Busy Babes

This has been a super summer so far.   We've enjoyed lots of farmer's market, lots of Grandma, lots of churchy things and some of this.....



My sweet Nate is a man after my own heart.  Simple.  Perfectly content with his own company...craving it at times.  But it's mighty hard to come by around here.  One afternoon he found himself with his room all to himself.  Unheard of.  His siblings were all preoccupied.  There was a nice quiet in the house.  And I found him playing army guys all by himself.  Enjoying every quiet second of it.  I took a picture and tiptoed away.

Meanwhile, there was crafting going on the girls' room.

And Bekah was coloring Eldest's hair purple in the bathroom.

This guy has been super busy in his garden.  He can hardly talk of anything else.  He also has a watering job for a friend of mine that he loves.   Next week he gets to learn to build a rabbit trap. 

This is his first cantaloupe.  Grown from seed!  He was so proud and it was super sweet! 

Lately.....

I started the week (Sunday) in a horrible mood.  I'm not even sure why except that I haven't been in a bad mood in a while so I guess I was due.  I ended the day by sending everyone to bed and threatening my husband.  I don't recommend that. 

I don't even have too much to blog about but here's some things that have been going on lately....

~Mr. Jay gave us a bunch of okra. Happy momma.

~I got a dehydrator for my birthday!!  And I haven't even had a chance to use it yet.  But I will.  A lot. 

~I'm determined to overcome my cooking woes and enjoy my kitchen again.   So today I made a good decision.  ...picture this:  Monday morning rolls around and I forgot (again) that I haven't menued for the week.  Of course there are never leftovers from the weekend and my man will be coming home for lunch.  So lunch for Mondays from now on will be tuna sandwiches.  I only need a few things in the kitchen to pull it off.  I won't have to think about it anymore.  tuna sandwiches on Monday.  Every week.  Done. 

~Ms. Turner is my hero.  She is the most awesome story time lady ever.  She seems genuinely happy to see my kids.  And even though she hasn't seen us for awhile she remembered FarmerBoy's favorite book and promised to read it next week.  Love her.

~Speaking of FarmerBoy.  This is what came out of his mouth today..
"Mom, you know those blue overall things that farmers wear?  Where do you buy those and do they have them in my size?" 

What in the world?  And where did this kid come from?  Um, no Son.  They will never have those in your size.

~He has a watering job for a friend of mine while she is on vacation.  He is disappointed that it's raining and he won't need to go tomorrow.

~ZBoy went to church wearing 2 different shoes last night.  Not even remotely the same. 

~OH!  And my sister-in-law came to church with us.  I hope she comes back!

~We had another meeting with the contractor.  I think he's understanding what we want pretty well.  We are getting closer.  Perk test on Thursday.  Pray for that if you think about it. 

~This is funny.  I've been thinking about doing a Christmas in July night with my kids.  Hot chocolate, vanilla chex mix, and a Christmas movie for fun.  And now without me even saying anything about it, my man is sitting here in bed humming Christmas songs!  Haha! 

Rain Play!

We got a huge down pour today!  So needed.  So nice.  It didn't last long but we were thankful for every drop.   And when it was over there were streams and puddles to splash in....

4 cups and some sticks = an hour's worth of fun.

Racing pooh sticks.

Mally was in the middle of the fun too but somehow escaped the pictures.

Our Saturday

*Farmer's market
*TaeKwonDo
*Golf
*A new movie
*A nap
*Pizza
*Music
*A visit from the family
*My favorite food my MIL makes
*A phone call with my friend
*Tennis
*Rain!  Oh Yes!
*A good read

a terrific day!

A Glorious Place

"He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor."  1 Samuel 2:8

Thank you God for raising and lifting me to a seat of honor by the promise of your kingdom.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth."  Job 19:25

A Long Day

Yesterday was not a good day for Jes.

This happens to him often.  Though not usually as bad as yesterday.

He is a guy that is all about fun.  He's super pleasant, easy to be around, and makes everything a game.  I'm totally in love with him.

But sometimes those traits work against him.  Like yesterday.

Regular school.  All his siblings are finished.  Momma wants to be finished too.  But there sits Jes.  Still on number 2.  Not that number two is hard, its just that there are so many other interesting things to think about than math. 

After several warnings I find him up, out of his seat, and checking out what his brothers were doing on the computer.  Seriously Jes? 

I hate it when my kids goof off when there's work to do.  Our usually way of handling it is to assign more work so they can "practice" working diligently.   So Jes got another assignment. 

Now if I told him I was heading to the farmer's market and he could go when his school was finished, he would've knocked it out in 20 minutes.  Both lessons. 

As it was, it was 3pm with nowhere to go for a long time.  

TaeKwonDo at 5:45 and the kid missed it.  Because he was still working sitting there. .

That meant I missed it too.  growl.....

He also missed going to Grandma's afterward b/c at 7pm he still wasn't done. 

Finally he wrapped it up at 8pm.  12 hours of school. 

I love having my kids home.  But sometimes I wish I could just be the mom. 

Do You Have One Of These?

Nothing like decorating your porch on the 4th of July with a jack-o-lantern, huh?

Well FarmerBoy's pumpkins are stacking up and we just don't know what to do with them yet. 

We took this happy face over to Grandma's so she could enjoy it too.

But then we learned that it later burst into flames.  IN THE HOUSE!  

Next year I think she'll appreciate a nice paper flag instead.   

The New Land. (We need a better name than that.)

Tracy reminded me that I haven't blogged about the new land at all.  Where have I been?

I had the chance to go out there today so I took some phone pix to share with you.

Re-cap: 

A long time ago God was working on us to be debt-free.

We ignored it.

God persisted.

Honey thought we needed to sell the house. (our only debt)

I threw a fit. I wasn't convinced.

God persisted.

I decided they were both right.  Again. 

Our idea was to sell then buy or build something less expensive.

In the meantime, my in-laws decided they wanted a place to settle down. 

Maybe we could find some land and live on it together?

We spent a lot of time looking at properties.

And the house sold FAST.

We weren't quite ready for that!

We moved into this rent house.

After lots of hunting we laid our eyes on this beautiful land and it was just right! 

There is a house at the front of the property that my in-laws are living in.  It's pretty with a beautiful tree in the front and a wonderful porch.  I took a picture of it but then my camera said "no cf card". 

Growl....my fault.  Oh well, whip out the phone. 

There is also this huge horse stall barn thing with an air conditioned work shop that my father-in-law is in love with.  No pix of that either. 

So here's where we start.  In the back, behind my in-law's house.

Pond!  FarmerBoy catches fish everytime we go.  It's his favorite place.  I hear its not too deep b/c the previous owner's horses were standing in the middle of it when we visited one time.  I hope it doesn't dry up in this heat.

See the barn and hay bales to the right?  That's about where the property line is on that side. 

It goes past the tree line in the back and leads down to a creek.  I haven't made it that far yet.  It's completely fenced.  11 acres.

I'm not sure what I was taking a picture of here.  Well that dark colored thing is a bridge and the pond is on the right of my father-in-law standing there.   See the barn in the back on the left? 

My husband and I are in disagreement as to what this is.  I say chicken coop.  He says feeder.  Feeder of what?  If he thinks chickens then he is right.  Otherwise....no. 

So here's the spot where the contractor says will be best.  It is high for good drainage.  The soil conditions are ideal and the spot is the right size.  Yay!  It's set pretty far back both from the street and my in-law's house.  The next step is the perk test on the soil to see if it will be good for a septic system.  I'm praying for that!

And to the left of our spot is a big barn and the chicken coop.

Behind the spot back by the trees is one of those open barn type things like you put hay in. 

Ta da!  What do you think? 

Ps 119:130

"The unfolding of Your Words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."  Ps 119:130

I am the simple that this Verse is talking about.  I need the light and understanding of the Word. 
I have no idea what this day will bring.  But God does.  He knows what sort of light and understanding I will need to navigate this life and his promise is that if I will call to Him, He will answer me and tell me great and hidden things I have not known." (Jer 33:3) 

As Henry Blackaby says, "It is your life!" 

My Favorite Things of Late

1. Farmer's Market!  It's in full swing.  Busy.  Full of vendors.  Gorgeous food.

This was my breakfast.  And lunch.  Okra and tomatoes.  I forgot how much I missed the summer fresh foods.

2.  Cute geckos.  Yes, they are cute.  Admit it.  Look at his tiny elbows. 

If I could only teach them to eat spaghetti we'd get along better.   Crickets and worms, not so much.

3. My current read.  Well one of my current reads.   That's why its taken me so long to finish it.  But I like it so much I'll be getting my own copy and returning this one to Tracy. 

4. Working with my man to prepare for youth.  The big talks.  The bouncing of ideas.  The learning and growing. 

5.  The best cleaner I've ever used!  1/2 blue Dawn and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle.  Spray this in the bathtub and let sit for an hour.  Wipe and rinse.  Ta Da!  Thank you Pinterest.  I also used it on the greasy stove and it was just the thing.

6.  Patriotic songs and listening to my boys belt out their solos in the play tomorrow. 

7.  And my most favorite of late.....getting 2 hours with Littleman in the house by ourselves!  Unexpected and sheer greatness.  We read and played and sang silly songs.  I put aside my dishes and and laundry and phone and distractions and just focused on his sweetness. 



Youthy News

Today we took a bunch of our youth to see a life sized replica of the Tabernacle. 
2 buses
1 car
33 people

Aren't they a good looking group?
We put the trip together on Tuesday to leave on Thursday.  This gave the kids time to come to church Wednesday night to get permission slips.   Because no permission slip, no go. 

We decided to spend Wednesday night teaching on the Tabernacle and the symbolism so we'd know what we were looking at when we went.   "We" usually means Honey b/c he does a great job preparing and delivering his lessons every week.  But this time he asked me to do it.  

Really??  Because that's hardly any notice at all!   And I've never taught this class.   And, and, and.....

But he urged me on and volunteered to do the pictures. 

I LOVED it.  I wish I had had more time, but I enjoyed preparing, practicing on my kids, and then talking to the youth.  And they behaved and listened and colored on the sheets I gave them to label without stabbing each other with the new pencils I bought.  Bonus. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this new role?  Even though I've mostly considered it his gig, I've liked helping him prepare, giving input, cooking Wed night dinner, and getting to know the kids. 

Doing the lesson this week added a little something extra for me.  I hope I get to do it again.  In any case, it's encouraged me to help him more and to own it as "ours".  

On to the day...
We left early (even though we left later than we wanted) and drove uneventfully all the way to Mena with only 1 stop. 

The tour was good and the guy was very knowledgable and well prepared. 

Obviously this isn't the life sized one.  We didn't get pictures of that.  This is just the introduction. 

Are they bored?  Or being good listeners?  In any case, they were good and we were proud of them.

After this we invaded the local Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet.  Bless their hearts. 
Let's just say the good behavior wore off somewhere along the way.   Sorry Pizza Hut.  ;-)

The combination of too much pizza, close quarters, 106 degree weather, and a long car ride didn't sit well for poor Shawn. 

Everybody OUT!

Gross.  And hilarious.  I'm glad I wasn't in that van! 
We cleaned up in a parking lot the best we could and finished the ride home. 
I'm wondering if the church needs to sell that van now.   Or burn it.

Thank you Youth peeps for a fun day.  I love you guys! 

this week's stuff

I took a huge nap today and I'm in a rambling bloggy mood.  Since we have 11 dentist appts starting at 8:00 in the morning, I should probably be doing something else to prepare for that.  But this is more fun.
~Glorious Day!  My two littlest ones were baptized this morning!  OH, they were so excited about this.  ZBoy was up bright and early fully dressed with his bag packed this morning. 

All of our kids have professed faith in Christ.  As their momma my heart's desire is to help them grow in their relationship to Him.  I'm praying about how I can do that better.

~Youthy news:  we're doing a "Sundae Night" on an upcoming Wednesday.  Ice cream sundaes with water olympics.  Just a fun night.  I'm thinking we need to be thinking of a ministry project next and I'm praying for that.  Tonight we had 9 lovely faces, full of energy, full of life, full of opinion.  I love them more every week. 

Honey asked the question: If you knew you only had 2 weeks to live, how would you spend it?  Interesting answers that revealed a lot about where they were in their relationships.  Have you ever thought about that question? 

~I've got a weird discontentment thing going on.  I look around me and see that every single person I know is good at something.  Except me.  The only talent I can boast is washing dishes and changing diapers.  I am real good at washing dishes and changing diapers if I do say so myself.  But somehow that's not quite cutting it.   So I guess I can say that I'm discontent with my abilities.  And when I think about the things I'm interested in or like to do it would just be reading or blogging or teaching my little kids to read and working with my Awana/VBS kids.  None of that is real helpful now since all my kids know how to read, everybody can go potty by themselves, and Awana and VBS is over.  I would also love love LOVE to do some mission work but it's not the right season for that I suppose.  Soooooo.....there's that. 

~On the same note but kinda unrelated.  Our last story time teacher retired and moved to FL.  And while I'll never be another Ms. Turner, I did kinda wish I could volunteer for that job.  I would love to do story time someday.  I don't think it was a volunteer position though and I'm not real thrilled with the lady they hired.  She has an interesting (sad) life story and I'm glad she got the job but I think we'll be driving to the Windsor branch to see Ms. Turner now.  And why is that even a a thing with me?  IF I ever did do story time, would it ever even have any eternal significance to matter to anybody?  Probably not.  So who cares? 

~I told you I was in a rambling bloggy mood.  Can you tell?

~My in-laws are here for good.  They are slowly but surely moving into their new house.  It's pretty.  My SIL and niece are here for awhile too and it's nice to see them. 

~We had our first meeting with a contractor last week.  Pretty informative I guess.   This week he comes out to take soil samples and look at the lay of the land.   We are working harder on our plans.  It's getting fun to think about.  Mally wants a kitty when we move.  Farmer Boy is chomping at the bit for everything that has anything to do with the land.  I'm want a chicken named Hazel.  Mostly I will just be happy with a space for our table. 

~Besides dentist appts and contractor appts, I also wanna visit one of our church members in a nursing home this week.  She is over 100 years old and since we have been members she has not been able to attend.  I'm hoping to go meet her and take a kid or two along.   I still haven't made it to see Ms. Ruby too and that's on my list. 

~I hate that school and cooking seem to take so much time.  I have to purposely break away to do the important things.   And I guess you could call school and cooking important b/c ppl have to learn unimportant things and they always think they need to eat.  BUT.....it sure gets in the way of living real life.   Like visiting friends and playing at the park. 

~We've been spending a lot of time at the library.  I have two new books that we are loving..

Puppies And Piggies

Sweet story.  Ivan Bates is one of my favorite illustrators and I also love Cynthia Rylant.  Excellent combination.  And even though this book is really geared more toward the 2-5 yo audience, we have been enjoying it immensely.  I'm ordering a copy for my future grandbabies.  (Is that weird?)

The Dog Who Belonged To No One

Isn't he cute?  It's a story about a lonely puppy who wants a home and a hard working but lonely little girl who is needing a friend.  I cried through the last two pages. 

~OK, time to wrap up this super long blabbering and visit with my family that is trickling in.  Thanks for reading!

First Trip To Atwoods

The kids had been wanting to check out Atwoods.  I did too.  So one time I asked Honey to take me there for date night.  Exciting, huh?

Well it wasn't.  There were supposed to be chickens.  No chickens.  No anything except seed potatoes and who cares about them?  I wasn't impressed.

The kids still wanted to go and since we had a milk pick up in the parking lot we went a little early and poked around the store. 

They had bunnies!  

We tried out all the furniture and didn't break it like we did last time.  Yay us!

Guess who liked this store best of all?  He's asking if we can go back tomorrow.  Or the day after.  Or what about next week. 

Playing with the hats!

Then we looked at all the candy and let COW pick a cow present.  I bought some jelly and bug spray and Nate got a flashlight that he needed. 

I love the way that kids make fun out of anything.

There were still no chickens but it was a fun time anyway. 

Just A Few Words

Blah.

That's how I felt tonight.  Tired.  And ready to be done.

And I don't know why considering I spent the entire day playing and didn't even hafta make dinner.  

When I feel like that my mind starts to unravel the events and conversations of the day and I start seeing all the things I handled wrong  or snapped at someone or ignored something that someone thought was more important than I did.   And when I'm feeling blah anyway then the negative thoughts lead to a downward spiral.   Sigh......

I opened my computer to check my mail and Facebook and there is a message from my cousin.   One of the sweetest and most sincere words of encouragement I have ever received.  Perfectly written, perfectly timed, with words that were very personal and heart felt.  Completely unexpected. 

Tears flowed immediately. 

I am so grateful that he took the time to type out those few sentences.  It completely changed my night. 

I hope that I can be that encouraging to someone soon.  

This Week's Menu

I've been working on a full month menu for July.  It's coming along slowly.  I think if I can streamline the prep work it'll make things much easier.  I did a trial run for 2 weeks of June and figured out that I don't like a blank calendar type meal planner.  I do better with just having a list of meals to draw from.  One problem is that I don't have that many meals in the rotation.  I need more ideas.  So please help a girl out and tell me what you're eating or how you do your meal planning. 

My other project is Sunday morning prep.  I wanna be one of those moms who prepares lunch, irons clothes, bathes kids, picks out clothes, and lays everyone's shoes in a neat line by the front door on Saturday night.  Does anybody really do this?    The reality of it is that we go to church every single Sunday morning.  Yet every single Sunday morning I act like I'm surprised that we have someplace to go.  Seriously. 

Ok, anyhow that doesn't have a thing in the world to do with my menu post except if you are the supermom that wakes up Sunday morning to an organized day then maybe you can let me in on your secret! 

Here's what it looks like in our kitchen this week....

Lunches
leftovers or....

**PB and J with smoothies
tuna sandwiches w/ carrots and dip
big salads with cucumber dip
**bean burritos
Sub sandwiches (Sunday)

Dinners
veggie balls w/Mediterranean quinoa salad
cajun chickpea cakes with rice and sweet potatoes
Youth food
black bean and zucchini enchiladas
**pancake muffins w/ eggs and oven potatoes
green pasta with fruit

**These are foods that we'll probably make extra to freeze this week.  I'm trying to re-stock our freezer from the move.

Snacks
We have a lot of leftover snacks from the out-of-state trips last week that we are finishing off. 
Also Aldi has amazing fruit deals this week that I have taken full advantage of!

Which Way To Go?

Have you ever given much thought to blind Bartimaeus?  I read about him today in Mark chapter 10. 

Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho when Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was yelling out for Jesus' attention.  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

The crowd tried to silence him but he would have no part of it.  Imagine his desperation!  Jesus, right there!  When would he ever have this opportunity again?  And people are telling him to shut up. 

He yelled all the louder.

I like this next part.  "And Jesus stopped."  He stopped for a poor blind beggar on the street.  And called him. 

"And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus."  V 50. 
Can't you picture his excitement here?  He's going to see Jesus!!  Jesus called HIM!

So Jesus asks him what he would like and Bartimaeus replies that he'd like his sight. 

Jesus replies, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  Not only did he immediately recover his sight, but this also hints at spiritual salvation. 

Don't miss the next part:  "Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way."  V 52.

Jesus told him to go on his way but he chose to follow Jesus on His way!  Imagine the possibilities open before Bartimaeus now.  He would no longer need to beg.  He could work.  He could take care of himself.  He could see his loved ones.  He could see his own face!  His entire life would change. 

But instead of going on his own way or running to tell his family, Bartimaeus chose to join the crowd and follow Jesus.  Immediately. 

I love the faith and devotion he shows.

They're HOME!

~lots of smiles and hugs and kisses

~lots of catching up and stories

~a mini date while kids were in TKD (that means we got to sit in the car in the parking lot and talk all by ourselves!)

~pictures

~showing off new pajamies

~still in said pajamies at 10am.

~the right amount of noise in the house again.

~the peaceful feeling of all the chicks back in the nest.  Ahhhh.......

LOVE!!

Look Who's Here Tonight

This is the last night his daddy will be gone Lord willing.  The little kids have been taking turns sleeping with me while Honey is in FL.   Check out his brand new (to him) Cars pjs.  Yes they are winter ones but he loves them.  So whatever. 

Littleman has been freaked out in his room without his bigger brothers there.  And even though he still had Nate, it wasn't enough.  So when it wasn't his turn on the bed, he slept on my floor.  And so did Nate and Mally when it wasn't their turn.   I love listening to their deep sleep breathing.

I know what the guy meant when he said, "No room in the inn." 

Catching Up

The week in review:  nutshell version

~VBS was awesome.  Again.  And it's already over.
~My step mom had a heart procedure done that we weren't expecting. (She's doing great.)
~2 girlys and I headed to TX after VBS to visit family.
~While we were there Honey's grandmother passed away.
~We cut the trip short.
~I got a speeding ticket on the way home.
~We cancelled our Colorado company that was due this week.
~Honey and 3 boys went to FL for a graveside service tomorrow.
~Lane was left with a lot at home.
~Mally lost a tooth and both of us were out of town.
~Both of us missed the VBS program the littles were in.

Fast forward. 

After being scattered in 3 different states, most of us are home!  

My head is still spinning from VBS and the weekend.  And like always I'm mulling over all that I said and did and wishing I had done this and that differently.  Does anybody else do this?  

While I was in TX, Meg and I visited a tiny church up the road from my parent's.  Including us there were 16 people.  I hadn't planned on going to church but it was a good idea.   I do love being with God's people!
The first thing the pastor did was start explaining how what he's talking about today was NOT what he planned but God had given him something different and he needed to go with it. 

Then he preached on Romans 7 and WOW was the Word alive!  God indeed has power over circumstances and sin and He had given this guy a message just for me.  In this tiny town.  In this tiny church.  Our VBS motto was Awesome God Amazing Power.....oh yeah.

Anyhoo......Our four biggest eaters are outa town.  It's a quiet house.  And we're just hanging out and doing some fun stuff to pass the time until they all come home. 

Like.....
~I gotta clean this messy house.
~Pick blueberries
~Library time
~Ride the train
~Sewing class
~Shop for sewing class b/c I forgot to do that at Mom's.
~Re-organize boys' room
~Take dinner to Lane's sick friend.
~Make some new muffins.
~Take one to Ms. Ruby b/c I miss her and I know she wants to see Littleman.
~Father's Day shop for my guy.
~Read lots of new library books and try not to lose any of them.
~Order a new devo that Carri had that I liked.
~Blog more.

Now we're all caught up!  Will you please pray for our family in FL?  Sweet GG was energetic, healthy, and happy for her good long life.  And she sure loved and enjoyed her family.  They are going to miss her very much. 

VBS Day 1

LOVE. 

That pretty much sums it up. 

I had 6 sweet boys that didn't like the animal crackers I bought for them...but I love them anyway. 
5 were my Awana peeps and 1 was a return visitor from last year. 

We talked about God's amazing power.  Memorized a scripture.  They really really liked their workbooks.  And we did a little puzzle activity thing.  Time went by way too fast. 

Then music (which my guys called dancing), snacks, games, and closing.  Really now, what's not to love? 

Oh yeah.  When we went to snack time the ladies had laid out oreos and milk at each spot.  Really?  Oreos?  Couldn't it have been some nasty gingerbread cookies or peanut butter or something?  NOT my absolute favorite in all the world? 

I just ignored them.  But then Ms. Joy handed me a cup of milk.  I took it, thinking I'd pass it along to one of my guys.  Then she looked me in the eye and said, "Eat those cookies." 

Now I'm not in the habit of crossing Ms Joy.  And everyone knows that the Bible says that obedience is an outward show of love.  I love Ms. Joy.  So I ate the cookies.

So there. 

Only A Weekend Away!

It's almost VBS!  And I have my class list of 3-4th graders.  So I'm asking you to pray with me for next week....

~that I will feel well even though it's morning
~I will be prepared
~my kids' hearts to be open
~reasonable behavior
~the Holy Spirit to work wonders!  Our theme is Amazing Wonders and I'm praying that He will overwhelm us! 

And here are the kids that I am blessed to work with this year..

Nick - A great kid who has made good progress over the year.  (Seriously.)
Jasmine - I hope this is the same Jasmine from last year.  I liked her.
Lillian - She's been coming to Awana but I don't know her well yet.
Shannon - A new Awana guy that I instantly loved
Cole - His G'ma has done amazing things with him.
MJ - loves one-on-one time
Andrew - I don't get to see him nearly enough.
Caleb - I have great hopes for him.  He's a good boy.
Joey - Always has something interesting to pray about.
Jason - Happy face
Justice - A shining example that I will lean heavily on.
Joshua - Love! I'm particularly fond of him and his brother.
Jesse - Love!

After you read this will you please just take a moment to pray for us next week?

RA Blog Is Back

I don't want to use my blog to talk about such unpleasantness so I resurrected my RA blog to track my progress of the latest experiment.  The link is on my side bar if you're interested in following along.

Something New To Try

I don't like to talk about my RA much but I thought I'd give you an update.  In a nutshell....

~meds were affecting my liver and kidneys
~switched meds
~some things are better, some are not
~everything remains unpredictable
~more popping, more cysts
~my options are becoming more limited
~having a harder time maintaining a good attitude

I've been doing some more research and I'm trying something new.  It's a 3 day water fast followed by a 4 day rotation diet.  The premise behind it states that it takes 3 days for a food to clear your system.  Clear the foods.  Start over by introducing one at a time.  Chart the progress....blah blah blah.  

So I've been food free since 3pm yesterday.  My reading tells me to expect detox flares.  Sure enough I woke up in the middle of the night with a throbbing knee.  My experience is that knees and shoulders don't last long but are pretty intense.  This one is not so intense, but I won't be walking my neighborhood today. 
Is it a detox flare?  Or would it have happened anyway?  I don't know. 

So my plan is to lay low for a few days.  Drink gallons of water.  Pray.  And smile. 

And yes, it would've made more sense to wait until after VBS, after Texas, and after our Colorado visit.  But I figured, why wait?  By next week, I'll be eating again and maybe even feeling better. 

In the meantime I want to be sweet to family and not go off on the person standing the closest or melt into a puddle of tears.  Both of which are entirely possible. 

Will you pray for me?  And if you have any experience with rotation diets can you pass it along?

Do Like A Duck Does

These are our latest library finds.  Ms. Martha, our newest story time lady, read this one a couple of weeks ago and it has stayed at our house since.  Now LittleMan can read the whole thing by himself and it is a new fave.  It has a catchy rhyming verse that is easy and fun to read.  The kids especially like the way that Momma outwits the brown fox in the end!

Great news!  Paperback Swap has this and it should be on its way to our house in a couple of days.  This one is a keeper and I'm going to save it for our back-to-school party in the fall. 

Our other new favorite is Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes. 
Mrs. Turner read this to us and what book that Mrs. Turner reads would not be an instant favorite?  She said that whenever she reads this story the librarians spend the rest of the day saying "Goodness NO!" 

Pete is the coolest blue cat ever.  I had no idea he had such a following!  You can check him out here.  You can also download his latest hits.  They make my kids belly laugh every time! 

My favorite thing about Pete is his awesome attitude.  I overheard LittleMan tell his grandmother, "Whatever you step in, just keep walking along and singing your song.  Because its all good."  Ha! 

We got this book for LittleMan's b-day this year.  There is a new one out that we are picking up from the library today.   Big surprise for my little people!  I'm sure it will be added to my list of books for the back-to-school party too. 

BTW, today is the day to sign up for the library's summer reading program!   Its one of our favorite things of the summer.   Will I see you there?

Family Worship

We can't fit our instruments into our rent house but we are slowly getting them all set up at church.
Last night we had a fun little family worship time....like old times.

How I have missed it!

This Week

We had a fun morning picking green beans out of this gorgeous garden.  Someday I hope we can be good farmers like this.

Then there was the snapping.  I know if I had to do this all the time it would become a chore, but since we never get to do it, we enjoyed it.

Now what?  All my canning stuff is packed away.  The obvious alternative was freezing so I spent a morning blanching and bagging beans for the freezer.  The whole time my kids were asking how we were ever going to eat that many green beans.  Picking and snapping was fun...actually having to eat them is something different.

~VBS signups this week.  Can't wait to meet my new class!  Though most of my kids will be familiar, I'm hoping for some new friends too.  My room is mostly decorated and next week we'll work on it a little more.  I'm planning on doing my VBS lessons with my own kids at home next week. 

~The minute I finish VBS I am taking 4 kids and heading to Texas for the weekend.  It's a girl family reunion with my mom, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and I don't know who else.  I never get to see my cousin Carri and I am super excited about getting to spend 3 whole days with her!  My kids are so disappointed to miss it.  I wish it was easier for everyone to go. 

~And then!  When we come home we will have the fun of having some more of our Colorado peeps visit us!  Love them.  And whatever disappointment my kids feel about missing out on TX will be forgotten when they come.  It'll be short but we're thankful for whatever we can get! 

~After that we're hoping for a visit from Aunt Mich and Tate and Chloe from AZ.  Oh yes, June will be awesome.

~I feel so unworthy of the blessings of family and friends I have. 

~We discovered we live walking distance from the dog park.  Have you ever been to a dog park?  Do you even know what it is?  I didn't.  Well it's a big piece of land where you take your dog and let him run all over the place.  I guess in my mind I pictured a gross dry field covered with dog poop.  But WOW, it's this beautiful lush green park, very well cared for, with a lake and pretty trees.  I'm surprised this prime piece of real estate is wasted on dogs!  But anyhow, it's been a good place for Lane to escape to every day with Buzz and Joey.

~The property in Charleston is set to close on Thursday.  We're starting to get more serious about house plans. 

~2 months in the rent house.  4 more to go (at least).  I find myself missing a few things that are in storage now.  Mainly our games and some kitchen things.  It'll be all the sweeter to finally get to unpack those things in a few months.

~I went to the used book sale and spent $5.  Living here has taught me that I don't need as many of anything (even books) as I once thought I did. 

~Sams on Memorial Day weekend is a bad idea.  At least I had a handsome young man to tag along with me.  And whatever I saved at the book sale I spent at Sams.  On books.  Jackpot!  Lots of things for our back to school party in the fall.  Shhhhh.....it's a surprise!  One of my faves is a Billy Graham book about Heaven.  That's not for the kids.  It's for me.  But I'll share. 

~Jes and I spent so much time at Sams that we missed lunch so I took him to Taco Bell and spilled beans all over my shirt. 

~My in-laws came for dinner tonight.   I love that they are living in town now and just pop in and out whenever they want.  We had spaghetti and green beans.  Surprise. 

I'll leave you with a verse I'm praying for VBS.  It's beautiful, don't ya think?
"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands"  Psalm 90:17

Churchy Things

~Awana is over for the year.  NONE of my 3rd graders finished their books or even came close, except Jes and that doesn't count b/c he really had no choice.  I felt bad that I didn't give them any awards but honestly I couldn't think of anything award worthy of the year.  And I especially felt bad that Caleb didn't even get an attendance award b/c he only missed once.  But you can't really say "Perfect Attendance Except For That One Time That You Stayed Home To Play With Your Remote Control." 

I don't feel like I accomplished as much with them this year.  And when my own kids came on board something changed.  It was like my family and my ministry collided and my interests were divided.   I didn't feel as though I could freely give the same way when I had my own kids to think about/protect/cheer for/squeeze ketchup for/answer questions/etc. 

I'm praying about how I can do it better next year.  And for VBS.
VBS!!  Right around the corner!

This year I'm teaching 3rd and 4th graders.  I love love love VBS and the different atmosphere and the new
kids and the fresh opportunities.  I'm hoping to see some familiar faces from previous years....and especially Big Boy who hasn't been around in awhile.

~Saturday Misty and I hosted a girl day with our youth teens.  We went over this book, made pizzas, and had some good old fashioned girl talk. 

~Then last night our youth group hosted dinner and a movie night for the adults in our church.  They served BBQ along with the Courageous movie.  The fellowship hall looked pretty and they did a fantastic job.  They took it very seriously, stepped up, and behaved wonderfully.  So proud of them!!

~Youth will continue through the summer on Wednesday nights.  Since I'm always in Awana, I never get to join in on Wed night youth so I'm looking forward to that. 

Set or Sit

I am reading The Swiss Family Robinson outloud to my kiddos.

Last night I read the sentence...
"Let's set on the pot for supper." 

My boys heard..
"Let's sit on the pot for supper."

I know what they're thinking....why would they eat supper on the pot?

Sure enough....

Josh- "Where could they go to sit on the pot?  What could they even wipe with?"

Me - "In the woods, with leaves."

Mally - "But what about the girls??"

Hahahhaha!

Seed Mix

I've been trying to incorporate more seeds in my diet.   Some I like better than others and I tend to gravitate toward those.  I read this great idea about making a seed blend.  Since the size and texture of pumpkin seeds is mostly what I don't like about them, this makes it easier for me to actually eat them instead of just look at them in the pantry.

This took about 20 seconds total.  I dumped some pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds in my blender and gave them a whirl.  Then I added hemp and chia and just stirred them into it with a spoon.  

Ta Da!  Pretty too huh? 

Now I add this to everything.   It's best sprinkled on salads or cereal or dumped into smoothies.  But it's pretty good on most everything else too.....kinda like a salt and pepper habit it just tastes different!  I keep them in the fridge and just grab them at every meal.

Menu Plan For The Week

I've been a lazy cook.  I admit it.  This week I'm trying to do better thanks to pinterest and copying other people's menu plans.  

And have I told you how much I love my kindle?  Ok, well I still love it.  And one of the many reasons is all the free cookbooks I have loaded on it.  That means I can menu anywhere and browse new recipes no matter where I am.  Really, what's not to love? 

So here's the dinner plans for the week

Spaghetti (lunch for Mother's Day)
Grilled portabellas, oven fries, salad, and some dessert maybe (Date night!)

Pancakes and eggs with potatoes

Taco salads

Wednesday is our last Awana.  That means our last Awana meal too!  Next week I'll have to think of something else. 

Pizza

Chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob

Black bean chili

Sunday nights are crazy with church and there's not a lot of time for cleaning up after a big dinner.   Lately we've been having the same thing...
popcorn, fruit, cheese, pickles, pb & j on rice cakes.  For some of my kids, this is their favorite meal!

Oatmeal Cookies For The Freezer

Why don't I make cookies more often? Mostly because getting out and putting back all those ingredients take just as much time as making the cookies themselves. So today I made these mixes for the freezer.

I figure getting out 3 ingredients is much better than digging out 12.

Besides I'm trying to increase my freezer cooking.

3 Cups flour

2  1/2 Cups sugar (I used 2 cups of sucanat)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp each baking powder/soda

1 C. shortening (I used palm shortening)

3 C. oats

Mix all the dry ingredients then cut in the shortening until it is crumbly.  Then add...

1 bag of chocolate chips

2 Cups of chopped nuts

Stir it all together and measure out 2 1/2 cups into each zip lock bag.  If you use white flour you can store these in the pantry.  If you use whole wheat flour they'll need to go in the freezer.   It made 5 batches with about 1 1/2 cups left over.  I didn't know what to do with the left over.  I haven't mastered the art of measuring 1/2 an egg!  So I poured it into our granola cereal. 

When you're ready to make cookies you just need to pull out 4 things...

1 bag of mix

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t. vanilla

Mix up.  Spoon out onto cookie sheet and bake at 350. 

I baked up one batch right away to make sure we liked them.  Delish!  And they were plenty sweet even though cut the sugar by 1/2 cup. 

Missing My Girl

She's on her first mission trip.  Read: first time away from home alone.

It's all she's wanted to do since she was eight.  So it's having a dream realized in a way.  But we sure do miss her around here. 

Just as I was getting a little weepy over it all, my phone rang and I saw her picture!  YES!  She called at the perfect time. 

I got to hear about the car trip, the work of the night, dinner, the ice cream place, and the girls she's sharing a room with.  I'm thanking God for these particular girls.... they are just the ones I would've picked. 
Tomorrow they are working with Jesus House passing out groceries to the homeless.   

Pray for my girl this week....(and those of us missing her!)

Turtle-y Awesome!

Here's what it sounds like when a turtle is found...

SQUEAL!!!!

I'll carry him home.

No I will.

Z, he doesn't enjoy it when you carry him upside down. 

Why won't he come out?

He's scared of us.  He thinks we're going to eat him.

He doesn't understand how much we love him.

He's peeking!

Let's stand behind him.  He can't peek out his butt.

Isn't he sweet to let us carry him home?

Momma, isn't he just the nicest turtle ever?

"Fear not, stand firm"

Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and then the saint says – “I cannot stand any more!” God does not heed. He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you in need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by patience of faith. “Though He slay me, yet will I wait for him.” --Oswald Chambers
Again, God's perfect timing.

Honey and I were feeling somewhat defeated in our new ministry.  We're the kind that like to see immediate results.  The results weren't there.  We weren't even spinning our wheels....it seemed to me we were rolling backwards.   Patience is not my strong suit. 

Preparing for this week's youth lesson, I was reading the parting of the Red Sea.  I get so put out with the Israelites always complaining, always doubting, never trusting even after all they experienced.  I mean really.  They saw all those incredible plagues and watched God totally transform their situation.  Yet they stand at the edge of sea and whine about going back to Egypt.(?)  I don't get it. 

And yet I do.  I live that very thing!  I judge my own situation by outward appearances completely forgetting the power of God.  I whine that it's not working, that I'm not the right person for this, that this isn't what I meant.  I want to turn around and march in the opposite direction certain that there's been some mistake.

What a pitiful wimp I am! 
And there I was getting ready for youth, when God had a message for me instead.  Don't you love how clever He is? 

"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today."  Ex 14:13

I wonder what is next? :-)

The Grand Finale

The final tour.

Oh NOOOO!!  I just accidentally deleted my bedroom picture just as I was about to type.  Good grief. 

Well this is the master bath and you can see my bedroom in the mirror.  We'll call that good enough so I don't have to upload all over again.

The backyard.  It's great.  Don't you love that tree right in the middle?  And can you see the tire swing?  I've always wanted my kids to have a tire swing but the funny thing is that they really don't play on it much.  They like the swing set better. 

He also left his trampoline with a little ladder/slide so we don't have to put our's up.

And over to the left and behind the trampoline is FarmerBoy's garden.  A friend from church came over with his tools and scrap lumber and spent the day building this fine enclosure with my little guy.  He loves it.  Inside are 2 raised beds with some vegetables.  And do you see that plant on the back side of the fence?  It's a zucchini or a squash plant that was already there.  Bonus!

So there ya have it. 

One of the best things about this place is that it takes no time to clean up.  We only brought 1/2 of our stuff with us so there isn't a lot of clutter.  At this point I'm wondering why I even thought I needed all that other stuff anyway.  They only thing I've missed is our instruments and table space. 

I have learned a good lesson.  Less is more.  And I have a feeling that once we unpack our storage units we'll be getting rid of a lot more!

Our house is very close to just about everything except church.  Honey still comes home for lunch, we are almost walking distance from the grocery store, and are even a little closer to the soccer fields. 

I don't think anyone will be sad to leave this place, but for the time being it is a perfect blessing!

Tour Some More

Here we go with part 2. 

This is the boy's room.  Again, notice the colors?  They were NOT happy about the pink room, let me tell you.  But it happened to work out best with the closet space so they got stuck with it.  As it turns out they love their closet b/c it's big enough for them to all sit in and play legos.  So I guess it's worth it.  2 sets of bunks means we're short one bed.  Nate and LittleMan share a bottom bed.

The kitchen

It's a little smaller than our last kitchen but so much easier to work in.  When I run out of work space, I pull out a little 4 foot folding table and use it as a temporary island. 

The kids' bath.

11 people sharing 2 bathrooms often means the boys have to make a trip outside.

There is no good place to store towels in this house so we stack them in a laundry basket and store them in the bathub.  You just have to remember not to turn on the shower before taking out the towels!  Momma doesn't like having to re-dry a whole load.

The girls' room...complete with a girl. 

This room has 2 small closets with shelves instead of one big one.