Catch Up—Part 4

And here we are in Virginia!

So after traveling all night to Pennsylvania and spending some time there, I arrived in Virginia Thursday night, June 8. The next day was Mother’s birthday. To celebrate, we girls went with her for lunch. I don’t think I have any pictures of that, but we had a good time.

The next day was my cousin Josh’s wedding near Chambersburg, PA. So we drove up there for the day. I was a server and did not bother to take time to take pictures. They had a very nice wedding and reception and we are happy to have them living in Virginia.

I began the next week trying to recover from the busy weekend. I worked at unpacking and cleaning the house. We were hostess that weekend so Darla and I had to clean the house and prepare food for that.

Homemade Bread

The next week we began working at the flowerbeds around the house. Mom and Darla had got them planted, but they still needed some more work. I love doing outside work. Here are some pictures of what we’ve done.

First project was to cut down these peony plants and weed and mulch the bed. We got it finished just before it started raining.

I always forget to wear gloves when I mulch so my hands end up looking like this when using black mulch.

I dug out at the end of this flowerbed to make a spot for the birdbath. I should have dug out a little farther, but I think I’ll leave it for the time being.

This flowerbed ended up being more work than I thought. It was edged in river rocks. We took those all out and put in new edging. Hopefully this will make for easier upkeep.

That weekend was youth conference so we once again cleaned our house for company. We had a fun weekend with our friends and learning about our relationship with God and with our parents.

Since then I have continued to stay busy with housekeeping, cooking, flowerbeds, gardening, photo editing, and studying.

Cooking and baking are pretty high on the list of things I enjoy doing. Whether it is cooking up something for myself or feeding my whole family, I love trying new recipes. Here are a few food pictures from the summer.

Black Raspberry Delight made with raspberries Darla and I picked on the farm where we live

If you are looking for a delicious healthy casserole for your family, look no further. This Spaghetti Squash Casserole is a keeper.

And I always love a good salad. The perfect complement to almost any meal.

Some trim healthy pancakes with berries and Greek yogurt. A delicious healthy breakfast.

Two more flowerbeds done.

So, you may wonder, has the transition back to Virginia from Colorado been hard? Since I have always spent the summer at home with my family, it doesn’t seem too different. And the transition back into church and youth life here has not been as hard as I thought it would be. That is not to say it is not without glitches. There are many little things that come up that remind me how much I’ve changed in the last 5 years and how much of a Colorado girl I have become. But I am enjoying my time with my family and having some time to recoup from the stress of school life. And I also know that God has a purpose for me here and I want to be willing to be used of Him to fulfill that purpose.

You may also be wondering, “What’s next? You aren’t teaching school in Colorado next year and surely you aren’t just going to live at home with no job for the next year.”

So in my next blog post I will address the question, “What next?”

Also I hope to do a blog post on our youth canoe trip and a visit from our cousins from North Carolina.

See you next time! Au revoir!