Happy Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my oldest, beautiful daughter!  Dug through the archives to find this photo from way back in 2004!

She graduates college this December, hard to believe!!

Love you honey!!

A New School Year!

I've been a little absent around these parts for the last several weeks.  Starting a new job can do that to ya!  The early mornings are still a bit hard, but I think I am starting to get a little used to it.  This year our family has a unique situation that will never happen again....each of our five family members is in a different school this year, Husband at one high school, me at the other, youngest at the grade school, middle at the junior high, and oldest at college.  How is that for crazy!

Getting everyone looking and paying attention for a photo is always a fun adventure, isn't it???? {crazy dog}

So everyone started school yesterday....and survived!

We are sure hoping for a successful year for ALL of us! How is your family adjusting?

Major Changes for our Family are Coming!

I have not worked full time since 1996.  That is about to change.

The emotions going through my heart over the last few days has been crazy.  I've been home with children for a long time.  Granted, I have had several part time jobs that have kept my skills sharp, but it is a little nerve wracking giving up my free time!  I am not going to lie.....I LOVE my time at home and the quiet during the day.  That is not going to change just a little, but a LOT.  I have accepted a position as a high school receptionist! Talk about chaos!! {pray for me!!}

Aside from the nerves of starting out in a new career, we are super excited to finally have a second income!  We have sacrificed a lot of things for me to stay home.  Many have not understood it, many have questioned it.  But we felt, as I know many of you do, that being home with my children when they were young was the best thing for our family.  But our trade-off has been hard, having to forgo house repairs, live in debt, and live paycheck to paycheck.  It will be such a blessing to get off of THAT roller coaster!

The best part of this position is the schedule.  I will leave early in the morning, but will be home at the same time as everyone else at the end of the school day.  For those who don't remember, my husband is a teacher, so we will have school holidays and summer vacations off together.

So what does that mean for my blog?  I have no idea!!  For now, I'll be keeping up as best I can, hoping to continue like nothing has changed!!  'Cause I love you all and I just can't imagine not blogging!

Monday Morning Thoughts

I'm sitting in the quiet of my living room at 9:20 on a Monday morning.  Strangely quiet, with kids still in bed, husband working a puzzle, with no TV on.  Rather nice actually!  Our bedtimes have gone haywire, with kids not hitting the sack until after 10 pm.  Isn't that what summer is about?  No schedule?

Last week was a bit crazy and exhausting.  I am an Administrative Assistant for FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and last week was our camp.  We hosted  nearly 300 kids who chose a sport clinic to attend each day, but more importantly, they heard the gospel message, clear and precise through various messages, testimonies, and worship. Both my girls attended with some friends and had a great time!  It was a great week, but has put me a bit behind in a few areas.

You know the kitchen cupboards are really bare when you have to hand over $323 at the checkout!!  Wow, what a haul, but my family was very happy to have some food back in the house!  I'm sure they will be even happier when I actually COOK dinner!!  I don't even want to talk about the condition of my house! ugh

Hey, is it hot where you live?  Yowsers!  My poor garden is burning up before my very eyes.  I have been trying to water, but that bill just arrived and it wasn't pretty!  ouch  I will keep watering at a minimum, but I am sure some blooms will suffer.  Can you see my sad face from there?

Anyway, that's what has been happening around here.  How about in your neck of the woods?

{Today is my 700th post.  Now that is crazy!}

Summer is in full Swing!

Summertime is in full swing at our house, which means we are out doing all kinds of fun and crazy activities, like watching real live jousting!

It also means that I haven't been very consistent writing here, and I am ok with that!  I hope you are too.  We are enjoying lots of fun activities, lots of family time, and very little computer time.

After all, it's not every day you can watch authentic jousting!

And I spent a great outdoor day with with my amazing family!

So I hope you'll keep checking back with me.  I haven't given up writing, but it is my favorite season....SUMMERTIME!!  So you'll most likely find me outside having fun!

Thanks for stopping in!!

A Spur-of-the-Moment Road Trip!

I missed posting the end of last week when an emergency came up for my friend Kelly.  I had to drop everything to help her out!  Her son was in Oklahoma playing in the Junior College World Series 10 hours away from us.  Her husband was coaching a high school baseball team in our state tournament.  She couldn't be both places at once, her husband couldn't leave, she had 2 dogs to worry about, and stress was climbing by the minute!!

Our family stepped in and decided to drive her half way to Oklahoma where her nephew could pick her up and get her to her son's game.  So we all piled in our van Thursday morning at 5:30 am and headed toward Oklahoma!  At 11:00 am we pulled into a Walmart and dropped her off to finish her journey to Oklahoma!

We took advantage of our little road trip and stopped in Missouri at the Meremac Springs State Park.  It was a beautiful little place where a mining settlement used to be.  We wandered through their peaceful park and had a picnic lunch.

I think this little building is a pump house, but it just reminded me so much of a fairy tale!

This cute little deer was just laying in the grass enjoying some grass....

I absolutely loved the lush and green moss on the rocks!

We then headed into St Louis where we hit the Arch, the Butterfly House, and the Zoo.

It was a whirlwind trip, but as always, we made the most of it and had a great time with our family.

Here are a few more photos from our trip:

 At the top of the Arch.

 Silly girls!

 Looking down from the Arch!

 An orangutan having fun playing peek-a-boo!

My favorites, the giraffes!

School's Out For Summer!!

School's out for summer!!

sing along with us.....

School's out for summer!!

This is always a day that we celebrate around here, with three kids done with school, plus one husband!  Life changes around this house at this time of the year, and it takes all of us a little adjustment time to get used to all being home at the same time.

For many years I have thrown a "Welcome To Summer" party for the family the day school gets out.  The plan is always a secret.  Sometimes the family gets gifts, sometimes we go on an impromptu trip, or sometimes we just go out to eat and celebrate.

This was a family gift year!  The girls each opened gifts, knowing they are all family gifts to enjoy together.

Legos!  Our family loves legos.  This will keep them busy because once they open a new set it gets them all re-interested in the boxes and boxes of legos we have in the basement.  It will provide days worth of entertainment!!

And a new family game!  We played this game at some friends' house and we all loved it.  It is very fun, and the best part is that you don't know who is winning until the very end!  This keeps littler ones interested and not wanting to give up.  I don't know if your family needs that, but ours does sometimes!  Ticket to Ride is a great family game for all ages.

Doesn't K look really excited to open it???  yeah, it's that fun!!

Hopefully next week we'll be taking a little 24 hour trip to a new destination, but the girls don't know that yet!

School's out for summer!!

A Beautiful Mother's Day

Despite spending a ton of time in the car over the weekend, my family spoiled me rotten for Mother's Day!  We started the day having breakfast with Husband's mom and sister.  They live about 2 hours north of us.  Then we headed south to go see my Mom.  It just so happened that one of my favorite Nurseries was sort of on the way!!  So we drove 2 hours to Hornbaker Nurseries.  The place is amazing and beautiful!  The iris field was in full bloom, where over 100 varieties were available for viewing and ordering.  You simply walk through the field, find your favorites, order them, and when they are done blooming, they ship the rhizomes to you! 

Hornbakers is probably most famous for their selection of hostas.  People drive from miles around to see the selection! What is super cool....all those varieties are planted in their own gardens for you to walk through and enjoy!  Heaven!

So of course, this avid gardener could not walk out empty handed!  We picked out several iris varieties, and I knew exactly what color hostas my garden needs!!

Husband was so very generous with me!!  We had a great day enjoying the sites, and the weather was gorgeous!

We then headed farther south to my mom's house for a quick visit, helped her knock down a fence and took of tour of her garden, then got back in the car and headed another hour south home just in time to catch the final episode of Survivor!  Whew, what a tour of the state of Illinois!!

Thanks family, I feel very loved!!

Awana Awards Night

Last night was the Award Ceremony for my youngest daughter, A at Awana.  She was only 2 lessons away from completing her entire book for the year.  I don't know how many scriptures she memorized this year, but I know she has been learning lots of Bible knowledge!  We are so proud of her!

Surprised by Life - Finding the Beauty

My beautiful and amazing friend Brooke McGlothlin just started a brand new blog today called "Surprised by Life".  You must head over to get to know her, for she is an amazing woman with a beautiful heart.  I just love her.  She is one of my "IRL once a year" friends that I get to see and hug at the Allume conference every year in October.

Today as she opens her blog, she has challenged us to see the beauty in our lives.  So I thought I would share a few photos of the beauty that surrounds my life.

An unexpected opportunity to share in new, fuzzy, cuddly life.

So proud of my daughter for braving a cold, rainy day of flag football to raise money for an injured student.

After16 years with this man, I still marvel at the way he loves me, cares for me, and tolerates me!

My mom heart is never full until ALL of my girls are at home. There is nothing like the whole family under one roof. I'm worried about how I'll feel when they are all on their own!

These three gifts from above fill my heart with joy!!!!

A quick glance in a flower shop window, and my heart stopped when I saw this rose.  It  provides hours of photography fun at home.

The garden beginning to burst open with color, texture, smells, and beauty.  I feel fully alive when I am tending to the garden.

Reminders of God's awesome provision, not just for me and my family, but for the earth and His creation as well.

Beauty surrounds us every day, and I am so happy to have had this opportunity today to stop and count the gifts around me.

Linking up with Brooke today.

Right Before My Eyes

Before my very eyes they are growing up, changing.

Sunday brought a beautiful out-of-the-ordinary warm and sunshiny day.  We took every advantage of it, biking to the park, cooking out and eating dinner on the patio.

I've even seen evidence of a budding friendship growing.  I've waited a long time for that!

I'm so proud of who they are becoming, these little women of mine!

Sharing Our Grief Can Help

I was sitting in a room with over 200 other women waiting for the conference speaker to take her place on stage.  Along with those around me, I settled into my seat, ready with my pen and paper for anything that was note worthy.  I grabbed a kleenex out of my bag, just in case.  I knew the speaker had a difficult testimony to share, and I wanted to be prepared for the emotions that may creep up without any notice.

As she began her presentation, it was only minutes when I needed to reach for that kleenex.  She'd lost a baby just a few short hours after she was born.  It was more than any momma's heart should have to bare. After sharing her story, she did the unexpected.  She asked women to stand if they had ever suffered a miscarriage, a still birth, or lost a newborn baby.  I hesitated only a moment before moving to my feet, chin quivering and tears rolling down my cheeks.  I couldn't bring myself to turn around to see how many were standing, but I could tell by the rustle of chairs and see from my peripheral vision that over half the audience was standing in still silence.

As those who stood took their seats again, I had to leave the room.  The unexpected stirring and longing in my heart was so strong, I was sure it would overtake me. I hurried to my hotel room where I could release the pressure to my throat and chest, and grieve my losses with an ugly gut retching cry as if my two babes were lost just yesterday.

Grief seems to abide by no time-table.  Whether a loss is suffered weeks or years ago makes no difference.  We all feel the void in our hearts and in our lives when someone is missing. 

We do our best to manage the grief, as our human minds are incapable of understanding why these things happen.  God's sovereignty is far above our ability to grasp His plan.  But He does offer us comfort.  Through many hardships I have faced, I always fall back to 2 Corinthians 1:3:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Though I don't understand God's plan in miscarriage,  premature death,  cancer, or depression, I do know that he has commanded me to comfort others who are experiencing the same things that I have endured.  I am to share the comfort I received from God with others.

Sisters, your heartache is real.  But can I encourage you to share it with others?  Talking it out can also be very therapeutic in itself.  Part of sisterhood is not only sharing the good times of celebration but also sharing the hard times of grief and loss.  This allows others to pray for you, comfort you, and love on you.  Sometimes it even gives more meaning to their own loss, as they carry out God's command to "love one another". 

YOU are not alone.

Sweet Jesus, you are our Great Physician who can heal all our wounds, both physical and emotional. Please come lay your hand of healing on any grieving mother who visits here today. May she experience your peace that passes understanding. Amen.

Where Has The Time Gone?

This weekend my youngest daughter celebrated her 10th birthday.  How did we get here so fast?  Wasn't it just last year that I held her in my arms for snuggles and slobbery kisses?

My little Tinkerbell had a few friends over to celebrate with a dress up party.  We had beautiful weather and fun times.

But I'm not sure how we got from here

to here so fast!

I'm soaking in every hug, snuggle, and giggle that I can before they are ALL in college!

Two Beautiful Girls

We've been soaking in every bit of beautiful October sunshine that we can before the cold weather hits.

It was a fun Sunday afternoon in the back yard!