Prayer

I love the honestly of kids when they pray. Here is part of Sydney's bedtime prayer...as best i remember it from tonight.

"Dear Jesus, thank you for our lunch today. Thank you for giving my mom me as a present to them. And thank you for Jordan because he was a present to both my mom and my dad. And Jesus, i just really want to thank you for my mom because i love her so much. And i love my dad so much too. Thank you for my dad. And thank you for Jordan because i love him...sometimes, but sometimes he's mean and then i don't like him. Then he makes me mad. And Phineas and Ferb, their mom never knew how much they built in their back yard because it was always gone when their mom got home. And Jesus help us to sleep good tonight. I love you Jesus. Amen.

Dear Jesus...I really do love you a lot. Amen"

My Little helper

Sydney is definately blessed with the gift of helping others. On Memorial day she went to the flower shop with me and helped me buy flowers for an hour. Then came home and helped dad rake and clean up trimmings. Then for the next 3 hours straight, helped me plant flowers. She loved it and she never complained. She doesn't help only on her terms, she does what you want her to or need her to do. I'm proud of her...that's a great gift.

What is God thinking?

Tonight the kids and I were laying on the hammock watching Arlie burn up wood in a nice bonfire. Sydney saw a star and said, "Look mom, there Jesus. He's in that star." "Yes," I said, "he's everywhere." Jordan started laughing, "Even in Rio?" Sydney was quick, "He's in Rio's heart!" We laid their almost quietly for awhile longer and I said, "What do you think Jesus is saying to you right now?" Sydney said in a sweet voice, "That I've been a really good girl today". Jordan said, "I think He's saying not to spend our money right now, but to save it for bigger things like more bacugons." Sydney: "Yeah, He's probably saying that too!" I love hearing what kids think about Jesus! Sydney then proceeded to sing a lovely song about how she wants Jesus to come back down to earth so everyone can see Him and meet Him! I love those kids :)

Family picnic

One of the best things about summer (besides the sun and warmth) is spending time at parks and having picnics with friends and family. We had our first BBQ picnic of the year tonight with our friends, the Talsos. We actually used a charcoal grill (the first time in a long time ;)); then while the kids played at the park we played Frisbee. It was such a beautiful night. We were wondering why we don't do this every Saturday in the summer...then it hit me...that's right, i work almost every Saturday :) SO....we decided Sunday's would be our picnic at the park day! We attemtped to do smore's on the coals after supper (and playing at the playground for awhile). However, the coals weren't hot enough anymore. The guys ended up having to build a small fire with sticks on the charcoal grill. Family, friends, good weather, good food, smores, playgrounds, Frisbees....life is good!

One of my loves....

I LOVE FLOWERS! Here are some from my garden so far this spring :)

Falling cars

I was talking with Arlie and I said, "Do you think God will drop a car on our laps?" Jordan heard me say that and said, "I sure hope not, it would crush you and then you'd die!" ;) I'm still hoping! ;)

A little piece of Heaven!

Kauai:

Honestly, if we could work it out, we would probably not hesitate to move there! It's so amazing and beautiful and relaxing. The whole island feels small town and they definately have the "island" time going on (not having to be exactly on time, pretty laid back). We got plenty of sleep, sand, sun, ocean, and amazing views of God's creation. There wasn't one minute I would change in the whole time we were there. We loved and enjoyed everything! The weather was perfect! The activities we chose to do were perfect! I don't remember things ever going so smoothly and wonderfully! I probably could write a ton about the vacation, but I'll put it in an album and you can look at that. That way I only have to write it once ;)

Life....

Life doesn't stop moving! The first week of May, we went on an incredibly lovely vacation...probably the best vacation i've had ever had, to Kauai! My parents, who are dears, came and watched the kids so that we could have some time to ourselves. We went to celebrate the best 10 years of our lives! It is great knowing that your kids are in capable and loving hands. We didn't worry about them once. Sydney did make me cry when we were leaving. She called us at the airport in tears because she was so sad and didn't remember that we had said good bye to her. They did great (besides their naughty times anyway :) ) and loved spending time with Grandma and Gramps. I'll add pictures of our trip in my next post!

A few days before we left, our cars engine died. Done. Over. We had it towed to the shop and they looked for engines to put in it and to see the cost of it. Again, being rescued by my parents, they offered to let us borrow their car temporarily while we figure out what we were doing. That was a HUGE burden off our shoulders since it helped us not worry about that at all while we were gone. However, now being home, it's been crazy trying to look at cars and figure out what's going to be the best decision for us.

While we were gone, Arlie's grandma died (his mom's mom). She had cancer and it was expected although much sooner and more sudden than anyone thought. The week we got back, we ended up having a wake and funeral to attend. Later in that week, I found out that my good friend, Lynn's, cancer is back and she has two tumors that she needs removed. Today they are removing them. Ultimately God is so good and through everything he's given us peace and calm in the midst of this thing we call life! It's always amazing to me, His timing and how He always provides and always allows us to lean on Him so we don't have to worry or carry our own burdens!