Embarcing a Change...

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ~ Arais Nin

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It's time for a change, dear friends.

As Spring is here and the weather warms up I am finding that it is time again for me to reassess my priorities. Slowly moving from indoors to the wonderful world outside, I am realizing that this computer is again taking over too much of my life and I need to simplify.

My desire for this season and for the coming ones as well is to live life to the full. To intentionally plan my days in order to have order and routine, and as many outdoor hours as possible.

I am finding that if I don't plan my days ahead of time, the hours just get frittered away and I continually have the feeling that I am wasting my time. I don't want to look back on this time in my life with regret, realizing the wasted hours.

And so I am moving to a simpler way of blogging... through pictures. I absolutely love photography and though I really don't have a clue as to all the proper lingo and camera's of "real" photographers, I am still no less enthralled with the exquisite beauty that can be captured by the click of a button.

So please, if you'd like, come by and see...the link is here and in my side bar. I may post words once in a while but it will mainly be pictures with a brief description in the comment box.

I hope you enjoy the beauty of his creation in the way I have chosen to capture it.

I'm still learning...

Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift...
Live simple... Love generously... Care deeply... Speak kindly...
...and leave the rest to God.

~ author unknown

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Raining this evening... for the first time in months...after a beautiful sunny and warm day of 18C.
I love the fresh scent of it and how it seems to be washing away the "yuck" of old winter... so fitting for the second day of Spring, don't you think?

Photo: Jacob's ladder after the rain. (Summer 2008)

Live in the Present Moment

"Live in peace without worrying about the future. Unnecessary worrying and imagining the worst possible scenario will strangle your faith.

God alone knows what will happen to you. You really don't even own the present moment, for even this belongs to God. So live according to His will.

Each day there is just enough that God gives you to take care of - nothing more or less is expected of you.

Who are you to ask the Lord, "Why are you doing this to me?" He is the Lord- let Him do what seems good to Him. You certainly don't need to add your wisdom and your plans to His wise and good plan. [...]


The future is not yet yours - perhaps it never will be. And when tomorrow comes it will probably be different from what you had imagined.

It isn't enough to separate yourself from the world's ways. You also must allow humility to be formed in you, then you will turn away from your own self nature.

Every trace of pride must be conquered. Your pride in thinking you know much about spiritual things is more dangerous than being very rich. Pride helps you believe you are something important in a much more subtle way.

Put aside your self interest and simply let God's will unfold around you. Everything He does for you is for your good. Worship Him without having to know and see everything. [...]


Above all, live in the present moment and God will give you all the grace you need."

Excerpt from "The Seeking Heart" by Fenelon

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"The Seeking Heart" is a collection of letters written by Fenelon and rewritten in modern English by Rose Marie Slosek.

I am really enjoying this book and some of the letters ring so true for me in certain times of my life that I have decided to record a few of them here as I come across them... to help me remember and for future reading.

Where my Soul is Found...

I found my soul

amongst a carpet of purple
violets down in the little glen

off the side
of that lonely gravel road
where moss and ferns mingled
with dancing rays
drifting through green above.
I plucked a single bloom then
and inhaling scent of wild outdoors
brought it home and placed it
between crisp pages of
life giving words.

It was there is the shadows
amongst the quiet stillness
that I remember feeling
the first faint stirrings
from deep within.
Thoughts of who I was
and who I was created to be
permeated my childlike mind.

There in the solitude
I lay back
and slowly began to appreciate
my surroundings... myself
and all that my loving Creator
had fashioned just for me.

It was from that experience
that I first began to write
childish words strung together
trying to capture
in my own small way
that single moment in time.
I still have those words
tucked away between pages
beside faded bloom.

Reaching back to that day
pulling it out from
recesses of memory
I realize that
this is who I am.
This is where I find my soul.
In the beauty of creation
the joy of creating,
in the beauty of my children
and the love of my beloved,
for me, his bride.

I am created by Beauty,
with beauty and for beauty.
This is who I am.
Here is where my
soul is found.

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Related posts:
Seedlings in Stone... L.L's ...Unfolding Imagination
1Adventure... Ben's Find Yourself
This poem was written by me. Please do not copy.

On Raising Boys...

"I'm all new at this business... I'm not so sure how to do it right, see?


(But) Ain't so hard as all that. Mostly it just takes lookin' at a kid right in the eyes when he tells you somethin' he thinks is wonderful but maybe to you it don't amount to a hill of beans. You gotta remember that everything is new to a kid...


I'm gonna put hammers in the hands of my boys. I'm gonna let them help me build up this place again, and they'll feel good about what they done, too.



I think a kid... any kid at all... mostly just wants to do good. Sure, they ain't gonna do everything just right the first time, but that ain't a sin. That's just what learnin' is all about. Make a mistake. Try again. Do it a little better next time- and better yet, the next time.


Everything's new and wonderful to a kid... They think they can sprout wings and fly. They believe everything they imagine is possible... I reckon that's what the Lord meant when He said we ought to be like little children. They have faith still. They still believe they can move mountains.


Maybe their souls remember what it was like to be in heaven where maybe they really could fly. Then we grow up and learn about gravity, and we become grave in our hearts. And then we stop believing.


Well, life will turn out hard for them soon enough. It has a way of doin' that, I reckon. But I do not want to be the one to tell my boys they can't move mountains. No, sir. I look at my sons, and I think... yes, sir, Lord, maybe all things really are possible.

Maybe man was meant to fly. Meant to build great cities. Meant to say to this mountain be moved into the sea... and then find a way to make it happen.


That's what I want to give my boys. If I can do that...

(And) Where do (we) begin?


Right here (with our hearts). Listen to him. Look at him. Teach him what's right, but give him room to make mistakes, just like (we) have made mistakes. Someday he may hurt you. Kids do sometimes. It's part of it, I expect. There will be times when you gotta forgive him, like maybe he has to forgive you.

It ain't easy... but it's worth it.

Live every day like that, and love will just happen."

~Bodie Thoene

(excerpt from "Say to this Mountain", 3rd book in "The Shiloh Legacy" taken from pages 153-155)

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I realize that this conversation is between two fathers speaking about their sons... but it rang so true for me as well that I wanted to record it here to help me remember.

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Photos of my boys... just being boys between 2004 and 2009

Perfect for Spring.

Remember this post where I gave you a sneak peak at this quilt I was working on?
...Well, I'm done! And here it is...

It looks so pretty hanging over the banister in our living-room.

The perfect display for spring!

To make a long story short...

...'cause I just don't have the time to go into detail... here is the house we lived in for almost 5 years. It was situated on 2/3 of an acre (which was very large for a town lot) set back from the road. So in the spring of 2007 we decided to subdivide it into 2 lots and put two houses on and sell them both and then move somewhere else.

So we began... and in the Fall of 2007 we bought this home and moved it onto our lot of to the side and in front of the home we were living in. The real estate market was doing awesome and so we thought that we would be able to sell it no problem when we were done renovating it.


It took my husband from Fall of 2007 to Feb. 2009 to do a complete renovation to the point where it looks like a brand new house. Here it is last Fall before winter set in and turned the grass all brown. Can you believe it is the same home? I think it is so nice and yet it did not sell. We had it on the market for 6 months without a single offer!

And so last month we decided to move in ourselves so that we could settle in and relax until the market picks up again and then we may try to sell it once more. So for the time being I am having fun turning this house into a home for us.

Welcome...

... to the kitchen and office area...

... the dining room with the large closet that I use for all my homeschooling and scrapbooking things...
... the hallway leading to our bedroom on the left and the bathroom at the end and Allan's room on the right...
... our bedroom... I just love all the light colors...
... our livingroom...
... and the archway leading from the dining room to the front door and livingroom on the left.

That's just the upstairs... down stairs has 2 more bedrooms, a bathroom, a laundry room and a games room.

Like I said, I really, really like it. Didn't hubby do a wonderful job?

Now we just have to tear down our house that we used to live in (which seems a shame but it is really old and the foundation is crumbling) and then hopefully we can sell the lot beside us (it just didn't make sense to build and then sell with the way the market is going) so that we can free ourselves up a little financially.

Over all it was a pretty simple move 'cause we just had to bring everything across the yard but mentally it has been exhausting... so many big decisions to be made, so much disappointment to overcome and mixed feelings about being excited but still scared and unsure about whether we will be able to make it or not.

So anyway, that was our year 2008 in a nutshell. Not fun, but here we are and I'm not sure what the future holds for us, so I'm just trying my best to "trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding, in all my ways acknowledge Him and He will direct my path." Prov 3:5

I'm Back!!!! Finally, finally... FINALLY! After being without internet (or phone!) in the house here since we moved in on the 21st of February... it is now hooked up and I am thrilled to be able to blog again! Yeah!

I'm liking my new home and though I am still a little overwhelmed with unpacking, things are really coming along smoothly and I will post pictures soon!