Prayers for our Longview Family

Today is a hard day with a lot of heartache.

Moses Lake has lost a dear girl. A darling little girl, a twin, died last night in a car crash. Seven years old and her whole life ahead of her.

This second grader, a  BRIGHT, precious girl is gone. I pray for her parents, for her twin brother, for her older siblings.

It is a very hard day today at Longview Elementary. Please pray for the Longview family. And for the friends and teachers at our school.



He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. 
Revelation 21:4


I have no one else like Him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 
Philippians 2:20

So much basketball this weekend!! Wow, I love their hustle. Both Merit and Willem work so hard. Two years ago, Willem began working especially hard on defense. Rebounding and always right there! He never took a shot, he rarely dribbled out of situations. Offensively he did not add much to the team, defensively he added a ton. Through school ball this past fall and then AAU, he has shown a growth in where he is at offensively.

This last tournament was very fun, the growth evident.

This kid LOVES high school basketball. He is so thankful for the great coaching he gets. He loves his teammates.

FRIDAY NIGHT! ESPN showed up at varsity! (look at these well dressed seniors having some fun!) And it was senior night. Such a special night. I was so teary when I saw those seniors and parents out on the court.

Merit had some buddies over for Super Bowl. Man, teenage boys can eat and I love it! Oren got to do plenty of show boating for the gang. It was a good evening, even though the game was fairly uneventful. Great snacks and wonderful company made the evening. And now I have cheddar broccoli soup on the stove...

I was a bit sad to see January end. January is a month of everything slowing down. There are struggles as January is the anniversary of my nephew's death and my grandma Dorothy's death. I think often of them during the month of January. But sometimes it is good to have a slow month - good for the soul. Our days are full, don't get me wrong and basketball is a commitment. But no gardening or lawn mowing and it being dark by 5 gives us that honker down feeling - it is easier to find time to bake and try new recipes and easier to get to bed on time--  I do love it.

 But cheers to February - the month of LOVE.

It's Friday

 Oren and I went to my friend Marie's yesterday morning.
A morning with her delicious lattes, convo with dear girls, quiche and prayer was such a wonderful way to start the day! Her delicious quiche got me in the mood to make one! That was last night's dinner.

ohhhhh the card making supplies are out!

**********************************

 some recent goodies for the Favored Farmhouse!
I love re-stocking there!

I have a headache that is not leaving me. Praying today is the day it takes a hike -
LOTS of basketball in store for this weekend and my head can't hurt!  -

Cold and Sunny

HAPPY HENS

Ohhhh this sunshine! 30 degrees and sunny! I will take it. 


I taught second grade today and there were so many really fun personalities! 
Watching them do their math was so cool. I love it that they can borrow. It is interesting to see their minds work.

The students had to read through two articles and underline important information. The articles had interesting content - watching them go back for text evidence as they answered the questions at the end was pretty cool! Second grade is a neat year! I was impressed too with how much these kids helped each other. 

My third grader - Hazel Jane -went to Subway with me and we came back to the classroom and ate our sandwiches, so fun to converse!

I have a couple of pieces of furniture that I want to paint outside but 30 degrees is too cold for that- those projects may be on hold. 

But I am in the mood for projects...

Tea and Play

One of my favorite teas and the mug I love from my Grandma Alma

 So fun! A card board box, some doll accessories and background paper and Oren has a house for his fisherman.

Ohhhh this is delicious! Katie A.'s freezer jam! Bet it won't last us a week!!

FAMILY

 Cousin fun on Willem's birthday! You guessed it, Fortnite!

 These two! taking a break on a fun hike. Oren suggested a picture.

 FAMILY

Connie the Cat

 So, funny thing or maybe it was an annoying thing. 

My dad, Vance and I were sitting around the wood stove in the shop visiting on Sunday. We saw a mouse! We have been so lucky to not have mice in the shop. We have seen signs on the rare occasion, really we have not had an issue though. We set Connie on the floor, she was cat napping on one of the chairs. 

She hunts the mouse, sort of. I think she really hated being woken up from her nap in front of the fire. 

She tries to hunt - because she sees the humans in the room expect this of her. 

She has been known to be a good hunter in the past...

She catches the mouse and then lets it go! I shriek, everyone shrieks.

My dad and I have a mutual dislike for mice. I can handle snakes over mice. 

Well, my dad begins criticizing Connie. Going quite over the top with his criticism! If you know my dad, you can hear this going down. 

Connie will see the cat counselor on Friday. Her self worth is low.  -- I am kidding. But oh dear, one can about imagine.

 Connie, please keep hunting.
And know you are lucky that you are not Grandpa Jim's cat.

Tuesday
I get to teach a group of fifth graders who I have gotten to know,  this afternoon. 

I decided to use Smug Mug to organize photos and share photography. I am trying to figure out the website and play around. I am so not tech savy. It is fun to go through photos and get them on there, storing our photographs in more than one place is never a bad idea either. 

My dad, brother Phil and nephews Kai and Lane made a quick trip here. They spent Sunday, Willem's birthday, with us. This was kind of like a birthday dream for Willem. Watching those four teenage boys interact is funny~! Odd dancing, jokes... they went for a bike ride in the pouring rain. We all went out to dinner Sunday night... CHEERS to Willem being 13!

Willem is a TEENAGER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLEM VANCE!!!

13! I can hardly believe it! 

Praying this year is full of growth, fun, hard work, good memories and the fun and JOY of being 13!

We love you!!

'

Consigning - the thrill of the hunt

My hunt for the unique, the unusual, the beautiful has become more fun since becoming a vendor at the Favored Farmhouse here on Alder Street in Moses Lake. Many times the items I find need to make it to the Farmhouse quickly or I become a bit "attached"-- a few of these things really caught my eye. 

My hope is to do a little out of town hunting in January or February -- Wenatchee and Ephrata.

These bowls are so cute!

I like to share my fabric with a couple of friends and a couple of teachers... my sis Tasha too

oh and the blanket - I did not part with !

I kept it. 

Thursday

I love this mild winter. 
Well, so far it has been pretty mild.
I think the snow is beautiful! I do not like driving in it and we have a 16 year old driver. The mild winter, so far, is nice. You know who else loves it? My chickens.

*****************************

 oh! How I love these moments!!
This PLAY!