Hearts in Service

Do you realize how fast time flies? Emily, my baby, is 12 years old today. It seems like just yesterday she was a toddler. Nathan turned 20 at the beginning of the month and Stephen is 18. Wow! I know many of you are in the same boat. As I look back over the past 20 years, I'd like to think that I made the most of each moment I had with them. However, I also know that I haven't always had that mindset. I've spent more time fixating on things that aren't that important. My husband, on the other hand, is wonderful at enjoying every single moment of his children's lives. I have learned so much from him. His family is more important than anything. As mothers we can get so caught up in the day to day activities that we often don't stop and really focus on our children. I find that I often need to step away from what I am doing and just spend some time listening to them as they talk. I don't want them to remember me as running around and telling them, "No

Emily's new chicks are growing quickly and are losing all their baby fuzz. She took them outside for the first time today for about a half an hour. She kept close watch so nothing would get them. At first they hovered near the box and wouldn't go anywhere. However, after a bit they got adventurous. Then it got fun. All of the sudden one flew on Emily's head. They decided she made a good place to roost. This is her rendition of being Cinderella and singing to the birds! :-) They are certainly providing a lot of fun for Miss Emily.

Psalm 118:24 ~ "This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Making a choice. Every moment and day here on the earth is given by the Lord. Every day we are given a choice. We can choose to be joyful and look for the good in each moment or we can choose to be miserable. We can make a choice to rejoice in the small things or make a choice to grumble and complain. I'm making a choice to look for the blessings in my life. Does that mean I'm walking around with my head in the clouds? No. In fact, I have some pretty grim realities that are a part of my every day life. Things that most people will never have to deal with. Yet, I am making a choice. I am choosing to be joyful. I am choosing to acknowledge that God has given me this life and that it is a blessing. Choosing this doesn't change my reality but it certainly changes my attitude! Today I'm thankful for Blessings #406-425 ♥ Surviving an extremely hectic week. ♥ A wonderful

We crossed another milestone here last night. Stephen went to his junior prom. I was happy for him, yet it was kind of a bittersweet moment. I realized that I'm not going to have him home much longer. I decided to try and be frugal and make the corsage and boutonniere myself. In hindsight, I probably should have just purchased them. It is cheaper to make your own if you have supplies on hand and are only going to purchase the couple of flowers you need. However, because it was my first attempt I went over the budget. Here is the corsage. Stephen took his friend, Ali to the prom and they had a wonderful time. Our school district offered a well supervised after-the-prom party at an indoor amusement park. They provided busing to the party and then back to the school after that. He was out all night, but had a wonderful time. Here are some photos of the couple. I burst out laughing as I was cropping them because in my haste and nervousness to get the pictures I never noticed

I haven't had anytime to do any sort of crafting lately. In fact, my ambitious goal of doing one major craft per month has become laughable. However, I guess working full-time, moving and getting pneumonia are good excuses. :-) I made my mom and my mother-in-law a set of cards for Mother's Day. I thought these turned out really cute and they were well received. Now that we are settled into the new house, I'm getting the itch to craft more. Summer is coming too when I'll have lots of time to do my crafty things!

I pulled out my copy of the Complete Tightwad Gazette last night and I'm glad I did. I haven't read it in a few years and it certainly provided some inspiration. I have always enjoyed the challenge to try and be frugal. I know some people would call it cheap, tight fisted, or a tightwad. In my case, it is because of necessity. For years we lived on one income and managed fairly well. People would say, "Oh nobody can live on one income in this area." Yet, we were able to do it and on a small income at that. However, when Dan's pay got cut in half and he lost his benefits, I went back to work so we could at least have medical insurance. I have to pay into the benefits so my check is tiny. Even with me working full-time, we are bringing in less income than when I stayed home. So I need to work even harder at being frugal to make ends meet. Here are some things I have done this past week to stretch my dollar. I've mentioned some of them before. ► I nee

Count Your Blessings by Sheryl Gump So often we complain about the lives we live. Unsatisfied with each other having no joy to give. If only we could take a moment from our time to see all the hungry people who have not even a dime. Husbands complain about their wives and all the things they do, but have they thought about the man who has none to come home to? And as for the wives, have they ever stoped to think, what in the world they would do if they ever lost their link? We mope about our children, but do we realize how this world would be without those loving eyes? What we need right now is to take each other's hand give thanks for what we're given upon this wonderous land. So now let's count our blessings that we've been given from above always to remember the richest one is love. Today I'm thankful for Blessings #391-405 ♥ Fragrant smells in the air. ♥ Baby birds chirping up a storm. ♥ A family sabbath dinner. ♥ The beauty of lilacs. ♥ Nathan getting his fire

I enjoy blogging because I like to write and it has been a tool to journal things for my children to remember. However, it is so easy on blogs to present only the good and only the positive. You can make it seem like your life is perfect. Yet, life is not perfect and families are not perfect. I've really worked hard to be transparent here on this blog. I am not a perfect person and I struggle with many things. Yet, I want to live my life for the Lord and do my best to serve Him. I know that often people are more blessed when they see that someone does struggle yet still tries to honor God with their life. I find it helpful to see the process that someone goes through rather than just the end result. Yesterday morning did not start well. In fact, it was quite horrible. My fairy tale book expectations of Mother's Day did not match reality and I did not handle things graciously. In fact, I blew it BIG TIME! The problem when you allow yourself to give way to your emotio