Building G-Bread House

I like to make gingerbread houses,
but mostly I like to eat them!

.“Creativity is really the structuring of Magic"

 

-- Anne Kent Rush

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve in our new home: Cookies for Santa

We arrived yesterday, with boxes and suitcases
everywhere.  No Matter, because "Santa Claus
is coming to town." 
We received sugar cookies, and set them out with ice cold Coca Cola for Santa.
We look forward to morning... for the first time we have a home
with a fireplace/chimney for Santa to come down!
May the Lord bless all who read this on this Holy Night!

Wednesdays with Blaine: Blaine Posts about: "mischievious elves"

an elf comes to my house at night and watches me
the next day.  then at midnight he goes to see
santa and tells him I have been good.
But our elf sometimes forgets to go to santa
and he gets into trouble, like last night.
he got all the musical instruments out and had a
party with a lot of my stuffed animals and stuffed christmas figures.
They must have had a big music party, then had food because
when we woke up this morning,
there was a HUGE mess under our
Christmas Tree!  My mom was kind of upset at Elf.
She wanted him to clean up the mess, but he wouldn't move.
She is going to write a letter to Santa about it.

At Home at the Blue Willow Cottage

Our family has moved 1,200 miles across the United States... and into a small 1950's cottage, which had not been updated in quite a few decades when we bought it. For Mike & I, this was ideal, because we wanted to do everything ourselves, putting "our stamp" on (and in) the house.

Our favorite part of the house is the Kitchen and Dining Room Area. We don't have a home office, so we sit at the dining room table with the laptop, and it's also where we entertain when friends come over for dinner. An Ivory Painted Buffet in the room is one of My Very Favorite pieces because it was my first rehab project so many years ago (a hand me down from my Grandmother Robertson). This piece helped me learn what I could actually do with a little paint and elbow grease!

One weekends these days, our family is mostly found dressed in paint clothes and bandanas. We work together to transform our new (older) home into a Beautiful & Cozy Cottage. Mike and I share a favorite color, Blue. I adore French Toile and Blue Willow China, so afer a few family discussions, we agreed to christen our "new" home: The Blue Willow Cottage. I think we will always love piddliing around in Blue Willow Cottage, creating the perfect "Home Sweet Home" for our family!

A glimpse of my treasure...

A glimpse of my treasure, and perhaps you will see what is in my heart...

 

(Matthew 6:21) 

 

 

Surprized by Flowers... Thanks!



My Sweet Husband surprized me with
this beautiful gift today!

A Shield and a Portion!

I love this often-omitted verse from the popular hymn,

"Amazing Grace..."

"The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word, my Hope secures.
He will my Shield and Portion be
As long as Life endures."

I meditate on this often
& hum the tune to myself throughout the day

dinner fm the garden

Grandma Q's Fried Chicken

My Dad loved her chicken the best.
Grandma Vivian fried the most delicious chicken up in her
2nd story apartment in Lemoyne every Sunday.



She taught my sister and I to make it,
telling us we would
delight the heart of our Dad
if we learned well and cooked it often, for it was his
favorite all his life, she would say



Her kitchen was teensy, but she could fry
like the best of them

Grandma once told us that if there was a way
at all to return from the dead to get a message
to this side, she would find it and
come back.  My sister and I have a silly myth.
We joke that she returns in Spring as a Redbird.
Every spring, a redbird comes and perches outside of my Kitchen window.
I wonder if the LORD might allow this unique and hilarious
woman one last way to delight her kin each Spring?



My Fried Chicken is almost as yummy as
the Sunday Chicken dinners I remember
all those years ago.   But Only my own dear Mother
can fry a yummier chicken! 
Here's to Grandma and My JRB Mom
I love you both so deeply.

Gayelynn Quigley Grandma thought the world of you and your sister. Thank you for the kind and sweet words.

Memories of Blueberry Cottage: Our home from 2007 to 2011

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Thursday is Science Experiment Day...

Today we did an at home experiment to test for acidic and base (alkaline) substances.

It was interesting and fun to watch the learning take place with hands on discovery.

testing the solution with the litmus test paper....

The Enemy's Trap

“For our struggle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against

the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlyplaces.”

(Ephesians 6:12)

It has been “one of those days.” On days like these, I try to remember that my war is not with what is going on, but with my true enemy, Satan, who loves to see me discouraged and angry. I have discovered a wonderful thing. When I am at my lowest, I read scriptures (or recite passages out loud), and when Jesus’ Name is spoken, the enemy must flee! 

This demonstrates to me that God will go to battle for me with that nasty Enemy. As a mother and wife, I find myself in regular spiritual warfare. I see clearly that Satan wants to enlist all of our children for his evil army. One way he quickly disarms me is to discourage me. But when I call on my God to strengthen me, He does! I have memorized the verse above from Ephesians to protect me and my loved ones in the heat of the battle. We MUST pray that the LORD will protect our children from the enemy’s lies and traps. May they be Mighty Warriors for JESUS.