Wonderful article...

If you have time, go over to this link and read this wonderful article. It is very inspiring and encouraging. If you do not get the Above Rubies magazine, it would be beneficial to you to subscribe. I'm so thankful for the godly encouragement that IS out there, via the internet or the press!

Hope you're having a pleasant Sunday. All's quiet here as little ones are napping. I cooked for my parents today, so our tummies are full and our bodies need to rest. I imagine I'll be closing my eyes for a spell here in a little bit.

We have a cold snap upon us too. How weird is that? Brr...

Fun Friday Finds

I thought you might like to see my bargains from yesterday's shopping excursion. My mom volunteered to keep my kiddos until 6pm, so I went grocery shopping and bargain hunting. I knew how much I had to spend and didn't go over my budget. That is the good part. Check out these finds:

Top Left and Right: 1 dress and 1 pink skirt both Wal-Mart brand, $2 each
Middle: Two canvas prints for my recently redone laundry room, $1.50 each (from Target)
Bottom: Pack of Sweet tart chewies $3.50 (to be resold at Youth Camp)
Bottom back: Stegosaurus print for bathroom: $1.50 (from Target)
Bottom front: Baby announcements ($1.00..regular 9.99)
Bottom right: 2 pkg of Burt's Bees 3 combo chapstick and lip balm, $1.00 ea
Way Bottom right: 1 butterfly pin $.99

Fun Finds, eh??

A Feeling of Melancholy

This pregnancy has proved by far the most emotional one for me. My hormones have caused my feelings to be really tender even if I've hidden it to the outside world and those I love dear. There have been many times I've blinked back tears when noone noticed and I really had little reason to be expressing such a downcast emotion. Things that are really sad are really, really sad to me these days. One such sad account is the recent death of a former coworker of mine. I worked alongside a young man for 3 or 4 years, which is time enough to tuck away many memories of that person and of experiences shared together. Working closely with someone for 3 or 4 years is long enough to recognize the days that it's okay to walk on eggshells with that person, when to be relaxed around that person, and when to joke around that person. My best memories of Scott is of our getting into a pretty deep discussion (usually on medicine or health related issues) and he, being in thought, would pause to take a drink of his coffee, all the while wrinkling up his face in deep concentration. I remember that before he would speak he would clear his throat and you would know that a deeply, thought-out answer was about to spill from his lips. Then there were those days were he would pick up the phone to answer and noone would be on the other line, so he would take advantage of a little time to act silly. He would say, "Hello? Hello? Hello?" And with every "Hello" his voice would get higher and higher. We needed a good laugh like this, especially at the first of the month. Several times he would bring over a prescription for a second opinion, just to see if I read it like he did. This meant a lot to me. Every morning he would come in late and we would all look at the clock, as would he, and he would appear all innocent as if he was 10 minutes early. He would come in the same every day, coffee in hand and sometimes a paper or a medical journal. Several times, during lunch, things would get really busy and he would have it by himself. I would 'fly in' and he would just casually step away from the computer in mid-type. He never, ever acted like he was snowed-in, even if there were 10 prescriptions in line. He would be as calm as ever--that was his nature.
That was 8 to 10 years ago and I've only seen him one or two times that I remember. Funny how we lose touch with people we had friendships with as a result of school or a job. Makes me want to see if I can find out the address of the old man I worked with on Saturdays at that same job..........
Anyway, my heart is saddened and shocked. Life is so fragile and long life is not granted to the young, vibrant, and healthy. My friend was 38.

Goings on....

Time is mostly too short to get in a good, intelligent blog, so I will just do a quick update of what is going on around me. These will be in a random order as they come to me...
*Oldest son has knocked off two subjects in our countdown for summer vacation. This means less time homeschooling. We are down from about 2 hours to about 1 & 1/2 hours. I can say that truthfully I will be sad to see it come to an end. He will still be doing Math for a ways into the Summer and of course, we will be reading all summer long. I also am nervous about keeping my kids occupied for the summer. I know that is crazy, but I am nuts without some sort of 'game plan' or what they need to do to keep from getting 'idle' minds.
*We have started The Boxcar Children book this week and the kids LOVE it. They begged me to keep reading the first time, so we've read six chapters in 2 days! I highly recommend it!
*Swimming season has officially started as of Saturday. My kids are now transformers--they can change into fish at the first call for a 'swim day'. :) I still haven't gone--I don't want the baby to get hypothermia.
*Speaking of the baby, I still don't have a very active one, but the 2 oldest did get to feel her move yesterday. They were quite excited. I am constantly reminded of the tons of things I need to get done before she arrives in a few months.
*I am doing about 15 minutes of spring cleaning every day. I do this because spending hours per day spring cleaning just isn't doable for me. Today I cleaned behind and under the couch and right now the throw pillow covers and 2 of the actual pillows are in the wash. Too bad I can't throw my whole couch in the wash. Ugh. I desperately need a couch cover! After I get off of the computer I plan to roll up my rug and sweep under it. I also need to check under the couch cushions for missing toys, etc. I also probably will turn the couch pillows on the other side to disguise the stains in the side we currently sit on. My living room isn't too bad, but the other rooms are in desperate need of decluttering/deep cleaning. I have got to keep this up.
*We have planted a pretty big garden this year. Our potatoes are ready for digging and the pole beans and butterbeans have come up. Our tomato plants sort of drowned last week, so I don't know what we'll be doing there. We have cantelope plants that have come up and I also have some sunflowers that are coming up. I went out and hoed some today, but I could only make it for 1 row. Bending over made me feel like I was so full that I was going to throw up. Weird, I know. I hate a weedy garden, though.
*We have a blessed routine that we have been adhering to for about 2 months. It really works for us and I know my kids thrive on a schedule. After school is out, I will be changing it up, some, such as adding more chores for the kids. I'm sure they will love that. Right now my schedule is as follows:
5:00: Get up and have quiet time (sometimes it is wayyy too quiet time...as in I fall asleep..ha)
Sometimes I will go back to bed after my prayers, which I have been doing a lot here lately. Also I pretty much sleep in on Sat and Sun or at least get up later than 5.
After I get up: clean kitchen and cook breakfast (sometimes I do these in reverse, it's according to how hungry my kids are)
Start laundry, including putting away yesterday's laundry or ironing if needed (I only iron husband's in advance)
Make bed and pick up in room
Pick up in kids' room
Kids make bed and pick up (believe me there is plenty for them to pick up even after I finish)
Kids and I pick up in Living room
I pick up in Dining room
Start supper preps (thaw out meat or put something in Crock Pot)
Homeschool
After this we are really flexible, if it is a church night, the kids take naps, if not they will go outside and play for awhile. We are really flexible until supper and then after that it is pretty much the same until bathtime.
Of course, I have certain days where I do certain things regarding cleaning, etc.

Well, that's a wrap for now! What is going on with you? God is so good to us and 'daily loadeth us with benefits'.

Stinky Shoe...

Not me!

Butting in from a busy laundry day to post a funny.....
Yesterday afternoon, we had 'breakfast' for supper and as I was preparing the biscuits, I, of course, preheated the oven. A few minutes into the preheating I noticed a peculiar smell coming from the oven. I knew I didn't have anything else on the burner (the eggs and grits were already done), so I just sort of ignored it--for a while. The smell got worse and I noticed it had a burnt rubber smell about it. After seeing smoke start to come from the bottom of the oven (the broiler part), I had a flashback of Evan putting a shoe in the oven that morning. YK, it's one of those things you sort of see, but don't, or quickly forget about it. My reflexes went into action and we retrieved the black, melted, smokey shoe from the oven. Yuck. Evan looked very guilty! :o)
The bad thing is it was a shoe from a pair we had borrowed from a friend. Oops.
Have a good day.