Spare 'Oom: Part 1

Here it is!
Photographic evidence that the Spare 'Oom did, indeed, get itself painted. =]

Brilliance has Just Occurred

{this picture has nothing to do with jolly-well anything ... I simply found it amusing how accidentally perfect this shot turned out! ;}

Preliminary Messiness =P

I highly advise working with fellow-enthusiastic siblings. +)

The First Stroke 
(er, Roll?)

Strokings, early on . . .

Ah, you can see the lovely change from the discolored-white, to the Gray-gloaming. <3 

I dearly enjoy projects with these two!

Tedious, quite . . .

{by the bye, we had exceedingly perfect weathers for such goings-on!}

Windows - check!

Before

After <3

Beauty painting Beautifully
{this is truth}

Her well-spring of patience was put to good use going over the trim in it's entirety! ;)

The very color clears my thinking.
And to think of the way God provided it, no charge, was an incalculable blessing! 

I was enormously grateful for Friend-Support. =]
Thanks awfully, Sa'ah and Schelle. <3

teehee
Discovering Nephew-Things under the bed!
It's a good thing he came up to claim them, because, we captured him . . .
I hope he leaves more belongings, so we can hold him hostage again! ;) 

So, the morning before painting commenced, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed about turning the house upside-down and inside-out for an entire week, not knowing precisely how long the pro-cess would last, having irrational second-thoughts about the color that was chosen, and blee-blee-blah-blah, etc.! ;P
Undeniably, my God always knows what I'm facing each and e.v.e.r.y day; because, that morning, when I was having my re-charging time with Jesus, He gave me this verse: I Chronicles 28:20

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed; for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD."

And when I looked up some of the words in the Greek {which is a favorite past-time of mine =}, it blessed my heart out!

fail; to be slack, be remiss, be idle; let fall, let drop; to withdraw; to let alone, abandon, desert, leave off, quit.
finished; to be completed, finished accomplished, ready; to be at an end. It is the total task, working until the job is done. It is an all-or-nothing sort of word.

Annnnnnd the primary reason for re-doing the old SO, is because that's where our guests stay, and we want to encourage and refresh those who will be staying there - "the service of the house of the LORD."!

God was reassuring and strengthening my spirit. Telling me that He wasn't going to be remiss or let the project drop until the task, in it's totality, was completed, for the service of His house!!

Is that a hug or what! <3
He delights to build my faith in everything - no matter what the size.

Trust - confidently expect - Him to do above and beyond!!

Pip-pip,
Phia

Post Scriptum
We are now in the phase of decoration . . . jolliness, positively! +) 

Then there were 6/8's ...

Ah . . .

I am sitting here, in Dad's big brown La-Z-boy, typing away on my lappy-top, contentedly comfortable inside, whilst the weather is deliciously Autumn outside. =]

The fire below, being my amiable companion.

[thanks goes to my pyrogen-savvy brother ;]

*ahem*

Back to the matter at hand, in re, my baby sister  . . .

. . . Heidi <3

[2012]

She's a gem, to be sure!

[2012]

Upon first impression, one may see her as a sweetly reserved, quietly mannered type of girl (which she is); howevah!

[2012]

She is typically quite animated. ;)

[2007, 2008, 2011, 2012]

Heidi is a great sport. =]

[2010]

Speaking of sports, she enjoys many a variety of them . . .

[2012]

. . . some of them being daring, quite.{!}

[2012]

She's pretty intense.

[2012]

Still, one simply can't help hugging the Heidi-child. =}

[2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012]

Because, she's a sweetheart. <3

[2012]

She loves animals . . .

[2007, 2008, 2012]

. . . and Evin . . . 

[2011, 2012]

. . . and being with friends . . .

[2012]

. . . {more friends!}.

[2008, 2012]

The reason that all of this is being brought to your attention, is because, Heidi
(previously described),
 recently celebrated her third 12th Birt{h}day . . . !!
In September of 2000, we all welcomed the 6th child and 8th member of our Fred family, Heidi Christine. <3

To begin festivities, a waffle breakfast was given.

[2012]

Followed by sundry activities, viz. singing at the Nursing Home; shopping at the mall; sister-pic-a-nic-ing; daddy-daughter ball-gaming; and annual bridge-talking. =)

We three discovered ourselves quite unintentionally matching
 (this sort o' thing occurs frequently ;P). {!}

[2012]
(we were asked if we were part of a 'function' ... lol)

She makes a darling little mouse!
{hah 'little' as in, almost-as-tall-as-me ;}

[2012]

I am privileged to be related to such stellar individuals. =]

[2012]

Love you, Best Little Sister Ever!

[2012]
(as in the case with the nephew, i can say that because she's mine - you can say that about your little sister{s}, too ;)

*Dear Heidi*,
It's my prayer and sincere hope , that this year, your walk with the Lord reaches heights that you {can't even imagine}.
May you continue to brighten other's lives, by allowing Jesus' Light to shine through YOUR life {especially in the difficult times - His grace is sufficient}.
You are a {constant source of delight} to me, and I will ever cherish the memories we've made (and future ones to come!).
*Love from your sister*,
 Phia

Post Scriptum
 ~ I wish to add, that Heidi is the originator of that nickname {Phia}. =)
[Her infant tongue being incapable of pronouncing the letter 's' for a period of time]

A Time for Everything

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven . . ."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Having established that, September is the season {in the Sophia-Calendar ;} for re-painting, re-decorating, re-doing, re-organizing, and just plain old re-ing! =)

If you've been with my blog for the past year, you may recall this post.

[and it's conclusion.]

I learned so much through experiencing that project - the majority of it was fun! - a percentage of it was not what I would label as 'fun', per se; however, it could be categorized as stretching. 

And while, at the time, stretching experiences are not always my cup o' rosie, I do come to greatly value them.

Because, it's through those times - the ones that make you uncomfortable, and throw you into 'cold water' - that you acquire growth. 

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I Thessalonians 5:18

Thusly, by God's grace, I am thankful for that stretching time!

Right ho, moving on . . .
{sorry. I have a habit of following little white rabbits down their bunny-trails =}

'Operation: Re-do Spare 'Oom' has officially commenced!
The entire lower level (with parts of the kitchen) is in an absolute state of topsy-turvey-ness . . .
Such are the joys that come with 're-doing'. =]
But it's aw-wight, because the arrangement is entirely temporary, and [more hopefully than not] there will be less of everything by the time this mission is completed. ;)

Pictures and details to follow!
Oh, and remind me to share with you, the special rhema that I found for this project. =)

Pip-pip,
Phia

Camping on an Island

Olive and I took an adventurous camping trip, with some dear chums, in July ...

these are the pictures resulted -


We had to stop here ;)

(i did not eat pancakes . . .  they served oatmeal!)

This was a first!
As we were driving by, both of our heads suddenly jerked to the side. ;)

Lindsay!! =D

I basked in the nautical-ness . . .

Oh, did I mention that our adventurous camping trip took place on an island?
Well, it did, and we went by ferry to get there. =)

No, this was not the ferry. ;P
This was a cruise ship that we saw in cute little Charlevoix. =)

Ah, some manner of distant floating structure . . .

South Manitou Island!
(and Ranger Sean ;)

Our lodgings =]

The island's main inhabitants being garter snakes and chipmunks, it was required that we keep anything with a scent elevated. 

We Happy Campers!
(soon, not-so-happy because of goodbyes ='( )

Next, we popped on over to visit some other dear chums!

Where we were delightfully treated to a relaxing day in Charlevoix. =)

Lovely Ladies <3

Refreshment . . .

A quaint place to enjoy our afternoon.

And, now, I leave you with a bowl of comfy happiness!

There are so many and much more things, places, people, events, occurrences, and expotitions I want to tell you about; regrettably, I am pressed for time, so it shall have to keep. =]

ROMANS 4:21

Pip-pip,
Phia