Back again…

You know those days (or weeks, or months) when time seems to speed by and you forget about or are too busy for non-essential activities (like writing blog posts)? I’ve been in one of those seasons it feels for quite a while. My life has been full of lots of excitement and surprises over the last few months. But I’m back, at least for right now.

Our Livie is 14 months old now. I can’t believe our baby is becoming so grown up. She can walk, but is very choosy about when she does. She has an ever growing vocabulary and is constantly keeping us on our toes and entertained. Livie is handling being weaned much better than I thought she would and hopefully she will be completely weaned by the end of the month. It has been a very sweet time for us nursing, but it’s time move on.

Why? Because….

Yep, our little family is growing again! Peanut is expected at the end of January. At the end of this month we should find out if we are getting another Princess or if Daddy is getting his Hunting Buddy. This baby was *quite* a surprise, but we are so excited about it. I never thought I’d have two under the age of two!

Morning sickness with a tiny toddler was a challenge I wasn’t looking forward to, but I survived. In the midst of it we dealt with a nightmarish stomach virus (Jacob and I) and Livie has been battling terrible sinus drainage. Thankfully we had help and made it through. It is times like these that make me realize just how much I need the Lord’s help, and make me call out to Him even more.

Now I’m trying to get back into a routine. I didn’t cook much at all during those crazy weeks of morning sickness and everything else so I’ve been trying to cook and eat at home more. I’ve really had trouble getting back on my feet this time. Our little Tornado makes housekeeping a challenge, to say the least. Some days I’m just thankful that my husband has clean clothes for work the next day.

I’m getting there, and with the Lord’s help, things will even out soon ;)

And here we are in 2013!

      The holidays are over and we are getting back into a more normal routine. My husband went back to work yesterday and after having him all to myself for two 4-day weekends in a row, I’m feeling a little lost and not sure what to do with myself.

   I’ve been busy decorating and put up curtains last week with Jacob’s help. We’ve been married almost two years and I finally hung our first set of curtains. When we lived in the apartment I never found anything I liked (pre-made curtains or fabric) so I just didn’t do curtains. In our new house however, that would not be acceptable. I finally found some that I liked at Hobby Lobby for the living room and I’m working on one room at a time.

I still need to get some sheer panels to go behind the curtains and you can see the Christmas tree, bare and waiting to be taken down, on the left side ;)

While I’ve been getting “my spaces” how I want them, Jacob has been doing the same with his domain—the garage. He took advantage of the four day weekends he had during the holidays to work in his garage and build a work bench. I took a few photos, but didn’t get one of the end result.

The first thing he did was build a work bench. He enjoyed himself so much that he didn’t come to bed until the wee hours of the morning.

He finally has a place to do all of the carpentry projects he’s been missing the last two years. I’m hoping for some bookshelves now ;)

In baby news: Morning sickness hasn’t reared its ugly head in almost a month. Thank the Lord for helping me to survive until the second trimester! I was able to enjoy the holidays to the fullest. I am enjoying getting things done again, though I do tire easily and have to take breaks often.

Three weeks ago I felt the first little kick and everyday since then, Little Bit has been letting me know that it’s really in there! It is a very active little person with it’s favorite playtime hours being right when I’m trying to go to sleep. Jacob still hasn’t felt the baby kick yet but hopefully he will soon.

In a few weeks we’ll find out if our firstborn is a boy or girl. I can’t wait to find out so we can stop calling the baby “It” and start calling it by its name. Despite the many predictions that I would have twins, there is only one baby in there ;) I’ve seen for myself.

The 14 1/2 week bump photo. Jacob caught me off guard and talking. We were on yet another trip to Lowe’s for stuff for the garage.

This year is going to be our biggest yet and full of changes. I can’t wait to see what all the Lord has in store for 2013!

A much more chipper update

I realized how very depressing and blue my last post was and I apologize! I will try to make up for it with this post.  I always want to honest in what I write however, and I don’t want to give the impression that the world is always rosy and perfect. I’m very human and constantly need the Lord’s strength. Thank you to everyone who commented and left words of encouragement for me—they were a great blessing, I promise!

We’ve been busy and got a lot of things accomplished over the weekend, in spite of my husband having to work extra hours (even on Saturday, which is rare). Over time is welcomed at this time of year though, and especially with the baby on the way.

I’ve had several good days recently and was able to feel more like myself and enjoy my new kitchen. Jacob enjoyed that greatly as it meant meals more like he was used to before first trimester sickness set in. I’ll be 12 weeks along tomorrow, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my most favorite things about being pregnant so far has been the reaction from all the little people in my life. My sisters are beside themselves with excitement about being aunts and my little darlings at church are just about as excited. One of my little sweethearts, Mallorie, aged barely 4, when I told her that I was going to have a baby looked at my belly and said, “Well, it must be really tiny right now ‘cause you don’t have a belly at all. When Cayla (her cousin) was expecting Presley her belly was so big she didn’t have a lap!”

Jacob  worked in his garage for several hours Saturday and there are only a very few boxes left out there now. They are all in the house, but they are in the rooms where they belong, making it much easier for me to empty them now. He also set up his desk and arranged everything how he wanted it. We put his desk in the breakfast nook in the kitchen so we can visit while he works and I cook. I love it ;)

Ever the bookworm, my heart soared with joy as I unpacked my library and put it on the bookshelf. I felt like I was seeing old friends again after a long separation. It made me really want to read, but I am trying to exercise self-control and not start a book until I get more unpacking finished. I have a tendency to get lost in a book and let everything else go and we can’t have that right now!  I’m hoping for a bigger shelf for Christmas—I have too many books for the medium-sized one I have now. There are still three boxes of books that need to be unpacked.

 

Our post-Thanksgiving deerlease trip was a success, as you can see from the photo above. We are cutting up the deer Jacob shot, getting it ready to be ground into hamburger meat.  My father-in-law helped us and that really sped things up. Notice Jacob’s very comfortable camo t-shirt I’m wearing? ;) Something tells me I’ll be borrowing his shirts a lot in the future for around the house.

Last year we ground an entire doe into hamburger meat and it lasted us almost a year. We’ll do the same with this deer, and as it was bigger, hopefully it will last a full year.  It really helps out with the grocery bill when you have your own meat ;)

It’s almost time for Christmas—the tree is up, and it is 80 degrees outside. Welcome to Texas. We are hoping for a cool front in time for Christmas, but we shall see. In honor of our unseasonably warm weather, I thought I’d share the following song with y’all:

Tiny Packages

It has been said that the best gifts come in tiny packages—engagement rings, house keys, etc. The quality of the gift is not in the size or quantity. Tiny packages often hold the biggest surprises and change your life the most.

Next June we will be welcoming a tiny gift into our home and our names will change to Mama and Daddy. Glory to God!

Rehoboth, or How the Lord Blessed us with our House

Genesis 26:22
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

  The Lord carefully orchestrates and orders the lives and steps of those who love Him and strive to serve Him completely. His timing truly is perfect and He has ways of preparing us for the next level and season. Jacob and I have seen this continually in our almost two years of marriage.  In our quest for a house, He continually placed people in our path to help us and share their wisdom.

  For most of this year we have been talking about and desiring a home of our own. Our little apartment had fulfilled its purpose by providing us with a place to live after we were married, but it seemed to grow smaller everyday. It was time for more room. My sewing business alone had caused us to outgrow the apartment.

Last July we began tentatively looking at houses. We never actually scheduled any viewings a realtor, we just looked at houses online and a drove by one or two of them. We were more than a little overwhelmed at the prices of most of the houses. We didn’t want the Taj Mahal, we just wanted a little starter home.

  We discussed getting a larger apartment for the time being. We really needed the breathing room and more storage space. We contacted the apartment manager and she said just to let her know when we were ready and she would set everything up. We were going to have more room one way or another.

  The very next day at church, Bro. Bobby (one of my husband’s mentors growing up) came to him and told him about a house that had become available to buy. Bro. Bobby buys houses, fixes them up and sells them. Jacob has helped him with a few houses before and had asked Bro. Bobby before we were married if he would keep a look out for us a house that we could buy cheaply  and fix up.

  We went with Bro. Bobby after church to look at the house and we liked it. It needed a lot of work to get it how we wanted it, but we were excited and went into it expecting to do a lot. After we looked at it, he encouraged us to get pre-approved for a loan, so that even if this house didn’t work out, we wouldn’t have to start from square one again.

It just so happens that we have a home mortgage manager in our church and he offered to help us through the process and handle everything for us. We decided to go with an FHA renovation loan since the house needed so much work.

And so the fun began! We started looking at flooring, paint, trim, you-name-it. We wanted something that looked like wood for the floor in most of the house and found some nice laminate that was just what we had in mind.  I was finally going to get to paint my kitchen yellow and was thrilled because I’d found some antique-looking cast iron knobs and drawer pulls that looked just like my great-grandmother’s.  Jacob was going to build me a clothesline in the backyard so I could  start hanging out laundry again.

   After we started the loan approval process and were approved, our mortgage company sent us a contract for the house. We read through it and were very confused by most of it. We didn’t know what options we needed or even what most of it meant. We were suddenly very overwhelmed.

    Once again, the Lord provided the help we needed from another one of our church family. There is a lady in our church who is a realtor, in addition to buying houses, fixing them up and turning them into rental property with her husband. Jacob called her and asked if she could go through the contract with us and explain and show us what would best to do. She was happy to and was a great blessing to us. She further went on and offered to come look over the house with us. With she and her husband’s experience in buying houses, she had a good idea of what would and would not pass an inspection for the loan we were getting. Needless to say, we welcomed the help.

     A few days later she went with us and looked at the house. After a lengthy inspection, she told us that she didn’t think the foundation would pass muster, as it was cracked, and that most banks will not approve financing for a house with a damaged foundation. We knew it was cracked, but had planned fixing it as part of the renovations. We didn’t realize it would have to be fixed beforehand. The individual we’d be buying the house from was not willing to repair before it was sold.

  As we were leaving with slightly heavy hearts, she offered to take us by some property she and her husband owned that was almost ready to rent. She said that if we were interested, they would probably sell it to us. She went on to tell us some of the things they just done to the house, such as repairing the foundation and putting a brand new A/C unit in it.

     We figured it couldn’t hurt to go look so we followed her to house. On the way there Jacob and I talked about that at least now we were pre-approved and could go house-shopping. We decided that the first house—although it was a disappointment—was the Lord giving us the nudge we needed to get everything started.

  We arrived at the new house, walked in the front door and fell in love. Throughout the house were the original oak floors—they were gorgeous! We walked into the kitchen and were shocked by what we saw. They had just painted the walls yellow and the cabinets had the antique knobs and hinges that I’d wanted. Then, we looked out of the kitchen window into the nice-sized backyard and there stood a clothesline. Clotheslines are a rare find these days, especially in the city.

The living room was painted almost the exact color we’d picked out and many other details confirmed to us that this was going to be our home. Things that we had wanted to do in the first house were already completed in the second. We have stood back in awe at how the Lord has worked everything out for us.

We had to wait almost three months to begin closing as the house’s title needed to season, but we had that long to prepare and get the rest of the down payment together.

We love our new home! We have been in it almost a week and even though there are still boxes everywhere, it is already home to us. As I get more decorating done I’ll share pictures. The walls are pretty bare right now, as I was sick while we were moving and it is taking a little while to get my feet back under me.

Enjoying cooking the first meal in the new kitchen ;)Thanks to Jacob for the photo.

All things truly do work together for the good of those that love Him! (Romans 8:28)

Something big is in the works….

…please say a prayer for us. An opportunity on house has been presented to us and we are praying for the Lord’s will. Our little apartment has served our needs thus far but it is time for more space. My local sewing business has grown to the point that I need a room just for sewing and this country girl needs a yard!

So far everything is looking favorable, but we want the Lord’s will above all else.

Thank you friends! I promise an update soon ;)

Bluebonnets and Bittersweet Goodbyes

This morning I’m going to say goodbye to a very dear old neighbor and friend. She is moving several hours away to live with her daughter. For the first time in my entire life, Mrs. Davey will not be “on the Hill” (as we like to call the area where she and my parents live).
My parents have lived next door and across the street from Mrs. Davey and her late husband for nearly 27 years. She is like a grandmother to me and there are few memories from my childhood that do not include her. She was specially escorted in and seated with the grandmothers at my wedding. She is like family to us.
  She has been the ideal example of a Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 lady to my mother and I throughout the years. She taught by example how to be a good neighbor. When someone is sick, you cook and take a meal to them. When you are going to the store, you call your neighbor and ask if there is anything she needs while you are out.  When your garden produces more that you need (even if it doesn’t) you call your neighbor and share. When your neighbor is in the hospital or at the hospital with someone, you check with them to see if gardens need watering or stock needs feeding.
She taught me to crochet, and taught me much about sewing and crafting.
One of the things that sparked the friendship between Mrs. Davey and my mother was actually me ;). When I was a wee little thing—under a year old—Mom was about to mow the yard. She was on the riding lawn mower and had me in the her lap. Mrs. Davey saw all this and came over and offered to watch me while Mom mowed. That’s just what neighbors do.
Mrs. Davey is a flower gardener extraordinaire. Her potted plants thrive! Her yard is always full of fragrant blossoms and bushes. Love of flowers is something else that we have in common. There is a grassy hillside on her property beside the highway and when I was around 5 or 6 years old, Mrs. Davey decided to plant bluebonnets, our state flower, on the hill. Bluebonnets can be difficult to get started, the seeds are finicky and you have to be careful to mow where they are planted at the right time, etc. Mrs. Davey had one plant come up and bloom. That was her hope for a blue hillside the next year, unbeknown to five year old me. One afternoon while Mama and Mrs. Davey were drinking coffee, my brother and I were outside playing. Me, ever the flower enthusiast even at that young age, spied a blue flower in the pasture. I knew that Mrs. Davey loved flowers, so I had to share this one with her. It wasn’t as easy to pick as I thought it would be—bluebonnets have tough stems!
I finally plucked the flower and proudly carried it in the house to give to Mrs. Davey. I’m sure her face fell when she saw her hope for a blue hillside in my hands, but I don’t remember. I do remember that she thanked me for the flower and placed it in water, but also gave me a firm, but gentle reminder to ask before picking next time. She explained to me that some flowers—like bluebonnets—were hard to grow and get started. To this day, every time I see a bluebonnet I think of Mrs. Davey and her patience with little me.
Mrs. Davey and her husband Dock were married for 61 years when he passed away. She was a wonderful example of a wife and helpmeet. She kept him at home and cared for him until the very end. She never had anything but praise for him.
Today I’m going to go and say goodbye for a little while, hopefully not for the last time though. Even though I don’t see her very often, just know that she isn’t on the Hill makes me miss her more.   Mrs. Davey is in her eighties and her health is fading. She is moving in with her daughter and I know that now, after years of taking care of others, she will be pampered and taken care of very well. As sad as I am that she is going, I am so glad that she will be in such good hands.
I am so thankful for the Godly influence this lady has had on my life.

Home again, home again!

Friday afternoon we moved back home! Can you tell I’m excited? We are back to our little first home, though it resembles a storage room right now. There are still scores of boxes and suitcases to be unpacked and put away. It’s so good to be home and surrounded by my own things. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed being here until we returned.

As a result of all of the busy-ness going on around here the Sewing Bee post may be a little late getting up tomorrow.

Hurray, we’re home!

Mid-December Thoughts

Joy and contentment...those are my most pronounced emotions right now. I'm sitting in our living room admiring our Christmas tree and basking in it's glow, and thanking the Lord for His love and sacrifice for me.
  It's raining pretty hard outside and the sound is so soothing. My Jacob is fast asleep and I'm enjoying a cup of tea and thinking about our first month away from our home. It has flown by much quicker than I anticipated and I am so much happier than I thought I would be while we were here.
  I wasn't too sure about how well I would do, being so far away from our family and church and friends. The last time we were here on business, it was only for a week, but I was miserable. In fact, I wanted to cry when I learned that they were sending us here again. I didn't want to have to travel for our first Christmas. The holidays can already be so hectic without adding travel on top of them. Although we won't have the laid-back first Christmas we both envisioned I think it will be our best we've ever had.
 This month also held my first birthday to spend away from my family and--for most of the day--alone. For a girl who had never been alone and was used to being surrounded by lots of siblings and family, I wasn't sure how well I would do. I admit, earlier during the weekend I had a little crying spell--I was really missing everyone. But, I had a wonderful day filled with love and birthday wishes from so many people and my day was topped off by a sweet date with my husband. I guess I'm really grown up now.

 My mom and sisters spent last weekend with me while Jacob was on a hunting trip with his dad. They brought me a birthday cake and Hannah and Lydia sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Even though they were a few days late, they still wanted to celebrate. We had such a good time while they were here.
 I am so thankful that of all the places we could have been sent for Jacob's job, we were sent to a city where we have friends. It has been such a blessing to be able to spend time with my friend Elizah and her three sweet children. We have enjoyed being with them so much--whether out for fun double dates with her and her husband Brian or just relaxing at their home and talking about the Lord. I would be so lonely here were it not for them.
 I am so thankful for my dear friends at home who regularly check on me or just let me know they are thinking about me and missing me. That helps me feel closer to home and not cut off and forsaken ;)  My mailbox has held several lovely surprises of late. One of my buddies from church sent me some delicious coffee and earlier this week there was a package of some lovely vintage patterns from my sweet friend Missy. :)
  The place I feared would feel like and exile has proven to be a resting place. A place to stop and ponder, regroup and prepare for the next stretch of the journey.  One thing that I think has helped me while I'm here is that I decided to try and enjoy being here and make the best of it. Yes, I get homesick at least 5 times a week, but I try very hard not to dwell on it. If I look at our time here as and adventure and not burden, it makes things much easier. I want to be content wherever I am. When you begin to do to that, it helps you to see the blessing in what you may feel like is a curse.

24 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 12

Busy, busy busy! That is me right now.

This week started off rather sorrowfully--my beloved sewing machine nearly gave up the ghost. I just knew she was mortally wounded and rushed her to the hospital. There is an elderly man in my hometown who works on sewing machines and is amazing with them. That's where I took the 'ole girl. He and his wife have been married almost 60 years and they are wonderful Christian people.
 He called me about an hour later and told me that the clutch assembly had gone out (I didn't even know my machine had a clutch!) and sadly, Singer had discontinued that line of parts. He was checking with some other suppliers to see if he could get a matching part for it. But it would probably take a little while to get the parts in. This was not good news, especially since we are about to move. I didn't want to be without a sewing machine for a few weeks.
 Thankfully, my Mom had a spare machine she had picked up at a yard sale about a month ago. It needed to be put back in time and needed a presser foot. She dropped it by the sewing machine shop the same day that I took mine. Mr. Williams went ahead and fixed Mom's machine so I would have one to take with me.
  Well, yesterday Mom and the girls came over and brought the machine to me. Mom decided to just give it to me! I was shocked and so excited. So I'm saved :) and have a machine to take to Waco.

This is what my home looks like right now--boxes everywhere. My poor coffee table is buried. I'm trying to get everything packed to leave. I've got multiple lists of things we can't forget scattered throughout the rooms. I don't really like moving :(

This is what helps me keep going ;) Thank the Lord for coffee!

Loneliness and Transitions

I've learned a lot in the last nine months about loneliness and transitions. When I married, I moved from the country to the city, from one way of life to another. I changed addresses, churches, and left almost everything that was familiar and "safe" to me. I grew up in a small farming community where everyone knew everyone, just about, and if they didn't know me they knew my father, or grandfathers. My family has been in that area for close to a century.
 Now I'm in a rather large city on the outskirts of a really large city. I barely know anyone. There is not that same feeling of security that I used to have.
  Not only has all of that been a big adjustment, probably the hardest thing was going from a loud, happy, busy house that was always full of family and friends and life to being alone in an apartment most of the time. It was rather jarring, really. Going from having seven to eight other people to talk to and be with every day, all day, to just me, alone all day, was a huge change.
 The first several months were the hardest. I missed my siblings, I missed my parents, I missed my church and I missed the country. Yes, I had Jacob, and he was the fulfillment of all of my hopes and prayers, but I still missed my family. When you are as close to your family as I was  ( and still am) it is not easy to leave them. My mom is my best friend and we were used to being together, cooking together, drinking coffee in the afternoons...it was harder than I thought to leave them. My heart ached for them.
 Many nights after Jacob would fall asleep, I would get up and go to livingroom so as not to wake him while I cried from homesickness.
 I missed my church. I had grown up there, and now felt uprooted and like a stranger in a different land. My new church was wonderful, and loved me to pieces and went out of their way to make me feel loved and at home, but it just wasn't the same. It's a large church, and for awhile I felt that I wasn't needed. I grew up in a small church and I was very involved. I played piano, taught Sunday School, and helped with whatever else needed doing. Now I felt useless.
 To be honest, I was close to despair a few times.
  I don't think I could have made it through the transition without Jacob and the Lord. Jacob was wonderful and so understanding and gentle with me through all of this. He took me home to see me family A LOT. It was every weekend for awhile. We visited my church a lot those first few months.
  Whenever I would cry for missing everyone, he would hold me and pray for me, asking the Lord to help me and comfort my heart. He prayed for me a lot during that time.
 That time of loneliness drew me closer to the Lord and closer to Jacob. I'm beginning to understand "leaving and cleaving" now. It hurts sometimes. But it is necessary for growth and maturity.
  Things are much better now, nine months later. I still miss my family, and it hurts that I am missing so much of their lives--like my baby sister Faith has started walking this week, and I wasn't there. Those things still hurt. But I've grown accustomed to being alone most of the time, and actually sometimes I crave it. :) I guess I'm turning into a hermit.
 My new church is now "home" to me. My feelings of not belonging are gone now and I am very happy.
  I didn't know what I was in for when I married and moved away. So I will share somethings I wish I'd been told in order to deal with transitions and loneliness:

• You are going to miss your family more than you can imagine.
•  It's OK to cry. Don't try to hold it in, just cry and don't worry about it. You'll feel better afterwards, trust me. Tears can be healing.
• Transitions and changes do not come easily or painlessly most of the time, but they are for our good.
• Even when it hurts so bad and we don't understand, God sees the bigger picture and holds all in His hands.
• It will get better. It may take a little while, but it will be better and your heart will stop aching as much. Just draw close to God and your husband and it will all work out.

Encourage One Another Link Up

Just call me Smokey the Homemaker

Last Thursday I decided to make gumbo for supper. To some, gumbo in hot weather is unthinkable but I had to have some. I didn't really want the smoky, burnt smell that roux leaves in your house afterwards, especially since it is very hard to get fried smells gone from our apartment, so I bought some Tony Chachere roux mix. (It was great by the way, and it has no MSG or other things like that.) So, hurrah! no burned smell that will take days to disappear.

Or so I thought....
  Supper was delicious, and we decided to always use the roux mix. About halfway through, we realized I'd forgotten to put okra in it. Jacob loves okra in gumbo and I'd bought some especially for him. No problem, I'd just put some in and let it simmer on low and we could eat more later. (It is impossible to make a small pot of gumbo.) So I did.

  We had some errands to run after supper and we looking forward to more gumbo when we got home.

 When we were almost home--nearly four hours later--I realized that I had left the burner on under the gumbo!!!!!!!!! I had completely forgotten that I had turned the stove back on and so had Jacob.

 I expected fire trucks to be in front of our apartment when we got home but there were none. There WAS a smoky smell we could smell when we got out of our truck.

  We unlocked and opened our door and smoke billowed out. I ran to the stove, grabbed the pot and headed to the porch with it. There was smoke everywhere. We opened every door and window and turned on all the fans. It was awful.

I began cleaning and mopping and dusting, doing anything I could think of to try and lessen the smoke smell. Thankfully my wonderful in-laws showed up with box fans, carpet powder and Febreeze and we were able to make it til the next morning.

 Needless to say, all of our furniture is saturated with the smoke smell, not to mention our clothing, bedding, pillows, carpet--everything! 

 First thing Friday morning I went to the store and bought all kinds of smell-good stuff. I'm sure the cashier was amused at the wide array of candles and air fresheners that I had in my basket.

 I have never had anything quite this big and challenging to tackle before and I must admit when I woke up Friday I just wanted to cry and go home to Mama. I felt (and still do to a degree) so overwhelmed. If we were in the country, or had a yard, I would simply take everything outside and let it air in the sunshine. Mattress, sofa, recliner, etc. I did take our pillows onto the porch and some of our blankets and let them air.

 All this was made worse by the fact that we were leaving Friday evening for a mini-vacation to our deerlease with Jacob's parents. I had planned to spend Friday packing and preparing to leave. Now I had to re-wash everything that we were planning on taking with us. That meant towels, clothing, and bedding. Our suitcases were smokey. Everything was smokey and our home was a disaster area.

 It was good that we were able to get away from the smoke for a few days. We needed to get away anyway and the smoke incident made us appreciate our trip even more. Retail therapy (shopping!) helped quite a bit :)

 Everything is still smoky, and I have been cleaning ever since we got home. It's getting better, but I think a lot of it is that I'm just getting used it. :( Someone is going to lend us an air purifier so that should help and I'm going to send several of Jacob's suits to dry cleaner's this week and the rest next week.

  What I have I learned from this little ordeal? ALWAYS check the stove before you leave. Even if you know it's off, look again. And just because you use roux mix doesn't mean you won't have to deal with a smokey house.

 We are so thankful that the Lord protected our home and it was only smoke and not fire we are having to clean up after. We don't know why the smoke detector didn't go off, and I'm going to check the batteries today.

 So, if you have any suggestions on how to combat smoke smell, please, please, please, comment and share them with me.

Mellowing out….(rambles alert!)

It’s funny how much people can change over just a few years. Periodically I go through old things I’ve written and it always is amusing to see how my opinions on certain things change. Most of the time it’s things that I’ve never done or experienced, but I have an idea set in my mind just how it should happen and how I’ll react and handle it when it does come. I’m learning more everyday just how idealistic and at times, silly I was when I was younger. You never know how you will handle something until it happens. You may have ideas about it, but you can’t know until that moment.
I think that my 16 year old self would be very surprised and maybe even shocked at me today. I am much more laid back about some things than I ever thought possible for me. I’m afraid I was almost an extremist (!) on some issues in my younger days. Now I can see that some of that narrow-mindedness was just from lack of experience. Maybe as I have grown older I’ve seen that some things aren’t as black and white as I thought. The further I go, the more I’m learning that you can’t stick to a set of rules and a formula and expect everything to come out how you want it. Life is not like a cake mix. Every person/family is different and how the Lord works in their lives differs and the convictions and lifestyles He calls them to differ.
On the other hand however, as I have grown and matured, my convictions and views on some areas have only grown stronger and more deep. My views on marriage and the relationship between a husband and wife have only strengthened. My opinions on children and how I would like them to be trained and educated (I don’t have any yet so I can’t know for sure ;) ) haven’t waivered but have only grown in strength.
Yes, I want to impact the world for Christ and take dominion, but right now my focus is just my little world—how can I make our home a peaceful, restful sanctuary, and how can I be a blessing to our church and family? I don’t really have much of a vision past that right now. My hands are pretty full with just that.
At the same time, while I have let some things go and held on to others, I don’t judge or look down on people who might be considered ‘in bondage’ to things I don’t feel are completely necessary. One thing I’m learning is that we don’t know all of the details or every side of the story. We may not understand why people would consider some things necessary, but we don’t know every side to the story.
I’m going to bring this rather rambling post to a close and go check on my cinnamon swirl bread. (I’ll share the recipe soon!)

What will my home be like?

These are just a few of my very rambling thoughts on a subject I've been pondering the last few days. Hopefully you can make heads or tails of it. :)

My parent's home is a very lively, happy, busy, noisy, vibrant and creative place. It is full to the brim with love and energy and grace. When I was still at home we were always trying new things, reading books, discussing and sharing what we were learning, learning new music and working together. Some of us love to write and enjoy editing film for short movies. My parents let us be ourselves and encouraged us to try new things and learn as many skills as we could. As a result, there was always some thing new going on and something happening.
 My parents view hospitality as an outreach to others and as a result, there are always people in and out of their home. They are excited about life, their family and the Lord, and is infectious. There is rarely a dull moment there.
  It was a very exciting place to grow up. You never knew what would happen next. There is always some plan or project (or two or three) in the works.
  That is the lively atmosphere I grew up in. Now I have my own home, and while we don't have children yet, I want that same, happy, vibrant atmosphere in our home. I'm a bit overwhelmed, as I don't know how they did it. I always took it for granted until I grew older and realized that not all homes were like ours.

He makes all Things New

My favorite picture from the wedding! Maybe that is why I keep using it in my blog posts :)

5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

~Revelation 21:5 (KJV)

It has always been amazing to me how the Lord allows our earthly human relationships to reflect His relationship with us. It gives us context and helps us learn and better understand His love for us. Before I was married I learned volumes about His love for me as my Heavenly Father from my earthly father.

Now that I have entered a new season of life I'm learning about another aspect of His love. I am beginning to see Jesus' love as the Bridegroom.

Everything in my life right now is new. New dishes, a new address, new towels, a new church and a new last name. My priorities have changed, as has my lifestyle. Marriage has completely changed my world and the way I live.

As I did when I was still in my father's house, I can see things that remind me of the Lord. I have a new perspective now and my husband and his love for me remind me greatly of the Bridegroom and how things change when you become His.

When you fall in love with Jesus and make a commitment to Him, you get a new name. You get a new life and a new set of priorities. Everything is new--a new heart, a new attitude.

Your life changes and with that new life comes a new set of challenges and tests. You'll be asked to move in areas that require you to leave your comfort zone.

I never dreamed my new married life would be so wonderful and full. I also never dreamed how trying some of the changes and transitions would be. It is scary to leave the safety of everything you've ever known and enter a new season.

But I haven't been alone. My husband has been patient, kind, tender and so loving to me. He has given me direction, encouragement and comfort on days when the changes hurt the most and I couldn't understand. He has loved me and made sure that my needs are met first and that I feel safe.

Just like our Bridegroom. He draws us close and comforts us; He provides for our needs and gives us direction. He is gentle and patient with us as we start our new life.

We are safe with Him.

Chickens under my Sink

I never really thought I would leave the country for the city. I've always been a country girl who couldn't imagine living in the city (shudder shudder!)
Now I'm a bride of two and a half months who has left the farm and is living in an apartment in a big city. It has been an adjustment and is almost completely different from the way of life I had during my growing up years.
My little sisters are still having trouble imagining me in another environment. One day shortly before I was married my mom and sisters were over at the apartment with me and Hannah (age 4) posed the following question:
"Bec, where are you gonna keep your chickens?"
"Well, I'm not going to have chickens while I live in the city sweetheart."
She gave me an incredulous look. "Then WHO are you gonna feed your table scraps to?"
"Well,I'll either put them in the trash or in the garbage disposal."
This brought a blank look from the four-year-old. I started trying to explain a garbage disposal in terms a four-year-old could comprehend. More blank stares from Hannah. Finally I said, "It's like having chickens under my sink."
This statement made her eyes grow very large and her mouth drop open. I just changed the subject. I could just imagine Hannah telling our little cousins that Bec had CHICKENS under her sink.
A few weeks after the wedding, Mom and the girls came to see me. The girls were very curious about everything in our apartment and I told them that they could "meddle" so long as they didn't drag anything out. Hannah was contentedly going through my kitchen cabinets and had come to the doors under the sink.
Just as she was about to open the cabinet under the sink, my mom rather facetiously said, "Don't let Bec's chickens out!"
Hannah pulled her had back as if she had been bitten by a snake, her eyes as big as saucers.
Finally to prove to Hannah and Lydia (age 2) that there were not chickens under my sink, I eventually had to let them sit on the kitchen counter and let them "feed" pizza crust to the sink.
They finally believed me, but later I saw them looking under the sink again, just to make sure.