Getting over grumpy (1200)

I have to sit and be thankful for something because right now I'm a little down and overwhelmed once again with the tidal wave of mess that is my house.  I was humbled by reading anothers' blog who has been touched by Ann and her 1000 Gifts.  I had to be reminded, apparently, that we are not the one to judge whether a circumstance is good or bad because we don't see the end result just now.
What is the result of my giving up a day to help a neighbour butcher chickens?  I don't know, because right now I'm overwhelmed by the mess that didn't get cleaned up today.  I can look back and see the good that came of the unpleasant, case in point - hitting a cow resulted in a newer van and a trip to a place I've always wanted to go, time alone with my husband and fun excursions and adventures, the kids are thrilled to death with the newer, more comfortable vehicle and it didn't break the bank. (7 gifts right there 1171 - 1178)
My son accused me of being grumpy this evening and I have to admit I am, but I wasn't going to confess that to him at the time. (there is a large spider making it's way toward me at this moment, to kill or not to kill? I killed)
I hate feeling grumpy so I'm asking the Lord to help me change my attitude...look for something that is a gift...

1179. the only sound I hear is the spinning of the dryer

1180.  the dryer is running because my son did his own laundry

1181.  real moments of conversation on my bed with my daughter

1181.  watching our relationship shift in the balance of parent/child/friend/mentor

1182.  friends who pray when the Lord lays me on their heart

1183.  my pretty bible cover

1182.  a night out with my girlfriends

1183.  toys for my children to play with

1184.  food for them to eat

1185.  dishes for them to eat off of

1186.  clothes for them to wear

1187.  that they are all well and healthy

1188.  Kelly is safely in a motel and not stranded on the road

1189.  the John Deere guy who stopped to help him

1190.  the SaskCan guy who stayed late to unload him

1191.  texting information so you don't have to write it down

1192.  skipping the rummage sale this year

1193.  playing with my new toy

1194.  pictures that remind me of great moments that were shared

1195.  striking colors of salsa before it's cooked

1196.  reality that someday I will actually miss all this chaos

1197.  absence of headache

1198.  comradrie of friends in a task, even if it's yucky

1199.  ideas leaking out of my head

1200.  horizontal comfort

Aren't those colors just stunning?  That's before it's cooked...

and there it is after....yummers!

Amish Country - Lancaster County

I loved being in Lancaster County.  I've read alot of Beverly Lewis books and hoped to do a few things while we were there.  Mostly, I just wanted to drink it all in.  Stopping at a roadside stand for homemade rootbeer was high on my list of things to do and that's what we did on our first morning there!  It was so good.  We brought some home with us but it didn't taste as good as it did in Lancaster County.

All the farms are very neat, tidy and small!  Everyone seems to have cows, horses, chickens and goats.  The barns and houses keep company with the road which felt a little unusual to me.  Land prices are VERY high there so the average farm is only 50-60 acres.  We met one Mennonite family with 400 acres and they were pretty big - they just about fell over when we told them how big our farms are here!

Of course I had to look at a lot of quilts and was so amazed at their workmanship.  So well done!  Kelly fell in love with the first quilt he saw and bought it.  I didn't want to be quite so quick but in the end I did end up getting the wall quilt that I first saw and loved!

It was harvest time so Kelly took quite a few pictures of harvest being done with horses hitched up to all types of machinery.  We didn't feel quite right taking pictures of the people themselves since we knew that posing for pictures is something that goes against their code of conduct (the Ordnung).  We took a tour of an old mill and house, poked around antique shops, drove through the countryside and just looked!  We had a hard time figuring out exactly where we were at times since the towns sort of run together.  As near as we can figure we did get through Bird-in-Hand, Strasbourg and the famous town of Intercourse.

The B and B we stayed in (Stumptown Manor) was run by a wonderful Mennonite couple that we just fell in love with.  When we left it was like saying good-bye to family.  We went to church with them on Sunday morning and relatives of theirs invited us over for lunch.  The night before we had supper with an Amish family in their home.  Can't imagine no electricity, they run most things by propane.

I loved the stars that everyone had on their walls so I managed to bring a few home with me!  The whole countryside was so lovely and picturesque it is hard to describe.  I'll post a few pictures here, hopefully it will give you a feel for the place.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.  Next stop, Holmes County, Ohio.

A pretty typical site here, lots of old homes, I loved that.  So much history here.

Got to drive through a covered bridge! :)

A team of horses plowing a field.

I've never seen a field of pumpkins except in Charlie Brown, they probably thought we were daft for taking pictures of it!

Our wonderful hostess Sharon.

Kelly in front of Stumptown Manor.

18 things I like about my sister

Today is my sister's birthday.  I am in the process of making her salsa...which is going to be really hot!  I like my sister she is a wonderful woman.  Sometimes she drives me nuts, as sisters sometimes do, but on the whole she is one amazing woman.  I'd like to tell you some of the things that make her so special to me.

1.  She's a great big sister.
2.  She's only a little bossy.
3.  She is a great organizer.
4.  She is a super mom. (5 kids)
5.  She is very generous.
6.  She is funny.
7.  She is creative.
8.  She's a great cook.
9.  She makes the most amazing things with rice krispie cake!
10.  She tells good stories.
11. She's an excellent actress.
12.  She picked a good husband.
13.  She's smart.
14.  She has a smile that lights up the room.
15.  She likes to have fun.
16.  She loves to laugh.
17.  She can kick some serious butt when she needs, too.
18.  She's easy to be around.

18 things for the 18th of October, the day my big sister came into the world.  I love you Donna!

My sister with the birthday cake she made me!  She rocks!

The First Leg of the Trip

I am only hours away from Lancaster County!!!!!!!!  Can't begin to describe how excited I am to be going there.  This has been a dream of mine for ever so long.  Probably since I picked up my first Beverly Lewis book over a decade ago!  I'm going to drink rootbeer from a stand and go to quilt shops and enjoy the view.  I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!!

In the meantime we are going to pick up our new van.  We are praying that all goes well with this endeavour since it hasn't been an easy road to get here.  If you read this blog regularly (Hi Michelle, missed you at Eddie Bauer the other day but did find some great shirts in the clearance rack!) you will have noticed that our September was not the best month on record.  It was a month of loss and hard things.  However, if you haven't changed your calendar yet, we are free to say good-bye September!!

October has been shaping up quite nicely.  We started out with our church thanksgiving service and potluck which was thoroughly enjoyable.  My mom and dad moved into our house to look after our kids and we headed off to the annual MB Conference Pastor's Retreat.  It is almost always a delightful event and this year's was not disapointing.  We had such a lovely time worshipping with the other pastors and their spouses and enjoying great relationships.

From there we headed to Saskatoon to do some shopping and reconnecting with friends.  I found a pair of amazing boots and a jacket that matched them...just need a little dip in the temperatures and I'll be strapping those babies on!  Sweetness!  So much more fun shopping without children...and when you know your bottomline is waaaaaaaayyy better than you had thought it was going to be.  Kelly took in the movie Courageous with his guy crowd and I went to The Help with my girlfriend.  Both of us enjoyed those movies very much.

Next day we got to meet another girlfriend's fiance...very exciting, we've been praying with her for over a decade for that guy to show up and and now here he is.  God is so good and perfect in His timing.  And then yesterday was spent flying down here to Virginia.  We spent an hour or so driving around downtown Washington DC seeing all manner of historical buildings like Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, The Library of Congress, Daughter of the Republic building, got a glimpse of the White House - you can't get that close! and the Pentagon!  So much history in a few square miles it's mind-boggling to think about.  So many huge stone buildings.  We missed our tour that we booked but managed to get to see what we wanted to anyways.

And today.................Amish Country....tell you more once we're there!

Rest in Grace