Awaiting Beauty.....

****Since I am not going to write a book any time soon on our Birthday Parties, I thought it would be fun and hopefully helpful to have a link to many of our birthdays and the fun we had decorating for them!!! Its down towards the bottom on the right side bar "Birthday Parties." *******

Congratulations to my daughter Anna......she got 4th place in a Photography Contest that had 90 entries, and she was only 3 votes away form first!!! Well done!! Oh, the subject was birds and she entered a cardinal in the snow that she had captured in the winter!!

We have 10 rose bushes around our house and in the early Spring I really "pruned" them down to about 3 feet. One bush as I counted the buds has 116 on it and they look the healthiest ever! I am anxiously awaiting the fruit, the beauty, the results from the sheering, the pruning, the "trial." They are created with the capacity to to bring glory to their Creator by their beauty, the scent, the intricacy of the petals all formed to exemplify death????? Not at all, all the pruning, all the "trial" is meant to show forth "life, fruitfulness." They are my reminder everyday as I look and see the buds growing and now as they begin to unfold, I see hints of "results," I see color and it will not be too long before the delicate scent will profoundly speak truth to my heart, "beauty has come forth." This is what I long for, I look with hope that if He is willing I will get to see beauties from Joel's journey, that he will in his mercy show me fruit from the pruning. To be honest, so much of the time I feel like I, we were "whacked" down and left to wither, I have to seek hard to get on top of the enemy's vacuum instead of being sucked into the "all happened for naught theory of the devil." I am so thankful that I have a perspective to hang on to right out on the front porch!

Anna and I got up early this morning getting the guys off for their week of work on this commercial job. Lord willing this will be their last week away! Josiah was so sweet last Thursday as he said"when is the rest of my family coming back?" We do have a busy week here so that will help it to go fast. Picking up a baby goat at the airport!!! Schoolwork and I am going to try to work on my Creative Memory books, Bethany's is next, and all the stuff that has to be done around here everyday and if I can twist the B's because I told them they need to come "minister" to us we might see them this week!! Lord willing, we'll make it!!

Anybody still on the eating of green and protein? I am still seeking to, although I still on occasion have a "pinch" of something sweet. I have been at a standstill on weight loss for about a month but this past week I have started moving down again. I am 2 # away form my desired goal which was to loose 24 # at the beginning and 7 # away from when we got married. It is so hard to stay on all the exercise. I am better at not eating this or that than getting on the treadmill, but I am trying. Of course we have plenty of spinach to fill me up on the greens! I think I figured this is a sort of plan that has to stay this way because eating whatever and no exercise for me will do me in. I do feel so much better and we know as women if we feel good it affects alot of areas!! Keep it up!! These are temples of the Holy Spirit and we ought to take care of them by his grace!

The kitchen tour was sooo fun, I enjoyed looking at all the kitchens and meeting new folks! Thanks for stopping by ours!!

Better get the day going......