Celebrate with us! Matt’s restaurant (aka Southside Grille) is now open!!!

I went in last week and took a few pictures. They (as in Evelyn, the head manager) have it decorated SO nicely!

Isn’t it beautiful!?! 

Wow, what a lot of hard work getting it ready to open. And now that it’s open…wow, what a lot of hard work. Both Matt and Evelyn have been working a lot of hours the past few days. 

Matt’s been loving every minute of it.

I love that my husband loves his new job.  I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am and the joy I feel seeing how happy he is at his work.
——————————————————-

Take Note:  Next Tuesday, December 29 will be the last Gratituesday of 2009. Please give thought to all the ways God has blessed you (during your happy and sorrowful times) during the year 2009. We’ll have a special Gratituesday next week celebrating the joys of 2009! Please plan to join us!!–
——————————————————

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. Don’t have a blog? Please leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

There’s a lot of excitement at our house right now! Christmas is coming…but even better…Grandpa Coppinger is coming!

We go to California every other year for Christmas. Since we went out last year, that means we won’t see most of Matt’s side of the family this year. :(

BUT, it is working out  for Matt’s dad to come from California to see us!

(Let’s not tell him how cold it is in Nebraska right now. Or about all the snow. And ice.) 

He flies in this Thursday and gets to stay for over a week! He’s wonderful to have around! He plays with the boys. He fixes things around the house. He compliments my cooking…

He hasn’t seen my dad since Matt and I got married 15 years ago. Both of our dads are excited to see each other again when we make a quick trip to Kansas on Christmas day!

It’s gonna be a great time! I’m so thankful God worked out all the details for him to come!
—————————————————-

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. Don’t have a blog? Be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

When we lived in Colorado several years ago, our house had about 900 square feet. It was a nice little house and it was just fine. But as our family grew, and when we had company it got a bit crowded.

When we were making plans to move back to Nebraska, we were really hoping to find a house that was a bit bigger…mainly because we love to have company and wanted to be able to do that without having guests step on each other. Even a house twice  as big as our Colorado house would have seemed big to us. 

Out of the blue, a friend of ours called. Said he’d heard we were moving back to York. And did we know that he and his family were moving away from York? And that they had a house for sale?

Yes, we did know that they had a house for sale and had seen in the realtor’s book that it was HUGE…and that it was out of our price range.

Never mind that, he told us. He and his wife wanted US to have their house. He said with all the people we always had in and out of our house, it would be perfect for us. He told us we needed this house.

And then, without knowing what our price range was, he quoted us a figure that was EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR.

Wow. It would seem that God wanted us to have this house.

And so we agreed to buy it…site unseen. (Because we’re either crazy or we have a lot of faith…or maybe a little of both.)

The first few hours after we arrived and toured the house …I kid you not…I was dancing around like a little kid in a toy store. 

This house has over 3000 square feet of living space, plus a full (unfinished and yucky) basement for storage. There are six bedrooms. And…if you haven’t already…check out my wonderful kitchen.  There was a lot of jumping up and down going on when I first saw my kitchen. Good thing I didn’t hurt myself. I don’t have a clue how to dance.

We have a “game room” for our toys and TV…great for bunches of kids to hang out. Our living room is huge…plenty of room for lots of people. 

We really only use two of our bedrooms for our family. Our boys all prefer to sleep in the same room together. That leaves plenty of extra rooms for guests. We’ve been able to let people live with us temporarily…we have no problem saying yes to anyone driving through for the night. We LOVE having guests!

That being said, does this house have issues? Absolutely. It’s over a hundred years old. It is “full of character” which is our nice way of saying, “oh my word could Matt’s Honey Do List be any longer?”. There are a million things to fix and there always will be (because as soon as one thing gets fixed, something else decides it needs to fall apart). 

Therefore, I often have to remind myself what a blessing our big old house is. With all of it’s goofy plumbing issues and cracked walls and yadda, yadda…I sometimes forget that God hand-picked this house for our family so that we could serve Him with it.

Lately, I’ve been very strongly reminded about what a blessing our home is. For the past three months, there has hardly been a day that has gone by that we have not had guests. This house has been “grand central station” for college kids, over-night house guests, temporary live-ins, game nights and play dates with our boys’ friends. We’ve gone through more groceries (and toilet paper) than ever before.

Last night at Small Group…there were 23 children and 16 adults. It was loud…it was crazy…it was amazing.

Forgive me for this very long post…but today I am in complete awe of this gift God has given us. 

Thank you God for my wonderful, huge house that you’ve given us to use for you. (And forgive me for the times I complain about how much house there is to keep clean!)
—————————————————-

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Please share!!! God is so good! Write your own Gratituesday post and come link up with us here. Or, if you don’t have a blog, please leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

I just experienced one of the most wonderful, relaxing, family-time filled weekends ever!

One of my favorite parts was spending time playing games. We played many a lively round of Apples to Apples Jr. Two evenings in a row Matt, the two older boys and I played games of Settlers of Catan. 

I didn’t even win ANY of the games…and I still had a blast and was nice to everyone and all of that. (This might have had something to do with the fact the the games occurred after it was way past my bedtime and I couldn’t complete a sentence correctly, much less get super competitive.)  ;)

But my favorite, favorite part of the weekend happened on Friday.

First, we slept in…the best thing (in my opinion) to do on Black Friday. 

Then we dragged down all of our Christmas decorations.

THEN…I did something new…which might just have to become a new Christmas tradition.

I took each boy, ONE AT A TIME, out to do their Christmas shopping.

First, Elias and I went to the Dollar Store. He had his very own money. He had a plan. He bought a little gift for each of his brothers and for his Daddy.

We went home and hid his presents…I grabbed Malachi and out the door we went. His experience was a little different, since he doesn’t understand money very well yet. Plus…he tried picking out things HE liked instead of things others might like. (“Actually Buddy, I don’t think Daddy is very interested in a Yo-Gabba-Gabba toy.”)  Malachi was very proud to carry his very own shopping bag out of the store.

After I took Malachi home, Justus and I went to Wal-mart. I loved this time with Justus because I realized just how thoughtful and generous he is. He loved it and even put up with me when we had to look at a few grocery items I needed because, “That’s okay Mom. It will give us even more time for just you and me by ourselves”.

Finally, after Daddy got home, I took Asa out shopping. He had been the patient one all day long…waiting last in line for his time out with Mom. He had been the helpful, selfless babysitter all day for the other brothers while I took each boy out shopping one at a time with me. Asa’s night out with Mom was well deserved. It was a great time away with my very grown up (and almost as tall as me) kid. 

I wasn’t even tired after coming and going all afternoon and evening long. I was energized. I think the kids were too. Time alone with Mom is rare. We are SO going to do this more often.

Oh, and in case you’re worried, Daddy will take all of the boys shopping for Mommy some night soon. That’s another great tradition in and of itself. Quiet night at home for Mom. Daddy and the boys and a list at the store picking out pink things for the only one in the house who likes pink.

We finished up our weekend by getting all of our decorating done!

Hope your Thanksgiving weekend was as wonderful as mine!
————————————————————-

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

I’ve been struck lately by what I hear in the “worldly world”. Almost everyone in America is celebrating Thanksgiving. Christians and nonChristians alike.

But what does it really mean to celebrate Thanksgiving? Is it about eating turkey and pumpkin pie? Is it about having a day off of work?

Lots of people talk about being thankful…and say things like, “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?”

But what is being thankful if we don’t acknowledge the One we are thankful to?

It brings me great joy to know the One to whom my thanks is directed. When I say I’m thankful…I’m talking about being thankful to GOD…the one who deserves my thanks.

I’m not just happy that I have a great family. I am THANKFUL that God chose to give me the family I have. I’m not just excited that I have a house and health and clothes and shoes. I am THANKFUL that God is the giver of all good things.

To know God. To have a relationship with the One who loved me enough to die for me. To realize the God who is in control my life.

That is what I am thankful for.
———————————————–

What are you thankful to God for this Gratituesday? Please share it with us either by leaving a comment or by posting to your blog and linking here (or both!). 

This is the last week of the November Gratitude Challenge. While I know this week is busy with holiday preparations…please do take time to join us in praising God for what he has done in our lives!

Lately I’ve been very thankful for books. 

First, that we are blessed with SO many wonderful books. Books are everywhere in my house…and the library is just a few blocks away. Is the library not one of the beautiful and exciting places in town?

Next, I’ve been thankful that we can learn so much from books.  And experience places and people and activities that we never could in “real life”. In a really good book…you can visit a far off country or travel in time. You can expand your vocabulary, grow in compassion, gain wisdom, and better understand other cultures.

Best of all…I love how reading books with my kids or husband brings us all together. Books make us sit down together. They make us be quiet together. They make us talk together. They force us to listen.

When a day is so full of activity and busyness…sitting down to read books together brings so much peace and joy.

I hope that my children never outgrow the love of books and that together as a family we can always enjoy them together.

Next time you’re having a rough day…sit down with your kids and a big pile of good books. Just see if it doesn’t make you grateful and joyful!
—————————————————–

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Leave a comment or blog about what you’re grateful for and link up here!

Be sure to join us for the November Gratitude Challenge!  Challenge yourself to focus daily on what God is doing in your life!

Have I told you lately how cool my kids are? Here, let me give you an example:

A few weeks ago my friend (who already has a six year old and a three year old) had a new baby. A couple of weeks later, she had to have her gall bladder taken out. A week after that, her husband had to go out of the state for training for work. Ugh, bless her heart.

The boys and I have been keeping her kids for her off and on while she’s been to doctor appointments or when she’s just felt too sick to care for them. (You can think I’m really nice for doing this and all that…but really this was my way to get my hands on a sweet newborn for hours!!!!)

Through all of this…I have been so proud of our boys. I don’t know what I would do without them. They’ve been doing most of their school work without much help. Asa’s been reading to his brothers. They’ve been helping cook food. They’ve been doing laundry. They’ve been bringing me burp cloths. They’ve been doing band-aid duty. 

They’ve been doing ANYTHING I’ve asked them to do. They’ve been such a help to me.

I am so proud of them. 

I am going to keep them forever.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Be sure to read about our November Gratitude Challenge and join in!!

Link up your grateful posts and leave comments about what you’re grateful for!

 

I have written and deleted and re-written this post two or three times…trying to express my gratitude to God and to all of you for what this site has become in the past two years. 

I know what I’m capable of. That’s how I know that God has blessed this site.

And…without you…my friends who read my posts and leave comments and email me and ask questions and encourage me and pray for me…this site would be nothing.

Thank you. 

Your comments make me smile. Your kindness builds me up. Your emails make my day. Your encouragement keeps me going.

This Gratituesday is dedicated to all of you. You are the reason I love what I do.

Thank you with all my heart.
———————————————–

Please join us this Gratituesday! While Gratituesday comes around every week during the year…this month we’re focussing on being extra thankful! Read about the November Gratitude Challenge here and take part in the joy of praising God for how He has blessed us all! 

Link up as many Gratitude posts as you’d like each week! Leave as many Grateful comments as you wish! (There are prizes involved!) 

God is so good! I can’t wait for all of us to be able to read how He is working in your lives!

A week and a half ago, my friend Connie was driving by her house and noticed that her street was blocked off and there were fire trucks everywhere. She thought to herself, “Oh dear, something is burning.” It didn’t take long for her to see that it was her own house that was on fire.

Three years ago, Connie lost her husband to cancer, leaving her with five children to raise on her own.

And now this.

A few days later I spoke with Connie at church and invited her family over for lunch. She answered with, “Well, we already have plans today, but maybe just you and I can go out for lunch sometime this week.”

Um, okay. I was up for whatever she needed. We made plans to meet for lunch on Wednesday.

The day our lunch together was to take place, I was prepared to offer strength and encouragement to this woman who had lost so much.

Little did I know that I would be the one to leave the restaurant encouraged, strengthened and built up.

The whole time we were eating and visiting I was thinking to myself, “Why did it take a fire for us to sit down and have this conversation? By not spending much time with Connie before, I’ve been SO missing out.”

What a delightful woman. What a woman of faith. What a woman of strong character. I wanna be like that when I grow up.

I wish it wouldn’t have taken a fire…but I sure am grateful for the chance to get to know Connie better. I love how God brings great things out of the bad.
—————————————————–

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. Don’t have a blog? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you’re thankful for!