July at the GateWay, Lavendar...butterflies...and blue skies!

July is bringing really warm weather here in the GateWay.

But......

our porches still welcome our special friends and family to the cool breezes of the hillside!

TR even wrote his own special 3 year old's greeting to you all!
July may not be the time for our hot cocoa, but the special teas and my wonderful personal coffee mix is still available each morning for your enjoyment (and mine!!!).
The fireplaces are certainly not in use, but the big fans and the great location keep our places cool and comfortable. Even in the 100 degree heat, we have had evenings when we could keep the windows open, AC off, and let the evening breezes give their gentle cooling over our bodies and souls as only this natural AC can do!
The birds are everywhere!

We don't have to keep the feeders filled as there is such an abundance of native seeds and feeds for our feathered friends.

Right here from beside your bed, you can watch the antics of the blue jays, dove, kestrel,

and of course the doe with their growing fawns.

Lavender is certainly the plant for this soil and climate! It has done wonderfully... as well as the salvia and rosemary bushes covering the west side of our cottages. The butterflies make frequent stops to test the sweet purple blossoms.

We've been blessed with a bit of rain here recently, so the grilling is not such a concern.

Our guests are always careful, but we have to be aware here in Texas that

sparks can start all the local crops ablaze should we not be careful conservationists.

Miracles do happen.... and here at the GateWay,

we've been allowed to be part of more than a few.

We like the addition of the old split rail fences. They do nothing to keep the critters out,

but the certainly do much for me in the way of the aesthetics of our spaces out here

in this pretty area of Texas.

Yes, we agree.... as well as testify... God is good.

We welcome you anytime, and better yet....

we welcome you BACK again and again!

Be blessed good friends.... and those destined to become such!

fossil hunt '08

This spring once again brought our special elementary group from Lawn to our little "mountain". They sent us wonderful pictures of each one of them holding a fossil they'd found. We so appreciate the fact that they "find" the fossils and then replace them for the next year's "paleontologists" to "find". What good conservation skills these teachers are teaching! Thank you for taking care of our place like it were your place....

I suppose, in all reality, it's neither ours or yours, but only the ONE WHO owns everything, right?

anyway... we love you guys and appreciate your consideration!

Lunch at the "dig site".
Things have changed regularly since we first put out these postcards... soon there will even be running water that we don't have to HAUL!!!! yeah Steamboat!
One thing that will never change.... is the "peace" prayed over this place... and the fact that the WAY in our GateWay is only His!

Our guests are friends we have yet to meet.

Our guests are the BEST.... we have had such honorable and precious friends (I call all of them friends as we feel that way after they leave as well as in our initial visits). Some people say "why would you let people stay at something that you've put so much of yourselves into?".....

my response: "the people the LORD has led to our cottages are people who treat our place as if it were theirs. They feel the 'peace' that has been prayed over these places, and they not only take from that storehouse, they leave pieces of themselves making our special place more complete by their being here."

Below are some pictures taken by a couple our our guests. (sorry I could not manage to get the first 4 to embed, so you will need to click to see... the next ones were easier with my limited tech knowledge). I do have their permission to place them here for your perusal and enjoyment of their time here.

Thanks Peter and Molly!
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation050.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation005.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation002.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation045.jpg

Happy anniversary Chris and Jennifer!

Spring 08 is FULL!!!

We will be trying to add Feedjit into this blog asap. To those of you who have recently visited... WOW... it has been a wonderful spring at the cottages.

Fossil hunts,

birthday parties for foreign exchange students (many wonderful nationalities present!)

anniversaries

Wine Festivals

graduations

Folk Festivals and

even Flea markets!

http://jimnedvalleychamber.blogspot.com/

check out our local activities at the above site....

will be posting more pics soon!

God bless y'all lots!

wildflowers and chapel hands

As the Spring rains subside, all kinds of wildflowers begin to blossom.
The sweet unmistakeable smell of the purple verbena wafts across the hillsides.



... and the chapel work move along... the keyhole entries look like the shape of praying hands, and if you are over 5 ft tall, you must bow to enter.
The old red oaks who possessed this place long before we did, echo the shape of the entries... beautiful!
The dainty flowers of summer dance across the hillsides in waves of color beginning with the blues, moving to the yellows and purples, and then the raucous cocophany of all the colors finalizing the show.
Isn't it neat how the hands of the artist are seen quite clearly in the his creation? These will be the bowls that will carry the light for the chapel. Hobbe you are absolutely visionary! I thank God for your gifts!

Butterflies/Redbuds Springtime

If you climb to the highest point, you will see the cross that Jason Shea. on his back ,carried up the deer trail the first night we were ever officially "owners" of this piece of property. It was the night before Easter morning '94! As I recall, there were several others who went, but the main weight fell to the shoulders of one young man. Hummmm I believe that event was a blessing over this place and our time on it! From the cottages, you can walk to this HIGH PLACE. What a view you have! I highly recommend the hike!

As the spring progresses, the antlers grow from "buds" into the beginnings of the large racks our beautiful bucks sport into the Fall.
The GateWay if filled on this stormy late Spring afternoon!
God's palette is spectacular in His array of golden sunsets here in the Valley.
not to mention what He does with the winged creatures and the blossoms too!
The redbuds set the hillsides ablaze before they move on to the rich green of summer.
You can sit for a whole day and not get bored. Bring a good book, sunscreen, and an open heart.
Bees and butterflies love the Springs here in Texas. You can hear the trees as well as see them right now!
Our friend, Billy Allbright, is one of our artists who's work is here at the GateWay.
You can see the beginnings of our xeric gardens which, by summer will be oh so beautiful!

Rainbows in Springtime

Spring at the GateWay means there will be RAIN!!! yeah! I remember a word given a year or more ago, some of you will too... Rain, or Reign?... YES! good memory!

And Rain in the Valley and on the hillsides means we get to see the most amazing rainbows!
Rainbows mean that God does what He says He will. ALWAYS! His promises are sure!
Then comes the GREEN!!! my color! I'm thinking God likes it too, look how much He used it!
As you look through the Spring Greens of the newly sprouting red oaks, what do you see? well, not just the deer feeders that we still keep filling to draw our friends close, you see it, IT'S the PINK... not just any pink, It is the pink of the TEXAS RED BUD! glorious!