In Memory

Just when I thought I was home for good (or at least a while!), a wrench gets thrown in the plans!  When we were in BC, we make the trip out to see Art's stepmom, who was just diagnosed with cancer.  We saw her on a Saturday, and she looked fantastic!  She was cheerful, talkative, had a huge appetite....it was good.  She was planning on being released from the hospital in a few days to go to her daughter's home. 

Well, she was released...for a night, and the next morning she was taken by ambulance back to the hospital, where they gave the news that her kidneys were shutting down and she had pneumonia.  She wasn't expected to make it through the night, but she did, and a few more night as well.

On Monday, she lost her battle to cancer.  It was only 3 weeks from the time she found that she had cancer until she passed away, so her battle was short.  The best part of this whole story is that the week before she died, Art's sister had the opportunity to talk to her about her relationship with God, and she made the decision to turn her life over to Him....no matter how few days she had left.  So now, we rejoice, because she's hanging out with Jesus!

She was a woman who loved to crochet and loved to read!  She loved Art's dad dearly, until he died 10 years ago.  She had a very dry sense of humor, and was very gracious and generous to our Girls.

So, we are headed off to BC.....again!  Hopefully we will avoid any speeding tickets!  Although we will mourn her passing, the great part of funerals is that we get to see our family, and spend some time with them, which is a great time!  So, once again...."Happy trails!"

Kitchen Island

So here is how we repurposed an old work bench for our new kitchen island!  I am quite in love with it!  I put some old egg baskets in the cubbies, but since this picture, have changed it up (again).  I put tea towels and aprons in the wire basekts, and where the 2 egg crates are in the middle, I put Art's grandmothers dishes which were given to us 

 The top was really dirty and oily, so we washed it with the pressure washer.

I'm Back!

Well hello, friends!  I am back....I think.  We've had a crazy couple of weeks of holidays and driving and no kids and more driving and visiting family and more driving.  But now, I'm back.  I think.

I'll be posting some pictures, and filling you in on the details, but it's good to be home.  In the mosquito infested place in which we live.  Where, apparently, summer has delayed it's arrival....until yesterday.  But we haven't gotten to enjoy it, because we were....you guessed it....driving!

I hope you're enjoying your summer!  Because I am hoping to start enjoying summer here!

Summer Nights

The past two nights, we've had some good summer storms....last night especially!  Art and I went to bed around midnight, and just started to hear the thunder rumbling.  We made a bet on how long it would take the girls to end up in our bed....again.  Here's how our night went:

12:30 am  I fall asleep
12:40 am  Molly comes into bed with us
12:50 am  Ellie Mae comes into bed with us
 1:10 am  Abby comes into bed
 1:20 am  Hannah comes into bed
 1:30 am  Art leaves bed to sleep on the couch
 1:40 am  Hannah leaves bed to sleep with Art on the couch
 1:50 am  I fall asleep...again
 2:10 am  Another round of the storm....everyone is up....again
 2:45 am  I fall asleep...again.  And wake up.  Again.  Repeatedly.  I am in the middle of 3 Girls. And 2 of    them flail.  Repeatedly.  And have no idea of personal space.  Especially when they are asleep!

Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep!  But somewhere in there, between the frustration of being tired, and having Girls in my bed for the second night in a row, I did think to myself a few things.... One of which was, "Wow!  Isn't this a spectacular display?!  We really are, but dust!", and another was, "I love this!  Sleepless summer nights, with huge storms, and little Ladies...these are the things that my Girls will remember when they are all grown up!"  And then, those sweet, fleeting moments passed, and I was, once again, tired....and cranky! 

This morning, we woke up late to much rain, and it's still raining. While the Girls were eating lunch, we heard a "Crack!", and looked outside to find this!

For some reason, I cannot rotate the picture, but it's a branch of a huge tree outside our front door, which conveniently landed on our van, which I had happened to park there yesterday.  How great for us!  Thankfully, nothing is damaged....except the tree.  Since it's raining cats and dogs, we just moved the van and will have to wait to pull the tree out back.  As crazy as this was, I am thankful that we had no hail damage....or tornadoes touch down where we live!  Ahh, summer nights....

Score!

When it rains, it pours!  Recently, we were able to make it to 2 farm auctions.  Of course, they couldn't be spread out....they had to be the day after each other!  However, it was a great time - good weather, good stuff, good prices....  Here's the stash! 

 I have a few projects now....any guesses what this is gonna be?

 This mailbox is exactly like the one my grandparents had at their farm when I was growing up.  It gave me warm fuzzies to bring it home!

 And here's another project...that's already done!  Anyone have a guess?  I'll post pictures soon....

These were the first auctions of the season, and it was great to get back into them!  The Girls loved running around, and we loved the finds!  All I have to say is, "It's a good thing we took the truck!" 

Have you found any great finds this garage sale/auction season?  Happy hunting, everyone!