We have our first casualty from our recent flooding.....the freezer!  It took 6 days to die, but die it has!  Our meat has been moved to bestie's house and the repairman called, however, the cost to repair was going to be almost the cost of a new freezer, so we've ordered the new one, going from chest back to an upright.  A platform will be built to, hopefully, ensure its staying dry in the future.

We're pretty certain that parts of our furnace will need repairing, as well.  We'll find that out sometime next week.

Checking our her new bunny Grandma made her from Amanda Keey's pattern "Briar Bunny."

 

He's her sleeping buddy when she spends the night with Gma and Gpa.

Such a sweet pattern and perfect size for a toddler!

Still a lot of work to be done in the basement, but, thankfully, the storms seems to have subsided and things are looking a bit better!

Happy, Happy!!

Just the sweetest face!

So much for a nice quiet Memorial Day weekend!  Friday night was non-stop thunderstorm and rain.  When we got up the basement was dry, 10 minutes later, 3 inches of water (which pretty much equaled what the outside had received)!  That is usually all that we get, so we did our usual clean-up and prep and went about our day.  I ended up with a massive migraine that included nausea like I hadn't had in years!!

The weather quieted down and we spent the evening with Great-Great Grandma.  We were looking forward to our little L's dedication on Sunday and went to bed fairly secure in the condition of the basement and excited for our family time the next day.  I remember waking up a few times and hearing it rain, but didn't think much of it.  Oops, big mistake!!

Around 4:00 am I heard a strange beeping and then a crash.  I woke hubby up and told him.  At about the same time, we realized it was our chest freezer beeping and that we'd better check things out.  This is what we saw...........

Now, granted, we have an old-fashioned basement, so it's not pretty, but it was semi-organized!  The water came up so fast and high that it actually picked up and moved the chest freezer. We got the sump pump going and started hauling!  We were forced to throw away a lot of stuff (which needed done anyway!) and it took several days to sort through some of it.

After about an hour and a half of cleaning, throwing, etc., we finally broke for breakfast and a little rest.  Hubby came in the livingroom from eating his breakfast and looked out our south window.  He made a funny sound and then asked me if I was seeing what he was seeing.  I looked and saw water in the fields farther up than I ever had, including 1993 and 2008! We decided we had to go sight-seeing!

This was what we saw when we popped over our hill!  I've never seen it up to that first curve before.

The road disappeared!

It was rushing fast!

The view from the top of our hill.

Looking the other direction

This was a first!  We'd never seen water in the field's to the east.

The view from the very top of the hill before our house.  We had lake front property for awhile!

We had a bit of a break to go to church for L's dedication.  We found out that a lot of people had water and some that had never had water in their basements before (including my in-laws!).

Just about time to go to church!

Making their commitment to raise her according to God's ways

The family!

4 generations!

It was a wonderful family time!  We were pretty exhausted by the time we were done, though, and knew we'd better get home to check out the situation.  

Things seemed to be getting better and then we watched the evening newscast!  They were predicting heavy rain....again!  We decided to call in the besties and have them help up get the freezer up on blocks and clean up what was left.  

Thankfully, we didn't have anymore heavy rain that night, but woke up to 3 inches or so yesterday morning.  They are predicting heavy rain again late tonight and especially tomorrow.  

I totally see why water is a picture of judgment!  It's awful to deal with!  

Romans 1:18-32 (NASB77)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

This passage of Scripture is often a "go-to" in regards to homosexuality, but it's been popping into my head for a variety of other reasons.

In a recent Bible study, the idea of our universe being one of "opposites" really stuck out at me.  If there is short, there must be tall.  If there is wide, there must be narrow.  If there is good, there must be evil. And on and on.  In Romans 1, it says that God gave them over to degrading passions, from the natural to the unnatural. 

A quick look at our culture reveals that it is not only in the areas of sexual purity that we have exchanged the natural for the unnatural. 

1) Giving birth.  No longer is it a natural function for a woman to give birth, it has become a medical situation in need of a doctor, pain killers, and far too often, surgical intervention.  I'm not saying that sometimes those things are warranted, and Praise God for the knowledge He has given to others in order to handle those dangerous situations, but for the most part, they are not necessary interventions.  Scheduling inductions or, worse yet, c-sections for the convenience of either the mother or the doctor is ridiculous.  A woman's body was created to give birth.  While there will be pain, a woman was created to be able to handle the pain.  If a woman is taught what to expect and simple relaxation techniques, her pain can/will be lessened by amazing degrees. Alas, in our culture, we have exchanged the natural for the unnatural when it comes to birth.

2)Breastfeeding.  A woman's body is created to breastfeed.  No mixing man-made formula.  No making sure it's the right temperature.  The body creates what the child needs.  It miraculously creates the perfect nutritional milk for the child at their different stages.  Our culture has decided that breastfeeding is somehow sexual in nature and, therefore, more unnatural that feeding formula.  How ludicrous! 

3)Medication.  We have traded natural remedies, herbs, plants, essential oils, for man-made, almost always dangerous, pharmaceuticals.  We put people on addictive narcotics that create far more problems than they fix.  We have people becoming criminals, breaking into pharmacies and people's homes to get prescription drugs.  These drugs alter our minds and our bodies!  God created many, many naturals things that keep a person's body in balance and healthy.  In fact, if we were eating the way God commanded, we would all be much healthier to begin with. 

4)Schooling our children.  It is not natural for kids to be segregated with children their own age 8 hours of every day.  Life is not segregated.  Children learn by example, not by peer pressure or following the lead  of another immature child.  Children should be with a wide variety of people regardless of age, gender, or race.  It is a parent's job to teach their children, not a stranger they will only know for 9 months out of a year.  That teacher, regardless of how wonderful they are, cannot truly know the strengths and weaknesses of your child.  They rarely can steer a child in the direction best suited for that child. 

These are just off the top of my head.  We have become an unnatural world, worshipping the created rather than the Creator.  We worship athletes, scientists, doctors, and experts instead of giving credit where credit is due.  God is behind the athlete's abilities, the scientist's discoveries, the doctor's healing skill, and the expert's knowledge. God gives us gifts and talents for His glory, not our own, and certainly not to be worshipped by others. 

Colossians 1:13-18 (NASB77)
For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.

The weather has been wonderful around here lately!  So very welcome, given the late spring we've had.  My heart aches for those in Oklahoma, though.  What a terrifying and devastating event down there!  I can't even imagine the sadness and fear, yet, their determination to rebuild and move forward is a wonderful thing to see.

We've had a busy couple of weeks.

We had the girls pictures taken.....

I went to my first homeschool conference in about 6 years.  Middle daughter is already beginning her preparations for schooling the girls and she had never been, so I went along.  It was a very informative weekend!  I learned quite a bit, things I wish I had known when my kids were younger.  

While we were there, Grandpa babysat E.  Oh, what fun they had!!  

See all that dirt??  Oh, boy, did they have fun! 

A beautiful Iowa spring evening! Glorious!

If all the snow had "stuck", we would have ended up with 9" of snow on May 3rd and 4th!  As it was, we woke up to this.....

Oh, so beautiful, but seems to have my internal clock thrown way off!  Thankfully, the last little bits melted off yesterday and we reached 67 degrees.  This week looks rainy again, but we'll stay in the 70's, so that's a bit easier to adjust to! 

We had a wonderful time this past Saturday, finally getting to celebrate March birthdays.  We threw in Mother's Day and Father's Day for good measure.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants in the state.  It's just over an hour drive, but, oh so worth it!!  They serve German food, family style.  We enjoyed each others company, the good food and drink.  I have a wonderful bunch of kids!

Congratulations!!

Our beautiful middle girl!

My baby, all grown up!

"Let's go for a walk, Grandma!"

Precious!

Springtime glory!

Our son-in-law graduated from college this morning. We are so very proud of him and excited to see what the Lord has in store for them in the coming years.  They are driving back home to this.....

Winter just does not want to go away....

Friends to the north and west have much, much more than this.  It certainly has been an interesting spring!