Hope Continually -- Psalm 71:14

"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."  Isaiah 61:11 This week, my day lilies bloomed.  Just as the earth can bring forth something beautiful in our lives to enjoy, so will the Lord bring forth good things in our life. Righteousness.  What a wonderful thing to have in your life.  For without righteousness is sin.  Darkness.  Hurt.  Anger.  God's righteousness is pure and holy.  And never fails.  Someone may have failed you this week as a friend...but God will never fail you. Praise.  Something that makes life good.  Take time to praise Him today.  Take time to praise your kids.  Take time to praise a friend.  Praise...something that makes life beautiful. Have a great weekend!

There are many things that remind me of my grandma who is in Heaven. Pickled eggs are just one of many sweet memories.  I made pickled eggs with my girls a couple weeks ago and here they are. :)  Sierra couldn't wait to eat "purple eggs". The hardest thing is waiting the five days!  Pickled Eggs INGREDIENTS: 1 (15 ounce) can red beets 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup cold water 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 whole cloves 1 small cinnamon stick 6 hard-cooked eggs Directions: 1. Pour the beet juice into a medium-size pot. Stir in the brown sugar, vinegar, water, salt, cloves, and the cinnamon stick. Place the pot over a medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2. Place the beets into the liquid mixture and let it cook for an additional 2 minutes to allow the beets to heat. 3. Place the hard cooked eggs (with the shells removed) in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour the liquid and beets into the container with the eggs....

Do you remember this post?  Organizing Your TV Area   I took Jenny's idea and wanted to share my results with you. :) This was my before picture.  (I forgot to take a picture so this is one from Christmas.)  We had a small entertainment stand, X-Box and Wii games on the sides and a basket to hold the remotes.  We also had to have this extra table to hold our antennae. The cords were all over in the back and dust just seemed to collect. Before picture. I read somewhere on a blog to repurpose furniture items and you can this way maximize your space and minimize your items.  So my thought:  Eliminate the entertainment stand and side table and repurpose the buffet for that purpose. Remember my project of staining my buffet...now you know the madness behind project. ;) This was the mess.  (It was more dusty...I just didn't want you to see all the dust bunnies I had let collect!  LOL)  The back side panels h...

I took this photo on Sunday morning before our service. :) A banner outside is a great way to capture people's attention as they pass by. Bunting, flags, yellow ribbon and flowers.  Love the simple! Jenny changed out the color of flowers on the wreath, added yellow ribbon and flowers and flag. Our coffee bar at our Welcome Center.  (We even served iced coffee as a special treat. :)) The front lobby.  Special patriotic bulletin. *Thank you to Jenny Musser for her work and expertise in decorating for our church events.*

I love this time of year.  The days are warm.  The nights are cool.  It is a fantastic time to work on projects around the home.  Here are a few I have been tackling. :) I painted our new shutters and my hubby hung them .  I love the pop of color they add! This was not a hard project - just a long one!  I stained this buffet.  It was unfinished wood when someone gave this piece of furniture to us.  This is the finished product. :)  One coat of wood conditioner, three coats of stain and two coats of protective finish.  With all the drying time in between and after! This was a little garden area I started a couple years ago.  This was the first year.  I cut all the pieces to build these planter boxes and my hubby put them together. This year, I made some changes by taking out the hay bales, building more raised beds and adding in pavers.  Nevada is pretty difficult to grow things. I use ra...

Last week, I bought some pickling cucumbers that were on sale at Marketon.  I tried my first batch of refrigerator pickles yesterday and had such a good time!  I can't tell you how they taste because it takes ten days before you can eat them. :)   It is a very simple recipe and process.  It would be a fun kitchen summer project for your kids.  My Summer is my kitchen buddy and she loved it.  (I just had to keep my eye on her that she didn't try to eat one!) Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles 12 - 3-4 inch pickling cucumbers 2 cups water 1 3/4 cups white vinegar 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed 1/2 cup white sugar 8 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 1/2 tbsp. coarse salt 1 tbsp. pickling spice 1 1/2 tsp. dill seed 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste 4 sprigs fresh dill weed In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed and red pepper flakes. ...

Keeping Your Home Office Organized *Guest Post by Mrs. Jenny Musser* We have a room right next to the front door and when you come into our house, it's one of the first things you see.  It is our office/music room so it has a lot of "stuff" in it.  Today, I'm going to share a few ways to keep the clutter under control. 1.Mail. As soon as I get the mail, I go through it right then.  I throw away any junk mail, open bills and put them in my organizer. I keep bills, stamps, my checkbook, a few envelopes, pens and cash that I have set aside for any purchases all in one spot.  It makes it simple to pay bills. 2. Books. We have a bookcase but it is not big enough to hold all of our books.  So I had to find another way to store them.  You know that I love baskets and this is how I store extra books and also piano books that I use often.     3. Desk. Our desk is small so all I have on it is the computer and a box for ...

Friday, we took a few hours away and went to Galena.  We visited the visitor center, had lunch and took a couple hikes.   Someone always has to be the funny guy... Love the beautiful flowering plants. Summer has almost caught up with Sierra.  Only two pounds difference. :) Love this breathtaking scene! Yes, we read every sign. ;) Could sit and listen to the water for days. :) Ha!  Sierra's "George Washington" pose, as she calls it. We ended the hikes with family devotions in the trees. :)