A Windy Day in October!

Hello, again! Thank you, to each of you, for your encouraging comments on my last post. Smiling is such a mood-booster (for yourself and others around you). Your kind words brought a smile to my face!

Heather from Illinois asked how other bloggers "may bless [me] and make [me] smile?"! Thank you for your thoughtful consideration...but truly, I am blessed just reading the comments and emails you each leave for me! It is so wonderful to be able to share with like minded people from all over the country (and the world)!

I guess, though, what would truly give me *great* joy would be to know that you have felt uplifted and encouraged from stopping by here and that your relationship with our loving Father is growing, daily. Many have commented on the ministry of my blog, which greatly encourages me. It is my greatest desire, to share the love of Christ with those who pay me a visit in this vast world-wide-web! :)


Today was a very windy and blustery day outside. We kept busy with schooling and housework (I did some room *tweaking* which I will share below). I also had a dr. appt to attend to, today. Despite the super-wind of the day...I *did* attempt to hang out some laundry. When I went out later to check on it, clothes were all wrapped around the line and each other! ;) They did dry though, for the most part! :)

Around the house today...

My latest knitting project, a basket-weave dishcloth...

Book shelf...moved from the schoolroom to the living room...

The living room after a little *tweaking*...

Nothing overly exciting...but small things make me smile...

Light from a mason jar, I just love lamps like this...I have many...

Madelyn reading the book Heidi...

After a hearty supper of spaghetti, since Chris was at a men's fellowship gathering for church, the children snuggled in to watch a movie, Adventures from the Book of Virtues.

Jaxson...

*And* to add to it all...a lady, whom I did not know, stopped by the house saying she found a dog. I told her we hadn't lost one...she was afraid to let the dog continue outside, as it was getting dark out, but she had to get to work for a 12 hr. shift. I told her that we would keep him and try to find the owner. He's a cute, little...actually big, guy. He's still a playful pup and is super lovable. We could never keep him, if we don't find the owner, so we are really hoping that we can find where this sweet pup came from.

It was difficult to get a good picture of him, since he was just bouncing all over! ;) Here he is...trying to get to know Jack-the-cat, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with the pup! Please pray that we can find his owner so he can go back *home*....the best place to be! ;)

Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!
- Humbert Wolfe

As always, I love hearing from you! Each note is a gift that I truly appreciate! I wish you a glorious weekend, ahead! Ours shall be busy...but enjoyable!

Warmly,
Katy :)

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
~Numbers 6:24-26

Smile....

...the world is watching! :)

We need to show, daily, the joy in our lives. True joy comes from a relationship with our God. Not just knowing *about* Him...but truly *knowing* Him! It doesn't mean times will always be easy...actually ~ times can and will be rough. It's choosing how to react to those situations of difficulty that can show others the light, His light, shining through us. Do you smile enough? :)

Encouragement for you...

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

~ Mother Theresa

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

~ Mother Theresa

Nobody needs a smile so much as the one who has none to give. So get used to smiling heart-warming smiles, and you will spread sunshine in a sometimes dreary world.

~ Lawrence G. Lovasick

A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.

~ Denis Waitley

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Things that bring a smile to my face, often...

The children, all ready for supper (with juice bags to drink, an occasional treat!)...


Playing dominoes!


Knowledge increasing...


Fresh-from-the-oven peanut butter cookies!

Great reads...

Chris, home after a long day of work and hunting, sitting to work on reading with Xavier...

Imaginations putting creativity to good use...


Oil lamps, awaiting their next use...

And a *new* little set up atop a cupboard in the living room...

Oh, the list of things that makes me smile goes on and on....(and on)! I find that the more I smile in a day, the better the day goes. Don't you?
When out and about, whether getting groceries or what other errands I may be running, I smile at people and often times say "hello". Quite often I get a smile back and sometimes even a reply. Every once in a while, people respond with just a look or will totally ignore me. I don't let it get me down, though. I just keep on smiling. (**Honestly, just writing about smiling makes me *smile*!) A warm smile can be such an encouragement for someone who is downtrodden. As an ambassador for Christ...I find this simple act to be one of the, although small, ways to spread His love.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ** 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 **

Smile. Shine. Let people wonder what this great joy and light is, emanating from you. God will use that to draw people to Him. You may never even know how you touched someone's life. But showing genuine love to people around you is one of the best things we can do, for a hurting world.

Just sharing something that was on my heart.
Thank-you for stopping by. It's always encouraging to read your kind comments and emails. Thank you, each, for them! A jolly *hello* to all my new readers, as well. :) It's fun to make friendships across the miles...isn't it?

Sending great big ol' smiles to each of you,
Katy :)

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
~Numbers 6:24-26

Softly and Tenderly...

...Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals He's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home;
ye who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

I found the old hymnbook, above, recently during a look in a thrift store! It has all the beautiful hymns in it! I was thrilled at the find!

Friday, we started the day with a heart-warming surprise... all of a sudden, my children started cleaning...without being asked! It was quite wonderful. They put away books, and things that needed putting-away and also swept the floors. :) It was wonderful!



We, then, got right to schooling. Reading, mathematics, bible, social studies, language and more...




Jaxson worked in his workbooks, too...


Schooling is always followed by playing...and a lot of it. Imaginations soar and little legs run, skip, and ride bikes and scooters with lots of laughter and giggles. After a while, little ones tire out...

Bread and ice, cold water for a snack...

Aromatic candles lit, making a pleasant fragrance, throughout the house...

Loads of laundry hung out to dry, in the breezy, crisp, autumn air...

Sweet baby Stu...out and about, enjoying a snack...

The *girls* are still around...happily roaming throughout the yard...

Saturday, the children helped their daddy to get more wood for the wood stove. They work hard and enjoyed a nice rest when they got home...

I stayed in the house, keeping busy with housework and baking bread...

My mom called and invited us over for supper that evening. I packed up one of the loaves of bread to take with us...

We had a wonderful time talking and laughing with my parents. We had a great dinner (meatloaf, baked potatoes, baked corn, broccoli/cauliflower, homemade applesauce and my homemade bread). The children had fun playing, as well.

Madelyn, at grammie and pop-pop's (notice the *set up* on the floor...the children love to play cars at their house!)...


Madelyn made some clothespin people and started acting out the whole story of Jesus' life! ;)

On Sunday, we went to church and enjoyed fellowship with friends in Christ. Always a wonderful time. Afterwards, we attended a family picnic...

It was suppose to be a bit warmer that day...but on the hill, where the pavillion is, it was quite windy. Madelyn changed into pants and a sweatshirt...better (and warmer) to play in than a dress! ;)

Daddy helps Xavier fix the bike...

Jaxson, with his beloved cousin...

Over the end of last week and the weekend, we also got to spend time with some different friends...eating, talking and with lots of laughter. It's always such a blessing to have good friends. :)
Well, time has gotten away from me and I need to get dinner finished. Chris will be home from work soon and the children have just awakened after taking a bit of a rest, this afternoon. Thanks for visiting and I hope you will come back again, soon!

Warmly,
Katy

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
~Numbers 6:24-26

Window Star Tutorial

I was asked if I would do a tutorial on making window stars! If you go HERE you can find out how to make window stars that are a little more basic (but still beautiful). The tutorial I am going to do today is of a star pictured above. It's fun, the things you can come up with, trying different folds!

First, you will want to have 8 sheets of kite paper (I am using purple and white, this time). I get my kite paper from HERE. **Always remember, the neater you are with your folding, the better the star will turn out!**

You will want to fold and cut each paper in half...


Fold each half, in half *long ways*, again. Then fold each corner in towards the middle...making a point at either end...


Now, one of the the point ends, you want to fold them into the middle again...


Do the same with the other pointy end so you end up with something that looks like this...(continue this with all the kite paper halves until you have 16 of these.)


On one side, using a glue stick, place glue from the bottom till about halfway up...

Then place another one of the diamonds on top of the first, right on the glue. Line up the side of the top one with the middle of the bottom one...

And continue this pattern (you may also glue down all the folds at the tops of the diamonds...but I don't)...

Finally, you should end up with something that looks like this...


I did this all last night but here is a picture of the brown star, that I took during daylight! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I don't usually answer in the comments, but I will try to this time so that if anyone else has the same question, they will be able to see the answers there. :)

Hope this is as much fun for you as it is for me! I find it very calming to do all the folds! ;)
Thank you for visiting!

Kindly,
Katy :)

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
~Numbers 6:24-26