As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Monday, March 21, 2022

Progress on the Sunroom


This is where we are today . . .


(Oh wait!) This is actually where we were a couple of weeks ago, before  Bekah and I went on our trip to visit Kati and family. A few things have changed. I'll tell you about it later in the post.)



We are quite a bit further than we were on February 2nd when I first told you about this project of turning our screened-in sun porch into a sun room! 

Over the past month-and-a-half, we have seen our porch go from this 
Demo Day!


to this


to this.




But then there's this. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Yep. One of the windows came in the wrong size and that's holding up the show. A new one has been ordered, but who knows when it will arrive? (The original order took a couple of months.) 

In the meantime, we are painting and planning and pondering

Painting the walls the same color as all of the walls in our house, Antique White (color match of an old Valspar color). Caulking the trim (there is lots of trim) and painting it Simply White by Benjamin Moore. We will also be painting the built in closet and the freestanding serving counter in Simply White. The ceiling needs a fresh coat of paint too. 

(Update: All of the walls have now been painted and the trim has been caulked. Ron is still working on the trim and has painted one coat on the ceiling.) 


Planning
a few changes after the room is all painted.

The freestanding service/storage counter on wheels needs to be cut down. Ron had decided on 6-inch outside walls for the sunroom, but that meant that the counter unit would not fit in the original space. He will remove one-fourth of it and make a new wooden countertop. (A new countertop was planned even before we knew we were going to close in the porch, so we're not sad about that.) 

(Update: Ron has removed the old countertop and will be cutting down the cabinet part this week.)

We are replacing the ceiling fans. There are currently two small fans with lights which we will replace with two slightly larger but lower profile fans without lights. We won't need the fan lights because we are going to hang a chandelier over the table. 

We have purchased new cushions for our wicker loveseat and chairs. We decided not to buy new furniture for the room, but the old cushions were dirty and faded, not to mention the fact that they were too big for the furniture we had. (The cushions were recycled from a set of wicker furniture that we had at the Farmhouse.) We chose a set of navy (so that they would not show dirt easily) Sunbrella® (so they would not fade in the bright sunlight) cushions for the room. 


Pondering
 a few decisions yet to be made! 

We're shopping for a chandelier. It is possible that we will use the dining room chandelier in the new sunroom and buy a new one for the dining room, but we're still in the decision-making process. We have decided to wait until the room is set up and the furniture is back in place so that we can see what size chandelier would be best and exactly where to hang it. 

We're considering buying a rug from Ruggable for the sunroom. Do you know about Ruggable?  It is a two-piece rug system consisting of a non-slip pad and a cover that can peel off for washing. We are trying to make this room as low maintenance and user friendly as possible. We don't want to have to worry about messes! 

Do any of you have experience with Ruggable rugs? I am all ears for your opinions and pointers! 





So that is where we are. At the very earliest, we are several weeks from completion. And at the very latest . . . well, who knows when that window will come in? I am trying hard to be patient because good things are worth the wait! 



Wednesday, March 16, 2022

A Long-Awaited Trip


Yes, it was a long-awaited trip . . . a Christmas gift that we gave to Bekah in December 2019, plane tickets to visit Kati who had married and moved away earlier that year.*

Originally planned for March 2020 (and we all know how that turned out). 

Rescheduled for October 2021 (and then our family got a stomach bug). 

Planned for spring break (and then Bekah's school delayed opening in January and cancelled spring break).

So we squeezed in a few days between classes, deciding that a short trip was much better than NO trip (and Bekah's flight voucher expired at the end of March). 

We missed our flight home because of a clerical error on Bekah's boarding pass and Andrew had to drive back to the airport a few hours after he had dropped us off because we couldn't get another flight until the following day. (Silver lining: we had a bonus day to visit!)

Five-sixths of us ended up with colds before the visit was over. 

But . . . I would not have traded these days with Kati and her family for anything! Babies don't keep! 

Merry Christmas (2019), Aunt Bekah! 


You're looking at a happy Gran, holding Caleb (22 months) and Ellie (8 months)!


Caleb is such a sweet boy! He is learning and talking so much . . . and he tries to keep us all straight! He loves to give hugs and kisses and sing lots of verses of "The B-I-B-L-E."
(He calls it "B-I-B-I-B-I" which is absolutely adorable!)



Ellie is one of the happiest, most cuddly babies ever! She smiles all the time, babbles constantly (we all think she'll be a chatterbox when she figures it all out), and is happy to be held and cuddled! 



Knowing that Caleb is a HUGE Paddington Bear fan right now, Gammy (my mom) sent along a special gift for him. Caleb loves "Paa"!



Watching "Paa" while waiting for dinner.


Caleb and I always take a mirror selfie when I visit his house.


(Past mirror selfies)







Taking Gran and Aunt Bekah to the airport (the second time).


Oh, it was so good to hang out with these faraway babies . . . enjoying meals and baths and playtime and stories and snuggles and giggles and songs and bedtime routine . . . the stuff of everyday. Priceless moments to record in our memories. 




* Just to clarify . . . Bekah was able to visit Kati and family soon after each baby was born via a road trip. But the Christmas gift was airfare, and that trip had not happened until last weekend!

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Day by Day



Day turns into day and and then weeks have passed and another month appears. So quickly the months pass, and yet so much can change in a month's time.

(I have created another desktop calendar. Feel free to use it if you'd like. Simply right click on the photo and save to your photo files.)  

At  church on Sunday, we sang "Day by Day." This hymn is filled with strengthening, encouraging thoughts. Several lines stood out to me. 

Like this one . . . 

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best--

And this . . .

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour


But there is more . . . so I'll post the whole song and you can see what stands out to you!

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best--
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

 Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.


Maybe you'd even like to sing along. 



My heart is moved for the faces and the hearts that lie beneath the politics of war. There is much over which we have no control, so much that we do not understand. I believe that we are wise to let our words be few. 

Do not be rash with your mouth, 
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. 
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words be few. 
(Ecclesiastes 5:2)


Lord, let our hearts be moved with compassion, moved to pray, moved to meet the needs of people, particularly for our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Day by day . . . 



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