Dina and Ginger

Last week yet another 'chapter' was closed in our lives, a memory was etched in time and something 'new' was brought into our lives...

Dear Dina, our sweet old van. The automobile who has carried us far and wide, been faithful in so many travels where in she must have had angels packed around her carrying us on our way. God has been so faithful and merciful to us! Only one accident as I recall ever took place in dear Dina and that was only a minor fender bumper, otherwise God has kept us safe in her and protected us over the many miles we have traversed.

Now to those of you who have never heard the reason behind the naming of this vehicle, a while back when our van started to have some congestion problems she started to make this strange groaning sound whenever you accelerated which sounded like a dinosaur (ok, so we don't really know what those animals sounded like but you get the idea), and when it couldn't be fixed, we then started to call her Dina, and thus she has been affectionately called since.

Don't ask why we decide on that gender, but maybe it was because the majority of our family are females.

Like I said though, last week another 'chapter' was closed in our family and that enclosed Dina. The dear old van was becoming rather fragile for our many travels up north and back and we didn't know when she might just fall apart on us, and because of the move coming quickly (or not so quickly) upon us, we decided it was time to say goodbye and find a newer replacement for our faithful steed.


Faithful old Dina. Twice down and back to Florida, once to Shipshewana and out to Pennsylvania, a couple times to Canada and several times to Toledo, Ohio, (and probably many other trips that have slipped my mind right now) and last but not least, all the innumerable times up and back from church and other events up north in the thumb area!

Baby and the faithful old friend, ready to go for a ride at any given moment.



We'll miss you old girl. =)


So the old was taken and the new brought home and surprisingly a name was almost immediately found and labeled onto our new traveler!

Welcome Ginger! Wild Ginger to be exact.


Back in the woods behind us are many plants that we have observed and transferred over to our backyard for our enjoyment. One of them that was found in the last couple weeks was a strange little plant with some very interesting looking florets of the exact shade in color of our new van! It was a Wild Ginger plant!


[the color might be a little off, but from the human eye, it is exactly the same shade.]

..And yet again we are praising God from whom all blessings flow!

Beautiful Florals... from our surrounding landscape

~Dew drops on the Iris leaves~

Azalea-
Faith's azaleas did not do very well this year, but the small bunch that did bloom was, as usual, a beautiful work of art from our Creator!

Spring Beauty! Their name describes it. Beautiful little flowers that bloom in spring! We found these in the woods.


Vinca! Periwinkles to be exact. Gorgeous ground cover that is very hardy, sometimes staying green through the winter and sending forth brilliant starry blooms in spring that last quite a while.

And then there are the tulips!

Though for the last couple of years (while thinking that we were moving) we have not paid much attention to our tulips in the front yard, they have not repaid our negligence and have sent forth quite a few blooms, of different sizes and shades to our delight!



Deep inside.

For as the earth brings forth its bud,
as the garden causes the things
that are sown in it to spring forth,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 61:11

A few Changes...

Dear family and friends... a few complications have come up and we most likely will not be able to move into our new house until the week of the 14th. God is good though, and we appreciate all the offers for help that we have received and will be grateful when the time comes.

If you would like to know the new address, please contact us at

redeemed18@wideopenwest.com


Thank you all again for your prayers!

We serve a mighty God!

Soon to be HOME!

Ladies and Gentlemen! We present to you our soon to be new Home!

Inspection is due Wednesday, and hopefully, if all goes well the closing will be either this Friday or next Monday, and most likely we will be able to move in immediately!

Thank you to those who commented and all of you that are rejoicing with us!
We serve an awesome God!

Please keep us in your prayers as we move in and get settled and try to adjust to smaller space then we've been used to these past 7 years! (we've been rather spoiled and now are downsizing quite a bit!) May God be our focus though and all else shall pass away! Most of all, we are so very thankful to finally have a yard again and land (2.5 acres) to use for gardening and such.
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Finally a Home!

He is our praise, and He is our God,
who has done for us these great and awesome
things which our eyes have seen.
Deuteronomy 10:21

Yes, the Lord has been good to us! We finally have a destination set, a new house, a home!

We will give more details later as things progress, but as of now we do not know exactly when we will officially move and it could be for another two weeks (we hope not!) but for now we are rejoicing and thanking the Lord for His mercies unto us!

Sorry, I don't have a picture of the house but the last picture of the last post is our new mailbox. =)

Finding a new home isn't easy...


But for all the hours and many roads we have traveled God has blessed beyond our worthiness and protected and guided us on our way, and for even the discouraging times, we made the best of it and I think we have a big enough supply of good, bad and just plain hilarious memories to last us a while! Exactly a month ago today (the 28th) we started out on our quest for a new home in the Lapeer area, and right from the beginning God was teaching us and showing us His will. What exciting times we are living in right now!!
Though I did not take a picture of every house we looked in, and tended to get more shots of the surrounding landscape (maybe because 75% of the time we were driving!) then of the buildings we went into, following is just a little taste of all that we have seen these past several weeks... I think you'll get the picture! =)

Enjoy! Oh! And to just let you all know, most likely, before noon today we will know where we will be living! We have narrowed it down to two and the finish line is in view! Praise God!


From city (Detroit sky line)....


...To Country



Click here for more images of barns we have seen.


Driving, driving, driving! We have figured by now that Dina (our van) must have several angels surrounding her and keeping her running, as we thought she would die on us a while ago, but for all the driving we have been doing lately with her (especially on dirt roads!) she is still holding up. Though we will be getting a new van very soon we will all terribly miss our dear Dina, for her comforting purr (or roar!) and all her quirks and uniqueness that we have become accustomed to!

Bored?


Enjoying the sunny window seat


One of our favorites! An old (yet restored) 1890 farm house with a falling foundation.



Missing a deck. John with his crutches and Josh outside.



Beauty of Spring! Round-lobed Hepatica


Josh and the Elk


This is a door inside an 1820 farm house. Can you image! That was before our state was founded!


House on the hill.


Travels home under a beautiful sky.


So where is our new abode? We will post as soon as we find out! Thank you all for your prayers!

God's will be done.

~Grace

Coming Soon!

Tales of our travels - pictures from house hunting in Lapeer County.

Nice timing John!

About a week ago John was playing basketball and thought he had strained a muscle or something in his foot, but when the pain wouldn't go away and the next day he did some very strenuous work with it, we quickly realized that he most likely had broken his ankle!
We serve a mighty God and even though the timing of things isn't the best being that we are moving and John is one of the strongest in our family, we know that God works all things out for His glory and we know that He is able to heal John in His own time, even instantly! Being that John has no health insurance we have been doctoring him with some of the best medicine out there, from THE BEST Doctor there is - God's healing herb called Comfrey! Though at times we don't know why God sends us trials at times like this, we do know that in the end He will be glorified, as we are drawn closer to Him and His will. We have been learning so much lately!

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!!!

This house is not ours anymore! Dad and mom just got back from signing the papers over to the new residents. May God bless them as He has blessed us these past 7 years with this house. A chapter is closed...another is opening though our destination is still unknown. We walk forward in faith, like Abraham, seeking God's guidance and direction. His perfect will shall be done!

We greatly appreciate every ones prayers for us these past 3 years of trying to move up north. We will miss you all down here, and of course when we find a new home, we will definitely be sending out our new address and an open invitation will be set for all our dear friends to come visit us!

Watch out Michigan thumb, here come the Sauve Nomads!

Elizabeth Park...once more

As mentioned in the last post, one of the special parts of Joshua's birthday was being able to go fishing at Elizabeth Park. Though he didn't catch anything, he and Josiah had a fun time trying their different lures and enjoying the beautiful weather and great outdoors!



Of course I had my camera with me (though I'm kicking myself for not bringing along my 35mm as the aperture is a lot better on it than the digital...oh well) and so while the boys fished Christianna and I had fun!


Well equipped. Tackle box, Fishing rod and a jug of refreshing Lemonade!


..oh yes, and worms!


A worm eater.


As I was walking along the river all of the sudden a little shadow passed over the ground and I heard the soft twittering of a tiny bird. I looked and looked and finally spotted him, the friendly little fellow just sat there, letting me get this picture of him. Sorry about the branches in the way, but he was pretty far up and I was trying to get a good shot of his head to make sure it was really what I thought it was : a Golden Crowned Kinglet!


Later on we headed over to the 'big' river (Detroit).


[Christianna took this picture]



Praise God for a glorious afternoon spent in enjoying His beautiful creation! His works are wonderful!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Well, Josh was hoping to have a new house for his birthday, but his prayer/wish wasn't quite granted. However I'm pretty sure he had a really enjoyable day anyways as he was treated by John with a trip to Cabelas, spent a couple hours at Elizabeth Park fishing, went out to eat with dad and had a fun filled evening as we celebrated his 17th birthday!


Family tradition is Birthday breakfast in bed. This year Josh was eating like a king as his menu consisted of almond drink (a smoothy made with blanched almonds, and frozen bananas and strawberries) three crispy pieces of bacon, warm apple crisp with a pile of whipped cream on top and a full glass of fresh orange juice.

This year Josh's cake was a beautifully and artisticly created Small mouth Bass by Mom and Christianna, the latter doing the entire decorating work! Boy did it look impressive! Oh ya, the flavor was Banana Chocolate chip and the next picture will also show the finishing touches with a couple of hooked gummy worms ready to be gulped down by the fish!



Josh enjoying the fish food!

One of his gifts was a DVD by the pianist Calvin Jones called Through High Places. Josh has really admired this man's playing techniques and style for a while and has even taught himself one of Calvin's pieces! The close to half hour long video creates a very relaxing atmosphere as the music is choreographed with beautiful and breathtaking images of God's glorious creation among the Rockie mountains!

Another one of Joshua's gifts was the P.I.G. book : The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History.