raising the roof

There was a "men's fellowship gathering" at my house yesterday.  The pastor was offering free lessons in how to install steel roofing.  Not many showed up--probably because the weather was awful!--but those that did were treated to donuts, hot cider, hands-on training, and chili and cornbread for lunch.  I was a bad blogger and didn't get pictures of my spotless kitchen and yummy food, but trust me, it was clean we our bellies were full.  Also, as a fun byproduct of said gathering, tin was successfully installed on the back half of our house!  All that remains is the schoolroom (former porch) roof, which should take less than a day, especially if the sun is shining! 

 hooray for no more leaking bedroom ceiling/window! Thanks Jim, Pastor Buck, Dad and Deputy Daddy!

pretty little things

first up: super cute jewelry that I find myself wearing just about every single day. magnetic clasp on the necklace so when babies grab it there is no fear of breaking, and I can reattach with one hand. Earrings are lever-back style, which means they won't fall out and be lost. LOVE! I got the necklace for Christmas from my mom's cousin (I think?) Susie, and had to order the matching earrings almost immediately. She does good work, yes? her shop is on Etsy HERE.next up: the handsomest little things around.

setting pretty

A pretty "new" table deserves pretty "new" placemats, yes? In a former life, the table (better pic coming at some point) lived at the Dr. B's house and the placemats were huge napkins Granny Boo purchased from the thrift store a couple of years back. The strips I cut off are long enough to do something with, I'm just not sure what yet. ideas? maybe coasters for the cups?


To complete the explanations, the dishes started at Texas Hot's, moved to the Salvation Army's church, and then to their thrift store, where they were nabbed by my mother for me. The silverware is the same set my Granny has; she picked up a second set at an auction and gifted them to me. The napkins were on the tables at my wedding and have been in almost daily use since...especially the ones I sized down for smaller fingers.

phew!

mud boots on Thanksgiving

This year, my boys learned that mud is a blessing (yes, it is a learned activity for some). What a gift it is to have a house with access to free dirt AND hand-me-down mud boots.

can I get an amen?

my God is so BIG,
so STRONG,
and so MIGHTY,
there's NOTHING my God cannot do!

Haven't had your devos this morning? That's ok, I've got ya covered.
Do you all know that my eyesight is terrible? That I rely on contacts and wear them too many hours in the day? I bought 2 pair of glasses in the states right before we moved here, but they are both broken in the same place and are not quite the right prescription anymore, so I never wear them. I have just been lamenting the fact that I miss the availability of glasses in the morning and at night, and apparently God got tired of listening to me complain.

After I got dressed this morning, I decided to put away some of the laundry folded and stacked nicely piled precariously on top of my dresser before putting my itchy contacts in and going downstairs. I got near the bottom of the pile and discovered a box of precious memorabilia miscellaneous junk. Near the bottom of that was a pair of glasses I've had since high school. I keep meaning to give them to my doctor cousin who goes on missions trips to places where glasses are harder to come by, but have never gotten around to it. For some reason (thanks God) I decided to try them on. Wouldn't you know, but they are the right prescription and I can now see! For all the years of not-so-careful storage, they are in perfect shape and the only scratch is the one I put there within weeks of purchasing the specs in the first place. Exactly the motivation I needed to finish folding and putting away my clothes and move on with my day.

I am so blessed. Now I just need to learn to pray for things as I think of them instead of complain; I bet my prayers would have been answered a whole lot quicker!!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning,
new every morning,
Great is thy faithfulness, Oh God...
Great is thy faithfulness.
~song I learned as a kid, taken from Lam. 3:23

Happy Anniversary!

5 years!?! Already?

Well, she has grown up a lot in those 5 years.

I'm outta here before I start feeling old.

Happy Anniversary darling. It has been a wonderful 5 years already, and i can't wait to see what the next five bring.

Our House is Back to as "normal" as it gets...

These two are the last of our sneaky cat's second litter. As of Wed. they are all gone and we are back to only 4 "under 3's" in our house. phew.

In comparison, Tuesday night we had 10 "under 3's" in our house with a collective 36 legs. yeah, thirty-six.

Allow me to explain: I was the on-duty stray animal guy on Tuesday. I had just gone to bed at around 9, which is slightly on the late end considering the alarm was set for 4:50 (ugh). I had been in bed for about 10 minutes, just long enough to get really comfy and settled in, when the duty phone rang. Downstairs. I got up and ran down to answer it. My co-worker (who is conveniently not at work this week) decided to go to the gym. On the way home from the gym he happened upon a squeaking box. A squeaking box of five puppies, approximately 6 weeks old. Being the on duty guy and therefore "responsible," I tell him to bring the pups to the house and I will take them to the kennel in the morning. After bringing the outside dog crate in and getting the puppies settled, I again laid down and closed my eyes, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 4:50 a.m.

The boys are just getting over a tenacious cold, and were therefore up more often than usual, and the puppies were up several times, but I must have gotten some sleep because at 5:20 the following morning I bolted awake and realized that although I had set the alarm, I had neglected to activate it. Now I'm late and have to provide transportation for 5 pups and the last kitten who is being adopted out today. I should also tell you that our cat carrier is not that cool and the kitten figured out how to get out of it. I drove the whole way to work with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a 12 week old kitten, trying not to get clawed/bit by the attempts it was making to escape.

Fun week. I am looking forward to this 4 day weekend. So this Thanksgiving I am truly thankful for a "normal" house of 4 living things under three years old with a mere 12 legs. 2 of which are attached to knees that are dangerously close to crawling, but I'll take it.

POTD: kangaroo carry

special thanks to my mom and her thrifted, recycled curtain and mad sewing skilz (Can you tell it's been awhile since I was a teen?).

gerber baby

(these are the shorties I was talking about the other day, mom)

dinner at the waaz's:

ps: love the tanks, denise, thanks!

have your cake and wear it too

The lovely ladies of MOM's club had a potluck lunch in my honor this week and made me a diaper cake. A cloth diaper cake, to be specific. So sweet of them, and so cute I had to take a pic (or four) for the scrapbook-that-may-not-ever-happen (but that i continue to collect stuff for). click to enlarge...or just ask me for the huge version.


Thanks ladies!!!

happy anniversary, sweetheart.

(the above is an excerpt from a conversation that took place over the course of several days around Feb. of this year).

I love you. You are a spectacular husband. Thanks for 4 great years, and here's to at least 56 more ;-)

OH, and happy birthday too! I promise, I'll make a cake at some point in the near future and try to save at least 2 pieces of it for you.

fluffy mail

Barnyard Circus theme, sewn by GB for the new baby's butt. How exciting :) You should see the smallest red fleece soaker in real life, it's miniscule! And a special bonus from awhile ago for those of you who care nothing about cushy butts: spidey and his spectacular socks (also crafted by the talented GB):

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

House with Flag, Warren Kimble

wish we were ^here^, and you were with us!

(well, there with a huge porch added onto the front)

"Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I've got--
Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation.
God's works are so great, worth
A lifetime of study-- endless enjoyment!
Splendor and beauty mark his craft;
His generosity never gives out.
His miracles are his memorial—
This God of Grace, this God of Love.
He gave food to those who fear him,
He remembered to keep his ancient promise.
He proved to his people that he could do what he said:
Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift!
He manufactures truth and justice;
All his products are guaranteed to last—
Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof.
All that he makes and does is honest and true:
He paid the ransom for his people,
He ordered his Covenant kept forever.
He's so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.
The good life begins in the fear of God—
Do that and you'll know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever!"
Psalm 111:1, Message translation