around our house

Will and Annie have been enjoying the beautiful weather. They beg me to take them outside to play in the dirt and flower beds around our house. As long as the monkeys stay away it's grand!
Ahhh, the promised post about our new couch cushions. Indian fabric usually has patterns and colors that don't conform to western ideas of beauty... if you catch my drift... So, when I asked for my couch cushions to be re-done (due to incredible discomfort when sitting on the couch), I was a bit worried about how they might end up. It only took about 2 months for a man to finally show up at my house to take measurements, and he told me I could choose the color, but not the material. I timidly requested blue, and he asked me if I prefered patterned or plain. I requested plain as a measure of safety - lest I end up with some large flower print with hot pink and orange flowers on a bright sky-blue background or something equally distasteful. After gently nagging the woman in charge of the cushion project several times, the man returned to my house to fix my cushions. It had now been over half a year since my original request, and I cautiously peeked at the fabric he had brought for my cushions... WOW, it was a very dark blue (as I had longed for), and not only that, but instead of plain, it had a pretty pattern with red and orange-brown roses. The most incredible thing about this is that those roses actually match my curtains which are a shiny red/orange. (Nate said that this is probably the only time in our lives that our curtains will match our couch cushions.) What a gift from God! Again, I am reminded that all things are God's and He loves to give us the desires of our hearts, and He cares about every detail of our lives. So our cushions are not only much more comfortable, but also prettier than they were and my living room feels livable and cozy. I am so thankful and God is so good!

Check out the curtains that match our finished couch cushions.

(And that's my handsome man reclining on the comfy cushions with a cup of tea and a book.)

Where's Annie?

And finally, outside again, the kids just play so nicely together. (I think they are dropping leaves in this picture.) Annie likes to sit down on this tiny ledge and pat the space next to her while looking at us as if to say, "come join me, please." Sometimes I think we live a pretty charmed life around here.

:)