Monday Multitudes, #332-349

A woman in church remarked,"Every day I look outside my window and see you hanging clothes on the line and I feel so sorry for you."

I was sort of surprised at her comment. Hanging clothes is a choice of mine. I don't dislike it as much as dishes or dirty diaper changes. In fact, I am thankful for the moments of sunshine, for the neatly lined up towels, jeans or other items. I sort of enjoy it. In fact it is easy to be thankful for everyday normalcies when you consider the alternative.

Other things I am thankful for;

VBS, VBS, VBS, VBS, VBS, VBS, VBS, VBS, I do love VBS

nieces and aunties who help out with the little girls during VBS

ballgames in the middle of the day

supper served at 3:30 (see previous)

barbeques at grandma's

pico de gallo and guacamole from pioneerwoman.com

first days at the lake swimming and fishing

Memorial day remembrances of dad, today Maleah said, "I wish I could have met him.", me too...

kids who are excited about dentist appointments

camping at home

coupons from my sister in law for triple coupon days

boston cream pie yogurt, mmmmmmmmm

crock pots bubbling full and not heating the house up

husbands who hang loads of wash for me :)

gas stations that are open in small towns on a holiday

a peaceful quiet day so daddy can sleep since he has the night shift

a week so full it may burst right off the calendar

First day at the lake 2010

Free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

VBS 2010 (by the numbers sorta)

a number representing nearly 1/5th of my tiny village's population stood on the altar tonight praising, singing and sharing God's love

around 2/5th's of my community was involved in one way or another by participating, volunteering or bringing their children to VBS this week

almost half the number of people that live in my village (the greatest little village on God's earth) [that's around 250 people] participated in and/or attended the program tonight (standing room only) to witness the love of God proclaimed by nearly one hundred children on a tiny altar in a tiny church with a HUGE commitment to sharing the love of God

infinity = is the only number I can think of to use to describe how amazing my community of believers is; we share everything, especially our faith :)

Man, I love my village and I love my God.
I cried through the last prayer song just like I do every single year. Only 364 days till we can do it again, I can hardly wait ;)

Gavin's game

like father like son, they both are in love with the game, I am already praying for Gavin's wife...

harvested the rhubarb

checked off everything on my list yesterday, that never happens...

rhubarb syrup and rhubarb butter

TRUTH is the Word and the WORD is Truth

We are buried in VBS this week...buried in a very good sense, buried in singing and praising and dancing and crafting.

Tonight: the story of Peter and Paul on their way to pray...from Acts.

These verses make me think of VBS this week.

PSA 144:15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.
PSA 145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
PSA 145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
PSA 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
PSA 145:4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
PSA 145:5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
PSA 145:6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare thy greatness.
PSA 145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
PSA 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
PSA 145:9 The LORD is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works.
PSA 145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
PSA 145:11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
PSA 145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
PSA 145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
PSA 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
PSA 145:15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
PSA 145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
PSA 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
PSA 145:18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
PSA 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
PSA 145:20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him but all the wicked will he destroy.
PSA 145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

AMEN!

Quote of the day

At Auntie Kim's for Auntie Tracy's Bridal Shower today my mini me eight year old says, "Mom, this chocolate fountain is killing me."

2 year old wisdom

While playing with chalk and her chalk board, Addison measured the pieces and put the smaller ones in a "baby chalk" pile and the larger ones in the "mommy chalk" pile.

She counted as she wrote," One, Eight, One, Eight, Three, One, Eight..."

The she stopped, abruptly, and looked me right in the face, " Mommy how do you spell A?"

double the; trouble, fun, ear infections

Nora has not been sleeping well for weeks. The first few nights were rough, but then your body gets use to getting up and going through the motions you can do it in your sleep:)

Then, while I was buried in purple satin, my beautiful blue eyed Addi came crying to me, "mommy my ear huwts"...it took me all of a few moments to get on the phone with the clinic. I made an appointment for both girls. They both had low-grade temps and snot and similar symptoms can me similar diagnosis', you know the old "one stone" saying.

As the CNP checked out Addi's "sowe ear", I heard her sharp inhale and knew instantly that it was an infection. I can't help but feel good in that moment. Any mom would, when they are confirmed of something that they suspected. It's an awesome feeling, being right.

Then on to baby Nora.

"MMMMMMMMMM" the doctor says. I start to shake my head when she asks, "did you find blood in her ear recently?" Then my heart leaps into my throat as my brain rewinds and freezes on a moment WEEKS ago when she awoke with dried dark specks in her outer ear. I thought for a moment that it was not normal, but then... what? Then I shrugged it off? Then I forgot about it? Then I (insert excuse)? WHAT? What mother doesn't question blood in her baby's ear NO MATTER WHAT. So much for that good feeling.

Gone, LOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG gone.

Ish. I feel awful. Unworthy. Unfit. Disgusted with myself. Nora spent much of the day yesterday sitting in the van at the ballgame miserable with the heat and her low-grade temperature. That should have been a huge CUE for me.

Doctor says perforated eardrums are fairly common in small children and in most cases provide relief to the pain the child is experiencing. It doesn't make me feel better. She needs to see us again in a few days to be sure that the drops and the Amoxicillin are working to help it heal on it's own. Sometimes it doesn't heal right. So, not only to I have to consult my notes for birthdates and years but I have no clue when my children are sick. Way to go mommy.

I need to pay more attention to my kids. I am too easily distracted in this crazy life. Lord grant me the attention to task that I so desperately desire...

Monday Multitudes, #309-332

Monday already?

Man, time flies when the sun shines again!




I am thankful for many things today.

a Pastor who will be staying around for awhile and soon be a father again, that will make THREE boys :) many prayers for mommy Susan ;)

a week with my husband and more projects and dreams of projects

a fire in the backyard, snuggling with my kids in the swing, and later project man

mowers that work every time you want to use them

plants that grow from seeds and a little water and sunshine, it still amazes me every time I see that little life poke through the dirt...

frightening summer schedules, it is scary but I am here to enjoy them and I am VERY thankful for my life

spontaneous invitations to 5k's for the runner in the family

sore muscles:)

surprise birthday cards for teachers, signed by the whole class

less homework and more time to play outside after school, no time for tv or computer

boys who are really antsy for summer and can't sit still at school, lo siento mucho teachers :(

mowing at grandma's

being buried in purple satin

little girls who know when they are sick

CNP's who have a soft hand and a gentle touch to little girls who have ear infections and mommy's who ignore them for too long

baseball practice for little boys who really need to get out and run off some energy after all those rainy days in a row

rainy days in a row for the tiny seeds who are pushing to grow up

cars that start when you turn the key and produce heat and air conditioning in the same 24 hours

Sunday school teachers that teach my children about the love of Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you for your time and your presence

VBS books and lots of crafts on order

kids asleep while it is still light out, because they are so worn out

auctions that get the whole family out of the house after the rainy days

sunsets, green and gold and warm

smores, a 5k, sunshine and more baseball

Friday's game was cancelled. We got the notice pretty late and supper (early) was on the table already, grilled burgers, watermelon, and baked potato wedges. So we ate, slowly for a change, and then lit up the fire pit and roasted smores into the night. Well, actually it was still pretty light when the kids went to bed, but dad and I (and a couple of fat tires) stayed up past dark.

We woke to an early morning phone call. Ryan looked at the clock and couldn't believe the whole family was still in bed. The call was an invitation for Maleah to run in a 5k. She is the runner in our home. She loves to run and run and run. I was told she had a perma-smile all day. This morning she said her calves hurt ;)

Today the Gamedogs play in Canova at 2pm. The sun is shining the babies are napping and I have clothes on the line so I plan to give the game a go. I hope it's a good one and we come out on top. Check the website for stats later on and hey, if you're out and about, get on over to Canova and enjoy the sunshine and a little of America's favorite pastime yourself!

Non-league

game tonight

in Montrose

7 pm start time against Freeman

Go GAMEDOGS!

Proof

What butter?
Oh, THAT butter...

Caught.....again.

*sigh*

Monday Multitudes, #289-309

I am still counting.

Today I thank the Lord for;

a painted house

a new baby boy

tests passed, finals and the GRE, you go girls :)

moments of improvement, especially for a co-worker of Ryan, we are praying for you Gordy

recovery

music and dancing

rain that washes all things clean again and again and again

roses, a huge surprise, for Mother's Day

handwritten cards for Mother's Day

time with family, never long enough

my 1000th post come and gone

garage sales

vbs planning

wedding planning

a potted flower

singing

sermons that move me

home runs

popcorn and movies with the family

my mother, my hero

What are you thankful for today? Can you find the joy in everyday things?

Maleah's favorite new trick

For Dick and Bonnie

City wide cleanup day. The old bushes went bye-bye!

Go tell...

This might be an eensy weensy bit painful for those of you who have rythym issues. She is still working on counting:) Nerves didn't help much either. Thanks to the babies, you get distracted a bit.

all boy, sorta :)

The future first graders got the day off today as the new kindergartners were rounded up and visited the classroom.

The Gavinator had a few chores to do this morning and then I told him we could do whatever he wanted when the babies went to sleep.

Guess what he chose to do?



Yep, we used a half of a roll of aluminum foil and a roll of electrical tape to make swords and he dug through the piles of princess dress up to find some pirate things.

Then we spoke like pirates and played cat's cradle all afternoon. Ah, the life of a boy with three sisters.... if it hadn't been raining we probably would have played a game of bean bags :)

It's a really good thing there is a new male cousin in the fam :) Congrats Chad and Jan!

Monday Multitudes, #277-288

Love...binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14 NRSV

This lovely first week of May in the year of 2010 I am so very thankful for;

having so much...plenty to eat, overflowing closets, a safe warm place to live

a husband who puts up with me

children who love me even if I am crabby

chocolate for the week of the month that I need it the most

a windless Friday that allowed me to paint a little and do some other much needed outdoor chores and still have time to make a yummy supper that we ate outside

a busy weekend that whizzed by

new babies and the way they smell and that utter amazement that only a baby can make you feel about life

sunshine, sunshine, sunshine

Sunday morning church with a yummy egg bake afterwards, a reception for an amazing mommy who got her masters, and a piano recital

$6 dollar dresses and my beautiful girls

the official start to baseball season and the joy of my son's face when dad told him about the game