More house pics..

Top is my "retro" kitchen. I have replaced the turquoise paint (on the wall) with gray and the cupboards will be painted a darker gray. We still need to finish sanding the cupboards on the right side of the kitchen (there were 4 coats of paint on them!) and put down the wood floor.

Middle picture is the upstairs bedroom. It is so cute with a nice wood floor and 3 little cubby closets. Julia, Alicia & Katie will share.

Below is the living room window on the left side of the house (when facing). There are peonies planted everywhere. I have since planted a row of mums in front of the now trimmed back peonies.

Our cottage..

Life and the Vine

Life has been especially busy. We finished a week of school and have been working on the new house. It is an exciting time but tiring. Some days, I feel like I cannot rise early enough to get it all done.

I have been pondering John 15:5 lately
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.


In essence, we must be careful with the things that take up our time. They may seem good to us and good to the world, but if they are apart from the Lord, they amount to nothing. I am trying to listen to Him in this respect. It is easy when it comes to certain things, but others not so much. We can get so burdened in life with activities and busy work and God doesn't mean that to happen. Foremost, He desires a relationship with us. There is such peace when we take the time for Him and rest in Him. All the worries of the world fade away.

House fun...

Scraping, scrubbing, grinding, sanding, painting, trimming, mowing, buying, loading, unloading....all in a days work (when one buys a house built in the 1920's!).

Ugggg

Difficulties right now...prayers please!

On a positive note, we are closing on Friday and will start working on the house this weekend.

Great post on Waiting...

Books and Bairns

Offer accepted!!!

Hooray! Our offer was accepted on the house and now we are waiting on the bank to sign closing papers!!! Soon we will be the owners of a new house:)

Zoo pics..

Another great post..

from Large Family Mothering about Homeschooling.

The pets (taken by Carlina)

1. Jacob Ruffian, our 1/2 bulldog, 1/2 Australian shepherd 3 year old watchdog...we have had him for a year now. He is a great family dog, just doesn't like anyone else.
2.Remy Jones-1 year old kitten adopted from family...he has the best personality ever.
3. Kumquat-adopted from a shelter in Florida in 2006, has adapted to being an Iowa kitty.
4. Montie-was a tiny sick kitten when my son found her outside an abandoned building near our business in Florida. Heavily infested with fleas, we didn't think she would make it. She is a very grumpy lady who spends all her time upstairs. She has also adapted to being an Iowa kitty by never, ever going outside.

Severe storm last night...

August 23

That is our official first day of school!! I (for one) am very excited...I am not sure about the kids yet. They are really enjoying their summer. We are having a heat wave and they are relishing the last few weeks at the city pool.

Regarding Home Schooling....check out IndoctriNation:Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America.

New house?

Isn't it cute? We are praying that if it is meant to be, things will move forward. Would appreciate your prayers in this, too!!!

Train fever!

Garrett is so thrilled to be the owner of a new model train! He has been having a blast with it. Trains have been Garrett's passion since he was a baby; the fever has not died down a bit. It helps to have a Daddy that drives locomotives at work:) He doesn't get to go to work and see it, but he loves to hear the stories.