quotable

Rusty & I don't have any children, but if we did I would love to have this book.
I'm seriously contemplating buying it and changing the title to:
"My Quotable kid niece, nephews, & friends' kids."

Morgan (3yo) was pretty quotable this weekend:

Me- Do you like our porch swing.
Mo- It's nice....
....little bit later.....
Mo- I don't want to make you a problem, but could you and Uncle Rusty build me a real swing set in the back yard?

Me- What do you want for lunch?
Mo- A hamburger but only ketchup.
...after I give her the hamburger meal....
Mo- What is this? I don't want meat or bread. I want ONLY ketchup.
(for the record, she did just lick the ketchup off and did not eat the meat or bun...)

What are some funny things your favorite kidlins say?

great

It was a great day for......

waking up next to my favorite niece.

eating popsicles on the porch swing.

for breakfast.

playing dress up.
playing at the "castle."

eating ice cream. with sprinkles.


playing in the meadow.


picking dandelions.


chasing bubbles. giant bubbles.

catching sun rays.



cooling off in the sprinklers.


kettle corn.

on the porch swing.

dog walking.

hugs.

kisses.

and lots of love.

mitigation

I had an amazing time last week in Arizona and I'm very blessed to have a job that I (mostly) love. However, the lack of sleep, heavy workload, and stress that the end of the school year brings is causing me to go a little lotta crazy.

Tonight, however, I put my paper work aside for a few hours, started a load of laundry, and sat down to finish reading my book I started on the plane last week.

Just me.

my book.

and my porch swing.

(oh... and my dog... but he thankfully sat quietly on the end of the porch all night and watched a tractor in the field down the road).

ahhhhhhh.

Din Din

Okay... so I missed last week's tour of dining rooms since I was in Arizona for the week. And this week is nurseries/kids room and while one of our guest rooms has tons of toys in it, it still doesn't classify as a nursery or kid room. So I'll join the tour, a week late....
Here is our dining room. Yes, we are still short a chair. Everytime we think of picking one up, we have the wrong vehicle. Once schools out (we are so close!) we'll have to make a point to drive down and pick one up.
Anyway, here is our dining room table that we love. Mostly because of the large number of little people you can fit onto the bench!

Honey Do

Oh.... and while I was gone my amazing hubs got quite a few things done around the house. Most exciting.. hung a swing on the front porch and put together our new bed. I'll have to post pics soon!
And don't worry about him slaving away all weekend. He managed to find time for 27 holes of golf!

Mussi like Mucinex

I recently got home from spending Memorial Day weekend in Arizona to watch one of my close friends get married.
My friend and I first met in 2002 while working at a camp together in New York. We were roommates and had a great time together. Camp was amazing and we spent that life changing experience together. When I got married, (another life changing experience) Christa came to Iowa to be with me. And on her most recent life changing experience, I was honored to stand by her side as she said, "I do."
It was a beautiful outdoors ceremony with an amazing mountain backdrop and a gorgeous bride. I can't wait for professional photos to get posted but until then, here are a couple I was able to take.
rehearsal dinner


Okay... and I know her eyes are closed... but she has a beautiful dress. and beautiful bridesmaid dresses. and it's the ONLY picture I got of the two of us together on her wedding day. and it was her brother that took the picture and guys never think to check to see if it's acceptable or if another one is needed. okay. you're right. i suppose i should have checked it.....
Like I said, can't wait to see the professional pics!!

Oh... and in case you are wondering. She is now Mrs. Mussi. Pronounced like Mucinex.

turf

We finally have a yard. A real one. With grass.

famsick

So it's not really homesick... but family sick doesn't sound quite right either. But I miss my family.
I just saw them Friday. And I saw them last weekend. And about every other weekend before that.
I see my family. a. lot.

So, why do I miss them?

I live right smack in the middle of this beautiful state. My brother is moving to the middle of another state. Sure I'll probably see him in four weeks, then in another few weeks after that. But it's just the thought of not being able to get to a family member within a couple of hours that I don't like. It reminds me of the times I've moved out of state and how homesick/famsick I was then. This just seems more permanent.
Anyway, I do pray that my bro hates it there and decides to move back loves his new job and home and gets settled in quickly. And I'm sure we'll be roadtripping to see him soon.

But for now I'm feeling famsick.

Or maybe it's just the food we ate out together this weekend not settling well with me.....

Here are some pics from our last supper.





Oh- and no, I didn't do Kelly's home tour this week. Our guest rooms have 0 amount of inspiration in them and right now one is being used as my closet. We are finally finishing our master and storing things in the guest rooms in the mean time!
This coming week is dining rooms. I suppose I could take a picture of our din table and set it to automatic publish while I'm in Arizona this week!!!

Famtime

Family Time. And lots of it this weekend. Friday, we traveled to Creston to watch Todd's graduation (yes, again. yes, he has more degrees than a thermometer). It was fun to spend time with family. We got together afterwards (in the Back Forty) to eat. Morgan asked more than once during the ceremony when the pizza party was going to start.

One of the coolest things about the graduation was watching some of my former students (from my first "real" job) graduate from college. Many of my kids were told they would not graduate from high school. Not only did they all graduate from high school, many of them went on to college. It was fun to see some of them get their college diplomas on Friday. I plan to go back in June to see some more of them graduate. Very cool to see!

Here is Maddox in between two grandmas. He and Morgan tested out several seats during the ceremony.

Saturday we had a girls day. Mom & I met Holly at the Harvest Barn (no luck finding a bench). Had some of their delicious pecan praline fudge...... Yummmm. (I've been craving it since I saw them at the Farmer's Market last Saturday. Soooo good!)
Then we met Hillary & Mo at the mall. Ate some Cheesecake Factory and did a little shopping. (Got a GAP sweatshirt for $4.43!)


Mom, Hillary, & Mo. Right before Mo's "mini" cheeseburgers arrived... It was seriously a platter of cheeseburgers.

Holly, Mom, me, Hillary. Photography courtesy of Morgan (age 3).

Tomorrow, we'll head back home after Sunday dinner (after church). After celebrating Mother's Day, of course. Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms!
And THANKS to Morgan and Maddox for the great Mother's Day gifts (even though I'm not a mommy! not unless a dog, 300+ students, and our precious Compassion child count....). You are the best kiddos and make me feel so loved!

Oh... and don't be worried about Rusty. He went golfing with Uncle Doyle, then they went out for Prime Rib dinner. He's perfectly worn out and snoozing on mom's couch right now!

Living Room

Updated 7/16/09:
I found this treasure on the way home yesterday. It's a medical supply trunk. Nifty, huh?


Original Post as follows:

Kelly's:Our work in progress living room. That we love. Despite the changes we'd like to someday make! View by fireplace/breakfast room that faces entry/dining room (yes, Rusty and Dakota are both lounging/watching baseball tonight... they decided they didn't want to be in blog pictures so got up!). I'm looking for a bench for the entry.... any ideas? View from kitchen hallway. Yep, that's Dakota's bed by the tv. He can't miss out on anything.
Oh... and the tv? Yes, that is supposed to be in our family room.... in the basement. Someday it will get there.
View from entry. I love how everything is open. My kitchen sink faces the living room.
Our big comfy couch. I love how so many people can pile into it. And how Rusty & I can both take a nap on it at the same time. Soooo comfy.
Still looking for a coffee table (possibly a trunk?) that is 30x30. Any ideas for me?? I posted about it awhile back but it's a cheapo from IKEA that I painted because I couldn't find anything else. Still looking!!
And here's our family room. :) We had every intention of finishing it once we moved in. (Have I mentioned that my husband built our house? Literally built it with his own hands?? Let's just say after that job, we haven't so much been in the mood to tackle the basement project!) :-)

Nest Update

It's a Girl!!

Rusty & I are excited to introduce you to the newest member of our family........



























Jennifer Gabriela Martinez Serrano

Jennifer is the one we chose (see post below) God chose for us. We could never "choose" one child out of the many, many children needing a sponsor. Instead, we put in our anniversary date and found this precious four year old girl.

Jennifer Gabriela Martínez Serrano (ES8310215)
Birthday:	July 21, 2004
Age:	4
Gender:	Female
Region:	Central America and Caribbean
Country:	El Salvador
Program:	Niños Valientes de Jesús Student Center

Personal and Family Information: Jennifer lives with her father and her mother. She is responsible for running errands. Her father is employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. There are 2 children in the family. Jennifer is not attending school because she is too young. Playing with dolls and hide-and-seek are her favorite activities. She also attends Bible class regularly. Your love and support will help Jennifer to receive the assistance she needs to develop her potential. Please pray for her.



Did you catch that? She is responsible for running errands...

Our long term goal is to make the compassion trip to El Salvador to visit Jennifer.
In the meantime, we plan to support her and her family as much as we can and to pray to God for her safety, health, education, and her relationship with Jesus.


I pray that you'll prayerfully consider doing the same.

Compassion

"Everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me..."

These are the beginning lyrics of "Mighty To Save." A song that I sometimes get stuck in my head...This week I've had the song stuck in my head a lot.

Everyone needs Compassion.

Compassion.

I've already admitted that I'm a Tweeb. It started with my cousin Amy's blog. She inspired me to start my own and from there I found several others that I started reading regularly. One of those blogs was Angie's. If you have not yet visited Bring The Rain, I recommend you do.

Angie recently went on a Compassion trip to India. Along with others, she blogged about her experience.

I read the blogs.

I read about the dirty conditions and the use of a go girl.

I read about housing so small it made Pete feel tall.

I read about the prostitutes in the street, some of which aren't even old enough to be students in my class.

I read about the baby girl with no name because she wouldn't live long enough for them to give her one.

Then I watched the live web conference.

I heard them talk about a hungry little girl's first visit to a restaurant and how she wouldn't eat all her food because she wanted to take it home to her sister.

I heard about how this blogger would come home changed and worried because those she was coming home to would not be changed (those of you who knew me when I transitioned back from Ramapo know how tough that was for me).

I cried. I prayed for those kids. I prayed for the bloggers. I cried some more.

God was moving me this week. He kept tossing subtle hints my way hitting me upside the head telling me to do something.

I browsed the children awaiting a sponsor. There are so many of them. I felt overwhelmed looking into all of their faces. I saw a little girl named Esta. I was drawn to her for no apparent reason. I had a dream that night about a little girl; her name: Esta. I walked into work the next day. The first thing I saw: A flyer saying we were having a concert by... Esta.
Okay, God. I'm getting the hint here.
I prayed about it. Rusty and I talked about it (a lot). When I got back online, there was no Esta. Had I dreamed that name up? Had someone else already sponsored her?

I talked to a few people about it. I heard more stories of sponsers. How do you choose one child when there are so many that need a sponsor. You choose by starting with one.

One.

Anne asked "Now that you've seen what you've seen, what are you going to do about it?"

We chose one.

I hope you'll do the same.

To be continued.....

Kitchen:

our favorite room in the house (maybe because we spend so much time in it...)
Kelly started a "tour of homes." Up first: Kitchens.


Some of my favorite things- Grandma's butter churn:
Most of my recipes are printed off the computer from emails or jotted down on sticky notes. I hide them in the box on the bottom shelf until I have time to transfer them to the recipe cards. I only use one cook book and it's one our family made. That's why I'm putting together another family/friends cookbook because those are the only other recipes I use!
Another favorite- sink that hides a ton of dishes:
Everyone asks us if we use our breakfast room much. YES.
This is where we always eat unless we have people over then we eat in our actual dining room.
And of course I had to add my pantry. It is the hub of our house. And thanks to the chalk board paint on the back of the door, it's also a popular spot for the kidlins when they come over.
I love it so much I'm writing a book about it.... stay tuned.

And Kelly is right. We all have so much to be thankful for. I'll post more on Compassion later. But until then, check it out.