The Promised Photo's of My New Hair Do =)

I just added the 3 pics above so you could see the hair color, and a cute one of Ali t'boot.

Ugh, my computer is being SUCH a pain! It won't let me add the other photos, or move them around. (arrgh.) So you'll have to live with these two.

I realize you can't see the color, so just take my word for it, it's blond. LIGHT blond. (not a full-on dye mind you, just highlights.) So there it is Hannah M. =)

I told you Laura, "shockingly" short, but it's growing on me. (no pun intended) And I love the highlights, so that makes up for the scalping.

Hope you're all lovin' summer, haven't hardly seen hide nor hair of Mr. Sun, but they say he's a comin'!

Enter Brilliant Title Here.

What girl doesn't delight in going through the contents of her hopechest? Or adding to it, new decorations, tea cups, picture/paintings, house wares, books, etc? I have long since filled my hopechest or "hope-less chest" as we laughingly call them, and have since purchased a large wicker chest just to hold the books I'm storing for my children some day! I also have some a couple of boxes of things such as china :) and other dishes.
This morning Ali and I went off to Second Chance, our local second hand store, to scout for deals, because being dutch, I'm a penny pincher, and love nothing more than finding good deals and buys. So you can possibly imagine my delight upon my discovery of this.

One of those beautiful candle holders, brand-spankin'-new, with all the glass holders intact, and not a dent or scratch in sight. They sell new for around $30.00. The cost of this one second hand? $6.99. (happy dance)

:)


See? I told you it was full. (The ribbons are only in there because I don't know where else to keep them. :)

Glass pitchers, old-fashioned glass butter dishes, elegant coffee cups...




A red, white and blue quilt made by my great-grandmother, stacks of crocheted washcloths I made last fall/winter. 30 to be exact. Along with several dish towels (some of them from Laura, they're my favorite ones dearie!) and decorations, and homemade candles.

I love going through my hope chest, hoping, dreaming, and yes, being content where the Lord has me right now. :) But it brightens my day, and cheers me up. What's your favorite item in your hope chest?

The first thing to pack in a hope chest, is faith. ~Sarah Bernady

Today is the Day that the Lord hath Made.

May the Lord's sweet hand square us, hammer us, and strike off all kinds of pride, self-love, world worship, and infidelity, so that He can make us stones and pillars in His father's house.
~Samuel Rutherford

Do Dreams Come true?

I say it depends on the dream. In this case, it has always been one of mine to have a set of china for my hope chest. Not just teacups, teapot etc., but the whole shabang.

So, as you can imagine, when my grandma called and said that my great-aunt Shirley had a full set of china she didn't have room for any longer, she heart did a little skip. But there were questions to be answered.

What was the pattern? Was it pretty? Was it chipped? Or pieces missing? And the big one, I have two other sisters that also have an interest in the china, and no guarantees that I'll even get it.

So it turn out the china is beautiful, it's a set for eight, with dinner plates, and dessert plates, and soup bowls, and dessert/ice cream bowls, and eight teacups + saucers, and a sugar and creamer, and veggie bowl and gravy boat, and we'd all like to have it.

Only fair way to see who gets it? Roll a dice.

Which we did. After dinner. So who got the china?

Me. So, like I said, do dreams come true? This one did.

A Day at the Beach...

...With my Sisters. In honor of the beautiful Saturday we had, the girls and I went for a picnic lunch at Birch Bay! Just Ali and Samantha and me. We had a great time taking pictures, laughing, and exploring the beach.

Jump. Just because it's sunny and warm. And cuz we felt like it.

Warm sand under my toes. No flip flops wanted.

Ali.

Me.

The two oldest.

"Let us then be true and faithful. Trusting, serving every day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory, will the toils off life repay." ~When We All Get To Heaven.

A Favorite Luther Quote.

The church needs to rid itself of all false glories that torture scripture by inserting personal ideas into the Scripture which lend to it their own sense. No! Scripture, Scripture, Scripture!

For me, constrain, press, compell me with God's word."

~Martin Luther

Top left and right hand corners, it says in Latin,

"In silentio et spe erit fortitudo vestra" translated; "In silence and hope will be your strength" quoted from Isaiah 30:15