The Girls bedroom saga...

Once upon a time there was the ugly Cocoa Cola trim with dark and dirty blue carpet room.

Then there was the pretty pink (though a little brighter shade than planned) room with nice 'hard wood' laminate floor ready for the big project...the making of our girls bunkbed/loft combo to fit all four of us in this 9'5'' x 12 room!

The plans were drawn up. Custom made just for this size of room! At first we almost dropped it all after finding out the exact dimensions but after much thinking and measuring we went ahead with it and God blessed our efforts in allowing it to work so well, even giving us a little extra room for sliding into place!

Measuring, marking and cutting was next...

...then painting!

...and finally the putting together began! Mind you, it was no simple task but with God's help of wisdom and patience we made it and had the bunk bed and loft put together and finished in less than two days!

Tricky times...hold still everyone! The photographer actually got in the picture here. Thanks Christianna!=)

Christianna and Faith waiting for the finishing touches of ladder steps and then the mattresses.

And then the final product! A bunk bed with attached loft and Great Aunt Lizzie's bed underneath the loft. Sorry the picture isn't very clear. I could not get any better angle as my camera does not have a wide angle lens!

...with girls!

Though at times it was hard to press on, perseverance was the key and we are so glad it is now all done! Close and cozy, yet comfortable, we are all enjoying sharing a room together especially as now we have the other room able to use for our sewing!

A most special thanks to Dad for helping us and being the chief sawer, driller, screw driver and over all guide as the project was in progress! Also we must thank our "most favorite" realtor, Mr. Ruloff as his gift helped us purchase the supplies!

Thank the Lord no one was hurt and may He receive all the glory!

A Marvelous Moth

In the three weeks since our move out to a more country setting, we have constantly been amazed and delighted at the differences from our previous “city” home. God has truly blessed us in our location and surroundings, and we can’t wait to discover all the “country benefits” in the months and years to come. One such benefit, of course, is the open and varied land around us, which provides homes for a rather different array of wildlife than we were used to see in our “backyard”. We have pheasants squawking frequently both in our backyard, and across the street in the cornfield. Deer have also frequented our “back acre”, and been seen racing across the road and fields around us. Josiah is thrilled with the seeming endless supply of frogs in our swampy corner, and has spent several hours stalking and catching them. We find something new everyday.
Despite the delights of seeing all the wildlife mentioned above, we were blessed to meet one of the more rare and beautiful parts of God’s creation shortly after we moved in. I (Charity) was out examining the large rose bushes in our front flower beds one morning, and in turning away, caught a glimpse of a large, colorful object near the base of one of the plants. My first thought was that it was some strange discarded lawn ornament, because of its size and brightness. Upon closer examination however, I was shocked and delighted to find that it was a beautiful Cecropia Moth, recently emerged from its cocoon! I carefully transferred it to the screen on our enclosed front porch, where we could watch it slowly fan and dry its lovely wings.

The Cecropia Moth is one of the rarely seen Giant Silk Moths, native to our area, but a real treat to see up close! The large green caterpillars will feed on a large variety of trees and bushes, including maple and willow, which are on our property. There is only one generation of Cecropia’s each year, and by late summer the caterpillars are ready to spin their cocoon and prepare to wait out the winter. Another interesting fact is that the Adult Moths do not have mouths, and cannot eat. They only live a brief two weeks, during which they find a mate and lay their eggs, then they die.
I have always been a fan of butterflies and moths, and so I was familiar with the Cecropia moth, but never expected to see one in person, much less hold it! I am so thankful that God allowed us to see this exquisite part of His creation up close, and glimpse another small part of His infinite creativity!

~Charity

John is a workin' man!

God has been blessing our family so much lately, in so many different ways we have seen Him leading and guiding us in His way. In one very big way that He has blessed is in supplying John with a truck! Because of our move and the hopes of getting a job John has been searching and praying for a truck and finally was lead to the right one!

Though about 8 years old, the truck has very low miles and runs very well.

We forgive him that it's a Dodge. We aren't too pleased with Ford anymore anyways.



Monday evening after the festivities at the Brysons, John tried to head to bed early as the next morning he had to get up and be at his new job by 7:30. After working his own lawn business for two years and now because of our move he decided to try to get some outside work and God blessed by leading him to this new position! Our friend Mr. Klaty owns a lawn business. John asked if he had any job opportunities and was thus assigned to a landscaping/weed pulling crew.

After only three days of work, slaving away in the hot sun and trying to be a good example to the men he worked with, God showed His grace once again by letting John's work ethic and shining testimony be rewarded with a raise!

All praise to GOD!

Memorial Day... a day we will remember

Monday afternoon found the Sauve and Bryson families enjoying time together as we talked, played games, ate food and celebrated Timothy's birthday! Table tennis, badminton and croquet were on the agenda, porch swing talks enjoyed, a delicious lunch was had and cake and ice cream later in the afternoon! To add to the festivities and patriotic theme, we spotted a bald eagle in a nearby field and later on saw a couple hot air balloons floating across the bright blue sky! I don't think I will caption much, but I think you will get the picture (pun intended) with these following images!

... And then there was the baseball game! Though I did not play, it was great fun to watch!

Sitting by a tree with several of the young people, talking, collecting seeds, watching butterflies, taking pictures and watching the game! =)

One of the reasons for the days festivities was the celebration of Timothy's 16th birthday! Since he is also helping out with and acting in the Pendragon project movie, Mrs. Bryson was very creative in making this clicker board cake!

Singing...gift giving...

...and joke playing! Knowing that Timothy was a UofM fan, Faith and John played a little joke on him by giving him a MSU hat!

Young people in the wood fort.

Pyromania's! Josh demonstrated to us the wonder of "the black powder"! Check out the facial expressions.

Then the music was brought out around the campfire and singing ensued! Song after song we sang in praise to our great Lord and King who has given us the air to breathe and the freedoms in this country to worship Him. Blessed be His glorious name!

Happy Memorial Day!

Bring on the Dirt! 'Soilsome' Yard Work

Saturday afternoon the big yard work began as our friends the Wagners came over to take out our pool and help us get the garden plot stripped and tilled. Wow! Thank you Lord for such wonderful friends! They did so much work with bringing the sod cutter, helping remove the sod and tilling it too! Ok, so they got a really nice huge pool in return, but it doesn't even come close to all the work they did! Again, thank you Wagners.

Following are some pictures. I wasn't here Saturday, but I heard that the beginning was even more muddy fun looking, but here is a selection for your enjoyment! =)

Both projects - Pool liner and garden sod cutting.

Working in the sand pit!

Saturday they got the liners out...

...and Monday they finished getting the supports out.

Monday morning all of us Sauves were out slaving in Egypt; pulling sleds, wagons and pushing the wheel barrel of sod rolls to the wet spot in the yard. Then the Wagners came and rescued us by bringing their lawn tractor and trailer and boy did it go a lot faster after that!

Fun! God made the dirt and so it won't hurt if I get it all over me!


Washing was fun too!

Dad taking a turn at the tilling. Nice rich dirt!

All done! Though it most likely will dry up in the summer time, we were just helping it along by piling layer after layer of sod all over the mud and water. What a job but by God's grace it's done!

All the extra rolls were piled along the fence.

What a day! May God be glorified!

...Again, more pictures to come as we had a most enjoyable Memorial Day spent with our neighbor/friends the Brysons.