What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Going Visiting



Good friends make life so pleasant and I've recently found a few more.

It started with a free bed on the side of the road which I happily and thankfully snatched up.

I returned with a strawberry rhubarb crisp in order to thank them for their kindness (and, just because, I included an invite to the book exchange.)

Turns out, we have quite a lot in common.

Thus, a friendship was born.




They have just the sweetest girls. I can always tell the quality of the parents by the quality of their teens.

We enjoyed a wonderfully fun day at their house, admiring gardens (and BEAUTIFUL garlic-just LOOK!),






exploring, laughing, wading, sheep petting, admiring, and getting to know one another.




By the end, we were happily exhausted.

It was a GOOD day.

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I want sheep!!!



They had sheep



and a horse



and a homemade cable car. How COOL is that??!



And now...I have sheep and cable-car lust.
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Don't freak out...



Ever see a cicada molting??



Maybe these photo are gross to some, but considering cicadas have a 17 year life-cycle and the "birth" lasts but a moment, I considered the opportunity to witness it to be a real, once-in-a-lifetime treat. The children, too, were thrilled.

How can you not be mystified at such a thing?

Just as I was with our Monarch, I am amazed at the smallness of the wings and how they stretch right before your eyes (but without your notice).



For those interested: you can see the whole molting process here. It is fascinating.
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The Father of All



We discovered (and caught) something....

very fast.

very slimy.

and VERY VERY big.



The captured had to endure a very embarrassing once (twice, thrice) look-over.

Everyone needed a turn holding and admiring him, much to his chagrin.



But just LOOK at him! Mammoth! The KING of all pollywogs!!

Our old pollywog pond , though well attended, never housed anyone so magestic.



But really, he is just a baby~because he doesn't even have his front legs yet!

What a find!

(Disclaimer: No pollywogs were harmed in the making of this post.)
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Sans Falls

Lots of fun days to enjoy these balmy summer months.

After church one Sunday, we went to a local State Park and Waterfalls.


These are the photos from that day, minus the waterfalls, which I didn't get a single picture of. Oddly enough



I guess baby peach fuzz backlit by sunshine was more impressive to me that day????

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Monday, July 27, 2009

With Gratitude

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

And so I gather with heart overflowing, instead of basket, gratitude and join it with others that His name be exalted. He is here.

Here in the midst of us.

holy experience


1,000 gifts, so easily reached.

Some people already in the hundreds, some well past the original 1,000 gifts....and little me, always a little bit late, just starting out at measly one. But everyone must begin in the beginning, ain't so?

I begin my gift list where my day began...in the garden. There in my little Eden, gifts abound.




1 ::A single bloom, turned overnight into a magnificent bunch.

2 :: Excited shouts and exclamations "A SQUASH! A SQUASH!" with chubby fingers pointed. There have been gardens in his life before, but at only three, each new one is like the first. May it be so with me also.



3 :: Promises for the future



4 :: Gathering baskets aplenty. AND

5:: A girl who loves the one that Mama painted best of all. (And wearing them on her head.)



6 ::
weekly rain showers to do the watering for me most days



but on those hot, dry days that the rain hides, there is nothing like...

7 :: Watering children. (and plants)



8:: The hose, modern day Jack and Jill. It wasn't long ago I was watering with buckets~I will not forgot how much of a blessing it is to have.

9:: Holding rainbows in your hand



10 :: Zinnia kaleidoscopes to watch unfurl and change each day.



11: Diamonds, free for the taking



He is an intricate designer. He is a provider and sustainer---and He does so with flair.

It is a blessing that we have food to eat, but not the only one. The growing, the watching, the admiring, the beauty, the tasting, the learning, and the patience that come with it are giftsto us as well.

For them, I am thankful.

Friday, July 24, 2009

For Bonnie~



Months of planning on taking pictures of Adele' in your beautifully stitched outfit.

Months of spit-up before I got the chance.



This beauty has been her most frequently worn dress since it arrived in the mail.

Because...it couldn't be more beautiful.



Though her head recently grew ginormous, the dress still has lots of room for wear.

And wear she shall!

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