Favorite Words

This is what I have been meditating on lately....

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in the pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure.

You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with JOY in your presence,
with eternal pleasure at your right hand.

from Psalm 16

September 1st

I don't like summer. I cannot tell you how happy I am right now, it's in the 50's outside this morning and it's September 1st. Summer is coming to an end and Autumn is almost upon us. But in the continuing effort to be thankful in all things, here is my Thankful List for Summer:

1. Summer Storms, thunderstorms to be exact. My goodness they are scary and powerful. I have screamed so many times, once when sitting on the front porch enjoying, and lightning struck down right next to me. Once driving home in it and the lightning was striking on both sides of the car. And then this past week, while sitting in a class with the boys, lightning struck right outside the window, I screamed and then proceeded to climb into Dave's lap. He was none too thrilled. Goober.


2. Time at the Pool....floating around the lazy river on a tube with my book...ah, relaxing. (this is the picture I took to show my sister that I wear a floppier hat than her at the pool)


3. Sweetie and I got to spend a whole week at the beach, just the two of us, one of our very best trips away together. Precious.


4. Wearing flip flops everyday. Me lovey the flippity-floppers. (these are my spenco's, they are so comfy and are very busy rebuilding my arches this summer)

5. A renewed appreciation for the Air Conditioner, I want to kiss the inventor of that contraption!

6. Sonic Ice, it doesn't get any better than those perfect little morsels floating in my diet coke.

7. No homeschooling, nothing else needs to be said about that one.


8. Everything outside is just so green, beautiful. (this is the view from the sunroom of our back yard.)


9. The kids have their Epic Summer Camp and come home so excited & happy. Just love their time there and what they come home with. (apparently my boys are yahoos at camp, just like they are at home.)

10. It stays lighter outside later. For this girl that thinks it's bedtime when it gets dark outside, my family loves that I'm not making them go to bed at 5pm.

For all these things and probably many more, I am thankful for Summer and what it brings.

HOME

HOME.

I am a lover of the home.

I love to BE home.

Since moving here to North Carolina we have lived in THREE houses. Ugh. It's a sign of the economy, not a sign that we like to move.


House #1


House #2

This past spring we moved again. Into a much smaller place, or at least a much smaller yard.

Sweetie loves that he doesn't have a huge yard overwhelming him and a mile long list of things that constantly need to be done.

And I love the house.

It's not overwhelming.

It's compact.

It's cozy.

It's HOME.


House #3

Storm Preparedness

Irene is coming. And us being totally clueless and naive were just planning on throwing a 'Welcome Irene' party at our house. But then one of my good friends kept sending me urgent requests that I take it seriously and get myself prepared. She helped me make a list:

1. Batteries
2. Flashlights
3. Water Bottles
4. Crank Radio
5. Propane on grill FULL!
6. Candles
7. Matches
8. Non-perishable foods.
9. Fill up the gas tanks in autos.


My well stocked pantry, there is no potted meat or vienna sausages in here, cuz, ew, gross..just canned beans and fruit.



My emergency preparedness basket...and can I just say, "NOT COOL WALMART PEEPS! For taking ALL the 'D' batteries, I mean, COME ON! Save a few for us clueless people."

Then she also advised me to bring in everything outside that might blow away or at least stake it down...

Yard Men

So I got myself some new yard men. They're totally cute too.

Sometimes they grumble. But then I make cookies and they are all smiles again.

Thankful on a Saturday Morning

1. Sweetie is home, two weeks apart is WAY too long.

2. Dave scampering down the stairs to snuggle with Dad on the couch this morning.

3. Getting excited for the schedule of Fall, I love a good schedule.

4. Finding a new Math Tutor this past week, no more long drive 3 times a week.

5. My Dave's vertigo is finally going away, PRAISES!

6. Calvin rubbing my feet last night before I went to sleep.

7. Having the weekend to rest & precious Church tomorrow.

8. My new Caribou Coffee, Daybreak Morning Blend, it has a rooster on the bag. So cute, but even better, SO YUMMY!

9. The fact that Sweetie is sitting across from me; drinking his coffee, reading on his laptop, with his hairy legs, socks and crocs on. This man makes me so happy!

10. I thought I would be including this sweet doggie to my thankful post this week...



but alas, it was not meant to be (her stupid owner came and claimed her)...so instead, Winston has been rockin' the pink bow. He loves me.



Happy Saturday Everyone!!!!

Working Hard

So my Sweetie has been in California for two weeks, working. Work has picked up there and we are so very thankful. My dad does some work for us and this week has been no exception. Daddy has worked a lot for us. But today I got these pictures texted to me....



Yep, that would be my Sweetie working. Working hard for his family. We're so proud of him.

And then a few seconds later I got this picture...



My Dad on the same job, working, actually working.

(isn't my Daddy cute?)

Sweetie got a severe lashing after I got these photos.

Though about an hour later I got this photo, from my Dad, titled "problem in my kitchen, how do i fix it?"



This would be what my Sweetie does when he goes to California, he stays with my parents, but then sets up office on the kitchen counter. My dad thinks it might stop my mom's ability to cook food for them, this causes him anxiety. Hilarious.

A New Beginning

I've been wanting to get back to bloggin, but my computer settings wouldn't allow me to post anything. For some reason it's all okay again. So I'll be back.

Thankful on this Blustery Saturday Morning

The word blustery makes me think of Winnie-the-Pooh. Calvin used to LOVE Winnie-the-Pooh. Oh how I wish I could get those days back. There are so many things I would do differently. Like slow down, not take things so seriously, but maybe take other things more seriously. It's true what they say, they grow up SO FAST. I loved them as babies and I also love them at this age. It is so much fun to see the young men they are changing into. But this time is very full of worry for me. I fall asleep every night just praying for wisdom in how to parent them. And trying to give my worries to God about just how much I am screwing them up. These teenage years are definitely NOT for wimps. But I am thankful for them. Thankful for my boys. So very thankful. Thankful for the presence of God in their lives. And seeing evidence of that.

So back to my title....I'm very thankful for this 'blustery' Saturday morning. It's very windy outside, a storm is coming in today. Looking forward to having a family day of working together in the attic. Gotta tackle that beast together, it's a danger zone.

1. Spring - it's like a celebration of God's beauty.

2. Baby Lucy - some sweet friends just got their little baby girl last week and I got to hold her for like two blissful hours. I love her story and all the lives that her LIFE is impacting.

3. My Sweetie - he is such perfection to me.

4. My baby Dave and his softness, inside & out.

5. My Calvi and his big heart.

6. Kitty - he finally snuggled with me this morning.

7. The opportunity to purge and get down to more basics.

8. We are moving soon, to a home that will be ours to stay for a long time and enjoy being settled.

9. My small group & church family - they are like Christ in my life, everyday.

10. My God - the one God - who forgives me, who sustains me, who loves me like no other.

I hope you are finding lots to be thankful for today. There are blessings and joys all around us, you just have to choose to see them.

...it's good to be back...