I've moved!

Many things have changed since the month of May--including my blog! I've moved to a new design and new address!

www.delightinginhim.com

To stay up to date on my latest events in my life, visit me via the above link!

It's been forever!

But there is a reason! :)

I know. It's been forever since I've posted anything here. I've been slightly occupied with a few others things that are involved with this event: Luke & Serena--Wedding Day--May 21, 2011.

And it's almost here! Less than a week! I can hardly believe a year has gone by already!

And yes, it will probably be a while before I'm back to blogging. First wedding week, then honeymoon week, then moving week. I'm looking forward to all three!!! :)

I'm ready to move in!

I'm soooooooo excited!!! Luke and I NOW have a house in Colorado Springs!!!!!! That was one of the super huge, major things to get accomplished before May and it's done! Found, signed, completed and finally ours!

And.....I love it (Luke does too!!)!!!! Luke was looking for something large enough that I would have space to continue my business and hold my office, sewing room and inventory! And he found it! It even has an unfinished basement that will hold all my shelves with supplies and inventory! It's perfectly fantastically wonderful!!!!! God provided just the home for us in His perfect timing!!!

And......I can't wait to move in!!! Last week Dad and I drove out to Colorado Springs with a carload of stuff. As Dad put it, "It didn't even make a dent in my stash." Hmmmm...I think it did! I have a couple empty shelves! :) Anyway, once I packed a few things, I was ready to pack up the rest of my stuff and move in!!! And in less than two months, I can do just that!!! I can't wait!!!!

Take a quick tour with me.....:)

Walk in the front door to the living room with a vaulted ceiling--love that!!! Luke and I looked at houses similar to that layout and loved it, although I wasn't sure if we'd get a house with that! :)

Now walk from the living room to the beautiful, large kitchen & dinning room...can't wait to start filling those cabinets!!!!

And that leads to the family room right across from the kitchen

From the family room, walk through the hallway and you'll find the one bedroom on the first floor

Now, let's go upstairs....:) This part I really, really love!! :) I've never ever had an "upstairs" as in second story upstairs and my sisters and I always thought that would be so fun! My Grandma insists that I'll get tired going up and down all the time and while that may be the case, I'm going to totally enjoy it once I move in!!! :)

This wall I'm so excited about! I know, I know--it's just a wall! BUT, it's the stairway wall that I plan to hang a collage of photos--and yes, I already have some of those planned photos boxed and ready to move to Colorado!! :)

Once you reach the small hallway upstairs, walk into the master bedroom (which is large enough to fit in Luke's cal. king size bed....just barely!) with adjoining bathroom.

And this is the ULTRA wonderful part I love---a HUGE walk-in closet!!!! :) :) And, not only is there one....

But, two walk-in closets!! Whoever lived here before or built this house must have had a ton of clothes!!! I have plenty, but ummmm, I know both Luke and I don't have two huge closets worth! :)

Walk out into the hallway to a bathroom on the left, stairs on the right and two bedrooms ahead!

And then into one bedroom---all the bedrooms have huge closets!! Which in my mind, you can never have too much closet space! :)

And then the second bedroom---just about every room has a ceiling fan! I'll put that long handle feather duster to good use! Most Colorado homes don't have air conditioning (including this one), so there's an abundant supply of ceiling fans. Apparently it doesn't usually get warm enough to warrant air conditioning. That will be something new to me; you could never live in SW Kansas in the summer without air conditioning!

Now, walk down one more hallway to the loft that is another room I love!!!

That even has a window that looks out at Pikes Peak! Granted, there is a tree in the neighbor's yard that partly blocks it, but....it's still there!!! :)

Look over the loft short wall to the living room and front door below!!! I soooo love this photo!!! :) Well, actually being there in person is better, but since I can't be there yet, I'll just look at the photos!! :)

And I'm ready to drop everything, start packing and loading in Kansas and unloading in Colorado! Only two more months!!!! :) Soon!!! :)

Cattle, wheat field, Oklahoma and flip flops!

Such as this week.

I was in the house all day. (yeah, I know...no big surprise there! ;)) Anyway, I took out several loads of trash out to the dumpster and noticed the cows out behind the garden on the wheat field. Dad has been running cattle out there for several weeks, so it wasn't anything new to see them there.

I walked back in the house and proceeded to finish what I was doing and then it dawned on me. There's cattle outside, behind the garden, on the wheat field. Didn't Dad just tell me last week that he took the cattle off there and wasn't going to run them back out there???

Maybe he changed his mind. I looked out the kitchen window only to see the temporary fence he had up at one time was down. Uh oh. And Dad? Well, he was in Oklahoma for the day. So, why did the cows choose today to get out???

So my call to Dad went like this, "Are there supposed to be cattle on the wheat?"

Dad, "No."

Me, "Well, guess what? There are now! Where are you at? Are you on your way home?"

Dad, "No, I'm still a couple hours away. How many? They must have gotten through some fences. You're going to have to run them back in the corral."

Sure, just run them back in the corral. Most people find it hard to believe I live on a farm or that my sisters and I used to help Dad work cattle. But, it's true. Admittedly, it's been years since I've done it and as one person so accurately announced in church one Sunday morning, "There's this young lady living at Quincy's farm who doesn't help him with cattle." Well, guess what? That's about to change! ;)

I had walked outside while I was talking to Dad and Austin was in the yard (our next door neighbor) with his dog. Help was in sight!!!! I asked him if he would be able to help me round up the cows and get them in. His response, "Sure!"

I went back in the house for sunglasses and shoes. I've been grilled since very young to ALWAYS wear closed toe shoes when working with cattle and horses. Hmmm......shoes. I briefly debated this dilemma. I don't own tennis shoes. And I'm not wearing my good black boots out in a filthy field and corral. Soooo......it's gonna have to be flip flops!

Austin and I walked out into the corral and discovered that the cattle had broken through a gate, which would require repair to hold them back in there once we rounded them up. Austin said he could fix it (thank goodness!), but he needed wire and a post. Ok. Another call to Dad to find out where he kept that stuff.

Gate mended thanks to Austin. Now, to get the cattle. They happened to be clear at the opposite end of the field and I decided that we were not walking all the way out there to bring them back. Austin commented to me that now was the time he needed his horse here. Yeah, I agree. The next best thing? Dad's four wheeler! Worked splendidly!

Thankfully Austin has worked on a farm before and is familiar with repairing fences, herding cattle and driving four wheelers. About the only thing I did was call Dad multiple times as he was explaining to me the what and where with fences, gates and cattle.

I'm thankful I caught the cattle out there before they wondered who knows where. And so thankful Austin was here. He was just getting ready to leave when his dog came over to play with Lady and at that moment I walked outside. Perfect timing! If I would have noticed the cows out five minutes later, Austin would already have been gone! Praise God He worked through everything!

And....the flip flops worked! I still have toes!! ;)

Dustful of memories

Dusting. It's a chore in any house that needs to be done. It's the one cleaning job I like and dislike at the same time.

I like it because it's quiet. It lets me think, make mental to-do lists or organize my day while I'm doing something else. I can carry my ipod in my pocket, turn on music, a book or program and make my way from room to room with a dust cloth and dust brush. Why do I dislike it? Come on, you know how I stay away from dirt and dust as much as possible!! ;)

Nothing was different this week as I put on gloves, grabbed my dusting tools and started in the kitchen with the ceiling fan and skylight. I really, really love the dusting brush I have because it has a handle about 18" long that allows me to reach the the ceiling fan and high places (ok, I admit--I STILL end up standing on a chair in addition to that, but still...it helps!) and yet the handle isn't long enough that I hit everything behind me as I'm working.

As I'm working, one thing that crosses my mind is that I really should add this wonderful little cleaning tool to my wedding registry list. It's something I'll put to good use. I've already made note of it on my "Will Need" list when I move, but it would be a good registry item. Hmmmm...I'll have to take another look at Bed, Bath and Beyond. :)

This particular dusting brush we've had for years and it has memories all of it's own. It was one that Grandma had given to Mom for Christmas one year at my uncle's in Denver. The funny thing is that that particular brush didn't make it home with us; it ended up staying there accidentally and Grandma ended up buying Mom another one.

It was that same brush that us girls loved being able to dust with. Perhaps because of the pink and purple colors in it?? Mom never totally loved it like us girls did. She claimed that it was only "brushing" the dirt from one place to the next. Not dusting it up and getting rid of it. She preferred to use a dust cloth. Our dusting habits slightly differed from hers. But ultimately, the house still got dusted efficiently every week.

The handle has been bent in half and straightened many times. It's gone behind the fridge and under the stove to collect items out of reach. It's dusted the clock high on the wall every week. And it's the very same one that dusts off the entry way hanging light that Luke constantly hits his head on every month.

It's just a dusting brush. It's old. It's well used. It's been washed, hit against the side of the house to rid it of the dust it's gathered and had Endust sprayed on it too many times. But it holds memories in addition to the dust. Every time I pick up that brush, the thought runs through my head, "Mom didn't like this as much as a dust cloth."

And every time that I dust something with it instead of a dust cloth, I can't help but think, "Mom wouldn't have dusted this with this."

It still collects dust. That filthy, fluttery stuff. But it's also collected memories all of its own through the years. Maybe I'll replace this one with a new one for Dad to keep and pack this old pink and purple one to take with me to Colorado. Wonderful memories that it holds!

Hmmmm.....:)

Two months....

...until I get to marry this wonderful guy that I love!
...until all the plans put into place over the last ten months become reality!
...until I'm living in Colorado permanently!

Only TWO months left!! (See the last two months of details here...)

Photo credit: Heartland Photography

A cute little helper!

A while back, Erinn and I were working at the Learning Center, cutting letters, laminating posters, etc. And a little helper named Noah was there too! ;)

To keep him busy, I started to teach him to throw away the trash. What an easy job! With only one time showing him to throw the extra paper in the trash, he knew exactly what to do. He would come over to me, do the sign language for "more" (Erinn's taught him soooo much!!!) and I would hand him the trash.

Then he would walk over to the trash can, stretch up as high as he could and throw it in there!! What a super accomplishment for him!! Then he'd come back and sign for "more". Ahhhhh.....he's soooooo sweet!!! I love him to pieces!!! :)

"more!"

Here's the trash; throw it away!

Ok, this was the short trash can--we had two. The other one was taller than he was and with a swinging lid! Which he still managed to reach up and throw the paper inside! Smart little boy!!!

Such a cutie!!! :)

And yes, he loves my sunglasses!

What's new in Dodge?!?!?!

Granted, not a ton of world news happens here in western Kansas, but recently there was the grand opening of the brand new event center and convention!! Jena happened to be home that weekend and so we toured the building! Quilt the facility and very neat to see!

gotta love those camera in the mirror pics!! ;)

quite amazing!!!

And since they were handing out free popcorn and pop,
we couldn't leave without our share!!! :)

The balcony is pretty neat too!!!

ice skating!!

fyi--this would be a PERFECT place for a wedding reception!!!
It's beautiful!!!!

Really?! I really thought I was losing my mind!

My goal is never to lose my mind. But there are times when it seems like that has happened. Like this particular moment.

I had been walking back and forth between the kitchen and schoolroom several times, my mind on a million things running through my head when I saw this on my way out of the kitchen. I took a few steps back thinking, "Did I put that can of Mt. Dew there?"

On my last trip through the kitchen I had just opened a can of that favorite drink of mine, but I didn't do that with it, did I? And no one else in this house touches that stuff!

I turned to look at Dad who was sitting on the couch and saw his smiling face! Ahh, ha! The culprit! He's trying out some tacky tape to hold up fabric for my wedding reception and he's testing the weight. And it's working--that can has been up there for five days and it's still in the same exact spot!

Sometime I may question his methods of operation, but the end result is always just as I want/need it to be! So in figuring out the best way to drape fabric and lights for the reception--I'll leave it entirely up to him! He knows the effect/picture I'm trying to create and I have no doubt he'll know just how to do it!

To stay up-to-date on the latest wedding events, check out my wedding blog!

I LOVE my Sunday School kids!!!

You already know I love teaching! I love working with the kids and being involved in their lives. And I love their positive, innocent outlook on life! And I couldn't help but laugh this morning!

I was in the kitchen getting some things for class and Felicity walks in, sees me and says, "Miss Serena....I'm waiting for you!!"

Lol!!! Apparently she'd been in my class room, discovered me missing and went searching to where she knew I would be!

Yogurt Fruit Parfaits

For a quick, easy and healthy breakfast treat, try these parfaits!

Yogurt Fruit Parfaits

vanilla yogurt
mixed fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
granola
small cups

In a small punch or juice cup, layer yogurt, fruit mixture, granola, yogurt, fruit mixture and sprinkle granola on top.

I usually use vanilla yogurt, but I've used other flavors that I've had on hand such as strawberry, cherry or blueberry. I usually buy a bag of frozen mixed berry fruit and thaw that for the fruit layer. When thawed, it creates its own juice and works perfectly with the yogurt. But you can use fresh fruit as well.

The granola that I use is some I make, but it can be purchased granola or other yummy crunchies!

These are best made fresh that morning and don't keep longer than 24-48 hours!

Red & pink or Blue & white?!?!?!?!

Those of you who know me, know that I decorate different areas of our house for each seasons. I'm a stickler on issues like this--certain decor items stay up for a certain amount of time and then they come down as the season is over. Christmas doesn't stay up until the middle of January and spring doesn't go up until the middle of March. That's just the way it is!

However, Valentine's Day is a little bit different. It comes at a time when I already have a houseful of snowmen and snowy items up which need to stay up from January until March. February 14th is right smack in the middle of that seasonal arrangement!!

So the question always becomes.....do I take down the snow scenes and put up red and pink hearts for a couple of weeks and then put back up the snow scenes? Or do I put away the snow stuff and leave up the red and pink decor until I put up spring? But that's leaving up all that Valentine's Day stuff for a month after the celebration day has passed!!!

Some years I break out the all the red and pink colored hearts and some years it remains boxed up. It's a dilemma I face every year. Yeah, I know what you're thinking--what's the big deal?! True, it's not a life or death situation, but still......

This year? A compromise. All the snowy teddy bears and trees stayed up, but just got moved around slightly to accommodate the red roses and Valentine hearts. And next week? Things will just shift slightly to remove the red and pink and go back to the blue and white. That will work!! :)

February spells C-H-E-R-R-Y C-H-E-E-S-E-C-A-K-E

I warned you this was going to be a monthly blog feature!! ;)

But it's true. Every year around Valentine's Day, I usually end up making cherry cheesecake. It's not something I make all the time, so it's a treat to have this month.

Awwwww!!!!!

Pink roses from Luke--an early Valentine's gift!!!! :) :) :) ♥ ♥ ♥

A beautiful snowstorm!

This is the first really significant snowstorm we've received--with really COLD temps. Like -2 with a wind chill way below that! Brrrrr!!!!! Watching the snow fall, was beautiful--they were such large, pretty flakes swirling around in the air! We ended up with six or seven inches.

Yep, Dad's still out there keeping an eye on cattle!

I couldn't resist!

I'm always on the look out for various items that I find while shopping that I can incorporate into my kid's Bible teaching. The kids enjoy being involved in the Bible story lesson and being able to act out parts of it are some of their favorite times.

In Hobby Lobby I discovered these two long skinny boxes that I couldn't resist leaving the store without.

A coloring wall. Can't you just see Joshua and the Israelites marching around this wall once a day for six days in the battle of Jericho? And then on the seventh day marching seven times and the walls come crashing down?!?!?!

And especially when I discovered that it was reduced to this price, then it was a must-buy! :)

Then this. Noah's Ark, of course. And origami. I love it. It looks so fun! And of course one of my favorite Bible stories to teach. I won't even mention how many other Noah's Ark crafts, lessons, activities fill my closet....;)

But don't the characters look soooooo neat?! And fun to fold the paper and put together?? They do to me!!! :)