Gathering the Moments | May 2026

May was a month of beauty, celebration, and accomplishment! 

Bekah's college chorale presented its spring concert. 

It was a delightful evening of beautiful and moving music. 
Bek was a little sad that, as a college senior, this would be her last one.

Friends and family fans!

Why wait for summer? 

We fit in a little sleepover with these local grands, Macie (10) and Judah (7).

Our ladies' Bible study continued its way through the book of Hebrews.

This particular May morning was made a little sweeter by Cindy's luscious homemade caramel bread.

Barbara and I took a day trip through a few local towns: enjoying the scenery, antiquing, sipping coffee, sharing hearts, investing in friendship. 

A cluster of roses, a gift from a dear friend's garden.

The welcome gift of a quiet afternoon.

Mother's Day . . . minus the people. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Here are my pretty flowers from Ryan and his family, and the strawberry pie we had for dessert, but no photos of the beautiful faces around the table.

We spent several May evenings on the new patio, relaxing, enjoying our coffee, and listening to the birds. The Merlin app helps us to identify what we're hearing. On a recent evening, we heard the American Robin, House Finch, Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and Fish Crow, all from our small urban backyard. 

 🎊🎊 HIGLIGHT OF MAY 🎊🎊
Bekah graduated summa cum laude

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature

and a minor in Music!

May projects included reworking some landscaping 

and building new rails for the back steps (work still in progress).

Bekah was the pianist and an honorary bridesmaid for her friends' wedding, a very happy occasion!

May was indeed a month of beauty, celebration and accomplishment! 

It was also full of hard things.
(And while I generally dislike cryptic posts, I must remain silent for now about the things that have made life hard.)
Yes, life has been hard lately. But there were also moments like this, seemingly small, but actually a gift from God to my aching heart. One morning while Ron was vacuuming (bless him), I heard him singing "This Is the Day that the Lord Has Made' (the old Scott Wesley Brown version) and my heart was lifted up above my troubles. 

I am thankful for the LORD's faithfulness, 

through the joys and through the hard things! 

Endurance

Blogging.

I am slower and slower.

Slow to post.

Slow to comment. 

I sometimes look at my sidebar and wonder how I was able to post over 200 posts some years. And those were the years when I was busy with homeschooling. (What?!)

I am slow in other areas of my life too, not just blogging. 

Demands are many. There are new things to learn and more mountains to climb, all while concentration, speed, and energy lag. 

But on I go. 

Just like this girl who graduated from high school seven years ago . . . took some time to think . . . found herself in the middle of a pandemic . . . started an office job . . . decided to go to college . . . and is now about to graduate summa cum laude! 

She just kept on going. 

So I will follow suit and keep on going. 

Because moving forward, however slowly, is progress. 

There is a spiritual lesson to be learned here too, I think. 

The Christian life is not always one full of leaps and bounds. It is often simply quiet, persistent walking. It is endurance. It is keeping your hand in His and taking the next step.

Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

I Corinthians 15:58

 

Slow Decorating in the Sunroom

It has been nearly four years since we enclosed our screen porch and made it a sunroom. (I can hardly believe that it has been that long!)

We have loved having this room and we have used it so much. It has been a place for morning coffee, parties, overflow space for celebrations, most of our evening meals, Bible studies, buffet set-up, dessert serving, conversations. 

Although we loved it when it was fresh and new . . . 

. . . over these past four years, we have made a few changes, collected a few pieces, and tweaked little by little. 

We added blinds. (You can read about those  ~ here ~.)

We made an "Ice Cream" sign to hang over the doorway, a nod to Ron's love for making (and eating) homemade ice cream. He collects antique ice cream scoops and always seems to have a number of vintage ice cream freezers too, but that's another story. :)

We have collected some small family treasures and antique goodies, some of which rotate seasonally.  I have had the sailboat since we finished the room, but last year I coffee-stained the sails to tone it down a bit and I like it better. 

From the start, I knew that I would eventually want to have a sofa in the sunroom - a place get comfy or even take a short nap. We had bought the wicker set at a second-hand shop when we first moved into our house. We have gotten our money's worth out of it and it still looks good. But I wanted the sunroom to feel more like a "room" than a porch, and I knew a sofa would accomplish that. 

I have been looking (mostly on Facebook Marketplace) for just the right thing for four years! These were my criteria: 

• white or off-white
• removable slipcovers, for ease in washing
• excellent condition
• photographed in a clean, orderly room (because that's a clue to how clean a piece of upholstered furniture will be) 
• within 100 miles
• a "good" price

With those criteria, you can imagine why it took me so long to find what I wanted! I must say, though, that I did not shop Marketplace every day. I looked when I thought about it which means that during busy seasons I didn't look frequently.  But soon after we returned from our southern trip (and brought back a Windsor chair!), I came across a listing for just the right thing! 

Waiting paid off! This loveseat was in perfect condition. It is quite comfortable and, yes, good for a short nap. 

Serendipitously, Target released an "Americana Geo" collection a few weeks ago and I snagged this throw for just $25.00. Doesn't it look like an antique coverlet? I won't leave it draped on the loveseat because it may fade in this sunny room, so now I am looking for a sturdy basket to keep the throw out of the sun, but handy for use. 

We had to replace one of the little side tables because it was too big. I found this one on Facebook Marketplace for only $25 and a little drive. 

Slow decorating is what I love.  I enjoy collecting things over time and looking for just the right pieces as a room evolves and becomes personal.

What I Brought Home (Besides a Full Heart)

When I told you about our recent trip south to visit our daughter Kati and her family, I told you that we returned home with full hearts, and indeed we did. But we also brought home a few physical treasures. 

I had been keeping my eye out for coral as I shopped in antique stores. This piece called my name and I had some birthday money tucked aside for a special piece. I think I surprised Ron with my choice; he didn't think it looked like my usual style, but he trusted my opinion. I plan to use it as part of my summer mantel. For now, it is atop the cabinet in my sunroom. 

We also brought home a small trove of pottery made by our son-in-law Andrew. Making pottery is one of his hobbies and he is quite good at it! They brought out a couple of boxes of pieces that they were not using and let us take whatever we wished to have. 

I bought a small potted (faux) geranium.

I picked up some beverage napkins, of course. (If you're a longtime reader, you know that I always have a stash of napkins.) I love the pomegranate ones and have tucked them away for next winter when I need a pop of color. The botanical berries will probably show up on my Bible study table soon. Life's simple pleasures. :)

(I also purchased some wool acorns and a few fall stems, but those have already been put away.)

And last, but not least, we brought home a lovely Windsor chair that Andrew had purchased shortly before he and Kati got married. When they moved to their new house three years ago, they did not have a good place for the chair so they asked us if we'd like to have it. They have been keeping it in their barn since then, but we were able to bring it home with us on this trip! 

We have a great place for it, along with something else that we purchased on Marketplace since we have been back home. 

I'll tell you about that in my next post! 

The Resurrection and the Life

 

A Trip That Did My Heart Good!

It had been a   l o n g   time since we had visited our Kati and her sweet family! 

Life has changed and responsibilities have changed and that is what is necessary in this season. It is what we do. But although Kati and Andrew and the children have visited us two or three times each year, we had not been able to visit them on their turf since 2022! We had never seen their new home (they moved in 2023), and the children were too young to have even remembered our last visit. 

So you can imagine how delighted we were to finally be able to head south and see our dear ones! Many details . . . much planning . . . and the kindness of the Lord! 

These two sweethearts greeted us as we pulled into their driveway . . . 

Ellie (4) and Caleb (5)

. . . and we spent the next days having the most wonderful time together! A kid-guided tour of their charming house, hanging out, catching up, going to Andrew's parents' home for a lovely lunch, house projects, an outdoor tour of their property, coffee, delicious meals shared around their table, coffee shops, a trip to the city, eating southern foods, antique shops, a bookstore, and, of course, being enthralled by Caleb and Ellie! 

It did my mama-heart good to see our dear ones in their own place, seeing their rhythms and how they live, experiencing their favorite coffee shops, shopping at some of their favorite stores, seeing them as an established family unit. 

It also did my mama-heart good to see my Kati living the life she had always wanted: happily married and homeschooling her children. I looked around and saw evidence of her homemaking skills, collections of beautiful children's books, and this vignette. 

Nestled among some parenting and homeschooling books was a "Morning Time" candle and a framed Charlotte Mason quote, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life." 

Yes, it was a wonderful trip and I returned home with a full heart!