January 30, 2012

Family fun.

 

Blessings:

1. Sometimes our bodies can get by on very little sleep. That’s a particularly good thing when the baby is awake most of the night with a head cold.

2. Sometimes Mama gets a nap. Yay!

3. Dual monitors. Yes, I’m a geek. I’m thrilled with my new, two-monitor setup for work. It makes my job so much easier!

4. An evening with my sweetie. I’m all set to have some free time with my husband this evening. I always look forward to that. Maybe we can do some work on the Bible study materials we keep forgetting to do.

5. Games with the family. The kids love having a game night. I love the happy sounds.

January 29, 2012

I made Stuffed Wheat Bread for the church potluck today. Apparently it was okay - we didn't get to bring any home. I will post the recipe when I get it typed up. Topped with a bit of spicy brown mustard…mmmmmmm.

Blessings:
1. A great joint church service. Our church ventured down south a few miles to meet with a sister church on this 5th Sunday. It was wonderful.
2. A nap with a boy. I love it when one of my kids wants to nap with me – especially when they actually let me nap!
3. Health and safety. I have heard some heart-wrenching stories over the last few days. I pray for the affected families, and I thank God that my family is okay.
4. Music. God's music. It lifts my spirits like nothing else. That’s been a real necessity lately.
5. A new week. We get to start a whole, brand-new one!

January 28, 2012

Fresh bounty!

Blessings:

1. Bountiful Baskets. I got two “baskets” of fresh produce through Bountiful Baskets today. I had to put some of them in this colander and take their portrait. They are just so beautiful!

2. My Dubbies loves me. Of course, I already knew that, but it warmed my heart to see it in action today. He enjoyed his one night at Nana’s, but one was enough, and he was ready to come home.

3. A happy dinner time. The kids were joyful, everybody was laughing…it was a very enjoyable meal time. And Nathan wanted to eat ALL the bell peppers.

4. A happy Kristi. Sometimes life can be challenging for Kristi, but today was a good day. She was pleasant and helpful almost all day. Yay Kristi!

5. Lactaid tablets. I don’t know why I hadn’t tried them before. For years I suffered without realizing why I was so miserable – until I discovered I had trouble with lactose. Then I spent a couple years just avoiding dairy altogether – unless I just couldn’t stay away from the ice cream. But now I know that Lactaid tablets will allow me to indulge in ice cream periodically without being miserable for three days. Yay!

January 27, 2012

Blessings:

1. Nana is awesome! Not only does she do all the other wonderful things that Nana’s do, she also cuts Ken’s hair! It saves us money, and we get to spend more time with Nana. Yay and Yay!

2. Two monitors. I finally took the time to hook up the monitor for the old, dead computer to my laptop so I have two monitors. I have them set so they work like one wide monitor. It is sooooooo helpful in my work!

3. Hearts heal. We all suffer heartbreak – sometimes over and over – but God has designed us so that our hearts heal and we can move on. Praise the Lord for healing hearts!

4. Fellowship with other believers. Our family (and other people from our church) will be joining another nearby church for some worship and fellowship time this evening. This will be the first time we’ve done this (in this church), and I’m really looking forward to it!

5. Weekend! I’m almost done with work for the week. Yay for the weekend! I love my job, but I also love time off.

January 26, 2012

 

Blessings:

1. Sunshine. It’s a soppy, drippy, muddy mess outside, but the sun is currently shining, and it’s wonderful to see it again!

2. Growing things. As you see in today’s photo, Caleb’s hyacinth (I think) bulb is happily enjoying January. I think Caleb checks it 74 times a day to see how it’s doing.

3. Things that really matter. I encounter lots of little irritations throughout the day, and it’s easy to focus on those and be completely annoyed. But, really, if I stop to consider the things that really matter – eternity with God, health, home, family, to mention a few – I’m set. I just need to remember what really matters and quit spending so much time on the things that won’t even be remembered by Saturday.

4. Friends sharing great recipes. You already know I love Pinterest. One of the reasons I love it is that my friends share wonderful foods on there. Tonight we had a meal that everybody liked! I’m sure you can imagine how often that happens in a family this size. (We had Creamy Chicken & Noodles.) And speaking of Pinterest, if you need an invite let me know.

5. Free books! I know – I’m starting to sound like a series of commercials – but one thing I love to do is read. And I especially love free books! Being the geek that I am I love to read on my Kindle, and recently I have been getting books from Pixel of Ink and Inspired Reads. I have had much time to read them lately, but just having a whole “stack” of books waiting for me makes me feel rich!

January 25, 2012

I loved the sky full of Heaven Rays we saw on the way to Hamilton today.

Blessings:

1. A great afternoon in Hamilton. My mom, 3 of the kids, and I had a nice, productive time today.

2. Dinner provided for us. My lovely mother bought us dinner so I didn’t have to spend too much time fixing food when I got home. Yay! It’s especially good because I didn’t get time to work before going to Hamilton, so my whole work day has to fit into my evening.

3. Heaven Rays. Just a reminder that God is keeping an eye out.

4. The cutest pout. I wish I could show you the picture of Little Man with the cutest pout in the world. I can’t share that yet, but just know that it makes us smile every time – even when he’s really getting ready to cry.

5. My life is great. I’m truly enjoying my life right now. Remind me of this next time I start whining.

January 24, 2012

Who doesn’t love Angry Birds?!? The kids love to earn time to play on the school tablet – we have Angry Birds and Bejeweled just for fun, in addition to the learning games they get to play in free school moments.

Blessings:

1. Hilarious kids. Overheard in Scrivnerburg (another quote from Nathan): "Dale hilariates me."

2. Happy, happy kids. They are frequently laughing, joking, playing, and smiling.

3. Healthy kids. I’m so thankful that we haven’t had any sick kids recently. AND we stayed out of the ER with kids in 2011!

4. Harmonious kids. There was almost no bickering or squabbling today at all! Whoohoo!

5. Husband ‘o mine. I know I’ve mentioned him a time or twelve, but that’s only because he’s wonderful. He’s a good man, and he still loves me after almost 24 years.