My sweet husband...

...gave me the best Birthday present I've ever gotten.

He carved our initials into a tree in our back yard.

I LOVE IT!!!

He took a picture of it and had it framed with these words printed on it:

John and Karen

Sitting in a tree...

The BEST birthday present EVER from the sweetest man I know.

Thanksgiving...a photo essay

Before the chaos... everything is ready...

Everyone arrives... brother-in-law, John and my Dad...my Mom and I are working furiously on something in the background.Thank goodness my Mom brought the giblet gravy.
Th kid's table

Notice: Fig has a mouth full of deviled egg.
After dinner, everyone read a passage from the Bible praising God's goodness

Did you know that Thanksgiving is my birthday?

Thanks, MOM, I love my new coat.

Shine On!

I am thankful that Jesus shines through people who are willing to be lamps for Him.

Tuesday is L.A.M.B.S. day. (Ladies A.M. Bible Study)
I look forward to Tuesdays; it is a sweet, sweet time. Since there is a children's program, Fig goes too and enjoys his class.

This week, Fig and I took on all the regular Tuesday obstacles and battled our way to L.A.M.B.S. I'm telling you, there is serious spiritual warfare going on every week. But we made it, had a good morning, and headed out to the car afterward. I was battle-weary and knowing that the cupboards were bare at home and even if they were full, I didn't have the energy to make a PB&J sandwich, I pulled into the handy, dandy McD's drive-thru. I ordered a happy meal for Fig and pulled around.

"Oh, look! There's my friend Sam! Hi, Sam!" I wave and smile at Sam who is in line in front of me. I think to myself..."I love her...she's so cute and sweet". We inch our way up to the pay window and I extend my debit card to the McD employee. That sweet lady said, "Enjoy your lunch; the car in front paid for you." I couldn't believe it. What a blessing to me. Jesus was shining all over the place because of that thoughtful act of kindness.

But here's the thing. Although I enjoyed the radiance of His glory, there is a bigger story to tell. You see, when you are shining for Jesus it floods all over the place. Places where you didn't even anticipate. As much as I was blessed, the cashier at McD's was overwhelmed by the reflection. I'm glad I was there to see Jesus shine all over her, too. She's probably STILL smiling.
Shine on!
Shine on!

Little Things

[Remember, I am pretty good at laundry, birthing babies, applying lipstick while driving, but photography...not so much.]

I'm thankful for the little things like:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

with a cold Coke

in front of a cozy fire.

Little things like knowing that I don't have to pack six lunches in the morning because it's pizza day. These little stacks of money are all they need.

A Christmas wreath I made with my Mom.

The little things my kids say that make me laugh.

Rosebud: "Mom, Listen! Moonsand, Moonshoes, and moonscape, isn't that cool, Mom, they all have moon in them!"

Me: "mmmmm...yes, how 'bout that?"

Rosebud: "yeah.." {she walked away with a smile}

The little memories that we will share as a family.

For example, last night I left several baby photos on a side table in my bedroom. I intended to return them to the photo album when I had an extra minute. This afternoon, while tidying up a bit around the house, I picked them up and noticed that someone had drawn little moustaches on the babies with permanent ink. Hmmmm....very interesting. At dinner tonight, we held a court proceeding. I presented the evidence and asked if anyone was interested in confessing. We had lots of giggles and everyone enjoyed looking at the silly photos but no confession. Someone came forward later and fessed up. Their honesty earned them amnesty. Everyone enjoyed a funny moment.

Yep, I am thankful for the little things.

What little things are you thankful for today?

My Little Secret

I have a secret.

I've kept it long enough. It's time for the world to know.

It all started when I reached the end of my rope. You've probably all been there.


WHY DO NONE OF THE SOCKS MATCH!!

Then when we had several children, it became impossible. John's socks, my socks, and the girls socks were everywhere and always needed to be sorted and matched. John and I would sit in the middle of the den floor and work on "The Project"

"I have a thin, pink, medium-sized sock with a small rosette on the ankle." I would say.
John responded, "Nothing like that over here. Do you have any gray athletic socks with Nike on the toe?"

And then...the dilemma...what to do with all the socks that haven't matched up in a couple of weeks. For goodness sake, do you throw them away? That doesn't seem right. Where are the matches anyway? Probably the same place where all my spoons are disappearing to. One day I will discover a jackpot of unmatched socks and cereal spoons.

When boys were added to the family, it took me over the edge. I needed to approach the sock issue from a whole new angle.


Here it is...my secret.

I don't match socks anymore.
There. I said it.

All socks are kept in this community sock bin in our linen closet.
It works beautifully. When we fold the freshly washed laundry, I make a pile of clean socks and put them away, all at once, in this bin. Every morning, each family member makes a trip to the bin and finds two socks that fit their feet. Voila! Simple as that.

One more thing. We only buy white socks. Find two that are approximately the same size and you're good to go.

Our Thanksgiving Tree

To turn our minds toward thankfulness, we have created a Thanksgiving Tree.

I used a simple poster board and traced my hand and arm and John's hand and arm to form the trunk of the tree. Each of the children added branches by tracing their hands.

Each night at dinner we add some leaves. The leaves are cut out of construction paper. Everything is simple and basic. I'm sure some of you could get even more creative and have a real masterpiece. I've learned that I can become paralyzed by perfection. I just used what I have around the house.

The children are enjoying this fun project and I'm blessed to hear their hearts.

Yesterday

I did not post yesterday about what I am thankful for.
So...to get caught up, I'll give a belated gratitude post.
Drumroll, please.

Ready?

Yesterday, I was thankful that I survived the day.

I wish it was inspiring or encouraging or even just hinted at positive.
Nope.
It was a tough day.
Nothing earth-shattering or catastrophic...just hard!

Do you ever have days like that?

Aren't you glad for new, fresh mornings?
Today will be better.

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
Lamentations3:21-25