65 years

This past Saturday was my parents 65th wedding anniversary. 

As I sit and think about this I can't help but be in awe of what an accomplishment this is. 

This past year has been really hard but it wasn't the first of some really tough times for them. 

In their 65 years together they have had many ups and downs. 

6 children 21 1/5 years apart. Yep you read that right. I'm the baby and my oldest sister is not quite 22 years older than me. 

They buried both sets of their parents. 

They've lost numerous siblings. 

They farmed for 35 years. During some interesting times. 

They built a life together that although has been rocked numerous times has never been completely broken. 

They came from that era that if something breaks, fix it don't throw it away. 

The longevity of their marriage is something I aim for in mine. 

Being married is from from easy. It takes work, it takes commitment, it takes choices. 

I love that these two people, who although they may have faults made those choices, did that work and set an example for not only their children but also their grandchildren. 

So Mom and Dad thank you for showing me how to work at it. How to try and fix it, how to care enough to make those choices. 

I'm honored. 

Happy 65 years!!!!!

3 in 30 final update for 2013

What a crazy month December has been. 

Of course when I look back at it what a crazy year 2013 has been. 

We went from not sure where hubby would be working to moving and owning our very first home. 

As for this month 3 in 30... Well at least the month is almost done. Lol

1. Time with The Lord. 

As far as my personal time this went pretty well actually. There was a few days in the move that I missed that time and by the end of it I sure knew it. I was snappy, depressed, feeling really out of sorts. Then I sat down and caught up on my study and by the end of it I was a much better person. 

As far as the family I think I failed. We did have birthday cake on Christmas Day but it wasn't really met with fan fare. However I plan to keep this tradition. 

2. Making sure I'm somewhat organized. 

Well I started pretty organized and then things went nuts. The move has taken way longer than I anticipated. I thought maybe 4 days. Nope 8 days on the road with one more to go yet. At least by the end of tomorrow we will be done. Completely. 

3. Focus on being less stressed. 

Bahahahahahahahahahahaha

I did pretty good until exactly a week after possession. I was snappy and irritable. As of that day I had spend every day but one on the road moving. I dug in my heals and we stopped for three days to have Christmas. 

Christmas itself went pretty good. I did my best not to stress over things I had no control over. So it was a pretty laid back day. My oldest made breakfast. All of the kids went out to play in the snow while I finished up supper. After supper we watched a movie while a bunch of them slept. Then we played games until about 1:30 in the morning. All in all it was a pretty great day. 

I'm so looking forward to all 2014 has to offer. 2013 taught me that with Jesus by my side I can handle anything. Although I know that this year is going to have its own set of challenges, aging parents, hubby's longer commute to work, new church, new friends, new community, unpacking, etc I just am so excited to find out where He is leading us to next. 

3 in 30 update

Well as predicted things are on the full swing crazy here.
Yesterday we got possession of the house so I spend 3hrs driving one way to get the keys and clean. It's honestly sad what a mess they left. They never even swept the floor let alone anything else. Then I drove back here to spend the night. Today I'm off doing the same thing.
The bad part about all of it is the terrible winter driving conditions. Yesterday I drove there in freezing rain and home in blowing, drifting snow. Praying the roads are better today and that we have good roads the day we are hauling everything up.

As for my 3 in 30... Well not to bad I guess.

1. Time with The Lord.
This is super important to me. I've been managing to stay up on my advent study so far. After tomorrow though I might fall a bit behind. Really praying I don't. I NEED that time with Him.
Sarah was in an amazing Christmas play and yesterday she asked me about making a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Day. I've long thought about this but wasn't sure how to bring it in. This year we are going to attempt it. I'm loving her heart and her honesty.
If you can remember she would love some prayers. She is struggleing with the move. Both with her friends and with God. She just really needs to be covered in prayer.

2. Making sure I'm somewhat organized.
I'm not sure this is working. Lol. For the most part it's not bad. I have things lined up the best I can and am praying it all works out.

3. Focus on being less stressed.
This week is going to be crazy, insane, intense, busy, nuts. But it's a good kind of intensity. I'm exhausted and I've only got day 1 done, but I'm really so happy. I am really praying for no snow and good roads as well as no injuries. We have our middle son helping so that's gonna be awesome. Also looking forward to just being still for a bit. I'm trying hard not to think about all the stuff yet to do for Christmas. We are also getting a puppy this Friday. Yep gonna add to the funny farm. Lol

All in all life is amazing. Yep we are going through a crazy period but we are happy, healthy and together.

'Tis the season

I love this season. I love everything about it. The baking, the memories, the love, the lights, the fact that we are celebrating Jesus's birth. We usually have our tree up the last Sunday of November. I normally would have the house fully decorated. However this year this is what we are dealing with.

This is our life this season. We are moving. We finally bought our first house!! Unfortunately it is almost a 3 hour drive away. We get possession this Sunday!! Unfortunately that as you well know is 10 days before Christmas. So... like instead of decorating, baking and fully enjoying this time of year I'm packing. 

I'm living in a different kind of chaos this month. 

Now don't get me wrong I'm really very happy but also a little bit sad when I look around at all the lights and see all the pics of baking when instead my reality is:

And:

And: 

Yet even through it all I'm learning some VERY valuable lessons. 

I'm learning to lean on Him. 

I can't do this without His strength. His peace, His grace. 

I'm learning to do without. A very good lesson on my part. 

I'm learning to let go. I have no control over this. I have no control over moving in the middle of winter when the temps have been hovering in the -20's and colder for over a week now. I have no control,over the fact that the forecast has lots of snow in it and is supposed to be snowing when we move. I have no control, but He does. 

No matter what happens He will see us through this. He will hold us each step of the way. 

So although this is not a 'normal' Christmas for us it is one I wouldn't trade for anything. 

I'm so thankful and so blessed. 

(Please ignore the poor quality of pics. They were taken on my iPad).

3 in 30 December goals

December 2013 goals

Yes I'm aware we are already a little over a week into the month but I decided I needed to set some goals anyway. 

1. Time with The Lord. 

I want to set some personal time aside every day so the advent study is working for that. I also want to really work on keeping Him foremost in our lives this season. My oldest is not a believer and my middle wavers so it could be a bit interesting. Praying groundwork will be laid. 

2. Making sure I'm somewhat organized. 

I've set up a binder with our bills as well as a house binder and information on the move binder. I'm making daily lists and I would like to try and ignore the preparations of Christmas until after we move. 

Lol which brings me to the next goal. 

3. Focus on being less stressed. 

This is hard but I'm oh so thankful for the opportunity to be able to do this.  I have so much confidence in the fact that this is exactly where The Lord is leading us. (Even if it freaks me out sometimes). 

We decided to take a break from home schooling. So we are done now until after the New Year. 

We move a week from tomorrow if all things work the way they are supposed to. Lol

Parts of me wish we had another month here and parts of me wish it was all done. I'm not good with living in this chaos. 

I'm praying that I remember that even though this is gonna be crazy I do not take it out on family members and friends. 

Happy Tuesday.

Hello everyone. 

I had full intentions of continuing on my last post and sharing the rest of our little get away but alas I am unable to find my camera cord. So you all have to wait some more. 

We have had an insane September. For most of it we had another young lady stay with us. She is a friend of my daughters and was in need of a temporary safe place. She just went to her Dad's this past Sunday. 

Hubby has also been crazy busy at work. Gone for more days and consequently home for less. That also is starting to wind down and things should be back to normal soon. 

School has been going actually pretty well. It's a bit more of a challenge as this year is grade 10, but we are making it work the best we know how. 

In fact we did a bit of a homeschool trip a few weeks ago. I had to have a medical done complete with my female parts being checked out and I brought her into the room with me. 

I will fully admit it was a bit interesting but I wanted her to kind of know what was happening so when she is full grown, married and ready for that kind of exam she doesn't freak out. 

We were a little bored waiting for the doctor so we took some crazy pics. It also helped her and me relax some. 

Have to love those beautiful hospital gowns. Lol

Also on a new note we pulled her out of dance. The reasons I will share soon I promise. Nothing physical so don't be alarmed. We just aren't completely ready to share what is happening yet. But it's big!! :)

Well I guess that's about all for now. 

I hope you are all doing wonderful. It's great being on here again. :)

Running away.

I figure it is well past time to tell you guys about Rob's and my little holiday. 

When Sarah went to dance camp we decided to get away just the two of us for a couple of days. I mean what better time would we have. He was off work. Sarah was away at camp. Bonus bonus. :)

So we borrowed my parents tent trailer and headed off to the great wilderness of Saskatchewan. 

Now for those of you who are not aware of this, I was born and raised in this fine province. My hubby was not. :). 

Now for being here for almost half my life I knew really nothing about a lot of the province. We have toured around before but I really wanted to check out some out of the way places. 

S we loaded up and headed up. 

First we stopped in Lloydminster at the tourist info place hoping to get some information. They had some but nothing really detailed and not really to our liking. So off we went. 

This is the start if the trip. We really had no idea where we were going. I only knew that I really wanted to see the crooked bush. 

We stopped in North Battleford at their tourist info booth and had way better luck. We were able to get a little package with things to do and see, where they were located and a provincial map to go with it. 

This guy is at the tourist booth. He is made entirely of barbed wire. Pretty cool hey. 

I lived an hour and a half away from this town, had been to it many times and wasn't aware he was there. But later on I found out my parents didn't know about him either. ;)

After North Battleford we headed to the Crooked Bush. 

Ok I must say this really is cool. If you have never been, live around the area or want to make a trip to Saskatchewan you really must check this place out. 

It's kinda hard to see but in a very small area all the trees are crooked. They are not very old and they always have grown like this. The trees around this area are normal. It really kinda gave me the heeper jeepers. 

Afterwards we headed down the road again and decided it camp at Blaine Lake. My hubby had been up for 24 hours at this point so he was needing a nap. 

So we both had one. :D. After all what's the point of being on holidays if you can't nap. Lol

After our nap we toured around the town and then went back to the campsite and relaxed some more. 

The next day we headed to Rosthern. I was told that and Hepburn was where he was from so I wanted to check it out. Very cool town. 

Love some of the old places that they are using still. 

We then did some touristy things around there which I have pics in my good camera, but I'm being lazy tonight so all you get is my cell phone pictures. :)

Now to make things a little interesting I'm going to leave with this thought. 

Did you know Saskatchewan had a Great Wall? We do because we visited it. More in the next post...

I am not a writer

I am not a writer. 

Yep you read that right. 

I am unable to paint a picture with words. 

I believe ( and I say it this way as one never knows where The Lord is going to lead them), that I will never write a book. 

I will never be published. 

I never will have people lining up to buy my book. 

Yet...

I love this blog. 

My "story" gets told by me exactly the way I talk. 

I often have tons of posts rambling around in my head at one time and then never post them. 

Typical me. 

I often read posts that very eloquently paint this picture just not my posts. 

I'm not writing this to complain. 

I am merely stating facts. 

I am Sherri. 

I am the daughter of the King. 

I have wonderful amazing parents. 

I am married to a fantastic guy that makes me appreciate him more every day. 

I have beautiful children. 

Now before you think my life is roses its not. 

Hubby and I have struggled in our marriage. There was times when we both forgot we needed to work at it. 

We have lost three beautiful babies. 

We have moved. A lot!!

My posts tend to reflect me and our life. 

I write about our triumphs. 

I write about our struggles. 

I write about our family. 

I write to release all these words and thoughts in my head. 

I will be honest. I never thought that anyone would ever follow me. 

I am so THRILLED that some do!! 

I've made some wonderful cyber friends that I honestly can hardly wait to meet even if it is not on this side of heaven. 

So even though I am not a writer I am so thankful for this blog and all of you who put up with my crazy style of telling my story. Thank you. 

Hello God? It's me Sherri

I feel like lately I'm spending a lot of time on my knees. Nothing overly serious just quite a few eggs in this basket we are juggling right now. 

Anyway I thought I would pop on here and give you a update on my goals for this month. 

1. Work on myself. 

Well anyone that knows me knows I'm always a work in progress. Lol. 

However I've been doing alright. I'm a day behind in the study but have plans to catch up this week. 

2. Get ready for winter. 

Well the yard is pretty much done. The garden is not quite out. I still have onions, cucumbers and carrots in there yet. Also want to go through our shed and clean, clean, clean. But otherwise if it snowed tomorrow my yard would be ready. Me not so much. Lol

I've haven't really tackled the inside but maybe these next couple of weeks. 

3. I left this one open. 

I have just been busy. We went to Saskatchewan on Sunday to try out a new church and in the process I was fortunate enough to meet some woman that I've been cyber friends with now for a while. I love that. I also hope that we will have lots of time to get to know each other better. 

Our daughter fell in love with the church which makes both Rob and I VERY happy. 

Things are only going to get busier from here out so I am praying for Gods guidance in all of this. 

Have a great week everyone. 

Living life and happy to do so

I wanted to write a back to school post today along with a couple of cute pics of my girlie starting grade 10, but life got in the way.
Pics never were taken. The first day of grade 10 sheet lay on my printer all day.
Life got in the way.
She started school of with a bang. We worked on her most dreaded subject for a while and then Rob and I had to run.
Life is busy this time of year. Back to formal schooling. Back to dance for her, driving for me. LOL
Rob gets crazy busy at work this time of year.
Life gets in the way.

Yet in spite of all this I am so happy.
God is amazing.
HE has sent such peace and contentment over me.
If you have been ready my previous post, you will have know that life picked it up a notch for us this summer.
Yet peace has remained.
I am sure you all know the saying God does not give more than HE knows you can handle. Well I read somewhere this: " I believe God constantly gives you more than you can handle so that you continually turn to HIM, so HE can help you through anything."
I certainly believe this is true.
All what has happened this summer has been so intense. I know that without continually falling on my knees and laying it before HIM, I would be lost.

So no matter how many times I want to come back here and tell you something that is going on and then something else drags me away I will be at peace.
Life has just got in the way.
But that is alright because God has this.

Better late than never

Wow could this month got any crazier?
Probably. I must remember to not ask myself that question if I really don't want the answer. Hahaha

Rob and I had a fantastic mini holiday!!
We were only gone 3 days but oh how great it was to recharge together.
Especially since after that it got even busier around here.

I promise, I pinky swear that I will catch you up on that soon. In the meantime I will let you know how my 3 in 30 went this month.

1. Work on me.
This was a hit and miss. I never worked out at all, but I did drink water every day. As for everything else I did do some and not some other things. I did my bible study, just not everyday. Same with the prayer journal.
I believe I am going to carry this one through to September.

2. The stuff for my nieces wedding.
Well this I definitely finished. The quilt looks amazing. All the baking was done and I even make some table runners for her at last minute. It was a crazy busy week and weekend but oh what a wonderful day. The wedding was exactly tailored made for them and I know God definitely had His hand in it!
In fact I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with both my parents and all my siblings.

The top. Sorry about the terrible picture quality. Taken off my phone at midnight when I finally finished the quilt 

The back. This quilt was awesome. They hung it up by the front entrance and everyone signed it like a guest register. Such a cool idea my niece had.

3. Getting ready for our next journey.
Well this is kinda crazy. I am partially done school scheduling but will be completely done by Monday. I have to be she will be starting back on Tuesday. :)
I have sold a pile of cookie dough and hoping to sell a pile more.

Now this is where the crazy starts. For 3 weeks in September we will be having another young lady some and stay with us. This is a trial run and we will see what happens after that.

Also when hubby and I went on our holiday we toured around central Saskatchewan. Once we got home we started to look at some of the places on line and realized that we could totally move there. So now we are seeing what is next.

So this means the adoption is being put on hold until we finalize our plans either way. The second that we commit to moving(if that is what we chose) we will have to reapply to the Saskatchewan government and start the process over again. The good news is that within a week we will have made the decision one way or the other. I think no matter what you will see us there within 3-4 years.

So that is my crazy month in a nutshell.

As far as my September goals? Well...

1. Work on myself.
This I must do. Starting Tuesday, the bible study group that I am with is doing the B90, I have done this once already so I am going to attempt doing it chronologically. Please pray that one is going to be a toughie.
I also know that I am going to need to make sure that I am taking care of myself during this transition month.

2. Get ready for winter.
Clean up the yard, clean up the house, do the regular stuff. I would also like to start getting rid of some junk that we have been hanging onto for far too long. Especially since we are hoping to move I really need to declutter.

3. I am leaving this one open.
I have a feeling this is going to be another crazy month and I am wanting to make sure that I am not feeling overwhelmed by needing another goal. If we move I will be busy with all the packing, transferring, trying to get Sarah into another dance school, etc. You get the picture. :D

I am linking up today with Aurie.
Please take a moment and hop over. Also take some time and really think how having these goals can really help you. This 3 in 30 has been great for me. I have done stuff that I was wanting to do for a long time and was procrastinating. Maybe this fall is the perfect time for you to join as well.

Hey everyone!!

Hellooooooo!!!

I'm sooo sorry I've been so absent this past couple of weeks. 

Hubby and I went on a mini little holiday into Saskatchewan, and then life has gotten even more crazy since 

I've been busy getting everything ready that I need to do for my niece's wedding in just under two weeks. Plus trying to keep the house clean, run a few errands here and there as well as attend to my cousin's 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. 

Yep life is definitely not boring around here. 

I promise I will stop by again soon and share all about our mini holiday. It was AWESOME!!!

New month, new goals...

Well hard to believe that it is the beginning of August already.

Well this month is going to look a little bit different. We actually have a ton of stuff going on. Sarah leaves for 5 days for a dance camp. (Hubby and I will be all alone for 3 of those days!!!!!!! ) We have two birthdays. ( Hubbies, and our middle son's) Also I have an anniversary to attend and my niece is getting married. Sarah is usher and I am making her a quilt that she is having everyone sign and doing the baking. So needless to say...
Oh yea and did I mention school is starting back up at the end of the month?
What can I say we thrive on being busy I guess.
Good thing I really enjoyed my down time in July. :)
Oh yes and then there is picking the garden and freezing the produce. Hopefully some canning thrown in for a little fun. LOL

So instead of 3 specific goals I am having 3 general ones with some specific points in each.

1. Work on me.
This is going to include daily bible study, working out at least 3 times a week on the elliptical, drinking at least 1.5 litres of water a day and I am also hoping I can get in the routine of using a prayer journal. I also want to try and keep the house orderly. I know when everything is tidied up and organized I feel so much better.

2. The stuff for my niece's wedding.
I have all the jean material that I have on hand cut out. Today I am running to town to grab some coordinating fabric and some more old jeans from the thrift store. I am hoping to have all the blocks cut out by the end of next week. (Fingers crossed) I also need to do the baking. About 6 cookie sheets of squares and probably 5 dozen cookies. Once I get started it will go fairly fast. I just got to get started, the wedding is on the 24th.

3. Getting ready for our next journey.
School is starting up again in a little less than a month so I need to get the planning done. I have tackled the school area and tidied it up, now I just need to find a home for all the stuff that was just put there. LOL

I am also trying hard to get my cookie dough business up and going. I am going to use all the profits to help fund our adoption. I really hope this works as I am not sure how else I can bring in some money to help. :)


Well here is to the month of August. May it be full of memories, love and laughter.
I am linking up today with Aurie come on over and set some goals for yourself this month. :)

A weekly blessing

Quite a while ago I was doing a weekly blog link up called Thankful Thursday.
I really enjoyed making sure I took the time at least once a week to write down what I was thankful for.
Sometimes it was small and other times large blessings.
Then for some reason or the other I stopped. Probably write around the time I took my unintentional blogging break.
Now though I want to start up again.

So HI everyone sorry it has been so long.

This week I am thankful for friends.

I had a couple of amazing friends head off to a girls weekend this month.

Yumm mimosas 

They took me out for a birthday dinner and this was my dessert! Yummers!!

How true is this!!

I am also thankful for an amazing husband who not only works really hard but looked after our daughter while I was gone and even took her quadding.

Plus he lets us girls do this to his hair. Or lack there of. LOL
I mean how lucky am I?!?!!!

I am thankful for taking moments to really look around and love God's creations. I mean after all I was in the mountains and at the ocean. Life is pretty great!!

Taken on the ferry. Window was covered in salt water but I love the look of it just the same. What a pretty picture God painted for me that night.

When I take just a few moments and look around I am always overwhelmed by all that God has blessed me with.

perfect

God did not make me perfect.
He did not make be movie star beautiful.
He made me with average brown hair that I routinely change the color of when I can.
He made me with eyes that change color depending on the mood I am in. Yes this is true. It's weird I'll admit it, but true.

He did not make me model skinny.
He did not make me with beautiful skin.
He made me with a body that I will always have to work at to stay fit.
He made me with still now ache prone skin.

He did not make me happy, happy, joy, joy.
He did not make me a neat freak.
He made me with depression. I am sure so that I could emphasize with others that walk that path.
He made me enjoy living in a comfortable disarray. I am positive so that I could be more relaxed.

I am not perfect. Not if worldviews eyes.
I am perfect to HIM.

I stumble, I fall, I sometimes lay down on the side of the road while HE has to drag me.
I praise, I am thankful, I am blessed.

There is many times in my life when I am so sad by what I am not. I am not gorgeous. I will never be the woman that strangers look at and say she is striking.
However now I realize that I want to be the woman that strangers look at and see a glow. A glow of happiness, A glow on contentment.

I desire to have HIS light shine through me.
Guiding others to HIM.
The way that I know to honor HIM.
HIS way, HIS truth, HIS life.

Not mine...HIS!

Adoption Update

I thought I would try to post once a month or so and let you all know what is happening on the adoption front.

So far not a lot. LOL

We just sent in the application and the fee a week ago today. We were waiting on some of the paperwork to come in before we sent it.
I decided that I had better phone our adoption agency and let them know that I had already handed out some of the reference forms and they might be getting them back before we had applied. They told me to just go ahead and sent in the application so that's what I did.

What we were waiting for is our marriage certificate. When we got married someone had spelled my husband's middle name wrong so we then had to apply to have it changed to what it legally is and then apply for the certificate again. A tad bit annoying. If only we had done this sooner. Oh well you live and learn.

Our physicals are booked. We have our criminal checks already done but they expire in October so we will have to get them redone. Our child checks will also have to be redone then as well. Lots of paperwork and lots of hurry up and wait and see.

Some days I am so excited and others it feels like we are never going to get everything organized. Oh well I guess one step at a time.

We were told that since we are planning to adopt from the special needs program in China that it would now be more than likely it would be a boy.
It feels weird as I still feel so strongly we were meant to have another girl but I am also very much at peace with whatever God gives us. That part for me is really no different than having a bio baby. I had no pick on what He chose to bless us with. This is all in HIS hands.

Mostly done!!

Yay for being a crazy month I feel really confident on the fact that I managed to achieve the goals that I set out for me.
I'm linking up today with Aurie. Hop over and join us. ;)

1. Step out of my box.
I really think this will have to be an ongoing goal. I have stepped farther. However I can really see the areas that I constantly need to work on.

2. Enjoy life.
I am making conscience choices to do just this. This past weekend I decided to drive a little over 2 hours one way just to spend a few hours with my parents and sister and brother in law. It was really important to make sure that Sarah gets memories with my family as well as Rob's. (something we need to continually work on). Then the next day another sister came to my house and we drove to go watch my cousin race chuckwagons. My family has been doing this for as long as I can remember and the last 20 years or so I have really fallen out of touch with that part. I love going to watch the races. Especially when I get to see my cousin race. His mom and sister were there as well so we were able to have a small visit with them also.
Sarah came along both days. I was thrilled to make sure that she was a part of something that I hold so dear.

This weekend we are off to a family get together for my Aunt and Uncle. Two sisters, their husbands, Rob, Sarah and I are going from my side of the family. I am looking forward to catching up and seeing everyone. Also making sure that Sarah knows them as well.

3. Our spare room.
It is done!! I have managed to also keep it clean and even go in there to exercise occasionally. *teeheehee*
It feels so good to finally have that completed.

Love Language

Every other Monday around here can be really crazy. Mainly because my handsome hubby is working 7 nights on 7 nights off and so every Tuesday we are either greeting him at the door or saying goodbye. :(
The Monday before we are greeting him is a swarm of activity around here. Running around, making sure laundry is caught up, floors are cleaned, etc. This is not to say we don't do these chores on other days but those Mondays we kick it up a notch.

This man sacrifices so much for us. He is often gone during birthdays, anniversaries, special events, etc. I believe the least I can do for him is have the house looking decent when he comes back home.

I like knowing that this home is inviting for him when he walks in.
This is one of the many ways that I speak my love language for him.

What about you? Is there something you like to do for your hubby? Some way you speak a love language to him??

I would love to hear about!!

Organizing and Cleaning

There are areas in my life that I NEED to have organized and clean.
This is not to say they are always that way, but when they are wow is my life simpler.
When I let these areas slide I am more stressed, sleep is disturbed, and I am more grumpy with my family.

These areas include:

1. Having dishes done daily, washed, and put away and then counters and sink cleaned and tidied up.

This makes such a big difference for me. I LOVE waking up, brewing my coffee in a nice tidy kitchen. So relaxing to start my day this way.

2. Making sure my coffee is ready for me to brew in the morning. 

Hubby has a tassimo and I have a keurig. I know, I know we are spoiled. Yes we are. *grin*
I make sure every night before I go to bed that these are both set up with our favorite coffee cups underneath, the right amount of sugar in each cup and our favorite brand of coffee waiting to be perked. I also make sure they are full of water.
This little bit every night helps so much when I stumble out bleary eyed in the morning. It then takes no thought process to quickly brew a cup of coffee.

3. My bed made everyday when I get up.

Alright I will admit it, this might not get made as soon as I get up, but when I get dressed I make it. There is nothing like climbing into a well made bed every night. This is also great as our bedroom is connected to our living room so I can have our bedroom door open without worrying about people wondering why I didn't make my bed that day.

4. Have a menu plan.

For me this is wonderful. I write down meals we enjoy, meals that I want to try and meals that are easy, comfort foods. Then I set them on the calendar depending what is happening that day. Now not every day do I make the meal on the specific day, but because I have the ingredients handy for the meals on the plan I know I can switch it up if need be. It helps by remembering to take the stuff out the night before if frozen and takes all the guess work out of what I am going to have for supper that night.

5. Keep my laundry caught up.

I am one of those weird ones that actually enjoy doing laundry. I love pretty much everything about it from washing it, hanging it out in the summer to dry and even folding it. I love knowing that I am making sure that our clothes are clean. I also love the smells from it, the feels from clean fabric. I often do laundry several times a week even if it is only one load.


I also have tricks that I use to help us keep on track.

1.  I make a weekly plan on things that I would optimally like to get down that week. 

Then as I do them I cross them off. I look at it every so often throughout the day to see what is on there. It really helps motivate me. I also look at it most every night to see if there is something else I want to add to the list.

2.  Then I make a daily list.

This is stuff that I need to get done that particular day. Such as mopping floors or calling about an appointment. By breaking the weeks list down this way it helps by not seeming such a large task.

3. My calendar.

This is often my best friend. I have two that I refer to regularly. I have the one in my phone which helps me keep track of appointments when I am out and about making them. I also have a large family one that I keep on the fridge. This is really great especially during the school months when our lives get really hectic. I make sure that I write down as soon as something comes up or guaranteed I will forget.

4. Write a grocery list in my phone.

When I buy my big grocery shop I make sure I always have a list made out of what items we need/want. However often throughout the weeks there is always something we either run out of or need for something or other so I have a grocery list in my phone. If I write it down then I usually remember to grab it. Then I will check after my day of running around to see if I managed to grab what I need and clear it off of the page.

5. Planners

OK I am obviously I list person. I like to have a planner made up for Sarah's schooling. I am usually really good about following it and adjusting it as needed but I have yet to find one that works for my daily like. I am a paper person so have just been using a pad of paper on a clipboard but I would really like to get a good one for my phone which would also work on my iPad.
I just downloaded one called Planner Plus. Unfortunately I can only get this on my iPad and not on my phone. So far I don't mind it, but I am curious if it is really going to work for me.

What about you? Do you have a planner that you can recommend?

Also what tricks do you use to help keep your life running as smooth as possible?

Is there some things that you have to do to help with your stress??

I am linking up today with Many Little Blessings.

Just a quick update

Wow to sure where the past two weeks of gone but here I am again.

Things were busy as I was gone for 5 days on a girl weekend. Fabulous time was had and we are hoping to do it once every year. 

I did manage to get some stuff done though on my list so I'm really happy. In fact I got organizing done that wasn't on the list. So score one for me. Lol

1. Step out of my box. 

Well this is probably the one thing I need to work on the most. I'm really struggling so if you think about me please take a moment and pray. 

2. Enjoy life. 

Well I sure enjoyed my trip. Lol. However I've really noticed that I need to make a concentrated effort to spend more quality time with my kids. I also am working hard to make memories with them. This weekend we are off to visit my parents on Saturday and then off to see the chuck wagon races on Sunday. 

3. Our spare room. 

Well this was a biggie for me. Do you remember what it looked like? Scary. 

Well drum roll..........

It's done. I took a couple days and tackled it. I managed to move things around, sort, put things together that needed to be together, emptied out other areas in the house and put it away. I also managed to move two of our pantries into the room. Now each thing has is designated area. 

The two pantries I moved in. 

The organized desk area. Please ignore the dust. I haven't had a chance to dust this week yet. 

I have room to walk around. Floor is neat!!

I also have another cabinet that I use for craft supplies in this room but I was uncle to get a good picture of it. 

The dresser is used to store all my fabric! Oh man I love that it is organized and in one area. 

And YES I do have my elliptical in the middle of the room. Small house not many place to store it. Lol. Although I do like going in there now to exercise now that the room is clean. 

And one more pic of my cupboard in our dining room that was full of fabric. 

I love that I managed to find room in other places now.

Plus since I've been home I went through all my clothes and cleaned out 2 black garbage bags full of stuff to donate. Plus so far also 7 pairs of shoes. It feels awesome. Less clutter!!!

So that's my last two weeks, how have yours been?
I am linking up today with Aurie. Come over and check out what everyone has been up to. Or better yet join up with your own 3 in 30. 

I'm back in!

I realized towards the end of last month that I REALLY needed to get back focused. This spring things got really chaotic and I just went into survival mode.

However now things are evened out and I want to start being purposeful again. 

So here are my 3 in 30 for the month of July. 

1. Step out of my box. 

For me this will probably be the hardest. I let fear overtake me, that loss of control so I climb back into the box thinking I'm safer. 

I want to let God use me. I need to let God use me. 

I know if I write it here I will have to show how I did it. I will have to have that accountability so therefore I will be forced out of my box. :)

2. Enjoy life. 

I need to make sure that I'm in the here and now. I tend to daydream or worry or think ahead to much when I need to be focused on those around me. I want to make sure that as Sarah gets older she knows how much she is loved not only by her Father and myself but also by God. By letting her hide out in her room because it's easier for me so I can daydream myself, I want to make sure that we talk, we do things together. We grow together. 

3. Our spare room. 

Ok this one is a biggie. You all know that Rob and I are wanting to add to our family through adoption. What you may or may not know is that we are starting all the process of adopting through the special needs program in China. 

Several months ago I had cleaned out our spare bedroom thinking we were going to need it right away with the foster to adopt program and then I believe God had other ideas. 

So all the stuff that was in the spare too got shafted to other places. 

Well now we know we don't the need that too for a bit and we are honestly sick of the clutter. ( it got turned into a dump room). So we've decided to for now make it a craft/sewing/pantry room. 

I'm bravely putting pictures up so I can have real accountability otherwise how are you ever going to know if I do it, unless I show you. 

Ok that's what the room looks like now. Gross hey. 

All of our scrap booking/craft supplies got sent out to the school area. Not a good set up. 

Some of my main sewing supplies are in our dining room cupboards. Would LOVE to have this space back again. :)

I'm not even showing you the boxes we put outside in our storage area. 

My main goal is to make sure I have proper organization of all the stuff. 

Each genre of stuff will be organized and set up properly. 

Now in saying all this I'm leaving next week for a girls weekend in Seattle so I know I might not get a ton done next week, however I need to make this a goal otherwise I might never do it. Lol

I am joining up today with Aurie. Hop on over and encourage others as they work on their goals. Or even hop in and set some of your own! :)

Life is a highway unless....

God knew what he was doing when he paired up hubby any myself. 

He knew that we would always be up for an adventure. 

Tonight hubby and I were driving home when we saw a real estate sign. We decided to check it out. Down a muddy back road we head. Not far down that road we find the place. Instead of turning around and heading back to the highway hubby decides to turn down another back road to try and meet up with our highway. 

Little did we knew what a little adventure that would be. 

Down a VERY muddy road we head. 

Squeeze between two very full sloughs. 

To realize very quickly that we were going to run out of even gravel roads. 

Down a horse trail we head. 

 Between two fields we travel wondering if we were going to have to turn around. 

But we press on. 

Saw some beautiful countryside. 

Tried to convince hubby to build me a house out there. 

 All of the sudden up pops another very muddy gravel road and shortly after we meet up with the road we were trying to meet up with. 

Nothing is ever boring. Life is an adventure. Learning to embrace the unexpected often finds oneself seeing God's creation like never before. 

Life is a highway unless of course it's a trail in the middle of well in the middle of life. :)

My crazy family

Sometimes I spend a few moments and wonder if I'm thankful for my crazy family. 

I mean don't get me wrong I am thankful for them every single day however there are moments. 

Like who but family is going to be brutally and I mean BRUTALLY honest with you. 

Such as look how much skinnier I am then you. :) 

Or gee you were such a brat growing up, I love you much more now. 

See what I mean? 

I know we all love each other but sometimes I wonder if we always like each other. 

I know they are going to be so excited I shared these pics. Lol

One thing I do know that no matter what we are ALWAYS there for one another. 

In good times and in bad. 

Aren't I just the cutest? Lol ( I am the baby)

One thing is for certain family is forever. 

Stress relief

How do you deal with stress? Are you a cleaner? Eater? Shopper? Crier?
I must admit other than the shopper I have done those others upon occasion. My most common is cleaning. In fact I think hubby sometimes gets me going just so I clean. Lol
The other week though I decided I needed a break and went for a 11km walk.
This was just supposed to be a stroll. I blistered my feet so bad. Oh well. Finally texted my daughter and had her bring out some flip flops for me.

While I was enjoying the scenery I had plenty of time to just think and de-stress. 

I spent a lot of the time just talking to God. 

Seeing HIS creation all around me always puts me in a better mood. 

Being outside I find it so much easier to connect with HIM. 

Having HIM surround me with this beauty sure helped calm me and ground me. 

I need to remember to do this more often. 

Although I'm sure Rob would sooner I clean. Lol

22 years of wedded bliss

Last month hubby and I celebrated our 22 wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that much time has passed already. After all I only feel 26 myself. 

We spent most of the day working in the yard as the snow had finally melted and it was clean up time. 

We then decided to head out for supper together. 

So off we headed into town for a nice steak supper. Afterwards we thought we might go for a movie until we realized nothing was playing that appealed to us so instead we decided to head to a park and go for a walk. 

Time alone together is a precious commodity. 

After 22 years we have sure had our ups and downs. Life has not been a even steady road more like a dangerous mountain pass. But just like the pass the ride is worth every difficult mile. 

I love you honey. I am so glad God blessed me with you!! You are an amazing head of our household. Thank you for choosing me. 

HI!!

Hi Everyone!!
What a break that was.
Much needed.
My mind is working differently these days.
HE is calling out to me and I am struggling to listen and to obey.

We are almost done dance season!! Yay!!! Pretty pumped about that one. Only one more day of dance and one more day of pictures.

Rob has been crazy busy at work.
He is now working nights. 7 days on 7 days off and I love it. The days off that is. :)

Our summer is already getting jam packed and for that I am very grateful.
Lots of friends and family to visit along with a whole pile of memories just waiting to be made.

We officially started the process today for international adoption. I can't tell you how that makes me feel. After years and years of talking about it, the first form was officially mailed away today!!

Things are still changing and evolving around here. I have plans to write more, I find it very therapeutic.  My topics might change now as I change and evolve.

As always we could always use and appreciate prayer.

Have a great day everyone.

It's awesome to be back!!!!

Picking battles...

Parenting is hard. No matter what personality your child may have, no matter what age your child may be, this is a hard road.
Now I am not saying parenthood is without it benefits. I mean after all why would we continue to do it otherwise. LOL I love my children. The good moments far outweigh the bad ones.
However for today I am wanting to talk about the bad ones.

This week my lovely 15 yr old daughter instead of putting her clothes away dumped them out of her laundry basket onto the floor and left them. That is what I walked into the next morning. I must fully admit I was angry right away. No pause button here, I wanted to rant and rave. Thank goodness the good Lord helped me through this one.
When she came out into the living room I told her to bring me all her clean clothes that she threw on the floor as I was going to throw them away. Of course you can imagine the scene after that. She then went and had breakfast and I thought some more. I decided that instead of throwing away her clothes, (because admittedly that was a bit drastic and can be expensive, lol), I told her to bring me her clothes and she had to earn them back. I wrote down a chore list and for each chore she could earn some of her clothing back.

Now I asked for prayer for this incident from my bible study ladies and one of them, (whom I love deeply and honestly know she was giving me great advice), said something along the lines about picking my battles, (at least that is how I read it and took it). I will fully admit I took some offence to this. Why? Probably because I was feeling guilty as only my mommy heart can do.
However I did spend a fair amount of time thinking about it.
Was I picking the wrong battle?
Should I have let this one go?
I know there are much better battles to pick.
I know really in the grand scheme of things this isn't that big of a deal.
So why then I was I doing this?
Why didn't I give in and just give the clothes back to her?

For us I believe it was a life lesson.
This to me wasn't just about her not putting her clothes away and throwing them on the floor, it was teaching her the value of items.
I believe is she can learn that value then she can appreciate what she has, what she has been fortunate enough to receive.


So now I will throw this out to you. What battles do you pick? Do you think I was over reacting? What would you have done differently? I honestly am looking for your thoughts here.

In the meantime what are you all up to this weekend? We are at another dance festival.
 

A moment

I am taking a brief moment today to sit down and write again.
We have been so busy around here with dance season that I haven't had a spare moment to myself and when I have had one...well I've sat on the couch and read a book or played Candy Crush. LOL
However I have about a 100 blogs post running around in this little head of mine so I want to sit down and make some sense of them.
I also wanted you all to know that things are really good here.
Just busy.
But then again what Mom isn't??
So my goal is to write a few posts and then get some of them actually up on the blog during the next few weeks.
A big order I know. hahahahaha

Ok some of them will include a dance Mom's life, cleaning house, organizing...
I have a lot rolling around in this space between my ears. hahahaha

Until then have a great day!!!

First day of spring???

Happy first day of spring!!
This is where I'm excited as the grass is peeking through the snow and turning green.
The weather is amazing, warm and sunny.
Well not so much!!
We welcomed spring in here with a beautiful winter storm.

This is what I was privileged enough to drive in today.

You can see it drifting across the highway. Made for an interesting drive back home in the dark.

This may not have been the first day of spring that I was hoping for, but I'm happy spring is here non the less. I'm looking forward to seeing that green grass again.

Happy Spring everyone!!!!