Those Days

You know those days when you just can't seem to get anything done?

When you want to put some chicken in the crockpot for dinner but you have to keep running to the other end of the house to referee the kids and keep them from putting twist ties in each other's hair and wrecking each other's lego creations, then you just get back into the kitchen and remember that you need to switch the laundry, then another fight breaks out and you try for two hours to get that darn chicken into the crockpot but are STILL unsuccessful because you keep getting interrupted??
Oh, and there are no clean dishes so you have to start washing those just to clean a place on the counter so you can put the crockpot where it will reach the electrical outlet?

I am having one of those days today.
I sure can't do this mom thing on my own!

I am so thankful that I read this verse in my quiet time with the Lord this morning, because I desperately do need HIM:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:5,6

I need God's direction today so I don't go crazy with stress and impatience! My path today has been erratic and twisty and full of stress, just trying to get through the day. Nothing super important has happened, yet the day has just been really hard!
It's amazing how when we take our eyes off of our problems (however big or small they may seem or actually be) and put our eyes on Jesus, what a peace He gives us and our paths just seem to straighten out and slow down. When we rest in God, everything falls into place because we let Him do His job, instead of us trying to do it for him.

If you're having a bad day, or overwhelmed with problems, just take a few minutes to fix your eyes on Jesus, and remember that He died on the cross for your sins and rose again for YOU, and that if you let Him, he will make your paths straight, no matter how crooked they may be. It kinda puts things in perspective.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted."
Hebrews 12: 3,4

I feel so much more peaceful after taking some time to ponder and surrender my day to God.
Oh, and I did finally get my chicken in the crockpot. :)

Life In Washington

We've now been in Washington for not quite a week and it already feels like home.
It might help that it was my home for 18 years, but even the rest of my family is settling right in as if we've always been here.
Of course, we still have moments of adjusting- the coolness of the nights chills us all to the bone, even though it only is in the 50's and we miss our Tennessee friends. (Hi, friends! We love you!!)
We've yet to make any new friends, but I know we will at some point.

But overall, life is good.
Tim has been able to work several days with my brother Scott's boss doing concrete and replacing broken pipes, digging holes, that kind of work. Even though it's only part time and probably temporary, we're incredibly thankful.
The kids have been playing outside and roasting hot dogs over a huge fire and digging in the dirt pit and helping Tim split wood to deliver to someone. (Another odd job to earn some money!)
God is taking good care of us. :)

(Lest you think everything is perfect, Ethan is currently grounded in his room for repeatedly disobeying and hitting his sister. Life is not all sunshine and giggles.)

Here are a few pictures of our beautiful home, and some fun we've had since we've been here.

Here I am, taking pictures of clotheslines again..but isn't this one pretty? My daddy made it.

A water pump in the back yard. It still works.

My mom's gorgeous hydrangeas

Itailan Prunes- what could be fresher than just picking them off the tree? Organic at it's finest.

Ethan watching the cows next door.

Ellie going on a walk down the driveway

Blackberries from the bushes right down the driveway. I made blackberry cobbler with them Yum!

My awesome Daddy, workin' on the bulldozer.

My sweet Mom, picking blackberries with me

My Parent's house- and now our's too!

Tim and Ellie splitting wood together

Ellie's first time playing in the Puget Sound. She loved it!

Playing at Double Bluff- so much fun!

Cookin' hamburgers with Poppa Don

Cows!!

What our mornings look like around here.

Tips for Frugal Road Trips

In four days, we are moving across the country.
Four. Days.
That's pretty soon!

I remember when we first found out we were moving, we had 31 days and I made a paper chain with the kids so we could count down the days visually.
This especially helped Eliana, who has pretty much no concept of time yet at age 2.
(She knows that later is not right now...and that early is when we get up in the morning. That's about it. )
Time has flown by and now we're just tying up the last bits of things that need to be done.

Last night I was trying to think of some good travel activities to do in the car (since we'll be in ours for five days) and here's what I came up with:

~Use your imagination!
Games like I spy, counting games (count the red trucks that go by), the ABC game, things like that are a great way to pass the time. Even little kids can play. Best of all, they're free!


~Activity books, coloring supplies, stickers, pipe cleaners, and tape are all great things to keep your kids busy for a bit while you're cruising along in the car. I would recommend not giving them all of these things at once- spread them out so you can do different activities at different times and they won't get bored with them.

~I have each kid pack their "special bag" which is a small sized messenger bag; full of toys of their choice.
These are the only toys they get to play with during the trip. (and in this case, all of their other toys will be in a suitcase on top of the car so if we need to we can change them out.)
The kids are responsible for choosing their toys, keeping track of their toys and picking them up when they spill. This teaches them that they need to be careful which toys they pick and careful that they don't lose any!


~Books books books!
We're bringing two tote bags full of books with us for the kids to read to themselves, and a few chapter books for me to read out loud to the entire family as we drive. We're going to be reading J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Ronald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, as well as one of the kids' favorites; Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad.
I'm excited to read to everyone, although I may lose my voice from so much reading!
It helps pass the time so much more quickly when you're caught up in a book, and (bonus!) sometimes the little ones fall asleep while mommy is reading aloud.

~When you stop at a rest stop, make sure to run around, stretch your body, throw a frisbee back and forth, play tag! Make stops fun, even if they aren't for very long. You could even bring bubbles and blow them for your youngsters to chase and pop. Anything to break up the monotony of being cooped up in the car. Let the kids get some energy out and go crazy for a few minutes.

~Don't eat at fast food places! Pack your own food!
This will save your money and your stomach. :) We always bring a cooler (even just a little one) and stock it up with lunch meat and sandwich fixings, homemade snacks like granola, cookies, rolls, carrot sticks, fruit, maybe a bit of chocolate.
If you don't have room for a larger cooler, stop at a grocery store and get food for a few meals instead of throwing your money and health away by stopping at those legendary golden arches next to the freeway.
Even rotisserie chicken and rolls are healthier than a Big Mac.

~Make sure to wear comfy clothes.
Jeans are not a friend to road trips. (Have you ever tried sitting for 9 hours straight wearing jeans? NOT comfortable). I guess stretchy jeans would probably be okay, but if your gut is getting cut in two, you're gonna be cranky!
Wear yoga or gym pants, lounge pants or a knit skirt (if you're a girl, of course!). If you aren't driving, wear shoes that you can slip off easily. If you're comfy, you're more likely to be happier.

~Music!
Make sure to have a nice assortment of music while travelling. We're "old fashioned" in that we don't have an iphone or mp3 player so we use cds and make sure to have a good mix of upbeat, good driving music. You don't want to be stuck with slow tunes when you're tired!! And, of course if you get sick of the music you brought, you can always try the local radio station. Although, more often than not the only ones that come in are country western. ;)

Well! Hopefully these tips will help you on your next road trip. Hopefully I can remember them all in 4 days when we leave, and our road trip will be more fun and less stressful.
Best of road tripping to you!!

Change Is A Comin'....

Things have been a little crazy around here (or a LOT crazy)

Because...

We're moving!

In two weeks.

Clear across the country, to Washington State.

It's a long story but basically, we're losing our home here in Tennessee and moving to Washington to live with my parents in their big house out in the country.

 I feel like I have to add that we'll be paying them rent and getting jobs, we won't just be bumming around. :)


Please don't feel sorry that we're losing our house.
We know this is what God wants- He orchestrated the whole thing.
He gives and takes away, and we know that this is Him taking (a big) something away for us to purify us from our attachment to worldly goods and comforts. Honestly, it's been really freeing.

Okay so here's the scoop because I know you have questions so I'll try to answer some of them:

We are WAY underwater on our house (a.k.a. owe more than we could sell it for) and couldn't sell it if we tried (and we wanted to in the spring!)
But we just accepted the fact back in April that we couldn't sell or rent our house and were planning to live here for who knows how long and then...
God opened a door.
A big one.
Not the one we expected, not the easiest one to go through, our pride (and credit) has taken a hit for sure!
But the right door.
So we're walking through it.

We got behind on our mortgage and were frantically praying for God to provide, and he said, "No."
He has something better for us in Washington, and I'm so thankful that even though it's been a hard process, I've had such a peace about the whole thing.
I know He's got us. So I don't have to worry about anything. (which is hard, because worrying is kinda one of my favorite pastimes.) But I really feel at peace now. It's wonderful.

We've sold almost all of our "stuff" and are planning to drive across the country on a 5 day road trip with whatever we can fit in our trusty little Toyota Corolla, along with our two kids and dog Lucy AND our kitten, Baby Kitty.

We. Are. Crazy.  Who brings a kitten cross country? We do.
Also: who names a kitten "Baby Kitty"? We do. Original, right??

ANyway.
I'm so looking forward to my parents being able to see the kids (every day!) and for the kids to get a rural upbringing without gunshots in the night and drug deals on the corner.

Yep. That really happens where we live now.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the rednecks that live behind us that blast their country music and ride their go-carts around their back yard ALL DAY LONG and blow dust all over my clean laundry hanging on the line...

Then there are the things that we'll miss here like our dear, dear friends; going running along the Mississippi, the fun free events that are available in the city and just the pretty leafy trees and the cicadas humming and the fireflies twinkling in the twilight.


Instead, we get to wake up and look out at fog-covered cow fields and run around in a huge yard and see bald eagles on a regular basis flying over the blue, blue ocean and not have to worry about getting obliterated by a tornado.
We're going to be right near the beach so we're really excited about building sand castles and taking nature walks and just enjoying the things in life that matter-God and family and being outside with each other, enjoying God's creation together.

Please pray for us, that we wouldn't go insane on the trip and that we'd get there safely.
My blog posting may be a bit spotty here in the next few weeks but I promise you I'm taking a TON of pictures on our trip across this beautiful country. I can't wait!

Hodgepodge of Thoughts, on Life and Faith

I've been really thinking lately, and struggling with a few things and wondering what God's purpose for us is right now in this season of life.

(This is a somewhat more "deep" post than usual...so if you're looking for crafts or natural living, today isn't the day. :)

We thought we were moving to Oklahoma in April.
It turns out, every door we tried to open was closed- we couldn't sell our house, we couldn't find a rental house, we couldn't find a job, we couldn't even get change of address forms from the post office! (I tried two different post offices, and both of them were out.) That was the final tipping point- down to the little details, it was clear that God wanted us to stay here.
We prayed and prayed about it and it was obvious we needed to stay where we are.
So we did.


God has totally blessed our obedience and given Tim an awesome new job, we have our cute chickens and are financially doing better than we have ...pretty much ever, even though things are still tight.
But...
I still feel discontented.

Like I'm missing out on some great adventure, and instead I'm stuck in this hot, sticky, sunny place with no beach and tons of humidity when all I really want is to see mountains and have cool nights and rain and be able to be outside for more than 5 minutes without feeling like I'm going to faint from the heat.
I feel frustrated because I really don't want to be here.
 We have several friends who are moving away and I don't want to be left here without them and without any family.
I wish we could still move, not to Oklahoma but somewhere else...somewhere cooler with mountains and wide open expanse where we can have a small farm, but it just seems impossible.

Yet, I just have to trust that God knows best for my life; for our family, that His plans are right and true and good even when they don't seem like it.
The theme of the year for us is "Trust" and boy, is God teaching me that right now.
I know he is good, but do I really trust him? Even when he leads me places I don't want to be?
The answer has to be yes, even though my flesh cries out "no" with each passing moment that it is denied.
I have to trust, because if I don't, I would be denying Him lordship in my life which means I wouldn't really believe he is; indeed my Saviour and worthy of all my trust, my praise. That He is worthy of all glory and honor and obedience...and I am nothing without Him.

A song keep coming to mind when I have days like this; it's by a band called Something Like Silas (they're not together anymore but they were really great)
It says:

"So I'll trust You, when I cannot see,
So I'll trust You, when the shadows hover over me
And I'll love you, when the distance leaves me cold,
And I'll love you, and I'll still believe that You are Sovereign Lord"

And then the bridge goes,

"I'm learning to trust, I'm learning to feel, I'm learning to love you, always."

And so, even though I don't know why we're supposed to still be here, I will trust.
This verse jumps out at me pretty much every morning, when I'm having my quiet time on the back steps, sipping my black, sweet coffee and watching the chickens scratch in the dew.

I am doing my best to dwell in His shelter, because that is really the only shelter we need.

"He that dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 91:1,2

DIY Natvity Scene

" And the angel said to them (the shepherds),
 'Fear not!!  For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:10,11


This morning the kids and I made our own Nativity Scene.
We've been talking with them a lot over the past week or so about baby Jesus being born in a stable which is like a barn where animals sleep, and when I asked Ethan if he wanted to make a Nativity, he was more than willing to help. Both of the kids are very interested in baby Jesus being born, and I think having an actual picture of something helps them understand a lot better. Not that our little Nativity Scene has anything on the real story.  ;)
But where to begin??

Christmas: Jesus, Sewing and Decorating

Happy Saturday!

Have you been doing anything special for Christmas yet this season?

 I know December has just begun, but I'm already thinking about it!

Our family has been trying to have family worship every day and read scripture about Jesus' birth, and I've been singing Christmas songs to the kids at nap time.  Ellie especially loves "Away in a Manger". She says, "Mommy winging 'bout beebee Deedus. " (singing about baby Jesus) :)
We want them to know the real reason for Christmas, that it IS about celebrating Jesus' birth and how without him being born and later dying on the cross for our sins and rising again, we couldn't have the relationship with God that we now have.
It's been cool, because in teaching our kids about Christmas, we've been learning and re-visiting the real reason too. It's so easy to get caught up in the other stuff and miss out on the true joy of Christmas- Jesus!

source

Of course, I still love to decorate and make our house pretty to celebrate Jesus' birth!
I did some decorating for Christmas today with the kids. It was a fun family activity, and I love the result!

But first; we're going to talk about those bird ornaments that I said I was going to make.
I actually had trouble with the ornaments at first. It took WAY longer than I thought it would to make the first one and I contemplated not even trying to do the other eleven I'd already cut out. But I really wanted to at least try a bit harder, so I kept on and the rest of them ended up going much faster. (Hallelujah!)


With the first several birds, I sewed the fabric  together wrong side out, leaving a hole at the bottom. Then I  turned them right side out, stuffed batting from an old pillow into them, and sewed wings and eyes and a string to hang them up on their backs. This was kind of hard though, because the darn ornaments were so stinkin small, my fingers couldn't really stuff the stuffing in very well. I had to use a pen to get to the tail, and then still it looked a little weird on a few.