Slow Progress

The progress on the house goes slowly. We've been here almost three weeks and are still waiting to actually move in. Saturday is scheduled for carpet installation, and so hopefully first of the week next week we can actually begin unpacking. Last week both Darren and I made ourselves ill painting with Kilz without proper respirator masks. Darren came staggering in after a long day of painting, and I was so concerned that I called mom to see what I could do for him. After several glasses of water, some charcoal, and an epsom salt soak, he started to feel much better.
Faith Yoder helped with some painting and snapped a few phone pics that I hope to add when I can so you can see the progress.
Today I am thankful or his grace in day to day moments. Give thanks to Him with me.

A Family Photo

Here's the family photo we took just last month. I hadn't gotten to posting it till today.

Go West, Young Man

Last week I was enjoying the big blueness of the skies, scattered with puffy white clouds, and the rolling plains leading off to snow capped mountains as we rolled towards Denver airport to be reunited with our children.  I had to think of these famous words, that have probably rung in the hearts of many men over the years.

 “Go west young man, go west! Do not lounge in the cities! There is room and health in the country, away from the crowds of idlers and imbeciles. Go west, before you are fitted for no life but that of the factory.” Horace Greeley

I'm not sure if the highway out here is named Greeley in honor of Mr. Horace or not, but we are here in Cheyenne, Wy "where the west begins." As I traveled I was asked by many people where I was going, and the unanimous consent of all the male population seemed to be one of envy for Darren getting to live out here. It seems to be many a man's secret dream!

We've been here for over a week, and no, we are not getting settled into our new house yet. We discovered that the very wet weeks and flooding our here leading up to our arrival have caused a mold problem that has to be taken care of first. One of the bedrooms was actually growing mushrooms! So there will be some extra work and cost involved before we get to the settling-in stage.
The carpets and paneling have been ripped out, and the exterior calked. Today I think they will try to finish repairing the siding and then prepare to drywall and paint. Thank you to each one of you who is reading this because of a personal interest in our lives. Please keep us in your prayers as we start out in this new area.


Yesterday I was reading in Hosea 6 -
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
 his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
 as the spring rains that water the earth.”
 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
 like the dew that goes early away.

... I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
 the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."(italics added)

I got to pondering how often I am like Ephraim and Judah. There are revival meetings or I hear a message that stirs up my heart in love and worship to the Lord. For a short time my love fires burn brightly, then like the morning dew when the sun has risen, it seems to evaporate, and I am back to "normal life."  What is my normal everyday living like? If I rate my devotional life, prayer life, and witnessing on a scale of one to ten, what would it really look like?  Not long ago I dreamed that the Lord's return was taking place, and the one regret in my heart was my lack in these areas.  I want to live my life so that if the Lord did come back today, I wouldn't have regrets.  I want to truly "press on" to know the Lord like the passage says.
May the Lord help me to seek him with my whole heart,  to sow and reap a harvest of steadfast love and his refreshing rain of righteousness! 
Hosea 10 :12  Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you."

Moving Preparation

Today we left the children with Grandpa and Grandma Weaver. They will stay there while we finish our last few days of packing and meet us in Wyoming in a little over a week. We will miss them! Darren's folks will bring a trailer on Monday night and we will load up. Then Darren will leave on Thursday, and I will fly to join him with Edward on Friday.


 But they are sure to have a splendid time :)



Little Edward is growing so fast! It's had to believe he is already 2 months old!



My brother James with Edward - photo credits for this post - Peg Kelly

It was great getting to see my family one last time before moving, and an added treat - my mom's cousin Peg, who is like an aunt to us was there also. I hadn't seen her in years! So nice to be able to touch down! Joyce and Carol also came and spent the day. Now they should all come and visit me in Cheyenne!

Edward at Two Months

Here's our little man - two months old today! Doesn't time have a way of flying!?

Today at Our House

Today at our house is a day of rest. I'm home with the children because they are potentially contagious. Tomorrow will be the start of a busy week - the last full week before we head west for the summer. There is so much to do.... And yet sometimes it's just time to stop a bit and do something with the little ones. Here's a project we did last evening -

 

Re- purposed Board Books

I had an old ripped up one that was just about to hit the trash when I remembered seeing a blog post about using them to file your children's art. The result was that the paper and paste came out and the children were soon happily enjoying their new art books.

And I think I may have to do this again! Each of these have a very limited number of pages since they are both only part of a book, but I may even consider picking up another cheap but not specially good board book to do this with for them to use on our long drive out west. 

But there's so much to do getting ready yet! We'll see what happens.

Everythings coming up flowers!

     Sometimes in life we forget the flowers for a while...

     Sometimes we just let ourselves be too busy to take time to smell them...

     Sometimes we don't remember to look for the splashes of joy that fall across our paths...

     I've been there too often. Lately it's been the busy thing mostly. But when I do stop and think long enough I find so many many things to delight in. 

      One of the little things that makes my heart beat quicken with delight is the harum-scarem flower bed I have behind my house, which is now all color besplashed. The poppies especially delight me for some reason, but each new color burst has a sort of thrill. 

     There is no rhyme or reason to my planting but this - I scattered some wild flower seeds broad cast on the plot in the spring, and am so glad I did! I'm sure the lack of "order" to it must pain the perfect gardeners around here, and I'm sorry, but if you are one of them and you read this, please accept my apologies and overlook the weeds that strive to overtake it. The only excuse I can offer is that I really AM busy. It's hard to find the time to do all that begs to be done in a day, which is why I haven't written here for an age and a day.

      Anyway, I thought I would share just a few photos of them with you, and a note to you all that we plan to go west for a few months next month. Pray for us during this time as we continue to seek God's will for us long term. We have some things we've been praying about, but nothing that we can as yet say we know for sure is the next step after the step we are taking to go west for the summer.

    We are praying that these next months will be the time "apart" we need to refocus.

    This bee inspired me and reminded me of something I believe I read in Amy Carmichael's works, about being like a bee, and spreading a bit of life to every soul I touch, just like the bee spreads seeds of life as it carries pollen from flower to flower. I want to carry life with me, all unconscious of myself as I do it. I think this is one of my biggest prayer-requests, if you want to pray something for me, to be a bear of life in word and action - life words that build my husband and children, life deeds, life and laughter shining out of my face and splashing over to those around me.
"streams of living water flowing out from my innermost because I am filled to the uttermost."
      Lately I've felt a bit dry, but I don't want to stay that way. He has what I need, and my desire is to be always going to him for it.