These Cold Winter Days

This winter has been so very cold here! We've been letting the cold water drip on these really cold days to keep the pipes from freezing. So far so good! Our low was -1º on Friday!

Enduring the temperatures we've had lately makes me even more thankful to have a warm home. Last month our electric bill was about double what it usually is, but at least we are warm and have a heater that works! My husband taped some bubble wrap over the sliding glass doors in his office. It has really helped keep the cold out. I grew up with a wood stove, and I really miss it, especially on these super cold days!

With all the snow we got, we needed a new snow shovel and some ice melt. We checked the big stores like Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. They were all sold out. Finally, just out of curiosity, we stopped by a little hardware store, and wouldn't you know they had snow shovels and salt!

Katie's trip is going well, but we sure miss her at home! They did a street outreach their first night there and 16 people got saved!  I'm keeping track of her flights on flightaware.com. What a neat site!

I've been enjoying this tea - Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Plus. Have any of you tried it? It's really good! After I sweeten it with a little raw honey, I'm good to go! I also like their Throat Coat tea.

Just a little of God's beauty to share. I took this picture from my front door not long ago. I thought the sunset was so pretty through the trees.

Hope you all are doing well and staying warm!! Have a great week. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Take care,
~Melanie

February Hodgepodge

Just a few little snippets of what's been going on around here the last few weeks.

We celebrated Katie's birthday, and this is her cake, made by my husband. I thought that was so sweet of him. Yes, that is gum along the edges. :-) The little round things are edible chocolate candy pieces.

My husband drew my Valentine card this year. Isn't that something?

We had a huge wind storm here last weekend! It blew a tree across the road, and took cable and power lines with it!  I took this picture from my front window. What a mess! Thankfully, no one was on the road when the tree fell. That could have been really bad.

We got about 8 inches of snow Monday evening, and it's been too cold for the snow to melt. I took this picture of Lilly today. I thought she was so cute with her head stuck up in the air. She LOVES to play and roll in the snow. :-)

Katie leaves in the morning for a two-week missions trip to Uruguay. Please keep her (and me!) in your prayers.

I hope things are going well in your little part of the world. So glad you stopped by. :-)

Take care,
~Melanie

Grandma's Bible

We have a 'snow day' from school/work today, so I thought it would be a good time to finish up a little post I've been working on....I love snow days sprinkled here and there. :-)

Last summer I was given something very special....my grandma's Bible.
After she passed away in 1983, one of my aunts inherited it. A few years ago I mentioned to Mom that I would like to have it someday. I was so happy to hear that my aunt said she would give it to me!

 This Bible was given to Grandma in 1975. I don't know where any of her older Bibles are, or if they're even still around. As you can tell from the worn cover, she spent a lot of time with it in those eight years...it was very important to her. This wasn't a Bible that sat on a shelf untouched between Sundays! Even though I was very young, I can remember her reading it.

I love seeing her handwriting and reading all the little notes...very special.

...her church bulletin dated just a couple of weeks before she died.

The cover is pretty fragile, so I keep it put away in a little box and take it out from time to time and look at it.

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. ~Romans 15:4

I love this verse...we learn from Scripture, but it's also there to comfort us and give us hope!


Take care,
~Melanie

Happiness in Little Things

It's important to look for and enjoy those 'little things' that bring us happiness in life.

A happy chickadee... After I cropped the picture, it looks like the feeder is on the ground, but it's just the angle. I took the picture from my front door. The yard was *full* of happy singing birds. I love watching the birds at the feeder. Happiness from a simple bag of bird seed. :-)

A loaf of cinnamon bread from our neighbor....oh, it is yummy! It's a blessing to have good neighbors!

When we were visiting with my parents at Christmas, I mentioned to Mom that I remembered a pretty little blue candle holder she had that sat on a table in the living room. She went right to the kitchen and pulled it out of one of the cabinets and gave it to me. Isn't it pretty? I had no idea she'd kept it all these years! I'm happy to have it!

All these bags went to Goodwill last week. Now my closets and cabinets have a little more room to *breathe*...such a good feeling! It's amazing how things can accumulate!

Take care,
~Melanie

Grandma's Box

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post. I've enjoyed going through my memories of those sweet times with my grandma.

After she passed away, my mom was fortunate enough to get this box.

I think this was probably Grandma's special box.

Here's a closer look at some of the things inside...

 ...quilt pieces. I have no idea how many quilts she made over the years.
 

 ...my grandpa's railroad cap. He passed away when my mom was only twelve.

...a little notebook. It contains a hodgepodge of things like grocery lists, prayer requests, little doodles (most likely from one of her many grandchildren).

...recipes. I remember some of these. Seeing her handwriting makes it all much more special.

...an outline of the hand of her son, Albert. This is her child that passed away as an infant. What a sad time that must have been for her. Now she's reunited with him in heaven.

I'm so happy that Mom has this little box...such sweet memories.

Take care,
~Melanie