Reece's First Trip to the Movies

He picked out NERDS to eat. I didn't know what to put them in because he kept spilling them out of the box, so we emptied the wipes container. I'm a genius.
A nice big lemonade and popcorn too.
TOY STORY 3
He was so excited.

Movie on the Lawn

For our MOPS activity this month Shane and I hosted "Movie On The Lawn" at our house. It was the first, hopefully, annual activity and a lot of fun! The weather was perfect, the lawn dried out after days of constant rain, and the technology worked.

We watched the movie Babe. A little boring for most of the kids, but the animals were so adorable! It makes me want sheep in my yard.
One advantage to living here is that there are rarely flat yards. Which positioned our yard perfectly for stadium seating. Seriously we should set this up every week and start charging admission!

I even let the kids eat candy from "movie theater" boxes that we got at Target. I hate letting them eat this stuff, but it was special occasion. However, all three kids were in bed before the movie ended! Which was kind of nice because then Shane and I cuddled up on the swing and had a date (with thirty other people in the yard) ha ha ha!

6 Months Old

Caden

My friend Heidi from high school just found out that her little boy Caden has three brains tumors and has had two surgeries in four days. Please pray for this little guy. Their hospital update page is here: www.carepages.com/carepages/MyBubbysPage

Jesus Calling

Jesus Calling

This little book is awesome. My favorite MIL ( my only MIL, but still my favorite) gave this to me on our way out the door from visiting them this summer in Tennessee. It's a daily devotional that is written as if Jesus is talking to you. Next to the bible and Crazy Love I think every body should have this book.

I tend to focus each day on what needs to get done (or what isn't getting done, or what's getting destroyed, you get the idea). When all Jesus probably wants to say to me is, "Megan, for crying out loud, just sit down and be with me."

Yes, Lord, you're right. It doesn't matter that there are new dust bunnies under the table, the laundry is half done, or dinner isn't cooked yet. I haven't spent even 5 minutes with you yet today and it's no wonder I am stressed out and running around in circles.

Sweet blessed peace. Refocused. Refreshed.

An excerpt:

"Relax and let me lead you through this day. I have everything under control: My control. You tend to peer anxiously into the day that is before you, trying to figure out what to do, and when. Meanwhile, the phone or the doorbell rings, and you have to reshuffle your plans. All that planning ties you up in knots and distracts you from Me. Attentiveness to Me is not only for your quiet time, but for all your time. As you look to Me, I show you what to do now and next.

Vast quantities of time and energy are wasted in obsessive planning. When you let Me direct your steps, you are set free to enjoy Me and to find what I have prepared for you this day."

-July 26, page 217

May God keep me focused on Him.

Thank you Judy.

I hate washing dishes...

So last night when I was doing the dishes I started thinking about how much time I spend hating it. Seriously, it is ridiculous how much of my day is thinking about the dirty dishes. Every time I cook, make a meal or snack, go in the kitchen, see a cooking show on t.v., I could go on and on.

Then I got to thinking about how I could get a second dishwasher in my kitchen. Just transfer the dishes back n forth between them and save cabinet space, genius!

Then I got convicted. (Awww man.)

For as much as I pray about NOT having a bad attitude, I could have solved the world hunger problem, filled the hole in the ozone, and solved the problems in Afganistan. I mean really. It's pretty pathetic that I have to PRAY about not having a bad attitude regarding "that area" of the kitchen.

So I forced myself to wash ***gasp*** some of the dishes instead of leaving them in the sink. And I loved the result, hated the dish hands), but loved the clean sink. Unfortunately it only stayed that way for about an hour. But I am going to start changing my attitude and spend my time praying for people instead of my grumpy attitude.

So I was wondering....

Am I crazy....

Does anyone else feel this way about a household chore or anything in life in general?

Maybe I need reassured that I'm not the only ridiculous person or maybe I just need confirmation that I am crazy. Leave your thoughts.

I've added a Mcklinky so you can link your blog to mine and we can all blog hop along. Great way to get new traffic on your site and learn more about each other or feel like your not the only person in the world with issues...ha!

Now...guess what's waiting for me? Yep, dish hands here I come...

P.S. If you don't know what a linky is here is a simple direction. (This is written for my mom to understand. Most likely she'll be calling me anyway, but this gets her started.) You type your blog address on my linky that links to your blog. Then when we click on your name it sends us to the article that you have written on your blog about this topic.

P.S.S. My mom and sisters better participate or I am going to have serious insecurity issues if no one links up!

Summer Do...Can only mean...

Reece's annual MOHAWK. Nuff said.

Hannah's Baby Shower

All the ladies greeting each other and touching Hannah's TINY belly. (She had baby Norah three weeks later!)
Do you see how yummy those cream puffs look and that tasty cake? We ate really well.
We had a table full of food so this was apparently taken before everyone got there.
Notice the drink tags? I made those and kept them for future parties. I could have done a million other things like that, but ran out of time.
Up close look at the dessert table. There didn't need to be any other table. Also, those little round white plates... I got all of them at Goodwill for three dollars. Now I just need to find one of those little iron plate stands to put them on. And those flowers turned that water pink. Never seen that happen before.
Looking back I wish I would have filled the clothesline with more baby clothes, but it looked a lot better in person. We gave her the onesies and socks to take home.
Left to Right: Tina, Hani, Hannah, Marjie

Back row: Tina, Carolyn, Marjie, Hannah, Laura, Kimberly

Front row: Hani, Cynthia, Me

Three posts in one day... no more complain grannies!

Summer bargains

TWO!!! Pottery Barn Kids SILK curtain panels for $3.99 TOTAL at Goodwill.
Vintage Pillowcase for 0.60
NOT a bargain, but I am in love.
A vintage scale. I saw these on some blogs that I stalked and have been looking for about a year for one. I saw one out "junkin" with my parents in Ohio and almost wet my pants. (I've had three kids so that can happen pretty easily, ha!) Anyway, I couldn't believe it was even black and would coordinate in any room. So this isn't it's permanent place, but I am still figuring out some things in the kitchen and then it will be moved back in there.
A triple white picture frame that I am going to put Ellie's picture in the middle and a hand print on one side and a foot print on the other. It was 3.00
The ballet picture in the bottom is of course for Avery. I am going to find a thick white frame and move the piece into and hang it above her bed in her room.

I've had so much fun out searching for items and can't believe when I have found things that I have been looking for for so long!

What have you found this summer? Share or post a link I'd love to read and see your cool finds.

Almost there...

First attempt at loading pics from the new mac. It really shouldn't be this hard. It's actually easy, I'm just a PC idiot! ha!

Here is Ellie Grace eating her first baby rice cakes that Aunt Mandy gave her. She gobbles these babies down!

Box Day

So on Monday the curriculum came knocking on my door. Actually it was the delivery guys. And yes I wrote guyS. I had no idea ordering Kindergarten and Art curriculum from Sonlight meant 4 boxes (large) came to the door. It was beyond exciting. For a former teacher, it was my cocaine! ha!

The kids dug right in and I was so excited about all the literature and lesson plan book. This curriculum has EVERYTHING! I even found dirt in one box for a science lesson. Seriously!

I also made an art supply box each for Avery and Reece. Wow! crayola markers, crayons, colored pencils, OH MY! All under a dollar at Wallyworld.

We're still working on drywalling a wall in the basement for our homeschool room. But our bookshelves are full of books and school supplies, the table is painted and sporting the orange vintage chairs from my parents.

It's so fun to start ripping open boxes and reading through the materials. I am of course a little apprehensive and feeling the stress a little bit about such a huge responsibility and questioning everything we've decided. But I remind myself this is normal whenever you start something new so I am trying not to dwell on that part too much.

Head on over to Angie's site for more info and join the linky thing if you are homeschooling.

www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com

P.S. I would post pics but still haven't figured that out on the new mac!