It's the Little Things

It is the little things that can get to me.  They sneak up when I am not looking.  They steal my joy and drive me to a unthankful place that just seems to pull me deeper and deeper into anxiety.  I wish I was strong enough to resist. 

Today is a great day, but it's one of those days.

This morning I have a lot to do.  I decided to wash some clothes, and my barely holding it together 11 year old washing machine leaks water all over the floor.  It is just too much for me.  I cave in to the wave of worry.  I begin to sink into the what ifs....

what if the washing machine can't be repaired by Michael...
what if the floor is rotted now....

what if we go bankrupt trying to keep up with this house and all our things...
what if......

I begin to feel like I can't catch my breath, literally.  I try to gasp for oxygen, but I feel the weight of anxiety heavy on my chest.

I pray.   It's all I have left.

Then I hear in my heart, the words I have buried deep with Scripture memory....

"Cast your cares on the Lord.  He will sustain you.  He will never let the righteous be shaken."
Psalm 55:22

"In everything with prayer and petition submit your requests to God." Philippians 4:6-7

I feel the darkness lifting.  Light begins to shine into my heart.

My breathing returns to normal.  Peace fills my body.  I begin to smile, and then giggle, and then laugh with joy.

Yes, this house may fall apart around my head.  All my fears may come true even.  But I have a God in Heaven who will hold me in the palm of His hands and breath love and mercy and grace on me.

His grace is sufficient. 

These little words are all I need to keep me from going crazy.   It really is the little things.

Mowing the grass is one of my many things on my to do list today.

What's for dinner?

The boys and I harvested some of our goodies this morning, and we ended up with red potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, okra, corn, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, and two pumpkins!!

So dinner will be fried zucchini, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and cucumber roll ups!!
ALL STRAIGHT FROM THE GARDEN TODAY!

Levi decided to start a carrot pile on our couch pillows.

Half of a Bag of Chocolate Chips and a Path of Destruction Later

A view from above



What am I talking about??  LEVI!!!! He is officially my little tornado this week.  The big boys were in VBS from 9-1.  Levi didn't know what to do with himself, so he decided to pull the house down with his bare hands. 

For example this morning only,  I needed to write a couple of emails.  While I was doing that, this is what Levi was doing:

• grabbed my mouse and clicked send to an email that should not have been sent out (for the second time this week), 
• broke some decorations, 
• pulled out every single item from the kitchen cabinets, 
• ran with scissors, 
• ate glue, 
• got on top of the kitchen table 20 plus times,
•  stuck a spoon in the printer, 
• poured a box of cereal on the floor and crushed the cereal with his feet,
•  pulled out all the paper from the printer and scattered it across the house, 
• yanked and ran with all my important documents,
• poured water on the floor, fell, and hit his head
• threw all the dirty dishes and toys into the sink (I expect to find broken glasses and plates later)
• ate a half a bag of chocolate chips AFTER ALL THE ABOVE FUN!!!! I stepped away to go to the bathroom and run upstairs for something, and I came back to an empty bag of chocolate chips and a  Levi grinning ear to chocolate covered ear

I can't even imagine what the afternoon will hold with all that sugar and caffeine in his system.  


Life with boys is full of joys!!!



Can I come to your house next??? 

The Best June of My Life!

That's a pretty bold statement I know, but I have to be honest and say I have never been more blessed than today!  I have so much to praise God for.  Here's some pictures of my blessings in the month of June!!

 

My boys love playing together.  Here's Levi trying to get on the action too!  15 months and nothing stops him.  His favorite activity: dancing on top of the kitchen table when no one is looking. Oh and eating everything on the table while dancing!

 

 My Joel: independent, exploring, helping, so sweet!

 Here are the two big ones working together.  Clark and Joel have a very special relationship so far!  I pray Levi will be included that in tight bond.  I know he'll push his way in if he must. 

 

 Mister Smiley!!

Levi taking the bribe

 We are now on the homeschooling journey!!  We started year round school this month.  So Clark is officially a kindergartener!!  We take it very seriously as you can see with Clark learning at the table without his clothes!!  :-)  Levi loves to help by taking  Clark's papers, scissors, crayons, etc and running away with them.  I try to bribe Levi with food to give us some time to work.   

 Joel wants to be part of the fun too!!

I love the serious concentration!!

My Surprise Pumpkin Patch!

I don't know how, but we had pumpkin plants spring up in our backyard this growing season.

And we love it. They have taken over the yard and are loaded with pumpkins big and small.

Here's Clark watering our little pumpkin patch.

Our one and only apple!

Our little crazy garden!

What Is Success?? And a few cute photos

I love finding good quotes.  Here's one that I found a long time ago.  Warning: It is a little radical which I love.

Taken from Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson page 105

" If we teach our children through our actions or instruction, even subtly that being successful in this world is somehow a measure of their importance and success, then we will miss the point of all the Lord's teachings.  We are given one chance to live on earth, and the one true measure of our success will be our faith, our faithfulness, and our obedience.  If they live with eternity in their eyes, they can live with hope no matter what happens in this life."

I hope that I am able to teach this truth to my boys and build them up in the strength of the Lord. 
Pray for me. 

My boys and their affinity to things with wheels!

13 Years of Blessed Ups and Downs and Counting

We recently celebrated our 13th anniversary.  I have to say it has only gotten better and better as the years roll by.   I love looking back at my life and seeing how much we have grown closer and deeper in love.  Yes we still have conflict and times that I think, "how in the world are we going to get through this."  But I am so glad that we have stood together and created this beautiful life together.

This is right before we started the journey of parenthood over five years ago!

Starting the Tennessee Adventure!

What adventure will today hold??

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Father's Day 2012

I saw the idea to take pictures with letters on Pinterest, so I went to Hobby Lobby and borrowed their letters for some cute shots.  I bought a cute frame, and I put the pictures in the frame.

 With the extra photos, I made a super simple card for dad!

Again this is another idea from Pinterest, but I modified.

This is so meaningful to me as it captures our little family's hands touching each others.

I might be a little overkilling it, but I do have my children's dad and my extra babysitting buddy's dad plus granddads to love on this Father's Day. So for extra fun, we made lion cards that says,

 "I am full of pride that you are my Daddy.  You are my "mane" man."

I cut the card so the mouth pops out when open. 

 The boys finger painted their cards and put on the googly eyes. 

I have plans for some serious cooking and eating this weekend per Michael's request. 

I hope he feels very loved and appreciated. 

He is such a great father, leader, and husband.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads!!

8 Little Things I Love: One Gardener's Show and Tell

 

1. The beautiful flowers blooming in my front yard and the extraordinary smell of spring flowers in the air.

2. Delicious ripe strawberries growing in my garden and watching my boys devour them each time they go out the front door.

3. A beautiful pot of pansies

(I've had the hardest time growing these flowers, but I figured it out this year. 

 You have to plant a lot of them!)

4. Tiny tiny tomatoes growing and all the hope they hold for tons of salsa, pizza sauce, and BLTs!!

5. The bright yellow pumpkin petals growing out of my compost pile! 

6. Broccoli!! 

I have never grown this gorgeous veggie before.  But Clark and I love it.  I have seen a love of botany and gardening develop as Clark has watched his broccoli grow.

7. Baby bell peppers

8. Blueberries finally turning blue!

Bright eyes gladden the heart

A very wise woman reminded me lately of this Proverb.  Proverbs 15:30 says that "bright eyes gladden the heart".  And I have to agree.  When I see my boys' bright eyes, I am filled with joy and gladdness!  I love eyes.  It's my favorite part of the face.  I love looking into Clark's earthy brown/green eyes just like his dad and mom,  Joel's sweet milk chocolate eyes, and Levi's stormy blue eyes. Today I tried to take pictures to capture their eyes.  I failed, but I had fun trying. 

                        Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news puts fat on the bones.

That explains everything....I must have had a lot of good news lately.  Hee hee!!!