Late October

All photos by my amazing husband Steve

 I love the fall - and living here in the Monadnock region of NH means that for most of this season we live in a picture postcard of swirling leaves and amazing color.

It is a time when - as a friend stated - God pulls out his easel and paints amazing pictures for our enjoyment.

It is also a time of change, reflection and sometimes quiet introspection.  These things can be good or they can be terrifying - sometimes they are a combination of both.

I'm missing dear friends... learning new things... finding new rhythms for my days... some things cause my heart to ache, some are exhilarating and others exhausting and emotionally draining.

My last two children are both in college full-time locally - so commuting to school, and working part-time jobs which means our family dinner time together is sporadic at best.  And keeping track of who is where and when is often a good trick. We are four people sharing 3 vehicles.

For the first time in almost 20 years I have a job.  I'm learning - or trying to re-learn - how to balance being home and being at work... and trying to figure out if this is a good thing for me.  I'm learning new things with my quilting and am tremendously excited about my new studio and machines and the potential they bring to my passion of fabric & thread.

I trust completely that the Lord knows exactly what is needful in my life and will give and take and move as I pour out my heart to him and wait on His providential hand. Unfortunately that waiting is a hard, hard test for me... but He is faithful so I'm trying to be obedient and follow His lead.

Wishing you all blessings on the journey~

Progress = Change

That little graphic was created quite a few years ago.  It was an idea about what we envisioned for our home school journey with our kids.  A solid bridge into their future.

I can identify my best moment of our home school journey...

teaching my kids to read.

They love to read and are rarely without a book or two (or more!) in progress.  It used to make my mother upset that we allowed our children to read at the dinner table.  I loved it then and still do - yes even as young adults they read at the table during dinner fairly often.

Now we've come to the end of our (at home) home education journey.  It has absolutely been a success for our family!

Jess has graduated high school and is a full-fledged undergraduate student at Franklin Pierce University with a dual major, in the honors program and officially advanced class standing due to all the college work she completed during high school
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In September, Ben will begin his advanced college work at Nashua Community College for the remainder of his high school years.  Most likely he'll be finishing or fairly close to finishing an associates degree by the time he graduates high school.

Also new this summer is Ben going away to work at Camp Spofford for the next couple of months. My mama-heart is trying to sort out the varying emotions around this adventure but mostly I'm thankful that God has given him this opportunity and excited to see how he will grow this summer. We all prayed desperately for this door to open for him and several men in our church stepped up to offer recommendations and encouragement along the way.   He will come home just before his college classes begin - literally - as in two days before they start!

Other relationships in our lives are also changing.  Unexplained distance and estrangement has grown in formerly close relationships.  Physical distance is about to become a reality with some of our closest friends as they are embarking on a life-changing move to a different part of the country.
However God has brought a wealth of new relationships and opportunities for new friendships within our church family and we are tremendously thankful for the gift.  Monadnock Congregational Church is a wonderful place and I'm so grateful we challenged our presuppositions about the name on the sign.  It is now very clear that a name/label attached to something doesn't always mean what we think it does.  This church is sound in belief, has a Pastor who is bold in proclaiming the truth of the Jesus Christ, and has a congregation made up of genuine people who are trying to live honest, Christ-like lives by God's grace in a broken world.  We are all sinners, we fail, we stumble, we blow it big time even.  But there is Jesus and therefore there is grace and forgiveness... restoration and on-going sanctification.

As for me... I'm praying about what God is going to have me do next.
I don't think I'm having a mid-life crisis or anything... there is no desire for a sports car or crazy adventure.  More a quiet waiting to see what's next in the journey.  I've been dabbling in some new sewing ventures and finding things I love and things I don't.  Made a little bit of money for some things, helped some people with a few different things and continue to learn new skills and techniques.  I'm also considering the possibility (though a remote one) of a job outside home someplace.  If God opens a certain type of door, I will walk through thankfully.  If not, I shall continue along doing what He puts before me as opportunities.

Blessings on the journey~

Goodbye to 2015

Created by my ever talented husband - Steve

2015 has been a quick year (at least it feels that way today) and full of milestone events.

In no particular order - these were some highlights:

• Eldest child (Stephanie) turned 30 and got married!  (note - we do not feel old enough to say that out loud!)
• Second child (Alec) turned 25 - see note on eldest child - same applies!
• Third child (Jessica) turned 18 - ditto!
• Youngest child (Benjamin) turned 16 and got his driver's license - ditto, ditto!
• We vacationed in DC for a week - big road trip!
• Steve continued to work from home as much as possible - we thank God for this enormous blessing in our lives.
• Steve & I became members of our local church (Monadnock Congregational in Peterborough)
• We are all making new friends in our church family and are continuing to be blessed
• My parents were in a car accident (they were hit by a garbage truck on the highway!) that resulted in the totaling their SUV and a few injuries but mostly they are fine and we are very thankful for God's protection!  
• My parents have found  a church that preaches scripture and they are happy - another blessing.
• Stephanie and her husband, Kyle, both found new jobs and have relocated to Maine.
• Jessica was accepted to all 3 colleges where she applied for next fall and received some awesome scholarship offers.  She has selected her first choice school and will be attending Franklin Pierce University in the fall of 2016!
• Both Jess and Ben are able to take advantage of early college classes - both online and on campus locally - to accelerate their education and amp up their learning challenges.  
• I've been able to do a lot of fun sewing and quilting - even finding an outlet to sell a few things!
  

All-in-all it's been a pretty good year in the grand scope.  There have been hard times of course - this is life!  But we have Jesus and we have each other - with that combination life is do-able in spite of whatever may come.

Praying that our Gracious and Loving Heavenly Father will bless each of us with all we need to glorify Him in the coming year.  To reach the goals He has designed for us and to grant us peace & joy in the journey!

Welcome 2016..... looking forward to whatever God sends our way as I am confident that He will walk the road with us and give us all we need to cling to Him on the journey!
 

Right now ... (a thankfulness post)

Right now I am thankful for the truth of scripture in our lives.  God's word doesn't change and His truth endures forever!

Hand-made sign that now hangs in our living room.
I bought this years ago in support of a mission trip - scripture supporting the spread of Jesus.

Right now I am thankful for the quiet sounds of chickens pecking around outside and 2/3 of our cats watching them from the window by my desk.

Saffron (Orange) and Gypsy (Black)

Right now I am thankful for Steve's job that provides for our family and allows him to work from home two days each week.  Also for the jobs the kids have that give them spending money, hard work that teaches them things and builds their muscles as well.

Right now I am thankful for ....

• my washer/dryer and the ability to do laundry daily if needed.
• clean, running water and electricity that are reliable
• air conditioning in summer and heat in winter
• my gardens and the ability to grow things - both to eat and just to be pretty
• my family and that we laugh together
• ice cream
• always having projects to work on and the ability to do so
• friends who share my life
• our Pastor and his family that are becoming dear friends
• our church that is growing us in many ways
• vehicles that work reliably and are safe
• grown children that come to visit fairly often
• teens that are respectful, responsible, smart, fun young adults
• pets that add love and fur to our lives
• every good gift that God bestows

Right now I am thankful that I know beyond all doubt that I serve a Savior who loves me and will never leave me.  That God is Sovereign King over all things and holds our future secure in spite of the changing winds of this life.  

Right now I am thankful... and that is a very good thing indeed!

Blessings on the journey~

A Vacation in Photos

Almost all of these were taken by my amazing husband Steve - except for any of the two of us together - Jess takes those for us.
Our family vacation to Washington, DC lasted less than a week.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and left early Thursday morning.  In those few days we covered a LOT of ground!

Arlington was Ben's 'must see' and it was a moving experience for all of us.

The street where we stayed in Columbia Heights

Ice cream on the front steps.  It was summer in DC already!

Library of Congress was Jessica's 'must see'

Supreme Court

Mount Vernon - a great morning out here that even included a cruise on the Potomac

Me and my girl

Me and my boy

National Cathedral - amazing!

Back from Vacation

We're back!  Not that most people even knew we were gone... which is, of course, on purpose. :-)

We took the kids down to DC for almost a week and came back yesterday afternoon.  It was VERY nice for all of us to sleep in our own beds last night!

The photo is of a hand-painted replica of part of a stained glass window in the National Cathedral, which may have been one of the high points of the trip for me.  What a beautiful and amazing place!

Once I have more photos pulled together, I will post a bunch and tell some stories about our trip.  It was a great vacation and a nice capstone event to our school year for the kids.  Hard to believe we are now heading straight into summer vacation!  Woot!

Blessings on the journey~

Still Not Really Spring

A little of this and a little of that sort of post.

Such is life where we live... winter comes and just stays and stays.  April 1st and this is the view from the back door.  Lots of snow piled up still and a plank bridge out to the chicken coop for those warm/wet/muddy days when the yard turns into a bog.

Now to be fair, we've had tremendous amounts of melting and the dirt road we live on is a rutted mess on a good day and a quagmire on a warmer day.  This is also known as 'mud season' where we live, so it is all to be expected.

We are plodding along (sometimes literally!), Steve and I have begun our almost daily walks again - which is so lovely! There is a nice loop about 3 miles long that we do together and chat about everything and anything. It is time I cherish with the man I love.

The kids are entering the home stretch of our school year and as this is now officially the end of Jess' Jr. year (we have re-shuffled things due to a change of heart on her part), we are also making plans to meet with a college adviser, attend a few college fairs and looking towards some campus visits in the coming weeks.

Ben has begun learning to drive so I'm spending lots of time in the passenger seat again.  We are also contemplating the purchase of a new vehicle and that is producing not-a-little-bit of anxiety for me as I try to sort through models and trim lines, needs vs. nice-to-haves, do test drives, research pricing and financing options, etc.  Not my most favorite thing, but a necessary evil in the world of car buying.

This coming Sunday is Easter (Resurrection Sunday) and we will be officially accepted into membership at our church (MCC) and I'm feeling rather happy about that fact.

Blessings on the journey all~

Random Brain Ramblings

I haven't posted much of late as I've been sort of in a low spot in many ways and have had trouble pulling my brain out of the fog for more than is required for just general life a lot of the time.
We've had a very long stretch of cycling snow storms and freezing cold temperatures and that has caused it's own issues as well as creating a certain amount of drab feelings and cabin fever alternatingly (is that really a word?).

We've had frozen heat pipes, a giant frost heave just outside the garage door, the chicken coop is at a definite angle - probably also due to frost heaves, we've had ice dams and leaking into the house, and as of yesterday, a different heating pipe has begun to leak and the plumber can't come until next week Tuesday.  I've had a weird tendonitis thing in my right hand/wrist that has made life very challenging and has completely thwarted my self-therapy of sewing.  The dog had surgery and then a weird doggie vertigo episode that has resulted in lots of vet visits and bills.

All this is fairly negative on the surface, however there have been many good things and bright spots as well.
There are things to be thankful for even when things are hard:

• After my temper-tantrum with God back in September (mom-camp), we started attending church in Peterborough (Monadnock Congregational Church) and that has been a tremendous blessing and source of peace.  Steve and I even attended membership class with the Pastor and are planning to become members during the month of March (Lord willing).
• We've had some rough spots with friends and family that have required us to speak up and step out of our normal non-confrontational lifestyle to deal with uncomfortable issues - this has resulted in shifts in relationships that prayerfully God is putting on the right track again.
• Almost all of the house issues have resolved - mostly - without any really dreadful situations or too horrendous of expenses.  And we are really evaluating what is needful for projects and home improvements both long and short-term.  I do see having to paint the family room this year after the water leaking in left water spots on the ceiling, but that was sort of needful anyway.
• My chiropractor has made great improvement in my hand/wrist with a new technique.
• Today it is 40 degrees and the sun is peaking out!
• The kids are healthy and doing well with their school work and we are working on our plans for next year including starting to look at colleges for Jess.
• Ben is learning to drive.
• I'm reading several books right now.
• Steve built Jess some fun built-in bookshelves in her room.

• Steve is working on building me a design wall for my sewing room.
• My chickens are all still laying and seem to be surviving their first winter okay.
• My new cat Gypsy is settling in nicely and loves to sit on my desk with me.
• We have had some great silly laugh-fests when we get a bit stir crazy.
• I've got lots of projects to work on once my hand heals enough to get back to sewing.
• There is prayer meeting on Thursday evenings at church and it's wonderful.
• There is coffee and chocolate and fudge in my world.
• I have a husband who is truly amazing, loves me so and cares for me completely, and we've just celebrated 19 years of marriage!
• My kids are awesome, smart, funny and very helpful.
• I have dear friends to share with, laugh with and who will keep me in prayer.
• I know that Jesus loves me and will carry me through the toughest things by His grace & mercy.

Blessings on the journey~

First Project of 2015

We've been fairly quiet on the house projects since early summer when we did the hang-out space for the kids.  I've been busy with lots of sewing projects and we've had a fair amount of just regular life happening around here.
Since we generally have a two week vacation with Christmas and New Year's, Steve wanted to tackle something good sized with the time.  He knocked off quite a few smaller projects last week and this week we did a really fun photo wall in the living room that I just love and then we started working on painting Jessica's bedroom.  This might be a record... we started on New Year's day in the afternoon and I finished it today (Jan 2nd) just before dinner time.
Of course I don't have before or after photos because it was a marathon of painting and I didn't stop to take any.  Bad excuse, but I'll try to get some shots after we put the furniture back tomorrow and update this post.
The one fun thing we did tonight was this neat little art photography project.

Photographs of signs by my amazing hubby

Sorry for the really awkward picture, but I took it with my phone and it's on a tiny wall just by her door that is awful for trying to photograph.

Steve went out this afternoon and photographed all the street signs in a few different towns and we printed, framed and hung them tonight as a surprise.  She actually hasn't even been upstairs to see it yet.  Hopefully she's going to like it. :-)

Her room done is the 8th room painted in the house and leaves us just 2 more rooms and 2 hallways to paint - all since we moved in less than 2 years ago.  I'm stunned at the progress we've made in such a relatively short space of time.  

Actually her room wasn't awful as it was painted and was fairly neutral in color, but she wanted a light, brighter color on the walls as a backdrop for her eclectic style.  She chose the same light color she'd had in our Merrimack house (Creamy Buttermilk - by Glidden) and we had the very nice paint guy at Home Depot color match it in Behr paint for us.  

Now to figure out some window treatments, and get some things hung on the walls.  Then Steve is going to build her a custom book shelf & storage unit against one of her knee walls (she has a windowed dormer on one wall).  A great way to start the new year and the last semester of high school! 

Praying that God blesses all our projects in 2015 to be as fairly easy as this one. 

Blessings on the journey~

Stalled

I'm finding myself stalled at the moment.  Life is moving along of course... the kids are busy with many things, I'm reading some, cooking some, puttering around and sewing a bit.  But there is this feeling of hanging in limbo and a vague sense of frustration and weariness that is lingering emotionally/spiritually.
 
In less than a week my youngest child will be 15 years old, and the following week we will begin our new school year. I believe it is our 12th year of schooling, officially senior year for my beautiful daughter.  How is all this even possible?  There is no panic though. My software is ready for the new year, just about all the books have been purchased and are ready.  Lesson plans are mostly put in place.

Steve is on vacation next week and we hope to have some fun as a family with day trips, etc.  We are discussing college ideas, gap year ideas and some possible travel plans.  We are on the brink of so much once again and yet I don't feel stressed or overwhelmed with any of it - which is its own sort of strange.  

Perhaps stalled is a good place sometimes.

Blessings on the journey~

Biggest Project Yet - The finale

Part One and Part Two.  ***Photo heavy***

Here is the big reveal!

So now we were ready for finishing touches and furniture!

Instant fun... just add teens! They are enjoying their space immensely and I am so amazed at the transformation!  I'm also once again so amazingly blessed that my husband sacrificed so much time and effort to create a beautiful, inviting, comfortable space for our kids and their friends.

Now if he can only get around to that shed....

Blessings on the journey~