So Blessed!

I have spent the last week being totally spoiled. I spent the first three days at my parents' house relaxing, touring the museum, and shopping with just my mom and sister! (Dad kept 4 kids and did a beautiful job! Thanks, Dad!) Then my husband came and whisked me away for three days with just him. We did a whole lot of fun stuff in the big city with responsibility for nothing and no one!

Now, I'm home with a lot to catch up on, very tired, but feeling great! I am truly blessed!

God's Artwork

I have a husband who so enjoys working outside in our yard. He does such a great job at making it beautiful for us to enjoy. He also loves to work in his garden as is evident by the baskets of vegetables in the first picture we have given away this weekend! Our freezer is full, and we are eating them as fast as we can. It is fun to share these with others.

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One of my favorite flowers in the yard is shown in the second picture. It is called a passion flower and the picture does not do it justice. It grows on a vine with beautifully interesting shapes and curly-Q stems on them. Then every now and then there will be a bloom. When it opens fully, you can see the interesting shapes and colors all throughout the flower. It is truly one of God's best works of art, in my opinion.

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Take some time today to notice God's beauty around you. We serve a creative and generous God who shares his creativity with us in many unbelievable ways!

Random Confessions!

I'm frugal and proud of it! Yesterday was a great day for me. It began with a "quick" trip to Target to see if we could find some uniform shirts for school. We found the polos and then some. We stumbled upon jeans for school at 75% off, which means we bought 6 pair of jeans for less than $25. (No, I'm not kidding)
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I'm a planner! Anyone who knows me knows I like to be organized and I like to plan ahead. School does not start for another month, but because of upcoming trips and other commitments, I wanted to get the majority of the boys' school supplies bought this week. We began by checking to see what we already had on hand, which turned out to be a lot of stuff. We now have our list to purchase what we need, which we will purchase today.
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My kids play too many video games! Last year, I implemented the "play as many video games as you wish" rule, "as long as you also read for the same amount of time." This plan worked beautifully, and the boys read several books over the summer. This year, we "suggested" the same plan (in my quest for giving my sons a little more freedom and independence to make good choices). It's not working so well. Six weeks into the summer, I'm not sure if either has finished a book of substancial length! So I will be helping them make better choices for the remainder of the summer! But the talk about the excessive video game playing prompted a great idea. My 9 year old wanted to have a sleepover with two of his friends, but he decided it would be a "no video game" sleepover! We began to look around the house and realized all the cool stuff we had to do! His list of things to do at the sleepover is way longer than the time they will have to create so much fun! His 12 year old brother is even planning on inviting a couple of friends, too!
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I read books and blogs about being organized! My latest favorite is here. This lady keeps me laughing and organizing! One of my favorite gifts ever was a labeler that was in my stocking a couple of Christmases ago! I also keep various tubs, boxes, crates, etc. on hand "just in case" I might need them!
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Even though I love to organize spaces, most of my spaces are still unorganized! I managed to clean out a cabinet yesterday in search of school supplies. It made me realize how much I enjoy the act of organizing. Maybe I will be inspired to keep going today. Or maybe I'll take a nap instead!
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Whew! I feel better! Confession is good for the soul!

Life Is Just Beachy!

Beach Bum!
Boogie Boardin'
J.P. and Logan
Cousins minus Brent!

Vacations are just plain fun ... and tiring! When I was a kid, I didn't realize how much work vacations were, but now that I am the one who has to pack, load, drive, unpack, keep the peace, make sure everyone is having fun, etc., I am so thankful to my mom and dad for all the fun vacations we went on as kids!

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J.P. and I just arrived home from a great time in Galveston with my sister in law and her kids, my sister and her kids and my mom. It was so much fun to see the cousins all playing and interacting together and having an all around good time! My sister in law rented a condo for the month and invited us to come down this week. It was so sweet of her to include all of us.

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Now we are back to the real world of unpacking and laundry and paying bills, but it is all worth it for a few days on the beach!

Ice, Anyone?

Life is weird! We have owned our refrigerator for about 13-14 years. In recent years, its ice maker will periodically stop making ice, usually when we are having people over! It's not a big deal because we usually can move the stop bar up and down, hit it a few times, and then it kicks back in.

Yesterday, I kept hearing weird noises coming from the freezer, but didn't pay much attention. Then when we were getting drinks for dinner, my husband realized that the ice machine had a mind of its own! It apparantly has been making ice nonstop for the past couple of days, even though we have turned it off. There is ice everywhere in the freezer! It is an ice machine on steroids!

I guess that is what we get for hitting it when it didn't work! :) Oh well, better too much ice than not enough in the summer! When life gives you ice, make some iced tea!

Unexpected Thanks

While driving home from camp, my 9 year old was discussing different people he met during the week long session. He was quite amazed at some of the kids and their ability to get away with as little as possible. You see, my son is no perfect child, but he has always been a very hard worker. I have memories of him in diapers helping me sweep and mop the kitchen. Anyway, after discussing some of the campers who shunned many of their responsibilities, my sweet son paused, then said "Y'all are really good parents." Was I dreaming? Does this kind of thing really come out of a 9 year old's mouth? I thought kids were at least 30 before they realized that their parents had a few redeeming qualities.

He went on to explain that we have never given him nor his brother everything they always wanted. We have always expected them to do their part in our home. Now our kids are not mistreated by any means, but they do have their chores. I think he realized what spoiled brats and otherwise good kids with little expectations given them that there are in the world. What a great lesson to learn at an early age. He can go back to this camp every year!

Thank you, Father, for the little bits of appreciation. You have blessed us immensely with our family.