A new kind of chip for our picnic today...

sweet potato chips with sea salt.

Yum!

If it isn't one thing...it's another!

The hole is now to his shoulders...it has been a slow process due to the small space and packed clay!  He has finally come to the end of the crack...in the very last block!  Filling should begin today...and hopefully the birds that started building a nest on the corner of the house this morning won't attack my guys!  This "simple Saturday job" seems to have additional variables each day...tomorrow...the beginning of a week of rain.

"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”

It is fun to make plans...seems to me...there are lots of those for this summer!

Monday comes after the weekend...

and our fourth chair filler is down and out.

Doing something different for dessert

Strawberries and lemon cream layered with cake...

Yummy and pretty for Easter dinner.  Since many family members hold to the thought that

"fruit is not dessert"...

there is another option...chocolate cream layered with cake topped with cookie crumbs...

Different is good!

**Update:  Different was good!**

Then Came The Morning!

They all walked away, with nothing to say
They'd just lost their dearest friend. All that He said, no He was dead, so this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed, were not what they'd seemed, now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail.
How could a night be so long?

Then came the morning. Night turned into day. The stone was rollled away. Hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning. Shadows vanished before the sun. Death had lost and Life had won, for morning had come!

The angel, the star, the kings from afar.
The wedding, the water, the wine. Now it was done, they'd taken her son. Wasted before his time. She knew it was true, she'd watched him die too. She'd heard them call Him just a man. But deep in her heart, She knew from the start, somehow her Son would live again

Then came the morning. Night turned into day. The stone was rolled away. Hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning. Shadows vanished before the sun. Death had lost and Life had won, for moring had come!

Then came the morning! Shadows vanished before the sun. Death had lost and Life had won, for morning had come!

Real life illustration!

Ted noticed some crumbling (missing) mortar in the cement blocks that make up the foundation of our house.  We purchased materials to fix it.  As Ted cleared away the ground to clean out the crack...he noticed the crack continued into another block...and then another...and he dug out more dirt to see how deep the crack went.  It is not looking good...the hole has gotten bigger and deeper.  As the kiddos gathered around to see what Dad was doing...he explained this "real life" example of Biblical truth that was read again earlier today.  If our foundation is weak...or crumbling...it will continue to do so till it is fixed!  Eventually...the crumbling underneath away from the eyes...

will be evident before all...and the damage will be great.

Luke 6:45-49

"The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend."

"Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way."

I watched Alisa gather supplies to go and sit at the picnic table this afternoon.  She flitted around and came up with books and coloring utensils.  It was a beautiful afternoon to sit outside and color!

"Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer."

I watched Ashlynn stand in the kitchen and watch out the backdoor to see what her sister was doing.  She asked for a snack, and then quietly busied herself in the kitchen.  Out the door she walked with a bowl of cut up apples, two forks, and two glasses of lemonade...and joined her sister at the table.  I was on the couch trying to read, but mesmerized by the events of each girl and touched by their camaraderie.  It is always there...just some days hidden by the fog of familiarity and contempt.

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities.  She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway.  She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark.  She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.  Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child." 

The sisters enjoyed a good hour together...and had to come in because they got too cold.  They happily agreed upon a "girly movie" and curled up in the chairs.

I don't think I made it too obvious that I was watching them...

but I was...storing the scenes up for those times when the fog returns to blur the blessing that is theirs.

When did they get so big?

"Mom, can I sew this flower back on my sweater?" she asked.  "There is thread with a needle on my dresser, get it, and I can do it real quick." I answered looking at the time. 

"I can do it, Mom." Ash responded.  WAIT!  What? "How did you learn that?" I asked knowing I hadn't taught her that, but she had watched me several times.  This...the same girl who is nervous about curling irons...willingly wanted to hold a sharp object in close proximity to her own fingers.

"Grandma taught me.  I can do it!" she chirped.

Ohhhh...and my eyes watered.  How many times have I said or responded with those kind of  phrases?  "Grandma taught me that.  Grandma showed me that.  Grandma did that.  Grandma says that. 

Grandma would like that."

Thank you to our Grandmas for sharing their time and talents with our children...often not knowing the traumatic times of hair curling that we mothers have to deal with week in and week out...

and often put off (or don't think about) other life skills that involve "scary, dangerous tools of the trade".

When did they get so big?  So often these days, I seem to get pushed out of the way in the kitchen!  I remember tripping over them as they banged the pots and pans, played with their shadows on the sunny spots on the floor, ate Cheerios and crumbs off their little, chubby hands, and left trails of harmful toys all over the floor.  I used to have to smack hands away from the cupboard doors and oven.  Now I am handing them the sharp knives and supervising the use of the stove/oven.

It is a good thing...really...to see how much they are changing and learning.  It is good for me to step back and focus on the positive and praise them for it! 

I honestly think they could "do it all" without me now...

well...almost!

It pays to be patient.

I wanted to find a standing bunny for spring, but didn't want to spend a lot of money.

I found one today for $.75 at the thrift store...and another fancy bunny friend for my fancy friend!

If only...we could answer this question...truthfully...

"If it really doesn't matter or directly affect you, why does it bother you?"

When Dad picks up a pizza...

and Mom finds something special for dessert...you know it is...

DATE NIGHT!

Sorry for yelling...it had been awhile!  And I was excited to get Chinese food.  I actually sighed really big and said "Thank YOU!" before we even ordered our food.  Just some time alone to talk uninterrupted...ahhh wonderful!  And then home...by 7:30pm.

  There was really nothing else we needed or wanted to do...but crash. 

Some days make the week seem really long!

It was very much needed!  I was beginning to show signs of losing it...

in public even!  I'm thankful for the time that we can share as husband and wife.

Even though he shakes his head...he loves me enough to take a picture to send to our children.

We love each other...and we have to work at it!

 

Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you.  They are not perfect but are always perfect for you.  ~Author Unknown

I'm glad that I waited...and struggled.  I'm thankful that God protected...and directed.

I'm overwhelmed that Ted invested so much time (and money) and energy (and charm) to get to know me.  I'm thankful for the Lord's leading and the peace He brought...

at the right time

in the right way

with His best match for me!

My prince came...not because I went out searching or someone else went searching...

God had everything under control and had the timing all worked out.  I shudder when I think about how I could have really messed things up...and missed God's plan for Ted and me.

It's a choice we made...that has no alternatives. 

We committed to each other before God and all our family and friends...

"till death do us part."

I'm thankful for the years God has blessed given to us...

and I don't ever take one for granted.

  

This year, we celebrate...14 years...and counting!

I can still make him laugh...and his laugh still makes me feel cherished.