Mountain Musings:

For Today...Tuesday, September 22

Outside my window...It's been a rainy week so far, and clouds and fog were over the mountains again today. A cool day in the low 60s kept us inside listening to Christmas music (yes, we start early!) while we worked on various wedding planning for Sarah and Eric.

I am thinking...of the good time of renewed friendship we had last week with our friends, Kim and Annie, missionaries on furlough from Papua New Guinea.They stopped by for an overnight visit and showed us the printed gospel of John they've recently finished for the Tami people.

Here's Kim showing Tom some scriptures:

Kim showing Tom book of John in the Tami language

We are so very encouraged whenever we hear of the ministry they are doing among people in a faraway village whom we will never have the chance to see or talk with. Thank you, Kim and Annie, for your faithful diligence these many years in Papua New Guinea:

I am thankful...for the couples who came to our neighborhood ice cream social on Sunday evening. A new ice cream flag announced the event on our back deck as we waited for folks to arrive:

We've wanted to bring the neighbors together for quite a while, and five families took us up on our offer of homemade ice cream with all the toppings:

The light began to fade, but everyone was having such good conversations they stayed on to get better acquainted. And a good time was had by all....

I was delighted...when my cousin and her husband came last week to visit Granny. Granny always loves company and had looked forward to Carolyn and Bud's visit for a long time:

I am wearing...a red skirt, white top, and hand-me-down leopard bedroom slippers.

I am creating...a blog post--finally! Life has been quite busy with regular life and...all things wedding related!! Checking out a wedding venue, house-hunting in Georgia with Sarah and Eric's family, furniture buying, bridesmaids' dress fabric purchasing, wedding dress fittings, considering possible flowers for the reception, and deciding on food for the guests have filled our days.

Fun Times...here are Sarah and Eric picking out fabric for free pillows to match their sofa:

Eric, his sister Abby, and Sarah also picked out some favorite colors to repaint some of the rooms in the home they purchased:

Here's Sarah standing in front of her future home:

I am going...to be one happy Mama and one sad Mama...what bittersweet days. (Send tissues, please!) For those of you who've already gone through giving your baby daughter away, please share with me how I'll ever manage to cope...especially in the kitchen!

In the kitchen...lots of pies filled the kitchen table this past weekend! A bride hired Sarah to bake 15 pies for her wedding on Saturday...apple, blueberry, chocolate pecan, and lemon meringue are pies the customer picked. Whew! I was glad when Sarah delivered all the pies intact!

I am re-living...our 35th anniversary trip one month ago. I never posted on our travels to Alexandria, Virginia, but here we are enjoying ourselves in Old Town:

We visited historic Christ Church, took a walking tour of Old Town, toured Mount Vernon, and cruised on the Potomac River:

Tom and Deb cruising on the Potomac River

In the Mount Vernon garden...while on our tour of Mount Vernon, I especially enjoyed the gardens and all the flowers on the property, even though our tour guide told us the gardens were past peak and overgrown. Here's one of the more formal gardens:

A peek into one of my days...Granny wanted me to drive her back to her hometown of South Boston recently. One of my dear friends invited us to spend the night with her. Here we are enjoying a very encouraging time with Carolyn and Garnett:

Deb and Granny visiting Carolyn and Garnet in South Boston

And Carolyn happened to overhear Granny say she loved buttered biscuits, so she made sure she fixed some biscuits especially for Granny the next morning. Don't they look delicious? (Thank you, Carolyn!):

Another friend and faithful blog reader in South Boston--Carolyn's sister, Doris--came over to visit while we were there (Hi, Doris!):

One of my favorite things...visiting Toots Creek whenever I'm in South Boston. I've written about Toots Creek before, and I always enjoy the treasures I find there:

A favorite quote for today...

"hello. pumpkins. warm sweatshirts. apple cider. hayrides. falling leaves. cinnamon. hello, fall."

You can check out more September Daybook entries over at The Simple Woman's Daybook blog.

~Deb

Please rejoice in the Lord with us as we announce…

Sarah and Eric H., a godly young man from the Atlanta, GA area, are now engaged to be married!

In God’s providence, our families got to know each other over the last few years with some conference visits, home visits, and some email correspondence. In May, Eric and Sarah started seeking the Lord’s wisdom in a courtship to determine whether it would please Him for them to marry. After gaining the prayerful blessing of both sets of parents, Eric proposed to Sarah this past Labor Day weekend – and she said Yes!