Out With The Old, In With The New

My husband is stubborn, practical, frugal, and every other similar word you can think of. 
I just tossed these shoes in the garbage can and I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to see them and give me 10 good reasons why he's keeping them.

Anyone else know someone like that?  Are YOU that someone? 

Whatever is holding you back from achieving greatness or having better- let it go. 

Don't forget the hard work you put in along the way, but throw out the icky old worn out thoughts & keep pressing forward. Work to achieve better for yourself.  Start thinking positive thoughts and keep them flowing!

You are worth it!

No Sorrow. No Pain.

 

It was All Saints' Day on Sunday.  I was sitting in Sunday Service at church, enjoying the view of the packed pews from the balcony.   We had been running a few minutes behind schedule because the parking lot was PACKED.  We ended up parking just down the street and running into church.  We couldn’t snag our usual seat in the front (because if we did that, over a hundred people would know we were late, instead of just the two dozen folks in the balcony).  I was just happy to be there, surrounded by our church family.  I kind of liked the different view.

There were candles lit in memory of those from our church family who passed on to Heaven, this year.  We took a moment of quiet reflection where I of course thought of my high school classmate and friend, Amy.  I prayed for her fiancé and her family, and decided to just shut off my feelings for a minute so I didn’t start tearing up. 

That plan didn’t work.  I read the list of the baptized and started thinking of my friend Heidi, whose children were just baptized right here in our church.  Heidi’s fiancé passed away this year also.

Ugh, I hate when I can’t stop feeling things.  Usually I have better control, but this one was out of my hands.

Before I knew it we were singing the same song we sang at Amy’s Funeral, “In Christ Alone”.

Just like at Amy’s funeral, the tears just poured and poured.  My husband reached over and put his arm around me, just like he did when we sang for Amy.

Sometimes doing real life is just.so.hard.  I wished I had just stayed home and listened to the service on the radio.  At least then I wouldn’t be ugly-crying in front of people.

Trying to cheer me up, he points down to the pews where we see a grandma holding her granddaughter.  The grandma is singing to her and swaying to the music.  The granddaughter is all smiles, full of JOY.

Then we sang this

 “From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.”

I look again at the grandma and her grandbaby.

 YES, God. Now I know why the parking lot was full and the pews packed.  All but these two front rows of the center balcony were just waiting for us.  You knew as I tried to sing that song, how deeply I would need to see the little babies; the older crowd adorned with gray and white hairs, and everyone in between.  .

I remember how these next lyrics impacted me back in February and I’ve thought of them often ever since:

“No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.”

 

Later in the service the choir sang the most beautiful version of “I Will Rise” that I have ever heard.

All day I kept thinking of those lyrics too:

“And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise”

 

No sorrow.  No Pain.  Yes.

We can find our perfect resting place with God.  And once we’re committed, no one can pluck us from His hand.

Okay it is now 1 am, which is really like 2 am because of the time change.  I’m going to finish processing these thoughts in bed as I drift off to sleep, I just wanted to get some of it out there because that's how I operate.  ♥

Officially a Teenager, But Always My Baby

Just like that, I'm the mom of a teenager.  Moms of littles, believe me when I say all the clichés like 'don't sweat the little stuff', 'it's only a season', & 'you're going to miss this'.  It's all true.  Every single word every seasoned mom has muttered to me about enjoying my children while they're young; I now believe it all. 
I couldn't be more excited-nervous for this season of life.  I will graciously accept all prayers for my sanity, my wrinkles, and really for this girl to be guided by God in all that she does.  Here's to 13!

Dear Sweet Fashionista,

This is your extremely young mother writing to you.  I say that because today you became a teenager, and I just might be having a few personal issues with what that means for me. 

Stereotypically young moms have toddlers; there can even be young moms with elementary-age kids.  But the moms of teenagers?  They usually aren’t classified into any certain category, and end up being just another mom.

From the moment I laid my eyes on you though, I have felt like anything but ‘just another mom’. 

You have challenged me so very much.  Thank you for that, it’s been good for me.  Without our struggles, we won’t know our strength, ya know?

You may have been only a year old when we met, but I myself was just a kid!  I was barely 18, working my way through school to become a nurse, and had high hopes of eventually becoming a doctor and curing Alzheimer’s.  I was a success seeking dreamer.  I was a do-er.  I know you may not believe this, but THIS mom stuff I’m doing now, THIS is my dream I never knew of.

You and your father transformed me, and forced me to grow up.  I thought I wanted to, but so many times I still wanted to just be a kid, and not have to be so responsible.  I didn’t have a choice with you though.  I had to grow up, and I had to grow up fast. 

History has proven that from the depths of my soul I am a procrastinator, so had you not forced me to grow up, I may never have.  So thank you for that too. 

You changed me from a teenage drama queen into a MOM; a real true mother.  THAT is my success.  There is no greater gift that I’ve ever been given than to raise up children for God’s glory, to live and walk in His ways.  It all started with you, sweet girl. 

 

Sweetie, you make my heart squeal with delight.    

Here are 13 Fun Facts about you:

1.      You’ve been momma’s helper and daddy’s princess from day one.

2.      You are full of creativity. 

3.      You are what I like to call a low-maintenance fashionista.  You don’t fuss terribly over your outfits, but you do style yourself well, and it comes easy to you.

4.      For as long as I’ve been cooking in this house you have been right by my side, always offering to crack the eggs, stir the batter, set the table, & help with whatever needs done.  You love cooking shows and get inspired by them.

5.      You have a giant heart for children, and love nurturing and playing with little ones. 

6.      You are full of compassion. 

7.      You and I sit on the deck sipping up gallons of sun tea together all summer long. 

8.      From the time you could speak you wanted to be a veterinarian, but for the past two years you’ve talked a lot about your passion for photography.    It makes sense to me; Ever since you were a little girl you have been carrying a camera around, or asking to borrow mine to take pictures.  You’ve gotten so many creative snapshots, some that we’ve even framed.

9.      You love the outdoors just like your dad does.  You’re athletic and strong.  You love anything with wheels: bikes, skateboards, roller skates, etc.

10.  Any night we can work in a family movie night is your favorite night of the week.

11.  You drag blankets all over the house.  You have more than one on your bed, and keep blankets stashed around everywhere.  This drives me crazy, but it makes you uniquely you. 

12.  Your favorite fruit is the pear.  Do you remember the Christmas we bought like 100 pears and ate them for weeks?  I still can’t believe we finished them all!

13.  Your favorite dessert is brownies with caramel.  Guess what we’re having tomorrow night to celebrate your amazing 13 years on this Earth? BROWNIES!

 

Girl, no matter what it is you want to be or what you do in life, I KNOW that with your drive and heart, you will do it, and do it well. 

Your dad and I are so proud of the wonderful way that you are growing up.   We are so crazy blessed to be your parents! 

Love,

Momma

PS.  Today you may officially be a teenager, but it's important that you know you will ALWAYS be my baby!  I've got your back through all the highs and lows that these teen years bring you. 

From Us To YOU, Happy Halloween!

THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU A VERY HAPPPPPPPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

 

 

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

We hope you creative types are having all sorts of fun decorating, dressing up, and playing with make-up.

We also hope those of you who like scaring people on Halloween are inside just snackin' on candy and totally lose track of time; because we don't like the icky part of Halloween one bit! 

Sweet Girly Scarecrow Make-up for Halloween

Can you believe October is coming to an end already?  I swear it was just September like a week ago! Now we're already being jolted straight into the busy holiday season (which I'm totally looking forward to)! 

Fridays are what we call Fun Friday in our Homeschool.  We focus primarily on Reading, Math, and Art/Crafts.  It's also my day to get caught up on the Social Media posting that I do for local businesses, and plan out our next week of schooling.  We don't do this every Friday, because sometimes we've had other busy days within our week and we really need the catch up, but this week, we've all worked hard, so we're celebrating!

Halloween is tomorrow, and in typical busy-mom style, I still don't know if we're going out trick-or-treating, staying home to hand out treats, or skipping it all together.  I have such conflicting, but passive, thoughts on the whole Halloween thing. But we do know this-  We will spend the night together as a family, and it will be another opportunity to make memories with our kiddos. 

Today my oldest and I decided to try out a Scarecrow make-up pin that I saw HERE

(Sadly I cannot find a source for the original pin, so if this is you, let me know, I'd love to give you a shout out & see what other cool looks you've came up with).

 

Check out our little YouTube video:



 

Would you rather see that in print form?  Here it is:

 

We used just 5 cosmetics that I bet you even have at home:

Blush- Damp for cheeks, dry for eyes

Gold Eye Shadow*- Damp for the nose

Black Eye Liner: For the patchwork

Mascara: For some extra eye poppin'

Lip Balm: For some girly shine

 

*Another light color would work as well if you don't have gold.

 

For clothing we pulled out a plaid shirt and bib overalls from her closet. 
They were both found on clearance at Wal-Mart for just $3 each!