Seizing My Day

I wish it were Sunday…
oops… late again… seriously Manic Month!!~ life… week…day…
will it ever slow down? =)
somebody please say yes!!
and I think I am cheating again Ashley…(yikes)

I will do better this week ..

pinky swear!!  =)

Allrightygoodthen… my weekly addictions: the Scavenger Hunt and the 365 which help me remember a little “me” in my week!! (I am cheating on my 365 now too… lately my 365 have been my 7 favorite photos of the week… not necessarily the actual day of the week… lol!!) =)

Sunday 155/365 Green

lilacs were my mama’s favorite flowering shrub

so they are also a childhood memory for me

she planted them each time we moved to a new home

in memory of her… I will carry on that tradition…

only I hope I live in less houses than we did … =)

I originally took this as my childhood memory pic…

but I have a better one later in the week!!  (oh JOY)

Monday 156/365 *just because*

Merlin is Bigfoot these days…

he needs groomin…

the fur on his feet get SOOOO long its crazy how big his feet get!!

I am a size 9… just sayin…

I will try to sneak in a groomed foot next week for comparison!!  ha ha!

Tuesday 157/365 Long…. (not so much exposure! sorry! failed again!?)

Long waves… ??  =)

my little shy girl there is in the 5th grade play this week

she tried out for a much bigger role than she ever has before!

her confidence and “voice” is really blossoming!!  =)  *beam*  =)

I am one of a few mom’s helping the teachers pull off the 60 kid production

Painting, costumes, props… it has been a VERY busy week!

Abby painted the white caps on the waves…

while I helped paint a little on the mural and the base coat on tea boxes…

I don’t want to see another paint brush for at least …

well…

I love painting…

who am I kidding!  ha ha ha

Wednesday   158/365 *just because*

Sammy and I saw this birdie building her nest…

with her mate…

they would fly away one at a time

pick up a piece of dead grass

fly back up and put it in the nest…

working together

taking turns

“nesting” before they have their babies…

*sigh*  =) I miss those nesting days!

Thursday   159/365 Fruit

The play is basically the Boston Tea Party… “American Revolution”

I was settling in to paint the details on my “tea crates”

and decided to have some Pike Place Market ORANGE spice tea

in my favorite Blackberry Mug…

made in Britain!!

I forgot all about the library like I told my old man now…

I mean… I forgot all about painting and lost myself in my yummy tea!

with my favorite TEA cup…

you see we used to live in Port Moody BC Canada

my hubby worked for the City… who sold those mugs… =)

b/c they had A LOT of blackberries in Port Moody??  =)

they did… every August I would strap my babies into a back pack

and pick HUGE Blackberries in Bear Country!!  =)

yep we saw bears there… A LOT!!  =)

I love wildlife sightings… glad to always be safe when they appeared!

There you have it… Fruit spice tea in a fruit mug with fruit memories attached to it!!  =)

Friday

nothing folks… I got nothing… my week was such a blurr

I am not even sure what I did all day…

well… other than help with the play, costumes, props etc.  for 3 hours??!

I am glad to be the mom helper and not the teacher…

plays are A LOT of work!!  Oh My!!

not to worry Saturday was eventful!!  =)

Saturday 160/365 Shape

after half a day of running around…

just an hour before my hubby and daughter were supposed to be on their way to Seattle (an hour away) for a Sounders Game (*tickets compliments of Uncle Brett!!  Thanks Uncle Brett!)

… yep…

the car started rattling… OH DEAR!

off to the Honda dealer…QUICKLY!

hoping for a quick tightening of something??  hoping!!

it was the heat shield rattling…

quick metal zip tie to temporarily fix that…

but…there was another problem

they “smelled”while zip tying the rattling shield

(thank goodness!)

Saturday   161/365  Childhood Memories

I am very familiar with the parts under the hood of a car

my dad spent HOURS under the hood of our cars

A cracked Radiator!!

RATS!!

bummer!!

our faithful Honda did not go to Seattle Saturday night…

luckily we caught it the day the crack well… cracked… ha ha ha

*aaaaah*  we are a one car family … oh dear… the game!!

no worries…

Our AMAZING neighbors rescued Abby and the Hubs…

they loaned us their new car… yep.. NEW…

we tried to get their old one… but they wouldn’t let us have it…

They are good friends…

and this was above and beyond !!!

We are blessed to have them in our lives!

*their littlest is Sammy’s BFF*  =)

needless to say.. My little girl was not impressed with uh…

the NOT SO FAMILY friendly atmosphere at the soccer game…

(nor was the hubs on her behalf)

she is a quiet shy one… and there was  A LOT of swearing, yelling, etc… =)

BUT… my man enjoyed ‘the game’

he and I would like to go one day …

just us… on a grown up date…

no kids…

one day… =)

This week will prove to be as busy as last…

My facebook status says:  4 more sleeps to the play, 5 more sleeps to family from Canada arriving, 6 more sleeps to Sammy’s birthday and 12 more sleeps until school is out and there will be SAND BETWEEN MY TOES… Oh how I love thee Cannon Beach!!  =)

My week will be filled with *birthday shopping, props, costumes, painting, school, soccer practice, dog groomers,  cleaning, laundry, groceries, baking (laser cake pops… oh dear!)  and with no car today… hope it will return to our lives tonight??  Oh dear… and Fathers Day… etc. etc. etc… ** Amazing how much a mama/wife does in one week…

Thank goodness for Coffee!!  and TEA!!  This week might even require a latte!  ha ha!  =)

I hope you all have a little sunshine in your days this week…a spring in your step and a smile on your face… busy or not… here we come… right?!!!  =)

Blessings~

Jenn

(successfully seizing many hours in my days… lol!!)

and

is not something I am accustomed to these days…*sigh*  =)

It was an insanely busy week… but I think I managed to capture enough shots that could be worked into Ashley’s Scavenger hunt…

I added a few extras this week … for my 365 (wink) … so much happened…  OK… fine…  I am hopeless!~ and I missed Sunday… so Sunday is Monday =)… hubby and I were scouting good picture locations for a wedding later in the week … he was one of the main photographers … =)

Sunday/Monday      148/365

this picture just melts me…

my first baby is such a little lady these days…

wish I could freeze time

Sunday / Monday          149/365

and this little monkey cracks me up … daily!

every year I miss something from last years stages…

and I love something about the here and now…

nobody can ever prepare your heart

for the mixed emotions of parenting…

Tuesday (my son took this shot with my phone)

so I guess it doesn’t count as my 365…

but I loved it…

I see this car Every Tuesday…

and it even has my name on it…

perhaps one day it will be mine…

maybe it is a sign?  right??  (ha ha ha ha ha)

Wednesday ~   Chore   150/365

our wonderful friends from Alberta Canada visited this week

she had a hard month…. (her mama passed away)

even though I knew this week was going to be busy

full of play practice, soccer practice, a special girl scout award night, preparing for a friends wedding …I helped with A LOT of the prep… **sigh**

I tired!

anyway… when my girl friend said they wanted to come … I warned her it would be crazy … but I wanted her to come anyway… we just don’t get to see each other enough… we drove to the Canadian Rockies to see them 2 years ago… both our hubbys are Canadian… we are both American gals… we are friends by default our hubbys have been friends for a long time… anyway… she is a blessing from God… a good friend… we get each other… it is sad they are so far away… anyway… with her 3 girls and my two monkeys… we don’t really get much grown up talkin in… but we try… despite the littles … it was good to laugh and cry with her this week… and catch up on each others lives … and…

she did my dishes!!

my least favorite chore!

and by hand…

b/c our dishwasher is Still broke… *cough*…

good times in a busy week…

her littlest girl begged and begged and begged to go “pick flowers”

on the other side of our new fence…

(they were really weeds)  …snicker snicker…

We finally managed to get her out there Thursday afternoon…

I love that picture above of the girls on the hunt for buttercups and …

Wednesday (again)

other pretty flowers!~  ha ha

Thursday Front Page News!!! (in my world anyway)

Abby got her hard earned Bronze Award !!!

she confessed that she thought it would be MUCH bigger!!!

(I laughed so hard I cried!!)

I can actually see that thought in her facial expression!!  =)

“um… that is IT?”…

She did get a really cool bronze award necklace and key chain too!

hubby took the picture… so I can’t take credit…

but I couldn’t NOT post that!  =)

Friday    152/365   Hot? =)

I bought these cool mugs…

for a wedding gift…

for my friends who rekindled a short high school romance

20 years later… and a divorce or two later…

fun how the world goes round…   

aren’t they cool??!

Starbucks!!  =)

They are chalk board… you use a liquid chalk pen on them….

bake em… at a high temp… HOT HOT HOT and they are permanent!   =)

How cool is that?!!

…..

Saturday   ~  Finding Form   153/365

I found this incredibly Fun Door Frame

on my way home from a trip to the local farmers market

it was Soooo neat… I had to stop and snap a couple shots…

I only had my cell phone…

but they turned out kinda neat…

here is a full shot

what a fun way to spruce up a plain back door

with really cool pipes!

though…

I kinda liked it plain too…

moving on…

Saturday was a HOT HOT HOT day  154/365

for an early Summer Wedding in this usually rainy chilly PNW city!

my friends were so blessed by the weather this weekend!

of course … my man and I were glad the weather was nice too

he was one of two photographers for the day (stress!)

I followed them and suggested location and the detail kind of stuff…

while the two photographers (who don’t “do” weddings) …

snapped thousands of shots of the happy couple!

I snapped some with my snap and shoot just because I was there… =)

I like this one of her feet!

I also decorated a huge arbor, helped with flowers, vases, tables…etc.etc. etc.

and I made 50 wedding cake pops

and learned a few things about piping cake pops… *cough*

I put together a photo mat for signatures,

bought some lantern holders, candle holders, ribbons, zip ties… etc etc. etc.

and I bought fancy cupcakes with …

Beads on them…

aren’t they amazing?!   =)

it was a busy week folks…

CRAZY busy…

hello… LIFE…

could you slow down a bit so I can take a breath?!!  =)

its all good stuff…

next week I move on from Girl Scouts, out of town guests and weddings…

to helping with Abby’s play:  sets, costumes and props…

breath…

and I really need to order Sammy’s curriculum for school next year…

(the home school program we attend pays for it… BLESSING!…but I need to get on the ball and order it before June 11th?? )

Summer Soccer is now in full swing this week

oh… and I have a birthday party to plan for my sweet Little Man!!

he is turning NINE… my last BABY is almost double digits!  *BREATH*

I can’t handle how fast life goes by for my babies…

weren’t they just born yesterday?  =)

Do you all find this time of year crazy busy too?

(or is it just me??  oh dear!)

Busy or not … I keep my eyes on what the Lord has in front of me…

and soak in the beautiful things happening around me…

and learn from the not so beautiful things!~!

May’all find many beautiful things in your busy days this week!!

Blessings~

Jenn

ah… do you hear that?

just a moment of…

The Sound of Silence…

unless you count the dryer running!  =)

ta ta~

my weekly addiction:

and my other weekly addiction

Sunday…

Monday…

Tuesday… oops…

the sun made an appearance in Washington this week!

Classic Still Shot ~   141/365

ok… not classic at all… but STILL…=)

and these little hummers don’t stay still for long!!

it  is a blurry picture I know…

I shot it from 300 plus feet away

behind a second story window!!

and a dirty window at that!   ha ha ha

not bad considering I was using a point and shoot on a 35x zoom!

but … it gives me hope that maybe I will be able to capture a little hummer

while I am outside… from 100 feet away??!

see productive photography right? 😉

Wednesday ~   Self    ~   142/365

Cheating here… BIG time… I did not manage to capture an artistic shot of myself… but… these Gluten Free Pancakes are a fabulous representation of me taking care of SELF… =)  right??  no?  maybe?  a little?  well anyway… they were yummy!!

I have tried many kinds of Gluten Free Pancake Mixes… GF Bisquick.. is by far my favorite !!  They taste the most like classic gluten pancakes!!  =)  and well… I am not a huge fan of syrup…if I use maple suryp its the real stuff baby!!   but when I realized that Nutella is actually lower in sugar AND adds 3 grams of protein to my morning!  I will take it!
Thursday… oops…

Friday ~ Fresh ~  143/365

80 Fresh Clean ~ Cozy ~ New PJ’s for kids in hard circumstances….

My little girl really wanted to earn the Bronze Award in Girl Scouts this year…for the last two years we came up with ideas…and not many of them were just right for her….she is really shy and needed a project that would stretch her a bit… but not push her over the edge when it comes to interacting with strangers!!  😉

and then I read about the Pajama Program…

and I knew Abby would love it… and she did!

They are a fabulous organization that raises PJ’s for kids who are either in emergency situations or orphaned… waiting to be adopted… kids who don’t have much… in some cases no one to tuck them in at night… kids who need a cozy pair of PJ’s and a story … something we might take for granted in our own homes…

anyway… my sweet girl loves quietly helping other kids… we have done a few other kids helping kids kind of community service things before… but nothing this big!!

Abby and I planned for weeks … a fun little PJ Party for little girls to come and enjoy a party in their PJ’s… admission to the party was a new book and or a new pair of PJ’s for kids up to the age of 12~  Abby had to step out of her comfort zone many times in planning and hosting this PJ extravaganza!  It was so good for her!  and… Our Wonderful Church embraced Abby and her project and helped her raise PJ’s before the party!! They even let her host the party in the church building… AND… They even held a PJ Sunday… where they encouraged folks to wear PJ’s and bring in donations for my sweet little girls project!  =)  The Pastor preached in his PJs!!  Words can not describe how blessed we are to have found such a loving family of God!  Such a blessing to my little girl to be supported and embraced by a church family like that… she was blessed while blessing others… I LOVE it!!

anyway… go and check out The Pajama Program online if you want to host a PJ Party and raise PJ’s for little ones in need!

144/365

OH… Abby’s goal was 100 PJ’s and Books… in all she collected 120 Books and PJ’s!!  =)  Next stop… deliver to an organization helping these kiddos that take regular donations from the Pajama Program!

Saturday ~ Lines ~ Beautiful New Lines ~  145/365

Charming, classic new lines = fun zone for Merlin and his kids!

God Bless Lowes!!  We LOVE this new little fence!

CUTE…. EASY to install… sturdy… and it keeps the dog IN!!  =)

Saturday again ~ On the floor  ~ 146/365

I LOVE this shot… the cup compliments his collar… and is in mid air…

very cool!  My little girl took this shot!!  so technically I shouldn’t count it

in my 365… =)  oh well… I am making up my own rules as I go!!  lol!

I will not have taken less than 1000 pics by the end of the year…

so I am cool with a little cheating! 

Saturday ~ AGAIN ~   147/365

Happy prisoners!!

Happy Mama!

It was a busy week with all the PJ and fence fun…

This week we have good friends from Alberta Canada coming to visit

and then I am helping a friend with her wedding on the weekend…

life is never ever dull that is for sure!!

I am going to try to get that Kitty vs. Mole/ Man vs. Mole post up!!

I am sorry to keep any interested parties waiting!!  ha ha!!  =)

I hope y’all have a lovely week!!

Many blessings!

Jenn

and

However you want to look at it!!

ha ha

Busy or not…

just keep smiling…

just keep smiling!   =)

so I didn’t manage to link with Ashley’s Scavenger Hunt…  = (

but I think I can still link with Sarah’s 365?!!   better late than never? =)

well… anyway…

here is a tiny peek into last week anyway…

Sunday     134/365

Meet Mr. Bones

Sammy and I made Mr. Bones last week…

He painted him with  glow in the dark paint on Sunday

I am hoping to teach Sammy the skeleton this week

my kind of Fun Science!

Monday  135/365

I love it when roses open up…

so delicate … soft… lovely!

nothing like me…

ha ha ha

Tuesday 136/365

Meet Mr. Hairy Feet

he needs groomin man

one problem

he bit the groomer last time he went!

OH MERLIN!

in his defense she said she turned the hair dryer on right behind his head

when he wasn’t expecting it…

Merlin is afraid of the dryer… and water …

its not a fun day for him…

The Groomers know all this about him….

she said it was her fault… and he didn’t break skin…

NOW

I am looking for a groomer who is more gentle…

one who is not in such a hurry that she forgets his fears…

its for the groomers safety

Well…I  can’t have a biting dog!!  yikes!

Anyway…

Merlin’s paws double in size a few weeks after he is groomed…

its crazy how hairy King Charles Cavalier/Cocker Spaniel dog feet are!

Really his whole body doubles in size after 3-4 weeks…   =)

its funny really…

if I manage to find a new groomer and get him a hair cut this week

I will post a pic just like this one next week…

and he will look like a beagle not a fuzzy polar bear!! 😉

if I manage to find a new groomer and get him a hair cut this week

I will post a pic just like this one next week…

and he will look like a beagle not a fuzzy polar bear!!

people in the neighborhood keep callin my poor hound FAT!

he’s not “fat”…

a little chubby from winter maybe?…

He’s Hairy!!  which makes him appear fat!

hm …

wish I had that excuse…

moving on…

Wednesday  137/365

Bread ~ gluten free bread

GF loaves are NOT cheap… and they are TINY!!

and it is so hard to find time to bake my own bread every week…

especially since we have been hand washing all our dishes …

never mind that… somethings are better left alone…

I LOVE bread.    I can’t live without bread.

I have made a few gluten free bread mixes…

So far.. .this one is my fav!!

I love turning it into Cinnamon Bread!!  yum!

for $4.79 I get two small loaves…

better than one store bought loaf for $5.99 or $6.99!!

and… this mix is EASY to make …

no kneading or bread machine required!

I hope to get into a more regular blog pattern again…

and share some of the gluten free foods I have stumbled upon…

made, created, modified to fit my tastes…

who knows maybe someone out there will benefit, right?  =)

Bueler… tap tap… Bueler…

Thursday  138/365

Thursday we had some cat drama…

or Cat adventures?

it is a story for another day this week..

it really deserves its own post!!  =)

I know I know…

I haven’t blogged twice in one week for MONTHS!

will I really post it this week??  =)

*sigh*  I am just going with the flow of my seemingly busy life… including but not limited to … motherhood/home school teacher for one/planning next years curriculum/housewife/soccermom-wife/end of the school year stuff for the other/church stuff…etc. etc…blah blah… hard to find the blog time… never mind I seem to be tired all the time… I have got to shake the tiredness!!

anyway… I have high hopes to blog again this week…

in case you are interested…

about our funny-odd-cat- mystery cat-mole adventure…

just sayin… you might want to check back in say… Thurs or Friday??  =)

speaking of Friday  139/365

Trader Joes Gluten Free Brownies… plus candy melts =  BRownie pops!

I made brownie pops for the School Auction/Carnival fundraiser

my thought with brownie pops is this:

it eliminates the messy frosting step

brownies are sticky enough to form balls with out the mess… ha!

and it cuts down on the sugar… right??!!

I just realized that …  bonus!

unless of course brownies have more sugar than cake…

then you can throw my theory out the window!

sadly I didn’t get photos of the final product…

and I didn’t get to taste any of them either!

aren’t you glad I shared… ha ha ha…

Anyway…  I AM making them again this week

for Abby’s Girl Scout Project (another fun blog post coming soon)

I have made cake pops 5-6 times in the last couple months…

I am feelin like a cake pop pro now!!  ha ha…

so more on the Brownie pop madness next week …

Saturday 140/365

The Last Soccer game of Spring Season …

the girls fought hard against a strong team…

we didn’t win (but let’s not talk about that ok!!)

They are becoming fabulous little soccer players…

and young ladies…YIKES!

many of these girls started with they were little little girls!

my man has been the head coach for a full year now… =)

Anywho….   As one of the soccer coaches wives…

the one thing I am never sure of

is what to do for the girls at the end of the season…

I mean trophies are nice…

but I don’t want a house full of trophies at this age…

do the other mom’s?  =)

and ribbons… well… do the girls care anyway?

All Abby’s gymnastics ribbons are somewhere DEEP in her room…

not displayed or used for anything really…

In the past we have done trophies, certificates, small balls they all signed…

we are running out of options…

so Saturday (the day of the game) ha ha

I suggested hubby give them each a Yellow Rose …

I think they liked them… smiles all around!  =)

did you notice them in the soccer pic??  he he he

Here is a close up of Abby’s rose…

yellow flowers are so cheery… like the sun!  =)

Speaking of Sun…

I need to get my FAT hound out and run him…

while the sun is shining …

gray clouds are threatening our blue sky!!  =)

and then I hope to come around and visit y’all…

I miss y’all… my friends in the land of blog!

Abby and I have a little sewing to do this afternoon…

but I will be around by night fall!  =)

Blessings~

Just another busy housewife/mommy Seizing Her days… lol!

or not…  =)

Just Jenn

and just because

My little girl was taking nature pics for a project this week

and this is one of her nature pics…

shadows count… it is a product of natural elements??  =)  right?

She had a fever a couple days this week…

sadly she missed a really cool field trip to Seattle…

bummer… anyway…

just a fever and a cough… I will take it!!

better than… oh… never mind!

we are just glad she was only home sick 2 days…

the kid LOVES school… **beam**

I should be cleaning…

or walking my fat dog…

so why am I still here??   =)

g’bye… (wave)  bye now… (wave)  bye… (wave) … g’bye…

are they gone yet… can I stop smiling…

(name that movie!)  =)

How on earth have we arrived at Half Past May already?

We have had a very busy Spring this year… lots of living… little blog posting… if you are a faithful visitor here… you may have noticed my significant drop in posts!!  SORRY!  Apparently, my blog break turned into a huge blog change!  *yikes*

Life is good…just busy lately… full of wonderful things… my babies are growing up SO MUCH lately!! **I can’t handle the growing**!! … it aches my heart and makes me proud all at once…   =)

anyway… I just can’t find the time right now to post regularly! *sigh*… once again I have only managed my Sunday Post!!

please ignore the fact that I am randomly ALL OVER THE PLACE this week!! Every thing is out of order! I like to run this Sunday to Saturday… **sigh**  =)

I will be better next week!  =)  I promise!  this weeks randomness reflects how crazy my week has been!

Sunday ~  128/365  ~  Give Me Flowers

once upon a time I told my new hubby not to buy me red roses for every holiday that men bring women roses for… b/c it feels too … well… driven… not from the heart…

I told him I would rather have flowers I love given to me randomly…

you know…”just because” he loves me…

but over the years… the flowers rarely came…

and I admit… I was disappointed…

after a few teary years…

(well… maybe not so much… maybe a few teary days in those years)

I realized Remembering details (like the kind of flowers I love)

is NOT my mans “gift”

neither is spontaneously picking me up gifts/flowers “just because”…

it is NOT his love language =)

you see folks…

I quickly realized…

it is not about the flowers

the Red Roses … or lilies…

its about the man behind the roses  =)

who daily shows me his love in SO many other beautiful ways

and sometimes…

he brings me red roses!!

(he really thought I was just photographing roses there… snicker snicker!)

sorry darlin!!

Saturday ~  134/ 365  ~ Visual Contrast (see… out of order!)

this little yellow balloon floated past my car today

I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a couple shots

before it floated up up and over a building in less than a minute!

anyway… I played with them in Picasa… just for fun… =)

there is cool blue graffiti behind the one on the left

but I think I still like it better in black and white (mostly!) 😉

Do they count for Visual Contrast?

Friendship

(cheating=) … taken in April during my blog break… so they are in my 365!)

one of the most important friendships you can have in life

is a sibling…

I love that my babies are good friends!!

they fight a little  =)

But mostly … they enjoy each others company!

for this I am grateful!!  =)

I pray they will be there for each other for many many years!  =)

Monday ~  129/365 ~  Before and After

too much dock?

not enough light?

maybe a little blurry?

Ah… better!  Bolder… more Majestic, no?!  =)

I have a couple more before and after… just for fun…

and well… to add to my 365 project!

Wednesday ~  131/365

before…

rolling newspapers on water bottles…

for a seed project they are doing at Sammy’s “school” for home schoolers…

After:

A Seed Starter kit!!  =)

One more FUN Before and After!!

hope y’all don’t mind!

I am such a cheater this week!!

I told ya… busy busy busy… but fun stuff going on… (snicker snicker)!

Thursday  ~   132/365

BEFORE:

making “bones”  …

we are learning about the human body right now!

After:

kinda creepy … kinda cool!

This week we will lay them out on a poster

which names each bone…

fun fun!!

Friday ~ 133/365  ~  Dark (does a Dark color count?)

I am OVER THE MOON… excited about these dark beauties!!

any guesses as to what they are?  =)

I’ll give you a clue….

they have something to do with this guy…

Tuesday ~  130/365 (out of order again… sorry!)

and being able to open my back door freely!

don’t let the hat fool you… he is NOT human…

though he would like to think he is!

Hopefully that beautiful dark fence will be up next week…

and I can open my door and LET THE DOG OUT…

without bending over and walking across the yard to put him on a chain!

=)     BLISS!!!   =)

Hope ya’all have something blissful to look forward to this week too!!

Sometimes Bliss is found in simple things ~ you know?!  =)

Blessings~

Jenn

and

Today is late Mother’s Day… for me it is just another day to spend with my littles.. those sweet littles that I brought into this world… and enjoy being a mama!!  It is a bitter sweet day .for me…. for those of us who lost our mama’s way too early.. or not… but anyway… just want to say… y’all spend as much time with your mama’s as you can… love them with all your heart! … life is precious and sometimes shorter than we expect it to be….

Allrightygoodthen… moving on… quickly…

Here’s the list for the Sunday Scavenger Hunt many of us love:

Straight Out Of the Camera SOOC, Lazy, Isn’t It Ironic, Sprouting and Smells Like Spring

Sunday    Straight Out of the Camera (by Sammy) 121/365

hello Mr. Worm… Big Giant Night Crawler… sorry that your life will end up as  Fish food… or Bird food?  crazy the circle of life… anyway… in all honesty My Son took this picture (last Saturday … but since I didn’t take any pics on Sunday)… he he he…  My son and his little friend were SO excited to find a Giant worm!!  it was probably about 9 inches… =)

Monday   Straight Out of the Camera (by me)   122/365

Hello Mr. Mushroom…

isn’t that the shiny-est mushroom you ever did see??

too bad my camera kept focusing on the grass instead of the mushroom…

oh well…

I can just see a wee little fairy sitting on this “toad stool” talking to his friend the snail or something… can’t you?

Tuesday   Lazy 123/365

I was feeling a little lazy (or busy might be a better word)

so I threw on a pot of water and make a quick pot of Pasta for the fam…

and for my gluten free self… I ate leftover rice with Spaghetti sauce on it.

Dinner in 5-7 Minutes!  Bless You  Ragu!!  =)

Wednesday  A little girl scout adventure 124/365

alright… I confess … I didn’t pull out my camera every day this week…this picture was taken Thursday when my little girl helped lead her troop on a geocaching adventure!  Abby is looking at the exact location where the geocache is hidden… wondering if the girls will find it… lol!!   😉

Here’s the deal… I kinda sort of decided that my 365 pics for the year would be my favorite 365 pics .. I will happily choose 7 pics from my week instead of beating myself up if I miss a day… (and of course my pics will sometimes fit into Ashley’s scavenger hunts… since I love taking pictures of things I would not have otherwise thought to capture that week!)  =)

Thursday Sprouting 125/365

any guesses as to what is sprouting here in the woods??

I really wanted to stay and capture better pics of those lovely sprouting FERNS… but … the 10 little Girl Scouts and the 4 little siblings were um… a little much in the woods…. so I snapped a quick shot and was on my way! =)

Friday   Smells Like Spring 126/365

Beautiful colors

Sweet Smells

The Intern Pastor did the sermon at church today…

he talked about Renewal …

Renewing our hearts and minds…setting them on things that are of the Lord.

Seeking God’s will, seeking God’s heart, His word, His Spirit…

just as God designed our body’s to renew its cells…

He also designed our life with Him to be continually renewed…

hm…

just like the blossoms of Spring renew the life of the trees…

so God wants us to blossom every year…  renewing our  spirits …

Sweet!

Saturday   Isn’t It Ironic 127/365

Merlin rarely choose Sammy as “his person”… Sammy is constantly discouraged that Merlin greets him last when we arrive home… and Merlin doesn’t choose to curl up next to Sammy when we are home… or seek a game of fetch with him… at home Merlin’s “person” is usually myself or Abby… and sometimes even my hubby… However…. when he is in the car (which is often!!)… Merlin’s chosen “person” is Sammy… the car is the one place Merlin chooses Sammy over everyone else!!  Ironic, eh?   =)

OH… and this shot… well… it is just for fun…

ha ha ha I loved this!!  =)

it was the license plate of the car in front of us yesterday at Starbucks…

I quickly pulled out the camera and took a shot… (hope they don’t mind)

it made me giggle!!

only I think I would get one that says

WOOZZEE

one of my favorite things to say in the evening

after a long day … is… I feel woozzee!!  =)

it is 8:30 pm … and I am actually feeling a little woozzee!!  ha ha!

I had good intentions of getting more than one post out a week… sorry my track record isn’t that great since I returned from my bloggy break!  Life is super duper busy sometimes… and is not proving to slow down with end of the year stuff approaching… alas… it is all fun stuff… just keeps me in the real world instead of the cyber world!  I will do my best to catch up with you all and maybe even post again mid week!  I really do enjoy all you lovely folks whom I have gotten to know in the land of blog!!  Hope you find sunshine in your week and time to stop and smell the roses… even if it is only a quick moment!!

Blessings~

Jenn

and Sarah hosting the 365 of course!!

oops… I had good intentions to post at least twice a week…
apparently I have yet to Get Into the Grove
(anyone else here Madonna in their heads at this very moment?)
it is Madonna isn’t it…. Get Into the Grove?? oh boy…
it has been a very very busy week…
so much end of the year stuff going on
I am too tired to list it all..
maybe another day this week (ha ha ha)

Alrightygoodthen… shall we start with the Sunday Scavenger Hunt?  =)

Sunday    This is my Favorite    114/365

This is my favorite Spring Blossom picture of my babies…
from …. oh…. 7 years ago!! gulp!! stop growing babies!!

Monday Toes and/or Feet 115/365

Merlin chases and wrestles Nana to the ground EVERY SINGLE TIME she enters the room, house, yard (whatever)… poor kitty… sometimes she pulls out her claws… see them there coming out at the end of her toes…. he he he  …. Mr. Relentless deserves every scratch he receives! Though Nana is nice and doesn’t usually scratch him… in two years I think he has only received 3 or 4 scratches!!  good kitty.

Tuesday    Rimmed With Light (kinda?… sort of?  maybe?!) 116/365

Vanilla… yum…. when ever I use vanilla… it makes me think of

Mary Poppins saying… mmmmmmm….Rum Punch!

he he he

anyway… I made my Gluten Free Coconut/Almond Scones this week… YUM!!  I will share the recipe soon… it is a very very modified recipe …modified from one I found on the Tasty Kitchen…. so modified I think I can call it my own recipe! right?  that is how it works… if you change a lot in the recipe… it becomes your own?  right?  😉

moving on…

Wednesday Rain Rain Rain   Showers Showers Showers…  117/365

its ok…. I like rain… ((sometimes)) besides… I really wanted to try and recapture my raindrop picture from last week…. I am not sure it looked much different?  ha ha… oh well…

No dog in the reflection this time… but I still love that you can see my house, the fence, the yard and the trees from the green belt in that little tiny raindrop… so cool!!  crazy !  I love playing with water and reflections…

Thursday     Architecture     118/365

speaking of water and reflections!!

love the reflection of the bridge (s) in the water…

can you find the smaller rail bridge??  =)

this week we had Rain one day… or one hour …

and Sun the next… ah… PNW Weather…

I know some of you all faced horrible storms this week..

hope you are all safe and the storms have passed!!

I said a few prayers for the folks in those parts!!

we have nothing to whine about with a few raindrops… sheesh!!

Friday  Shades    119/365

this photo has many shades of purple in it… snicker snicker..

our church had a little girly Princess Party Friday night for the girls becoming teens… it had nothing to do with the Royal Wedding… kinda funny that it ended up on the same day anyway!!  ha ha… it was a little girly retreat for the young girls who are becoming young ladies… daughters of the King (our Lord Jesus… King of Kings, Lord of Lords)… daughters of the King are Princesses!  😉   anyway…  there are only about 10 girls between ages 10-13 … and only half of them could go… so it was a sweet, cozy little retreat focusing on becoming a young lady in a way God desires them to be … I helped Friday night… one of the crafty things the girlys did was make journals… they turned out fantastic!!  Abby and I might make a bunch more!!  We were inspired!

Saturday  (cheating here) 120/365

I made cake pops for the Princess event… so this picture was taken Friday…

but…

they did eat them Friday and Saturday!!  that counts right?

it will have to do… as I did not take very many pictures today…. oh… wait… there is one worm picture… I will download it Sunday and edit it in… (I am typing this post very late Saturday night ) …

With that confession… it is time for me to close and get some sleep!

Since I don’t have the worm picture in my post yet…

I will close with this question….

Did Y’all Watch the Royal Wedding??

I didn’t get to… but I plan to… Princess Diana was married when I was 10… and Princess Kate was married when my little girl was 10… I like weird things like that… I was going to call it a quainkydink… but I don’t know how to spell quainkydink… so I didn’t… oh… oops…. =)

Must click publish… will link it in the am… I have got to sleep!!  =)

Yawn…

Blessings~

Jenn

and of course!!

Hi folks … I took a wee blogging break… er… a month long blogging break… I missed y’all so much… I couldn’t stay away much longer… Sunday’s Scavenger Hunt is one of my favorite things about blogging… blessings Ashley!!   and mustn’t forget I really enjoy doing the 365 day photo challenge (most days) and I am happy to join Sarah’s following for that challenge too!  =)   (I might manage to post my missing pics from the 365 … in a month at a glance… b/c I know ya all want 30 pics in one post right?!   no?  oh…. a couple collages maybe? ok… great… fabulous!!

anyway… I am late late late …

Easter Weekend was a busy one for us… our little church had a huge Easter Egg Dash for little ones in the community and volunteering for said event made an already busy weekend busier… but OH SO worth it!! =)  anyway… here are my takes… and  I threw in a couple of extra family pics at the bottom!!  =)

Sunday Reflections      107/365

Last Sunday I finally pulled out the Easter stuff

as I was playing with my camera and the eggs

I realized my little man’s reflection was in them

then we played a bit more… =)

Monday     Guess What This Is??    108/365

hm… let me give you another clue

or two…

or three…

Tuesday    more reflections or um… glares?  =)  109/365

the sun was reflecting… or glaring…

off of the hand washed dishes on my counter

*sigh*

our dishwasher broke this week

it has been threatening us for a few months now

just like our vacuum is threatening us too…

waiting for the 3rd household item to break…

they come in threes you know!

Wednesday     Lawn & Garden (x3)   110/365

do you ever have a hard time picking just one? =)

I love the reflection of Merlin (the dog) and our patio, house & lawn in this raindrop!!  =)  this could be lawn & garden, reflection and what is this!!  =)

we saw some glorious beautiful sunshine this week

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!

I love Spring… new life on my plants.. fresh cut lawn…

Merlin chewing a ball in the sun…

bliss.

speaking of new life…

any guesses as to what this is??

I can’t wait for them to bloom… early May… as always!!  =)

Thursday   Whats inside?

what do you put in your kids Easter Eggs?

this year we put in the coveted  Mothers Iced Animal cookies…

always begged for at the grocery store!  =)

Whats inside again??            111/365

and these mini eggs held the always desired never bought

“cookie crisp” cereal!

Our kids had to hunt for their sweet breakfast on Sunday morning…

ha ha ha

Friday   112/365

decorating for the Easter Egg Dash =)

the Sanctuary was transformed

behind this beautiful wall / hallway of crepe paper

were structures and tunnels

made of plastic pipping and dollar store table clothes…

and a huge tent like structure for a staff member to chuck out eggs from…

the decorating took many hands and hours and hours and hours

but the egg hunt only lasted about 15 minutes!!

sort of like preparing a wonderful meal…

to be devoured in minutes!!  *sigh*  =)

I helped mostly with the toddler room

I made two lovely boxes/tunnels for the little tiny ones to climb through…

it took me longer than I thought it would

the folks behind the planning created an Easter Wonderland!!  =)

Saturday… Playtime… at the Easter Egg Dash!!

ok I didn’t take this one… but I set it up and had someone click for me! =)

I did take these ones first!

Mr. Rabbit      (I heart Mr. Rabbit)     113/365

Baby Bunny one

We had a wonderful ~glorious Spring week leading into Easter Weekend…

Easter Weekend was full of love and fun with our new~ish church family…

We are grateful to have finally found a church family that we hope to call our church ‘home’ for a long time!!  =)

Well anyway…

Today greeted us Western Washingtonians with RAIN …

*sigh*

Rain makes the grass greener…

and helps the spring plants and the oxygen bearing trees to grow! =)

Hope you enjoy your week – Rain or shine!

Blessings~

Jenn

and

I have some serious blog hopping to do now… =) late late late!! =)

Hello Strangers!    remember me?   Sorry I have been away so long …

Life is so busy… my break was well needed…

much was accomplished and much is left undone…

Most importantly I am working on setting my heart and my eyes on God more readily

I’ve been so wrapped up in being a mommy, a wife, a blogger, etc. etc.

sometimes I see myself drift farther away from God in my daily life than I am comfortable with …

you know?

at times I even wonder if blogging is on the path God has for me…

b/c it does add to a busy home schoolin mama’s day … if you know what I mean!   =)

but … I miss it… I miss many of you… I miss those of you I comment back and forth with regularly!

at times blogging is a huge blessing… friendships have been rooted…

Blogging can be such an encouraging and inspirational place to be… =)

and I hope that I am an encourager and an inspiration to some of you too (sometimes!)  snicker snicker!  =)

so I will keep at it for now… maybe just a little less regularly!

I will find  my groove…  maybe twice a week?… like my visits to the chiropractor….

both are good for the body, mind and soul… with just two short visits a week!   ha ha ha

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday… and my mind has been on Jesus life…

and how He gave His life and love for me (and you)… (heart felt sermons do that to a girl!)

I accepted Jesus into my heart and life 20 years ago on April 7th… half my life has now been spent with Him!  yay! =)

My life has not been any easier since then… (meaning there have not been less struggles, pain, etc )

However…

My Life  has been full of amazing blessings… full of Amazing Love and Amazing Grace…

and Mercy….   even in the midst of very hard trials…

I am blessed by how He works IN me and Through me…

sometimes the blessing is in Love.

sometimes it is in life’s lessons.

sometimes it comes in unexpected ways…. including struggles…

either way…

sometimes I don’t surrender myself…I resist… and risk missing the blessing…

God tells us we can be Thankful in ALL circumstances…

yet … many times I forget to be Thankful in ALL my  circumstances in my life

(they really do work together for my good and the good of those around me)

anyway… today I want to share a song I heard yesterday by Laura Story

do you all know her music?

she has a beautiful heart for God!

yesterday my friend Tracy posted this new song on her face book account

it is so Beautiful… and So very very true in my own life…

I can relate to the words so profoundly….

I have seen and felt God’s blessings in my trials…

I found blessing in my life when my mom passed away

even in the midst of sadness and pain … there  were blessings.

I found blessing in my life when my husband went through cancer

even in the midst of more sadness, pain and frustration… there were blessings.

I even found blessing in my life when my baby boy began to struggle with medical issues

medical issues that we still deal with today… 8 years later

the road has been long and very weary at times…

yet through all those things… I managed to find/feel beautiful blessings from the Lord.

but somehow… along that last road… I have also built walls

to protect my heart from too much hurt

and now…

sometimes those blessings seem more dim …

or I quickly forget them…

I think it is even hard to find the blessings in daily life… the daily grind… ya know?

This song “Blessings”… by Laura Story is a beautiful reminder to me

to keep my eyes and heart FIXED on Jesus …

At.  ALL.  Times.  =)

and to find those blessings …. at All times.

I always tell my littles…when it rains… there is always a rainbow somewhere…

Literally and in their hearts  …

God designed the sun and the rain to work together to create that rainbow…

in our hearts just as He did for the one we see in the sky… =)

anyway… enough of my chatter…

take a couple minutes… Listen to this song… You will be glad you did!

Do you relate to this song too?

I hope what I am trying to say comes across correctly…

I don’t believe God produces suffering on purpose…

but I do believe He can and will work in and through ALL circumstances …

to bring us the blessings that come from being loved by Him,

from knowing Him, from surrendering our hearts and mind to Him!

My hope is to see, feel and know those blessings in my week…

no matter what events unfold in my days!   =)

Blessings !!

Jenn ~

ps you can go and read more about why Laura Story wrote the song Blessings on her website:   Laurastorymusic.com

Do you ever feel like many things in your daily life are only half done?  =)

I think I have accidentally coined that as my motto…   *sigh**

Mary Poppins says it this way:  “Well begun is half done!”

Bless you Mary Poppins… you make me feel a little better!

I have the Spring itch… to divide and conquer all my half dones…

This is NO SMALL task folks!!

Here is a sneak peek of a FEW of my Many… Well Beguns/Half Dones:

Let’s Start in the kitchen shall we?

last  April (yikes) I started painting my kitchen green

I love the green I choose

but it didn’t work

it was ugly next to my already not so lovely browns

the browns I had painted my living room a year before… and the two rooms join… well three rooms if you count the eating area… so I stopped when I hit the above the cupboards/fridge area… my kitchen/eating area not only has one coat of paint… the wrong color paint… it is well begun… but half done!!  for a whole year!  grrrr…

I quit because my body hurt and I was at a loss b/c I didn’t like the colors together and I knew something had to change… it took me a whole year to figure it out… and find the time and money to conquer it!!  I am ready to conquer… I just need the time … =)

Moving on to the downstairs bathroom

(also painted last April!!):

2-3 years ago I had painted the downstairs bath dark brown

the same time I painted the living room (it was the pop color *ugh*)

I planned to pop the brown bath with white trim, ceilings, mirrors and art…

yeah… once it was up it was awful!! I hated it.. and left it for a year! or two!?

can you see a trend here?  I am NOT good with wall colors!

so I left it… pondered it… cried… etc etc.

Last April when I conquered my colorless kitchen…

I used some of the green paint in there.

and then I painted the white stripe to see what a piece of White wood trim would do to the split colored bathroom… I wasn’t sure I liked it… so I left it… all sloppy and half done… I thought about it… put the paint away a month later… and well… here we are today… a year later… *sigh*

OK… and ..

There are also a few spots like this around my house…

spots where I tried to hang something (in this case coat hooks)

in my really ackward shaped entryway…

WHY… WHY did I buy this house??

it is a pain in the rump to decorate!!

It has ODD  shaped rooms and walls and corners EVERYWHERE!!  **ugh**

anyway… the hooks didn’t work…

so down it came…I  started to putty the holes..

and well… the rest is history… Half done !!  =)

this one I can’t even claim well begun!

ha ha

OK.. moving on to ….um…

OLD puppy trouble:

cheap baseboards

ruined by puppy chewing (which he does not do anymore!!)

between 2 puppies in 3 years (don’t ask) .. we have about 10 of those corners to deal with… **sigh**  HOW do you solve a problem like Maria??  Merlin?  Lewis??  =)   Seriously… How on earth do we repair trim like that??  *UGH**

replacing the trim in the whole house is NOT an option… money, money, money!  I need help with this one folks… how would you fix that??  the trim is not real wood… it is cheap paper like pressed something or another!!  ugh!

really… any ideas would be helpful!!  =)

moving on again…

another puppy mishap:

I set a puppy crate (soft crate) too close to the wall and Lewis (the don’t ask puppy)  scratched the wall trying to get out of the crate… in my living room… on my new UGLY brown that I did not like from day one… **sigh**  point is… I have had this patch of scratched paint on my wall for three years!!

There are Many spots of  puppy related mishaps on my walls… trying to gate the chewing monsters… the  wall chewing… crates too close to the wall… etc. etc.  I have some serious patching of walls to do here folks… in some cases the paint is just chipping off the corners … I hate new homes… cheap cheap cheaply built!!  (don’t get me started… )

Never mind that we have to feed the cat in my window sill **ugh** my poor muddy windowsill will need to be repainted once I figure out what to do with the cat!!  and her blasted muddy cat feet…. sometimes I hate animals!!  =)

*cough, cough… moving on**

I like color.  I need color.  I crave color!!

why am I so bad with walls and color??  =)

Out of 8 rooms I have painted in our house only 3 of them have the second coat and or are finished.  I only like 4 of the 8 rooms.  my gift is NOT decorating a home… =) depressing.

Alrightygoodthen….

Shall we go outside?

before I point out my faults…

doesn’t my freshly cut grass look good?!

I love mowing the lawn … even though I considered it childhood labor as a child… as a grown up… I love mowing the lawn… usually I fight hubby for the task.. but since he sprained his ankle… and the sun was shining enough to dry out our long grass… I Seized the Day yesterday and mowed the lawn guilt free!!  ha ha! =)

anyway… do you see the flower bed off to the right?  along the fence?

its hard to see with all the WEEDS growing in it!!

never mind I did not prune the lilacs or honeysuckle or blueberry shrubs last Fall… they are all blooming now… can I still prune them when they are in bloom …or will I shock them??  I need to look it up!   time.  **ugh**

The end of that bed is in bad shape… it needs dirt, more plants, I need to edge it, prune the lavendar… AND well… ALL my flower beds would love fertilizer, pruned plants, MORE plants & flowers and Oh maybe some bark … after I weed of course!!!  =)

in my defense… I was undergoing A LOT of dental work last year… and well.. regular life is busy… soccer, home school, swim lessons, piano, dentists, doctors, chiropractors, cleaning, cooking, etc etc.  Where does a girl find the time to do things she loves … you know paint and garden?!!  =) Anyway… that flower bed is only one of eight severely overlooked flower gardens … ONE of my flower beds is in FULL shade most of the day… the one that leads to my front door… and I can not keep a plant alive in there to save my life!!!  HELP!!   I need to go to the nursery and ask for help!  and I need to weed, and plant and tend to my gardens!!

hm… I need to weed, plant and tend to the garden of my heart too!!

which leads me to my last point!  =)

The last Half Done in my life…the one that haunts me the most… is reading.

Reading my Bible!!

It is the biggest thing I wish I could find the time to do… daily!! The Bible is the word of God being spoken to me/us… it is one very important way God speaks to us… His Word offers encouragement, wisdom, love, direction, peace, joy… I could go on and on and on…  I desire to have those words in my mind and my heart every hour of every day… to flow naturally out of my mouth… something I seem to have lost over the years… I need that!  =)

Not only would I like to read the Word of God everyday…

finishing a book once in a while would be fabulous  too!!

especially those books that I know will help me grasp the things God is saying to me in his Word!!

Summary:

I desire to read my Bible daily… just like desire to get to those half done things… I daily walk past the unfinished things… the things I desire to finish…the things I desire to do…  painting my house… or hanging pictures on my walls… or planting flowers… or weeding… printing photos from cyberspace… maybe making a photo album for my kids to look through and enjoy!!… Those things I see ALL THE TIME just don’t get around to doing them…  for the record it is WAY more important to me to read the Bible than it is for me to paint…=)   my point is… I desire to finish or do so many things… yet I can’t find the time to do them… =)

I am not writing this post to discourage myself… or others!  =)

Every day I  love on my family, every day I feed my family and care for them, every day I do mountains of laundry and dishes, every day I provide an education to one of my children, every day I manage the schedules of our lives:  doctors, dentists, hair cuts, sports, music, school, friends,dog groomers, oil changes,   etc. etc.  Oh… and we play.  we play hard.  we love to play!  It is no small task to be a mommy, wife and a housekeeper.  =)

Finding the ME time… the time to do the things I desire or NEED to do … is one of the difficult tasks of being a mommy!  =)  and folks… I am NOT very good at that!  finding the me time.  working it into my life.  I grab little bits of me time… like when I blog.   Blogging is in many ways a huge blessing.  it encourages me to pick up my camera more.  it encourages me to craft more, paint more, to cook more… to do those things that I love… but it also takes away from my ME time… you all know what I mean, right?!  =)

My final point.

I am going to take a couple weeks OFF blogging.    **gasp**

I am going to STOP  blogging for 2 or 3 weeks!!  GASP!

no reading.  no writing.  no computer.  well … maybe just email!  =)

no sunday scavenger hunt (sigh)

I will keep up with my 365 picture taking…

just no posting them for 2-3 weeks!

yikes!

I know it will be hard… b/c I really love keeping up with y’all!

and I feel so blessed by those of you who comment =)

Your Comments are little blessings of daily encouragement!!

But I need to get out from under my rock and do those things that haunt me on a regular basis!!  I need to catch up!!  I need to finish a few million  indoor and outdoor projects… my neighbors and family will be oh So grateful!

and  more importantly ….I need/want to set my heart and mind right with God… I need to rekindle my friendship/love for Him… by reading the Bible… God’s Word.  That is who I am… a child of God… and I need/want to surrender myself to that WAY more than I do!!  =)

I am going to be really faithful to this folks.   REALLY faithful.  I need to!

no writing on my blog. no reading blogs. less computer. more life!

I will be back sometime after Spring break… the first week of April!

I will miss y’all!!  Really!! =)

Blessings~

off to Seize My Days!!

Jenn

see you all in  a couple weeks!