Mrs. Amelia's Daybook

~Photo by Classicstock.com

I thought I would do a Simple Woman's Daybook for a change. They are fun to do. : ) If you would like to see the format and the writer-originator of these delightful prompts, please google Simple Woman's Daybook.

Outside my window... ~I hear the neighbor's yardman mowing...A wee bit close for comfort as far as noise level. ; )

I am thinking... ~of some young acquaintances, who are quite the chameleons...changing their colors to suit themselves for the time, so very sad. God is the Revealer and it is shameful what they have been and are doing. How ugly. They have tried to hurt our family in some of the worst possible ways. But what a Friend we have in Jesus! And what is important at this time is that our family keep our heart right before the Lord.

I am thankful for... ~a great family from the Lord, a wonderful husband who stands for the Lord and four very sweet beautiful girls who are living for Jesus blamelessly. So glad and thankful as well for other families who are pursuing the Lord and living sweet lives in Christ. We had a wonderful time at Family Camp too, it was a quiet contemplative time for me, the grounds were breathtaking.... but also a special time in the Lord too. I've never seen such sweet families in one place at one time. What a blessing, it was like a little bit of Heaven, almost as if we were back to the 40s or 50s...Magnificent. Encouraging in so many ways.

I am wearing... ~a pair of lightweight beige feminine capris and one of my favorite tops I made; a pretty cotton sweetheart neckline long length blouse, light beige & dark green with reverse impression of tiny green fallish leaves. I am also sporting a kinda-cute shorter curly haircut that I am so happy about. I'm going with my natural wavy-curly! How liberating and fun! My husband loves it! Check out the "Curly Girl" book, it is great, very valuable tool for those with hidden waves and curls. I don't smile upon every little thing written but as a whole I don't know of any book like it for wavy-curly hair. My dd25 and I are almost matching in our hair-dos these days! Imagine that? Neat. : )
~Our 25 dd, Marianna

In the learning room... ~there are laptops & books, my youngest daughter running water in the kitchen area, watercolor set at the table.

I am remembering... ~how God is Faithful and how blessed we are.

I am going... ~to the kitchen to think about supper and brew a sweet cup of coffee with a nice pretty puff of whipped cream...*happy sigh*

I am currently reading... ~"Rescuing Sprite" by Mark Levin and "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot

I am hoping... ~that next week will be grand!

On my mind... ~the state of the average church

Noticing that... ~I need to dry my towels! : P

Pondering these words... words of the message being spoken live on Sermon Index's Revival Conference...How so many are so taken up with complicating the gospel that they cannot even love, I wonder if those who do that really know the Lord who wants us to love Him, others and hate sin? They are so busy arguing their pet doctrines, many times attacking others they are IN sin just like the Pharisees, loving their sin and many times sinning in secret. We are the Light and the Glory of God, how will men know the Truth if we do not love and care for others blamelessly. Please tell me if the drunk under the bridge, the unwed mother or the widow cares about pet doctrine?
They must see Jesus in us. : )

From the kitchen... ~a big chicken in the crockpot being slowly cooked with lemon pepper seasoning

Around the house... ~spending time with my youngest little 16 year old as she did her school, watched a David Barton video on the Constitution and watched her watercolor as we watched some precious old "Leave it to Beaver" programs, we laughed so hard on so many of them! Those were the sitcoms in our country at one time, oh my how far we have gone as a country. It's a bit sad to me at times.

One of my favorite things ~my four daughters, they are so fun, mature beyond their years but still so full of life and a joy, great sense of humors!

From my 21 year old daughter's camera...~this is our new home in the country as it is being finished...

And one more? Hubs trying to handle an ill-working ditch-witch for the electrical and drainage.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

And last but not least, here's two parts of what my precious young 16 year old and I saw today on Leave it to Beaver. Oh my. The nerve of some young women! (Check out all parts of this one on youtube if you like) I think Mr. & Mrs. Cleaver should have been more sensitive to little Beaver in the end. Poor little guy.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Deep Thoughts & Victories

I saw this music video this morning and liked it so much...This song has always been touching to me; it truly tells of the Father's goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Even some of the music sounds, the riffs as my musical husband calls them are ministering to the heart...just so magnificent and beautiful like our Father.



The other morning this was in my devotional, "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young and it ministered to my heart in so many ways! : )

October 6

"Be willing to follow wherever I lead. Follow Me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation quickening your pace. Though you don't know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but nonetheless very real. To receive these gifts, you must walk by faith ---- not by sight. This doesn't mean closing your eyes to what is all around you. It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd of your soul.

Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you. The higher you climb, the more spectacular the view becomes; also, the more keenly you sense your separation from the world with all its problems. This frees to experience exuberantly the joyous reality of My Presence. Give yourself fully to these Glory- moments, awash in dazzling Light. I will eventually lead you down the mountain, back into community with others. Let My Light continue to shine within you as you walk among people again."

2 Corinthians 5:7; Psalm 96:6; John 8:12; Psalm 36:9


This was such a great message from the Lord to me.

...............................................


The house is coming along! We painted the exterior a very pretty neutral beige-grey-light sage green called Sprig of Ivy and very light cream trim... It's nice, it pleases everyone. Some wanted a taupe color, I liked grey & white, some wanted a cream colonial look, some wanted green with black shutters, most want a red door. I have to smile to myself when I see it now, ......it looks very greyish-green. ; ) Just what I like. I have to smile to the Lord on that one! Very soothing....plus. I'm a real green person...I love green, I wear it and paint it. But let me tell you a little secret between the Father and I....It looks very grey on that house but it's green too. : )
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Wow. Life is so bizarre at times.

Last February I received a call from a long lost third cousin. From the German side. I've never spoke with her in my life, although I do recall seeing her as a younger woman when I was a little girl in our place of business.

This cousin was trying to find me via phone.

You see,a book is being written about my hometown and my father's family; a founding family owning a business since the 1920's where folks from the city would go for pleasure. This fascinating place had a museum with a real Egyption mummy, little monkeys exhibited, boat shows, there was no other place like it! A major newspaper once wrote that the place should be encased in glass and put in the Smithsonian.

My father saw to it that model airplanes hung from the ceiling, and between he and my grandfather there was money from all over the world hanging form the ceilings. It was an incredible place. Cowbells strung from a rope were rung everytime a sale was made. Glass showcases encased beautiful jewelry made from sea shells by my mother and step-grandma.

But amidst all of it were tragedies.

My grandmother who I was named after, Amelia had passed away when my dad was around ten years of age. Daddy and his brother, Wesley soon would attend a private military school in Mississippi. My uncle ten years my dad's senior later attended Rice University.

~My Grandmother, Amelia

My uncle Wesley died a tragic death, he passed away at 23 from cancer of the pulmonaric artery, at the end of his life, he lay there, that beautiful handsome young man. Blond hair, blue eyes, slim and well over 6 feet tall. Some say 6'3" maybe more. He majored in Drama at Rice. He died with the side of his face cruelly eaten away, my father tearfully told me his teeth shown through his face.

He was known by many, even in highschool in the aeronautical area, a huge school, a beautiful older woman, a drama teacher stopped me in the hallway to see if by any chance I was a relative of Wesley. It was very clear she had admired him very much. She and my English teacher would talk of Uncle Wesley amongst themselves as my English teacher would bring things up about him to me... My mother said Wesley would walk in a room and every eye would turn to him....My Italian grandma even said the family all had eyes like stars...Our baby girl, now 16 has those starry eyes. It's amazing.

Uncle Wesley passed away years ago in the home I grew up in, the very home he brought his bride to. The sweet cottage-like white house with the green shutters built in the 1930s, the one with the huge pink crepe myrtle bushes in the huge front yard...

But that day my long lost cousin called about this book it bothered me. I knew she had been trying to get in touch with me, she had even called my husband at work.

There is a point in time when we realize in life we must protect ourselves. It's not so much that we must protect ourselves from bad people necessarily but from feeling exploited.

The day I returned my cousin's call, she answered with a very guarded greeting, all business. My heart sank. She needed information for the book being published making it's appearance at Barnes and Noble. She wasn't the author, the author was a lady near to my hometown. My cousin was starting to ask about things I felt uncomfortable about sharing especially since I had never spoken with her, things like if I remembered my grandfather...Thus a quiet and thoughtful, short...

"Yes I remember him."

She called my house I grew up in, the "white wood house". I wanted to say, No, it's not a white wood house. How un-poetic, how blunt, dry, cold of a way to describe my little house. It was a sweet white larger sized Thomas Kinkade type of a typical 30s cottage done in old fashioned siding with adorable green shutters with a stone pathway and beautiful lillies and such...pink crepe myrtle trees lining the huge front yard...

As I hung up the phone I wanted to cry. In fact, I did cry. It was a cry that came from deep within. I sat in our backroom looking around at memorobilia and photos from our family's places, both the German and Italian businesses in that town on the waterfront, old Bing Crosby albums on display, an old 1943 letter from a big downtown attorney named Dixie Smith, a beautiful letter of condolence when Uncle Wesley passed, Uncle Wesley's bank account book til close to the end, his darling junior high military school photo signed:

"To the swellest Dad ever"

....I have carefully and honorably decorated with it all and just felt so very odd about the entire phone call thing. Deep, deep feelings flooded my heart, just so many realizations came forth from a heart that's been ran through a tenderizer. My heart.

They all wanted photos for the book, my distant cousin calling wanted photos of her father also, that is understandable but I didn't have those. I do have many of my family's business, the famous family business and so forth. My heart said No. God whispered....You don't have to.... Oh how I wanted to jump on the Father's lap. Oh how I wanted to call my Italian grandma but she is with Jesus now...She would maybe understand. But this was one of those places in life no one would understand, no one but me, not my girls, maybe not even hubs...Only God. Only God. There are just times in life like that in life.


Perhaps my distant cousin just didn't have that softness about her I like in people. I don't know, but there was something about it all that made me really sad, just really sad. I later looked her pic up through my daughters' facebook and I felt a kindness or more of a mercy towards her, she is probably 15 years older than I and had vivid blue eyes, those vivid blue eyes that run in the family. I saw pain there and a sweetness of sorts.

The German side of my family had two sides, my grandmother's side was very sweet, my grandfather's side...a bit shrewd from what I know which is very little.

Once when I was having health problems I spoke with our old family physician's son, also a successful doctor, now retired. He lives in one of the most luxurious parts of town. He was my father's running buddy when they were young, his dad took care of both my grandmother and my uncle, he traded his medical services back then for a boat space. The medical establishment was so much more human then.... He knew much about my family. In fact in one of my old photos his physician father is in it. The "younger" physician (close to his 80s) told me...

"Honey, your dad is just like his mother and your uncle was just like his father."


It was so strange, our home was full of emotion that day unknown to many. It goes to show that when you see someone, perhaps they aren't as chipper as they should be, perhaps they are distant, we really don't know what they might be going through. When someone is on your heart. Please pray for them. Pray for them. Show love to them with actions or words if necessary, please don't ignore them.


That day in our home...

My daughter was having her VOH Bible study in the living room that day as this went on. I had a living room full of beautiful Christian young ladies as that conversation went on in the back of our home. The girls were enjoying two Christian young men tell of how they appreciate Godly young women.

I mosied into our living room for some Sonshine with those precious girls. I sat on the back row as a young man shared via world wide web over a web cam, it was kind of "Jetson-like". I sat in my black turtleneck and black workout pants looking calm, cool and collective (I wonder if Coco Chanel wore black turtlenecks and black workout pants minus the pearls when she was at home)... I sat there smiling at the girls. No one knew the battle I had arrived from.

...........

Later one of the real authors of the book called me. A very sweet sounding lady, she let me know she also had Italian roots, and the motive?...I still felt uneasy in releasing my photos...After all, I write also... Perhaps one day I would like to write my family history in a book? And why were they not finding photos from others from other publications I have seen in the past?

The story will continue later if the Lord sees fit. I will say the Lord protects. He is Faithful. We must move slowly at times as we grasp the Lord's hand.

This is a vehicle for me of sorts to get my feelings out on paper. Yes, it's public, the reason why I keep this personal blog public even though it does prohibit me from sharing too freely is so maybe it will minister to others who go through things too.

............

In the meantime we are having a great time out at the country, trying hard to get things done in our new home. I'm enjoying life and am so grateful for Victories in the Lord.

We must remember God uses the broken and those earnestly seeking Him. The brokeness allows the Light to shine out.

I also realize that when someone is used for the Lord, like a stuttering Moses of sorts much of this may happen and many times does.

Our family speaks once a year at a homeschool workshop on a Godly Home and many times we have been targeted in the most unusual of ways...

It's okay. God is God and He takes good care of things, very good care of things. He makes us strong, we are strong in our Father. : )

Please pray for my 80 year old father suffering from Macular Degeneration. He tells me his vision is growing worse, we all had a sweet visit with him a week ago. It was delightful, he can be so much fun, we are kindred spirits most of the time...My daughters will tell you their grandpa is an amazing man.

Such a sweet visit...He lives three hours away, pray the Lord would touch his eyes, and pray we would have wisdom from the Lord.

Did I ever tell you the time Daddy wrote a Christmas card from our dog with a paw print to the dog pound? It made 60 Minutes evening news!

That's Dad. : ) That's me. That's the Father above.

I'll be out of pocket for a bit, but I hope to be journaling again soon.

One of my favorite statues. She looks to be worshipping and basking in the Father.

Unedited. Me. : )

Sometimes I feel like this on those weird, bewildering days....



Lyrics on my mind lately...from
You've Got a Friend by James Taylor

People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you. Well they'll take your soul if you let them.

I remember when I was a young gal, and James Taylor was "it". Those lyrics still resonate with me and I still like some of his music, his history of his growing up is very interesting as well, I suspect I may be a kindred spirit of his in some ways...

What an odd season of life I'm in these days. The Father seems to be closing doors on some things, what I thought were friendships were nothing of the sort. Usury. Pure usury. Deceipt and pride and every evil thing that goes with that. Sometimes it's in the name of church folks. Do you know that there are churches now teaching that Jesus did not die for all? Frightening. There is one common thread among them all.... Pride. As a friend of mine suggested.... Vain Philosophies.

Many have the appearance of good but deny the power thereof. Their trees have some awfully bitter fruit if you know what I mean....They just aren't very nice.

On the other hand? We have charismatic churches which tout the gifts but you feel as though you are entering into a nightclub in all of it's wordly glory. Virtue is shunned many times. Hmmm...

I think it's a sign of the times myself....But it doesn't make it easy to live amongst these various fringe groups.

Where is a church where they love the Lord and others, and hate sin? Where they read the entire full gospel for what it is and not pick it apart like it's a cafeteria smorgasboard?

We have adopted the convenient theory that the Bible is a book to be explained, whereas first and foremost it is a book to be believed (obeyed). ~Leonard Ravenhill

It's holding on to the Lord time for sure.


And...

I've learned in life not to question these things too terribly much. It's like Jim Baker said in his book from years ago written when he came out of prison. God shows us who is real and who is not.

It's as if God is showing our family who is real and who is not. Painful as it may be to our hearts...He shows us.....

Who is real. Who is not.

Simple as that. If only I wasn't such a tender hearted artist heart but such is life and I am well aware that the enemy of our souls likes nothing better than to take our gifts and use them against us...

In His mercy the Father does show us these things as to who is real no matter how raw it is at times ....and I know the Father is Just and His ways are not ours.

A scripture verse from this morning reads with my honest excerpts and recollections:

Psalm 37:3-6
Trust in the Lord and do good. (My grandma used to say that, she would say, "Just do good and don't worry about the rest") Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil (I say those prideful schmucks) people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

His Word also says in 1 Peter 5:67 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.


We can bet our bottom dollar on that I guarantee.

Our little family is doing fine thank the Lord. Thank the LORD! : )

The house is keeping us busy and I'm going to snatch some pics as usual from one of my daughters. : )

dd25 & 27.... Contemplations of a new but old chapter of life...


dd27 & 20




dd27 pensively carving the date and her first name for future time travelers? Interesting thought indeed.


dd25 enjoying the quiet surroundings with our Muffie.



This is our VOH meeting in our home, our Dd25 teaching a Bible study with the book on her lap. These girls are so precious....Just so very precious. Does my heart good indeed.



Kitchen full of precious girls learning...Now for the homemaking skill!


How to make scrumptious soft pretzels as our Dd20 teaches them! So fun! How can I complain, the Lord is so good!


Dd25 on left being silly with some of our precious friends.


Here they are ready to get cookin'!


Dd20 & Dd25. I don't know where our Dd27 and 16 are! Those rascals, but I must say Dd16 is our resident photographer, so I suspect that little gal is behind the camera most of thetime. I love our girls. : ) I think I see half of Dd27 in the pink shirt and here is our resident photographer, Dd16 behind the scenes:




That's the wrap for now....

I'll close with these Sara Groves songs:





Better run! Dd25 just came in with some fresh basil, roses and verbena! Oh heavenly indeed!

I'm out the door with Dd20... She has her eyes on some beautiful moss-green curtains, in a most divine victorian style... for her new room of course. She is buying them with her own money. All is well.

In more ways than one All is Well.

God is Good.

Humphrey and Hymns Oh My!

Well I know I have been seemingly negligent on my poor little blog but it has been something else lately... I'm starting to think this is really going to be more of a true journal of life here and so nice to see blog friends pop up here. I appreciate your comments and prayers so much!

I'll give you a brief update...

In the past month hubs and I were at the property one bright and shiny afternoon and I was strolling along our pathway to the rear of the property just taking the peace & quiet in when I glanced down on the domed pathway and see a curly-q of a scaled tail, dark charcoal grey mixed with white and I knew exactly what this little end was. A snake! A big one! This guy was at least 6 feet long just quietly strewn out across the domed wide path. It's somewhat of a driving path so it is quite wide and this guy was all the way over it with no room to spare hanging off the path at both sides.

I made a left-face so fast and comical it would have made both Gomer Pyle and Jerry Lewis envious. I'm a-telling you! Wowza! I quickly took a look over to the other end of this creature and see he is not poisonous. Okay now what to do but hop around a bit motioning to hubs on the riding mower that "Behold! There is a snaketh!" All the while pointing to it but mouthing and shaking my head, no to hubs "It's not poisonous!"

Hubs rolls on up very close to the creature on his mower and stops. Just stops and looks at the creature and that creature actually turned his little beadie head and looked back at hubs and opened his mouth as if to say, "Stop! Don't kill me!" He slowly slithered over towards the next jungle like property and once he got away from the mower off he went full speed ahead!

I have named this creature Humphrey. He just looked like a Humphrey to me, and since he wasn't a bad snake I know he probably hunts rats and such. I think he was what we call a "rat snake". Humphrey is probably a dinosaur of sorts in that area from looking at his size. Well Humphrey, live and let live....and please Humphrey, let your animal friends know we are nice people that just don't hack away at everything. : ) Just be nice Humphrey and please tell your animal friends to be nice too. : )

The house? The roof is on! We chose a silver metal roof that will reflect the sun, and I think it will be divine. One of the dormer windows will be left to shine to the downstairs so we can see up into the clouds, just like a......cathedral. : )

JT our friend had a friend who did the roof at a very reasonable price, who had finished an apprenticeship of sorts and so far so good. Yay God!

The other night our entire family were riding in our car on the way home from the country to the burbs....Now there is just something to be said for a good ol' hotdog over fire and then riding home in the evening...twilight setting in...very pretty and peaceful....No music playing just conversation with our four girls. Our girls are ages 27 to 16 so there is always something to talk about. Courtships go in and many times and most times they go out...My oldest daughter was talking about how she feels the need to fight a teensy bit of bitterness from the last courtship. (I did not like that fella, he gave me an uneasy, vexed feeling at times) But to make a long story short, she sees now firsthand just why I had the icky feelings for various reasons as she sees his true character now that he no longer is courting her and has no personal interest....We all talked and interjected, and a hymn would come up from someone's lips and we would all bellow out a hymn that had to do with the situation. And then my 25 year old daughter was sharing some disappointments as of late with her modesty boutique etc. and just life in general, we all know the bewilderments right? Another hymn would come up and we'd all sing away! Priceless. Priceless.

I wish I had pics to post of our house but as I've shared before it's like herding cats to retrieve pics from my family....especially when they are on hub's camera. He's a busy guy. Yes indeedie.

Thanks so much to all for the great words of encouragement. You are all so correct! Those windows are no big deal. No not at all. It's amazing how things like that just lull out after a bit if we let them.

Right now I'm reading organizational books by the Young Sisters, gleaning from flylady and the Duggar's book as well so I am trying to let those folks be of encouragement to me. I just love those Duggars! It's nice because we have friends who have stayed in their home, and it was just as I suspected....They are just as they are. Sweet people, just sweet people who love Jesus. If you haven't gotten the Duggar's book I would recommend it. It is wonderful. "The Duggars: 20 and Counting!"

I like the Duggar family because they simply love the Lord. They are not out to tout a doctrine, they are out to tout the Lord and share their lives to encourage others. Praise God for them, they are a huge encouragement to me. I would love to have some families like them close by....I'll read bits and pieces of the book to hubs and he laughs and says..."They are so much like us!" Yes, the Duggars are very entrepreneurial and have learned to trust in the Lord for sure. That entrepreneurial spirit, trust, and faith comes from the Lord. God will give us good ideas if we ask, and many times it's when we are in financial tights or any kind of trial in life for that matter when the Lord gives us those ideas, miracles, even good deals, making our sandals last in the dessert, all the while we are learning to trust in Him, it's God's Academy of Learning. Divine Learning for Life! We have such a loving Father. : )


Love and appreciate you all very much, your comments are delightful and a blessing to me! xxxooo ~Amelia

Before I close I thought I'd add a P.S.

.... Our Four Girls...



And Me!

Taken by our youngest daughter (16) our resident photography artist....I was reading there at the table on the land...she caught the reflection in my sunglasses on the table. Neat? I think so!

Hugs!

All Kinds of Ruckus! : )

"Perhaps the child within her had something to do with this. She was aware of a feeling of kinship with the earth; an illusion of splendour, of fulfilment." ~So Big by Edna Ferber, Pulitzer Prize winning novel from 1924 I have here an original copy from that very year the Lord blessed me with. I found the old, old copy at a very, very reasonable price after being intrigued by the 1953 version movie a few weeks ago. What can I say but I can't believe how fast this operation has been moving!...One day Hubs and I arrived and there were over a dozen workmen like bees working on the home there...Oh my. Hammers flying, men carrying wood sheets on their backs, men tossing tools back and forth between the first and second floor! Mexican music playing that sounded something like a tuba playing oom-pa-pa and a polka spanish style! It was cute, those men work hard and every now and then they break out into a song together singing with the music... The new tradesman on the job is my husband's friend who officed above him, JT, a Christian. JT came here and learned the English language within two years and now is supervisor. The American success story. Oh me oh my, it's awfully hard to make any kind of decisions when you tip toe into the house and all the ruckus is going ons....Hammers going, wood being thrown down over head, nails scattered, men peering down through the beams. (A bit scary not to mention unsettling) And ya know, JT has different ideas...it has something to do with "code". ; ) He is used to going by code and conventionality in these blasted subdivisions. Code is weird. Code is strange. Conventionality is a pain when I just plain disagree with it. And code was written by a man I say. ; ) They usually see things very black and white, yep, it's that "code" thing. ; ) "Conventionality" will tell JT things like all windows on one wall of the house must be divided, all windows on the other side are undivided so thus we women have two different kinds of windows in a corner room, one divided and one not. Poo-poo-poo. But it is conventional. It is "correct". Oh well, I will not become exasperated on that, it will work.... I suppose (said in a Winnie the Pooh voice)... I will also pray about these little things. I know it's not the most important thing and I try not to ever be picky-Eunice. I have a huge pet peeve with women who over detail everything driving their families nutty. But there is just something about the artist and highly sensitive person in me, that I look at the windows from within, and the conventionality of a builder looks at them from the outside... Such is life dear ones, such is life. You see, our dearest JT had his men install the windows and my soft hearted hubs just will not tell JT to move the windows around...It's that "code".... It's that conventionality ... I'll be good though and trust and rest and husheth... I know this. God will either change it, change hearts, whether it be mine or someone else. : ) We had a fun time Sunday eve...My baby Rebecca and I, she is now 16 picked blackberries, and Rebecca and Marianna our 24 year old rode on the riding mower...great to see. I should say here that the area is unique. There are different kinds of people from various walks of life, several urban police, not to mention a retired United States General. All kinds of folks, just all kinds. In the middle of our mower riding and berry picking, up drives a....mud caked pick-up coming across our property. It's the boys from the family who leases our grass covered property for their cattle. Out pops 3 big boys. Big boys with shorts coupled with leather cowboy boots. They were spitting a lot ya know. (I'll explain later) ; ) They were sweet I must admit. The biggest boy, Joe, wanted us to hop in the back of their pick-up to go meet their parents. I grinned and told them I didn't think my pinched nerve in my back would like that too much but we would be glad to take our own car down to meet his parents. It was hilarious. You would have to be there, our four daughters were...speechless and amused in a good natured way. So we eventually end up traveling on down the road, (me in ridiculously baggie drawstring denim capris) to meet their dad. He looked something of a mountain man from the Missouri hills, and for me that's kind of a neat thing, I love those parts of Missourri. He reminded me of a Santa Clause in blue jeans if you will? He had a sweet spirit about him, then the mom came out and as a mom myself I could not help but notice that she smiled so sweetly at our four daughters. Kindness framed the woman's face. The man and his wife are actually well to do from what I've heard and are buying up much of the acreage around the area. Not a curse word was heard from any of them. "I wonder why they spit so much?" When we were returning home back to the burbs I asked hubs why the boys spit so very much and how I was so glad they spit out the windows of our home and not on the slab. Hubs told me the boys had snuff in their mouths...And so did their mom. I laughed and I laughed when I heard that! It just seemed so funny to me! (big smile) Here is a movie clip that reminds me very much of our adventures... The Egg and I (1947) with Claudette Colbert and Fred McMurray. Enjoy! Me, Hubs, Zuzu 20, Janie 27, Joycie 24, Grace 16 at a recent daytrip, hope to get more country pics up soon. Perhaps I can snatch some from the girls! : )

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” ~Hebrews 11:8 "I can press forward by faith or I can analyze the situation until I am paralyzed by uncertainty." Wonderful reminders to me at such an uncanny time as only our Lord is caring enough to send at such perfect times. From Family Christian Wisdom Hunter devotionals via email.

Thanks so much dear ones who may read this, please pray. I also pray for all who come across this as well, and thank you so much for the dear comment(s). You don't know what it means to this heart. You see...I believe God uses His children to speak to us too. : ) Sara Groves said something to this effect... Some may ask where is God, when we should be asking, where are His children? Hope to update soon. My two oldest daughters are making cannolis in the kitchen...I need a cannoli I do believe, what a treat indeed. : ) Love to all, ~Amelia ...that Last Child in the Woods.

Good Friday Through Now...

Oh I feel like a pretty theme should be playing...the theme to Anne of Green Gables... Well friends, it's been a slow run so to speak...Good Friday the Lord sent us a surprise though. : ) Hubby and I arrived at the property to see our good friend, David there starting on the slab. Oh my, talk about a lovely Good Friday gift from God! Through rainy days and stormy days, physical and spiritual alike the slab has been poured...I'm a little battle weary but I am trying to fixate on the Lord Jesus and hang on to Him for strength. It almost reminds me of the same battle I faced in the mind and soul when deciding to homeschool. Here are some photos to share with you on our slab. As we entered the property this particular day, I felt as though the trees beckoned to me...Literally it seemed the trees were waving us in as they swayed in the breeze...

This is smiling David. What a great help he is and a fellow follower of Christ. My hubby had taken this particular day from work, so he didn't have time for his typical work clothes. At a distance, from my view... I have a little picnic table I sit at, I've been reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Reminisce magazines... I read little snippets of them at a time, just taking my time and enjoying them. David and hubby, David sharing on how things are being done. Hubby and David on another fine day, you can see things picking up... David's workmen there helping with this operation... David made it a point to let us know the other men were also Christians. And of course you'll see David and his great crew helping. And a video from Monday...The slab is poured, just look at all the concrete trucks coming in! I wasn't able to be there so hubby took this great video..You'll see our friend, Joe, we call him Joe-Joe. My hubby calls him.... "JOE-JO-O-O-E!" (as only guys can do) ; ) Joe and his wife are old friends of ours. We used to attend church together, they brought me a beautiful layette and house plant when I had our first baby over 27 years ago. It's amazing how friends and people will come in and out of our lives...Some float to the top as the real thing and others sadly seem to whither away... Life is funny like that...Sometimes people sadly discard others, that is always very hard for me to understand, but then again...Sometimes when we look back in retrospect it's God's protection many times. I hope you are all doing well, the battle of the thoughts have been intense lately. I think any decision we make that is a huge blessing in our lives is a battle of sorts. Excitement and fears....I feel myself almost thinking... But Lord, there are giants and grasshoppers there! Once again, I think about the decision to homeschool 20 years ago and the birth center decision, they were not easy decisions. I had to hang on to the Lord totally. Oh me oh my, this last child in the woods is going to look back and think...What was the question? (Last child is smiling) Prayers are appreciated. I do hope to update sooner, the problem is with obtaining pics. I'll be so feeling a blog filled with feelings and emotions and phooey...no pics. I don't have my own camera so you can imagine sharing a camera with four daughters and a husband. I hope you all are doing well, prayers are always, always appreciated. Thank you so much for taking the time to come by! Blessings!

Hurry and Wait?

Here is hubby on his great find and deal on this John Deere mower, "Old Yeller" at our property....We also have a very, very old 40s tractor we affectionately have named "Alvin" from Sargent Alvin York if you look at the below entry pics. You can see the lumber waiting to frame the slab, prayerfully this Saturday!



This is our daughter, Michelle, 20. She came with us this most gorgeous sunny Sunday! My other three daughters were just plumb tuckered out from a wedding two of them were in...Michelle dons her famous pink polka-dot boots! Mine are black with multi-colored dots. You can see Esther our adorable li'l party poodle here. Green Acres is the place to be!



Well it looks like this may be the week that David our sweet foundation man will be able to frame the slab. We are so blessed to have found a Christian foundation man and framer as well... They have been so kind to help us find wood etc. A couple of weeks ago when David delivered the wood it was a dark, dark blustery stormy day, almost surreal as he and my husband climbed aboard his truck feverishly trying to unload the lumber before the storm hit. I stood there thinking....Oh my, this would happen to us, a major storm rolling in! The sky was the color of ink behind the bright green trees in bloom.

As they threw the last bit of lumber off the truck, Sam jumped off and David got in the truck and drove off as we all waved, the storm immediately rocked and rolled on in and rain came down...Our four doglets and I were in a tizzy but at the same time I was slightly amused...It was the kind of feeling I had when I was in labor with my baby Rebecca, and as I looked down as I hung on to the chief midwife, I noticed her socked feet... with several holes in her socks! I could see her bright red toenail showing through the sock! lol I thought it was a bit of a George Bailey moment when he said, "Leave it to me to have an angel without wings!" I thought, "Leave it to me to have a midwife delivering my baby with holes in her socks!" lol I can't complain though, that team of midwives saved my baby's life because if you read the previous entry you will see I had gone into premature labor and it was the midwives the Lord led me to visit during that fourth month of pregnancy who caught the premature labor and saved my baby's life.

This homestead is almost like expecting not to mention labor in a way. I'll be posting about it all as developments occur. We are prayerfully awaiting the framing of the slab this week. Hope to have some pics.

Right now, our daughter, Marianna, 24 is teaching "Vessels of Honor" here in our home. A lovely group of young ladies come in to our home and Marianna teaches them Bible and a homemaking skill. Today she will be teaching the young ladies how to make newspaper peet pots and how to plant seedlings in them. I have basil seeds saved up.

Tonight for supper will be Chicken Enchilada Soup, as my handy-dandy crockpot is put to work.

I sit here in the quiet of my room, thanking God for His many blessings. The birds singing here in the suburbs....Young women being taught the Bible right here in our home. My little doglets at my side here. Sweetness.

If you run across this most personal blog of mine I trust you will pray for our family as we journey back to our home in the country as we live day to day unto the Lord.

My Journey Begins

jpg" src="http://x92.xanga.com/2bee176313d39249778478/z198199588.jpg" width="400"> jpg" src="http://x57.xanga.com/bc9f726276d35249778420/z198199532.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://xc0.xanga.com/381e166314539249778559/z198199667.jpg" width="400"> jpg" src="http://x90.xanga.com/da0f706776235249778411/z198199524.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://x6f.xanga.com/f89f906277737249778572/z198199680.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://x95.xanga.com/028f9b6077736249778583/z198199691.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://xbd.xanga.com/3baf966343637249778393/z198199508.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://x2e.xanga.com/53bf8a6303c39249778548/z198199657.jpg" width="400">jpg" src="http://x01.xanga.com/8d4f916476d37249778428/z198199540.jpg" width="400"> jpg" src="http://x64.xanga.com/d07f906b77637249778616/z198199723.jpg" width="400"> It all started last year....Mr. B. His strong country bass voice barrelled to my realtor husband out in the country on a listing appointment...an appointment from the Lord. You think you can get yer wife to move back out here? I have some land for sale, are you interested? We found out soon it was one of his favorite pieces his father hunted on way back when, probably during the 30s. Their family home still has a surrey house out front in the nearby town. I remember when we lived there I would drive by that piece of property and inquire to my realtor husband, how about that piece? My husband would shake his head and say, it's too much land, too much money for us to spend. The Lord made things possible ten years later. The Lord has miraculously brought this land to us. Actually you see, the Lord had been working on my heart for months even a few years prior, even through blogs and such I would see people's blogs who lived in the country and I would find myself longing to be there in a place like it. I prayed and pleaded for an answer from the Lord whether we should purchase this offer of land from dear Mr. B. The Lord would use Bible scriptures and still does daily along with the devotional, Jesus Calling. He used the book, Last Child in the Woods even. It was as if the Lord was speaking directly to me as I had that aha moment upon reading Last Child...I had remembered that book from several years prior from a family vacation in Tennessee, I had eyed the book at a state park gift shop and had always remembered that book. Last summer I waited for a month for one of our local libraries to get the book in and just drank it up upon receiving it. One day I noticed that American Family Association was showing this dvd in entirety for free on their site, A Journey Home. I had no idea what the little movie would be about but my first thought was...If this little movie has a family moving to the country I am going to fall over! Well if you see the clip you will see I almost did fall over! Another confirmation from the Lord. You see twenty years ago we lived here in this very same suburb, a nice suburb with trees and such. I had a what I thought to be a lovely group of friends and my three little dolls, Janie, Joycie and Zuzu. We had longed for the country back then, had began homeschooling to the consternation of our church and even lost "friends" because of our decision to homeschool which was equivalent to building an ark in our backyard. That was 20 years ago. We moved to that country fixing a ranch home up, bearing a baby there. To add to the pioneer spirit I delivered my fourth baby girl doll, Grace at a birth center, an outdated looking place with a team of caring midwives. I was going into premature labor and my traditional ob/gyn totally dismissed it...as I complained of cramping. The Lord in His mercy led me to the birth center, it did not make sense in the world's eye to go from what many would consider a nice hospital setting to an old 60s brick office with a wooden sign in the front. As I went to the birth center for a complimentary visit, the midwife was shocked to find me dilating at only four months of pregnancy. These women prayed for me as I was on bedrest for five months and then delivered our beautiful robust nine pound baby girl. Dr. Ron Paul would have been my new ob/gyn to take care of me if I would have been transported to the hospital in that new location. It's nice to see a man who backs the liberties he speaks of. We later moved to what we created as somewhat of a white tree house down the street from the original ranch house we had first fixed up and then from it and back to the suburbs. We had been out in the country for around ten years at that point. My heart was so very torn, but I tried to console myself with the thought of my husband working at home, and perhaps it would be nice to be back with the old friends I once had when we all had babies. You can imagine what a shock it was when we returned to the suburbs only to find out I had grown closer to the Lord in the quiet of His creation, and many of those who were surrounded by the hub-bub seemed to be somehow affected by it all, it wasn't the same. We no longer had the same hearts, even in homeschooling, goals had changed... and throughout the years here I have come to the realization that my heart is perhaps home in the country. Yes. I long to go back to the simple times and bring our four daughters back to the serene life we had there before it's too late. So I sit here this evening...Looking at farmhouse plans, and as I long more for the country I become less and less picky about the house plans, my main request is a large kitchen for cooking and canning and all the things that entail a country lifestyle, working with my hands. I'm thinking of delightfully dirtying my hands in the garden, hearing birds sing once again. Perhaps a quirky neighbor and backwood folk every now and then. That's okay. Maybe it will be nice to be around people who no longer care what car or truck they drive, and they too will think a maid is something of a luxury other people have...And people open their windows in pretty weather. I miss my little town I grocery shopped at, these super centers have never set well with me. I miss the old gas station and Mr. Meador who had fixed my tire and has gone to be with the Lord since. I miss the old neighborhood in the nearby town where my little girls took piano from precious Mrs. Blounce, my friend and confidant'. She is also with Jesus now. The old jewelry store there owned by the country vet's wife, they had the greatest gifts ever in that old jewelry store. I can hear the steps of my feet now walking in on the wood floors. I even miss the Dollar General store in the little town, it was the best in the west. Never another like it. Well I'm coming back to that simple lifestyle. I'm coming back. I don't fit in this world not a bit... Here I am, polka-dot rubber boots and all....here I am Lord. I'm coming back home to the peace and quiet.

There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that same object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf.....

~Walt Whitman

So I begin our journey here today. There will be more to come, and my prayer is that it will not only chronicle our lives but the glory of the Lord and His faithfulness.