Some long days

Sorry for the extended blog absence again! I don't intend to make you sweet folks back home get worried and make a long distance phone call to check on us... we just got busy again. With some warmer weather we've been putting in some long days trying to get things done around here, with success I'm greatly pleased to say!

I just now came in from the garden with the kids. We tilled and pulled up what seemed like miles of roots and junk to make room to plant more corn and some tomatoes and whatever else I get the urge to plant. My sweetie has put in a request for home made pickled peppers this year so I have to plant bunches of those. So far our garden looks really good. The potato plants are doing good but ants are trying to destroy them now and the battle is on! I don't have any tomatoes in the ground yet but they are in the greenhouse patiently waiting. The kids and I enjoyed standing back for a little while tonight before we came in to soak our blistered hands and seeing the progress we've made out there.... they made me promise to post pictures of the before and after soon.

We've also made lots of progress on our project of converting the screened in garage into a livingroom. All the junk has been hauled out of it and I'm painting the metal cabinets to make a room divider out of them since we can't put up a wall. We'll paint the walls next and I'm painting a futon frame a pretty copper color so we'll finally have comfortable seating for everyone. It feels kind of empty out there now after having those huge mountains of clutter for so long but now we go stand out there and imagine how nice it will be to have the space to work in and relax in... clutter free and nicely reasonably decorated. It's been a huge challenge for me to do this, especially since I happen to lack those wonderful girlie skills necessary to make things look "pretty". I'm learning though and have gladly accepted the challenge from my good friend Willie to do it without spending money. The only thing I've bought is a can of copper colored spray paint!! I'm stumped on what to do about curtains though.

Even with all the project work we've got going on we have been having some of the best times in our devotions every day!! The kids seem to have just gotten a fresh breath of interest, or somehow energized in our studies together and didn't even complain about revisiting our tabernacle studies. It's been wonderful to see the kids so full of zeal for the Lord lately, and to hear their prayers ring out in the morning and again at night. Jared has even been asking to give us a devotion from his studies several times and those are even better than I thought they would be! I am amazed sometimes at how the Lord speaks to the kids.... it's those times that I'm convinced life just can't get any sweeter than this.

Troy is doing good with his new job and seems to like it there. I'm glad, I would feel so awful if it turned out to be a job he really hated but only took so he could get the health insurance our family needs! They have asked him to put in at least 8 hours of overtime a week so he'll most likely be working 5 days a week to put in 48 or 56 hours depending on if they start working 12 hour shifts or not. I'm praying that the Lord will keep me healthy and full of the energy it takes to take good care of my sweet hunk O Honey when he's working that many hours, especially on the night shift like that.

Me and the kids aren't doing too bad with the night shift so far. It's rough on those days that we have to get up in the morning though, and I really really miss my prayer time in the garden early in the morning. There's just something about seeing the sun pop up over those trees as I offer up my first prayer of the day that jump starts my day like nothing else does.

Well, now that I've sat down for a bit and caught my breath from running the tiller and all that heavy work outside I have to get off of this computer and get to work on the inside chores. I hope everyone is having a great week and living a richly blessed life in the Lord!