What Have the Harrell's Been Up To Lately?

Good question . . . one that I think most people wake up and ask everyday :) It's been a very busy 2 weeks for us and our schedules have been anything but normal. In fact, the whole month of March is like that for us. We've recently had the privilege of hosting several of our family and friends at the Harrell B&B! We always enjoy when others come and spend time with us here. We try to make it as good of an experience as possible. Our guests enjoy a private bedroom and bathroom. We start out by preparing the "Shabby Chic Room" for our guests to sleep in - this includes the standard washing of the linens (bedding and towels), dusting, vacuuming, and spritzing just a splash of lavender vanilla linen spray on the bed to wrap it up. But then we add some special amenities for our guests to enjoy :)

Our guests are greeted with a "Welcome Tray" as they enter their room. On this tray is a variety of reading materials, Ghiradelli chocolates, and all-natural toiletries (including loofahs, organic shampoo/conditioner, lavender castille soap, whipped body lotion, and make-up remover towelettes). We have also added a bouquet of fresh flowers and a lavender vanilla scented candle to create a more relaxing atmosphere.

Guests are also treated to a home cooked meal the following morning. Here we enjoyed breakfast casserole (made with sweet Hawaiian bread and spicy sausage), fresh fruit, coffee, and juice. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

We want to thank all our family and friends for visiting with us these last 3 weeks and hope you'll come again very soon!

In addition to playing host, we've had a lot going on at our church lately that we've been involved in. Chris especially has been particularly active. He's currently working with the pastor over the Men's Ministry to get a church-wide paintball league started. In addition to playing paintball together, they will coordinate some sort of Bible study that connects right in to what they're doing. He's very excited about this! We also have volunteered to serve at an upcoming concert featuring the worship leader, Steve Fee. We sing a lot of his music at HGBC North and are very excited to spend an evening worshiping together with him! This Saturday, we'll be joining a few of our friends at an Outreach event where we'll get to minister to military families through a cookout/Easter egg hunt setting. The weather will be cooler than hoped for, but at least the sun will be shining! We are also beginning to pray about a missions trip to Peru in September. Our good friend is helping lead this trip and we have felt a calling to the Mission field for a while now. This will be my first trip, Chris' second, so I'm nervous and excited at the same time. We don't have too many details yet, but it is something that we are talking about doing right now.

Chris' job continues to go well. He's really been enjoying himself at Granite and I'm so thankful for that. Now, when he comes home from the office, he's not exhausted or frustrated or ready to be left alone - he's engaged and proactive and attentive. This is a huge answer to prayer! Simply Divine Designs is doing well also. It's slow getting started but I know great things are in store. We received our first order of business cards and stationary in the mail this week, which was exciting! I'm also considering adding company labels to each product. I was curious what your opinion is. I've added a poll to the right for you to tell me if you like this idea or think that it's not necessary. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about.



They've added their tags to the bottom of their burp cloths, as you can see. But I like the idea of branding the company name to the product. We have also confirmed our attendance as an official vendor at the 2009 Farm Day event at Chris' mom's winery. The information has been added to the website if you'd like to know more.

So, there's lots going on to keep us occupied - but we're thankful. And one of the best things is that Spring is almost here! My house is ready to let the sunshine in! Open up those windows and doors, 'cause here it comes!!!

Have a blessed day!