New Basement Office remodel

This is what we had to start with.

Looking towards the window

The finished library section and my reading nook!

the same window there on the right. We still need to finish the calendar white board on the wall and have an electrician come in and put in a light switch (so we will no longer have a light bulb hanging in the middle of the room).

It's not heated, but it's still cozy. I'm also going to make some curtains for the window, they will be of heavy fabric to help hold in the heat. It's so nice to have a little retreat area to hide and read, do household management, etc.

Hailey playing at the Senior Center

Hailey and her teacher are playing "Down in the Valley" for an audience of about 50 people in November. We try to have Hailey do a performance once a month at the Senior Center in downtown Shelton.

Will and Hailey playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" together.

Family Legacy

We recently took a quick trip over to Idaho to see the Grandparents (Great Grandparents for the children). Grandma Pratt is 94 years young and still going strong living at home, and Grandpa Pratt is 92 years and has just recently had to leave his lifetime home and stay at an assisted living center, where they can take better care of him after he had his stroke.

Family is so important!! And it's so important to listen to the family heritage, legacies, stories, and tales from the older generations. They have so mush to share. We decided to do our best to capture some of the family stories and information before it was lost. The best way we found to do this was to purchase a journal type book that's made for grandparents. We all had a wonderful time listening to Grandma and Grandpa tell stories about when they were younger, and their lives growing up. We wrote it all down to document it for future generations. We figured we might as well get it done before it's too late. I encourage all families to do something similar, because you never know who God's going to call home next. Below are some pictures from the visit. And the fall colors up in the mountains were amazing!

food

I haven't been eating 100% RAW as of lately. I did really well for about a month when I was trying to clean out and detox my system. Although I have felt really good sticking to a gluten free, vegan diet with lots of raw fruits and veggies. My downfall is always the late night snacks and sweet yummies. At least most of them are all homemade and they don't have all the artificial sweeteners and preservatives in them. In saying that, I've been feeling a lot better lately, not as much joint pain and stiffness and no muscle pain.

I try to remember that if I'm not going to be eating all RAW foods, then when I don't I need to make sure it's at least gluten free and vegan. Whole foods are so wonderful for your body also. We've also noticed, with myself and daughter, that eating the sprouted grain bread doesn't cause the stomach aches as much as if we were to eat a regular wheat product.

God is awesome!

It's a hard choice sometimes to take the path of faith. Sounds like it should be easy, but sometimes God tells us to do things and we don't understand why or for what reason. You have to choose to do it in faith, even if it causes strife and discomfort, and even if other people don't like your choices.

The great part comes when you finally "get it" and God's lets you in on His plans. Then you have peace and even greater faith then before. God loves us and never gives us more then we can handle. We have to step out in faith and be obedient to what He says. It's ALWAYS worth it !

There are things in which God showed me a few years ago, and I've been waiting for it to happen. I finally see the ball rolling in the right direction, and it's so awesome to watch.

In faith, Heather

Road Trip in August

Finally, here are some pictures of our road trip to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and to see family in North Dakota. We took a ton of pictures, but here are some. The others are can be seen on our shutterfly sharesite at http://hmmsharesite.shutterfly.com/

Pretend blacksmithing with their cousins at a historical interpretive center

Cousins

The garden you were given

Everyone has a garden, some people just choose to plant grass all over it.

Don't wait until you have the perfect piece of land to cultivate and grow food. Plant food in your garden and it will bless you and your family, and possibly others who live at your place after you.