sprinkler on the cheap

One 2 liter bottle plus a hose and duct tape = two boys who think their mom is the greatest thing ever!

Apparently a hose coupler from Home Depot makes a more secure connection, but duct tape was handier then a trip to the hardware store.

So Mad…

Oh, how I could have used this advice last night.

I got an email just before bed that made me mad.  (Why do I check email just before bed?  Why?)  It made me so mad that I laid awake till 2 am stewing about it. It made me so mad that I dreamed about it for the rest of the night.  It made me so mad that I woke up grumpy and out of sorts.  It made me so mad that I was, um, really embarrassed when I found out it was a simple misunderstanding.  In words I use with Shane and Eric, I “wasted a big fuss” over nothing.

And the humbling truth is, even if the situation was indeed how it seemed in that fateful email, it still would not have justified the hissy fit I threw.  Ask My husband.  He’ll vouch for that.

I know.   “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”

Well, I was quick to listen.  Does email reading count as listening in this techno-age?

And I was slow to speak, if you don’t count the livid tirade I let loose as I brought my hubby up-to-date.  I did not fire off a nasty email.  Nor did I send a precisely worded text message or leave a scathing answerphone message. I mean it was, after all, midnight.

So the only person who knew about my rage was myself.  And my sweet husband, who had nothing to do with it.  And now you.  And the only person hurt by it was myself.  Four hours of stress-dream sleep does not make for a refreshed mind and spirit the next day.

So it wasn’t a complete spiritual train wreck.  But wow.  I didn’t read my scheduled Bible section for the day because I didn’t want to read about loving others as Christ loved us.  I wanted to read the Psalms.  You know.  The ones where David asks God to sift his enemies like chaff blown away in the wind.  Hey, it’s in there.  I read Proverbs, instead, and a very dry read it was.

I so wish I could have lived the slow to become angry part.  I’m happy that it turned out okay, but I’m ashamed of myself.  Thankfully, we have a loving Father God who forgives us, just as we forgive our children after they mess it up in the growing up process.

Lord, I was immature and threw a tantrum.  Please forgive me for allowing anger to control my thoughts.  Thank You for keeping me from writing any texts or emails.  The next time I am inconvenienced or put upon, help me to bear it with more grace and dignity, and I will know it is Your strength working in my weakness.

All About Boardwalk

On Saturday a certain little boy learned that, when playing Monopoly, if your main goal is owning and developing one property…

…then you will probably lose everything else, including that favorite property. 

Today that same little boy tried focusing on developing the less flashy properties, and ended up owning and developing Boardwalk and Park Place and bankrupting his Mommy to boot.

So I got to thinking…What is my Boardwalk?  What is that thing I want so badly that I’ll mortgage the things that will help me reach my actual goals?

What am I usually doing when I’m not spending time with my kids?  Cleaning my house.  HA!  Yeah, no. 

What am I usually doing at 12:30 AM instead of sleeping?  Reading a mind-expanding, wholesome book.  Well actually, yes.  Sometimes.  But usually…naah.

Confession time?  Okay.  Screen time.  One more Google search for a cool homeschool project.  One more Pinterest peek at holiday recipes.  Five more minutes on Facebook.

I wonder.  Would I notice a difference if I did what I tell my kids and limited my screen time?  You know, I’m getting king of uncomfortable with the direction this is taking.  I think I’ll come back to it later. 

In the meantime, I’ll take another house on Boardwalk for $200.00, please.

Best Six-Year-Old Bathroom Cleaner Ever

Eric used 14 Lysol wipes to clean the shower walls, toilet, sink and floor.  The bathroom has not smelled this good in ages!

His reward?  The “Best Six-Year-Old Bathroom Cleaner Ever” badge.

You earned it kiddo.  And your future wife will thank me in about 20 years.

Happy 4th!

Don’t you just love it when a great day unfolds without any prior planning?  Ken’s big goal for the day was to sleep in. By 9 o’clock AM, he had reached it. 

We decided at the last minute to go to the parade in Safety Harbor. We ran into a group of friends, and more friends kept coming. 

We had a great time at the parade, and afterward we went to breakfast with two of the families.  Later, we  met at the Hodges’ and enjoyed a Fourth of July party complete with outside play, delicious pot luck dinner, crafty time, and, of course, driveway fireworks.

Not a bad day, especially considering the big goal was to sleep in.

Lake Elizabeth

The boys and I had a great time visiting Grandma Rita and Grandpa Jack at Lake Elizabeth.  It rained almost the whole time but we still had some windows to fish and canoe.

Shane showed Grandpa Jack all his survival gear.

We also visited the nature center at Paynes Prairie, which we have tried to do the last three visits.

I would be the perfect mommy if…

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:12-17

loving camp!

the boys are really enjoying their summer I’d camp. 

In survival camp, Shane won first place in the shelter building contest. He and his “shoulder buddy” used this reflective blanket, a rope, and some palm branches to build the best shelter of his class.

just testing

just testing to see if I can post a post and a picture from my phone.

seeing if I can enter text below a picture too.

Our Valentines

Each Rock has the Valentine's name and a sticker that says, "You Rock."

Here are the Valentines we created this year.  We listed the names of our 14 homeschool friends and the color and design we wanted for each rock.  Then, coat by coat, we painted them and let them dry.  After all paint was dry, Shane wrote each person’s name on their rock with a paint pen along with a sticker that says, “Your ROCK!”  I coated it all with a coat of Modge Podge to hold it all together, and finally sprayed them all with a coat of acrylic sealer to get rid of the stickiness.  We think they turned out great!

We planned a design for each special Valentine.