The Meadow and the work!!!!

We closed on our house September 30!!! We are excited and tired.  It has been non-stop for 2 weeks now.  The gentleman we purchased the house from let us in early to start painting and moving things into the garages.  What a blessing that was for us.

Each day we would take a load to the new house on James Allen's trailer that our sweet little mini van was faithful to pull.  Did we use a U-Haul.  YES!!!! On Friday we picked up a U-Haul and loaded it Saturday with the help of a friend, my younger brother and my dad.  It was a blessing to have their help.  It is also humbling because you see how much "stuff" you don't need.  I will say this, we do have more "stuff" than the average family with homeschooling the kids and all of Lydia's medical supplies.  Okay, enough of the excuses......we've been purging since the move and it feels so good. ;-)

The kids think it is great living next to this beautiful cemetery.  They ride their bikes in it and it is a great place to take Lydia for walks.  

Here is a view of the front yard from the house.  At the end of that long driveway is the road to the outside world. ;-)  Katie is enjoying her walks to the mailbox.  There is something special about receiving a hand written letter in the mail.  I forgot to take a picture of the front of the house so I will do that soon.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and the "story" to go along with them.  I will be posting before and after pictures and look forward to your all's thoughts and comments.

Oh, by the way......... If you're wondering about the posts from 2012, I actually started this blog then but kept it private.  It was a place for me to vent my thoughts.  Feel free to read them or ignore......

House Hunting and Hunting and Hunting

It's amazing how you can watch the show House Hunters and think,  "Oh, I would have picked the other house." Well, we have been house hunting for a good solid 5 months and we FINALLY found a place to hang our hats. ;-)

After searching and searching and getting a new realtor we have a place we are going to call home.  Actually, we are naming it, The Meadow.  Why are we naming it?  Because for me, there is something about "naming" your home.  Making it your own, if you will.

James and I both love the country as do our kids and we have searched high and low for a mini farm or a large farm but the Lord did not open those doors for us.  The kids (as well as us) have been spoiled by living on 2 wonderful properties in Tennessee.  One of our favorite houses we dubbed, "The Farm" and the kids still love talking about their wonderful memories of being outside and playing with the Alpacas and taking care of things.  We wanted the kids to enjoying taking care of animals and harvesting their own gardens and we got to do those things on "The Farm" in Tennessee.

Many of you know we have a handicap daughter and our house hunt had to focused on her long term needs, as well as making sure the other kids would feel like this was their home also.  We fell in love with an old farmhouse not far from here and the kids LOVED it.  It actually reminded us a bit of Tennessee, the way the land laid in behind it (anything to remind us of Tennessee is always good).  It sat on over 4 acres and had potential to add 5 more including a large barn that James Allen was all to prepared to use for some animals.  The house was us.  James Allen and I love old homes, we always have.  The house couldn't have been more perfect accept for one thing, it wasn't a home for our handicap daughter.  Major construction would have had to been done to make it fit her needs long term and not to mention I would be on the second floor and have to come down steep steps to get to her in an emergency.  It broke our hearts as well as our kids.  They were going to have their woods to play in and plenty of trees to climb but we just couldn't do it.  Tears were shed on all our hearts.  We told the kids, "Keep praying the Lord has the house He wants us to have, we're just going to have to keep looking."

So, looking became a full time job for me.  About this same time the realtor we had been working with just didn't seem to have time to show us houses; around here house were flying off the market within days or sometimes hours of being on the market.  We decided to go "outside" our comfort zone and look in surrounding area's.  Through my mom and dad the Lord allowed us to find a wonderful realtor to work with, and work she did.

After putting an offer in on a few places and those offers not working out, I finally decided I was done looking.  It was to stressful and I was tired of being disappointed.  (I was working and not letting the LORD work)  I had found another place that I was just sure James Allen would love as well as I did .....BUT, he didn't.  UGH!!!! FINE!!! I'm really done this time. ;-)  That very same evening after we had a discussion about "what we needed in a home" I went back to the computer one. last. time.
There it was.  Just posted.  A ranch house with attached garage, detached garage (for James to "play" in), and over 1 acre PLUS a pool!!!! Woohoo!!!!! THIS IS IT!!!!! Only now, how do I bring up the house to James Allen after the "discussion" we had just had.  PRAYER!!! Seriously.  Price was also a factor and both of us wanted to stay in a certain price point.  This house was over it. :-( But it checked all the boxes.  I showed it to him and knew he would say no because of the price.  He looked at it and said, "Where is it located at?"  I showed him the map and he said, "That's great I'd only be 12-15 minutes to work and that would save us $75  month in gas.  Plus, that would put us at 30 minutes to Akron Children's for Lydia.  Set it up."  Happy Dance.........

We got in that week to see it and it was what we needed.  Notice, I didn't say what we wanted but what we needed.  I would be right across the hall from Lydia; no flying down the steps in an emergency to get to her.  The bathroom is on the same floor as her bedroom making bath time much easier.  We can wheel her out onto the front porch or back deck so she can be outside with us.  It has a pool for her to exercise in.  What about the other kids?  Well, they loved it as well.  We put an offer in and it was accepted.

Now the waiting for everything to finish up so we can close and start a new chapter.  Did we get the farm land we dreamed of, no, but that's ok.  We are getting the house that we need and that we can make our very own home.

Hopefully you will enjoy reading the blog and watching us transform it to a place we can use for the honor and glory of God.

Stay tuned.  Pictures will be coming soon.  Welcome to "The Meadows"

Same Book, different chapter and words.....

In "my world" I have a story to tell, but you also have a story in your world. Why is it, that we look for the "tears" in someone's life?  Meaning this, we just seem to gravitate to listening to someone's story...... their tragedy, their heartbreak, their sadness........

We sit back, read about someone on "FB" or their blog and we grab a box of kleenexes and say, "oh, that just touched me, they are so strong."  More often than not, we end up putting that person on a pedestal and keep glued to "learn" of anything new happening in their life.  While yes, there are moving stories out there, there should only be one story to really share........ "To God be the glory, great things He has done."  But you say, "we are giving God the glory when we read and weep about it, really??????? Sorry, but I think we like to dwell on it.  Facebook and Blogging gives us to much info at times.  It also doesn't help people heal when they are constantly "sharing" and weeping on one another's shoulders.  "How Cruel! if you hurt like them you wouldn't say such things."  WRONG!!!! I have hurt and I do hurt at times, but that doesn't give me the right to feed my hurt.  Our focus should be on the glory we have, NOT on the sadness we had.  Col. 1:27, "........ Christ in you, the hope of glory."

So, for some, this may seem cruel. To you I say, "We all have a story....... I just choose to let CHRIST get the glory for the story."


"Don't cry for me but rejoice with me in what HE has done through me."

Lacking Wisdom

In "my world" I need wisdom.  The older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know. The older my children get, the more I realize how much more there is to being a mother. The longer I'm married, the more I realize I need to be a better wife. The more I read my Bible, the more I realize what little I know........ get the picture?

I love the book of James, it is one of my FAVORITE books in the Bible. (and not just because it's my husbands name)  :-)
James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."  WOW!!!! you mean I only need to ask for wisdom and it is MINE!?!?  Yes, that is what the Bible says.  Wisdom isn't just knowledge, it is also learning to make wise choices or decisions.  When we face circumstances in life and we just "want to do the right thing" do we pray about it or do we just act on impulse.  Wisdom is NOT just knowing how to do something, wisdom is knowing I need the LORD in all things.  Wisdom is there for me because James tells us that the Lord will give it "to all men liberally....",  liberally means to be given in generous amounts, I just simply need to ask for it.

So let me ask you this, the next time you go to have a "discussion" with your husband or you need to discipline your children have you asked the LORD for wisdom?  I guarantee you the more I ask for wisdom the more I learn to stay silent and let the LORD speak to me and thru me.  I want wisdom when it comes to reading my Bible, I don't want to just use verses that are "easy" to understand, I want wisdom in understanding the verses.

God is good and He is a gracious God for not keeping us in the dark from knowing what we should do or how we should handle a situation.  We simply need to ask.......

So yep, you got it, in my world wisdom is needed and appreciated.

Baking and Baking

In my world I can do anything and everything..... Ok, NOT!!! But I wish I could.

My husband recently purchased me a grain mill and I have been grinding my own flour.  WOOOHOOO!!! I'm one of those all sufficient women,  NOT!!! only in my dreams.  However, it is a wonderful feeling knowing I milled that flour all by myself (with the help of an electric grain mill, of course).  I have been working on perfecting my biscuits.  When I use good old reliable White Lily flour I know how they are going to turn out, but now I am using my very own FRESH milled flour and there is a HUGE difference between the two.  This morning the biscuits were MUCH better according to my husband.  He said the ones before this batch weren't bad it's just that he is used to a very flakey biscuit. Deep sigh.......

As I am typing this I have 8 dozen peanut butter cookies fresh out of the oven and 2 loaves of bread in the oven.  WHAT in the world am I going to do with all these "fresh baked" goodies?

I love cooking and baking, but through all of this I realize more and more how much I lack at becoming more like the Proverbs 31 woman.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up I am just being more realistic about things.  Maybe you don't have difficulty making everything from scratch, sewing new curtains, keeping the house in tip top shape, P-L-U-S taking care of the kids and your husband, well I hate to say it, but I DO!!!   No matter how much I would like to be like many women I hear about or read about on their all to wonderful blogs, I remain me!!!  My job isn't to be someone else or "pretend" I am the Proverbs 31 woman, my job is to be the best wife and mother I CAN BE!

Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."  That is my prayer today; just renew me LORD, so that I might be used of thee.  As long as I have the right spirit, the LORD will and can use me. But He will use the Leanne HE has created, NOT the Leanne I am trying to create.


By the way, the bread in the oven smells way to delicious!! :)

This morning "in my world" I have all kinds of time to get things done. Oh, if that were only the case. Do you ever wish you could just stop time and get certain things done?
I have four children that need fed today. Why must they eat three times per day? You would think if I feed them a good breakfast that should do it for the day but for some reason they keep coming back for more.  Then there is laundry waiting for me!!! Does the pile EVER shrink?  Don't get me started on how my house needs cleaned!!!!!  
Does any of this sound like you or is it just me?  I didn't mention all the things I would like to do just the simple things I need to do.  The everyday tasks that I wake up to each morning.
This morning I read a wonderful verse to help me keep everything in perspective.

James 4:14, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?  It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

I can go to bed each night "fretting" about tomorrow's daunting tasks or I can go to bed thanking the LORD for what HE has allowed me to accomplish today. Maybe, I only got the children fed, BUT praise the LORD I did that.  I have no guarantees of the next minute in my life or what tomorrow may really be, I do however know that what time I have here on this earth must be used for HIS honor and glory.
While I am busy fretting about my day, could I be singing praises for all that HE has blessed me with? I need to focus more on the time HE has given me and NOT wishing for more time.  Think about it, as children we wish time would speed up, as adults we wish time would slow down. You would think that somewhere in all that "time" we would learn to be thankful for this moment in "time".

Well, "in my world", things will not come to a standstill and freeze so I can get the laundry done or whatever else I feel is a MUST for the day.  I guess I need to get busy on what time I have been given.

In MY WORLD

In MY WORLD things are NOT perfect. I am learning daily how to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I wish I could tell you that I am one of those women that has it all put together but truth is I don't. I often become discouraged because of my lack of "togetherness".  Come to find out, there are more woman like me than I thought. I would very much like to be the Proverbs 31 woman, but she is perfect.  As long as I walk this earth I can strive to be more like her but I will NEVER be her because I am human.


My prayer is that as you "stop by" you will feel encouraged, lifted up, and know that the LORD is bigger than your day and "my world".

"........the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10