Mackinaw Music Festival

"For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops." Leviticus 25:3

The Bible constantly references vineyards in parables...the first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine...I'm not a drinker of alcohol myself but I love some of the associations with wine--leisurely times with family and friends, a fancy feast, unwinding at the end of the day.

This weekend Jeff and I had the pleasure of enjoying the beauty of the Mackinaw Valley Vineyard...from its veranda you can see a 30-mile stretch of the Illinois Countryside. We strolled around the lake, listened to live music...and of course, Jeff sampled two kinds of beer.

I fell in love with a Green Onion cheese that took first prize at the Illinois State Fair. For $8 a block it was worth it! We snacked on it for dinner and enjoyed each other's company on a breezy summer night. It was a wonderful treat.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Jeff and I went to the Farmer's Market at the Riverfront today. It was inspiring to be surrounded by fresh produce. We decided to grow a mini herb garden starting with rosemary and basil. I purchase them at least every other week at the grocery store for $3 at a time...we figured, why not just grow them at home? So that's my new pet project this summer...Tending to my herbs and refraining from over-watering. As Jeff and I got our hands grimy in planting, he kept yelling, "Don't kill the plants!" I accidentally squeezed the roots while situating them in the ground. Hopefully they'll turn out.

Another favorite summer pastime of our family is garage-saleing. Today Jeff and I scored! A church garage sale was having a Saturday special--you buy a bag for $2 and fill it with whatever you want. Jeff found a new rain jacket, work shirt, candlesticks, a rolodex, Christmas decorations, 30 thank-you cards, Spiderman winter boots for Max (hopefully they'll fit!), a game called "Pit", and bookmarks. When you're on a budget, garage sales are the way to go!
As an aside, our small group had a garage sale last Saturday and raised $115 towards the building of our new church!

Congratulations, Jeff!!!

Today Jeff accepted a position as a multimedia designer at WEEK-TV, the NBC affiliate in Peoria. He'll basically be doing the same kind of work for WEEK that he's been doing for WMBD for the past five years...but the station quality and pay is much better.
WEEK-TV has a reputation as being the powerhouse of local news in Central Illinois and is consistently honored by the Illinois Broadcasters Association and Illinois Associated Press as being Station of the Year. Broadcast Magazine named WEEK one of the top news stations in the country during a time when local television is tanking.
So this is a pretty big job promotion for Jeff and I'm so proud of him!!! Of course, we all know he's so talented, any place would be lucky to have him. My job now is to make sure my face is plastered all over his office so that he doesn't forget his wife! The down side to this job is that we'll no longer share lunch breaks. I've got a 12x16 print of my face that will hang on his wall...just to communicate that he is very married! If anyone else would like to chime in with decoration ideas, I'd gladly accept them. I'm no interior designer but I want to make Jeff's office a colorful and cheerful place.

Lazy Laney

The summer kicked off to a lazy start in the Hopkins' household. The sweltering heat and pollen has me sneezing all day--thank goodness for Claritin! Laney is taking a Madame Curie class at Whittier this week. We've spent some good, quality time together after school...eating brownie batter ice cream and popcorn and watching JAWS. I've never seen the Steven Spielberg classic and I found it surprisingly good. Laney rattled off all the different sharks and shark models in the movie. I'm always impressed with her interesting mind. In school, she's learning to make SLIME and wanted to share the recipe:

1. Fill a small cup halfway with half water, half Elmer's glue
2. Add a small amount of Borax dyed with food coloring
3. Stir with a stick for 3 minutes
4. Remove slime from the cup and knead it with your hands for a few minutes

Brielle is Dedicated

This Sunday was a joyous occasion as baby Brielle Elizabeth Hopkins, my niece, was dedicated to the Lord. Her mom and dad stood before their congregation and made a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise Brielle in a godly way. The pastor actually said some touching words about how Brielle is so special to the Lord and His family and she has a bright future ahead of her as an ambassador of God. (I'm just paraphrasing here the gist of what was said but I was really moved and Delaney leaned into me and said, "I think I'm going to cry.")
Of course, dedicating our children to the Lord is scriptural as 1 Samuel 1:11 reads:
"And she (Hannah) made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
As God answered Hannah's prayer and gave her a son, she remembered her vow and gave him to the Lord.
We love Brielle so dearly and pray the Lord's favor on her for a life full of promise and blessings.