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

Fall...

is in full swing around here. I love this time of year...all the pretty colors and the cooler weather does my heart good!

It's hard to believe our first nine weeks of school are almost over...time seems to be flying by!

I just snapped this picture outside my front door this evening. We don't have a lot of color here yet, but it's coming. :-)

Things here have been quite busy lately. We've had some very serious issues to deal with in and around the church and school. My husband has had quite a time of it. Pastoring can be very stressful, and lately it has been stressful on a whole new level. But, God has helped us through so many things, and we are praying that very soon we'll be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yesterday was Pastor Appreciation Day at our church. We had a potluck dinner after the service, and some of the kids put on a cheer for us. It was all very sweet. One of the families put this card together and we thought it was so cute...very creative. :-)

 I happened across this blog not very long ago. As I looked through the posts, it just touched my heart...these poor Ukrainian orphans all but forgotten. Thankfully, some folks have taken an interest in these children and are helping to provide basic necessities for them.

Oh, my sweet friends, as I looked through this blog, I was reminded that we in America have so much!

 I'm sure they would appreciate any donation you could give. There is a donate tab at the top of their blog. What a genuine care and concern they have for these precious ones!

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.   - James 1:27

I hope you all are doing well...thanks for stopping by! :-)

Take care,
~Melanie

Recent Randomness

Thanks to a very generous family member, we were able to spend a few days at the ocean last week. I hadn't been in over ten years! Oh, I hope it's not that long before I can get back! It was so beautiful. There's something so peaceful about listening to the waves hit against the shore.

A yummy cobbler made with our blackberries. Mmmm......it was good!

 Have been enjoying these this summer...just plain ole tomato and mayo...some kind of good! :-)

 Earlier this week I hung some clothes out to dry. The weather forecast said there was only a 20% chance of rain that day...*wrong*. Well, the clothes got wet and the pins did too, so I brought everything inside...the clothes went in the dryer, and  I laid the pins out to dry. When I came back a little later, I found Oreo taking a nap on them! He is so funny!

 This picture is one I found from back in the spring. The blossoms from the cherry tree were so pretty with the pinks and purples in the background. What a beautiful sunset that was!

School will be starting again very soon! We were out this week getting some supplies for this lovely girl....

 we've been blessed to have for the past sixteen years.♥

Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Take care,
~Melanie

Some New Shelves and Another Birthday!

Hi, everyone! 

I hope you're all doing well and having a good week!

Some of you may remember the shelves my husband made for me a couple years ago. Well, we added some more! He made the top ones first, then recently he added a counter top and more shelves underneath.

 The curtains are actually made from a skirt I found at a thrift store! I wasn't crazy about it as a skirt, and it was big on me, so I cut it in two and my sweet mom hemmed the sides and put a piece at the top so it would go over the curtain rod. I'm so pleased with how well it all turned out.

 It gives us much more storage space, especially for the bigger items that are hard to fit into our regular cabinets.

My 40th birthday was yesterday. My, how time flies!!

I had a very nice birthday at home. Lee made supper for us and Katie made a no-bake strawberry cheesecake. Even though I didn't get to see my parents since we live far apart, they did call and wish me a happy birthday.

One of the teachers at our school enjoys making and decorating cakes, so she made me the 'lovely' cake above. It was delicious even if it did have the grim reaper and spiders on it. They all know how much I hate spiders, so they tease me about it whenever they get the chance. That and my southern accent gets me picked on more than just about anything else, but it's all in good fun. 

I'm blessed with many good friends and family.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Thanks for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

Just a Little Ramblin'

Hi, everyone! I hope you've been doing well. Things here have been pretty good. 

The weather has been very rainy this summer, and more is on the way! I've only been able to use my clothesline a few times so far this summer. The gardens are loving it, though! We have several big cornfields around here, and they are looking great!

The last few weeks, I've been having trouble with my teeth hurting if I ate something sweet. I went to the dentist last Thursday, and they couldn't find anything wrong. He told me to call back if I had any more trouble, and they'd do another x-ray. Well, Katie and I made some yummy cookies yesterday, and wouldn't you know I couldn't enjoy them because they made my teeth hurt again! So, I went back to the dentist today, and they were still having trouble pinpointing the problem. The dentist told his assistant to get me a piece of candy, so she brought me a little Snickers bar to eat.  We thought it was a bit strange to be eating a candy bar there, but it sure didn't take long for my teeth to start hurting again. I was able to give them a better description of where the pain was coming from, and sure enough they found a cavity had formed under an old filling. My mouth is still a bit sore, but I think it's just from all the work they did, and the three shots it took for it to get numb. I'm so glad it's over, and I hope I won't have any more trouble with it.

Katie is doing well. She's been staying very busy this summer. In addition to her Mexico missions trip in August, she's planning to go on another missions trip to Delaware at the end of this month. She's looking forward to it. What a blessing she is to us and others. We're really proud of her.

Lee and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary on Saturday. We went out to eat at Cracker Barrel, and had a really nice day. On our way home, we stopped at the hospital and visited with one of the young men from our church who'd had a couple of seizures that morning. Our ladies group at church has meal teams in place to help with food if anyone needs it. His wife said she would appreciate us helping with meals this week, so we've helped with their family, and with another family in the church who had a new baby last week. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but it's a good feeling to know we're helping out our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Well, we went to the store today and got some steaks, corn on the cob, veggies for kabobs, and a big juicy watermelon for tomorrow. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

 *image credit: Little Birdie Blessings~

I hope you all have a Happy 4th!

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care,

~Melanie

Vacation and Thinking about Life

Hi, my sweet friends. I hope you all have been doing well. Our last day of school was June 5th, so we're out for the summer!

We took a vacation to Shenandoah last week. I've lived in Virginia almost my whole life, and had never been to this part of our state. Skyline Drive is so beautiful! We were wanting to see more of Skyline Drive, but the weather wasn't very cooperative, so we just had to enjoy what we could.

 We thought this was pretty cool. He was doing a great job painting.

Katie at one of the overlooks. What an amazing view!!

A deer right off the road just stood there and let us take pictures.

 This is the cabin where we stayed. It was a very nice place. It was so peaceful and quiet, except for the cicadas!! Oh my goodness, they were everywhere!

All in all, we had a nice vacation, though it was tinged with sadness.

A friend of ours was killed in a car wreck on Saturday evening, June 8th, two days before our vacation. She ran off the road and hit a tree. She was by herself, so it's unclear as to why she ran off the road. At first, we wondered if we should even go on vacation, but we decided to go ahead with it, and I think it was a good time to just relax and think. 

Emily was a sweet 19 year old young lady. Her memorial service was on Saturday...it was beautiful. The service was held at her church. Katie goes to their youth group. The church was packed, and people were just standing wherever they could find a spot. We got there about 45 minutes early, and were able to actually sit down. There were lots of pictures, and even some videos of her singing with some of the local Christian youth in our area. She had such a heart for missions, and had been on numerous missions trips around the world. Her latest project was that she had made an alphabetical list of all the countries in the world, and would pray for one each day, then cross it off the list.When I got home, I printed off my own list of countries so I could pray for them, and keep her project going. 

The last time I had seen Emily was May 15th. I had a doctor's appointment that morning, and stopped by the Lifeway Christian bookstore afterwards. I shopped for a little while and found something I wanted. When I got to the counter to pay, I noticed Emily was working there, so we talked for a moment or two, and then I left. Little did I know that her memorial service would be exactly one month later. Who would have thought that would be the last time I would see that young healthy girl?  It's times like these that really make you think about the brevity of life, and how we should enjoy each day and not take life for granted.

This is a picture of Emily. She had posted it on her Facebook page about a month ago. It was on the front of the program when we went to her memorial service. During the service, we found out that Emily's mother had asked her a few weeks ago what she wanted to do with her life. She was interested in a lot of things. Emily told her mom that if she had her way, she would spend hour after hour worshipping God, and asked her mom if she could get paid for that. I thought that was just amazing. Now that's what she's doing, and we all take comfort in that, and look forward to seeing her again in Heaven.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
~James 4:14

Well, I thank you all for stopping by. Make the most of your days, my friends, and be certain you're ready to meet the Lord. There is nothing more important than that.

Take care,

~Melanie

A Good Day

Well, it all started this morning with an unexpected snow that canceled work and school.

See the pretty cardinal in the snowy branches of the tree in our front yard?  :-)

It wasn't a fancy day by any means...I didn't even leave the house. But it was a good day nonetheless. I washed some clothes and did some general housework, but mostly it was just one of those relaxing, enjoyable *bonus* days I get from time to time. 

Katie and I watched a couple episodes of MacGyver on Netflix, then she decided to clean her room, and asked me to stay with her. We looked through old cards and notebooks, and shared some laughs at some of the things she'd written in her old journals. She had a hard time going through her stuffed animals. She knew she was outgrowing them and should let them go, but she was having a hard time of it.  I told her I'd read somewhere that it was good to take a picture of the item you wanted to remember. That way you can look at the picture, but you don't actually have the item taking up needed space. She said that sounded like a good idea, and proceeded to take pictures of some of her most favorite stuffed animals. Some of them, though, just couldn't go in the Goodwill bag, and I told her that was OK, and that she might change her mind later, or decide to keep them for good.

In the end, this is what she parted with today. To us, this may just look like a few bags of odds and ends destined for Goodwill, but to one 15 year old girl, these bags hold much more.

Yes, it was a good day...just a special day with my girl.♥

Hope you all have a great week, and thanks for stopping by. :-)

Take care,

~Melanie

Back from Vacation and a Prayer Request

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well and having a great week.

We spent last week visiting with family and just relaxing! It was really nice.

Mom and Dad's blackberry and blueberry bushes are in full swing, so we had some good berries! We also enjoyed some of their fresh tomatoes and squash.

We visited with some of the neighbors too, and Mom wasn't very happy to find out that a mama bear and three cubs have been spotted in the neighborhood!

We spent one evening by the fireplace in the woods just talking and watching the fire. It's very soothing to my soul to hear the wind blowing through the leaves and listen to the fire crackle.

It may not be some folks' idea of a great break, but it sure is mine!♥ 

We went to our family reunion while we were on vacation too. This is the shelter we rented. It's so pretty there. We were blessed with a beautiful day!

I just love this picture!

 I was so glad that Tanya was able to be there. If you remember, she is my cousin's wife that's been fighting cancer since December. She looks very different now,and when I first saw her, I just wanted to go somewhere and cry. I'd not seen her since our family reunion last year. She's lost her hair and was using a walker since she had part of both feet amputated because of blood clots. She has a very stubborn type of cancer that is not responding very well to treatment, and it's spreading. The latest news we have is that she is going to be treated with a special chemo that Duke hospital is going to make for her and send to her local hospital. She's been told that it's not a cure, but is supposed to give her more time. She'll be 37 in a couple of weeks. She has a wonderful husband and three great kids. It's definitely been a burden on the heart of our family. I know there are young people who pass away every day from cancer, but I'm still going to keep praying for her, and ask that you would too! I know they would appreciate it.

So, are you going to Chick-fil-A today? We are!

Enjoy the rest of your week, and thanks for stopping by. :)

Take care,

~Melanie

Field Trip To Washington, DC

Hi, everyone! I hope you're all doing well.

I'm trying to get used to this new blogger interface...not liking it so far, but hopefully it will get easier.

We're down to two and a half weeks left of school. I am really looking forward to summer break. I'll still have to work to get things ready for next year, but at least I won't have to be in everyday.

We took some of the school children to Washington, DC last week. It was quite an adventure! It rained some, but not enough to ruin the day. There were three adults and twelve children. One of our biggest concerns was keeping everyone together on the metro. All went well until we were almost back. It was about 5:00, and there were people packed everywhere! One of the boys thought we were supposed to get off at a particular stop, so he just got off the train! Thankfully, one of the students noticed him get off and was able to get him back on before the doors closed! What a mess that would have been! He won't live that one down for quite a while! At least the 'regulars' got some free entertainment! :)

Katie on the Metro- her first experience on a subway system :)

Katie at the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery

One of JFK's famous quotes

Katie at the grave of JFK with the Washington Monument in the background. I thought this was a great picture. :)

Grave of John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, with the eternal flame in the background

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns

Tomb of the Unknowns

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Just a small sampling of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

My dad served in Vietnam, and I'm so glad he came home so he could be my dad!

Katie at the World War II Memorial

Kilroy at the WWII Memorial

For more information about Kilroy, you can click here

Cute little duck family at Constitution Gardens

Washington Monument

The kids had fun playing in this tree next to the Monument. They kept the day interesting for sure!!

Constitution Gardens

The Hope Diamond on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Katie at the Lincoln Memorial. It is huge!

I hope you enjoyed our little tour! Enjoy the rest of your week! :)

Take care,

 ~Melanie