I am writing this post from my bed...because I have come down with the flu.  A couple of days ago, I started feeling a funny feeling in my throat, and started feeling quite tired.  I was hoping it was just due to exhaustion from all the preparing I had been doing for Christmas, and because I had been tending to sick children all weekend and following, and because of other current matters.  But during the night, the feeling in my throat turned to excruciating pain that kept waking me up, along with the feeling of fever and body aches.  I had come down with the flu.

I spent the whole next day in bed, not feeling like myself, but treating myself with remedies that I thankfully learned over the past few years.  My husband braved sitting next to me, much of the time, keeping me company.  I got one little card from Understanding Heart, and a sweet little note from Trusting, that said, "Dear Mommy I Love you, I hope you feel 100% better."--along with a drawing of him and his mommy.  It is so sweet when your little children remember you even when you are shut up in your room away from them all day.

A yak we saw on one of our recent family walks

I am still in bed today, but feeling so much better.  It is such a beautiful, sunny day and quite warm, and I can hear many birds chirping, and the cows mooing outside.  The children have enjoyed some outside playtime with Daddy today.  Quite a change from all the recent rain we've been having, with mostly dull, gray skies.  The children and Daddy have now gone on a walk to the organic farm, and I wish I could have gone with them.  But the Lord has me here.  How I am reminded in these quieter moments the Lord gives me that I must remember to pray, for there is so much to pray about.  And while I may forget, my Saviour never leaves me and is always with me, ready and waiting to hear from me.

While I am feeling a bit better, I am almost tempted to get up and go do some laundry, for I enjoy doing laundry, and it really needs to be done. But in this big, old house, that would require a lot of walking.  Apparently, no one has reminded Golden that she should help out by doing some laundry, though she has been helping in other ways such as getting meals for the family.

I am staying in bed, except for a few little trips up and down in my room.  I've been going through a few drawers of paperwork and cleaning things out, little by little.  It is amazing how much paper piles up these days and takes up so much of our space and time.  I would be happy to be rid of it all.  I am getting rid of whatever I can, but keeping those keepsakes from the children and necessary items.

My husband has gotten me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers.  There are dark pink roses, lilies, and some other strange but beautiful flowers I am not familiar with.  They are brightening up the room and providing the sweetest scent to cheer me.

I hope you all are doing well and have had a merry Christmas.

Do you ever find yourself longing for home?  Your Heavenly Home?  Sometimes I do....I hope that is okay.

Sometimes life is so trying and taxing, full of discouragements.  Things do not turn out the way we had hoped for or imagined.

But what keeps me going is knowing I have work to do.  I have children to take care of, and a home to make for them--as beautiful and Heaven-like as possible, by God's grace.

I don't always have money in the budget to get things for our home, and I cannot drive right now to go to the shops.  It has been a long time since we have been to thrift stores or car boot sales--I have found a couple of lovely paintings at car boot sales.  But this week I have managed to have just enough money to order a picture frame to frame a couple of our wedding photos.  I also finally found a natural candle company here that does not charge an extravagant amount of money for scented soy candles.  So I have ordered a couple of fall-themed candles to lift our spirits just a little bit.

I have been so busy with other things lately, that the home has just been on maintenance-mode, with the children doing most of the housework.  There is more I would like to get done around the house, so my family has a beautiful and clutter-free home to live in and enjoy. 

A trip to a reservoir.  Imagine how lovely Heaven will be, where the light comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.

At lunchtime today, somehow we came upon the topic of how someone melted part of the power cord to one of our slow cookers.  I had noticed it in the morning, however, I needed to cook our meal for dinner in the slow cooker and just put everything in and turned it on as usual, trying to get started on the rest of my day.

One of my girls, upon hearing about the cord, was concerned and reminded me there was danger since the wires were exposed.  She also reminded me of how I could cook our meal in the soup pot instead...(smiles).  I was a bit frustrated, as the person who accidentally melted the cord never told me about it so we could fix it.

But I went to put the evening's dinner, already steaming, into our large soup pot.  Soon, my littlest girl was standing right between me and the counter, squished in the little concave between my legs and the cabinets...

"It's alright, Mommy.  We can just pray," she reminded me, as she hugged my legs.

It was such a simple thing, but it made me stop and think about my feelings of frustration.

"Of course we can always pray, can't we?"  I smiled at my dear little girl who spoke wisdom to me in that moment.

I'm sorry I haven't replied to all of your recent comments.  Things here have been more busy than usual, but I will try to reply soon.

Some days are hard.  God sends trials.

Being a housewife is not always easy.

Some times children are hard.  Relationships are hard.

People hurt us.

Some times we want to give up.

But we can't.

We are in a spiritual battle, and we must remember we are on the Victor's side.

We have to keep fighting.

We can't give up.

And we can hope that one day we will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

With love,
Pleasant House