A Few Random Things

I drew an Australian Shepherd for my room mate for her Birthday. I have never been good at drawing dogs. I thought this turned out OK, but I still wasn't super pleased with it. His eyes are funny. 

There are flowers everywhere these days, for which I am very happy. 

These azaleas/rhododendron got me very excited. 

The sunlight falling on me in this picture is completely from a reflection. The skyscrapers are such good reflectors, and they give us sunlight when we would otherwise not have any. 

Yep, that's that. Life has been tiresome for me lately, but a friend texted the following verses to me this morning, and I found them an encouragement. 

"Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip."

Psalm 18:35-36

Stay encouraged. God is good. 

"Sorrowful Yet Always Rejoicing"

That is from 2 Corinthians 6:10.

I was feeling that today, but I couldn't remember what verse it was. So, I looked it up. I found out what verse it is, but I also found out that in 2012 John Piper preached a sermon on that passage. I read the sermon. It was an encouragement to me. I have added a link here.

"Sorrowful Yet Always Rejoicing"...Sermon by John Piper

It made me think how much the world needs this now. I was thinking about how amazing it is that over 9 years ago, John Piper preached this, but it is so relevant for today. God does that. Sometimes we hear or experience something, and we think, That was good but didn't necessarily hit me in particular. But then years later, God can bring it back up and we can be so encouraged by it, as if God made something at one time just for our benefit at a totally different time.

Old Fashioned

Letters.

Letter are the best. I love receiving and sending letters.

They might seem a bit old fashioned in a rather technical world (and I say world, not just America. Have you ever been to Haitian bush country? Phones. Everywhere. Everyone's got a phone.). However, letters still hold value like nothing else. They hold personality, encouragement, true thoughtfulness, and love. When I receive a real, personal note in the mail, I get super excited. It's like a hug in paper form.

So, take a few minutes to write a few words, or a lot (the more, the better), and bless someone's day.

The Witch's Hat Walk

Will the pictures work this time? That is the ultimate question. I have no idea what went wrong, and I don't like it. Anyway, we'll see with this post.

These are all from a walk I took recently. I went to the "Witch's Hat," which is an old water tower on the other side of the river. It's a longish walk, but nice.

New life

This is a goose, not a gray duck, just in case you didn't know. 

This is the bridge I used to cross over.

Our first sighting of the Hat.

The clouds covered the sun and made it dark, but the river and trees still look pretty. 

It was one of those windy, sunny, cold, cloudy, warm kind of days. 

I don't know what this dude was up to in the pile of rocks below the bridge, but I decided to take his picture. Have you ever wondered how many random people have you in their photos? Weird thought.

Heeeyyy! It's the sun again. And the little blue flowers. See them? This was a really pretty street. 

These are such happy little blossoms. 

I won't bore you with all the house pictures I have, but I will show a couple of my favorites. This is just majestic, in an inviting sort of way. Double porch, white paint, surrounding trees: made me think of a plantation in the south.

Almost there.

This is the view of the city from the base of the tower. The tower is one the highest natural land in the cities. It's a great view.

Uh... yeah, that's me. The dorky home school kid in an old tee-shirt and flared jeans. 

Another beauty in the trees. Wow! I love houses. 

Closer to home, I stopped by a little shore. 

Another GOOSE.

Good day, folks!!

✌    ✌

❤

Banana Grams

I am pretty sure I am obsessed with Banana Grams. I have posted already about this delightful little game in the past, so you can know for sure that I must be obsessed. Well, lately, I have been playing a lot again. I went through a phase of not playing too much, but I am back at it.

Some times I spend too much time on the computer, then I think There is literally a bag of grams sitting over there in that drawer that I could be playing right now. So, I jump up and start a game, although some times I wonder if it's actually a game when I am not playing with anyone. Oh, well. I have a lot of fun playing by myself.







Playing Banana Grams seems to increase your knowledge of words. It does for me because I am trying to spell words with the letters I have. Some times I search things to see if they are actual words. That's how I found out about "doit," which is a very small amount of currency. I thought it was a cool word, and I almost always spell it now.

Sometimes grams and tea go well together. A chili afternoon, a hot cup of tea, grams, beans, and crackers as a a snack make for an exceptional experience. Also, tea-sogged crackers eaten with jelly beans is a delicious combination that I discovered. I like to call myself the queen of combinations. 

Oh, yes, a candle is very nice, too. 

"BELIEVE" can take you very far. Never stop believing that you can make words with the letters you have. Keep creating and making. 

That was cheesy, but it is fun, and I would highly recommend that you grab a bag and get going. 

Side note: I took all these pictures simply because I wanted to post them. 

**Also, as of Saturday, April 18th, I have noticed that these pictures ain't showing up. Don't know what's up with that. Hopefully that won't continue.

"Whiter Than Snow"

It is snowing this Resurrection Sunday. Though part of me mourns the fact, I am also reminded of what Easter is all about through that blowing white stuff. I thought of Psalm 51:7:

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

Jesus has come to earth and done what none of us could: live a perfect life. In His death and resurrection we are indeed made whiter than snow. 

Jesus has brought victory to my life through His blood. This morning's sermon was from Revelation 7:15-17, but the verse just prior to that sticks out to me. 

""These are they which came out of great tribulation, 

and have washed their robes, 

and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

~Revelation 7:14

Seems like a contradiction. Blood stains. But not this blood. It heals and cleanses and makes whiter, whiter than snow. 

So rejoice, for He has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Little Gifts

Little gifts of God's kindness in my life through His creation and people who love me.

I am blessed more than I can express and much more than I deserve.

I should stop complaining so much.

My cake was fun to make and fun to serve. 

 It's like a taste of spring.

Alaina and I saw a turkey walking down the street. 

Alaina and the river. I had to snap this picture when she wasn't looking because she's not super fond of having her picture taken. 

The mighty Mississippi: one of those blessings I am so grateful for, especially when living in the city.

A gift from a thoughtful friend. One of those things I will be enjoying for years, or if not me, someone will. Also, see those vanes on my wrist? Now that is cool. 

How do people know me so well? Priscilla dropped by with this little plant today, and it was such a welcome gift.

She also gave me these goods. I'm OK with that. : )

Cards. Never underestimate the power of a letter. It is truly one of the best gifts. 

Also, isn't this one just the cutest?

Haha! This is kind of funny, but the book that I got was wrapped in this stuff, so I was thinking, Hey, I could use this for cards and stuff. It kind of felt like I got two gifts in one. 

Two cards I've already made.

Yep! That's that. 

What kind of things have you been blessed with lately?

(I doubt anyone will ever answer that question, but I try, you know what I mean?)

It Happened

I made it to 23 years of age.


I awoke this morning to a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. A very welcome Birthday surprise if I do say so myself.

After my morning devotions, pre-breakfast walk, breakfast, pizza dough making, and anything else I did, I sat down and looked through several Birthday texts. It made me feel very loved. I know that's not necessarily what life is all about, but it is nice to feel loved and even nicer to truly be loved, which I know I am.

This year seems big to me. I am really not sure why, but that is just how I have felt. Maybe it's because when Hannah turned 23 we thought she was so old (because she still wasn't married? Probably.). Now it really doesn't seem old, but it seems different. I still feel like a kid though. Oh, well. Maybe I'll die feeling like a kid. 😀🎉

I guess we'll just find out and see what this year holds. And God knows it all.

Peace out!!

✌

The Chapter Ends

Tonight ends another chapter of my life: 22.

It was a good year. A year full of trials and blessings, old friends and new, crying and laughing, parties and lonely nights, snow and warmth, sunshine and rain, running and surgery, trips and missed trips, saying yes and saying no, goodbyes and hellos, fun and boredom, overall--God's faithfulness. I wouldn't wish some of the things I went through on anyone, but I know in the end, for me in God's sovereign plan, they were for the best. However, there were huge blessings I wish everyone could experience.

I would say 22 was one of my best years yet.

Nothing especially dramatic happened. I didn't finally meet the perfect man, I didn't go to Romania or do half of what I might have wanted to do; but God showed Himself good over and over again as He will continue to do for the rest of my life.

So, I'm saying adieu to another year of life.

Below are some highlights from the last 12 months. Hope you enjoy! 😊 There's a LOT! But that's normal with me.

I thought this was a good picture to represent the goodbye to another year. Also, April was full of sunshine last year, too. 

Food and friends for last year's Birthday celebration. 

Some of my last memories in the White House were well spent with good friends. Oh, the days!

And flowers: always a part of my life. 

Quinn's birth was obviously a big deal. 

Cuddles with Addison were precious moments.

Time together.

Doing Psanky with Lydia. I did a lot of that this year.

The farm: I spent hours here.

I forget about things like how we got cats. That was definitely a highlight. And I worked at Caraway in the kitchen. That was such a huge part of my life, full of new friends and relationships and long conversations and memories. 

Yes, blueberry picking. Haha! Or maybe I just really like this picture. Speaking of which, I feel like I may have kind of improved my photography over this year.

Plenty of drawing happened.

And Brooke: one of the many new friends I've made since I turned 22.

Travis and Annalee's wedding was such a fun a experience to be a part of. 

More memories with family before Hannah and Tyler left for Israel.

This year was my first experience on the Virginia Creeper Trail. It was a good one. 

Some of our last times together before we said goodbye. See, there were the sad moments for sure. 

Ah, a year of dreaming big. Though, nothing really happened. 

What's a year in the life of Elisabeth without mountains? Ummm....nonexistent? 

The farm again and running, which can be fun.

Our phenomenal trip to Oregon. Of course, like any family trip, it had its own problems, but it was pretty great.

Did I ever mention that I spent probably a quarter of my time at the farm? Well, that is likely an exaggeration, but close. 

Meeko: the world's best cat, second only to Pepper or Buttercup. 

Yes, the surgery part of 22. Good times. 

Maybe...

The slow road to recovery, with the help of crutches...

Sewing...

Beautiful sunsets...

Drawing...

More drawing...

And more sunsets.

Yep, those were days I do not wish to repeat.

But then I walked again.

Like, really. 

But I also didn't stop drawing.

Until...

I moved back to the north.

I spent several hours with this precious little Quinn.

Made weird but delicious food. 

Oh, wait, I didn't really stop drawing. 

Hung out with friends a good bit, or just spied on them from the safety of our apartment.

Felt the sunshine again. 

Ah, and flowers 

and birds.

Well, see ya never again, 22 (unless I have kids, I guess). It's been good. 

God has been good!

Amen!

🍓