More than TWO months Later!

Still finding Easter Eggs! This one dropped out of my umbrella when I opened it on our walk this gloomy, rainy day.
 

weekending

I had a mostly great weekend. My heart feels full to over flowing. I don't have any pictures really to show for it but I guess that just means I was enjoying the moments.

Friday afterwork Hannah and I headed to get our hair cut, getting rid of the access length we had grown out for fancy wedding hair.  We then did some school shopping and hit up the local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It was fun to have some quality time to catch up with my girl.

Saturday she had to work most of the day.  The dogs and I took a long morning ramble through the park. Had a coffee date with my best friend. Even though in a snap moment decision I had a caramel apple cider instead which I kind of regretted but it was also delicious- just didn't hit the same as coffee. Obviously. (I made myself a coldbrew when I got home). We had a nice little chat and left when the shop was closing. We spontaneously decided to sign up for a yoga class Monday night and I am super excited about it!

Church yesterday felt like an absolute gift. I can't even describe.  My best friend was there. Its been a rough summer and every time I get to see her beautiful face and give her a big hug it feels like a gift. It made me over the top happy to see her back at church.

Sunday school starts up next Sunday! I realized in bed Saturday night that next Sunday is September 1! I seriously thought it was farther away! But I got my new ss books and I am so excited to start class again.  My class is K-2 this year and looks like it will be all girls with the exception of my one kindergartener almost youngest nephew.  Which is a switch because my class has been boy heavy for the past several years. 

2/3rd's of the kids were home for dinner, and there partners which made my heart so happy. I had to run up to Mikayla's to walk the dog (as she and Dylan were off on another adventure for the day).  I was pleasantly surprised to see Ryan's car still there when I returned. All 4 kids were sitting around the kitchen table having just finished a game of dutch blitz. They wanted to go out for ice cream I was informed but waited for me to get back so we could all go. And we did. 💖

This song has been playing on repeat in my heart. Feel appropriate for here...

Granola Bars, Dogs and my wild and cRaZy Kids!

Sunday night I tried out a new granola bar recipe in the Snack Bar Maker Set.  I loved it! The bars actually held together  and tasted so yummy!  I found the recipe via Pinterest- Here's a link to that-

Homemade Granola Bars  I highly recommend.  I am loving the snack bar maker and can not wait to try more varieties!

 Last night we did a LIVE video... it went a little crazy and ended up being pretty hilarious! Be sure to check it out

  --->HERE<---

My new Fall catalogs also arrived! So many new goodies in store! 

You're gonna wanna have a FALL PARTY!

Ryan checking out the NEW catalog.

And just because.....

baseball & buddies

day 16:

Linking up with The Simple Woman's Autumn challenge

Last night as I was making dinner I looked out the window to see my kids and neighbors kids in the yard hitting baseballs around.

It filled my heart with joy.  I have always had a bit of a secret love for baseball.  I love seeing them out there playing together.  Hearing that ting when the bat and ball connect. I sincerely hope Hannah decides to play ball again this spring.  Two years ago she played T ball and did awesome! For some reason this past spring she refused.

For now I will bask in the fact they are outside playing.  Enjoying friends.  Being kids. Enjoying this glorious fall weather.  I am so relieved to have my love for fall return.  I was so heart broken {yes it sounds extreme.  And it was.} To have summer end.  I felt like I had no summer. I was so so sad.

But fall! Fall has always been my first love.  This week I have been overcome with gratefulness for the season.  Lost in the beauty.

All about the LOVE

Seriously...

This weeks chapter from "A Woman's Gotta Do What a Woman's Gotta Do" really spoke to me. It talked about starting your day and taking time to commune with God first.  How we need to be filled so we can fill others.  One thing we mentioned in the FB group yesterday was doing it in LOVE.  Not with bad attitude or out of obligation.  But to use every opportunity to shine His Love.

I need to work on the devo time.  Even though I rarely miss it...lately its been a bit stale.  Just getting it done so to speak...Working on slowing down, really connecting and savoring it this week.

Then this morning I saw this on FB

I am really working on the attitude and serving in love.  I have been struggling this weekend....and yesterday... just one of those times where every little thing seems hard.  Even though its not really.  I know I struggling yesterday and not so much inwardly when after my eldest returned from choir practice she kinda sorta hugged me and said...."Are you feeling better Mom?"

This morning my devotions again reminded me to walk in Love.

Colassians 3:12-17

¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

And from Ephesians 4:31-32

 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

From Known & Loved pp 140-

Just as all we need to do to enjoy the sun has to offer is to step out into it, so it is with God.  God stands ready to bless us, to bestow all that He has upon us.  He's already there, waiting to warm us with his love, to illuminate our loves with his grace, to nourish us with his very goodness. 
On some days, the harder times of life, when clouds threaten to make us forget there ever was such a thing as sunshine, that God bestows his love and goodness on us can be hard to believe.  But its true nevertheless.  We need only to step out into the goodness of God to feel what he offers.

But despite my grumblings there is good.  Like---

• Having a slightly out of sync Frozen sing along at the top of our lungs in the van
• Honking as we passed Mimi and Papa's house...twice...even though they didn't hear it
• Safety on the snowy roads
• The ability to drive and take the girls to their assorted birthday parties
• Laying in Hannah's bed at bedtime, reading, giggling, snuggling
• Makenna's 8th Birthday Party on Saturday

My how they have grown!

Our little Princesses-- 2009

The very beginning-- 2007

from the overflow of the heart

Time is not running out.  This day is not a sieve, losing time.  With each passing minute, each passing year, there's this deepening awareness that I am gaining time.  We stand on the brink of eternity.
                                                                   --Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts Devotional pp44

Deep Breath.  Slow down and enjoy.  So much of my time is spent running.  Hastening from one task to the next. Yesterday I rushed to church feeling harried and late.  Frustrated for being late to my appointed task.  Frustrated I was going to miss being in service at all.  As I breezed into the nursery I was urged to go sit in service instead.  Its OK go.  As I slipped from the nursery and up the stairs I felt a bit of the weight slip away.  As I listened to the message I felt my soul being restored.  I felt God's Arms. I knew I was home.  After Church we had yet another fellowship dinner.  It seems this season of our Church has been filled with dinners and farewells.  But this one was different.  Or maybe I was different.  I didn't feel rushed or urgent.  It was quiet, relaxed.  We could just be.  I could chat with my husband and daughter.  I could catch up with friends.  I still sat at the table as tables and chairs and table clothes were whipped away.  It felt like home.  It felt strange that Pastor and JoAnne were gone.  And yet so many things were the same.  That the way of life.  Things change, things stay the same.  Time moves on.

This week I am looking to God for strength.  For energy.  For wisdom to know what to keep.  What to let go.  To enjoy every summer moment I can with my children.  Not to fret about moments missed.  But to breathe deep.  To be fully present in the moment I am in.  Not wishing it was over so I could be somewhere different.

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 NIV

prayers

Yesterday afternoon Ryan came home from school, feeling a bit under the weather. I could tell as soon as he walked in the door something was amiss. He said he started not feeling well on the way home. He soon was cozy on the couch under a blanket, resting.

Later in the evening Hannah came to find me saying, "Ryan must have the flu". Because he was so cold.

"Oh Ryan, I will pray for you at school tomorrow." She told him solemnly. I smiled.

"Hannah," I began. "You know you can pray anytime, right? Not just at school."

"Oh yes, I know. Sometimes I pray in the bathroom!"

let the little children come to me

I became a Sunday School teacher kind of by default. I felt it was not my gift. In past years on SS teacher appreciation Sunday I would stand up front as a sub and listen to all the other teachers say how much they loved teaching, how much they enjoyed their classes, and the like. I would feel like a fraud. I felt like I was just doing my duty because I felt guilty saying "No". I didn't enjoy it but felt if they needed me to fill in I could manage.

At the beginning of the summer the K/1 class found itself lacking a teacher. Even though I tried to decline I somehow found myself the interim teacher. Alternating with another reluctant yet available teacher. We stressed that we were only temporary. That another teacher needed to be found. My Dad laughed out loud when I told him this, stating, "You know what temporary means in the Wesleyan Church, right?" I chuckled and replied I did. ;P

Somewhere along the lines though-- God changed my heart. I found myself becoming attached to my little class and desiring to teach. After much prayer, consulting with my fellow Housewives and my Mister, I decided to step up and accept the class as my own. Thus far it has been a joy and a pleasure. I have such a love for each little person under my care and tutelage.

Today we had a little Christmas party/birthday celebration for one little Miss who is turning 6 on Thursday. The girls had a ball. I made cupcakes and cocoa. And gave them each little Christmasy goodie bags. I gave another her very own Bible as she was the only one in the class lacking one. Her face light up as I bestowed it upon her. It made my heart smile. I love sharing my love for Jesus with them. Teaching them about the Bible and helping them learn their memory verses each month

Life's too short...

...to fret and stress and complain.

Life is good, God is good and we are so blessed. So very blessed.

Don't get me wrong I get caught up in the stress and pace of life moves at as well. In fact today I was on the verge of loosing it. At one point I locked myself in the bathroom for a "time out" ;P But really in the over all scheme of things. My life is pretty darn good. I am healthy, my family is healthy. I have a wonderful loving husband. We share three marvelous children. We have a fabulous little house that I love and have transformed into a HOME. We have enough. We are fed. We are warm. We are happy.

I had another time out this evening. But the good kind. In spite of the fact the kitchen was piled high with dirty supper dishes, and homework was yet to be done. I stopped and took the time to play a game with the youngest two offspring. Things like this make it all the trivial stuff fade away.

So ...

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
~Matthew 6:34

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
~ 1 Peter 5:7

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
~Jeremiah 29:11

Look for the good in today, and treasure it! Especially if you have little ones, for all too soon childhood will be behind them. And these are the days their memories are made of.

my verse and mission for today...

Titus 2:3-5 (NIV 1984)

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

My devotional today took me to the above verse. It spoke to my heart today. Sometimes I get frustrated with the mundane-ness of life. Doing the same thing, over and over and never seeming to get a head. Makes me wonder if I am making a difference. Do the things I do really matter? Funny we talked about this at Housewives this week too. I guess it really is something I need to be working on this week, something God is trying to tell me.

Here is a little excerpt from my devo this morning....

How do we keep an eternal perspective who;e living here on earth? Here are a few suggestions: Start your day by praying that God will use you for His purposes. Make it your ambition to please God in everything you do--- whether packing your children's lunches, running a company or volunteering at church. Each night thank God for the opportunities he's given you to serve him by serving others.
(new Women's Devotional Bible NIV, pp 1502)

My job starts at home, with my husband and my children. It IS the most important job I could possibly have or aspire too. Making their house, a home. A place where they love to be. Where they always feel loved and accepted.

Secondly God has recently called me to be a teacher. This kind of blindsided me. It was not a path I was planning on taking. But He has given me such a love for the 12 little ones in our preschool class and the 4 beautiful K/1st kidlets in my Sunday School class. Maybe some of them will remember me, maybe not. But I hope and pray God can use me to plant seeds that will grow as they do.

Today I am definitely working on the kind, the self-controlled and the busy at home parts of the Titus Two verses... ;P