This weekend, we took our back patio from this poor sight..

 

 



Dirty House...dingy, odd patio furniture...



 

Scattered stuff...general yuck...

To THIS!!!!

 

The Whole Patio!



The gray blocks were spares :o)
But we got new chairs, too!

Our A-MAZING new Cinder Block Patio Sofa (and my spokesmodel)

 

I'm WILDLY in love...and want to spend every waking minute out there! The sofa turned out so much better than I anticipated, and I'm just thrilled!

 

We spent much of about 5 days getting it together, and then Saturday I made the cushion and "staged" the rest of the patio.  There are lots of details that I'm just thrilled about, and I may touch on some of them later. 

 

The first, and dearest to my heart...the old coffee can of hens and chickens. 

The hens and chickens are the "chicks" from an old tire my grandma kept that was FULL of chickens.  The coffee can, weathered and worn, held a random collection of screws, nails, and scraps that we found in my grandpa's attic.  Grandma's succulents, in Grandpa's coffee can?  It just makes my heart skip a beat.

The can is TERRIBLY worn, and rusted.  I need to find a way to preserve it in its crusty, rusty state it's now in.  I fear that one good rain will have it rusted through. 

Overall, I'm LOVING this change!!!



Proud (Step)Mom Moment

Look at this little man...



Ready (step) Mom's angle...

 

 

 

Go!  (Dad's angle)

He's been telling his coach for weeks that he wants to pitch.  That's tough to do in a machine-pitch league.

Last night, he got his chance!

He was so proud of himself...and he should be!  He struck out the first three kids!  :o)

I LOVE IT!

Spring!

Our days are full of baseball, and caring for these tiny plants, while doing our best to nurture these little souls.

 

 

Ben Showing off his HARD WORK

 

 

Andrew hadn't even had his first game, and had dirty knees!

 

 

Connor, Our Catcher

Spring always hits like a flash, and we're off - running like headless chickens. 

My introverted brain becomes overwhelmed, and I shut down.  It's frustrating to me that the weather has finally broken, and we're getting more sun than snow (finally!), and I want to hide.

I panic. 

All those people; all those PLANS.  Will I ever have time to clean the house AGAIN?  When will we return to having time for NOTHING?

But, I remember that my boys have been waiting patiently for MONTHS for these days.  Five days a week at the ball field, and they're in Heaven.  We can be outside, with friends, and neighbors, and family from dawn til dusk. 

So, I take a great, big breath, and I remember that I want them to be outgoing people, that enjoy every moment of their life.  And, it's in those moments that I'm so proud of them, and who they are becoming, despite their (step)mom. 

My Weekend...

*sigh*

 

 

 

A strange thing happened to me this weekend, sitting in the hallway, or on the side of the tub (at the SCUBA Hippo...), or wherever I was "allowed," by the little man learning to take care of business...

 

For the FIRST TIME since becoming a mother, his growth bummed me out a bit.

 

I should be THRILLED that we're finally boarding the potty train...hahahaha, see what I did there???

 

Ha!  Sorry...

 

Yes, I should be jumping with glee that the days of SCORES of dollars going to diapers are nearly behind us.  I should be excited that the times of cleaning someone's waste off their bottom are almost done.  Instead, I became rather sad.  Sad that the days of my BABY are ending. 

 

Sad that after all this time, and yes, it's been a LOOOOOONG time, my BABY will be a BOY.

 

I know that he's still my baby, and that all that's really happening is that he is developing properly.  But, it still makes me sad. 

 

He's my boy...but he's my BABY.

 

Good bye, baby Ben.

 

*sniff-sniff*

 

Happy Easter from Us!!!

 

It was the VERY RARE event that our big boys were able to come to church with us...you can't know the thrill we had!!!

 

Ben & I were sick, which made for a tough weekend...but, we'll recover.

 

Baseball starts today!!  Connor is so excited to be playing for the TIGERS!!!!

 

Andrew's first practice is tomorrow.  :o)

It's Why I Do What I Do...

 Make no mistake, it's tough work.  It ain't no joke, y'all.

 

 

Presenting these teeny, tiny people with ideas that men and women have committed their LIVES to learning (and still struggle to grasp sometimes). It's something that I think of every single day. How can I explain to them the impact this has on our lives - even today, after so many years?

We sit in class, and we TALK.  And we SHARE.

 

 

And, we make trees! 

 

 

Then this little mind here tells his Pa and Daddy that we made trees to tell a story about a man that climbed a tree to see Jesus, and that Jesus knew he was there because Jesus loved him, and that Jesus was going to take him out to dinner.

 

Well, it's mostly right...*grin*



 

 

 

 

 

So Simple...

I will be teaching Sunday School at my church now until (at least) Easter. 

 

*gulp*



 

This means I will be taking a dozen-or-so three to seven year olds on a whirlwind trip through some of the "greatest hits" of Jesus' life.

 

A couple Sundays ago, the lesson was about Jesus calling his disciples; calling them fishers of men. 

Now, we've heard this story over & over (and over and over again, if you're like me), and so I searched everywhere for a lesson plan that sparked my interest.

In my searches, there was an idea that was so simple, and such a quick blurb...it wasn't really the meat of the lesson at all, it was the "connecting with kids" type portion...

The lesson suggested that you tell the class something like, "Have you ever been fishing?  It's so fun, and relaxing, and just great!  Now, I have my fishing pole, and my fisherman hat and vest, and even a pile of worms!  I'm just gonna go to the yard out front and fish!"

Then, you let the children tell you that you can't fish in the front yard, because there won't be any fish there to catch - that you MUST go WHERE.  THERE.  ARE.  FISH.

This hit me.  Whoa.  Why can't I just share my love of Christ while I'm at church?  Isn't showing the church that I love Jesus enough? 

Nope, it's sure not. 

I suppose I could go through the motions of fishing in my front yard all day long, and then complain that my fish supply is dwindling.  Then I could complain that I don't understand why, if I'm spending so much time fishing. But, if I'm not casting my line where fish can be found, the only thing I've done is use my energy and resources up, and for nothing.

What a ridiculous "DUH" moment. 

I must admit, I find so much MEAT when I'm looking for ideas to share with these itty bitty people...What I love even more is how these SIMPLE stories provide applications in my own, grown up life, too...

:o)