My Own Kitchen Window

My kitchen window isn’t very big and it’s nothing fancy. Just a little kitchen window above my sink with some pretty fabric draped across the top. But it is my kitchen window. The one my dear husband put in just for me.

When we first got married I became homesick for everything familiar that I had left behind; for the view from my mom’s kitchen window. I had a lot to learn about life and love along with some growing up to do. As time passed I grew fond of my own view; living life with my best friend has been a wonderful adventure. I treasure all the joys and special times we have been able to share together.

Of course we have also had our challenges. Things have not always been easy. Money has been tight and work scarce at times. Andrew has been sick off and on with both colon and back trouble, I landed in the emergency room after our son David was born, and we have been trying to start a farm in the midst of it all. And now Andrew had a severe colon flare up that resulted in his colon being removed to save his life. No, it has not been easy. But God has been faithful. We have grown closer to each other and our love has grown deeper.

Through it all I have learned to love the view from my own kitchen window more and more. The beautiful mountains that change color with the seasons, chickens pecking in the pasture, a corner of the garden. Sometimes I see my beloved husband working on some project or a toddling little boy trying to pet the chickens. But most of all I see love in the kisses shared by the kitchen sink, joy in our meals shared together, faithfulness through the laughter and the tears. Memories built together as a family, in our little home looking out of my own kitchen window.

Being home now, after spending two weeks in the hospital with my very sick husband makes me ever more grateful for the chance to continue to share life together.

The view from my kitchen window is unique. It is different from my mom’s, different from a friend’s, different than yours. But it is mine, the life God has blessed me with. It is special and exciting to see God’s hand guiding. I look forward to enjoying the ongoing view from my very own kitchen window.

Spring

The weather has been so nice the last few days that we have been spending a lot of time outside. We bought some small trees from the conservation district. Those have all been planted now. We have also been working on getting the garden spot ready. We have been working on the fence and tilling the whole area.
Today we are running errands. We picked up some grape vines to plant, got some garlic and seed potato, and are picking up forty baby chicks. We should be busy for awhile.

Our little trees.

Andrew planting a blue spruce.Andrew tilling the garden.

Another shot of Andrew

Some little flowers I found

My turn!

Yardsale Finds

Another fun activity Andrew and I did was look for furniture for our place. We went to all the second hand shops. They have amazing ones up there! We also spent two days yard saling. On Friday we took Adam and Aleah and stayed in the local area. It was quite fun and very cute how much they like yard sales. On Saturday we took a trip to Spokane and went to yard sales, thrift stores, the mall, Costco and out to eat at a Mongolian grill. Spokane is a bigger city than I am used to so I am glad I wasn't driving. It is nice though that it has everything we would ever need to shop for. We had a great time and one of the best parts was finding a good deal on a table and chair set.

New Paint

Andrew and I really enjoyed picking out paint and painting some of the rooms in the mobile home on his place. It was fun to decide the color schemes for each room. We spent quite a bit of time over there working.


View of the house


Painting the kitchen. We chose a very dark purple, but then decided it was too dark.


I love the colors in both bathrooms. Dark red and sage in the master bath....


... and blue and yellow in the other. It was so fun to take some of the gifts over after the shower to see how they looked.


We finally decided to add some white to the kitchen paint and give it another coat. I like it much better.


The finished kitchen. The kitchen colors are purple, sage, and blue.

A Bridal Shower

While up at the Engell's Mrs. Engell put on a lovely shower for me. It was great time to meet many people from the area. Everyone was so friendly and pleasant. The shower was a dress up tea party and evryone looked beautiful.

Aleah with rag curlers

All the pretty teacups


Some of the ladies playing the game

Gift time

Some of the lovely ladies

Afterwards we did a little dancing!

Dreaming

The first thing Andrew and I did the next day was go over to see his property. I was so excited to see it. Andrew was a little nervous that I wouldn't like it but of course I did. It is so beautiful and so amazing that it is actually going to be my new home. We had a wonderful time walking around, planning and dreaming. We thought about paint colors, planned where to put the garden, and dreamed about where we will build a house someday. It was so fun, we spent quite awhile over there.

Looking up toward the trees where we hope to build a house someday.




Self-portrait


We also drove around the area a little and over to Lake Roosevelt. It is not very far away and looks like a beautiful place to go to cool off in the summertime.

Washington

The other day Andrew sent me some photos of his place in Washington. So I thought I would post a few here. This is where we are planning on living after we are married. Isn't it pretty there?