Sunday, July 29

Thankful.

We had a really interesting church service this morning. Someone hit the transformer pole outside the church and completely knocked out all the power. It happened during 1st service, so by the 2nd service, things were getting a little roasty-toasty in the auditorium. Good thing I wore a sleeveless dress! Despite the heat, it was actually a great service. We had an unplugged worship service, and it was really neat to hear everyone's voices worshiping God together, totally unaided by any technology. It was "family day," so Kaden came to big church with us, and I always enjoy seeing him experience a worship service. He loves music and loves to clap and participate. We had our picnic lunch after church like we've been doing since the spring, and it was nice to have a few minutes to catch up with Josh b/c he's been working a lot the past two days. Here are some other things I'm happy for:

1.) Laney's kisses - She has developed a love for kissing. She kisses toys, stuffed animals, the couch, pillows, and of course, Mommy, Daddy, and Brother. She has a radar for people (or things) that need a little love. She gets this cute little smile on her face and does a little smoochy noise. It's very adorable. :-)

2.) My wonderful husband - It's hard to pin down one thing each week, but I've been reminded this week of what a great spiritual leader he is for our family. He is such a blessing to me in so many ways!

3.) I had the chance to get together with a friend on Friday night after the kids went to bed, and we stayed up until 3:30am talking! Whoa. :-) I was still going strong at 3:30, but when 8:30 rolled around and I had to get up with the kids, that was not fun. I love getting to know people in a deeper way -- hearing their story, sharing their heart, and feeling that connection with another human being is a pretty amazing thing. We've known each other casually for several years, but it was a real blessing to have a chance to get to know her better.

4.) Wrapping up a project!! I still have a few loose ends to tie up, but we finished the bulk of the work on Wednesday. It was pretty intense from last weekend through Wednesday, and I'm grateful that it's behind me. I think I may even have time to take a nap today! :-)

5.) Wonderful neighbors! My neighbor watched my kids 4-5 times for me while I was working on this last project, and then I watched her kids on Friday for a marathon date with her hubby. I think she came out on the losing end of that deal, but we trade back and forth a lot, and I think it all averages out. It's such a blessing to have friends next door and someone I can rely on to help out with the kids when Josh and I are both swamped. Plus, Kaden and Delaney love going over there!

Well, I better scoot before all my napping time is gone. Blessings to you!

Wednesday, July 25

Create Your Own Model!

I found this cool thing on someone else's blog, and I decided to try it out. If you go to My Virtual Model, you can create a model that looks like you and then put clothes on it and choose a hairdo, etc. It's a fun little diversion if you need one! I made one with my weight now and one for 15 pounds lighter (my current goal). Okay, back to work. :-)









Thursday, July 19

Thankful Thursday

Can you believe it? I'm actually posting this on the correct day. :-) In no particular order...here are some things that I'm thankful for today:

1.) Bonding time for Daddy & Laney. The past two Thursdays while Kaden's in preschool, Josh has taken Laney with him to the Y, and then they run errands after his workout to give me time to work on my project. I'm always happy when the kids get to spend one-on-one time with Josh because he's such an awesome daddy. :-) Josh said Laney held his hand on the way to the Y. (He has a 2-seater.) Isn't that so sweet?! Ahhhhh.

2.) I always sing to Delaney before her nap and bedtime, and tonight I realized that she has been trying to sing back to me after I finish my song. It's just been in the past few days, and it is so cute. She half talks, half sings, but it actually sounds like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," which is what I usually sing. It makes me realize how big my baby is getting. She's turning into a toddler!

3.) My hubby got me the most adorable little plant stand for my mint. It looks so nice on our newly painted deck, and I love it!

4.) I'm thankful for my mother-in-law -- who just happens to be celebrating her birthday this week! Happy Birthday to the best mother-in-law in the world -- who just happens to have raised the best son in the world. :-) I'm not biased! Happy birthday, Mom, I love you!


Well, I think that's it for this week. My eyes are super tired from way too much computer time, so I think I better scoot. Hope you're all well!

Tuesday, July 17

Need a Laugh?

Okay, this might not be funny to anyone other than moms who have tried to go shopping with husband and kiddos in tow, but I for one thought this post was hilarious! If you need a laugh, read on.

Besides, what post with this subtitle -- What Will Happen When You, Against Your Own Good Sense, Reason, and Sanity, Take Your Husband and Children to Wal-Mart With You -- wouldn't be funny?!

From the blog Laughter for Days to Come: Oink.


P.S. Break over, back to work. :-)

Monday, July 16

Balanced Praise

I loved this post over at Confessions of a Pastor's Wife. I think I first started thinking about this whole idea of true encouragement (instead of cheap praise) back a few years ago when we read Grace-Based Parenting in our small group. [Love this book, couldn't recommend it more highly!]

As Kaden gets older, I think about it more and more, even in the way I talk to him about his drawings, ideas, attempts at something new, etc. I've read several things about the difference between praise and encouragement. I started reading Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages for Children, and he talks a little about this idea in the verbal affirmation chapter. (I also googled "praise and encouragement" and found this article.) I want my words to tell Kaden that I will always love him and support him, but I also want to instill independence, self-confidence, persistence, and a willingness to try new things -- for the times in life when I'm not there to cheer him on.

When I pray with Kaden at night, I often ask God to help Josh and I to clearly see the talents and gifts that he's given Kaden. I want to help him unpack the nuances of exactly who God crafted him to be and to celebrate with him as he finds the path God has for his life. This idea of balancing praise and encouragement is somewhere in the mix of accomplishing that goal. Read the post and let me know what you think.

Saturday, July 14

Thankul.

I think I might stop committing to Thursdays -- I haven't had much luck with getting my thankful post up on time. :-) Nevertheless, here I am with my thankfulness!

1.) My neighbors are coming back tonight from vacation! It's been kind of lonely around here without them, and I'm glad they're coming back home. Kitty and I help each other out with the kids, like if one of us needs to go somewhere for an errand sans kids, and I have missed knowing my extra safety net is right next door!

2.) I hate to say it, but I'm thankful this week is over. I was juggling two projects at once, and I was a little stressed. I even asked Josh to pitch in to check some Bible verses for me (Thanks, Babe!). One project is due on Monday, and I'm very close to finishing it. Yay!

3.) We got to see some old friends from Valleyview (the church where Josh worked for 3 yrs) on Wednesday for lunch. They were driving through Nashville on their way to Alabama for a mission trip, and we got to spend a few hours together. We hadn't seen them for 2 years, so it was really fun to catch up. They got to meet Delaney and play with Kaden, who was Laney's age when we last saw them. We love you, Mountjoys!

4.) I'm thankful today is payday. Yay!

5.) I'm thankful that each of my children is unique. The older and more expressive Laney gets, the more I see her personality and differences from Kaden. Every day is a new day with her because she's constantly figuring out the world around her and becoming increasingly communicative -- even though we can't quite understand her yet. But let me tell you, I can already tell she has a lot to say. And I can't wait to hear it all!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. :-)

Wednesday, July 11

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Sometimes I need a ten-minute diversion from work. :-) During one of my recent diversion searches, I found this little quiz through my friend Carmen's blog (via a link to another blog that she reads), and I decided to take it. Here are my results:

You Are a Frappucino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern

At your worst, you are: childish and overindulgent

You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet

Your caffeine addiction level: low



I think it was mostly right about me (as right as a quiz comparing you to a coffee drink can be)...however, I will plead the 5th on "childish" and "overindulgent." Take the quiz and see what caffeine-laden drink you most resemble!

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Saturday, July 7

Thankful....Saturday!

Sometimes it seems my days run into each other...and I miss a few here and there. :-) I had to work on Thursday at a client's office, and then yesterday during the day was a last-minute catchup day for laundry and such before I started my next project last night. I'm back to playing the juggling game!

So here are some things that made me smile this week...

1.) A fun Fourth of July with our friends the Yaxes. The kids and I went over in the evening for some dinner and fireworks, and we had a lot of fun! My whole family was together in PA (Jess & Stefan flew in from CA for a Veldhuis family wedding), so I was feeling a little homesick. It was really nice to have a family to adopt for the holiday. Thanks, Jeremy & Stephanie!

2.) Time off from work. I feel like I got a lot done during my break in between projects. We finished all the white banisters and handrails on the deck, and now we just have some touchups to do on the red stain. I also got the whole garage organized, utilizing our new shelves and wall hooks, and now we can actually park in there again! It's so nice to be able to go to my cool car instead of feeling like I'm cooking when I get in to go somewhere. There's one area of shelves that isn't really organized and a few piles of boxes of books that we don't have room for in the house, but that's the only stuff that isn't organized. Yay! Speaking of organizing, I also spent about 6 hours at my neighbor's house this past week helping her organize her kids' rooms. I went through all of the clothes, separated them out by season and size, and put them into tubs or back in the dresser. It sounds a little boring, but I love organizing and I was thankful for the time to do something that didn't involve a computer. :-)

3.) The way God keeps providing for our financial needs! It's pretty amazing to see him orchestrating projects and giving us the right opportunities at the right time. Josh has some new potential opportunities at work, and I'll write more about that in a few weeks when we know more.

4.) The fact that both of our kids are healthy and developing perfectly -- it's not something I take for granted!

5.) Cool summer nights. Kaden and I had a "popsicle date" on the deck last night as the last rays of sunshine were heading over the horizon, and it was nice to just sit out there and chat with my little guy. Laney was already in bed, and we enjoyed a few moments for just the two of us. And at the end, I got a big slobbery popsicle kiss. Who wouldn't be thankful for that?! :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tuesday, July 3

Five Things I Dig About Jesus

I have been tagged by Carmen at Little Cooks in the Kitchen to list 5 things that I “dig” about Jesus. So here goes:

1.) ...that he made me unique, with special dreams, skills, and personality traits he intended just for me -- and that he has placed me in the exact right spot to realize those dreams, use those skills, and express my personality in ways that help and encourage those around me.

2.) ...that he gave us his Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, encourage, confirm, challenge, and connect us to God 24/7.

3.) ...that he is my Redeemer!

4.) ...that there's always more to know about him. There's no growing complacent or bored when you serve an infinite God!

5.) ...that despite the complexities of his character and mysteries that we don't yet understand, the gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. God loved the world so much that he sent his Son to rescue us from our sin and create a way for us to live eternally with him!


I'm not going to tag anyone else, but if you feel the urge, the invitation's open! Leave me a comment if you do, so I can check out your blog!

Petite Boutique Wares On Sale!

Calling all my petite friends! My friend Laurie's store, Petite Boutique, is having some great sales on their spring and summer fashions! You can read about it by going to Laurie's blog. If you live in Nashville and haven't checked out the store yet, you should definitely do so. It's located in Cool Springs, and you can find all the location info on her blog.

Happy shopping!