Somewhere Over the Mountain.....

Hiking, and tennis, and Nertz.

Oh My.

Hiking, and tennis, and Nertz.

Oh My.

Bring on the baked oatmeal, people. Bring it on.

Have I Mentioned How Much I Love Being a Mom?

I get overwhelmed on an almost daily basis how I am so amazingly blessed with my three girls! We've definitely slowed down this summer from the hustle and bustle and I am really enjoying them (when they are not fighting and whining)! We had a great time just hanging out today with a picnic lunch at the playground. And, I am anxiously awaiting our family vacation in just 2 days!! Woo-hoo!

Am I Going to be Anxious or Excited?

God gave me a beautiful thought today as I was thanking Him for even the smallest of things I used to take for granted.

Let me set the scene first.....I've been sending out resumes for jobs this week for when the girls return to school. While I would love to work only part-time, right now we have so much catching up to do from the last 3 years that I've been applying for full-time positions. Begrudgingly. Afraid. The Husband's schedule allows him to go into work so early in the morning that he should be home in plenty of time when they get off the bus in the afternoon. But, I've already figured out all the things that could go wrong....the kids getting sick, scheduled days off from school and me having to work while they're at home, not being able to go into school to help and eat lunch, etc.... And, the guilt. Years and years of being a semi-stay-at-home mom listening to other SAHMs bash those who work full time. I never really shared that opinion because I believe if people are following what the Lord has called them to, then who am I to judge if they should work or not? And, how many kids staying at home with their moms just sit in front of the TV for 4-6 hour stretches? Ah-hem. I'll stop there.

Yes. It's safe to say I've been a little anxiety-ridden. Throw in a little of "God why did we pour so much money into a restaurant that failed?" and I've had to wake up each morning shaking off the blues.

Ok...so, rather then lick my wounds and give in to the fear of the unknown, I'm going to trust Him. If there is a not a peace with a full-time job I won't take the job. If He wants to bless me with any amazing part-time job, that's good, too. Maybe I'll get to work some hours at home, or maybe I'll work at one of their schools.

So, the very first picture He showed me this morning was a wrapped up gift. And, a reminder that He gives good gifts to His children. This situation is no different and He does not expect me to settle for something that will make me and my family miserable. That thought really calmed me and now I feel protected. And, I'm excited to open up the present and see what He has waiting for me!

More Summer Fun

We had another great weekend. I headed back to my hometown for a baby shower with my dear friends that I grew up with. Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed the day at my dad's house, swimming in the neighbor's pool.

On Sunday, we had a backyard BBQ and tried not to melt. The kids got wet and had fun!

For the summer our hot tub is a refreshing kiddie pool! They may as well enjoy it before I put another ad on Craig's List to get rid of it.

On an entirely random note, The Husband caught the snake from the garden and released it into the woods, and most importantly, OFF of our property. I still cautiously enter the herb garden in the event it returned or worse, had babies back there.

We also went to see Kung Fu Panda at the $2 cinema and I laughed and snorted through the entire movie. I could totally relate to the panda in this movie. He was doing something contrary to his dreams because his dreams seemed impossible. And, when his destiny is revealed neither he or anyone else around him believes he can transform. Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought that whatever task you had to conquer to get to your dreams looks pretty impossible today? Don't give up. God has a wonderful way of making the impossible possible!

Yesterday I prayer walked at our elementary school with 2 other school moms from other area churches and it was pretty amazing. And, last night was the first night of coaching my U7 girls soccer team and they ROCKED!

God just continues to send blessings my way and I am so grateful!

Right Now I'd Rather Be Blogging Then....

.....cleaning up all the water that just leaked into our family room and #1's room.

.....washing the many towels that were required to clean up the water.

.....examining the roof and down spouts that could be the culprit (I have to act like Ms. Fixit since The Husband is on a 4-wheeling trip).

....sweating from all the manual labor!!

Now That's a Good Scripture

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Romans 12:12

That pretty much sums it up.

I can't seem to be able to put 2 words together lately to form a post. I am distracted with "life". There seem to be things nagging at me on a daily basis (and, I don't mean the kids!). Just things like our finances, where and how long I'll be working when school begins, our finances, my house is a constant mess from the little ones (#1 is at camp), our finances, missing the girls and who their teachers will be when school starts, our finances, and most recently, The Husband's grandmother who was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

I have not been very "joyful in hope" or "patient in affliction". Come to think of it, I'm not always very "faithful in prayer" either.

I am so very thankful our God is merciful, joyful, faithful and patient!

Okay...I'm off to try to joyfully and patiently clean at least one room in my house and make these little kids of mine pick up their stuff! After that, I'm canceling Direct TV and XMRadio. I can't even believe I'm typing that....sniff......Maybe it will all be for the best, the kids are too glued to the TV anyway.

Summer Days Driftin' Away.....

Wondering what's new and why I hardly have time to blog anymore? We've been sleeping a little later and I've been reading lots of great books with actual pages! Here are some more of the oH mY wORD family happenings:

My serpent left his calling card....his shed snake skin that #2 suggested we make into a pair of boots like Daddy's.

#1 and I have been hitting the gym. Her first time on the treadmill was pretty hilarious, but she has caught on and looks like a natural.

We went on a cute little trip to Boyd's Bear Factory that we drug The Husband on. He squealed like a girl as we pulled into the parking lot. He was just kidding, of course. As soon as we parked the car in the lot marked with pink paw prints he was begging us to leave. After we "built" 3 stuffed animals (with my coupon, of course) we headed over to a few Civil War memorials so he can get some of his manhood back. Good times.


We've been swimming at our pool, which I will not join again next year because it is always dirty. I pulled a beetle out of my hair today which normally would be a freak thing except that there were about 1 bazillion of them in the pool. I believe I will be getting an estimate soon for an above ground pool in faith that God will somehow provide the finances. And, we will use it to bless people so I don't sound all shallow asking God for a pool. Get it? Shallow? Pool? Okay.....moving on now....

Did I mention there is a snake lurking somewhere on my property?!! I picked some mint today by leaning over the fence and not actually going into the garden area. And, I brought The Dog with me so the snake would have something to bite before it got to me. Trust me. The Dog owes me big time.

Speaking of The Dog owing me big time, I could have made a sizable down payment on the above mentioned pool if not for her last 2 trips to the vet. Today, was her 4th day in a row throwing up. And, she left me a lovely surprise on my bedroom and bathroom floors when I arrived home from the pool. Let's just say it was a digested sock in a puddle of brown liquid (oh my word, I hope none of you are eating anything while you read this). So, off we go to the vet where I admit that she has the bad habit of eating socks whole. And, paper towels and tissues and basically anything she can put in her mouth. The doctor was like "Duh, and you brought her in throwing up and with diarrhea to find out WHY this is happening??". Sooooo, $127 and an injection later, I was sent home with 2 forms of doggie medicine and if it doesn't get better she has to go back for blood work and some sort of tests I can't pronounce nor afford. He reassured me that it doesn't appear to be an obstruction like 2 of the socks tangling inside her intestines (gee thanks, Doc, I hadn't thought of that!). Have I mentioned that the cat we've had for the last 8 years has not collectively in all her life cost me what we've spent in the last month on The Dog? But, I'm not bitter. Really.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Something is lurking in my herb garden.

And, I'm not happy.

One week shy of our 1-year anniversary in our house I saw my first snake.

I am traumatized and trying not to call 911. #2 will not let me go out to kill it, which is probably a good thing because that experience would probably traumatize me even more.

I keep watching to see its next move and apparently he's in no hurry to leave.

I will be having The Husband mow down my entire herb garden area within the next 24 hours.

I gotta go check on it again...for all I know it is on my porch steps right now trying to figure out a way inside.

I Can Be Such A Wimp

Yesterday at the pool there was a teenage boy with Down's Syndrome along with someone who only looked to be in her early twenties (sister maybe?). Well, he was making loud noises in the pool and I smiled over at them a few times. While in the changing room I felt the Holy Spirit ask if I would pray for him to be healed and whole. I then (in my human brain) started thinking through the repercussions of God doing a creative miracle in the middle of the pool as people watched.

And, it scared me.

Lord...what if his family likes him the way he is? There is something so innocent about these children. What would he be like if he was completely healthy?

And, again, the Holy Spirit asked me if I would be willing to pray for him. And truthfully, I was shocked that I couldn't just march over and do this. I was thinking that if I prayed for him and God healed him what in the world would happen? People would be screaming and completely freaking out. And, then even worse, what if "nothing" happened. God, I've got to bring my family to this pool all summer....can we work up to this?

I finally resolved that if I sensed God was setting me up to do this, He would also provide the opportunity. So, for the next hour we passed by them in the pool and I smiled at them and made eye contact. At one point I think I said something like "Hello there". They probably thought I was some deranged stalker. It wasn't until they pulled out of the parking lot right ahead of us that I was so disappointed. Have I learned NOTHING in my walk with Christ? I almost felt like it was more of a test and while I gave God my honest answer, it was still way off the mark. And, if I see them again this week at the pool would I do anything about it?

That's the million dollar question.

So Long, Ozzy

I'm headed out for my official summer haircut after weeks of The Husband telling me my hair looks like Ozzy Osbourne's. He's right...since Susan's wedding I can't really straighten it or curl it and it looks like a shapeless fuzzy mess. Throw in the gray and I've not been looking my finest. Except for the hat. My cool black hat is the best "bad hair day" solution.

I still have no idea how to get it cut, but I'll just be glad when the middle of supper isn't interrupted by The Husband's Ozzy imitation: "SHARONNNNNN"! He must be getting me back for all the muskrat comments I make about his huge black/gray goatee.

Can you feel the love?

I Guess I Need a Campaign Manager?