The Moment...

The moment when you realize for the 8 gazillion billionth time that you have the best
mama in the world. Not only did she sneak 2 overflowing dirty laundry baskets out of our
house and wash/dry/separate/fold them......but she also made and gave us the most amazing
strawberry bread in the whole world! Love you so much Mom!

Bird Notes

This morning, the sky got dark and you could smell the storm coming.
The birds were chirping away.
Then the downpour came....and it rained and thundered and rain and thundered.
The rain started letting up but those birds all started singing again while it was still thundering loud.
Then they started flying again....those crazy fearless birds flew up high....before the storm had even completely past by. They started singing while it was still dark all around them.
I'm taking notes from the birds this morning. #gonnaflyhighabovethestorm

"Love Is War"

By Hillsong

In Your justice and Your mercy
Heaven walked the broken road
Here to fight this sinner's battle
Here to make my fall Your own

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
Throw my life forever
To the triumph of the Son

Let Your love be my companion
In the war against my pride
Long to break all vain obsession
Till You're all that I desire

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
Throw my life forever
To the triumph of the Son

And I know Your love has won it all
You took the fall
To embrace my sorrows
I know You took the fight
You came and died but the grave was borrowed
I know You stood again
So I can stand with a life to follow
In the light of Your name

Conversations

Today during piano lessons, I was having a serious conversation about tractors
with one of my students. It all started because I was admiring his cool yellow and green shorts.
Me: You know, those look like John Deere colors!
Student: Yeah! They do!
Me: Oh look...it is! It says John Deere! I am so glad  you like that color of tractor!
Student: Really?
Me: Well, yeah, I don't really like "intertrashtionals"!
Student: Lotsa of laughter......
Me: In fact, I don't know if we could still be friends if you liked the red tractors.
Student: Oh, that's ok, Gabe and I will always be friends so it doesn't matter.
I think I've just discovered the brutal truth....my students only love me for my monkies :)

No Perfect Marriages

http://www.jillsavage.org/?p=5609

Big Messes

The Bible is full of people who made big messes. Was God surprised or disappointed ?

Nope. He knew exactly what He was getting into when He went into the people business. In fact He has the most blindingly brilliant plan for dealing with messes; the cross that separates us from our mess every time no matter how big.

~Danny Silk

My Song

MONKEYSTORY #708

Date Day with my amazing boy.....
We leave the store and head back to the truck. I walk to Gabe's side to help him and
he grins and runs to the driver's side. I follow him and laugh, "Sorry buddy! You aren't
old enough yet to drive Uncle Jake's awesome big truck! But someday you will be!!"
He looks at me, then opens the door for me and just waits.
"Come on Mommy! Get in! Let me open the door for you!"
It's at that moment, that I absolutely melt.....
I get in....and he slams the door behind me, runs back around, and jumps up as high
as his little 7 year old legs can jump, slams his door and then just sits there and smiles at me.
"Gabe, thank you for doing what you did....that was so sweet...., you just made my day!"
He just keeps smiling. We get about a mile down the road and Gabe says:
"You know, Mommy.....you could put a dollar or two in my money jar if you want since I opened your door for you.......but only if you really want to."  *sigh* so in love with these monkies :)

MONKEYSTORY #707

Gabe: "Mommy, Ellie is pooping."
Me: "Ok?? And?"
Gabe: "Well Aubrie pooped a little bit ago!"
Me: "I know....I was there...I wiped her hiney."
Gabe: "And did you know that I pooped a little bit ago too? I was just in the other
bathroom so you didn't see me."
Me: "Well, um....ok...that's great!"
Gabe: "I guess this means it's the Pooping Day!!!!"
{all monkies burst out laughing loudly}
Ellie: "No Gabe! It means we're the pooping family!!!!"
{crazy uncontrollable laughter}
I give up....we'll never be a normal family!

Change

Courage

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

~ E.E. Cummings

Thankful...

REASON #7,980 why I'm super thankful for 4 brothers.

One of them just stopped by to use our bathroom.
When he was done he comes out and says: "Has your water bill gone up lately?"
I just stared at him.
"Um....yes, but when I asked the village hall lady, she said it
was probably just because it was getting warmer out so we were giving more showers
to the monkies and doing more laundry."
He smiled and said, "I just fixed it for ya! Now come in the bathroom and I'll teach you
how it's done so you know for next time."

Ladies and gentlemen: By the time I'm old and gray I will be a plumber, electrician, landscaper, windshield wiper installer, roofer, construction worker, remodeler, painter, farmer, truck driver, slow-moving vehicle operator, window installer, carpet layer, oil checker, and fire starter.....all thanks to my amazing brothers and my Dad.
I'm the luckiest girl in the world :)

A Day in the Life of the Monkies

Southern Pecan Coffee with Van's amazing gluten/wheat/dairy/egg free waffles-check
Piano lessons-check
Lunchdate with free jumbo hot dogs/brats with PawPaw and Uncle Isaac and 4 little monkies-check
DQ date with same big and little monkies-check
Hours of fun in the sun and water-check
Fun in the sand with wet swim suits and huge mess-check
Laundry Piles folded-check
Supper served-check
2 little monkey baseball games-check
Golf cart rides from PawPaw-check
Reading/Math/Spelling Exercises with the monkies-check
3 super speedy little monkey showers-check
More laundry piles folded-check
Kitchen cleaned up-check
Walk taken-check
Monkies cuddled and prayed with-check
Full body massage given by the world's bestest-check
Back home....watching the NBA finals-check
Ready for a fun weekend-check check check check

It's For Everyone

"That's the gospel. It's good news for everyone. It's not good news just for people who are already good, for those who are self-controlled and disciplined enough to have all their ducks in a row. It's good news for the people who can't even find their ducks. They haven't seen some of their ducks in years. Their lives are a mess. But they can come to Jesus and find instant acceptance. They belong long before they believe and long before they behave." -Judah Smith

 

MONKEYSTORY #706

Driving home from Chicago yesterday:
Gabe: Wow! That was such a fun day! Maybe we could move to the city and live there!
Me: Really Gabe?
Gabe: Yeah!
Me: Hmmm, let's see. Well, you cant ride tractors in the city.
Gabe: What??????
Me: Yup, and no fourwheeling in the city.
Gabe: No way!
Me: No hunting in the city, not very big yards, no quiet nights, can't see the stars very well during campfires, lots and lots and lots of traffic, and you can't ride your bike by yourself on the road in front of your house there.
Gabe: Um.....that doesn't sound like we would like it.
Me: Well it's a good thing we live where we do, right Gabe? We can always go to the city for a "family fun day."
Gabe: "Sure.....but let's go have a family fun day of four wheeling and driving PawPaw's tractor!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*so blessed to be small town country kids~*~*~*~*~wouldn't trade it for anything~*~*~

Fight for Joy

"If you don't fight fight for joy, it's your children who lose."

~Ann Voskamp

HOME FOR SALE!!

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Beautiful, well maintained 2 story home on double corner lot with an open floor plan.

Kitchen open to dining-family room with wood burning fireplace. Has sunroom and utility room.

2-3 bedrooms, 2 full baths with large closets and storage. Central vac, all appliances stay.

Large 2 car garage, 24 x 32 shed in back of lot. Home is well built and completely remodeled in 1979 with new plumbing and electrical. New roof 8 years ago. Unfinished basement. Ready to move in now!!!! Call 815-657-8570 or 815-674-8570.

 

For the Wives

One of my friends just shared this blogpost.....loved it:


http://www.butlerpartyof2.com/2012/07/being-godly-wife.html

Bottles of This

Reading all these posts from Mamas about how it was just yesterday their little kids were in Kindergarten and now they are graduating high school. I really just want to bottle up these moments and put them up on the shelf....and slow down time. Yeah, there's a lot of tough days. Yeah, there's a lot of days BabyMonkey makes me go crazy that she's being so stubborn with potty training but oh so bril...liant with her "shenanigans". Yeah, there's a lot of days I want to pound my head against the wall when "I don't know what happened and why she's crying and I didn't kick her and she did it and why can't I do it if he did it and Mommy come wipe my butt and I don't want to eat my veggies and I'm never coming back to my house again and Mommy I have a booger and bring me a Kleenex and she's not sharing and he sat on me and Mommy do we really have to go to bed and Mommy I pooooooooooooooped!!!! he gave me a wet wooly and Mommy why do girls wear bras and she is lying and I'm telling the truth and I'm hungry and I want a snack and what are we doing today and he said sexy and and now he farted and it stinks........." But really.....I'll take all "this". Because right now....this is my happy. And Lord knows, I'm not ready for bottles of "that."

Experience

Don't let what you expected keep you from what God wants you to experience .
~Steven Furtick~

Time to Soar!

  There are many lessons in nature, and the story of the mother eagle and her young is no exception. The mother eagle stirs the nest. When it is time for the young eaglets to fly, the mother eagle goes into the nest and tears out all of the soft down that held her young. She will expose the briar and the thorns, making her young uncomfortable. They move ...from inside the nest to the edge of the nest.
The mother eagle will then take her wing tip and gently flip the eaglet off of the edge, as it is tumbling down in mid air, if it doesn’t flap its wings, she will catch the eaglet in her wings and fly up as high as she can fly. She will then let go again and again and again, until the eaglet stretches its wings and flies, and soars across the sky.

IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO FLY...IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO SOAR!!!

Our Journeys

Most of the time...it's the bumpier roads that allow us the prettier scenery.

Most of the time...it's the detours that show us what we're really made of.

Most of the time....it's the darkest valleys that teach us how to stand tallest on the mountains.

And all the time?

It's after days and days and days of storms and rain and storms and rain......

well, that's when the best days come.

They always come.....if we stick to the course and just keep traveling the paths

we are meant to take. And I don't believe in pots of gold at ends of rainbows.....

I believe in streets of gold after all the rainbows....at the end of all our journeys.

Goodness and Mercy Pursue Me...

I really really needed to hear this tonight......goodness and mercy pursue me....even if I've messed up 10 zillion times.....hard to wrap my mind around:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/06/7-things-you-need-to-know-when-youre-overwhelmed-cant-keep-up/

Just Be....