My Current 'Artsy' Projects

Posted by Gabrielle

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of some of the projects I have been busy with these past few weeks.

Photography ~ the flowers of the crepe myrtle next door

Cardmaking ~ a birthday card for Mrs. Clayton

Scrapbooking ~ a decorated notebook for the tour of the Life of George Washington which we will be attending with our church in a week. More on that to come.

Sewing ~ my current recreational sewing project, my medieval gown

Drawing ~ the bluebird I am currently working on to join the framed cardinal drawing in our living room

To Him be the glory forever.

posted by Mommy H.

From my reading this morning:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

Romans 11:33-36

May these truths be foremost in our hearts, and drive us into His loving everlasting arms.

A Surprise Birthday Party

Posted by Gabrielle

Last week, we threw a surprise birthday party for a dear family friend of ours, Mrs. Clayton. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. :)

(as a note, this is a singing candle: you light the candle and turn the base to have it sing 'Happy Birthday. It didn't sing when we needed it to because we had 'tested' it too much that morning :)

(Mrs. Clayton was the one who had given it to us, so she always gets a laugh when we use it again for her :)

ever-hungry little brothers

As to my lack of posts these last couple weeks, my sincere apologies. I shall try to update with what has been keeping us so busy soon.

Tree-Felling Excitement

Posted by Gabrielle

Remember the tree struck by lightning a few weeks ago? We finally decided it was time for it to come down. The little boys had a blast watching the men work.

That was amazing! Not too many people can do that.

And this was ingenious! With the danger of breaking the nearby fence and bushes by falling limbs, they simply attached each with a rope on a ring to the cable. The climber then cut the branch and it slid down the cable to the ground.

Chipping the branches into the woods.

And finally, last but not least, the felling of the remaining tree. Not the best shot, as my camera went off a couple seconds too soon, but you get the picture!

The little boys love these adventures, and now their games are revolving around trees and chain saws! :)

Christianna's Creations

posted by Mommy H.
The other day, my dear daughter made some wonderful treats for us....
besides her usual Tuesday batch of pita bread, she decided, on a whim, to try her hand at English muffins.


And the pita was delicious, as well:

Nice job, Christianna!

An Amazing Answer to Prayer!

Posted by Gabrielle

On Monday, we received an amazing answer to prayer that I have to share (rhyme intended).

Meme and Pepe did indeed put their house on the market shortly after our trip up there, and received an offer from a cash buyer not long after. So, after about a week of waiting to hear what they would do, we received word on Monday that they accepted! The house is closing October 1st, and they will hopefully be down here soon after!!! So, life will start getting busy for us, but in a good sort of way. :) Thank you for your prayers. It means a lot to us as we have been watching God working His sovereign will these past few months.

Blessings,
Gabrielle for the Hellwig family

My New Etsy Shop!

Posted by Gabrielle

My newest endeavor (and one of the reasons this blog has been rather silent lately) has been an Etsy shop to sell vintage finds and handmade crafts as a side hobby and source of extra income. I've spent the past few days getting the shop "up and running" and a few of my several bags and boxes of sale items listed, and now I'd love to see what all our readers think about it! Do let me know!

(click on picture to visit shop)

P.S. I do have a banner up at the top of the shop homepage, but it's only showing up sometimes for me, so don't worry if you don't see it... :)

Why I Have Been Absent From the World of Blogging

Posted by Gabrielle

Real life has been catching up to me! Surprise! Real life isn't all about blogging, though blogging should be a part of real life. ;) In other words, real life has been dictating that I take a break off blogging to get some other endeavors "off the ground" as it were. Between school (yes, I am working a full school schedule this summer), learning to drive our great blue behemoth (though even driving lessons have been suspended for lack of time these past couple weeks), sewing, helping out with the upkeep of the still empty house next door, writing for Daddy's insurance website, and beginning my etsy shop, I've been too busy to blog!

I will try, in these next two weeks or so, to write a little more about what we've been busy with lately, with pictures. In the meantime, do check out Jasmine Baucham's latest post on the Newly Joyfully at Home! I found it very thought-provoking and convicting...What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday: How We Sleep

Posted by Gabrielle

Shucking Corn

Posted by Gabrielle

I can't believe that these are month-old pictures that I forgot on one of my three camera cards. I've never done that before! Further reflection revealed that there is a first time for everything, even forgetting pictures. ;)

Thank you, Wards, for the delicious bucket of corn!!!

"Frick" and "Frack" shucking corn

Surprisingly, little brothers did not want to squish worms, so they were brought to me to be disposed of. :)

Christianna and her 'picture-perfect' corn

Benaiah was not so sure about this