Tuesday, July 28, 2009

You'd think I'd figure it out by now...

When Sarah wants to get out of bed she usually yells, "I done!" meaning, "I'm done sleeping and want to get up." We dont' let any of our children when they are this age get out of bed unless we give them permission...well, that's the goal at least! We want to have some sense of security that they aren't running around the house in the middle of the night when we are sleeping. Sarah has yet to learn this lesson. I should have learned by now to get up and go check when I hear something unusual, but I clearly have not. All the windows are open since it's in the 70's here and is quite breezy. I thought I must have heard the neighbor or someone on the highway since there is construction along 141 right now. But no...the noise I heard was the one and only Sarah getting into the pantry to get Triscuits to eat in bed, or maybe it was her getting into her sister's markers or her coloring sheets, or maybe it was her getting cups of water to pour back and forth into each other while sitting on her bed (so thankful we purchased that waterproof sheet for her bed for multiple reasons!) I am amazed at times by how loud a 2 year old can be...and today am equally amazed at how quiet she can be when she's sneaking around the house. Speaking of...it's awfully quiet now...I'm really hoping there's nothing eventful to post about now!

Friday, July 17, 2009

I'm just wallowing in the green pastures...

and that's a good thing. Let me explain. I'm finishing up my study on the names of God by Kay Arthur and have been so struck by some thing she included in her section about the Lord as our Shepherd. One of the things that a good shepherd does is leads his sheep to green pastures to feed until they are completely satisfied. The sheep can lie down in green pastures and not desire anything else because they are completely full. I know that is what the Lord does for me continually, but have been convicted by my attitude. It's very easy for me to look around and see my life as anything but "green pastures." I've been so convicted about my lack of contentment recently and have been asking the Lord to show me in such obvious ways how He provides so that my heart is reminded that I truly am lying in green pastures (or am I laying in green pastures...I can never get that grammar rule straight!)

The Lord reminded me in amazing ways this morning that He has led us to the greenest of pastures and provides for our every need. We had a clothing exchange at church this morning. As I was talking to one of the ladies, I looked down and noticed some really nice men's leather loafers. Brent really needs shoes for this fall...these were L.L. Bean tan leather loafers in a size 13 in practically brand new condition. The bottoms barely scuffed--maybe worn once! I was also able to find some clothes for Hannah for back to school--a beautiful Sunday dress from Land's End for this winter that is in brand new condition as well. I also found several tops for myself and a jacket for Daniel for this fall. It's been amazing to see the Lord provide for our needs in such over-the-top ways--much more than we need or could even have hoped for--I love LLBean and Lands End things (but Elissa and Esther...you know I love Lands End more than LLBean and always will, right?!?)

But the Lord did something else for us, too, this morning. Our kitchen sink has not been draining for several days now. Brent has tried everything imaginable to fix it. (do you know how very disgusting a kitchen drain pipe can be? If not, trust me when I say you do not want to know!) Brent's been running things by his dad, who is a master of all trades, and neither one of them could figure out why the drain would not, well...drain! Brent spent all evening Thursday working on it and all morning today as well. He decided to run the snake through the pipes one last time even though it has not done anything to resolve the problem before. But this last time, something was different and the drain was clear. There's no human answer...he's run the snake through the pipes (quite a nasty thing to have to do, let me say it again!) countless times to no avail. But this time something changed, and the water now runs freely. I am convinced it was the Lord's doing, not the snake...but the Lord who cleared our drain for us. And we are praising the Lord for not having to call a plumber to come out and look at it. The Lord truly provides, our Jehovah-Jirah, and as our Shepherd, He leads us to such green pastures that we can't help but just wallow in the lush grass!

What we've been doing this past week..

We've been going to one of the local church's Neighborhood Bible Time each evening this week and having a great time! Tonight was the final program, and it was really enjoyable. (Said in a way to do my best to hide the surprise in my voice) The kids both worked very hard this week memorizing verses (some of them were really, really long...I even had trouble with them!) and came away with a load of ribbons and some other awards, too. Hannah said the most verses for the second graders and had the second highest amount of points, and Daniel said the most verses for fifth graders and had the highest points. They were both very proud of their work and the rewards given for memorizing God's Word.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Dave's Falls

So we may have a shortage of good shopping around here, but we definitely do not have a shortage of places to go and things to see. With 13 waterfalls in Marinette County, there is always something to go explore. We headed over to Dave's Falls which is about 15 minutes south of us for some good family bonding after getting Daniel back from his first week of summer camp. We took a picnic lunch and then enjoyed the hike. The nice thing about Dave's Falls is that it's very easy hiking, and that is key when taking a toddler to a water fall! Much of it even has steps and bridges. It's not the most spectacular falls in the area, but still a fun thing to do with the kiddos. Did I mention I love where I get to live...on most days! :-)

The many faces of Sarah

Sarah is definitely unlike the other 2 kiddos the Lord has given us! She is a bundle of non-stop energy. Her facial expressions are enough to endear her to everyone who spends any amount of time around her. It takes her a bit to get warmed up, but once she does, she loves being the center of attention. Brent would insert here that she is just like her momma! While driving to church Sunday, I said something to Brent that sums up exactly how I feel about Sarah..."How did we ever think we would be happy with just 2 kids!?!" By the way...Dawn dish detergent is the only thing that gets a 7 year old's dollar store glitter hand lotion out of the hair of a mischievous, get into everything, 2 year old...ask me how I know...

Monday, July 06, 2009

Where's the Momma?


"My daddy came home from work Monday, July 6th, and pulled into the driveway. He honked his horn, and Mommy sent me out to see what daddy needed. When I went out there, Daddy said, "Go inside!" For some reason Daddy did not want me outside. I did not know what was out there. There were 2 baby raccoons by our garage. Then Mommy went outside, and she looked at the racoons, and then she and Daddy said I could come outside. So I did. Daddy didn't want me there at first because we didn't know where the momma raccoon was. We did not know if the momma was killed or if she would come back and hurt us. I think they were cute!"
Written by Hannah Griffin