1320-1330

-so thankful for safe arrival home for my hubby & big H
-So thankful for the encouraging time they had in WA
-So thankful for the believers that gather in okanogan - 6 in fellowship - yet they have a great vision - their hearts are huge & they are "doers of the word"  ... For example "Oma" Tina, works full time yet grills elk steaks for the guys, prepped oodles of delish lunch & suppers & washes/folds all their clothes!!
-Thankful for DQ in rural Omak & for their Bday cakes.
-So thankful for Jakob & Stacey Pinkham - a favorite couple of ours from Omak WA ... Their son Adrian & Harrison had many fun memories together over the past 2 weeks
-So thankful for Tyler Clark & the friendship that he & Matt developed & for Tyler's huge heart to serve the Lord
-So thankful for dusty shoes that I got to unpack & (throw in the wash ;) )... If those shoes could talk :) sigh... The path from the RV to the tent is very dusty, and it gets walked soo many times in those 2 weeks... Thankful for harrison being part of that spiritually rich & dusty time
-So thankful for Matt showing Harrison where his priorities are. "Where you heart is, there is your treasure "
-So thankful for my brother who taxied my guys home at 1am :)
- so thankful for 2 different vbs sessions last week for us - it really really helped our week fly by!! The morning one was at a church down the road & Hannah enjoyed it immensely!!! It was fun that hudson & I had 3 hours as just us ..,It helped that her "group" was just her & her leader, miss Emily an adorable 13 year old :) the church did a great job sharing how God is our creator, provider, protector, savior & king.
 the night vbs, was at Palos hills assembly, and the parents were encouraged to stay the whole 2 hours. I love the night timing (6:15-8:15pm) & I loved every aspect/ especially nursery service for Hudson, the full, beautiful gospel in a captivating delivery by "uncle Phil" & the fact that I met a handful of new to me, huge hearted believers... In walking distance ... Looking forward to growing our relationships there 😊😘

Ps- so thankful to have a king size bed .... Full of snuggle bugs... Even at 1:30 am when we woke up Hannah to tell her dad & harrison were back .. Yawn.. Party in our bed til 3am... Double yawn...huge smile :) ....I still can't believe one of those bugs is 1-0!!!!!

 Tour guide extraordinaire!! Wolter! 

Birthday boy!!!

 Rueban hale treated the guys to birthday lunch

Vbs :) 

Night vbs 

Someone was picked for the quiet seat ;) 

Driving to sea tac airport!!

 The caravan of tent trailer & 2 RVS leaving Okanogan camp ground... another 2 week gospel series done. :)

Thankful thoughts...times 2 & oodles of pic :)

Happy monday!!
Last week I was digging through tubs of our stuff & excited to find places for it all in our new place...and didn't update this blog....
 Today, I will blog 20 thankful-nesses


Thankful- to enjoy a nearly unplugged 2 weeks -
Thankful to watch Hannah use her huge heart to share & play with Hudson
Thankful that my better half & oldest son made it to WA safely & are enjoying their time & that the single digit countdown to their arrival is happening!!! :):):):)
Thankful that Hannah has enough spunk & courage to attend a new VBS without harrison
Thankful for her creativity & love of all things artsy

Thankful for a successful yard sale weekend - dining room table for 10 bucks! No it's not my pintrest dream table, but it's my reality table & I'm excited for the happy memories to be made around it :) don't let the picture fool you... Both ends pull out & I'm guessing can seat 8-12! I'll need some more smaller chairs or ideally a cute bench :)
Thankful for a very captive audience of 9 preschool - kindergarten aged kiddies during sunday school
Thankful for a birthday plan for both our kids
Thankful for target to stock up on birthday party loot
Thankful to have lawn care included ... Watching someone else lug their trimmers & blowers & ladders around makes me soooo thankful that it's them & not me ;)

Thankful that vbs day 1 of jungle safari was a hit for miss Hannah
Thankful that harrisons amazing 3rd grade teacher is a chaperone there & will keep an eye on Hannah
Thankful to start day 1 of hudsons bottle weaning #fiercein15 ....poor sweety is in love with his "baba"- but I know "technically" he should have been off it closer to 1 than to 3 -yikes lol- trying to keep him a baby for as long as possible I guess... Sigh...
Thankful that Hannah is now water only at night & naps ( she had been a chronic sippy cup of milker until Friday :)) #icandohardthings ;)
Thankful for my dear to be sisters kamilas  energy & spunk... I'm so excited we are going to be sisters :) so.

Thankful that lulu lemon makes guys clothes! #fathersday
Thankful that my hubby is such a hands on dad & lover of our kids. He has his moms patience( wow, she's an angel!!)  & we need it in our family! Also thankful for his spiritual leadership in our home & his muscles to protect me from bees & Hannah ... From fruit flies - true story- she's petrified.
Thankful for my dads amazing example of an earthly father. I don't miss buying him a gift / he was impossible to  shop for! But I miss the card aisle. A lot. "Dad from daughter" section still tears at my heart.
Thankful for my heavenly father. Being alone the past 9 days ( but who's counting!) has really made me pour my heart out to Him & have had to rely on Him to protect me. In my weakness - he's made stronger! It's sooo totally true. Thankful for the noises in the night that make me just say God I know you see outside & I'm glad I dont / keep the bad guys away. Amen :)
Thankful for summer berries

Photo dump :)

Xxoo

Last week of school!

Thankful this week for coming home to a freezer & fridge full of treats and a counter loaded with pantry items! Such a great house warming gift from my bro and milla.... love how they are so good for each other & i love that I see my dad's heart in Dustin. God is so good. The mending and healing that has happened in our hearts is only because of God and we praise Him for that. Seeing the beauty unfold from what was a very broken family just a few years ago... is awe-some... If you are needing that hope & reassurance that the storms will pass... keep praying...stay encouraged... God knows... He will work it all out for your good... but in HIS time...

Thankful this week for Anne, who created a delish Whole 30 meal. which is no small feat.. the date walnut apple spread was a labor of love, according to the pintrest recipe... boiling dates and blending them perfectly!? wow, it was soo good!!..along with food for our kiddos & an amazing Whole 30 approved dessert... YUM!!!

Thankful to have adjusted to our new home

Thankful that we have just 4 tubs left to unpack!

Thankful that Hudson's vocab is progressing!

Thankful that Harrison is now a 5th grader.... his 4th grade year came to an end on Friday, and we will miss Ms. Hotzfield SO much!! Wow, what an inspiring, compassionate teacher! Her love for technology was amazing & he loved how much tech time they had each day :)

Thankful that I have just 4 more wake ups before school ends for me!!

Thankful for my hubby who did my least favorite moving in task... organizing all our clothes.... the mountains of clothes is no longer... instead we have neat stacks...ready for dresser drawers... which we are still looking for ....

Thankful for yard sale finds! It's pretty exciting when we drove past a school parking lot, to find the whole city of Darien was having a yard sale there! Plus, it was after 12, so that meant all items were 1/2 off. Cha ching!! :) :)

Thankful that I finally am learning to organize our needs into something that others would call... a LIST ;)        I thought for 32 years that my memory could always be counted on... but alas, that was false ;) I made a master list on Friday of our needs for our new home... and now I can relate to those happy people when they can cross something off that list :)

Coats in June!!???

Joyful June

Happy Monday!!  oops forgot to post yesterday!! :)

Thankful for God's I Loves You's! We got a pleasant surprise- our kitchen appliances are stainless, instead of white, like our guy told us! I love the look of stainless, and our since our kitchen is pretty itty bitty- I really appreciate the upgrades & a gas stove! I love instant flame too cook with!

Thankful for an encouraging graduation at PGM & another Bible distribution last Thursday night

Thankful to be in the single digit school end count down... 9 days after today! #Icandohardthings...because Christ will give me strength...

Thankful that I now know that my time in this classroom is not for naught... I have been able to be a witness to them in small measures... like not allowing them to take God's name in vain my room or use Jesus as a curse word... at the end of last week I was so ready to Q.U.I.T.... but I know I am being used in this dark class for His light & that is what will propel me forward over the next 9 days...

Thankful for encouraging, helpful, happy friends

Thankful for Harrison making some sick baseball plays. First time he has thrown his catchers helmet off to catch a foul for an out... pretty cool :)

Thankful that we have all our beds/crib set up & most of our stuff at our new home! We plan to start living there tonight! I love the unpacking & organizing part, and it was like Christmas yesterday when the kids discovered a whole tub of Build A Bear toys & clothes!

Thankful for this girl, her heart and this smile

 Thankful to have scored some free furniture... it might have come from a deceased person's room at a nursing home, but how can such good solid furniture just be dumped!?! I saw it & snagged it... got this mirror- SUPER heavy, and repainted it this fun color, OOPS paint at Home Depot 50 cents!! and then did the same paint and distressed look to the matching 3 drawer free dresser :)
I am not a formal DIY-er... I am way too impatient for sanding and smoothing and perfection ... so if you paint super fast and miss lots of spots, it ends up looking distressed without any effort at all and hardly any paint... win win win :) :) :)

Thankful for my brother and his selfless heart. He has so much of my dad in him and it makes me smile and I know my dad smiles from Heaven when we get along :) One letter he wrote to Dusty and I ended with this "stay close to each other and close to the Lord"... then a card I saved from my dad when Matt & I moved from IL to AZ 10 years ago, ended the same way... Perfect words of wisdom... They have proven to be words of truth and I share them with you, my dear reader today, stay close to whoever you are nearest and dearest to, and stay close to the Lord...

XOXO