Season's first snowfall

If you look really close, there's snowflakes justa' fallin'...

As I write this, the rain and drizzle this morning has turned into our first season's snowfall. Ah! Already! I'm excited, but surprised at the early arrival.



It is so beautiful, it makes the cold a bit more tolerable. Maybe that's part of God's plan, :-)

Announcement....

We have an annoucement to make. Guess who is joing the Marine Corps?......

Our sweet loving little one...Danielle.

When she came home to share with us her decision we were a little surprised. Not totally shocked though.

Danielle has talked about this several years ago, when we moved back from Okinawa and she was going into high school. Now, after 3 semesters here at the private collage she (and her Dad) have been attending she is certain she is not ready for college and not college "material" if you will.

Her desire is to learn more about her self, push herself and develop self- discipline. Pretty smart for a 19yo (almost 20) who isn't sure what she wants to do with her life yet.

My hope and dream for her is to be successful at what ever she does. I love her and I will miss her terribly (empty nest thing is hitting hard right about now!), but I know the Lord loves her and will take care of her. More than I could ever try to.

I love when: I try to take her picture and she is so silly making faces. When she leaves, I get a big hug and a sigh. I hope she knows I love her too!!

Please pray for her. She signs the papers and the swearing in on Thursday Oct. 30th.

God's peace,

Dee

PS I just love eBlogger!! Argh. I don't know how the underline above keeps showing up and I have put spaces in several times and they just keep dissappearing when it posts. Sorry for the "one big"paragraph.

A trip to the Zoo!

Last Sunday was a free day at the Pittsburgh zoo for something called RADICAL DAYS! It's an annual event that several museums and the zoo take part in and one day is free. I like free, do you?

So Chris and I packed some water bottles and a snack and headed to the zoo Sunday. How fun! Oh, how many people! I do believe all of PA and the eastern side of Ohio was there all on the same day. Did enjoy it though. It was a great outing, a good break for Chris from all his homework and work work. I like to treat ourselves to an outing to spend time away from all the home projects and homework. Especially if it's free!!

Here are a few pictures:

How magnificent are God's creatures. Something had their interest over there.
The zoo's new largest baby! Isn't she cute, and a personality that is very playful.
Tickle tickle!
One...
Two..
Three!!!

Have a great day!

May the peace of Christ be with you,

Dee

Being grateful

Painting by Minerva Teichert

This evening I had the chance to entertain some friends that drove up from GA. As I was cooking in the kitchen I saw my husband and the couple on our back porch and found myself jealous. I thought "I want to be out there lounging too. I want to listen. I want to enjoy their company. But instead I'm stuck in here preparing dinner that I SHOULD have prepared most of it earlier." yatta yatta yatta! Complaining.

Then I got a question posed to me by the Lord. "Are you Martha or Mary right now?" Yeowch! I hung my head in shame.

I could see the whole story from the Bible in an instant. How Martha felt bitter towards Mary (not that I was bitter to my friend), how she grew impatient and angry because she wasn't getting the help she wanted. Maybe even some frustration because she was trying to have everything put together for a nice meal, and was doing it alone.

Once I recalled this and the part where the Lord says "Mary has choosen the better part," I realized my husband and family were enjoying the better part. Talking about the Lord in their life while I was inside preparing the food.

My heart instantly changed. How selfish I was. The Lord melted my heart and I got to change my perception to "I am so glad they are out there enjoying each other's company, and that I have the ability to prepare a healthy meal while they talk about the Lord." WOW!

That, ya'll, was only the Lord. My heart calmed down. The frustration and jealousy immediatly left. I was grateful. Grateful to serve.

Thank you Lord for teaching me. I am grateful to serve.

God's peace be with you,

Mrs. Peterson

Annual Family Pumpkin Patch visit

We have had a standing tradition since the girls were little. Each fall we would go to a local pumpkin patch and gift shop. They would bounce in hay or take a maze. In Georgia we got to go on a haunted hay ride, what a hoot that was!

Here we are for this fall. We were blessed to have Danielle with us. Nothing makes a mom's (or stepmom in my case) heart sore like your daughter holding your hand in public. Even at 19. Yep that was a keeper moment.

Chris waiting for us and watching little one's play in the hay.

Danielle and me, a treasured time.

Isn't she silly.

Chris' pick for our family pumpkin.

We have had white pumpkins, green pumpkins (when we were stationed in Okinawa), little pumpkins and bumpy pumpkins...but never a tall one. We shall see what he creates this year.

God's peace be with you...and Happy Fall!

Dee

Family Reunion

After 22 years, the kids of the Love family got together. And what a time we had! We all flew in and spent several days together in So. FL. My half-brother had a time share. How exciting!

I wasn't raised with the 4 of them (one is missing) but the 3 that made it shared memories and I got to share my life too. Very awkward for a bit but things settled right in.

When it was time to go, I actually had forgotten about the "saying goodbye" part. And I started crying. After my half-brother dropped my husband and I off at the airport, I just broke down in tears. He has cancer and was in the midst of finding a new drug that would work. Praise God, he is in remission now.

My family (p.s. We are the last of the Love family as far as we know.):

The first moments after we all flew in.

Remembering.

My neice Lauren and I. We are the only 2 in all my Dad's kids and their kids that look alike. Wild huh?! She has a twin sister that looks like the Love family, I take more of the Gasaway family (yep we have deep roots in Iowa ya'll).

God's peace,

Dee

Blessing...

So, am I blessing me or my family?

Some people say taking a break to have a cup of tea or read for a short spell is selfish. "There is much to do", or you may hear "how do you have the time".

Each afternoon about 4:00 pm I take a break. The corner of my couch becomes my get-a-way. With a warm cup of my favorite tea, a small snack and an interesting book gives me a 30 minute get-a-way from my day.

I have often thought of this as self-ish, or there is one more thing I must do before I start dinner. How many times does that happen and we never take a break? Days...weeks...months..

As I sat down to snuggle in, I looked at the scene and thought "Am I blessing myself or my family by making myself take this time?" Both.

Sitting down for a bit, I am blessing myself since I get to refresh my body and mind. Taking tea, that part renew's my spirit. This is a great way to take care of my health or just to enjoy a sipping kind of tea. Reading a lovely book that interests me is a way to get my mind off the journey of the day. When my 30 minutes is up, I get up with a relaxed mind, body and spirit.

This is the part that blesses my family. Walking into the kitchen to make dinner with a calm mind and spirit creates the atmosphere of easing into the evening for my family. I am better prepared to go into the evening hours with the mindset that the day is winding down and I need to get my home and myself ready for tomorrow. My husband may come in and still be in the harried mode of "oh my gosh there is so much to do", but with my relaxed mindset, we are able to come together and enjoy a peaceful evening. Sometimes with a few giggles inbetween because we are in different modes.

I'm off. It's tea time!

God's peace,

Dee