Back to AA

A bit of time back in Ann Arbor lately

 as daughter-Laura and  husband-Joshua

 set in to making things come together

 in their new lodgings and work space. 

Since both John and I graduated

 from Concordia- Ann Arbor--  a LOOONNGG

 time ago- it has been fun to revisit the places....

     the Iconic- Big Blue

  Some clouds that match the Big Blue Sign

The Chapel at Concordia, Ann Arbor, MI

A great theme verse for the 2013-2014 school year

"I have told you these things, 

so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!

 I have overcome the world." (Jesus)

John 16:33

part of the art on the Chapel pulpit

Laura in her new office space in Kreiger Hall..

on the banks of the Huron River

a stand of evergreens on the River

May the Lord bless the new adventure

 in the fine state of Michigan!

Fall Prayer Nudges

Fall sightings around the house,

and some verses

 that keep surfacing to the top 

in reflection time

during the day.

Leaves of Gold  - an antique store find

"Be constant in prayer."

Romans 12:12

A door wreath swag

"I remember you constantly

 in my prayers night and day."

2 Timothy 1:3

            Late afternoon  September sun    Full Bloom

"I thank my God always when

 I remember you in my prayers."

Philemon 4

Fall color therapy

"We also thank God

 constantly for this."

1 Thessalonians 2:13

Blessed days to each of you,

Constance

Korah and Jared

A mid- September wedding back home in Indiana

brings together family-

siblings, cousins, and growing up friends.

Niece Korah- now Mrs. Jared DeArmond

Siblings- Left to Right

Lee Ann- #2

Connie- #1

Kim-#3

Teresa- #4

although us girls will vote our brother-Kim

 to be number ONE

 in our book

 He got to be the father of the bride for this event.

His one and only daughter.

My brother Kim and his lovely wife- Gina

Looking into the sun-

left to right-

Niece Ashlee with her daughter- Leighton

Daughter- Sara #3

Jessica#1 and Laura#2

The news Laura shared this weekend -

A baby for Laura and her husband- Joshua.

Due April 1, 2014.

What a blessing.

A visit to mom and dad's grave site

at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ossian, IND.

Placing some new flowers in their honor.

and missing them for this family event.

A time to be with Kate Graft also.

She was certainly a gift to my dad after mom died.

A chance to visit and catch up with cousin Derek also.

He works alot of weekends- s

o making it to these events is a challenge.

The colors of Fall through the car window

 headed to Decatur for the reception.

The beautiful poppy red of the bridesmaids

The happy newlyweds- Korah and Jared

a lovely bride

Silly Sisters

Precious time together

And in the morning this is what I found-

A Nest-

some things don't change.

And as we see the growing young adults,

with the Lord leading them-

forging new pathways-

 My prayer?

Book of Graces

Catching up.....

  

Telling about making the Book of Graces.

First of all - find a book that you like the print

 and color of the pages.

Maybe the color of the cover.

Although you will just see the edges.

Can keep it simple.

 Just folded pages in half- 

toward each other.

Started in the center and 

worked my way out to the edges.

The pages form a rolodex of sorts-

 ready for tucking in all sorts of things.

Printed off--- Book of Graces

in a font I liked.

Used distress ink to age the paper.

Then Mod Podge to add it to the page

Then took some Ann Voskamp quotes-

 from a retreat earlier this year

and placed them on card stock.

added some dimensional embellishments.

Kate Su made a beautiful project 

at Creative Haven last month.

Liz Murphy took prayers on slips of paper 

out of her prayer jar and

added cardstock to them

 and now they are easy to see -

 and easy to bring to prayer time.

Another guest made a book to hold greeting cards.

With a different fold,

 a book is ready to hold cards for a special

celebration event- 

Birthday,

Anniversary, or Just Because.

Found these cool door knobs at Anthropologie.
The finishing touch.
Just hot glued them in -
wrapped paper around the bolt
and slipped it into the space
in the spine.

Need to give credit to Monica Sabolla-Gruppa-

where I originally saw this idea..

Beautifully done and photographed.
in Somerset Magazine.
and the story in this blog post-

the-white-bench

Maybe you would like to make a Book of Graces?

9/16/13- Navy Yard Shooting in D.C.

What words are there to say at this time on a very sad day

 here in the Southeastern District and in our nation's Capital?

A Prayer-

“Do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cared for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations. – 
St. Francis de Sales.

A Bible Passage-2 Corinthians 1:3-5



³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

A Devotional thought-

In this Morning and Evening devotional, Charles Spurgeon observes a simple yet profound truth of the Christian life: no matter how low we sink, no matter what we do or what trials we face, God is always there:

God—the eternal God—is himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet “underneath” thee “are everlasting arms.” Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ’s great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as “the uttermost;” and to the uttermost he saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.” He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”—they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him avail nothing.”

Does knowing that we can never “be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”’ comfort you? How does that knowledge change how you approach situations in your life?

Carport Update- Details- 2

The challenge of this remodel was the small side space

 that we had to work with on either side of the garage door-

 in order to allow a car to come inside.

 Yes, that really is the plan for winter months-

 does beating scraping ice off at least one car.

Chairs will go into storage and the hang out space

will be vehicle ready.

But, here in Virginia that is really only Dec, Jan and Feb.

So I had been looking for some kind of storage for this space.

Requirements? old, peeling paint

 and no more than 13 1/2 inches wide-

 and would like it at least 8 feet long. 

Need storage and also work

 as a buffet or beverage station when entertaining.

No problem right?

Started looking in September 2012, 

and then finally in a warehouse in Lucketts, VA.

 spotted this in a back room
 with 3 other huge pieces of furniture sitting on top of it. 

Didn't have my measurements along, but came home and measured and called them back and bought it over the phone.

                13 1/2 inches wide- and 10 feet 2 inches long.

Well, the view is a little slanted here

 but you can see here-- it is really very long.

All criteria met.

The story as best as I have pieced it
 together is that this dealer--- 
German Favorite Antiques
 brings these out of factories in Germany, dating pre-1900 and 

sends these pieces back in containers to the U.S.

They now sell out of this space in Luckett's, VA.
Rust and Feathers

Well, this piece has 29 drawers.
 It was very dirty and took me
 an entire day to wash each drawer
 and rub with soap on the edges
 and bottom to make it easier to slide in and out.

The hand made piece has the drawers

 all notched and numbered to match 

the correct space in the piece. 

All drawers are for DH to organize
 and bring tools in that he wants
 closer for use than the shed out back.

That may take awhile-

 till the job is done to sort and make that all happen.

Beverage station ready to go- 
the white container has coffee cups
 and the black container has wine glasses.
What can I get you?

And then this piece.
Bought on the same day from a dealer down the street.
And the story came together,
 in many phone calls back and forth
 to make this work with the delivery person.
 Who, I am not kidding you-
 his name is Tom Cruise,
 and he had to make 2 trips back and forth-
 because we were 1/2 inch too tall
 to make this delivery work in one trip.

But, my other  dealer-  Leesburg Court of Shoppes, 
fell in love with this industrial shelving unit
 and bought it from the German Antiques dealer.
The pieces both came from the same container delivery-
 same factory-
 in Germany-
Went to two different antique venues in Northern Virginia
 and then ended back together again in our carport.
Just love the stories that go with old pieces.

Come on over and sit a spell.
 A bit more sanding and some painting- 
 and our very favorite term-
"We're getting there."

The dark green metal settee
 we got by the dumpster
 in our daughter's new apartment building.

Just needed a few screws and as good as new. 
A comfortable space to sit in the Fall -
morning, noon, and night.

and a touch of Fall to complete the carport- garage
redo update.