Those might be the words to describe our family, or at least 4 of us after last week!  Our oldest went to a one week summer apprentice program at a place called Rocky Mount Museum!  He was there from 9:00 or so:) to 3:00, Monday through Friday.  I'll be back to write more after we pick our car up from the mechanics:)  We're back and hoping and praying that our air-conditioning and the rest of the car are now nice and healthy!:) 

Our son had a blast last week!  He dressed in a 1791 period costume, provided by the museum.  (He even got to take it home each day!).  Some of the things he learned about and did were:  blacksmithing, candle-making, soap-making, cooking in a hearth over a HUGE fire, working in gardens and herb gardens, marbleizying?? paper, playing and making 18th and 19th century games, tomahawk throwing, etc......  He was bummed when the week came to an end..... but he was VERY grateful to have been able to go!

So, last week when our son was in history delight!!!!:), our two girls and myself were off on ADVENTURES!!!   I tend to be an  ADVENTUROUS person:) but sometimes I forget that about me and get caught up in living my daily humdrum life.    It was the perfect dose of navigating, driving and exploring for me!!:):)  The girls and I had a BLAST and it was a WONDERFUL opportunity to talk with, laugh with and just enjoy our lovely ladies without all of the things that pull my attention away at  home! !! We went to The Hands on Museum  (2x;)   Warrior's Path State Park  (3x )for swimming, hiking and playgrounds; Winged Deer Park (4 or 5x) for playground, lake and creative times, reading and exploring;  and Bay Mountain Park (1X).  We ran around a lot and our wonderful mechanic got our air conditioning fixed!  Or at least it was fixed until Friday morning.  :( So, that's why it was back in the shop again today.  Now, we are still trying to recover from all of our adventures.  I think that I forgot to mention our evening adventures after our daily frolics:  a partial night at church, a Boy Scout meeting and then a Boy Scout campout for my husband and our son .... UGH!!!  We are all low on sleep and energy and trying desperately to catch up!  I hope we can!:)

I am very much thanking God for the safety of  last week, for the fellowship and the joy and the blessing of listening to BUNCHES of Christian music and Christian teaching while we were in the car!!  I hope that each of you is learning and growing in God as I am!  To God be the glory!:)

This morning was the first morning of a history camp that our oldest son is attending.  That would have not been a problem, if I had not kept on pushing snooze and overslept by nearly an hour!!!!  Of course, that propelled our entire family, including my dear husband, into lateness with all 5 of us rising at our departure time!!!  ARGH!!!!  Talk about crazy, wild, racing around like chickens with our heads cut off!!   After 27 minutes the kids and I were on our way to a place we had never been!  I haven't navigated alone for awhile.... so we had an adventure!  We found the museum (30 minutes late), dropped Joshua off and then the girls and I were off for our adventure.  We went to a local Hands On Museum and it was the COOLEST PLACE!!!!  We had soooooo much FUN!!!   I don't who laughed more the girls or I.:)  Then we headed off to try to get close to the museum for lunch.  We found a spot next to a river and picnicked!  We waded in and were having a good time and then a woman came over with her two girls and we began talking.  She is having a BAD TIME!  We ended up talking for awhile and I was able to encourage her and share some of my testimony with her.  I am praying that God will guide her in wise decision making and that she will draw close to Him!!  I do not believe in coincidences..... so this was definitely an interesting, God -appointed part of our day!  After playing on the playground, the girls and I headed to pick up Joshua.  We were soooooooooooo HOT because even though we got it fixed last week..... the air conditioning is NOT WORKING again!:(  I felt like I was going to melt and the drive home seemed to take AGES AND AGES!!  We stopped to see our mechanic and begged him to see if it would be a quick fix.... he thinks that he knows what it is!  We are praying that he does and that he can fix it before we leave tomorrow!  I have realized what a TOTAL WHINEY WIMP that I am in the heat!  I checked the temp, it has only been 97 degrees today!! (UGH!!)  I was thinking of missionaries in foreign countries with no ac and no hope of cool down relief and boy, do I appreciate them even more!! :):)

Thank you God for camps, museums, adventures, rivers, food, friends and air conditioning!:):)

For the last two weekends our CRAZY family has had a yard sale one day of each weekend!!  UGH!!!  We had been talking about having a yard sale for about 2-3 years and the garage had gotten soooooooo full of potential yard sale things that it was pert near a death trap to even enter it, let alone try to find something.  The perfect date just NEVER seemed to come to us...... so..... our impetus was our next door neighbor who was having one.  He had put an ad in the paper and so we just needed to set up, put our signs up and be thankful for anyone who might come to his yard sale and then pop over to ours!:):)  We made about $45.00 the first weekend and were kind of bummed about the amount of work versus amount of $.  But, we were still VERY THANKFUL!!  So.... we called our GREAT church and were told that we could keep the tables an extra week to use for a yard sale the next weekend.  We kept ALOT of our stuff on the tables and covered well (or so we thought!!) the stuff underneath.  What we learned as we uncovered on Friday night...... 1)  tarps are not ALWAY RAINPROOF!!!  UGH!!!!  Some clothes were very very, WET!!  And 2) candles left out on a table in heat..... can melt onto the table and then..... the wax leaves but the dye remains!!!  UGH!!!  So our last two days have turned into Google searches and mad chemistry experiments!!  So far, the candle dye stains remain!:(:(:(:(  If any of you know of any amazing tricks or removals, I would LOVE to hear or try them!!!!  So far we have tried: bleach, anti-bacterial hand soap, rubbing alcohol, simply green, hydrogen peroxide, WD-40, non bleach cleaning spray, cleaning spray with bleach and  baking soda.......  We will keep trying!:)  And how did our yard sale do????  Way better than the weekend before!  We had a different approach where we highlighted what we had, played Christian music all day and tried to be a blessing in 95 degree heat with little or no shade!  Ultimately God blessed it and I am sooooo grateful!!!

Last week our girls had swimming lessons every night and they have them this week for three nights!  I had forgotten how challenging it can be to learn the front crawl, elementary backstroke and sidestroke.  I used to be a lifeguard, so I just pretty much do them. :) It is different, though,  to try and help our girls grasp the hand and feet motions and then to put them together.  One of our daughters is sometimes  challenged by complex body mechanics and if I am in the water then I can help move her body parts and simulate the movement..... until she gets it on her own!:)    It is a bit intimidating for me, however, because I am the only parent in the water and it probably draws attention to us!   It definitely keeps me humble as it is not at all about me, but about her learning how to swim!  I tell myself that every night as I hurriedly get in the water.:)  They are both learning and I am happy for that!:):)  I am hoping to go swimming so that we can work on the strokes a little more before the last night!!

Today all three of our children have been using our amazing apple peeler, slicer and corer!  They are having a BALL with it!! ( It was my sweet husband's turn to play with it last night! ) And we are freezing apples, making applesauce and finding out if our dogs like apple peelings!    I am thankful for our neighbor's apple tree which God has abundantly blessed this year and for our generous neighbor who is sharing with us!:)  God bless!

A HUGE MILESTONE   took place in our family  last week ......... our middle child learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!:)  We were at a church bike ride night and she had the room and finally the confidence to take right off and zoom around!!:):):)  It was such a special moment to see lots of learning all of a sudden come together with a HUGE SUCCESS!!!!  It also took her a long time and her timetable to figure out the mechanics of pedaling!!!  So combine the pedaling with the balance and it was extra special!!:):):) 

Another exciting thing this week was that our son entered 9 items in a county 4-H Fair and did well earning 5 blue ribbons and 4 red ribbons and some premium(prize) money to boot.  Then he was in the talent show and tied for 1st place.:)  He was competing against a friend of his and he said that tieing with her was WAY BETTER than beating her!:)  I really appreciated his heart in those words!:)

Now, what do I hear????????  It is the sweet sound of my washing machine cycling all of the way through without me having to go and fix the duct-tape!:)  Yep, my super-hero husband and son have fixed the machine.  Last weekend I found the part on the internet...ordered it.....it came today....and my precious husband and son got right to it and fixed it!!!:):)  I am THRILLED AND DELIGHTED!!   Uh...oh...now that means I actually HAVE to do the laundry!  No more excuses!  NO, just kidding, kind of!:)  God bless!!  I am off to do some laundry!:)

I have lost my glasses and have been hunting high and low for them!  I have even recruited my kiddies to help me and to no avail!  UGH!!!  The problem..... I am near-sighted and need them to drive.  I do have contacts, however, I also have a cold sore and so do not want to put my contacts in.  The reason... one of my precious aunts once got that nasty cold sore virus(herpes) in her eye after rubbing her eye when she had a cold sore!  I do not want that to happen and as her experience was miserable and VERY PAINFUL!  So, I pray that my gracious Heavenly Father, who knows where they are:), will help me find them!

Our washing machine, which was a wedding gift has a switch that needs to be fixed.  So..... to do a load of laundry, I must constantly be checking to see whether it is still working and if not, then I readjust the duct tape and switch.  Alas, I know, we must just get another switch.  Many moons ago I did a few hours worth of research and thought that I found the one we needed.  I saved it in my favorites and then my computer DIED.  Alas, with the dead computer is also the saved switch info. that I need.:(    I had hoped that the problem would stay the same, but of course, it  did not, it grew worse!  UGH!!! 

The beautiful plums...... are straight from our one and only living fruit cocktail tree (we used to have two).  Last year, the blossoms were all killed in a late frost.  This year God is blessing us with abundant, beautiful plums!!!!  We are sooooo thankful for them!!!!!  We are enjoying each one of them sooooooo much!  I think that it is because last year we had NONE!!!  I am in awe of God's goodness and love today!

As I search for my glasses and a new switch and eat a fresh, scrumptious homegrown plum....  I will pray for anyone who may read this!  May God bless you richly today, tomorrow and always!:):):)

*****Yippee!!!  Yippee!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  My glasses are found!!  They were attached to the shirt that I was wearing!!  I was bleary eyed with sleep when I changed into my jammies and  I did not take them off of my shirt!!!  God is sooooo faithful in the big stuff and in the small!!  I am THANKUL!!!

Down here in Tn where I live some of the old timers say that "Their dogs are barking)"...... when their feet are hurting. :):)   When I say that my dogs are barking.... I literally mean  that some of our outside dogs are really BARKING at night!!!  UGH!!!  It has been bothering us and at least one of our sweet neighbors... so we are working HARD!!!  to try and solve the problem.  I almost feel like I have a newborn as I am up oodles of time during the night trying to deal with the dogs! :(  During the day, they are as quiet as can be for the most part!  Of course!:)  UGH!!  I am praying for sleep and hunting answers and trying new things! 

I, the fast reading wife(the hare) am working my way through the One Year Bible for the first time as my precious slow reading husband (the tortoise) has already done it twice and put me to shame.:)  No, not to shame, he has never bragged or gloated, he just keeps on reading and drawing closer to God.:)  Yippee!!  So, I am having FUN and learning soooooo much and drawing closer to God as I read LOTS of things that I have never read before!  God is soooooo AWESOME and AMAZING!!!  I am thankful for and in AWE of HIM!!

that I was the BEST mom in the WHOLE WORLD!!!!!  Why??????????   All because I stopped by the side of the road..... and let him bring home.... a wonderful road-killed critter to skin!!:):):)  Yep, you read it right!:)  He is totally into frontier type skills and interested in skinning and tanning hides, trapping, etc!!!  We came home and within two hours he had done an AMAZING job of skinning his racoon!:)  Then he called a 17 year old friend of ours who came over and told him how and what he needs to do next to tan the hide!:):)  Life is not boring at our home!

Since my last blog we have made a trip to South Carolina (the beach):) and to Minnesota for a wonderful time of family, fun and fellowship!!  We make a yearly trek and it was SUCH a delight!!!  It always is!!:):)  And between vacations, which were about 3 weeks apart:), we found out that my mother in law who lives here in town has stage 4 breast cancer!!:(:(:(  That has certainly thrown life into a tailspin!  If anyone still checks in please pray for her, her name is Shiela.:)  Thanks!! 

It has not rained much here this summer and our part of the nation has been in an extreme drought!  So.... what a blessing to have a little bit of rain!!  I am not sure of the last time that I have smiled sooo much due to a rainy day!:)

As we have been starting back to school... we have been adjusting!  We (I) have gotten sooo used to our own schedules and doing what we want!  UGH!!  But, we have been taking lots of field trips and doing lots of fun things to ease more gradually into our more structured learning times! (Picnics, lake trips, baseball games, get togethers with friends, Homeschool Day at Dollywood, swimming, etc... )  I am sooo thankful for this opportunity to spend time with my children and to enjoy them!  I am blessed!  Thank you Lord!:)

I have been tagged a few times before and did not really know or do them much..... but here goes.... just for you sweet, funny Ryann:

1) What state do you live in?  Tennessee (but I am from Minnesota:))

2) Do you have a pool?  Yes, it is out at my Mom and stepdad's house for safety and flat surface reasons.:)

3) Do you like animals?  Yes:)

4) What is your favorite animal?  Marmots and groundhogs (they are in the same family).:):)

5) Do you have siblings?  Yes, two sisters.  I am the oldest.:)

6) Do you have an account on an animal site such as virtual horse ranch or virtual pups?  NO!!  I did not know such a thing even existed!!!

7)  What 10 people am I going to tag....:(  Actually, no one.:)  I did this for my friend Ryann!:)

Have a great night and God bless!:)

Yippee!!!!  Yippee!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!!  I am soooo thankful and grateful for the wonderful man that I am married to!!!:):)  He is such a blessing!!!!  We have had soooo many bumps, curves, bends, mountains and valleys in our life together..... WOWZA!!!!!   I really thank God for my husband and for our dear precious family!!!  One of my sweet sisters is nearby for awhile and she came over and watched our kiddies and we went out to eat ALONE for the first time in probably a year and a half or more.  It was a fun time and we talked, laughed and ate much!!  I think that I am all the more appreciative of our alone time because we rarely have it!:)  We are one of those families who do much together and (usually) really enjoy that!:)  But, tonight, what a special treat to have a quick date!:)  Then ....we came home to the usual chaos, cleaning, dog running away, etc......:) ( a little rejuvenated and refreshed though.:)

Speaking of dogs,  thank you for praying for my sweet sister Amy and her family as they had to put down their dog of 12+years, Sammy!!:(:(   She totally appreciated it!!!   After grieving and praying and processing, they decided to get another dog, sooner rather than later.  Sooooo...... last week they got a new dog.  :):)  Sam was a Black Lab and their new dog, ,Jethro is a Golden Doodle.  That is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle!  He is black and from the pictures.... a real cutie!!:):)  What an adventure they are having with their new 4 month old!!:):)

Speaking of rejuvenated and refreshed.... are you?  Are you ready to start up your new school year or  to continue plugging away as you always do??  How do you rejuvenate or recharge?  What are some of your secrets?  Please share them!:)

for my sweet sister Amy and her family.  They had to put down their 12+ year old Lab, Sam,  today.:(:(:(  They are very heartbroken!:(:(  For those of you who are pet lovers and for those who aren't, please pray!  Thanks!:):)

Life continues to move on and the summer seems to just be flying right on by!!!  We have gotten to see some family and some dear friends and have been trying to get our home more organized so that it will run more effeciently.:)  (I know that that will probably be a never ending goal!:(  But with God.... all things are possible!!:):)

What have you been up to this summer?  Are you gonna start schooling again soon or have you just kept right on schooling through the summer?  I LOVE!!:):) to hear what others are up to and what is working for them!!

God bless!:)

Life has been just flying by at our home!  We have had soccer camps, music lessons and now swimming lessons!  We have had unexpected as well as expected things going on!  Something unexpected was coming downstairs one morning to our sideby side refrigerator/ freezer with the freezer opened and about half of its contents thawed and/or melting!  What fun to cook my first turkey(UGH!!!) while also cooking Polish sausage, breakfast sausage and throwing away and cleaning up my stinky, icky raw meat juice from the floor and all that it dripped on!  I am sooooo grateful, however, that my other turkey was still frozen solid! :):):) Cooking two turkeys unexpectedly would probably have thrown me about over the edge!:(  Praise the Lord for only sending me halfway over and then allowing me to cling tightly to Him as I floundered!!  That was certainly NOT on my to do list for that day!!  Another day our son opened his bedroom blinds to ask if I had looked out the front window yet todaY?  A BIG hunk of one of our Bradford pear trees had fallen in a storm and had ALMOST knocked out our telephone.  I had not planned on spending a BIG hunk of that day working on the tree so that the phone people could repair the line safely!  UGH!!!  I am finding out and re-learning that the plans that I have for my day are soooo often NOT the plans that God may have for my day!!  I have been wanting Him to get on board with my plans rather than asking Him if I can be on board for HIs!!  UGH!!  What a slow learner I am!  I am just praying that He will help me to have a teachable spirit and that I will be more flexible in my days, which really belong to Him anyway, since I am His!:):):) I pray that you are His!!! and that He is helping you order your days!!!:):)

We have been talking LOTS about serving this week in our home.  It seems that somewhere along the way with all of the craziness and business of life, we(I)  have forgotten that as Christians we are here to worship, honor, love and serve God all the time in ALL that we do! 

 I have been getting after my childeren for serving each other with grumbling and complaining.  Then I did a little closer inspection of myself and realized.... UGH!!  I certainly often serve others in a more cheerful way than I serve my dh and childeren!:( :(  So... starting with me and my attitude:) , we are practicing and learning to serve each other, joyfully!!   We have been talking about how "Even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)  Jesus served.  We want to serve.   We want to give honor and glory to God with all that we say, think, do and are and to remember that we are ultimately serving the Lord!!  This means that I, we, must joyfully serve, ESPECIALLY, my family!!!:)  I hope that you and yours are serving the Lord joyfully!  God bless!  And for any of you that may be praying after my previous post, PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!!!!!  Thank you!!!!

 I find that when I pick one of her books up, I just can't seem to put it down! !!! That would be a GREAT thing if I did not have a life and no responsibilities!!  However, since I do I must learn to exercise more self-control and only allow myself to read a chapter here or there or when it doesn't matter if I stay up half the night and get no sleep, simply to know what is going to happen next. (  Or if I have not just stayed up 1/3 of the night before talking with one of my dearest, bestest friends/sisters, Amy,  for 253 minutes!   )My other dearest, bestest friend/sister should have been sleeping soundly in her bed while her two older sissies were talking about everything and nothing>:)  Right, Amber?:)  (This is our only time to talk without interruptions, so we do this about 3-4 times a year!:))

OK, back to Mrs. Southworth.... If you are wondering about Mrs. Southworth, she is none other than the famous 19th century prolific writer : Mrs. Southworth, aka Emma Southworth, aka EDEN Southworth, etc...   This woman goes by more tags/names than any other writer that I know of and she has been dead  for about 108 years or so already!  I  was introduced to her writing through one of my other dearest, bestest friends, who incidentally is not my sister:), Jen:)   :)  I read about her on Jen's blog, talked with Jen about her, read Ishmael and then I was hooked!!  She is now one of my favorite authors!! HSB Literary Club is currently reading and discussing one of her books.   Go there with caution, readers, as she just might become a habit or your new favorite author!!  If she does, may you be able to exercise more self-control in your time with her!!:)  Some other dear friends and Southworth groupies that I know are: Coie , Maria,  Annemarie, and maybe soonShay.:)  Or you.:)  I think that I forgot to mention that my vocabulary is also growing as these were just a few of the words on the last 60 or so pages of the book: perspicacity, miasma, ignominious, turpitude, insomnolency, anathematized, quondam, obsequiousness and cicatrizing.  And, no, I did not look these words up in the wee hours of the morning, so maybe I am not learning them, just reading them.:):)

Who are some of your favorite authors? (if you are a reader:))  How and when do you make time to read? 

May God bless each of you today in all that you do!:) 

For many years now, everytime we go to MN we have seen info. about a place called the Creation Museum.  Our curiousity was piqued and we found out about Answers in Genesis.  Wow, what an amazing apologetics ministry!!!  We were so blessed and decided about 3 or 4 years ago that we would like to support the ministry and the museum.  We decided to become Charter Members and have paid on our membership ever since!  Well, this past week, before their Grand Opening on May 28th, they had a special preview week for charter members.  So, on Monday we got in our car and drove about 5 hours to the Creation Museum.  IT sooooo surpassed our expectations!!!!!!!  We were absolutely blown away by it!!!  There were times when my husband and I were both moved to tears by what God is doing and will do through this place!!  What a humbling thing to be a small part of something that has such potential to change people's lives FOR ETERNITY!!!!

If any of you have not heard of the Creation Museum, google it at Creation Museum or Answers in Genesis and then click on the Creation Museum. 

All in all that day, we drove for 9 and a half hours (522 miles) to visit the museum for 3 and a half hours!  Yes, a little (o.k. or a LOT) nutty, but it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!!  Have any of you heard of the museum?  Have you been?  Have you done any totally crazy, long car rides for a short event?

God blessings!:)

Watching my precious Mom do it!! 

We have season passes to Dollywood and we took my Mom and step Dad on Sunday!  What a ball!  Dollywood is a family amusement park with lots and lots of rides, shows  and fun for "kids" of all ages!:)  As a child I got car sick and so did my husband!   Today, there are only certain rides that we can go on.  As a result, our oldest often goes on rides alone and we just watch and wait for him to get done.   Sunday, he did not need to go alone!  My Mom has a stomach of STEEL and can do all of the rides that we can't !!  She also laughs and enjoys them HUGELY!!!!  She went on one called the Dizzy Disk and it was such a delight to watch she and our son laughing and enjoying it soooo utterly and completely!!  My husband and I almost get nauseated just watching it!  ( I really wish that I was exaggerating, but alas, I am not!  :(  )  My step dad did not feel so well, so he watched the wild riders and us ride and enjoyed the day vicariously through us!  All in all it was a crowded, but delightful day!  :)  I am thankful to God for family and for opportunities to do things like this!

Can any of you ride rides with abandon or are  you getting older and getting limited by your bodies?

then you would see all of the FUN things that our family has been up to.... :)  I think that I forgot to mention that we : planted a garden a month and half or so ago.  My husband says that I am a good steward with many things, except.... plants that I buy from the store.  I am notorious for buying them and then leaving them outside to die in their sad, little, root trapped containers.:(  NOT on purpose, of course, but I just never seem to get around to planting them and they die.:(  So, this year, little Miss Full of Herself (me), decided to show my dear husband just how doggone efficient I can be.  The children and I went and picked up two free loads of compost, that involved shovels and 5 gallon buckets in the trunk of our car... an adventure.:):)  And within two days we had all of our tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage and even some rhubarb planted.:):)  We, I, was so PROUD and then my sweet dh says, "Honey, have you watched the weather this week?"  Ugh, a big ol' cold spell!:(  Guess what, many of my plants died and we lost half of all that we had bought.(despite even covering everything up!)  I guess that I am glad that at least half of it lived!  Well, this week, we harvested some of our first broccoli and I took some pictures with the kids!

We also went to a local strawberry patch and picked about 2 gallons worth of strawberries!  It was fun and something that we look forward to every spring. 

My dh and son went to a Father/Son retreat on Friday and Saturday  and had a BALL!!!  They had to leave early due to a soccer game, but they enjoyed the time that they were there.:)  They were joined by some other bloggers families..I would insert them, but I don't know how.  You know who you are and my family had a ball with your families!

So what kinds of things have your families been up to?  Do any of you have gardens?  If so, what are you growing?  Did you have any kind of late freeze and lose any crops?

that are calm, quiet and  uneventful?  Or are your days filled with adventures, fun and unexpected who can dream up whats?  I have had some of both lately and wowza!!  Since my last post my dh has had his birthday:); our coop has ended: after a drama class I teach had its one act play (they did soooooo GREAT!!!!) and my Cub Scout pack had awards and all 4 boys in my den earned their Arrow of Light awards (the highest that they can earn in Cub Scouting!:):)); music practices, athletic practices,  a quick trip to Nashville for a cousin's birthday and a car broken down with a ruined transmission!(but a safe family:)and back in time for a music recital and a Christian mechaninc! 

Also... the tremendously wonderful blessing of having my dad and stepmom come for a visit from about 940+ miles away!  We only see them a few times a year and it  is such a special time whenever we get to see them!!  We try to take advantage of the time and hug, kiss, love on, pamper, show off to and talk their ears off!:)  Actually, we do the same with our family that lives locally, but maybe we take the time with them for granted a little more.  :( But, all in all I am soooo thankful for the earthly family that God has given me!  He has blessed me with parents, sisters, my dh, our precious children, other family,amazing  friends, etc...  Each of them is such a PRECIOUS gift from HIM!!  God has certainly blessed me much more than I derserve!:) 

Thank you to my family (yes girls, thats you both:)) and to my friends who keep checking back on this lousy blogger to see if I have posted again!  Thanks!  You all are the best!!:):)

But she is technically not a baby anymore.  :( Today she is 5.  Wowza!!  We are thanking God for her life and for the opportunity to be her parents!!  She is funny, lively, witty, beautiful and entirely full of herself (we are working on that character issue!:)). 

What a blessing it is to be a parent!  !!!!! That was always one of my heart's desires, but there was a time in my life when it did not seem cool or acceptable  to want to "just" be a wife and a mom.  I bought into the notion that I could not be all that I "could be" without some high profile, high paying job.  I bought into that notion that God was not enough, nor could family be satisfying.  My life had to be all about   ME and MY DESIRES.  Forget about the fact that as a Christian God was supposed to be the "master and commander" of my life.  Boy, am I thankful that God could see through all of the "icky, sticky, self-deceptive layers that I had sugar-coating my life and my dreams and my desires!"  I am glad that He did not give me the things that I "thought" that I wanted.  I am sooo glad that He saved me and revealed and granted my deepest dreams and desires, even though I had been tricking myself!  I am sooo glad that He didn't give up on this depraved, fickle, arrogant, prideful, selfish, dream/prestige seeking girl/woman.  No, I am not perfect.  No, He is not finished with me yet.  But, boy am I thankful for the  non- money paying, humbling, challenging and HUGELY REWARDING  job that He has blessed me with(being a wife and mother!) !!   I seek to follow Him with ALL OF MY HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH!  I seek to HONOR HIM with everything!!  I know that He has "career "plans for me and they may involve more outside of my family... and they may not! :)  I am still working on trusting Him daily.... but what an exciting adventure it is!  And I am sooo grateful (most of the time)  that He still reveals the sin in my life and makes me deal with it, daily!  He is ENOUGH!!  He is my ROCK!!  He is my REFUGE!! 

Psalm 34:8-10 says:

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Thanks LORD that we can find you and that you love us soooo much!  Thanks for the opportunity to be a follower of you, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend.......  :):)  And thanks for birthdays of precious children!  Yippee!!!!