conversations

find of the day.

or as sarah said "the find of my life".
we got a late start on the circuit saturday.
it turns out people are a lot more willing to bargain when they are closing their sale in 15 minutes.
we came across this  beautiful china that the seller's mother received at her wedding in 1963.
it was in perfect condition and so great.  it was a little bit of a debate since i do already have so many dishes.  they wanted $65 for the 32 piece set.  they had just marked it down to $45.  however, i only had $20 on me, so i offered that & they took it!  immediately sarah & i looked up how much it was worth online & the total was $511! 

nature.

                                     

there is a great trail near our house in columbia.  clark & i love to walk around the "marsh".  so much nature there!  there are some beautiful birds, sometimes a deer or two, maybe a snapping turtle if you're lucky.  last night it was especially beautiful as the sun was setting on the grasses.  it seems a picture can never capture quite how beautiful it is.

another stencil.

this picture is a little blurry-

it is the state of missouri for the newest addition to the quad benjamin walker.

i love these stencils.  so addictive.

birthday girl.

                          

                                  

i love this picture of collette.  she looks like she is famous.  hannah threw a wonderful 2nd birthday party for our friend collette.  look at the cute banner (in the background) that she made.  i can't believe she is 2- it seems like yesterday when clark & i went over to the huffmans to stay the night with eliot!  happy birthday sweet friend!

sitton time.

                           

                                               

lynne & ella came for a visit this weekend. its amazing that lynne drove over 5 hours with a 1 year old, just to see us! ella has really grown up- she is great. she & clark have become good friends. ella was so great to garage sale with us for 2 days!  and she became good friends with little sam.  we loved getting to know her better.  she is such a little entertainer & so expressive!  lynne tried her first freezer paper stencil and it turned out so cute!    here is a great garage sale find- just $1 for this beautiful vintage table cloth!  i also found more vintage sheets & another table cloth.  lynne & i were excited to find some brand new tins that said "flour", "sugar", & "coffee" only to find, when we got home, the sugar had no lid!  luckily, katrina found several tins that she bought all for $1 and donated a few with mushrooms on them to me.  overall, it was a successful weekend on "the circuit" (garage sale circuit) and so refreshing to spend time with a good friend.

                                                           

dad.

many of you know that my dad is a chaplain in the air force reserves.  he feels a deep calling to go and help the soldiers who are over in iraq.  he is leaving today to train in the u.s. for a month, then, at the beginning of june, he will go to iraq.  i think that God will use him to bring His life to people who are in a really dark place.  if you think of it, pray for his safety and for God's strength as he begins his work.  and pray for my mom too, it would be pretty hard to not see your husband for the rest of the year and to trust God with his life.  it is encouraging to see dad taking risks and listening to God.  it would be so much easier and more comfortable to stay at home, but he is trusting God and going across the world to a very "unsafe" place.  although, corrie ten boom says that no place is safer than another within God's will. 

this picture of dad & ben is stolen from my sister's blog, thanks heidi!  it was taken last weekend at dad's peace gathering service.