Shedding Season

I may not be a textbook minimalist, but I'm certainly not a maximalist -- and yet I can't believe how many bags and boxes of donations (and trash) have left our home in the past few weeks. It's really shocking to contemplate how much excess we have, despite my regular efforts to cull.

Even before we found out we were moving to Japan, we had plans to purge our belongings. We  downsized before our move last year, but were limited in time and capacity. Marie Kondo's book was a helpful read a few years ago, but it turns out a move to her homeland may be the real life-changing magic for us -- because as it turns out, whether or not an item sparks joy may be a less powerful determiner than "is this tchotchke worth shipping in a container half way around the world?!" 

Here's a picture of a fabulously intricate plant, because it's much
lovelier than the piles of detritus that would more appropriately
accompany this post! Ha!

I discovered Dawn's channel a few months back, and have found it so helpful! I did some decluttering then, but our upcoming move has amplified my motivation. I particularly like how Dawn refers to the things we own as inventory. Which is really putting stuff "in its place," if you will, because it reminds me that everything I own is taking up space in my mind, home, schedule, and budget. 

-- If I misplace something, I feel guilty. Now my mental peace is compromised -- and the more I have that I don't need, the more likely this scenario becomes.

-- If I want to store something properly, I may need to purchase (or improvise) storage. There goes more time and possibly money. And as a military family guaranteed to move multiple times in the future, I will have to handle it and rehome it repeatedly.

-- If I'm going to take care of something, I'll have to spend more time on it. The alternative is not taking care of it, which is bad stewardship -- and definitely something I've been guilty of at times.

Do all of my belongings really deserve a place of honor in my life? "Honor" may sound farfetched, but realistically, my time and attention are precious things that I rarely feel I have enough of! 

Inventory also sounds detached, which is helpful. I'm not terribly sentimental, but it still helps to consider material possessions in the proper light -- things that are valuable only as they serve my family and those around us. Everything we own is temporary, anyway. 

I've tried to grow in this area over the years, so it's not a new concept. I minimized my closet a decade ago. Our four boys share a six-drawer dresser for their clothes, with a few feet of closet rod for their church clothes. I declutter drawers and closets relatively often, and we limit our children's toys and belongings. I think a helpful shift in my mindset has been to start letting go of "potential." We have so many things that we keep because we might use them...one day. It feels wasteful to get rid of perfectly good supplies! But God has always provided for our needs, and it would be better to pass those things on to someone who will actually use them. 

Tandem to this idea is accepting our limitations in this season of life. My husband's job is demanding, and we're homeschooling four kids while wrangling a newly-mobile baby. We just don't have time for every hobby and DIY project right now. While I wish we had more capacity in this area, living beyond our "capacity means" only leads to stress and clutter.

Honestly, I'm finding the thought of moving overseas quite freeing. While I don't relish all of the logistical obstacles, I'm already appreciating the change of perspective it's offering. The word that comes to mind is freedom, which is probably pretty telling. I don't want to spend our time in Japan burdened with unnecessary, self-induced responsibilities. 

Our lifestyle does lend itself to "inventory" -- after all, we're homeschooling bibliophiles with a gaggle of children and a penchant for handicrafts. But less sounds good to me! If I can shed one item for every hair my German "Shedder" is losing right now (currently blowing her coat, yay...), we'll be in good shape by the time the moving truck shows up. *wink* 

Timeless

Shortly after we moved out West, we stopped at a local Salvation Army for a browse. On a shelf cluttered with knick-knacks, I found a battered frame. Beneath the scratched plexiglass was a page from a 16th century Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible holds a special place in my heart (and in history!), and I was smitten at once. I resisted the impulse to buy it then and there -- but as time passed, I still thought about that page. My patience was rewarded; by the time I returned, it was still waiting for me and was marked down 20%. 

Taking pictures of glass is hard! *wink*

The frame was a disaster and even the matting was faded, but that could be remedied. I procrastinated in my usual fashion, but I finally found a frame that suited and had a mat made at a local frame shop. 

Of all the pages it could have been, the passage on this page was Psalm 118 and the beginning of Psalm 119. The former has been such a comfort to me over the past two years (especially verse 14), and Psalm 119 -- well, it's in a league of its own!

I've flanked the page with two images -- both cut from the companion booklet that came with my Reformation Study Bible. On the right is Westminster Abbey, and on the left is a map of Geneva.

My little "Reformation" collection now graces a formerly-barren wall in our living room (our home here has so many blank, white walls!), and I see it regularly throughout the day -- a reminder of God's timeless, steadfast love and His providential care of His church through history. 

 

Spring Break

It's been about a month since we had our Spring Break, though I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I thought keeping to our normal school routine would be best during the pandemic, and I'm so glad we have; life feels as normal as it possibly can, and I think that's helpful for the littles (and me!). But we really did need a bit of a respite, and there were so many little projects and activities that I've been putting off because it's hard to find the time during the normal school week.

This was probably our most successful batch of homemade play dough so far -- I gave up and used
regular food coloring, and the results were so much better. I also bought two pounds of cream of tartar,
so I'll probably have some to pass on to my grandchildren one day! *wink*

It was a respite, but our days were pleasantly filled with adventures (the stay-at-home type, that is). Sometimes chaotic, often messy, but such great fun! The weather cooperated, and we ate many of our meals outside. We treated ourselves to chocolate banana ice cream for breakfast -- which is not quite as naughty as it sounds, because the only ingredients are frozen bananas, milk, spinach, and dark chocolate cocoa powder. We played countless games of cornhole, built our thrifted volcano kit, made bath bombs, dyed yarn with Koolaid, painted herb pots and then potted herbs, played games, and generally had a lovely time together. I think I actually said "yes" more than "no." 

Little Man helped dye his orange yarn, destined for the heels and toes of his socks

We used lemonade and blue KoolAid to dye the green yarn (which came out a bit
lighter than I'd hoped), and then speckled the yarn with blue and orange)

Mt. Vesuvius, in all its glory... *ahem*

The little love using bath bombs even more than they love making them!

Rosa's yarn was dyed with a blend of pink lemonade, grape, and black cherry KoolAid

I used the extra time to finish my yarn swift, so that we could wind our dyed yarns easily

It didn't take long for Emma the German Shepherd to un-pot these! Ugh. Fortunately they survived!

We've just learned to grill hamburgers with the grill lid open, and it makes such
a difference! Homemade hamburger buns are a new favorite, too.

All of our adventures left us quite tuckered out! Scout took a decently long  nap in this position.

It was surprisingly difficult to resume our studies the next week -- after numerous complaints about having to do school, I was almost ready to declare that we'd never have a Spring Break again! But we got back into our routine within a few days, and I am glad that we took a week off. I don't often dedicate a week to the littles, apart from school. And I managed to work on quite a few personal projects, too! I've been convicted lately about investing in my children -- as I grieve the many babies we've lost, I don't want to waste the precious time I have with the children I can hug and hold. 

We only have a few weeks left in the school year, and I'm eager for a little more freedom in our schedule -- and also hoping we'll be able to venture a bit futher afield soon.

From Whom All Blessings Grow

It's growing season here! I expect most things to be dead and dry by August, a carryover of my mostly-Floridian life (or maybe just my lack of skill as a gardener?). 

But at last, at long last, tomatoes are taking center stage.

I have a special love for homegrown tomatoes, and this year we planted seven varieties -- if you're going to plant tomatoes, why not have some fun? We planted Black Krim left over from last year, along with Roma, Chadwick Cherry, Green Zebra, Yellow Pear, Black Cherry, and Rainbow Cherry (not an actual variety, but a "mix" of various colorful cherry tomatoes -- it's a toss up as to what you'll actually get. Ours are pale yellow and red!). 

This is a green zebra, with a not-yet-ripe Black Krim behind it to the left

Our tomatoes are real survivors, having overcome the ravages of hornworms early in the season (they disgust me, but fortunately our chickens' delight in devouring them made it a little less terrible to pull them off the plants), various "predators" throughout the season, and my overly ambitious planting. I had every intention to thin the plants properly, but I underestimated how agonizing it would be to rip out completely healthy plants! And I definitely underestimated how large the plants would get. The straw bales are, apparently, extremely fertile -- despite their crowded spacing, our tomatoes are quite massive. Poor planning in the staking department has left us with plants trailing all over, pulled down by the weight of the fruit. It's honestly so bad that some of our tomato plants are trailing on the ground! Basically, everything that we could do wrong, we did.

And yet, tomatoes. So many, so beautiful, and so delicious. We are harvesting around a pound every day or two, and we have been eating, freezing, and giving away tomatoes at every opportunity. 

Our cucumbers and bean plants bit the dust early in the month. I'm not sure whether to blame "old age," voles, disease, bugs, or heat. Or maybe all of the above. Here's a photo from earlier in the summer, when they were at their peak:

Every year we learn more in the garden -- our zucchini and spaghetti squash fell prey to squash vine borers (ugly little things! They eat out the INSIDE of the plant stem. Ugh), all of our plants would have benefited from having trellises in place early (we were a bit rushed getting the garden planted, so we only did the immediately necessary things), etc. We've replanted the bales from the picture above (all that was left was the little lavender plant in the front corner, and an enormous basil plant in the back), so hopefully we'll get some more produce before the season is over. I want everything to thrive and produce, so I'm always disappointed by the failures -- but I'm realizing that gardening is a skill that takes time to hone, and even experienced gardeners have their setbacks. It's still a joy! It really is amazing to me how God has designed life to recreate itself. The curse (bugs, disease, weeds, etc.) battles hard and sometimes wins, but life is resilient. 

The littles have been growing like weeds all summer, too. This little fellow turned one, and I'm struggling to believe it (though he's very comfortable in 18-24 mths clothing, "little" chunk that he is!).

We've taken advantage of "pass swaps" to visit some new-to-us places -- this one was particularly magical, with the imminent threat of a summer thunderstorm preventing us from lingering too long. I do love our little adventures together!

And now, Summer is almost over. We've already started the school year (back in July, actually -- littles with too much time on their hands...), and I'm eager to see the season change. Goodbye, August!

Sorted

One of our long-time organization issues has been mail sorting -- it seemed there were bits of paper strewn everywhere, for lack of a designated home! We finally tackled this issue with a customized mail/planning board, which now hangs in our kitchen.

The board itself is a piece of plywood banded with wood. A simple coat of wax gives it a bit of depth.

I printed a free calendar (there are oodles online!) on card stock. Having a settled place to write down all of our appointments has been such a help. A little galvanized tin can from Michael's holds our pencils. 

The dry erase board is a thin magnetic sheet (there's a metal plate from Home Depot underneath).

For the chore charts (used for Little Man and Rosa), I nabbed an idea from Ginny at small things (her sister used to sell similar boards on Etsy, but the shop seems to be closed now). The little brass hooks and vintagey tags appealed to me, and the littles love having their own boards! The wood is recycled pallet wood. We're still trying to figure out how best to use them, and honestly, the hardest part is for me to remember to put up the tags for them. I have a whole set of tags for each child (it's so easy to make more tags!) with a different washi tape on the back. When they've done the chore, they flip the tag.

The metal letter boxes are from World Market, and were the most expensive part of the project (even with a coupon code!). But after searching in vain for anything else that appealed to us and met our requirements, we purchased them -- and I love them! The bottom box holds coupons and flyers, and Pablo and I each have a box of our own.

I'm so pleased with how this came together, and how effective it has been. Nothing complicated, nothing fancy -- but it's also exactly what we needed (and nothing more). It's good to have it all sorted!

Linen Love

I've been wanting a linen apron for a while now -- there are so many lovely examples out there to whet one's appetite! Which makes me think, by the by, how happy I am that linen is making a comeback. I feel like it was ignored for quite a while (probably because it was viewed as inseparable from copious amounts of starch!), but now I am seeing it everywhere. Even linen sheets are becoming more commonplace at "trendier" retailers.

But back to aprons. I've been eyeing the simple cross-back "pinafore" aprons, but with an ever-growing belly bump, that's not the most practical style for me at this stage. I needed something bump-friendly, but none of the empire styles I saw were quite what I was looking for. At last I remembered a picture I'd saved from The Vermont Apron Company, and the solution was clear:

Here's the apron that inspired my design (obviously very strongly!):

This was a multi-purpose project -- not only did it solve my need for a new apron, it also used up the grey Kaufman Brussels Washer Linen Blend, which was still in my stash because it wasn't quite the color I'd expected.

I adjusted the design for my needs -- first of all, I added several tucks to the bodice (I measured these carefully with a ruler and a disappearing fabric marker, knowing that they'd be very visible!). This creates some extra fullness in the center front, perfect for "the bump." A few wooden buttons seemed right, somehow:

The hardest part was figuring out how to drape the fabric! My dressform, "Yvonne," was invaluable for that bit. After perusing the Vermont Apron Co. pictures, I cut my yardage straight across the grain, added my tucks to the center of the fabric, and hemmed the top edge. Then the issue was draping the apron without cutting too high up under the arms (that didn't sound comfortable!). However, when I'd solved that to my satisfaction, it created the perfect pleats for the bodice "sides" -- my favorite part of the original apron! I sewed up the sash (making it long enough to wrap around and tie in the front), as well as the neck ties. The sash is top-stitched, which holds down the pleats and provides a "waist" for the apron. 

At this point I picked the length I wanted for the apron (again, Yvonne was so helpful!) and marked a hem with pins -- I didn't want the pointed handkerchief hem of the original apron. I curved it up around the sides, cut, pressed, and stitched.

Bump!

Here's a better view of how the apron looks untied -- for the record, I did not measure or exactly match those side bodice pleats. I evened them out by eye, and they seem fine. This whole project was a bit improvised, so I didn't see the need to get too technical at that point!

This apron is perfect for maternity wear, and should still work well afterwards! I would say my one dislike are the neck ties. I just don't like aprons that tie around the back of the neck! I may stitch the neck ties to the back of the apron (where the sash "leaves" the bodice; my fingertips are just there in the picture above), either straight or in a criss-cross. Oh, and I didn't have enough of my fabric to add pockets, so I may do something about that...

But those are nitpicks. For now I'm content to have something that keeps me a little tidier!

Scrambled

After an apprehensive start, our chickens seem to be on the right track -- they are laying more regularly, and we are enjoying the results! 

The dark brown egg on the left is from our Blue Copper Maran, Cooley -- it took her quite a while, but now that she's laying she is the best layer of the flock! Of course, it's easy to tell which eggs are hers, because of their chocolatey coloring. 

We also recently found our largest egg to date in the nesting box -- a whopping 82 grams, compared to the average 60 gram eggs we usually find. I wasn't surprise to find that it contained "twin" yolks! On the same day, a different chicken laid the smallest egg we've found at just 47 grams. And no, I don't usually weigh the eggs! *wink* These two were just so unusual that I had to find out how they compared to our usual finds.

Largest and smallest! The 82 gram egg on the left measured 3 1/2" from top to bottom

We recently found five eggs in the boxes in a single day... which they compensated for by laying none the following day. My "goal" is three eggs per day (that's each chicken laying every-other-day, which should be a very reasonable expectation), and I'm hoping that with Spring well on its way, warmer temperatures and longer days will help increase production. And they're getting quite close to that quota lately, even surpassing it now and then! It's been lovely making our breakfast scrambled eggs with all (or almost all) our own eggs -- especially when there's homemade bread and fresh strawberries to accompany them!

Tea Time

At long last, tea time has become a tradition in our home. I've been wanting to make it a more regular feature, but amidst all of life's other demands it just hasn't happened. Or rather, I haven't made it happen. Then I had an impromptu tea party with Rosa (a bit of a consolation, as Daddy and older brother were going to the hardware store without her!), and her rapturous accounts of tea and chocolate orange slices made Little Man eager to join in the fun. 

So, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, we had a tea party. China cups and plates, a tablecloth, fresh fruit and a sweet treat. It was such a success that the littles begged to do it again -- and so, for the past five or six Sunday afternoons, we've had our little parties together. They are simple affairs, featuring whatever baked good or treat we might have on hand (or a quick batch of scones if all else fails), usually paired with some fresh fruit. This has also been the perfect time to introduce some poetry. We have this Child's Anthology (an older edition), though quite honestly I find most of the poems not really child-friendly. Paul Revere's Ride was popular enough to be requested two weeks in a row, and The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee was also a hit! I think this week I'll pull out James Mayhew's beautifully illustrated To Sleep, Perchance to Dream.

Can't resist Trader Joe's $4 bouquets!

It has been so lovely to have an "excuse" to pull out my prettiest teacups, teapots, and dishes! I have pared down my teacup collection to a few beloved favorites, because I now have a set of cups that match my china. Which is a story in itself -- A reader contacted me about two years ago, asking if I would like her mother's china. She had seen that I'd found a Queensware teacup back in 2008, and it happened that her mother had Queensware, as well. A whole set of it! And with two outdoorsy boys, she wanted it to go to someone who would love it. Stunned by such generosity, I gratefully accepted. I've used it for special occasions ever since, but have wanted to use it more regularly; our little tea times have provided the perfect opportunity. This past week we all used the matching Queensware teacups:

So far Twining's Lady Grey has emerged as a favorite, though Rosa was quite taken with Adagio's chocolate chip tea last Sunday! I only have a sample size from a past order -- I may need to buy more soon...

What a delight it is to share these moments with my ever-bigger little ones! I'm so glad that they have kept me accountable; not a Sunday goes by that they forget it's "tea party day," and I must admit that I would not be so faithful with it if they were not so enthusiastic. This is a tradition I'd like to keep alive; the perfect chance to take a little extra time and care, to enjoy each other's company, and to feed mind, body, and soul all at the same time.

Most Opportune

Some home improvements have been simmering on the back burner for a while, and we're ready to move them to the front burner. One of those is some seating for our master bedroom -- it would be so very nice to have a little place to get away once in a while. For some reason, the sight of me sitting in the living room curled up with a book and a mug of something steamy does not register with my children as a "do not disturb" situation...

Anyway, for quite a while my chair-of-choice has been the IKEA Jennylund. But at $250, I wasn't thrilled about the price. Not that $250 is expensive for an armchair -- on the contrary, IKEA is probably one of the cheapest options in that regard. But we paid $80 for our couch at a yard sale, so we're not exactly used to dropping hundreds of dollars on upholstered furniture! 

I decided to take a look at Craigslist to see if there was anything available. Odds were slim, I figured, but it couldn't hurt to take a look. Eight hours and seventy-five dollars later, I had my very own Jennylund. I'll be getting a new slipcover on our next trip to IKEA, but I don't mind spending a bit on a new cover when I've saved so much on the chair. The red slipcover is actually very pretty, I think, but it doesn't really match the rest of our room.

I've had a "hack" for this chair in mind for a while, which I'm looking forward to trying! I'll be sharing it here if it's successful...

Also, this came in the mail recently -- twelve skeins of wool tweed, destined for matching sweaters for my little men. I've got a sweater for moi on my needles, which I should probably finish up before I dip into this... just a few months until the cold weather comes, though!

The Cush Life

Technically speaking, I'm a bit late posting this -- as evidenced by the fact that the window in the background of the first photo is from our rental, which we vacated over a month ago! But it's one of the few sewing projects I've managed to tackle in the past little while, so here it is.

Our previous couch cushions were serviceable, but were well past their prime. I was ready to move on, and when I found feather pillow forms at H&M (with a coupon code, to boot!), the deal was done. New cushion covers, however, were most certainly not done. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to finish them, but finished they are. The larger 20x20 cushions are covered in remnants of brown linen from the bed sheets I made, and garnished with linen tape that I bought from KnitPicks for a song a year or so ago. I'd added it to my cart because I was so close to free shipping that it was cheaper to buy one more thing than pay the shipping costs, and I knew linen tape would not go to waste in my sewing room!

The cream pillows are cream linen on the back, and moss-stitch knit (in plain ol' acrylic) on the front. The knitted cover is not holding up as well as I'd like, partly because the roving-style yarn sheds like crazy. But the yarn was salvaged from a scarf I'd purchased and never worn, and it was quite enjoyable to actually knit the covers (perfect project to work on while watching a movei!). So I'm not overly disappointed; I'll make up a new cover in the future if I need to. 

Both pillow covers are lined with cotton batting, which helps them look smooth and tidy (especially important with feather pillows, which tend to look misshapen very quickly!). They're incredibly comfortable, and were just the ticket for a little "upgrade" to our couch.

I've been shamefully lazy about taking pictures of the new house -- or posting anything at all, come to think of it -- but that's life. I'll have a bit more time once I finish up the various little projects I've been working on. And then I can share them with you!

Come and Gone

Well, October has come and gone! It was quite a blur -- we closed on a house, since we'd rather not pay the exorbitant rent in this area with no equity to show for it! More on that to come, but suffice it to say for now that October was a blur of packing, painting, moving, and settling. That last one is far from done, but it's so good to be in a home of our own. There is color on the walls, and we can put up pictures, curtain rods, and other miscellany with gleeful abandon!

Our little lady also turned 3 in October -- I can hardly believe how quickly she's growing up. Both mentally and physically! Dresses I made not-that-long-ago are now tunics, and she's talking up a storm. Also, she can now sport a pair of French braids. Her hair is quite long, but it's so naturally layered that a single ponytail or braid results in stray wisps covering her face almost immediately. I've never been much good at "doing" hair, so I'll have some learning to do!

As crazy as the past few weeks have been, I'm astonished at how many little blessings have come our way. We had a horrible situation with our rental property (unscrupulous property managers), which was quite stressful. But when I went by the rental to mulch the flower beds (one of the move-out requirements), the yard maintenance company for the community had already done it! We are responsible for our own beds, so that was totally unexpected. The washer and dryer that we no longer needed? Friends of ours who moved the week after we did -- and helped us tremendously when we moved -- needed to replace the 1970's machines that came with their house. The box spring and bed frame that we no longer needed? Another friend who helped us move had been planning to purchase some! It would have been such a pain to try to put those things on Craigslist in the midst of the chaos, so giving them to people who needed them was the perfect solution. Little reminders that God was taking care of us in the midst of a stressful time.

A little industry (and a trip to IKEA!) will speed up the settling-in process. I love our new home, and can't wait to share more about it soon!

Hope you're all having a lovely November so far!

Sparks

It seems like Little Man's mind is a flint, and everything around him is steel. Every time he rubs shoulders with the marvels of the every-day, there are Sparks. Showers of sparks, igniting his curiosity and his growing font of knowledge.

And there are so many wonders. Like birds' nests, hiding in the shrubbery.

 Marvels of ingenuity and resourcefulness, carefully crafted by our little feathered friends.

Wonders like our tiny back deck "garden" -- a little collection of herbs and a solitary pepper plant. Oh, how he loves to tend those plants with his minute watering can! I can't wait until the peppers start to come, and we can watch them ripen. We've kept things to a minimum knowing that we'll only be here a brief time, but I'm hoping we can start a larger garden on Guam!

Wonders like the written word. He's been ready for a while (we probably could have started in Florida), but I knew it would be best to wait until we were settled here and had a chance at consistency. I'm using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons -- the very same book that my mother used to teach me years ago!

If you've never taught a child to read, I highly recommend you find a child and get started! It's such a remarkable, indescribable feeling. Little Man has been eating it up, and surprising me with how neatly he forms most of his letters. We're 1/3 of the way through, and we both delight in our daily lesson -- especially the little stories at the end of each lesson. The dry-erase board, by the way, is from Dollar Tree. So basically, teaching my son one of life's most important skills cost about $15.

Seeing Little Man's mind ablaze with wonder excites me as we ease into more formal education -- I know there will be challenges along the way, but it is such a privilege to share the wonders of God's creation with my children.

Un-Framed

Ever since we've moved into our house, we've had two framed prints on our living room wall -- I'd picked them up at a yard sale before I was even married, and they "worked." You know, that "worked" which is far less than ideal, but better than a blank wall? In the end, I'm glad I didn't end up updating them until now, because I only found the idea for their replacement recently! 

When I saw these DIY Photo Clipboards on Love Grows Wild, I knew exactly what I wanted for that wall! I changed mine up a bit (using different size boards for an array of sizes, and not distressing them quite as much), but other than that I followed Liz's excellent directions. I'm so pleased with how they turned out -- I found the little bulldog clips in the scrapbook section at JoAnn's, and I think they're just charming.

I also added a slate to the wall, for a little bit of variety -- I've had it since I lived in Pennsylvania as a child (it's a real roof slate), so it's funny to me that you can now buy them in craft stores. The text was the inspiration of the moment -- i.e., my eagerness to actually get these up on the wall -- with a chalk pen, but I like it. I may change it later, but for now it stays.

I'm hoping to add a plate to the left side of my grouping; I've always wanted to try using Sharpie on a white plate, so I'm thinking of an anchor with the lyrics to "Eternal Father" around the edge -- it's long been a favorite hymn, and with my dad formerly and my husband currently in the Navy, it seems appropriate! But that will probably be at our next home, considering how little time we have left here. Which reminds me that I should probably be doing something other than writing a post right now...

May God bless you as the week comes to a close!