'Chip'

 14.5 inch walleye caught a few blocks from home :)

26.5 inch walleye caught a few miles from home :)

What did I make?

He's back, project man that is...

this time thanks to my MAD freecycle skills we scored 800+ free bricks with mortar on them so we chipped off each and every piece of mortar and borrowed the girls sand from their box and set them in the ground, a little around the driveway and more in the front of the house

we loaded these up on that 99 degree day last week...it was HOT

Gavin removes some of the mortar. He helped a ton.

framing the driveway...

removing the old cracked sidwalk pieces

clean slate, sort of

starting the brick

sanding the cracks, we are about 20 bricks short so now we have to decide what to do

prayer requests

I believe in the power of prayer. I KNOW He hears them and answers them. The hard part for us is the understanding (come Holy Spirit) and accepting of His answer.

Friends, if you have time this week for prayer could you please include my sister in law who is getting an MRI on Tuesday? She has some interesting labs and is hoping the scan will answer some questions her doctor has about her numbers. Also, Ryan's teammate is having surgery on Tuesday. Sometimes being a kid at heart just isn't enough. He plays hard and never gives less than 200% during a game. He injured his shoulder and needs surgery to repair it. Please pray for the doctors and technicians and for the patients to get answers and heal quickly and without (too much) pain and suffering.

Thank you prayer warriors :)
Amen.

blessed exhaustion

This week by the numbers;

ONE wonderful hold your belly laughing cancer survivor luncheon with the most amazing surviving women I know
FIVE 3 mile walks before the day begins
FIVE days of G.A.D.G.E.T  (God's always doing great exciting things!) VBS
ONE 99 degree day hauling bricks for landscape project
THREE bruises on my shin from afore mentioned activity
ONE super helpful nephew during afore mentioned activity
ONE night of painful turbo kick after too long of a hiatus
ONE 4 mile run to help stretch the aching muscles
ONE very long cold night in the concession stand
FOUR ballgames (2 in freezing cold weather)
ONE baby blanket crocheted during
ONE softball tournament in beautiful weather
ONE rainout cornbelt baseball game :)
TWO pans of bars devoured
ONE massive garage sale organized
800+ bricks loaded and unloaded in the trailer and several hundred set in sand already
ONE amazing Saturday afternoon spent with family, wood stain, margaritas and food :)
ONE VBS church service with 50 children singing
ONE Sunday family brunch
ONE afternoon with nothing planned
MOUNTAINS of laundry to do
HUNDREDS of emails ignored
NOT ENOUGH sleep

Mega Sad Face

Last night was the bigs first ballgames. Guess what supermommy didn't do? ...take one stinkin' photo.

During VBS we had this awesome lesson where I drew a sad face (or 10) on my hand to represent all the mistakes (sins) I have made. Then I walked around and asked the children if they had ever made a mistake (disobeyed mommy, fought with siblings, lied, etc.) Some children were adamant that they had NEVER made a mistake. Isn't that the truth? We feel like if we admit our faults we are broken and ugly. A long time ago started asking for forgiveness like I really mean it and since I have accepted the fact that I am not perfect and never will be it has been much easier for me to 'deal' with whatever life (the PLAN) tosses my way.

So today, just like every other day, I have a big sad face on my hand. Blessedly, it is washed clean and white with Jesus' death on the cross. Washed with the blood of the lamb. God loves me all the time. Amen. Guess what? He loves you, too, sad face and all.

Happy middle of the week to all my wonderfully and thoughtfully made friends!