Weekend Recap/Around the House

Friday evening, we enjoyed a super dinner out at El Mariachi's, our local Mexican Restaurant, which was made even more enjoyable by the big discount available from the Catalina coupon on the back of our Kroger receipt! (Have I told you how much I LOVE Kroger?) ;) At the restaurant was "Balloon Man Dan," who provides family entertainment there two Friday evenings per month. He was hilarious, and he made Noah this groovy "fishing pole" hat from balloons.



My parents gave us their washer and "tempermental, but functional" dryer when we left Thomasville, since Grammy was getting an "upgrade" at her house. We were very thankful for these free items, and they both served us well for a few weeks, but the dryer gave up the ghost on Saturday. Since this ISN'T Thomasville, and I can't just call up my friendly local appliance repair guy that I've known for years on a Saturday afternoon, I did my internet research and selected Nicely's repair service...the trouble is, it'll be tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon before a service technician gets over here to take a look. For that reason, my lovely bedroom has been decorated in this fashion most of the time since Saturday, as we've taken advantage of our multi-tasking super-turbo ceiling fan.



Speaking of decorating, here's a little tour of some of the stuff we've decorated with around our house. First, the flowers we planted in the front yard, which the kids have been watering very diligently:



Next, we have the fresh flowers that grace our kitchen counter, placed in a pretty coffee pot I got as a wedding gift years ago. Kroger (have I mentioned how much I love that place) has pretty fresh flowers for sale, at under $5/bunch most of the time, so I've just decided that I'd like to keep some in my kitchen as often as possible.



Also, here's the space above our pretty black kitchen cabinets. No, Chad's protein powder isn't part of the decor. :) I'm looking for something to hang right there in the middle. Any ideas?



Also, in the kitchen, we use a dry-erase board for homeschooling at the table. I don't want our kitchen to look like a classroom ALL the time, especially when we are having company, so I found some pretty fabric for TWO BUCKS at Hobby Lobby, and decided to cover the pressboard backing with some beauty! It's still a work in progress, and Chad's super-crafty, super-sweet sister cutting out some letters for me using her high-tech crafting equipment, which will read: "TASTE and see that the Lord is GOOD!"



Here is the cross that hangs over the stairs leading down from the entryway to the lower floor. At Christmas, I'll probably hang a wreath or something there, but I'm hoping that before then, Chad or the tooth fairy or some rich relative will buy me a vinyl wall decal to place underneath it which reads our family's verse: "...This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes! Psalm 118:23" Wishful thinking, but a girl can hope! :)



And now, for my favorite piece of home decor....this hand-crafted greeting sign is something God laid on my heart to make and set on this entryway shelf long before we moved up here. It says "Shalom," which is the Jewish word for "peace," but not just any old peace--peace that comes from God...wholeness, completeness...peace that passes understanding. The Scripture reference at the bottom is Isaiah 26:3, which says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." The "O" is made from 12 smooth stones, which I hot glued down. That's symbolic of the 12 ebenezer stones the Israelites picked up along the riverbed as the crossed into the Promised Land. As they'd get to each stone, they'd pick it up and celebrate, "Thus far, the Lord has helped me." Once they were in the Promised Land, God instructed His people to arrange the stones, so that when people saw them for generations to come, they would ask what they were for, and that would spark a conversation each time about God and His faithfulness to His people. So, we are resting in God's peace here in Kentucky, rejoicing in His faithfulness, and celebrating all the ways He's been so good to us!



Also, on Sunday, we did visit one local church. The kids had a great time in the children's ministry, and the sermon was fabulous! When the congregation was singing, though, I must admit, I cried a little bit...I missed my brothers and sisters on Celebration's worship team, and I missed Eliza Herrin's little arms wrapped around my neck and her voice belting in my ear, "I believe You will come like the RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!" I missed Robert Lindquist tapping on my leg to show me his newest silly band. I missed Gabby's eyes staring at me, with a big quiet smile on her face, just waiting on me to smile back. I missed Trace telling me about the Seminoles. I missed Payton's squeeze hug! I missed Pastor Jimmy's voice calling, "Krismysis!" down the hallway. I missed the sound of keys jingling and hearing "So-and-so probably wishes we'd scoot on out so he can lock up," at the end. I missed hearing Ethan squeal at Grammy. I missed my Sunday morning hug from Dad. I missed getting onto MaryBeth and Emily for chatting during worship about their plans to get their daddies to take our families to lunch at Masato's. I was homesick, for sure! Celebration Church, please don't take for granted what a wonderful thing God has blessed you with! There is no substitute! God has given you a special role to fill in His Kingdom! We love you guys! Please pray for us as we seek out a church home here.

We've gotten a webcam, and we spent most of the weekend talking to family via Skype, which was lots of fun...Ethan thought it was VERY cool to see his cousins inside the computer screen. Then, on Sunday afternoon, our internet stopped working. There were issues in the lines up the street, but all is working well again today! And therefore, you've been blessed with this SUPER-LONG blog post to enjoy! Thanks for reading! Please stay in touch!

Shalom to YOUR home!
--Kristie