The Creekmore Train

One of my goals for the summer was to actually redeem the coupons my kids got from the summer reading program instead of letting them sit in my drawer.  This week I was able to knock out 2 on the same day.  

Riding the train with Burger King drinks!  My kids love the train.  So do I.  It's been around a long time and still only costs a quarter.  Definitely a highlight of the summer and not to be missed.  

Smile! 

Hands up like it's a big ride.  

Next coupons.... Chick-fil-a and McFlurries!  

Swipes

Working on our new school/fall schedule and I redid our chores for the kids.  I love scheduling!  And I love the back to school prep.  Now the actually settling in and doing the school work....not so much. 

My littles are getting bigger and around here that means that you can do bigger chores....like dishes and bathrooms.   With our new chore system, Mally (6yo) is responsible for "swiping" the bathroom every day. 

Making these swipes is much easier and cleaner for her to use than trying to spray and use a rag.  In the past I've made these with just about every type of cleaner on the shelf.... spic 'n span, simple green, pine sol, whatever we had.  But since these are for Mally I just used vinegar. 

Start with good quality paper towels and cut them in half.  Viva is the best.  Put 1 of them in a lidded container and save the other one for later. 

Mix together 1/2 C. cleaner (or vinegar) and 1 1/2 C water.  I eyeballed this in a mason jar since 2 cups total would be 1/2 way up the jar.  Stir together and pour over the paper towels.  Let sit for awhile and pull out the cardboard tube.  Pull wipes from the middle. 

There!  Easy to use for a quick clean up anywhere and cheaper than the ones in the store!

She Makes It Look So Easy

I don't have all my pictures ready yet but here's a little sample of TKD testing from Saturday.

The Challenge Kick:  Flying over 2 chairs to break a board. 

A Perfect Day

Today's the day!  Honey and I have been married 24 years.  Isn't that awesome? 

24 years ago I married my best friend and I love him now WAY more than I did then. 

I love living life with him and sharing everything.  

I totally don't deserve him.  

We celebrated yesterday and drove up to Tenkiller lake.  Our friends have a cabin there and invited us to use it.  Actually they've been inviting us for 3 years now but this was the first time we took him up on it and I'm so glad we finally did.  

The day started off with Taekwondo testing for the whole family.  Super fun and I'll post on that later. 

I was hoping we could come home, get the kids settled, and head out.  It didn't quite work out that way b/c my man was on call and got a call.  So he had to work a bit.  He hardly ever gets called on his call week but he's been working quite a bit this weekend.  

That was over and we packed some snacks and kissed the kids.  We've been listening and reading Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman  and we listened some more on the ride there.  My favorite part of the book so far is the idea of having the largest check you write every month go to Kingdom work.  The way you spend your money is an indication of what you consider most important.  If we say we put God first in our lives, then our spending needs to reflect that.  For us that means we had to have an uncomfortable conversation about our new house plans.   But those conversations are good too to make sure we're on the same page.  

We got lost.  

When we finally found it, one of the first things we did was feed the deer.  You spread out corn on this big rock right outside the cabin and pretty soon....DEER!  

  Isn't he pretty?  The deer's pretty too.  

We spent the day just being together, sitting on the rocks on the shore and watching the boats, watching a movie, talking, and being quiet.  OH the quiet was nice.  

On the way home we listened to our book some more and some Scripture for youth class Sunday. 

We got back in town and ate at Chilis.  He said, "We're eating dinner at 9:30.  This is just like old times!"  

Funny how family life has re-defined dinner.  When it was just the two of us we could sit on the couch and watch tv with a box of Lucky Charms between us and call it dinner.  

This was the farthest we've gone off together and left the kids without G'ma.  I was so proud of them.  We came home to a clean house, and everyone ready for church...including boys' hair cuts! 

I'm thinking we might need to do this every week since the girls did so much better than I do on getting ready for church the night before.

We ended the day by staying up way too late watching wrestling on YouTube.  Any Von Erich/Freebird fans out there?  I forgot how fun that was!  

Thank you Honey for such a great day!  Happy Anniversary!  I love you! 

Goals For ZBoy

As the back to school season is about to begin I'm thinking on my goals for my kids for this year.   If LittleMan was in public school he would be starting kindergarten this year.  That means for the first time in over 20 years I would have an empty house.  Praise God for homeschooling!!  

Here's some of my goals for LittleMan and some things I plan to use.  He's a strong reader but weak on his fine motor skills.  He's also a lefty which is a first for me. 

~To obey without questioning or arguing.
~To accept a NO without wet noodling or crying.

~Work diligently on his chores without needing reminders.  I have a new system for this that we're starting today.  I'll tell ya more about it later. 

~Saxon Math 1
~Math flash cards.
~Calendar, Money,Time, and 100 Chart

~Bob books, The Beginner's Bible, The Jesus Story Book Bible for this year's reading as well as whatever else I find along the way.

~Story time with Ms Turner.
~Awana and Sunday School.
~At least one art project a week to develop fine motor skills.
~Bible Copy Work for penmanship.
~Spelling Power
~Various worksheets.
~TKD.  He tests for his yellow belt tomorrow!

So to my homeschool peeps - Does this look balanced?  Am I leaving something out?

Another Step Closer Part 1

I got to take some more pix of the land last week while the guys were there doing the septic test thing.

Here's this.  A feeder thing.  Looks like a good raised bed garden for a lettuce crop to me. 

And here's my chicken coop that's apparently not a chicken coop.  Yet. 

Here's a better picture of the inside.  Can't I use those for laying boxes?

We met the contractor and the septic guy and the backhoe dude early in the morning. 

He made 2 big ditches. 

Crawled in.  Played in the dirt.  Gave my kids an impromptu science lesson on soil types.

And declared it "1/2 inch away from the best soil you could ever have." 

Yay!! 

Next step:  Survey to separate our land from my in-laws and get a 911 address.   That was done this morning and then it goes to somebody else to get the actual address.  We're also waiting on our contractor to draw up our plans and come up with some numbers.  That'll be early next week. 

This is the last ending.

We love the 100 Easy Lessons book.  I've taught 8 of my kids to read with it.

ZBoy was on lesson 96 this morning.  Only 4 more to go.

Excited, he asked if he could just finish it all today. 

Then he asked if he could sit in my lap.  Usually I say no b/c he's so big and the book is so big that it is all too cumbersome and hard to do it that way.  But knowing that this was most probably (but hopefully not) my last day to get to do this ever, I said yes.  And I savored it all.

He read about the mouse and the bed bugs.  And about the frog in the fog.  And the tiger with 2 coats.

And then he was done and he was SO proud.  Everyone else is proud too.

Ice cream later to celebrate this last ending and his new beginning.

LOOK IT!!

On his first try! 

What We're Eating This Week

So the other day there was a knock on the door. It was a salesman selling meat. He said he only delivers to ppl who have pre-ordered but some weren't home and he was trying to get rid of his remaining 4 cases. Then he went on to praise the freshness of his meat and bla bla bla. How come my man is never home when this kinda thing happens? But Jes was there and as soon as he pulled the meat from his freezer Jes was like a slobbering dog. "ooooohhhhh Mom that looks good!" This kid is a huge carnivore. Well it was a decent price. The meat did look good. And (surprise) I bought a case.

I know.

The next day I was telling Honey about it. It went something like this....Me: talk talk talk talk so maybe I can make it sound convincing to him too. Him: "Wha?? Did you really? Why? We hardly ever eat meat."

Then he looks online at door-to-door meat scams and guess what? The guy fit the bill perfectly right down to exactly what he said. And I bought it. BUT at least it did say something like the meat is still a good quality for a good price. So if that's the case, how come he had to lie about it??

Oh well. My man was very gracious about it remembering the time he bought a $48 bottle of spray cleaner in a similar situation. Yes, we're suckers.

So I guess you're thinking we're eating a lot of meat this week? Wrong. I'm not even sure how I'm going to cook these particular cuts. What was I thinking??

I finally got to play with my dehydrator. 
First :  Kale chips.  Gross.
Second:  Flax crackers.  Pretty good.  Not exactly what I was shooting for but still good enough to not pitch in the trash.  

Anybody have some good dehydrator recipes?  My next attempt will be a cauliflower pizza crust. 

Here's what we're eating this week.....

Today : Cereal
Tuna Sandwiches. Remember I said we were doing that for Monday lunch?  Well I also decided to teach my 8yo son to make it.  I'm gonna work on typing up a real recipe so I won't just have to stand over him telling him how.  I think he'll like this job.

Dinner - baked potatoes in the crockpot with veggies, cabbage stew, salad, and pineapple.

The cabbage stew was a new one.  Most of my crew that tasted it liked it so I'll be making it again.
Here's how it goes...

Chop 1 head of cabbage and 1 onion and  throw in the crock pot.  Pour 2 cups of tomato sauce and 2 cups of V8 over it with plenty of salt and pepper.  Cook for 4 hours. 

I have a cabbage story. 
Tonight we were watching Popeye on Netflix.  I didn't remember that any of my little kids had ever seen that before.  Apparently Nate had seen it at least once b/c when Popeye got in trouble he said, "Wait!  He needs his can of cabbage!" 

Anyhooo......

The rest of the week goes something like this...

Tuesday lunch - Veggie wheels with leftover cabbage
Dinner - pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, eggs

Wednesday Dinner - Youth group.  Nachos and ice cream sundaes.

Thursday - Bean Burritos

Friday - Pizza

Saturday - I have no idea. 

Sunday - leftovers and snacks

Ok now be a good friend and leave me a comment about the time you bought something ridiculous from the salesman that lied to you.   Or at least tell me your tips for cooking up some fancy meat. 

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?