"Every day is important for us...

 ...because it is a day ordained by God. If we are bored with life there is something wrong with our concept of God and His involvement in our daily lives. Even the most dull and tedious days of our lives are ordained by God and ought to be used by us to glorify Him."

~Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

Hello friends. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Unfortunately, I have nothing too overly exciting to share...other than I got sick *again*! A little over two weeks after the first time I had what seemed like the stomach flu (although no one else got sick), I got it again. Tuesday I was super sick all day...yesterday I had a down day of just recuperating and trying to re-hydrate. I didn't teach spin or anything....did some laundry and knitting and mostly just took it easy. I have no idea what is going on with me! I am really hoping it doesn't happen again...at least not for a long time! It was quite miserable!

In other news...Madelyn has her first formal tomorrow evening. It is for our homeschool co-op. She is finally of age and gets to go! She is very excited (as am I ~ for her!)! I will be sure to share photos! It's a bit classier than a prom...a smaller number of kids go, Christian adults chaperone...and I think they eat there and that there is no slow dancing! :) It is held at a country club not far from my home!

OH! And Madelyn is trying out contacts! Chris and I decided it was time for her to be able to have some...she had an eye appointment and is now using trial contact lenses to see how it goes! She will even have them for the formal which is exciting too! Of course, I think she looks lovely with or without glasses...but for her, this is just great! :o)

I just have a few photos to share then I need to finish my grocery list!

Last Sunday after church, we had a "clean up around the pavilion" day (to get it ready for use during the spring and summer). They had to move the hay bale mover thing (I am quite unsure of its official name) so Madelyn got to drive the Ford tractor for the very first time! That's her daddy beside her...and in the hay bale mover lays her uncle (and Chris's best friend)! I wanted to remember the moment of Madelyn's first time driving the tractor....but also get the pic of my brother-in-law laying in the hay bale mover! Haha! It was funny!

Madelyn and Mama selfie (so many people say how much we look alike...but Madelyn and I agree...we don't look anything alike!)...

I almost didn't get this photo...but I am so glad I did! Chris and our BIL (They are truly best buds....each was the best man in the other's wedding)...riding on a dirt bike together. Haha! Such fun memories!

 Last week, I let the boys try painting with acrylic paints on canvas. They had a lot of fun!

Xavier did the top one and Jaxson the two bottom ones (they were trying to do Bob Ross inspired paintings)...

We are expecting thunderstorms this afternoon so after I pick up Madelyn from work (she does child care for a couple hours at our local YMCA) we'll run to the grocery store and try to beat the rain. I hope you enjoy your day!

Warmly,
Katy

 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.  Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5: 14-21

Color on the Walls...

If you have been following along with me lately, you'll know we have been working hard at finishing our addition! I am *so* excited to announce that color is on the ceilings and walls and flooring has been ordered (I can't WAIT for it to arrive!). We are so close to moving things in and getting everything in its proper place that it is making me quite giddy! :)

For the ceilings we used an off white color called Tahitian Vanilla. The walls in the new living room are a smidge darker than that....they appear light gray in the photos...but they aren't exactly that either. It will show better once we are moved in and have things in place I think. It's hard to describe exactly (and I am forgetting the official name at the moment)...

 The new laundry/mud room is a blue color called "Cold Snap". I associate blue with feeling crisp and clean. I think when we have the white washer, dryer and utility sink in there it will look nice!

All trim and the doors to the coat closet and cleaning closet will be painted the same color as the ceilings!

The entryway through the backdoor to the laundry room and living room areas is in a color two shades lighter than the laundry room. It actually turned out a brighter blue than I had hoped...but it's okay. Once I hang up a few things in there that I plan to, it will help cut up the brightness (I hope!)...

In other news...my Christopher turned 37 last week! We celebrated with cake at my dad's garage (where Chris works)...then that evening at home I had a Luscious Lemon Delight dessert ready for him (he loves lemon)...

And before I close, I had to share this funny picture! It was actually darker than this picture makes it appear (we use lamps in our home...I like the soft glow of lamplight) but the flash brightened things up! Stella climbed up on Madelyn and parked herself like this! Mad looks un-amused, but I think she secretly loved it!

So, there's my little update for now. Homeschooling, housework, sticker-making, bible study, church, family, co-op and the like have been keeping us busy! I was thrilled to have temperatures in the 60's here today! I hung out laundry and the children and I did some cleaning outside (the yard after winter always just looks so icky...).

And quickly....as I need to hop off here and get supper made...I just wanted to share with you that I am now on Instagram (to help better promote my etsy shop...but also sharing some personal photos there as well some). You can find me HERE.

Bellies are a-grumblin'! I gotta run! Have a great week friends! Thanks so much for visiting!

Cheerfully,
Katy

The Light of the Gospel

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

~ 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (emphasis mine)

Do you notice today that many "ministries" water down the gospel (ahem, Joel Osteen)? What about churches that are basically a huge concert? Bands, lights, sound affects and more...? Is that about true worship and gospel-proclaiming or entertainment? It can really bring God's people to despair. How can people be so flippant and careless about their worship of the Creator?

It saddens me greatly...however, as I study the Scriptures, I am encouraged more and more to know that true followers of Christ will hold to the truth in love and that with all that is going on in the world today, it is just purifying the *true* church more and more! That is a beautiful thing.

I continually read and reread the Scriptures I posted at the top of this post, in my Bible. It's so encouraging to me, truly. It pushes me on to share the gospel and love others with grace and truth. I will not water it down...I will let light shine in the darkness. If you keep reading in 2 Corinthians, you will find *more* to encourage you. I'm skipping ahead to verses 16-18...but really hope you will read all the verses in between in your own time as well. It will encourage you ~ I promise! :)

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The terrible things going on in the world, the wasting away of our bodies, people pretending to play "church"...they are enough to make me want to cry (and maybe it is necessary to do so sometimes) *but* I will *not* lose heart...despite all these things ~ we must proclaim Christ and Him crucified. We must stand for truth. We must shine light in the darkness (even if people are blinded to it). All this evil is but for a moment and eternal glory is awaiting us! Be encouraged friends! :o)

At home...

When we let the chickens free-range in the afternoons/evenings, you can almost hear them cry out "Freedom!" when we open the door! (Think that scene from Braveheart). They aren't very polite about it either...they push and shove to try to get out as fast as possible...

Stella took a nap on my oil-painting things...

I saw a craft that I wanted to try and it turned out beautifully! You buy cheap, transparent plastic beads and melt them in a dish in the oven to make sun catchers!

Chris drilled a small hole in it and hung it using fishing line!

I would like to find more beads with other colors (blues, yellows, etc). But my Walmart only carries these colors. I may have to look somewhere online. :) I don't want to pay an arm and a leg though! :)

I could have had them melt longer...but I thought this looked fun! I may try other designs once I get some more beads too! It's really easy and fun! You can find the instructions for them HERE.

I hope you found encouragement here today...as well as enjoyed the photos I shared. I pray your week ahead is lovely! Thanks for visiting!

Warmly,
Katy

Frog Fun ~ A Recent Finish

Although I am more of a knitter...it's fun to crochet things too. Things whip up a lot quicker when you crochet them rather than knit! I made this hat for our friends' newest arrival. I am hoping it will fit the little guy this winter. The pattern said 3-6 months...but it seems a bit big...so we'll see. The pattern was just for the green hat and eyes. I made up the nostrils, smile and tongue on my own.

I am working on crocheting a mouse hat now. I may put it in my shop at some point...or gift it to someone. We'll see! :) I always have intentions of selling items I make...and then usually end up deciding to gift it instead!

What have projects have you been working on lately? I am linking up with Keep Calm Craft On from Frontier Dreams! :) Have a great Tuesday friends!

Kindly,
Katy

The Great Yarn Purge & WIPs

The time had come...

I had *way* too much yarn (I have a habit of accumulating and then hoarding yarn. I think it's a sickness). Some of which I really didn't think I would find use for (although I'm sure once I donate it, I will find a need for some of the stuff I gave away...isn't that always what happens? *smile*). After going through baskets and bags I am keeping only the yarn in this tote...

These *spilling over* bags are full of yarn I am donating....

Random needles I found while going through yarn baskets (crazy how they accumulate places)...

Here they are...tucked neatly into my needle holder (*sigh*...having everything in it's place just makes me happy)...

Crochet hooks are all put into their case (and the extra hooks into a holder in the next photo down)...

Bamboo knitting needles....I like how they *look* but not so much their quality. I have had some break on me...

Just a *few* of my WIPs (works in progress)...

This is all my cotton yarn that I kept (in addition to the yarn in the tote). It's all ready to be used to make dish cloths and other fun projects...

This was my first bib that I knit but I am not happy with how the top finished up. I still need to make i-cord ties for the sides. Because I was unhappy with the top (the pattern was a bit unclear) I kind of tucked this aside because I was disappointed in how it turned out...

Although not pictured, I am also working on knitting a Yoda hat for Jaxson. I'll be sure to share it when it is finished! :) Remember, if you are interested ~ take a look at my etsy shop (there is a link in my right sidebar)! It's such a blessing to create things to help earn a little extra money for my family!

It's been a long day (last day of our homeschool co-op for this school year...it was a wonderful time with a program and picnic with tons of fellowship and fun, but oh how exhausted I am ~ especially since I have been up since 4:45am!). I am off to relax a bit and spend some time knitting on Jax's hat before I head to bed.

Thanks for stopping by!
Warmly,
Katy

Linked up to: Keep Calm, Craft On

Staying at Home is *not* Boring

Staying at home as a homeschooling mother and wife does not seem like a "glamorous" life to most...and I think I would agree. Glamorous isn't the word for it. It is a life of selflessness, giving, being a blessing (and being blessed), hard work, joy, disappointments, failures, and rewards. It is what God intended for married women. 

Some believe staying at home to be boring...and I can assure you that it doesn't have to be. It all depends on how you use your time. There is schooling of littles (if you have young ones), spending time *with* your children, homekeeping chores, crafting (knitting, crocheting, sewing or another productive art), cooking, visiting those who need you, writing and sending notes of encouragement, time spent in the Word and other edifying books and prayer...and if your children are a bit older, there is even, at times, time for a nap in the middle of the day (why, oh why, didn't I treasure naps as a child? They are a glorious thing!). 

I am so, so thankful my husband believes the Bible when it says that women are to be keepers at home...loving their husbands and children (Titus 2:3-5). All I ever wanted to do in life was be a wife and mother. I am far (so very far) from perfect and have had many moments of struggling, selfish discontentment, depression and anxiety. But the Lord continually reminds me that I *am* right where He wants me....doing just what He created me to do. :) 

Below are a few crochet finishes (that I will hopefully be adding to my etsy shop soon)...

 Preemie Hat

 Dish Cloth

 Set of Dish Cloths

 0-3 month Sun Hat

And here is a knitting work-in-progress...

Madelyn and Jaxson playing chess...

Being a homemaker has allowed me the opportunity to travel to my sister's home when needed (Jax and I drove there yesterday to help her with the girls as she is battling a horrible cold)...

We took the girls outside to play as it was absolutely gorgeous outside!

They had a lot of fun drawing with chalk on the sidewalk and driveway...

These girls....love, love, love them!

Jaxson, who loves all things Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Hobbit (sci/fi junkie that he is), drew a large Darth Vader mask on the driveway. The girls loved it as they are Star Wars fans too (they haven't seen the movies...but they love it because Jaxson loves it!)

Audra was there too...sweet smiles and all...

Finished!

 At naptime, when things were quieted down and relaxed at my sister's house, Jaxson and I headed home (in the meantime Madelyn was helping Grammie at her office and Xavier was helping Pa at the Meat Market). I came home to get my cleaning done at home (I had hung two loads of clothes out on the lines before I had left that morning) and to start supper...

Eggs from our chickens, sausage from the Meat Market, and fried potatoes...the house smelled wonderful!

And after a good meal, it's always best to get the kitchen cleaned up before bed. Waking to a clean kitchen just starts the day off right! :)

It is truly a *gift* to be a homemaker. If you haven't yet, I would love if you would read my post HERE on it! May you find encouragement there! :)

And quickly, before I go...I just wanted to share with you this lovely beauty my husband carved for me. He is looking up how to coat it properly for usage. My guy...such a catch he is. I am blessed to call him mine!

I hope you will stop again soon. If you are new here...please check out different posts on my sidebar that you may enjoy!

Warmly,
Katy

     

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