Painting

We began to put our house back together this morning. The new paint job looks great. How can white not? Now to find new living room furniture - that is the dilemma. We will move into Ben's room this week while our room and bathroom get painted. The painters have loved my cookies. They always leave one in the bowl at the end of the day. They listen to sermon tapes while they work. I've listened to parts of some of them. They are pretty good. Rich is putting up shelves for more storage in the garage. The neighbor brought over pears and plums today. With the tomatoes we got in Jon and Paige's garden and those, I did not need to go to farmer's market today. Ben has not communicated in a week. Rich and I are praying for him a lot. I read something in the paper today that made me think of him. The article was about Hilary Clinton and it said "You can use disappointment to self-destruct or reconstruct." I think that Rich and I will be good grandparents. Observing Soren Lundeen yesterday made me look forward even more to our grandbaby's arrival. "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3

Morning musings

Well, Ben is back at school, and Rich and I are now empty-nesters again. The weekend was spent alternating between sons Tim and Ben. First, Ben at his dorm room showing us his creative arrangement of furniture for this year. He likes cozy spaces, hiding places, where he can have privacy. We'll see if his roommate approves when he arrives tomorrow. Next, Tim and Hope, love-birds - full of anticipation for their wedding and life together. After dinner they showed us the Church and Wedding rehearsal dinner restaurant. We also saw the reception site. We spent time with Hope's mom and dad, and found that we had much in common. Best of all, we see how much they love Hope. Good last weekend before school starts. I still need to make new curtains for my classroom. Looks like in addition to my two homeschool students, I'll also be getting at least two Learning Center students. We are in the middle of getting our house painted and I feel so at liberty to not worry about cleaning the house because it is so unorganized right now. How strange. I think I'll plant morning glories.

Morning walk, morning waffle

Mine is the sunlight,
mine is the morning
born of the one light
Eden saw play!
Praise with elation,
Praise every morning,
God's recreation of the new day!

This song ran through my head on my morning walk today. I have loved these summer walks through the neighborhoods lined with sycamores and over golden hills with panoramic views of farmland and vineyards. The smell of fresh cut hay reminded me of Creston mornings where the view out of every window was countryside and the strong smell of alfalfa and stinkweed filled the air. These morning walks are filled with prayer and praise for my life and my loved ones. Special thoughts this morning of Ben and Trevor sitting in Ben's room last night on the "new" loveseat, laptop on Trevor's lap, enjoying watching something. I brought in popcorn and ice-tea to them and they seemed genuinely grateful. Ben said something a couple days ago that warmed my heart. He said that he was so content to be at home and that he wasn't mad at anybody. Jon's tatoo came to mind this morning. Why do I not like tatoos? Probably because I love clean, soft, original skin. Although if I had to have a tatoo, I'd opt for script. Jon's is nicely done, I have to admit. Over my waffles this morning, I read something that made me laugh - an article about olympic swimmer Dara Torres, 41. It said, "Although its still unclear where such mental flexibility comes from, several studies suggest it's largely an ancillary benefit of "sustained cognitive engagement of thinking intensely on a regular basis"." This highly motivates me to continue doing this blog. Now if I can only figure out how to put pictures on this - wait, where's Ben? Help!

In the beginning was the Word

The Word spoke all things into creation
The Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

May my words about my life
reflect the mercies of the Lord that are
new every morning
Great is His faithfulness