middlemarch

I feel like I'm always playing catch up. When I'm busy I don't have time to blog, when I'm free, there's not much to blog about. :)

Two weekends ago, we spent Sunday evening with the extended Braker family. We had a nice evening at the park. It was my first cookout of the season. :) Nathan's siblings came over and hung out at our house for a while after, which was good.

Last Monday, one of the last warm days before it got chilly again, Nathan and I had a date night of sorts. We picked up Buffalo Wild Wings and went to the river front. It was fun.  

 

We went shopping afterwords anf bought a hammock. I'm excited.

We hung it between two branches in our tree. 

Yay.

Friday night, we went to Matthew and Rebecca's to visit baby Isaiah.  Yup that's right, I'm an aunt again! My fist nephew. :)

He's a tiny little bugger. A whole 5 lbs 6 oz. and he has tons of hair.

This past Saturday and Sunday, the Wyss family was in town for Kayla's  baptism. It was a marvelous weekend: beautiful testimonies on Saturday evening, family around for the weekend, and a quiet Sunday evening:)

Not much else has been going on. I'm just waiting, with much anticipation, for when I can start working on my garden and landscaping and flowers. :)  I hope I've warned Nathan enough about how much I plan to spend on plants and flowers. Hehe. :)

In Christ

~Michelle

Spring has arrived!

I am adoring this weather.  I love spring and all things warm and sunny.

The weekend of the 8th, Nathan and I went out to Kaylyn's wedding. We stayed at Reilly and Katie's, which was fun. 

Here's a picture of the lovely couple. :)

 I snagged it of of Facebook since I always forget to get a picture myself.

We had a bee's hive on the side of our house and all winter long we planned to take it down. We finally did while it was a bit chilly out still and the bees weren't awake. 

The hive

It's really is amazing how detailed and perfect these things are. 

I finally think I've found a hobby I enjoy. :) i completed my first wood burning project this week.

I used carbon paper to trace on the map, and then burned the outline. 

The completed outline

And the finished project :) 

This past weekend was the nursing home benefit auction.  They always have a bake sale so I took the opportunity to do some baking. Lena come over and helped. It was fun, and for the most part, everything turned out well.

Our evenings accomplishment.

My experiment. A gigantic cinnamon roll.

Kuchen, kuga, kugan .... However you say/spell it. I used a bit to much dough per pan, but other than that it tastes wonderful!

I had an empty Saturday so I spent it enjoying the great outdoors. 

Flowers are spring up everywhere!

I rediscovered the park. It's really nice for such a small town.

 I spent most of my time soaking in the sun on the bench. :)

My mood is pretty closely correlated to the temperature and amount of sunshine. So this was a fantastic week! :) haha.  I think most everyone else is too. People are way chattier and have more energy now that the weather is nice. It also means that my clients at work start to do more crazy things. Which keeps work interesting  :)

So welcome, warm weather, you were dearly missed. 

In Christ,

~Michelle 

Ten

This week was a busy week.

 Work was busy but good. On Tuesday,  I drove nearly 10 hours straight. It was also the really icy day.  I had to drive to court an hour away with one of my clients. She's facing 4-14 years in prison, so it was interesting.  After sitting through court for a while, I've realized that people, including my client, need to learn how to be respectful to the Judge.  One woman was so rude that the Judge just started laughing. I couldn't believe that anyone would act that way in court. 

I got back from court with my client around 11:30 and left again at 12:15 for Chicago with another client. 

Monday night Nathan and I went to the distribution center to sort clothes for Eastern Europe. It's always fun. I love seeing the clothes that are so ridiculously out of style. Some of the things that people donate really should just be thrown away. We had to be pretty picky about what we sent.  Only nice, modest clothing met the criteria.  If you would never wear it, then those in need probably won't want to wear it.

sorting the clothes.

bagging and baling the clothes to ship out. 

one of the best finds of the evening. 

What a lovely sweater, right? Totally appropriate to send to Christians overseas. 

Thursday and Friday I sang for the Zion's Harp recording project.  I've sung on the CD's a few times before and each time is a wonderful experience.  

This week, the 3rd to be exact, was my 10th birthiversary  of my repentance.  It makes me feel a little old at the same time that it makes me realize how young I was.  For it being ten years I still feel so young. I think the more I grow, the more growth I realize I need. 

My ponderings on this commemoration:
 In recent years God has been teaching me about fear.  I have a lot of fears and those fears hold me back from what God has called me to do.  I had a fear of marriage, which resulted in a stubborn battle for three months before I surrendered to God. And, I have been so blessed. I had a fear of  working with sex offenders and teen males. But, once again when I surrendered my fear and took the job, I was blessed with incredible opportunities to show God's love.  I still have fears and they still hold me back. But, I fight them daily because those fears are the fears that "perfect love" casts out. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: becasue fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18.  
I't not that I don't still feel the natural fear of certain situations, that I don't realize something is dangerous, that I take dangerous situations lightly, or even that I don't think I'll ever be attacked or hurt. I have just learned that It would be a sin to know good and not do it. It would be a sin to allow fears and self preservation keep me from doing God's will. 
God has protected me thus far, for that I am grateful.  But, it is not my physical life on earth that I should have fears about, and that I need to remind myself daily. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

"The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do to me?" Psalm 118:6  

In Christ
~Michelle