Thank You

There are no words to properly express how thankful I am to everyone who has ever served or is currently serving our country... for us. 

No, America, is nowhere near perfect.  Will we ever live in utopia?  Only in Heaven.  But... America is an amazing country and we are beyond blessed to live here.   

And we are blessed because of you. 

Because you have spent years of your life being told exactly what to do, when to do it and how it has to be done.   

Because you have watched your sons and daughters, wives and husbands, neices and nephews, neighbors and friends leave never to know if they will come back in one piece or if they will even come back at all. 

Because you have raised your children without the help, support and comfort of your spouse. 

Because you have been without your daddy or mommy to talk with, to see, to have come watch your soccer games or to tuck you in at night. 

You have sacrificed.  And we are blessed because of your sacrifices. 

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you. 

‎"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:13 NIV

My Girl and Her Loves

Kassidy and Olivia attempting to make some sort of tent.

Gotta love sheets!

Olivia has become quite the retriever... hahaha... yes, I think that is hilarious since she is part golden retriever!

You can see my not-so-good and not-at-all-keeping-the-puppy-out fence for my garden.

After a hard throw!

More retrieving!

Buddy, who is not a retriever, has probably never retrieved successfully- ever.  He just wants some love!

This is what Sara does every single time she hears or sees K reading or doing school work. 

Every.  Single.  Time.

Crooked smile K

Done with 1st Grade & Survived 1st yr Homeschooling!!

YAYYY!!!

We are done!  School is out for summer!

I have been super busy lately with lots of things that I will post about later.  I am really excited about our next school year and feel ready to accomplish great big new ideas and goals!  That means that I am over this year.  You just can't really impliment new ideas with only a few weeks left.  So I decided today (and asked Mike) that Kassidy has officially become a 2nd grader! 

I definitely learned some great lessons about many things with this being our first year homeschooling!  Maybe I will write about those lessons soon! 

I think it's pretty ridiculous to go all summer without any kind of "learning" so we will still do some math & grammar review sheets every week.  We are also going to join 3 local libraries for their Summer Reading Programs!! 

Now, I have to finish what I have to finish and start planning some things for the summer! 

Our summer plans will not be as drawn out with our families this year :(  which is sad, but that also means that we will probably be starting school a couple weeks before public school starts.  Maybe we will have a long Christmas break!  Ahhh... Christmastime!  I can't mention it without getting excited!!

What summer plans do you have?  How do you keep the learning alive? 

Book Review: Secrets of the Vine for Women

Let me just tell you that this book feels awesome... the cover is a weird super smooth texture!  It made the book even more pleasant.  I have not read The Secrets of the Vine book and will not run out to read it now that I have read this one.  I was happy that this book was short and sweet.  It didn't delve into any topics as much as I would have liked for it to, but it was a short book. 

The book revolves around John 15.  It explains better about our relationship with Jesus and God in regard to "the vine".  I, honestly, had never really thought about the fruit I produce.  Darlene Wilkinson touches on how we can simply, in our every day life, produce more fruit, which is glorifying and pleasing to God. 

She does offer a few examples as to how you can produce more fruit, while doing what you normally do.  She says God wants us to start where we are with what we have.  He placed us here in this year, in this house and in this season of life for a purpose. 

This book would probably be a great addition to The Secrets of the Vine, but it is also a great, short read for any woman who has not read the previous book.  There are also discussion/reflection questions in the back of the book, which would make this great for a small group or just for personal reflection.

I joined Waterbrook Multnomah so I could get free books!!  Yay for free!!  And double yay for new, quality books for free!!  I do not get any other compensation besides the book and agree to give my completely honest review.

Book Review: The Seraph Seal

Well, this is definitely not my type of book.  I knew that to begin with but was willing to give it a try.  Once I got the book, I knew I was in way over my head.  It is huge at 384 pages! 

I am definitely not stupid (I'm no genius either) but I just cannot follow books or movies like this, which means I just cannot get "into" them.  Obviously, this book was not my thing, but if you are into "a fast-paced, end-times tale of good vs. evil" and are knowledgeable (and interested) in those kind of Biblical/historical ideas then go for it!

The book does have great reference-type sections in the back that you can use to better follow the book.  The story line is well written, enjoyable and easy to read (thank goodness since it's so long!), but I just could not get past all of the references and ideas that I knew little about.

I joined Book Sneeze so I could get free books!!  Yay for free!!  And double yay for new, quality books for free!!  I do not get any other compensation besides the book and agree to give my completely honest review.

Mommy Advice Needed

Let me set the stage for you:

My daughter is 7 1/2.  She is very independent (most of the time) and responsible.  She is also very trustworthy.  Unfortunately, she has no siblings yet.  We are working towards fostering to adopt.  We don't have many neighbor kids that "come out to play".  Some of them have moved and some have siblings that they really just play with. 

The girl who lives next door is 9 or just might have turned 10.  She always has her little brother with her who is 4ish and is very sweet.  Her family really keeps to themselves and to be honest we haven't gone out of our way to make friends.  They also do not speak very good English.  Sooo... this little girl, Z, acts very nice to my face.  She is not so nice though.  She has threatened my daughter with not being her friend too many times to count.  She has made my daughter cry too many times to count.  She has lied about tons of ridiculous things like coming over to knock (when she knows K is not home) at like 10 at night.  I've been in the living room the whole night and know she never did... not to mention our dogs never noticed either!  She can also be very nice to K, which makes the situation even more hard and confusing.  Her parents are hardly ever home and in some ways I feel bad for her... but she is very "well" taken care of.  I, truly, do not think that she is a mean girl or that her parents are awful... nothing like that. 

Tonight, I worked at church like I usually do for a couple hours on Wednesdays.  Mike told me that K, Z and her brother were selling stuff and had made lots of money!  My daughter is definitely a little entreprenuer.  Anyways, they were getting everything to sell from our house... granola bars, bird seed, snacks, etc.  That is fine!  But... when it came time to come inside no one helped clean up (which is another ginormous issue we have with them) and Z hurried away with all of the money.  She also mentioned that she couldn't play the rest of the week "because she had plans"... well this girl "has plans" constantly but will knock the next day!  K came in crying because no one was helping her clean up and because all the money that she had worked so hard for (yes, she was the one doing all the work... holding up the sign, waving people down, taking orders, everything) was gone with Z. 

We tried to tell her exactly what to say to Z in a loving way as if Z had not meant to leave with the money.  Well, K would not!  She started crying harder!  So my wonderful (but sometimes a little short tempered with Z) went and told her that I was going to split the money.  Of course, I had to split it 3 ways even though it was all our stuff.  Fine.  No big deal.  There were several other issues with the money, like our daughter putting some in the "pot" before it was split, etc. 

Where I need HELP!!!!! 

How do I teach my daughter to stand up for herself?  She is so afraid of not having anyone to play with that she puts up with junk like this.  Z can be nice and they play great most of the time, but when she doesn't she doesn't.  We explained how Z was not being honest and was trying to decieve K.  We talked about how we sometimes become like our friends and how those are not good qualities.  Would you continue to let them play?  How can I teach my daughter that it is better to sometimes have no friends as long as you are being true to what's right and what is fair?  I feel like she is learning that it is ok to put up with people who treat you badly (when you have a choice). 

Thanks so much for the advice!! 

Kassidy's First Time Fishing



I love this one!!





As soon as Mike went to the car to grab something Kassidy caught a fish!!  So our wonderful friends, who invited us, helped her deal with the fish... since I was absolutely not going to touch it!





Cute girls!  Kassidy and Abbie



Opinions Needed Please :)

So I am thinking of starting a party planning business.  Mostly kid's birthdays, maybe some mom's night outs, family reunions, bridal and baby showers, etc.

Birthday parties are usually big for our family.  Our daughter gets no birthday presents from us in exchange for a great party... I'm more about the memories than the stuff.  We don't host many parties so every year this is the big one, but sometimes we just do something "big" as a family. 

Here's what I am thinking:

-It is nice to be a part of any party you are having or are at instead of always being the hostess/planner.

-It would be awesome to have quality pics of family and friends without having to chase them around with a camera while missing the actual party.

-It would be amazing to not have to completely plan, decorate and stress over a party.

-It would be sooo much fun to go to a party that was different and exciting and fun!

Which is where I come in!!!

We would be responsible for the invitations, thank you's, decorations, cake, cutlery, plates, cups, drinks, party favors, games, activities, etc.

I have some questions and I would love any and all answers!!
1) Are birthday parties big events in your family?
2) What events would you like to have someone plan and take care of?
3) How much do you usually spend on birthday parties or any other type of party?
4) Would you be interested in hiring a photographer also?
5) How much would you be willing to pay for a party planner?  Photographer? 
6) Do you know of any or many children's party planners like what I might be describing?

Thanks tons for your responses!!

Book Review: The Promise of an Angel

An Amish romance novel.  This one has an angel in it, which I thought was kind of hokey at first, but then I absolutely loved it!  I could not put the book down, but that is typical for me with any good book.  I read it all in about 6-7 hours, between staying up late the night I got it and then for a little the next day. 

In the story, the main character, Judith struggles with forgiveness and the fear of being shunned for "telling stories" about the angel who continues to visit her.  All of that while she tries to find her place as a nineteen year old who is now able to be courted.  There are twists and turns and points where my mouth fell open! 

I highly recommend this book!  I can't wait to get another one and will definitely try out more books by Reid.

I joined BookSneeze so I could get free books!!  Yay for free!!  And double yay for new, quality books for free!!  I do not get any other compensation besides the book and agree to give my completely honest review.

One of Those Days

Do you ever have one of those days where everything and/or everyone is annoying to you?  I am having one of those days... I just want to be left alone.  I want to go lay in the grass (not in my awful backyard grass) and be all by myself. 

When I get like this, I usually don't say anything because "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."  So I don't. 

There was just a few ways that a few people completely got on my nerves today.  Being inconsiderate and rude is really the bottom line.  It's like all these little things that just keep leading up to a day like today.  A day where you've just been exhausted from it.  I feel like I try really hard to be considerate to people.  I try really hard to instill that quality in my daughter.  Of course, I don't always, but I really do try. 

We invite everyone to the party or we invite no one.  We play with everyone or we play with no one.  We include others especially those who are usually not included.  We don't pick favorites when other people are around.  We try to be just as nice (if not nicer) to the janitor or cashier as we are to our pastor.  We apologize when we've offended someone.  We try to make people feel special.  Stuff like that.  Considerate stuff.  Or at least stuff that I consider being considerate. 

But I guess some people were not ever taught those things.  Maybe they were and they just don't care.  Either way it leads me to: 1) think that they must feel like they are better than other people and 2) not want to have much to do with them anymore.  {That tends to be a problem when the annoyer is my husband :)}

I don't hold a grudge against them.  I don't dislike them.  I just don't want to be around people like that.  People that make me or anyone else feel like less.

Anyways, it's just one of those days.  I'll get over it.  Alone.  Being quiet.  In the shower.  :)

Do you ever have days like this?  Am I the only one who cannot stand when people are inconsiderate or rude?  Do you have other little pet peeves?

Only When You Become a Mother

I think there are many questions that get answered and many new unanswered questions we have once we become mothers.  My mothering style is nothing like my moms.  She couldn't wait to get back to work after she had me.  She never even considered staying home with any of her kids.  She would have never considered homeschooling.  We are pretty much polar opposites in so many ways, but in others I am her exact duplicate. 

The differences (and similarities) sometimes causes friction between us and I, honestly, do not think she will ever fully understand or agree with all of my mothering choices or life choices in general and vice versa.  But there was something magical that happened when I became a mom.  Maybe not right when I became a mom, probably because I was so young.  But... there is something magical about becoming a mom... not just because of the obvious relationship with your child but also because of the not so obvious relationship with your mom and other moms.   Sometimes it brings more questions as to why and how you could have been raised the way you were, but that's something we all have to come to peace and forgiveness with.  Sometimes becoming a mother yourself means you finally (!) kind of "get it". 

You understand the love.  You understand the doubt.  You understand the guilt.  You understand the worry.  You understand the pride.  You understand the joy.  You understand the busyness.  You understand the frustrations.  You understand the excitement.  You understand it all like no one else will ever be able to.  We all join this motherhood together and no one can understand those feelings the same way we do.  And when you can feel those things with your mom it is extremely magical even if it is just a silent understood connection.        

When we look at other mothers in their times of joy, frustration, pride, doubt, fear, guilt, worry, don't we all understand to some extent those same feelings?  It's incredible how God gave us all that connection.  He gave it to us, I believe, to bond us and for us to encourage eachother.  What better and more valuable encouragement could there be from any other mom but your own?  Our moms also need to know how much we value that enouragement from them.  They need to feel like they are still needed, valued and loved.  After all, don't we want to feel that way once our daughters become mothers?

Happy Mother's Day!!