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My Cow, My Cleaning Confessions, and Malachi’s Lego Convention

January 12, 2017 by Laura 11 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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I never met a cow I didn’t like. What I mean is – I really like eating beef. It is my favorite.

Rejoice with me, won’t you? We picked up one half of a cow last weekend. (I do not know which half. It’s better this way.) The cow came from trusted farmer friends who raise their animals in organic pasture. We also got a pasture-fed lamb (both halves) while we were at it. My grocery budget is completely wiped out for this month and next (though it all averages out in the end). Our freezers are bursting and we are so thankful.

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I’ve spent time this week rearranging freezers to organize said cow and friend lamb. I’ve also been cleaning out closets and cabinets and throwing out/giving away anything that isn’t nailed down. Phew, it feels so good! Then I did something I’ve been wanting to do for about five years now:

I hired someone to help me clean my house.

Why have I put this off for so long? For oh so many reasons. It’s been hard to justify spending the money. My pride has been hesitant to admit that I can’t keep up. I’ve felt shy about someone seeing the places in my home that are filthy and disgusting after so much neglect. We still want our boys to take part in cleaning our home regularly so they’ll be prepared to be helpful husbands some day. So many reasons.

God finally made it clear that now is the time to reach out for help. (Or maybe I finally opened myself to listen better.) I feel overwhelmed almost daily while trying to juggle raising a houseful of teenage sons, love on their friends, keep up with their activities, work full time from home, school the boys from home, nurture my marriage, love and serve people from the community and church, put three healthy meals on the table every day, and take care of the house. Also?

I despise cleaning.

I always have. I do it because I love a clean home, but as the years have gone by and my days have become more full – much of the cleaning that needs to be done beyond basic upkeep has gotten pushed aside.

I don’t even know the last time I mopped my kitchen floor beyond spot cleaning.

With Matt’s blessing, I finally called someone. We believe we came away with a win-win after our initial visit. Our cleaning help/friend will come just once each month for a 3-hour time slot (and for a very reasonable price). She’ll do the cleaning jobs we never get around to: kitchen windows and woodwork (cabinet fronts too), the kitchen floor, the master bedroom, stairway woodwork, and she’ll thoroughly clean both bathrooms from top to bottom.

Hallelujah! In the meantime, our boys will continue their regular weekly chores of sweeping/vacuuming/dusting the living room, cleaning the bathrooms, doing the laundry, and all the other daily dishes/trash/compost/recycling/etc. duties we give them.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that the cleaning tasks will not be constantly looming over my head any more! And when I showed my cleaning lady the areas I needed help with, she didn’t even bat an eye over the grossness. Bless her.

So let’s see…I shared about my cow and my cleaning confessions. Now to tell you about Malachi’s Lego Convention.

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Our twelve year old, who loves Legos more than anything in the world, has been dreaming of and planning a Lego Convention for a year and a half. (He’s visionary like his daddy.) Matt has been amazing to help develop the idea with him over the past few months. They decided to go for it, and they named their venture NeBricksKa (because it is a convention held here in Nebraska and Legos are bricks – get it?).

They made plans, they made flyers, they called schools, they reserved our church fellowship hall. Matt deserves “Dad of the Year” for helping Malachi with this and truly, Malachi has astounded us with his dedication to take on such a huge project. He worked for months to create his display and promote the event.

It happened last Saturday morning, and it was fantastic. (Don’t even ask how we managed to squeeze in such a convention between Thursday night basketball games, Friday night basketball games, and Saturday afternoon basketball games. Nobody got much sleep last weekend, but boy did we have fun. Our schedules are further confirmation that I need help keeping up with housework – and why I’m declaring this the Year of Simple!)

Just over 40 people came with displays. The kids all walked around from table to table as each child shared what they had built. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was Malachi’s dream come true, and to be sure, he will be hosting this again next year with big hopes that word will spread and that the convention will grow bigger and bigger each year!

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That sums up some of our family’s latest ventures in the new year! And now it’s your turn:

What blessings are you celebrating so far this year?

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The Dream I Never Knew I Had

October 10, 2016 by Laura 12 Comments

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I always dreamed of growing up, marrying a wonderful man, and having a bunch of babies. I would have a pretty house and I would bake cookies often. Everything would be bliss (because of all the babies and cookies, no doubt).

I’m thankful for the dream. I’m thankful I had high hopes and high expectations and I’m very thankful that God said “yes” to so many of my dreams. He could have said “no.” He could have said, “I have something different for you that will be better than your dream.”

But here I am. I’m all grown up with a wonderful man and a bunch of babies. But whoa. Did you know babies don’t stay babies for long? They actually get bigger by the day, and before long, the babies turn into big kids and then, if you can believe it, they become teenagers and then adults. This doesn’t just happen to all those other “older moms.”

In my younger years, my dreams never really took me that far.

I never dreamed beyond a houseful of kids ages 7 and under. I never knew there would be life after Tonka trucks and wooden puzzles. I never thought about being my kids’ biggest cheerleader during high school and college sports or buying them man-sized jeans. I never considered that some day, these babies would grow up and discover talents and careers and their own senses of humor and a personal relationship with Jesus that challenges their “old mom” and helps her to grow.

I never knew that part of the dream would include heartbreak. I didn’t plan for times of sadness or disappointment. All the cookies in the world don’t fix what hurts. As it turns out, living the dream sometimes means crying through the reality, but pushing through together in faith.

And what I really never knew about the dream? One dream brings forth new dreams. As God continues to reveal His work in the lives of my sons and in my marriage, He’s given me new dreams. Dreams for the future and all of the good that is yet to come.

But what I’m most thankful to discover is that the best is not in the dream. It is in the now. The best of the best happens when I choose to love and enjoy and appreciate this moment, today.

The best of the best happens when I’m not dreaming about what is to come, but am instead gratefully loving today’s goodness. See, the place I keep finding myself to be in is the one that I never even knew to dream about in the first place. It’s in the moments…

  • My adult son brings a pack of his college friends to our house, and I get to set out the food and be amazed at this new piece of life.
  • I hear our grown-up boys reminiscing and laughing over “that time we were little and…”
  • We are piled in the living room having our family prayer time and I hear the hearts of my boys as they talk to their Father.
  • I see my boys serving others willingly or taking leadership or speaking kindly to someone.

This is the dream I didn’t even know to dream. I look at what I have (laundry piles included) and at where I am (often at the kitchen washing a sink full of dirty dishes) and I think, “This is what I would have dreamed about had I even known it was a dream to be dreamed.”

I didn’t know to dream this. But God knows perfectly well. He knows each of our needs and so often, He even provides for our desires. Sometimes He says, “no” but often He says, “Yes, and also…” because He has more to offer than we know to long for.

Some of Asa’s college soccer teammates around our kitchen table…

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Hanging out with college students after dinner with about 4 gallons of ice cream…

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Our living room filled on the eve of “National Pancake Day.” I made 12 batches of pancakes that night…

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and a few more pounds of food just in case we ran out of pancakes…

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I didn’t even dream about days like this. It never even crossed my mind. How amazing of God to give it to me anyway.

Dream big, my friends. But mostly, trust that God has good plans for your future, resting peacefully and joyfully in this moment, today. Focus on His Kingdom purpose for you. He’ll give you more than you’ll ever know to dream.

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Gratituesday: School Shopping 2016

August 8, 2016 by Laura 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

It’s been months since I shared a Gratituesday post. Today I’m feeling all sorts of grateful, and would you look at that? It’s Tuesday.

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Last night our oldest packed up and moved back into the dorm. Over hugs, excitement, and a big sigh I was overcome by these two realizations:

  1. This year is a million times less difficult than last year. In line with her freshman son last year, I was the mom bawling hot tears like a baby while trying to sign registration papers. Me. The one moving her son five minutes away from home. We were entering a huge time of transition last year, going from The Coppinger6 to whatever it was this new thing was with only three boys left at home. Happy as I was for Asa, I cried as if I’d just closed the cover after reading the last page of my favorite book. Because I had.
  2. This year brings a whole new flood of emotions. I am so excited for Asa this year!! I remember the beginning of my sophomore year of college and it was my very favorite. There are way fewer unknowns, and everyone gets to reunite with their amazing college friends after being apart for the summer. I was practically jumping up and down in anticipation for him last night (while handing him soap, granola bars, kleenex, a pillow case…).

So here we are. We survived the first year of sending our oldest away from home. He’s grown. We’ve grown. But I’ve not gotten less nostalgic about traditions with my babies (three of whom shave regularly).

You knew this was coming, right? Year after year, we take pictures while school supply shopping. Year after year, I share the pics with you. You’ve watched these little boys grow into men.

Last year, I told the boys we had to do it just one more time. This year I told them to forget about last year being the last time because I just couldn’t not take the traditional shopping picture. They didn’t even argue – probably because we told them we’d take them out for burgers after we shopped.

First, you have to see their school shopping pictures through the years. 2008…

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2009

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2010

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2011

2012

2013 (The year I told them that I am going to take this picture, but you can all look the other way if you want to.)

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2014

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2015 (The year I cried while standing with the notebooks and markers and the son getting ready to leave for college)

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And now this year. 2016. Gone are the days we need 25 cent glue sticks. They all needed shoes and the aisle with the 50 cent colored pencils was all out of shoes.

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I tried to talk Malachi into a nice, normal face. He was well aware that this picture would be posted for the world to see. Second time’s a charm?

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C’mon, Malachi. Give me a good one.

And so he did. But then Asa wasn’t ready, but I didn’t realize it until too late. He woulda not appreciated me sharing his face in this one, so I did what any nice mother would do. I cropped his head off.

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After spending $5,824,481 on shoes, we headed out for burgers. I decided to hold my phone as high as I could over our table full of family to get a picture of all six of us.

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Two and a half. Okay. Try again. Because maybe my arms are longer than they were two minutes ago?

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Three of us, plus the nice family in the back. Wait, wait. I’ve got this.

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I don’t even.

This is the point at which I gave up, stood up, backed up as far as I could, sat in a stranger’s lap, and took a pic of my men. Oh, these guys. How did we get here? 

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When we got home, we loaded all of Asa’s stuff into his car, and sent him on his way. There were no tears this time, unless you count the ones I’ve shed since looking at these “through the years” pictures.

What a great God we serve. I see these pictures and I’m reminded of all God has brought us through. There are more than just crayons and growing boys in these pictures. These pictures are reminders of life, and sorrow, and growing pains, and struggle, and love.

We grow. God remains the constant, faithful, gentle, loving God. Praise Him for His goodness this Gratituesday!

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College Students Like Easter Egg Hunts Too

March 30, 2016 by Laura 6 Comments

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This year might have been my favorite Easter yet. A great day of worship. A houseful of college students. A kitchen full of great food. Sunshine. It was a fabulous day overall.

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So here we are, celebrating Gratituesday on Wednesday – mostly because I don’t even know what day it is. If I was feeling energetic and especially clever, I’d wait and post this on Friday, April 1. You know – April Fool’s Day? Gratituesday on Friday…hahaha. Boy, that would have been a good one. {lamest prank ever}

Bare with me here. March tried to kill me. I don’t know when I’ve last had so many huge and wonderful events to take part in all during the same month. Weddings and tournaments and youth events and banquets and meetings and all of the rest of life trying to stay afloat during it all. It has been incredibly enjoyable – but the running!! The month ended with an Easter celebration. How fitting. How perfect. How necessary.

(Technically, the month is ending with a small getaway for Matt and me. We both need it and plan to rest and not talk to people – except each other – for 36 hours. Every time I think about it, I cry. That is how I show excitement right now. This translates to, “Laura needs to get away.” Bless my husband.)

So, Easter. We were on our way home from Kansas City on Saturday after another whirlwind event for our kids. I texted Asa and told him to invite whatever college friends he wanted to join us for Easter. We stopped at the store on the way into town to buy strawberries (because, of course) and white flour rolls (because have I told you about the month I’ve had?) so we could put an easy feast on the table for Easter. I had everything else I needed in the freezer. Sunday we pulled off a grand buffet with little effort (thank you spiral cut ham and frozen vegetables for being there when we needed you).

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We ended the meal with a Brownie Sundae Bar, of which I failed to get a picture. Here, take a look at the ham and potato bar again:

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Elias had mixed up a Bacon(less) Ranch Hashbrown Casserole before we left for Kansas City. 

Asa didn’t hold back on inviting friends. He filled our living room with several from his soccer team, plus some of our adopt-a-students joined us. There were 16 of us altogether. God made this meal practically effortless, and I just sat back and watched the fun while they ate.

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Then the Easter Egg Hunt began.

Five of the college guys chose to be the “hiders of the eggs.” We have a big yard (with a lot of junk all around) – making for great hiding places. The other students, plus our younger boys were handed fancy Easter baskets (plastic Walmart bags) and headed out to hunt.

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It was ridiculously fun to watch!

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While all of the rest of the day had been my favorite so far, then my favorite favorite happened. The students made their way back to the front of our house where they started to visit.

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They got the loot out of their eggs…

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Then they began kicking a soccer ball around. In the meantime, I sat on the porch in the sunshine watching and taking it all in. My college son. His college friends. My husband and younger sons. In our yard. Hunting/hiding eggs. Talking. Kicking a ball. Laughing. Bliss.

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Because of my exhaustion, I had been hesitant to invite anyone to join us this Easter. God gave me the green light, then He provided everything to fill the day with joy. He always knows what we need. He always provides.

And now, hallelujah, He’s provided a little getaway for my hubby and me. Think of me tomorrow while I’m sitting and not moving for many, many hours. (Elias told us we should Vlog our getaway experience. Matt told him it would be hour after hour of “Sitting,” “Still sitting,” “Sitting some more,” “Laying down now,” “Back to sitting,” “Ready to sleep…”) We sure do know how to party.

What is God providing for you right now? No matter if you’re going through the good stuff or the hard stuff, God is providing. Reflect and share!

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Weddings, Guns, and Green Fingernails

March 17, 2016 by Laura 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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Nothing much usually goes on around here, so I always have a hard time knowing what to talk about. Life is so boring. (She says, as she looks at her to-do list and passes out.)

We’ve been running and running and running since the Youth Rally in January. Life is full, life is fun, hard stuff happens, and I am forever behind. While I’ve known this for a while, I am absolutely convinced now that loving relationships are more important than keeping a perfect house or staying ahead of laundry. This is my sweet and precious way of saying, “wow my house is a mess.” Slowly but surely, we’ll get caught up. (You know, since life slowed down and we have nothing to do.)

I thought I’d share some of the fun events of the past couple weeks, and guess what? Thirty or so thousands of years after most everyone else on the planet, I am finally on Instagram! Please come follow me and you’ll be rewarded with something amazing like one photo from my life every month or two.

So what’s been going on in my life? Well, for the past few weeks, our family has been working hard preparing for an annual church event – Leadership Training for Christ. Our boys have been studying for a Bible Bowl, working on some individual projects like photography, speech, and sculpture, and getting together with groups to prep for choirs and dramas. Below you’ll see Malachi (in blue) painting a car for the “Terror 2000” – part of the roller coaster the 3-5 graders are using for their drama.

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All the kids loved how it turned out, though one of the boys came in later and suggested, “It’s okay, but I think it would be better if we painted on a skull.” Yeah. I’ll get right on that.

Two weekends ago our family traveled to Kansas where our middle two boys competed in the NDII Homeschool Basketball Tournament. We spent three days cheering for our kids and having a blast with friends. I went all out and painted my fingers and toes green in support of our team. I felt a little sheepish about it as I pulled out my fingers to show one of the other moms at the first game. She smiled and pulled out her fingers WHICH WERE THE SAME COLOR! #momsofboys #gogreenorgohome

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My dad and his wife met us at the tournament – such a blessing to have their love and support! Then my brother’s family surprised our boys and came to watch their final game. It was fun to see the boys’ faces when their cousins walked in!

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The very next week, we had not one but two weddings that we were highly involved in. I had our schedule carefully mapped out so we wouldn’t miss anything and we were blessed that both couples worked around our schedule so we could make it work. The craziness began on Thursday with a bachelorette party, then a rehearsal, then a bridal shower.

So the bachelorette party. Who goes to a shooting range to celebrate her upcoming wedding? Only my friend Jen. She loves all things sports and guns. Good friends that we are, we went shooting with her.

What do you think? Do I look almost ready to shoot a gun?

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There. Is that better?

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I had fun for about 20 minutes, then I announced, “Ok. I totally need to go bake something now.” I don’t know why everyone laughed. I was absolutely serious.

The weekend went fabulously while we celebrated with our whole hearts the marriages of our friends. I have very few pictures so far of either wedding, but what I do have…

We took this picture of Jen to send to her almost hubby just before their ceremony started. Really, Jen we just feeling warm and opening a window to get some air. But it looked like she was scared and making a run for it, so out came the camera. ;)

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After three full days of running and celebrating, as all events were drawing to a close, I asked a friend to get a picture of my true love and me. I love this picture so much I can’t stop staring at it.

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This man is my best teammate and serving with him is my greatest blessing and joy in this life.

Thanks for allowing me to share a snippet of my life the past few weeks. I’ve been trying to rest the past few days while catching up on everything I’m behind on. As always, my boys have been rock stars helping me out and in general, putting up with me when I can’t finish my sentences as a result of too many days with too little sleep.

Dare I mention that soccer season began about five minutes after basketball season ended? My life is blessed, full, and God is ever showing me His strength through my weaknesses.

Care to share what you’ve been up to this month? I’d love to hear!

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P.S. Sunday after the Saturday wedding, I still had great curls in my hair (and a lot of hairspray). I spent 30 seconds to pull it up in a Flexi-Clip and it looked great! What would I do without my Flexi-Clips?? Which leads me to…

This weekend Lilla Rose is offering 30% Off Select Styles and 10% Off Everything Else!

Lilla Rose Easter Sale
Sale starts Friday, March 18 at 7am PST, and ends Sunday, March 20 at 11:59 pm PST. Get the info here!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday on Friday

February 19, 2016 by Laura 15 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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I’ve been completely exhausted this week after our Youth Rally weekend followed by our week of crazy. I’m not sure what I could have done differently to keep myself from becoming over-tired. There was just a lot going on. My body thanked me this week by coming down with a cold. Boo.

I’ve spent the past couple of days resting, taking baths with Epsom salt and essential oils, and binge watching Netflix. Rest is good.

Then yesterday I heard the sad news that one of my friends died suddenly. She had just recently gotten her life back on track and I loved watching God at work in her. She was sweet and kind and she had my back. I’m going to miss her.

Funny (not funny) how losing someone can put life in perspective. Just a few hours before my friend died, she was chatting with others in her normal, cheerful way. A few moments later, she was gone. Life is delicate. Most of what we think matters – doesn’t really matter. All that really matters is Jesus, love, and relationships. That’s it.

Why Gratituesday on Friday? I guess because I’m a little weary and sad and reflective. And I’m grateful. I’m grateful for life and friendship. I’m grateful that God promises so much more than all we experience in this fleeting life. I’m grateful for rest. I’m grateful for reminders to keep the important pieces of life important. I’m grateful for tears. I’m grateful for people coming together as we mourn our loss.

It might be quiet around here the next few days. We’ve got a weekend full of basketball, a wedding shower, and then a funeral. <— That sentence right there is a great picture of life on earth, isn’t it? Fun, joy, and sorrow. All of the above, with Jesus in every place.

I love that through everything, there are reasons to be grateful. Hang on to that as you enjoy a blessed weekend!

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Sick Kid, God’s Care, and Last Day for Real Food eCourse Sale

October 26, 2015 by Laura 8 Comments

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I’ve got some fun posts in the works for you, but I have been running and running and running…

Yes, definitely picture me actually running. Like, in tennis shoes, across miles of terrain, with a pink head band catching my sweat, while I look adorable and perky in a cute athletic outfit. Picture that. That is definitely what I mean by running. I just can’t stop running. I am such a runner.

Now, if you’re realistically thinking, “Yeah right, Laura” then you can instead picture a more accurate description of my running which involves barely being home during the past few days and if I was home, I had guests. I have posts in my head that have not yet come out of my fingers and onto this screen. Now that I’m finally sitting here at my keyboard, I’m too tired to write actual words. Therefore, I’m going to take a couple of days off to rest and find some complete sentences. I know they’re in there somewhere.

Before I sign off, I wanted to share a little Gratituesday with you, and also offer you a “last day of sale” reminder.

First, Gratituesday.

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Part of my running recently has been in the form of caring for a very sick boy. Most of us had a stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, which is no fun at all, of course. But one of our sons got a seemingly weird version that has been hanging on for way too long. When a teenage boy doesn’t feel like eating day after day after day, you know something is wrong.

It was beginning to get scary for us and for him. I am grateful to share, though, that today we got some answers. I was able to get him into our natural doctor in Lincoln who discovered the root of the problem and provided treatment solutions. He’ll likely still be weak for a few days, but I’m confident now that nothing is seriously wrong with him and that he is on his way to recovery. I don’t think any of us knew how worried we were until we got home from Lincoln and his brothers met us anxiously at the door asking for answers about what we learned from the doctor. (This is significant because these are boys who would normally say, “Oh were you gone? I didn’t realize. What’s for lunch?”)

I am so thankful for God’s provision in this. It is extremely difficult to get an appointment with this doctor right now as she just had a baby and is only back for very limited hours. In fact, I’ve had my next appointment scheduled months in advance. The fact that I called at 8:01 and got in because “there was a last minute cancellation” is amazing to me. Praise God for opening a slot that worked perfectly for us on the very day we needed it, and for providing answers that will put our son back on the road to good health.

Soooo after I got my sickie settled back at home in the recliner with food and drink and remedies, I got into the van again and headed south to a ranch with Malachi for a horse class he’s taking right now with some fellow homeschoolers. This class has been so fun and fascinating!

As you can see, I’m very gifted at photography with my phone camera. Also, you can see that as much as Malachi enjoys horses, he likes dogs even more.

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Praise God for Make-Ahead Meals. Wearily, I slid a prepared casserole into the oven when I got home from the ranch (which we will eat with a salad consisting of whatever greens and veggies we pull out of the fridge). Then I plopped onto my computer chair to try to find some words (which I obviously found, thank you).

Thanks for letting me share. It’s great to reflect on God and His work and to be able to share it with people I care about (you!).

More fun posts coming back after I take a short Sabbath rest. :)

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Gratituesday: Why I Will Always Have Coffee in My Fridge

October 5, 2015 by Laura 13 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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Remember that one time my oldest son graduated from high school and moved all the way to the other side of town to the college dorm? 

I am one spoiled mama, that’s what I am. While Asa is super busy (16 mostly upper-level credit hours plus work study) and super involved (soccer, choir, club, and everything else fun he can squeeze in) and is barely getting any sleep – every once in a while we do get to see his face. I love those moments. 

We get to see Asa at church most Sundays. We go to his home soccer games and the away games that are close-by. He comes home to do laundry every week or so. I feed him whenever a meal at home can be worked into his schedule. Sometimes he referees one of his brother’s soccer games. See? I am super spoiled. I know many moms who said goodbye in August and won’t see their son or daughter again until Thanksgiving or beyond. I’m blessed to see my boy here and there. 

We’re adjusting to life with just three boys at home. We’ve re-vamped the chore list and shuffled around beds in the boys’ bedroom and even figured out how to play games and watch movies without Asa being here. <— that part was so weird and hard at first. “We can’t watch that because not everyone is here!” had to be replaced with a sniff from Mom and an “I guess we’ll watch that without Asa.” Who knew that would be a tough adjustment? (It’s a “We love our family time” thing. That’s when we miss him most. That and when it’s his turn to take out the trash.)  ;)

Do you remember what it’s like to be a college student? We all stayed up way too late most nights and still got up for early morning classes. Somehow we survived. Now that I’m 42, my body is like, “It’s almost 9:45 and I might pass out if I don’t go to bed soon.” But 9:45 pm is still mid-afternoon for college students. That’s the time they have meetings, write papers, and hang out with friends. Night life in the dorm begins at midnight. But still there are 8:00 am classes. This is what motivates a college kid to begin drinking coffee, am I right?

So guess who likes coffee now? 

It happened like this: 

Asa’s girl, Brittany — Yes, Asa has a girl. Has had for over a year. I’ve respected her/their privacy by not going on and on about her here, but then I asked and she said it was okay so there you go — Anyway…Brittany has liked coffee shop coffee for quite some time. Asa teased her about it until the morning after the twelfth night in a row he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. That’s when he said, “I sure could go for some coffee” and she fell out of her chair. (See, this is why people shouldn’t give me permission to write about them on my blog.) 

She didn’t fall. She just hopped up and ran to our local coffee shop.

Long story short(ish) – now they both love fru-fru coffee but aren’t enjoying paying high prices or drinking oodles of sugar. They have loved my Frappes when I’ve served them, so recently when they were here, I said, “Anytime you want coffee, text me. My coffee will cost you nothing and it’s not full of sugar (plus then I’ll get to see you both which will make my day so please want coffee often and text me daily).” 

coffee for asa and britt

Lookie there. Frappes in to-go cups. 

I will stop here and tell you the specifics of my favorite way to make a delicious Frappe, because everyone needs to know this.

How To Make an Amazing (Much Healthier) Frappe

1. Grind some of the best coffee beans in the world. (I discovered these beans from Guatamala and I can’t stop loving how good the coffee is.)

2. Brew coffee as normal or make some via the cold brew method. By default, I usually brew coffee to drink in the morning, then cool and refrigerate leftovers to use in Frappes.

3. Make coffee ice cubes. 

4. Make Chocolate Frappe as directed here. Or this: Put cold coffee, a few coffee ice cubes, some cream, and a few squeezes of this amazing stevia sweetened chocolate syrup into a blender. (Note, that stuff is not cheap, but is still much less expensive and absolutely healthier than coffee shop coffee, so I grab some when I have Amazon or Vitacost credit.)

5. Blend until frothy and serve. 

Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Frappe

Starbucks is jealous of how delicious this is. Asa, Brittany, Matt, Justus, and Elias all love this drink. I’m still in the “plain coffee with cream” camp because it is so delicious as-is. It is so much fun to drink coffee with my people! (Malachi will come around, and for now will stick with hot chocolate.) 

The above combination of ingredients also tastes delicious as a hot drink (minus the ice cubes, I hope that was obvious). This is why I grabbed to-go coffee cups with lids because it is getting chilly outside and cold frappes for the college students probably won’t cut it much longer.

coffee cups

So there you go. I will always have coffee on hand so that I’m ready to say “Yep!” whenever I get a “Can we come get coffee?” text. For the record, I will also always have food to warm up (do not ever question this), fresh fruit, boxes of kleenex, an assortment of natural remedies, and if ever there is a request that I cannot immediately fulfill, I will put it on my Walmart list because I can’t even help it.

I’d love to hear what all of you are thankful for this Gratituesday!

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Gratituesday: My BFF Jen Hatmaker

August 31, 2015 by Laura 17 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Did you know? Jen Hatmaker is my BFF. So what if we’ve never actually met?

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This message brought to you by a refreshed and relaxed me who just returned home from…wait for it…a girl weekend.

wof2015

I know. A little get-away like this doesn’t seem like much. But remember who I live with. I love all of my many male people so, so much. But this weekend I got to go to where there were all women, all the time. For 26 hours.

Here’s part my private Facebook thread conversation with friends before leaving Friday:

Tonya: What are you guys wearing tonight/tomorrow?

Emily: Jeans, tennis shoes…

Me: Capris and comfy flip flops. Debating on a bra. #girlweekend

Of course I was serious. So off we went to the Women of Faith conference. (Fully clothed, with all appropriate underthings in place.) The closer we got, the more excited we got.

Now I’ve got to tell you something before going any farther. I am not one to be star struck. Our family has been to Newsboys concerts in which Michael Tate was close enough that we could reach out and stroke his hair (which we did not do). All my guys were like, “Dude, that is Michael Tate!!” and I’m all chill with, “Now which one is he again?” We’ve been to a Toby Mac concert where we were sitting so close that the sweat from his brow could have sprayed our cheeks. We rocked out with Lecrae and loved it. But hey. These are just regular (very famous) people. No need to get all silly about it.

But…Jen Hatmaker

All that went out the window though, because this weekend, here’s what I discovered. Sometimes you just need to get silly. Need I remind you of the lack of male people in the arena this weekend? Not to mention my complete lack of any responsibility or need for thinking, answering questions, or any other such mothering or wifing on my agenda for 26 hours. This brought out my silly. I’m not even ashamed about how totally age 12 I was acting half the time. For real – laughter is so good for the soul, as is quality time with girl people who speak my language.

So guess what? My favorite author and best friend, Jen Hatmaker, was going to be speaking at the conference. If you do not read every word that she writes, I encourage you to change that immediately. I adore her writing style, but mostly her heart for Jesus and people. I’d never heard her speak before (which is so odd seeing as we are best friends and all.) While I was looking forward to many things about the weekend, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing Jen. (I dropped the last name here because we are on a first name basis, obviously.)

Here’s where I started to get silly. I mean, I already was silly, because #girlweekend. But as my friends and I were talking more and the conference was about to start, our hashtag turned from #girlweekend into #mybestfriendjenhatmaker (because my friends claim her too).

When we first saw her come out to be introduced with the rest of the speakers, I got so excited I actually jumped up and down and pointed (see age 12 behavior admission above). This is when I knew, whoa, I cannot even believe how excited I am that she is here. I now want to turn into a weirdy weirdo about this. I just love her so much.

At this point, since she was so closely in front of me, I decided I’d best try to get a picture. It was either that or holler her name, jump over eight people, and grab her into a big bear hug so we could start catching up on the past 40-whatever years we’ve missed out on together. I totally could have done it (like a weirdy weirdo), but I settled for a picture. (You’re welcome, Jen.)

Allow me to now present to you, the Jen Is About To Be Introduced and I’m Seeing Her For the First Time Scrapbook. What? The only reason I took so many shots was because I hoped to get at least one good one (which I did not). It’s okay though. I don’t need no stinking picture. To be star struck is sooo silly.

Here is #mybestfriendjenhatmaker standing beside another conference speaker when she first came out from back stage and stood eight people in front of me:

mybffjenhatmaker9

Here’s another of her smiling and talking to that same other conference speaker. Told you I didn’t get any good pictures. Being a groupie is not my gift.

mybffjenhatmaker4

Here’s another in which she continues to talk expressively with her hands. Isn’t that so endearing? Yes. It is very endearing.

mybffjenhatmaker1

Jen, pointing to the left.

mybffjenhatmaker3
Jen linking arms with other speakers while the lights went down.

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Jen sitting in the chair farthest left by the stage where she would later impart wisdom and humor and blessing.

mybffjenhatmaker7

The evening continued with worship, fun, and speakers. And also #mybestfriendjenhatmaker was there.

By the end of Friday night, I was at a high point of silly and decided to just go with it because it was #girlweekend and I was having so much fun. This is why, as my friends and I were leaving the conference arena and we walked by the very chair where #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting, I was all, “Ooh, there’s her chair, I’m going to touch it!” One thing led to another and well, I have no idea how I ended up sitting there, but would you just look at that?

mybffjenhatmaker8

There’s me. In the very chair #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting on.

Well anyway. I had a super fun weekend. It was a blessing to see #mybestfriendjenhatmaker and hear her heart on stage. If you haven’t already, go right away and read her new book, For the Love.

Now I am back home and no longer acting like I’m 12, nor am I speaking girl language because of all of the obvious male household mothering and wifing reasons. (Spell check does not like the word wifing. I think it is a brilliant word, so you just need to get over it, spell check. What makes you think you are the spelling authority? My brilliant words trump your red squiggles of dismay.)

While I found the Women of Faith conference to be less meaty overall compared to last year, I still feel filled up because I had so much stinkin’ fun. I have not let my guard down and laughed so hard in months.

Also, I really recognized the value of enjoying friendships this weekend. While I’d love to have a sit down with #mybffjenhatmaker sometime because I appreciate her Spirit-filled life and work – lemme just tell you how blessed I am with the women right here in my life, right here on my porch, right here in this very place.

I am loved by many. I have many to love. Life is fun and full and rich.

May we live life entirely. May we see people through the eyes of Jesus. May we love and be loved, bless and be blessed.

And every few months, may we all have the chance to act the part of a silly 12 year old, laughing for hours until we almost pee (because you are – in real life – much older than 12 and your bladder does not agree with your choice to revert to that time of life).

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Gratituesday: The Beginning of the Next Chapter

August 17, 2015 by Laura 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

gratituesday[2]

So it’s for real. Our oldest son has moved out and is living in a dorm. I learned that one can prepare for it and know it’s coming, but when it really does – well now that is something else.

asa dorm 1

asa dorm 2

Some of the mothers (okay fine, only me) were crying like babies in the registration line. Well c’mon. If all the people would have stopped being so nice and just looked at me with emotionless, cold eyes saying, “here is a pen. sign this form.” it would have been much better. Instead, they were all, “Oh here you are! Big changes for your family, huh? How are you doing with this, Mama?” Seriously. All the nice people were so mean. They made me cry. They are so heartless. (Love them.)

It wasn’t so much the fact that I knew I would miss him (even though I already do). I mean, he has been gone most of the summer so I’m used to being away from him. And good grief, he now lives a grand total of five minutes from our house and we’ve already seen him at church. My tears came from a place of joy mingled with sadness as I look back on the last 18 years.

This is the kid who made me a mother. Our family grew to include four brothers – all of whom have shared a room, shared the love of sports, shared hobbies, shared books, shared inside jokes, shared games, shared music, shared their school hours, shared so much over the years. This isn’t the end of the world – but it is the end of the lovely, beautiful, delightful chapter of life that has been The Coppinger6 for so many precious years.

The next chapter is sure to hold even more amazingness. I know it’s true. But I always cry at the end of a good chapter of a book. The same goes for this.

Remember our “back to school” tradition? For the past 10 years, we’ve made school supply lists and headed to the store together, then splurged on lunch out afterward. I’ve taken a picture of them with their baskets in the aisle since 2008. Would you just look at these sweet little boys? (More yearly pictures here if you want to take a walk down memory lane.)

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Silly as it was, I asked if we could do it one more time before Asa moved out. None of the boys even really needed any school supplies. Sweeties that they are, they posed by the crayons for their sappy mom.

boys school shopping 2015

I told them afterward that I’d decided that this wasn’t our final year of doing this. We’re going to keep doing this, year after year, until the entire aisle is filled with my daughers-in-law and all my grandbabies. Yep. This is written in stone. The tradition must continue. This means, of course, that they must all settle with their families right here in York. All of them. Their wives will love this. None of this is unrealistic.

So the next chapter has begun. Asa is all settled in and consumed this week with three soccer practices and work-outs every day. Classes begin next week. He’s doing great.

asa soccer 2015

There he is, at one of his first soccer practices. This picture was courtesy of my friend, the coach’s wife. Receiving this picture via text sure was a fun gift the night after he moved in!

We look forward to watching God at work in our kids as we begin this new chapter. And now I’d love to hear what you’re grateful for this Gratituesday. :)

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