Flashback Friday: The Return of the Toothbrush

Friday:

Kees and Kora taking care of sick babies.

My friend Lavonne came over for coffee. Managed to get a picture of the "set up", but none when she was actually here.

They were having buy one, get one free shakes at Zip's.  So, we were getting ready to pick Doug up to go get some.

Kora has a bat on her headband, and Kees needed one on his shoulder.

Always time to read, even if we're trying to head out the door.

On our way!

I'll take the "oarnge"!

Ketchup!!!

Friday night fun!

Doug took the kids swimming, when they got home they got baths, jammies, and some screen time.

Kora decided Doug's feet were her babies. She offered them some of her water and read to them from the bible.

Saturday:

I had a relaxing Saturday.  And took ONE photo...

Sunday:

When I was on the ladies retreat, I left my toothbrush in the hotel room.  Megan gave it back to me on Sunday and I was so happy about it.  I had to use a manual brush for two weeks, and I was so glad to have this one!

Sleeping...

Kees is such a grumpus when he gets woken up.

Waiting by the door, good kids!

Taco truck! Yum!

Picnic at the park.

Kees turned all of these to red.

They were fighting fires.  After each one they put out, they turned one of the reds to blue.

Upset because Kora got in the van before him.

He got over it.

Heading to the Halloween store.

Kora didn't like the scary stuff.

Kees got braver and braver.

Save me daddy!

Not too traumatized!

At the last possible minute, Doug decided to roast coffee beans.  We were supposed to be getting ready to head to church for Pastor Jim's ordination.

Fiesta themed dinner.

This was our THIRD spill of the day.  First, Kora poured water all down the front of herself in Sunday School. Then, she spilled water at the dinner.  Next thing I know, Kees spilled his kool aid. Good thing it was green kool aid on a green table cloth. Do we get points for color coordinating our spills?

Kora usually goes to nursery on Sunday evenings. So she's never been to big church here.  She was pretty good.

Singing

Praying.

Kees found all the big numbers.

Piñata time!

And CAKE!

Monday:

Cereal, for Kora, and her baby.

Numbers 1-30 this week.

Kora said she was setting up a show for her babies, that's why she needed the cord.

More counting.

We were doing school in between getting our house ready for company. The kids were so good, it got a little crazy at the very last, but for the most part, they were awesome!

Asked them to read under the table.

Playing with their monster puppet.

And here's some crazy, why did they pull all the books out and make them into houses.  I'm such a stickler about books, we put them up, and discussed again, how to care for books.  GEEZE!

Our company arrived, we went for a walk and played at the park. Then went back to our place for taco soup and a movie.  So much fun catching up with the Rees family.  They were able to stay a couple nights.

We saw a helicopter!

Tuesday:

I laughed so hard! I got in the car and found this ice cream in the trash with a spoon right in it. I guess  when Doug came home for lunch on Monday, he ate the last tiny bit on his way out the door.  Then put this right in our car trash basket.

Getting a tour of the GoodSeed office.

The Reess had lunch plans with another friend, but we had enough time to squeeze in a quick trip to Ft Sherman park.  The kids and I ran to Winco, then grabbed lunch at home, then headed to a second park to play after their lunch.  It was a gorgeous day!

Found Minnie Mouse on the ground, Kora had dropped her.

This was what she did, when I asked where Minnie was....

Kees dug a hole, then sat right in it.

We picked Doug up from work, and then headed over to re-sign the lease for our apartment.  I surprised him with eggnog.

Kees was sitting in my lap when I was signing and initialing 15 thousand documents.  His back pockets felt weird.  They were FULL of sand...unintentionally on his part from when he was sitting in the hole he dug.

I hung him upside down by his feet and shook all the sand out. He thought that was so fun!

Our guests gave us this cool pumpkin!

Wednesday:

We finally got to go play at Aunt Sandy's new place. She's still setting everything up, but she had gone out of her way to make sure my kiddos would have toys and books.  Love her!

Sandy and I saw Kora outside doing his. We thought she was hugging the ball, and then we thought she was just deflating the ball.  We found out 10 minutes later, that she was terrified of the owl statues in Sandy's yard. Poor thing! Sandy moved them to the shed and promised Kora she'd get rid of them.

Picking blueberries.

Apples!

Playing ball, being silly, looking at the sky, and just loving the weather.

Reading with Sandy.

At Walmart, and for once, it was actually pleasant!  Yay!

Trying on our costumes. We ordered online, then waited till we had both of them, and gave them to the kids.

Kora was scared of Kees.

I asked her to smile, she said, "NO! Me meow, meow!"

Thursday:

We went to Sandy's place again, and took Bonnie with us this time.  Bonnie knows all sorts of stuff about roses, and gardens.  It was fun looking through the yard with her.  As soon as Kora woke up, she said, "Me go Sanny's house, now!"  We had to entertain ourselves for a while before we could head over there.

Kora scared Kees.  Then showed zero remorse.  I got pictures of all this, but then we sat down and talked to each other, hugged, said our "sorries", then had a tickle fight.

See, she's not sorry...yet.

They both wanted to sit with me.  So cute, Kora says, "Me sit, other lap!"

The guru in action!

Cookies!

This is one of the owls that scared Kora.

We picked Doug up from work, then we got some yummy samples at Costco, and rode this pony.

Got the kids some marbles, for counting fun.  They played with them.  Kees built a road, and Kora made a house.  Kees used his monster trucks to flatten the road.

Whew!  That's our week in review, hope y'all have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Asking God into Your "Everyday"

I've been listening to Hillsong United's song, "Oceans" on a loop for the last couple of weeks.

Here is a link to the youtube video, with lyrics.

Today I've been meditating on some of the words and how much we don't "mean it" when it comes to small things.

Have you ever thought, that when we don't trust God, we are expecting him to fail.  We are assuming that our success without him, is more likely than with him. Or maybe we just think we don't need him, especially when it comes to "little" things.

You know, like washing dishes, doing laundry, wiping kids faces, wiping the countertops for the majillionth time.  If I know I'm gonna be at home, just doing life with the kids, I don't always ask God in, why would I? What could I possibly need him for?  It's just basic stuff, right?  WRONG

How bizarre that we pray, and seek God when a big decision comes, a family member dies, our house floods, a tornado is on its way, our heart is broken, a dream is dying, our spouse is intolerable, our kids are one minute away from causing YOU to melt down with them.  Then we pray, we have no trouble praying, asking God to please help, make sense of it all, pick up the pieces.

But what about the regular day, no ups, no downs.  Okay, I honestly don't have that many days that I don't have some type of craziness, but hours can pass by, that we just don't invite him in.  We don't think we need him for the "everyday"

So, this amazing song, has lyrics like:

"Your Sovereign hand, will be my guide"
"You've never failed and you won't start now"
"My soul will rest in your embrace"
"For I am yours, and you are mine"
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders"
"Let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me"

This song is more about trusting God when "oceans rise", "where feet may fail", in "the great unknown".  So, yes, this song is about clinging to God in desperation, but some of the "in between" lyrics have been challenging me to cling to him the same way, even when the waters are calm, the path is easy, and there aren't too many unknowns.  To me, THAT'S a real challenge.

Can I seek his "...sovereign hand" and know it's still sovereign on days when I think I've got it under control?

Do I believe that He's  "...never failed and won't start now" when it comes to teaching my kids and doing chores? Can I really depend on him for strength, when I feel like I shouldn't need him?

Am I taking time to let "my soul...rest in (his) embrace" daily?  Is that relationship important in my "everyday" the same way it is when everything is falling apart?

Am I inviting him in and living out the lyric "For I am yours, and you are mine"?

Am I putting borders on my trust in him, by only trusting him when *I* feel like I need to?  Maybe trusting without borders, is actually trusting him in the mundane, resting in him, loving him, seeking him EVERY day.

Do I want to "walk upon the waters, wherever 'He' would call me", even if that is "boring"?  I struggle with that.

It's easy to find deeper meaning to your life when you're living out of your comfort zone and the world acknowledges the "work" you're doing.  But, sometimes God calls us to the work that goes unacknowledged and is unappreciated, and frankly seems boring and pointless.  The work God calls us to is never pointless and that is EXACTLY why we should lean on him, and walk with him, especially in the every day. So we don't lose sight of the great calling he has on our life, no matter what that calling may be.  Anything God is asking you to do, is important in his kingdom, don't cut him out. Acknowledge him, thank him, love him, develop that relationship. The hard times will come, and that need for God will be so apparent, but including him in the everyday is where authentic relationship starts.

Wordy Wednesday: Recognizing God in Your "Everyday"

I pray off and on throughout the day.  Some days more than others.  When my days are full and busy, I have running dialogue with myself and overthink every single decision.  Yesterday, I was a little high strung, trying to figure out which store or stores to go to.  I just needed a couple things, but I needed them before dinner.  And I didn't even think to pray, I just worried myself into a slight panic.

This picture wasn't actually taken yesterday during our frenzy, but I  thought it captured the sentiment.

Dilemma #1: My kids were with me.

I shop often, almost always in the evenings, when Doug is home.  My kids act fairly well at the store, but they ask questions and want to know about things, and I get easily overwhelmed.  I like to look at every row, and again, I overthink every decision, and end up going back and forth on what to buy and how many.  I also talk to myself in the store.  I'm a crazy person.


Dilemma #2:  I basically had the lunch hour to run to the store, and my kids were hungry.


Consideration #1:  I normally go to three different stores, getting the best price for each and every item. I only needed 3 things, but the best price for each, is at 3 different stores.

I'm such penny pinching hoarder.  And, notice the trend, I tend to overanalyze, obsessing about getting the best deal. Then have trouble feeling guilty and disappointed in myself if I don't get the very best price for everything.

Consideration #2: I felt like my time was more valuable on this day, since I was feeling scattered and had lots to do.

With all these things in mind, I reluctantly decided to just run in to Winco, it's closest to my house.  And they have decent prices for stuff, but it is so difficult for me to buy tortillas for $1.50, when I know I can get them for $1 somewhere else.  As we were pulling up to the store, I was still feeling frustrated that I hadn't planned better and bought the few items I needed ahead of time.  I wasn't confident in my choice at all, but I felt like, I guess I just have to do what I have to do.

And then wouldn't you know, I had three wonderful things happen.  First, I parked next to a cart corral (is that what you call them?), and there was a double cart for my kids to sit in.  Last time we came to the store, 7 eons ago, we couldn't find one, and Kees was so sad.  SCORE!  Next, as I was walking to the check out, I thought I heard a lady speaking Thai to her friend.  I wasn't sure because it was muffled, and a few times, I've thought I heard Thai, listened closer and it was a different Asian language.  Every other time, it has just been wishful thinking.  I kept walking, got 5 steps away, and thought, "Did God bring me to this store, on this day, so I could meet these ladies?"  But, I was trying to decide if I should go back and talk to them or not, and then I heard one of them say, "Pa".  Which I KNEW was Thai!  And that gave me the courage to turn around and ask where they were from.  Finally, when I was checking out, the cashier applied coupons, I didn't even have, and it more than made up for the "savings" I thought I would have by going to two more stores.

That's what God can do.  He can take the crummy decision you wish you didn't have to make, and show you that He's in control, and He can make great things happen.  Oh, how silly I felt for stressing over where to shop.  If I had been stubborn and tried to force what I was comfortable with, I would have been more stressed, had less time, and I wouldn't have met my two new Thai friends.  Next time, when I'm feeling like I'm "settling" because I'm doing something unexpected.  I hope I remember how God provided for me yesterday.  How he had this amazing, far-above-my-dreams plan.  I posted on Facebook, about how excited I was to meet these ladies.  I almost burst into tears when they said they were from Thailand.  And fought the urge to hug them three different times.  I just couldn't believe it!  I fumbled with my Thai, but used a little.  Told them how much I missed Thailand and would love to practice my Thai, and of course eat more Thai food.  One of the ladies already friended me on Facebook and invited me to eat with her and a friend, next week.  I offered to bring the sticky rice.

Stop today, thank God for the little and big plans that haven't gone your way. Maybe those were the ones that went HIS way, and let me tell you, that's always good news!  And if you're in the midst, take a deep breath, and pray that God will show you his hand at work.  I could have saved myself some wrinkle lines yesterday if I would have just prayed through that decision and rested in HIM.  Love to all of you, hope your day is blessed, and you see how God is going and has gone ahead of you.