Full Circle

This evening I found my old blog, my blog from 2006, and it felt like coming home to me. So until I can gather all of the old posts in one place, I'm coming back to where I started. These next three months I will be creating a new home in Italy. I want to be intentional with my days, and to use this time wisely. So for family and friends ( and grandchildren, this will be where I will keep you updated on our days in Montecatini in the Spring of 2019. We have one more week before we depart, and they are full of last minute shopping, organizing, and setting our affairs in order to be away from our Wetumpka home. Your prayers are appreciated.

www.myhomesteadblessings.blogspot.com

Thanks to Chelsea I now have all my blog postings in one spot and am ready to begin chronically our adventures with our new life in Alabama.Lord willing, I will post on a more regular basis so that I'll be able to have a reminder of the special times that are so easily forgotten in the busyness of life.We are excited to get this move behind us,settle in with our new church family, and begin sharing our new home with family and friends, and even some strangers!

New Blog

I have created a new blog, and can't figure out how to transfer my old one:( My new blog is www.applesforjam.blogspot.com.It will still be a simple blog, written to share a bit of our family life with friends and family who are spread over many miles.

Log Cabin Life

This evening I finaly found some pictures that I took a while back that I had been meaning to post. We went and spent the weekend at the home of the John Parkers if Nashville. They have an old restored cabin on a beautiful piece of countryside. The hills of Tennessee can't be beat on a Springtime morning. The boys were up bright and early to fish and play in the creek. They enjoyed the horses and fishing, while we enjoyed the wonderful meal and the fellowship. It was such a lovely relaxing weekend. It still makes me smilejust thinking about it:)

A Day in Nashville

On the morning of the 23rd (of May) the family decided to drive to Nashville and surprise Jon for the day, with a late birthday party. Justin took him golfing, and then to Maggiano's Italian Restaurant for lunch. When he walked in the door he was truly surprised. That was a first! We ate for 2 1/2 hours, and the food was amazing. A real Italian feast. I felt as if we were at a wedding in Sicily with all the courses. Katie had made him a wonderful poster with scriptures imposed over a backlit photo of him with his guitar. She has such a gift for gift giving, and always seems to know what would be most meaningful to the recipient.We then headed over to the Science Museum for the afternoon. The boys had a great time, along with the little ones. One of the most memorable was feeling "weightless" on the climbing wall with their brother-in-law, Justin. He's always up for trying something new!We went by to see Jon's new apartment...great neighborhood. I think all of us felt better about him starting this new phase of life in Nashville now that we can imagine his surroundings. We sure do miss seeing him all the time, but are excited to see him making his dreams come true.

Tim's Graduation

My son-in-law, Tim, graduated from Harding recently, with his MBA. We are so proud of him. We all made a trip to Searcy to see him cross the stage, along with my nephew, Jason, who was completing his degree. We shared a wonderful weekend with friends and family.We stayed with our friends Ken and Teresa, who treated us royally with homemade blueberry pancakes for breakfast! Everyone was able to be there, except for Jon who was traveling with his soccer team.I had a nice visit with my friend, Mona Lee, though never long enough to feel like we've even begun to catch up. Being with all of my brothers and sistes was especially wonderful. This past year, with all its struggles, was much easier because they carried my load. Gabriel, Maria and Julia are so blessed to have such a hard working Dad. To work a full time job, create websites as a side business, and earn an MBA at the same time, shows a lot of diligence on his part. More importantly he is a wonderful husband to our daughter, Katie,and is active in his local congregation. Hopefully, now that his work is completed he can find a little free time for himself.

Charlotte Kimberly

One of the many delightful aspects of these past few weeks has been sharing our days with our granddaughter Charlotte. Since moving here in April from Sicily, we have been able to take many walks, visits and spend time playing in the pool in the backyard. She is a sweet, content child who has brought much joy to our lives. Today I came home with a new dollhouse for the grandbabies. Charlotte was pretty excited about it!

Taekwondo

In January of this year I was praying for my two youngest sons and their futures. I wanted to get them involved in something positive, which would NOT involve competition. While browsing at Hobby Lobby I came across an ornament to hang on the tree which was a dark skinned little boy in a Taekwondo outfit...jumping. It reminded me of Christian, who leaps and bounds through life, but also of Jordan with the determination in the face. After looking into what was available I found that FHU offered a class two nights a week. That's five minutes away:) The class age ranges from 5 to 45. All three instructors have their black belts and are fellow believers...and also adoptive parents. It has been a wonderful semester. The boys have already earned their yellow belts, and will test for their high yellow belts on Monday.Last week Chelsea and Justin went with them to see their work. They were so excited to show off at something NO ONE else in the family had ever done!I have two new patches to sew on before next weeks final class for the semester, followed by "Ninja Night"!I just love it when my prayers are answered so clearly, and I don't have to wait til heaven to see the answer.

Square Foot Gardening

This Spring we decided to expand our gardening efforts and move off of the back porch. In years past we have been gone much of the summer and were unable to benefit from any small bounty we might have been blessed with. Since we will be staying home this summer we have built our first 4x4 frame, with it's neat one foot sections, and planted our crop:) We have spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peppers, basil, onions, and two types of tomatoes. On the porch we are growing rosemary, sage, parsley, and lavendar. We have strawberries, blackberries and raspberries growing along the fence. The weather has been perfect, apparently, for growing things. My yard is in full bloom. I have vases of creamy pink and white peonies in every room. I've passed them on to friends. I have yellow irises in the beds, and azaleas blooming out front. The pink dogwood we planted last year is gorgeous. This past weekend when Chelsea was home visiting I took her around the yard and was pointing out the different things growing, and it suddenly hit me. I am my Mother! She did the same thing to me (and sad to say, I was not that enthusiastic:)She had never been able to grow anything when I was young, and then once we were gone she developed a green thumb. The very same thing had happenned to me. It made me think.Priorities change. Life teaches us patience. Time spent in the garden gives us the gift of peace and contentment while we are working,and then again at harvest time.Chelsea has also planted a garden this year. I'm so happy that she won't be waiting 50 years before she experiences the joys of eating healthy food from her own backyard.

Sliding Down the Hill

Looking through some old pictures taken last summer, I ran across these that were taken with Jordan and Christian when their cousins were visiting. Dear Dana came up with the ultimate water slide on the spur of the moment, and the boys enjoyed their afternoon sliding with Alex, Sam and Seth.And I enjoyed sitting on the porch smocking while Dana squirted soap down the slide:) She's a fun friend!