project 365..day 22...

i can't blog here today without mentioning some very sad news. just an hour or so ago, we received news that Olive Hope Polinder went to be with Jesus. she was born on september 25, 2009. our hearts are breaking for her parents and the rest of the family tonight. WHY would God choose to keep her here on this earth for almost 4 months, only to take her? i KNOW, in my heart that something good will come of this but humanly speaking, i don't understand it! she has experienced so much in her short little life. her parents have been an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness but oh, how they must be hurting right now. please join us in praying for them as they lay sweet Olive to rest.

we spent the day hanging out. building trenches in the sandbox, cleaning our office and burning a ridiculous amount of useless papers. cousins over tonight while tim and lis had a hot date. they are outside now, coyote hunting. :)

project 365...day 21...

3 weeks in & i'm LOVING this '365 project'. i'm actually having a hard time remembering to take a picture EVERYDAY but the journal ling part is easy for me.
go figure.
our day today consisted of school, work and a quick trip to b'ham. jack needed basketball shoes and since his feet grew 2 shoes sizes since LAST year, it's time for some new ones. however, $49.99 is out of the question. if i thought that his feet were going to stop growing anytime soon, i may bite the bullet and buy them but....they are STILL growing!!! so, i'll continue to eBay and check consignment stores. i'll let you know.

after school we had eli, zach and kaiden come off the bus with jack. since jack and kaid had basketball practice at 7, it was late when we got home. they went upstairs, finished watching 'cloudy with a change of meatballs' and now, they are snuggled a cute and cozy like in bed.which is also where us old folks are heading too. i can't seem to be able to see the pictures that i just took but will update tomorrow.
i'm out.

project 365....DAY 20...

can i just say, this was one of the most fulfilling days i've had yet this year!?

this morning, my wonderful 'passe' and i spent the morning putting together meals for people from our church (& a few others from the community). there has been so much tragedy in our community over the last few months, and all of them has touched us in one way or another. so often i wonder WHAT can i do to help?? at the end of the morning, i think we had close to 40 meals to share! what fun it was loading up peoples cars and sending them off to make their special delivery. the family that i brought my meals to have been dealing with a young family member struggling with cancer. today, mommy, who does most of the care giving to the other children, came down with strep throat. what a gift to give to someone who was at the end of their rope.

next time you're making extra for dinner, i challenge you to make a little extra. who knows when someone will need one. it takes away that 'i can't do anything to help' feeling. i think we'd be surprised at the ways God will bless that.

so,here's a pic of 'my girls'.....it was a wonderful day of fellowship. thank you to lynda for inspiring us with 'The farm chicks in the kitchen' book, gracing our prep space. i can't speak for anyone else but that cute little number made me want to bust out my cowboy boots and sassy little gingham apron and get a cook'in!!!!
thanks again friends for making 'day 2o' a great day to remember! i love you girls!

project 365...day 19

i spent most of the day today 'putzen' around home. cleaned up the yard. boots, footballs,skiing goggles, pop cans, golf clubs, just basic crap/STUFF.why i don't make them go take care of it right away, i'll never know. by the time i think about it, they are half way done with their school day! then i justify it....oh, they're probably tired, oh, they didn't mean to take off their socks on a 49 degree day and throw them in the middle of the field. oh,i'm sure they fully intended to pick up the pop cans that they used for shooting practice, THREE WEEEKS AGO!!! yup, i bet they sat at school and wondered what they had left outside for mom to clean up. i'd even guess they had a slight twang of guilt about all the work i was doing for them.

um, that would be a big fat PROBABLY NOT!!!
and yet,i'm a mom. that's what we do.

one of the most maddening things for me is air soft gun bb's! yellow. tiny. millions of them EVERYWHERE!! can you sense my maddening mood coming on???? when they first got their guns, i instructed them to PLEASE play in the field. we have 3 acres of field, for heaven sakes, but instead they would rather shoot them down the long 'hall', being our front porch!!!! you see, these little bb's are just big enough to sit on top of the wood floor but not quite small enough to squeak under them. so, as you walk on the deck, they are just being pushed, further and further in the WOOD. in so deep that even our shop vac can't do enough sucking!! argh!! needless to say, they have STRICT instructions to take them to the back yard. after all, no wood deck back there. being the good,obedient boys that they are :), they took them out back. opps, i guess i forgot to mention that throwing them all over our new patio is ALSO OFF LIMITS!!! my bad. i never should have assumed they knew better!!

on the bright side, since our flowers aren't' blooming, the yellow bb's are sure pretty.

oh, and they WILL be cleaning those up TOMORROW!!

project 365...day 18..

a holiday. boys home. sunshine. warm weather= one happy mama!
i L-O-V-E days like this!! since sam was gone to a friends house overnight, i went in and was kind enough to 'tidy up' for him. two garbage bags later.....again, one happy mamma! i can hardly blame the boy, when i was his age, i was TEN TIMES worse of a pack-rat than he is! (don't believe me?? ask my poor mom!) and if any of you have plan on telling my dear sam about this, i'll deny it. i'd post a picture of before and after but, i'll spare you.
anywho.
of course, i couldn't just stop at his room. so, on to the landing. lucky me, the upstairs is now cleaned. another laundry basket full of toys that they will never even know are gone. please tell me, i'm not the only mother that does this!!
ok, i'm not feeling very chit-chatty right now and since it's technically, day 19 today, i'll have to come up with ANOTHER post later today so i don't get behind. uhhhgggg...i'm going to have to come up with something witty, TWICE in ONE day! mercy me.
later.

project 365...day 17

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.
~John Ed Pearce