DREAMING

I woke up this morning and realized that I have only one

week before the H*ome B*ible S*tudy begins.

There is no way I can take on a redecorating project

along with laying the flooring.

I will keep all your suggestions in mind for when we

have the time after the series is over.

But thanks to everyone for your input.

The above picture will be the floor in the red room.

I think it will work until I get some kind of inspiration.

Thank you for your suggestions.  I am still thinking

and planning.  That is usually the best part of redecorating.

Dreaming is the fun part, then reality sets in! 

WORK!

NEEDING ADVICE

We have removed the carpet in this room tonight and

Alan is removing the tack strip around the room.

He said that if I wanted to change the color of this

room, now would be a good time to paint the baseboard.

This color has been on the walls for ten years.

Should I change the color or keep it?

I need your advice!

PROJECT PART 1 IS DONE

The preparation for this project took a long time.

Alan spent two half days tearing out, sanding, and reading.

This was the first time we had ever laid this kind of flooring.

We cannot say that it was easy mainly because in this

entry way, we had to measure and cut for six doorways

and stairs.  Even though we are done with that part,

we still have not replaced the baseboards.

We bought new ones that will look much better.

Alan is on a roll!  He loves the look of the floor so much

that he asked if I wanted the kitchen done after

we do the dining room.  I think it would look

really nice especially since our cabinets in the kitchen

are dark wood.

It is hard to show how good it looks in these pictures

but all the doorways look so finished since we

used the finishing pieces.

We had fun working together.

I went before him preparing the floor

while he came behind inserting the wood pieces.

I told him that I felt like a dental aid in

preparing the tooth before the dentist

did the final work.

We do work well together.

SNOW PARTY

Dan and Nancy hosted our Snow Party this year.

Nancy served us Summer Rambo Apple Casserole

with Ice Cream.  She also had nuts, chips and candy.

We have had this neighborhood tradition for

many years.  When the weather gets cold

people tend to stay inside and sometimes

neighbors do not see neighbors for months.

We put a stop to that!

Every time it snows, we have a snow party.

Alan and Dan are enjoying their cup of hot chocolate.

BLIZZARD 2010

I always wanted a big ride!

This little bird came very early for breakfast this morning.

I did not have the birdfeeder out.

He was hoping I would find a place to hang his breakfast.

WHICH ONE IS OUR CAR?

A MONSTER STORM

This is something to write home about!

I was awakened by the sound of tractors this morning.

I knew it was too early to plant corn.

When I looked outside, I couldn't believe my eyes.

We must have a foot and a half of snow and

more is coming.

This is what it looked like at 4:30 this morning.

I had removed the birdfeeder from this table yesterday

thinking I would put it back on today.

I don't think so!

After sunrise maybe I can get better pictures.

FEBRUARY PROJECT

Our project for February is to tear out carpet on the walkways

and install Pergo.  Because the carpet in the livingroom is

still like new, we decided to only tear out the entry and dining

room.  We have never done this before so if it turns out

well, we may do more floors.  If not,  well, we will keep

thinking positive thoughts.

THE THREE HORSES

I have two artist friends who live in California.

I  admire their drawings and paintings.

Both are very talented ladies.

Not long ago, Chris showed us some of her work.

She drew and painted while there was a rain storm going on outside her window.

I so wished I could have been there drawing with her.

I am not an artist of any kind, but I love the horses she drew.

I dream of the day when Wanda, Chris and I could draw and paint together.

They would be great teachers.

So, since my Bible study buddy likes horses,

we decided to use the picture Chris drew and

see what we could do with it.

After Nicole and I did our study on John 3,

we brought our coffee and cookies to my

computer room where we had set up shop.

We relaxed and began drawing.

Here is what we did.

(Quit snickering!)

The first picture is Nicole's.

I think she did a GREAT job!

She kept saying,  "I cannot draw at all."

I told her that neither could I.

When I was in first grade, my teacher discouraged me

and I have NEVER attempted it since.

The second drawing is mine.

I think one could entitle my picture,

"Sparkie and his Two Camel Friends,"

but, HEY, Chris was not here to instruct us.

We did the best we could by looking at her picture.

Thank you, Chris, for letting us use your artwork

for our after Bible study activity.

You and Wanda are just the BEST!

RANDOM SNOW PICTURES

I finally got a picture of a red bird.  They are sneaky fellows.

The groundhog wasn't kidding this year!

GROUNDHOG'S DAY

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow today?
If he gets up early before sunrise as I do,
he probably won't.

It is supposed to snow here today.

GLUTEN FREE PIZZA

I haven't eaten pizza for over 5 years.

Today I made one that is Gluten Free!

While it was baking, it smelled SO GOOD!

It tasted the same as regular pizza.

Even the crust was easier to chew.

I LOVED IT!

SUNDAY MEDITATION

Steven Furtick has a great post for Sunday meditation.

Check it out here.

JANUARY'S PROJECT - FINISHED

Today is the last day of January.

We JUST made it!

This little room was our project for January.

The walls were of brown paneling which

made the room very dark.

I had seen paneling painted and I liked it,

so I painted the first coat with Kiltz.

Thinking that we were going to make an office out of the room,

I thought it should be more masculine so I chose Gray paint.

Chad has some black bookcases that I think will go in well.

We added the beadboard to cover a lot of the damaged

wood at the bottom of the wall.

We had already ripped up the carpet and padding

and threw it out. Finding a grey carpet for this

room was not going to be easy.

We didn't want to spend a lot of money so we did a lot

of looking around. I also wanted office carpet and not

bedroom carpet. I wanted a VERY low nap.

We were given some very high prices, but we kept
looking and looking. Finally, I found this remnant

that was not too dark, yet had a pattern to it.

It was grey and white Berber.

I have Berber in the family room,

and I like it so it was a done deal.

~~~~~

I am so thankful to the Lord for the health that I have.

I am so happy to be able to paint and fix up this house.

After what I have been through, it is truly a miracle

to be able to paint, move and lift things

and to do the projects that I do.

I acknowledge his enablement in my life

to get things done. Without the good hand

of the Lord, I would not be able to accomplish

what I do.  For this, I am thankful!

WAITING FOR SNOW

Wyatt heard the forecast, and he was waiting for the snow.

He had a good time making a snow fort and having

snowball fights with his brother.

AFRAID OF THE SNOW

First Dylan was not too sure that he liked the snow,

then he was throwing snowballs.

BIG SNOW IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Wyatt and Dylan have been having fun in the snow today.

They built a snow fort that is SPECTACULAR!

YOUR VOTE IS NEEDED

Mari's picture is up for vote!

Please go to her site and vote for her picture.

It IS the best one!

Go to the site she tells you,

then scroll down to #8,

then VOTE!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

GRAY IS SO JANUARY

We found a piece of carpet that will go in the

gray room.  In order to save a couple hundred

dollars, the salesman said that he lays carpet

on the side so his wife can stay home

with the kids, and that he would do it for us.

We liked the guy so we scheduled him to come

Saturday night after his work.  Alan could lay it.

He used to lay carpet in his other life, but

he has a new life now.

Gray is so January!

 We will not forget the month we painted this room.

We have decided to make it a computer room

and a display room for Chad's museum pieces.

(No live animals here.)

It has been ten years since we moved in to this house.

It definitely needs a face lift!

Our next project maybe the dining room,

 living room and stairs.

In order to keep me happy,

Alan just puts a paint brush in my hand!

He is a good man!

I MARRIED A WINNER

Despite the downturn in the economy,

Alan’s training department had a very good year during 2009,

 by being innovative in the educational programs

 that they offered to their contractor members.

 His boss announced to the staff yesterday

that Alan had won first place for his entry in the

 National Associated Builders & Contractors’

Awards of Excellence competition.

 His entry highlighted the way they focused on training

 that helped contractors meet the challenges

of the economic downturn.

This is the twelfth award Alan has received

 in the ten years he has been with the ABC Keystone Chapter.

I praise the Lord for all that Alan has accomplished.

Without the good hand of the Lord,

nothing of significance would have been accomplished.

FIVE YEAR OLD SAVANNAH CALM CALL

CUP OF TEA

This was sent to me this morning by a friend.

The cute little girl's face, didn't copy.

Cup of Tea ~

One day my mother was out, and my dad was in charge of me.

I was maybe 2 1/2 years old. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a gift, and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I came down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy; and she watched him drink it up

Then she said, (as only a mother would know), "'Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?"

TAKING CARE OF POOCHES

Our daughter loves her animals.

This is Chip, Heather's dog.

Heather and her dog, Chip, took care of some

Teacup Chihuahuas for the weekend.

Heather said that Chip loved playing with the puppies,

but when Heather put Chips toys down on the floor

for the puppies to play with, Chip would take

each toy to the sofa so they would be out of

reach.  He liked the puppies,

but he didn't want them playing

with his toys.

Chip is two years old.

He must be going through the

"terrible two's."

A SIMPLE WOMAN'S DAYBOOK

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

Wild winds have entered my neighborhood

and are blowing rain hard against my window.

I AM THINKING

about God's direction in my life.
I am listening to God and I want to go
in the direction in which He is leading.
Pretty scarey stuff!

I AM THANKFUL FOR

A friend who appeared out of no where

and wants to study the Bible with me,
of all things!

FROM THE KITCHEN

I am afraid to look at it this morning.

I AM WEARING

Don’t look now, but

I am wearing my pajamas.

The pants are black and white zebra stripes,

and the top is black with white underpinnings.

I AM CREATING

A list of foods that I want to serve for

Alan’s upcoming Bible study

to be held here at the house.

If any of you want to come,

It is going to be great fun!

Just call or sign up!

Everyone is welcome

even my out of state friends.;)

WHAT MY LIST LOOKS LIKE.

Go to get my hair cut.
Wash clothes.

Go to post office to buy stamps.

Mail the letters to Bible study people.

Wash clothes.

Make layer salad for me.

Make macaroni salad for Alan.
Wash clothes.

Fill out my new address book.

Organize my new Day Planner.
Wash clothes.

I AM READING

The book of John and
planning lessons.

I AM HOPING

that I can find a gray carpet that I like

to lay in the room downstairs.
I looked at some and they are definitely
too dark.  It will have to be white with
gray flecks.  Do you think I will be able
to find it?

I AM HEARING

Wind and rain swirling around

the corner of the house.
It feels like spring right now,
but just wait.....more winter is coming!

ROUND THE HOUSE

I have more painting to do now that

Alan has finished the trim downstairs.
We have ceiling tile to install
and replace blinds, light covers,
and install the closet shelves.
Then, paint the closet doors
and trim.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

I love hearing from our children.

They always make me smile.

MY PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK

I plan to enjoy my days.

Alan will be coming home for lunch

on Wednesday and Thursday.

WooHoo!

AN UNUSUAL WEEKEND

I got hit with an unusual weekend.

As you all know, I LOVE my church!

BUT, on Friday night,  my life as I know it,

came to a screeching halt!

I had been painting,

running from floor to floor

(three floors,)

and walking way too far with my

neighbor.

On Friday night when I reached

out to pick up my glass to drink,

I experienced pain that took

my breath away.

These pains persisted till

this morning.  The muscle

relaxing pills have taken away

the pain, but I have been in a stupor

for most of the day.

Consequently, I didn't get to go

to church today.  Chad went

to the young men's class and to church,

Alan went to greet at the doors

and to church, but I had to stay home.

Alan ordered me to stay down and

not to be CLEANING HOUSE!

I was a good girl and just

relaxed in body, but my mind

was STANDING UP! 

LOL!

I just listened to our pastor's sermon.
You can here it HERE!
"The Protection of God."

POWERING UP

Every night I turn off my printer.

It tells me that it is "powering off."

I love this new vocabulary!

I get up early every morning to

study and to pray, thereby,

I am "powering up!"

I have been a Christian for most of my life,

but I never learned how to "power up."

A few years ago I was teaching under

a very difficult set of circumstances.

It was under these circumstances that

I learned the art of "powering up."

I was so afraid every day

and every day I went to the dark

gym and walked and prayed.

Every day God met me.

I had never in all my teaching days

experienced the hand of God

on my teaching to this extent.

I had never before seen so many of

my students come to Christ.

I had never before seen their

academic scores soar.

In my weakness God's strength

was made perfect!

As I look back over my troubles of those days

and the troubles that I continue to have,

I realize now that I am "powering up."

I am dying to self and being made alive unto God.

We are not here to live our dream;

We are here to live God's dream.

We can only do that by submitting ourselves

to God's will on a daily basis while asking

Him to control our lives and to live

His life through us.

None of us know what the future holds for us.

It could be sickness, loss of loved ones, or

it could be a 7.3 earthquake.

We need to be "powered up" by

reading the Word of God and

giving Him the control of our day.

MONITORING EARTHQUAKES

Weather and earthly phenomena have interested me for most of my life.

So, I have monitored the above page for a few years.

I have also been interested in what the Bible says about them.

This morning I spent some time thinking on Luke 21:11.

It says,

"And there will be GREAT earthquakes in various places,

famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful

sights and great signs from heaven."

I have found that there are hundreds of earthquakes

every day, but not everyday do we have a

GREAT ONE!

The scientists had warned about the possible

BIG one for Haiti.  There are five more places

they are warning us about.

Los Angeles

Tokyo

Seattle

Indonesia

Japan.

We will never wake up to a forecast of

"Tomorrow it will be cloudy with a chance

of a 7.3 earthquake."

Of course, earthquakes cannot be predicted.

One could happen in Memphis or another

city any day.

Preparedness is always good.

1. Move out of California.

2. If you choose to stay,

 be ready to meet your maker.

3. Carry a cell phone.

4. Live under a table.

Just sayin.....

The Bible says that they WILL come......

THE BIG ONES!

Count on it and live like it!

Give and pray for the Haitians!

111,481 already dead.

THIS JUST IN FROM HEATHER

hey mom!

yes! world vision is in haiti--and doing relief work. my boss is there right now filming and uploading videos to us here in seattle. my coworker kyle just put this video together with some of our footage/photos and a song his buddy wrote after the earthquake:

UNBELIEVABLE

WITHOUT GOD

WITHOUT GOD our week would be:

Sinday,

Mournday,

Tearsday,

Wasteday,

Thirstday,

Fightday,

Shatterday,

Seven days without God - Makes one WEAK!

WHITEBOARD 2010

Ben flew over our house today to

meet with this man.

WHITEBOARD

which is our son, Ben's,

conference for pastors and worship leaders

will be May 21, 2010.

One of his speakers will be
DR. JAMES MCDONALD.

I listen to him every day.

He is a gifted communicator.

I always drop my dish cloth and listen

when he says,

"Hey, Hey, Hey!"

I know he is going to say something

that is important to remember.

THE LINES WERE FULL

The Twitter lines were too full, and I couldn't Twitter

early this morning.  The 6.1 earthquake in Haiti has

everyone rattled.  Prayers for all those who are helping
and for those who are on their way to help the Haitians!

On our walk yesterday

Nancy and I saw this huge tree.

We thought a slice of it would make

a beautiful coffee table.

~~~~~~~

It is always good to pray for the people

of Haiti, but it is good to give too.

There are a lot of places to send some

money for their needs.

There are a lot of churches who

have ministries in Haiti.

Some ministries have been totally

destroyed, but check it out

and determine where God

would have you give.

We sent money to Samaritans Purse

Purse because we trust

Franklin Graham.

There are a lot of places to

give your money.

 Search it out and

Give!

A BEAUTIFUL WALK ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY

I ran lots of errands in the morning,

then in the afternoon

my neighbor and I went for a long walk off the

beaten path.  I had two cameras with me

so we were ready to see some unique

places to photograph.

We walked to the playground and

to Aaron Herr Farm.

We took lots of pictures while we

enjoyed looking around his huge home.

The above picture is to show you the

color palette they chose for this

very huge house.

I think it is beautiful.

My friend, Nicole, came over tonight

for coffee, ice cream and puzzles.

Nicole loves to do puzzles.

I bought these nine piece puzzles

thinking that I would be a

CHAMP!

It took Nicole two hours to solve hers.

I will be into tomorrow or maybe

till 2012 before I solve mine.

A PACKED SUNDAY

This has been a very busy Sunday.

After greeting from 9 till 10:30am,

we went to the auditorium for the main service.

The pastor had a great message in his series

about Noah. As I sat there taking notes,
and as he was telling how Noah had warned
the people for 100 years that
judgment was coming, and STILL
they would not listen,
I was thinking of the destruction
of Haiti.  I also thought about the
warnings to many cities in our world
about similar earthquakes that are sure to come.
Then I thought about the warning about
the Lord's return.  How many years
have we been warned that judgment is coming?
We would be silly to wait and not make
sure our judgment has been paid.

We had two couples over for Sunday dinner.

Today I decided to served ham loaf,

scalloped potatoes, green beans and

fresh corn.  They brought the dessert

and salad.  It was easy peasy!

We visited together in the afternoon

then went back to church at 6 PM

for a very important business meeting.

It has been a fast moving day, but

we had a  lot of fun and good
fellowship.

A PACKED SATURDAY

Today was the deadline for taking advantage

of the discount gasoline.  We got $.40 off a gallon

so we had to wait for about an hour to fill up.

If we didn't need gas before this line,

we did after waiting so long.  =)

We finished putting up the last panel of Beadboard

in the downstairs room this morning.

That was our big goal for today.

At about 2 PM we went for lunch at Country Table Restaurant.

This is a picture of the wall that we sat beside.

We both got Lemon Pepper Halibut and

it was YUM!

I am so sorry that I didn't think

to take a picture of the computer screen,

but after we arrived home,

the phone rang and it was BEN!

He had the boys lined up and

ready to talk on the webcam.

I think that the biggest talker was CODY.

Ben put him in front of the camera

and when we talked to him

he had the biggest smile.

He tried to grab at us and

communicated the best he could.

He is six months old.

He is such a sweet baby!

DYLAN, who never talks,

wasn't going to talk this time.

However, we told him that if

he didn't, we were going to chase

him and tickle him.

Well, that brought him out of his shyness!

He told us in plain words that we could not do that!

Of course, we assured him that we would.

He loved the banter so he got his face

right up to the camera and enjoyed

talking to us.

WYATT, got into the silliness too,

but settled down and told us

that he was loving the wii and

that he had gone to a birthday

party last night in his pajamas!

We loved talking to all of them.

The boys are getting so big!

I also enjoyed reading all the

comments on the last post.

I am truly blessed to have people

who think enough of me to read

about my journey in life.

THANK YOU ALL VERY

MUCH! 

If a tree falls in the forest

and no one is there to hear it,

does it make any sound?

If a man makes a decision

and his wife isn't there,

is he still wrong?

If a blogger writes

and no one reads,

is it really a blog?

YOU ARE MY BESTEST FRIENDS!

Have a great SUNDAY!

DELURKING WEEK

This week is Delurking Week on the Blogs,

Don't be a stranger.

I've met some of the nicest people through

blogging and I'd love to meet you too.

If you visit here, please leave a message

so I can visit with you.  If you do not have

a blog, it doesn't matter.  I can still reply

to your comments.  If you do not have a blog

just click on anonymous then sign your name.

I love knowing that Mari, Kat, Jean and

many others are reading my blog.  In a sense,

I meet with them every day.  It is so much fun!

Join in with the conversation.

I am on Facebook too so if you are there,

give me an invitation.  Let's chat!

Come on out so we can be FRIENDS!

MY GET UP AND GO, GOT UP AND WENT!

I am really tired today.

My heart pounded so badly last night that I had to

sit up the entire night.  I now know why it is acting

this way.  I quit taking my cholerestrol medicine

for five days.  I took one last night and within

ten minutes, my heart started to beat very hard.

At least now I know what the problem is.

Then, if that wasn't enough,

two moving vans appeared in front of our house

and our neighbor's house.  We have talked to

them quite a bit, and they never mentioned

about moving.  I am thinking it was a quick decision.

I am so sad that I can hardly do my work.

My house is a wreck and I have no desire

to do anything about it.

So, I called up my friends from church and

planned for them to come to dinner on

Sunday.  They are the kind of friends

that don't mind eating off my everyday dishes.

I LOVE THEM!

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN

I have been too busy to cook so I put chicken thighs

in the slow cooker with a can of

undeluted Golden Mushroom Soup.

The results are fantastic!

Chad puts his chicken in the microwave for 20 minutes

then puts "heaven only knows" on it

to make it "hot and spicey!"

A LETTER FROM WYATT

Our oldest grandson, Wyatt, sent us a

nice Thank You note.

We LOVE this kid!

It really warmed our hearts to hear from him

in writing.  This note will be hanging on

my refrigerator for a while.