Always Prepared

Faith was one prepared little girl today when she found out we were going on a "long" drive. The last time she went on a long drive with daddy, she ended up throwing up all in the van, all over her and everywhere else.

What I saw her carrying out the door with her this morning were two bowls. One was big and one was little. When I asked her what they were for she told me that they were just in case she or Chloe had to throw up while on the trip. Notice the size of the bowls that she chose were just right for her and her best friend in the whole world.

Thankfully, the bowls were not needed. No stomach ailments today for Faith or Chloe.

Homeschooling Perks

Just thought I would share with you one of the many perks, benefits, luxuries, whatever you want to call it, of homeschooling our three children.

We started our day doing Bible study outside at around 9:00 am and spent most of the rest of the day outside doing school work. We don't do that often, but today it was just wonderful to be able to.

Notice that Beth's PE is practicing volleyball all by herself because her mom is not a volleyball player. Beth doesn't care though. She and her daddy have bought enough volleyballs that she is able to do all kinds of drills without having to chase the ball down too often. She also sets up chairs to act as people so that she can practice positioning and accuracy. Have I mentioned that Beth LOVES volleyball and everything about it?

Loving the Sunshine

I don't know about you but I absolutely love the sunshine and being outside. I love working outside, playing outside, eating outside; just about anything that you can do outside, I love it.

I went to Big Lots this afternoon, (because, unlike my sweet friend in Georgia, I do not have a brand new Super Target), and bought some new summer stuff to spruce up my deck. I had a blast walking up and down the not so beautiful aisles, with my wobbly old buggy buying some things that would make me so happy to decorate with outdoors. (love you Mary) It really was fun!

When my kids weren't helping me work, they were also having a big time being out of the house. Faith played in the water, Beth practiced volleyball and Keith read. Poor Donnie, working so hard so we can play. He is a good good man.

Oh glorious sunshiny days are here for awhile. I know, I know...we still have all the"winters" to go through, but at least I know that I am closer today than I was last Sunday when we had 5 1/2 inches of snow on the ground.

Anytime you want to come over and spend some time with us grilling out, playing volleyball or horseshoes, come on by. We would love the company!

Happy Birthday, Honey

Happy Birthday Donnie. We love you so very much and think that you are the most awesome daddy and husband ever.

There are so many reasons why we think you're the best and we want to tell you what some of them are. So here goes...from the mouths of your children and me.

1. You have a genuine love for the Lord.
2. You have a lot of wisdom
3. Faith doesn't like when you go on trips far away because she loves having quality time with you.
4. You are so special and we don't know what we would do without you.
5. You are the most honest person that we know.
6. You are fun to talk to.
7. You are loyal.
8. You are easy to talk to about anything.
9. You are fun to beat in sports.
10. You make us laugh when you do the Vonage dance.
11. You are fun to play with at the beach.
12. You have the prettiest smile of anybody we know.
13. We love to hear you laugh.
14. You have always taken care of us and all of our needs.
15. You make us laugh and you make us smile.
16. You are so easy going.
17. You teach God's Word in a way we can all understand.
18. You can do anything on a computer.
19. You are wonderful.
20. You are a true man of God.
21. You are competitive but in a fun way.
22. You can do anything that you set your mind to.
23. You make up funny songs.
24. You are fun to cuddle up with.
25. You are a fun person to be with.
26. You are a good daddy and a good friend.
27. You show unconditional love.
28. You always look at the big picture and we know that's the best way.
29. You love and respect your parents.
30. Your goofy is cool. :)
31. You try to be friends with everyone and never leave anyone out.
32. You always put others first.
33. You taught mommy all about Jesus.
34. You opened the flood gates.
35. You are a great athlete even at your age.
36. You're an awesome dude.
37. Faith says that you are so lucky to have a wife like mama.
38. You taught us about Jesus.
39. Beth says you are making it hard for her when she starts looking for a husband because you have set the standard so high.
40. You always make funny noises during movies just to try to make us laugh.
41. You have a great sense of humor.
42. You always try to scare mommy and everybody else.
43. You are strong.
44. You are never afraid and make us not afraid.
45. You are the best daddy that God ever made.
46. WE LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE YOU AND WE THINK YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH PERFECT!!

Happy 46th!!

The Snowy Day

Is it just me or does the snow bring out the inner child in you too? I love snow!!

It all started at around 8am when I looked out the bedroom window and saw the deep blanket of beautiful white snow covering our yard and everything else. Donnie saw it about the same time that I did and that's when the "child" came out. We both started dancing and jumping around like we were five years old. You can tell that we don't have snow very often.

Then came the wait.....waiting.....waiting longer. I wanted desperately to wake the kids up so they could see it and be as excited as I was. Donnie wouldn't let me wake them up because we were all so exhausted from sale week and volleyball tournament and they did need their rest. So I waited....and waited.

What's really odd about me (one of many things) is that I like to see the looks on my kid's faces when they see something for the first time. I wanted to make sure that I saw their faces when they walked downstairs and looked out the window. I at least wanted to see Faith's face because she had never seen that much snow. So what did I do? I took my pillow, blanket and laptop and went upstairs and waited and waited in the hallway outside of her door until she woke up. I waited almost an hour in the hallway with my pillow and laptop until she finally woke up and came out. Was it worth the wait? ABSOLUTELY!! She was thrilled when she walked downstairs and saw that gorgeous gift of snow that God had given us. I don't think she danced quite like Donnie and I did, but she was thrilled.

Next I had to wait for Keith and Beth to get up because I wanted us all to go out together at the same time. (odd again, right?) Keith woke up about an hour after Faith and then Beth woke up around lunch time. Uck!! I (we) had to wait f o r e v e r to go and play. Faith was okay waiting because she wanted Diddy outside with her as well.

We were finally ready to go outside and it was so worth the wait. We had a ball. We made snow angels, built lopsided snowmen, threw snowballs at each other and just layed in the snow. We took a walk in the woods and just took in all of the beauty We even spotted a pretty little buttercup that had peeked its head out of the ground that was covered in snow.

We played and played and played. It was awesome. It's amazing that something as simple as snow can take you back to your childhood and make you want to just let go and have fun.

I am not sure who had the most fun. It was probably Donnie and I because we just played like we hadn't been able to play in a long time. And how much fun it is to play with your children and them look at you and say, "mom and dad, you really are fun to be with".

Thank you Lord for snow days and slow days. Thank you for good, I mean great, times with our children. Time goes by so fast and days like yesterday let you slow down and enjoy the gift of family.

Can I Brag a Minute?

I know we are not supposed to brag, but I have to congratulate my Beth who played in a volleyball tournament this weekend in Murfreesboro. At the end of the tournament awards are given to individual players as well as to the teams and thus my bragging time. Beth received two awards for her team. The first, and we believe the most important, was the Christian Character Award for her team. The second award was the All Tournament Award (MVP) for her team. Both of these awards are voted on by all of the coaches from all five teams. What an honor!! Needless to say, Donnie and I are so very proud of her.

CONGRATULATIONS BETH!! YOU ARE AN AWESOME YOUNG LADY AND A FANTASTIC VOLLEYBALL PLAYER. You have got four more years to play and I can't imagine how much better you are going to get. I also can't imagine how much harder your serve is going to get and how many more girls you are going to knock down. GO SMACK!

Finished, Over, Done...

Finally the sale is over! It's not that I don't enjoy doing it, but it truly does exhaust me. This sale actually lasted four days longer than my others. We decided to do it longer and offer more shopping days. It was a good decision.

The sale went great! We had lots of shopping going on the whole week. People left with bundles of goodies and then sent their friends to find their own treasures. I think the economy probably helped as people are realizing that they need to save money and consignment sales are one way to do it.

I want to say thanks again to my children and husband who help me make this sale what it is. My kids know the ins and outs of the sale and I COULD NOT do it without them. They are great. Thank you, Keith, Beth and Faith. You are all awesome workers!

Thanks again to my friends who helped through volunteering their time. I also couldn't do it without them. They make my job easier and so much more fun by them just being there. One of the volunteers commented that she never dreamed how much fun she would have being there "working". I am so thankful when ladies can get together and laugh, play, work, and just have fun being together.

So...the sale is over this time around and now we can rest, check out what we bought and get caught up on everything that we slacked on over the last week and a half. School starts back and routines get back in order. My house will finally be cleaned and my laundry caught up.

I pray that the Lord was pleased with all that took place over the course of the sale. I pray that we ministered to somebody in some way. I know my heart was blessed repeatedly by so many people and for that I am grateful.