Precious Pictures

Maiden Voyage

A Little Golden Book Moment

"There once was a little girl who was always and forever asking questions: 'How do birds fly?...Why can't I touch the sky?...What makes flowers grow?...Where do snowflakes come from?'

One day, when the little girl was wandering about thinking up new questions, she saw something lying on a table.

When she picked it up, she saw that it was a picture of a baby...She ran to show her mother what she had found.

'Who is it?' the little girl asked.

'Can't you guess?' replied her mother.

'No,' said the little girl. 'Have I ever seen this little baby?'

'Yes. In a way, you use to see her every single day.' "

After spending the morning searching for the missing baby, she runs back to her mother.

"'Mommy, I know where the baby went!'

'You do?' said her mother, pretending to look all around the room. 'Where is she?'

'Here I am!' the little girl said, and she ran and jumped into her mother's arms, feeling very pleased with herself!"




Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin, a favorite from my childhood. This morning I felt like I was living this little golden book. As I uploaded these pictures of the girls, I was astounded at how thin Emily's face has grown and how much older Jane looks. Where did the babies go?

A Must See!

Circling the globe. I received this from Saudi and the subtitles are in Chinese, but the interview is in English. This video link is a young man's testimony in trusting God's goodness and perfect plan. I won't give away any more...watch it.

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/churchinlove&article_id=17028224???,

The Complexities of Life

Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero; better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth; better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it. -Erwin W. Lutzer

Arriving back in Michigan gave me space to stretch. Our once shrinky-dink house is noticeably bigger. Being away I learned that I am particularly glad that our forks don't crumple when we try to cut our meat. I have a renewed appreciation for the things of beauty in our home. The smoky brown pots in our Houston condo repulsed my artistic temperament. Though I'd never claim to be a gifted cook, even my better meals looked so unappetizing. And boy, do I love that we don't have shared walls where you can hear the neighbor tell her suite mate that the hot water for the shower is gone AGAIN. And more importantly, that the neighbors can't hear Emily shriek when fast-fingered Jane steals her sister's cookie. Your fear rises that the four episodes in the last half hour will prompt some well-intentioned soul to call CPS. When you turn down the covers in the evening and CPS has still not pounded on the door, you exhale and mentally thank God that he answered your prayer to make the landlord's ears deaf. In Nashville we couldn't hang hangers straight in the closet with the door closed; the next month the Texas-size walk-in-closets doubled our square footage. Instead of a jumble of suitcases we also had two dressers. And one of them had four drawers, one for each child. (What comes to mind is the Japanese men in Seinfeld sleeping in the ponderous dresser in Kramer's apartment.) This one though spacious, was only suitable for their clothes. I was thankful nonetheless.

The trip made me think how spoiled I am. I have grown accustom to a certain standard of living and have no desire to downsize our home or sacrifice our conveniences. I know that somewhere the standard has to stop, otherwise, I fear I could become a slave of my possessions. But there is no Biblical guideline that says you now have two cows, ten earthen jugs, a three room house so don't acquire anything else. Rather we know God fills the godly man's house with rare and beautiful treasures. And God is a God of Abundance, and he always gives us more than we deserve. I am still working on being faithful with what I have been entrusted. I am somewhat scared to be hurdled into another stage of life.


When we returned home, my heart became anxious. Where are we suppose to be for the future?

While away, despite the unexpected stress, we loved the mild winter, visiting with friends and family and the chance to explore options for next year. Ben took four interviews and it has stimulated a lot of thought. If only God's calling was unmistakable?

Last night at church I was very refreshed when the pastor was going through Ephesians 1:15-23. I was reminded how to pray. I must pray for spiritual perception, first and foremost so I might know Him better and the rest follows. Scripture is beautifully simple. I have been so burdened with complexities that weren't mine to carry. My job is to know God. The difficult part to that is it will take me the rest of my life. Time is of no essence to the Eternal. He who planned the world has already planned our future.

Wordless recap

The last marriage

Thanks to Jen, my artistic sister-in-law, I have a few photos to share of my youngest brother's wedding. Andrew tenderly washing his bride's feet.


The joy on their faces.


My sister Margaret and Michael expecting a baby boy early summer.


A glamor photo, Jen captures Margaret taking a picture.


The more the merrier. Four sisters. Shayna, Jen, Margaret and me.


With my niece Eden.


Four generations. My mom and grandmothers, Jen and Eden.


My brother Peter with his nephews.


My sweetheart and me.

8 Blessings

A highlight of being in Nashville is reuniting with friends. When we met over seven years ago we had one child each and now there is a couchful. God has done some fancy multiplication.

Photo collage

2 Dressed-up and 1 dressed-down. Avery knows how to pose for pictures unlike my girls.


Someone favors her Daddy.





Baby skin is so beautiful.


Even the giant catfish thinks she looks tasty.


Playing ring around the rosy with kids incapable of falling down.


Another giant catfish. Fishing must be good in Nashville.


And a sea serpent. My, My.




Swings are invitingly scattered throughout the downtown park.








At the Tennessee Parthenon.


Only a few days before we left. Since our migration south, church has been cancelled three times back home. Which means we escaped some bone chilling weather.

So Long Single Digits

Who are these sweet things? The donut maker and her manager.


The girl that says "geeese".


Daddy's home, it is time to fly.


Ben caught us watching I Dream of Jeannie under warm covers. For some odd reason Fritz was wearing swim goggles and carrying a gun.


Another inside moment because the outside is so bitterly cold.


Grilling Christmas present steaks in 9 degrees. They were delicious. Thank you, Grillmaster.

We are leaving on Friday for the south. While we are away, the single digits can keep company with the mesmerizing snow. Winter is indeed cold here, but it is fabulously beautiful. The snow whirls around on the highways like sand. And the whiteness is so complete and pure that having our sins washed as white as snow will always hold a special understanding in my heart.

Before and After

I forgot how ugly the green tile counter tops were. I removed the frilly cornice boards and curtains. I want to make tailored roman shades, but haven't yet.




Demolition was great fun. However since we live in a 1920s home, the plaster behind the tile backsplash was crumbling. I had to scrape it back to the lathes and then cut wood boards to screw in the holes.


An economical solution was buying granite tiles at $6 square foot versus $50 and up for solid granite. As this house will not be permanent, price was important.


The curb-find dresser turned into an island. I wired electricity to it from the basement so it could house the microwave to free up counter space.


Mixing thinset and water and troweling it on wasn't that difficult. But boy, was it messy! Mortar was everywhere, and it was death on my hands.


The little squares on the backsplash are tumbled marble. The larger backsplash tiles are made in Italy to resemble natural stone. Since I took all my tiles to Lowes to have cut, measuring was very important. One of the employees wasn't as exact as the other one. He miscut a few things, but after twenty trips to the hardware store we got it right.




My desk was salvaged from (where else?) the trash. With a matching granite top, coat of paint and new hardware it looks like it was meant to be.

The finishing touch was to be a crystal chandelier I purchased from an advertisement in a home magazine. Beware. The company forgot to tell me that they discontinued that particular chandelier and didn't refund my credit card. My wonderful credit card company stepped in when I claimed fraud and now I just need to find another chandelier. Lesson learned: I think I will shop local!

January Joys