We woke up and started getting ready for church. My Prince had told the kids the night before to get together their outfits that they wanted to wear to church, because he did not want the shoe thing from a couple of Sunday's ago to happen again.
So, the morning should have gone pretty smoothly, and it did, except the Oldest Princess came in to ask if she could wear my beige heels. Please understand, it takes an act of congress for me to find a pair of shoes that I like. So when I find a pair that I do like, I wear them out. I can not stand shopping for new shoes. And my beige heels, well, they are one of my favorite pairs of shoes. And the Oldest Princess, well, she tends to be a little tough on shoes. And, her belt was navy, so we settled on her borrowing my navy wedges instead.
My Prince had to go earlier than the rest of us, because he had to get there early to open the youth building. After he left it seemed like it took four times as long to get anything done. But we finally all got ready.
Sunday school was good. We were full and had to bring out a few more chairs. That is a good problem to have. We discussed worship a little, which is what My Prince had preached on the week before. then we covered a few more verses in I Peter 3. We discussed the fact that God tells us to do something, and then promises blessing if we do it. And yet, we still don't do it. Why not? Why don't we just do what God says to do and reap the blessings He promises? There were several different answers, but I think it boils down to the fact that we, as a society, are just a strong willed people who want to do what we want to do, no matter the circumstances. We don't want anyone to tell us what to do. We want to be in control. And as we as a people keep teaching kids that there are no consequences for their actions, or keep bailing them out when they need to learn to face the consequences of their actions, then we contribute to the problem.
In church, I enjoyed our worship service as always. My Prince preached on the importance of small groups, where discipleship can happen. He had one of our members who has been active in one of our small groups come forward and answer some questions about how being in a small group has helped him to grow spiritually, and has held him accountable to be more faithful in his Bible reading and scripture memory. It was a good service.
After church, the Youngest Princess asked if she could go to her friends house. We let her, and then we went to eat lunch with Grammy and Poppy. Then we came home. My Prince studied for his sermon, and I studied for my Bible study. I was not feeling well, so I took a little nap hoping to wake up feeling better. I got up and packed the Youngest Princess's bag, so she could spend the night with her friend.
The Oldest Princess washed a load of clothes. They came out with grease all over them. We decided that it is time to go looking for a new washing machine. There are multiple things wrong with the washer (the door won't open all the way, it stops in the middle of loads, sometimes it doesn't pull in the laundry detergent, the door doesn't lock the first time so it has to be firmly shut at least twice sometimes three times before it will start...yes...) so, the grease was the straw that broke the camel's back. It is time to stop the three ring circus that I call doing laundry and get a new washing machine. Enough is enough!
My Prince got ready to go and realized that he had misplaced his keys, and we all looked the whole house over for his keys. They were no where to be found. We never did find them. The kids left for church, and My Prince and I continued to look for the keys. We never did find his keys. He had to leave. I stayed home, because I was still not feeling well at all. The later it got the worse I felt. I was never sick, but it was one of those times that I wished I could be sick so I could feel better. No fun.
After church My Prince, the Oldest Princess, and the Young Prince came home. We watched a little television. The Young Prince went upstairs and played his Ukulele and sang. We enjoyed the concert from downstairs.
After a while, we all went to bed. The kids took turns hanging out in our bedroom just talking for a little while. And then we called it a day.
The keys are yet to be found. Please pray with us that we find them soon.
Until I blog again...
Monday, July 11, 2016
Saturday, July 9, 2016
June 29, 2016 - July 9, 2016
Whew! It has been a week, and that means a LOT of water under the bridge my friends! I will try my best to just hit the high points in order to keep this short. But sometimes I get a little carried away. Anyway, here goes...
Wed. June 29 - Most of the day was spent getting ready for our trip to the country. I did spend a little time with a young lady that I have started a Bible study with. We had our first get together. It went well. We are praying for some of her friends to be able to join in also. Please be in prayer with us about that. That evening I went to the church and met with my Sunday night small group, because we were not going to be able to meet on Sunday night. We had a good time as usual going through our study and sharing with one another what we have learned and what our struggles are and how we can pray for one another.
Thursday, June 30 - We spent most of the day driving to the country. The Oldest Princess drove the whole first half of the way. That's 4 hours non stop. Then when we stopped to get gas, I drove for a little while. Then the Young Prince drove for a little while. He wanted me to read to him like I sometimes do for My Prince when he is driving. So I read about three chapters to him. Then I drove again, and finally we made it to the country.
Unka was there to welcome us. We ate, and then we went down to visit with my Aunt P. We went to the garden to pick some corn for her, but the corn that was left was not any good, so that did not last long.
Then we went and checked out where we would stay. Then we went down to my Aunt V's, to pick some beans from her garden for my Aunt P. We had a good time talking and laughing with them while we picked beans. Oh, and I must add that we were all very broken hearted to find out that Unka had already bush hogged the peas to the ground, and that we would not be able to pick any peas while we were there. Broken hearted, I say. Broken hearted. Do you feel me? It just wasn't the same.
After that, we went back and unloaded our stuff. The kids swam a little, and we visited with Unka until well after dark. Then we went to our home away from home and got some rest.
Friday, July 1, 2016 - The Oldest Princess and I got up early and went down to help Unka clean out the garage. We worked hard and finished pretty fast. The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess came down when they woke up. We all eventually ended up in the swimming pool.
Aunt T and L came while we were swimming. We were excited to see them. We all helped to unload their cars and worked on putting things away. All the while talking and catching up with each other. When they walked in, they praised Unka for the great job he had done in cleaning out the garage. He had already told the Oldest Princess he would pay her for helping him, and would throw in a little extra if she did not volunteer the information to Aunt T that she helped him. So while they were praising Unka for the great job he had done, we were biting our tongues. I think they picked up on the fact that something was not quite right pretty quickly though, and the truth came out, so we didn't have to hold out tongues for too long.
Unka taught the Youngest Princess how to drive the four wheeler. You would have thought he hung the moon after that, and that was all she wanted to do from that point on.
They broke out the human sling shot, and we all gave it a whirl. Some of us whirled all the way out and onto our bottoms on the ground, and others videoed and laughed at those who whirled all the way out. I told My Prince later on the phone, that I thought my niece L loved me, but I have proof on video that she laughed at me.
Cousin B came by and visited with us for a while. My nephew J. A. also arrived. When it got dark, we went in and played a game we wanted to try that uses the mouth guard things that orthodontists use when they need to keep your lips away from your teeth. You put the guard in your mouth and then say a phrase, and your team tries to guess what you are saying. We had a blast. I think I laughed harder playing that game than I have laughed in a long time. Eventually the fun had to end and we had to go to bed.
Saturday, July 2, 2016 - We started the day early again getting everything ready for the 4th of July party on the 2nd. We all pitched in and worked together and were able to get it done. My nephew J.R. and his wife M and their little one finally arrived, and of course we all had fun loving on the baby. I loved his kissable cheeks. He is a sweetie! And he is at the age where he is beginning to want to GO! I told M to look out, because when he does start going, I don't think he will ever stop.
Everyone started coming for the party. It was very, very hot. A lot of the kids stayed in the pool most of the day. I could hardly get the Youngest Princess out to eat. She ate some chips and dip and got right back into the pool. We added ice to the pool water, because it was so hot.
There were door prizes. I think we all won something. I won a very cool sign. The Young Prince won a throw blanket with an American flag on it. The Youngest Princess won a game, and the Oldest Princess won a camo decorated dart board. We told her we think it would great hanging in her dorm room!
We tried out the human slingshot again. There were sack races. Some played washers and some played corn hole. But mostly we just sat around and visited because it was SO HOT.
Several people left, and J and J came rolling in. They had been at the ball field all day. We got to meet baby J, and he was precious. He was just a smiley in real life as he is in all the pictures we have seen of him on Facebook. His smile melted my heart. I kept telling momma J that I was going to take him home with me.
We all went in and had some of Unka's delicious brisket that had been slow cooking on his big green egg all day. As well as many other fixings that go with it, including some community potato salad. I say community because it truly did take a village to make it. Everyone jumped in and sliced and diced and peeled and added in their two cents worth of what should or shouldn't be added and how much of it should or shouldn't be added. It was pretty comical. All the way around. And it was done in record time. I can't tell you how it tasted though, because I don't eat it.
After dinner, we cleaned up, and then headed outside to watch fireworks. Unka's friend M has a friend that owns a fireworks stand and they were able to get some good deals on some really cool fireworks. So we took out some lawn chairs and M and L set off the fireworks for us. They were cool, but we were a little too close for my comfort. So I was a little nervous, but I still enjoyed them.
After the fireworks, those that were still there from the party went home and the rest of us called it a night.
Sunday, July 3, 2016 - We got up and got ready and joined up with L to go to church. Unka and Aunt T had to leave before us, because they were on the greeting team for that morning. We enjoyed our time talking with L and J.A. on our way to church. The Youngest Princess stayed home with with J.R. and M and baby H, because I had somehow managed to get away without packing her a dress.
Church was packed, but the service was very good. The pastor preached about Christians standing up and doing what we have been called to do. About us being salt, and what that means, and how that could change our country, if we all just do what God has called us to do. At the end, the choir sang a patriotic special, and these little cannon type things shot out red, white and blue streamers and confetti, and confetti fell from the ceiling. It was fun. A great ending to a very well done, patriotic service.
Unka and Aunt T stopped and got chicken fingers for us to have for lunch.
After lunch, we spent some time in and around the pool. I made friends with a lizard on the hammock. Then I took a little nap, and woke up to red wasps flying around, and one right by my foot. So I decided it was time for me to get off of the hammock. We eventually were able to kill some of the wasps, but I still did not get back on the hammock.
We went in and played a little Dutch Blitz that night. I was totally off my game. I don't think I won even one round. It was very, very sad!
My days run together, if I don't take good notes, and in this case I didn't. So at some point, we played the mouthpiece, lipless game with J.R. and M, because they were not there the first time we played. We all wrote phrases this time, so we could all guess, unless it was a phrase that we wrote. J.R. picked several really tough phrases, and ironically he picked and had to say his own phrases. I loved it! Funny times. Funny times.
We also played several games of Catch Phrase. And again. It was not my night. "If you want to win, you need to be on my team." is usually my tongue in cheek battle cry on game night. But the Dutch Blitz thing threw me for a loop, and my Catch Phrase team did not win either. It was a sad day, folks. A very sad day.
Also on Sunday, we got news that one of My Princes's cousins had lost her battle with cancer. We hated to hear that. I had only met her a few times, but really loved her. She was very sweet and a Facebook friend, so we kept up with one another that way. We were very sad to hear that she had passed away, but we are very thankful to know that we will see her again in heaven one day.
Monday, July 4, 2016 - After breakfast, the young prince was out at the pool. He stuck his head in the door and asked M to go get J.R. She asked him if everything was okay, and he said, "Yes, just please go get J.R." so she did. Then someone said that they had found a bat in the pool. Of course we all need to go and check that out. When we got out there, they had already fished the bat out of the pool with the net, and had laid it over on the steps. You could see the water marks where it had moved about a foot. I had figured that it would be dead. But it was still alive. Aunt T immediately picked up the largest rock she could find from the decorative rocks around the flower bed. She was going to kill it with the rock. J.R. told her to wait that she was going to get blood all over the sidewalk. I was campaigning for them to just take the bat to the woods and let it go. I told Aunt T that she did not need a rock THAT big. It was HUGE compared to the little bat fighting for its little life. They were all saying how nasty bats are, and how they carry rabies, etc. L had already told the Youngest Princess to go inside and everything would be okay, because they did not want her to see the bat be killed. So then she repeated the same thing to me, "Auntie, just go inside and everything will be okay." Aunt T told me that she wanted to read all about me fighting for the bat's life on my blog. Meanwhile, the Young Prince and J.R. had scooped up the bat in the pool net, and were halfway across the yard headed to the woods to release the bat. It may or may not have survived, but at that time, nature was able to take it course.
J.A. left us after all of the bat excitement. We hated to see him go, but he had things that he wanted to do that day, so he had to get back home.
We had a water balloon fight after that. I volunteered to be the official photographer. Unka volunteered to watch baby H. Everyone else had a blast throwing water balloons and buckets of water and squirting one another with water squirters.
We took pictures of baby H in his "My First 4th of July" outfit, with the red, white and blue yard ornaments and flags. They weren't perfect, but I think we still got some cute ones.
We all got in the pool except for M and J.R. and baby H, because they were getting ready to go home. We all got out of the pool to tell them goodbye when they were ready to leave. Then we got back in the pool for a little while. We weren't in for long before we started hearing thunder. I got out, and convinced everyone else to do the same. Unka was the lone holdout, until I got on my weather app and proved to him that lightning had struck less than a mile away. He had been floating around with a 4th of July headband on his hat saying, "Nannu, Nannu!" up until that point. Then he was quickly paddling his float to the shallow end still saying, "Nannu, Nannu!" and got out.
Aunt T suggested that we go shopping and out to eat. By the time we were all ready, it was raining. So I guess we made a good choice. Going out to eat turned out to be a little more of a challenge than we had thought, since it was the 4th, most places were closed. We settled on a place that was open, and ate a late lunch. Then we did some shopping, and headed back home.
Unka and the Youngest Princess did some more four wheeler riding. Aunt T got online and ordered some shoes that the Youngest Princess wanted. We took care of some of the Oldest Princess's college stuff online.
The Youngest Princess wanted to play one game before we went to bed. Unka put in a big prize. The Young Prince turned out to be the big winner. After that we were all tired, and we knew we would be headed home the next day and needed our rest for the trip. So we called it a day and headed back to go to bed.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - We got up and got ready and packed the car and spent a little time visiting before we hit the road. We said our goodbyes, and headed down the road. We weren't far when Aunt T called and said we had left the Youngest Princess's flip flops. I asked her to throw them in the mail for us. Then the Youngest Princess said she didn't have any shoes except her slippers, if we didn't go back and get her shoes. I told the Oldest Princess to call back and tell them we were going to get gas and then I would run back and get them. She said that Unka would meet us at the gas station with them. So we went on to the gas station and filled up, and waited for a few minutes until Unka came and brought the Youngest Princess her shoes. Then we were on our way. We had a nice trip. Uneventful, just the way we like it. We made it home at about 5:30 that evening. No one wanted to help me drive this time. They were tired, so I ended up driving the whole way myself. I was very glad to be home with My Prince and out of the car. My Prince had ham and hash brown casserole ready and waiting on us. He is awesome, and it was delicious. My Prince left to go to a prayer meeting. The kids all went to visit our friends who had been out of town for a while before we left to go the country. I called and talked with my sister for a while.
When everyone got home we went to bed, knowing the next day was going to be a long day also.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - We got up early and got ready to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to My Prince's cousin's funeral. Grammy and Poppy came and rode with us. The Oldest Princess went with us as well. The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess stayed home.
The trip was good. The funeral was very moving. A beautiful tribute to a lady who lived her life for Christ and wanted others to know Him too. After the funeral, we went to the graveside, and then on to the church to eat with the family. And aside from the sad circumstances, it was good to see family and friends that we do not get to see very often. And even meet some family and friends that I had never met before. We made it back home just in time for church.
After church, we called it a day and went to bed.
Thursday, July 7, 2016 - The Youngest Princess went with some friends to a children's art museum. I went and had my hair done. An appointment that was long overdue. My Prince, the Oldest Princess, the little girl she babysits, and I all went to lunch. We brought lunch home to the Young Prince. The Young Prince and I hung out at home for the afternoon. The Young Prince finished the book that he had been reading for his summer reading assignment. I think he really enjoyed it. It was nice to see him wanting to read for a change. The Youngest Princess was very excited to find out that her shoes that Aunt T had ordered came in. She put them on immediately.
When everyone got home, the Young Prince went to spend the night with a friend, and the rest of us went to the school. The Oldest Princess was helping out with volleyball practice, and the Youngest Princess wanted to play with her friend who would be at practice with her sister. My Prince and I went to get in some exercise by walking the track. I found out that our books had come in, so my sweet friend and her boys, and My Prince all helped me take my books to my room, and put the tests in my car so that I could tear them out and get them organized and filed.
We came home and started watching television. That is when we heard about the shooting of the police officers in Dallas. I tore out tests (the Oldest Princess helped) and watched the news. Heartbroken for our country and what is happening. Heartbroken that it happened to happen in my home state. Heartbroken for the families that were changed forever by one person and his terrible lack of judgment.
We went to bed with heavy hearts.
Friday, July 8, 2016 - I got up and watched the news coming from Dallas while I tore out more tests. My Prince worked from home. I mostly worked on school stuff all morning. Grammy and Poppy wanted to go to dinner and then to a ball game. So we got ready and went with them to eat.
We were early, so we got there before the restaurant opened. We were the first ones in the parking lot. Poppy wanted to be "in line", so he got out of the car to sit on the bench by the door. Then he got up to go around to a different door, and an elderly lady walked up and sat on the bench in the seat Poppy had just left. Pretty soon, there were several people sitting around the door. We opted to stay in the car where it was cool. A few minutes before the time for the restaurant to open, the little lady that had taken Poppy's seat actually got up and stood by the door. She meant that she was going to be the first one in. We laughed. Watching people amuses me sometimes. We all got in, and we all got fed. Including the impatient lady who had to be first.
After a wonderful dinner, we headed to the baseball stadium. When we got there, there was no ball game. Poppy had looked at the schedule wrong. He thought it was a home game, when it was actually an away game. I felt very bad for him, because I know he really wanted to enjoy a game that night. I also felt bad for the Young Princes's friend who had come with us, because he was really excited to be going to a ball game too. Since there was no ball game, we walked down to the riverwalk to look around. It was a beautiful evening, so we took the opportunity to take a few pictures.
We decided to go to a movie instead. So we headed to the nearest movie theater. We saw a movie that came out that day that we had all been wanting to see. It was cute, and the theater was packed. When we walked out, and were standing in the lobby I heard someone call our name. It was our friends who have daughters the same age as the Oldest Princess and the Youngest Princess. They had been in the same movie as us.
My Prince wanted to go to a sporting goods store and look around. I found a shirt, and the Youngest Princess found an outfit. Then we headed home.
Saturday, July 9, 2016 - I woke up and finished pulling out tests. We mostly spent the day hanging out around the house getting a few things done. It stormed in the afternoon, and I took a little nap on the couch.
A friend text and asked if I had a bowl she could use. My Prince and I ran it over to her. Then we ran by a local store to get the Oldest Princess some tubs to use for college.
We came home and got the kids and went to a little local place to get some dinner. Now I've been working on my blog, while the Young Prince is watching a movie. The girls are upstairs watching a different movie, and My Prince is putting the finishing touches on his sermon for tomorrow. And now...I have caught up, and it took me way longer than I had planned to do so.
So, until I blog again...
Wed. June 29 - Most of the day was spent getting ready for our trip to the country. I did spend a little time with a young lady that I have started a Bible study with. We had our first get together. It went well. We are praying for some of her friends to be able to join in also. Please be in prayer with us about that. That evening I went to the church and met with my Sunday night small group, because we were not going to be able to meet on Sunday night. We had a good time as usual going through our study and sharing with one another what we have learned and what our struggles are and how we can pray for one another.
Thursday, June 30 - We spent most of the day driving to the country. The Oldest Princess drove the whole first half of the way. That's 4 hours non stop. Then when we stopped to get gas, I drove for a little while. Then the Young Prince drove for a little while. He wanted me to read to him like I sometimes do for My Prince when he is driving. So I read about three chapters to him. Then I drove again, and finally we made it to the country.
Unka was there to welcome us. We ate, and then we went down to visit with my Aunt P. We went to the garden to pick some corn for her, but the corn that was left was not any good, so that did not last long.
Then we went and checked out where we would stay. Then we went down to my Aunt V's, to pick some beans from her garden for my Aunt P. We had a good time talking and laughing with them while we picked beans. Oh, and I must add that we were all very broken hearted to find out that Unka had already bush hogged the peas to the ground, and that we would not be able to pick any peas while we were there. Broken hearted, I say. Broken hearted. Do you feel me? It just wasn't the same.
After that, we went back and unloaded our stuff. The kids swam a little, and we visited with Unka until well after dark. Then we went to our home away from home and got some rest.
Friday, July 1, 2016 - The Oldest Princess and I got up early and went down to help Unka clean out the garage. We worked hard and finished pretty fast. The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess came down when they woke up. We all eventually ended up in the swimming pool.
Aunt T and L came while we were swimming. We were excited to see them. We all helped to unload their cars and worked on putting things away. All the while talking and catching up with each other. When they walked in, they praised Unka for the great job he had done in cleaning out the garage. He had already told the Oldest Princess he would pay her for helping him, and would throw in a little extra if she did not volunteer the information to Aunt T that she helped him. So while they were praising Unka for the great job he had done, we were biting our tongues. I think they picked up on the fact that something was not quite right pretty quickly though, and the truth came out, so we didn't have to hold out tongues for too long.
Unka taught the Youngest Princess how to drive the four wheeler. You would have thought he hung the moon after that, and that was all she wanted to do from that point on.
They broke out the human sling shot, and we all gave it a whirl. Some of us whirled all the way out and onto our bottoms on the ground, and others videoed and laughed at those who whirled all the way out. I told My Prince later on the phone, that I thought my niece L loved me, but I have proof on video that she laughed at me.
Cousin B came by and visited with us for a while. My nephew J. A. also arrived. When it got dark, we went in and played a game we wanted to try that uses the mouth guard things that orthodontists use when they need to keep your lips away from your teeth. You put the guard in your mouth and then say a phrase, and your team tries to guess what you are saying. We had a blast. I think I laughed harder playing that game than I have laughed in a long time. Eventually the fun had to end and we had to go to bed.
Saturday, July 2, 2016 - We started the day early again getting everything ready for the 4th of July party on the 2nd. We all pitched in and worked together and were able to get it done. My nephew J.R. and his wife M and their little one finally arrived, and of course we all had fun loving on the baby. I loved his kissable cheeks. He is a sweetie! And he is at the age where he is beginning to want to GO! I told M to look out, because when he does start going, I don't think he will ever stop.
Everyone started coming for the party. It was very, very hot. A lot of the kids stayed in the pool most of the day. I could hardly get the Youngest Princess out to eat. She ate some chips and dip and got right back into the pool. We added ice to the pool water, because it was so hot.
There were door prizes. I think we all won something. I won a very cool sign. The Young Prince won a throw blanket with an American flag on it. The Youngest Princess won a game, and the Oldest Princess won a camo decorated dart board. We told her we think it would great hanging in her dorm room!
We tried out the human slingshot again. There were sack races. Some played washers and some played corn hole. But mostly we just sat around and visited because it was SO HOT.
Several people left, and J and J came rolling in. They had been at the ball field all day. We got to meet baby J, and he was precious. He was just a smiley in real life as he is in all the pictures we have seen of him on Facebook. His smile melted my heart. I kept telling momma J that I was going to take him home with me.
We all went in and had some of Unka's delicious brisket that had been slow cooking on his big green egg all day. As well as many other fixings that go with it, including some community potato salad. I say community because it truly did take a village to make it. Everyone jumped in and sliced and diced and peeled and added in their two cents worth of what should or shouldn't be added and how much of it should or shouldn't be added. It was pretty comical. All the way around. And it was done in record time. I can't tell you how it tasted though, because I don't eat it.
After dinner, we cleaned up, and then headed outside to watch fireworks. Unka's friend M has a friend that owns a fireworks stand and they were able to get some good deals on some really cool fireworks. So we took out some lawn chairs and M and L set off the fireworks for us. They were cool, but we were a little too close for my comfort. So I was a little nervous, but I still enjoyed them.
After the fireworks, those that were still there from the party went home and the rest of us called it a night.
Sunday, July 3, 2016 - We got up and got ready and joined up with L to go to church. Unka and Aunt T had to leave before us, because they were on the greeting team for that morning. We enjoyed our time talking with L and J.A. on our way to church. The Youngest Princess stayed home with with J.R. and M and baby H, because I had somehow managed to get away without packing her a dress.
Church was packed, but the service was very good. The pastor preached about Christians standing up and doing what we have been called to do. About us being salt, and what that means, and how that could change our country, if we all just do what God has called us to do. At the end, the choir sang a patriotic special, and these little cannon type things shot out red, white and blue streamers and confetti, and confetti fell from the ceiling. It was fun. A great ending to a very well done, patriotic service.
Unka and Aunt T stopped and got chicken fingers for us to have for lunch.
After lunch, we spent some time in and around the pool. I made friends with a lizard on the hammock. Then I took a little nap, and woke up to red wasps flying around, and one right by my foot. So I decided it was time for me to get off of the hammock. We eventually were able to kill some of the wasps, but I still did not get back on the hammock.
We went in and played a little Dutch Blitz that night. I was totally off my game. I don't think I won even one round. It was very, very sad!
My days run together, if I don't take good notes, and in this case I didn't. So at some point, we played the mouthpiece, lipless game with J.R. and M, because they were not there the first time we played. We all wrote phrases this time, so we could all guess, unless it was a phrase that we wrote. J.R. picked several really tough phrases, and ironically he picked and had to say his own phrases. I loved it! Funny times. Funny times.
We also played several games of Catch Phrase. And again. It was not my night. "If you want to win, you need to be on my team." is usually my tongue in cheek battle cry on game night. But the Dutch Blitz thing threw me for a loop, and my Catch Phrase team did not win either. It was a sad day, folks. A very sad day.
Also on Sunday, we got news that one of My Princes's cousins had lost her battle with cancer. We hated to hear that. I had only met her a few times, but really loved her. She was very sweet and a Facebook friend, so we kept up with one another that way. We were very sad to hear that she had passed away, but we are very thankful to know that we will see her again in heaven one day.
Monday, July 4, 2016 - After breakfast, the young prince was out at the pool. He stuck his head in the door and asked M to go get J.R. She asked him if everything was okay, and he said, "Yes, just please go get J.R." so she did. Then someone said that they had found a bat in the pool. Of course we all need to go and check that out. When we got out there, they had already fished the bat out of the pool with the net, and had laid it over on the steps. You could see the water marks where it had moved about a foot. I had figured that it would be dead. But it was still alive. Aunt T immediately picked up the largest rock she could find from the decorative rocks around the flower bed. She was going to kill it with the rock. J.R. told her to wait that she was going to get blood all over the sidewalk. I was campaigning for them to just take the bat to the woods and let it go. I told Aunt T that she did not need a rock THAT big. It was HUGE compared to the little bat fighting for its little life. They were all saying how nasty bats are, and how they carry rabies, etc. L had already told the Youngest Princess to go inside and everything would be okay, because they did not want her to see the bat be killed. So then she repeated the same thing to me, "Auntie, just go inside and everything will be okay." Aunt T told me that she wanted to read all about me fighting for the bat's life on my blog. Meanwhile, the Young Prince and J.R. had scooped up the bat in the pool net, and were halfway across the yard headed to the woods to release the bat. It may or may not have survived, but at that time, nature was able to take it course.
J.A. left us after all of the bat excitement. We hated to see him go, but he had things that he wanted to do that day, so he had to get back home.
We had a water balloon fight after that. I volunteered to be the official photographer. Unka volunteered to watch baby H. Everyone else had a blast throwing water balloons and buckets of water and squirting one another with water squirters.
We took pictures of baby H in his "My First 4th of July" outfit, with the red, white and blue yard ornaments and flags. They weren't perfect, but I think we still got some cute ones.
We all got in the pool except for M and J.R. and baby H, because they were getting ready to go home. We all got out of the pool to tell them goodbye when they were ready to leave. Then we got back in the pool for a little while. We weren't in for long before we started hearing thunder. I got out, and convinced everyone else to do the same. Unka was the lone holdout, until I got on my weather app and proved to him that lightning had struck less than a mile away. He had been floating around with a 4th of July headband on his hat saying, "Nannu, Nannu!" up until that point. Then he was quickly paddling his float to the shallow end still saying, "Nannu, Nannu!" and got out.
Aunt T suggested that we go shopping and out to eat. By the time we were all ready, it was raining. So I guess we made a good choice. Going out to eat turned out to be a little more of a challenge than we had thought, since it was the 4th, most places were closed. We settled on a place that was open, and ate a late lunch. Then we did some shopping, and headed back home.
Unka and the Youngest Princess did some more four wheeler riding. Aunt T got online and ordered some shoes that the Youngest Princess wanted. We took care of some of the Oldest Princess's college stuff online.
The Youngest Princess wanted to play one game before we went to bed. Unka put in a big prize. The Young Prince turned out to be the big winner. After that we were all tired, and we knew we would be headed home the next day and needed our rest for the trip. So we called it a day and headed back to go to bed.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - We got up and got ready and packed the car and spent a little time visiting before we hit the road. We said our goodbyes, and headed down the road. We weren't far when Aunt T called and said we had left the Youngest Princess's flip flops. I asked her to throw them in the mail for us. Then the Youngest Princess said she didn't have any shoes except her slippers, if we didn't go back and get her shoes. I told the Oldest Princess to call back and tell them we were going to get gas and then I would run back and get them. She said that Unka would meet us at the gas station with them. So we went on to the gas station and filled up, and waited for a few minutes until Unka came and brought the Youngest Princess her shoes. Then we were on our way. We had a nice trip. Uneventful, just the way we like it. We made it home at about 5:30 that evening. No one wanted to help me drive this time. They were tired, so I ended up driving the whole way myself. I was very glad to be home with My Prince and out of the car. My Prince had ham and hash brown casserole ready and waiting on us. He is awesome, and it was delicious. My Prince left to go to a prayer meeting. The kids all went to visit our friends who had been out of town for a while before we left to go the country. I called and talked with my sister for a while.
When everyone got home we went to bed, knowing the next day was going to be a long day also.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - We got up early and got ready to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to My Prince's cousin's funeral. Grammy and Poppy came and rode with us. The Oldest Princess went with us as well. The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess stayed home.
The trip was good. The funeral was very moving. A beautiful tribute to a lady who lived her life for Christ and wanted others to know Him too. After the funeral, we went to the graveside, and then on to the church to eat with the family. And aside from the sad circumstances, it was good to see family and friends that we do not get to see very often. And even meet some family and friends that I had never met before. We made it back home just in time for church.
After church, we called it a day and went to bed.
Thursday, July 7, 2016 - The Youngest Princess went with some friends to a children's art museum. I went and had my hair done. An appointment that was long overdue. My Prince, the Oldest Princess, the little girl she babysits, and I all went to lunch. We brought lunch home to the Young Prince. The Young Prince and I hung out at home for the afternoon. The Young Prince finished the book that he had been reading for his summer reading assignment. I think he really enjoyed it. It was nice to see him wanting to read for a change. The Youngest Princess was very excited to find out that her shoes that Aunt T had ordered came in. She put them on immediately.
When everyone got home, the Young Prince went to spend the night with a friend, and the rest of us went to the school. The Oldest Princess was helping out with volleyball practice, and the Youngest Princess wanted to play with her friend who would be at practice with her sister. My Prince and I went to get in some exercise by walking the track. I found out that our books had come in, so my sweet friend and her boys, and My Prince all helped me take my books to my room, and put the tests in my car so that I could tear them out and get them organized and filed.
We came home and started watching television. That is when we heard about the shooting of the police officers in Dallas. I tore out tests (the Oldest Princess helped) and watched the news. Heartbroken for our country and what is happening. Heartbroken that it happened to happen in my home state. Heartbroken for the families that were changed forever by one person and his terrible lack of judgment.
We went to bed with heavy hearts.
Friday, July 8, 2016 - I got up and watched the news coming from Dallas while I tore out more tests. My Prince worked from home. I mostly worked on school stuff all morning. Grammy and Poppy wanted to go to dinner and then to a ball game. So we got ready and went with them to eat.
We were early, so we got there before the restaurant opened. We were the first ones in the parking lot. Poppy wanted to be "in line", so he got out of the car to sit on the bench by the door. Then he got up to go around to a different door, and an elderly lady walked up and sat on the bench in the seat Poppy had just left. Pretty soon, there were several people sitting around the door. We opted to stay in the car where it was cool. A few minutes before the time for the restaurant to open, the little lady that had taken Poppy's seat actually got up and stood by the door. She meant that she was going to be the first one in. We laughed. Watching people amuses me sometimes. We all got in, and we all got fed. Including the impatient lady who had to be first.
After a wonderful dinner, we headed to the baseball stadium. When we got there, there was no ball game. Poppy had looked at the schedule wrong. He thought it was a home game, when it was actually an away game. I felt very bad for him, because I know he really wanted to enjoy a game that night. I also felt bad for the Young Princes's friend who had come with us, because he was really excited to be going to a ball game too. Since there was no ball game, we walked down to the riverwalk to look around. It was a beautiful evening, so we took the opportunity to take a few pictures.
We decided to go to a movie instead. So we headed to the nearest movie theater. We saw a movie that came out that day that we had all been wanting to see. It was cute, and the theater was packed. When we walked out, and were standing in the lobby I heard someone call our name. It was our friends who have daughters the same age as the Oldest Princess and the Youngest Princess. They had been in the same movie as us.
My Prince wanted to go to a sporting goods store and look around. I found a shirt, and the Youngest Princess found an outfit. Then we headed home.
Saturday, July 9, 2016 - I woke up and finished pulling out tests. We mostly spent the day hanging out around the house getting a few things done. It stormed in the afternoon, and I took a little nap on the couch.
A friend text and asked if I had a bowl she could use. My Prince and I ran it over to her. Then we ran by a local store to get the Oldest Princess some tubs to use for college.
We came home and got the kids and went to a little local place to get some dinner. Now I've been working on my blog, while the Young Prince is watching a movie. The girls are upstairs watching a different movie, and My Prince is putting the finishing touches on his sermon for tomorrow. And now...I have caught up, and it took me way longer than I had planned to do so.
So, until I blog again...
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
June 28, 2016
Yesterday was a great day. I woke up and did my First 5 devotions. I got some laundry started and did a few things around the house. The Oldest Princess was at work, My Prince went to work, and it was just the Young Prince and I at home for most of the morning.
The Oldest Princess had plans to meet the Adopted Princess for lunch, and they were sweet enough to invite me to come along as well. My Prince asked if he could come also, and we told him he could but only if he paid for lunch. The Youngest Princess was still at her friend's house, and I didn't want the Young Prince to be left out, so we invited him to come, too.
Before we left, I got a text from my sweet friend who kept the hedgehog for us while we went to World Changers. She was going to bring him home on her way to run some errands. So we now have the hedgehog back at home, and the Youngest Princess is happy.
We all went to a little local restaurant and had lunch together. It was good to see the Adopted Princess as we had not seen her since we got home from our cruise.
The Oldest Princess was bing a driver for a friend of ours, and had to go do that when we finished lunch. The Adopted Princess had an errand to run, and the rest of us came home. I got some more done around the house and some things done that I am working on for school.
The Youngest Princess came home from her friend's house. The Oldest Princess left to take home the little girl that she babysits and then pretty much came right back home. We started getting ready for our family night out.
My Prince had bought tickets for us to go as a family and see my favorite musical that was coming to town. I was so excited that I could hardly wait! The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess had not seen it before, and I could not wait for them to see it.
We went to dinner first and then to the musical. It was wonderful as always. The Young Prince endured it (probably for my sake), and everyone else really enjoyed it. The Youngest Princess was pretty tired, after spending the night with a friend the night before, but she still did good. The Young Prince admitted that he liked it, but that it was "just. WAY. TOO. LONG." He probably would have enjoyed it more if it had been about 1/4 of the length.
We stopped for dessert in the form of hot, fresh donuts on the way home. It was a great day all the way around. Fun times and great memories!
Until I blog again...
The Oldest Princess had plans to meet the Adopted Princess for lunch, and they were sweet enough to invite me to come along as well. My Prince asked if he could come also, and we told him he could but only if he paid for lunch. The Youngest Princess was still at her friend's house, and I didn't want the Young Prince to be left out, so we invited him to come, too.
Before we left, I got a text from my sweet friend who kept the hedgehog for us while we went to World Changers. She was going to bring him home on her way to run some errands. So we now have the hedgehog back at home, and the Youngest Princess is happy.
We all went to a little local restaurant and had lunch together. It was good to see the Adopted Princess as we had not seen her since we got home from our cruise.
The Oldest Princess was bing a driver for a friend of ours, and had to go do that when we finished lunch. The Adopted Princess had an errand to run, and the rest of us came home. I got some more done around the house and some things done that I am working on for school.
The Youngest Princess came home from her friend's house. The Oldest Princess left to take home the little girl that she babysits and then pretty much came right back home. We started getting ready for our family night out.
My Prince had bought tickets for us to go as a family and see my favorite musical that was coming to town. I was so excited that I could hardly wait! The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess had not seen it before, and I could not wait for them to see it.
We went to dinner first and then to the musical. It was wonderful as always. The Young Prince endured it (probably for my sake), and everyone else really enjoyed it. The Youngest Princess was pretty tired, after spending the night with a friend the night before, but she still did good. The Young Prince admitted that he liked it, but that it was "just. WAY. TOO. LONG." He probably would have enjoyed it more if it had been about 1/4 of the length.
We stopped for dessert in the form of hot, fresh donuts on the way home. It was a great day all the way around. Fun times and great memories!
Until I blog again...
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
June 26 -27, 2016
Sunday, June 26 - It was a nice Sunday morning without too much drama - that is - until I realized that the youngest princess had not brushed her teeth for three days. And, because her toothbrush had been packed, it stank. And of course there was not an extra toothbrush to be found in the house. I told her to brush her teeth with her finger and avoid talking to anyone until after church when we could get her a new toothbrush. Seriously. The Oldest Princess came to the rescue by giving her a piece of gum. Really. What kind of terrible mother am I? Three days! Ick! We also had the whole, "You are ten years old" speech. I do not believe that it will happen again.
Then we had to find shoes that would go with her dress...we made due with what we had, but we will definitely need to make a run to the shoe store before next Sunday. Why is it so hard for me to remember that the child needs dressy sandals?!?
We finally started to leave, and I noticed that the garage door had been left open. all. night. long.
We leave, and before we even get off of our street, My Prince realizes that he left his baptism bag at the house, so we have to go back and get it. When we pull in, I see that a lawn chair has been left out in the yard, and have the Young Prince go and get it to put it up. The front porch was sufficient in his mind as "putting it up", and by that point I was not going to put up a fight.
When I got to Sunday School and I sat down with an unconscious sigh. Someone noticed and asked me if I were tired or just glad that I had made it. I answered that I was both. Sunday mornings. Sometimes it's a circus.
In Sunday school, we covered the passage in 1 Peter 3, about wives submitting to their husbands. I know that there are a lot of women who might have a problem with this concept. I, too, sometimes have trouble depending on the circumstance. But for the most part, this is not an area in which I struggle greatly. And I don't say that for my glory, because I have not reached perfection in this area (ask My Prince - he will tell you), I say that to preface some things I have learned and the way that I look at it, that help me to do better in this area of my life.
First, My Prince is a very godly man who loves the Lord and strives to follow Him in every area of his life, and that makes my job to submit to him much easier than some, whose husbands are not walking in ways that please the Lord.
Second, there are two other things that help me in the area of working to be a submissive wife. The first is trust in God. If I am trusting God completely, then I trust His plan. And His plan is that the husband be the head of the home. So when I submit to my husband, I am essentially submitting to God and His plan, and showing my trust in Him.
The second thing I work to remember is that because God has placed my husband as the head of our home, then my husband is the one who will answer directly to God for his actions and decisions regarding our home and family. So, when My Prince makes a decision that I might mildly, or sometimes strongly, disagree with, I try to respectfully state my case - because sometimes I see things from a woman's angle that he might not see. Then I (try to) back away, and pray for him to make the right decision. And, wether he makes the right decision (in my opinion), because sometimes I am the one who is wrong, or not, I am told by God to submit to him. My job at this point is to simply obey God and submit to my husband. And because my husband is the one who answers to God for his decisions, God will hold my husband, not me accountable for those decisions. I look at it as a safety net, and I am thankful that I am not the one who has to answer to God sometimes. It makes me thankful for my husband, and for God's perfect plan.
It is a touchy topic, and I know that there are men who take advantage of this, and do not use it at all in the way that God planned. I know that each of us face a different set of circumstances. I'm just describing mine, and how it all works for us. Certainly, if your husband is leading you to sin, or doing something that is physically harmful to you or your children, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional help. In fact, it would be the wise thing to do.
Okay! I never meant to go off on that tangent. Maybe God knows that someone who reads this needed to hear some of that! If it is you, take what you can and use it for His glory.
In the morning service, we started by baptizing two of the precious children who were saved in our VBS! It is a wonderful start to a service. The worship service was also a blessing, and then My Prince preached the first sermon in his "I Will" series, using the book by the same title by Thom S. Rainer. It was a great sermon, and very applicable to us all. I especially liked the GCM/JCM part. And I pray that I am more and more often a JCM, than a GCM.
After church, we went and grabbed a bite to eat. Then came home. I had some studying I had to get done, and some reading I wanted to get done, so I got busy doing that. The kids all vanished upstairs, and My Prince had a meeting. I think we were all able to accomplish pretty much of what we needed to get done before it was time to go back to church.
My 5:00 group study went well. I love the study we are doing, and it seems like God is working and moving in our lives through it. I hate that our schedule has been interrupted several times, but I love that they want to move it to a different night of the week when that happens so that we can continue on. Good stuff! And so exciting that people are hungry to learn and receive God's word, and apply it to their lives!
The evening service was great as well. The teen worship team lead praise and worship, and then the people who went on the World Changer trip gave testimonies of how God moved in their lives while they were on the trip. It was fun to hear the trip from the perspective of others. I wish our whole church could have gone!
After church, the teens went out for their monthly dinner after church, and most of the parents joined them. I love being able to fellowship in a relaxed atmosphere, where we actually have time to talk and get beyond just the "Hey! How are you!", "I'm fine! How are you!" exchange.
After that, we came home and the youngest princess told me that she was experiencing some pain that concerned me, so I told her that we would take her to the doctor the next day and have it checked out.
Monday, June 27 - We got up and called the doctor, and they told us to come that afternoon. So we planned to do just that. The Oldest Princess went off to work, and the rest of us had a normal morning here at home.
At noon, we headed to the doctor. He seemed to think the problem was what I had thought it was, and sent us off to get a prescription. He also told us that he would follow up with us after her lab results came back in and change things if we needed to.
Because of her size - she is small - and dosage needed, he recommended that she take the liquid form of the medicine. It is a medicine that I have had to take on occasion, and in pill form, the pills are very large. So we agreed, and headed out to get her prescription filled. She had a sleep-over planned for that night and was eager for us to get finished, so that she could get to her friend's house. We dropped the prescription off and went to get something to eat while it was being filled. Then we went back to pick it up. My Prince and the Youngest Princess ran in to get it. Normally my prescription in pill form is $4.00. Her prescription, in liquid form, of the same medicine, was $99.66!!! Seriously? What in the world could make there be a $95.66 difference between a pill form and a liquid form of a medicine? I honestly do not understand! So we paid an arm and a leg for the medicine that must contain liquid gold, and came home to give her the first dose.
Her friend's family was here shortly after we were to pick her up. The Oldest Princess came home from work. The rest of us spent the evening relaxing and just enjoying one another's company. We threw out going shopping, or going to see a movie, but just staying home for the evening won out. We rarely get to just hang out at home with nothing to do or nowhere to be, so I think we all really needed it. It was very nice.
Until I blog again...
Then we had to find shoes that would go with her dress...we made due with what we had, but we will definitely need to make a run to the shoe store before next Sunday. Why is it so hard for me to remember that the child needs dressy sandals?!?
We finally started to leave, and I noticed that the garage door had been left open. all. night. long.
We leave, and before we even get off of our street, My Prince realizes that he left his baptism bag at the house, so we have to go back and get it. When we pull in, I see that a lawn chair has been left out in the yard, and have the Young Prince go and get it to put it up. The front porch was sufficient in his mind as "putting it up", and by that point I was not going to put up a fight.
When I got to Sunday School and I sat down with an unconscious sigh. Someone noticed and asked me if I were tired or just glad that I had made it. I answered that I was both. Sunday mornings. Sometimes it's a circus.
In Sunday school, we covered the passage in 1 Peter 3, about wives submitting to their husbands. I know that there are a lot of women who might have a problem with this concept. I, too, sometimes have trouble depending on the circumstance. But for the most part, this is not an area in which I struggle greatly. And I don't say that for my glory, because I have not reached perfection in this area (ask My Prince - he will tell you), I say that to preface some things I have learned and the way that I look at it, that help me to do better in this area of my life.
First, My Prince is a very godly man who loves the Lord and strives to follow Him in every area of his life, and that makes my job to submit to him much easier than some, whose husbands are not walking in ways that please the Lord.
Second, there are two other things that help me in the area of working to be a submissive wife. The first is trust in God. If I am trusting God completely, then I trust His plan. And His plan is that the husband be the head of the home. So when I submit to my husband, I am essentially submitting to God and His plan, and showing my trust in Him.
The second thing I work to remember is that because God has placed my husband as the head of our home, then my husband is the one who will answer directly to God for his actions and decisions regarding our home and family. So, when My Prince makes a decision that I might mildly, or sometimes strongly, disagree with, I try to respectfully state my case - because sometimes I see things from a woman's angle that he might not see. Then I (try to) back away, and pray for him to make the right decision. And, wether he makes the right decision (in my opinion), because sometimes I am the one who is wrong, or not, I am told by God to submit to him. My job at this point is to simply obey God and submit to my husband. And because my husband is the one who answers to God for his decisions, God will hold my husband, not me accountable for those decisions. I look at it as a safety net, and I am thankful that I am not the one who has to answer to God sometimes. It makes me thankful for my husband, and for God's perfect plan.
It is a touchy topic, and I know that there are men who take advantage of this, and do not use it at all in the way that God planned. I know that each of us face a different set of circumstances. I'm just describing mine, and how it all works for us. Certainly, if your husband is leading you to sin, or doing something that is physically harmful to you or your children, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional help. In fact, it would be the wise thing to do.
Okay! I never meant to go off on that tangent. Maybe God knows that someone who reads this needed to hear some of that! If it is you, take what you can and use it for His glory.
In the morning service, we started by baptizing two of the precious children who were saved in our VBS! It is a wonderful start to a service. The worship service was also a blessing, and then My Prince preached the first sermon in his "I Will" series, using the book by the same title by Thom S. Rainer. It was a great sermon, and very applicable to us all. I especially liked the GCM/JCM part. And I pray that I am more and more often a JCM, than a GCM.
After church, we went and grabbed a bite to eat. Then came home. I had some studying I had to get done, and some reading I wanted to get done, so I got busy doing that. The kids all vanished upstairs, and My Prince had a meeting. I think we were all able to accomplish pretty much of what we needed to get done before it was time to go back to church.
My 5:00 group study went well. I love the study we are doing, and it seems like God is working and moving in our lives through it. I hate that our schedule has been interrupted several times, but I love that they want to move it to a different night of the week when that happens so that we can continue on. Good stuff! And so exciting that people are hungry to learn and receive God's word, and apply it to their lives!
The evening service was great as well. The teen worship team lead praise and worship, and then the people who went on the World Changer trip gave testimonies of how God moved in their lives while they were on the trip. It was fun to hear the trip from the perspective of others. I wish our whole church could have gone!
After church, the teens went out for their monthly dinner after church, and most of the parents joined them. I love being able to fellowship in a relaxed atmosphere, where we actually have time to talk and get beyond just the "Hey! How are you!", "I'm fine! How are you!" exchange.
After that, we came home and the youngest princess told me that she was experiencing some pain that concerned me, so I told her that we would take her to the doctor the next day and have it checked out.
Monday, June 27 - We got up and called the doctor, and they told us to come that afternoon. So we planned to do just that. The Oldest Princess went off to work, and the rest of us had a normal morning here at home.
At noon, we headed to the doctor. He seemed to think the problem was what I had thought it was, and sent us off to get a prescription. He also told us that he would follow up with us after her lab results came back in and change things if we needed to.
Because of her size - she is small - and dosage needed, he recommended that she take the liquid form of the medicine. It is a medicine that I have had to take on occasion, and in pill form, the pills are very large. So we agreed, and headed out to get her prescription filled. She had a sleep-over planned for that night and was eager for us to get finished, so that she could get to her friend's house. We dropped the prescription off and went to get something to eat while it was being filled. Then we went back to pick it up. My Prince and the Youngest Princess ran in to get it. Normally my prescription in pill form is $4.00. Her prescription, in liquid form, of the same medicine, was $99.66!!! Seriously? What in the world could make there be a $95.66 difference between a pill form and a liquid form of a medicine? I honestly do not understand! So we paid an arm and a leg for the medicine that must contain liquid gold, and came home to give her the first dose.
Her friend's family was here shortly after we were to pick her up. The Oldest Princess came home from work. The rest of us spent the evening relaxing and just enjoying one another's company. We threw out going shopping, or going to see a movie, but just staying home for the evening won out. We rarely get to just hang out at home with nothing to do or nowhere to be, so I think we all really needed it. It was very nice.
Until I blog again...
Saturday, June 25, 2016
June 17 - 25, 2016
Friday, June 17th was our 21st wedding anniversary. 21 years of marriage. That is a long time. I remember when I thought people who were 21 years old were, well, old. And now, I have been MARRIED that long! It certainly does not seem like that long. Time flies when you are having fun - right? We must be having fun, because time has flown. It hasn't been completely perfect, but it has been as perfect as I could ask for. And I would do it all over again. A thousand times. So here is to many, many more years together!
We celebrated the day with the Oldest Princess and the Young Prince. We went early and saw Finding Dory. Then lunch at Chick-fil-a, and home to get some last minute things done, and get packed and ready to go.
Saturday we got up bright and early and met at the church and loaded up to head out for a week of World Changers. We had a wonderful trip. We spent the week hosting a VBS and helping an awesome couple make contacts for their church plant. We set up for VBS. We went door to door in a neighborhood inviting kids to come to VBS. We went to Wal-Mart and put flyers on cars. We stood out by the road with signs to let people know about VBS. We went to the park and invited people to bring their children. We had three days of VBS, where we loved on the kids that came and taught them about Jesus and how much He loves them. We hosted a "Family Night", where the kids could show their parents what they had learned the last three days, and so that the church planter could share his vision with the parents in hopes that some of them would be interested in helping them launch the new church. It was a week full of laughter, songs, arts and crafts, missions, recess, smiles, stickers, lessons and games. We went to be a blessing, and came home being doubly blessed.
I could not be more proud of the team of kids that we took with us. There was not one time where I asked one of them to do something where they acted like they did not want to do it. They were more than eager and willing to help. Often seeing what needed to be done and doing it before being asked. I was the adult helper in the older kids' class. The teacher was one of our 8th grade girls. She taught the class. She planned, prepped, and had all of the games organized. I did not have to do anything, but be crowd control. She was absolutely amazing! I brag on her, because I was with her, and I saw her in action. But while she was doing our class, there were other kids all over the building doing just as amazing a job at their stations. The Oldest Princess did music and missions. The Young Prince and his friend followed people around and took pictures and videos to put together a video of the week that the church planter could use as a promotion video. There were teens helping with the crafts. There were other teens helping with recess. And it all ran like a smoothly oiled machine. I was so proud of them! And then we would get on the bus and go back to our host church, where we would eat food that we may or may not have liked. But I never heard one complaint. We would take showers in shower trailers, where we may or may not have had hot water or water pressure, and still no complaints. We slept on air mattresses crammed into a small room, and woke up very early to do it all again the next day. And still no complaints.
In the middle of all of that, we laughed and picked on each other. We made memories that we will have for a lifetime. We fell in love with the couple that is planting the church and their precious children. We ate a few doughnuts, and retaped our encouragram envelopes back on the wall because the weight of all of the encouragrams from our church members made them tear and start to fall off the wall. We slept in the bus on the way to and from our project. We played song charades/interpretative dance and told very creative bedtime stories. We threw things at each other and did blob fish impersonations. We made new friends and worshipped together each night. We were encouraged to Live, Love and Speak Boldly. And our kids did just that. It was a week that I was very blessed to be a part of. It was my third World Changers, and my very favorite of the three.
Thursday night our kids were in tears telling some of our VBS kids good-bye. It was sad to know that we may not ever see some of those kids again this side of heaven.
Friday morning, we got up, repacked everything, let the air out of our air mattresses and loaded back up on the bus to head home. We had a pretty uneventful trip home. And the only thing we left behind was our van, which got sick and began pouring transmission fluid on Thursday night. So we left it there, to be doctored and did a little rearranging of the luggage to be sure that every person had a seat. Thankfully it all all worked out and we made it home much earlier than we had anticipated.
I was very glad to get home and see the Youngest Princess. Grammy had a roast in the crock pot, and that made me very happy too. We all took warm showers with lots of water pressure, and then we all zonked out. When we woke up the roast was ready, and we were starving, so it was perfect timing. We ate, watched some tv together, and went to bed. It was wonderful to sleep in our own beds again!
This morning was nice and relaxed. We slept in a little. We took our time getting up and getting ready. The kids and My Prince washed the cars. I did some laundry. I met with a friend for about an hour. Grammy and Poppy came over and joined us in eating hamburgers for dinner. Poppy and the Young Prince went shopping for fishing gear. All in all it was a good day. All in all it was a great week.
Until I blog again...
We celebrated the day with the Oldest Princess and the Young Prince. We went early and saw Finding Dory. Then lunch at Chick-fil-a, and home to get some last minute things done, and get packed and ready to go.
Saturday we got up bright and early and met at the church and loaded up to head out for a week of World Changers. We had a wonderful trip. We spent the week hosting a VBS and helping an awesome couple make contacts for their church plant. We set up for VBS. We went door to door in a neighborhood inviting kids to come to VBS. We went to Wal-Mart and put flyers on cars. We stood out by the road with signs to let people know about VBS. We went to the park and invited people to bring their children. We had three days of VBS, where we loved on the kids that came and taught them about Jesus and how much He loves them. We hosted a "Family Night", where the kids could show their parents what they had learned the last three days, and so that the church planter could share his vision with the parents in hopes that some of them would be interested in helping them launch the new church. It was a week full of laughter, songs, arts and crafts, missions, recess, smiles, stickers, lessons and games. We went to be a blessing, and came home being doubly blessed.
I could not be more proud of the team of kids that we took with us. There was not one time where I asked one of them to do something where they acted like they did not want to do it. They were more than eager and willing to help. Often seeing what needed to be done and doing it before being asked. I was the adult helper in the older kids' class. The teacher was one of our 8th grade girls. She taught the class. She planned, prepped, and had all of the games organized. I did not have to do anything, but be crowd control. She was absolutely amazing! I brag on her, because I was with her, and I saw her in action. But while she was doing our class, there were other kids all over the building doing just as amazing a job at their stations. The Oldest Princess did music and missions. The Young Prince and his friend followed people around and took pictures and videos to put together a video of the week that the church planter could use as a promotion video. There were teens helping with the crafts. There were other teens helping with recess. And it all ran like a smoothly oiled machine. I was so proud of them! And then we would get on the bus and go back to our host church, where we would eat food that we may or may not have liked. But I never heard one complaint. We would take showers in shower trailers, where we may or may not have had hot water or water pressure, and still no complaints. We slept on air mattresses crammed into a small room, and woke up very early to do it all again the next day. And still no complaints.
In the middle of all of that, we laughed and picked on each other. We made memories that we will have for a lifetime. We fell in love with the couple that is planting the church and their precious children. We ate a few doughnuts, and retaped our encouragram envelopes back on the wall because the weight of all of the encouragrams from our church members made them tear and start to fall off the wall. We slept in the bus on the way to and from our project. We played song charades/interpretative dance and told very creative bedtime stories. We threw things at each other and did blob fish impersonations. We made new friends and worshipped together each night. We were encouraged to Live, Love and Speak Boldly. And our kids did just that. It was a week that I was very blessed to be a part of. It was my third World Changers, and my very favorite of the three.
Thursday night our kids were in tears telling some of our VBS kids good-bye. It was sad to know that we may not ever see some of those kids again this side of heaven.
Friday morning, we got up, repacked everything, let the air out of our air mattresses and loaded back up on the bus to head home. We had a pretty uneventful trip home. And the only thing we left behind was our van, which got sick and began pouring transmission fluid on Thursday night. So we left it there, to be doctored and did a little rearranging of the luggage to be sure that every person had a seat. Thankfully it all all worked out and we made it home much earlier than we had anticipated.
I was very glad to get home and see the Youngest Princess. Grammy had a roast in the crock pot, and that made me very happy too. We all took warm showers with lots of water pressure, and then we all zonked out. When we woke up the roast was ready, and we were starving, so it was perfect timing. We ate, watched some tv together, and went to bed. It was wonderful to sleep in our own beds again!
This morning was nice and relaxed. We slept in a little. We took our time getting up and getting ready. The kids and My Prince washed the cars. I did some laundry. I met with a friend for about an hour. Grammy and Poppy came over and joined us in eating hamburgers for dinner. Poppy and the Young Prince went shopping for fishing gear. All in all it was a good day. All in all it was a great week.
Until I blog again...
Thursday, June 16, 2016
June 13 - 16, 2016
Okay, so at least it hasn't been a week this time!
Most of my spare time this week has been spent working on "encouragrams". We have a group from church that are traveling to a different city to do a program called World Changers. And if you don't know about World Changers, in a nutshell, here are the basics:
1. You pay to go.
2. You take an air mattress and sleep packed into rooms of a church in the area where you are working.
3. You take your oldest clothes, or go to the thrift store and buy someone else's old clothes to wear, because you don't want your clothes to get messed up.
4. You get there, and you are split up into crews with other people from other churches.
5. You get your assignments and go to work. Scraping, painting, sawing, hammering, roofing, sweeping, or whatever it is your crew has been assigned to do. For the most part, you work with whatever tools you bring with you from home.
6. You work all day in the heat - often - rain or shine.
7. You take a break when lunch is delivered to you by another local church who has volunteered to feed your crew. Lunch may or may not be edible.
8. You go back to the church where you are sleeping, grab your shower bag and stand in line for a shower trailer with 5 or 10 of your new best friends.
9. Then you eat dinner (whatever is served - like it or not), and go to the worship service.
10. Then you spend a little while visiting with your friends and head to bed to get up and do it all over again the next day.
11. People who have never been think that you are crazy for going, but they have no idea how much fun it can actually be.
12. People in the neighborhoods where you are serving think that you are crazy, because you actually paid to come and work on someone else's home.
13. Which opens the door for you to share that you love God and love people.
14. Which allows you to share the love of God with said curious person.
15. And if you have any time during the day, when you are waiting for paint to dry for instance, you get to walk around in the neighborhood, pray, and meet people and talk to them about Jesus and how much He loves them.
16. It is an awesome, eye-opening, experience for teens and adults alike.
17. It is definitely not a pleasure trip.
So, we have a group from our church that are going. They have a wall at the church where you are staying, that is covered with envelopes. One envelope for each World Changers participant. And in the evenings, people put "encouragrams" or little notes of encouragement - sometimes with candy or a small treat attached - in the envelopes of their crew members or church group members. It is very encouraging to go to that wall and see that your envelope is falling off of the wall, because it is so full of encouragrams from people who love you and are praying for you. And because I know just how encouraging it is, I try to take great care and put lots of love and thought into the encouragrams that I make and take (or send). Encouragrams are a pretty big project at our house, and they take a lot of time, energy and space (if you could just see my dining room right now!). So, the past few days have been spent, shopping for goodies, making lists and checking them twice, writing notes, praying for participants, cutting things out, tying things, punching holes, organizing things. Big fun! And all to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ not to be weary in well doing. This year a few of our group will be doing manual labor like I mentioned above. But most of the group will be doing something new to us. It is called a P2 project. We will be working with a church planter in the area, and we are going to put on a VBS for them. This church plant is fairly new, and in addition to seeing lives changed, they are hoping to gain contacts for potential church members through our VBS efforts. We are excited that after a week's rest, we get to do VBS all over again. It will be the same curriculum, in a different place. It will take energy and flexibility, but most of all, it will take God's grace. And we are excited to see what God will do in and through our group on this trip. Exciting times!
Aside from that, I took time to pack the Youngest Princess so she could go with Grammy and Poppy to a family wedding this weekend, and stay with them while we are on our Missions Trip. The wedding is out of town, so they left yesterday. Which means we will be away from the Youngest Princess longer than we had originally planned. And that makes me sad. I really miss her when she is not here. She is such a commanding presence, that you know when she is missing. She was a little anxious about being away from us this time. Usually she is fine, but this time she was a little worried and asked questions I didn't want to have to answer. I know she will be fine. But it is hard to let her go knowing that she is not completely comfortable with the situation. Please pray with me for peace for her little heart.
Really other than the normal day to day stuff, like dishes, clothes, shopping, sweeping, keeping up with kids, and doing Bible studies, that catches you up (and let's you know more than you ever wanted to know about World Changers).
And because I'm still having trouble with getting on a schedule, until I blog again...
Most of my spare time this week has been spent working on "encouragrams". We have a group from church that are traveling to a different city to do a program called World Changers. And if you don't know about World Changers, in a nutshell, here are the basics:
1. You pay to go.
2. You take an air mattress and sleep packed into rooms of a church in the area where you are working.
3. You take your oldest clothes, or go to the thrift store and buy someone else's old clothes to wear, because you don't want your clothes to get messed up.
4. You get there, and you are split up into crews with other people from other churches.
5. You get your assignments and go to work. Scraping, painting, sawing, hammering, roofing, sweeping, or whatever it is your crew has been assigned to do. For the most part, you work with whatever tools you bring with you from home.
6. You work all day in the heat - often - rain or shine.
7. You take a break when lunch is delivered to you by another local church who has volunteered to feed your crew. Lunch may or may not be edible.
8. You go back to the church where you are sleeping, grab your shower bag and stand in line for a shower trailer with 5 or 10 of your new best friends.
9. Then you eat dinner (whatever is served - like it or not), and go to the worship service.
10. Then you spend a little while visiting with your friends and head to bed to get up and do it all over again the next day.
11. People who have never been think that you are crazy for going, but they have no idea how much fun it can actually be.
12. People in the neighborhoods where you are serving think that you are crazy, because you actually paid to come and work on someone else's home.
13. Which opens the door for you to share that you love God and love people.
14. Which allows you to share the love of God with said curious person.
15. And if you have any time during the day, when you are waiting for paint to dry for instance, you get to walk around in the neighborhood, pray, and meet people and talk to them about Jesus and how much He loves them.
16. It is an awesome, eye-opening, experience for teens and adults alike.
17. It is definitely not a pleasure trip.
So, we have a group from our church that are going. They have a wall at the church where you are staying, that is covered with envelopes. One envelope for each World Changers participant. And in the evenings, people put "encouragrams" or little notes of encouragement - sometimes with candy or a small treat attached - in the envelopes of their crew members or church group members. It is very encouraging to go to that wall and see that your envelope is falling off of the wall, because it is so full of encouragrams from people who love you and are praying for you. And because I know just how encouraging it is, I try to take great care and put lots of love and thought into the encouragrams that I make and take (or send). Encouragrams are a pretty big project at our house, and they take a lot of time, energy and space (if you could just see my dining room right now!). So, the past few days have been spent, shopping for goodies, making lists and checking them twice, writing notes, praying for participants, cutting things out, tying things, punching holes, organizing things. Big fun! And all to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ not to be weary in well doing. This year a few of our group will be doing manual labor like I mentioned above. But most of the group will be doing something new to us. It is called a P2 project. We will be working with a church planter in the area, and we are going to put on a VBS for them. This church plant is fairly new, and in addition to seeing lives changed, they are hoping to gain contacts for potential church members through our VBS efforts. We are excited that after a week's rest, we get to do VBS all over again. It will be the same curriculum, in a different place. It will take energy and flexibility, but most of all, it will take God's grace. And we are excited to see what God will do in and through our group on this trip. Exciting times!
Aside from that, I took time to pack the Youngest Princess so she could go with Grammy and Poppy to a family wedding this weekend, and stay with them while we are on our Missions Trip. The wedding is out of town, so they left yesterday. Which means we will be away from the Youngest Princess longer than we had originally planned. And that makes me sad. I really miss her when she is not here. She is such a commanding presence, that you know when she is missing. She was a little anxious about being away from us this time. Usually she is fine, but this time she was a little worried and asked questions I didn't want to have to answer. I know she will be fine. But it is hard to let her go knowing that she is not completely comfortable with the situation. Please pray with me for peace for her little heart.
Really other than the normal day to day stuff, like dishes, clothes, shopping, sweeping, keeping up with kids, and doing Bible studies, that catches you up (and let's you know more than you ever wanted to know about World Changers).
And because I'm still having trouble with getting on a schedule, until I blog again...
Monday, June 13, 2016
June 8 - 12, 2016
The saying goes that time flies when you are having fun. My Prince likes to say that time flies whether your are are having fun or not. I guess either way. Having fun or not, time has flown. I sat down to blog this morning, thinking it had only been a couple of days since I had last blogged. But um, no. It has been almost a whole week! A whole week has flown by like a couple of days! And I was hoping to get caught up and stay caught up. And I really need to get back into the habit of blogging at night. But the mornings are just so much more peaceful, with most of my clan at work, and the Youngest Princess still asleep or just waking up...Anyway, hopefully soon I will find my rhythm again. And until then, I will blog when I can.
Since I last blogged, we finished up VBS. It was a fantastic year! I loved the theme and the curriculum this year. The kids had a blast. The workers had a blast as well. We had a total of 10 kids and 1 adult come to know the Lord as their personal Savior, and one adult who rededicated her life by the time the glitter had settled, and the decorations had come down. That my friends, is VERY EXCITING! And as wonderful as that all is, it was not a perfect week. There were trials, discouragements, and issues along the way as well. Our mascot for the week even ended up giving his little flashing fishy life for the cause before all was said and done. It was a sad night for those of us who knew. Thankfully there was a backup waiting to take his place and the children were none the wiser. But, in the end, we have 12 precious souls who are now ready to live for Christ! Making the trials seem small, and not so bad after all.
We had a couple of days to recoup after VBS and before Sunday morning.
I had one evening to sit outside and watch the Youngest Princess play while the fireflies flitted in the dusk around her.
Grammy and Poppy made it safely back to us from their trip.
My Prince and I attended a high school graduation. The classes of '64, '65, and '66. Not our own. My Prince was invited to say the prayer. It was fun, being a fly on the wall so to speak, and watching them reconnect and reminisce about the "good old days". And really, they did grow up in the "good old days". I was a little envious of the simple world they knew as kids. Things were definitely different then. And "progress" is not always a good thing. I guess I am an "old soul" as they say, but I had fun hanging out with them, making new friends and hearing their stories.
Church was wonderful both Sunday morning, and Sunday night. I had Children's church during the morning service. We had a good time learning about the blessing of friends, and singing VBS songs. The service went a little long, and I teased my prince that he owed me time and a half pay. But from what I hear the adult service was very good, and God was moving. So all was well.
In discipleship training, the teacher started a study on one of my favorite books of the Bible. Judges. Strange I know, but it is full of exciting stories of God restoring His people back to Him. I love the different and sometimes crazy ways, people, things, that God used to bring His people back. I love that we serve a longsuffering God, and that He will pursue us time and time again. Anyway, I usually have a small group during that time, so I asked the teacher if I could have copies of his notes each week. I teach Judges to my 5th graders as we work our way through the O.T. and I am hoping that I might learn something new to make my lessons deeper and more exciting.
The Sunday night service was good as well. We prayed for our group that is going to World Changers next week. Exciting times! We get to do VBS all over again, in a different church, in a different city, in a different state even. With a whole new group of kids. With the potential of changing another whole group of people's lives! We are ready and chomping at the bit to get there and get started!
After the service, we had a World Changer's meeting, and that made me even more excited to go. Then we went to eat with a couple of couples from our church. Good food, and good fellowship. A great way to end a good weekend.
And those are the highlights to get us caught up once again.
Until I blog again...
Since I last blogged, we finished up VBS. It was a fantastic year! I loved the theme and the curriculum this year. The kids had a blast. The workers had a blast as well. We had a total of 10 kids and 1 adult come to know the Lord as their personal Savior, and one adult who rededicated her life by the time the glitter had settled, and the decorations had come down. That my friends, is VERY EXCITING! And as wonderful as that all is, it was not a perfect week. There were trials, discouragements, and issues along the way as well. Our mascot for the week even ended up giving his little flashing fishy life for the cause before all was said and done. It was a sad night for those of us who knew. Thankfully there was a backup waiting to take his place and the children were none the wiser. But, in the end, we have 12 precious souls who are now ready to live for Christ! Making the trials seem small, and not so bad after all.
We had a couple of days to recoup after VBS and before Sunday morning.
I had one evening to sit outside and watch the Youngest Princess play while the fireflies flitted in the dusk around her.
Grammy and Poppy made it safely back to us from their trip.
My Prince and I attended a high school graduation. The classes of '64, '65, and '66. Not our own. My Prince was invited to say the prayer. It was fun, being a fly on the wall so to speak, and watching them reconnect and reminisce about the "good old days". And really, they did grow up in the "good old days". I was a little envious of the simple world they knew as kids. Things were definitely different then. And "progress" is not always a good thing. I guess I am an "old soul" as they say, but I had fun hanging out with them, making new friends and hearing their stories.
Church was wonderful both Sunday morning, and Sunday night. I had Children's church during the morning service. We had a good time learning about the blessing of friends, and singing VBS songs. The service went a little long, and I teased my prince that he owed me time and a half pay. But from what I hear the adult service was very good, and God was moving. So all was well.
In discipleship training, the teacher started a study on one of my favorite books of the Bible. Judges. Strange I know, but it is full of exciting stories of God restoring His people back to Him. I love the different and sometimes crazy ways, people, things, that God used to bring His people back. I love that we serve a longsuffering God, and that He will pursue us time and time again. Anyway, I usually have a small group during that time, so I asked the teacher if I could have copies of his notes each week. I teach Judges to my 5th graders as we work our way through the O.T. and I am hoping that I might learn something new to make my lessons deeper and more exciting.
The Sunday night service was good as well. We prayed for our group that is going to World Changers next week. Exciting times! We get to do VBS all over again, in a different church, in a different city, in a different state even. With a whole new group of kids. With the potential of changing another whole group of people's lives! We are ready and chomping at the bit to get there and get started!
After the service, we had a World Changer's meeting, and that made me even more excited to go. Then we went to eat with a couple of couples from our church. Good food, and good fellowship. A great way to end a good weekend.
And those are the highlights to get us caught up once again.
Until I blog again...
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