Fun in the Sun

I hate February.

I like that the days are finally getting longer.

But that's pretty much it.


It's because it's so grey.



February is dreary and grey.







But.


Today it wasn't.

The sun was shining, and it was +2!!

Soooo exciting.

So after church, I felt I needed to be outside.

What I really wanted to do was go riding.

But, I decided to spend the day with my family instead.



We went to Grandpa's house.

Grandpa has two snowmobiles.

And that is awesome.



They aren't fancy, but they are fun.

Daddy and Ava heading out.
This is the "new" snowmobile.

Coming through the trees.
Very slowly.

Grandpa, we have a problem.

This is the old snowmobile.
It is as old as I am.
It needed a boost.
Can you blame it?

Uncle Billy and Kiersten.

The little girls had a lot of fun together.
Cousins are fun!

Check out this face!

Little girls all in a row.

What are they doing, just sitting there?

Waiting for a ski-do ride.

Grandpa needs six ski-doo's.

(One for Mommy.)

Who's taking all the time?
Aahhhh.

This guy comes back from his turn and says,
"Mom! Uncle Billy flipped the Ski whiz,
and he fell off, but I didn't!
I kept my thumb on the throttle so it didn't stall,
until Uncle Billy got back on."

"It was awesome!"

When the ski-doo rides were over, it was off to the hill.

"Climb every mountaaaaain!"

Getting ready for take-off.

Nathan, contemplating the coming descent.

And away he goes!

Ava, the adrenaline junkie.
"Are you ready?!?"

Emma, taking her turn.

Nate decides he doesn't want to wait for the sled.

Ava says, "That's the way I do it!!"

All in all it was an awesome afternoon.

Gorgeous sunshine, good family, warm temps,
what more could you want?

Ava says,"Hot Chocolate."

Tomorrow, Fun in the Sun part 2.


This guy's involved.

Dogs

I like 'em.


And it's a good thing, because I have three.

I've always loved dogs.

Growing up, my best friend was our family's German Shepherd/Collie cross, Tish.

She was awesome.

Although I like all dogs, there are a few that are special.

I have a few favourites.


This guy is one of them.

I got him as a poop covered, starving, six-week old puppy.
He's supposed to be a Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd cross,

but I'm not sure.

See how his tail is curly?

And his tongue is half black.

That speaks to me of Chow.

Anyway.
He's the only dog that I have ever let sleep in my room.

Ever.

But he was such a sad little puppy, I couldn't leave him alone.

So I let him in.
And was unable to undo what was done.

He adores me. He follows me every where.
Where I am, he is.

And he's an awesome watchdog, which is good, 'cause that's his purpose.

He has a great big bark, and is not afraid to use it.

He's my boy.

This one is also high up on the list.

He was raised by friends of ours, and they couldn't sell him.

Nobody wanted poor Frederick Trottsville.

So Mom mentioned to them that I was looking for a dog,
they called me up,
and the rest is history.


His whole life revolves around balls.
The chasing kind.

Well, he likes the kind that swing between his legs too,
but he's not allowed to use them any more.

The name of his game is "Fetch."
He's super amazing at it, too.

He used to climb trees to get the ball.

If you threw a rock he was chasing as far as you could into a field of corn,
he would come back with the exact same rock.

But now he's getting old.
He'll be ten this year.

Oh, don't get me wrong, he still chases things.

Just not as amazingly.

And with him, here by the fire,
is Sadie.

They are pretty much inseparable.

They were a breeding pair for a while,
and Sadie was the best Mom.

Her puppies were sooo fat.

Sadie is the sweetest, kindest dog.

She loves everybody, and wouldn't hurt a fly.

She's the Mom of the pack, and licks and cleans both boys.

And she adores kids.

All in all, I've got to say, I have awesome dogs.

Thoughts

I have been having some.

And the thing I have been pondering,
is this verse:

1 Samuel 16:7
"For the Lord does not see as man sees;
for man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart."

And what is the heart?

Jer.17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Who can know it?"

Here's the thing.

It's not just our ACTIONS that matter.


We can go through life, not DOING anything really bad,
by the worlds standards, anyway.


But our thoughts?


Why is our thoughts, our Heart, important?

Proverbs tells us.

Prov. 23:7
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

That means that I have probably broken every commandment.

With my thoughts.


Jesus says so.

Matt.5:28
"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."


Doesn't matter if you don't do the physical deed.

You're guilty anyway.

And if you think your thoughts are private, think again.

Jer.17:10
"I the Lord search the heart,
I test the mind."

He KNOWS.



And yet the beautiful thing is,

HE already paid for our evil thoughts.

Isaiah 53:5
"But He was wounded for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement for our peace.
By His wounds,
we are healed."


We can't do it.

We can't get ourselves to heaven,
when even our THOUGHTS are under scrutiny.



But He can, and has.

Does this absolve us from watching what we think?

Prov. 4:23
"Above all else,
Guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life."



Nope.



So, I am going to be more aware of my thoughts.


That's what I've been thinking.

A Few of my Favourite Things

I don't have a lot.

Well, a lot of fancy decorating items.

My decorating budget for years has been a big whopping $0.


But, I do have some things that I really like.



They didn't cost much,
but to me, they're priceless.

First up, this old oil lamp.
And the spurs.
By the way, I didn't dust before any of the pictures,
soooo
There's dust.

This porcelain cow skull.
Weird, I know

This old leather halter.
It didn't belong to any of my horses.
It was from an auction.

Look at the brass nameplate.
It belonged to "Misty Baroness."

And this.

I love everything about this.

The heat, the brick,
the blue pewter ash bucket.

It was sitting in some guys barn,
before we found it, brought it home,
and showed it some love.

Now it loves us back by heating our house.

This is not a decorative item, per se.
It is my saddle, that I ride in.
But, it also sits in my living room when not in use.

And I like it.

This is my piano.
I got it from freecycle.
It's not a top of the line,
but it works for us.
And it's pretty.
(See the oil lamp? I like it too.)

The picture above the piano.
It was a housewarming gift from a good friend.

This box sits beside my favourite chair
and holds wipes, sewing kit, stuff like that.

I think it's cool.
It brought whiskey from Perth, Scotland,
to Toronto, Ontario.

These are my old boots.
I wore the leather sole right off.
But now they just sit at the top of my buffet, and look cool.

Emma saw me uploading this picture,
And she said,
"It's really dusty Mom.
You better X it."
So here you go.

My dusty boots.

This hat hook.
It's solid iron.
And these are my favourite hats, too.

My kitchen island.
This is probably the most expensive item in my house.

And I love it.
These pictures don't do it justice.
It's beautiful.
And functional.
My two favourite things.

This is the surface I use for all my cooking and baking.

Do you want to see the "business" end?

Here it is. Not pretty.

I like this shelf, and everything it contains.

And I like this.

This is an old, rusty, pewter jug that I planted flowers in.
The flowers are having a hard time right now,
but I love the jug.

I love the colour of this vase.
I don't love so much the fake pink flowers,
but it's winter.

And my favourite spot in the house.
I love this chair.
It sits by the woodstove, and if the best seat in the house.

When I read to the kids, we all pile on this chair.
Five of us.

I don't know how we do it.

But we do.

And of course, another of my favourite decorative items....

An Ava.
She's beautiful.

And my other favourite deco items.

Boys and lego.

Lego is a decorative item in my house.

It's everywhere, and adds a delightful splash of colour.

And of course, can't forget the Emma.
She adds delightful sparkle to anyplace that she is.

And there you have it.

A few of my favourite things in my house.




Peace out.