ponderings.....

I guess I have been in a blogging slump for a bit now. Do you ever have times in your life where your brain is swirling so fast and you are mulling over so many things, that your brain just becomes mush?!?! That is where I am at right now.
I feel like God is showing so much to me that I just can't keep up. And honestly, there are many times through this process that I just want to crawl back into bed and pull the sheets over my head and wish it all away. But, then what would I be missing? I would miss Him trying to give me more of who is He is. I would miss all the lessons He is trying to teach me. I would miss the healing - even if it is extremely painful.
And on that note...why is healing so painful anyway! It makes sense that it would hurt to get the wounds in the first place. And it makes sense that the surgery hurts. But why does the healing have to hurt too? Shouldn't the healing of our hearts be soothing, comforting, reassuring!?!? Sometimes it feels like the healing even hurts worse. Thank you Lord, that is by your wounds that we are healed!
I have been thinking over this verse for a bit now. James 1:2 says "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." What did that just say?!?!? Come on now- "pure joy" - can't we just endure or try to survive? Having the joy is easy to talk about and want to do and believe in your head. But then when the trials come there are many days I do not want to consider this with pure joy! I am finding that the only way to have that pure joy is from God. He is the only one who can give it! As I let go, rest, let my brain turn to mush - He can and does bring pure joy! It is only by His strength, definately not my own.
Well, enough pondering for tonight...my thoughts are swirling again!

Train Trip

Yesterday Curtis and I joined our daughter's class for a train trip to Seattle. The kids love loading the train and hanging out for the three hour trip. Here is Emma and her good friend Taylor.
The purpose of the trip is to go to the Seattle Aquarium, which is pretty cool. We got to see some great animals and watch them feed them. While we were there Emma's teacher's daughter, who is going to school in the Seattle Area, dropped by for a visit. Now at this point the rest of us parents and teachers became invisible, because none of us is as cool as this girl! She is definitely a favorite among the girls!

After the aquarium visit, we had about three hours of free time. A bunch of us parents and students headed off to the original Starbucks and then toured Pike Street Market. We had fun people watching and looking through the booths. The weather was amazing - no rain the whole trip. Thank you God! On the walk back to the train station, we stopped for some photos at this fun fountain. I love the walk along the waterfront in Seattle. It is such a fun area. Curtis took this shot of us.

Emma and a bunch of her friends wanted some goofy pictures. This was a bittersweet trip for us. We have been at the same school for five years and Emma enjoys her friends a lot. Since she will be going to a new school next year, this was our last field trip with these girls. We were so glad we had such a fun time and that we will have great memories of the day!

My Beloved's Birthday!

Isn't this one of the cutest babies ever!?!?! Curtis was a pretty fat boy - ate a ton of food until he became a pretty picky eater. Now as long as he is eating Mexican food - he is this happy! I love this picture - especially those teeth!

That adorable baby grew up to be a great dad! One of the things I love about my husband is the way he is constantly teaching. I think he would have made an excellent teacher. Here he is with the kiddos at Disney World last year teaching them some interesting facts as we climbed the Tarzan tree house - every moment is a teaching moment for him. Fortunately for him, both of his kids have a hunger for knowledge - I think they got it from him!


My hubby is a really great husband! I count my blessings for how attentive and thoughtful he is! He really loves his family and we are very fortunate to have him in our lives! Thank you God for blessing us with a wonderful husband and father!
Plus, he is so hot!!

This is really what my hubby looks like most of the time - which is also pretty hot! Curtis is a very hard worker and very determined when he is working. He and I enjoy doing lots of projects together and I am so thankful to have a man that is gifted at building with his hands.

So...Happy Birthday Honey! Blessings on your 40th birthday to my hard working, devoted, wise, inspiring, sexy, loyal, loving and strong husband!

Girls Night Out

Last night I got to go overnight to this amazing condo for some fun and relaxation.

These are my dear home group friends I got to go with-
We made a nummy dinner and then had my favorite saint cupcakes for dessert - I tried the fat elvis and it was great!
We also had this scrumptious ice cream dish one of us makes that is awesome!

Then we snuggled in for a great romantic chic flick and then went out on the deck for some fun hot tub time!
This was my bed - the view was amazing and the bed - oh so comfy!

Thank you God for good friends, food, sleep & fun!

For Granted

I have been thinking lately about all the simple things in life we American's take for granted. I guess this has been fresh on my mind since I am currently living without a few of those modern conveniences.

It has now been 9 months since I have had ....
*A dishwasher or a garbage disposal in my kitchen. I have had to wash dishes by hand at least once a day. Until you live without one you forget how inconvenient it is to have to wash and dry every single thing you use. Fortunately, since I am living in only 700 sq feet and I have a small kitchen, most of my things are in storage. I am sure that most of my friends are sick of hearing me say "Yes, I do have that, but it is in storage".
*An attached laundry room. You see, for most of my married life you could find me daily running to the laundry room in various stages of dressed-ness to get clothes. But now my laundry room is down a flight of outside stairs and in the garage. So now whenever I need to run to the laundry room I have to get dressed. Plus if it is raining - or snowing, like today - I get my clean laundry all wet. Someday I will be able to run to the laundry room in the buff again!
*A septic system that you can count on. For the last two months our septic system has been obsessed with backing up. It makes it pretty difficult to do laundry on a regular basis or count on a flushing toilet to not come back up. We have dumped many precious pennies into this system and now all we can do is laugh. It is something I will never take for granted again.
*More than one shower & bathroom for a family of 4. Trying to schedule the morning routines around one shower and toilet can be a bit of a challenge. However, we have gotten used to this and it goes pretty smooth now. Looking on the bright side, having the septic back up all the time, does limit down the shower and flushing allowed, so it is even easier on the schedule.

We have learned to appreciate some of the simple things in our American lives. I have to daily remind myself that it could be worse - especially when I am mopping up sewage! But God is good and we have so very much to be thankful for. As my son heads out on a inner-city mission trip tonight I hope we will appreciate even more simple things - like our beds, our ceiling, our heat and our family!

Easter & Birthday

Today is Easter - which is probably my favorite holiday. It is really the whole point of Christianity. If Jesus hadn't of risen from the dead - what would be the point of the whole thing? It proves that God has power over death and that He has the victory! Thank you God for the gift of Easter - of new life!

What a great day to have your Birthday! Today is my good friend Rosemary's Birthday.

She has been my friend for many years. Here is a picture of us at my wedding. She was my maid of honor. Rose and her hubby Dave have been good friends to Curtis and I since we were in high school. We love them very much. Rose has much to celebrate this year and we look forward to an amazing year for her family! Happy Birthday Rose!!!

Family Traditions

Last night at 9 pm we decided to color Easter Eggs - something my kids have always loved. Here are my daughter's creative designs - wouldn't Easter eggs be boring without color!

My Son's designs were a little different - I have never seen a skull and crossbones in an easter kit before but he loved it!

We always end the tradition with blending cool color combinations of the dye in the toilet. They love to see what the colors become before we flush them away - I know this is pretty weird, but we have been doing it for years!