Weekend Away

Friday Jeremy and I headed North to stay with Marc & Kristina. On the way we stopped at this super cute diner in Jacksonville. We thought it looked like it could be on the show, "Diners, Drive Inns & Dives" It was way fun. They brought us a warm loaf of homemade bread and  the food was great. We were glad we took the time to stop instead of eating fast food.
On our drive we saw some funny stuff. We saw this amazing rainbow (although there wasn't any rain). We also spotted one of my high school coaches in front of us on the interstate. Then when we went past Bloomington we spotted Abby, Chuck, & Lindsay! It was so crazy.
We really enjoyed the extra time to visit with the Gorsch family. Since our girls stayed home with their Papa and Grammy I had fun playing with Sadie & snuggling with Kinnick. They are both so adorable. I can't get over how similar Grace & Sadie's personalities are.
The wedding was at Funks Grove chapel. It was gorgeous and a great day for a wedding.
Okay, so this picture didn't turn out so great, but it was the only one we took together. I was so glad Jeremy ended up coming with me, he is my favorite person to road trip with!
"My Girls" (minus the Bride)
The wedding was so much fun. It was such a great time to visit, although too short.  Abby looked so gorgeous. And the reception was beautiful with really yummy food! I don't know if I thought it would be possible to still be this close to my girls 5 years after college. They are still my closest girl friends and prayer partners. I feel SO blessed to have them in my life.

My Attempt at Gardening

Just because you've only got houseplants doesn't mean you don't have the gardening spirit - I look upon myself as an indoor gardener.  ~Sara Moss-Wolfe

The above quote pretty much summed up my gardening experience in life thus far. Many of you know I LOVE house plants. While my indoor plants have taken lots of abuse (constantly moving, toddlers, etc.) I do usually manage to keep them alive! And thus far I was perfectly content with that.  But, I had been talking about trying to grow some vegetables the last year or two.  

And it probably wouldn't have progressed past the talking point had my grandmother not given me a Topsy Turvey  for Christmas. I was at first very excited. But, as Spring grew closer I thought, "What am I going to do with that thing! I have no idea how to grow stuff." And in the process I discovered something about myself. I am not good at attempting a task I don't know exactly how to do. I'm not very good at just making it up as I go along. I like to stick to stuff I am good at like decorating, or baking. New stuff makes me nervous. (Now that sounds like me doesn't it!)

But despite myself I somehow managed to get caught up in the idea of making my own salsa and sharing the joy of Grace watching the plants grow and here is the result. Oh, and I might have done some educational reading on the internet as well.

The plant in the middle is a tomato. It has been planted for two weeks & has a bloom! The other two are peppers. I just planted them so I am hopeful they will do well also. These Topsy Turvey things aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing but they are supposed to be easy.

These two pots have herbs. I'm not exactly sure which herbs they all are because it was on sale and labeled "salsa mix." But I think I have sweet leaf basil, chives, oregano, and cilantro. Still working on figuring that all out.

The big pot is a squash plant. The two pots that are dirt I planted spinach & mixed greens. I am most doubtful about these. I just can't believe I can grow something from a seed, but who knows!

So there you have it, my first attempt at container gardening. If I am successful I plan to expand next year. I am hoping to track my progress occasionally on my blog to keep myself motivated.

While checking out quotes on gardening I found the following:

The best place to seek God is in a garden.  You can dig for him there.  ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.  ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

I'm not sure how much truth there are in these quotes, but they seemed to fit my life so perfectly I had to include them. This Spring God has been challenging me big time! And the circumstances of my life have left me praying like never before, seeking God's direction. So wether its in my garden or not I'm praying he will speak some clear direction for our family. Please feel free to join me in praying for that! Is there something I could pray for you about? 

I have crossed over...

Well, according to my husband there is a coupon crazy subculture and I have officially crossed over and established residency. I have been "flirting" with couponing for over a year now. Pretty much ever since we got the internet. I started by always searching for discount codes online, using Ebates, reading Freebies 4 Mom, etc. But, up until this point I was still not willing to go to the store on a regular basis. ( I currently only go to the store every two weeks) But, Stephanie & Lindsay have officially inspired me to take it one step further. My story is pretty much similar to Stephanie's. I was a frugal person. Remember those Tight Wad Gazette books I read? Hysterical! I also shopped at Aldi, and used coupons occasionally on the very select few items I actually buy name brand. And don't get me wrong I am still committed to Aldi. (I mean when have you seen a coupon for produce?) 

However, I knew from talking to Stephanie & Lindsay it was possible to get stuff for cheap (yep, even cheaper than Aldi sometimes) or even free! So, I finally took the time to read enough blogs to figure out what coupon stacking, doing the drugstore thing, and all the other coupon lingo was talking about. And I have to say they have made a believer out of me. So, here is my bounty from my first trip to Walgreens. I got all the stuff in this picture for less than $40. 

So here is my pledge. I won't always share with you pictures of the stuff I'm buying. While I find this fascinating and very helpful on other people's blogs that isn't really the purpose of my blog. However, I LOVE a great deal so every once in awhile I will probably update you on how my savings are going. My goal is to save enough money to justify having cable/internet. The past year someone gave us this as a gift. It has been lovely. It was the first time we had cable ever, and the first time I've had internet access since we move to Hannibal. However, the year is over and I am really wanting to keep it. So, this is my answer to justifying keeping this added expense. (and I am so attached to blogging I'm afraid I might have to admit myself somewhere if I had to give it up completely) So, that means I will need to save at least $80 a month on my "house" budget. According to all these lovely blogging coupon crazy ladies this seems like an attainable goal. I'll keep you posted.

Coming soon a post about my other frugal endeavor, a container garden on my porch. Still working on that one. Now if I could only sew... (Nope, not happening! I'm sticking to Goodwill and Yardsales for the clothes.)

The Family Museum

(The closest thing I got to a picture of all five of them!)

On Friday the girls and I took a road trip to visit Nana. We were planning on going to the picnic at the hospital where she works for lunch. Then we were going to head to Wildlife Prairie Park. However, if you live in Illinois you know it POURED the entire day. So, instead we ate the cookout in the hospital cafeteria (probably actually easier with kidos). Then we headed to our rain location, The Family Museum, in Bettendorf. (So our trip included three states MO, IL, & IA) It was a lot of driving in the rain, but it was such fun that it was totally worth it.

We went with friends Carter & Ellie, Nana works with their mom Jessica. Caleb also came with his grandma, Jean, a family friend. We went to the Family Museum on our family vacation last fall. It was fun to see how much more the girls enjoyed this visit. Two sections were completely different then when we went so there was plenty of new things to explore. After the museum we went to eat chips & cheese (mexican) Grace's favorite and then spent the night with Nana. It was such a great adventure and I am really looking forward to scheduling our next play date!

Our Anniversary, Mother's Day, & This...

So one of my goals for this blog is to be real. I want the girls to be able to read it some day and learn from the challenges & joys that we have experienced as a family. This past weekend was a "big" weekend. Friday was Jeremy & I's five year anniversary. I wish I had pictures to post from the lovely date night we had planned to go on. But, it didn't happen. Earlier last week Jeremy told me that this weekend was when we would be trenching and installing drainage tile in our yard. He hinted around about machinery & big holes in the ground. I asked if he would rather I took the girls and went to visit my parents. We both decided this would be the best plan since the girls love to be with their daddy & grandpa when they are out in the yard. The next day Jeremy realized this weekend was our anniversary... I knew all along. But, we decided to go forward as planned. 

When the girls and I came back late Saturday night the yard was a big mess. Jeremy was very tired and we upset our neighbor because we messed up his flowers. The plan was that the yard would be finished and we would spend Mother's Day as a family. Jeremy would make dinner, we would take the kids to the park, and then watch a movie. Well, that didn't work out either. We ate Subway, spent the afternoon finishing the yard,  and I made dinner for & us and the family who came to help. And my children didn't exactly "rise up and call me blessed" either.  Grace made a lovely flower craft in her class (for Mother's Day) which she screamed and cried about when we tried to encourage her to actually give it to me. 

Have no doubt we live a real life, with real challenges. Challenges that make me want to throw a pity party, eat ice cream, and sometimes have a good cry! But, the good news is that God didn't leave me there. His work in my life is awesome. Here are some of the things He showed me.

- While I didn't have my anniversary date I went on an AMAZING trip to Mexico in December to celebrate early. We saved money, and missed the swine flu! And while we still wanted to at least have a date night on our anniversary it doesn't mean we have a stinky marriage. We actually have a awesome marriage, and I'd choose everyday bliss over once a year romance any day. I am more in love with my husband than the day I married him and part of the reason is all the challenges we have weathered together.

-When I got home there was a lovely Mother's Day card & surprise from Rick & Leeanne. A spa manicure gift certificate. They are so thoughtful.

-While my Mother's Day wasn't perfect it wasn't horrible either. While we were working on our yard my neighbor told me our family has inspired her to work on her faith & her family. God really touched my heart on that one!

-Grace may not have wanted to share the particular treasure she made in Sunday School but she has told me several times in the last month, "Your the best mommy ever."

- Yesterday I worked hard to fix our neighbor's flowers as best I could. They don't look like they did, but he did say he was thankful. I am praying my best efforts to go above and beyond what he asked will shine some light into his life.

This year I am reading through the Bible in chronological order. Currently I am reading through many of the Psalms. What perfect timing for the circumstances of our life. David is such an honest guy. He tells God when his life stinks, and then in the same breath says, "You rock God!" I can see God teaching me that is what deep faith looks like. It is realizing that even when life gets hard God hasn't changed. He is still awesome even if your life makes you want to eat ice cream.

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to post the gift we made for Mother's day so that Charlene could enjoy seeing her surprise. We are going to see her next Friday for a fun day at Wildlife Prairie Park and will deliver it then. (Can't wait!) This year the girls really participated in making the gift. They are great at stirring from all their cooking experience. We are so thankful for all the special ladies in our family. Happy Mother's Day!

My Little Artist

So have you ever woke up one day and realized your child had grown up a little bit and you feel like you missed it? I am totally there. Grace recently drew this picture of The Little Einsteins. I was amazed! I had never even see her draw something I could tell was a person. This scanned copy doesn't really do the original justice. The large boy is Leo (red hair). Then on the left is Quincy (brown hair), Annie (blonde hair), and June looks like a purple circle because her face is in pencil. She also drew Quincy's trumpet and Annie's microphone on the right. I was so impressed. If you aren't familiar with the Little Einsteins you probably can't decipher the picture, but to her mom, this is a masterpiece.

Grace,

I am so proud of you! You really love to draw & be creative like me. You are growing up SO fast. Today you were telling me about when you grow up how you will ride the bus and go to school and bring Faith with you. I'm so not ready for that!

Love,

Mom 

Happy birthday...

The girls in their party dresses. Notice Faith's face, she took her first major spill this weekend falling down our back steps.

My girlfriends from my small group, with the window from our old church.

Well, among all the basement craziness we also celebrated birthdays last week. One night two of our friends came over for cake. Here they are blowing out their candles with the peanut butter cup cake. Ashley and Melissa are both very special girls in our home. They are also a part of our small group. 

Our church was also celebrating a very big birthday this weekend, 100 years. We had a huge Centennial celebration. It was awesome. Saturday there was a special program with lots of church history, and cake and ice cream. George Ross came and spoke and gave two inspirational messages. Above are pictures of us in our Centennial t-shirts. On Sunday we had a special dinner at the Quality Inn. It was a great weekend to remember God's faithfulness to our church.  

A $550 Mistake, I mean Blessing!

Jeremy and I have had quite the week. What is so funny to me is how much the post has changed from what I thought I might originally write. Last weekend we bought a new couch from the paper. (Remember the really good deal one?) Well, to make a long story somewhat short it wouldn't fit in our basement. Looking back it doesn't seem quite so stressful, but at the time it was anything but! On Thursday night we brought it home and one of the boys from our youth group came over to help Jeremy move it into the basement because the trailer we rented to pick it up had to be returned early the next morning. Well, it wasn't budging and Jeremy and I were experiencing some "communication issues." (a.k.a. trying not to totally loose it in front of one of our kids) Well, he went home and told his parents, "I guess this just shows you everyone is human." Needless to say I was feeling very guilty I had spent $550 on a couch that wouldn't fit in our house. Luckily, my amazing husband wasn't mad at me for making such a stupid mistake I couldn't fix.  (Did I mention the trailer poked a small hole in the otherwise brand new looking couch?) 

On Friday morning this is what my living room looked like:

I couldn't believe I had made such a bad decision. But, I learned a very valuable lesson. I had been semi aware that one way I have been processing the grief our family is experiencing is to whole heartedly invest myself in "new" dreams. I have gotten myself excited about working on the house, improving my wardrobe, dreaming about our family vacation, etc. While this is not a bad thing it had resulted in me spending more money that normal. I am usually quite selective in how I spend money. I am so thankful the Lord showed me this before it became a issue in our home. God is a great teacher, even if I am a painful student.  

Thankfully my mother was coming for Garage Sale weekend and helped convinced me to put the couch in our upstairs living room. I was quite convinced it was too big and still frustrated it wouldn't go down the stairs. But after hours of rearranging it looks awesome and I LOVE it upstairs. (My mother was quite a saint, I was not easy to convince.)

So this is where the story gets long, but interesting... Remember, I said we had quite the week. Our basement flooded and is completely trashed. Those of you who are familiar with our home know that our basement is over half the square footage of our living space. It is our primary living room space and the girls' playroom/daycare area. I won't go into all the details but here is what my beautiful basement now looks like.

Basement with water, before the worst of it.

What is left of our bathroom...

But, God has continued to be faithful. Our small group has been absolutely amazing helping us move stuff, providing food, doing laundry, storing stuff, etc. And even though we still have a long road ahead to restore our basement I find myself in a place of thankfulness.  Did I mention what an absolute blessing it is to have a sectional couch upstairs? I know, I know God is funny! 

Even though my life lately sounds like a sad country song I have answered one of the faith questions that has always haunted me. I have always had a hard time singing the following worship song. I wondered if I could earnestly sing these difficult words. But, in my life recently I  have seen a glimpse of  the road marked with suffering. I have seen God give and take away in my life and I can honestly say, "Blessed be your name!"

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful 
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out 
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering 
Though there's pain in the offering 
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out 
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

I am watching to see how He will turn this basement "opportunity" into a blessing as well.