Monday's Musings...

I hope y'all had a blessed weekend...
we sure did.
Saturday evening we had a baby shower
for a young lady at church.
Baby showers are such fun.
What a blessing it is to celebrate
the arrival of a precious little one!

We had a blessed Lord's Day, as well.
Pastor has been having a theme this month
that he has called "October-Blest".
Each Sunday is focused on a different blessing.
Yesterday morning was the blessing of church.
What a blessing it is, too!
(By the way, in case y'all are unaware
October is Pastor Appreciation Month...
be sure to let your pastor know
that you appreciate all that he does.
Don't forget about his wife, too.)

Yesterday evening, as we were leaving
to head to the evening service
we witnessed a beautiful sunset sky...



It was breathtaking!

In the evening service, we had an individual
that accepted Christ as his Saviour! Praise the Lord!
There's a new name written down in Glory! ;o)


Today was, mostly, a work day for us.
After quiet time, I chiseled away at Mount Washmore,
cleaned up in the kitchen, caught up on a few phone calls,
took the bunk beds apart and rearranged
the girls' bedroom (phew), bathed the children and more.

Before heading to her room for some school work
and her violin practice/lessons,
Ally took advantage of the quietness
of the younger ones playing outside
and played the piano...

(those are new 'Oreo' pajamas she made over the weekend...
out of old bedsheets)

The younger ones were outside, playing in the birdbath
(I filled it with fresh water)...


Ally worked on Worldview and Violin most of the day.
Will enjoyed reading, reading, and more reading,
as well as creative play.
Here he was reading "Little House on the Prairie"
(for the second time in one week)...

He enjoys telling me all about what he's read
(which, of course, counts as narration).

The lil' girls enjoyed putting on a little puppet show
(among other things)...

They had put the puppet stand together and all. ;o)
Quite an accomplishment for these two girls.
I enjoyed watching their presentation
and listening to them sing "Jesus Loves Me". ;o)

Tomorrow will be an errand-running day.
I hope to respond to comments soon. ;o)

I hope y'all enjoy your week!


(a portion of Scripture from my quiet time today)

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Jesus, I Am Resting...

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.


(Chorus)
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.




Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art;
And Thy love, so pure, so changless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its ev'ry need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!


(Chorus)
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.




Ever lift Thy face upon me,
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.


(Chorus)
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.


words: Edwin Young; music: Harry E. Storrs
from Soul Stirring Songs and Hymns


Click below to hear the midi:

(You can stop this blog's background music
by clicking the pause button in the sidebar)


"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
~ Matthew 11:29

Venturesome Vacation Ventilations... Part 2...

On Wednesday, the day after
our visit to the Renaissance Festival,
we packed up the van
and headed to a local museum.
This museum has a special meaning to us
because it displays a home (and more)
that our ancestor built in the 1700's.
We were excited to visit and learn more.

Here were the children in front of a model
of the home that he had built...


Will and Ally enjoyed learning more about
him, his family, and his homestead...


Beth and Carolynne enjoyed learning, too...



While in the museum, we, also, visited another area
that focused on the next century.
Ally and Will found a couple of things they liked...




Then we headed upstairs to their hands-on toy display.
There was much to enjoy...

















Then we headed outside to see the rock house.
First we saw the American Freedom Bell...




As we walked down the path,
we saw a statue of our ancestor
and were able to get our picture taken together with him...


Here were the children sitting on the bridge railing...


Walking to the rock house...



The rock house...





The children on the steps of the rock house
built by our ancestor (what a special moment!)...


We, also, enjoyed walking the path
learning about the different plants.
We decided not to go on the guided tour inside the house.
But we do hope to do that with Daddy one day. ;o)

... That was our vacation, in a nutshell.
We had a lovely time
and, now, look forward to more relaxing days,
Lord willing. ;o)

Hope y'all enjoy your weekend!

Venturesome Vacation Ventilations...

{title translated: adventurous vacation utterances
simplified: all about our fun vacation} ;o)


What a busy week we've had!
But we've enjoyed every bit of it.
The children and I arose Monday morning
and 'hit the road' around 6am.
Quite a few hours later, we arrived at our destination.
We checked into our hotel, unpacked,
and headed out to visit our aunt.
On the way, however,
the children were excited to stop by
the Lowe's Motor Speedway.
This is a 'sport' that our children
have found a bit interesting
(courtesy of a few "passionate" friends)
so they were excited to see the speedway
and since we were right there
I decided to give it a try.
It was all locked up but a friendly security guard
opened the gate for us and let us in.
The children were fascinated to see
a few of the race cars practicing...


We watched for a little bit, thanked the security guard,
and left to visit with our aunt and family.
We had a lovely time of fellowship!

The next morning, we arose early
to head to an exciting destination...
the Carolina Renaissance Festival...



We were, first, greeted by a lady playing the bagpipes...


Before the gates opened,
"the Queen" made a public welcome
and a shot from the cannon was fired.
Then we entered the gates, into the village...


There were many shops to visit, games to play,
rides to enjoy, music to hear, performances to see,
food to smell, animals to pet, things to learn, etc...
We enjoyed it all very much.

Here were some photos from our day...

...Watching a performance...



Afterwards...


Trying to climb...


Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine...


Enjoying the celtic harp...


Listening to the knight...



Posing for a picture...





Preparing for a joust game...


I'll just take the ride, thank you...



!VERY excited to meet our online friends...




the boys...



Ally and Brittany

Enjoying the "real" joust...


Hand-to-hand combat...



Learning archery...



Riding the giant rocking horse...



Not quite their knight-in-shining-armor...


It was such an enjoyable time!
Afterwards, we enjoyed much time
of food and fellowship with our wonderful friends!

On Wednesday, we visited our ancestor museum
and hope to share a few photos of that soon.

Until then, I thought I'd share a sign
that we saw at the Renaissance Festival
and it cracked us up...




LOL