Wordless Wednesday - Priceless Moments

Driving the tractor with Grandpa

Remembering...

I downloaded pictures from my husband's camera.. I found pictures that sent me back... check it out :)
Wow, how time flies!! I thought TJ was so old already when K was born!! K is now older than what TJ was when she was born (if that makes sense) :) Things are pretty busy, I'm going away with the kids this weekend, and I have all of my daycare kids back and my DH has been busy starting his own company so all in all I feel like a whirlwind has been through my mind and house!

Pics from the Party

As a request from Allie, here are some pictures from my husbands surprise party.. and the big number is the big 4-0 :) I don't have a lot of pictures but here are a few :)

It was a beautiful day out!! A little wind, but I couldn't have asked for better!!

Grandma giving K some dessert :)

Birthday boy :)

The World of Warcraft cake.. (the computer game my DH plays)

The spread.. and this is just the appetizers :) we had ribs, roast, baked potatoes, salads and some yummy ice cream desserts.

Picnic at the River - WW on Tuesday :)

Surprise!!!

So my surprise birthday party went off without a hitch!! It was priceless! My husband was totally surprised and couldn't believe who was all in on it :) Mind you he should have been surprised, his birthday isn't until December :) My logic, DH is turning a big number and the thing is a week before Christmas is hard to do some sort of special party.. plus the industry my DH is in, he probably wouldn't even get time off, plus most of the people I'd invite (that he works with) would be working, plus any family wouldn't want to travel in the dead of winter, just before Christmas.. so we had a summer party, before all the guys go back to work :) It was a lot of fun, and a thank you to everyone who came out!! Pictures to follow :)

Music...

I had a really good chat with one of my cousins this afternoon about music and he told me a few things that really got me thinking, so I will share with you. He had a secular music magazine and there were at least 3 articles/frontpage/spotlights on different Christian bands that are making it big... in heavy metal music. I am so delighted to hear about this!! It is about time that Christian music should rival secular music in other areas than gospel/county/light contemperary genres!! No offense to those types of music, there is nothing wrong with them, and each has there own place.. it's just that not everyone shares the same taste in music! Now I know some people may think that heavy metal and Christian should not be in the same sentance, but please here me out..

I am thinking along the lines of 'being in the world, not of the world' and I feel very strongly about this! Being raised in a small town/religous setting, I could have fallen into line and remained sheltered, but that's not who I am! I made a point to educate myself in what people do and think in this world, not because I want to believe it, but because I want to understand how and why people do the things they do. If I am talking to someone, I want to be able to know and understand what they are talking about (secular/current news, arts, activities) so that I can better agree or disagree or debate different issues - if I wasn't current I wouldn't have any clue what they were talking about. I think it's SO important to be aware of things going on so that I, as a Christian, can relate to non-Christians. If I kept myself in a little Christian bubble that was only concerned about Christian 'things/topics', how would I ever be able to relate to someone not concerned with Christian 'things'? Now this is not some passport to allowing a person to do whatever they want for the sake of 'educating' themselves, learning about things and actively participating are two different things! As Christian's, lets not dumb ourselves down about the things that go on around us! (again I'm not suggesting that you subject children to these different things, I believe in age appropriateness)

So back to music, I think it is AWESOME that there are Christian heavy metal bands that are making it big in the secular 'world'; it's an incredible outreach opportunity!! For example, a Christian metal band came to our city to a local lounge/bar to perform, before they started they share a few words about the fact that Jesus Christ loves you just the way you are, before they started their music. What a fantastic way for them to witness! I hope that soon there are more Beyonce's, more Usher's, more James Blunt's, more Coldplay's in Christian music!!! Now not to say there aren't a few that have broken into the secular scene (props to them!!) but we need more! I personally have a hard time always listening to Christian music, because I haven't found the genre/quality that catches my attention and can keep it there. (now I do occasionally listen to Christian music, my music changes with my moods so you can guess how hard it would be to find something that's Christian with every mood!)

So whether or not you can appreciate heavy metal music, next time you hear 'heavy Christian music' blaring from some speakers, just think of the outreach possibilities to all those young punks!! :)

Been Busy

Here are a few words to tell you what I've been up to... travelling, camping, painting, gardening, sidewalk, kids, daycare kids... Summertime is in full swing??? More to come, when I get a break :) lol..

Random..

I am SO sore today!!! Yesterday I started a BIG project, putting in a sidewalk beside my house (through my garden).. I got a really good start, I tilled everything and got about 1/3 of the sidewalk done.. I can't wait to get it finished!! Although I may have to wait a while, since it's supposed to rain/snow a lot of the week..

that took me all day.. well until about 6:30pm.. then I called it quits for the evening.. in other news K got a haircut, and even though it's not totally a 'style' but it looks so much more cleaned up.. I am also working on a summer SURPRISE birthday bash for my DH, even though his birthday is not until winter (but no one wants to drive in the winter) and I finally got ahold of some of his friends/co-workers that he has talked to in a long time.. and I'm really excited and hope everyone can come that I've invited..

So my daycare kids are down from 3 to one now, which has been a nice little change. I have more time now for outside/garden stuff (and of course time for the kids). I also managed to pick up reminant carpet FOR FREE for our basement, I so can't wait to get that set up too!! So much going on :)

So you've heard of Wordless Wednesdays.. well here is a Sleepy Sunday kind of picture I just had to share :) (I love sleeping babies!!)

Happy Mother's Day!!

This Mother's day has been pretty incredible! Maybe because I missed my kids and have really been enjoying having them back! Maybe because my parents spent the weekend here (and I got to celebrate my mother!) Either way, I feel like my hearts just been filled with love and joy.. and here is a few pics of my joyous inspirations

Update

Well it's the middle of the week without kids, and you'd think I would have posted already.. I've been really busy cleaning up the house, working on cleaning up the basement, running to different appointments up town, going on 'dates' and all sorts of things :) You wouldn't believe how nice it is to clean up the house and have it stay that way!!! I do really miss the kids though! I talked to TJ on the phone the other day - it was really nice, and it was great that he didn't get too sad, he was just so excited to tell me all the things he'd done at Grandma's house :) My mom is doing a great job too! I'm glad it's all working out well :) so there's my little update.. I'll write more soon :)