Take a look at these!

While out running errands yesterday...the kids and I stopped in a country store to browse around. I love the store and I also wanted to get some essential oils that she sells. While looking around....I came across this old fashioned school desk!!! My mom has one and I have always wanted one! She was selling it for a great price, in my opinion! I absolutely love it and it works perfectly in my dining room!!! YIPPEE!!!

AND....the sign below was on their 40% off table!!! Isn't it fantastic???? I absolutely LOVE it! It is an amish stop sign! I have not decided where it is going to go yet.....but I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have gotten it....and on sale too! Woooohoooo! :)

It's a beautiful day here in PA. The kids and I went out to mom's and helped pack up stuff from Devon (my sis)'s wedding. Chris is working on our siding on our home! I have done laundry and hung it out on the line...there's more to hang out but I wanted to post these pics really quick!

Tonight we are having a fire out back!! We have called some friends and hopefully it will be a nice time!!! I hope you all are having a lovely weekend as well! :) Thanks for dropping by!

Enjoying God's Creation!

Hello! I am up way past my bedtime...but I wanted to quickly post a few pictures and a *hello*! I was without the internet the majority of the day today....due to some storms that have passed through our area!

The other night, I was able to get some pics of the flowers in bloom around my home! My hosta(in the picture at the top of the post) are growing by the minute it seems! I love that they don't need much tending...although I *do* have weeding around them to do!

Our rhodadendron bush is blooming nicely as well.....

Out front...I have some green/white hosta and those yellow flowers (forgive me for forgetting their name at the moment) are in full bloom. It looks a bit chaotic...I would like to "clean it up" a bit...but now isn't the time...I have been super busy with life at home and church activities...so I will wait to worry about the flowers!


Madelyn and I finished our homeschooling for the 08-09 school year! I have my portfolio turned in....I hope I did everything right. Luckily...our family is good friends with the school's Superintendant and he is super nice. I am sure he will tell me where I can improve for next year etc.

I made homemade bread today. I had given up for a while...as my bread would always turn out like a brick. It was so frustrating....today, though, I followed the directions to a *T* and my bread came out fantastic!!! YIPPEE! I was thrilled!!!

The next two weekends...I am helping with overnighters at our church for the youth. I am not fond of sleeping on the church floor....but I try to help when I am needed. :) There's lots more going on....but I have to admit...I am sooo tired...it's late...so I will share these few more pics with you and then get off to bed! :)

*Xavier isn't in the pics below because at the time, he got to have a sleepover at his grammie's house! They all love getting to take turns every once in a while having a "sleepover"!*

Jaxson and our cat, Jack! :)

The girls enjoyed free ranging for a bit in the evening as well!

Jaxson always sings when he swings...it's so funny! I love the expression I captured....

Madelyn played on the woodpile...

Oh....and for anyone wondering...my sister has called from her honeymoon in Scotland. She talked to my mom and I guess things are going well and they are having a nice time!!! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by! :)

When Two Become One....

My sister, Devon, and her fiance, Cory, got married on Saturday!!! It was a beautiful wedding! Devon looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress! They make an adorable couple, don't you think?
As of right now...they are in Scotland for their honeymoon!!! Isn't that amazing? I bet they are having a wonderful time! :)

I have tons of pictures I could share with you all....however, for some reason..whether it's my computer or it's blogger...they are taking forever to upload. So I am just going to share a few!!!! :)
My Aunt Christy did us girls' hair Saturday morning.....


My handsome ring bearers....Jaxson and Xavier.....


And sweet Madelyn....the flower fairy! My mom made those wings! Aren't they amazing???

I don't have pics during the actual wedding...since I was the matron of honor (woot!)...carrying a camera was a no, no! LOL

At the reception....my mom and family and friends really worked hard to decorate and make it perfect! It really was beautiful!!!
The first dance....


Me and Chris....My boys....cute entertainment!!! LOL....

The kids dancing with the bride!

We had a wonderful time and it was such a beautiful celebration!!! I am so happy to have Cory as my brother in law and look forward to getting some neices and nephews soon...hehe!!! :)

Excitement for Saturday!!!

My sister, Devon, is getting married on Saturday!!!! We are busy, busy...preparing and looking forward to it all!!! We are looking forward to welcoming Cory into our family! It is going to be an absolutely beautiful wedding and ceremony!!!! If you hop over to my sister's blog..you can see the custom cake toppers she got! They are so neat!!!

I have been keeping busy with lots of stuff lately! However, this past weekend, I got the stomach flu. Not fun at all. :( But I am happy to report that I am feeling much better and back to my busy self! :) AND...no one else seems to have caught it from me! Yahoo! Maybe it was just something I ate? Anyhoo.....it is an absolutely gorgeous day here in PA and I have lots to do. Happy Wednesday!!!

Double Yolkers

The *girls* have been keeping me busy...collecting and washing eggs. I can't tell you how fantastic fresh eggs are! One of the girls tends to lay bigger eggs....alot of them end up to be double yolkers. I am not sure if that is the "technical term" or not...but that is what we call them when they end up having 2 yolks inside! I washed one and put it between 2 normal sized eggs above....see the crazy difference in size?? Most of the cartons I put eggs into have a hard time staying closed because they have at least one of these *super eggs*! :)


This is how many I washed the other day...almost 2 dozen. We get between 10-12 eggs a day usually. I wash the eggs daily or sometimes every other day. I can't even tell you how much I enjoy the fresh eggs!

The other evening, the girls were out free ranging a bit and I was out by them and Chris was burning some paper stuff. One of the girls was acting really weird and I got so worried...so I called Chris over and we kinda watched her together...unsure of what was wrong with her...then all of a sudden she squats down a bit (she was standing before) and out pops an egg!!! LOL It was hilarious. Then she was fine. Like a load had been lifted (or, in this case, layed)! Usually the girls lay late morning or so....so this happening in the evening was quite a surprise...and in the middle of the yard...LOL!

Staying busy here at our house! Schooling, cleaning and normal daily things....plus, my sister is getting married in 9 days so we are all getting ready for that celebration! :) Hope you all are doing well. Thank you for stopping by! :)

A Beautiful Mother's Day!

I had a nice mother's day....except that Chris had to stay home from church to dig up our sewer line. We don't work on Sundays but on our way to church, we found out that that was the day Chris could use the excavator....so it was then or never...and it HAD to be fixed.

Church was nice. Our church, instead of flowers or such for the moms, takes up an offering and sends it to a women's life services department...it helps women to choose life and promotes abstinence and lots more...all while teaching about the love of Jesus! :)

I had lunch with my mom and kids and other family. Again...bummer that Chris couldn't be there... :( Later that evening, after a nice nap (I felt guilty about napping while Chris was out working outside...but there was nothing I could do to help anyway...and I love having the chance to nap on a day of rest.) and then my mom came out to visit and see how the sewer line thing was coming and Chris's parents and also his brother and his wife came over. So we all talked and it was a nice time. :)

I received some beautiful gifts from my children!!!

Madelyn got me this figurine and said the woman was me and the girl was her! :) Madelyn picked it out all by herself! :) And then there is the little ornament...which you can't see it but she wrote how much she loves me on it! :o)

Jaxson, my youngest, (with some help from my mom) got me this tea light holder and some tea lights! :) He was so excited to give it to me!

And Xavier...gosh...he was keeping this secret for a LONG time....he would go to my dad's garage and "work" some days and he was working on this secret mother's day gift for me....a bird house!!! :) I think he did such a fabulous job with it! Don't you?

I swooned over each gift and truly appreciated each one. Madelyn wished she would have made me a gift too...and got upset that X did and she didn't. I had to go upstairs and talk to her and tell her how much I love the gift she got me and how I love that she picked it out and how special it is for me to have her as my daughter!

Being a mother is such a wonderful blessing and it has always been my dream. All my life I wanted to be a mommy and I am so glad to be able to say that my dreams have all come true! :) Not only am I blessed to be a mother...but I have a mother who has bent over backwards for me all her life...and still does. She goes without (and always has) so that my sister and I could have what we needed. I respect my mom as my mother...but she is more than that...she is one of my closest friends as well. Not everyone can say that and I am so blessed and grateful that I can! I have also been blessed with a wonderful mother in law. I am so thankful for the wonderful women in my life and how they have helped me to mature and learn through the years. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day as well! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! :)

Outdoor Home Pics!

So although it is really windy out today...and at times the sky looked like it was going to open it's floodgates with rain...it turned out to be a really beautiful afternoon! I decided to take some pics outside of my home to share! As you can see...we are still working on our siding...our home is a work in progress...but I love it...it's HOME!

My arbor and walkway to the back of the house... if you look along the path...you will see it is torn up in the back. Our sewer line thingy (I don't know it's name exactly) is not how it is suppose to be....so Chris has to redo all the piping...not fun. So he has been working on it a bit and of course, it runs right through my walkway and in the driveway...ugh! He is waiting for an excavator his uncle has to continue working on it...so he started working on mowing the lawn. (As you can see in the background!)....

Some flowers around my home....aren't they pretty?

Our privacy fence...

My hosta....

Our red rooster shed. I love it....isn't it so pretty? Beside it is the chicken coop and run.

And some awfully handsome little men.... :) (Xavier is upset because they got into trouble and were not allowed to play outside for a while because of it.).....

I hope you enjoyed the little outdoor tour. There is much, much more I could have shared with you....but I will save that for another day! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend...and wishing all you mother's out there an absolutely wonderful Mother's Day!!!! xoxo

A Few Decor Changes

So....as you all will remember (and for any new readers) this is my temporary living room....the walls are horrible and still have yet to be redone...but I am waiting till we finish my new living room and move in there before I start working on this room, I think. I got a few things the past few months and decided to try and hang them up (even though it is temporarily in this room...although temporarily could mean years when it comes to DO IT YOURSELF projects/us finishing the new living room!). If you want to see pics of how things were previously in my living room...you can go HERE. Lucky for me...I like the prim/country look...so the walls sorta fit in...LOL! But I still like a "cleaner" country style! ha!


Below is a window I bought a week or two ago! Isn't it fantastic??? I can't wait till the new living room is done...I have great plans for this window and decorating!!! :o)

I have a stove in a corner (not by my choice...it was like this when we moved in)....it creates a big gap behind it...and it's sooo hard to clean back there...but I do try. Anyway...I did a lil rearranging back there too.....

And a pic of my dining room...just cuz I love it! ;) Although you will notice it is far from perfect. I know that I like to see "real" pics of people's homes...and so that is what I want to share as well. If you come in my house most days...this is exactly what my dining room would look like. It looks cluttered in the pic...luckily..in *real* life, it doesn't appear that way! :)

Anyhoooooo.....thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are well and enjoying the nicer weather! Have a fantastic weekend! :)

Reorganizing My Home Cleaning Journal

For me, I find that the more organized I am...and if I have a plan to follow...the more things I get accomplished and the better our home feels..(and the better I feel!)! I had a home cleaning journal previously....but I felt like it wasn't good enough and I made it too big and bulky and I ended up not using it consistently. So....I decided to downsize it and make it just what I need it for and not put in "fluff".

I have a Proverbs 31 Woman virtues from a list I printed from HERE. And I also have the 27th verse of Proverbs 31 typed and printed out to remind me that idleness is not acceptable!

Some may think it is silly to write out your morning and bedtime routines...like making the beds and brushing your teeth...however, I just loved to have things written out and on paper. Is that strange? I love having checklists of things to accomplish! There is such satisfaction of getting each thing done! :)

After that I have my daily cleaning chores written out....(Nothing on Sunday though, of course!)


Then I have Zone work....I do these on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have certain weeks for each zone. This is similar to what flylady does...but I do my own. I can't work well off someone else's lists.

Basic cleanser recipes.....

I adapted a grand cleaning plan for my home using one made by Katie Leckey. This is for when I am giving the house an extremely good cleaning! :) There are pages and pages of this...but I didn't photograph each one! :)

And at the end I have meal planning ideas, important phone numbers, local take-out menus and phone numbers and such....

This is not something that everyone likes to do or ever even does. For me...it keeps me accountable and I love having one! Thank you for visiting me today!!! We are keeping busy here at my house! I hope you all are well and hope you have a wonderful week!!! :)