~Days of Winter~

We had our first snowfall over the weekend, and have been enjoying it. The temperatures have been too cold for the snow to melt...our low last night was 13º.

 We were happy that one of the students in our school gave us a bird feeder for Christmas. Our other one has seen better days. The bush on the left is a Rose of Sharon. Every morning, it is full of birds waiting for their turn at breakfast. :-)

My sweet husband gave me this electric fireplace for Christmas. We are enjoying it so much. It is one of the most realistic looking ones I've seen. I grew up with a wood stove, and I would love to have one, but this is the next best thing. ♥

Katie gave me this reindeer mug for Christmas. It is so cute, and blue is my favorite color. :-)

I received this precious book for Christmas. It has only 132 pages in a comfortable font. If you get the chance to read it, please do.  I am sure it would be a blessing to you. The last few chapters were especially good. I could not stop the tears that flowed.

This is the third book of hers that I have read. They are deeply spiritual, yet very humble.

I hope you all will have a blessed week. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Take care,
~Melanie

More Snow

We awoke to more snow this morning! My husband filled the bird feeder and took some pictures of the snow and Lilly. He even took a little video of her.  She is such a funny dog. :-)

 

 

I've been trying to keep myself busy to keep from missing Katie so much. I've washed clothes, put chicken in the crock pot, experimented with a new recipe for my bread machine, and made a strawberry cake for my husband. There are some good smells coming from my kitchen today!

I'm so thankful for all my 'maids' ~ my crock pot, washing machine, oven, etc.. I've often wondered what our ancestors would think of all our modern conveniences. Surely they would be amazed.

Katie's trip is going well. She'll be back next week! Please continue to keep her in your prayers. :-)

I hope you're all enjoying your day! So glad you stopped by.

Take care,

~Melanie

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

A Snowy Valentine's...

 

 ...yesterday afternoon

...last night

I got my camera and went out for a little walk around our house this morning.

    

footprints  :-)

 

  

Our backyard...

    

Care to swing?

 

Or hang some clothes?

  

One of our Rose of Sharon bushes

  I love snow covered fences.♥

  a little stream behind our house

  The snow from the trees was melting and dropping in the water. 

You can see the little ripples.

   

So pretty with the sun shining through the trees

 Such a funny doggie we have. Lilly *loves* the snow! 

When there's snow outside, she's scratching to go out about every hour so she can play.

That is one spoiled pup right there!

   

Katie made this sweet wreath. I just love it!
 I baked the dough hearts. She did the rest.

I hope you're all having a happy Valentine's Day. 

Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Take care,

~Melanie

                                  

More Snowy Days...

A cardinal waiting his turn for the feeder~ 

Cozy kitty Oreo...not a care in the world... *smile*

Re-reading another favorite book of mine, Stepping Heavenward ~ a fictional diary of the life of a girl named Katy living in the 1800s. It tells of the joys and struggles throughout her life, and how she strives to draw closer to God...highly recommend!

My husband started some pinto beans soaking in the crock pot last night. They're smelling soooo good! I'll make some cornbread this evening to go with them. ♥

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you're enjoying your day! :)

Take care,

~Melanie

A Snowy Start to the Year

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a nice Christmas and are doing well. Even though we've been sick with colds, we had a nice Christmas with our families.

We were able to visit with my cousin's wife, Tanya. She's the one I've told you about who has cancer. She wasn't expected to make it through Christmas, but she is still hanging on and is back home with her family. Hospice has come in to help out. Thank you to all who have prayed for her. I keep praying for a miracle.

So, last night it started snowing and this is what we woke up to this morning. It's not much, but it is very pretty. It's been in the low 20's all day and is supposed to be about 10 degrees tonight.

 There were some cardinals in our front tree this morning, so I filled their feeder so they could have a little treat. Notice the feeder on the left. The birds like to wait in the tree while I fill it :-)

This is a picture of our backyard. There's our blackberry trellis on the left next to our clothesline, which is taking a winter break.

 Katie took this picture today. It's the field across the road at the end of our street. The Canada geese love to gather here in the winter. I've seen this field just full of them! They can be quite loud at times! 

We've enjoyed our two weeks of vacation, but it's back to work on Monday. We took our tree and decorations down on New Year's Eve, but I did leave out a couple of snowmen. :-)

I hope you all will have a wonderful year!

Take care,

~Melanie

This 'n That

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a great week.

Our weather here yesterday was 70°...hard to believe for January. Then, last night it dipped into the 30s, what a swing!





Just a little peek of winter here...these are seed pods on our Rose of Sharon. I thought they looked like little brown flowers.



Our bare flowering cherry looks like he's keeping warm in his ivy coat. :)



Katie missed school Wednesday and Thursday because she was sick. I think she must have gotten what her dad had last week. She's feeling better now and even made a chocolate cake. What can I say....she is her mother's daughter. :)



Unfortunately the bug decided to visit me too. *sigh* At least I have the weekend to recuperate. I hope to be feeling better by Monday. Thankfully, this bug doesn't seem to be too bad or last very long, mostly just a low fever and tiredness.

I wanted to give you an update on my cousin's wife, Tanya. She is still in the hospital fighting the cancer. It has spread to her lymph nodes and stomach, so she is going through treatments for that right now. The doctors are hoping that the cancer was caught early enough, and that she'll be OK. She was moved to the rehab floor of the hospital today, and she's hoping to go home in a couple of weeks. Thank you for your prayers for her, and please continue to pray for her and her family.



As I've read through my friends' blogs lately, I've seen so many troubling things...financial problems, sickness, death of loved ones, loss of jobs...I've been praying for so many of you. Many of my own friends and family are struggling with problems as well.

Does anyone else remember this old hymn?

The Solid Rock
words by: Edward Mote
verse 1-My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
verse 2 -When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the vale.
verse 3 -His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
chorus -On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.


It's wonderful to have the blessings of a job, health, home, and family, and I'm so grateful for my blessings, but God has been reminding me lately that we should be putting our trust in Him first.
Loved ones will pass away, jobs will be lost, and health will deteriorate. But, when all these things happen, God will still be there. How comforting to know He's with us, not just in the good times, but also in the trials of our lives. No doubt this world is on shaky ground, but I'm glad God is in control and none of the world's turmoil catches Him by surprise.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Welcome to my new followers, too. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care,
~Melanie

Christmas

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a nice Christmas. Ours was very nice, and we had a wonderful time visiting with our families. It's always fun to be together. :)


We had a white Christmas again this year. My parents have these spruce trees all around their house. I think the trees are so pretty when it snows.



Katie had a lot of fun too. Here she is sledding in my parents' back yard. That's the same sled I used when I was a kid. :)
As you can see, Lilly had a lot of fun too. She loves the snow!

We had to delay our trip home because of the snow, so we got to enjoy some extra time with Mom and Dad.
We have a few days left of Christmas break before we're back to school and work on Monday.
Hope you're all doing well. :)

Take care,
~Melanie

~Firelight & Music~

When Laura and Mary had said their prayers and were tucked snugly under the trundle bed's covers, Pa was sitting in the firelight with the fiddle. Ma had blown out the lamp because she did not need its light. On the other side of the hearth she was swaying gently in her rocking chair and her knitting needles flashed in and out above the sock she was knitting.

The long winter evenings of firelight and music had come again.

-Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods

Our Snowy Winter

We have had quite a snowy winter so far and more snow is in the forecast for tomorrow night. These are a few pictures I took today. We couldn't leave out our furry friend, Lilly. She loves the snow, too. :) Have a great day.

Melanie