Life in the Country!

"Blossom" says 'Hi!'. :)

The flowers are blooming!

"Hudson" :)

Oaks trees reflected in one of the many ponds in the area; this one is along our gravel road. Which reminds me... Wednesday afternoon Ana and I went for a walk down our gravel road. It was an amazingly windy day, and the wind blowing through the trees made it really hard to hear anything. Well, we walked down the road a ways and then turned around to walk back - and realized that there was a farmer (with a BIG smile on his face) in an old pickup driving slowly behind us!! :O We had NO idea anyone was behind us! Ahhh! It was embarrassing, but pretty funny too!! I guess we gave him something amusing to tell his wife when he got home! :D

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

The Cathedral Quartet singing an old hymn a Capella! Beautiful!
~Alyssa

Sunday Afternoon Concert...

It was a treat to hear the Garms family in concert yesterday afternoon at a little church not too far from us. We first heard them last year and really enjoyed their music. They are so joyful in sharing the love of God with others! Some friends from our church went to the concert too, and we even saw and visited with a couple that had been at the Booth Brothers concert a couple weeks ago! :D

Good music has a way of lifting the spirit and bringing joy and encouragement. So, we love to go to a good music concert whenever we can. :)

~Alyssa

An Afternoon with Friends

These pictures are from this last Sunday, when we spent the afternoon with the S. family.

The girls visiting before lunch. :)

The guys waiting for lunch.

Their house reminds us a little of the New England decorating we saw in Vermont. :)


Nick the dog. :)

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

Here is a white cotton & eyelet dress from the1830s.

This is a relatively simple dress at first glance. But the close up picture of the bodice (below) shows lace with ruching in between that make a sort of yoke, with piping along the top of the sleeve.
Very pretty indeed!

~Alyssa

My Hope...

"My hope lives not because I am a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died. My trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, He is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and what He is now doing for me."

~C.H. Spurgeon

A Lovely Spring Day!

I took this picture yesterday afternoon when we were outside working in the garden.
It was so pretty out!
~Alyssa

An Interview with the Bradys

We found this interview with Jim Brady (one of the Booth Brothers) and his wife Melissa
on YouTube and really enjoyed it! They seem like such a sweet couple who are good friends with each other. Someday it would be fun to meet her. :)
Here is their website.

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

An old picture of us girls with a few of our cousins. :)
~Alyssa

The Booth Brothers in Concert!!

The Booth Brothers left to right: Michael Booth, Jim Brady, Ronnie Booth.

Through the years we've enjoyed listening and watching the Booth Brothers on Gather music DVDs, so we were excited when we found out they would be giving a performance in a town only 40 minutes from us! Saturday evening was the concert and it was a real treat!

Michael Booth reading the Bible between songs.

We were really impressed and encouraged by the way they incorporated the Bible into their concert, sharing the gospel message and standing firm on the authority of the Bible throughout the evening. At the end of the concert, Michael spoke for about 20 minutes or so, giving a very clear explanation of salvation. It was so refreshing!

Us girls with Mr. Michael Booth.
All three of the guys were so very kind and friendly!



Here are two samples of their singing I found on YouTube (they are from a Gaither concert). :)

~Alyssa

Evening Colors...

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

This is an old picture of my cousin Megan and me (in back). We loved to help Grandma or our Aunts bake, and we were given the beaters to lick off at the end!
~Alyssa

A Find!

When I was staying with Grandma, I found this ironing board at the thrift store. It is a very unusual one - it has two parts that can be folded up or down, changing its shape. In the above picture there is a triangular piece folded down to make a point at the front end, and a rectangular part on the left side is up to make the board wider.

In this picture the triangle is up and the long part is folded down on the side to make the ironing board into a narrow rectangle! This will make ironing yardage much easier. :)
Has anyone seen anything like this? I really like it!

Edited to add a few more pictures...

Here is what it looks like up-side-down.


Close up of one of the rectangular side piece's hinges.


The triangular piece folded back...

..and laying flat.
I can't find a brand or company name on it anywhere. But it doesn't seem to be homemade either.

~Alyssa

He is Risen!

“..Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.

And have the keys of hell and of death.”

Revelation 1:17b-18

“He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!”

~ Alfred H. Ackley, 1887-1960