Well, I don't know whether or not I mentioned this, but I couldn't find the camera for awhile. I figured it would turn up. And today it did. The girls had taken it outside and taken a lot of very interesting pictures (all deleted now) and then left the camera outside in their Barbie Jeep. I didn't know whether or not it would work, but it did turn on, so I snapped a couple shots of the sunflower house.

This is what you get after leaving a camera out for days in the rain. Kind of a cool effect, but certainly not what I want all the time! Luckily, we had bought a second camera since they were so cheap, for David to use at work. So I will just have to use his to get pictures from now on.


Anyway, the girls are inside the sunflower house peeking out in the next picture. Can you spot them? Hint: look low! Trinity is on the left and Angelina is on the right. You may have to click on the picture and see it enlarged in order to spot them.

Grace and peace be with you!

Posted in: Slow Lane on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at at 1:00 PM 0 comments    

God is speaking to both David and I about a new/old direction. I love how God does that. He talks to both of us in different places, in different ways, and we come together and find we have the same message. At this point I don't wish to reveal too much. I have two trusted sisters in Christ that are praying for us about it specifically. But I would ask for prayer for us in general, that we would trust in God completely, be sensitive to hearing Him speak and faithful to act in His will.

Now that we have highspeed internet, I have been able to add music. I hope you enjoy the tunage. :) Here is a song that I couldn't add to my playlist but I LOVE this song. It's called The Motions by Matthew West.

This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?"


That song speaks my heart right now. I don't want to just settle for the status quo. Our culture, our lifestyle here in America can just numb us to God's plan for our lives. It is so easy to just go through the motions...do what we do 'cause that is what everyone does. We take so much for granted, or worse, we don't give thanks to God for His provision because we don't see it as coming from him. We have become self-sufficient....we don't need God. (or so we think!)

Today's Oswald Chambers devotion spoke of this. The verse today was Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." He writes:

"If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says - Blessed are you, because it is through this poverty that I enter His Kingdom. I cannot enter His Kingdom as a good man or woman, I can only enter it as a complete pauper."

How often I go through my days without depending on the Lord for anything - when the truth is I am completely dependent on Him for everything. I want to live in constant recognition that every breath, every heartbeat, is in His hands. I don't want the status quo. I want total dependency and I won't be satisfied with less.


Grace and peace be with you!

Posted in: God Lane on Friday, August 21, 2009 at at 8:36 PM 1 comments    

I love clouds.

This evening we had a severe thunderstorm heading our way. I was over chatting with the neighbors and swapping summer squash for green peppers. I kept watching the approaching storm darkening on the horizon as we talked, with all the colors - various shades of deep blue and that greenish hue that lets you know this isn't just your typical thunder boomer coming. Then there it was - a lower wall lining the front of the storm. It was sooooo cool looking. I wanted to get the camera and get some pictures. Well, by the time I had walked home with the kids and got my camera, it was almost on top of us.

This first shot is in our driveway looking west. By now we could see more turbulent clouds behind the smooth front line.

This next pic is turning and looking north. That is our neighbors house on the right where the kids and I were visiting as it approached. Not exactly that far away - the storm was definitely booking!


Another shot of the rapidly approaching clouds rushing toward our house. The front line is almost overhead....

Then I went out back to put the chickens up, something along the orders of "Auntie Em, Auntie Em! It's a twister! It's a twister!" I am insane about getting out in storms. I love the raw power of it. This is now looking east from the barn door.

Awesome! We actually didn't have long lasting wind or hail or tons of rain, so we lucked out this time. There have been really severe pockets with this storm but we were spared. So far. More storms to be blowing through tonight. We are letting the girls camp out in the living room tonight just in case we have a need to get in the basement in the middle of the night. I don't want to be trying to get a sleeping child out of a top bunk! There have been no tornado warnings with the storms, but those things can change, so better safe than sorry. :)

Grace and peace be with you!

Posted in: Slow Lane on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at at 7:09 PM 0 comments    

The gorgeous weather continues here in Iowa. There were a couple of days that I had to turn on the air in preparation for David coming home last week, but nothing so severe that the girls and I needed a/c during the day. David just has to work in it all day, so if it's hot and muggy, he needs some a/c to chill out at the end of the day. But all in all, just one heck of a beautiful, not hot, not humid summer.

The lack of strong summer heat has been good for my broccoli - I am actually getting a nice head of broccoli growing even though I started my seeds way late. The garden is growing nicely this year. We have oodles of acorn and spaghetti squash, which I am going to keep on the vine til the end of the season. I have read that if you leave 2 inches of stem on them when you cut them off, they will last up to 6 months in storage. So that will be our winter veggies, along with our red onions and carrots. Meanwhile, I harvest yellow squash, zucchini, green beans and cucumbers daily now. Watermelon, cantaloupe and lima beans are all fruiting now and the tomatoes, which have turned out to be cherry tomatoes, are starting to ripen.

I guess the balloon festival started last week. A couple of them floated by our neck of the woods this past week. You'd think I would have plans to take the girls to see the balloons, but my plans are to go visit a farm and meet a couple of other unschooling country moms tomorrow, and Saturday I will be dragging the girls with me to a town hall meeting in Des Moines where I too can be a part of the angry mob being orchestrated by the GOP. *wink*

I can't remember what amazing thing the girls did to earn this, but we let them have a campout in the living room one night. They were thrilled! I want to camp out in the backyard with them too, but I can't seem to find our tent. If it ever turns up, that will be a grand adventure!

Posted in: Garden Lane, Slow Lane on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at at 9:31 PM 0 comments