The new stove is in

Just wanted to share the new stove- a little thing but another testimony of God's provision in my life. The old stove had a incident of "thermal shock" where the front of the door left sponatanously (sp??)- it blew apart and fell to the floor all by itself. not fun, not cheap to replace - it was 17 yr old downdraft Jenn Air. We really wanted to keep the downdraft fan as it was great. We really did not want to spend over a thousand for a stove to do so.

We prayed and waited upon God and one day as I "happened" to pull into a thrift shop that I "happened" to remember was local to where I was there sat the new stove- for $50. It works great, it is digital and all the old stove parts fit in the new stove so we have spares. Three hours sweat equity and we are renewed and rejoicing!

ARt FuN dAy

Tomorrow is Art fUn dAY!! It is sure to be fun.

I have had this idea for a few years.... Art on the Porch. Art fun day is my trial run of this idea. Last week we had a fun time playing with art stuff together. Tomorrow more families are joining us. The neighbor girl is earning entrance by being a gofer for me in the morning. It looked that fun from afar last week that she did not want to miss out. I think others felt the same way as they are returning.

Tonight as I look at the numbers 14 parents and at least 30 kids I am wondering what was I thinking??? Fun... mess... creativity. using up supplies.

I was remembering all the days at Helderberg Workshop as a girl where I am sure I attended on scholarship... daycamp at its finest. Bussed to a school campus and allowed to immerse myself in creative things for hours.... a bit of heaven on earth.

Summer is here again and I know how long the days can be... how boring they can get without the normal structure of life. So we are adding a bit of variety to our days and thinking forward even now of if we should do this again and again... Art on the POrch?! sounds like fun to me.


Tomorrow the kids will paint t shirts, carve soap or plaster/vermiculite, paint with tempra and or create with wood scraps. Not the norm for at home art projects...just as I like it; hands on and a bit messy.

And in the midst of all that moms will share life, kids will "socialize" and community will be built. folks will leave richer for the time given to others and the service given to one another- that is the ticket- parents serving to help pull this all off. After all arrive and directed mine is the easy part, circulate and guide. The moms and dads runs the stations as the kids are busy creating.

it is fun to see an idea start to come together, start to form and learn what works and what needs tweeking as you work the idea into fruition. I am blessed to have this opportunity and the resources to share with others.

Life is Life

This morning is the start of a busy day... therapy, haircut, library, oil change, home depot and maybe even staking tomatoes at the community garden then home - whew- I am hot and tired already. Such is life some days here in Toney.

Last week we had many families join us for an Art Fun Day- a trial run for my vision of Art on the Porch... a dream I have of fully using our wonderful wrap around porch for creative space for kids. The kids got messy with paper mache, clay and paint. This week they will have time to explore wood scuplturing and plaster carving as well as tshirt decorating and paint. paint is a great standby and often not freely allowed at home. The messy stuff is what I enjoy allowing in our art time- open ended creative time with good supplies that allow kids to explore mediums of mess!

I was surprised the evening after the Art day when a critter was found upon my porch railing. A cicada dressed up for more art fun in bright colors! creativity at its finest... later it was revealed that a dad was the artist this time. Fun!

We have had visitors come and go in recent days. Our old stove, without a full front has by now been recycled for scrap metal and the new one that God provided is working wonderfully since my husband installed it. The garden is growing and the battle against the bugs is on. We had a catepillar invasion so I donned protectitive gear and "fogged" it well... waited and watched and 5 days later not a bug to be found... only the skeletal remains of their attack. It remains healthy and we sigh in relief.

This summer project is white- stain the fences and paint the wood. all too soon the heat has come upon us and the desire to be out in it has not remained, yet we go. Soon the fence will be done and the taping of the porch will begin- sparing the concrete of dots and sprinkles of white. How fresh a new coat of white makes all things look. it also has given us opportunity to note areas where attention is needed to repair wood that is no longer with us.

So we continue on in Toney life. living, playing games, making changes, adjusting to changes, experiencing new things, learning new skills and just living. We'd love to share it with you- come for a visit, the front porch is a great place to sit and rock and visit.