The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...Monday, February 28, 2011.

Outside my window...it has been a very rainy day. It's about 55° outside right now. My daffodils are starting to come up!

I am hearing...rain falling on the roof.

I am thinking...it's been two weeks since I posted anything!

What's been going on around here?

Katie had a great time on her snow tubing trip. She finally got to go after having it rescheduled twice because of bad weather.

She had a sleepover at our house with two girls from church. They had a great time! :)

We had some vandalism on our school building last week. So, my husband and I spent one of our afternoons scrubbing not-so-nice words off the building. Sadly, this is not the first time something like this has happened. We've ordered some motion lights, so we'll see if that helps.

One of our students lost his dad to cancer last week. It's hard to see a child lose a parent.

I am hoping...this week will be better than last week!

I am thankful...we have a tax refund coming back this year. It's very small, but at least we didn't have to pay!

I just finished reading...A Suitor for Jenny by Margaret Brownley. This was the first book I read by her. It was very good.

One of my favorite things...thrift stores! I was thinking the other day that I would like to have a chronological Bible, and I found one at Goodwill on Saturday for $1.00. Katie also found a few shirts. We had made a donation before we went in, and they gave us a 20% off coupon to use too! I love a good bargain. ♥

From the kitchen...Chicken Enchiladas. Katie has been asking me to make this for at least a week. The recipe is in my archives...very yummy!

A Scripture thought...

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

-Matthew 6:31-33

These verses are so comforting and encouraging. God has always taken care of me and my family, and I'm trusting Him to continue to do so!

A picture I'm sharing this week...

This is one of our two cats...Precious. That is probably not the best name for her because she can be very rotten and grumpy. Don't let that cute little face deceive you! :)

She likes to sleep in my computer chair, so I always have to shoo her off when I want to sit down. I took this picture on Saturday morning when she crawled up in my lap. This was one of her sweet moments...very rare and it didn't last long!

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for stopping by. :)

Take care,

~Melanie

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...Tuesday, February 15, 2011.

Outside my window...sunny and 46°. Yesterday the temperatures were up in the 60's!

I am thinking...about what a nice birthday Katie had. She had so much fun at her skating party. I would like to thank all of you who stopped by to wish her a happy birthday.

(Did you know that Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday was February 7th?)

I'm also thinking about the nice Valentine's Day we had.

I always enjoy Valentine's Day at the school. I like to see all the sweet cards the students exchange. Many of them (especially the younger ones) give me cards too. I like their cute little handwriting.

However, by the end of the day, the kids are pretty full of sugar, so I'm always glad when three o'clock rolls around. :)

Valentine's Day at home was nice too, although it didn't really go according to what we had planned. My husband was going to make Eggplant Parmesan for us, but it was so windy outside that a tree fell onto a power line across the street, knocking out our electricity. So, we called Papa John's and had pizza for our Valentine's supper! It was OK, but I was really looking forward to what my husband was going to make. We had a candlelight supper though. :)

God bless the men and women who work on the power lines! They have a hard, dangerous job, and they're out in all sorts of weather!

I am thankful...for our generator! It has come in so handy over the years we've been here. All we have is electric heat, so when the power goes out, we're able to run little space heaters to keep warm, and we can plug in the refrigerator to keep our food from spoiling. It's one of those things I don't really think about until we need it!

I am reading...Sisters of the Quilt by Cindy Woodsmall. I'm really enjoying it!

From the kitchen...my husband is planning to make the Eggplant Parmesan we were going to have last night.

One of my favorite things...a gift of chocolate on Valentine's Day!♥ Actually, a gift of chocolate is great on ANY day! :)

A few plans for the rest of the week...work every day 'til 3, church on Thursday, church on Sunday

A picture I'm sharing this week...

My husband just finished making these shelves for me. I think he did a wonderful job! ♥

The white pitcher and the flowers on the top were part of what he gave me for Valentine's Day yesterday. We also used the oil lamp last night while the power was out.

My husband painted both of the pictures, and my mom painted the pine cones on the candle.

I am so pleased with how everything turned out. :)

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

I hope you're all having a great week. :)

Take care,

~Melanie

A Birthday and a Blogoversary!

It's Katie's birthday!
Yes, our beautiful daughter turns thirteen today.
Time seems to have flown by so fast!

We've been looking through her pictures,
and thought you might like to see some of them too. :)


My mom took this picture at her house.
~♥~


Katie has the cutest little facial expression in this one.
And, of course, the mouse slippers only add to the cuteness.
~♥~


What a sweet smile.
~♥~


I managed to get this adorable picture
while her dad was tossing her in the air.
~♥~


Here she is with my sweet dad.
~♥~

Katie is such a blessing to our family.
We are so thankful for her.
She is truly a gift from God!
She has always been very sweet and happy,
and we're so proud of her.
Our prayer is that she will always love the Lord,
and serve Him all of her life.

Happy Birthday, Katie!
We love you!

~♥~♥~♥~

Today is also my one-year blogoversary!
I like having a place where I can share
inspirational things, funny things,
favorite recipes, pictures,
or just things going on around my house.

I've had a fun time this year making new friends.
Thank you for all your visits and sweet comments.
I always enjoy it when you stop by.♥

I hope you all will have a great week.


Take care,
Melanie

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...February 1, 2011.

Outside my window...Cloudy and 42°. Most of the snow we got last week has melted.

I am thinking...about Katie's birthday coming up on Monday. She'll be thirteen! The years seem to have just flown by! She's been wanting to have a skating party to celebrate, so that's what we're planning to do. She has a cold right now, so I'm hoping she'll be feeling better by then.

I am hearing...supper cooking on the stove, and Katie flipping pages while doing her homework. :)

I am thankful...that we have been safe and warm during all the snow and ice storms we've had the last few weeks. Our electricity has stayed on through every storm.

I am (still) reading...Promiseland and The Other Side of Jordan by Dawn Miller. I'm almost finished. It's been pretty good.

From the kitchen...roast beef hash and broccoli with cheese. It's a great way to use up Sunday's leftover roast! I'm going to make some peanut butter cookies after supper. Yum! :)

One of my favorite things...Baked apple pie scented candles. They smell so good!

A few plans for the rest of the week...work every day 'til 3, church on Thursday, groceries on Saturday, church on Sunday.

A Scripture thought...

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, And lean not unto thine own understanding; In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6

A picture I'm sharing this week...

My mom knows how much I like old family things, so she gave me this iron a couple of years ago. It belonged to my grandma. When my mom was a little girl, she used it to press her mom's quilt pieces. :)

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

I hope you're all having a good week. :)

Take care,

Melanie