lucy & ethel

Lucy & Ethel (a.k.a. Grandma O. & Gramma Z.) came up to visit us for a few days! Yes, you read that right...2 grandmas in the same house; that is, 2 moms in the same building; yes, 2 mothers-in-law under the same roof! Yikes, right?!?! :o) Actually, it worked out really well.

We've found that while we have these 3 little, fun, and enjoyable kiddos around and no family to take care of them for a couple of hours here and there, we aren't able to accomplish a whole lot of anything as all of our time, attention, and energy is usually directed at them (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Anyhow, Grandma and Gramma came and spent time with their grandkids and spoiled them rotten, while Nathan and I used the time to get some stuff crossed off our ever-lengthening to-do list.

While Grandma and Gramma were busy doing and playing and caring for...

...I got a chance to clean out and organize the basement, while Nathan got to...

...do whatever those things are called! :0)

Of course, we didn't totally neglect the kids while we were scratching stuff off of those to-do lists.

In all, we were able to, among other things, see the basement floor again;

get a footer under the bottom front porch step;

paint the board and posts under the front porch;

get the J-channel (I think that's what it's called) and the outside lights on the garage;

weather treat our back deck (a horribly awful job to do); and

install a storm door in the front of the house.

Not bad, for a few days' work all the while Nathan having to work some on those days, too! Thank you Lucy and Ethel for helping us out SO MUCH!

I LOVE housework & homework...

... especially when I can focus only on housework (for the most part)!

For those of you who may or may not know, I LOVE to keep a neat and clean home (although it may not always seem that way sometimes). I am quite the perfectionist, but now with 3 little kids, I am finding that things are not always going to be perfectly clean. The Lord has been and continues to teach me that THAT IS OKAY! I have, however, learned that if things cannot be perfectly clean, they can at least be picked up and neat and appear to be clean which is where I am finding the balance in my "perfectionist" ideal of our home.


Although I have not always LOVED doing housework, I am finding that I am appreciating the times that I am able to do it. I find that when I am doing housework (without having any other distractions around - like Nate, the kids, other obligations, or a mind full of junk and ideas and anything else that makes a Mom not think straight-which is not very often!)...when I am quiet and doing a mindless task...the Lord speaks to me and teaches me.


For instance, I was vacuuming the downstairs today while Owen and Letty were napping and Daddy and Ivy were taking our garbage to the dump and before my Mom and my mother-in-law arrived (Why do visitors always give a person a great big incentive to clean up the house a bit?)! As I was vacuuming, I began thinking and praying about our new little church and the issue of leadership. I have also been reading through the book of Acts as that is our "homework" for the month of September via our Pastor. The Lord taught me during this little intimate time of vacuuming with Him that there were leaders in the early church - the 11 apostles with Peter being the leader persay and eventually an additional apostle - Matthias. Those leaders took care of the physical and spiritual needs of the early church until they realized they needed to only take care of the spiritual needs of the church thus naming deacons to care for the physical needs. The Lord also revealed that He uses ministering to people's physical needs to reach people's spiritual needs (i.e. the lame man was healed (physically and spiritually and then 3,000 more were reached spiritually because that physical need was met)!

This may not make sense to many of you, but I was so encouraged and so in awe that the Lord would care for me so much as to teach me and show me things in mundane, ordinary tasks.

Lord, I LOVE you! AND, I LOVE that I can do housework and homework with You!


Praise God for my sweet times of learning with Him and accomplishing a task, all at the same time!

chugga chugga choo choo

Every summer, Nathan gets a free passbook enabling us to go and enjoy some different tourist attractions around the area with very minimal expense to our family. This train ride was a part of the pass book. We took the sunset train which travels up from Conway to Bartlett and back. So fun and so relaxing and so pretty!

Our attempts at a do-it-yourself family portrait! Poor Letty!

worms

WORMS! WORMS! WORMS!

Who knew they would be so fun to play with!

This one apparently wanted to go for a drive (or get away from the kids!)...

girly night

Our College/Career Bible Study group had our 2nd girly night complete with...

facials...

and massages...

and an alum from the Bible study group who had been away at Army Basic Training for the past few months.