Blessed

I darn well know I'm blessed materially. We have more than we ever dreamed we would have when we married over 26 years ago...but I am continually AMAZED at how blessed I am as a Mom.
My sweet girl is such a delight to me. She is loving and kind and continually surprises me with the woman she is growing into. Last night she drove all the way back home from college with two friends to pick up a teammate who had flown into Wichita. That is a six hour round trip drive. They didn't get back to college until after 1 a.m. She is really a great friend to her friends.
I love how she calls me to check in every morning or texts with a "Good Morning Mommy". That makes my day.
I adore how she has been best friends with the same sweet girl for over 15 years. How they are thick as thieves and have such a fun shared history.
My sweet Miss M is such a good girl too. I know that other college kids are fiddling around with drinking and bad behavior but she is not into that and I really admire her for standing strong in her convictions.
Every day I thank the Lord that he allowed me to raise a daughter like Maggie. She is truly the icing on my cake and makes me so proud.

REALLY BACK to BLOGGING!

This is it...do or die time on the blogging business. Ha! I don't know where the last few months have gone. Guess I just haven't had a lot to say. My sweet girl left for college and my darling boy went off to high school and life got SUPER busy.

Miss M's volleyball team finished SECOND in their conference for volleyball! We were so proud and spent many evenings traveling to games and tournaments. So much fun to be a volleyball parent. We truly love it.

Big D's so involved with our church that it feels like it might be his second home. He loves it and loves the people and that makes me so happy. He also has spent hours learning (self-teaching really) himself to play his acoustic guitar. He is such a great musician.

It is exciting to be heading into the Christmas holidays. I have the tree up and decorated, the mantle decorated and my centerpieces made for the coffee table and dining table. Gorgeous if I do say so myself.

My projects this fall have included organizing my VAST collection of books. Ugh. That has been a labor of love (and sometimes hate!), trying to pull off life as the Mama of a college girl and high school boy, attending the bestest Bible Study ever at my sweet Carole's house and trying to write. The writing is proving the hardest. I just don't think I have a lot to say right now or at least a reason to say it. My biggest project has been writing letters to my immediate family for Christmas. I'm excited about that.

Okay..that wasn't so hard. I love my blog. Truth be told, it is the pictures and loading them to it that do me in. So maybe the goal here is not so many pictures and more words.

Glad to be back!

I'm ALIVE!!

So much to say....not enough time today to say it but I feel horrible guilt over the way I let my little blog flounder and collapse. So many things have happened over the last few months..my baby has gone to college and my babiest baby is a highschool freshman. Anyway..this is just to say "I'M BACK!" elipses and all! Ha!
Can't wait to start blogging again on Sunday.

Dogs, Neck Pain, Headache

Those three words so describe my life today.
Dogs: I am having to have the carpets cleaned in my downstairs today because the house smells very doggy and my parents are coming this weekend. It looks and smells ALOT better. As a matter of fact, they just finished and it looks INCREDIBLE!!
Neck Pain: I have either slept goofy on my pillows or have a sinus infection or an inoperable brain tumor but MY HEAD IS SPLITTING and has been for the last three days. I know seasonal allergies are VERY bad right now but it feels like it's in my upper back. I don't know...it's bad.
Headache: Explained above.
I have lost the cord for my camera/computer link up and need to load the pictures of Maggie's signing on my blog and facebook. That's the next order of business today.

Dodge City!!!

This has been the biggest whirlwind week of our lives! Maggie signs her letter of intent for Dodge City Communty College today! We are so excited for her! Jim is in Seattle so will miss the big moment but I am planning on taking TONS of pictures. We have cookies from Connie's, a cookie cake, punch and all the purple and gold and white accessories we could find! After this morning she will officially be a Dodge City Community College Conquistador (or Conq for short).

This is a picture of the campus. It looks very brown in this picture but it really wasn't this unattractive in real life.


And this is her wonderful Coach, Shaun Pohlman. He's going to be a great Coach for Maggie and so encouraging and nice. We love him and his sweet family!


After today...my baby girl will be college bound. I plan on celebrating with a lot of chocolate and my bed tonight. I'm worn out from all the excitement!

Spring is Here!

These were the shoes I wore for Easter. I think they are SO cute! Best yet..they were pretty comfy. I can't wait to wear them all summer long...I just think they are wonderful and I love that metallic silver. I desperately need to update my capri's and t's wardrobe. Plus I love having a few cute flowy skirts to wear in summer. Oh! I just can't wait until summer really hits.

I know spring has really sprung when I start seeing these in my garden. Peony shoots.


It won't be too long until they look like this...

It's almost always right before Memorial Day here. Even though they are always covered in ants..I always bring them in and enjoy them in bouquets. I have a system for getting rid of the ants. I drown them. Fill your kitchen sink with soapy, warm water and then submerge the peony heads for a few seconds. This kind of stuns the ants and you can shake them (or they float) right off. It takes care of all but the most stubborn little stinkers.

My kids are off school today (yahoo!) so we are going to enjoy our long weekend together with mowing and cleaning up. I will enjoy that..I'm not sure about them.

Easter

We have had a fabulous Easter! What a great day! We got up this morning and thoroughly enjoyed church. Joe and Maggie came with and we all enjoyed the incredible music, sermon and whole experience. It was so worshipful. I was in tears the whole time, overcome with the sovereignty of the service.

We came home and I cooked a ham, hashbrown potato casserole, asparagus, peas, broccoli/cauliflower salad, rolls and lemon pudding souffle cake with whipped cream for dessert. We colored eggs..the kids ate alot of chocolate and it's been an all around great day.

Happy Easter dear friends. I hope you all have a moment to recognize the brevity and joy of the day. The chocolate eggs are pretty yummy too!

Good Friday

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

2. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

I love this old hymn. It was one that we sang at my Grandfather Hauck's funeral and it was precious to him. The words all bear reflection.
I hope everyone takes a moment (at least) today to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. God loves you. We say that often meaning God loves mankind but I don't mean that today. God loves you in particular. Enough that if you had been the only person on earth...he still would have sent Jesus to rescue you.

John 3:16-18....This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyones who trusts in him is acquitted. (The Message)

March Meals

Daniel is participating in March Meals at our church this month. He is working with the youth group team to serve this delight......spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and CUPCAKES for dessert. Oh my! I love cupcakes. They were delish. We were so very proud of him and the way he helped out. He's such a great kid.

It's almost GORGEOUS weather here in Kansas. It was in the mid-80's today and absolutely beautiful. I love having the windows open and the fans on. I can't wait to get my pots planted and have a little color on my back patio and at the front door. Some of my favorite flowers are peonies, geraniums and roses. I have quite a few rosebushes, about five peonies and I always plant pots of geraniums. I also have a lilac bush that hasn't done to well the last few years so we will see what this summer brings for it. It might be time to yank it out and start over.

The rest of the week I will be doing a little spring cleaning. I just got a NEW supply of Mrs. Meyer's products in the mail (geranium scent) and can't wait to spiff this place up.

A Little More About Nuthin'

After watching the movie, The Jane Austen Book Club, which we absolutely LOVED...I decided I'm missing out be never having read Jane Austen. So, I am starting with Sense and Sensibility and am enjoying it greatly.


I am making this DELIGHT tonight for dessert. I can't wait. I love lemon things and so I'm sure this will be divine! I'll post the recipe later although I'm just taking it off the Food Network website.

I can't WAIT for summer. I love grilling out and sitting in the sun. I love my flower garden when it is in bloom and I'm hoping I can convince Daniel to help me plant a veggie garden this year. I think it would be fun to grow some tomatoes and zucchini at least.

REDEEMED

I've been thinking alot about this word. Redeemed. Do you know what it means to you?
The dictionary defines it the following ways:
re·deem (r-dm)
tr.v. re·deemed, re·deem·ing, re·deems
1. To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.
2. To pay off
3. To turn in and receive something in exchange.
4. To fulfill
5. To convert
6. To set free; rescue or ransom.
7. To save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences.
8. To make up for.
9. To restore the honor, worth, or reputation.

Which one (or ones) define your life?
I especially love #6 and #9.
Awesome!

Cleaning Up

This is probably VERY pathetic to admit but one of my favorite days of the month is the day that The Cleaning Authority comes to clean my house. They come every other week and it is just such a blessing that I can barely stand it. It makes me love my husband immensely that he pays for it! Of course, every day there is picking up and maintenance...I still have to clean the toilets a couple times a week, wipe up and vacuum BUT I don't have to scrub the bathrooms and I barely have to dust anything. It's wonderful.

There is just one little problem. I hate being HERE when they come to clean. I feel like I distract them and it always makes me feel guilty and bad about myself. So..I used to just hang out in the laundry room and catch up on laundering and read but NOW..I almost always go and have coffee and a bagel at Panera. It's like my twice a month treat and I really love it so much! I take my Bible, whatever Bible study I'm working on at the time and spread out and spend two hours really paying attention to it. It's wonderful and the longest stretch of time I really have to devote to study.
I always feel like it's my mini-vacation. Sometimes I take a couple cookbooks and do some menu planning for the week. Coming home to a perfectly clean house is a delight that I do not take lightly!

Here I Am

One of my most favorite songs is "Here I Am" by Downhere. The lyrics are so awesome.

Downhere - Here I Am
From the album Ending Is Beginning

Sometimes Your calling, comes in dream
Sometimes it comes in the Spirit's breeze
You reach for the deepest hope in me
And call out for the things of eternity

But I'm a man, of dust and stains,
You move in me, so I can say

Chorus
Here I am, Lord send me
All of my life, I make an offering,
Here I am, Lord send me
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan,
Here I am

When setbacks and failures, and upset plans
Test my faith and leave me with empty hands
Are You not the closest when it's hardest to stand
I know that You will finish what You began

And these broken parts You will redeem
Become the song that I can sing

Chorus

Overwhelmed by the thought of my weakness
And the fear that I'll fail You in the end
In this mess, I'm just one of the pieces,
I can't put this together but You can

Chorus

Here I Am, all my life an offering to You, to You
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan
Here I am

That just does me in...somehow MY story is part of HIS plan. My story feels so small and insignificant. It's heartening to think that MY story is not for naught. Even my broken parts He can redeem for good and His glory! That's the best!

Ten Things

I got this idea on the LPM (Living Proof Ministries) blog and decided it was kind of fun. Here's ten things you might not know about me:

1. I have almost ZERO hair on my legs naturally. Freakishly really.I really never have to shave them.
2. I love hot weather, especially humidity.
3. I ADORE reading. I'll even read the back of the toilet cleaner bottle.
4. I'm very random when completing tasks which bugs my Type A hubby.
5. I ADORE animals and always wanted to be a vet.
6. I have been "saved" quite a few times. Once for real and several others "just as a safety net". LOL
7. I adore aprons and anything from the 1940's.
8. I love reading about simplifying but my life is actually quite complicated.
9. Sometimes when I cook, I pretend I'm taping a show for the Food Network so I'm not so bored.
10. I grew up near the ocean and the smell of it always makes me cry. I miss it.

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

This little high jumper is my Maggie! We recently went to Crossroads National Qualifier volleyball tournament in Denver. Maggie's team came in FIRST PLACE in the Silver Select 18's division. We were SO proud and it was an awesome way to end her club volleyball career. She has two more tournaments and then we are through with this season of life which is a little bittersweet. We have had many great trips with volleyball...Omaha, Oklahoma City, Denver, Topeka, Salina, Kansas City and many little towns around Kansas. Good times. How can you not love this face? My Mags is known for her engaging personality and her enthusiasm! Do you get that from the picture below?


This sweet boy is at Training Camp. He was a naughty, wicked fellow and now there is hope. His breeder is training him in obedience and hunting. We have visited him and he is doing so well. It did about break my heart to leave him but it will be worth it to have a well behaved dog. He's just too big and strong to handle if he doesn't obey.

These days, however, seem like a distant memory. Wasn't he the cutest! I think he's so handsome now but what a little honey!


Speaking of dogs...if I had my perfect life I would be enjoying lunch at a sidewalk cafe just like this picture. The only difference would be that my dogs would be tied to the chair. If Shadow comes through his training like I think he will, it would mean that he would be lying next to the table instead of dragging it down the street! Ha!


Enough for now..

Blogging Again!

Yep. I'm back to blogging. I've been so busy lately with my daughter and college and volleyball that I haven't had a moment to think a thought of my own. That is the excuse but I also just haven't felt like saying anything. I have a lot of ambivalent thoughts about my Maggie going away to college. On one hand..it's a new adventure and I want her to experience life to the fullest. On the other hand...I'm scared for her. It's so much easier to feel confident that she's safe when she is under my roof. I love making sure she's comfortable and well fed. How will I do that when she is hundreds of miles away? She's my first born. My baby girl.

Anyway...through the last months we have visited colleges and attended alot of volleyball tournaments. We have been to Topeka for a long weekend and just recently to Denver for a four day tournament. Daniel went to a youth retreat over the weekend so we were in Denver with just Maggie. It was a really special time. We stayed two blocks from the convention center in downtown Denver and walked everywhere. We shopped, ate out at incredible restaurants, rode the tram back and forth and watched ALOT of volleyball. Maggie's team came in FIRST in the Silver Select 18's division. We were so proud of her! She's a machine. Coach Pohlman stayed to watch her and so on Friday following our return to Kansas...we headed to Dodge City to check out Dodge City Community College. We all loved it! It's the perfect place for our Maggie and so this Fall...she will be a D3 Conquistador! She's going to be playing a starting position as a Right Side Hitter and she is very excited. Now we are in the throes of picking out dorm decor and trying to figure out how to get everything she will need to Dodge. Very exciting times!

Daniel has been busy with physical therapy for his knee, church youth group and guitar lessons. He is a guitar playing wizard! He has missed Shadow (his black lab) who has been at training camp so much! Shadow has four more weeks of training before he comes home but we visited him and he is doing so well. It's amazing how much he has changed from a big brat into a well behaved boy.

I feel horribly bad about abandoning my sweet blog but life has been so overwhelming with sick me, sick kids, sick parents, my Uncle Bill's death, etc...isn't life just like that sometimes? My sweet friend, Katie, encouraged me to keep writing and I know that daily writing is the key. So here's my commitment to keeping my blog current. It's a great journal and I'm going to write more regularly.

Cold in Kansas

It is so cold in Kansas and it is supposed to get even COLDER! One little tidbit about me...I HATE cold weather. If the temperature stayed in the 80's and 90's forever...I'd be very happy. When it is in the 20's and even worse..the teen's...oh, baby! It just hurts my body!

I have my prayer group to go to today. I look forward to this group of five women who meet together to pray for our children. Our kids range in age from thirties to six years old but each child gets prayed for every day. We choose a card representing that child, their Mom shares a request that has been on her heart, we pray immediately for that child and then for the next week, we pray daily for that request. It's really interesting to hear someone else pray so intimately for your children. Besides my BFF, Tia, I didn't know any of these gals before this group. It is humbling to think that they are willing to invest their time praying for my children.

It's neat because our kids are all at such different ages and stages in their lives. Everything from the militairy and weddings to early elementary to college decision. It's a great melting pot of ideas and care!

A Good Morning To You!

Doesn't this just make the day wonderful? Coffee is the way I always start my day. Jim loves regular coffee so that is what I make first but if we drink that down then I make a pot of Trader Joe's Wintery Blend. It is SO good with a dash of Peppermint Mocha creamer. A little spicy, a little creamy and sweet. Yummy!

This last semester of Maggie's senior year she has a strange schedule. She doesn't have to go to school on Tuesday's until 12:00 and the other days are weird too. It's kind of nice for her. She never gets enough sleep so this is a good opportunity for that. Anyway, since she didn't have to get up until later today...I stopped at Panera for bagels on my way home from taking Daniel to school.

Maggie will love waking up to a Panera bagel with cream cheese. I already had my very yummy Gingerbread bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. Daniel will enjoy a warm bagel with butter and raspberry jam when he gets home tonight. If I remember...I can toast it before I go pick him up and wrap it in foil so it is waiting in the seat when he gets in to come home. He would LOVE that! Maybe a little hot chocolate to go along with it!

While drinking my Wintery Blend..my favorite thing to do is read my Bible. I started reading through the Bible in a year again and I like the consistency of it. Today is Genesis 13-15 and Psalm 5. I especially like to read it out of my NIV and then out of The Message. It really is interesting to hear it in modern language but the NIV is like an old friend and I have to read it there too. :)

A book I am currently reading that I think SO many people would enjoy is called A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. It's just a really great tutorial on incorporating a prayer life. It's full of everyday analogies and situations. Really good!

Resolutions

I have to admit that I hate the word...Resolution. I would rather use the word...Goals. I like to set goals for myself. I like to make lists and check off lists and strive to make things better. This year, I decided to make a list of everything my little brain could think of and hopefully review it regularly and achieve at least some of it! So here it is...my list for 2010.

Resolutions 2010

Read my bible everyday and learn one new thing from it
Memorize scripture (I'm horrible at remembering it!)
Pray for my immediate family every day
Plan meals for a week at a time so I only need to grocery shop twice a week
Establish a great repertoire of recipes
Bake more cookies!
Master making pies!
Use freezer and fridges more effectively
Repaint living room.
Think through decorating style…what’s really important
Help kids with homework. Check on them more.
Church - pick one and stick with it.
Plan one thing a month with friends.
Participate fully in volleyball and plan better for tournaments.
Read more! Read one fiction book a month. Re-read all the Mitford books in order.
Work on scrapbooking pictures
Really learn how to use my camera and to use photoshop
Learn how to use my sewing machine
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Walk Shadow and/or The Littles five days a week (The Littles are our tiny dogs)
Spend time on our yard
Take a kid out for breakfast, lunch or dinner at least once a month (Listen to them!)
Watch the Anne of Green Gables, the Marples and all the As Time Goes By, DVD’s
Try to live a little more consciously.

Some of these things I already do every day of my life. Some things I'd like to incorporate into my life. I like new beginnings.

Happy New Year 2010!

I feel like it has been forever since I've given any time to my little bloggy world and it surely HAS been. The holidays were just so busy and I can truly say that since Thanksgiving...it has been one whirlwind day after another. We had such a nice Thanksgiving celebration...just the four of us and really enjoyed time being together. We put up our tree that weekend and started the Christmas shopping. This year Jim and I both ordered a TON of stuff online and that was the most stressless shopping I've ever done! I can't say enough about shopping online!

I think my kiddos had a pretty lucrative and wonderful Christmas. Since my 45th birthday was this year on Christmas Eve..we celebrated the whole day long! Christmas Eve we prepared everything for the next day and then spent the rest of Eve opening gifts and watching Christmas Vacation on t.v. It snowed about 3 inches and we enjoyed that so much! Christmas Eve night we went to dinner at Savute's and had a wonderful birthday celebration. Maggie and I enjoyed their insanely wonderful filet mignon, Daniel had a t-bone and Jim had spaghetti and meatballs (he did say it wasn't as good as mine! Ha!).

Christmas Day we enjoyed the Hans' family. We just kicked back and enjoyed turkey and ham and all the trimmings. Between Christmas Day and New Year's we decided to have a very fun week of hanging around and enjoying one another and our house. VERY FUN and relaxing. Jim and Daniel went hunting and shot six pheasants and by New Year's Eve we were ready to cuddle up around the fire and hang out. We hosted a New Year's Eve party for about 15 of Maggie's friends. It was really sweet to know that our 18 year old and her friends were content playing Scattergories, eating pizza, drinking Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and eating Butterfinger dessert. They had a WONDERFUL time and ended it about 2 am. Not too bad for a high school party!

WE are welcoming the New Year with lots of excitement. Maggie's last semester of high school, prom, club volleyball season and Daniel's learner's permit and last semester of 8th grade and 14th birthday!