This Week in Review

To start right off, this is not going to be a short post.  So you might as well get up and make that cup of coffee.  (And no, not all my posts will be this long.  Promise!)

We left CA's dry summer and now it's back to the heat and humidity of Ozark-land.







It's SO GREEN!!



And this, friends, is an "in-between thunderstorms" sky.

Tuesday morning my alarm failed to wake me up, but an hour later…FLASH!  BANG!!!  Yes, a real thunderstorm.  How I've missed them!  I closed my eyes and enjoyed God's beautiful "Welcome Home."

Three cheers for real thunderstorms!!

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"Everything is in order within the chaos." – A Jewish saying I've adopted this week







It looks like a tornado went through, but slowly…





…progress.







By Day 3 I had the coffee pot set up, the floor swept, and the couch and easy chairs cleared.  It felt so wonderful.



 This is my favorite piece of decor.  :)

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We went shopping the day after arriving.  Whew!  I think I've had my fill of shopping for a while.  Don't get me wrong, it was good.  I just honestly don't remember the last time I've had to buy so much stuff.


I was looking everywhere for a couple of houseplants.  Finally, I found some at Walmart, of all places.  Score!



All set for bread-making - which is one of the things I'm doing today.

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And here's some pictures of dear Michelle and I.  She's seen quite a lot of me this week.  Sorry, Girlie!









(This shot was her idea – really!)







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Random thoughts from the week:



"Best excuse not to wash dishes – no dishcloths!"  A sponge works in a pinch, but it's not a long-term option.

"When necessary, a small plate and a butter knife can stand in for a cutting board and a sharp knife."  (I was dicing tomatoes.)



"Yup, I'm back in MO.  The crickets are everywhere.  I caught one in the apartment already [day 3]."

"I've added a new item to my road kill list – a rabbit."  :(

"Went to wash my face, and a huge Daddy long leg-ish spider fell out of the wash cloth into the sink.  No, I didn't scream, but I did quickly (and sharply) inhale.  SMASH!  Score: Rachel, 1.  Spider, 0."



There's nothing like snail mail from home…



"I wonder how Arla and I are going to get along this semester?"

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This week has been a good time to learn more about faith.

 Faith isn't warm fuzzies.  It isn't even always a strong peace in God's sovereignty.  Sometimes it's simply putting one foot in front of the other when we don't know why or how.

God is sovereign even when my faith is weak.  And He never changes – He's always Himself no matter what I do.

On that note, I'll close.  Thanks for stopping by!