Those of you who still stop by, I enjoy reading your blogs very much!
I have much to be thankful for this year! The Lord is good! He has brought us through some hard things and I know He will be right beside us to guide, strengthen, comfort and encourage us
in whatever may come in the new year too.
He is faithful, powerful, AWESOME, merciful, gracious and loving. Praise the Lord for His blessings and for the trials that bring us closer to Him and for the lessons we learn through the pains of growing in our Spiritual walk. He has and will continue to give wave upon wave of His wonderful grace to our family and I am thankful.
He has given blessing after blessing though we don't always remember to thank Him at the time. What a glorious God and Savior we serve! He knows me beyond what eyes can see, what ears hear and He loves me.
I am SO thankful that God the Father sent His Son, Jesus to die in my place and face the wrath of God for my sins, so that I could have eternal life.
What a gift!
What a marvelous, mind-blowing gift!
By far the best gift I have ever received!
So, I pray that the Lord will bless, encourage, strengthen, and cause you to stand firm in your faith this year and in the new year. Amen.
Until I post again . . .
"May he LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you His favor and give you His peace." Numbers 6:24-26
We've lived in our house now for almost four years. When we had it built we went with the idea of low end everything and we'll put in "upscale" things as the Lord provides. Well this summer I got to paint.
I know, some of you just groaned, "got too?!" Yes, I love to paint. I tackled the living room first. It went from being the Macadamia White to Periwinkle Dusk. (Periwinkle is my ALL time favorite color!)
I didn't think to take before and after pictures of it, but my, what a difference! It's warm and inviting now.
Next came the downstairs bathroom. Again no before and after pictures. It went from the same Macadamia White to Sweet Honey. It is such a fun welcoming color that we decided the entryway and kitchen should be the same color. Wow! What a difference. The Macadamia White was a flat paint and the Sweet Honey is a semi-gloss. (Great clean up!)
Here's the Periwinkle Dusk next to the Sweet Honey!
So happy this part of the house is done. Now we're thinking about colors for the rest of the house.
My husband and son enjoy playing disc golf. So, we've dedicated a large portion of our property to a disc golf field. It is made up of three posts that stick up called "bong" poles, because of the sound they make when they are hit. (eventually we'll get baskets) My son and husband have mowed out greens and fairways for throwing and I have walking paths around the course and through it. The rest, we just let it grow. So there are all sorts of flowering weeds and plants, etc. that grow out there.
When I'm out walking I take my camera, because I never know when I'll see something that I just have to have a picture of. When they are play disc golf and I am out walking sometimes they need my "keen eyes" to help find a disc that flew off course and landed in the "meadow". (That's the polite name to call a weedy area on someone's property. )
So, we all line up and walk side by side, looking straight down in front of us to see who will be the first to spot the missing disc.
Sometimes, I've spotted a beautiful spider, or other insect, or flower. But this time it was a nest . . . I almost put my foot right on top of it. I was SO excited I stopped looking for the disc and took several pictures. (Good thing too, 'cause I tried to go back and find it and I couldn't.)
What an unexpected hidden treasure. Have a blessed day!
Since the gray days are coming upon us, I thought I'd post a bit of summer fun!
We like to do fun and interesting things as a family. We've been to different fairs and historical reenactments and museums. When we lived in the suburbs of Chicago we found a really great event held one weekend a year... the Highland Games!!! Well since we moved we haven't been back to those games.
Imagine our joy when we found a smaller version of the Highland Games locally! It was great to see the kilts flying once again! (So glad they wear shorts under there. lol!)
If it looks interesting to you, look up Highland Games online for your area!
Have a great week!
(As a disclaimer, I do not have anything to do with the other videos they offer after you have watched mine on this Photobucket sight.)
We haven't been camping since I was pregnant with Suirrely-Jo, but the church we are a part of has a camping trip every year. So, we dug out the tent, the screen tent, and all the gear. We made sure it was all in good working order and we went. It was a lot of fun.
Bubba and Bob love starting fires with flint and steel. So, they brought their kits along and got everything ready.
They bought some wood from the park we stayed at and it was very hard to split. Thankfully Bubba is older now and was determined to break it down into small pieces. The potatoes cooked while we played at the play ground right behind our tent. We found these large ground snails all over the park. Ssuirrely-Jo loved carrying them around. We went on walks.Bubba, of course, went fishing. While we walked around the lake Squirrely-Jo collected goose feathers. She carried them back to our campsite and had a great time playing with them. (Yes, we washed her hands well afterwords.) The joy of wearing "Crocs" They even had a pool that Bob and Bubba enjoyed. I'm not crazy about swimming, so I hung out with Squirrely-Jo at the kiddy pool. She loved it! The last thing we did was to climb the tower that they had at the park. You could see the park from above the tree line. I thought our car was small, but from up there it looked like a toy. All in all it was wonderful to be out in God's beautiful creation and enjoy the fellowship of those in our church body. Ahhhhh the sweet memories of summer.
The ladies at our church got together not too long ago for a night out. The theme was a Tapa Party. I had NO idea what that was, so I looked it up online. This is what the link said . . .
"The idea comes from Andalusia. It started, or so they say, with a piece of bread, soon topped with ham or cheese, balanced over a glass, to keep out the flies - the word tapa means a cover."
We had water, lemonade, and punch, and plenty of delicious tapas to try. (I tried at least one of everything. ) See for yourself . . .
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." (I think we can borrow this from the Scotts.)
"As long as a hundred of us remain alive
we will never be subject to
tyrannical dominion
Because it is not for glory
or riches or honours
that we fight,
but for freedom alone
which no worthy man loses
except with his life."
From "The Declaration of Arbroath"
1320
Squirrely-Jo came to me after lunch and said, "I need things for the re-table." I was completely lost until she started telling me what she needed these things for and who she was using them with. She needed a sword and helmet for the battle. She has been watching Prince Caspian and wanted to help defend Narnia. I love that little girl. (it's great what you can do with cardboard, duct tape and an old water jug.)
It's also a good reminder for us, that we shouldn't rush into the day (battle) without our armor on.
Ephesians 6:15
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around you waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with you feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Sometimes I rush into the day without all my armor. The darts of the devil are sharp and they hurt. My day goes SO much better when I stop and put on all my "armor" at the beginning of the day.
Changing my husbands diet to meet the needs of his kidneys has not always been easy to adjust to.But sometimes it brings great recipes worth sharing.This Roasted Vegetable Broth is the best homemade broth I’ve tasted. It takes a little work, but it’s worth it.I just made some yesterday, because fall means, “Soup Season” in our family. If you decide to try it let me know.
Ingredients:
(You can change the vegetables according to what you have on hand if you’re missing one or more of these.)
2 onions, quartered
4 stalks celery
5 carrots
1 parsnip
2 leeks, including green tops
6 large white or brown (crimini) mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, halved (or just smashed – skin and all is fine)
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup white wine (Optional)
2 quarts water
3 to 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (the other parsley works just fine. You can also throw in other herbs of your choice)
3 to 5 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1. Preheat oven to 425o F. clean and cut all vegetables, about 1 inch pieces. Save the parsley, herbs, bay leaves, salt and pepper for later on.
2. Dump all the vegetables in a big roasting pan and pour the oil over them. Mix it all around until they are all coated. (I use my hands, it’s just easier.)
(Ready for the oven)
3. Bake for 45 minutes. Stir it about half way through to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan or burning.
4. Take the roasting pan out of the oven. Scoop the vegetables out of the roaster and put them in a large stockpot. If you your using wine, pour it in the roaster and scrape off all the brown little bit of caramelized vegetables that are stuck. Then pour all of that into the stockpot. (Water can be substituted here if you like.)
(After it's been boiled and cooled)
5. Add the rest of the water, parsley, herbs, bay leaves, salt, and whole peppercorns to the stockpot now. Bring all of this to a boil and then turn down to low for one hour.
(Pouring the broth through the cloth)
6. After the hour is up, shut it off and let it cool. (I let it cool over night.)Then strain everything through a cheesecloth. mashing it in your hands to get all the broth out. Put the broth in clean containers. (It freezes well.)
(Squeezing out the broth) (This is what's left)
(The golden broth!)
(Ready to freeze or use)
I usually make a double batch of this at a time. One, because it is so good, it goes fast. Two, it does take some work so you want to get the most out of your time.
*(The cookbook that this recipe is from is called: “Apples to Zucchini” by: Virginia Schuett and Dorothy Corry)
I’ve been gone for a good chunk of the summer, and now that I’ve had a break, I’m eager to get back to blogging.
Life has not slowed down here at our house, but hopefully I will be posting once a week. (Let’s think positively, okay)
It hardly seems possible that today is the first of September. But I have the pictures to prove that spring and summer really did happen. I will be sharing those with all of you during the gray days of fall so that you have something warm and colorful to look at.I’ve been working on a few other things too. (we’ll see how it goes.)
Until I post again ~
Philippians 2:1-4
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Seriously these things are "bugs", but I find myself in awe of how our wonderful Creator made these insects and spiders. We are so quick to smash them, but they really are beautifully made. So delicate, so intricate, & so colorful.
Take time to explore the beauty the Lord has made right out your own back door.
My sister-in-law through a tea party at her house, just for fun. (And it was fun)
I'd never had a scone before and she made some very yummy ones.
There was quite a variety of teas.
Fruit and cookies, and every good thing.
Squirrely-jo enjoyed herself too.
There was a sugar cube tower building contest.
She even "sang" a "song". (It was made up on the spot by her and sounded more like a short sermon and a
prayer.) It was SO cute and dear to my heart.
It was a special time for both of us.
I grab a meal out here and there, and when I can I love to to go to Chick-fil-A. It's worth the trip, especially if you order a kids meal. I know that sounds bad, but look at the thought that has gone into the toy. I am SO impressed.
They are educational, fun, and I don't want to throw them out.
I know it's a silly thing to blog about, but I am very pleased with the quality and thought that Chick-fil-A has put into their kids meals. They really are a step up from everywhere else.
Saturday my hubby and son took Squirrley-Jo to the park for a morning of fun and gave me some time to just hang out and do some things alone. I've often said that I would love to go back in the woods here by our home and just take pictures of any animals that I can see. SO, I went for a little stroll last Saturday. I went through our back yard, over my brother's yard (They live behind us), and continued through my grandma's yard to get to the woods. (it sounds farther than it is) Anyway, as I walked I took pictures of flowers and trees. I even scared a Garter Snake that was sunning itself. But I finally got to my destination - a treestand.
I know it may sound . . . let's just say, silly to some of you, but I thought it was wonderful. I climbed up, took my seat, got comfortable, sat very still, and just listened.
It took about 5 minutes for the frogs in the area to start singing again. Occationally I would hear the drumming of a woodpecker in the distance and some sort of knocking sound from over my left shoulder, but I didn't see what was making the noise. The other birds were quite for about a half hour. But there was a gentle breeze, and I had time to pray and thank the Lord for such beauty, peace and the wonder of nature in general.
After I'd been there an hour, I saw a bird fly to my left. A Red Headed Woodpecker and it's mate had landed on a tree. I started taking pictures and realized that they were building a home inside the tree. THAT was the "knocking" I was hearing, they were inside the tree, tapping away. I watched them come and go, crawling in and out of the hole they had made. Then I heard tapping on mettle. I looked over toward the builds at my grandma's and saw two Turkey Vultures "running" (more like waddling) down the roof. When they got to the edge they jumped and opened their wings. Then I watched them silently soar in lazy circles over my head. After they had disapeared I saw to hawk-like birds with long tails taking off from a tree to my right. I think they had a nest in it. They only came back once more while I was there and then left.
It was so relaxing to sit up there and see things from a different view point. So, when given the chance I'll deffinately do it again. Thank you Bob and Bubba for the time to get out and explore. I hope you all enjoyed your time up in the treestand with me.
Well the ice is off the lake . . . that means open water and in our family that means. . . fishing from the boat!
Yes, we loaded into the car and headed up to the lake where my in-laws live. It was great to be outside. Bubba, my hubby and his dad all went out in the boat with our new dog, Bubby. It was Bubby's first time in a boat, he did great!
While they were out I took what I thought was going to be a short walk and it ended up being an hour long.
There was a breezy, and the air was so refreshing!
The spring run off was really moving through the spillway!
But as it headed down the creek a little way, it looked rather peaceful.
Later in the day Squirrely-Jo even went out on the boat for a little ride.
She loves being at the lake and on Grandpa's boat. We all had a great day out at the lake!
Keeping a little one busy can be a challenge at best. My little girl is no exception.
When she wanted me to be her horsey, (like her big brother had been before he had to go off and do his school work), I told her, no. But, I also told her that I would make her a horse. She watched with wide eyes and a lot of questions, as I gathered materials for the "building" of the horse.
I had saved the large paper bag from the wheat berries that we bought. (It was actually 3 bags in one, that's a lot of paper!) So, I grabbed a section of the bag and cut out the basic shape of the head, took string out of the junk-drawer for the main, and marker for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I did actually sew the paper head with my sewing machine, and stuffed it with fluff. Then I taped the head onto a half a broom handle that we had in the garage left over from something else.
The whole project took about 20 minutes, but the play time has been several days; and I have not had to be "the horsey".
Sqirrely-Jo loves to do whatever Big Brother does. Here they are doing Algebra 1 together.
(Notice he has tea, so she had to have a cup of tea too.) She keeps us laughing.
Welcome to Through My Eyes. I picked this title because I love to take pictures. So, come on in, have a seat, relax and enjoy some of my favorite pictures, and maybe a story or two. :)
Here's the Periwinkle Dusk next to the Sweet Honey! 
When they are play disc golf and I am out walking sometimes they need my "keen eyes" to help find a disc that flew off course and landed in the "meadow". (That's the polite name to call a weedy area on someone's property. 
)
I almost put my foot right on top of it. I was SO excited I stopped looking for the disc and took several pictures. (Good thing too, 'cause I tried to go back and find it and I couldn't.)
Have a blessed day! 
The potatoes cooked while we played at the play ground right behind our tent.
We found these large ground snails all over the park. Ssuirrely-Jo loved carrying them around.
We went on walks.
While we walked around the lake Squirrely-Jo collected goose feathers. She carried them back to our campsite and had a great time playing with them. (Yes, we washed her hands well afterwords.) 
The joy of wearing "Crocs"
They even had a pool that Bob and Bubba enjoyed. I'm not crazy about swimming, so I hung out with Squirrely-Jo at the kiddy pool. She loved it!
The last thing we did was to climb the tower that they had at the park. You could see the park from above the tree line. I thought our car was small, but from up there it looked like a toy.
All in all it was wonderful to be out in God's beautiful creation and enjoy the fellowship of those in our church body. Ahhhhh the sweet memories of summer. 
(I think we can borrow this from the Scotts.)
Squirrely-Jo came to me after lunch and said, "I need things for the re-table." I was completely lost until she started telling me what she needed these things for and who she was using them with. She needed a sword and helmet for the battle. She has been watching Prince Caspian and wanted to help defend Narnia. I love that little girl. (it's great what you can do with cardboard, duct tape and an old water jug.)
It takes a little work, but it’s worth it.
(Pouring the broth through the cloth)
(This is what's left)
(The golden broth!)
(Ready to freeze or use)
Anyway, as I walked I took pictures of flowers and trees.
I even scared a Garter Snake that was sunning itself. But I finally got to my destination - a treestand.
I climbed up, took my seat, got comfortable, sat very still, and just listened.
Then I heard tapping on mettle. I looked over toward the builds at my grandma's and saw two Turkey Vultures "running" (more like waddling) down the roof. When they got to the edge they jumped and opened their wings. Then I watched them silently soar in lazy circles over my head. After they had disapeared I saw to hawk-like birds with long tails taking off from a tree to my right. I think they had a nest in it. They only came back once more while I was there and then left.
It was Bubby's first time in a boat, he did great!
