the weekend

We had a FULL weekend, my friends.  Jonah, Noah, and Graham all turned a year older (14, 14, and 18), and we celebrated them with family Friday night.  It was a good, old fashioned family birthday party, and we had hot dogs, cheese dip, and birthday cake.  It was a fun night with twenty people here eating and visiting.

Aren't they all adorable?

Saturday dawned bright and early for me (the dogs LOVE waking me up early), and after running an errand with Graham (Todd, that is), he and I took my suburban and went car shopping.  Our poor suburban had run its last trip, and we kinda knew what we wanted to look at while shopping.  We looked at several SUV's and narrowed it down to two-the Dodge Journey or the Chevrolet Traverse.  We got a better deal on the Traverse and it had a better warranty, so we went with this one.  It also felt the most familiar to me, because I've driven nothing but Chevrolet for the past fourteen years.

Isn't she cute?

We also downsized a bit, because the boys are rarely all with us anymore.  This still has three rows, the third being a fold down, so it sits us all, we just lost a lot of the cargo space.  If we go on vacation, we'll have to put a shell on top.

And she's my favorite color!  It's a really pretty midnight blue.

I made a big dinner that night, but Graham and Drew went to O'Charley's with friends, then they all came back here to hang out.  My sister Trish ate with us, and then I talked her into spending the night when we found a movie we wanted to watch.  And it snowed on this night!  It was beautiful.  And it's gone now, praise the Lord.

I stayed home from church and choir practice yesterday because I can't stop coughing, and spent the day alone.  I watched tv all day and napped.  Last night Todd and Graham worked the tech crew for the Big Daddy Weave concert here in town, and the rest of the boys and I went to my mom's for dinner.

We had a yummy Mexican dinner, which is my all time favorite.  After that I went to see my friend Missy for a few minutes, then we came home and I watched Army Wives.  I'm almost to the end again.

I need a new show to watch on Netflix.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

It was a great weekend, and today is a perfectly dreary, rainy Monday.  We're meeting Todd's parents for dinner tonight in Cordova, at our favorite pizza place.

Have a great day!  Love to all.

birthday season

Today is the fourteenth birthday for these two cuties.  I cannot believe it's been that long, but it also seems like it was just yesterday.

When we moved into this house, they were eight months old, and none of the neighbors saw them until late that summer.  It took me that long to figure out how to do outside with four kids, ages four and under.  I'd go out with Graham and Drew when the two little guys were sleeping, and it would be at around the eighteen month mark that they would learn to listen really well, or at least well enough to listen to me say, "No!", when they got to the edge of our driveway.

I think back on those days and wonder how in the world I kept my sanity, and the only answer I can think of is Jesus.  I learned to rely more and more on Him as they got older.  It was never usually easy, having four so young and close in age, but it was so much fun and all kinds of crazy.  They're pretty much the reason why people never ask me to bring anything to holiday dinners.  I'd ask what I could bring, and everyone would respond with, "Nothing, just yourselves."  And for a lot of years, that was about all we could manage.

They have changed so much over the years, but they are still this close.  I rarely ever hear them fight, or be mean to one another.  Although, we made that a house rule: no being mean was allowed, and I'd often stop it before it would escalate.  This didn't last that long, I'll confess, but now, they are all pretty good at handling conflict with each other.  All four of them, not just Jonah and Noah.  Just the other day, Graham and Drew were arguing and when I asked Graham about it later, and what had gone on, he just replied, "Nothing.  We were being stupid."

They're two minutes apart, but Jonah treats it like it's two years.

It seems crazy that in one year, they will be driving with a permit.  Shouldn't they still be this little?!

I love their ages, though, and I've always enjoyed every milestone they reached.  I was telling a friend the other day, that God did that.  He would help me love whatever age and phase my kids were in, and when they were older or out of that phase, all of a sudden, I'd be done with it, too.  Meaning, if they have four more years in the youth area at church, then I'll be in the youth area for that much more, most likely.

Right now, these guys love to play X-Box.  They love Madden and Y2K (I think?) and the other few they have.  They love being with friends and like to eat out with them after church on Sundays.  They love to ride these little trick scooters they have and they like to ride their bikes.  They love jumping on the trampoline (Noah, mostly) and playing basketball in the driveway.  Jonah loves to watch tv with Todd, mostly the shows they always record and watch together.  They love cars and know a lot of useless trivia about them.  Noah loves driving by this little car dealership near us, and is always so excited when I go by there for him.  (That dealership has really nice cars inside it.)

Tonight we're having some family and friends who are in town visiting over for a little birthday celebration.

Tomorrow, this guy turns eighteen.

That is even more crazy to me, if at all possible.  I can honestly say that eighteen years of life with him has flown by.

It seems like I blinked, and he went from this age to the age he is right now.  (He was five and in kindergarten in this picture, and Drew was four.)

I am so proud of who this young man has become, and for the life that he leads both around others and at home.  He is the same at all times, and he is full of integrity.

Graham has NEVER been shy.  He always loved being around adults more than people his own age, and even now, I'm pretty sure he may still feel that way.  He has never had a ton of guy friends, always just kind of hanging out with Drew and his friends, but he's always had friends who were girls.  He is never afraid to make a decision, and he won't put up with anyone that he knows being mistreated.  He always goes and shakes the hand of a veteran if he sees one, and he will jump up to help an elderly person in a heartbeat.  He's worked since he was fourteen, and he loves being around and meeting new people.  He got to meet the son of the founder of Chick Fil A a few years back, and it might have been the shining moment of his life.

He LOVES going on mission trips and will be leaving after he graduates for a second trip to Guatemala.  He raised all of the money completely on his own.

And yes, I said graduate.  I cannot believe he'll be graduating from high school this year.  I've shed tears over this.

He loves his Bronco.  Thanks to all the times it's broken down, he's become quite the handyman with cars.  Bless him.  He's been so patient as it hasn't run well in a year now, and he hasn't complained the first time.  Thankfully, Drew doesn't love to drive as much as Graham, so he's driven them around a lot.

He also loves coffee and has been drinking it since he was in the fifth grade.  (Actually, they ALL love coffee and have been drinking it for years.)

Happy (almost) day, Graham, for being a legal adult.  You can finally fill out all your own forms, not that you mind.

I'm so glad I get to be the mom of these amazing young men.  I am so incredibly proud of all of them.  Happy birthday, guys.  I love you!  (In case they're reading, but most likely are not.)

Thanks for reading my sentimental birthday post.  Love to all.  

all about books

From the age of six, I have loved to read.  I remember the day reading clicked for me.  I was in first grade at Collierville Elementary school, the one year I attended that school, in Mrs. Shaw's class, and she had me read an easy to read  book about Garfield.  Remember that cartoon and those old books?  Ever since that day, I have been a fast reader.

Fast forward to my teenage years.  My dad used to drop me off at this little used bookstore in Germantown called The Book Depot, and hours later, he would come back to pick me up.  Imagine my sadness when, last Thursday, Mom and I were driving by it, and I discovered it had finally shut its doors, after who knows how many years of being open.  I seriously could have cried over that discovery.  I am a character of habit, and I don't like change at all.  I know, I know...that's unhealthy, but it's just how I'm wired.

That could have been me as a teenager, y'all.  See how glorious this place was?  (Thanks, Google, for your pictures.)  The books were stacked from the floor all the way to the ceiling, and usually two deep.  I would take down ALL THE BOOKS from their places and go through and read the covers one at a time.  I am not kidding when I say that I loved this place.  I especially loved it because the books were about a third of the cover price.  Because of how fast I could fly through a book, you can imagine all the money that was spent on my love of reading.  It was best when I could get them at a discounted price.

Sidenote: for you local people, I also used to love the Kroger over on Sanderlin when I was a teenager.  They had the BEST book section out of any other grocery store around.  Back then there was no such thing as Barnes and Noble, and honestly, after such quaint and adorable book shops like The Book Depot and another favorite, Davis-Kidd booksellers (later renamed the Laurelwood Booksellers), who has time for giant book superstores with absolutely zero charm and very little knowledge?  I have never liked Barnes and Noble.

But, I digress.

Here's what the outside of my favorite spot on earth looked like.

It was so cute and charming.

Sigh.

I miss it already.

I would still go there even as an adult, with the last time being less than a year ago.  I just recommended it to a friend last week, and I need to go back and let her know that it's closed now.  There's another shop similar to this outside our town library, but it's not nearly as adorable and charming.

I guess I need to give it a try, though.

 Because of my love of reading, I can too easily be sucked into reading what everyone else is reading.  I have to be careful in this.  It's gotten me into reading books that are not at all glorifying to God, and  I need to read only the books that would honor Him.  I know not everyone feels this way, but this is my personal conviction that I battle every single day of my life.  It might not seem like a huge deal to you, but to me, it is, and I have to pray over this area of my life.

Anyway, I also love to re-read books that are my favorite.  There are several series I've loved for years now, and it's because of that fact that I love to buy some books written by certain authors.  Authors like Robin Jones Gunn, Karen Kingsbury, and Neta Jackson.  Those are my top three favorite authors, and I've exchanged correspondence with two of the three.  (Robin Jones Gunn and Karen Kingsbury.)  Two of them had assistants that reached out to me to either be on launch teams on new books coming out, or to read and review books on my blog.  I don't really know how they got my name and information, but I considered it a God-thing, and thanked the Lord for providing me with that opportunity and did what they asked of me.  And in return, I got cool emails from my favorite authors and free books.  Bonus!

If they come out with a new book, I can read it in way less than twenty four hours.  I've been known to receive a book in the mail and finish it about four hours later.  Todd LOVES it when that happens.  (Sarcasm.)

Recently, I've been re-reading my favorite series of all time (I think).

It is so, so good.  I had a friend try to read one and she couldn't get past the fact that it was written in the early 2000's, though.  It's not modern, though the more that were written, the more modern they become.  This was the first of the series, then there were three more series that stemmed from this one, and I own three of them.  I couldn't get into the fourth series, but may try again someday.

I said that I thought this was my favorite series, but truthfully, I'm not sure if I love this one anymore than a few others that I re-read.

Robin Jones Gunn was an author I first started reading in my teenage years.  She wrote a series of books called the Christy Miller series, and I outgrew them before she finished writing about her.  As a married adult, one Christmas when I got a lot of money as a gift, I went and bought all of those books and re-read them.  I had the thought that I should buy them and then pass them along to other teenage girls who might enjoy them.  I have done just that and have shared them with several teenage girls over the years.  I always get them back, and God will lay another girl on my heart for me to share them with.

That being said, The Sisterchicks series are another favorite series of mine.

I re-read them at least every two years.  These are books about women and the friendships that God gives them.  Sometimes the women are facing hard marriage situations, or illness, or death, and these friendships and God are how they muddle through tough times.

Another favorite series is the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury.

These books are called Life Changing Fiction for a reason.  God used these books in my life when I first turned back to Him, and they got me in His word.  I love these books and this author for that very reason, and I know they'll always hold a special place in my heart.

I have this dream of someday opening up a little bookstore on our town square.  Years ago there was one such store, but it closed down.  It was called Springs of Life and you could buy pastries and coffee drinks in it, as well.  On Friday nights, live bands would play, and the music was similar to what you would listen to on K Love.

I loved this store and only found it for a short while, then they closed their doors.  I would love to open up a similar little shop someday.  I have no idea if that will ever happen, but if it's something God has in mind for me and my life, then He will see to it that it happens.  I trust Him and His plan for my life.  It seems like that is my life motto lately, because I say it all the time.  Maybe I have to, to remind myself of this fact.

I love to read books, I love to write about books, and I love to share my books, BUT ONLY IF I GET THEM BACK.  Because of this, I don't like to loan them to just anyone, and I need to know that I'm going to get them back in a reasonable amount of time.  I have lost books over the years and have had to buy some for a second time, because I cannot stand missing a book in a series.  Even as I write that, I know that I am missing the first book out of one series by Neta Jackson, and I want to buy it soon.

I know.  I know.  You don't have to say anything.

Can you even imagine being in one such place as in this picture below?

I'd have to camp out and have someone come find me days later.

I love books.  And only the kind I can hold in my hand.  I asked for a tablet a few years ago, because silly me thought I could borrow or rent or buy books to read on it electronically, but I don't use the tablet for that.  I use it for watching Netflix.

I'm not even kidding.

I need a good, weighty book that I can hold with my hands and maybe even sniff the pages of.

(Is that weird?)

Don't answer that.

Anyway, hopefully this post has inspired you to go pick up a good book to read.  Let me know some of your favorites by Christian authors.  I've also read Dee Henderson, Terri Blackstock, and Francine Rivers.

I love any and all suggestions.

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.

a day in the life

I haven't done one of these type posts in FOREVER, so I thought I'd share about what a typical day might look like for me.

I woke up at 6:45 yesterday, not to an alarm, just because, but it was this time when I was finally headed downstairs.  I am so thankful that I got down at this time, too, to let the dogs outside, because right after this, the sky fell and it started raining in torrents.

It had also rained the day before, and when the backyard is wet, they have to be taken out on leashes in the front yard.  I do this one at a time.  Callie first, then Crash.

As soon as I'm back in with both dogs, I feed them and give them fresh water.

I love the one of Crash, with his little tongue out.  He's always starving.  These bowls look weird, I know, but we bought them on Amazon, to help them eat slower.  Crash literally swallows his food whole.  This forces him to actually chew and breathe while he eats, and he hates it.

Also?  You know those little dogs that linger over their food all day?  Mine do not do that.  They have never done that.  They both inhale it as soon as I put it down.

Finally, I get my first cup of coffee for the day.

I love the first cup of coffee everyday.  And this is mug is one of my favorites.

I took my coffee to the kitchen table, where I've been having my quiet time since we took the Christmas tree down.  (I still miss it.)

This is the exact scene I sit down to every single morning.  My bible, my journal, and my planner.  I write every little thing down in my planner, so I always check to see what's going on for that day.  I spent about an hour here yesterday morning.

I opened the dryer to find towels from the day before, so I started it for about twenty minutes to fluff them up again, so I could fold them when I went back upstairs.

By this time all the boys are downstairs, drinking either coffee or chocolate milk, and I sit down at the computer desk to check email, hop on social media for a few minutes, and read all my favorite blogs.

I usually read my daily list of blogs, then I write my own post.  Sometimes, when I'm super organized, I will think to write a post the night before and schedule it for five a.m. the next morning, but truthfully, I rarely think to do that.

The boys have gotten a start on school work by now, and once they're all situated, I usually take this time to start the dishwasher.

I paused to make Todd's coffee and say goodbye to him.

I sat down to read for a few minutes.

I got through the introduction and chapter one.

I got the load of towels out of the dryer to take upstairs to fold, then started a load in the washer.  Once I was upstairs, I made my bed.  I make it every single day.

I got dressed for the day and headed to Kroger for dinner that night and a few more things for the week.  This is where I failed to take pictures the rest of the day.  I called Mom on the way to Kroger to talk for a few minutes and to hopefully gain inspiration for dinner that night since the boys were no help, and it worked.  After Kroger, I went just down the street to Annie's to get my nails done.  I met two of the most adorable older ladies I have ever seen.  We talked about our dogs, and they told me they'd been best friends since high school.  They're in their seventies now.

By this time, it's lunch time, so when I got home, we unloaded the groceries and started lunch.  They were all excited because I got good things for lunch, like special deli meat and kaiser sandwich rolls.  They love good sandwiches.

Please excuse all the cans, but as gross as this looks, it is quite delicious.  Hormel makes tamales and chili and this is one of their favorite things that I make, thanks to my mom.  I'll tell you about it in a minute.

I ate lunch, put away the rest of the groceries, and came in to sit down for a bit.  I love Tuesday, because Fixer Upper is on all day long, practically.  I also fell asleep, I'm not going to lie.  I think I was asleep for half an hour before I woke up.  (I've been sick and it has drained me, being up all hours of the night.)  Usually during this part of the day, I read or watch tv.  The tv doesn't get turned on for most of the day, and there are some days it's not turned on until that night.  Lately, though, Noah and I have been watching reruns of Home Improvement together.

I switched the clothes over to the dryer, put away a few things, unloaded the dishwasher, and turned on the Roomba.  I hate dog hair.

The dogs HATE the Roomba.  Also, if you don't have one, and you have pets, you should consider buying one.  They're expensive, but they're worth it.

I cleaned up some in the kitchen and started assembling dinner.

We had tamale casserole for dinner last night, and though it doesn't sound that good, it's surprisingly yummy.  I use the Hormel cans of tamales (3 for my family) and chili (2).  In a 9 x 13 baking dish, I put a little chili in the bottom and then all the tamales.  (You have to unwrap them.)  I pour over them the chili in the cans with the tamales, then crushed Fritos, the rest of the chili, shredded cheese, and the rest of the bag of crushed Fritos.

Bake it on 350 for thirty minutes, or until it's hot and bubbly.  It feeds my family of six and we usually have a little left over.

While it cooked, I snacked a little before leaving for bible study.  At six, I pulled out to head to church with a bunch of stuff to carry in.  It was our last night of Lysa TerKeurst's Finding I Am, and we decided to take snacks to share.  I didn't get back home until almost nine.

I came home and put away what little was left out and made the coffee to make this morning, and came into the living room to talk to Todd for a few minutes.  While I was gone, Todd found a new leak in our ceiling, this time from our bathtub.  It's about to be a big ole mess up in my house, and I think he was trying to give me an anxiety attack.  I hate when things are torn up in the house, and I dread the thought of our bathroom being completely torn apart for who knows how long.

Also, our recliner is broken, but thankfully, it has a lifetime warranty on the part that's broken.

Oh, the joys of adulthood.

I went upstairs at nine thirty, washed my face and got in bed to watch Netflix.  I think I watched three episodes of Army Wives before I fell asleep.

Exciting stuff, huh?  (Sarcasm.)

I keep saying that I am at this weird stage in life of just waiting and faithfully doing what I'm called to do for this time.  The boys are all homeschooled, and I don't usually leave them during the day.  I don't turn on the tv a lot because I feel it's a distraction to them.  If it gets turned on, it's after they're done with their work.  I don't even talk on the phone that much, for that same reason...I feel it's a distraction to them.  It might not be, it's just a feeling I have.  I read a lot.  I study the bible a lot.  I find things to read online a lot, like blogs and articles written by authors I enjoy.  I clean a lot, because that's something I've always done when I'm bored.  I usually stay caught up on laundry, because I am home.  I also cook a lot, because they're not usually sandwich type kids.  I have all this time, and I try to make the most of it and use it as a good steward.

I do have thoughts and dreams about what my future looks like, but it's not the time for any of that.  For now, this is my job and what God has called me to do.  I keep writing on this blog, as I have for almost a decade now, and I keep praying about being open to what God wants for my life someday.  I always pray that He would use me in everything I do, say, think, and write.  And I think He does.  I am perfectly content with my life right now, and I know that comes from Him.  I trust in His perfect plan for our lives, and for now, I am so thankful for this time I have at home with all of my boys.

And bonus, every Monday almost is no makeup Monday.  :)  I only put it on when I'm leaving my house.

So that's a typical day for me.

Thanks for reading along and suggesting that I write this.  Love to all!

simply Tuesday

For the past week, thanks to our lovely Memphis weather, I've been battling my sinuses.  And I do mean battling.  Sometimes it would be bad enough that I would take medicine, and sometimes it wasn't.  (I hate taking medicine.)  The night before last, I had a really fitful night of sleep and woke up feeling horrid yesterday.  I prayed right before I went to bed that the Lord would give me a good night of rest, and He did, and I am so thankful.  I cannot function without at least six hours of sleep; I feel as if I'm in a fog all day, and I'm pretty much useless.

I am so glad to say that I feel more normal this morning!  Praise God for this...it's birthday week around here, and I really need to not be sick on their birthdays again this year.  Because of the fact that I kept waking up feeling terrible, I wasn't having my quiet time first thing in the mornings.  I'd still have it, but it'd be after I was up for a couple of hours and once the medicine had kicked in.

But today I woke up and had it right away.  I love having time alone with God first in the mornings.  It just sets my day off on the right foot.

I know it's not that big a deal to a lot of people...I'm still having it, right?  But to me, it is a HUGE deal.  I always ask God to never let me put ANYTHING before Him, and I mean that with my time, as well.  It wouldn't seem right to me to wake up and start going, going, going and doing all these things before first spending time with Him, praying and reading His word.  It's not right for me to put other things before my quiet time, because at this point in my life, I have all the time in the world.  I stay at home with my kids while they do their school work, and though I do get out for errands and such, mostly, I'm at home.  With all that time I have, I need to give the BEST part of that time to Him, and my best is early in the morning while everyone is asleep.

I know some of you are wives and moms that work.  Some of you are students that have to be at school by six forty in the morning.  Some of you are young moms, whose early mornings are taken up by your kids.  And in all of those cases, I think it's different, this subject of when your quiet time occurs.  But for me, a stay at home and homeschooling wife and mom, with all the time in the world, I should be and want to be spending a good portion of my mornings with Jesus.

There's not a certain amount of time that I spend with Him everyday.  Some days it's short and sweet.  Some days it's an hour or more.  I let the Holy Spirit lead me in this.  I know it sounds strange, but you'll know if you want to keep going with praying or reading the Bible, or if you need to wrap it up and get started on the day.

I don't spend time alone with Jesus everyday because I have to.  But I do spend time with Him because I need to and I want to.  He is my Lord and Savior and very best friend.  I tell everything to Him, and I love hearing Him speak through His word.  I just desperately need Him and I want to know Him more.  That's why I do it~and it's why I love to study His word.

It all kinda goes hand in hand.

There is no special formula for quiet time, my friends.  I always just start with praying, and right now I've been praying using the acronym ACTS~Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.  Then I read in His word.  I journal the verses that I read that jump out to me.  I write out the scripture from the writing plan I love.  And I've been doing an additional plan, as well, in observation of Lent.  I love this time with Him each day.  Later in the day I'll do the Bible study homework that I usually have.  And I might read more of His word throughout the day.

I just know that I need to spend this time with my Jesus everyday.  When I skip a day, I feel off.  It's become such a habit, that I know it's missing from my routine.  But I also feel it in my heart.  I've noticed that when I don't spend a good amount of time with Him that I will be really grumpy, or easily irritated.  When I'm worrying or fretting about something, it's because I've not talked to Him about it.  I know the more time I spend with Him, the more smoothly my days go by.

I know some people would disagree, but I know that for me, at least, that statement is true.

I have a few things I need to get out for today, but it's a pretty low key day again.  Thanks for reading my blog on this dreary Tuesday.

Love to all.

p.s.  The Simply Tuesday title comes from my new book I just got by Emily Freeman, and it's about loving God through all of our life's moments and learning to be content in whatever circumstance God has placed us in.  I haven't actually started it yet, but I plan on starting it as soon as I finish the book I'm reading right now, so maybe later today or tomorrow.

Also, I meant to say this earlier, but here is a great blog post she wrote today.  Click here to read it.

weekend recap

We kicked off our weekend Friday afternoon with my dad.  We have this gorgeous national park in the middle of our city, and recently, they've made tons of changes.  One thing they changed was this lake that used to be really small.  They added more to it, and it is HUGE.  It was a beautiful day on Friday, even if it was a little cool, but we took advantage of the day and walked around a bit.

There are these big wooden lounge chairs that can hold two people, and Dad and I did this while the boys ran around.  They tried skipping rocks until I had to tell them to quit throwing the big ones in the lake, then we watched a group of balloons float away and tried to watch it until we all thought our eyes started burning.

#funtimes

We headed home after this and Dad stayed for a while longer, then I got up to make some cheese dip and hot fudge sauce for our game night with friends that night.  We played games with them until about ten, then came home.

On Saturday, my handyman of a husband changed the back brakes on my car, and the boys cleaned out the garage.

This was a picture he took, and I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me when I say that IT IS.  All of that floor space was filled with junk, but now we have a nice little path around things, and they cleaned off and organized the shelves.  We ended up selling that red tool cabinet you see on the far left, and we're also selling the weed-eater in the middle.  All the stuff on the right is our camping gear, and there are four bikes on a big rack under the rakes.

That night the older boys went to a friend's house out in the country, and Todd, Jonah, Noah and I went to Osaka (again) for sushi.  After that, Todd drove me to Claire's for some sterling silver backed earrings, because all of a sudden, my ears don't like the fake stuff.

We were at church yesterday morning and last night, but in between, a couple of really sweet girls came over and spent the afternoon with us.

And Rachel and Crash did this the majority of the time.  They love each other.

It was a great weekend, ending in an amazing night of worship at church last night.  About halfway through it, my voice just stopped making noise, and all I could sing were really low notes, but it was totally worth it.  I've been working on a sinus infection for about a week now, and I feel fine in the daytime, but bad in the morning and at night when I try to go to sleep.

Today we are spending the day at home doing a lot of nothing.  Well, they'll do school work, and I'll do laundry, but aside from that?  Not much else.

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.

favorite moments from the past seven days

Happy Friday, friends!

I titled it differently this week, because the gal that does the link up on Fridays is taking a little blogging break.  I still wanted to share about my favorite moments from the week and what we did over last weekend.

Last Friday, my dad suggested we go to the zoo for the day, so we did just that.

The weather was perfect and there were not many people there.  I always love the cats.

We also loved the flamingos at the new exhibit, Zambezi River, and stood looking at them for at least half an hour.  And look at my boys and how big they all are.  When did that even happen, y'all?  I feel like they should all be in elementary school.  We used to go to the zoo all the time with Dad, and Drew said the saddest thing ever to me about it not being all that exciting anymore.  I told him it was, just that he was growing up.  I had instant tears in my eyes when he said that.

Last week, on Wednesday, the boys and I made plans to go out to my friend's farm to see the newborn calf, but the rain kept us away.  We rescheduled for Saturday and spent practically the entire day out there this past weekend.  We had a blast!  This is Sunshine.  Her mom died after giving birth, and it made me want to bawl.  This precious little thing was every bit as wonderful as I thought a newborn calf would be, curling up beside you and letting you stroke her.  Look at her eyelashes!

They're bottle feeding her.  They also had one born a couple weeks ago~Duchess~and another was born on Sunday.

I love baby calves!

The cows are pretty friendly and you can get really close.

We had an amazing lunch~homemade tortillas and fajitas.

My friend and her daughters can cook like nobody else I've ever seen.  They're totally incapable of making something that doesn't taste amazing.

We had the most fun day and I am so thankful they let us come out for the day.  The boys also shot guns, rode four-wheelers, ran on hay bales, and generally just made themselves right at home.

I finished Titus this week~I went really slow and just LOOK at all that we should be as believers.  This was only from chapters one and two.

I did this because I was in a bad mood Thursday and Friday, and this was such a great dose of reality for me.

I wrote about this night already, but one of my favorite moments from the week included being with my friends from church and hearing this sweet lady share her story of all that God had brought her through.   I love nights like this~they're encouraging, faith building and full of fun and laughter.

If you are local to me and reading this, I'd like to invite you to a night of praise and worship at Collierville First Baptist Church this Sunday night at six o'clock.  These nights are my very favorite.  It's nothing but singing.  It's not a choir program or performance, but a night just to worship the Lord.  I cannot wait and hope to be feeling a little better by then.  Right now my voice is all weird because of crazy weather ups and downs and congestion, and I couldn't hardly sing last night.

All of you know that Scripture writing is one of my favorite things to do during my quiet time, and this year, I'm including the Lent plan.  You can go to Sweet Blessings Dot Com for the printable version.

One of my favorite things from the internet this week.  I love what this says about marriage, and boy, is it true.  I've personally experienced it.

Also, if you want more great marriage advice, you should follow Dave and Ashley Willis on Instagram.  They're always posting things like this.  That is where I got this from.

And last, but not least, is this adorable little fairy garden I found a picture of on my phone.  When I was in Colorado in November, I was shopping with my mom and sister Lisa when we came across a little shop that sold these.  Y'all.  These are precious and I really want one.  Google them for yourself and find out more about them.  They're fascinating.

Thanks for reading, my friends.  I hope your weekend is fabulous!  Love to all.