Yummy..

Yesterday we made homemade fettuccine alfredo...decadent! Cream, butter, cheese...fattening and so tasty. Sometimes I crave it.

I was pondering my life yesterday and praising God. When I was a little girl/teen I had a bad attitude about homemaking, mothering, etc. I am not sure why I developed that attitude. My mom was a wonderful homemaker, always there for my sister and I, plus she worked part-time jobs while we were in school. She was a good seamstress, cook and her house was always very neat. I didn't want to have anything to do with cooking or sewing (how I wish that I had learned!). I think (perhaps) my dad was a bit hard on mom...not giving her credit for her wonderful role in the family. I don't blame it all on him...society's ideas were also pressed into my mind. I saw myself as a career woman...instead of home-ec, I took every journalism class that I could take.

It was hard when Jesse and I first got married. I still intended to finish college and have a career. He supported me in that. I wasn't very good at cooking or keeping the house clean and he tolerated that. Then I got pregnant with Colton. I managed to take some online college classes. Then came Carlina, 2 years later..closely followed by Julia and Alicia. I can't say that I had an instant epiphany...it has taken years and prayers to find myself extremely content with my role as mother, wife, homemaker, etc. I have had to renew my mind with the Word of God...pressing to find out God's goal for me and breaking down the walls of the world's goals. I recently read Passionate Housewife's Desperate for God. That is an amazing book that I wish I would have had in my hands years ago. It would have saved me much heartache and worry. God works all things out for good and I am so happy that I can teach my girls about God's wonderful plan for their lives.

Man wants to be in charge...

Can we control the Earth's temperatures? This is an interesting article.

Bloggy..

I haven't been feeling very bloggy lately. Sometimes I just want to stay away from the computer, it is such a distraction.

We had a big storm this morning...lots of rain but not severe. Jesse had to go to work tonight, poor guy. He and Julia got the bathroom painted over his 2 days off. Always so much to do around here.

Good news--my sister and family rented their house and are now able to move back to Bend. We have been praying for that. They have rented a nice, big house in Bend. I am so excited for them.

We have been going through the Good News/Bad News method of telling people how they can know for sure that they are going to heaven with the kids. It is a simple, easy to remember method for them to use to reach people. We are also going to use Way of the Master, which I have watched while in Florida. Some of them have been witnessing to other children at the pool/park with their friends.

Tomorrow Colton has an MRI for his ankle. It has really been bothering him lately and an X-Ray didn't show anything. Anna also has her 9 month well-child visit and it is the Driver's Ed final exam....busy! Colton and Carlina have one more driving class after tomorrow and then they will be done.

Happy 4th of July!

It is not a typical 4th of July here in Iowa....cloudy, cooler. I guess that will be perfect for the parade but not so much for swimming today. We are going to tour the museum and historical house here in town (only open on certain holidays) and then watch the parade at 3pm. Lots of candy given out, of course...the kids are so excited. I have lots of great memories of the 4th. I came home from the hospital with Colton on the 4th. He wore a little blue and white outfit with red socks, lol. Jesse always went all out and spent tons of money buying fireworks. We lived out in the country and had a blast. Used to have a dog (Sadie) who would actually fetch the fireworks and sometimes before they went off... scary. She wasnt' scared a bit. Another dog (Worf) would tear down the door (he was a huge Samoyed) trying to get inside away from the fireworks. Many times we combined Colton's birthday and our 4th of July party. When he was little he thought all the fireworks were just for him. In Florida we would go down to our neighbors and shoot off fireworks....they weren't illegal in Florida and the neighborhood would go nuts. They are illegal in Iowa but people still cross the border into South Dakota and buy them. We live in town now, so don't do the big bash. Our town does put on a great show and we are looking forward to that tonight at 10.

Lunchbox..

By the way, I did not own that delicious Land of the Lost lunchbox as a child...instead I had one of these....

Brain cells falling out of my head...

Remember how cool and scary Land of the Lost was as a kid? Okay, I'm probably dating myself and the shows I watched were re-runs. The sleestacks were soooo frightening!!!!

The recent movie was extraordinarily dumb and boring!! It was playing at the one screen cinema in a little town close to us. Cute little theater with a real ticket booth and a giant prairie statue out front. Ten other people chose to watch the film with us. The only slightly funny parts involved Matt Lauer playing himself.........

Thoughts.....

I have been feeling really down about Oliver but am trying to focus on other things. Jesse thinks my Grandma's death combined with giving up Oliver has really hit me together. He is a great counselor to me and is right...usually I hold things in and worry until they build up and I have an emotional melt-down.

I have enjoyed working outside today....beautiful day in the low 80's. I even had a zinnia bloom, the first one. That is therapy...digging in God's earth and thinking about all the beautiful plants that He gave us. I asked God for comfort yesterday and He showed me several verses in the Bible where He cares for animals:

Job
³⁹ “Do you hunt for food for mother lions?
Do you satisfy the hunger of their cubs?
⁴⁰ Some of them lie low in their dens.
Others lie waiting in the bushes.
⁴¹ Who provides food for ravens
when their babies cry out to me?
They wander around because they do not have anything to eat.