15 fun things for a FUN summer!

My husband sighs loudly at the mention of the word summer.  He is bitter sad and frequently remarks about how he will not have another summer for the next 40 years.  I simply reply back "Bless your heart" and tell him that I love him and appreciate all his hardwork (while thinking to myself that sounds horrible and depressing).  His sadness has encouraged me to not waste my days away this summer so I have decided to make a list of things I want to do and accomplish this summer! Some of these are slightly cheating because I KNOW that i will do them, but others will take more effort:)

1. Go on an animal adventure- visit a zoo!
2. Read at least 10 books- 2 must be non-fiction (I never read non-fiction...trying to be more well-rounded!)
3. Take a picture with Mickey Mouse
4. Go antique shopping/estate saleing
5. See a movie at the dollar theater
6. Lay on the beach for an entire day
7. Go to a baseball game
8. Watch fireworks being set off
9. Volunteer somewhere in my community
10. Enjoy a picnic lunch
11. Paint pottery at Color Me Mine
12. Join a bible study at my church
13. Watch the final space shuttle launch
14. Drink a butter beer at Three Broomsticks!!!
15. Have a craft day with my friends

I will update you as I accomplish things, so check back to see my progress!! What fun things are you going to do this summer season??

Buried in the Rubble

On Sunday, May 22nd, an EF 4 tornado wreaked havoc on Joplin, Missouri.  For many in our country, this is just a very sad natural disaster.  But for my family, it is much more than that.  My mother grew up in and around Joplin.  She spent her formative years in that town and we would frequently travel them to visit my Grandma when we were growing up. 

photo by Mike Gullet, AP via National Geographic

getty images

Joplin is a great community. All of my Great Aunts and Uncles still live in the area, as do their children. They are all very close and gather frequently for family events.  Sunday night was terrifying for them.  Not only did the tornado threaten their homes and possessions, it also threatened their lives.  One of our cousins, his wife, and their two children were missing Sunday night after the storm.  Their home had been completely destroyed, total devastation, and they were not accounted for.  My mom couldn't reach her brother either. 

We waited for hours in anticipation of news of their safety.  We first heard from my Uncle that he was safe and the house was relatively damage free.  This was a huge relief and an answer to prayer.  But the waiting continued for many more hours as we prayed for the safety and survival of our other family.  Late Sunday night, my Great Aunt called my mom with the news.  Her son and his family had been found amidst the rubble of their ruined home, it was truly a miracle of God that they were alive.  They had not been able to take proper shelter and were huddled together in the living room of their house when the tornado struck.  The house was demolished around them, but the Lord protected them.  I almost couldn't believe the news when my mom told me.  I just want to keep shouting PRAISE THE LORD!!

I keep thinking about how this image is a great picture of our lives without the Lord.  We are all like my cousins, trapped under rubble and debris from our lives.  Without the Lord's providence, we would all perish in the storm.  But he is our Savior and he delivers us from harm's way.  He takes us out of the debris of our lives, and provides us with his grace and love.   What a great picture of God's love for us! 

Please continue to pray for the people of Joplin.  I cannot imagine losing everything I own in a matter of minutes, where do you even go from there?  But amidst tragedy, people will join together to offer help, love, and support to their neighbors and loved ones.  I pray that people will see the love of Christ and his mercies and grace, that they would find comfort in the middle of this mess in the truth that God is good, he is mighty to save!

Dogs acting like Humans

I am a crazy dog lady...well for my dogs at least.  But they are seriously precious and do some hilarious things.  I think they are part human sometimes.  For your viewing pleasure:

 Dog days of summer...

 "What you lookin' at?"

 Make yourself right at home there buddy...

They do this almost every day.  We have a sun spot from our skylight upstairs that they LOVE to lay in.  They will relocate as the sun moves.  It is quiet comical to me and that is why I have at least 10 similar pictures.

L is for LOVE

Saturday is my engagement anniversary (unfortunately we don't celebrate this really...maybe a dinner but we would do that anyway! It seems like a good excuse for presents to me..) and I can't believe that it has been five years since the hubs got down on one knee. 

Matt is not a planner.  He wasn't then, isn't now, nor will he be in the future.  He is much more likely to do things spontaneously...well at least more than I am these days.  I think he would love it if he could just turn to me and say "Pack a bag, lets leave tonight for Vegas!" and I would immediately think this was the best idea ever.  **I would think this was a fabulous idea...the key word however was immediately** 

Rewind 5 years ago to the proposal.  Matt picked up my ring Saturday morning, and it was on my hand by Sunday night.  Having the ring in his possession caused him great anxiety and overall a state of panic.  The faster he could propose the better!  He proposed to me in a park that we had walked hand in hand through many a time and had sat and enjoyed the weather together on numerous occasions.  It was a special place before and is even more so now. It will forever have a special place in my heart.

I said yes then without hesitating, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  Matty you are truly the love of  my life and I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with you.  You make me a better person and you have shown me what it truly looks like to follow after the Lord.  Thank you for choosing to spend your life with me 5 years ago.  I love you!

Paint Preview

Here is a quick preview of our master bedroom makeover!

Our walls are now painted this color:

wickham gray- Benjamin Moore

We actually had it color matched at Sherwin Williams because I love the quality of their paint and they have more sales:)  I had read that this color was drab but I totally disagree! I love the way it looks in both sunlight and without natural light.  It has a blue undertone, but its still more grayish.  I will hopefully load pictures of our mostly finished room soon.  We are still looking for bedding, but we are not in a rush so we can find the perfect one!  I am hard to please slightly particular, so it might take a while...

Master Bedroom makeover- part 1

We have been in our house for over a year and a half now.  We have done multiple projects and work to the house and I really LOVE our home.  When we are out of town and come back home, I get such joy walking in to my house.  It is full of love and comfort to me.  With that being said, one room that is not so comfortable and cozy was our bedroom. We had yet to touch our bedroom.  The walls were painter white, we had hung up two things on the walls, and it just looked a little neglected.  Part of the hold up was that we had wanted to upgrade from a queen size bed to a king size bed and that created the "Cookie Effect". 

If you have ever read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" then you are familiar with this effect. 

But basically, once you change one thing, then another will have to be changed, and then another and another, etc.  So I couldn't paint or decorate really because once we got a king size bed, then we would need new bedding, then we would have to find matching curtains, blah blah blah.  You get the idea.  So this totally stressed me out perplexed me and we just didn't do anything for months and months.  However, we did take advantage of the Black Friday sales at Thankgiving and bought our new mattress.  So for the last 5 months we have been sleeping on a wonderful, new, enormous mattress...on the floor. 

It wasn't as bad as it sounds...the dogs had easy access now (they are short you know), but the main reason was I just couldn't decide on a bed frame I wanted!  Did I want an upholstered headboard? Did I want something that showcased the tall ceilings and get a four poster bed?  I am not the best at making decisions when it comes to long term purchases and so I mulled over this for days...weeks...months. The hubs was no help really either, he just kept saying he didn't care.  I had finally ruled out the upholstered bed frame (two dogs + eventual babies= dirty bed that I don't want to clean) and decided on a four poster.  I even narrowed it down to what I wanted

(farmhouse style-LOVE)

(It is very similar to this one)

but the price wasn't right, so I waited. And waited. And waited.  Then, one miraculous Tuesday while looking at websites instead of cleaning my house, I saw the words SPRING SALE!  I sent the hubs to check it out and it was true!  We jumped at the chance (not to mention my months of indecision had allowed for me to save enough to cover it) and we bought it! I was super excited:) Until I realized the Cookie Effect was now in full swing....the bed was being delivered in 10 days and we needed to paint our entire room, 15 foot ceilings and all. Cue the dramatic music.....

Stopping to Listen

We have had a TON of rain lately.  I love rainy days when I get to be in comfy clothes, inside, watching a movie, and being lazy. I do NOT love rainy days on a Monday morning when I have to go to work.  I travel throughout the day as part of my job, and I am the dorky teacher that has multiple carts dragging behind her with all my supplies.  Getting in and out all day + dragging carts behind me + RAIN= fail.  I didn't even bother doing my hair today...I just went straight to the pony tail.

But I do love rainy days because it makes me feel very reflective...why is that?  I think its because it makes me slow down a little and not run around in such a chaotic state of mind.  You have to drive a little slower, pay closer attention to where you are walking, and the constant pitter patter just lulls your mind into a faraway place.  My head is in that faraway place today.

I think this time of reflection is so neccessary for me and yet I rarely stop long enough to have it.  I am to busy writing to do lists, running errands, making plans.  But all of that is just busyness cluttering my head....and my heart.  If I don't ever slow down enough to just stop and listen, how am I going to ever hear anything?  I often find myself wondering why I don't "hear" the Lord the way other people speak of and yet the answer is right in front of me.  I don't stop to listen.  I ask him for things all the time, yet how am I supposed to hear his response if I dont wait for it? 

In the last few weeks I have really had it revealed to me that I am my own worst enemy...I will write an entire blog post on that at another time....but I get in my own way so much when it comes to my pursuit of the Lord.  I fill my days with fruitless activities and things rather than stopping to spend time in his word and in prayer.  Why do I constantly fail at following Him? Because I am stubborn (and stupid) and am still trying to do it on my own each day.  If it is up to me, then I will continue to fail.  That is my prayer today, that I will remember that I can do NOTHING without Christ, even pursuing Him.