Summer Vacay peek

The last week of July we were able to spend a week in Northern-ish Michigan at Lake Ann Camp, near Traverse City. I was able to go two years ago when we had only our 1 girlie... and was excited to all be together as 4 for this summer! The week did not disappoint and the Lord took such good care of us.

Earlier in the week the decision was made that I would follow the church van up, in our personal van - with 3 of our jr high girls as well as my own two darlings. 12 hours. It would be a lie to say I was totally comfortable with it. But, once we got on the highway and I cast my very real fears at the Lords feet - we were fine. :) And actually, the ride was pretty nice. I was so thankful for those jr high girls who were able to help me find paci's, comfort crying babes, and just be generally good company :) Their joy was so refreshing to me.

We had to stop a few times to fill up my tire, which, appeared to lose air every couple hours. Finally in some random town in Indiana we realized it was actually a REAL problem. My poor tire looked like a soggy, flat, trash bag. It was a Sunday afternoon so of course nothing was open. It would have been easy to panic. We had two vans full of teenagers eager to get to camp - and now my van was having issues. One of my biggest fears of the trip. And we had NO extra money for repairs. Brad made the decision to head to the next nearest "big" town to see if we could find a Sears or something. The tire wouldn't make it any further... I was nervous. We drove another 10 minutes or so scouring this unfamiliar place for help. Nothing. Closed. Sundays are not ideal travel days. And then right there on the end of the road was a Tire Barn - open! I drove in and explained to the man behind the desk what was going on. I looked beyond his sarcasm...which he felt compelled to use often while speaking with me. But then I remembered it was Sunday and I'm sure he wasn't thrilled to be working. Grace. He took the keys and as I walked away I just let the stress slip away, too. I knew it was going to cost something. Time. Money. Sanity. There is always a cost. So, I let out a breath and slumped into the chair to watch something Olympic-ish on the store TV. No need to keep thinking about it.

About 15 minutes later a different man came to the front desk and called my name. I watched as he scribbled some notes down and then entered some info on the computer. Gulp. And now the bill. He folded up the paper, handed me my keys, gave a quick description of the work done, and then told us to a have a good day. As I stood there with my husband, wallet in my hands ready to pay, I felt confused. The man was gone and there was no bill. Just the well wishing for the day and my set of keys. No charge for labor. No charge for part {valve stem}. We left, and were I not surrounded by people... I would have cried. The God of this universe, who knows my heart and my fears, knew in that moment how I breathed THANKS to Him.

Thankfully that was as much "fun" as was had on the way there. We had a fantastic week and it seems the teens really enjoyed their time, too. Here's just a peek at the fun that was had :)

Bugs and Links

It's as if the whole world around me is breathing a sigh of relief as we woke up to COOL air {that wasn't from our AC}. We are finally going to be back down into the 80's this week. Our poor area is burnt to a crisp from weeks of 100's and blazing hot sun. My Ava took full advantage of the cool morning and headed outside just as soon as she could. Her excitement was contagious and before I knew it - we were fully into an early morning bug hunt. Jammies and all!

And let me tell you...we had great success! Two whole Cicadas {dead} and lots of "bug shells". There is something so special and wonderful about reliving childhood with your own children. I've said this before, but, I remember doing this very thing when I was her age. Peeking around every tree in our yard looking for "bug shells". We had a great bug hunt and after it was over she went on to play in the yard just enjoying life like 3 year old girls do. Only, mine is always barefoot and still in PJ's. :) 

While Ava was busy playing I brewed some coffee and set up my camping chair in the shade. It was a perfect morning for some outdoor devotions. {finally!} Daddy and Augs were napping so it was calm and quiet. My heart has been bound up with some fears and anxiety the last few days and I know that's a losing battle. I needed quiet time with the Lord and what a gift this perfect morning was just for that very thing. 

I will thank the Lord at all times.

    My mouth will always praise him.

² 

My soul will boast about the Lord.

    Those who are oppressed will hear it and rejoice.

³ 

Praise the Lord’s greatness with me.

Let us highly honor his name together.

⁴ 

I went to the Lord for help.

    He answered me and rescued me from all my fears.

Psalm 34. One of my favorites. Sitting in the cool of the morning and just crying out to God was just exactly what I needed - what my heart was craving. The Word of God is powerful and it changes you. I've asked the Lord to cover my heart in peace today... and I know He will take care of us. He always does.

In other news - have you seen that The Gospel Coalition for Women has their audio links up??? Yay! I want to encourage you to take some time and listen to them. These speakers are so gifted at preaching and teaching God's Word. What a blessing to be able to "sit" under such teaching - what a cool tech world we live in today, eh? My heart has been heavy for women lately - as I keep reading about this "Fifty shades" and "Magic Mike" stuff. The world {and prince of this world - Satan!} wants so badly to lure us away from truth...and fill our minds with garbage that robs the soul. For our husbands, for our children, for our SAVIOR we need to pursue truth and wisdom and purity. No wonder so many women are caught up in dispair and false hope - look at what we are filling our brains with!!
Can I beg you to take a listen to truth today? :)
My friend Kristi posted a super helpful link to some of the main speakers and I can't wait to digest them all. Have a peek here and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a wonderful weekend! We are heading out for some splash park fun this morning and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. :)

.:Kids these days:.

Here we are at 3 1/2 years and 14 months...
Some of the most exhausting and yet fulfilling days of my life.

Our days consist of toys, messes, giggles, hugs n' kisses, time outs and LOTS of learning - both for the girls, and for Momma.

They are growing up and learning so much!
I am so thankful for them both!

It's in THOSE moments

Yesterday was my 1 year follow up appointment with my physician. I was to fast overnight and get some blood drawn to make sure I was back up and running at 100%. After a weigh in {ugh}, height measurement, and routine check up type stuff we got into details. I'm tired. Always tired. I confessed to my Doc that even on the night when I get 9+ hours of sleep I still feel drowsy the WHOLE next day. Then she asks that annoying question, "Are you exercising?" Cough.Cough. "Um, well, you see... I just....no." And I go on to ramble about WW and how I lost 10 pounds right away and now I just can't seem to budge the scales and honestly I'm too tired to keep keeping track of every morsel I eat... and, the excuses just fell out. And her eyes glazed over listening. Ok, I'm being dramatic, but, mine would have if I were the listener. EXCUSES! 

So, we chatted about some ideas and she mentioned she'd like to test my thyroid, vitamin D, calcium and liver enzymes "just in case" something was wrong. But, current prescription is 30 minutes of exercise every day...and, to get more sun. Now, because it's been in the 100's here - I'll admit - we aren't getting our Vitamin D from the sun. No way. Other then that - I'm healthy. My stats are good and while I do still have extra weight I'm not out of the ball park. 

But let me back up to around 7am -ish the morning of that appointment.

I wake up early to make myself presentable, and, that takes time. I come downstairs with the 3 year old and get her started on a bowl of corn Chex. {her current fave because it's daddy's fave} As I walk by our glass front door I notice the neighbors across from us have put some kind of work out equipment near their curb. "hmmm...interesting" I think but then almost dismiss it totally because normally in our neck o' the woods "nice" items aren't put out - normally we see broken, beat up or junky items. But, since I'm reworking our basement into a work out room I take another peek, or, a stare actually - like a hawk, out our front door. We can't afford brand new items so it'll be up to finding used pieces to fill our space. Really, I'm fine with that! Add to the fact that I know next to nothing about work out equipment... it was going to be a gamble anyway. 

Hubby comes down with baby. I casually mention that he should go grab that machine. Hubby does not like "junking" or taking anything off of any curb. It makes him very uncomfortable. I don't blame him and will confess I have raised my eyebrows at people digging in others trash before... {blush}. So, I march over and check it out. It's still early and our street has no movement yet. I'm thankful for this. I turn it on and it seems to work fine - and, it seems fairly unused and it seems PERFECT for what I'm looking for. And it seems to be FREE. I march back and give the positive report to my still cautious hubby and I understand his point of view. Their trash would become our trash the moment it leaves their curb and comes to our home. You can't return trash. But, we decide it's worth the risk - and he goes to claim our new machine. 

The story ends like this.

Not only was this machine FREE for our taking. 

It's in perfect condition, clean, and hardly used. It's a small sized elliptical, which is exactly what I had been slightly praying for. And, it has safety features to protect nosey little girls who want to climb all over it. 

I was not surprised, though, I was so thankful. God always provides - why would I be shocked over this provision. He knows my need, my heart, my hopes. It's in THOSE moments when I creep another notch in my sanctification - glorying in Christ and His perfect plan for my family. We are blown away that the exact item we WANTED just sat for free directly across from our home on the exact morning that my Doctor would later look in my eyes and say, "You need to exercise". 

I hope to convince hubby to do a guest post on here later... about his side of this story. Seems he learned a great deal through this little early morning experience, too. 

Today I'm living with eyes wide open for those God-moments, they are everywhere if we just keep ourselves aware and awake. 

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

This has been a great Monday, so far. I had dr's appointments and I just love both of the ones I saw. {nothing is wrong... just those once every year kinda deals} I was able to say "thank you" to Renee, one of the nurse practitioners who I credit with saving my life. She was the one who called and urged me to head to the ER last year after seeing my blood count come back SUPER low. Crazy. If it weren't for her urging... I would have probably just kept on "napping" with my 104 fever in my semi-asleep state. 

It's crazy, crazy HOT here. Last night our neighbors yard caught on fire. The whole front of her yard is now a toasty, black, burnt, mess.  Apparently a piece of smoldering charcoal from her grill (from the night before) was still hot and fell through onto the crispy ground. Weird. My 3 year old kept coming to me and saying, "mommy, Vicki's  yard is on fire" and I would shoo her away. Lesson learned - listen to your children outlandish tales...because they MIGHT be true!

The Weather:::

AWFUL. We haven't had rain or shade or coolness in FOREVER. We are in a drought and now farmers say food prices will go up, up, up - since corn and soybean yield is WAY down.
But...the Lord knows.  And, He has a plan!

On my reading pile:::

Going to start, "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wormbrandt this week. Intense story {that's true} about a Romanian missionary tortured because of His faith in Christ!

On my tv:::

Gonna finish Pride & Prejudice tonight...Keira Knightly version.

On the menu for this week:::

Ugh. It's so hot - food doesn't even sound good. And, with a tight budget - neither does looking for food! I found a frozen ham in the freezer and turned it into a couple pounds of ground ham, and a bag full of ham cubes. Hoping to use those up the next few weeks! But as for right now this second... no menu plan.

On my to do list:::

General tidying.
Clean out fridge {and make up meals from that}
Continue turning basement into workout space
unload and reload dishwasher

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

Ah, nothing. TOO HOT PEOPLE. :)  

Homemaking Tips:::

Small children are GREAT for dusting baseboards, cupboard doors, and anything low. Yesterday I gave my 1 year old a small piece of fleece material and she WENT TO TOWN "dusting" any and everything she could reach. Actually, she did a great job! This also trains my little girls on how to be homemakers and take care of their space.

Looking around the house:::

All the condiments are left out from our cookout last night. 3 year old pulling 1 year old around in her princess chair while watching "My Little Ponies". Baseboards look lovely, though :) 

From the camera:::

Well, this morning we found an elliptical on our neighbors front curb. It's in great shape and still works - found this pic online! LOVE IT!  This is a pic I found online.

 

On my prayer list:::

Got some blood work done today - praying it all turns out "ok".

Bible verse, Devotional:::

 2 Kings... stories about Elisha's life and miracles are AMAZING!

From where I sit...

This morning my husband got up (early) with our children. Our eldest had been up multiple times with the random screaming...again. I was wiped out. Anyway, when I rolled over at 7:50am to a half empty bed and the chatter of girls downstairs - I was thankful. They had been fed, changed, and were happily playing with toys. It was lovely. We had a nice and relaxing morning of nothing. Hubs took a nap on the floor while girls played and I watched "I Love Lucy" episodes. That woman cracks me up!

When the baby went down for her morning nap I got to sit on our back steps and enjoy a cup of coffee with my husband. We need to do that more often. Connecting is so important. 

After a while we set to work doing some odd and end jobs that needed done. Our winter clothes finally got moved to the basement {grin} and I set to work sorting through toys. We have so many random toys... that really never even get a second look. I'm working on bagging them up for our event at church.

There was a lot of this...playing in the background.  :) THANK YOU Spotify! My big girl loved hearing some of the familiar songs she knows... and the other 100 she didn't. Ha :)

 

We had 7 grain pancakes for lunch - made by chef hubs! He is so wonderful in taking over those tasks that I usually do day in and day out. They were delish and we enjoyed our "lunch" around the dining room table. Special day!

I did a little Christmas shopping this week. TJ Maxx and Target has had awesome clearance deals on random items. Because everything seems to be going up, up, up in price... gifting will probably be scaled waaay down this year. And you know what, I'm excited about that. I was thinking of doing an "all natural" theme in the house this year - use lots of pine, ribbon and dried fruit as decor. Simple gifting would be wonderful :) The older my children get the more this phrase is making sense to me:

 

It's a good day today. I love my family and I'm so thankful for this laid back Saturday. :)

My Gifts :)

My children are such a blessing from the Lord. I had the opportunity last week to lead a devotional at a baby shower at church. The gal is due with her first baby next month and it was just a great reminder to me of how quickly time flies, and what treasures babies and children are. The Word of God speaks over and over again of the importance and reward of children - something our society is very quickly trying to glaze over. Just today in a "parenting" magazine that I get {because it's free}I saw an ad for a permanent birth control new-whatever-thing. The pitch was how more children just add such a load to life - and, "you don't need more things to worry about". Sad. Disappointing. While I'm not here to debate #'s of children, political whatever-ness, or even birth control... I was able to look away and just PRAISE GOD for my babies.WHAT A GIFT!

The girls and I headed to Target this morning. I had a few things I needed to pick up, and, for some reason this is the ONE store my children don't seem to fuss at. I blame all the hanging banners, "tester" toys, and fun kids carts to ride in. :) Anywhoo... as we were moseying along I kept thinking of that "If you give a Mouse a cookie" book. You know,

"If you give a mouse a cookie,

He's going to want a glass of milk."

Only, it was more like...

"If you give a Mommy a few minutes at Target,

She is going to want to walk down every aisle.

If you let her walk down every aisle,

She will start to find things she didn't even know she needed.

When she finds things she didn't even know she needed,

she'll start planning for those events, fun times, and coming dates."

While I do work very diligently about NOT spending money on things we don't need {junk}- today I found some items {for cheap!} that will be so helpful and beneficial for my fam. And some unexpected treasures, a long the way, too. :) 

The Dollar Zone... seriously. What a HUGE help this will be as we begin some preschool at home this year! I already sat down and filled out our plans for week 1, because it felt like Christmas leafing through the thing!!! 

Yep, Thai-style soup for $1.74!!! I have been wanting to check this out for awhile, but it's usually in the $4 range. However, now that I've tried it - I can totally see why it was clearanced down... it.is.gross! Well, unless you like ginger-tasting water. Which, is exactly what it tasted like. :/ Wha-wha. 

After Target we made a run through the Starbucks drive through. I have gift card money left over from my birthday and two girls who LOVE the cake pops! Such a treat :) 

We ended our fun "girls morning out" with a pit stop at our local library. Ava has recently gotten very into the  "Charlie and Lola" books and TV show. It's adorable, I think, too. Her eyes got as big as saucers when she saw me find 4 of them today that we could take home! 

And, this one...
she doesn't quite understand that value of QUIET in the library. But, she sure is cute. I think I'll keep her.

I am a blessed woman to have these gifts in my life. They make each day special and challenging for the good and the bad. I'm constantly learning and always thankful!