thank the Lord for THIS day.  I am so very thankful for each one He gives me!

Along with the above, my surgery recovery has taken a wee bit longer due to sitting from bronchitis.  Now that the bronchitis has subsided, I can increase the exercises again and get moving on my recovery. I have been doing my leg lifts, in every possible direction, double leg lifts while laying down (works the tummy), going up and down steps (slowly), and walking.  I walk as much as I can.

One of the monkey wrenches in to the recovery from surgery, also involves recovering from the blood clot, I have an allotted amount of time that I am allowed to spend sitting in a vehicle or driving a vehicle.  I am not allowed to go over that and I've stuck to it.  Unfortunately, I've had to take a temporary hiatus from choir due to the allotted time being used by the time we leave for church this past Wednesday.  Family needs come first, then church ministry.

My health is needing to be cared for, so I'm doing all that I can do just that.  I'm taking care of myself.  I'm following Dr's orders exactly.

I'm so very thankful, every day!



God Bless,

Sharing Our Gifts

Many times when one would read a title such as that, one would think of getting a gift of money or a present.  I am talking about sharing ourselves, our talents and our time.  Some of those things require a bit of our money, but usually not giving directly to any one person a monetary amount.

Throughout the time I have spent as a parent, I've tried instilling in my kids that we need to give of ourselves, even in the smallest of ways, to help in any way we can. Many times in the beginning, I've just taken my kids with me in whichever service project we were doing and expected them to help, or I gave them things to do like wiping tables, serving drinks or something like that.  As they grew in their own walk and personal likes and dislikes, they've shown that they love helping, but in their own ways.

It has been a humbling experience for me to lend my voice to the Sherwood Baptist Choir.  I am truly stretched and challenged with my own musical abilities, along with my deafness that brings additional challenges all it's own to just about everything I do.  I have always been a soprano, but due to a 3 month long bout of a variety of colds and flu a few years ago, I went from a soprano to an alto.  This is a challenge when I've learned a vast majority of songs in soprano, so much of my work has been to relearn all these songs.  It helps to stand next to some strong alto voices in choir so I don't start singing the soprano part.  The video below has been written by our Music Minister and Choir/Orchestra director Mark Willard.  He is the main vocalist with some very talented folks accompanying and singing with him.  This song is called "Hope is Rising."  From my understanding, we will be having a *Live* worship on October 9th featuring this song as well as many other favorite classic hymns.  This has been hard work for me in this time also since I've had bronchitis since 2 weeks after my knee surgery in July.  I'm excited to be a part of this, to just simply lend my voice to the choir in praise to God.  What a blessing!

This is another video to show the choir, orchestra, and a very talented and beautiful lady who is singing "I Am."




I count it a privilege to lend my voice in a very small way to the choir wherever I am planted.  Praise God!


This is what I've learned:

*When you model serving and encourage them to help and find some place to share their gifts and abilities, be prepared for when they do something unexpected.

Each of my kids have a wonderful singing voice.  As a part of their music training, they've been in the choir with me until our move to Georgia.  I've given them a choice of whether or not to join the choir and express themselves that way, but they've gone other directions.  My daughter loves working with the kids and that's the direction she's going.  My youngest son is working in security and he's enjoying that.  My oldest son is looking in to the golf cart ministry and I'm sure he'll find a niche there.

*Be prepared for them to tell you, "Mom, I'm not interested in that any more.  That's your interest."

Yup!  I heard it and it crushed my heart because they've all got beautiful voices.

*Be prepared to watch them shine in their chosen place of serving.

The happiness is unlike any other.  They're beginning to learn what it means to serve in an area where God may be leading them.


Other areas of service are available if we just keep our eyes out and ask God to show them to us.  What do I mean?  I've been told I have gifts in the kitchen.  For me, though, I just love to bake and bless people with yummy things from my kitchen.  Couple that with including children to help chop things, cleaning up, and serving those things and you have a family that serves.  This is a love of my own and I'm encouraging my kids to help me, even as they get older.  They each may have had their own special part of what is presented, but they know it is something they've helped to produce.

What are we producing this week?

All kinds of pumpkin bread done in Pampered Chef bread tubes to serve when company comes.  I have a lot of pumpkin to use.  :)

I'm gradually gathering zucchini to shred and freeze for future things like cakes, breads, and things like that.

What are we going to do in the future?  We're going to keep our eyes out for ways we can serve others with our gifts.

Remember, no gift is too menial or minor when it is done in the service of your God!

God Bless,

Getting Them to Read

When we began homeschooling in 2001, I knew I wanted to instill in each of my children the love of learning.  I began simply by telling them after each meal, "Go find your favorite book, get in to a comfy position (I don't care if you sit on your head) and read for half an hour!"  This is simply how we began.  We had electronics back then, but just a couple super old desk top computers that were 8GB and maybe 16GB on their hard drives.  We had educational computer games, lots of wonderful educational posters on the walls in the dining room, watched educational shows on TV and DVDs and used our Bibles to learn how to read aloud.

You see, reading is essential to learn anything in life.  Unfortunately, electronics are taking over books, but this Momma is steering her young folks to find information in good books and literature first.  There is something that happens to a person, no matter the age, when you hold a book in your hands.  You can adjust, get comfortable, and let your mind get involved in the book.  When my children were younger, we did "Read Aloud" time where after lunch was cleaned up, they curled up whichever way they were comfy and listened to me read.  They would always say, "Momma please read another chapter!"  And I would happily oblige.  These were the times that I knew would form them for later in life and they would be precious memories for me, so I obliged.

As they grew and read everything on their own, our "Read Aloud" times became Bible races.  They would race to the scripture verse and whoever got there first read the verse.  

As with everything, reading comes with writing and speaking.  In order to communicate well with others they had to learn how to spell.

They also had to learn to find out information for themselves.  It is bittersweet, but had to be done.

They had to learn to read to know how to do things like read patters and follow directions.

And read their own Bible on their own.

And study Biology 2.

They've each learned at their own rates, with their own sets of challenges from ADHD, kinesthetic learner, Dyslexia & Dysgraphia.  I have researched until my eyes hurt in how to help my kids learn how to read and they each read very well now with very little issues.  If they do have any issues, they know how to self correct.  This is what reading is all about.  Gaining the skills to learn, research, understand, communicate in writing and speaking, as well as how to correct themselves when they know something didn't sound right.

And it all began with telling them to find their favorite book and get comfortable even if it meant sitting on their head! (Seriously!  I used those words! And they laughed!  LOL)

My job was to find out what they were interested in and supply them with TONS of quality literature.  Going to the library wasn't always convenient for us, so I scoured Amazon for good books very cheap based on their interests and reading levels.  I remember buying 3 different books on General Custer, all on 3 different interest and reading levels.  Over the years we've resold many many books, but they were all worth it.

Where do you begin? 

If I had to begin again in 2001, I would begin with this book.  I read this book after our first year of homeschooling.  I would have loved to read it before we began, but I didn't know about it.  So, as a result, I encourage all new homeschoolers to read this book IMMEDIATELY.  It will change your homeschool for the better!  It will help you understand your own learning style in order to learn your child(ren)'s learning styles.  Once you do that, you'll better understand where they need to be and how they need to study.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!  There is no such thing as a stupid question.

God Bless,

For the Love of Home

When the whole house is affected by sickness, things are run differently.  When the ones who are in charge of taking care of the majority of the clean up are sick, that means Mom has lots more to do.  When one who carries most of the pet responsibilities is out of town for 2 weeks, while the other 2 are sick, Mom has lots more to do, and a very busy time!

I must confess, I have delegated much of the household chores to my kids.  Let me rephrase that, "I have delegated most of the household chores to the young adults in the household."  It is something they are responsible to do regardless because "that's what adults do".  If they lived on their own, they'd be responsible for doing things regardless anyway.  When they were sick, they took Motrin, Acetaminophin, Naproxen, (Not all at the same time) or whatever else they could find to help feel better.  When they started feeling better, they took care of their basic responsibilities.  When they started not feeling well again and dogs needed let out, walked, fed/watered, or the cat cared for, I took care of that along with my own responsibilities.  The walking of the dog was when whomever felt well enough to do so since I'm under Dr's orders not to walk "for now."

I have slathered myself with Essential Oils to keep the sickness away from me because I don't like being sick and I'm going to have surgery on my knee this Tuesday.  (Since I've written this on Sunday and scheduled this to be posted on Tuesday, you'll probably read this after I've been through surgery and home already.)  I would love to be able to make sure it gets done Tuesday.  If it doesn't get done, it gets pushed off until I am better.  I'm tired of not being able to walk around the block, for exercise or for pleasure.  I love to walk, be out in God's creation and pray as I walk.  This is where I use to walk in Pennsylvania~

This lovely road curved to the right and went on and on.  I poured out my heart to the Lord on this road.  It felt good to walk, pray, and let the tears fall as I gave everything over to God.  I always came home feeling much better about whatever was bothering me.  The kids and I loved to take bikes down, walk, roller blade or canoe along this road.  My Mr. G and I use to walk meandering down this road just holding hands.  Occasionally, he took the kids inner tubing or canoeing down the river that runs by this road.  If we could find a lovely country road much like this one that runs along a lovely river here in Georgia to replace this, or something similar, I would love it!  

I've always loved being outside in God's creation.  I've had dreams of going back to South Dakota, Wyoming, and the Rocky Mountains to hike and maybe ride horses again.  I find myself longing for the west.  I do have family out west, so I know I can go see them any time.  I just yearn for the open fields, wide open skies, trees, and wild flowers.  Horseback riding cannot happen right now until I loose more weight (hence the reason this surgery is so important--so I can get to walking again and loosing more weight!).  I need to get the disc in my back checked before I do that type of activity anyway (it ruptured in 2002).  The kneeling in the garden or flower bed has ceased, for now.  The kneeling by my bed has ceased for now too.  It has been replaced with being seated, for now while I talk with my Lord numerous times in a 24 hour period.  

I'm just trying to keep myself well.

Additionally, a week and a half after my surgery, we're going to be blessed with a new puppy.  For 15 years I've prayed for a Golden Retriever puppy.  I've wanted one even longer, at least since I was a young girl.   I remember many friends who have had dogs and I love the breed.  I remember just simply starting to pray about the time my kids were little just to have a good friendly breed for my kids.  In the mean time, we trained the dogs we did have to be good friendly dogs.

I absolutely love God's timing with all of this.  My Dr tells me that after the surgery, the only physical therapy I'll need is to just walk.  Go figure!  So, after I get through surgery, I'll begin simply by just walking around my house for the first 2 days.  I'll try outside in the driveway first, then venture around on the road, building up to being able to walk more, a few feet/steps at a time.  Then when we have our new puppy, she'll walk with me as a type of therapy.  I'll need to walk, she'll need to walk, so it's a win-win situation.  God is awesome!  He's worked all this out wonderfully! 

While I am recovering, much of my daily responsibilities will be tweaked a little.  I know that my kids will pick up much of what I do, with a couple exceptions.  My hubby will pick up the other stuff with things specifically just for me to do.  I know I'll be doing more knitting and crocheting with a wee bit of sewing thrown in as well.  But, that's all good.  I love my home, taking care of everyone in it, loving on everyone and all the furry family too, no matter if I'm laid up or not.  When I am forced to sit more, it helps me to be able to be available to talk with my young folks.  They are around the living room more and they're talking with each other more.

Home...what a blessing! 

Almost a Month and Lots Happening

As I showed in my previous post, we had concrete floors.  Now, we are pretty close to having them done, minus the threshold pieces.  It looks so much nicer than bare concrete!

The living room floor after flooring installed.  It's lovely!  

From the other side of the room.

Photo Bombed by Biscuit

Getting Gus acclimated to the pool...or just having fun putting him on the inner tube.  LOL

Biscuit's turn! 

A graduation celebration dinner at church.

Visiting with Grandparents and one special uncle.

"And these alligators are found in the Flint River?  I guess we shouldn't swim in there!"

Beautiful daughter with her sewing machine.

The living room window that needs a treatment of some sort.  I'm not sure what, but since this window is so huge, it will probably be something simple.  We have new pillows that I found at the local W*lmart on a 2 for $12 deal, so I couldn't resist adding more color to the room.

I just love my drive home!  This area is so beautiful!  (Sorry for the bug splat on the windshield!!)

The view out my front door.  This is such a quiet neighborhood, it is almost like living in the country!

The morning this picture was taken, I was on my way to get my blood work done and to talk with my Dr about the Trim Healthy Mama Plan (THM) life changes I've been making, as well my right knee.  I found out that my right knee is "bone-on-bone" and it gets worse when I ride/drive for long periods of time.  The verdict?  Less riding/driving, less walking, more THM cooking, and more swimming.  With my blood test results back, I know that I can rest assured that THM is working!  I've lost 35 pounds, my Triglycerides decreased by half, my A1C is 6.1 and my fasting is 105.  I've not seen those wonderful numbers in YEARS!  You betcha I'm sticking with it! 

Strong young men hard at work, replacing worn out steps and putting in new concrete.

One side of my office is going to be a sitting area and I think I have a pretty good start with these wonderful pieces I found at a yard sale and an online facebook flea market group.  The wing back chair is a reclining chair.  The side table is an antique from the 60's or 70's, the lamp I just loved, so I bought it for a good price....and.

...the magnolia swag that I thought was so pretty.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll finally be able to get some curtains up on the dining room window, my oldest son's window, the office, and hopefully our bedroom.  With everything being so busy, I'll be able to sit down long enough to get my sewing machine out to work on some stuff.  I also plan to keep my eyes peeled for more furniture for the sitting area.  I love decorating "on the cheap."  

Have a Great Day!

God Bless,

Plans Are Meant to be Broken

It has been a few weeks since updating my blog posts.  My husband has a new job here in GA and I'm trying (and failing) to get in to a good routine.  It seems that every time I think something is "just right", it turns out to not be so.  Every day is another challenge.

My plans have been to get up with my husband, ensuring he has a good breakfast and a cup of coffee to start his day. That plan was thwarted by nature.  My husband didn't want nature to call when he was doing his job, so I needed to rethink things.  I have, with the suggestion of my husband, procured granola bars and mixed nuts along with W*lmart brand energy packs instead.  I was making Trim Healthy Mama muffins in a mug for him daily from the cookbook, but it interfered with his needs, so it was scrubbed for his breakfasts.  Now he doesn't have breakfast, but has granola bars throughout the day, stopping off for an occasional burger at a fast food place when needed.  I know, not the ideal, but only he knows his routine and days, so it works for him.  The eternal conundrum in our home, however, is keeping the young folks from devouring what was meant for Daddy's lunch bag.  For the first time I've had to put a note on the box telling them they cannot have it.  But, they CAN have the Trim Healthy Mama muffins in a mug!  So, I think it's a good trade-off!  :0)  (Yes, I've been doing the Trim Healthy Mama plan since October 2015, but I'll have to leave that for another day.)  Dinners are still "on plan" though, which is good.

Here we are a month after my husband started his job and I still do not feel as if I have everything down pat.  I have a schedule, with many predictable-every-week-they-come-at-the-same-time-regardless, but it's just the other things that show up that are not predictable that throw me off.  We've had appointments for my oldest son to have entrance exams for a local technical school, other non-predictable appointments showing up, as well as activities that just adding those things make me feel so very exhausted.  This past weekend, while an absolute blessing for my two younger kids, started with homeschool group where I taught a class on edible essential oils, then went to make sure my kids ate, Sam's Club, then drop one off at one house, and another at someone else's house, get gas on my way home, then the 45+ minute drive home.  By the time I got home I was spent!  Exhaustion doesn't quite encompass it.  My body said that I should have gone home after homeschool group because my body was prepared for that, but not the extra running.  LOL

{Needless to say, I'm beginning to think that it is a good time to start keeping an eye out for property closer to all of our activities, but that remains to be seen.}

I hope to have things quiet down soon.  Tomorrow I hope to do some cleaning while my oldest son has (more) testing taken care of.  I feel like I've failed daily to get the basics done.  Oh! Let's not forget the flea infestation, the extra vet visits, the extra monetary expense and the heart wrenching that I feel when my doggies are going after yet another flea.  Yes, the vet in PA forewarned me about the fleas down here.  Ugh! We've NEVER had issues with fleas!  Whew!

So, here I am, exhausted, on the brink of being comatose with sleep, with mountains of clean blankets, rugs and furniture completely covered with Borax for more than 24 hours, a back yard that has been covered in Diatomaceous Earth, dogs and kitty have been through flea baths, and everything.  It is done and I am thankful!  But, the work continues tomorrow!  We'll be spraying for other not so savory bugs.  The traps and bait are purchased and I'm ready!

For everything, I am thankful.  I am spiritually challenged by so much pain and suffering by so many people lately.  I am thankful for the opportunity to pray for the folks who have come to me in a variety of ways to approach God's throne on their behalf.  I don't believe I've ever felt so burdened for people I've never met. (See previous post)  What a privilege to pray for all these folks!  The Lord is working on me so greatly, molding me, pruning the unnecessary, giving me gut wrenching--heart wrenching situations where I'm needed in a variety of very important people's life (not just my family, but a beautiful little boy with special needs).  I'm thankful for this! I've been challenged to ask God to show me where He needs me to join His work.  He's been a wonderful gentleman and shown me in some blatant ways.  He's also shown me ways to share our story and our faith.  What a blessing!

While I feel so very overwhelmed at times, feeling like a failure, God is faithful to redeem my time, placing me right where He needs me to be, to show His loved ones His unfathomable, always faithful love to those who need it the most.  I feel honored, and embarrassed at the same time. Honored and humbled that he would choose me. Embarrassed that my own selfish attitude has gotten in the way of His work. Lord, forgive me!

How many times are we letting those opportunities slide by when God places them right in our laps?  (You don't have to answer.)

God Bless,

We're Moved....Mostly

We're officially Georgia residents now!  We bought a house in Southern Georgia and we're mostly moved in.  We've had some hiccups along the way, but nothing that isn't being handled.

Kitchen progress!  We've had an infestation which "put off" putting things away, organizing and such, so we had to wait.  Now it is driving me nuts not having things completely put away!  LOL

As you can see in the picture above, the doorway to the far right shows what most of our floors look like.  We had a crew come in and remove all the icky carpeting.  My husband is gradually getting the new flooring put in, but he needed to stop when he needed his table saw...and it was in Pennsylvania.  So, we clean concrete floors, tile floors, and laminate floors. 

I think it's worth waiting for, don't you?!  

Once I find my sewing machine I'll need to get to work on lots of curtains!

 We're getting settled, laying new flooring, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, organizing, scouring craigslist, thrift stores, & facebook for sale/flea market groups for things we need.

The Dining Room is HUGE!  Our table that seats 12 when completely pulled out now has room to fit in a space without feeling cramped!  More updates to come, I promise!

The red is going "bye-bye" in favor of a "Bermuda Blue."

Our daughter started priming her bedroom because it is so very red.  She needed to go over the primed wall twice to cover enough of the red to start painting the blue/green aqua that she wanted her walls.

This picture was taken a few years ago, but this is the color of her old room in Pennsylvania.  She wanted the same color here.

She and I went shopping on Friday to get some things for ourselves at one of the outlet stores for our birthdays, found a chair that would go well in her room once it is painted, and bought the paint.  I figured it would be good timing since her 18th birthday is tomorrow.  I'd already ordered her some boots and flats as a surprise, so her birthday celebration is in full swing!  The only thing I need now is to get her a cake and figure out where to take her for her birthday dinner.

My birthday is coming up this Friday as well.  I've already purchased a dress, scarf, and earrings for myself.  I didn't buy any shoes because I knew my hubby was getting all my dress clothes from PA brought down here this past weekend.  I just need to go unearth it all.  LOL

Of course there has been quite a bit of pool time.  We're trying to get the dogs acclimated to the pool.

She had Rustie in the pool and Gus went nuts.  He didn't want Rustie in there and wanted him out!  This is the first time Gus went down on the first step without anyone trying to coerce him.  LOL

We have visited 2 churches here.  While the doctrine and messages are both very powerful and on point, the worship styles are very different.  There is a lot to consider and pray about.  The question of "where can we serve and where will our service be needed more?" is one we're praying about.  A consideration brought out by our daughter is that if we're not being fed, how can we serve with our whole heart?  So there is a lot to think about and pray about.

Please pray that our house in PA sells soon.  There are tons of reasons we need for it to sell and the Lord knows all of them, even the ones we don't know about.  Please just cover it in prayer.

I hope to get in to a groove of blogging more often, at least once a week.

Until then...

God Bless,

Melancholy Reflections

Yesterday was my oldest son's 20th birthday.  No, I'm not musing about how fast the time has gone.  I am looking forward to watching this young man take life by the horns and conquer it, whatever "it" may be.  He has had quite the long and arduous "mountain" to climb the past few years, so he's looking forward to when we get to Georgia so that he can begin his next chapter, and see where God leads him.

The oldest and the youngest.

This morning I can feel fall in the air here in Western Pennsylvania.  The trees are beginning to take on a yellowish orange hue while the days get shorter and the wee bit of chill is in the air.  In one short week we'll be packing up our earthly possessions and saying "Good-bye" to our home in Pennsylvania.  We've lived in Pennsylvania all of our married life.  We are accustomed to the winters, hurrying to grow and gather the food while we can, then canning and preserving it to assure that we have some of God's wonderful goodness to nourish our bodies through the winter.  I'm sure there will be leaves to rake, but in a different way, with different things to go with those leaves.  Instead of pine mulch, many people in Georgia use pine needles.  Our realtor told us that pine needle mulch attracts cockroaches.  Guess what we're NOT using for mulch?!  Wow!  

Today I will finish packing the living room and pack whatever I can in my kitchen(s).  I am sure my new kitchen will serve us well.  We'll serve others with hospitality and the love of Christ, opening the doors to our home for those who may be in need.  We'll see where God leads us. 

Our new kitchen...the previous tenants were still living in the house.

Looking through the Sun room to the kitchen.

I'm not sure all the changes we will be making in this room, but the first thing is going to be a full size stove/oven.  We do a lot of cooking and baking, so it stands to reason that we add a full size stove.  I'm stil trying to figure out how to use the cubby between the refrigerator and the wall oven.

As we wrap things up here in PA, we are faced with bittersweet thoughts.  Ones of missing our dear sweet friends, but also ones of excitement in the chapters to come.

Please continue to keep us in prayer.

God Bless,