downsized_0830091112.jpg

downsized_0830091112.jpg, originally uploaded by frogverde.

we're at football today. jimmy's team is about to play. payton played this morning. they won 27 -6. go cougars!

Simply Sunday

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.

I will sing your praises among the nations.

For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

May your glory shine over all the earth.

Psalm 108:3-5

Operation Organization: Homework Station/ Bookshelf

Here are my pics from my project last week. I didn't post last Friday, things just got a bit too crazy around the house, but I spent the week making a homework center for the kids. We are (very) slowly getting back into the school routine.

Here is the before:

and the after:

Now all of their art/ paper/ markers/ crayons/ scissors/ glue/ books/ etc. is all in one place and organized.

Next challenge:

This week I am going to work on my room. I've let it get a bit out of control. I have more clothes than drawers or closet so I need to go through everything and purge, purge, purge.

My husband reminded me very kindly that my new dresser (aka, his desk chair) isn't working well for him and he would like it back. He hasn't been able to sit on it since June. Oops!

Wordless Wednesday - It's a Dog's Life

School Bells are a ringin'

Look at what $100 buys?
It didn't seem like much as we were buying it, but after we got home and unpacked all the purchases and layed it all out, we bought a lot of things. We checked all the items off each of the boy's school supply lists and low and behold, we got every single thing but a calculator for Jimmy.
The boys don't start school for 2 more weeks but it's a great relief to have their book bags packed and ready to go. Now I have time to find a place to keep them all year. Stay tuned...The back of the dining room table was where they lived last year and I would like to find more of an out of the way space for them to go each day.

Simply Sunday

Jesus said, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."

- John 9:41

wordless wednesday

one thing about me

USING ONLY ONE WORD

Where is your cell phone?
desk

Your significant other?
home

Your hair?
fluff

Your mother?
wisconsin

Your father?
wisconsin

Your favorite thing?
sight

Your dream last night?
bad

Your favorite drink?
water

Your dream/goal?
serenity

What room are you in?
diningroom

Your favorite thing to do?
breath

Your fear?
spiders

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
suburbs


Where were you last night?
home

Something that you aren't?
tall

Muffins?
enriched

Wish list item?
patio

Last thing you did?
worked

What are you wearing?
clothes

TV?
news

Your pets?
stinky

Friends?
good

Your life?
awesome

Your mood?
calm

Missing someone?
grandma

Drinking?
thirsty

Smoking?
cancer

Your car?
paid

Something you're not wearing?
jewelry

Your favorite store?
mall

Your favorite color?
green

When is the last time you cried?
yesterday

Where do you go to over and over?
park

My favorite place to eat?
sushi

Favorite place I'd like to be at right now
vacation

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today, grandma would have been 94 today. I would have baked her an angle food cake and cut strawberries the night before so they could soak in brown sugar, cinnamon and a splash of apple or orange juice to make the most delicious syrup. Before I served the cake I would have used full fat cream and whipped it until it was thick and ready to be plopped on top of the cake and berries. we would have cake and coffee and candles and laughter.
but grandma is not here anymore.
she has been gone for 4 years now. reagan was only 3 months old and payton just turned 2. i miss her every morning when i see her picture and once in a while the urge to call 252-7892 still runs through my hand and urges me to pick up the phone and dial. just to see what she at for lunch. or if she watched the news at 5.
when i cleaned out the kitchen drawers this weekend, i took out some of the aprons she made and put one on. i usually don't wear an apron when i cook, but when i tried it on, all the smells and memories flooded my nose and overwhelmed my mind. i actually stood in the pantry for a few minutes trying to collect my thoughts and pull myself together because rea was cooking with me and wouldn't understand my tears. everything about the moment reminded me of being a little girl in grandma's kitchen stirring and pouring and mixing. about the fun i had and the lessons i learned about patience and kindness and love.
when i cooked with grandma, there wasn't a right or a wrong way, if you spilled milk, you cleaned it up and when something needed to be done, you just did it.
i know lately my patience and kindness and love has been sorely lacking toward the kids. everything is rush rush, do it now and do it right. of course, after the short circuit of my mouth, i know when and where i messed up. when i am short with them I know where i should have said something different than what i did. but after the fact is too late.
better than nothing, yes, but not ok. i don't want to be the 'after the fact mom' who is always going back to correct a mistake that i made. i want to be able to speak kind words of wisdom and love. I want to have patience to explain and teach my kids correctly the first time.
standing in the pantry today smelling the apron and being brought back to a sweet memory of my grandma's kitchen, encouraged me to be more calm and patient with my babies that night, so one day, when they stop and smell a memory, they have the warm and fuzzy stir in their soul to make a positive choice in the experience they will be in one day.
thanks grandma, your not with us anymore, but you'll never be gone.
happy birthday!

Chicago 2009 Air and Water Show

This was our good view of nothing from under a tree.

We attempted to go to the Air and Water show today, but the rain had another plan for us.

From the time we sat down and pulled out our picnic lunch, it rained on and off for the rest of the day.

So what would be the next best thing?

That's right, getting in the car and driving around the city. We still saw some of the planes flying,

no,

zooming,

no,

ROARING

overhead. Some were small dots in the sky, but a few...

Were RIGHT-OVER-OUR-HEADS! You could feel the ground shake.

The kids didn't mind the rain or the driving, but, if you asked them, they probably would say the McDonald's stop was the best part.

Just another day in Chicago.

At least it didn't snow. ha!

Simply Sunday

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

- Isaiah 40:8 NIV

Operation Organization: My Dining Room Table Results

Here is my week 2 update.

The dining room table got cleaned, YEAH! I worked on it a little bit each night.

Halfway through the week, it looked like this:

I finished it up this morning before work. It's amazing how many papers I think I need until I allow them to sit for a month or two. They somehow become un-informative and really easy to throw out.

You can look back at the mess I started with and see how good it must feel to walk into the dining room and have the table clear. It's an instant de-stresser.

There are still a few things that need to find homes, but with the limited space, it seems we're always moving something around to make room for something different.

You can take a look at the mess I started with here. Yikes! This week, I'm going to take it easy and continue to concentrate on getting rid of my gimcracks and putting things into their 'forever homes'.

Word of the Week. Operation Organization week 3

I received the Bill O'Reilly newsletter this week and was laughing at the



It's gimcrack.

huh?

yeah, that's what I said too.

It is pronounced: /JIM•krak/
Definition: n. a showy but useless item; a gewgaw.

It got me thinking, how many gimcrack's do I have around my house?
I wonder if I collected all the gimcracks, how many would I find?
Hmmm... This week, I am going to see if I can fill up a bag with all the gimcracks I can find in the house and say goodbye.

that is my goal for the challenge this week. To find my gimcracks and get rid of them.
less clutter = less to clean.

Summer-Family-Film-Festival

There is only 1 week left on this free movie festival at Muvico, but if you can make it next Tuesday or Wednesday, it's a free movie for the kiddo's.

(in)courage

what encourages me? when i am in the depths of despair, what encourages me?


when I feel like there is no way out? what encourages me?


when I feel like there is no other way? what encourages me?


h-o-p-e and p-r-o-m-i-s-e.


hope in uplifting my spirit, hope in a situation being different. hope in a change in my path and the promise that i am not alone. i am never in "this", and "this" can mean so many things, alone. I know I am loved, I am taken care of, I am promised a hope and a future.


so, I am encouraged, I am renewed and and I have hope for a great day.









find out what encourages others today at http://www.incourage.me/

peaceful and serene lake view from WI

peaceful and serene lake view from WI, originally uploaded by frogverde.

Operation Organization: My Dining Room Table

Here is my project for week 2.




These are the before pics. What A Mess!!!! I tend to let things pile up (literally) when we get real busy. This is what piled up at the end of the school year over the summer. I didn't organize the kids paperwork from the end of the year and the mail, all the catalogs, junk, magazines, crafts, etc. all just got piled until it became a bother to deal with. Once that happened to the 1 basket I keep things in, I moved the contents to another basket and began the pile again.




Ugh, so now, I have to deal with the mess. I keep saying I'm going to do this "tonight" but it gets late, the project is overwhelming and it doesn't happen.



This is the week I fix my problem: here I go...

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cali 5-0

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reagan the football player

one choice, one person can make a difference

i received this e-mail in my inbox at the most unexpected time.
when i was mad at my husband.
we were at odds on a tuesday morning because of something that was said on a monday night. neither of us wanted to give int o the other, because it was much easier to decide to be mad at each other than to admit any bit of fault, reconcile and move forward. i was righteously indignant this particular time. i knew i wasn't the one who was going to cave this time. i was going to prove a point and teach a lesson on forgiveness and how to do it right. well, that was until i read the e-mail below about one spose being able to make the difference. until i was convicted more for my behavior on the situation more so that the fact that there was a situation to be dealt with. don't get me wrong, there still should be a time and place to talk over what happened and there should be remorse and asking for forgiveness, but now, after playing the mad game for a day, it is me who is beginning to see how anger can grow inside of us and the thing we are really fighting over isn't the same thing we disagreed on in the first place.
now i feel silly for continuing this charade, even though i am still wounded and hurt but the inital fight, i am now the one who is to blame for keeping the flame fed instead of putting out the fire before it had a chance to spread.
so now what?
how do I fix the spreading fire of my anger before things are burned? Well, this is the sentence that stuck out like a sore thumb to me:
You can decide on your own to live out your faith as best you can - by being a truth teller, a servant, a forgiver, a worshipper, and a person of humility, integrity, compassion, kindness, and self-control.
I can decide. I can tell the truth. I can serve. I can forgive. I can worship. I can be a person of humility, integrity, compassion, kindness and self-control. I can do these things because I am in control of myself and can be responsible for my actions and no one else's.
So, yeah, things didn't go as I had hoped, but playing the blame game, the pout parade or giving the silent treatment isn't going to fix anything that has been broke. But, letting the influence of Jesus transform me into the "christian" i am trying to be, will. And really, that is all that I need to focus on and let God handle the rest.


One Spouse Can Make a Marriage Christian
by Lee and Leslie Strobel

You can't control your spouse's spiritual outlook; if you could, he or she would already be a Christian! But you have quite a bit of control over how you live.

And it's possible to unilaterally live out your faith and influence your marriage and children with Christian values, even without the participation of your partner.

Jo Berry, in her book Beloved Unbeliever, makes this important observation:

"Rather than wishing things were different, all of us have to admit that, for the most part, our marriages only will be as good as we make them. And any unequally yoked wife can have a 'Christian' marriage, to the extent that she is willing to implement God's standards into her performance and the relationship itself."

That's a liberating thought! The Christian principles, values, and morality that you decide to put into your marriage are going to change the entire flavor of your relationship.

So you don't have to wait until your spouse is a Christian to have a "Christian" marriage. You can have one, at least to some degree, right away. You can decide on your own to live out your faith as best you can - by being a truth teller, a servant, a forgiver, a worshipper, and a person of humility, integrity, compassion, kindness, and self-control.

The extent to which your relationship can be "Christian" is the extent to which you commit yourself to following Jesus and letting his influence permeate your entire life.

chicago rock and roll 1.2 marathon

mile 7...still running

mile 12... almost there

done. 13.1 miles under 3 h. whew

rhythm

I love the beginning of a new month. To turn the page on my calendar and see all the blank little squares just waiting to be filled with new and exciting adventures. Although, it's not uncommon for me to turn that page and see way too many little boxes written in before the month even begins, leaving me to wonder how we got so busy.

It cracks me up to hear people, sometimes it is me, saying, "Wow! I can't believe it's a new month already." "Time sure fly's doesn't it?" "Where has the time gone?"

Well, if I stop and think about it, or if I neglect thinking and planning my time, I often am left wondering where all my time went. How could I have so much to do and not enough time? Where did it go? How could it already be time for bed? Time to leave for… Time to go to… and on and on.

One thing I have realized is if I allow myself to get distracted and not have a plan, I'm left wondering where the time went. If I am not precise in using the time I have available, I get distracted and don't accomplish what I set out to do. I feel I get more accomplished when I have everything mapped out opposed to just having an idea of what needs to be done. Having a busy schedule is something I cannot get away from. So the idea of pairing down my to-do list is just not practical. Knowing I will have to plan my time accordingly with everything I have to do, is practical. Between working full time, kids schedules, church, family and time for myself I make sure I get done the essentials to keep our lives in rhythm. OK, I try to make sure I get done the essentials. Unfortunately, my rhythm is off key before the end of the month comes. Sometimes my essentials, like making a homemade birthday card or organizing the drawer of stamping tools is not the essentials the rest of the house needs to get to football practice with clean pants or eat a healthy meal and not another drive through nutritional void. Sometimes, mommy gets distracted and l-a-z-y and the beat dies.

I guess that's why the beginning of the month makes me so happy because it is a new chance to get back on track and pick up where I left off or start over to a different tune.

So welcome August 1, 2009. Come in with all your promises of a new meal plan, a better exercise regimen, a right way to do laundry, a faster way to get the house clean. Don't forget the crafts to make and the movies to watch and books to read and sports to play. I welcome it all and as I sit down to fill up the empty boxes on my calendar this weekend, I will crank up the music and relax a while, knowing I am where I need to be, with whom I need to be with and whatever rhythm that is created, I will give 100%.