A New View

With the Lord's provision, we were able to purchase some new windows for our home last week . . . and they were installed today! They are so pretty!! :o) They are also going to make a significant difference in the comfort level (and energy efficiency) of our home. Our old windows were single-pane with metal grills--installed when the house was built nearly 60 years ago. They were quite adept at allowing the outdoor temperatures to flow straight through to the inside. :o} Our new windows . . . well, . . . not so much. :o) Replacing all of the windows will be a two-stage process, but the Lord allowed us to get a great start with the main windows this spring.

Here's a walk through . . .

The Dining Room
Before

It was a rather noisy day as the old metal frames had to be cut out with a Sawzall. I must say, I am so thankful that the installation cost was reasonable, and my wonderful husband who is more than capable of anything he sets his mind to did not have to tackle this project!

After

And here's a view from the back. We also replaced one of the kids' bedroom windows so that we can "properly" install a window AC unit this summer. :o)

The Master Bedroom
Before

Window be gone . . .

After

We used a local company who manufacturers their own top-quality windows. (They advertise that they'll give you your windows for free if you can find a more efficient window!) In addition to the quality, one of the things we really liked was their unique side-grill design--it allowed us to have the "cozy" feel of grills without losing our view.

The Living Room
Before

BIG windows.

The Supervisors

Now that's an open view!

Getting the new ones in place . . .

Front window done, side window in progress . . .

Daytime pictures of the finished living room windows will have to wait . . . the installers didn't finish up till after 8:00 and we've been in the process of cleaning up ever since. But, here's the nighttime effect . . . Let's just say that we're more than a little bit excited! :o)

Rejoicing!

Rejoicing in the resurrection
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Praise the Lord!
We serve a risen Savior!
:::
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:9

A Spring Picnic

"Mommy, can we have a picnic for dinner tonight?"

I love it when fun, creative ideas are easy to implement! :o) This one was especially easy since the kids carried everything outside and set it all up! :o)

Gotta love that face! :o)
(And yes, we were carefully supervising the hot dog consumption!)

Of course our picnic was followed by play time! :o) What a joy it's been to watch Hannah develop both physically and spiritually this spring . . .

And Peter's our sweety who regularly cracks us up! :o)
He hasn't quite figured out how to balance on a "big" swing yet . . .

So he had fun riding with Daddy . . .

And Mommy took a garden tour after a bit . . .

What a blessing it is to enjoy spring! :o)

A Blessed Mommy!

Mommy is SO thankful for her kiddos! They have been such a blessing to me. They've taken my much slower pace right in stride, and they've been super sweet with helping out with just about anything asked--switching loads of laundry and sweeping up dust piles being some key things that are rather difficult for Mommy to accomplish these days and they have become quite adept at. :o) They've also been great at entertaining themselves or playing low-key games in the afternoons . . .

Like Go Fish . . .
Or Lego Trains . . .

Woo-hoo!

Or Dress Up . . .

Yes. It was a hug! :o)

And even as I brag on my kiddos, I can't forget my hubby. Some days there's simply more day left at the end of the energy, and he's been wonderful at picking up where I have to leave off. Thanks, honey! We get to meet our littlest one very soon now!

The First Flight of a New Decade

You can only imagine how excited the kids were (especially Peter!) when they saw the plane get loaded in the van for the first flight of the year! :o) Last Friday we decided to take advantage of an absolutely beautiful evening and find ourselves a flying location.

Unfortunately, the short-notice of our outing didn't provide enough time on the battery charger, so we actually weren't able to fly the plane that evening. We did enjoy a beautiful sunset though.

And we came back for a second go at it on Saturday with great success! :o)

Where's the plane?

A Lion Hunt!

Oh, how we have enjoyed the beautiful spring weather!!

One of our favorite things at the moment are the daffodils which are in full bloom. The kids get so excited every time they see one and love to pick them! :o) We've had a small bouquet on our table for about a week now, but many more have opened up in the last few days, so we went on a "lion hunt" today.

We have large bunches of them blooming by the creek, and even though we picked lots, you hardly even notice they're missing because we left about half in each clump for people driving by to enjoy. The bright sunshine wasn't the best for taking pictures, but here's a few from our adventure . . . :o)

Peter took his responsibility of carrying the flower jug quite seriously. :o)

Awww! :o) Them's my munchkins!

And the fruit of our labors--a beautiful bouquet that smells as lovely as it looks!

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the Word of our God shall stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8