Grandma Lilly

"Most blessed of women is Jael [Lilly], the wife of Heber the Kenite [Leonard the farmer]; most blessed is she of women in the tent." Judges 5:24
This is Grandma Lilly. She has been a constant in my life as long as I can remember. Born in 1920, she has seen her share of hard work on the farm, as well as in the school cafeteria. And always manages to keep her opinion to herself (why didn't I inherit that trait?).

She and my late-grandfather raised 5 children. Those 5 produced 22 grandchildren. Those 22 have multiplied to 30+ great-grandchildren (and still counting). One of the great-grandchildren even has her name. (Did I mention they also temporarily raised four of Grandpa's cousins?)

Taken during our trip back to KS in October, this photo shows her holding the most-recent great-grandchild, Leila Mae (my brother's daughter).

Grandma, thank you for being such a strong, constant, get-it-done example for me.

Leaving a trail

"Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent?" Ecclesiastes 7:13
How often does one get to see the trail of a slug? The ever-so-slight layer of frost revealed this little guy's swaggering ways. Honestly, I didn't know slugs traveled so randomly.

Priorities

The Psalms and Proverbs are my two favorites. Through each psalm, the Spirit beacons to hold my heart while tenderly drawing out that which I do not yet entrust to Him. My head, on the other hand, grabs those Proverbs and slaps them up as rules.

Each one is good. For me, however, a balance of the two is best.

Lately, blogging has started to crowd out my morning study and I could see the effects in many other areas of my life. So, a blogging break needed to happen. Eric leaves around 5 am and I spend the next hour or so in His word. Seeing how He honors my time with Him is quite amazing. I actually enjoy cleaning the house now! And the extra time I have - all of a sudden!! Where were those minutes/hours before? When you feel rushed, stressed, or strung-out, seek Him. You will find Him. I promise.

To where does the Spirit lead when you search His written Word?

We have a winner!!

"But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." Romans 8:25

Our winner is allotment lady! Congratulations!! Please give me your mailing information so I can get it mailed. It's all boxed and ready to go. Here is your showcase...
Purchased at Cracker Barrel -
a bottle of 100% pure maple syrup
a package of Glee gum [the way gum used to be - with rainforest chicle]
Bluegrass Highway CD [how could I not include something bluegrass?]

Purchased from my sister in Arkansas -
A Little Bit o' Luck sample set from Lucky You Personal Spa Collection [moisturizing hand/body soap, exfoliating hand/body soap, tranquil bath tea (3 bags), perfect moisture hydrating lotion, creamy soy body butter, sugar mousse body polish, soothing bath salts]

Thank you for being so patient with me. I do appreciate all the comments even though you had no idea what the prize was. And please forgive me for waiting so long to post the winner. Never again will I post a give-away and then go on vacation. We got home and the next day it was a week later. :-(

100th Post Give-Away!!

"And Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many years have you lived?' So Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty.'" Genesis 47:8-9

Paula's paraphrase:

And her blogging friends said to Paula, "How many days have you been blogging?" So Paula said to her blogging friends, "The days of my blogging are way more than one hundred!"

True. I think my first post was December 31, 2006. It just took awhile to get to my 100th post because I don't blog every day and I've taken off more than a few days in a row.

However, my 100th post has arrived and (following blogging tradition) I am hosting a give-away!! Just leave me a comment and I'll toss your name in the hat!

Usually the hostess will display the items for the give-away; however, I don't have them yet. Tomorrow I leave for vacation back home (KS), and while I'm away I'll find little goodies to pass along to you!!

Thank you for visiting me today. Don't forget to leave me a comment and I'll see you in a week!!

(PS - If you live near Wichita KS, Topeka KS, or St Joe MO, let me know! I may be right around the corner!)

Ready for the rain

"For the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock." Matthew 7:25
Boy, did it rain! But, we got the area filled and leveled before the rains hit!! As you can see, everything leveled out quite nicely. In this case, I was thrilled to have two days of rain.

This photo shows the patio as we come down the driveway. We've added solar lights along the walls that don't serve as steps. Eric now calls the patio the runway because there are four rows of lights running parallel to each other. It's much more noticeable from the front door.

Next thing on the agenda is to get the soil ready for grass! Finally!! After living here for over a year, we're going to have grass in our front yard!!!

Holding it all in

"And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me, and also about the king's words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, 'Let us arise and build.' So they put their hands to the good work." Nehemiah 2:18
This is the beginning of the final section of wall stemming from the patio. Here's the plan - run it parallel to the house and the trees, wrap around the end of the trees, and taper down to the yard. Then pound in all that rebar, back-fill with dirt, level it, and plant with grass or ground cover. Sounds easy enough, right?

We thought so, too, until we ran into tree roots. In fear of a pine tree crashing through the roof of our house, Eric opted to work around the roots rather than cutting them. Good decision. :)

Perfect!!

Tah, dah!! Finished with the wall.
Now, who's going to clean up that mess by the trees?