Out With The Old...

We have wanted to remodel and update our kitchen for some time now, and that process has just begun!  Daddy, Kyle, Davis, Luke, a friend, and I (Clara) spent one day tearing out most of the old kitchen cupboards and the drywall from a couple walls. The difference in the kitchen from that morning to the evening was huge! 

As you can see in this picture, the cabinets are all gone on the left, and we moved the oven and refrigerator into the dining room.

Cleaning was an endless job! :)

Davis scraping the ceiling. 

Our excellent contractor made the work fun and much more speedy.

Daddy put up a temporary structure while we worked on the load-bearing wall.

We cut out this window and installed French doors. 

 

This is what's left of our kitchen for now. 

Faithfulness

One of Philip's sunflowers

All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 

Isaiah 40:6-8

Role Models

A Little Child Follows Me

A careful soul I want to be;

A little child follows me.

I do not dare to go astray

For fear he'll go the selfsame way

I cannot once escape his eyes;

Whatever he sees me do, he tries;

Like me he says he's going to be --

That little child following me.

He thinks that I am good and fine;

Believes in every word of mine.

The bad in me he must not see--

That little child following me.

I must remember as I go,

Through Summer's rain and winter's snow,

I'm building for the years to be 

That little child following me.

~Author unknown~
Edited by Clara Johnson

Family Trip Part 3: Grand Canyon

From California, we drove down into Arizona.  We stayed a couple nights in Williams, AZ, a small country town that doesn't even have a Walmart.  Our first morning, we took the Grand Canyon Railway to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Waiting at the train depot, we watched a hilarious and most ridiculous Wild West Show.

Philip was pretty tickled to meet the Marshal.

The Brakeman aboard the train with yours truly.

This was our first view of the Canyon once we stepped off of the train: first time ever for us children to see this amazing formation!!

There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 

 1 Samuel 2:2  

Uh oh, Luke.  Looks as if you got yourself into a pretty risky situation. :)

Brothers and best friends admiring the view.

On day two at the Canyon, we hiked down the Kaibob Trail only a mile and a half of the seven mile trek to the bottom. And we hiked back up again, of course!  Needless to say, we all were a bit tired that evening, but we agreed that the climb was our favorite part of our time in Arizona because we were able to get more of a feel for the immensity of the Grand Canyon.

The average depth of the canyon is one mile, that's 5,280 feet from the top Rim to the floor. The average width of the canyon is about 10 miles!! From the top of the canyon looking down, we were barely able to discern the most minuscule of specks which were people walking on the trails.  

Don't laugh. It's not funny. It's true!

This is Philip's rock tower he stacked during our break from the hike.

Kyle, Daddy, and Davis constructed this bench from the loose rock lying on the ground, for the purpose of allowing others to rest and enjoy the magnificent view.

"Always leave a place better than you found it"

~Mother~

Reluctant to start back up the side of the Canyon, we hung around our "lunch break" site for two hours to nap, take pictures, and explore.

Shells at the top of the canyon... evidences of the Flood.

No, Hope did not take this picture. :) She was sleeping in her stroller.

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name;  worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 

Psalm 29:6