Rebecca's birthday Hope Chest

This is my "little" girl, Rebecca. She JUST turned 13 and I just love her to pieces! She is homeschooled and we have a very good relationship. We share a lot of the same likes such as crafting, sewing and cooking. LAST year, I bought a series of home ec type of books for part of her homeschool year from Pearables. Two of them include books about a Hope Chest. They encourage girls of all ages and their mother to go through their skills and learn how to start a hope chest. It not only focuses on the actual hope chest, but more importantly, on the character that we are instilling in our girls based on Godly principles. I've also read a LOT of good information and encouragement on www.achristianhome.com . (Pamela Spurling's site. I love her!!) We started looking around for a hope chest to buy or refinish for Rebecca's birthday or as a Christmas gift but they were just way out of our price range.
I also found these LOVELY dishes for her and had them hidden until her 13th birthday!
I eventually found an old wooden toy box at...of course...Goodwill...for $15 and have been working on sanding, repairing, painting, staining and adding trim to it. This is the end product.....

I am soooo pleased with the results! I hand painted the Virtuous Woman verse (as recommended by Mrs. Spurling...and one of MY favorite verses as well!) and Roger painted the wood (the wonderful leafy part!)...last night....and he added the trim and varnished it last night as well.

These pictures are the "middle" project as I worked on it on our back porch. It was hard to find a sneaky time to work on it since I homeschooled her. I sure wish I had thought of taking the total before pictures but this gives you an idea of what the "toy box" looked like prior to being sanded and refinished. It had a scratched and dented shiny brown finish on it.

I hope she is happy with it...I think she is. By the way, isn't my hubby adorable??????????

She got other "fun" presents, too, and a book about table setting and manners AND a Dooney and Bourke purse from .....GOODWILL....of course! (Authentic and priced at $19.99! I wouldn't pay the full price of a new store for the purse and I thought that even $19.99 was a bit much but I knew that it was a bargain that wasn't likely to present itself again so I splurged!)

Thanks for sharing in Becca's birthday! God bless you!

Busy Week and a Run in with the POLICE!!

Our weekend in Chicago was wonderful. We spent Friday and Saturday night in the suburb of Wheeling, Illinois then went downtown Chicago for Sunday night. We stayed right on the Magnificent Mile...or whatever it is called. I was sort of impressed but not really. All those shops and not ONE Goodwill Store! What a waste!
I tried to find something to bring home to the babies but EVERYTHING was overpriced for our budget! I found and adorable little sleeper for the baby to be (due in May/June) and showed it to Roger. It was $27.50 and he said, "That's really cute but I bet you could find the same thing at Goodwill."
I told him that it WOULD NOT be the same thing but that I was really just teasing and had NO INTENTION of actually buying it! We found baby bibs in Bloomingdale's for $8.00 but since we have ONE NEW baby and ONE on the way, that would be $16.00 for just two little bibs. Kind of ridiculous to think about a baby spitting up on them, right? I put them back, too.
I did get a little silver charm of the Chicago Watertower that I intend to put on a charm bracelet for me. When we went on the cruise last year, we got some free charms there and I have a charm from Maine AND one from the Amish area in Northern Indiana that I have had for quite a while. So, I rationalized that it wouldn't be a really bad thing to buy one from Chicago. We did shop around until we found a place that we could afford!
Speaking of affording, or more aptly spoken, NOT AFFORDING, we had the audacity to walk in to the Louis Vuiton store while we were in Chicago. Yeah, first of all, I wasn't impressed. Secondly, THEY were NOT impressed with us. It became kind of funny to me. I was wearing my favorite Goodwill finds and I was in a store where the men's ties cost more than I make in a week! One look at me and my Walmart shoes and they knew that I was NOT a customer and they didn't need to be nice to me. They did, however, feel the need to follow us around the store to make sure we didn't shoplift. Hehehe! Me and my Youth Pastor husband...shoplifters?? (He was a youth pastor several years ago, not any more.)
Actually, we DID have a run in with the police several years ago in our town. We had been dating for about six months or so and we drove separately to a singles function at our church. Our children did not yet know that we were dating, so we were trying to keep it a secret. As it ended up, after the game night at church was over, we took my BIG van to the park to take a walk. It was dark out, probably 9:30 at night and it was getting cold out. We decided, after we took a walk, to sit in my van and talk. (Well, he DID smooch me a time or two...but it had taken him six months to get around to that OR to hold my hand!!! What a gentleman!!) Anyway, all of the sudden, we were surrounded by TWO police cars with their flashers on! He said to me, "Let's get out of here!!" I threw the car into reverse before I thought, "What a dumb idea!!!" We hadn't done anything wrong...except for the couple of kisses, that is...So I put it back into park and waited for the police to come to the car.
As it ended up, I think the police thought we were dealing drugs OR teenagers in that big old van of mine. I also didn't live in the same county as the park, so they probably knew that I didn't live in that town since my license plates on the van were from a different county. The police told us the park was closed at dusk. Go Home.
We couldn't go home because we still didn't want the kids to know that we were seeing anyone until we were pretty sure of our relationship.
Anyway, that has sort of been a joke with us being caught by the police.
So nothing more is happening with us right now...just silly stories!

The Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference!!

We are on our way bright and early (hopefully) on Friday morning to go to Chicago to the Marriage Conference! We are so excited and of course, I have over packed as usual!
Some kids are staying in our home, some are dispersed elsewhere and we are ready to "Bond" and learn alot about marriage!
MOST of our friends tell us the conference is wonderful, life changing, etc. SOME of our friends told us that they have gone to these conferences and ended up in a big fight!! I hope the latter does NOT happen to us! There's enough in our lives to fight about without paying for and spending the weekend to find one! Haha!
We have yummy vegetables, fruit, cheese and low fat crackers to "lunch on" on the way...I am sure that about two o'clock we will need a hamburger and french fries....
Roger also want to introduce me to the IKEA store. I have heard wondrous things about it. I am glad we are driving our tiny compact car...
Have a lovely weekend! I hope to have GOOD things to tell you when we come back next week!
Love in Christ,
Beth

Tiny Tot Tuesday!!!

Well, I made a mistake in downloading these pictures! The first two are supposed to be the LAST two! I have spent the day with two of our grand babies and I wanted to show you them FIRST...but I also wanted to include the ones that I didn't get to spend the day with! This first little guy is Brody...I DID spend the day with him but not with his aunt Erin who is holding him AND holding their baby Liam! (Oh, I guess I should explain that Liam isn't born yet! He is due toward the end of May! He's cute, too....just like his mommy and daddy! His daddy was JUST sworn in as a police officer in a town in southern Indiana! I'm proud of him, too, and all the rest of the kids and kids in law, just had to say that to be fair.........)

This is the cutest little six year old guy in the world! He is Dylan and his grammy's buddy! He likes the cat...I'm not sure that the cat likes him....He is Brody's big brother!

This is Brody! He is my buddy, too! I am so blessed to be able to spend time with him just like I was able to spend time with Dylan when he was this age! He's a cutie, too, and a CHUNK!

This is my little angel GIRL! Her name is Seraphina and she is my step daughter, Abi's little girl! She is a delight and I love her dearly! She loves dollies so I plan to have lots of excuses to play dolls all over again! She's getting an old reconditioned baby doll cradle and Grammy made bedding for Christmas, (and a Bitty Baby doll that I purchased on Ebay!)

Sooo...that's about all I did today, just played with babies. Oh, we homeschooled,too, and now I have to figure out what to fix for supper! I did a little bit of housework, too, and put nice new flannel sheets on our bed! It is a nice day right now but our bedroom is soooo cold. (It's over the garage and I counted FIVE quilts on our bed this morning when I remade it!)

Please keep us in your prayers as we try to figure out what we are going to do about moving. We know that it has to be God's plan to have us move...in a few years it will be almost impossible to pay our house payment because we will lose our children's child support. It is BECAUSE we have so many children in our combined family that we have this large house. But as the kids are growing up and moving away, we find that it is becoming way too costly for us to stay here. Even if God allows us to adopt, we want to raise them in a smaller more modest home in a modest area...not necessarily where we are currently living.

There isn't a LOT of hope that our little lot that we have had our hearts set on will work out for us but we haven't heard the definite NO. The owners are trying to find some paperwork that will substantiate their claim that they had the land ok'd to build on. So we are waiting just a little bit longer.

In the meantime, this weekend we are going to the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference in Chicago and I'm sooooo excited! (Yeah, ROGER had better learn something!....HAHAHA! I'm thinking that it will be ME who learns a LOT this weekend!!! He's a pretty good guy already!)

Have a lovely day!

Monday, Monday, Monday...

Not much is going on here today...usually Monday is my "day off"...if homeschooling mamas can have a day off. Since I work miserable hours on Friday and Saturday away from our home, Monday is kind of a "down" day.
We are doing laundry and some cleaning and Rebecca is about to sew on her new sewing machine that she got as an early birthday present from her Mimi and Papoo. (aka my mom and dad) She has a stuffed animal that she is planning to sew for a 4H project so we might get a start on that today. She has already cut it all out. (THAT'S the part I hate to do!!!) She also wants to go shoe shopping...I said that would be fine as long as they get their school work done first!

I am so excited about this weekend coming up! We are going to the Weekend To Remember Marriage Conference near Chicago!! I have never been able to go to such a thing and I remember praying and asking God to send me a husband that would WANT to go to things like that! God is VERY GOOD!!

We are still kind of waiting to see if there is ANY chance that our little lot can be built on. I had a rough day yesterday...I kept "tearing up" about it in church. I sometimes cry in church so I'm sure that people thought I was "just being spiritual..." and all I was doing was feeling sorry for myself! haha! I don't usually "boo hoo" but Christian songs certainly make me misty eyed and in combination with my disappointment, I had to brush away some tears! Anyway, I know that God is in control and that He does things on purpose. Sometimes I think He just wants us to appreciate things and HIM so He puts things in our paths to make us THINK!

In the meantime, we are searching the internet for BUILDABLE lots and even some houses that may fit our needs. We are looking for a home that can be big enough for our family yet small enough to be economical. That's why we decided to TRY to have the cottage moved to the lot. (THAT didn't work, did it?) We would like to have a basement for several reasons. First, Indiana is NOTORIOUS for tornados! A basement would be nice! Also, a basement would be just right to put extra bedrooms with windows, and extra storage space. We found a floor plan for a "True" modular...the type of home that can be two stories or a cape cod or a ranch house...that would suit our needs just right. We are planning to tour the facility in northern Indiana next Monday just in case we are able to buy a lot somewhere. We are going to be in the area anyway on our way back from Chicago so we might as well still do it!
Have a lovely day and THINK SUNSHINE for Indiana! We are tired of the cold dismal days! It makes me want to nap!

God Answers Prayers...

God does answer prayers. But sometimes it's not the answer we want.
A few weeks ago when Roger and I embarked on the land and home buying process, we fervently prayed that God would lead in this endeavor. We EACH prayed on the way to make the offer on the land that we do what God wants us to do. I asked Roger, who was driving separately from me, to pray specifically that IF this was NOT God's will, to NOT allow it to happen.
Well...it looks as it it is NOT going to happen.
RATS!!!! WHY DID I HAVE TO PRAY THAT?? haha...
I just found out today from the county planning commission that it really looks like the little piece of property was never given the special ordnance to build on. Almost all of this week has been spent trying to prove that it HAD been ok'd but it just isn't so.
Since it is smaller than what the law allows to build on, it is going to be nearly impossible to get it approved barring some miracle. HOPE HOPE HOPE...my FATHER works miracles....!!!
I did ask the wonderful and caring lady that has been trying to help me to see if it would be at all possible for the owners to try to get the variance that is needed and she said that she will talk to the county attorney and get back with me on Monday. It seemed from our conversation that she didn't want to tell me "NO" without first making certain. She is a real sweetie! I felt sorry for her because when I spoke to her, I was fighting back tears and she was really quiet. I know she felt so sorry for us. I think she needs some home made bread or cookies, don't you?

So I cried a little bit...but I also feel a wonderful feeling from my Heavenly Father that HE knows the best for His children and that there is something better out there for us...possibly not a little bit of land in the country...but something in HIS WILL and that is better than all the land and our dreams of chickens and little milk goats that money can buy, isn't it?

More Land Purchase Problems...YIKES!!

Well, there was more disappointing news yesterday regarding our little land purchase. We were all set to close and the bank called me and said the appraisal came back, no problem, except that it appears that we may NOT be allowed to build on the land! I knew already that in the county that we are planning to build in, you are supposed to have more than this amount of land to build on. However, according to the realtor, all the zoning and permission was already given and the land was already platted. According to them, all we had to do was to choose a house and get the building permit and then get started! Sounds fairly easy...wow was I wrong! I went to three different county offices and then back to the first one and STILL no answer. No one could show me that a special variance was given to this piece of property OR that the land was deeded before May of 2006, which is when the new rule went into effect.
I called the realtor who has the land listed and she assures me that it is ok; I am to call her again today and she will locate the correct paperwork. I hope it is all as she says it is but it makes me wonder why NO ONE could find out anything GOOD about the property. (The appraiser is also a commissioner or something important like that and the people in the county office were already aware of the problem since he had come in the day before trying to investigate it!)
In fact, the knowledgeable and professional woman who was helping me research it said, "Well, there are always other properties...sorry to be the one to give you such bad news."
Pretty ominous sounding. But I'm not giving up hope YET! The realtor said that the area was "sub divided" (In the middle of corn and soybean fields...) so possibly there is some hope; maybe they weren't looking for THAT kind of property. They did ask me if it was in a subdivision and I said, "No, it's way out in the country..." We'll see, I guess!! I also want to make sure that there are not any covenants about animals...we want chickens and possibly a goat...or two...Roger thinks I'm going to MILK the goat.....Yeah.

On a nicer note, we are planning to go to the Chicago area in just 1 1/2 weeks to the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference! We are so excited to do this and also to get to spend the LONG weekend with each other! We are planning to stop by a home building in the Amish area of Indiana and check out some of their homes and floor plans. Of course,...we need a piece of land to put it on.......

Change of plans.....

Well, last week was a week of excitement and some high hopes. I just fell in LOVE with the little old cottage that we have been wanting to move! I was really elated about how cute and adorable it is!
We have been investigating the cost to have the house moved (and to PAY for it from the man who just plans to have it torn down....) and the cost of moving electrical lines, phone lines, rerouting traffic, remodeling, etc...and by Saturday we had EACH come to the conclusion that the cost would just be too much for an old house. (Although we LOVED it...and even now, I have a lump in my throat about it. I have become too emotionally involved with it and I have to step back a bit! gulp, gasp, ragged breath...)
I think my sweet Roger was somewhat relieved that I had come to the same conclusion as he had. He is so precious and sometimes I can certainly act like a spoiled brat. I know he didn't want to disappoint me! I was at work and talking to him during some down times and just asked him his opinion. We had come to the same conclusion and we feel some relief although we are also saddened and greatly disappointed.
One big concern for me is that there was a REAL smell of mold and mildew in the house. It is on an old yucky basement so I said to myself that probably that was where the mold was. But as I was falling in love with the nooks and crannies and built in cupboards and archways and woodwork and ....well, anyway, I also noticed a thin layer of mold on the cabinets in the kitchen. I am not sure how dangerous the green mold is but for a family (mine, not Roger's...) that has major respiratory issues with ANY kind of mold and mildew, I just felt that this isn't the best environment to have my/our children or Roger and myself in...not to mention our new grand babies. I know that it can be cleaned but I'm not sure that those mold spores wouldn't still be living in the old plaster walls...yuck....just waiting to come to life again!
So, it is a bit disheartening to know that our little cottage will most likely be torn down but I have to realize that it is NOT my responsibility to save it...although I would like to...but what is best for US is what is important. It also, strangely enough, made me thing about the verse that says not to lay up our treasures on this earth (to me this cottage was indeed a TREASURE...) where moths and rust corrupts...(not to mention mold...) but to lay up our treasures in Heaven. I am too concerned with our TREASURES on this Earth when NOTHING will remain!! (I think about that when I go to art museums...the some time "priceless" things of this earth will be no more!)
I need to be way more concerned about what I am laying up in Heaven and if I am furthering God's Kingdom!
We still are buying the sweet little piece of ground and we are investigating putting a modest home on it...whether stick built or a "true" modular or "panellized" home. We will certainly have a great adventure together in building "our" home together. (For those who have never experienced it...and I hope most never will...it is hard to move into a house that was once shared with another wife. As nice as I want to be...sometimes I just want to live in "OUR" house together. I know it sounds selfish and mean spirited and it was something I didn't ever expect to feel but I have. A modest home that is ours TOGETHER will go a LONG way in our relationship building! That sounds mean, I know, but until you experience it, you just don't know how you might feel. No matter how nice we as Christian ladies want to be, I think we are kind of "territorial" critters. That is just a kind of "honest" sharing...so please don't judge me too harshly!! :) )
It is now 2 a.m. and I have to go to bed! Roger has been asleep a long time...but I had a terrible tired headache and took a long nap this evening so I'm not as tired as he is now!
Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Beth

Your Prayers are Needed!! :)

On Thursday we are supposed to go meet with the owners of the house we would like to move to our property! (It isn't ACTUALLY our property yet, we should close on it soon, though!) We also have to meet with a realtor and the developers of the property on which the house sits! I am a little concerned about it...I'm afraid they might want lots of money since there are so many other people involved! But we will see! We kind of have a figure in our minds that we can spend on obtaining this cute little cottage and it is not financially feasible to spend more than that on a house that we have to pay to have moved, put on a basement and have work done it. We would actually be saving the developers money by taking the house away rather than having them tear it down and dispose of the rubbish! (How horrible that thought is...the little cottage that is my DREAM house reduced to TRASH! Landfill fodder!!) We are praying about it and would covet your prayers regarding this as well! It is absolutely adorable though and just seems exactly what I would like to have! However, I have been known to put "BETH" before GOD in other circumstances and I want this to be HIS will, not mine or Roger's! (But I really want it badly!! hehe!!)

Becca (12 almost 13) and I and our dog Precious walked the property yesterday. Since we have had so much snow in central Indiana lately, we hadn't walked back to the back of it before. Precious loved looking for moles! We found a few places where they had been burrowing in the earth and the dog was just beside herself trying to find them! She is also a brave shrew hunter and a killer of mice. Good dog. Good Good Dog!!

In the above picture (I took a better picture yesterday but can't get it to download on my computer!) is a dead tree. (between the otherwise dead looking trees...) I was standing there thinking how much firewood that old tree could produce but Becca had her own ideas!

"Can you ask them to PLEASE not cut this tree down?" she begged.

"It will be US who cuts it down, honey." I told her.

"NO!!!!! I could put a ladder on the tree and that could be my READING spot! I've always WANTED a READING SPOT! See how it looks like a natural recliner?? You would always know where I was!!"

Wow. What an argument! In a day where most people have to worry about where their preteens and teens are...MY daughter will be up a dead tree reading a book! I guess that wouldn't be so bad...

I'm not quite sure she has won the argument, though! She would have to convince her step dad that the tree is a thing of BEAUTY! Maybe I can plants some flowers and a few vines around it...