It was a little empty on our row in church today. Sam is in Ohio and Casey is in Texas. Isabelle sat with Jaycie leaving only Rebekah, Porter & Victoria. These next few years are going to go so fast! Before I know it we'll only have Isabelle, Porter & Victoria home with us! It's been a pretty quiet summer (after girls camp & boy scout camp ended). The kids are busy running at 6AM with the cross country team. Ryan will run with Rebekah & Isabelle on mornings he doesn't work. Porter is our little babysitter. He and Victoria usually sleep in until 7AM then watch a show until we all get home around 7:30AM. We've reverted to our old ways of not having play dates. The kids have had so much fun together. They keep finding new ways of making a mess in the kitchen. This year they've also become very good at cleaning it up! I am enjoying the quietness and solitude of summer. Ryan & I plus Rebekah, Isabelle, Porter & Victoria ran to Costco yesterday. It was the first time we weren't rushed. The kids hit every sample station, leisurely shopped, ate dinner, visited with people we ran into & devoured our yummy dessert. Then we stopped at Cabela's. The kids showed us all their favorite animals, checked out bows (Porter will be saving his money for a LONG time!), laid in a tent & tried our hand at the shooting gallery. I can't remember the last time we had such a fun, relaxing day all together. As I fell into bed with my long lost husband I remembered all the reasons I love him so much. Life has taught me to rely on him, to trust him with my whole heart. It only took 15 years of marriage. I am learning a lot of lessons in this stage of life. A lot of them aren't enjoyable and very overwhelming. At times I feel like I am losing myself and becoming such a submissive person. I have to learn to rely on my Heavenly Father more. I know He has a plan and if I just get with the program things work out. We've been talking a lot about that "program" in our home. How this life is the time we are to prepare to meet Christ. We are to learn patience, kindness, love, long suffering, forgiveness, temperance, etc. I am learning right along side my kids as I try and teach them the "right" thing to do. It's difficult, my actions have to match my words. If they can learn to forgive their siblings for injustices within our family, they'll be better prepared to forgive the injustices of this world. If they can be patient and long suffering with each other, they can be patient with anyone. As I teach them these principles I learn what my Heavenly Father is trying to teach me. We are all brothers & sisters. We are to be patient with each other, forgiving and even long suffering. I want my heart to be true to these principles. I want to let go of the pride that keeps me from forgiving or finding fault with someone. I want to be in a place that when I look at someone I only look for the good and can quickly find it. Unfortunately, I think that equates to more humbling & more trials...
Gratitude Journal:
1. Power... cousins in Ohio are without power for days, AGAIN!!
2. Love... it has such amazing abilities.
3. Laughter... it makes the cares of the world go away.
4. Kayaks... I love going out on the lake with the kids and watching them have so much fun.
5. Ryan... what would I do without you?
Ryan and the girls cleaning out the frog pound... now that was one dirty, stinky job!!
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