A beautiful, rainy autumn day

Today is a beautiful, rainy, autumn day. The overcast skies make the greens so rich and deep. The rain on my lawn gives it a lovely sheen. Combine that green with the yellow, orange, red, and rust of  the leaves of many of the surrounding trees and it is amazing picture. I love to watch those leaves drop on my lawn. The beauty astounds me. God has given us such beauty. What a wonderful God that He cares enough to give this to us.

A goose, a shrew and a canoe!

My husband and I were once again blessed to go back to the same camp last week that we went to in early August. 

(NOTE: if you click on the photos, they will enlarge for you. Just click the back arrow to come back to my blog after viewing. :)  )

It was a different little visit this time. It was much cooler, which meant no wading in the stream for me. I love the cooler temps though and was very happy to meander around in the woods near the camp and along the stream. 

On one walk up the road, my husband got this beautiful picture:

This was a bit of a set-up. I love ferns (moss, too, they are so beautiful). I spotted this clump and asked Nick to snap a photo. Then I spotted this amazingly vibrantly colored leaf and placed it on top. I love the combination. It is a bit hard to tell in the photo, but the leaf had almost the look of fire along the yellow parts and I love the little imperfections on it. Imperfections give leaves, (and people I might add), character.

We only got to go canoeing once, but Nick got this amazing shot while we were out there:

Now, I could say he was able to get such an amazing close-up of this goose because the lady in the back of the canoe was able to expertly bring him right where he wanted to go in the canoe (he, he, he) but the fact is, the man takes outstandingly good pictures regardless of where he is. He would have gotten a great shot regardless. I do enjoy canoeing though. Nick snapped pictures and I paddled. He would say take us over there to get a picture of that and I'd gladly paddle us over (or turn the canoe around, what ever was needed) and then I would get daydreaming and he would paddle for a bit. It is so soothing to be out on the water.

We were paddling on the Deadwater of the Little Machias Stream. Deadwater is an odd name for it. It is certainly alive with wildlife. It is an interesting place though, all curves and turns. One minute you are going with the current and then you turn a corner and the current is against you. The current is VERY slow through there though, almost like being on a lake so it is a  great little place to canoe and daydream or snap beautiful photos.

I am so thankful that through the generosity of friends we were able to go to camp once again! I enjoyed being at camp so much, that when it came time to leave I was (shamefully) a bit angry with my poor husband. I was a grumpy shrew! Hate it when I am like that! I think unconsciously I just wanted to stay there for a bit longer (and go canoeing a bit more), hence the shrewish behavior, but alas, we all must come back to the real world eventually! And after all, I do love home, too....

~Penni

Going my way?

I have mentioned before that I walk on weekday mornings with a friend. It is about a 15 minute drive to her home. We walk for about 1/2 an hour and then I drive home. I find it interesting, that most mornings when I drive home I am the only car on the road (within my view) heading north for the whole ride. I am definitely going against the flow. You know what? I love it. Don't misunderstand - I do not like to "stick out" in a crowd, I am a blend-in sort of person. I have no desire to be the center of attention, quite to the contrary. But I do enjoy doing things differently from others. Peer pressure had very little pull on me growing up. Never could understand how being rude or mean to others made a person "cool". People who are sincere and caring are cool in my book. Always have been. So, to put it lightly I was not the most popular girl in school (I was horribly shy) and you want to know the honest-to-goodness truth? I didn't want to be. REALLY. It was not a desire I had. I had a few good friends and that was enough. Hated all the clicky, catty stuff about school, couldn't wait to get OUT. 

As an adult I chose to do things a little differently than a lot of people, certainly most of the people I knew. As a young woman, I chose to use cloth diapers, stay home and make that my career (not the house- my family and my HOME), breastfeed, make my own baby food, grow most of our produce and can and freeze it, eat mostly wild game for our protein, Christian school for a year for our oldest son and then homeschooling - all the way through the high school years for both of our boys. Each of these met with multiple questions and unfortunately even the loss of some friends. "You use cloth diapers??? Why would anyone use them when disposables are so easy?" - health benefits, and cost. "Why are you going to quit your job and stay home? You can't afford it. And you'll be bored." Couldn't afford NOT to. Home is where I needed to be. Time will pass quickly and my babies will be grown. (Ain't that the truth!!) "Homeschooling? Why would anyone homeschool???" God wanted me to. 

I received many more questions over the years and many more rude comments. Disgusting was said at least once to me concerning one healthy choice for my babies. I would try my hardest to kindly reply and then move on. The negativity never swayed me from doing what I wanted or what I thought was right. As a pregnant, single 19 year old I was told I was STUPID for not having an abortion. All that did was firm my resolve to have my son.

Please don't think I'm tooting my own horn here. I made many mistakes along the way, some really big ones unfortunately. And I was not alone in making many of these good choices. I have made some wonderful friends over the years that have been a great encouragement to me and even paved the way ahead of me being a Godly example to me.


Well... now I find myself at another season of life. Both of my sons are grown (well.... mostly... kinda... :)...) and we are done homeschooling. The question I get repeatedly now is, "When will you be getting a job?" or something similar. Guess what? I have no plans at present to get a job, who knows what the future holds, but I know for the unforeseeable future I plan to stay HOME. God called me here and He hasn't changed His call for me yet. Fact is, I don't where I'd find the time to work outside the home for more than a few hours a week. I'm busy here. We don't have much money - I don't want it someone else can have it. :)- my car is OLD and was actually given to me, I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores and like to make stuff (soap, candles, skirts, etc.) I prefer to cook from scratch and love to use the food we grow or my husband gets hunting (this is a much healthier choice, too!) Our expenses are not great and I love to do things that help to stretch the funds we have. 


So some morning if you are heading south on a major road in Maine, you might see me driving north and wonder where is that woman going this time of day when everyone else (seemingly) is headed south? Don't worry about me too much though, the odds are I'll be smiling- happy to be going in the direction God has called me.

My Treasures, summer 2010

Ken, (I love that cute little smile!)

Alex (I love this picture...)

Looking at these photos, I see two young men. It is so incredible to me how fast time has gone bye. Seems like just yesterday I was saying I have two little boys. I love my sons and the men they have become.

Breathless

I have been walking with a friend recently early in the morning. The purpose of the walk is to get me in shape. A side benefit of this walk is that I am walking with a dear, dear friend and we get to chat all along the way. As we begin our walk the road is level. Gradually, the road steepens until it is a very steep little hill. Each morning as we walk and approach this hill I begin to dread it. By the time we are 1/4 the way up this little hill I am REALLY hating it. Half way up I am totally out of breath. I trudge along though chatting with my good friend and with the cheerfulness of my good friend's talking with me, I make it to the top! It probably takes another fifty yards or so before I am back "in breath" again. From there on out it is such a wonderful walk!! Adrenaline is an amazing thing. 

You know, life is a lot like that walk. Sometimes life gets so tough we get totally out of breath. Each step is a struggle and we think there is NO WAY we can go on. However, if we trudge along breathless, trusting we CAN make it, somehow before we even realize it we are past the tough part and enjoying our lives again. 

When life makes me breathless I must listen to the good Words of One who truly loves me. When I listen and walk with Him, I will still remain breathless. Life sometimes will still require one struggling step at a time, but before I even realize it once again I have got my "breath back" and am walking quite easily again. 

Just as with my early morning walks with my friend, I benefit most in life from the breathless moments. I hate that hill when I am walking it but when it is over I feel so good that I did it! What an accomplishment! In life, those tough times teach us a lot. They can be so very hard, but we don't need to travel them alone. I'm so glad I have my good friend to walk with in the mornings and I am so very thankful I have Christ to travel this journey of life with. 

~Penni

A Fresh New Morning

I love the early mornings. Everything feels so fresh and new as I watch darkness turn into light. (Don't get me wrong, when I have been up late it is HARD to get up early, but I am always thankful that I made the extra effort to get up!) There is something so exciting about watching a new day begin as the sun comes up. What will today hold? Blessing? Sadness? Somehow when I watch a sunrise I always feel as though good will be coming, in spite of what may be happening in my life at the moment.

The first time I ever remember watching the sunrise was when I was teenager on a camping trip with some friends. The excitement I felt as the new day began in such a beautiful way, I'll never forget. I was hooked! Sometimes months go by and I forget how great the early mornings are, choosing instead to sleep in. I am so thankful for this time in my life when I "have" to get up early and I can welcome in the new day into my life!

Won't you join me tomorrow? Rise up a wee bit earlier and greet the new day. I bet you'll feel a little bit more cheerful throughout the day for doing it.

Penni

Overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed today with the goodness of God. His goodness, His love, and His faithfulness are so amazing to me. In spite of my shortcomings, failures, and persistent sin, my God continues to prove Himself real to me. I am so blessed to know Him and to dwell in the sweetness of His presence. 

My blog's look... naturally....

I think I finally figured out what I wanted for the look of my blog. A design that is a wee bit more "me". The header is a picture of  Little Machias stream in northern Maine and the background is aptly called "Nature Walk". The header I actually made myself - quite easy once I figured out how. The background is from Shabby Blogs. For me, this is most definitely a treasure!
Another delight today is the cool breeze and drier air. 73 and breezy. My kind of day. I am so very thankful.
~Penni