Sunday Blessing

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world: the battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.

This is My Father's World
by Maltbie Davenport Babcock

I hope everyone had a good Sunday. We certainly did! We helped Gracey celebrate her 4th birthday. (more on that later.) I do have a special thanksgiving - our good friend Max is back in the states... He has been back for a few weeks, and we were blessed to have him and his wife in our home today. It was so good to see him home safe after praying for them since he left at the beginning of this year! Welcome Home, Max!!!

(The picture is a little bunny I met at our trip to the fair last week. I've got more pictures for another post. Lots of fun animals!) :)

Blessings!

The Best Medicine!

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
~e.e. cummings

This was taken a couple of weeks ago the day after Hurricane Ike.
Aren't Angie and I such good influences!? :)

To me, laughter is a ray of sunshine that perks us up when we're down and keeps us going when we want to stop. It is a way to bring light into the dark as we pursue our purpose. God does not dwell in darkness. He radiates light! He radiates joy!
Debbie Macomber ~ Knit Together

(I know this one's out of focus... I couldn't resist!)



The last picture never fails to bring a smile to my face.
It is Faithie a year ago!

I hope you enjoyed the smiles for today! I was reminded when reading Knit Together in my devo time today of the importance of laughter! It's great!

Keep smiling! :)
Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

Have I mentioned before that I like aprons? :) I have several and I have made a few, as well. And here is another - a little smaller version! :) Gracie has a birthday on Saturday. She will be four! Such a big age for a little girl! We are going to help her celebrate on Sunday.

I bought a child's apron on sale at Hobby Lobby. When I pulled it out of the package, I wasn't extremely impressed and knew I could make something cuter. It is simple, but with a few creative touches, turned out fun and playful.

Have you got any projects you've been working on? or maybe you have an older project you want to share? Come join in! :) Guidelines are found here. Link below.

Fall Home Tour

Welcome to our home... come on in!

Up the walkway first...

(My new garden flag and stand!)

Then in the front door:


Here's the living room:

(The front door is to the right left of this picture.)

I love this garland I found for the mantle.

I want some little lights to go in the garland. (Is that still in? Nevermind... I like them!) :)
Oh, and lest you think I already have a fire going... it's a fake! I don't trust my chimney to have a real fire in it. These actually look very real and sound convincing as well! :)

A close look at the coffee table:


The little chest behind the couch.

(The girls head here when they come over to play! Lots of fun things - books, paper, stickers, markers, stamps, dolls...)

On my dining room table:


As you can tell, I've really gotten into my fall decorating this year. I love having a mantle to decorate too. It adds a lot to my living room! (For those that don't know, I got this one for Christmas last year... Thanks, Dad and Mom!) All the decor will be perfect for the little party I'm having next month! (More on that later!)

I hope you enjoyed the tour! Let me know when you can come for a real visit and I'll light a candle, make some tea or hot chocolate and serve up something sweet, maybe some of Mark's yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies! :)

Until then!

Sunday Blessing

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal no languor know,
These for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

In my hand no price I bring,

Simply to the cross I cling.

I hope everyone is having a restful Sunday. The picture above was taken by my sister, Angie. This mushroom and several surrounding it came up after the hurricane. Thanks, Angie, for letting me use your picture! :)

Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

Due to a visit from our friend, Ike, who turned out to be not so friendly... I haven't done a whole lot of "crafting" this week. (I have done some pretty knitting, but alas... it is a gift - not Christmas so you will see it before then!) :) I wanted to share a craft that I did two years ago.

I got the idea from the Better Homes and Gardens website. They have many neat and easy craft ideas. (hmmm... seems like I just did a pumpkin post!) :)

Now for your projects!! :)

Visit from Ike!

Ike was not a very nice guy! This is what he left in his wake at my house:

So much for electricity... and phone... and internet!

Eating supper by (oil) lamp light on Saturday night.

We got tired of being in the dark really fast. Thankfully my parents got their electricity back on Monday. We just got ours back Wednesday and the internet back yesterday. So now I'm back home and things are returning to normal. Oh, and that other pine tree you see in the top picture is GONE! Prevention is the best cure! :)

Coming soon... my fall decor - that I took pictures of almost two weeks ago! :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Blessings!

Checking in...

Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend. All my hopes of posting more this week have been dashed... Ike wreaked havoc in our area - more specifically at our house. We are all ok, and thankfully our house is too. We are just without electricity and internet, the phone is back (but all our phones are cordless). A pine tree fell and ripped them all out. Most of our church family have lost power some time or another. My parents were out almost 48 hours until noon today, and we have been staying with them since Saturday - they have had hot water.

Anyway, I will try to update more soon and post pictures. It's good to be back online though. (Funny how you get used to things!) :)

Night!
Charity

Finished Object Friday

I'm pulling a finished object that I've had done for a while. I've had it in reserve. :) I haven't done much crafting this week and very little knitting! Oh, well. I made this tray for my toiletries in my bedroom. The vanity that they sit on has a flip top lid and I needed something to put them on so I didn't have to move each one individually every time I needed in. So it also serves and important function.

Here it is serving it's purpose:

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm off to prepare for IKE! (I don't like Ike, btw.... Ike the Hurricane that is!) :) Until later, you are welcome to join me for FOF. For guidelines, click here. For other posts, click the label below. :)

Do Not Forget

It is so easy for us to forget the horrors of September 11, 2001 the farther we get from that day. I don't like to dwell on sad things, especially on my blog, but I feel that it is important for us to remember the sacrifices that were made (continue to be made) and the fact that we are still in a WAR.

I'm sure you each remember where you were when you heard the terrible news. I was at Bible college in Cincinnati. One of my friends came into class and told us the first account of the events in New York. I remember being more horrified as I learned more. By the end of the week, many of us were convinced that we would soon be seeing many of our boys off to war. Although, things haven't quite reached the magnitude of World War II, I know that many of us have family or close friends that serve our country in one way or another. Here are two of my heroes:

Ryan (left) is Mark's brother and a volunteer fireman.
Max (right) is a Marine reserve currently finishing up a 9 month tour in Iraq.
Max is a close friend of our family.
Please pray a special prayer for him and his wife, Amber.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Graphic courtesy of Home Sweet Home Graphics.

Checking In...

Hope everyone is having a good week! Mine is busy, as promised! :) I did get some finishing done on the pumpkins - leaves and stems. They are now all completed! I also was able to get my fall decor out and I am enjoying it. (Look for pictures next week.) It has still been cool enough to start feeling like fall. I'll enjoy the seasons as they come, but I don't miss the really hot weather!

I did find time to type up my latest Time to Bloom post: Time to Eat! You are welcome to stop by and check it out.

Until later!
Blessings!

Sunday Blessing

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Selected from:
Our Great Saviour
by J. Wilbur Chapman

I know this is late... sometimes Sunday is so busy! But, I missed last week and didn't want to miss another.
I took the picture yesterday in my front yard. I heard a buzzing noise when I stepped outside, and just had to get the camera. I am having fun getting good shots. :) (Not that I'm a pro or anything!) I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. I've already got a good beginning on housework. I'm hoping to stay on top of things since this week is going to be so busy. I probably won't be posting anything until Friday. :)

Blessings!

Happy Birthday....

DAD!!!

(Just a little late posting.)


You are an awesome guy! The older I get, the more I appreciate your wisdom and discernment, and you easy-going, steady character. Happy Birthday!

For Dad's birthday on Wednesday, Mom, Angie and I surprised him at work with a cake to share with his co-workers. :)

(It was very yummy!!!)

Well, Dad, we were early with this part of your gift...


and late with the rest, but it is now on order!
Here you go!!! :)

Finished Object Friday

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
When the Frost is on the Punkin
*Stanza one*
by James Whitcomb Riley

Ok, so the frost isn't exactly on the pumpkin, but it is September and a cool morning in Texas! It was 65 degrees when I was up this morning. It feels so good. Fall is on it's way! :)

I've been having a blast making pumpkins. The one above I finished Tuesday. Here are the others in a stage of completion:

I have discovered that knitting fruit is very addicting! :) I made the first pumpkin Tuesday, as I said, and by Wednesday night had finished the "pumpkin" part of two more - stems and leaves still to come- I have one stem knit. It is a very easy pattern, probably a good one to start on if you are just learning double pointed needles. The pattern is four knit stitches and one purl. Here is a link to the pattern. I would love to see more pumpkins! :) (You can even add a face!) :)

Well, folks this has been a busy week and next week will be even busier! (In other words, expect fewer posts next week, but look for FOF and Sunday Blessing.) :) Due to varying circumstances, I will be going into work four (partial) days - some longer, some shorter. The main reason I didn't posted my FOF on time, is that I hadn't taken pictures! However, after the return of the sun to this side of the world and after my morning cup of coffee, I have them posted! :)

Thanks for joining in! For guidelines please click here. To view other "inspiring" :) FOF posts click here!

Update No. 2...

Our mini-vacation!

Mark and I took a little overnight vacation last weekend. It flew by so fast, it almost seems that we didn't go anywhere! :) Friday, we went down to Brenham, Tx... we hurried on the way down so we could get to the Blue Bell Creamery in time for the last tour!

We made it and really enjoyed seeing them make the ice cream. The tour concluded with a bowl of yummy ice cream - many flavors to choose from.

On the way to Brenham, we passed signs for Washington-on-the-Brazos, so after the ice cream we came back to check it out.

For those of you unfamiliar with Texas history, this is where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed in 1836 declaring independence from Mexico. We didn't go through the Museum or the Living History Farm (next time maybe!) but we did look around at the visitor's center and walk the historical site.

Here's a delegate on the way to the convention:

Oh, wait... that's Mark! :)

We spent the night at a hotel in Houston where the big news of course, was the coming of the "big" man, Gustav! As we were driving downtown we joined a caravan of buses headed east. They were lead by a state trouper and the line went as far as you could see both ways!

We found out later that the government had a contract for 500 buses, but only got 200. I guess it all worked out after all. It wasn't too bad, and now that it has come north, we've just had some gentle rain and a little wind.

Saturday, we retraced our steps to Brenham, did a little antique shopping and visited some other small towns on the way home. We got more pictures of courthouses. Maybe someday we will get all 254! :)


I hope you enjoyed our little trip! If you would like to look at more pictures, click play below or click the link to my album:


Coming Friday, another knitting project! :) (Something I made tonight!)

Hope everyone is having a great week!
Blessings!

Update No. 1...

There are several things that I want to share from recent events. First things first, however.

Thank you all for your sweet birthday greetings! I felt like I was getting little birthday cards all day long! :) Thank you to the friends and family who have "put up" with me all these years! :)

I had a nice day. Mark went and got me breakfast - Shipley's doughnuts and koloches - Regina was the first to call with a "Happy Birthday" (She was pleased with herself!) :) I also talked to my mom and my in-laws. I puttered around the house most of the day, then ran a couple of errands/shopping with Mark. (It was nice to have him around on a Monday!) Then over to Dad and Mom's for a birthday party with friends! It was a nice day. :)

Click on the album below for pictures. First are pictures from Angie's birthday, then pictures of last night.

Birthdays 2008

I said I had more to blog about, and I do... just not tonight. Time for bed. (Mark and I took a quick trip and I have some pictures from that and other things to share.)

Blessings!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

27 years ago, you came into this world with soft brown hair and baby blue eyes. You've only become more beautiful since then.

Love,
Mark