Susan at A Happy Heart at Home tagged me last week. I'm sorry I'm just getting around to posting mine. Actually, I lost the first one I started about this when my computer froze up. ARG.

1. Specialty Coffees ~ Specifically, a Carmel Macchiato from a good coffeeshop!!!!

2. Camping ~ We haven't gone camping since our first anniversary together but oh do I hope we can go sometime soon. Most of my favorite memories are from our camping trips when I was young. I really don't remember a time without camping and boating. I want to give my girls those same fun adventures! This is me in our first boat. I must have been 3 or 4. Please don't mind the toilet paper and bucket. We were "roughin' it".

3. Music. I love love love love love music! I love to listen to Contemporary Christian, Praise & Worship, Hymns, Instrumental (specifically acoustic, violin, or piano), but my favorite Christian Bluegrass! One of my favorite bands is Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

4. My Husband's artistic abilities! He truly amazes me! I cannot draw anything or even think of something to draw. His dream would be to do graphic design or be in animation! I pray it comes true for him someday! This is one of many many caricatures he did for people he used to work for.

5. Funny Things....We took this picture at a local boat dock. Notice what the sign says and the fact that it's right beside a port a potty.

I tag...

Angeline at Teaching My Olive Plants

Alyssa at Crazy BUsy

Corey at Sixfolks

Holly Hills Academy

Chasity at Homeschool Rocks

   A special thanks to The Simple Woman for hosting this meme.

FOR TODAY Monday, July 14, 2008...

 Outside My Window... It is partly sunny, humid, and about 70 degrees. My sprinklers are watering the front lawn and trying to bring my flower planter back to life. 

 I am thinking... I love this weather! I love summer! I love having my windows open!

 I am thankful for... My children! What blessings they are! They touch my life in every way and teach me how to be patient and loving and compassionate! I love to watch them grow each day and see how they're different and alike and think about how I can nurture their strengths and lessen their weaknesses.

 From the kitchen... Tonight we're having grilled dijon chicken with wheat rice and steamed veggies.

 I am wearing... My husband's white v-neck and black shorts.

 I am creating... I'm not actually doing it today but Bailey's curriculum should arrive tomorrow and I will be opening it up and creating a plan! I hope to start the first week of August.

 I am going... To make granola bars today! I haven't made them in a while. They don't last long!

I am reading... "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God", my Bible, and "Get Out of That Pit"

I am hoping... We can sell our house so we can get closer to Eric's work. Our desire would be to move almost half-way so we could still be near to my parents who are now about 2 miles away.

 I am hearing... My sprinklers, "Father, We Are Here" by Twila Paris, and my girls playing at the table. Emma & Abigail are painting with watercolors.

Around the house... Is a lot of laundry! Monday is usually laundry day for me.

One of my favorite things... Is hearing my 1 year-old talk in sentences. She is much smarter than she needs to me, thanks to her big sisters I'm sure and so cute!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: NOTHING! We don't have to do anything this week. We may go to the library Wednesday afternoon for a t-shirt painting time. I may or may not get my hair chopped off :) I'm actually praying about that one!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... Another photoshop redo. My husband loves graphic arts! He is so artistic and very very creative! He switched Bailey & I's heads in this picture and it was so funny because the way of Emma had been looking at Bailey in the picture. This original photo was taken summer 2006. I was pregnant with Abigail.

Bailey tasting hot and spicy pork rinds Emma tasting hot and spicy pork rinds Lucy jumping up to Eric

I'm sorry for this one but I had to share. I let her be a little while after I heard her awake from her nap because she was being good in there. I should have known when they're quiet it's never good! I'm not sure Bailey liked holding her hair They were very happy when we got home and wanted to take picture after picture after picture.

Now this is my current hair and I'm thinking of getting it cut again. I had my sweetie take my picture from the last time I got all my hair cut off and photoshop it a little taking more off the way I'd get it cut now if I decide to do that. What do you think? (That's my dad with me)

And the maybe what it could be...Please disregard the garbled shoulder and neck...he had to paste that area from the other picture and I don't really look deformed like that . Plus I'm sure my hair will be a little thicker than that but it's just a rough guess.

My heart is breaking this morning. For reasons I don't know I have come across several heartbreaking situations among friends, family, and even fellow bloggers. All I can do with this heaviness in my heart for their sorrow and battles is seek the Lord and search the Psalms. I can't even really come up with words to pray.

Would you please lift up a dear friend of my husband's who is at rock bottom in his life. So many unforunate things have happened to him in the past few years and yesterday he scraped bottom and attempted to take his own life. He got scared and called for help and is physically okay but inside he is broken and dying. He has two daughters who need him. Please pray for his salvation and redemption!

I read a new blog yesterday and one today where the ladies had both lost a baby late in pregnancy. I know the Lord gives us the strength we need when we need as we call out to HIM but I still cannot bear to imagine the pain their hearts must be filled with. Please pray for these bloggy friends of mine to heal!

Also, please pray for the family of my cousin who passed away a month or two ago leaving her two sons and husband behind. They are struggling and there are many things that need attention. Please pray they too find salvation and comfort!

Psalm 147:3-7

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. Great is our LORD, and of great power: His understanding is infite. The LORD lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God."

We have been talking about cutting our daughters' hair for a while now. Our main problem is brushing their hair. We use conditioner and even a tangle spray but it doesn't seem to help or matter.

Our 5 year-old daughter's hair is about 8" below her shoulders and is beautiful if we take the time to curl it or it has been french braided wet all night so that it is kinky the next day, otherwise, it is stringy and always looks unbrushed (even minutes after brushing it). So, we have been talking about cutting hers to above her shoulders. She has been undecided but is excited for a cut. She's a bit of a princess and more into her looks than her younger sister, which makes me a little nervous for her to be sad after a big cut.

Then our 3 year-old. Her hair is very long, to the bottom of her back. The last few inches of the under layer are spring curls and so very pretty but again, brushing it is almost impossible. Most of the time it just hangs in her face and it can be very very pretty but it takes a lot of care. I am very undecided about cutting much of hers off. I'm thinking of just doing some bangs to help get the rest out of her face and dealing with the tangles for now. I might get nauseas cutting her curls off.

Any advice mommies who have been there? Our 3 year-old has never had her hair cut, except the three times we had to cut gum out of her hair. I am pretty sure about cutting the older's hair, even though it will be very sad for me to see it go. I really do not know what to do about the middle daughter's hair though. I don't know if the salon will be of any help either. We've never been to this one, it is just for kids.

Thank you for any advice!

I have struggled for nearly two years now with guilt over not being able to consistently wake up at 5:30 as I have so desperately tried and desired. My ideal morning would be waking up at 5:30, making my husband's breakfast and sending him off to work, exercising, having Bible/Prayer time, and showering all before my girls wake up.

But, on the mornings I have managed to get up early, ironically, so do my children, which made me so  frustrated because it was supposed to be my time of quiet and getting woke up and ready for the day. Or if I didn't get up I spent all day feeling guilty and wallowing in my own regret that my day must have been not going well because of me and though that may have some validity to it, just because my day started later than I wanted doesn't mean it's spoiled!

During the girls' nap/quiet time today, I was reading chapter 4 of "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" and there is a couple pages on this subject. I was speechless after reading this section and actually had to put the book down to digest what she was saying. I have read over and over and over these past couple of years from women saying how sweet their early morning time with Jesus was and I wanted it more than anyone could understand. However, I need sleep so much too for many reasons. Right now my girls still wake up at night and if on a rare occasion they don't, I do. My health hasn't been the greatest as I have been struggling with iron-deficient anemia which has left me very fatigued at times.

Anyway, before I get any more derailed here, she is trying to dispell the thought that it is mandatory we rise early and have this every day. At some seasons of our lives, it is not possible. The more important thing is that we find some time during our day every day to read our Bible and pray often. It doesn't have to be alone or a big lump of time at once. It can be while the children are playing or reading aside you, at their quiet time, or after they're in bed at night.

It's probably going to take some more time and more prayer before I feel completely at peace with this matter. God sent me a scripture through the Bible study I just finished and it is again in this section of this new book I'm reading. "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep"  Psalm 127:2 (KJV). Yes, I know there are also many scriptures on rising early to pray and be with our Lord but also He gave us this, I suppose for a season in our lives where we can't get up early every day!

For now I will come to Him as often as I can and will read His Word as much as I find moments to but I will also long for the days when I will have the time to rise and meet with Him in the quiet of the morning.

 A special thanks to The Simple Woman for hosting this meme.

FOR TODAY Monday, July 14, 2008...

 Outside My Window... It is very calm and the sun is shining brightly. It is supposed to be 74 degrees today. Perfect! My garden is flourishing and I find such pride and joy in its growth, although the Lord is of course my provider and the one who has provided the sun & rain to nourish it.

 I am thinking... I am thankful it is a new week. I have new chances to reclaim my home this morning and take it back from the dirt monsters. :) I was a bit overwhelmed last week. I love fresh starts!

 I am thankful for... Music. Music has always been such a huge part of my life. I think I was singing in front of church by age 5. My two best-friends and I used to fight over the microphone while we tried to stand there and sing together. Then I played the piano, flute, alto sax, clarinet, and keyboard at various times throughout schooling. I ended up choosing my voice over all of those and how I regret giving up those instruments! But at least I still have my voice with me :)

 From the kitchen... What else but clean dishes to put away :) Actually, my dishwasher has been making dishes look almost worse when they come out than when I put them in. So, my clean dishes are on my counter today. I washed them by hand, which gives me much more satisfaction, even though the dishwasher is so much easier.

 I am wearing... My nightgown and my robe still! The girls slept horrible last night and I was up often. Abigail was up a few times and Emma had a really restless night waking up and whining. I was very sleepy this morning!

 I am creating... I actually started sewing an Edwardian Apron a while back and got stuck on a certain stitch that needed done and I quit the project. I need to reclaim that work and figure it out! I always feel like doing more when I have an apron on!

 I am going... To order Bailey's kindergarten curriculum this Friday. I am so excited to embark upon this adventure! We are going to start with My Father's World Curriculum.

I am reading... "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God", my Bible, and "Get Out of That Pit"

I am hoping... Gas prices go back down. My husband drives a minimum of 384 miles a week to work and back. Sometimes he drives up to 640 miles a week. That all works out to about $500 a month just on gas...not to mention the upkeep, oil changes, etc. We just had to get his transmission rebuilt, which cost over $1600. Praise the Lord we had the emergency fund set up...thanks to Dave Ramsey!

 I am hearing... My children playing with play dough behind me. They each have little people they are using with their play dough and are in their own little worlds. I savor these moments!

Around the house... Is clean carpets. I borrowed my friend's steam cleaner and cleaned my dining room, hallway, and large living room last week. The cleaning was the easy part, but cleaning the steam cleaner out has proved to be very stressful. I feel so pressed to get the thing as cleaned out as possible since it's not mine and I don't know how. EEKS!

One of my favorite things... Is camping. We haven't gone in years...since we had the girls. We only have a tent, which is big enough for us all; I'm just not ready to take a toddler camping in a tent. But, I hope we get to take out girls camping soon. I know how special those times were to me growing up. I really don't remember a time we didn't camp or boat! Thank you mom and dad for those special special special memories! All it takes is the aroma of a campfire for my mind to go back to some of those special times!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Friday I will take Lucy (our 6 month old daschund) to the vet for her spaying. Then I will get our groceries and probably stop at some garage sales!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... These are my two older girls a few years back. I think those were a cheap pair of sunglasses that they popped the lenses out of. They looked so studios and cute. These are among my favorite photos of them so far!

After some deep thought and prayer, I feel I can better explain my feelings on living a simpler life. As simple as it seems, I think what I'm looking for is only found in a deeper and closer walk with my Lord. Yes, I would love to have an old country home on rolling acres of tall grass that blows in the wind and lots of woods my sweetie can go out back and hunt in and a rolling stream we can fish in. I can see the red plaid curtains blowing in the summer breeze that are hanging from my kitchen windows above the sink. I can picture lots of things in my mind that mean "simplicity" to me but nothing compares to the joy of knowing our Lord.

So, for now, while He calls us to remain in this home, I will embark on a journey to find joy in the simple things He beckons me to do. Foremost, I am a mommy and a wife; servant to my Jesus, my husband, and my children. Maybe my eyes have been foggy from focusing too much on myself and what I want rather than what Jesus wants for me. So, while I will keep my dreams alive for that country home and the peace I believe country living could bring us, I will indeed strive to simply live in the today and walk closer to Him each moment, finding joy in each trial and each triumph!

What I am about to share I have only shared with a few close people in my life. It is something I am finaly finding victory over and though I still have a long way to go, I praise Jesus for beginning to heal this problem in my life. I have struggled my whole life with anxiety and once we had children, you can imagine how much my fears and anxieties have only grown. I worry about every little thing that could happen to them. It has caused me so much pain in my heart and distressed me so that I cannot enjoy things as I should. I avoid places like the park because I fear them falling or getting hurt. I have worried myself so silly when we should be having fun that things just aren't fun for me. Another big stressor for me are stairs. If someone invites us over who has stairs, I would rather not go. Isn't that silly! What bondage this has been for me! I think that as my Healer is helping me to gain victory in this part of my life, I am beginning to feel the chains loosen and that I can enjoy my children and their play more! If you think of it, you could pray for me in this area!

I saw a book a while back on some blogs I read and thought it would be a great book for me but I have ordered books before that greatly disappointed me and I didn't want to waste my money. So, I waited a long time until I finally felt impressed to order this one. It came in the mail the other day and I have only read a chapter or two but I am sure it is going to minister to me! I have opened up my soul to great change and am certain the Holy Spirit will teach me from what I read in this book and the thoughts and prayers it inspires. When I am done reading it, I will write a review. The book is "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God."

I don't remember why but my goofy sweetie taught this to Bailey about a year ago. I love that voice on camera...sounds so cute! This one is really short. You might have to play it a couple times :). Again, before viewing video you'll want to pause my music.

Well, last night was my last Stepping Up Bible Study meeting and I left with such a sense of change in my heart and soul! If you've never seen Beth Moore speak, she will infuse such a passion and enthusiasm inside you. She is full of such energy and the Lord's words just flow through her!

The most important things I took home from last night was the quote "We don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand." Yes, we are always going to have issues we disagree on, rib issues as Beth puts it. All of us brothers and sisters in Christ have accepted God's salvation but it takes a different amount of time for us to be sanctified and we are all called to change different things at different times. Just because I am at such and such a point in my spirtual life and so and so isn't, I have learned they may have other areas together that I don't. Did that make sense? It did in my mind anyway .

She says in the study book "God's faithfulness then calls for man's gratefulness!" We are not to wait for good things to happen to praise the Lord! Perhaps the most important time for us to praise the Lord is when we're down and burdened and heavy-laden! He will always be faithful to us! It is we who are not always faithful to him!

The overall message from this study is that we are all on a pilgrimage. We, who are saved by God's grace and living our lives to glorify Him, are all pilgrims on our journey to Heaven or Mount Zion if you will. Just as the Israelites were pilgrims on their journies to Jerusalem several times a year for religious celebrations. We are on our journey to a religious celebration of outstanding proportions!

Thank you Lord for opening my eyes in this study and I pray the changes in my soul only intensify and turn into more and more changes to glorify You!

My sweetie was a wascally wabbit when he was a young one. Oh sometimes the stories he tells me about things he did make me glad we haven't had a son yet . There are two stories that stick out in my mind. The first one is when he was in young elementary school. I'm not sure his age but his little brother was a toddler. Eric was outside with a bow & arrow and shot his arrow straight up into the sky, and as if time stood still, he knew it was a bad decision. He looked over at that moment and saw his step-dad looking out at what he was doing and then looked over to see his arrow plummet to the earth barely gracing his baby brother walking innocently out there on the lawn. Oh, need I say how angry his step-dad was? Eric says he used to have to pick his own spanking stick out and he learned not to pick the "safe" looking ones as dad could always find a better one. But, the good news is everyone was okay and now we can "laugh" about it. Plus that little boy with the bow and arrow turned out to be a wonderful hunter who appreciates God's design in nature and that he can provide venison to his family!

The second story is when he was probably not much older than that first incident, he shot out the yard light with a sling shot. Now let me tell you, they lived in the middle of nowhere down a long, winding, and hilly dirt road. There was no light at night but from the moon & stars. He says the night after he did that he remembers overhearing his parents talking in the living room while he was laying in bed, IN THE DARK (lol). They were remarking how dark it seemed that night. I'm sure he lay there snickering and knowing no one would ever know. No one would know until it was too late to spank him of course. Now that he's an adult we all laugh about that one too.

Oh I can imagine the mischief him and his siblings must have got into. I appreciate his sense of adventure! There was another time where I thought we were going to die. We weren't even close to danger but me and my panick ridden anxiety laden self couldn't help but lose control. We had taken his little old 4-cylinder Ford Ranger to a little old lake in the middle of nowhere. One of his brothers was with us. After a wonderful, relaxing time of fishing on the lake he had backed tried to back his truck down to the lake so we could easily put the aluminum boat back in the bed. Well, being dusk and a slippery muddy two-track down to the lake, Eric backed over a very large tree trunk that was laying on the path. We were stuck! No way to get back over or to move the tree.

This brings us to where I thought we were going to die. What about that situation makes one think death? Now I laugh at myself. Eric was laughing at me then, along with his brother. But we ended up rocking the truck back over the log and you cannot imagine the relief I felt. I probably shook and trembled the rest of the night from the adrenaline that went through my body.

But all that to say, I thank Jesus for the differences in us that bring us together! Thank you Lord for giving me a laid back, relaxed husband who can calm me when I'm ridden with anxiety! My husband truly helps me to be a better person and I love him all the more for it!

My hunger for simplicity grows every day. I have felt so sidetracked this year and I don’t think I can stand it anymore. I need to take some time to refresh my spirit and quiet my life enough to get back to where God wants me to be. Back in high school and college I used to write to express my deepest emotions, and emotional I was! It has been some years since I have quieted myself enough to be able to feel that place deep within. Children and life have taken over and busied me so that finding that place seems impossible right now.

Our previous house was just a small cape cod with a finished basement, but I miss it so. It seemed so simple. Maybe it's just a sentimental missing in my heart but it seems things changed for me after that move. When we found out we were pregnant with our third daughter, we decided to try an open house by owner for our home and see if God wanted us to find a bigger home. Well, we stuck a sign in the yard and put an ad in the paper and had a family come through our open house and tell us they weren't leaving until we accepted their full asking price offer. Wow, what a quick and direct answer to our prayers! Only we had to move out in 4 weeks. God sent us this house to fill that need but it has never really felt like "home". It is a nice large ranch that definitely is a good size and in good shape but my husband and I long for the country, partly for the simplicity, mostly for the space.

Makes me think this longing in my heart for simplicity and space really is deeply rooted in the longing for Heaven and it's freedom! See, now my writing has caused my selfish longing for wordly space to turn to a spiritual longing for Heaven! Please rekindle this fire in me to wait expectantly for Your Glory! But while we must remain here on earth, let us follow Your will...no matter my desires! If I must stay in this home for a time to come, I will have to come up with ways to simplify.

Off the top of my head, I know we could simplify our lives by limiting television to a stark minimum for both us and the children. My main problem area is actually how much time I can spend on this computer...information is limitless! Sometimes I want to throw it out the window. If my husband didn't need the high speed connection when he works from home I'd love to have dial-up. I know the slowness of it would greatly limit my internet time. I have tried setting limits for myself but I must not have much self-control because I can't even obey my own rules :)

I know this stage of my life doesn't offer much rest. My children, 1, 3, and 5 are very needy and busy. My "job" doesn't end at their bedtime, most nights it continues all night long as they seem to wake up in staggering times so that my sleep is constantly interrupted. I am thankful though, because I would rather have them than sleep! Amen!

So, this week I am going to do some serious reconsideration of my time. I am sure I will have to pray a lot about this as I can do nothing without Christ and to try would be work in vain. Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated!

My sweet husband and I are finally embarking on a journey to healthful habits. Over the past couple of years our health has plummeted. I mentioned earlier my new overall cholesterol level is 222...up from 198 just 6 months ago. High cholesterol is just one of a few health concerns that run in my family from both sides, so I really need to be careful now. After the birth of our third daughter, I was able to get my weight back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. It's actually kind of interesting that each pregnancy I started at the same weight, gained the exact same lbs (37), and got back to the exact same pre-pregnancy weight. But, since last summer, when I did get back to "normal" I have gained about 6 lbs. It may not seem significant but to me, it has changed the size of clothes I wear and I am seeing things I don't like. I want to be in good physical condition, don't get me wrong here, I'm not being vain. I just want to be of good health and fit the clothes I have. I don't want to have to go buy a new wardrobe over 6-10 lbs!

So, today was day #1 for us. Our initial goals are to drink water all day, limit coffee & other caffeine, eat mostly vegetables at meals, and limit snacking. We also are trying to do more physical exercise than in the past. We have a treadmill in the basement, but it rarely gets used down there. We would love to buy an elliptical for our living room but haven't yet done that. Eric has ran outside but it is so hard for him to get the motivation to do that. I enjoy riding my bike and will do that as often as I can.

I plan to weigh myself every Sunday and take my measurements just for the fun of seeing progress. I really only would like to lose maybe 5 lbs and build my muscle back up so feel more able to play around and be a little stronger.

Here are the menus we plan on having over the next two weeks...

For breakfasts we are having either a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter, fiber one cereal, or oatmeal. For lunches we are having large romaine & spinach salads topped with dressing & raw sunflower nuts, assorted side veggies, yogurt, and maybe a fruit.

Monday ~ Grilled Trout, Rice, & Veggies

Tuesday ~ Chicken Noodle Soup, Bread

Wednesdsay ~ Chopped Steak, Veggies

Thursday ~ Baked Chicken, Rice, Veggies

Friday ~ Lentil Joes, Veggies

Saturday ~ Cilantro Lime Chicken Cacciatore, Rice, Veggies

Sunday ~ Leftovers

Monday ~ Curried Chicken, Rice, Salad

Tuesday ~ Chicken Fajitas, Veggies

Wednesday ~ Marinated Grilled Venison, Potato Wedges, Veggies

Thursday ~ Chicken Paprikish, Veggies

Friday ~ Turkey Meatballs, Noodles, Veggies

I am just so filled with thanksgiving this morning for my husband. I've tried to think back of a funny or romatic story I could tell, but I've already told in this post  of how he asked me to marry him and other things I have thought of I have already shared in previous posts. But, again I am so amazed by his sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We are often leaders of our praise and worship at church and do a special song many Sundays. I am always humbled when the Spirit speaks through him at those times. He will open his mouth to introduce a song or tell why we chose a certain special and more often than not it is not my husband who does the talking, know what I mean! He will be touched by God and tears will flow and I imagine he touches everyone's heart, including mine.

We had a terrible tragedy in our small town last week. A madman who was a client a young realtor with 2 children ages 1 and 2 walked into the realty office and asked the realtor for a meeting in the board room about his house that had been for sale, and took out a gun and shot him execution style in the head. He died at the hospital. Please pray for this family! I believe they were saved by God's grace so my hope is that he is walking Heaven's shore today!

That tragedy got my husband thinking a lot this week about how fragile our lives are. So, yesterday, we sang "Just a Closer Walk with Thee " and he began talking about how we are never promised tomorrow. We just had this tragedy in town this week of a man who never ever would have woke up that day expecting that to happen. We are all promised one thing for sure, we all will die at some point, but we have to be ready each day. Eric talked about how we have to yearn each day to be closer and closer and closer to the Lord. We have to be careful not to let the business of our days interfere with the relationship we have with the Lord.

Again, I am so thankful today for a husband who is tender to the Spirit of God speaking to him and through him!

"Just a closer walk with thee. Grant it Jesus, is my plea.

Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Now I am weak and Thou art strong. Jesus keep me from all wrong.

I'll be satisfied as long as I walk; let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares. If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee."

I know I'm a little late on this one but we've been busy and when we've not been busy we've been relaxing! Yesterday  morning we packed up a lunch of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, cheese, and grapes and headed off to a local craft fair. Now this is one of the least favorite things my husband would care to spend his time doing, but he graciously went along because he knows how much the girls and I love to go to those things. However, it's not very easy to maneuver a double stroller and two adults and one more child through a thick crowd of people so mostly we just window shopped from the center aisle. After we stopped on the grass and ate lunch, we bought an elephant ear and shared it between the 5 of us...it didn't last long.

Later in the afternoon we had some good friends of ours over. Our grill has been out of propane and we are waiting for the "super saturday" sale so we can get both our tanks filled for cheap. So, Eric dug out a little fire pit and we roasted our hot dogs over the fire. We had a great time.

This morning my husband is trout fishing and we are planning a date this evening. We haven't decided what we're going to do yet but Eric usually leaves those decisions up to me. We are planning lunch at my mom and dad's tomorrow afternoon after church.

Weekends always go way too fast for my sweet dh. I hope he catches many big fish this morning!