Terribly Interesting

I'm back. At least I am trying to be. I have good days and bad days, but they seem to be evening out. Five months of feeling bad is enough for me. I want to get back to work. So, an update. I cannot tell you how thankful we are for all of the people that came out to our house for our annual fundraiser. Like I told you, the kindness of friends and the outpouring of support overwhelms my heart. The encouragement to press on through another year is much needed. It's hard work and we are incredibly thankful for the love. Our initial project for the fundraiser this year was heat and a/c for the downstairs, but then the unit went out on the second floor so we decided to switch gears toward that. Before the day even arrived, a donor stepped up and said they would foot the bill for the...ENTIRE house. Now, in a normal house, that would be several thousand dollars. In our house, the estimate came in for $28,000 for all three floors. I cannot even wrap my mind around that. The...

Hello fine people, I just wanted to remind you that I have an Etsy store that supports Gomer's House. All of the proceeds help restore and provide a warm meal for people. Of course, those are just side dishes to getting to love them with the love of Christ. I'll be posting more about our weekend and updates about heat in the next few days. Thank you all for supporting us and helping us provide a place of warmth for weary souls. It truly does take a village. I put the coffee cups and a few new items in the store. If you would like a t-shirt, please let me know. I am ordering up a new batch and need sizes. Cards coming soon also. Thank you so much.

We received this book on Saturday and my girls took off with it several times before I could read it. I had to track it down in their room. We know by this that the cover is attractive enough to make them sneak it out of my room. I thought the illustrations were good as well. It can be a bit of an intense story to tell to a young reader with all the blood and death of the first born. I thought they did a good job of tackling the subject. They stayed on par with the scripture. We can all appreciate that. I read through it with my three year old and she gives her approval. There are great sight reading words as well as a few more challenging words to stretch the reader.  This book was graciously provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

It's that time of year when I cry. Sometimes accepting love can be painful because you expect the bottom to drop out of things or you have not been conditioned to receive it. When people show up at our house and give so much of their time and their resources to help us, it gets me. It really gets me. I might be tearing up now. It is completely overwhelming to me. It's a powerful redemption story that plays out in all of our lives. Jesus is beautiful.  We have had some miraculous things happen here. Of course, you can remember earlier in the year when we "somehow" had the thirty thousand dollars we needed for our house. I still cannot even wrap my mind around that. The beauty in the history of this house is truly something special. We have not had some grand benefactor swoop in to help us pay for the repairs. Gomer's story is one of literally hundreds of people showing up with small amounts of money, time, and other resources to bring restoration.  I thi...

This post needs no pictures, y'all. On our way home from church Sunday, our two-year-old starts vomitting. It was coming out of her nose. Then, the other end. Everyone has felt bad and I have one still in bed a little shaky and complaining that her tummy hurts. I mean, who needs photos of this stuff. I have been trying to get ready for our fundraiser next week, but well, its a slow go. Last night, Chacha falls and hurts her face. What's a mama to do? Sit down and hold a Hello Kitty ice pack on her baby until the swelling goes down. Same with today. I just love the tiny people and rest when I can. Someday I am going to get some awesome stuff done. It just won't be today. That's okay by me. Let me tell you some fun things. On Friday, I spoke at MOPS in Brownwood and took a bunch of art with me. That same day, in Burnet, Hill Country Church took a bunch of my art to their ladies retreat. Both were huge sellers. Around $1,200. I was also commissioned to do a piece for ...