What's Up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month again, and I'm recapping our month by linking up and sharing what's up with Shay & Mel.

 

What we're eating this week

Grilled chicken & Cesar salad
Hamburgers
Pizza
Chili
And then of course, leftovers.  :)

What I'm reminiscing about

 
I'm reminiscing back when summers were quiet and lazy.  Each year our summers seem to get a bit busier.  All 3 kids, will have some kind of a sports camp going on this summer.  Gracie will have multiple ones, as she's preparing to enter high school sports.  We will still have some lazy days here and there, but unfortunately, I see lots of running around this summer.   I'm hoping to be proved wrong.  ;)

What I'm loving

I'm loving that my kids are old enough to sit and play a game of cards.  We grew up playing cards with my Grandma.  I think she had us playing by the time we were 5 or 6 years old.  I don't play nearly as often as I did since she's been gone.  I'm thankful that my kids have jumped in and started getting me to play again.

What we've been up to

May is always a fun and busy month.  The kids go on field trips.  They have their spring concerts at school.  Dan left for a week to Minnesota, and just got back last weekend.  We've started camping, and we're getting ready for Gracie's 8th grade graduation.  Lots going on around here.

 Me and my sister, Lindy.

When Dan was gone, the kids and I headed over and got camp all set up.  It was good for us, and now we know we can do it by ourselves if we ever need to.  Except moving the camper... I don't want to have to move that or even hook it up by myself.  Somethings in life, I'm okay never having to do.

What I'm dreading

Nothing really...

 What I'm working on

I'm working on getting organized before the kids are done with school.  I need to work on chore lists, so we have some structure to our days.  If I don't make the kids a list, they are more than happy to sit and watch tv while I am running around the house cleaning.  Plus a list is much better than me having to repeat myself to each child a million times on what I wanted them to do.

What I'm excited about

I'm excited that Dan should be done traveling for a little while now.  He's been in Washington and over in Minnesota.  It seems like he's traveled quite a bit lately, so it will be nice to have him home again.

What I'm watching/reading

I've still been watching Friends, reruns in the evening, because they are just funny!  And The Bachelorette is now back on.  Both are my guilty pleasures, but to balance it out, I do watch Beth Moore's Living Proof episodes, every week as well.  That does balance it out, right!?

As far as reading, I've jumped into a Pirate series.  I'll post about it soon, but it's a fun and easy read.  I actually started with the last book first, and then jumped in and moved back to the first book.  I'm almost done with the 3rd one, which will end the series for me.  I love when I find a good series.

What I'm listening to

I don't listen to a lot.  I like it quiet.  If I'm home alone, I keep everything turned off.  If I'm in the car, I listen to either a country music station, or a I listen to the Message.  More times than not, it's the Message.  I know a lot of people who need background noise... I'm not one of them.  Dan has teased me over the years, that I want our house to be a library, because I enjoy it being so quiet.  That's totally not true, but I do very much enjoy libraries.  ;)

What I'm wearing

I'm all over the map still.  One day it's 80 and the next it's 60.  Everyday is a surprise!  ;)  But I can tell you, I am more than ready to wear shorts and flip flops every single day.

What I'm doing this weekend

If it's not raining, we are hoping to camp again since it's Memorial Day weekend and everyone has an extra day off.

What I'm looking forward to next month

I'm looking forward to not waking the kids up at 6am to get ready for school.  I don't have to pack lunches or hurry us all out the door to catch the school bus.  I'm hoping to just get myself up and enjoy a cup of coffee or two before getting them all up for the day.

What else is new

Nothing, that I can think of.




What are you excited for next month?

Show and Tell Tuesday, Favorite Vacations

 I'm linking up with Andrea today, to play along with, "Show us your favorite vacations."

As long as I can remember, I've loved to travel.  The older I get the more in love with traveling I have become.  The only problem is, the time and money it takes.  Isn't that how it goes for all of us though?!

Our Montana Road Trip

 There's a lot of my state that I haven't seen, so we decided to take a Montana road trip with my sister and her family.  This was definitely one of my favorite trips to date.  We didn't have to fly anywhere.  The drive in the car was never more than a couple of hours each day, and we saw and experienced so much.  We visited old ghost towns, panned for gold and looked for sapphires.  After this trip, I've been anxious for us to take another road trip and see even more of our great state.

You can read the posts on our Montana trip, here, here and here.

Hawaii 

 How could Hawaii not be one of my favorite vacations.  No matter who you go with and what kind of a trip it is, Hawaii is just plain fun!  I have to say though, I always love when Dan is with me.

To see when I went with the girls, click here.
To see when I went with Dan and the kids, click here, here, & here.

Sweden & Finland

 Dan and I took a trip to Stockholm Sweden, and then we traveled through a bit of Finland.  We were over there for 10 days and we saw and did some amazing things.  We toured the Royal Palaces in Stockholm.  Visited the Vasa Museum, as well as explored Downtown Stockholm.  In Finland we traveled around and ended up in a rustic wood sauna where we would then run and jump into the cold Baltic Sea.  This will definitely be one of my favorite trips.

Click here for days 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, and our last couple of days. 

And lastly, here are a couple more vacations that we loved.  This was back before I started this blog, so I hadn't written about them.

Disneyland

Who doesn't love Disneyland?!  The kids were much younger when we've went, so I think it would be fun to go again now that they are older.  I think it would be a completely different experience.  Not better or worse, just different.

The Oregon Coast

We loved the Oregon Coast.

When we went on this trip, we rented a house in Cannon Beach, from a customer of Dan's.  It was right on the beach and it was so easy with the kids.  During the days, we traveled up and down the coast, but Canon Beach was our home base.

We love to travel, and I think whether you are leaving the country or traveling around in your own state, there is fun to be had and new things to see.  It doesn't have to be a big, expensive trip to be fun.

What have been some of your favorite vacation spots?

Friday Favorites

It's finally Friday and we are so ready!  I'm linking up today with Andrea, Erika & Narci to share my Friday Favorites.

The kids and I are heading out to start camping tonight, and then Dan will meet up with us tomorrow when he gets home.  It's only been about a week since he left, but we are not used to having him gone this long.  I know... I'm a wuss!  I fully admit it, but we just can't wait to have him back.

The kids and I borrowed my Dad's truck last night and took a few things over to the camper, so there wasn't as much to haul over today.  These 3 are my favorites.  They drive me crazy all the time, but I am so thankful for them.   

I've met up with a couple of friends this week at our local bar & grill.  Time with my friends, in the sun, with a view, while eating this amazing cheese dip is definitely one of my favorites.

Another favorite, is this view.

Days on or along the river are some of the best.  These are the kind of days that we wait for all year long.  We hang on through the long, cold winters, because we know when the sun comes out and things warm up... it's been worth it.

I know this is the weirdest picture, but I loved the fact that I was walking over to my parents house with a glass of wine and a couple radish's that I wanted to share with them.  When I was a teenager I couldn't wait to leave town and be on my own.  The humor is not lost on me that I never left town, and now only live a short distance from where I grew up.  And I love the fact that there are no open container laws out in our field.  So if I want to walk to my Mom's house with a glass of wine, well... I can.  :)

Lastly, this is a new favorite, even though I don't have it... yet!  ;)
I saw this picture on Facebook, and now I'm determined to track it down.  I love the simple design of this and how sweet it is to have each kids birthstone in it.

I love how it's not as formal as some of them can be.  It's just the perfect mix.  If I get the info on it, I'll be sure and share it here.

I hope you all have a great weekend!  Do you guys have big plans?

XOXO

Life Lately

Nothing crazy exciting has been happening around here, but I thought I'd still share a bit of life lately.

  Gracie had her 8th grade car wash last Saturday.  They needed to finish raising money for their graduation, class trip and dance. 

This girl... how am I ever going to let her enter into high school.  Mama ain't ready!  All I can think about is, I only have 4 years to make sure she knows everything she needs to, to enter the world on her own.  Talk about pressure! 

 After we were done at the car wash, we hooked up the camper and dropped it off for this weekend.  Dan left last Sunday on business, so the camper will be there for the kids and I to stay in on Friday night and then he'll meet back up with us on Saturday.  My sisters crew is staying in their camper, so at least we won't be there by ourselves.

 Now that the weather is nice most days, I'm trying to take advantage of it.  I met up with a friend on Tuesday for lunch.  Good food, warm sunshine and good company is hard to beat.

Gracie only has 10 days of school left and Jesse and Emma have 12.  I don't think they've even started counting down the days until summer is here, but I sure have.  I am ready!  Kind of.  ;)

XOXO

Stranded With 3 Books

I'm linking up today with Shay and Erika today.  They've started a fun new linkup a couple of weeks ago called, Stranded With.  This week, we're supposed to share what 3 books we would bring if we were going to be stranded on a deserted island. 

 I LOVE books.  I love old books, new books, kid books... all of them.  I love the way a new book smells.  I love everything about them.  But that being said... if this deserted island just happened to have electrical outlets and wifi, I'd bring my Kindle.  I could have all my books in one, and I wouldn't need to pick just 3.  ;)

But if my kindle isn't a choice, and I had to choose just 3 books, I'd choose...

1. My Bible

 I don't ever want to do life without God's word.  Ever!  I don't write in my bible, but I highlight anything and everything that speaks to me.  For years I only highlighted promises or scriptures that would uplift me when I needed it.  But now I'm highlighting things I don't understand and want to look into later.  Sometimes I'll just highlight a word or two and other times I'll highlight the whole paragraph.  It just depends on what's jumping out at me.

2. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers

 This my friends, is an amazing book based off the story of Hosea in the bible.  I'm going to assume you have all read this, but if you haven't...  shut down your computer right now and go get it.  It is that good.  

The beginning of the book is AWFUL!  Not because of Francine's writing, but because of this persons circumstances.  It's ugly and nobody wants to think of such things, but honestly after reading this book, I look at people a lot differently.  It's easy for us to look at a complete stranger and judge without knowing a thing about them.  This book has reminded me over and over again, not to.  I have NO idea where someone has come from.

After you get past the first couple chapters, it's an amazing read, and through these characters, we get a small glimpse of how much our Heavenly Father loves us.  So, so good!

 And last but not least...

The Mark of The Lion series.

 You can buy this in a set, so I'm counting it as one!

My brother bought me this set for my birthday years ago, since he knew that I liked the authors other book.  This one didn't seem like it was going to be one I'd be interested in, but I love my brother, and decided I was going to read it anyways.

I started and stopped this book 2 times.  I could only make it into the 2nd chapter and I'd quit.  Finally my sister looked it up online and saw how high the ratings were.  It also said, keep reading until the 3rd chapter and you will be hooked.  So... I started it over for the 3rd time, determined to make it to the 3rd chapter and guess what... I was HOOKED!  I read the first book and quickly jumped into the 2nd and finally the 3rd.  There was no going back!

 This set got passed around so many times that it was falling apart and I have since bought 2 more sets to keep lending out.  It's that good!  Just don't give up on it until you've reached the 3rd chapter.  ;)

Okay, now it's your turn.  I'd love to hear what 3 books you'd take with you if you were going to be stranded on a deserted island?

XOXO

Everything I've Ever Wanted

This week has been big.  My girls both decided this week that they were ready to give their lives to Christ and get baptized.  I sat down with each of them and they prayed and asked Jesus to be their Savior. 

Yesterday they were baptized by my Dad at our church, and I couldn't be more thankful!  I have prayed daily for their salvation, and God is so faithful!  

I have to smile at Emma's picture, because you can see she thought the water was cold.  :)

Jesse was baptized almost 5 years ago at the lake.  Knowing that all of our kids have committed their lives to Christ, makes Dan and I so happy.  

They will make mistakes, have regrets, and doubts.  After all, we are human and full of flaws.  We're all going to screw up and that's why we need a Savior.  My kids are His now, and they have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, and He's promised that He won't ever leave or forsake them.  That, my friends, is pure joy to a Mama's heart.

My prayers for my kids won't stop!   I'll continue to pray for their spiritual walk.  I'll pray for their future spouses and the friends that they'll make.  I'll pray for protection for them.  The list goes on and on.  This Mama won't ever stop praying for her babies.

This being a Mom thing, is hard work.  We try to teach our kids to be kind, caring, responsible, & compassionate people. When you see your kids making big decisions on things in life that really matter, and their decisions are good... It makes being a Mama so rewarding.  It makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, you've done something right all along.

To God be the glory!