Thankful Thursday and everyday!

Today I am thankful for:

1. Simple pleasures such as hot bowls of potato soup on cold autumn nights. YUMMMMM!!

2. Two year old boy, who can't seem to keep his feet on the ground. I feel such a gladness and a sadness all at the same time whenever I think of him growing up so big and ever so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that he was learning to walk !

3. Brothers, cousins and books.

4. Riding out in the pasture and seeing these little guys, running and jumping, feeling good in this nice cool weather. Brand new baby calves being born this autumn, this one was born with an attitude "Watch you lookin at"

Its the little things in life that make me thankful, I am thankful for the big things to, but, its those small wonders that never seem to get old that I find myself increasingly fond of. What are the simple gifts God has blest you with today? I would love to read them:)

Fun, Fun, Fun

Down here in the south we do this thing called rollin yards, you know, you take toilet paper, lots of it, and throw it up into the trees, in an unsuspecting person yard. Its kind of like joke, only it

makes a really big mess. Well this past week my husband and I hosted a wonderful group of young ladies, part of a visiting youth group down from KY. They usually stay with me every year and I would claim each and every one of them as my own if their parents would let me.

Anyways, back to the yard rollin, This year the girls had a big idea to go roll yards so I, being a wonderful role model to them, suggested we go roll my mom and dads yard. Now in all my 30 years I had never been rollin, but my hubby had, so he assisted the girls in their dastardly deed and I got to set back and watch, quietly, cause you know you don't want anyone to know you are there rollin their yard it is supposed to be a big surprise when they wake up in the morning , to make a long story short, we got caught, but thankfully my parents weren't upset they actually thought it was pretty funny and ,boy, they got their yard very very well!!!! I was so proud!!

Here is a pic before we left, the girls are all painted up and ready for their covert operation.

At 12:00am;)

Here they are the next morning, for some reason they look a little tired, I mean they got in the bed rather early, you know about 4:00 am, we got back from rollin @ 1:30am, I don' t know what they could possibly be tired from.

Oh I just had to show this pic, I thought it was so darlin, they're a group of gangsters. And you should here their british accents:) Really these girls are so funny! Check out my young'un I didn't even know she knew how to make those signs HA HA

Now on the serious side, this group of young people know how to have fun, but they also LOVE, the LORD and they are not afraid to share this with the world! I am always blest so very much by they way they sing with all their heart to the Saviour and how they worship Him in open adoration, What a wonderful example they have set for my children. I wish I had a tape of their singing , I have cds from the night the entire group of them sang at the church, but what I am talking about is how they sang to the Lord, to me and to any body else in the van the whole time back and forth to church. I was honored to get to be a part of their lives once again during their brief trip to TN and I hope and pray that they remember much more about me than just the part about me taking them yard rollin for the very first time. I hope that I let my light shine for the Lord just as bright for them as they did for me.

Teenagers are just the most fun, I just love their excuberance for life! Sometimes I would much rather be around a group of young'uns than a group of grown ups:)

WOW, What a WEEK!!!!

As ya'll know from my previous post , this was youth revival week at our church and boy has it been a blessing of a week. We had some of the most wonderful services this week that I could remember. Especially last night, I think everyone was tired and so not ready for the week to end but looking forward to a little rest, (I for one would have loved for it to go on another week.)

Back to the revival, we had a visiting youth group to sing every night along with the youth of our church, and if you have never experienced youth singing together for the glory of the Lord well you don't know what you are missing. Now I love to listen to groups that love God sing and all, but nothing really compares to a group of young people who will stand together in front of a big congregation and sing their hearts out for the Lord and no one else, I mean its not about talent with these guys it is all about heart and their hearts are turned toward heaven.
Not to mention the preaching, straight from the Lord and straight to my heart, I needed to hear the messages God sent my way this week and I hope to look back on them and grow from them for a long time.
My prayer will be that my church, myself and most importantly the young people of my church will take the things they have seen God do this week and run with it, for the glory of the Lord, That they will remember that Its Not About You, or Me or Anyone else, Its All ABOUT HIM!!! When I say run with it I mean, I want to see this revival become something that will continue on in our church from now on and that our youth will grow from it and that the sayings this week that were planted in their hearts and souls will take hold and grow, that they,as well as me,will not grow weary in their growth for the Lord, and that we will allow God to mold us into what He wants us to be.
Whats something you want to see God do in your life, what are some areas that need work, or just plain need cleaning out? Drop me a line and let me know something that I can help you pray about this week, I know that they are several areas in my life that need prayer and I would like for all of you to help me pray that I will be the Sunday School teacher that I need to be and that I would be an example to the many young men and women in my church, that I will be exactly who God wants me to be, that I would wholly and completely place my life in His hands for Him to mold.

Thorns

Last night, at our youth revival we have going on at church this week, the visiting preacher (A really wonderful man of God) Brought a message about preparing our self to answer the call God has for us. The first point he made, and the one that has stuck with me even today as I went about my housework and schooling, is this, Thorns. Now this wasn't the title of his first point but it was the jist of it. Jeremiah 4:3 talks about breaking up fallow ground and sow not among the thorns, Matthew 13 talks about the parable of the sower and how that some seeds fall among the thorns, Well what exactly are thorns? The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.
He went on to say that many people(christians mainly) today have their lives entangled with thorns. How many times have the cares of this present world kept me from living a victory filled life? How often do I let troubles shake the faith I have in God? How many times do I sell Him, and His ability to work even in the midst of those troubles, short, and thus rob me of a blessing from Him? I often forget that God works best when He doesn't have to work around my messes.
How many times have I sat in church and allowed thorns to keep me from hearing what God has for me that day, in that message? How many times have thorns kept me from praying for someone who needs salvation, or for someone who is sick or hurting? How many times have thorns kept me from doing the work that He has set before me? How often do I allow thorns to keep me from putting my complete trust and belief in Him and in the plan that He has for me?
Thorns! They will choke the life out of us if we let them.
1 Peter 5:7 says, Cast all your cares upon Him; for He careth for you.
So what thorns are you battling today? No matter what they are, Our heavenly father wants us to cast all our cares upon Him, so give them to God today and begin anew in ground free from clutter and debrie.

Please remember our youth revival this week that God will move in the lives of people young and old alike and that we will have revival in our hearts and in our church long after this week is over.

What we've been up to!!

Well we have been hard at work !

And we have been hard at play!

And we have also finished up this little project: A few weeks ago I was browsing all the homeschool post over on the Pioneer womans blog and I came across a post she had wrote about chores and the nifty little chore chart she used to help motivate her young'uns, So I decided that instead of buying one I would make one along the same lines, cause I really liked the way the chore chart she used clearly identified what she wanted each of children to do, sometimes I get a little to chore minded and before I know it I have told my children 500 things I want them to do and they are a little overwhelmed and extremely unhappy about having 500 hundred things to do, if you know what I mean Anyways here is our creations:

I stared out by letting them each make their own charts, we used file folders, both blue because my children love the color blue. My mother-in-law has this wonderful little die-cut thingy and cut us out some farm animals to use as our makers(places where we will velcro our chores that need doing). The littles had a great time coloring their farm animals, I on the other hand was having a hard time not interfering, because have you ever seen a red horse with a blue mane, but I didn't say a word, I just let him use his own creativity.

Yes that is the glue cap in his mouth but I removed it as soon as I got done with taking this picture, that little dude puts every thing in his mouth.

Here are the finished charts, I put a piece of velcro on or beside each animal, 5 in all, the number of chores they need to finish in one day. Come on 5 chores ain't nothing to the stuff I had to do as a child and I am of the firm belief that children need to be taught the responsibility of work, and that as a family we all work together to make things easier on everyone:) I also made a pocket and clued it to the file folder to store the chores as they finish each one and remove it from the chart.

For the chore cards, I along with the help of my m-i-l , printed off some really neat clip art of house hold chores. I cut them out and pasted them onto index cards and wrote what each chore was and what was expected to be done, I think I have 11 chore cards in all right now but I am still working on them and will be adding more so that they don't get bored with the same old chore. You know they will thank me when they are older for making them do all sorts for different things, but right now I believe they just think me crazy.

Now I ran these little buggers through the nifty little cold laminator (that my m-i-l also gave me), to make them last longer. My children appreciated that ya know! I also stuck velcro on the backs of the cards so that they would attach to the chart.

And after all was glued and stuck , this is what we have.

I will hang these nifty( I like that word can you tell) little guys on the wall in our school corner and every day as is the norm with chores I will put 5 chores on each child's chart and they will have time during our morning or afternoon clean up times to finish each chore, as it is completed they will remove that card and put it in the pocket. Pretty cool huh!

Now I know that not all moms have to use chore charts but for my children this is the best thing. My kids now know what they have to do and when it has to be done, that works well for them. I no longer have to nag at them or tell them 1000000000 times what chores they are responsible for on any given day. I also have a reward system that I use to go along with this. Now I don't agree with paying my kids money to do their chores, they should want to do them out of service and love for their family, and that is the attitude I try to get them to recognize, but I do think that a little incentive for getting them all done everyday is important.

Running the rat race and losing!!!

Ive been feeling a little decorative for a while and since I don't have the funds to redo my house, I thought I could redo my blog. I have always had a habit of rearranging things just when they start to feel comfortable. My husband sometimes don't like this very well but he puts up with me.

By the way is it me or does it seem like time is flying by all to fast here lately, I feel like I have been running a marathon and right now I am coming in dead last. I can't seem to get caught up on any thing and although I work all day at this house nothing ever seems to get done. This is really wearing me out. I am sorry if it seems like I am complaining, really I am not, I am just really tired!!! You guys ever feel that way? Anyways I hope to get to the bottom of this by the end of the week so if you can please remember me in your prayers, I could really use them.

Thankful Friday

I know it is supposed to be Thankful Thursdays but I just did not have one spare minute yesterday to sit down at the computer. So I thought I would be thankful today.

1. I am thankful for times that try me. What?, You ask, can you mean by that, Well this is what I mean: " Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2,3. I believe that these trials are times of refining and polishing, so that i may learn to stand fast in my Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what satan throws my way. I should really count as these times of joy and rejoicing. I need to learn to turn these adversary times into times of opportunity, Opportunity to learn more about Jesus and what He wants done in my life for Him.

2. Fall, The changing of leaves and all the beauty God shares with us. I hate to see summer go but I love to see fall come, because with it comes a new and beautiful palate of Gods colors.

3. I am thankful for friends who come to visit at just the right time. Just when I need her the most, God makes a way for her to come and visit with me. I am talking about my dear friend Cassie who gets to come a spend the whole weekend with me. I am so blessed!!!

There is so much more that I have to be thankful for but time would fail me to list them all. these were just the few that was in the forefront of my mind today, and I wanted to share them with you all. Have a great weekend!!!

Wonderful Wednesdays

We(Joy And I) took the kids to the park last week and here are some of the pics. Now that fall weather has come, the leaves are starting to change and this picture would now look totally different, but just as beautiful. I just love going to this park, it is actually just right down the road from where I live and it is a state park and so it is always kept so nice and clean. This was the first time our children had ever hiked to the falls and I wish I had pictures of their faces to show you their awe. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of all Gods beautiful creation, below is a picture of the little falls, To me it is almost prettier than the big falls.

And you know it just wouldn't have been a fun hike if I hadn't stopped to get pictures of the kids enjoying it. And no, don't worry she is not trying to throw her cousin off the cliff, they were just being silly, but little Em does look a little scared doesn't she! I would have posted a better picture of the kids, but this was the best one I got, You know how it is when you try to take their pictures they never want to just look natural they have to always be doing something silly, at least mine do!!

Oh! and we also saw a snake, not a very big snake, but a snake all the same. And it was so cool, I wish I had a recording of all the reactions this little guy got from the kids.

When we finally got to the big falls little C had done went to sleep, Don't she just look so comfy. I always get a little nervous, standing to close to the railing, but my E-pie doesn't look the least bit leery does he.

Now here is a picture of the big falls, and I am telling you, It is so much more beautiful in person, and just standing up there on the lookout , I get chill bumps, when I think that the same God who created this beauty, created me, and blessed me with the opportunity to live in a place as wonderful as this .

Messy Mondays

I woke up this morning and much to my surprise, I found a mess, that was my house in disguise!!!

And I mean that, I woke up this morning and I could not believe that in 2 short days my house could get this messy!!! And really, Tell me how that a family of 5 could have so much dirty laundry, I just don't understand, If I believed in fairies I would say that they must have come in over the weekend and had a party in my house, but I don't, so I guess I'll just have to blame it on my kids,(because it would never be that I took 2 days off from house work, enjoyed the fall weather and refused to come inside to do my housework, no it could not possibly be because of that,) It had to be my kids!! ( how about that for a run on sentence)
Anyways to make a long story short, or a short story long in this instance I am off to Clean. I would rather be riding my horse, but thats another story.

So heres to all us moms out there today that are cleaning house!!! I hope and pray that you all have a, oh, whats the word I'm looking for here, I can't think of it, Its a big word (maybe to big for my brain this Monday morning) anyways like I was saying have a great day:)
p.s. if you can think a word that would fit let me know cause I'll probably be trying to figure it out all day.

Hay!!!

Its that time of year again! Hay Hauling Time!!

And the children love it. Not the hauling part, mind you, they love the climbing part .

Its like a gigantic jungle gym, and nothing was more fun when I was a kid than climbing up in the barn on hay bales. Of course, our hay wasn't always kept in the barn, but then it was fun jumping from one bale to the next, except when you didn't make it to the other bale and then well lets just say that did not make for a pretty picture! Anyways here are some pics of the kiddos playing in the hay as we unload it.

Don't they look like they are having the best time. Thats what I call making memories:)

Wonderful Wednesdays

A Fall picnic is always so much fun!!