We enjoyed a fun Father's Day, celebrating the Man who is a wonderful Dad every day of the year!

Giant Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast was a great way to start the day (Snickerdoodle enjoyed them very much!)

Toy Story 3 was just as great as the first 2. I even cried a bit (I won't give anything away for those of you who haven't seen it yet!)

I don't understand...

I do not understand what God is trying to teach me. It has been a rough year! Moving, miscarriage, lay-off, another lay-off, another miscarriage; and I have a desire to know what God is doing through all of this. But, it is not for me to know right now (if ever!).


Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I memorized this verse a long time ago. I think I always focused on the trusting and acknowledging parts that will lead to straight paths. Recently, I read it, and "lean not on your own understanding" just jumped out at me. (Probably because I have been trying desperately to understand what God is doing!)

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:1-3

When I tell my kids to wait patiently, I also expect them to wait quietly. This Psalm sounds like the psalmist is waiting patiently, but maybe not so quietly? So, while I will wait patiently for the LORD, I will continue to cry out to Him, trusting that He will give me a firm place to stand and a new song in my mouth.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:30-32

So, God's way is perfect. I don't need to lean on my own understanding, but I do need to trust in the LORD. And I will patiently wait for Him!

Handmade

I am so excited and proud of myself. I found a tutorial on a blog (rufflesandstuff.com) for this adorable Summer Dress! Ladybug's dress is made from one of Daddy's old dress shirts, and Snickerdoodle's is made from one of her big brothers' old shirts. Ooooo, I am just so excited to share it with you all.

As I was sitting at my sewing machine last night, I said to my Hubby, "Two years ago, did you imagine I would enjoy sewing so much?" I don't know what has happened to me, but I really enjoy sewing. I feel like I really accomplished something by making these cute dresses. It also helps that Ladybug really likes her dress.

A couple notes about the pictures...yes, Snickerdoodle's dress is wet! As I was finding my camera to go take pictures, she got a cup of water and tried to drink from it, and spilled it! :p And, yes, I think Ladybug's dress is a bit on the short side, so she will be wearing leggings or something like that under it. :)

Sweetness

I have a sweet tooth. I love Brownies, Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Hot Chocolate... But, I try to limit how much sugar I eat, so when I do treat myself to some chocolate, it tastes so good! If I go for days eating salad, whole wheat toast, celery, broccoli...then have a piece of dark chocolate, it is so delicious and I just savor it.

I think that is how life is. So much of life is ordinary, not exciting really at all; laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, sleeping. Then, when we get real sweetness in life, it is so wonderful. We hold our newborn baby. I walk down the beach hand in hand with the love of my life. I have a 15 minute conversation with my 4 year old son about how much Jesus loves us. These sweet moments are made more sweet by the fact that they don't happen all the time.

We recently had some green grapes that were so sour I didn't even want to eat them. After eating something so very bitter, chocolate tastes even sweeter.

I have experienced some very bitter moments in life lately; 2 miscarriages and my husband getting laid off twice, all in less than a year. These bitter difficulties have made me appreciate on a deeper level the sweet moments. A smile from Snickerdoodle. Snuggle time with WildCat. Prayer time with Ladybug. Playing catch with KarateChopper. A conversation with DinoDude. Reading with my Hubby. These ordinary moments are so much sweeter in the midst of such bitterness.

Summer Plans

It is officially Summer. We finished up school last week. Yesterday was Memorial Day. I'm wearing a tank. My toenails are pink, just like Ladybug and Snickerdoodle. So, it is officially Summer!
I have found that homeschooling is a lot like having a full-time job. I rarely accomplish anything besides school from 8 am- 2pm. Then, the rest of my days are spent doing laundry, cleaning the house, making meals, grocery shopping. I don't really have time to do big projects like I used to do more of before I was homeschooling 4 kids.
Therefore, I have big plans for the Summer. I want to organize my recipes. I have a bit of an addiction to cookbooks, but I tend to use the same few recipes over and over. So, I am planning to put all my recipes into a couple binders, and hopefully give away or sell my cookbooks. So, that will give me some more counter space and make it easier to find a recipe when I am looking for it.
I also want to organize kids clothes. I have way too many bins of kids clothes, size newborn to 8, both boys and girls. I just need to get rid of some and have the rest better organized for when I need them. Then, there are kids toys to organize. They really are quite spoiled and have more toys than they ever play with! So, we are going to get rid of some of those too!
Hmmm...it is sounding more and more like I should have a rummage sale. I'm just not sure if I'm up to it, so I will most likely give it away to friends who need it or to Goodwill.
Besides all this organizing that I desire to do, I hope to spend as much time as possible just having fun with my family. Hubby is unemployed right now, so we have to find free fun to do with the family. I plan to hike the beautiful hills around here. I plan to spend time at City Beach, on the beach while kids play in the water. I would also love to spend more time with the wonderful friends I've made here, in Idaho.