"Trust in the Lord and do good...

...Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 

Delight yourself in the Lord; 

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

~Psalm 37:3-5

The Lord is so good, isn't He? After a scare yesterday...I am even more grateful to Him....but more about that later. First I want to share some photos from this past week or so! As I said in my last post....my Madelyn turned 17 recently! My sister and her four littles came over to celebrate with us (and go swimming! The swimming photos are on my phone though.)...

Lunch time!

This newly-turned-one-year-old is just too sweet for words! He is *definitely* a mama's boy! I wish he was an "Aunt Titi's boy"! ;)

Audra....with her fun, cheesy grin!

Eloise...mid-sentence....teehee! Ack! I just realized I don't have a close up pic of Dinah-girl :( Bummer!

 Madelyn got to open some gifts...

My raised bed is doing well. I have peppers growing and lots (and lots) of purple beans! Lettuce and candy onions too! Down at the big garden our green beans and pumpkins are doing fantastic! Unfortuantely our corn didn't take off at all! So disappointing as I *love* sweet corn! I'm not sure what happened with it!?

 Some photos from around the house (we got a pressure washer from an auction ~ my BIL is an auctioneer ~ for $50!! I was so excited that no one bid against me! Chris pressure washed the front porch! It looks totally different!!)

Mickey being his cute self...

I really love hosta! I look forward to transplating some in the fall to different areas! Such a great plant. Hardy and pretty!

Our fixer-upper....

Chris didn't have to work at an auction last weekend so he used our new-to-us pressure washer to clean the soffet and fascia and siding...

I can't even tell you how thrilled I was! Our house is always a work in progress....and I'm ok with that. It doesn't have to look perfect (as I have blogged about before) but I do want it to look neat and tidy and taken care of! I washed the siding by hand as far up as I could....but then for the top...that pressure washer was just fantastic!

Jaxson was so helpful with it too! He pressure washed our wooden picnic table meticulously....and also our garage door! He and his dad did some scrubbing too! They were such great hard-workers and I was so, so thankful for all that they did! :)

So....I've been on here long enough....but I just want to share what happened to me yesterday really quick. It shows God's goodness and also I want to talk about it to bring awareness of how serious things can turn in just minutes!

Yesterday morning I was out mowing the lawn in workout capris (as I had planned to go to the gym in a bit). Xavier was weed eating. Out of nowhere the incredible pain of a bee sting hit the top of my foot/bottom of my leg area on my right leg. I lean down...crying out in pain and swish the bee away quickly. Xavier looked over as I'm kinda moaning about how much it hurt. "Go in and ice it!" he exclaimed. I agreed and ran in to do so.

Anytime I get a bee sting I swell up pretty bad in the area it happened (like, I stepped on a bee once and my foot swelled so bad I couldn't put a shoe on it!). So I was frustrated because I figured my foot would swell and make it so I couldn't go to the gym. While I'm icing it (and still moaning about the pain....I'm such a baby) my palms and bottoms of my feet get unbearably itchy. It was so itchy it was painful. I am crying out to Madelyn who tries to get me some ice water to try and numb the itchiness in my hands and feet...so I am itching and crying....and Madelyn is on the phone with my mom trying to figure out how to help me....when I notice my hands are swelling...and then my lips start to swell. I had hives all on my hands and down my arms and my shoulders. I cried out to Mad that she was driving me to the ER....NOW! She was too nervous to drive so we stopped and picked up my MIL to drive. I was shaking and basically hyper ventilatng. (My pulse was racing when they checked it at the ER). I was itching uncontrollably and so worried my throat could close up. We are only 2 or 3 miles from the hospital...but to me, we couldn't get there fast enough!

At the ER they hooked me up right away to an IV of benadryl and the heart monitors and blood pressure cuff etc. Chris came from work to be with me. It made me feel so much better just to have him next to me. I felt so tired. The benadryl helped my itching stop thankfully....but it took hrs before the swelling went down all the way (my fingers were huge! I couldn't wear my wedding rings!). They kept me there for a few hours to keep an eye on me and then sent us with a prescription for a steroid (which kept me up all night last night...UGH!) and epi pens. It was *so* scary. I praise God though that my throat didn't close and I didn't have trouble breathing....what a horrible, horrible thing for people to experience. Chris brought me home...I ate a late lunch then took a nap. When I woke, the swelling had gone down and I felt much better. The sting site itself is still sore and itchy...but that is to be expected. I have to take this steroid for 6 days. If it sits on my tongue for a millisecond then a horrible taste fills my mouth. I try to swallow it as fast as possible! It's icky!

With my niece, Eloise, having severe food allergies ~ I can understand more of the fear that surrounds it. Allergies are nothing to trifle with. There is nothing worse than going through something you can't control....I can't even describe it! Please...if you hear of people around you who have allergies to bees or food or whatever it may be....be sensitive to it. It may seem like "no big deal" but when the symptoms start appearing and you don't know what is going to happen next....it is like playing russian roulette with your life. The next bee sting I get could close my throat. The epi pen is a dose of adrenaline that doesn't last long....it is just enough to get you to the hospital to be treated asap. The next food someone eats (that unknowingly has an allergen in it to them) could send them into an anaphylactic reaction!

If you read this far....thank you. I know I was just letting my thoughts just tumble out ...but going through what I did yesterday was super scary and I don't want anyone to have to go through it too!

If you have gone through an allergic reaction and want to share I would love to hear about it. It may open more eyes to the seriousness of it! :)

After missing my workout yesterday ~ I am ready to get back to the gym....although the lack of sleep from those steroid pills makes me feel *blech*. Push through it, push through it! ;)

It's a gloriously beautiful day here. I hope it is where you are too! God be praised!

Warmly,
Katy

Smiles in July ~ Celebrating!

Ok....so I know the picture above is a silly one of us...there's a better one later in this post! ;) We spent July 4th at a local parade and then spent that evening at our church's annual 4th of July picnic at our pastor's house! I take lots of pictures there to share with the church so that means there are never any pictures that I am in (which is really ok with me....truly!) but I would at least like the proof when we look back in later years that I was actually there! So, a selfie with my love would have to suffice! Cheese! (My hair was down earlier in the day....but it was quite hot as the day wore on...so up in a tail it went!)

I'm just sharing a few pictures from that night....they are the darker ones so as to protect the privacy of anyone who doesn't want their photo out in the blog-o-sphere! This was after supper...getting ready for some fun fireworks! Our pastor's wife hands glow sticks out every year to all the children! She loves to do it and they love to get them!

All the children lined up to watch...

My nephew, Dusten, turned ONE this past weekend! I can't truly fathom how little Dusty has become a toddler already! He goes, goes, goes! He's so much fun! How did we ever live life without him around? He is such a joy! 

(Although I am handling the idea of him turning one a little easier than the fact that my Madelyn turns 17 this week!! What!? I know what you are thinking!!! I think it every day! How is that even possible!? I think she was 6 or 7 when I started this blog! If you've been here with me a while...you've watched her grow up too! Be still my heart!)

Chris talking to our niece, Audra.... (she told him she didn't want him to go home....she would miss him! Isn't that so sweet!?)...

Me with my love...

Dinah-girl trying to see what things looked like through the colors of the balloons!

The birthday boy himself (I would have more pictures....but my sister was busy so I took pictures for her on her camera and didn't get as many on mine!)....

Madelyn is in a courting relationship (always have a chaperone) with a young man that we know through our homeschool co-op. He is just delightful, kind, and funny! He has a great sense of humor! He loves the Lord and has even prayed with Madelyn! His name is Isaac and Chris nicknamed him Zeke (for I-Zeke)! He has graduated and will be heading to college shortly. He won't be too far away. They are both seeking the Lord's will with this relationship but would both like to see it come to marriage one day!

I said (randomly at our co-op one day) to Madelyn.....that Isaac is such a sweet boy! He is kind and helpful and just has a great character. I kinda smiled at her...and she was like "oh MOM!"....months later they began talking more...and more and then one day Isaac asks permission to spend more time with Madelyn to get to know her more!

Oh my....parenting is no easy thing! Pointing your children to Christ, teaching them love, morals, kindness, selflessness, and servanthood along with book learning, homemaking skills (and more) is *such* a joy though! Watching your children blossom into young adults...(feeling like I was just there myself not long ago...although it really *was* 20 years ago!) is an amazing thing. I am so thankful to God for the gift that is my Madelyn. Her heart is sweet and she is a wonderful, lovely young woman! I am incredibly blessed to call her mine. Life wouldn't be this good without her in it!

I'm sorry my posting has been so far and long between each one. Life just keeps happening....I blink and another day has gone by and sometimes seems to go faster and faster. Although I am cherishing my days right now....I do admit that I miss my littles actually being "little"! If your children are small yet, please enjoy them! They really aren't little very long. Love them, teach them...bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Of course, I must plug here: if you can ~ homeschool them! Don't give them to the gov't institution for 6 to 8 hrs a day! Be in their lives....direct them, guide them, love them and nurture them. These years are critical! And though the days can be crazy exhausting....you *will* miss them. :) Most importantly ~ pray for your children and thank God continually for them.

It's getting late...I have had a busy day of working out early (and hard)...home to do housework/chores as well as some organizing projects. Chris and his brother worked on the back porch this evening after work and I made them grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for supper! Madelyn went to church tonight and the boys have been riding their bikes around! It's now closing in on 9:30pm and I am ready to hit the hay!

I thank you for taking the time to stop by today and visit me! I hope your July has started off beautifully! I hope you will stop by again real soon!

Cheerfully,
Katy