A Sneak Peak

The packing has been going okay so far, but now it's time to kick it into high gear. I can barely move amongst all the stuff and the kitchen is a maze of boxes with stuff spread out all over the kitchen table.   I know this transition is hard on Kiddo so I have been trying my best to keep things as normal as possible, but I am finding out that is no small feat.   I am making pizza for dinner tonight, so I know he will be a happy camper this evening for at least a little while! 

I took some pics of our new home the other day and thought I would share them with you.  This house was a weekend rental and came furnished, but all of the furniture has now been removed.

central heat and air!  WOO HOO!
We've NEVER had that before, only window units
Thank you, Lord, for the a/c!

the flower bed is filled with hostas.....I love hostas! 

We FINALLY have a screened in porch we can 

sit on during thunder and lightning storms.  

We LOVE to listen to the rain

living room

dining area

 

bathroom

kitchen

I just can't seem to get away from the 

washer and dryer being in the kitchen

behind bi-fold doors!  lol

another view of the dining area

from the kitchen

as you can see, it's an open floor plan so I can see 

EVERYTHING that goes on....lol

Kiddo's bedroom

our bedroom

and the sewing/computer room.

Did you notice I put SEWING first?  lol

My Skippy Man in the kitchen.   I like that....yes, I do! 


the back part of the yard and right in front of this hill is.....

AAHHH!  You have to walk through some wiry weeds

but it's worth the trek.  Skippy wants to dam up 

a small spot here so the kids can go swimming.

And there is another perk to this house but I didn't get a picture of that.  It's a..... HOT TUB!  WOO HOO!

Well, I'm off....time to pack some more boxes!  

Thank you, sweet Father, for providing us with a home and for the little extra blessings that we didn't even ask for, but that you thought we needed!

Blessings

(PLEASE PAUSE PLAYLIST BEFORE VIEWING VIDEO)

This Is Tiring

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I have to say, this moving thing is TIRING, not just physically, but emotionally as well. I have lived in four different places but have never really had to do much packing, until now. When I moved from my parents home into an apartment I shared with my sister, we didn't have much to bring with us, so that was quick and easy. We didn't live there long due to us being robbed, so we didn't acquire much. After I got married and we moved into our apartment, again, I didn't have much to go with, basically, just my clothes. Our apartment was tiny, so when we moved to a house, there wasn't much to move over, at least nothing that really required much packing.

In July of 1989, we came down to VA with my dad to help him move and get things ready for my mom and grandmother, who would be coming down in February. We stayed for two weeks to help him unpack and get things situated, especially in the kitchen. I knew that would be the first place mom would want ready for when she came home.

Well, they morning we were supposed to go back to NY, I told My Skippy Man, "I am not going back. The girls and I are staying here in VA!" "OK!", he said, and went back to NY, quit his job, and packed up our entire house....by himself. WHAT AN AWESOME HUSBAND I HAVE!! Then, we bought my parents home. Pretty easy moving job since we already lived here......no packing again! :> )

Fast forward to present day. Now we are carefully going through over 22 years of ours, my parent's, and our children's lives, sorting and reminiscing. We have experienced birth, death, benchmark milestones of our children, dinners and celebrations with friends and family, game and family nights, difficult times in our marriage, our children's graduations, the marriages of our daughters, homeschooling Kiddo, and many more trials and blessings the good Lord has allowed us to have and experience.

Part of me is sad to be moving on, but the other part of me is really and truly excited to be starting a new chapter in our lives.

Being Transparent

I feel that God is putting it upon my heart to be totally transparent with all of you today and explain our move.  Ever since I left my full-time job as a teaching assistant in the public school system, things have been difficult financially for us, but God has always provided for our needs.  We knew it would be difficult, but we felt that God had directed us to homeschool Kiddo for his high school years, so we did.  It wasn't just a leap of faith....it was completely throwing ourselves off the top of the mountain, but we knew deep in our hearts, God was waiting down below, ready to catch us.

I cut corners where I could, made things from scratch, have sold things on eBay and Etsy, but that wasn't enough.  About three years ago, we went to the mortgage company asking for help in reducing our payments.  They helped us get everything current so we were not late or behind, but then raised our mortgage payments.  Hmmm.....somehow that just didn't make sense to me.

So, we had done our best to meet our payments on time, but again, it was a severe struggle.  We again went to the mortgage company for some help.  We asked if they could reduce our payments long enough for us to finish our last year of homeschooling our son who has Asperger's.  Upon his graduating, I would be able to go back to work and be able to meet our mortgage payment.  Skippy would call time and time again to find out the status of our modification, but only to be told our "associate" was not in the office or she was not at her desk.  After months of hearing nothing, we got a letter in the mail from a lawyer with a sale date of December 14th, where our home would be auctioned off on the courthouse steps.  Again, Skippy called and our "associate" was not in her office.  After hearing no more from either the mortgage company or the lawyers office, Skippy called our mortgage company on the 13th and told us that the lawyer's office had agreed to delay the sale the following date.  WONDERFUL, but why hadn't anyone contacted us to let us know?  At this point now, we knew we had at least thirty days if we didn't get approved for our modification.

After a few more weeks of calling, Skippy finally found out that our associate no longer worked there.  They apologized for her lack of communication and in the same breath, said that they were sorry to inform us that our modification had been denied.  But, the good news was that we could now do a short sale and as long as we had a contract with a realtor at least ten days before the lawyer's office had rescheduled a sale date, that would halt any foreclosure proceedings.  So, that is what we did.  However, unbeknownst to us, our house had already been listed on the internet as a Trustee Sale and will be sold at auction on the courthouse steps on February 8th. 

I know we should be fuming at all that has happened, but we can't be.  We know that God has a plan; a plan larger than anything we could ever comprehend! 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us!"  Ephesians 3:20

~HALLELUJAH, 

GOD IS IN CONTROL!~

Changes And A Big FrEeZe

Photo courtesy of: www.hinghamweather.com

WOW......we woke up to 14 degrees this morning.  I am so thankful My Skippy Man threw a couple of pieces of wood in the stove before he left for work.   There were still some embers left so it was pretty easy to get it rip-roaring again.   Our weather has been absolutely INSANE!  Just two days ago it was 63* degrees, can you believe that?  My heart goes out to those who are without heat and shelter during the winter months.  I pray God will watch over them and wrap His loving arms around them.

The next few weeks will be extremely busy for us as we will be packing up and moving our family away from the only home our children have ever known.  It is a difficult time for all of us but we are leaning on and trusting in our Lord, Jesus Christ, to get us through.  He has been a constant source of joy and comfort during our most difficult times and I thank Him and praise Him for always being there for us.

It is not a "long distance" move, only about 8-10 miles to a neighboring town, a place where Skippy said he would NEVER, EVER move to.  We are learning that God has an AWESOME sense of humor........DON'T tell God what you won't do, you'll eat your words!  lol  I will try and post whenever I can, but please bear with me if there are many days in between.  Please know that we are well but just a wee bit busy!

We are very blessed to have some amazing friends who have helped us along in this process, helping locate a house that will allow us to bring all our animals with us, and guess what....PRAISE THE LORD, HE PROVIDED just that!  It may not be the house or the area that we WANTED, but it is the house we NEEDED!  God has a plan for sending us where he has and it will be fun and exciting to see what happens next.


We tend to forget and only praise God during the good times, when things or circumstances are going our way.  Today I want to PRAISE GOD for allowing us to go through these difficult times because when we do, He shows me that we are not alone and He is right there with us, that He IS in control, "and that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose!"

Change Is A Comin'

There are some big changes happening here on the farm and we are clinging to this scripture passage:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!"

Jeremiah 29:11

We all go through times in our lives when God will put us into a circumstance that puts us way out of our comfort zone and all we can do is scratch our head and think...."YOU'RE ASKING US TO DO WHAT?"  "GO WHERE?"  "WHY ARE WE HAVING TO GO THROUGH THIS?" "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TEACH ME?" But God has a plan and He knows what He is doing.  Has has had our lives planned out from the beginning of time. 

I have been learning that if I put all my trust in the Lord....if I obey Him and heed His calling in my life, whatever that may be or wherever that may lead, that He will provide.  They may not be the things that we want, but they will be exactly what we need to accomplish His will and glorify Him.

What an amazing feeling it is "LET GO AND LET GOD" move in our lives.  I can't wait to see which direction He will take our family next, but I do know that whatever direction that is, our precious Lord will be uplifted and glorified every step of the way!!

Knowing God's Will

"Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way!"

Exodus 33:13

"Knowing the will of God" - both the big picture and the daily details - concerns every Christian.  We all need to ask often, What is it God wants me to do?  How is it He wants me live?

It is as we know we are doing God's will that we find true meaning in life and a deep sense of accomplishment and purpose. How can we know that we are doing God's will?  One of the simplest approaches is this:

First, commit yourself to the Lord each day, and periodically throughout the day, by simply saying, "Lord, I put my life in Your hands.  Do with me what You will!"

Second, trust the Lord to send you the work and the relationships you need for His purpose in your life to be accomplished.

As Roberta Hromas, a noted Bible teacher once said: "Simply answer your door, answer your phone, and answer your mail.  The Lord will put in your path the opportunities that He desires for you to pursue.

God's will is not a mystery you try desperately to unlock.  He does not desire His will to be a secret, because the Bible is filled with scriptures about knowing His will.  They key is to see His will, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and read and study His Word.  Then you can know what He has planned for you!

Headin' Out

Today we are headin' out to spend some MUCH NEEDED time together as a family. It will be nice to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just relax, and not worry about anything but just enjoy each other. 

I pray your day will be just as wonderful as I know our day will be!

ThAt'S wEiRd!

When I went out to gather our eggs this morning, I was very surprised to see that the nesting boxes were empty. Hmm....tHaT's WeIrD!  So I looked around and found 5 eggs over in a corner of the shed.  I looked on-line and found that there really is no rhyme or reason why they decided to lay outside their boxes, but that if one does it, more will follow suite.  And as you can see....they did just that!  I still have two more eggs to gather.  It am curious to see where I will find them!  lol



Today I have been filling orders for my decorative clothespins and making some new ones to put up in my Etsy shop.  As you can see, I have a piece of material I want to try on them as well.  I can't wait to see how that goes.

I have also been creating my own aprons and clothespin bags and hope to have them put up soon as well.  I love making things, watching them go from scraps to a finished item.  I really like using recycled materials, cutting apart clothing and using the fabrics, wool, etc.  Why spend the money on new when there is so much out there that can be re-purposed!

Well, I'm off......I need to wrap and bag up things that need to be mailed.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I Just Can't Seem To Get Warm

It has been cold here for the past few days. I absolutely LOVE the cold weather and everything that comes with it.....especially the snow.  HOPEFULLY will get some significant snow falls this year. Yesterday it was in the twenties, but the wind hOwLeD like crazy making it seem raw and bitter.....even the ladies ran for cover back in their house.   Last night it got down to 16 and so far today, it hasn't gotten above freezing.

Normally, I can deal with the cold, but for some reason, these past two days I have been FROZEN, and nothing aside form sitting in my rocking chair wrapped in a quilt, holding a hot cup of tea, and  practically sitting on top of the wood stove has even helped.  I did realize yesterday, that three storm windows were still down, and one window was open, but they were quickly taken care of.  I thought that would help, but today feels the same way.

Not wanting to continue to feel like a momsicle, I decided to put up sheets in the two doorways between the kitchen and the living room since we don't use that very much, trying to keep the heat focused on the rest of the house that we do use, especially the kitchen.  While I was putting up the sheets, I remembered back when we were growing up and my parents did the same thing,.  I have done this during the summer as well, to help with the air conditioning.  Hey, you do what you have to do, right?

After putting up the sheets and closing off the back storage room, I have begun to feel a big difference already.  I did, however, figure out how to feel warmer really quick........I went outside to feed the chickens without my coat.  I was out for only about 5 minutes, but when I came back inside......WARMTH!  I'll have to do the same thing during the summer to get cooler!  lol

I pray those of you that live in areas were the temperatures have plummeted, are able to stay nice and toasty warm. 

Have a great day!

That Was Then......This Is Now

I was looking through the office the other day and look what I found.....WOW! It's hard to believe that was 25 years ago. We have been through good times and bad, sickness and health, richer and poorer, but PRAISE THE LORD, we are still together!

We celebrated our 25th anniversary back in November, but I want Skippy to know that every day I get to spend with him in this life, is a blessing to me.  And knowing that I will spend eternity with my Heavenly Father and the love of my life, fills my heart with joy!

I LOVE YOU, MY SKIPPY MAN!! 

 1986

2010

 

I think this is my favorite picture of us!

My Music Playlist

Ok, I don't know about you, but every now and then I go through these phases where I just HAVE to listen to the "oldies" from my growing up. It's hard to believe that my music is now considered "the oldies!" ROFLOL! My Skippy Man says I'm stuck in the 70's....oh, well! lol

I think it is AWESOME when a song brings back memories of special time or person in your life.  That is such a wonderful feeling!  I hope you know some of the songs I have chosen.  If there is a special one YOU would like added.....just let me know!

Well, I'm off......time to crank up the music and do the dishes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!

May God fill our lives abundantly with love, joy, and PEACE throughout the coming year!