Tents, scrapbooking and all that stuff :)

Yep...I am still missing Steve. I didn't sleep well last night. Partly because I am coming down with *something*..probably sinus mess, partly because my son joined me in the wee hours of the morning and kept waking me up, and lastly because it felt weird without Steve. He called this evening and said they had dealt with rain the whole time they were playing golf today. I hated that for him because I did want him to have a great time. I'm looking forward to him being home tomorrow, though.

The kids decided to build a tent today. I helped them because they just couldn't get theirs to stay up. It was fun and I enjoyed watching them play in it. They actually played in it for most of the morning and early afternoon. They were also really good about cleaning up everything and putting it back where it belonged.

I, for one, took a majority of the day to scrapbook. I am caught up now in our album (except for the journaling) and have started on Mikayla's album. I was wanting to have theirs finished by the time their birthday party rolled around, but I don't think that is going to happen this year. I honestly think I've done well to get it as far as I have with everything going on!! ha!

Here are a couple of pictures of my scrapping area. It is my dining room but it doesn't look like it anymore! It has now become scrapbooking central as well as a drop everything there till I can figure out what to do with it kind of a room. ha!! I used to have a little scrapbooking place in the office but that is gone now since it is now partially a play room/office. I will admit that I do not keep everything neat and in order when I scrapbook. My mind is whirring constantly and trying to figure out how to get those pictures on the page and I don't always put back paper where it is supposed to go because I never know when I might need it again. My time is so limited to do this now that I just get over the mess. ha! (This would have driven me mad a couple of years ago...) The kids also have their little desks under the window and that is where they "scrapbook" sometimes with me. Wesley walked in there this afternoon and told me what a mess it was. I had to laugh....yep...it is, but right now that is not high on my list of important things to clean up. I want to get more caught up before I have to pack all of it away again. Anyway, thought you'd get a chuckle out of my life right now. :)

Well, no fire tonight...of course, it would have taken me a long time to get the thing going anyway! ha!! The wind is too high tonight and it will cause the smoke to roll back into the house...I don't call that a relaxing evening. I do plan on having me a cup of hot chocolate, though, and cozying up under the blanket while watching something on TV. I do miss the fire, though. I'll get one tomorrow night when Steve gets home!! :)

Off to get the kiddos in bed and me some hot chocolate. Enjoy your evening everyone and just realize that if you have a place in your house that looks like my dining room....do not panic...it IS ok!! hee hee... :)

Home alone

Barn picture for the day...this is of the hinge on our lower barn gate area. The gate has been gone for years but the hinge is still there. We used to watch the cows leave to go out to pasture for the night at this gate. The older I get the more I miss those times.

Well, Steve is gone and we are all alone. It feels weird. He just called and said they got there safely and I am glad. I love quietness and such, but this just bums me out. Mikayla keeps saying "I'm not missing Daddy...." I know she is, though. They are watching the movie Homeward Bound right now before they go to bed. I like that movie but it always makes me cry and I hate that. lol I may watch a movie later on myself if I can't see there is anything worth watching on TV.

I built a fire tonight....only took me about an hour to get the thing going. (rolling eyes...) I am PITIFUL when it comes to that. It is amazing to me how a fire can start in a house or something and the place is up in flames in seconds. Let me try to start one and we'd never have to worry about a fire department!!! I just don't have what it takes, apparently. Thankfully it is burning now, though. Hopefully I can keep the thing going. ha!

We took my brother to the airport this afternoon so he could catch his flight to Mexico. I know he will have a great time. I also know Mom is going to miss him and do her worry thing till he gets back next weekend. You know how Mom's are...

I cleaned the house today and washed many loads of laundry. I felt like I accomplished quite a bit of "work" stuff I wanted to do so tomorrow I should be able to enjoy it by scrapping. I did manage to do a bit of that today, too, but not as much.

OH....I did want to say something in last night's post but forgot. You know that snow I mentioned time before last??? WELL...did it appear???? NO. Was I BUMMED??? YES. I was so looking forward to a covering of white that glistened in the sunshine, but that was not to be. I even had my camera ready to take with me to school (I knew it wouldn't be a lot if we did get it but enough where I could hopefully take some neat pics...) but had to take it out on Monday morning when I realized there was no white there to picture. I am now believing there will be no snow again this year. We have gone two winters without snow and that kind of stinks. OH well...might as well not whine about it. God just didn't intend for us to have it and I need to be OK with that. At least some parts of our country got some! :)

Well, I guess I should get back to the movie. :) Have I said lately how much I miss Steve?

a needed break

I haven't been here in a bit of time! I am so glad I have a break for a couple of days.

Here is my Uncle's farm. I haven't been back by there since the day I took the pictures..I am almost afraid to go because I don't know whether it will still be standing or not. I just dread that day.

Well, I have a lot to catch up on! Last Saturday was an eventful day...we took the kids to the local scrap yard when Steve had to take some things there. It was an exciting thing for Wesley especially to watch all of the big equipment. The owner of it went to school with me so it was neat to see how things were done. That night my friend came over with her two girls and while our kids were wild and running around the house, my brother was teaching her how to do a cheesecake and then I helped her with some things for school. It was a wild night, but enjoyable.

I actually finished up 2005 in our family scrapbook on Sunday. I got to journal through Christmas Eve, too, so that was nice. I am wanting to work on that some more this weekend. That is my PLAN... :)

My week has been another busy one. I am beginning to see what I used to think was normal has become a seldom occurence. Of course, I believe I have said that before. I hate that....really do. We only had 3 1/2 days this week but we had to pack everything into those days. On top of that I had a couple of days where I had a special event I was in charge of on top of teaching, etc...so that ran me a bit thin. I was "living for Thursday" when it was just half a day and the beginning of a long weekend.

Today was actually a SLOW half day. Those don't happen often, but I guess it was because I was so ready for it. When we left school we came home and I put in a movie for the kids and I layed down on the couch with them. Well, I slept on and off through the whole movie and then they went outside to play. The entire time I never fully went to sleep...in and out because they were constantly coming in and out...but when Steve got home they went out to play with him. Well.....I didn't get up off that couch till almost 6:00!! I had been on it since around 1:30!!! I was so tired I couldn't (and really didn't WANT to) do anything! I had lots to do, but my body and mind said NO... One of my friends asked me tonight it my iron was low. NO...just had a physical. It is called just plain TIRED. I am planning on doing some cleaning and all but overall I would like to just enjoy being at home this weekend.

Steve is leaving tomorrow for a golf trip with some of our guys from church. They will be gone all weekend. I will miss him. I never like it when all of our family isn't together. While I know he will be having a great time, I will just miss him being with ME. The kids are going to miss him, too. I am in a catch twenty-two this weekend....I want him to hurry back home but I don't want to wish my weekend away. It stinks. ha!

My brother is also leaving tomorrow to go visit his best bud in Mexico. He will be gone around 10 days. We'll miss him, too. It will be a quiet weekend around here for all of us.

Well, I am off to bed. I may have "slept" on the couch for 5 hours this afternoon but it wasn't the complete sleep. I dreamed all kinds of crazy stuff then entire time and you know how you don't get a lot of rest when you do that. I hope to have a great night's sleep tonight.

Drained

I found this little dandelion head during our warm spell in January. I realize a dandelion is a weed....and I hate to try to get rid of them in a flower bed....(I know some of you who know me well are saying to yourself right now..."Like she ever gets out and PULLS WEEDS!!!!" Ha!!!) but I have always thought they were pretty. I even like them when they go to seed, although I know they are going to turn into more aggravating weeds. I just thought this splash of yellow in the middle of things that are "dead" was neat. It was what I needed today myself.

I am just drained from the week and then from the day itself. On top of being a busy week it has seemed that each day has gone different from my normal schedule and caused me to constantly re-think the days. Today was no different. Now, while I know I was able to help some of my friends with some things they are dealing with, it caused me to feel quite drained of everything by the end of the day. I didn't leave school until late and when I got home I had NO energy to do ANYTHING. All I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. I knew the curling up wouldn't happen, but I did manage to catch a few winks in the recliner. There are some days that I feel I give so much of myself to my students and anyone else that needs me that I have nothing left of myself by the end of the day....and today was just one of those days. I am thankful the Lord can use me to help other people. I just need to get a "filler up" now, myself.

Today was a beautiful day, though. It was near 70 but all of that is going to change tomorrow! The wind is already blowing from the north and we will be in the 30's low 40's tomorrow with a chance of frozen precipitation. I realize this isn't going to be a great snow event but I will take what I can get!!! I am hoping there will be enough snow on the ground and on stuff that I will be able to take some neat winter pictures...the kind I have been waiting for 2 months to take! ha!! I am planning on "trying" to clean this house in the morning and then scrapbook most of the afternoon. My brother is supposed to be coming over and working on his stuff, too. We'll see how much gets accomplished. It seems something always gets in the way when I make the decision to work on my stuff most of the day.

We went out to eat at the restaurant Sweet Tomatoes tonight and it was yummy. I was excited because they had my favorite soup...the Cream of Mushroom. I enjoyed that and it lifted me up a bit. :) On the way home we were listening to my new Martina McBride CD (Timeless) and the kids love "I Beg Your Pardon...I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and were singing it at the top of their lungs. It got Steve tickled because he didn't realize they knew it so well. If he only knew how many mornings we have heard that over and over again going to school. ha!!!

Well, even though we don't have a fire tonight I am off to relax on the couch. My energy level is about a "1" right now and I just want to crash. Here's to hoping we get some frozen precip tomorrow for some neat pictures!! Time will tell.... :) Have a good evening everyone!

STOMP and other things

My brother and I went to see Stomp tonight....WOW....it was awesome. I have seen it two previous times and it is one of my favorite things to see. The people who perform are truly talented people and I am amazed at how they are able to make music out of everyday things. We were on the front row of PIT....that is closer than the front row of the regular seating. :) At the end of it I got sawdust in my mouth from where they ended with a "bang"!! (they use sawdust and other things as part of their performance) If you ever have the chance to go...I highly recommend it!!

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. This has been a whirlwind of a week and I am ready for it to settle down. Of course, that means this house needs to be cleaned, too. It is amazing how the house can get cleaned and within a couple of hours look as if it had never been cleaned in the first place. Oh well...the joy of working full time with two kids. :) Like I have said before...we don't live in a museum around here. Those days will come when the kids are all grown up and I don't want that anytime soon.

Well, sleep is calling my name because it will be time to "stomp" on back to work all too quickly!! No time for a picture tonight since it is so late. I'll try to make up for that tomorrow. :) Enjoy a great day everyone and go play some music on ordinary things around your house. hee hee

How we can bless others

Here is today's nature picture. Didn't have time for a barn picture. This is in our back yard as the sun was going down one afternoon. These are River Birch trees we got from our farm pond before it was sold. They were teeny things when we first planted them and now they are so tall. I love them where they are in our yard. :)

Today was another hectic day. I truly am believing this is now my middle name. I must say, though, I am finding more and more how I am helping others go through similar trials I faced with Mom. While all of our circumstances may not be alike I can at least relate to the people and understand what they are feeling. I am thankful now that God showed me some things so that I could help others in a way I would never have been able to before Mom's sickness.

In all of my busyness of the day, I was able to lead a child to the Lord. This was the best part of my day and it made all of the other things that I "had" to do seem so trivial. I was thankful God put me in the right place at the right time and gave me the words to say to help this child. The child was beaming from ear to ear after we were finished.....what a blessing.

This one will be short tonight. I still have the rest of today's papers to grade as well as a stack of tests. I am not getting anything done by typing!!

Enjoy the moments of your day and see them as a gift from the Lord.

With Love

Well, today is Valentine's Day! I just wish the day had not been so hectic. School was wild...the kids were on a sugar high, I spilled a drink on my desk/floor (after I had told the kiddos in my class to make sure they were careful with their drinks!), my desk by the end of the day was a disaster...hee hee....I took the kids to Kindermusik, then met Mom, Dad Steve and my brother at Carrabbas for supper for Valentine's. Now, while this was a great time and we had a lot of fun surprising the kids, by the time we got home after 8:00 it had been an EXTREMELY long day...

We gave the kids part of their Valentine's this morning. We gave Mikayla a beanie baby pony and Wesley a beanie baby frog. They also got the move about the dog and Winn-Dixie (it is late and I can't remember the title of that thing!!!) as a gift together. I always get them balloons, too, so Steve had to pick them up this afternoon for me since I was doing Kindermusik. They were too excited...they do love getting a balloon. That is a tradition I will always have to do. Anyway, they got little gifts from us, our best friends (who works with me at school) and Mom and Dad. It really was a sweet day and I am glad we were able to eat out with them tonight. I couldn't find the cards I had bought for Steve and the kids tonight. I had taken them to school to write in them when I had a spare minute...ha!!! THAT was a foolish thought!!! I have no idea where those cards are at this moment and I feel badly about that. I'll probably find them by next Valentine's Day. Steve gave me white roses...can you tell where these pictures came from??? hee hee They were really pretty and I appreciate them so much. He always worries about what to get me (I scarred him for life my birthday right after we were married...long story.....have to tell that one later!) Anyway, I told him I didn't care if the flowers came from Food Lion I would still love them. He told me he knows I am not hard to please. :) SO...I just had to take a picture of them. You would have laughed at me if you had seen me in the middle of our den taking picture after picture of these roses. These were my favorite two out of all of them! See....that is why photography is an ART because it takes so long to get "the perfect shot." ha!

Now, for my next picture.....my new obsession in the last few days....the MOON!! Oh my goodness, has it been beautiful these past few mornings. The sky has been clear and the moon bright and full.....and I have wanted to stop the car on the way to school and get a photograph!! Of course, yesterday morning when I arrived at school it looked so pretty from one angle as I was driving in (at 6:45am) so I decided to take my camera and try it out before I got busy with my work. Now, it was QUITE cold yesterday morning and here I am trapsing around the upper playground trying to get "the perfect moon picture"...well, it didn't happen!!!! My lens is just not enough for something that far away. I couldn't capture it the way I wanted. Plus, my fingers were so cold as I was running around outside that I was not able to hold the camera very steady!!! Well, tonight when we got home I watched the moon all the way home. I am just fascinated by the beauty God has placed on it. I decided to try once more so I went out our front door and this is what I got. Now, it isn't the crisp and clear picture I was still hoping for, but I thought it was rather neat!!!!! I'll just have to keep working on making it a better shot in the next few nights, but at least it came out interesting!!! The green glow must be from our neighbors pool area across the street. ha! What an obsession I have....I am always looking for something to photograph.

OH...speaking of the obsession...the other morning as the sun was coming up we went over one of our local lakes on the way to school and OH MY GOODNESS, there was the most beautiful sunrise. I truly wanted to slam on brakes in the middle of that bridge, get out and start snapping pictures. Of course, that would have been QUITE foolish of me and I refrained from doing so. BUT....that hasn't stopped me from looking as well as having to divert my attention back to a road from which I was beginning to depart!!! There is nothing like a sunrise over a lake with the colors dancing in the water. I hope to capture that someday.

Well, I better go capture some sleep. I know tomorrow will be just as wild as today, unfortunately, so I need to get some rest. Have I said lately how much I wish life would just SLOW DOWN!!????? I really do hate this.....

OK..enough rambling for one night. There must have been caffeine in that tea at the restaurant!!! Have a good one everyone and make sure you tell someone you LOVE THEM many times a day...

Monday and taxes...yuck :)

I realize this first picture means nothing to any of you seeing it. ha! It is of the front of our tractor where the weight used to go to make sure the front of the tractor was held down with what was on the back of it. I thought it was an interesting shot.

I must say that my weekend was a good one. It was restful and I got some things done I have been wanting to get done for a long while. I am finally finished with Christmas pages for our scrapbook. I still have to journal on them, but at least the pictures are on the pages! I did up till New Year's Eve last night. I was pretty excited to do that. Of course, the kids books are way behind but I'll eventually get those caught up. I am just thrilled to be where I am in our family book. :) I also just got to have some fun moments with my family. It was a cozy weekend where we got to snuggle up near the fire and it was great.

We saw snow FLURRIES yesterday....about 100. ha!! I was so hoping to see a little of the white stuff so I could at least take a picture of it, but that just didn't happen. I saw it when I was helping Mom wash the dishes after yesterday's lunch. I am beginning to think we aren't going to see any snow this year. I can accept that...but I am still bummed. (Of course, watch it snow 7 feet in March! HA!!....doubtful, but you get what I am saying...)

Homework didn't take as much time again tonight! I can see so much growth in both of them. Wesley was actually excited when I called for him after Mikayla and sat right down and focused with me and everything!! I am thankful for the maturing I am seeing.

On another note with my kiddos, I am so thankful they are still into their imagination. This past weekend at Mom's and then when they came home they did so many different things to show imagination. I love when they are pretending to be someone or something. They are doing it again this afternoon and it is great. I would much rather have imagination with them than stale couch potato children. :)

This evening Steve and I have to go do our taxes. While I am thankful each year to get it over with, I still hate it. It is almost like this huge drumroll is going off as I pass our CPA all of our stuff and at the end she gives us the big finale answer....whether we get money back or not! HA!! We'll see what this year holds in store for us. I'm just ready to have it done!

Today's nature picture is one my step Mother-in-law should enjoy...it is of the bird house in our side yard. (She LOVES birds.) I thought it was a pretty picture. It would have looked even better with a bluebird sticking its cute little head out the hole, huh? :) Hopefully before long we will have some bluebirds nesting and we can watch the birds grow up through the summer...that is if the stinking sparrows don't invade it!

Well, I guess it is time to bathe the kids and get them fed before we have to scoot to get our taxes done. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I am looking forward to another day I can show my love to my family and friends. Of course, it is important to do that EVERY day. :) Have a blessed one everyone!

Cold rain, cleaning and smores

The rain came today and stayed all day long. It was a COLD rain, too. I must say...I actually didn't mind it, though. I got to stay inside all day long and enjoy being by the fire. What a blessing this day has been where I haven't had to go some place or DO something. I enjoy days like this.

Steve and I were busy this morning, though. We cleaned this house and it needed it badly. I am so thankful for a husband who understands and helps me out like Steve does. I could not have tackled this house all by myself today...it would have taken me two days! ha! It felt good to get the house somewhat normal again. Now, don't get me wrong, our house still looks lived in. I heard someone say the other day that they didn't live in a museum...they lived in a home. I liked that....that is what we are around here now. I don't like junkiness but I also know this house can't be perfect. There will be time for that when the kids are all grown up and I just don't want to think of that now!!!

Anyway, once we finished cleaning we figured the kids would want to be back home but when I called Mom she said they were fine and she'd let me know when they wanted to come home. ha! I am not used to that! It was weird, I must say. I actually got to sit down and watch a movie on TV...in front of the fire....and lay on the couch if I wanted to and the house was quiet!! (Steve had gone outside and was cutting some wood). When I did go get them mid-afternoon I came home and began to scrapbook a little while they had to work on cleaning and vacuuming their rooms. I'll give it to them...they did not once complain and worked hard to get it done. Honestly, for their age they did a super job.

After they cleaned up they wanted to watch The Incredibles so I put it in for them. Then Wesley wanted some hot chocolate and it went from there. Steve had a great idea of making s'mores... Well, the problem was that neither one of us had ever made them so we were clueless as to how to get them done. ha! He tried to put it all together and put it over the fire but that only burnt the graham crackers to pieces.... It was comical. We finally decided to melt the marshmallows and chocolate first and then eat it with the graham crackers. The kids didn't mind...they loved it. We had some hot chocolate. While I was cleaning today I found a pack someone had given us for Christmas so I was overjoyed. :) It was great spending time like that with our whole family and enjoying the moment.

Overall, it has been a great day. The rain surely didn't bring me down today! It just gave me an opportunity to be cozy and enjoy being HOME. Nothing like that.

Today's barn picture is of the feed auger...Daddy has told me several times what this is and I didn't write it down so I can't remember. (I am visual, you know....NOT auditory. ha!) Anyway, this area is now exposed further to the elements since they took off the top of this!!! (I am still not happy about that...can you tell?) This part held that actual auger as it took the feed down the trough.

Well, it is now time to eat some supper and enjoy some more moments now that the kids are going to bed. Maybe we'll watch a "grown-up" movie tonight. ha!! Have a wonderful day everyone!!

A nice ending to a wild week

Here is my barn picture of the day...don't think I have shown this one. It is of the tin coming off the side of our lower barns. Makes me sad, really. I saw today where the guy who keeps his lawncare business stuff in our barn areas has taken down parts of our lower barns because they were brittle and falling down. I didn't realize he was going to mess with the auger area....he took down part of that, too. I regret now that I didn't take pictures of all of that, too. I didn't think he was going to touch that and I thought I had more time. The next pretty day I will be out there taking more barn pictures. All of this really bothers me but I must move past that now....doesn't mean I want to.

Wow, has this been a wild week. I am coming to find in my life that "wild" is the norm and the "calm" life I used to know is now rare. I hate that....I really do. I had a bit of a stressful day at work yesterday so that threw off my night last night. It pretty much exhausted me and I was no good after going to the grocery store after school and then coming home giving the kids baths and doing homework. I fell asleep on the couch around 9:30....thankfully we had a fire going. ;)

Today was a much better day, though. My most exciting news today was that one of my students asked Christ to be her Savior last night. I talked with her today and showed her some scriptures to make sure she understood fully and she definitely knew she needed Christ in order to take away her sins. She told me that there is only ONE way to Heaven and that is by accepting the free gift of salvation. It gave me chills and encouraged my heart. I shed tears of joy for her....I know the Lord and all of Heaven is rejoicing as well. I have had several accept Christ in the last few weeks. I love to watch the Lord work on their lives. I never want to push it down their throats...it has to be a decision based on the Holy Spirit pricking their hearts. It is wonderful to watch that in action.

This afternoon I had the lovely "physical" where they analyze your blood, etc... My doctor told me I had excellent blood levels and was doing great! I was thankful for that and thanked the Lord for allowing that in my life. I had to get a Tetanus shot...may we say OUCH!!!!!!?? The needle part isn't what hurt...it is the actual stuff in the shot that even now is making my arm ache. It is amazing how that stuff will do you! At least now I know I am covered in case something poked me or whatever. :)

The kids stayed at Moms this afternoon while I went to the doctor. Wesley immediately asked Mom if they could have a sleepover at their house again tonight. Mom said yes...I told her I didn't want her to feel pressured but she didn't. I know that the kids missed a lot of time with them last year and I want them to be able to have those memories. That is something I never got as a child since our grandparents died either before I was born or when I was very young. When Steve and I dropped off their pajamas later they were having a blast. It was good to see.

Since the kids are at Mom and Dad's Steve and I took advantage of another "date night". I must say I could get used to this. hee hee...but I wouldn't want to take advantage of Mom and Dad. We went out to eat, went to Steve's favorite store (Golf Galaxy) and then on to Party City where we got the table coverings and plates for Wesley and Mikayla's birthday party. We got a lime green and pink....we are doing a frogs and ponies theme so I think those colors will mesh well. :) We just got back home and are now going to kick back and relax a bit. Tomorrow we have to tackle this house....and what a tackle job it will be!!! It is a good thing it will be cold and rainy so we'll be inside the whole day anyway. I would love to be able to scrapbook some after I finish cleaning. Steve said he would help me clean so that should help. I do have one wonderful husband.

Today's nature picture is of our dwarf nandina. These things are more pretty to me in the fall/winter than spring because they turn such lovely colors. We have them scattered around our yard and I just so happened got this one as the sun was going down in the sky one afternoon. I thought it was pretty.

Well, off to crash with my sweet husband and enjoy the quietness of the evening. No fire tonight...too late to start one...but I'll get one all day tomorrow. hee heee :) I am giddy with excitement! :)

Have a wonderful day and make the most of it!!

The power of prayer

I took a break from the barn pictures to show you this one I took a few weeks ago. It had rained and I thought it was neat how the water was at the end of the branch on the tree. I really like this picture.

You know, how soon we forget the power of prayer. I KNOW what prayer can do because I saw what the Lord did for Mom when she was so sick. I KNOW it was because of the power of prayer. I have been reminded of that in the last few days. I just found out a parent of one of my students, one that I graduated from highschool with, has breast cancer. It is hard to handle at any age but when it is someone YOUR age you begin to worry and lose your faith to the cares of the world. Tonight at AWANA we went to the main service because there is Revival this week. The sermon was just what I had needed. He spoke on the power of prayer. So many times we start becoming content and mechanical in our prayer life. I know everyone goes through it, but it isn't a place I like to be. I want to know the Lord is right beside me as I talk to Him. Those times I don't feel that Presence I know it is because I have drifted away...not the Lord from me. It was a good lesson to understand how prayer DOES work and the Lord IS in control. It has made me pray harder for my mother in my class.

I am keeping it short tonight. I thought it would be good to think on the power of prayer. Is there anything you haven't brought to the Lord lately? Take time to pray....fervently and not mechanically...to our Father in Heaven today.

Just another Monday

This first picture is out by our barns where we used to store the hay for the cows. I loved the shadows of the dried weeds against the old fence. The other picture today is of my Uncle's dairy barn windows. I was inside his milking parlor and I wanted to capture what it was like to look out those windows one last time. You would never know there was a Walgreens and tons of traffic near a shopping center right across the street. I had to stand kind of "weird" to avoid all of that. ha! Anyway, I thought it was a neat picture.

Today was a much better Monday than last Monday! I felt like I had my act together a lot more today. We had an appointment and then ran a couple of errands before getting home so it was a late day. When we got home I had to fling lunches together for tomorrow, give baths and do homework while Steve worked on flinging supper together. It is so wonderful how he works WITH me. I couldn't do it all without my sweet husband! Anyway, homework was so much smoother tonight! I got done with BOTH of my munchkins in 35 minutes! That is a record! :) Not sure if it will last but I'll take what I can get. :)

My brain is so tired tonight I am not able to type very clearly...having to do a lot of backspacing! HA! I think it is time to go hit the couch and enjoy the fire in the fireplace. Oh...the only hot chocolate I found last night was mint hot chocolate. Now, it wasn't bad....but I had my heart set on some CHOCOLATE hot chocolate... :) I really need to buy me some more....

Enjoy your day everyone! May you all get to relax in some way today. :)

Celebrating Mom's birthday

Here is one of my favorite pictures I took around our home/farm area. This is of our windmill and I thought it was fitting for today because it was quite windy! I loved how I was able to capture the motion of the windmill and see the blue of the sky behind it.

Today we celebrated Mom's birthday although her actual birthday isn't until this Tuesday, the 7th. We were just so thankful to have her for another year. Since her last birthday she has been through much, but God has sustained her and we thank Him for that. We put flowers in honor of her in front of the church today. She was surprised and thankful for them. We wanted everyone to know how thankful we are to God for the gift of Mom's life. Hopefully she can get them home tomorrow where she can enjoy them up close.

We went up to their house for lunch and my brother cooked pesto pasta. (I am sure if I said that incorrectly he will correct me when he reads it...ha!) It was a great lunch...followed by chocolate pie. Y'all KNOW I hated that dessert...just couldn't hardly get it down. :) Wesley did the happy dance.

After we ate we gave Mom her gifts. Mikayla had already brought her a bloom off our our camila bush in the yard. Mom immediately put it in a glass bowl. I took a picture of it...(Shock to you, I know..) We had bought her some more of those soft fuzzy/warm socks like she had gotten at Christmas. She loved them so much that I thought I'd get her some more. We also gave her a CD, slippers, necklace, mini flag for her pole out in her flower bed and some kitchen "gadgets" she had been wanting. She loved them all. My brother surpised all of us by giving her...and the rest of us...a birthday present we weren't expecting! We are all going to Pennsylvania to the Amish Country at the end of May/first of June!! I am so excited and am looking forward to having that time to share with Mom and Dad with us. I told them today I am going to have to get another card for my camera because I KNOW I'll be taking more than 278 pictures! HAHAHAH!!!!! :) Mom wasn't so sure...but that is typical of her with trips, Daddy was already trying to figure the best way to drive up there and we were just tickled about all the things we will see. It will definitely be something nice to look forward to. My brother said that after what happened last year with Mom, and he knew she had always wanted to go to the Amish Country, he wasn't waiting any longer. I agree with him.

After we left Mom and Dad's we came back home to work on stuff to get ready for another week. Why does the weekend go by so fast??? As soon as we got to the house I decided to go outside and take pictures of our maple trees budding! The sky was a beautiful blue again today and I was tickled to get that. I took the picture of the tree itself and then one of the tree budding up close. I really have to restrain myself most days when I take pictures. It is pitiful, really.

When I got back inside, we finished Wesley and Mikayla's hearts they had to make for their class and I worked on their Valentine's. I decided it would take FOREVER for them to do them and we had to have them in by tomorrow for the teachers to help them pass them out. We also worked on Kindermusik and their verses for AWANA.

It was a busy rest of the afternoon but now they are on their way to bed and I am on my way to sitting in front of the fire. :) Yes, the wind died down enough for Steve to be able to start a fire. I'll have to go find something to eat and then maybe drink me some hot chocolate tonight. I truly haven't had any since that horrible stale stuff I had a few weeks ago. ha!!

Enjoy each moment of your day today. Find a little something to make you smile.

What a week!

This rainbow is what we saw outside the front of our house this afternoon. It was so vivid and beautiful. I almost didn't capture it because I was fumbling around with my camera! LOL It was truly a beautiful gift and one I needed to remind me of the promises of God after a week of interesting moments.

This has truly been a WEEK...one I am not wanting to re-live for a while. I played "catch up" all week because of my being out last Friday for the field trip. There were some issues I had to take care of at school on Monday and everything snowballed from there. Monday was also a pretty hard day because while I was talking with Wesley and Mikayla's teachers she revealed to me that she felt they needed another year in Kindergarten. While Steve and I had been discussing how they were both struggling in certain areas, to hear someone SAY those words to you can hit you like a jolt. I was crushed as a Mother, but was totally understanding what she was saying as a Teacher. I cried and cried but knew in my heart another year was what they needed. Steve and I talked about it that night and just had to absorb what was going to happen. I truly had a peace about it once I picked my chin up off the floor, but that night I cried..no...sobbed..myself to sleep. I questioned everything about ME as a parent and what I could have done differently to allow them success. I must say, though...I just don't think I could have done it differently. I realize maturity, which is the issue of them having to repeat, is something we can never know. I wanted my children to be CHILDREN and not be forced to grow up quicker than they would anyway. I believe Steve and I made the right decision with allowing them to enjoy those years at home with Miss Pearl without the worry of extra things. I still worry that next year will not show improvement, etc...but that is the Mother in me talking. As a teacher I KNOW they will grow and improve but the Mother's Heart overides that most of the time. I have had moments all week of knowing we made the right decision and the next minute doubting it. God has given me peace, though, and that is what I know is the true test of what we are dealing with here. We will put them with the same teacher next year as well. They both love her so much and we feel she could tell us how far they have come. We are not telling Wesley and Mikayla until school starts back in the fall....they are too young to understand, anyway.

The rest of my week hinged on that news. How could it not? Most every day I spent thinking of all that would happen next year and that affected how I functioned. I don't want a lot of people knowing so I kept it to myself except for the few people I chose to tell because I cared about their thoughts. It caused me to feel disorganized this week. I felt like I was walking around in a fog or something. I was glad when Friday came.

Thursday night my brother and I went to see the Ten Tenors. They are a group of men who sing BEAUTIFULLY and perform as a Broadway show. WOW...even though I was tired I didn't want their singing to end! It was wonderful and I highly recommend it!!

On Friday it was a BEAUTIFUL day in the 70's! Apparently this will be the last of that for a while (which I am glad because I really would like some snow! HA!). It seems February is going to bring us much colder temperatures. It will be interesting to see how the plants that are already starting to bud out will survive. I know they will take a "beating."

Since it was such a beautiful day yesterday I decided to go to my Uncle's farm that is about to be torn down and take some pictures. I enjoyed trying to capture the big as well as the small things. I took 133 pictures! (thank goodness for a digital camera!) I had the best time trying new things and capturing my heart and emotions through the camera. I didn't have as strong of emotions as I do with OUR farm, but they were there. As I was walking around thinking of how things are changing so much around here I couldn't help but shed a few tears. I was teary-eyed for a while afterwards too. I love farming and old things and wish those things didn't have to be torn down. I knew I needed to preserve part of my past even though it was not one I visited daily as a child. I am wanting to make a scrapbook for my aunt to have of the pictures I took of the farm. I'll be sharing some of those pictures along with our barn pictures, etc...as the weeks go on. I took these pictures as the sun was setting. The vertical one was taken before the horizontal one. I wanted to create a somber setting for those as they were some of the last I took... I guess saying that the barns/silos are a "shadow" of what they used to be. It really is sad. Of course, some people just don't see it that way.

I never realized I could love photography as much as I do. It is thrilling to see how the picture can turn out exactly as you think it should or even WORSE. hee hee.. I am learning so much by watching the settings I make produce a picture right in front of me with my digital. It has been a great learning tool.

My brother and I scrapbooked again today. I am still working on Christmas pages...will I EVER be done with those things. Ha!! I only have a few more to go, I guess. Life is just so busy these days I just don't get a chance to do it as long as I would like. (It doesn't help that this digital camera MAKES me want to take more and more pictures..hee hee)

Well, I hear some Hershey Kisses calling my name. We couldn't have a fire tonight because it was so incredibly windy so I'll just have to imagine.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. I am trusting the Lord will show you His peace in ways you never thought He would.