Power Cord Cozies and Elephant Paws

     A couple weeks ago, we survived the frigid temperatures of the polar vortex and this past week we have been getting lots of snow. It's piling up quite impressively around here. In fact, there is snow coming down as I type this.
     I've written in the past about how I tend to have a grandma style when it comes to my tastes.  Well, I'm at it again. I don't like the look of exposed cords and so today, I made a power cord cozy....like a tea cozy, but for a power cord strip.

 Ta da. 

This isn't the first appliance cozy I've made however. Awhile back, we got a new alarm clock that was far to bright. We had a piece of paper over it, but then I made a cozy for it. 

And while not a cozy per say, a while back, I also found a way to hide the computer router which before had been just sitting on the shelf.

So there you have it, my grandma style in action. 

The other night, I was sitting beside Buirlen's crib as he was supposed to be falling asleep. I offer to hold his hand while he's falling asleep, but that particular night he let me hold the hand of his stuffed elephant, Egbert.  It made me think of when I was a kid and had a doll that I made my mom kiss good night. 

There is a new week a coming and I was going through the local grocery stores weekly ad and realized that there are some good sales to be had. So, yes, to top of my grandma-ishness, I'm also excited to go grocery shopping this week. Happy Sunday!

"Happiness is a choice, a repetitive one." ~Akilnathan Logeswaran 

"Life is a gift. Never forget to enjoy and bask in every moment you are in." ~Unknown

Crawfish and Flowers

    Last night, we had the chance to go to a crawfish boil. We had never been and it was a lot of fun...and tasty. It was at the fire station and Buirlen enjoyed making the rounds and exploring.

He thought this was fun...Luke mentioned that he probably thought it was a steering wheel. I think he was right because I caught him pressing the middle and making a honking noise at one point. 

I have been enjoying puttering in my flower garden lately.  When we moved here, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a whole row of peonie bushes. However, they weren't in a great location and with the upcoming siding project, were in the path of destruction, so I moved them and they seem to be doing just fine in their new location. I also moved the irises I had put in last spring. The past few years I've had sunflowers and zinnias in this spot, and I plan to continue with that but it is now home to my peonies and irises as well, plus a few different annuals. I do love flowers.

This guy is a good little gardener...Digging is fun. 

Helping mama plant impatients around the tree. 

There were loads of violets up around the house, so they got moved to be with the impatients. I keep wanting to go out and look at my flowers. 

My brother Jordan came over to hang out this past Friday and he helped me open up and clean out the porch for the season.

The hammock is back and open for business. 

We decided to play a game of scrabble when we were all done. It was warm and a nice rain was coming down...Pure loveliness. 

And as far as the latest installment in the Siding Saga goes, the steel and insulation is here and now it's just waiting for the time to get started. 

Luke brought the big truck home with everything on it as couple weeks ago. Buirlen thought this was  great. 

And lastly, my baby is growing up so fast. These two pictures of Buirlen waiting for Daddy to come home are just about 1 year apart. Life is good. 

May 2017

May 2018

May your week be grand!

"Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth's lips, spoken without sound." ~Edwin Curran

Ice Cream....Because It Is Spring!

It's snowing....But, the local ice cream shop opened up because, you know, it's Spring! So the Lovely Keren Ruth and I bundled up the babies in snow suits, and headed for some tastiness. Irindee met us there and we enjoyed some creamy goodness. Life is good. 

So much tastiness!!!

Before heading out for ice cream we did some playing. Building a fort with the boys reminded me of when I was a kid. My siblings and I, along with our dear friends Amanda and Emily used to play a game we called "Boarding House." We would build these elaborate tents in the basement and pretend it was a boarding house...We were into old fashioned things. Fun memories!

Friendship is the best. 

And a bit of randomness...The other night Buirlen found a neat place to squirrel away his blocks. Silly boy.  

And then this plant decided to get long and leggy and loose it's bottom leaves, leaving me with a cute baby "Palm tree." 

So there you have it. Keep looking for Spring! 

"It's never to cold for ice cream." ~Unknown

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant." ~Ann Broadstreet

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

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

A Sweet Perfume

    It's Tuesday once again and January is just about done for another year. Today the snow has been swirling and the wind whipping. This morning I got up and poured myself a cup of coffee, snuggled into my chair to do my devotions, when what should I see scurry across the floor but a little rodent. Needless to say my heart rate went up a bit. I spied the little intruder about 4 times and even set out a trap, but he eluded it. Can't say I'm thrilled, but oh well.
   
     This past weekend, my parents came up for a visit. We had a nice time and I'm so glad that Buirlen has not one but two sets of loving grandparents who are involved in his life.

   
    The baby goats are starting to arrive out at the farm. It was fun to take Buirlen out to see them. He found them to be rather interesting.

It was gorgeous out!

 Checking out the goats with Uncle Jordan

This little boy is quite the climber. He as literally been getting into things lately. 

He's not walking yet, but getting pretty steady on his feet. 

The other day I was thinking about 2 Corinthians 2:14-15a

"But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God."

    Smells can be powerful and potent things and they can leave a hefty impression. (I will never forget the time the skunk sprayed the side of our house permeating everywhere. It was awful and we were fragrant for awhile!)They can be awful and distract you until you find and get rid of it...(That rotten potato in the bottom of the potato pail) Or, they can be wonderfully pleasant, and comforting, reminding us of loved ones, and moments in time. 

People can have their own smells too. I remember when I was a kid some of our good friends had a very distinct smell to their home and we always knew if something came from them. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was uniquely theirs. Jordan mentioned the other day that one of his shirts smelled like my house, (I like that he's around enough these days for that to be a thing).

Anyway, Jesus makes us whole and fragrant in the most lovely way possible. When we are His we spread His fragrance to the world. I like this and I surely hope it's true in my life. That I am known as a child of the King and that my life carries His fragrance. 

To spread the love of Jesus like a sweet perfume. to be a pleasant fragrance to The One who knows us to the core, This is awesome!