Next week go S-L-O-W

I am anxiously awaiting our drive to the much anticipated

FAMILY VACATION

We've been planning it for at least 6 months.

The beach is our favorite place to go and we are returning to the same place we went last year. Tonight we set "sail" via mini-van. Our hope is that the kids will sleep in the middle of the night. I just need to get all of the packing finished today, which is totally not fun, but I must keep the end in sight. That's why I'll post a picture here . . . . I must remember that for the next week I get to wake up to this!

Unexpected Blessings

Our cookout went so well that I can't thank God enough. I woke up to a very rainy Saturday morning and I was so disappointed. I was stressed that my vision for the sunny day I had in mind was ruined. Everyone would now have to be inside my house and the kids would be bored and the adults would be crammed. So the rain continued and we prepared accordingly . . . albeit, I was begrudgingly (I'm just being honest) going about my duties. And then to top it off, we had a little refrigerator disaster. Uhhh, hello . . . . were we inviting Satan to our cookout? I don't think so!!! Not today!! Well, God prevailed . . . as He always does when we give Him the glory! The refrigerator was not broken as much as we thought . . . . I'd like to believe God repaired it for us. It really was looking bleak because I had to remove everything from the freezer at 10:00 a.m. The rain stopped completely by 5:00 p.m. and the SUN CAME OUT!!!

The cookout began at 6:00 p.m. and everyone was outside having a good time.

Thank you, God, for friends, fun and fellowship. I know He didn't have to stop the rain for us to have a good time. He could have chosen to show me that we could have a good time inside my house . . . . but I'm glad he chose to SHINE the sun :-)

An extra blessing that happened to me is that I had a piano friend/mentor call me over the weekend and invite me to attend a piano workshop with her and we are going tomorrow! This was all completely last minute and I was even able to arrange childcare. This never happens to me. So I know God arranged everything for me to be able to go. I am so excited. It's one of those unexpected blessings.

To the edge and back

OVERWHELMED is the "word of the day".

We are hosting a cookout this Saturday evening and it's going to be larger than I originally thought when I volunteered over a month ago. I've never entertained on this large of a scale - and to top it off, I don't even get to be here the few hours beforehand to do those last minute set-ups that hostesses always do. I think I might puke just thinking about it. No one knows how to stres out like I do!! I even try to make myself laugh. And then I go right back to the stress. That is pretty sick.

So besides making a list of things I should be getting done, things I still need to get at the store . . . . perhaps what I really should do is make a list of things I am actually stressed about . . . THEN, pray about each one and really, truly give it over to God. I already KNOW He takes care of everything, but I don't really let my heart trust it. I'm so bad at that.

Here's where my attention really should be: I made dinner and delivered it to a family last night whose mom has cancer. She's young. Has three young boys - one of which will go to Kindergarten with my son this year. I just met her a month ago. You just don't know what life will hand you . . . . and yet I'm worried about a little party! This family doesn't know what next month holds for them, what the next 6 months hold! If you think about it, pray for this mom.

Getting sucked in the computer

I am realizing that this dag'on computer is just stealing my time away . . . oh wait, it's more like the operator who is stealing her own time away.

Case in point: I needed to renew my library book, online. I hop on here . . . oh, I need to check my email real quick . . . oh I have no email. You know why? Because I just checked it half an hour ago! OK, so now that I don't have email, I get on the internet and the home page loads up, but then somehow my brain got distracted and I forgot that I needed to renew my library book, and I have the sudden aversion to go to my most popular social networking site. FACEBOOK. It's like my hand automatically logins there. WOW. Someone please stop me.

So I'm reading all the new posts, looking at pictures, commenting here, there, everywhere.

The next thing I know, 30 minutes have gone by.

WOW.

I shut the computer down.

OH WAIT. I forgot to renew my library books.

Turn the computer back on.

And now I'm blogging about it. More time . . . .

But seriously . . . there were a few days that I actually took to stay away from the computer and it felt weird, but good. It's really strange how that social networking thing can pull you in. I sooooo love connecting with old friends and making new friends and catching up, though. So it's really something that I struggle with. I even have friends on there that I'd like to see come to my church on a regular basis . . . so I keep the communication open. A phone call can be so hard these days because my timing might not be the best for their perfect timing. Enter the world of instant messages, emails, etc. I know that at first it doesn't seem "personal", but I feel that it can lead to personal friendships if you are intentional about it.

OK, and now I have to get off of here!!

Gray has been washed out!

Good-bye 35, Hello 36.

Today is my BIRTHday. My mom reminded me this morning that I was born a week early. I wonder if that means anything in life? :-) Like maybe I can't wait to get where I'm going!! Like maybe I don't have patience!! Hmmmm. One can ponder.

I believe God chose this day for His perfect time to come into His world. He formed me, He gave me life, He gave me the freedom to make all those decisions for the past 36 years -- well ok, I probably didn't make some basic decisions for the first few years . . . . but you know what I mean. Life sure is interesting when you really start to ponder your journey.

I know many people use the New Year to make resolutions, but I tend to use my birthday to set goals.

This year I would like to go outside of myself - make more friends. I'm rather shy, so this is a bit of a leap. I believe we all need more fellowship in our lives. I want to connect more with those in my community - reach out!

I would like to be in my music more. I would like to be more creative - basically spend time in my hobbies that I've abandoned for quite a while. Somewhere I lost motivation over the past few years. Taking baby steps (like in the scrapbooking arena where my pictures are in such disarray that it scares me to no end!) might be the best way to approach this. But I also must know when to stop! I can get sooo caught up in creativity, that I can't stop; then I get grouchy, and self-centered and snap at the kids! And it's not their fault. Perhaps that's why these hobbies have been abandoned. I know the cost. I haven't found the balance.

And spiritually speaking, I could always improve my relationship with Jesus. I think I should be grounded in scripture more than I am.

So there you have it, a few birthday resolutions for this new 36 year old! (Oh, and in honor of my new age, of course I had to color my hair yesterday to get the gray out . . . story of my life . . . . thanks to my mom's side!)

Heading to the Kitchen

A fun Apron giveaway is happening right here! I'm spreading the news!

It's a cute blog that I came across and you should check it out!

July?

I only have a few more days to be 35 years old. But I think I'll just consider myself to be mid-30's even after my birthday! I'll hang onto that as long as possible! I don't want tangible birthday presents. I just want time: time to spend on my hobbies, because in the throws of motherhood, I have forgotten what they are.

Let there be music

It's JULY already!!

We are just cruising along here at the ranch. It's a mundane life, but it's mine.

I wrote a song this week at the piano. I've never done that before. Well, okay, we HAD to do it when we were in theory class in college, but that doesn't count because there were all kinds of RULES surrounding that assignment. Besides, technically it was a "piece" and not a "song". I can't say it's really done yet because I sort of have the music part done in my head and my fingers on the piano, but the words come and go . . . . and I can't get the music out of my head and I can't get the first lines out of my head. But it's been really uplifting for me to be able to do something like this. I just let go, and it happened. I can't really articulate how I've always wanted to do it . . . . but never really tried, never thought I could. I cannot play by ear, but I have been told that one can develop a little bit of talent in that area. My first song is nothing that someone will really applaud, by it is just rewarding personally to me. And that's all that matters. It will stay personal. Sometimes that's all that music has to be.