Hope Continually -- Psalm 71:14

  Last day of August 2021!  Wow!   We started our 14th year of home schooling. Our oldest turned 18 and went to Florida for college. It has been one year since my husband moved to Oregon. My husband turned 41. What a month!  Looking very much forward to the month of September and the start of fall!

  Well, here we finally are!  Sitting on our plane at the Portland Airport ready to head to Florida. As the flight attendants were doing their spill about the safety procedures, Addie started to cry.  The reality of leaving.  Actually leaving.   I hugged her and next thing we knew, there was the flight attendant giving her a bunch of Kleenex.  She asked if she was headed to college.   That was just the kindest gesture that meant so much.   One of the mountains tall enough to peek through the clouds. The river winding through the land. The sunrise from the sky. A snack and drink with my Bible reading. I love to have the window seat and look below at the landscape.  What a beautiful world the Lord created! The Rocky Mountains. So beautiful!  And blue skies to fly over them. :) Funny little cloud sticking up.  Rain welcomed us to Pensacola, FL!

  Last goodbyes with our family before Addie leaves for college. Our four daughters:  Addie-18, Autumn-15, Sierra-13 and Summer-10. Eric and I took Addie out for dinner to Cracker Barrel for her last night.  There's just something comforting about seeing the peg game, the flickering lamp and the surroundings.  Familiar before the unfamiliar. Addie and me. Addie and her dad. Summer was so sweet.  She painted this sign for her sister with the initials for Pensacola Christian College in their colors.  She also baked this cake and Autumn helped her decorate it. PCC stands for Pensacola Christian College and the eagles are their mascot. Four suitcases, two carryon suitcases and two bags. Addie and Sierra Addie and Autumn Addie and Summer Addie and her dad.  Saying goodbye at the airport in Portland.

Happy birthday to my niece, Melanie!  (On the right)   Hope you have a special day!  

  Saturday, I was reading my Bible and I heard this noise outside.  I thought, That sound sounds familiar.  Wait, I know what it is!  It is the fire inside the balloon heating up the air. Sure enough, I went outside and there were six balloons.  Close enough you could hear the flame when they turned it on. I wish it would have been a clear, sunny day so the photos would have been better.  But oh well.

  Saturday, we had a family work day to work on things outside. Raking the leaves that have already fallen from our willow tree - about 3/4 of our waste can!  Pick up any dog poop.  Pick up sticks. Autumn trimmed up some of the super long branches.  Some hung all the way to the ground! Of course, Max loved being outside with us. Sierra then mowed and I did the trimming.  Autumn also worked on trimming up the rose bushes.  They had gone crazy from the whole summer. Eric split a load of wood that we had picked up recently for bonfires. This happens when you are clumsy!! So, our little front yard looks awful.  In the spring, I applied weed control.  We had so many weeds and clover - it was insane!  Well, it did its job but I soon found out - there wasn't much grass there to begin with.  Saturday, we took a metal rake and tried to get up all that dead stuff to get rid of it.   Then I wet it all down.  Added some good soil on t...