Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Hezekiah's Hands

My fella heard of a ministry called
Hezekiah's Hands.
One of his student's Grandfather is a part of it.
The ministry has volunteers that build,
paint, clean, etc for others in
Bradford County.

A few months back my husband contacted
them to see if they could help us.
Our dining area was getting pretty snug and we hoped
we could expand it some.

Jim Crawford and another Jim (his student's grandfather)
came and looked over our home.
Our project was put on their "to do" list.
I was SO excited of the possibility of a larger dining room!

Then in the beginning of June, Jim Crawford contacted
us and said Hezekiah's Hand's were down on volunteers.
Our project was going to be put on the wait list, possibly
getting to it in the fall.

That was fine.  We've always seen that God's timing is best!

Two Saturday's ago, I checked the email.
Jim wrote and said they were coming Monday (2 days later)
with a team to begin our project.
Boy, was that a change of plans!

That Monday began our project. 
The back porch and front porch were taken down.
Slowly the foundation has begun to take shape
over the last seven working days!




Today Jim and Jim are here laying bricks.
They hope to finish! 
Next the building will begin!



It's been such a wonderful experience.
So many people have given of their time and energy!
There have been at least 15 different people here.
The boys have learned so much as the men
take the time to teach them each step of the way.



The younger boys have gotten SO much extra attention
from the people.  Titus asks every morning
if Hezekiah's Hands are coming.



Mark and I have felt blessed again and again.
We have made some friends and
have seen God's blessing on our home!





We're so thankful for this ministry!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Plants and Towels

How's your day going?
Here's a little about my morning.


My Pastor's wife gave me some plants last night 
at church.  She's a very giving person and she
also loves to garden, so when her plants need
thinning, she pots them up and gives
them to everyone at church.
She's a SUPER lady, I love her dearly!

It's a very cloudy morning so it was perfect
for getting some last plants into the ground.
It's going to rain tonight so they'll get some good water too.

My sister brought me some plants when she was here for 
Jordan's graduation so I also finally got them into the ground.


This is along the edge of my vegetable garden.
Whenever I plant in a new spot, I have a bucket
to gather all the rocks.
Our ground is very rocky.  These are all the rocks from the
spot where I put the bush.  I actually enjoy
picking all the rocks out, knowing that spot has that many less rocks
and better ground is developing!


This was my Mother's Day gift.
The fence around the garden and the gates.
I absolutely love it!
Isn't my fella grand?!?! 
He built the fences after he fenced in my garden.
I love the look and the security knowing our
guinnea can no longer dust bathe in my freshly planted rows
and critters can't feast in the early morning.


He got Silas to help him put on the latches with him.
Silas did a good job and did the last one by himself.



This is a normal sight outside these days.
The blue towels are my husband's window washing tools.
This has been a summer of change for his crew.
Jordan and Brendan were right by my fella's side when he got the 
business going.
Looking back, it's rather funny.  They were so young
but were so willing to help in any way they could.
Brendan did screens and Jordan did lower windows.
As the boys grew, so did the jobs
and business.

Hunter started going the last few years.
Now that Jordan is working full time for someone else, Hunter
has begun going regularly with Mark.
Today they're doing a big job!  Lots and lots of windows!
My fella, Brendan and Hunter. 
Eventually each of the boys will be by my fella's side, 
feeling the pride of a job well done, knowing their
hard work helps keep our family going.

Here's the peeps that we hatched in the incubator.
They're getting big.
How did your morning go today?

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Bees and Things

This morning I went out to water some tomatoes
I planted last night.
The boys were busy taking down the graduation celebration
canopy and chairs.
 
 
 
 
 

It was kind of sad.
Jordan's been gone during the day  the last two weeks working full time.
I miss his funny stories and companionship during the day.

All the planning andwork we've been doing for months is over.

But changes in life are normal.
This is what we've trained and worked hard at-
to make our boys a productive part of society
and to bring glory to the Lord.
 
It was so peaceful walking around the yard
looking at the plants I've got in.

Aren't these lovely zinias beautiful!?!?


I was so excited!
Yesterday I found a local nursery.
It's owned and run by an older couple that have had their
greenhouse for years.  The husband is 80 and it's the 
only income they live on.
I was happy to bring the extra find home, some perky
flowers to add to the garden.
 
Then I came upon this while in the yard: 


 Right above, next to where I was watering, 
a huge swarm of bees have gathered
in this pine tree.  The bees were buzzing
in the air above and around me.  It was kind of thrilling
seeing them all at work.

Oh, what great memories to remember.  
Life goes on and it's in the little things of the daily life
that bring a smile and happy heart.