Culture Shock or Culture Love?

Moving on from Pennsylvania has been interesting.  Our main reasons for moving south were to be closer to my husband's family, to get better health care for our son, to get out of debt faster, and to allow my husband to get out of the career mindset he was in while working in the PA state corrections system.  These reasons have not only brought thankfulness, but also challenges of their own.

Currently, we live a few hours from my husband's parents and brother.  We haven't had a chance to go see them yet with 4 animals needing to stay here with a house sitter.  We haven't found a house sitter yet.  We're hoping to find one soon so that we can go down to see them soon.  It has been too long!

Health care for our son has been met with the challenge of a Dr. who is only in our area 3 times per month.  If we needed anything, like a signature for a pre-authorization for medication, we'd have to wait until he came back in to town, otherwise he's unreachable.  Ugh!  So, we're switching Dr's to one that is more reachable.  The advent of more technologically advanced practices down here has been an eye opener.  Some of the Dr's in this practice do a type of Tele-conferencing where you just show up to the office for your appointment and sit in front of a computer screen with the Dr in their office--where ever that may be, and have your appointment with them.  Definitely an interesting change from Pennsylvania!   Fortunately, he is getting the care he needs and we're able to move on and get him in to a program for vocational training.

Originally, our prayer was to be able to buy a house outright, without debt.  But, after looking at countless houses, including foreclosures and HUD homes, we decided that a small mortgage with a 10 year loan from a local bank was the best way to go.  We tried larger banks, but for the small amount we needed, they would not lend to us.  They would not be making much money off our loan, so they would not lend to us.  Go figure!  So, here we are with a modest loan from a local bank, getting ready to pay extra on the principle balance to pay it off early--5 years instead of 10.  Will broach the "why" at a later time.

Our current house has been dropped in our laps, filling our needs quite nicely and many of our wants, in a very quiet little town with a quaint blow of a train whistle about 1/2 mile away a few times a day and once at night (confirmed by my daughter since she hears it at night from her bedroom).  LOL  The challenge, as I'm sure you may have read or heard from me has been that this house, while fitting our needs, has needed quite a bit of work.  The cockroach infestation has been mostly controlled, but we had to wait for a bit to put the kitchen items away for a good 2 weeks, sometimes longer in some cases, due to the infestation.  There is a cupboard that I won't use to this day because when I open it and clean the dead roaches, there inevitably is more once I open it again.  They are getting in from somewhere, but due to the spray my husband put down, they die within a foot or so of being inside the cupboard.  So, I clean them up every so often.  They don't get any further than that, fortunately.

Another issue has been ants!  Not carpenter ants, but the little bitty brown ants.  They've come up through the smallest of holes and gone after the dog food.  One morning Gus was barking at his dish and upon further investigation, the dish had ants marching in it and continuing to it from a tiny crack where the floor met the wall!!!  We had a good laugh, pitched the food, cleaned the dish and within minutes, he had more food and it was relocated.  Another incident with ants inside the house was on the "clean" dishes on the counter.  We followed the trail and found that they had gotten in where the addition meets the main house.  It only takes a small pinhole for these things to get in and they came up through the grout in the kitchen and made a trail to a wooden spoon that was just barely wet from being washed the night before.  Once again, my husband sprayed and they're all contained.  More ants though!  In the vehicles has been the roughest area.  They get in to the engine after the sweet smelling antifreeze, then make their way in to the main part of the vehicle.  If you don't stay on top of things, getting all the trash and wrappers out from a Mega shopping trip, then the next day you have a stream of ants forming a line to some small crumb laying on the floor.  Whew!

Lastly, my husband has been retired from corrections for 6 months now, thankfully.  His spirit is more at ease now.  He is much more relaxed and content.  He now has a new name that the locals gave him, "Mr. C____ from Pennsylvania."  He beamed when he told me.  He is no longer identifying himself in the former job he had, which I will not repeat the name he dubbed of himself which is very demeaning to himself.  He is such a visionary man.  He is a leader when leadership is called for, otherwise he is a Mr. Steady, going with the flow.  These have always been a part of his nature outside of corrections, he just didn't see it.  He was saved on December 30th, 2012 and now he's able to relax, away from the corrections environment, and allow the Holy Spirit to grow him.

As we have met people and talked with them about our lives, they've asked us, "What brings you to Southwestern Georgia?  Work?"  We say, "No, God  brought us here!"  That small statement has opened up so many wonderful conversations about God's work in our lives and His goodness toward us.  What a balm to our soul to find that just about every person we come across has enjoyed hearing about God's work in bringing us here.

We will become members of Sherwood Baptist Church on December 6th.  We have found our church home and look forward to being stretched and challenged by THE Word of God in a hope to continue becoming more like Jesus.  The pruning of our hearts and minds are about to begin.  Yes, pruning hurts, but we truly believe the Lord has brought us here to this point in our lives.  Because of that, our willingness to lay down our "self" and willingly submit to His loving pruning should be cause for celebration.  Thank God for His loving kindness!

In Christ,

Pictures Updated as Promised

With my last post in mind of all the things we've accomplished, I give you these pictures to show you what we've accomplished.



Starting with our bedroom~

When we first moved in and got our bed and dressers in place this is what the room looked like.  It looks a little different now with the rest of our bedroom brought down here.

This is the hallway from the sitting room to our bedroom.  The baby gate is so that Gus would leave Rustie alone.  Our bathroom is to the extreme right and Rustie likes laying on the floor in there.

Our Bathroom~

Where you see the baskets straight ahead, I have a wicker shelf where I'm going to put those baskets to store small things that I get with coupons that belong in the bathroom.  I have so much storage in this bathroom already, but I could just see my wicker shelf right in that spot.

My walk-in bath tub complete with a container of Epsom Salt and my essential oils in the baskets.

The other side of the bathroom.  I love baskets and I love my essential oils.

Sitting Room~

My hubby working on the floor in the office/sitting room.  It turned out beautiful!  My youngest son has been helping by cutting pieces, doing the up and down, running out to the garage to cut pieces.  :0) 

Office~

The sitting room above is the office now!  This is the change that has taken place!  I love the flooring!  I can't wait until the rest of the house gets done!  :)

Kids' Rooms~Coming soon!



Living Room~(I'll get a better one soon.  I have a few things to take care of in there.)

This is one picture taking looking from the dining room to the living room.  It's the only one I had right now, but it is coming right along.  I'll get more pictures of that room when it has more work done in it.

Kitchen~

  

My kitchen is coming along.  I've added a little color here and there so far.  I'm patiently waiting for the rest of our things to come down from PA so I can put all of my serving platters and odds and ends away.  Then I can get rid of the boxes and bins behind me and to the left in this picture.

Finally!  The boxes are off the counter and all of my things are here in Georgia!  This is my kitchen right now.  My goal for this room is to use as much color in the things I use as possible since everything is white.  Just to give you a wee bit of a "tour", to the mid-left is my sink.  Above my sink is a pass-through to the sun room.  In the far corner is my Bosche mixer, all my sprays and oils, as well as my home made Trim Healthy Mama blend and oat flour.  Where you see the aqua blue frying pan is a flat top stove, then to the right of that is my Trim Healthy Mama cookbook.  The floor to ceiling cupboards to the right is where we store bulk foods, our dishes, baking dishes, plastic items, and other condiments and so forth.  Beside the refrigerator out of sight except for the little bit of white sticking out is a little counter top.  As I've been unpacking, I've found extra plates and bowls that I don't know what to do with, so they're sitting there until I figure out what to do.  LOL

Dining Room~in mid-October

As promised, these are the updated pictures of the house.  The dining room has the rest of my things in it and less boxes.  I just wanted to get the pictures up for all to see.  :)    I figured I'd better get pictures up for everyone to see so that everyone can see how our house is coming along.

The living room needs an overhaul of sorts.  The flooring is still bare concrete.  My hubby found 2 beautiful braided rugs at the yard sale next door a couple weeks ago, so we bought them to put in the dining and living rooms.  I know what once the flooring gets done, with the rug in here, it will give the room a homier look.  I would like to pain the walls and yes, a couple different colors, but at this point in time, I'm not sure what to do.  I can do the more rustic look, but for crown moulding I'm at a loss.  I've been watching "Fixer Upper" with Chip and Joanna Gains to get some ideas.  I just really don't know about mixing the rustic with the formal--ie: crown moulding with a distressed rustic look on the walls and a few antique end tables and coffee table.  Right now it is a hodge podge of colors and textures.  I would like to paint before we do the floor and put things on the walls.  I'd love to do that in the next couple of weeks, but I have a feeling we'll need to wait till after the new year to get it done.  I do know that we want to replace the windows in the house, so I may wait to do anything in there until we get the windows replaced.

For now, I'll let it grow on me until I decide what to do.

Until next time,

Everything in it's Place

While that age old saying holds true for many households, it is going to be a while until it can happen here.

Why?

My husband took a 2nd trip up to PA to get more of our things.  Come to find out, the things I need to put away belong inside some furniture that is still in PA.  So, I just pile all those things on the dining room table until the hutch and buffet table arrive here so I can put them away.  On second thought, I'll just line the wall with them so I can start serving dinners at the dining room table!  Yes!  I think that will work!  :)  I'm missing our "family table" and after having over 2 or so months of "eating where we can" it's time to get that going again.

I have no side tables for what is now the living room at this time, but, I do have ONE living room lamp here.  Hopefully soon I'll be able to get everything put together.  I feel myself getting so very frustrated because my home is not coming together as quickly as I would have liked.  Currently our "Living Room" is my Sewing Room/Sitting room until we can get the AC on the other side of the house fixed.  The technician should be making contact soon, hopefully.  I've wanted to get moving on my sewing by now, but I need to get things put away before I can sew.  The main reason for that is because I need to find my foot pedal for my sewing machine.  All I know, that could still be in PA too!  LOL

As I wait, I'm trying to tackle getting things cleaned up, put away and/or set aside for when the rest of the furniture arrives.  I'm also trying to find an Armoire for my canning jars.  I'm looking for something made from solid wood that we can gut, add some shelves, and put in the yellow room on the wall opposite of my kitchen.  Who knows how that project will end up.  We may line the wall with cupboards, who knows?!  I've found some nice Armoires on Craig's list, so we'll see how things go.  I'll post progress pictures as things move along.

What have we done since moving in here in Georgia?  I'm glad you've asked!

• The carpeting was purged by a husband and wife crew before we got here on the 29th.  They did some basic cleaning because it took an act of God Himself to get the water and electricity turned back on.  It was turned back on on August 27th, so the cleaners didn't have time to do much cleaning.  
• The exterminators have become our best friends.  They have been here four times to help eradicate cockroaches, 2 times for termite protection.  Upon closing we paid for a termite bond where they protect our house and/or fix any future termite damage should there be any once we've signed on with them.  The roaches are fewer and fewer.  I've found it to a point where it is "ok" to start putting my things in the drawers.  I keep the roach bait handy though, so that when we see one, we put the little packets in the general area where we saw the roaches.  We go days now without seeing them, then we'll see one and put out the bait station.  
• With a great start by some wonderful friends of ours, we were able to get the house wiped down....everything!  We started and within 3 days--even in the part of the house where the AC is down--every wall was wiped down.  We took a little longer with the kitchen because it was a disgusting mess.  We couldn't put anything away.  So we spent the first 2 weeks here eating microwave dinners, sandwiches, and just very simple meals because of the roaches and bait in my kitchen.  They would leave their little corpses in drawers and everything.  I didn't want to put anything away until I knew they were eradicated.  My husband bought bait stations and spray stuff that we'd used for the Lady Beetles in PA worked for roaches in GA!  LOL
• My husband and sons have begun working on the flooring.  If you look at my last post, you'll see our bedroom.  If you look at the floor, that will be throughout the whole house with the exception of where the tile is currently.  I think he plans to get more of it done after the 3rd and final trip to PA to get our things.  That way there is nothing looming over his head to have to take care of in PA.
• Fencing was taken care of within the first day or so due to having the dogs.  We wanted to make sure they would be contained.  Once they got out there, they settled down and just relaxed.  They knew they were supposed to be there.  It was all good!
• Plumbing!  Oh wow!  We didn't have hot water coming from any of the taps.  We just really had our hands tied with it....so after closing on Monday, we called the plumber on the way back to see if they could get out to the house to look at the hot water issue.  They not only fixed the problem, but fixed the pool pump as well as a leak under the sink too!  What a blessing by God!  He said, "Welcome to Georgia!"  We thought it would cost so much more than it did!  Whew! 
• The pool, Oh My Goodness!  This was potentially a wonderful thing for exercise for all of us. However, it looked absolutely nasty scum covered pond like. Fortunately, I have the most awesome hubby!  He got to work very quickly on the pool once the plumber took care of the pump!  Awesome!  Now it's beautiful!  

Gus is making progress getting in to the pool on his own.  He barks his fool head off at the other two dogs when we bring him in to the pool, as if to say, "Get back here!  You're not supposed to be in there without me!"  LOL

• Odds and ends--there is always something to fix, something to redo, something to replace.  We purchased a "quasi" foreclosure so it stands to reason that it is going to be more work.  We're not afraid of it.  

Hubby is fixing a sliding screen door.  The wicker set that you see, I found on a facebook flea market site. I'm going to clean them up, paint them teal and reupholster the cushions in a bright red/yellow/fuchsia/teal fabric.  It will go in this sun room once it is done.  I'm hoping to find a nice area rug as well. And true to form, the ceiling fans in this room need to be replaced and the popcorn ceilings need to be replaced too.  LOL  One thing at a time, though.

• The truck has been worked on for more money that we would have liked, but it needed to be done.  We are so glad that it is done though!  
• We've been to our homeschool group class days twice.  Hubby and I have decided that we need to buy a different Pre-Algebra curriculum for our youngest so that the class he is taking makes sense for him with the curriculum they're using.  I didn't know they would be so rigorous when I signed him up for it, so I need to bite the bullet and make the changes. 
• I've finished my 4th hat for our Operation Christmas Child boxes!  I just need to weave tails in.  Next is a hat just like it to make it the 5th hat.  I don't know if I'll get it done, but if I work each evening on it, I'm sure it'll get done.  :) 
• We've decided on a church and so far, youth activities locally.  We're staying local for youth group and traveling almost an hour for church on Sundays at Sherwood Baptist Church.  We'll see what happens on Wednesdays when the time comes.  Sherwood has a lot going on for families on Wednesdays, but we'll see what happens.  We're thinking we'll stay local for now, though.

Goals for the not so distant future:

1. Find my foot pedal to my sewing machine so I can start making curtains for my house.
2. Find and organize my sewing room and office so that I can get moving making not only curtains, but more aprons to sell.
3. Get my armoire set up so that I can get my canning jars put away in their place whether they're filled with yumminess, or waiting to be filled with yumminess.
4. Get my actual living room put together with side tables, lamps, TV, piano, computer so that everyone can congregate in there.  I have to get the young men helpers to remove furniture from my sitting room and office where we are currently using as a living room. LOL  I'll post pictures soon. 

I think that's probably good for the next month.  I promise to post pictures soon!

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,

Little Weeds

The newly established flower bed as seen from the front porch.  I have Shasta Daisies, Lavendar, Hybiscus, Irises, and some other small flowers that I can't remember their names, but they're perennials.

This wonderful new flower bed has given me fits with the little weeds that have popped up over time.  I know that with more mulch and pulling weeds more often, this flower bed would do much better.

Isn't that always the way it is with our own lives as well?  Give us more "quality" food and pull the "little weeds" and we'll grow exponentially.  I don't know about you, but my "Miracle Grow" comes in the spiritual form.  In the past 2 weeks, I've had the awesome pleasure to worship in Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA as well as First Baptist Church of Clarion, PA.  Both places were filled with spiritual food beyond anything one would begin to hope or desire.

But what about the daily "weeds" that spring up?  I love to garden.  I love to compare any portion of life to gardening because it really hits home and many people can understand the meaning of what you're trying to say when comparing it to gardening.  I love that Jesus made many word pictures for those he taught in the Bible with gardening symbols.  One of my personal favorites is in John 15.

John 15:1-9

(1)  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

(2)  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

(3)  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

(4)  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

(5)  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

(6)  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

(7)  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

(8)  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

(9)  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

I love how the Lord directs us to remain in His love just like the branch is remaining in the vine.  What about the "little weeds?"  

The little weeds, much like the ones you see in my picture above are sin.  Sinful thoughts, deeds, words, against our bodies, our husbands, our children, parents, anyone really, are what those little weeds represent.  Much like "little foxes" spoiling the vinyard.

 Song of Solomon 2:15

  "Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom."

Although the little foxes are full of mischief and want to eat all the good luscious fruits off the vine, we can compare little foxes that spoil the vinyard to weeds as well.  When a vinyard hasn't been tended to, it gets spoiled with wild and sour grapes.  

Proverbs 6:6-11

(6)  Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

(7)  Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,

(8)  she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

(9)  How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

(10)  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

(11)  and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Once again, the Lord uses not just gardening, but also the example of an ant in how to work hard without being told in the appropriate season for the work given.  So should each of us work in each season as the Lord has given us to prepare for our families' needs, weeding out the "little weeds" as we go along.

How do we weed out the sin in our lives? 

When a weed takes root, it is much easier to remove when it is little.  If we allow the weed to get larger, the roots will have taken hold and are much more difficult to remove and once visibly removed, the roots could grow back.  

Keeping ourselves 24/7 in the word of God, worshiping always, praying on our knees always--ignoring the needs of our family is not what we are called to be doing.  In my own opinion, we need to be taking our walk and relationship with the Lord much further, talking of God's goodness, having a thankful heart and mind throughout our daily lives, while giving, working, and learning and growing together with other family members.  It is important to share with one another, to talk and encourage one another and at times, help one another to remove the little weeds of sin by willingly being accountable to one another with our own weaknesses.  

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul 

and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be 

on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk 

of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when

 you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, 

and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the 

doorposts of your house and on your gates." 

(Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

I think this is the key, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when  you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."  as well as "and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes."  It is imperative for us as "weeders of the garden" to be deliberate in our lives, gain a vision for what our lives would be like if we continue diligently weeding, then think of what it would like if we did NOT diligently weed with consistency and deliberateness.  I shudder to think what my life would be without deliberate consistency.  Most days I fall and fail with some weeds, but the next day they are right there staring me in the face, needing attention with that same deliberate consistency.

How about you?  How do you handle those weeds?

God Bless,

The Purging of My Home

I am thankful that we've decided to move.  Yes, I said that.  I now understand when people sell all of the extra earthly goods they have, and move somewhere for the mission field or just relocating, I see how freeing it is.

Letting go of memories is not what is involved.  Things that hold us down is what is involved.  I have purged my books, the kids' books, Mr. G's books (with his permission---I would have kept more than he did, but gladly he purged), as well as curriculum, office supplies, clothes, extra things that we just don't have room for any longer.

Why?

We have a large home.  When you look at the main floor and the upstairs, it is 1752 square feet of living space.  With the basement, it would be 3300 square feet of living space.  We are purging the basement, and the rest of the house to ensure that what we have will fit in to the next house once we move.  We are purging furniture, desks, recliners, coffee tables, end tables, the piano, the couch, everything!

We are keeping the things we love.  I am hoping to be able to finish my teaching degree since I only have an art class, Jr. Practicum and Student teaching to do to finish.  My heart is being pulled to teach Kindergarten in a private Christian school.  My love is teaching little ones.  My kids are almost done with their education.  My daughter will be a Senior and my youngest son will be a Sophomore.  By the time he is finished with school, I may be able to take a couple classes myself.  After he graduates, I'll be able to do my practicum and student teaching.  There are numerous private schools where we're moving, so if I can get my foot in the door as an assistant teacher, that might be one of the ways I can get in to a teaching position.   All that to say that I'm keeping my good children's literature books and eventually adding to them once we move, so that I have them once I have my own classroom, Lord willing.

I know my daughter has been keeping her drawing books, adding to her collection only the ones where her interest lays.  My oldest son enjoys things science related and only asks to keep his Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines.  My youngest son enjoys blacksmithing and knife making, so he is engulfed in those types of things.

Keeping what we love is a good thing.  Organizing things we need to keep for tax purposes is a good thing.  Pitching or burning the old envelopes, boxes, and papers/things that we no longer need to keep is freeing and beginning to feel a bit lighter.

Ask me how "light" I feel after our move.  LOL

I have not touched much in my kitchen as of right now.  The platters for serving things have been packed, but that's it.  I'll need to go through everything to see what I can sell at the yard sale.  I have a difficult time letting things from my kitchen go because I've found some neat kitchen gadgets that are stainless steel or something that works well, so I'm going to "love" them and pack them for the new house.  I'll look at some of my bread pans and some other things that I just don't use any more to sell.

It is difficult to say, but I honestly don't think that this much purging would have taken place had we not decided to make such a large move.  It certainly is sad to think that in order for my home to be completely purged I needed to move.  Yes, I purge on a regular basis, but not a complete purge like this.  I'm glad we're moving for that reason, so that we can truly see everything that we have and get rid of things that are broken, unfixable, and unloved.  I cannot tell you how many huge black trash bags we've hauled to the Goodwill!

So, when we move in to our new house, where ever that may be, we will have a couple book shelves, computer paraphernalia, a TV, only a couple side tables, our beds, dressers, washer and drier, freezers, boxes, personal hygiene items, pet stuff, and our clothes.  We plan to buy gently used furniture to fit the spaces we have there.  Mr. G and I will have new chairs to sit side-by-side in our living room, then we'll get 2 couches to accommodate kids and guests.  We'll also buy a gently used dining room table to accommodate kids and guests.  All this within the first 2 weeks of moving.

What an adventure!  I'll continue to post as I can, but the next few weeks will prove to be very busy, I'm sure.

God Bless,

A Day At the Beach & Life Lessons

Weeks ago, we decided that it was time to bless our kids with a trip to the Lake Erie beach that we love the most.  With all of the cleaning and packing we've been doing, it was time to stop, grab a friend, and go to the beach.

Lake Erie when we arrived and set up to relax.

It was such a beautiful day! 

I could barely see to take the picture, but here is one where Mr. G and I were sitting in the shade under the tree.  I take medication that makes me photosensitive, so we spent most of our time under the tree.

After spending over 3 hours in the sun, the kids were sufficiently crispy--even with 70+spf sunscreen--we went to Panera Bread before heading home.  It was something new for a couple of us, something familiar for others and just fun to pick out some neat treats that we don't normally have.

On the way home, my hubby didn't take pictures because he wasn't feeling well, but he did get a couple on our way up to Erie.

Small town with American flags waving.

Lonely old silo

Small grassy area on the hill

The valleys and scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.  I love looking as far as the eye can see and see hills and trees with an occasional splotch of green grassy patch.  It gives me a chuckle.

Upon arriving at home, we found a phone call from our Georgia realtor waiting for us.  We called and left her a message and within 5 minutes she returned our call.  The house that Mr. G put an offer on last week, we had been counter offering with 3 days in between each offer--it's a bank owned/HUD property thing where they get 3 days to reply to an offer.  The last offer, the bank/seller did not accept.  We are taking a step back and praying about how to word another counter offer, if at all.  The bank/seller would not budge on the price, but to come down $1,000.

We need to take a step back, regroup, get some things done here on our house in Pennsylvania, then see if there have been any other offers on this house.  We're waiting 2 weeks, then starting with the offer process again.  If the Lord wants us to have it, then He will make it available.  

For now, we get ready for a "Moving Sale" next weekend.  I'm getting so many things ready to sell so that the things we have to move will be limited and as small as we can possibly get it.  We are selling curriculum, too.

This journey through life is by far the most important time because it builds character, helps us to enjoy our time in the here-and-now, and it makes us linger to ensure the needful lessons are learned--sometimes whether we like it or not.  Our attitudes on the journey can be ones of thankfulness, or selfishness in which case it causes great heartache and stress for those who love us due to our own selfish responses to the unfamiliar.  

For now, though, we rest in God's will.  It's a good place to be.  Learning to rest there is difficult for many, but a very important and integral part of the journey.  I often visualize sitting in the passenger seat and letting God be the one in charge of my car.  How much I actually trust Him is directly related to how much I rest while He is driving.

It feels good not to have to drive this car through life, but to rest and let Him take the wheel.

God Bless,

On to the next thing...

Our house has sign put out.  We are still getting things done, in spite of the rain.  Some things that my husband needs to do has be done outside in the driveway, but with the rain and thunder storms, it isn't a good thing.

The front of our house has undergone quite a few changes in the past few years.  A couple years ago this view would have a gang plank approximately where the irises are due to us digging up the foundation to redo the coating.The dirt piles were up so far that no one could see in to our bay window.  Now, we're waiting for lots of wonderful perennials to pop up above the mulch.  We're leaving the large whiskey barrels without flowers because we're taking them with us.  The smaller whiskey barrels will have herbs in them because they're easier to transport.  

This trellis is covered, as is the one on the other side of the bush just out of site, with clematis flowers.  They were in full bloom this year and absolutely gorgeous!  We let the vinca vines take over and fill in the area around the bottom of the bed because there are periwinkel flowers on them and they look pretty.  

In the lower left of the above picture, I see the leaves of my lillies.  As of right now, the clematis has finished blooming, the vincas are spreading, and the lillies are in full bloom.  I should post a picture of all of them.  They're gloriously beautiful!

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I plan to finish my own chores, pack 4 boxes, then get out to my herb garden and get things thinned out.  I'll take before and after pictures.  My oregano and bee balm has decided to take over!  It's incredible what happens when your attention is elsewhere!

I plan to take clippings of all of my herbs with me, along with my perennials.  I love my perennials because I don't have to go to the store and buy them every year to make the yard beautiful.  :)   As I have gathered and grown them, the yard is being filled and I don't have to buy as many annuals.  I still like my petunias and my impatiens.  Those  flowers always fill areas and do so very well when they're cared for properly.

Have a lovely day!

God Bless,

One Down, Two to Go

There are times when life is so extremely busy that you just have to hold on while it happens around you.  This is what happened this past weekend.

We're getting our house painted, getting a few things replaced and updated for the new owners.  While we do that, we've also been cleaning and making food and getting ready for our oldest son's graduation ceremony and subsequent party afterwards.  While many people can't wait to just get this one thing done so they can move on to the next, I love being right in the middle of things, experiencing them to the fullest.

....backing up....

We've been looking for another vehicle to travel back and forth to Georgia a little more comfortably than our current vehicles, but also had enough leg room for our VERY tall children.  My husband found a Chevy Express about 86 miles from here, so we went down to look at it, drive it and possibly buy it on Friday.  Yes, when we should have been cleaning and cooking and getting things ready for the party, we were hung up an hour and a half away negotiating to buy a vehicle.  As God would have it, the van had a little leak that the dealership needed to tend to as well as refilling the AC.  They needed an hour, so we went to have brunchfast in town and did some window shopping.  We loved the van and we were willing to wait.  Once we got on to the road, we made it home by 2:30 and there wasn't time to bake a cake at that time because it was going to be a large--4 box carrot cake.  I decided to make a list for each person so I organized my thoughts to make sure everything got done.  I showered and started cutting up vegetables for the veggie platters while my husband took the kids to get their uniforms for the color guard.  Fortunately I was able to take care of that one thing before we left for rehearsal.

Once we were done at rehearsal, we had to go to Walm*rt to get drinks and a few odds and ends, then home to do more cleaning and lots of cooking.  I wasn't able to get all of the meat cooked, but I finished the chili meat, the pasta, and the cake by midnight.  I went to bed and couldn't sleep much past 5:30, so I got up and started cooking again.  Wow!

I had a time frame to get everything done by 10AM because we had to leave by 11AM for the ceremony.  I was rushing and rushing trying to get everything done.  I didn't make any frosting for the cake, but that turned out anyway.  A dear friend of mine made a scrumptious cake to share, so the carrot cake (the HUGE one) didn't get put out.  So now we eat off of it, but piece after piece gets ice cream on top instead of frosting.  LOL

But, coming back to the graduation, my son Daniel is now a high school graduate!

Here he is before, knowing that he'd have to make his speech first, he was very nervous! 

After the tassel is turned, speeches are done, blessings are given, and he's one happy young man!   And, my daughter is holding the Christian flag to the right in full dress blues. 

After the ceremony there was a reception hosted by all the Juniors & their moms.  We stayed a little later than we ought to have, but that's ok.  I called my hubby when we were on our way and no one was at our house.  We pulled in to the side yard because the driveway was PACKED with cars.  LOL  So, the party began.  The kids changed in to grungy clothes and had a wonderful time taking their friends to the "mud bog" to make sure they were sufficiently muddy.  It seems to be a ritual with our parties, wet, water, mud, you name it, we have it!  LOL  

After friends started leaving, other friends came and we started a campfire.  We swapped stories of our foolishness in high school and after high school all while Daniel was in our company. He was asked by one of my friends if he'll learn from those mistakes and of course, he said, "yes."    

After a while of laughter and story telling about our animals (yes, we get together and laugh about the antics of our cats and dogs---we're so exciting! LOL)  Daniel went in to the house to play his Xbox, then things started winding down.  I realized how tired and giddy I was and was yawning a lot.  I figured it was time to make my way to bed.  It was wonderful to have everyone over!

Now that one has graduated, we get to concentrate on the next one.  Miss HJ (holding the Christian flag in the picture above) will graduate next year, Lord willing.  We already started taking Senior pictures on our trip to Georgia, so we have one down and a bunch more to go.  She'll have just a few subjects to complete next school year, so if she wants to she can get a part time job.  She's excited for our move, so we'll see what happens and where God takes her.  

Such an exciting, busy time in our lives!  

God Bless,