Wordless Wednesday

It's been CRAZY!

It has been absolutely crazy around here. So much going on. My lists of things to do never get done! A couple weeks ago we were spending a little time here.

Then we started on the yard. I can't wait to show you all the before and after pictures. Our patio was torn apart and we are putting in a block patio. The kids have been great helpers through it all. In the last couple weeks we have had landscapers over, electricians, a tree cut down in the front yard, carpenters putting steps up to my pool deck.

So along with all of this, the kids went to Vacation Bible School last week. I thought I would get a lot done with 5 mornings to myself. I got one morning of running a few errands by myself and then the rest was filled up with appointments. This week I will be doing more yard work and then next week we start swim lessons for 2 weeks.

On a side note, I had a couple people tell me they were having a hard time commenting on my last post. It seems to be working now, so if you tried to comment and it didn't go through, please try again.

Name That Super Hero

If there are any readers left out there after my rare appearances lately, I thought we'd play a little game called...................................

Name That Super Hero.

Did the title of my post give it away?

I think this guy deserves a name.

There may or may not be a prize involved for the winner. It could be a day at the pool, something from my garage sale pile, something from my gift pile, or maybe just a big old hearty "you're awesome!" Play and you'll find out!

Multitude Monday

388~ seeing the excitement on my girls faces as they have left on dates with their daddy

389~ miniature golfing with Joshua

390~ smell of sunblock

391~ delicious desserts

392~ homemade bread

393~ retelling of a Bible story by Isaac

394~ lazy afternoons by the pool

395~ toothless smiles

396~ thumb wars

397~ stockpiles of food from good sales

398~ homemade strawberry jelly

399~ fathers and a day to celebrate them

More Randomvis

Monday, Joshua had a dentist appointment.

I forgot.

I called on Tuesday and she got him in for Wednesday and Isaac too. So here are the last 2 pictures of dentist appointments that you will have to see. Technically this is not Isaac's first dentist appointment, since he had the extra teeth problem and has had oral surgery. But, it is his first cleaning.

4 appointments.......no cavities!

Monday night, I went to the grocery store. Got home and went to take out a loaf of bread from the freezer, which I always am stocked up on. Well, apparently not this time. I did not feel like going back to the grocery store and have always wanted to try making my own bread. Since it was a rainy day on Tuesday, I decided to do just that.

It was delicious but not something I want to do in place of buying bread.

This is what happens when you take 4 kids to a subdivision garage sale and then to a sprinkle park with a sled hill next to it. The sled hill will tempt them to climb it and run down it about 20 times, making them extremely tired. Then let them swim in the pool for a little while and then ...........well, you see what happened.

I'm just throwing this in here because seriously, isn't it just beautiful? I wish I could look at this everyday!








And......just so I don't leave my husband out. He plays in a church softball league and last night he hit a in-the-park home run and also had a double play!

Book Reviews

Most of the books I enjoy are usually true stories, which is what the 2 books that I am going to review today are.  

The first book I was able to read on vacation, although the second half was during our long ride home from Florida. It is called "The Glass Castle" and is by Jeannette Walls. I find it oddly fascinating that a woman that grew up in the 60's and 70's lived a good portion of her life with no indoor plumbing, no heat and no electric. This woman has a very interesting story to tell of her life as a child of an alcholic, a mother with a free spirit, and stories of moving from one town to another and across country. In the end, she realizes that this how her parents actually like to live. In one sense, I applaud her mother for not taking free handouts from the government when she knew her husband or herself could be working to pay for food and shelter but I also say shame on her for not going out and getting a job and making sure her children had clothes, a proper place to live and food to eat. It definitely gives you a new light on homeless people. Jeannette's parents actually liked being homeless and could have easily not been on the streets. They chose that path for themselves. I think Jeannette's life made her a very strong individual who had great drive. I definitely recommend this book.

The second book I read was "I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith. I have followed Angie's blog for over 2 years now. She tells the story of her pregnancy and finding out at 18 weeks that her daughter Audrey had conditions making her "incompatible with life." I love how Angie tells her story but weaves in so much scripture. This woman is a woman that is humble enough to share with us her weaknesses but strong in the Lord throughout this very difficult trial. One of my favorite lines in this book is,"Either we will go through life as bitter servants, or we will make Him famous with our love. I want Him to be famous." She shows us through this book how she has always pointed to Jesus. I think this book is a must read for all women! Angie is a very talented writer who will be writing another book and I can't wait to find out what it is!

Family Time and Relaxation

My list of 1000 Gifts continues as I am thankful for a recent family vacation and the things we saw and experienced while there.

370~387

Safe travels to and from Florida

Finances that allowed us to take a family vacation

Laying in the sun and reading a book

Fireworks

Parades

Roller coasters

Screams of children on roller coasters

Chasing bubbles

Getting drenched with water on a ride

Palm Trees

Swimming in the pool

Teaching my children to swim and the excitement on their face as they learn

Baseball games

Petting stingrays

Sandy beaches and the ocean water

Jumping in waves

Searching for seashells

And lastly, I am thankful for a fun, relaxing week with my family. What a great blessing it was!

 Do you find yourself being ungrateful? Join the gratitude community and you'll find yourself looking at life differently. Be grateful to God for everything in your life.

Disney's Magic Kingdom

We had a blast at Disney! We spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom. Thrifty, tight, cheap Melissa didn't want to go. Especially since I didn't have a coupon! But my husband said we were going, so we did! I am so glad! We were already planning our next trip as we were leaving.

Some of our favorites were the Buzz Lightyear ride, the teacups, the race cars, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (we went 3 times!), Splash Mountain, Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D Movie, and of course the girls favorite was meeting the princesses!

I could tell you all about it and bore you to death but I won't, I'll just share some pictures and let them speak for themselves.

Daddy and His Girls