God is in Control

The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us... 1 Samuel 30:1-6

xoxo,

Amy Joleen

Vote!!

Today is the final day to vote.... I hope every one is voting. Our country is definitely on the wrong path and we need to be responsible. We have the right and freedom to vote and we should use that right... We must remember the brave soldiers who have fought and died for that right. As Christians we must align ourselves with God's word and we must vote for biblical principals. If you are not with God you are against Him. "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." Mathew 12:30

So if a candidate supports evil that goes directly against God's word, we have to vote him out... We can not stand for abortion...that is murder....we can not stand for gay marriage.... God says that it is an abomination. These are very tough issues... We do not get to choose what God calls sin.  Our only choice as Christians is to obey the Master's calling. I don't want anyone to take this wrong and think that I don't love and hope the best for these people.. It is just that when I became a believer in Christ, It was with the trust that He knows what is best....that He created me and He knows what is best for me... Because He promised all things would work for good. If I loved Him. That is why I will vote the Biblical principals that He gave to us.

 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.
With this said no matter who becomes our next president, it is all in God's faithful hands.... .



Blessings,

Amy Jo

Blessings Sunday's

Lately I have been thinking  about the many blessings that God so abundantly gives us.  I thought it would be fun to start a blessings Sunday... The time has changed this morning so I have a little time this morning..yeah!  This morning I am very thankful that our little dog is going to be o.k. Last night we discovered a pellet directly under Bentley's eye.  It was lodged just cm from his eye. Now he never leaves the yard so we don't know if someone was shooting a pellet gun and it somehow strayed and hit him. Or if some evil person would do it on purpose. He is never aloud to run around the yard without one of us... But we do have a little dog lead that we put him on.... that is the only time that it could have happened.

He is a true little man of a Scottie dog..... he never even let us know it happened. We just saw it there.... And my husband got tweezers and pulled it out. He never even cried...He is the bravest of little Scot's....My children just adore him and we would have been heart broken had it turned out differently. I thank God that He was watching him, one of his small creations. After it was all over my son said with awe " He really is like a little man isn't he?" We are doctoring the little hole that is left...There are so many things to be thankful for everyday, this was just fresh on my mind...but I will be counting my blessings with you all every Sunday....I hope you will remember to count yours too.... Many Blessings to you all...

xoxo,

Amy Jo



Fun Saturday Estate Finds

This morning we were supposed to go to the Fancy Flea...and for some reason I just decided I would just yard sale around instead. I am so glad I did. There was an estate sale in my neighborhood and we really got a lot of stuff. I found these wonderful pink gooseberry Pyrex bowls for $4.00. I love Pyrex and pink Pyrex can get real expensive....

I love mixing bowls...don't ask me why... I didn't need this one but it spoke to me with it's vintage shape, and for $3.00 it found a new home.. with me ;)

By the time I got around to the jewelry my daughter had gotten some really great things. Most of these are Avon and look as if they were never worn.  All for $1.00 each. She had been wanting a recipe journal and she found a brand new Paula Deen Journal...for $1.00.

I thought this necklace was perfect for fall...

This bracelet is very similar to the ones sold in Victorian Trading Co. catalouge. It is a vintage Avon....$1.00.

I love these Christmas pins.... so pretty $1.00 each.

Now this is a set... I just love them. They are brand new and never used, one is a photo album and one is a journal... I can't wait to fill them. ($1.00 for the set)

Old books.... Uncle Tom's Cabin was one of them. I have never read this book and I thought that I should... This has been a year of classical literature for me. I am enjoying reading these great books.

Lastly I picked up some old Florida history books for my Dad. He loves to read true historical books about Florida. I think he will enjoy them... 
I have always loved yard sales and thrift shopping...I am glad that my daughter enjoys it too... Actually all of the women in my family enjoys it. We have so much fun! One of the great things about it is if you get tired of something. You really haven't lost much. You can give it away or sell the item and not lose much.... I hope you all have a blessed weekend...

Love to you,

Amy Jo

Pastel Finds

Today my children and I took a little trip to the Goodwill. As I was looking around  I came across this whole stack of Fiesta Ware.... My Mom and My Aunt both collect Fiesta Ware. I don't, though I do collect all kinds of pastel dishes... I never wanted to pay the price for the Fiesta Ware

I also came across a blue Fiesta platter and this pretty teapot and teacup. The Teapot says Sadler England. The teacup is Wildflowers and says Queens England. The prices were to good to pass up!

The platter was only $1.99. So there was no way it was staying behind.

The whole stack of dishes was only $3.99. Now how is that for a bargain?.... that is 4 saucers and 6 plates! I was shocked... So they came home and I think they will be perfect because I know these are sturdy plates. They will go with those cute, little cottage napkin rings I got a few weeks back... I think I will sew myself some cute little napkins over the winter....  While I'm waiting for spring...my favorite time of year...  I hope you have safe and blessed day.

xoxo,

Amy Jo



OOH The Wonderful Wizard of OZ



Although we don't really celebrate Halloween... this time of year always brings a remembrance of when we did... I just loved to celebrate it... one of the best parts was that every year The Wizard of Oz came on T.V.



It is my favorite movie of all time!! I remember being so scared the first time I watched it....The witch seemed so real...



Dorothy was so lovely with her blue check dress and ruby red lips to match her slippers.

Oh and the flying monkeys.....such a fearful thought...

The witch would stop at nothing to get those slippers...

I love how the whole movie was directing your heart toward home.... teaching young hearts that there really is no place like home......



This month I think I will have a family movie night... and watch the best movie of all time.... Anyone want popcorn?



Blessings,

Amy Jo

Time Warp Wives

I thought this was so interesting and thought others might enjoy watching it!

Blessings,

Amy Jo

Finally Some Fall

I finally added that little touch of fall to the front porch... although it is still not cool. It is 89 degrees today... But I must give in.

I went to Joanne's and Michael's and found all of the Fall things are on clearance... They had most of there stuff 70% off. I thought this pumpkin was so pretty.

I got this wreath for $14.00. I love the cattails and pears..

This tablecloth was just a few dollars.

I only paid $4.99 a piece for the scarecrows and the pumpkin man..

Even though I put it all off,  I am so glad that I decided to decorate when I did.The prices were right to pick up some new things... and it does put me more in the fall spirit! Happy Fall Y'all!

Blessings,

Amy Jo

Found Treasures

I know, I know, I haven't changed my porch decor... It is still very warm here and I haven't felt like changing it.... but I think I will this week.

"Marigold brought the big  white box into her mother's bedroom and put it on the bed. Her eyes were shining and her lovely red-gold hair caught the sunlight and flamed gloriously, lighting up her happy brown eyes with topaz glints." 
I have been enjoying reading Grace Livingston Hill. She was a Christian author in the first part of the last century... I love her books, and after buying them I realized I have read quite a few of these years ago. But, I really love them and want to collect them all if possible. One that is not showing that I bought is Rainbow Cottage. If you can get a copy of any of her books, I don't think you will be disapointed!

I found these adorable cottage napkin rings at Goodwill.

They were orginally 3.99 a piece and I got four of them for 2.99. I think they are so darling... I can't wait to use them in the spring.

Blessings,

Amy Jo



20th Anniversary!

A reporter asked the couple, "How did you manage to stay together for 65 years?" The woman replied "We were born in a time when if something was broken we would fix it, not throw it away"....

My husband and I celebrated 20 years of marriage this past week.... My, how time has flown....I had a special delivery that day. A beautiful bouquet of flowers...It was all in spring colors.... my favorite... Fall colors would have been disappointing to me... he knows me well...

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3

 Marriage is a beautiful and wonderful relationship and a gift from God. I have been so happy to be married to my wonderful, hardworking husband... he has been my best friend, confidant, and biggest encourager.

Leaning on God to guide our marriage I hope we have many more years together.....
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16



Today we finally have had our first taste of fall.... it was in the 60's in the morning and has warmed to the lower 80's. Levi and I went walking for 50 minutes and it was wonderful. The wind was blowing and the air was a little crisper than our usual high humidity. I hope fall is here to stay...It makes you not want to waste a minute by sitting indoors.... I think we will spend the afternoon on the porch doing school work...

Blessings,

Amy Jo

Blessed To Be At Home

Lately I have been doing a massive amount of cleaning... and honestly I feel so blessed to be able to do it.... I feel so happy to be able to stay at home and carry out all of the wonderful homemaking duties. My husband works extremely hard and wants me to stay at home. He has never wanted me to work. I have a few times over the years but it was always because I wanted to. He was never happy with it.



You know how it goes... you are working full time and the house gets a little messier and you eat out a whole lot because... well, because who feels like cooking after working all day? And besides there is laundry to do and homework to supervise. Showers to take and lunches to get ready .... then you wake up in the  morning to start all over. So for our family it just never worked. We feel like Titus 2 should be the model for our home. Me staying home and running all of the household.  Him providing  the money we need.We home school and we own a business. I do all of the office work. He always says "You don't have to get a "job" you have a job right here.  He is absolutely right of course. This job is my favorite. I can not think of one I would like better.

Out of all of my duties, my very favorite things to do is the decorating, cooking, and baking. I remember when we first got married I devoured every homemaking book I could get my hands on. It was very fascinating to me. It still is. Being a romantic, I tend to dream up ideals and long for the perfect home... which we all know will not happen until we step pass the pearly gates. But still a girl can dream, right? I think that is why I am drawn to these vintage images... They look so idealistic.... But enough rambling.... I just wanted some reason to share these images....;)

Happy Homemaking,

Amy Jo 



Constant Busyness.....

Last Friday we went to see my nieces baby.... she named him after my late brother. Very special. This is my daughter holding him.... He is so sweet and just content to be held and loved. Who doesn't love a baby?

It has been a while since we had visited her. We went to her grandparents to see her. They started a deer farm....

They were very friendly and loved to be petted....We visited my mom as well and then we meandered home and looked at a few houses along the way.... a favorite past time of mine.

We decided to paint the office and I love the way it turned out. This is light french gray by Sherwin Williams.  This room really needed painting. Even though the house is on the market I decided to paint it in a color I would want to live with in case it does not sell.... This was in a Cottage Living Magazine at least a year back and I have been wanting to try this color...

I bought the curtains at Target and I love the linen look..... they filter the light and are quite lovely. This is a work in progress and one I am left waiting to see if I will get to finish... We have also been working on the laundry room... I will share that with you later.... We had a showing Sunday afternoon... but we never heard a word from the realtor.... I am beginning to wonder if we are  meant to sell. I think most people want a very contemporary look in a home. This house is very cottagey.(is that a word?) and the bathrooms need updating. And although I love my kitchen I think most people would want to update it as well. But all things are possible. Right? I have been behind in my visiting and postings....as we have had a constant busyness that seems to be the order of the day.....hopefully not for long.

Blessings and Hugs,

Amy Jo

Home For Sale (update)

Well, our home has officially been for sale for two months. So far we have had six or seven showings but no one has made an offer. We really don't know what will happen. I have been looking in the areas that we want to be in and I have found a few homes that I like....but we must wait for this to sell. Lord willing. I am sure most of you have sold a house before and you know the drill. Everything must be pretty well ready to show at all times. (not always easy with a teenager in the house) But oh how wonderful for everything to be in top shape! So for now we are waiting and praying.... and cleaning!! LOL

xoxo,

Amy Jo