Unexpected

I always like when I have a plan and God comes in and changes it.  He always finds a way to give us what we need instead of what we think we want. 

I wasn't expecting to spend most of my kid free morning visiting with a friend,  but I did.  She and I had a bit of a rocky start this week but this morning was just the thing I needed.  (and maybe she needed it too) Nobody is perfect and I certainly don't claim to be,  but it's not always easy to rise above our own hurt feelings or circumstances to see the other person for who they are. 

I'm thankful today for the chances to do the right thing, the chances to make things right with someone,  to try to make things the best they can be,  or to simply move forward in the hope that everything is going to be alright. I am humbled by the subtle ways God shows me things I can work on so that He can shine through me. 

Sewing

I got the sewing bug over the weekend. It's been awhile since I last sat down to sew. It's one of my two favorite things to do. (reading is my favorite.)

So,  on Sunday evening,  I dug around and found some long lost dress patterns and cut them out.  Then I got super excited to make some new stuff for Claire.  So I cut fabric for three new skirts for her.  I got them finished on Monday morning and she is so happy with them.  Then I decided to draft a quick pattern for a pillowcase style dress for her.  It didn't take long to draw up and then make.  And it is so cute!! 

Today I made myself a new wristlet wallet.  Ever since I got my new phone (samsung galaxy s3...best phone ever),  I've been wanting to find a wallet that my phone will fit into.  I haven't liked any that I've seen enough to buy them.  So I decided to alter a wallet pattern that I love and make one! I'm really happy with the results. I have a big pocket in the back for my phone and a divided pocket for cards and money.  I made the wrist strap detachable and also decided to make a matching chapstick key chain.  :)  It's always fun when I sew for myself. 

I'm thankful that my grandma taught me to sew and that I've never really forgotten it. 

Family Swim

For the past two weeks, my kids have been taking swim lessons in the evenings. It's been a wonderful experience for them. Before they took swim lessons, Zane would kinda get his face wet, splash a lot and cling to me for dear life in the big pool. Claire would not let go of me in the big pool and refused to get her face wet in the kiddie pool. I am proud to say that now both of my kids are comfortable in the water! Zane has no fear of jumping off and going under water. He can actually swim underwater now. The only thing he won't do is go down the big twisty slide. Claire will now jump in the pool, slide down the slide about a hundred times each visit and swim around on her own with her life jacket on. I am so proud of them! I don't think we will do another round of lessons this summer but we will do it again in the spring.

This evening after their lessons ended, we stayed for family swim and then part of open swim. we had so much fun! We met our friends Jessica and Madie for family/open swim. It was nice to hang out with them. I wish we could have taken a picture of the three kids sitting by the edge of the pool slurping down ginormous otter pops that were half their size. It was so cute!

This is us after family swim. :)

Tonight I am thankful for the opportunity to do these kinds of things with my kids. I am thankful that we can find joy in simple things like going swimming. I love that we have entered into the years of staying up late, sleeping in, going out and exploring and having fun together. It's nice to not be so tightly wrapped around a schedule. Of course, this is summer living and things will be different when school and work start again. But for now I am loving every minute of it.

Life Verse

On Sunday, our Pastor asked us if we had a life verse. Something we cling to in our walk with God. We were to discuss it at our Care Connection Groups this week. I loved this "assignment". (I actually love all the "homework" we get...I can't help that I am a nerdy, study type) I know my life verse. I actually have a few. But there is one that stands out from all the rest. This is it:

This verse came to me in a study I did a couple years ago. It is special to me because it truly does encompass how I (try to) live my life. It's not always easy to just let go and let God, but it's always so good when you see the fruit of that.

This leads to me to what I am thankful for today. I am always thankful for many things each day, but today I am thankful for my Care Connection Group. I love the people I have gotten to know, the friendships I have made, and I love (love, love!) our discussions. We always have so much fun together no matter what we are doing. It's been a breath of fresh air for me to be part of something that is an encouragement to me in my walk with God as well as a welcome break from everyday life.

365

365 days of thanks starts up again tomorrow.  It was such a good project and I loved it.  So now you know.  :)
I may do a 30 day photo challenge too.  So many exciting things.  Haha

Camping

We all went camping overnight. It was the first camping trip my kids have ever been on and it was so fun! They loved sleeping in the tent, exploring the riverbank, riding their bikes through the camp grounds and eating at the picnic table. It was so fun to introduce them to camping!! I'm thankful for these opportunities!

Catch up. Again. And again.

Five days since my last post?! I would say that's crazy but I believe it. Busy busy busy lately. Still. We literally won't get a break from being busy until the end of August. Right before school and work start up again. I shouldn't complain though. I'm very thankful that I have a job that gives me the time off with my kids. :) And we have had a very fun summer so far. Lots of fun activities and friends and places to go.
This coming week, my son will turn 6. My sweet Zaney boy will be 6 in a week!! I can't believe it. I'm so thankful to have him in my life and to get to experience life with Zane. I'm so lucky!
I'm also super thankful for getting to introduce my kids to first experiences and new things. We have been attending the Friday activities at our library and we have loved them all. Puppet shows, reptiles, music and book sales! I love hearing their favorite parts of the outing and seeing their faces light up as they talk about it during the following days.
Something else I have been especially thankful for is my renewed love for sewing. I reopened my etsy shop and have been making all sortable of cute items to sell. And sell they have! I love my friends and family for supporting me and encouraging me to do what I love again!
During these busy days as weeks, I am thankful for my super comfy bed. I crash hard every night, just like my kids. These fun filled summer days are wearing us out! It's wonderful!
On that note, I think I'm gonna crash.

Summer

Apparently summer vacation messes with my blogging.
We are staying busy, having fun and looking forward to more fun activities in the coming weeks.
A few things I'm thankful for- central air, walks with my son, library visits and activities, beautiful sunsets, motivation, snuggles with my daughter first thing every morning, sewing, and my car. A random assortment.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer also!

My heart

This is what I am most thankful for. Everyday.

Hot

It's been at least 100 degrees or hotter the past few days...I'm super thankful for air conditioning! My poor kids haven't been able to play outside much due to the hot weather. We are all early risers in our house so it works out nicely for them to play outside when they first get up, before the heat sets in.
We all had our share of the heat when we attended Community Days and watched the parade, walked trough the courthouse square and visited with friends. I'm, once again, thankful for community. Such a fun day even though it was hot and tiring. Who doesn't love a good parade?!
I'm also thankful for our local library for providing such a good selection of DVDs to borrow. Watching movies is the best way to spend a day cooped up in the AC. :)

My son

Today I'm thankful for my son and the time I get to spend with him. I love our one on one time and so does he. It's been nice having Claire in school through the summer because I get two mornings a week with my little man. I just can't believe he will be 6 in a few weeks. It doesn't seem possible that he is so big now. I'm not going to cry...so here is a picture of us from yesterday to keep me from crying. :)

4th of July

I am a week behind in this blog...but I'm ok with it. Today was such a good day. I'm thankful for this country and the freedom we have. I'm thankful for my kids and my family and the fun we shared today. I hope you all had a wonderful day surrounded by people you love!

Random

So, today was a little of this and a little of that. It was kind of a random day. I was gone all morning by myself (!!) and I got a lot done. I'm feeling pretty good about myself tonight- I got the kids' "big" Christmas gifts put on layaway as well as some stuff for school in the fall. I like being ahead of the game in both those areas. I will continue to pick up stuff for school as I find it, over the summer. And the same goes for Christmas. I have my gift list written out and now I'm in the shopping and making part of the whole deal. I love giving gifts so I'm super excited!
While I was out I also got an oil change. I need to be better about that. I got spoiled when I was married because not only did I have a man around to make sure it got done, but he also did it all at our house. So many things to remember when it's just you! I think I can handle it. Maybe.
This afternoon I took the kids up to the public pool and we met up with friends. It was a fun outing! It was pretty hot out there and I'm glad we only stayed an hour and a half or so. We may need to go to the morning open swim next time. I had on SPF 70 and still got a little brown. Even Claire got a tan. That's what we get for going swimming outside. :)
Tonight, I'm thankful for this kind of day...days where I get a lot accomplished but still manage to have fun and spend time with the kids. We all enjoyed the day. They went to bed a bit ago and were out right away just about. I love it!

Life

Life is busy. Still. But really really good. I like good and I like busy.
As weird as I think it is that Claire is still in school til the end of July, I'm really thankful for it. She loves going to school and is enjoying that she gets to go and Zane is "stuck" with me. I'm thankful she has time away from Zane and me, time that is special for her and a class she loves going to. Zane and I spent an hour and a half there today with her and that was fun. She is so cute in her own element.
We had friends over yesterday and we enjoyed time with them. The weather was beautiful so we took a walk through the orchards and then down to the river beach. I'm so thankful for simple but entertaining and fun ways to spend time. I'm thankful that my kids love going for walks and exploring.
The last half of our week is full of school, library visit, garage sales, and meeting friends at the pool. Im thankful to have such a well rounded group of friends and acquaintances to spend time with. It's so fun to know so many people with kids similar ages now. I guess our summer won't be lazy and I think I'm ok with it. I'm still hoping for a zoo visit soon, though.

Summer nights

Tonight I'm thankful for a super great weekend. There was good food, good church, late bed times, mommy time out for a whole day, movies, books, etc. This was the first time I have felt like we are really on summer vacation. Yay!
I pushed the kids' bed time back an hour tonight. It felt good! Normally I keep them on a consistent schedule but I couldn't resist tonight. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining. The kids were outside playing all afternoon and evening- no whining or complaining or tired meltdowns. It was wonderful!

Community

About five months ago, after much prayer and thought, I made the decision to start attending a church in town and start putting down roots in our community. Today I had the best realization- we truly are part of this community! It's wonderful!
The kids and I went to the library to watch a puppet show. It was packed in that gathering room and I noticed as I looked around that I knew almost all the people in the room. It was a great visual realization for me. It was like God was saying, "you listened to my guidance and here is the fruit of that." It was just amazing. I love how the kids and I have fallen into our own place in the town and how we know so many people from church, work, school or mutual activities. It's so nice to feel like we belong somewhere.
So tonight I am very thankful for my community and the people in it. I'm just so blessed to live here.

Blur

Supposedly it's summer vacation. I'm still so busy that I haven't had time to enjoy the vacation part of this whole deal. Maybe next week.
Tonight I am thankful for friends to text with when I crave "company". It's nice to have people to talk to, even of it is just about what you're eating after a stressful day. LOL
I'm also thankful for some great weather this week. We have all gotten the chance to be outside more and it's been so nice. The kids are loving all the outdoor time and space they have now. It's also wearing them out and they are sleeping in later each day...bonus!
Sleep. I'm thankful for a good nights sleep...on my new ginormous and extremely comfortable bed!! I haven't woken up with any body aches or pain all week since I got this new bed. It's awesome! No pain makes me a happy person which makes me a happy mom and that makes my kids happy. :) It's a wonderful chain to be part of.

Family

Today I'm thankful for spending time as a family. My parents, the kids and myself all went to see Madagascar 3 in 3D today. It was so much fun!! I love when we all go and do fun stuff together. The kids loved the outing and the movie. We all loved the movie, actually. It's hilarious and worth going to the theater to see. :)

Dad

Today (and every day) I am thankful for my dad. I can't think of a better dad to have while growing up and also now. I also can't think of a better Papa for my kids to have. We all love him so much and all that he does for us.

Saturday

Tonight I am thankful for Saturdays! Today was a day of cleaning, organizing, de-cluttering, etc. We had such a productive day and I'm so thankful we got so much done! Feels so good!