"Because conduct determines character...

...and character determines conduct, it's vitally important - extremely necessary - that we practice godliness every day. That's why Peter said, "Make every effort to supplement your faith with....godliness" (2 Peter 1:5-6). There can be no letup in our pursuit of godly character. Every day that we're not practicing godliness we're being conformed to the world of ungodliness around us. Granted, our practice of godliness is imperfect and falls far short of the biblical standard. Nevertheless, let us press on to know Christ and be like Him."

~ Jerry Bridges, Holiness Day by Day (emphasis mine)

Dark rainy days call for soft, warm candlelight indoors!

In the dining room...

Since I last posted, we celebrated X's 15th birthday as well as my 37th birthday! We both had simple, enjoyable birthdays!  My aunt gave me these beautiful hardy mums... (they can be planted after I display them for a bit and they will come back yearly! Woohoo!)...

 My parents got me hickory tables to match the rocking chairs that Chris gave me for my birthday last year!! The tables are on the outer sides of the rocking chairs. It looks like I missed photographing the one table! But it looks almost identical to the one below...

I just love them! Let the porch sitting commence! 

 A beautiful day...

Another exciting thing 'round here has been the purchasing and installing of new windows for our upstairs rooms in the older part of the house. This was necessary for numerous reasons....the old windows were just terrible...letting in cold air and bugs (plus, the old windows weren't pretty!). 

Chris and his bestest bud (our BIL who I has helped us with *numerous* home projects) worked on putting them in! Now...when Chris has time, he can put the trim around the windows and get the dormers/front of the house sided! Who knows if that will happen soon or not...but I am just thrilled that we are making some progress!

See...here is one of the dormers with the old windows in...

And here are the new windows in...

Here's the other dormer with the new windows already in. I can't wait until these can be sided! The house will just look so much nicer and neater! ...

Chris is inside the window...and our BIL is standing in front as they put in the new window on the front upstairs room! The new windows look so bright and contrast greatly with the weathered wood around them! Haha!

Jaxson was doing some drawing outside with his cousin by his side...

There are always clothes out drying on the lines when the sun is out!

After a long day....an evening snack...

 The days have been full, busy and enjoyable! They aren't days of total exertion...but rather busyness that keeps us from idleness. That's the good-sort of busy in my opinion! We're never too busy to help or serve others. We aren't running in a million different directions....but rather we fill our time with schooling, housework, exercising, serving, and working on projects. Many of these things are enjoyable (even if they are difficult) tasks that we must accomplish. :) Housework isn't necessarily "fun"...but knowing we are accomplishing things, getting things clean and tidy and maintaining the things God has blessed us with is a joy. And although my children will tell you schoolwork isn't "enjoyable"...there are aspects of it that *are*...for instance ~ getting back into a routine is great...and them being excited to learn new things is awesome as well! :)

Speaking of busyness ~ I better get going! There are things to do and they aren't getting done while I am here on the computer! :) It's a beautiful, sunny day (although it's suppose to get quite hot!). It's a good day to have laundry out on the line and get things done before it gets too hot outside! :)

I hope your days have been going well (even the ones full of trials). Always remember that the Lord uses the trials in our lives to make us more like Christ. My days have not been perfect (nor did I expect them to be) but just as Romans 5:3-6 tells us ~ suffering and trials produces endurance which produces character...and hope! Through it all we know that Christ is for us! What a comfort this is to believers!

Thank you for stopping by today. I'm sorry my postings have been very infrequent. Days just seem to slip by and I don't even realize it! :) Grace and peace to each of you! I hope you will stop by again soon!

Cheerfully,
Katy

"Let love be genuine...

 Madelyn got flowers from Isaac!

...Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

~Romans 12:9-14

When I see how seldom I update my blog I feel quite sad about it! I would like to update more but days just seem to keep going by and before I know it, it's been weeks! I am already struggling with the idea that we are in the month of August! Xavier turns 15 soon! Can you believe it!? 

Summer has been filled with the usual housework and laundry, exercising, church activities, time with family and friends, mowing, filling etsy orders, grocery shopping, gardening and canning! I already have our first week of homeschooling planned as well....which we'll get started with in a week or two! 

Here are a few pics of some of our green bean harvest and canning them! I've gotten 14 jars canned so far (and have bags of corn in the freezer that we did!)...

The purple beans turn green when they are cooked! They are so neat! They taste *just* like green beans! It was fun to see purple beans grow though! :)

Teaching X to play chess...

X works three days a week at my dad's garage through the summer. He loves it. It's great experience and life skills learning for him! This will probably be his life's profession! He sure is growing up! (He's officially taller than me now...and I think he's as tall as his dad!!) Here he is changing my oil...

 Some pictures from home...

My mom was given some *flow blue* plates from a family friend. She didn't really have a use/place for them in her home so she offered them to me! I accepted! They are so pretty and I knew I wanted to hang them in a bare space in my kitchen! :) Chris got out the measuring tape and drill and helped me (ok...actually, I just told him what I wanted and he did it *all*....haha...there was no helping involved!)...

In other news...today I already have my workouts in. I'm showered and need to run into the store. Both boys are helping at my dad's garage today and Madelyn will be heading to the meat market to work the afternoon soon. Chris is at work as well. I'll be puttering around here, getting things cleaned and tidy! It's always so much easier (to me) to clean the house when everyone else is away. I feel like I can just sweep through and get it all done (and it *stays* clean for a bit....at least until everyone else comes home! haha!).

Tomorrow morning I am teaching an art class to some children at the YMCA. I have also begun teaching a Saturday morning Beginner's Fitness class at our Y. It is for teens (and their parents if they want to come). It has been going well! I hope it continues to do well through the school year as well. I will be back to teaching my evening and Saturday spin classes as well soon.

It's so odd for me to look back across the years and see how seasons of our lives have come and gone. My children are teenagers now...all in "high school" (although with homeschooling, it doesn't really matter if they have that label or not). My littles just aren't *little* anymore! It makes me sad in a way....but I also love watching them grow. They are *such* blessings in my life and I treasure each one of them. Seeing the Lord work in them....and how their different personalities are maturing is just amazing! :) 

Because my children are a bit older....I am enjoying the baby stages with friends and my sister's little ones! And, I must admit there is a bit more freedom when you hit the stage of life that I am at. I am able to run to the store without strapping little ones into car seats or worrying about diaper bags and the like. I'm not saying those are *bad* things at all! Mamas with littles are *blessed* and if you have many children....that is **wonderful**!!! I just mean that things change as your children get older. I am able to go to the gym without worrying about finding a babysitter. The children are able to help with chores that are more difficult (like weedeating, helping with the mowing etc.). There are blessings to each stage of life!

The morning is passing and I have things to do! I best be off! I quickly wanted to share, though, that along with my daily Bible reading...I have found reading 90 days of God's Goodness by Randy Alcorn to be absolutely wonderful! I thought if anyone is looking for additional reading that they might want to check it out! :)

Thank you so, so much for visiting...I so love your comments and emails! I hope your summer has been glorious and that you are able to look forward to fall with joy and anticipation of another school year! May God's grace and peace be with each of you!

Cheerfully,
Katy