Oh How He loves You and Me

(Pinterest)

I love this verse ~ the Lord has given it to me time after time when I needed a safe place to be.

He loves me, you see, and He loves you; don't you ever doubt it. I know it is true because his Word tells me it is true.

I know it is true because every day I read of his love in His Word

~ every day I see His love through the eyes of my husband

 ~ every day I hear His love through the voices of my children and grandchildren

~ every day I know His love through the friends and family He has blessed me with.

He loves me,

He watches over me,

and He covers me with His feathers.

As I lay my head down tonight on my pillow,

I will sleep in peace,

knowing that

under His wings

I will find refuge.

You will, too,

when you put your trust

in Him

and let the cares of this world fall away.

Oh how He loves you and me.

Have a beautiful Sunday, dear ones!

Oh How He Loves You and Me

Words and Music by Kurt Kaiser

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.

Thanks for the Memories & Making New Ones

These photos are of the last day at our old house, with our family in the center photo and another of Lauren and I with our dear friends, Julie and Leonard, who helped us immensely over the last few days of our move. Jack and Lucy stood by the back door for a quick snap, Eli was captured in a moving box and Maya shared a sweet smile on the last day she spent the night. Happy memories shared in a home that God created for us all.

Erin and Sara grew up in this house, with many birthday parties, sleepovers, prom dates and fun escapades in the back yard. We had graduation parties for them both as well as wedding festivities.

Jack was born while Erin and John lived with us, and Maya, Sara and Mark moved in with us for a few months when Maya was 4 months old.

The JEMS (Jack, Eli and Maya) spent the night, climbed the trees and played on the swingset.

They blew bubble and drew chalk on the sidewalks and rode bikes.

After all was done on the final day, I took a few photos of the empty house, and what surprised me was that I didn't cry over the empty rooms, but instead I cried as I "heard" the sounds of

LIFE

and my mind's eye relived the days and years of

 all of the things I mentioned that were tapestry of our lives.

And so, I say,

Thanks for the memories, dear old house,

for allowing us to make you ours throughout the nearly 28 years you sheltered us.

For making it through the many transformations we did to update you and yet

keep your integrity intact.

The photo that shows Lucy walking from the dining room to the living room seemed like it was her "good-bye." There are spots on the photo from the camera lens - not quite sure how they got there - maybe my tears, but I must say, seeing these photos a month later doesn't make me cry. They are reminders of God's blessings all of those years, and we now take more photos of our new cottage that I will share another time. We hope to move there in about a month, and we are getting more and more excited as we stop by and see the progress.

Here is a quick look...

the lot...

the foundation...

walls going up...

the porch, walls, roof and a little siding...

Sherwin Williams "Cottage Cream" paint going on...

Inside, the walls have been primed and so we hope to see a lot of progress

next week, as inside paint gets finished and maybe cabinets and appliances put in, maybe.

It is hard not to be wanting it to be done sooner than expected, but we realistically know that isn't always the case. But it will be finished and we will move in, God willing.

Until then, I will continue to visit your blogs, although having time to leave a comment is slim. I seem to be gone quite a lot instead of lazily lying on the sofa in our temporary home in Erin's basement, reading a book or something, but activity does make the days go by faster. It took me over a week to finish this post!

My friend Debbie just posted this on Pinterest, and it is so appropriate!!

(pinterest)

 

A Time to Rest and Regroup

We are moved into our temporary quarters at our daughter Erin's house,

enjoying the rest from all of the hoopla of packing and storing and saying goodbye to our house.

I'll post a few photos of our former home someday; I'm not equipped to download photos

today, as I am on daughter Sara's computer, taking care of Maya.

They live only a couple of blocks from our being-built cottage, so Maya and I 

walked over to see it today; again, cannot download photos, but it is coming along

nicely.  We peeked inside a window and we could see the progress that is being done,

and I must say, it is starting to fell like home,

a little...

well, 

I must admit...

I am feeling a little 

misplaced these days,

but it has given me a chance to regroup

and be thankful for our lives together.

Living with our 2 adorable grandsons, Jack and Eli,

and their parents, is a huge blessing,

and we are very thankful that they are willing

to put up with us and our GR Lucy.

Taking care of Maya is also a blessing,

and it also gives me a chance to be in the neighborhood

of our future.

I am also very thankful that Lauren

is finished with the grueling work of getting

our old house ready to sell, as he worked so very

hard this summer. Fall is truly our season of thankfulness,

especially since we hope to be in the new house by Thanksgiving.

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Erin and Sara have both decorated their homes for fall,

my favorite season,

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and it has been quite pleasant outside,

with temps in the 60s, making it ideal for walks collecting

leaves and other fall pretties, and soon we will take a trip

to our favorite pumpkin patch,

so even though I am feeling a little displaced,

God, in His goodness, continues to provide for us,

and He blesses us with the changes of the seasons

just as He blesses us with this season of change in our lives.

(pinterest)

So while I may be posting on a borrowed computer,

living in a temporary home,

and using photos from Pinterest,

I am enjoying this season and all that God

is blessing us with,

and I hope you are, too!