Snow pictures

View from the front porch looking toward the road, just before sunrise.

View to the northwest, just after sunrise, off the back deck.  

Bundled up and ready to go!

View to the west just after sunrise off the deck, that's a hemlock tree draped with snow.

View off the front porch of the 'new' truck in the snow.

Sledding!  In the side yard.  Han's hands are on her hips because she wants me to play and not take pictures!

Also off the front porch looking to the side yard (facing sw)

Titmouse and junco :)

God's Gifts

As I write this post, Andy and Han are at Lowe's picking through their discards bin for chicken coop lumber.  I'm home with the little one, having cleaned up after she emptied her stomach twice - once in the car and once on me and the downstairs couch.  She's now watching an old movie musical on TBN with a trashcan beside.   The situation lends it to an opportunity to update my blog!

So many changes since the move, and I've felt God's presence throughout.  Things have not always gone as we've hoped or expected, but nonetheless, I've been blessed - by truly feeling His presence throughout everything.  One or several of us was sick for most of February, yet we still managed to make it through work, homeschooling, housekeeping and our new engagements.

The girls took swimming lessons at the far-away (20 miles?) Green Ridge Recreation Center, and I am more than satisfied with their progress.  One girl who wouldn't put her face in the water for me is actually swimming under water for significant distances, and the other quickly shot to the top of her class, demonstrating that she is, in reality, actually a water bug.  They've each "graduated" to the next level, and if we decide to re-enroll them, they'll begin again after a weeks' break.  For Abigail, her goal is to be able to swim well enough to "go down the big indoor slide"; check out their website at the link above to see what she means.

Homeschool Co-op through CHEF (Christian Home Educators of Franklin County) has been an abundantly rich experience for both me and the girls.  While I truly enjoyed the Alleghany Highlands, I often felt they isolated in terms of other homeschoolers.  True, we had a small core group (whom I miss, miss, miss, Margie!), but here we've connected with even more.  They go weekly for five week sessions ~ Hannah is studying Alaska and the Iditerod race, Royal Rangers Together, and last session she was in well-organized and presented poetry class.  Abigail is in a preschool class and a gym class.  We've gone on a couple field trips and I've been to - sadly - only one Mom's Night, but the friendships and support I've built through CHEF are priceless.

This is an example of God's timing and grace for our family.  I have a hard time making friends.  I do!  And as far as co-op, I wasn't sure if I'd want to relinqish any of my teaching time or schooling to someone else.  I wasn't sure if it fit into my overall plan for their education.  But my heart has changed at the same time the I saw how much they (especially Hannah) would benefit from it.  And its not even that socialization thing.  But it ends up being that.  And while our children are engaged in their activities, I'm making developing relationships with other moms who have many of the same interests, goals and desires for their kids - all as sisters in the body of Christ.  Its something wonderful, really.

And along the lines of making friends, God has blessed me in other ways, too.  I mentioned our neighbors, right?  I'm so thankful for ours ~ we've been out to dinner a couple times and have enjoyed ourselves together as families - laughing and yukking it up in the yard and in the snow.  I know, I know, PICTURES, right?  They'll come.

But I've also met friends out at random:  Andy sold his truck to buy a 20+ year old Dodge so he wouldn't have a payment.  Chatting with the folks who bought it, they homeschool and have kids the same ages as ours.  We've cahtted by e-mail and have promised one another 'playdates' once the weather stabilizes some.

And of course there's more ~ even at the doctor's office for a physical today, I met a nurse who - um, "coincidentally" (yeah, right)  is also raising chickens, hoping for goats soon and working toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  So we exchanged particulars and here I am writing about her.

God is so good!  He takes care of needs I didn't even know I had, overly and more abundantly than I could ever ask for hope for.

Neighbors

Just the other day, Andy and I commented on how very thankful we are for our new neighbors.  With such a warm winter, we've been outside more than we normally would, allowing the kids to play and develop friendships, and we've walked over to chat outside in the afternoons.  After we moved in, two of the neighbors closest got together and gave us a welcome fruit basket and gave me the scoop on the nearest 24-hour stores, shortcuts to town and so on.  Days later, the folks on the other side offered their assistance should we ever need anything and welcomed us as well.  They have a young granddaughter who visits frequently; I look forward to the girls meeting her.  Did I mention how GLAD we are for kind neighbors?

We have other neighbors who have dropped by, but haven't said very much.  It was either early in the morning or late at night when they were here....They seem to be the type to keep to themselves - uh-oh, does this bode well?  You never know.  Our neighbor, Timmy, set up a camera in our back yard to take a picture of these stealthy neighbors....he shared these pictures with us:

"So, this where the party's at?"

"Gonna party all night long, oooo.....oooo..gonna party all night long..."

"I don't think I like these new people."

"Nope, I'm SO outta here."

"Where'd everybody go?  Hello?? ~ hello??"

"Party?  Someone say party??"

"C'mon Benjamin, she said thankFUL not thanksGIVING.....quit hiding and come outta' the bushes..."

"I was never here, got it?  NE-VER here!"

So, we're looking forward to seeing more of and getting to know our neighbors as time goes by.  Can't wait to see who else we're going to be meeting - I bet they'll be interesting!

thoughts on Spring

Now that we've pretty much finished unpacking and are settled into our new surroundings, I've taken the time and had a good look around.  We've moved to this new home in the middle of what is passing for winter this year:  I think the average temperature has only been in the 50's and there's been no snow.  The trees are mostly bare except for the evergreens and some of the oaks which hold their leathery leaves until the first buds of spring push them off.  The grass of the lawn is brown, azaleas with their deep purple leaves look chilled and the underbrush on the back hillside where lumber was harvested a couple years ago is grey-brown and dusky-looking.

Whenever we've gone to the Maple Festival up in Highland County its been overcast, wet, slushy and cold.  So I always associate that type of weather with the area, although I know that in summer it is hot, green and lush.  It was like that too, in Oklahoma: for me, it is always cold, damp and snowy.

Here in Hardy the great outdoors is cold, washed-out, brown and damp.  Inside, the walls are painted with strong, earthy colors - too bold for my liking.  They serve to emphasize the heaviness that hangs on like a leaden blanket.

Somehow I am hopeful as the calendar promises to turn in the next couple days to February, a month closer to Spring.  Yesterday morning I walked in the back yard and flushed out five or six white-tail deer from down near the creek.  They ran, snorting, up the back hill and up to and across the ridge.  They must be the same group that mingles in front of the game camera set up by our neighbor on the back corner of the property.  I wonder if they, too, are waiting for spring, or if they realize its been over a year since they last walked through snow.  Of course I still hope that the Farmer's Almanac is correct in its prediction of a Valentine's Day storm; the girls and I want to put the hills to good use.

I can't imagine what the yard will look like in its Spring greenery, or how the sunlight will fall against newly-painted walls at a different angle than in the winter months.  I look forward to what berries might be growing after a long winter of dormancy in the underbrush.  I'm eager to enjoy the sound of the creek after clearing out an area to sit in the warm sunshine.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to join this property in a slow cycle.  We can afford a leisurely pace while the weather keeps us inside.  I have feeling that the spring and summertime will bring busy outdoor adventures in gardening, land clearing, animals and learning.  I think we're all looking forward to the changes.

Still Here, Praising

I considered abandoning this blog all together, based on the randomness of my postings, but I think I'll give it another shot.  After all, I still have MUCH to say on so many things, AND I appreciate the encouragement from comments and e-mails that these posts encourage.

I'm very selfish, you see....

Many changes, great and small, have taken place in the last several weeks and months since I've updated.  Most momentously has been our move from the Alleghany Mountains outside of Covington down to the Blue Ridge Highlands of Franklin County.  God has moved in ways that are evident and we are thankful for His many gifts in this whole process.

Without dwelling on past experience too much, I'll share some of the ways we've been blessed by this move, both directly and indirectly:

1.  DH's commute has gone from almost 80 miles each way to 18.  He's home by 5:45 rather than 7PM.
2.  We have 5 acres - compared to 1.5, and our neighbors are thrilled to hear we're planning on having chickens!
3.  We have joined a large, God-centered, homeschool group here in Franklin County and the girls attend co-op with dozens of other children weekly.  Praise God.
4.  Our home has enough bathrooms that we don't risk an impromptu biology or "family life" lesson when daddy is in the shower and a little girl "has" to use the potty.  Ahem.
5.  We have a dishwasher.
6.  And central air.
7.  And a hot tub.

AND, the girls gleefully attend AWANAs on Wednesday night at the church we've been attending, which is just 7 or 8 miles up the road.  We have been encouraged by the relationships we're building in Sunday School and have talked about once again opening our home to a regular (weekly? bi-weekly?) Bible study once we're completely settled.

We continue to pray and ask the Lord to work in the details of the home purchase, safety for Andy and each of us as we travel on two lane country roads, physical health and motivation toward personal goals of spiritual growth and a healthier lifestyle.  For the girls, we have asked for help in parenting and direction in schooling.

Personally, I am struggling (as always) with self-discipline, motivation and organization.  But that is another post; one which, I anticipate, will be written in the near future.

Thank you for reading!

Psalm 27:8

When you said, "Seek my face," my heart said to you, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek."

A Week of Creativity

Inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest (you HAVE lingered there, right?!), I made this wall hanging as a gift for a friend who is having her first baby:

The fabric and ribbon are new, but most of the buttons are "vintage."

....and I made a card to go with it:

Thankfulness Journal

We've begun a new unit on Miracles in our Sunday School class, and it motivated me to follow through on something I've been meaning to do for a couple years:  create a Thankfulness Journal.

I had one years ago when I first started working - it was a confidence booster at the time, where I wrote things people said that (what to me at the time) seemed to validate my work, my competency, etc.  I needed it when I was feeling unsure of myself.

Other times I've written lists of things for which I am thankful, but those were impermanent and I couldn't put my finger on them now if I had to.  Therefore, I'm going to dedicate one of the many hard-backed, blank, lined journals I pick up here and there to a Thankfulness Journal.

What does Thankfulness have to with miracles?  Well, for me, I am SUPREMELY thankful when I see God play an active part - even in small ways** - in my daily life ~ some people call them "God Sightings" or "God Winks," but neither of those phrases really grab me, so until I find a new way to describe them, I'll just refer to them as things for which I am thankful and write them in my journal.  Personally, I think they are "Mini Miracles," because, I mean, hey, isn't it a MIRACLE that the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE cares about little ole' me?

I see God alive and at work in my life in the smallest ways.  I mean, VERY SMALL.  An atheist or agnostic might dismiss things that I notice as coincidence, I take it as evidence that God cares about every part of me and is involved in the mundane day to day activity in my life.


FOR EXAMPLE, and here is a Homeschooling Moment:

This morning we began our school day as we always do - with our Bible lesson and memory verse of the week.  This week's verse is

Matthew 5:16:  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

(OF COURSE, we sang This Little Light of Mine)

But to put our verse in context, I backed up some....

Matthew 5:13:  You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[e]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

We had a lovely discussion about salt losing its saltiness ~ (background:  If the four year old finds a salt shaker on the table and pours it out on said table, licks it....licks it...licks it.... she throws up.  She doesn't say why she is retching, however, but Mama's detective skills are improving.  We Have Learned That Too Much Salt Is Not Good For Our Bodies And They Reject It.) ~ which has been a pertinent issue in our home at least twice.  They know about salt.

Anyways, we moved on to History.

We are using Mystery of History as our backbone curriculum and (more on that in another post) this morning we began to look at cultures outside of the middle east, specifically, China.  We did the lesson, learned about the first couple dynasties and, as a surprise, I took the girls to "Chinese" for lunch.  We compared the characters of the Chinese alphabet on the back of our chopsticks packages to hieroglyphics and cuneiform writing, talked about the differences in food and the different gods (idols) they worshiped ~ Chinese restaurants aren't complete without a Buddha! 

Lovin' us some homeschooling!

So then it was Fortune Cookie Time.

Now daggone it if I didn't lose my 'fortune,' but it said something about filling someone's head with knowledge vs. teaching them to learn for themselves.  I "just happen"** (see above) to be reading to be reading a book about Classical Education vs. Outcome-Based Education.  Right on target!  Hannah's fortune was: Keep negative comments to yourself, avoid any disputes.  Eh?  Maybe not.  Nice, but not necessarily words to live by.

But what I thought was REALLY NEATO was that on the back her "Learn Chinese" word was, SALT.

Really?

Yes, really.

Its going in the journal.