Tired Dog

Happy Friday

An older, tired looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: "I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap!" The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3. He's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

 

A real bathtub

We had one of our young friends over to play. He ventured into our bathroom and came out with a thrill, "You have a real bathtub! Wow, a real bathtub!" We all laughed and smiled, yes, I guess we do!

Our real bathtub!

We purchased a "This Old House" we have tackled many projects. Our real bathtub was pink, red and white when we purchased the home. But after some research...(we looked on This Old House website) we found out that you can paint claw tubs yourself, using tractor paint. That is just what we did. Carrying this big old tub outside on to the deck was a chore! We also found another treasure, the date stamped into the bottom of the tub reads...1900 Kohler, Wisconsin!

 

Have your way

How often must God prove to us that He is the shepherd and we are the sheep...that he is the Vine and we are the branches, before we bow and quietly whisper, "Have Your own way, Lord"? Seems to me that if the Son of God found it necessary at the crossroad of His earthly existence to pray "not as I will, but as You will" we would be wise to use the same words often-like everyday!

Not as I will, but as You will.

Matthew 26:39 

Devotion by Charles R. Swindoll 

Pussy Willows of 2012

We usually get out into the woods and find some pussy willows to cut. Well, Jeremy usually does the cutting, while I do the encouraging that he will not get wet or sink into the wetlands! This year was a different story. I saw the pussy willows one day and the next day...well the photos below will explain it all. No pussy willows for me this year.

 Happy Early Spring

On the road Friday

On the road Friday...today we head to a Tea Party. I had so much fun enjoying tea, treats and sharing our testimonies with a group of friends. Tea is my favorite beverage.  Drinking it in a fancy a cup and sharing it with friends makes it extra special. Have a great weekend!

Time

Time! It is something we struggle with around here. I know some of the problem is me taking too much on. I am not good at saying "No"! God always knows just what I need. This was my devotion yesterday, by Charles Swindoll.

Busyness substitutes shallow frenzy for deep friendship. It promises satisfying dreams but delivers hollow nightmares. It feeds the ego but starves the inner man. It fills a calendar but fractures a family. It cultivates a program but plows under priorities.

Starting today, refuse every possible activity that isn't absolutely necessary. Sound ruthless? So is the clock. So is your health. Start saying no.

It is in vain to rise up early, to retire late.

Psalm 127:2

Things I hear

I have two older friends. One who can not wait to get out of Wisconsin, once the cold starts to creep in. I have another who loves Wisconsin all the seasons. One day in October, they got into a discussion about staying or going. I loved this...

"You should really go to the Gulf with us, you will love it"

" No, I like to stay, I enjoy the winters"

"Why? they are soooo cold!"

"Well, I do not have anything to wear! You do not want to see this body in a swimsuit! It looks better in long underwear!"

Enjoy your Day!

Happy Spring

Fruit Rainbow

My photo did not come out as well as I would have liked. To celebrate Spring, they boys shared a Fruit Rainbow! Easy to do and the kids loved it! Enjoy and Happy Spring!

Cooking Squash

I am busy using up some of 2011's produce that we have kept in the cellar. Squash is a favorite of ours and we love it whipped with marshmallows toasted on top! This was our last squash for the year. Good thing spring is around the corner! Excited for the 2012 gardening season and harvest! We planned our garden last Thursday! With the warm weather we have been having...who knows...we might be planting early!

Preparing squash to cook. I cook mine up just like I do mashed potatoes.

Not much left...Yummy! 

Do you keep squash over the winter? How do you like to fix it?

Taste a Rainbow

We found this fun idea in Family Fun Magazine. Taste a Rainbow! Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Prepare your favorite white cake mix. Divide the batter evenly among six bowls. Make up the colors according to the Food Coloring chart on box. Line muffin pan with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter,blue batter and so on. Bake the cupcakes according to your white cake recipe.

"Wow! It really worked!" that is what we said after they cooled and we cut them in half! :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thank You, Sally

Our Mail Carrier is named Sally. I do not know her last name or much about her. She is very friendly to all of us and we appreciate her hard work. We love receiving letters from loved ones and packages! For the last seven years she has delivered our mail in wind, rain, snow, sleet and heat! We leave her goodies in the mailbox every once in awhile. Homemade cookies, candy, bubble bath or a bouquet of flowers. We appreciate all she does. I thought of her today, and wanted to do a post to Thank her and all the hard working mail carriers! They bring lots of smiles to this house and I am sure many other houses too!

Life's Little Joys

Life's Little Joys...

morning rain

well-worn shoes

the Sunday comics

big, leafy trees

fresh muffins

hot coffee

a comfy chair

a good book

a long letter

purring kittens

scented candles

clear, starry nights

feather pillows

favorite dreams

and a happy heart.

Lego Men

The Lego men and women are coming for a party! Sam and Atticus are you ready?

The boys put all the Lego men and women in a line up. AMAZING! Sam and Atticus say " We Love Lego's!"

Things I hear

We have a new friend, who recently lost his wife. He helped us plan our route to Texas. We still use maps. (Call us Vintage! or strange) We love maps. We are teaching our kids to read maps too. They like to have a map tucked close to them to track how far we are to our destination or what town is coming up. As our friend was busy helping us plan our route, he reminisced how his wife loved to be his co pilot. But she was hard on maps. She could not fold them and simply was hard on them. Sometimes he got irritated with her. Today, he said, "I wish she was here to be my co pilot. I would not care how rough she was on the map."

Love is God's greatest gift!

On the Road Friday

Badger State Games

Nine Mile Forest

Wausau, Wisconsin

Our family participated in the Blue Jean Ski Race on February 4th at the Badger State Games.

Getting ready at the starting line. It was a very warm day! Because of the lack of snow this winter, the volunteers needed to bring snow in to put down on the ski trail.

We did it! See our medals? Makes one feel like an Olympian!

We had a fun time participating and hope to do it again next year.

 

Family

Family, my Aunt Sally and Uncle Paul.

We will be visiting family this week. I have a few posts ready to go and will do my best keeping up with all of my blogging friends. Happy March!