Friday, February 23, 2018

Today's the Day

 It has been very wintery this week. It started snowing Saturday night and just came down thick and fluffy. By Wednesday, I heard that we had gotten somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 inches. Then last night we got more. I guess the weather heard that this weekend is our annual Winter Retreat and decided to decorate accordingly.

Speaking of Winter retreat...Today's the day and we are pretty excited around here. The "to do" list is more or less done and now we are just awaiting the arrival of friends to start the party. It's going to be good!


"Kindness is like snow--It beautifies everything it covers."
~Kahlil Gibran

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from this little charmer. 
May your day be filled with the love of The One who set your heart to beating and delights that you are His. 

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Monday, February 12, 2018

The Hand of Grace

     So, in the past we have had a mouse problem, which never makes me real happy. But for a good long stretch we seemed to be in the clear. Well that streak is over because for the past couple of weeks we've had a little visitor, and he seems to be immune to traps and the intense ill will I keep thinking towards him. In previous mouse problems, I have been more likely to see the signs of the invader rather than actually seeing the mouse itself. Not so in this case. I haven't seen a single sign, but the awful little thing likes to run by me, in close proximity in BROAD DAYLIGHT.
    Well last night, Luke and I were watching a movie, Buirlen was sleeping in my arms, all in all we were simply minding our own business in our own living room when the invader decided to show himself. Luke then went into hunter mode and waited for the invader to show himself again and then hurled a boot at it from the recliner. In the meantime, I had managed to stand up on the couch with Buirlen because there is no way my toes are going to be on the floor during this epic battle between man and mouse. The boot missed but Luke was ready for action now and told me to watch one corner of the couch while he got ready for the next shot. This went on for awhile throughout a couple rooms in the house. I therefore stood on multiple pieces of furniture as the lookout. Unfortunately the little critter evaded us at every turn and we gave up the battle for the night, but this is not over. I will win.

Don't worry, the ax is not intended for use on rodent invaders. A friend of Luke's has this old rusty ax head that he asked Luke to clean up for him. Luke discovered a pretty cool old tool under the rust and refinished a handle for it as well. 

     Anyway...Buirlen is becoming quite the little boy. The other day he was sitting on Luke's lap at the dinner table, and Luke had his hand around Buirlen to support him. Buirlen was not keen on being restrained and kept pushing Luke's hand away. Pretty soon Luke just had a grip on the waistband of Buirlen's pants to stable him, because the little goofball was so intent on being independent.
     This got me thinking, how often in this life do we push our Heavenly Father's hand away. It's there to stable us and guide us, but we want to be independent and do it ourselves. So like my goofy baby, we push at the hand that is keeping us from toppling over. Perhaps we just want to do it our own way or maybe we think we know what's truth but in reality we are believing a lie, but regardless of the reason we are pushing at the hand of safety, we are still pushing. But thankfully, just like Luke didn't let go of Buirlen, God doesn't let go of us. He holds on to the waistband of our pants. That is grace and The One who extends it to us is awe inspiring!

My intrepid adventurer. 



And sweet snuggler. 

And chocolate lover.

And blooming artist. 

He's fun. 

Hebrews 13:5
"Keep yourself from the love of money, and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you."

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Awesomeness of Grandpas

 Grandpas are pretty great. Both sets of my grandparents live in the same small town and were a regular part of my life growing up. 

Grandpa Shearer(Baby Grandpa) and myself(1993)

Grandpa Kinney(Up the Hill Grandpa), my sister Lydia, and myself(1990)

Grandpa Kinney and Buirlen (May 2017)

Grandpa Shearer and Buirlen(June 2017)

Buirlen is a lucky duck to have so many awesome grandpas in his life!

My dad, Poppy, and itty bitty Buirlen. 

Checking on the farm with Grandpa Williams

Looking at pictures with Poppy. 

3 generations of flannel enthusiasts. 


Proverbs 17:6
"Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers."

Psalm 103:17
"But from everlasting to everlasting, the LORD's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children."

"A grandfather is someone you can look up to no matter how tall you grow." ~Unknown

Saturday, February 3, 2018

11 Months

      My sweet baby is becoming quite the little boy. At just a month shy of a year, he is able to stand independently, though it is still a little nerve wracking for him when he's thinking about it. He climbs like a little monkey and that makes life interesting. This month he finally figured out how to pick up food to feed himself and decided that was so much fun that he has been experimenting with using a spoon as well. He recently learned how to clap and thinks "peek-a-boo" is an awesome game. He's got 4 teeth, 2 on top and 2 on the bottom and his hair continues to be wild and free.


Of course, the cutest picture I got happened before I realized that I put the wrong number on the sign. 


 "Keep smiling because it is a beautiful thing and there is so much to smile about." ~Marilyn Monroe