Thankful Tuesday

Well today is thankful Tuesday and I am trying to have a heart of gratitude when I'm feeling rather grumpy and overwhelmed. I think I hate May! September and May suck, teachers pile on way too much and sports seem to overtake our life. This week Luke had a math home link, is behind on learning his multiplication facts, has a book report, Bible memory, is news reporter for the week which requires finding an article and being able to give the who, what, where and why and was responsible for estimation station ( bringing in something the class can estimate ), add spelling and soccer practice tonight. I taught 3 classes at the "YMCA" today, had a dentist appointment and have no idea what is for supper (most likely something not that nutritious which will leave me feeling guilty and questioning why I can't be Supermom.) My house is a disaster and reeks of rotten milk because Jaeger spilled an entire bowl of cereal last week, so that means somewhere in the midst of the chaos today we will also be steam cleaning the carpet. All that is listed does not include the homework and the sports schedule of my youngest two. Oh and because I can handle anything (sarcasm) Jaeger is also special person next week and needs to fill out 8 papers and come in with 800 or so pictures of himself. All of this quite frankly depresses me and I'm ready to scream "Calgon, take me away!" But of course reality sets in and Calgon is not going to do me one bit o' good. Does anyone even buy Calgon? All this being said, I really do want to live a life full of gratitude and think it is important to stop and consider what I am thankful for each day. Well today I am thankful that June is just around the corner and Summer vacation is coming... Praise the Lord!

Live in the Moment

Have you ever heard of the 'someday syndrome'? In the book One Month to Live they go on to talk about our favorite day of the week... "someday" You know how it goes, you say... someday when I retire, then I'll enjoy life.... someday when the kids are older, I'll find time to exercise.... someday when we have more money, we'll take a vacation with the kids... someday when life settles down, I'll volunteer more at church. Someday. One day. When. If. Then it's over. When are we going to wake up and realize this is life? Someday is right now.. every minute that passes is another minute of your life gone by. LIVE IN THE MOMENT!! Stop planning and start doing! Life goes by in the blink of an eye and because of this we need to stop saying SOMEDAY and live in the moment, embracing it with joy. Don't put off your happy life - go live it!

these are a few of my favorite things...

one of my favorite things

Today the sun is shining and the sky above is blue and those are 2 of my favorite things, which led me to post a blog on a few of my favorite things...

*enjoying that first cup of coffee outside on a beautiful summer morning

*my boys, fresh from their baths... cozy in their jammies, wet hair, skin glistening and they smell fresh and yummy!

*lemon-lime ice-cream dessert

*waking up in the morning with my windows open & hearing the birds sing

*having an entire day off with no agenda but my own - pure bliss

*watching the sun set... it never grows old... always so beautiful

*hugs and kisses from my guys

*fresh picked peonies

*the smell of rain, in Spring

My list could go on and on and on but for now i'll stop here. I am reminded of God's many blessings that sometimes go overlooked... but today He reminded me of a few of my favorite things!

Coffee and Soul Cravings

I discovered a "delicious" new book at Family Christian Stores this week and thought I would share it with ya'all. I am a coffee fanatic... seriously addicted, need therapy kind of coffee fanatic. Simply stated... i love it! So of course a devotional with a coffee mug and the title "The Coffee Mom's devotional" is going to catch my eye. It is creative, humorous and best of all REAL, it is real life stuff. It would be a great mother's day gift for any mom, especially those still raising younger kids. It goes on sale May 4 for $10.39 and if you use the 20% off coupon in the flier it would be even cheaper. (coupon starts May 11) I absolutely love this book and it's reminder to "drink in the fullness of God"!

Poptart Tuesday

* our cute little poptart containers

Today is thankful Tuesday and today i am thankful for traditions. I'm sure we all can remember special traditions we had growing up. One of my favorite memories is getting potato soup at the Rainbow Grill with the Scholma family on Friday's. When my Aunt's are in town we still all meet up on a Monday or Friday and take up more than one booth and order our family favorite, over the phone of course! One of the traditions i started with my boys is something we coin "poptart tuesday". It all began when I felt bad that they had to be in the kid zone forever when i worked at the "Y" on tuesdays. I promised that if they were good they could have poptarts after all my classes were done. It wasn't long and members would say things like "there's those poptarts" or "where's my poptart" and soon enough tuesdays became poptart tuesday. I laugh at the fact that not only my family but also all those members know the day as "poptart tuesday". This fall when the boys went to school, they missed having those poptarts (not a everyday kind of treat at our house) so now every tuesday we pack poptarts in their lunches (in the cutest poptart holders... adorable, see pic above) and they get them only on tuesdays so that we can still have our poptart tuesday tradition. So today I am thankful for traditions and the wonderful memories we keep because of them!

Take the time

I don't know about you but I get so caught up in perfection. I am a total perfectionist and it gets me into alot of trouble. Every now and then however, something will jump out at me and grab my attention and shake my shoulders as if to say "WAKE UP" ~ this week, my wake-up call came via written words...

Relationships are more important than a perfect house!
Relationships are more important than that to-do list!

I'm always cleaning striving for that "perfect" house ( funny mine is always a disaster, no matter how hard I try ) and I am forever a slave to that to-do list that is never ending. Yes, these things need to get done and I can't ignore responsibilities but I would be wise to realize that people and your relationships with them matter soo much more. I can stop cleaning long enough to go on that bike ride or snuggle and read those books. I can play Old Maid or connect four. I can sit on the deck with my hubby or take my grandma out to lunch. I can call that friend I've been meaning to connect with. At the end of my life it will be the precious time I spent with those I love that matters... not the clean kitchen or organized underwear drawer for pete's sake. So I guess if I'm going to be a slave to that to-do list maybe I should add as my #1 to-do... spend quality time with someone you love today!
I'm going to add that to my to-do list, how about you? Now, let's all go love on someone!

Fun, Fabulous Finds

So I've decided to post fun, fabulous finds when i come across them. My finds might be frivilous and fun or practical must haves. It may be a fabulous new dessert or a great new restaurant. Maybe I'll post them on the first friday of every month or maybe every friday... then i could call it fabulous find friday or something incredibly nerdy like that. My first fun and fabulous find is the camera strap above; i absolutely love photography and also fell in love with this strap. This one is the cha cha carnival strap by cotton candy by natalie. There were lots of other fun designs and colors but i loved this one. I am so excited too because Marc ordered it for my birthday ( such a sweetie he is ) and i can't wait to get it and sling it over my shoulder! I stumbled across these on another blog and somehow found where to order them. If you are interested try going to cottoncandybynatalie.blogspot.com to somehow link up to the site where she sells them. Such a fun, fabulous find!