Favorite Friday

One word: AMEN.

 

 

 

Have a FABULOUS Friday!

WOW

Seriously. Wow.

Jake’s hair is LONG!!! We tried it in a ponytail this morning to see about keeping it out of his eyes… hm.

He has complained a few times of getting teased and wanting it cut, but I am not sure if he REALLY wants it cut… we’ll see!

Wordless Wednesday

Beauty

(This is an excerpt from We are THAT Family blog. I just had to repost – it caused me to tear up. I thought that some of you might want/need to hear it too…)

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Sometimes I don’t know how to say yes or let my kids grow up.

Sometimes I can’t breathe because this mothering thing is so hard.

I wake up with a list full of plans and ideas and instead spend the day trying to solve a crisis. I am overwhelmed daily with inadequacy for this calling.

Sometimes I want to run away because I don’t know how to live this thing out.

Some days are hard: There are relationship challenges, misunderstandings, the money is tight, the house is broken, the kids fight, the dog pukes, chronic neck pain, the pressure to keep it all spinning builds…

I collapse into bed and second-guess my day, wondering if I was good at anything.

My life isn’t always beautiful.

As a matter of fact, there are parts of it that are just downright ugly.

The fear, the doubt, the second-guessing, the duct tape holding my dryer together.

But it’s in the tough places, that He teaches me.

If life was always pretty and perfect, I wouldn’t know how to search for the beauty.

I wouldn’t understand that caterpillars need time in the ugly cocoon so they can transform into a butterfly.

I wouldn’t know that it’s only through irritation and pain that oysters form priceless pearls.

I wouldn’t appreciate that unbelievable pressure and heat produce sparkling diamonds.

Beauty is everywhere, but it’s appreciated even more in the hard places.

I have prayed for courage to rise up in my sweet son. I see it in the tilt of his chin as he buckles his helmet and leaves me waving in the driveway. I see beauty.

An unexpected check in the mail, a cupcake on your doorstep, a friend who helps, a massage, a husband who loves–all beauty.

When the going gets tough, the tough look for the beauty. I’m learning this lesson in the hard places.

Beauty is often wedged between the hard and uncomfortable, adjacent to the difficult.

But when you find it, you’ll know exactly what to do with it.

How to Find Beauty in the Hard Places:

• Rehearse His promises: Life is going to be hard, but take courage, He has overcome the world. John 16:33
• Run to Him- He is our refuge- a very present help in the time of trouble. It may be hard, but we are never alone. Ps. 46:1
• Rely on Him- Cast your cares (big and small) on Him, He cares about every detail. I Peter 5:7
• Remember He’s got this- all things work together for good for those who love Him. Rom. 8:28

 

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Lord, may I hear Your promises in my heart. May I run to You, rely on You and depend on You in every area of my life. Thank You for all You have given me, for all You do for me, and for Your future plans for me.

Blessings to you today. Loves to you all.

Broken Boy is broken no more

I started writing this almost 2 weeks ago. I was going to take a pic of Jake and his freshly un-casted arm. Yep. It never happened. LIFE happened. But you know what? I am still going to post this. I wanna remember that crazy time. (Cause I am SURE that this sort of thing will NEVER happen again.)

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After 2 breaks in the elbow, 4 casts (one orange, a half cast that he broke within hours of getting it, one pink and lastly a purple one with a pink stripe) and 9 weeks, Jake got his last cast sawed off last Wednesday!

No more plastic bags and duct tape to take a shower, no more whining cause it itches, no more screaming cause “Jake hit me with his cast, mom!”

Praise the Lord!

Jake’s arm is definitely smaller than the other, stiff and sore, and he tries to move it too much, but he will get there. He has needed to ice or heat it quite a bit due to “jerking” it.

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He totally babied that arm, not moving it or using it as much as he should. After going backwards in how much he could move it, I bribed him with $5 when he had full range of motion again. It always amazes me how a little cash can motivate a kid! I also said that he couldn’t go off the diving board until he had more movement… THAT was some serious incentive!

Now, almost 2 weeks after he was freed, he can just about straighten it and is bending it more and more, almost able to touch his shoulder.

It never really slowed him down though! Not much does.

;)

Spring

Yesterday I laid in my parents backyard in the sunshine reading and listening to the birds. It is definitely Spring! Little birds, flitting from here to there, gathering nesting materials, food for babies, chirping and singing… It really made for a relaxing afternoon!

Of course, I had to take pictures!

This is a mama robin who watched me very closely as I took pictures.

 

 

Then, my mom and I took advantage when the mama robin flew away for a minute and this is what we discovered:

… 2 very new chicks and an egg! This nest is so beautifully made too – round and soft and deep. Amazing.

 

We discovered 2 other nest in other areas of their yard too:

I didn’t get a good picture of this one, but it is made by Bushtits, tiny little birds. It is like a hanging mass of tree debris, another amazingly built nest!

This was the other nest, still in the making:

We don’t know what the name of the bird that is making this one is (Erica, do you have any ideas?) but they, too, are TINY! Mom managed to get a picture of this one as he/she was gathering nesting materials in a neighbor’s garden.

 

 

What a wonderful, sunny, relaxing day!

Hope yours was wonderfully blessed too! Happy Monday!

Favorite Friday

Ladies, we have been doing it wrong all these years!!!

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I wish there really was a diner like this:

Favorite Fridays

I have so many quotes and sayings and pictures that are my “Favorites” that I have decided to start sharing them here on “Favorite Friday”… and you all get to be my guinea pigs!

It may be one pic or saying or something, or it may be multiples. Ya never know!

Some of these I have created, some I have found on Facebook or other places on the internet, either way -

Enjoy!

 

 

Hope this made you smile, even just a little… It sure does for me!

HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY!!!

More Easter pics

I have to share the other pictures that I took on Easter of my handsome boys!

 

We aren’t really photogenic – Sorry.

Easter Sunday

 

 

 

 

Hope your Easter was filled with love and blessings!

(Seriously, could these boys be any more handsome??? Yikes.)