Gratituesday Archives | Page 15 of 20

Gratituesday: So Far, So Good

August 15, 2011 by Laura 20 Comments

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I always intend to take lots of pictures. I always think it will be fun to document the entire week with its mountains of food, grateful soccer girls, helpful boys, dirty dishes – the whole thing.

But year after year, as I’m feeding the YC ladies soccer team, the pictures never happen. Occasionally I have half a brain and snap a shot, but generally I’m too busy to remember to get out the camera.

So far, I’ve taken exactly one picture. (Brace yourself for the excitement.) I made eight loaves of Honey Whole Wheat Bread and loaded them (sort of) into my cake container to transport to the church building where we’ve been serving the meals.

The meals have gone wonderfully so far and the YC ladies are so sweet and appreciative. It’s been great to grab hugs from returning students and to get acquainted with new students. I am so thankful that our family has this opportunity to serve the team this way and that Matt is able to help coach. We love being a part of York College (our Alma mater) and being a part of these girls’ lives!

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Gratituesday: Calm Before the…Structure

July 25, 2011 by Laura 22 Comments

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I had a difficult time knowing how to title this post. It’s not like there’s really a storm coming in our lives (that we know of), so I couldn’t really call it the “Calm Before the Storm”. Everything upcoming in our lives: soccer season, feeding many extra people, school starting, gardening/preserving season – we love all of it. I almost called it “Calm Before the Crazy”, but that didn’t quite define it either because I’ve been working really hard to get organized before this busy season hits. I’m really hoping that it will all run smoothly and not be crazy.

I finally settled on “Calm Before the Structure”. I’m not sure that’s an accurate title or not, but it’s the best I could come up with.

Here’s the thing: This is our last week of “down time” before our family begins our structured school year, before soccer season starts, before tomatoes start to overtake our kitchen and before we begin our new high school Sunday night ministry. It may not be crazy (one can hope) but life is just about to get a lot busier. I’m not sure where that “busier” is going to fit in with our already very busy days, but I’m bracing myself because it’s a comin’!

As of Saturday, the new books I’ve been spending so many hours writing the past few months are allllllllmost finished. My Two Week Tackle List is dwindling. Ladies and Gentleman (because really, how many gentlemen are really reading this?) – I hereby declare that this week I’m taking a little time to relax!

I spent several hours today organizing our school books (which really doesn’t feel like work to me). I also allowed myself to read several chapters of Jane Eyre just because I wanted to! Wednesday, I’m taking all the boys to the $1 movie. Thursday we’ll all go out and do our traditional “back to school supply shopping” and go out for lunch. What a treat! The boys and I have been sitting and reading fun read alouds like The Toothpaste Millionaire and The Family Under the Bridge.

This week, we don’t have much of a schedule and it’s really, really nice. We’re gearing up for structure and full, full days. We can’t wait for all the fun! But this week, we may not get dressed until noon. We may play games until way past bedtime. We may eat ice cream for breakfast.

It’s a calm week, and I’m loving every minute of it!

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Gratituesday: Just One Thing

July 18, 2011 by Laura 39 Comments

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Of everything on my Two Week Tackle list, today I only got around to one thing – and even then I didn’t completely finish. All morning I was going to start tackling – yet everytime I tried, the phone would ring and someone would need us to help with something. Or the laundry needed to be switched out. Or we had to run an errand downtown.

And then it was time to make lunch.

That’s life and that’s why I allowed two weeks to tackle the list. Today I will choose to be grateful that I got just one thing done.

I decided to begin with one of the chores I was dreading most – cleaning out cabinets and putting down new shelf liner. Some of my cabinets have become pretty nasty, making for a job that wasn’t very fun. On the other hand, I’m really looking forward to sitting down and organizing our school books and working on our schedule. Therefore, I made myself get this dreaded cabinet cleaning chore done first – then I can reward myself by sitting down in a mountain of books!

I piled the contents of several cabinets onto the counter-top and proceeded to peel out the old shelf liner, vacuum off the shelves, wipe them down, then put down fresh shelf liner. I also got myself completely filthy in the process. Is it just a little bit obvious that I like and use a lot of Pyrex dishes?

Lookie at my clean, organized cabinets!!

I also thought I’d show you what happens when you assign your kids to go fold five big loads of laundry. Our six year old was in charge of all of the towels. He does a great job with smaller kitchen towels and washrags. But the large bath towels are still a little bit difficult for him. Still – I found this pile so endearing, I had to take a picture. I couldn’t bear to refold them. He worked hard on that folding job! (No, really they are folded, can you tell?!)

Even though I’d hoped to get more accomplished today – I’m still very thankful that I got one major (and dreaded) task out of the way. And I’m thankful that my kids were willing to help with some of our other, normal jobs.

Also, I wanted to offer some encouragement to all of you who find yourself trying to get something accomplished – working hard all day – and feeling like you never really get much done. It’s easy to get discouraged when we work hard and don’t feel like we have much to show for it.

If your family has been loved on by you – if you’ve fed them, clothed them, trained them, kissed them, held them – then you have accomplished much. Even if the dirty laundry is still all over the floor and the project you started at 10:00 had to be put on pause, never to be resumed, at 10:02.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord… ” Colossians 3:23

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Gratituesday: Oh, Hello Summer

July 11, 2011 by Laura 19 Comments

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I’m so close to the finish line I can taste it.

The new book I’m writing…well, it turned into two books because two seemed better than one with what I was purposing for this project. I’ve been working on them for months and since May I’ve been doing little else but writing, taking pictures, inserting pictures, formatting, editing, writing some more. Occasionally, I also did my fair share of whining and feeling defeated. In the middle of this exciting but very labor intensive project, I had to pray often and remember to put all of this into perspective.

(Here’s a sneak peek at the covers of each book. I can’t decide if I’m done with those yet or not.)

Overall, I’ve loved writing these books. Because I’ve adored cooking since I was a little girl, writing Teaching Your Kids to Cook (written for parents of kids ages 2-12) and Learn to Cook (written for students ages 8 and up) has been my most enjoyable writing experience. All throughout, I’ve felt that if I was a child again and someone gave me these books, I’d melt into a puddle of happiness. Yes, I’ve gone from giddy to exhausted…from exuberant to cross-eyed and back to giddy again – all within a thirty minute time period of writing. Bless my family for putting up with me.

Now, I’m on the home stretch. I’m down to the nitty-gritty details of perfecting and tweaking and perfecting some more. The books are almost ready to turn over to Matt and others for the final editing process.

In the meantime, I’m giving myself permission to unglue from the computer screen a little more often. Yes indeed, I feel like I can finally say hello to a bit of a summer break. Instead of just sending my kids out to run in the sprinkler, I’m watching them shriek and play. Instead of waving to my kids as they run outside to jump on the trampoline, I’ve joined them a few times. Instead of only asking Matt how the garden is doing, I’ve dug into the dirt beside him.

Check out these baby birds in a nest on our porch, waiting for their mama to feed them breakfast…

Ahhhhh…it’s summertime. I’ve enjoyed it, but now I’m really enjoying it. I think I appreciate it even more than I ordinarily do, simply because I’m so giddy with excitement that my project is almost complete. (I’ll share more details as soon as I can.)

Bring on the sunshine and popsicles! :)

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Gratituesday: Cooking for Three

July 4, 2011 by Laura 20 Comments

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We’re experiencing something this week we haven’t experienced for 12 years – we have only one child in our house.

Yep, Asa’s at church camp, and Justus and Elias are spending a fun-filled week with grandparents. Left at home with the parents: Malachi.

It’s quiet, there’s not nearly the volume of laundry or dirty dishes and wow – I can’t believe the tiny amount of food we’re eating. Yesterday I got out eggs for our breakfast, automatically getting out an entire dozen. Oops. All of our biggest eaters are away right now. We may actually have leftovers this week!

I got to visit with Justus and Elias on the phone this morning and it sounds like they are having a blast. Papa had bought some fireworks, Grandma Tacy had made cinnamon rolls and “a really yummy egg casserole thing”. There had been a potluck after church yesterday and last night they got to eat pizza.

Funny how much of the conversation revolved around food. See? Told ya my biggest eaters were out of town. (I’m sure Asa’s doing a pretty good job of chowing down at camp too!)

So what’s Malachi doing? Well he’s got big plans to invite over some friends this week to play with, he’s getting a little more PBS Kids time than normal – plus we’ve played at least six or thirty rounds of Blink. We’re reading Mr. Popper’s Penquins together and last night, he fell asleep in my arms while we read. Bliss.

As the youngest boy, Malachi hasn’t had much one-on-one with the parents. He’s living it up!

I’m thankful for this time with him, and so grateful that our other boys are being loved on and are making great memories this week.

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Gratituesday: Board Gaming

June 27, 2011 by Laura 23 Comments

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There are a few weeks during our year that offer a little more down time that other times of the year. Recently, since the garden isn’t producing a huge amount yet, soccer is not in season and we haven’t been traveling…we’ve been blessed to have a bit more time at home. We’re taking advantage of this “down time” to scrape and paint our house, invite people over that we’ve been wanting to get together with, and several nights recently, we’ve taken the time for family game time.

Slowly but surely, we’re getting to the point where all six of us together can play games (that don’t involve Chutes, Ladders or a Candy Cane Forest). I’m loving it. I tend to be so task oriented, focusing on projects that need to be done, dishes that need to be washed, phone calls that need to be made. It’s hard for me to loosen up and really participate in any down time we might have. There’s always so much work to be done.

The work will always be there.

But I’m always so grateful for the times I’ve put aside my “to-do list” and just played with my family. We get silly. We laugh. And every once in a while, I actually win a game. ;)

It’s an honor that my kids want to spend time with me. It’s a privilege that my husband is home in the evenings to hang out with. Quiet evenings at home are rare. In just a few weeks, we’ll have produce taking over our kitchen, soccer season will start, schooling will begin and all thoughts of down time will be buried under muddy soccer cleats and buckets of tomatoes.

For today and maybe even again tomorrow, I will say yes to a rowdy game of Apples to Apples or a lazy game of Traverse. I have yet to regret one moment of board game playing with my family.

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Gratituesday: Eye to Eye

June 20, 2011 by Laura 39 Comments

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I promise you he wasn’t this tall two weeks ago. Close, but not quite.

It hit me a few days ago that something was different when I’d have conversations with Asa, our oldest son who just turned 14. And then I figured it out. I am looking him directly in the eye when we talk now. He’s done it. He’s caught up to me. And if he keeps going at this rate, we won’t be seeing eye to eye for long. Instead, I’ll be getting a neck ache when we visit because I’ll be looking up to meet his eyes.

He’s pretty proud of this accomplishment and who can blame him?

I’d just like to restate what I said last year when Asa turned 13 (you know, back when he was shorter than me). Having a teenager is a joy. It is not all gloom and doom like so many people warned us about. I will admit that I’ve been taken aback by all the new territory we’re venturing through – all the new parts of life that include having a teenager (you know, like the “girls think my son is cute” part). Good gravy. I try to have an “Oh isn’t she sweet” attitude, but typically I tend to have more of a mother bear snarly, “Back off Sistah!” thing going on. He is only 14, ya know. Good gravy.

There is much we need to help guide him through, and as tough as the diaper years were, sometimes I’d like to run back to that time because even though I wasn’t getting any sleep, at least I felt more in control of the decisions our kids needed to make. Asa will be a high school freshman this fall. I feel a weight of responsibility as we are on our last few years of raising our son to be a godly man. I feel inadequate as we begin to figure out the moments to let go, while at the same time, offering guidance and what I hope is wisdom as he becomes more independent.

Well now, look at me getting all weepy. It’s just that, he’s my first baby, you know? And we see eye to eye, can you believe it? Thankfully, we still see eye to eye about spiritual matters too. I pray constantly that Asa will continue to grow in his walk of faith.

God is good to walk this journey with us. I’m thankful that He can protect Asa with a more powerful stronghold than I ever could. I’m thankful that God saw fit to give Matt and me the opportunity to raise this teenager. Bless Asa’s heart, we don’t know what we’re doing. We’re practicing on him before we raise three more teens in just a few years. But God is faithful and promises to make up for our weaknesses. Yes, even in parenting.

Especially in parenting.

God is good.

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Gratituesday: Free Groceries…Twice!

June 13, 2011 by Laura 16 Comments

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I never win anything. Now, this could be because I hardly ever sign up for anything, but still. Anytime I’ve entered a raffle or signed up for giveaways on other blogs, my name is never chosen.

Until recently. And then I won twice – in one week. Wowza.

Here’s how it all went down: On a fluke, I entered a giveaway at Tammy’s Recipes for a $50 Kroger Grocery Gift Certificate. I really don’t enter giveaways much these days, but if you dangle free groceries in front of my face, it’s hard for me to resist the opportunity. So I entered.

And then I won. Wow. Now I understand how excited all of you are when I draw your name and email you. That was one of the most fun emails to receive, ever!

THEN, just two days later I received a phone call from one of our grocery stores here in town. Every time you make a purchase there and sign your receipt, it goes into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. I’ve signed my receipts for years and let the boys put them into the “drawing box” as we leave the store. Never figured I’d win, but it never hurts to try – and it was fun for the boys to put the receipts in the box.

Long story longer, you guessed it: The grocery store was calling to tell me that I had won the drawing that week! $100 of free groceries from our local grocery store!

Do you know how much fun a person can have with $150 of free grocery store gift cards?!?! We don’t have a Kroger store in Nebraska, but they are all over Kansas – so we took our $50 certificate and used in on our way home from visiting family earlier in the month. Here in town, I just used bits and pieces of my $100 card anytime I needed bananas or watermelon or cantaloupe…

Yeah, we spent it mostly on fruits and veggies. FREE fruits and veggies.

It was so much fun. What a blessing to be gifted twice with free groceries!! (Come to think of it – three times – as we had some Whole Foods gift cards saved up to use last week when we went to Omaha, thanks to all of you!)

God does provide, doesn’t he? I pray that we’re always wise with the blessings He gives us and that we’re always willing to be generous and share with others as we’ve been blessed!

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Gratituesday: Reunions

May 30, 2011 by Laura 20 Comments

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Wanna know how old I am? Well, I just celebrated my 20 year high school class reunion this weekend. This means that I’m very, very young – unless, of course, you consider that last time we had a reunion, all of our kids were babies, and this time some of them have a driver’s license. ;)

And then we realized that if we have another reunion in 10 years most of our kids will be adults.

But we didn’t dwell on that. It’s crazy enough that all of us are as old as our parents used to be – if that makes any sense – which of course it does if you’re talking with classmates from years past.

It might give you a chuckle to know that there was a grand total of 17 kids in my graduating class. (Yes, I bet a couple of you had just a few more in your class than I had.)

I’m also happy to report that of all seven of us girls from the graduating class of 1991…none of us has big hair anymore. (Unless you consider that the wind did some interesting things to mine on Sunday.)

This Gratituesday, I’m thankful for reunions and a chance to catch up with people. Not only did I have a high school reunion, today we had a wonderful family reunion full of cousins, babies, aunts that give great hugs, homemade ice cream and shared memories. We decorated graves together, cried together, laughed together and if I haven’t mentioned it already – there was homemade ice cream.

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend has been a blessing to you!

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Gratituesday: My Nana is Here!

May 23, 2011 by Laura 31 Comments

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Last week we got a surprise email. Nana had the opportunity to come to Nebraska (from Arkansas) – and she’d be here Saturday! I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear this news.

Nana is 84 (going on 43) and is my mom’s mom. We don’t get to see her nearly enough and well, I just needed a hug from my Nana. Not only have I had hugs, we’ve had a great time visiting and enjoying the boys (and their cousins).

We’ve had several family get-togethers since she arrived, with big spreads of food and wonderful story telling and memories shared.

What a blessing to have Nana helping me in my kitchen, just like I used to help her in hers.

I’m flying high this week. Thank you God for this wonderful woman and for the chance to make more memories!

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