(30 Days of Thankfulness) Day 3

I am thankful for the Word of God. 

The lamp for my feet, the light on my path. 

The revelation of who God is.

Absolute truth.

The plumb line. 

The Words of life.

I am thankful for 

its instruction, 

its message, 

its comfort, 

its power, 

its conviction, 

its balm to the soul. 

How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:103

{30 Days of Thankfulness} Day 2

Today (and every day), I am thankful for my birthday girl.

When we celebrated Kati's 25th birthday last year . . . on her special day, and then with her big sUrpRiSe party . . . I wondered if it would be the last one we'd celebrate with her in our home. 

And it was.

I have missed her today. Missed saying "Happy Birthday, Kates!" first thing in the morning. Missed seeing her open her presents. Missed our celebration dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant. Missed sharing a pumpkin roll and taking a few too many pictures. It was the first birthday she's ever had that I did not even see her!

But when we all talked on the phone this evening and I heard about her wonderful day and how Andrew treated her and celebrated her . . . and when I heard the joy in both of their voices, my mama-heart was completely happy.

Happiest of birthdays to our dear Kati! We are happy that you are happy! And we thank our God for His plan! 

So many reasons to be thankful . . . 

{30 Days of Thankfulness} Day 1

I always think October, with her cooling temperatures and stunning color, is my favorite month . . . that is, until November arrives. Then I'm not so sure.

I love November! It begins (almost) with my girl's birthday and it (nearly) ends with my favorite holiday. November is color (as the month begins) and comfort food. It is candlelight and cozy. It is counting our blessings.

And that's what I'm going to do here on the blog this month: I am going to pop in daily, probably in the evening, and gather a blessing or two. No rules here. I may chatter on about it, or I may just name a blessing and move on, depending on the day. And I would love if you would share a blessing in the comments now and then! 

Day 1:

I am thankful for a cozy evening with my sweetheart.

Bekah was babysitting tonight and Ron and I had planned to go out for dinner. But Ron came down with the cold I had earlier in the week, so instead we shared a meatball sub at our own table. After we ate, we made some coffee, poured it into our favorite fall mugs, and I lit a maple pumpkin candle.

Not much excitement around this old house tonight. But it was enough and I am grateful.

This Week . . .

This week I had to buy a new laptop. 

And being without a laptop all week confirmed the fact that I really do need to upgrade my (very) old phone. 

And having to read anything online on the tiny screen of my (very) old phone confirmed the fact that I also need to break down and get new glasses.

So . . . our cash flow may be taking a hit, but at least I'll be connected and current and I'll be able to see! 💻 📱 👓

Five on Friday

Gathering some big and small joys of the past few weeks . . . 

{one}

We celebrated the October birthdays on Sunday with a tailgate party theme! 

{two}

There is new construction next door. Having lived in a rural area for thirty-eight years where are closest neighbors were not very close, we have mixed feelings about it. But such is life in a neighborhood and we have enjoyed watching this cute house come up!

{three}

Progress continues on the kitchen remodel! This photo was taken last weekend and Ron has done some painting since then. Next up: finish the painting, make a drawer for the base cabinet, install counter top. We will likely be finished several weeks before our target date (Thanksgiving)!

{four} 

 He's learning to be a house cat. (Do you think he knows that he matches the coverlet? 😉)

{five}

The leaves are turning, the weather has turned (hallelujah!), and I am drinking up October! Last year, I went with white and green pumpkins and gourds for my fall decorating. This year I was feeling orange!

It's been a busy month. I could easily do "Ten on Friday" but then I'd lose the alliteration and some things may not be interesting or pretty . . . and maybe not even my story to tell.

This I know: God is faithful and His grace surrounds our days!


May your weekend be grace-filled!

Progress Update in the Kitchen

If you haven't seen my Happy News yet, be sure to check out my last post! In the meantime . . .

Ron is off this week and things are happening in the kitchen! And I am not talking about cooking, although there has been some of that too. After all, autumn has finally arrived and I am itching to cook fall foods. This week I have made White Chicken Chili from the Love, Welcome, Serve cookbook, a Bolognese  sauce served over spaghetti squash, and a Harvest Apple Cake. I'm also planning to make a batch of pumpkin muffins to share. 

But back to the kitchen. 

After three-and-a-half years in the Pineapple House . . .

** drum roll please **

. . . the washing machine is out of my kitchen and has been moved to the basement! Yay!! 

Now work is underway on the south wall of the kitchen. If you recall, we are Ron is moving the refrigerator over, reconfiguring the cabinets, building a new base cabinet unit, and installing new countertop. Then we'll need to paint this wall of cabinets. 

Before . . . 

Work in progress . . . 

Gotta love it when your refrigerator is in the middle of the floor! 🤣 (Actually, I DO love it because it means that progress is being made!)


Side note: I hate that the cabinet/trim color reads pink in photos. You may recall that parts of the kitchen trim have been painted three times already and I promised Ron that I would settle on this third color (Benjamin Moore's Kangaroo) and be content. I am content sometimes. When the lighting is just right, it is the color that I like. But artificial light brings out the slightest tint of pink and photos make it worse. Sigh.


Ron is making great strides this week, and we both hope to have all the work done by Thanksgiving! 

Happy News!!

If you read my most recent post you might be wondering . . 

Who are the happy parents of Blessing # 12 ?

It is Kati and Andrew who are being blessed with the privilege of parenthood!

Sweet new adventures await!

I am so grateful. I have lived long enough to learn that parenthood is not a guarantee. It is a gift directly from the Lord. No, I do not pretend to know why some are chosen to be parents and some are not. I only know that the gift of parenthood is an amazing privilege and a sobering responsibility given by a sovereign Lord.

We are rejoicing . . . and we are also praying for this new little person (arriving in early May) and for his/her wonderful parents!

Twelve Blessings!!

Crying Uncle

Yesterday, I cried uncle. 

I gave up my wait for autumn temperatures (the weatherman says it will feel fallish by the weekend, but really . . . will it ever be out of the 90's?) and Bekah and I jumped in the van and went out and grabbed some fall!

What's the weather like where you are? Endless summer? Delightfully fall? Dreadfully chilly? 

A Mother's Musings: Changes and New Mercies

It has been an exciting and bittersweet year. 

There have been so many beginnings and endings in our world these past months, making a mother's heart flutter. 

This past spring, we watched a nest of baby robins in a rhododendron in our backyard. As we came and went, we'd walk over and peek in to check on their growth: first eggs, then hatchlings, then little bodies covered with soft down. It was exciting to see the changes day by day. Soon, they had fledged and were off on their own.

At the same time, one of our "babies" was preparing to leave the nest. 

And there was grief.

Oh, lots of joy too, for these were good changes, answered prayers . . . but still. There was a grieving of sorts. A child getting married means the end of that relationship of primary confidant. I am no longer the most important person. The spouse is. And that is certainly how it should be! That is healthy and good and right and I would not want it any other way. But it is still a grieving of what has been and now has changed.

Some of the things I miss:

 ~ I miss car trips and drive-bys and running through the drive-through at our favorite coffee place.

 ~ I miss "Morning Meeting" and mochas on Saturday mornings.

 ~ I miss Kati coming in to talk to me while I cook.

 ~ I miss her great organizing skills. 

 ~ I miss her asking me for advice.

 ~ I miss seeing her pull up her hair in a ponytail in the evening.

 ~ I miss sharing giggles at midnight.

That is a little of the "bitter," but there is most definitely the "sweet." 

We are delighted when one of our children finds a soul mate, a helpmeet, when God knits two hearts together and they begin their walk through this life. Our family grows and our hearts grow to include the new spouse. Three times now, children have fledged, and oh the blessings that each change has brought!

Then there is the bittersweet of a September with no back-to-school. 

No first-day-of-school breakfast at Chick-fil-A. No first-day-of-school pictures. No new notebook with dividers. No new books to open. No lists of hymns, poets, composers, artists to learn about during Morning Time.

Yes, this is the "bitter" because I miss homeschooling! I miss the excitement of learning, the feast of ideas, the (semi) regular schedule, the togetherness, the purpose, the discipleship.

But, there is also the "sweet" as I reflect on the joys and the fruit of the season past. I realize that this season has ended naturally, and that there is a new one ahead with new work and new rewards. We are all making steps towards the future, learning to hear His voice of direction. He is faithful!

As I reflect on these days of change and the seasons of a mother's heart, I have to thank our loving Father for His mercies that are new every morning . . .

There was one morning at the beginning of the month that our son was in a serious car accident. It was a three-car chain reaction in which he was struck, and his vehicle left the road and rolled over into a field. He was injured (three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung) and was kept in the hospital overnight. It has been a painful recovery, although he has improved and has returned to work.

That is the "bitter."

But we can certainly see the sweet, sweet mercies of God! Ryan is tall (6' 3") and his head is only inches from the top of his vehicle. But even with the rollover and the severe damage of other parts of the vehicle, the roof was intact. How very different the outcome could have been! It makes my heart flutter every time I think about it . . . and it also causes me to praise the Lord!

So as this mother muses today, I cannot help but thank Him for the beginnings and the endings, for the bitter and the sweet. It is all grace! 

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 

Psalm 89:1

New Stepback Cupboard

As I told you last week, our three year search for a stepback cupboard for our dining room has come to an end! Yes, three years of looking in antique stores, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace for something with the right color, the right size, the right "presence," the right patina, the right price . . . and it had to be swoon-worthy. (Do you swoon over furniture?) 

Ron and his brother took a road trip last weekend to pick up the cupboard. (Thanks, Ron and Max!)

And Bekah and I spent the better part of the day on Monday reorganizing all of the contents of multiple pieces of furniture!

The old cabinet (here ↓↓↓) . . . 

. . . went to the sun porch, which meant that candles and table linens could not stay inside it. (Summer heat and humidity = melting and mildew.) 

So . . . candles went to the corner cupboard. Corner cupboard contents to the cabinet on the sun porch. Linens to the stepback cupboard. Paper products (napkins, plates, place cards, straws) also in the stepback cupboard. Party supplies (banners, birthday candles, crepe paper) to a drawer in the guest room. It felt kind of like a long game of musical chairs! 

This day, the table was set for our homeschool girls' book club.

It was worth the wait! 

Have you ever waited to find a specific piece of furniture? How long? 

Around the House

In the past six months or so, Thinking About Home has mostly been a blog for recording major life events: a bridal shower, a high school formal, a wedding, a graduation, a big party, milestone birthdays. Yes, it has been an eventful season! 

Maybe it's time for a little this-and-that post. Let me share a few things that are happening around the house. 

After a three year search, I have found a step back cupboard for the dining room! 

When we moved into Pineapple House, we realized that our china closet was way too big for the dining room, and the search began for a stepback cupboard. On a whim one day, we decided to move a cabinet from another room into the space and I propped an old mirror on top to give it height. 

I have been happy with that solution in the meantime, but I never gave up the search.

On a trip to Lancaster last weekend, we found it . . . the perfect piece for our dining room! It is tall enough to hold its own alongside the piano (and there is no other wall in the living space that will accommodate the piano), but narrow enough to fit in the space without feeling crowded. The color is right and the style . . . well, I'm swooning! Ron and his brother are driving up to get it tomorrow and I can't wait. 

Here's a peek at it in the Strasburg Antique Market. 

Progress is being made on the kitchen. 

Indirectly, that is. 

You may remember that our washing machine is in the kitchen? We have been remodeling the kitchen in stages (most recent updates ~here~), but from the beginning we have planned to eventually move the washing machine down to the basement. 

Last week when Ron was off, he did much of the prep work: ran electric, adapted the plumbing, installed a pump and a laundry sink. The washing machine will be heading to the basement soon! (I will miss the convenience, but I really can't wait to have it out of my kitchen!)  Then we Ron can begin to move the refrigerator in its place, adapt the cabinetry, build a lower cabinet, and install new countertop to match the rest of the kitchen. We hope to have these changes completed by the holidays. 

We have a new family member!

Bekah is thrilled! He is a stray cat from my parents' neighborhood, and they have been taking good care of him. He is still getting used to being an indoor cat, but he's making progress. He is such a sweetheart! 

We will have a special guest tonight!

We are continuing our one-at-a-time sleepovers with the grands. On their visit, they get to choose a carryout meal, a game to play and/or a movie to watch, a movie candy, and they get to sleep in the new guest room (Aunt Kati's old bedroom). Today, Bekah and I are going to a ladies' luncheon at church and then Alaine (9) will come home with us for her turn. 

Is it autumn?

I went to my friend Barbara's house for coffee yesterday, and her house looked and smelled like autumn! As I sipped my (two cups of) coffee, I was inspired to fallify my house a bit, so I picked up a white pumpkin with a great stem when I was grocery shopping. Hoping to do a little more fallifying by early next week . . . 

What's happening around your house lately?