Memories of... THE Dress

September 26, 1992

It was a very good day.  Our wedding day.  I cannot believe we're approaching the 22-year mark!  It seems like forever in all of the very best ways.  That's not to say that every day has been perfect.  But, it has been a perfectly beautiful life in the sense that I am right where I belong.

Our wedding was simple and relatively small by some of today's standards -- but it was perfectly US.

My parents paid for the wedding.  Tradition.  What may not be so traditional is that they gave us a budget for the entire thing and said, "Beyond that, it's up to you!"

Recently, my mom revealed a wonderful tip on how they came up with the funds for my wedding.  You see, I attended college locally, living at home until I married.  But it wasn't a free ride.  From the time I got my first job, my parents asked that I pay a certain percentage of my paycheck to them as "room and board."  They, in turn, set aside that money, letting it accumulate until it was time to plan my wedding.  Then, they knew exactly what they could afford, and what would be up to me(us) to pay.  As I recall, I stuck pretty close to that budget, realizing what a gift it was!  We had a beautiful wedding -- but I was pretty practical, and didn't have much of the excess that weddings seem to have these days.

But this post was supposed to be about the dress.

I tried on a few dresses at dress shops, but it wasn't really my style to have someone fussing over me like that. So, I took what some would say was the easy way out.  But, I never looked back... never had one regret.  I ordered the dress on the cover of the JCPenney catalog, which I had fallen in love with.  These days, the on-line selection at Penneys is rather limited, showing only statuesque styles that are rather plain.  But, 22 years ago, they had a real bride's catalog!

"Cascades of lustrous simulated pearls accent the V back of this shimmery satin gown.  Lace-over-satin princess bodice has sequins and simulated pearls on front and back.  Extended padded shoulders fringed with simulated pearls over sheer lace sleeves."

Since I am being sentimental about the DRESS itself, the picture I've shared is the original catalog page, which showcases all of the beautiful features of the dress perfectly.  The lighting of this photo shows the details of the dress better than my wedding pictures.  I recently pulled the catalog page out of my wedding file box to attach to the dress for purposes of selling it.  Yes.  Selling.

Until very recently, the dress had been hermetically sealed in our attic and/or basement for the past 22 years. I decided it was time to open it up, and offer it to someone who will be able to put it to good use.  Although plenty of people commented on it at the garage sale [a gentleman even said he thought it was the prettiest wedding dress he had ever seen], nobody showed any real interest in it.  We'll be trying to sell a handful of our unsold garage sale items on Craig's List, and I just have to try to sell it there before I donate it. We'll see how that goes.  I have a friend who just raves about Craig's List -- but it will be a new experience for me, so I'll try and remember to keep you posted.  *wink

If any of you sell on Craigs List, I would love to hear about your experiences!

Weekend Review, and the Best Phone Call EVer!

The garage sale is over.  What was I thinking?  It was a lot of work... the most stress the first day when we just didn't know what to expect.  Easier the second day -- but then a whole lot of work cleaning up.  With the exception of a handful of things that we still think we can get some money for, we loaded up two vans and drove straight to Goodwill.  BIG PURGE!!  Oh, that was absolutely the right thing to do -- while our momentum was in full swing!  If we had waited, there's no telling when it would've gotten there.

My sweet hubby and daughter located all of the garage sale signs and removed them, and we took them to the recycle place in our township -- along with our tub of paper recyclables that was full to overflowing from all of the garage sale activity!  Boom.  Killed two birds with one road trip -- so to speak.

We didn't make lots of money -- but I have a little more than I did last Thursday.

We managed to have everything that was for sale out in the driveway so that it was more visible from the street.  As we sat in the garage visiting [and waiting for more shoppers] -- other items would pop into my head, and I would run to find and price them.

Such was the case with my kids' baby bassinet.  There it sat on the top shelf in the garage... wrapped in double layers of large, strong, black trash bags and [practically] hermetically sealed with duct tape!  I pulled it down and ripped through the bags to find a 20-year-old, like-new baby bassinet!  Perfect.  Not yellowed, and only a little dust that flew in when I opened the packaging.  I cleaned that up, and put a price sticker on it -- and wouldn't you know?  Somebody snapped it up for their step-daughter who was having a baby soon!  I'm so glad it will be put to good use!!  Makes me happier than having it sit on the shelf wrapped up, that's for sure!

It also makes me happy to have my basement cleaned out, my garage back, my van cleaned out, and to be getting things back in order around the house.  I think that thoughts of this garage sale will haunt me for a very long time.  Not the garage sale itself, mind you.  It was fun to hang out with my family for two days.  But... it was [after all] the culmination of too much saving and holding onto stuff -- and I want to avoid that like the plague!

Speaking of happy...  I put some pictures of the stuff we were selling up on Facebook for local friends to see. So, from time to time over the weekend, I checked Facebook to see if there were any comments.  Yes, one friend asked me to hold something for her!  Anyway, as I scrolled through my newsfeed, I spotted this post from a friend.  It made us all laugh so hard, and I asked her if I could share it with you.  Thanks SUSAN! You're the best!

____________________

So, every time I am on the phone...my parrot mimics my entire conversation. So today, I received a unlisted number with a sales call...and decided to let the parrot talk with them.

Ring...ring...ring

Hawkeye: Hello...
Salesperson: Hello, m'am, I am calling today about the....
Hawkeye: Hello?
Salesperson: Hello, m'am, I am calling today about the....
Hawkeye: ok...ok...ok...you'll be fine...
Salesperson: umm....what was that?
Hawkeye: uh huh...ok...who are you?
Salesperson: this is Sam from the....
Hawkeye: ok...ok...uh huh...do you want a coffee?
Salesperson: ummm...what ?
Hawkeye: Hawkeye want a cookie? Hawkeye want a coffee?
Salesperson: hey guys, I think I am talking to a parrot...I'm putting it on speaker phone...
Hawkeye: Who are you? I know who I am. Do you want a coffee? Do you want some? Is that good? 
Salesperson: oh my gosh...a talking parrot...this is great (much laughter from other sales people on the speaker phone)
Hawkeye: ok...uh huh...hurry up, Allayna...let's go. Tommy, laundry !!! Hey dad....mom...mom...mom...hey mom. Bye Bye...you'll be fine. 
Salesperson: (laughter, laughter, laughter, laughter) Hey thanks man, this was the best phone call ever !!!!!

Let's Do This Thing :: Project Life!

:: FIRST THINGS FIRST ::

For local friends: the garage sale is ON for this week-end.  We'll be here Friday and Saturday from 8-4.  If you know where we live, stop on over.  If you don't know, send me a private message on FB or via email (click "contact" tab at top of blog), and I will be glad to share our address.  We will have lots of miscellaneous home decor items, Christmas items, a washer and dryer, a wedding gown, a student desk and chair, lots of computer gadgetry, a gaming chair, LOTS of homeschool books (ABeka -- and others), a SPODE "Christmas Tree" coffee pot, sugar, creamer, and bowl set, lots of mugs, table lamps, a floor lamp, a vintage 1946 Singer sewing machine in cabinet, and another more recent model w/o cabinet, and SO MUCH MORE!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled post! 

So I'm off and running on my Project Life.  I've ordered a few more items -- some specific themed items that will fit nicely into my album.  I'm ordering pictures like crazy -- all the way back to January of this year.  I've cleared out my photo files, and printed everything family-oriented from my 2014 files [meaning: not the kazillion photos of flowers, or the other pictures I use here on the blog.]

Just do it.
I dragged my feet for a long time, promising myself that I would catch up, and it just didn't happen.  When I decided to commit to Project Life full time, I saw myself moving forward, leaving the past in the dust, with the thought of eventually catching up on it all.  You've got to start somewhere, right?

Well here's what happened.  My supplies were delivered, and I went online and ordered my "so far" photos from this month: JULY 2014.  I was done in an instant.  No joke.  So, I thought, while I am waiting to make some more memories and take some more pictures, why don't I work backwards?  It seemed silly to just sit here all excited about the process with nothing to do.  So, you guessed it.  I ordered all of my JUNE 2014 pictures, and then MAY and APRIL.  The next thing I knew, I had gone through and ordered pictures all the way back to JANUARY!  Boom.

Embrace the individuality of the project/process.
So, you may be wondering about the best way to start.

I purchased an album, some pocket pages, a core kit, and two themed card kits.

Regarding the pocket pages... there are several styles.  I TRY (though sometimes unsuccessfully) to take horizontal photos, as it seems most efficient to me to stick with one style of pocket page.  I buy STYLE A [pictured above].  You may see other page-styles pictured in my posts, but they were purchased early on when I did my Disney and POTD projects.  I'm basically just using those up at this point.

So what happens when I end up with a vertical picture, and I have all horizontal pocket pages?  Well, I've discovered two things that work -- and you can see examples of them both on the page below.

I crop the height of the photo, allowing it to fit in a horizontal pocket.  Of course, that leaves some room leftover at the side of the photo, right?  I just pick out some coordinating scrapbook paper or one of the Project Life cards, sizing it to fill in the remaining space of the pocket.  I DO use adhesive to keep this in place. [see arrow pointing at bottom photo]

If the scene in the picture is small enough, I also have been known to crop it down to the card size which fits into the strip in the center of the pocket page. [see arrow pointing to photo in middle row]

What is a core kit?  This is the fun part.  A core kit is a great collection of large (photo-sized) cards and small cards that fill in all of the blank spots in your album.  They are styled by various designers, printed on both sides, and the color schemes vary.  The larger cards can be used as a title card on a page, or just to fill an empty spot when you don't have enough photos to fill a page.  The smaller cards fill in that center strip, as I mentioned above, and can be used in a strictly decorative way [think of them as the embellishments on your pages] -- or for journaling!  [JUST AS A SIDE NOTE :: let me say... Don't forget the journaling!  It's easy to stall out on that, but it'll be worth it when people look at your album, and know just what they are looking at! You'll also realize how much time you are saving by not cutting paper, and not unsticking adhesive squares.  Use the time to journal.]

I am loving the elements in the Americana theme kit,

and have used them for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and the Soap-Box Derby pages!

So then... what are themed kits, you ask?  Themed kits are a more specific collection of large and small cards that follow a theme, like the Americana Kit, above.  Other themes include (but are not limited to Family, Graduation, Celebrations, Christian, Fall, and etc.  They are a great way to further tailor your album to the events in your family's life.  [FYI - I buy most of my supplies HERE.]

I'll bet you're wondering how you know where to put all of these cards, aren't you?  Well, that's the beauty of this system.  It is totally individual.  Initially, there are cues inside the cover of the core kit box to give you ideas for the first and last pages -- and then it's up to you!  Have fun with it.  Follow a color scheme taking a cue from your photos, or just be random!  It's easy to make changes along the way since there are no adhesives involved!  I'll admit that I had some pages all finished, and when I found the sweet themed "family" kit, I changed out some of the cards!  I just couldn't resist.

Still feel overwhelmed about starting?

Don't!  There's no wrong way to start or to proceed!  That said -- in the interest of having a PLAN, I'll share what I typically do.  Remember, sometimes I am working backwards and sometimes forwards.  I have to take my path into consideration as I position my photos so that I don't have any empty page-gaps. Typically, my photos fit on a two-page spread or less.  I have had a few occasions lately that have been photo-heavy, and I'll just say that in those cases, I have been glad to have some leftover Design C pages on-hand.  Without those, I would consider cropping many more of my photos into the vertical "small card" positions at the center of the page.

I lay my photos out on top of the page protectors, and move them around so that are arranged in a way that best tells the story.  Usually, I work from left to right and top to bottom of each page.  When I like the arrangement, I slip the photos in the pockets.  If there aren't enough photos for a page, I add a large card to a photo pocket.  Use this as an opportunity to have a title card on your page if you like.  Then, what's left are the 4-8 vertical card pockets across the middle of the page.  Sometimes, I have a random small photo to fill one of those spots.  Otherwise, I use the small Project Life cards [either from the core kit, or a themed kit] to fill in the blanks, trying to balance decorative cards and journaling cards across the page.

I started off being really random, but now that I have sort of... found my stride, I find myself moving things around to make the page a little more cohesive.  There is no wrong design.  No wrong moves.  It's super flexible.

Hmmmm, a lot of information in this post, right?  I think I'll stop for now.  I'm going to have to start taking notes about the things I want to share with you.  Hopefully, the photos in this post have been good examples to explain my points.

Happy Scrappin'!

Making a Space More Functional

This is our microwave cart.  On top, there is room for the microwave, the toaster, and the napkin-holder. Underneath there is this great storage space -- which has always been helpful as our kitchen doesn't have tons of storage.  I try to be efficient in the way I store things -- purging often (which ends up being not as often as I should, but you know how that goes....)

See that mandolin-slicer?  Bad news.  Here's a tip -- always lift it by the handle, and then you'll know you're not going to run your finger across the blade inadvertently... not that that has ever happened here.

Before:

I admit, this space has looked worse than this, for sure.  Baking pans move in and out of here, and I guess what bothers me most is how it all leans.  When you pull one thing out, two other things usually follow.

I was at TJMaxx the other day and found these sturdy iron organizer racks.  I purchased two for this project.  I love how they give each item it's own space -- even the mandolin!  Each organizer rack has three slots.

After:

In my space, it still leaves room at the end for some cookbooks.  Notice that I didn't cram too many things into each slot.  After-all, that kind of defeats the purpose.

Aaaah.  A fresh start!

I've Taken the Plunge :: Project Life!

Last Friday, I received my summer Project Life SALE items from Becky Higgins.  I ordered a bunch of pictures from Walgreen's (thankful for the timing of the coupon code!), and I was on my way.  In less than one week's time, I've completed seventeen pages, which covers a period of about three months!  BOOM.  I'm excited.  I'm finally feeling like I'm going to be able to catch up on this scrapbooking journey.  I am tickled with this process, and I highly recommend it.

[My story:  I have always loved, loved, loved the more traditional process of scrapbooking, but have found that I also love, love, love having a blog.  For me, it seemed that the two were mutually exclusive.  Time did not allow for the processes of both.  It bothered me that I was falling behind on the family memory-keeping, while watching scrapbook stores and online sites go out of business!  Determined not to give up, I decided to change the way I scrapbook.  I mentioned before that I have used Project Life for a 365 photo project, as well as a Disney album -- and enjoyed the process, so I decided it was time to convert for real.  You can read more about Project Life HERE, and see the products HERE.  I am not being compensated in any way for sharing with you.  It's just... well, if you're feeling frustrated about scrapbooking [the way I was], this may be just what you need to get jump-started.]

Sunshine Edition album

Here's a little description of Project Life from Becky's website:

"Project Life is a solution-based approach to scrapbooking that was created to simplify the process in order to allow you more time to enjoy life! It requires no glue, no scissors, no tools, and no skills of any kind. The design of our products takes the guess work out of layout design so that you can focus on recording your everyday moments through your photos and journaling. The simple design is stylish and makes it possible for you to complete more pages in less time."

'Nuf said.  I love that I don't need to take the time to cut paper, coordinate designs, or peel the backing off each and every square of photo adhesive.  This process just speeds you along...  I love the feeling of accomplishment!  I'll share a little bit more about the process later, but for now -- I'm rollin'.  Stay tuned!

Sunshine Edition Core Kit

Americana Theme Cards

Road Trip Themed Cards

Flutter By, Butterfly!

The other morning, I stared out the kitchen window at our back yard.  I love our back yard.  I love how over the years it has become enclosed by green.  I won't try to pull the wool over your eyes... there are weeds, and plenty of them.  But, there are also little areas that we've planned out and nurtured -- like the trio of Cleveland Pear trees that we planted strategically so that we couldn't see into our neighbor's yard... long before the trees were tall enough to block anything.  These days, the healthy leaves provide a beautiful screen!

And then there were the butterfly bushes... another trio.  Two white, and one a shade of purple.  I always knew they attracted butterflies to our yard, but I never realized how much -- until this year.  You see, last winter was the last straw for our butterfly bushes.  They made no appearance this year.

... and neither did the butterflies!  I thought about the fact that it was early July, and I hadn't seen one butterfly in our yard this year!  Not one.  I made a mental note that those butterfly bushes had to be replaced.

Hours later, I stood at the same window preparing dinner, and couldn't believe my eyes!  A beautiful butterfly was fluttering around my pot of marigolds.  Marigolds are a humble flower, but one that will always be beautiful to me.  I recall styrofoam cups of marigolds each Mother's Day -- a gift that the church Sunday school department helped us prepare for our moms.  And then, as a young wife and mom, I remember planting marigolds because they were easy, and hearty, and dependable for a new gardener.

I guess I'm a little sentimental about marigolds!

Even today, they do not disappoint.  My hubby planted a big pot of them on our patio, and it was there that this fluttering beauty decided to land for a photo shoot.  I would've dead-headed the flowers for you, but I wasn't sure the butterfly would wait.  I knew you'd understand.  *wink*

This Week In My Kitchen ~ 7.10.14

:: Capturing my love of food, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the heart of our home. ::

Joining Heather for:

[click photo to join blog hop]

Dinner: Taco Chicken, roasted red potatoes, and spinach.

 Itsy bitsy wild strawberries.  Perfectly tiny.  Sour.

More snackin' fun, on sale this week!

Cooking root veggies in foil has been my "go-to" technique since my mom served them that way Memorial Day weekend fresh off the grill.  I've been doing them on the grill and in the oven...

this time, just sweet potatoes with olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.  This is one of my favorite combos, and they are melt-in-your-mouth-tender done this way!

Pumpkin waffles...

from my favorite recipe, HERE.

Lunch.  This 5-ingredient salad has unbeLIEVable flavor!

(recipe HERE)

Hope you're all having a great week.  I can't wait to see what all of you are up to this week!

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Thanks to those of you who have prayed, or sent me sweet comments about my girl.  She's having a great week in Chicago so far.  They've never been allowed to take cell phones or iPods on their ministry trips before, but they were allowed to this year.  Or, I should say, it was left to the parents' discretion.  Our girl doesn't abuse those privileges, so we allowed her to take them.  As a result, we have gotten sweet texts at the end of the day, as the team is driving back to the church where they are staying.  All kinds of "great" and "success!" -- which I'm loving.  She is working with a man, we'll call him "E," and today, she and "E" will be buddies at THE ZOO! I'm praying for clear skies and sunshine with a breeze -- not to mention safety for all!

When our girl gets home, it will already be almost mid-July.  Time for summer clearances, fall merchandise in the stores (actually, I saw fall flowers the other day at JoAnn's!), and back-to-school sales.

If you've followed along here for a while, you may know about our homeschool background, and the changes in our family in the last several years.  This will be our daughter's third year in public school.  The first year was horrendous, but ended well.  Last year was better!  Much better.  And this year?  Well, she told me the other day that she's excited for this school year.

Did you catch that?  Excited!!

Words like that do a mama's heart good -- especially knowing the road that my girl has traveled, so to speak. She's come a long way.

Speaking of words that do my heart good...  Last year, my girl shared her personal testimony at a small "house-group" that she attends weekly -- a break-out group from the high school youth group at church.  One of the leaders told her that she was so proud of her, and recognized how much she had matured in the past year, and grown in her faith.

Stuff like that gets to me, and I'll tell you why:

1. Because we're talking about my child -- obviously.

2. [and this might not be as obvious]  Because, it totally knocks the wind out of me to see other people invest themselves in my kids' lives -- and I mean that in a good way.

Our kids have been blessed with amazing leaders who have become important friends!

Well, this post was slightly themed, and slightly... RANDOM.  Just some things that have been floating around in my head.  Apparently there's lots of room in my head for floating when my girl isn't around to keep me busy.  Ha!

Three more days to get my garage sale act together.  I asked my hubby about putting some computer "stuff" in the garage sale, and he said, "If it isn't nailed down, it's fair game" -- which is good... except... now I need a truck and a big, empty garage.  ANYONE?

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Morning Friends.  I'm running late today.  My girl is off in Chicago-land, and my hubby and son are on the late(r) shift today, so I slept in a little later than usual.  A treat!

If you have a minute today and would pray... Please pray for my daughter.  Her assignment in Chicago shifted at the last minute from VBS with kids to helping out at a facility for disabled adults.  I believe it's a "daycare" facility.  While I know she will do well, the text she sent me was filled with doubt and uncertainty.  New ground.

And speaking of a beautiful day in the neighborhood (title reference)... why, YES!  It is.  AC is off, doors and windows are open, and the birds are singing a happy song this morning.  While I am a huge fan of AC for those steamy summer days, there is NOTHING, NOTHING like the smell of fresh air, and the sound of the outdoors filtering through the rooms of our home.  It gives a totally different tone to the day for me.

I have big plans for this week!  Time to get all of those garage sale items priced.  Today might be just the day to get started if the temps aren't too overwhelming.

I'm also hoping to get lots of scrapbooking done this week.  BECKY HIGGINS had a bunch of her Project Life products on sale over the weekend, and I took advantage of that.  Moving forward, I'm planning to switch over to Project Life rather than the more traditional method of scrapbooking which I've been using since... my daughter was a baby... about 16 years!  That method served me well, but the truth is that I've been getting more and more behind!  Since becoming a blogger, the more time-consuming "traditional scrapbooking ways" just don't seem to suit me as much.  In a way... blogging has becoming a new form of "scrapbooking" our life.  I do still enjoy the physical albums to look back on though -- so I want to continue in some form of scrapbooking.  While stores close, and supplies seem to become more limited... Project Life is just getting started, so I'm confident I'll be able to use this system for a long while -- particularly if I stay tuned for Becky's sales!

You've heard me talk about Project Life before.  Remember my Disney album from our big Disney trip for my parents' 50th Anniversary Celebration?

Also, you can read more about Project Life HERE.

Well, that's all for now.  I'm hoping my "late start" won't mess me up too much, since the guys will both be working late today as well.  Hoping for a productive day.

Is your neighborhood beautiful today?

This Week In My Kitchen ~ 7.3.14

:: Capturing my love of food, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the heart of our home. ::

Joining Heather for:

[click photo to join blog hop]

Back from the beach, and back to reality.

Checking out this week's calendar and list of things to do.

 Our first black raspberries, and a lone raspberry.

I showed this to you in my last post,

but didn't mention that it was a find at a favorite beach store.

It has inspired me to start a gallery wall in my kitchen.

Just a few photos to share with you this week, as we are getting back to reality after our vacation, and preparing our daughter for a week away on a ministry trip with a team from our church -- all while trying to get back to normal from THIS MESS.  Needless to say, there hasn't been a lot of picture-taking going on.  Still, I couldn't resist a chance to participate, and see what all of you are up to in your kitchens this week. 

Hope you're having a great week!  ~Sally

Life Circumstances: Out of My Control

There's nothing like coming home from vacation.  The only thing better might be... staying on vacation!  If you're like me, you get to a point on the drive home when HOME can't come fast enough!  As we sat together at our last dinner on the road, we were talking about iPods, and apps.  My mom (with all of her techy wisdom) said, "I'd like an app that sprays me HOME!"  Can I get an "amen?"

After a wonderful week at the beach, we finally arrived home after about a two hour delay due to traffic congestion.  Congestion.  That's what the sign said.  As if we needed a sign to tell us it was congested!

Not long after we arrived home, my daughter and I heard a rather loud splashing water sound from the basement, and ran downstairs to find water spraying everywhere from the tank in the corner of our basement that links our well outdoors and the plumbing indoors.

While my daughter ran upstairs to get my hubby, I quickly moved all of the vacation laundry that the kids had just deposited there within the last hour.  I found myself saying, "Thank you God!  Oh Lord, Thank you!  We are here to handle this!  Thank you for not allowing this to happen before we got home!  Thank you Lord!"

Can you even imagine?  That would've been ONE BIG, BIG MESS!

In fact, we did have a mess on our hands -- but nothing like what we would've had if this had all happened while we were away from home.  God is good.  All the time.

He's been doing a lot to get my attention lately, and to remind me WHO is really in control in this game we call LIFE.  There are so many some areas of life in which I have relinquished control.  That's one of the things I've been learning as our kids get older.  And wow, as a former homeschooling mom, that was/is a "biggie" for me!

Recently, I realized yet another thing that was out of my control: whether or not our son would be able to go on vacation with us.  It didn't look good at first.  We had a lot of discussions about it.  I shared with friends and family, asking them to pray -- because, as I said, I knew it was out of my control.  It didn't have anything to do with talking my son into it.  He was game!  It had everything to do with his supervisors at work, and whether or not they were willing to work with him on this vacation issue.

I told the Lord my heart's desire.  I know my son won't always be able to go on vacation with us -- and that someday a day will come when it just will not be possible.  "But Lord," I prayed... "please let it work out this year!"

And then I let go.

No really.  I did.

 

I'm so thankful that through the "growing pains" of life that God is teaching me to trust him more.

Yes, our son DID get to go on vacation with us this year.  I'm so thankful.  I'm equally thankful for the way God helped me to keep my eyes on HIM rather than the circumstance that I couldn't control -- and I'm SO thankful for all those who prayed for us.  The power of prayer is an amazing thing.