We had a delightfully busy week with grandparents and snow and birthdays and building things. Click on the photo to enlarge and scroll through.

Schmearing the Brick: The woodburning surround is done and the stove is in! Yay! Be sure to go read the post I wrote about the process!

Spicy: One of the projects of the week was organizing our spices in pretty bottles…Lucy loved putting the stickers on and lining them up in rainbow order.

Mama: Every morning when my mom is here, we go to the office and read our Bibles together. We’ve been reading through the Old Testament all year, and then the New Testament…and then Zooming with our sisters and sister-in-loves each week to discuss. It’s been SO good.

Snow: Our very first snow came in with a roar! We had 50 mph winds and a few inches of snow…just enough to get the sled out and make it pretty for awhile!

Kale: Despite the snow, my kale was still kickin’ under our covering. It’s on it’s last legs, but I love having greens in the cold! Next year I’ll built a proper cold frame closer to the house.

Sage: We dried the last of the sage for tea and spices!

Churchy: On Sundays, we gather in our basement with my sister’s fam and watch Athey Creek. Love our time together! Pastor Brett is a fantastic teacher who teaches expository style…straight through the Bible book by book with no added fluff. I love the prophecy updates he does once a month as well.

Goodbyes: We said goodbye to Nana and Papa after their week here…but we’ll be seeing them next week in Nashville for Thanksgiving…we’re loading up the RV and we leave on Sunday!

Hello: A few hours after they left…Ama and Grandpa arrived for a week’s stay! We had back to back grandparent visits and it’s always so fun! This is high on the list of reasons why we moved to SD from TX…to be closer to family. So when I see them pulling in the driveway, it makes my heart so happy. I grew up seeing my grandparents all the time, and it was such a special time.

Tour: Of course we had to give them the tour of all the work that has been done since they were here last! Matt’s Dad has helped with all of the shiplap and so many other projects around the farm. It’s such a blessing to have him visit and work alongside Matt. This week they did the woodburning stove, and 2 ceilings with shiplap. Matt’s mom is so encouraging and lovely…and she always does a puzzle with the girls when she visits. Which is wonderful because I am NOT a puzzle person. ;-)

Climb: Bella is LIVING at the climbing gym these days…and having SO much fun. Every time she comes home she has a new friend. She’s so excited to move to Des Moines next year to be even closer to an even bigger gym!

Birthday: The 18th was my 45th birthday! It was a restful day…full of audiobooks and bird watching and special gifts and meals. I felt extremely loved. My sister’s birthday is just 2 days before, so we went out for dinner to celebrate! Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes!! I wrote about my 44th year and all the changes it brought to my life…check it out here.

If we are faithful to God in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life. - Hudson Taylor