a beautiful day

We are on somewhat of a vacation.

My in-laws live very south of us & they have taken a month long trip, traveling across the US.
So, we decided to "house sit" for them.

Over the past month we have traveled 3 hours away from our home,
many times, to stay at their house out in the country.
My in-laws own an old country house,
a big barn housing a big ol' tractor,
and lots of land & trees with a big beautiful pond.

Hubby has a few clients near there, so he can work while the rest of us "vaca" in the country.

It is so different than what we are used to.
Nothing nearby but grass, gardens & wildlife
{the occasional tractor & farmer can be spotted as well}.
There is no Chick-Fi-La or Target within miles of their house!

This could be a huge problem...

except, the benefits of this "retreat"
{as we have called it over the last month}
far exceed the negatives of being away from civilization.

Today, we woke up to this view, my in-laws back yard:

We sat out on the sun porch together as a family.  

The kids played while the hubby and I carried on a few conversations, 

but mostly, we just enjoyed the state of simplicity we were experiencing

...and enjoyed the view of course.  

{BTW, the tv was not on & my kids were having such a good time playing with each other - go figure}

The grass is vibrantly colored green and the sky is completely clear and blue.

The noises we hear are only the sounds of nature and our kids laughter.

This all sounds extremely "Norman Rockwell"picturesque 

& honestly, that is the way it feels here.

{aside from the occasional sounds of brother bickering that occurs - hubbs and I tend to ignore that}

Right now, I am having an amazing morning...

sitting at my computer sipping my dr. pepper

hubby took the boys outside to play in the dirt

the house is completely still and peaceful

itunes playing my favorite music, softly

and I am catching up on reading all of my favorite blogs {and writing my own, too}.

We have nothing planned today, 

other than to enjoy each other's company, 

take-in the many of God's gifts of nature and all it's beauty, 

take a short walk to the pond to let the dogs go swimming

and of course, a NAP for everyone!

monsters in my home.

There is THAT one last missing sock!  What a monster!  Ughhhh...

I find little monsters like these in pockets at my house ALL the time.

I knew monsters were eating the remote!  It disappears all the time.

Oh, that gooey, sticky, caked on forever dried & icky jelly!

I fight with the monsters in my dishwasher all the time.  There is NEVER enough room for all the dirty dishes in my house!

These little monsters look very familiar...just like the ones I pulled out from under my sofa this morning!

I have monsters lurking and hiding in the corners of my CLEAN floor.

They POP out when guests arrive, ruining my facade of having an extremely clean home!

I love these images by Christoff Niemann for his "Haunted House" post.  Thanks Natalie for sharing them with me!

swagger wagon.

For all the cool moms {and dads}....this is REALLY funny!

"No" or "Not yet"?

My husband and I have found ourselves in a state of transition.  Faithfully, we believe in God's plan for our lives even though we aren't sure what we are transitioning to.  We are struggling with major decisions dealing with where we should live or move to, the church we should attend and use as an outlet to serve Him and even questioning our careers.  This has all seemed to come about at the same time, leaving so many open doors.  We continually pray for His plan for our lives to be evident and for His guidance in the decisions we make to fulfill His plan.

Over the past 2 months I have grown quite impatient.

This "transition" time has lasted a little too long for me.  I have come to feel lost and lonely and slightly rejected by God.  I continually pray "tell me what to do & I will obey".  Feeling extremely human - I get nothing.  {remember, I am the one who needs God to send me messages via billboards OR sticky notes on my forehead, so I can REALLY get it.}

I have found myself making my own decisions since God doesn't seem to be answering my prayers.  Feeling rejected...I have turned away from Him a little as well.  This leads to a whole other issue...maybe I am doing it my own way and choosing NOT to listen to Him.  I don't know at this point!  One word for you...LOST!

But I do know that I have grown weary of carrying this heavy burden.  Not feeling led by Him and doing it myself is exhausting.  I am giving up and slumping humbly in to the spiritual fetal position.  I can no longer do this on my own.  I am tired and I am done.  I am giving up these feelings of rejection and sadness that have come with transition.

***********************************


Today, my "Daily Hope" email from "A Devotional from the Purpose Driven Connection" by Rick Warren was this:

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3 (LB)

Even as you make a decision to follow the dream God places in your heart, you can expect a delay. God will not fulfill your dream immediately because this is another step toward building your faith. In Habakkuk 2, God says, "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled." In this step of faith-building you will most likely start asking the question, "When, Lord?  When are you going to answer my prayer?" And we hate to wait. We don't like to wait in a doctor's office, or in traffic jams, or at restaurants, or for Christmas presents, or for anything else. But what we hate worst of all is waiting on God. Have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn't? It's so irritating! You're ready, but God isn't. God wants to work on you before he works on the project. Every believer must go through the University of Learning to Wait (ULW). Some of us are still working on our degrees from ULW! Noah waited 120 years from the time he started building the ark until it began to rain. Abraham was told he would be the father of a great nation and didn't have a child until he was ninety-nine. God told Moses he would be the leader to lead his people out of four hundred years of slavery, but then made him wait in the desert forty years.  Joseph spent years in prison before God raised him up and he became the ruler God wanted him to be.  God had David anointed as king, but then David waited for years until he actually got to be king.  We all have to go through these waiting periods. Even Jesus waited for thirty years in the carpenter's shop before setting out on his public ministry. Why do we wait? It teaches us to trust in God. We learn that his timing is perfect. One of the facts we have to learn is this: God's delay never destroys his purpose. A delay is not a denial. Children must learn the difference between "no" and "not yet," and so must we. Many times we think God is saying, "No," but he is saying, "Not yet."

***********************************


Ah, I see, I have let my grades slip a little at the University of Learning to Wait (ULW).  I need to study harder and become a better student.  


{hello, billboard!}


Dear God, I am so sorry for turning away from you and feeling rejected by your "not yet" response to my prayers.  I am sorry for not being patient and faithful.  Thank you God, for using your perfect timing to teach me to trust you more.  Thank you, for seeking different ways to speak to me and remind me of your presence in my life.  I promise to be open and ready when you reveal your plan for us.  


Oh, being patient will not be easy {obviously}, but I know now he hasn't rejected me or said "no".  He is simply saying "not yet".


I can wait.

music on mondays.

Feeling a little fun and nostalgic...

"let's go out late, stay up past 8:00, and then dance, dance all night!"

I love you my sweet, sweet friends: Jenny, Jan and Amy and miss you so often!



THESE are the days - but those days were good, too!  Weren't they?

check this off my list.

I bought this old beat up dresser at a yard sale about a year ago.  It has been sitting in my bed room UPSIDE DOWN (because one of the legs was broken).  It has truly been an eye sore, to say the least! So this weekend, I decided to tackle this make-over project.

This is the before:

Yikes...it needed some serious love & sanding, paint and new knobs, of course.

Here is the AFTER:

I absolutely love the shabby chic look of the NEW dresser (that cost less than $50 with all the make-over materials included).

It has become my new favorite piece of furniture!  I can't wait to buy the new lamp I've been eyeing at Target to match the crystal knobs.

Oh, and the flowers sitting on the dresser...why those beautiful hydrangeas came right out of my front yard!  SIMPLY gorgeous!

where's waldo?

My kids have a new obsession. Notice anything strange in this photo?

They have been putting their most valuable possessions (AKA - dog, wookie, big yellow blankie, and teddy bear) in the fridge..."to make them cold."

Ummm, should I worry about this?

private practice

I watch way too much TV. I wish I didn't, but I do.

However, I was really upset by Private Practice last night. That show and Grey's Anatomy are constantly killing people. And, it usually has something to do with a parent dying or a child dying or both.

That is horrible.

I went to bed last night sobbing after watching that ridiculous TV drama.

Seriously, I have enough anxiety issues without being reminded about death and how this will effect my kids and my husband...and what if he dies...and blah, blah, blah. Next, I can't sleep because I am trying to solve all of the "what if's" about death. All because of this stupid TV drama.

I mean, enough already.

I have enough drama, for real, in my life.

I need happy TV shows & happy thoughts!! Maybe I should watch more Sesame Street. That whole neighborhood is so stinkin' happy and they CAN solve ANY problem. How about deadly car accidents, Big Bird? Yeah...and, cure sick babies, Elmo!!

Yikes, I am really bothered by that ridiculous TV show. Honestly, I have nothing against Sesame Street and my boys LOVE Elmo. {feeling guilty, now}

I have to go now.

I need to watch my tivo'd Desperate Housewives and Army Wives episodes while my kids are sleeping.

wordless wednesday.

I love close-ups...

oh, and my sweet Max turned 2!!!

What a BIG BOY!!!

...with donuts on your ears!!!