Home Industry: The Patio

The Proverbs 31 woman brings many words to mind. Not the least of which is industrious. According the Webster 1828 dictionary, industrious means, "Diligent in business or study; constantly, regularly or habitually occupied in business; assiduous; opposed to slothful and idle."

Proverbs 31 is convicting, challenging, and inspiring. With all her industry in mind, I've wanted to start an ongoing semi-regular blogging series on my home industry. :)

Today's subject is? The Patio.

I promised my mother that I would help her put together a gazebo for our back deck... and if you know anything about me, it is probably the fact that I am NOT an engineer. Yet, my mom still put up with me. :P


After a weird problem, however... Mom and I called in some great guys. My Dad and brother....


Even the poochy wanted to help. :D


And wallah! The finished project.


It will be a great on warm, summer evenings.

What I've been working on

Daniel's high school graduation is tomorrow evening. With such a momentous occasion comes lots of hard work; there are clothes to iron, pictures to takes, diplomas to print, and announcements to mail...

My biggest task was the announcements... So for several afternoons and evenings, I curled up with some of my favorite superheroes to finish the work.

The graduate wasn't ignoring the work, however... He folded announcements diligently despite being laid up...

We can't wait for tomorrow!

What's this girl to do?

A glimpse into what I do....


No-bakes

Into the oven

Chocolate Chip

Cleaning

Study

Ready to bake

Mmmm... Ginger Snaps

Help decorate for MECHE

My good friend toad... Err, fixing Grandma's blueberry cage

Even after VBS, the Powell's had no time to rest....

Saturday morning, my family traveled to Terra Alta to help my Grandma Martha fix her blueberry cage. A beautiful day to be outside in God's green earth.

Fun with my Girls

For years, I have babysat for the Knudsen family. Now some days it almost feels like they are family. I love spending time with Ineke and Ana. They are bright spots of sunshine in my day. Both of them remind me of when I was younger and still homeschooling. They play paper dolls, American girls, and yes! they listen to Adventures in Odyssey.

Yesterday, for a special treat, Ineke and Ana came to my house. I quickly did their hair... (Poor Ineke's fell out).

Ana... the Shirley Temple version

Ineke... getting ready

We then rushed to lunch, and after a small detour at Wal-mart, joined the Welsh/Kincell/and Amidro (sp?) families for a showing of Prince Caspian. After the movie, there was much discussion of whether or not it did the book justice... Ana loved it! Ineke had problems with Reepicheep, but I think she's coming around. :P

The group picture... we had a dreadful time "finding" everyone, so I think some of us look rather un-good. :P But the kids were getting tired of pictures.

With the invitation of the Kincell's, the girls and I joined them for ice cream. I think all the kids enjoyed it. Their ice cream covered faces showed their excitement.The night didn't end there however. My girls and I headed back to my house... While we waited for the chicken fettuchini, we started watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both Ineke and Ana had read the book, so I waited to see if it would pass the "book test." To my great delight, they both really liked it.

Sleepover

After listening to Adventures in Odyssey, we all fell asleep... It was a good thing too. They had homeschool co-op in the morning, and I needed to arrive at work awake. :)

"Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend"

Phrases like "Everybody's workin' for the weekend" and "T-G-I-F" come up a lot on Friday. The world is so glad to be done for the week. No more work... it's time for play. But often the workers come back on Monday more exhausted than on Friday.

In Genesis, God designed the work week. He worked for six days and then He rested. In Old Testament, Israel followed this example. Sunday through Friday, the work was hard, but rest awaited at the end. This all changed with the death and resurrection of our Savior. Christ died on a Friday and was raised on Sunday. The new Sabbath. The glorious work of the Christ enabled us to come near to God without constant sacrifice. Christ accomplished the work once and for all. Now because of the work of God, we rest first. Sunday is the day of rest... The rest is given on the first day rather than the last.

Being at school Monday - Friday, I start to think of Saturday and Sunday as weekend. However, my worldview of the week shouldn't come from those around me. The Bible is a wonderful reminder, that I do not work first. Christ has given me rest, a beautiful foretaste of what is to come.