Storms

*This post is a little different than my normal posts.  But for some reason, I just really needed to write it.  {smile} 

We live in Louisiana.  If you’ve heard the news this past week, you have probably heard about Hurricane Isaac that had its sights set on our state.  Our family lives in the Northwest corner of Louisiana and was anticipating some winds and rain.  However, the hurricane had other plans and took different path.  We only had a little rain and light winds.  Many others were not so fortunate and will be working to put their lives back together. {Please pray for these who were devastated by the storm.}

But this post isn’t actually about Hurricane Isaac.  It is about the storms of life.

This past week as our state braced for a Hurricane to slam into it, our family was (and is) facing many storms.  To be perfectly honest with you, I have cried every day this past week.  It was that kind of week.  I’m not writing this post to have a pity party.  (I’ve all ready had many of those this past week.)  And I’m definitely not writing to say that I’ve got it all together and know how to weather these storms of life completely unscathed. 

What I am writing to say is that there is hope.  Through the pain, tears, uncertainties, disappointments…through the tangled webs of life…there is hope.  His name is Jesus.

I remember when my little brother died an unexpected death at the age of 26, I felt a pain unlike any other I have ever felt before.  But through the pain, I felt a peace…a calmness.  I know that it was because of my hope in Jesus. 

This week as our family made decisions, faced changes, and tackled tough situations…there were many times when we felt pain, uncertainty, heartache, and disappointment.  Those things are never easy, are they? 

But in the midst of it all, I have hope. 

Sometimes, it gets hard to see that hope.  But it’s not because hope has left me.  It is because I’ve taken my eyes off of Hope. 

I was reminded this week that I must keep my eyes on Jesus Christ, my Savior.  Life is stormy.  It is sticky.  It is messy.  I am not promised a life free of problems.  Sometimes I have to ride out the storms of life to see the beauty that I know is there also.  If I take my eyes off of Jesus and look at the waves crashing around me, I get very overwhelmed and very scared.  I just want to run away!  So I must keep my eyes on Him.  If I focus on Him, the waves may crash and knock me down but He is there to lift me up. 

Jesus loves me.  Jesus loves you.  He is my hope when all else seems lost.  I want you to know that Hope too. 

If you want to know more, please feel free to email me.  I would love to tell you about Jesus and the hope He has to offer you.  Email me at:   simply adriane @ gmail. com  (just take out the spaces) 

Thank you for reading my thoughts today.  I truly appreciate your visits here to my little space on the web. 

God Bless You,

Adriane

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 4:7

To view the verse in context, please visit this link.

Affordable {but fun} date nights

 

David and I have been focusing on making our relationship a priority.  Let’s face it, between homeschooling, the kids’ extracurricular activities, church ministries, David’s work, and general house keeping…well, there’s not a whole lot of time to devote to our relationship.  However, we are choosing to find the time.  And we especially choose this since we’ve heard that research shows that many divorces occur after the children have left home and the parents find that their relationship has cooled.  I can’t help but wonder if we parents turn our focus on our children, homes, and busyness so much that we lose sight of each other.

In that light, we’ve decided to try to take one night a week for just us.  Though in reality, it is usually more like 2 nights a month.  We take what we can get.  {smile}

Since we are a one income family, we don’t have a lot of money to spend on our dates.  We’ve had to get a little creative.  But we’ve found that it doesn’t take much money at all to make our time together fun and to strengthen our relationship. 

Here are a few of our cheap affordable dates:

• An ice cream date while our teenagers babysit

When we did this, we brought back some ice cream for the children.  So it was a win-win for all:  ice cream for them and time to talk for us.  This is really affordable if the ice cream shop is having a cheap ice cream night or you pick up a tub of ice cream from the store on the way home.  Total cost:  about $10

• Shared meal and a Netflix movie

For months I carried around a restaurant gift card in my wallet and waited for an opportunity to use it.  I used half of it to go out to eat with a friend.  One weekend while the kids visited grandparents, David and I used the other half to order a meal that was big enough for us to share.  We picked it up, brought it home, drank our own drinks, and watched a Netflix movie.  Chinese food take out is pretty affordable and easy to share too.  Total cost:  about $7 dollars since we used the leftover money on a gift card 

• Shopping

Last weekend, David and I went shoe shopping with some of my birthday gift money.  How do I know that David loves me?  He said he had fun talking and laughing with me as I spent my gift money on shoes.  We’ve also been shopping at hardware stores and grocery stores.  Like I said earlier, we take the time when we can get it.  {smile}  Total cost:  free when it’s gift money or the cost of what we are purchasing

• A coffee date

Every once in a while, we will pick up a cup of coffee and talk while we sip.  Total cost:  about $7 – $ 10

• A real deal dress-up-and-sit-down-and-eat date

For anniversaries, we try to get away to our favorite steak restaurant and eat a meal out.  On occasion, we will go there “just because”.  We try to order wisely and drink water so we keep our costs low.  Total cost:  Usually about $25 - $30

• Stay at home and cook date

We’ve had a few dates where we have used what we had around the house and cooked a meal for us.  When we do this, we usually watch a Netflix or Red Box movie.  This is usually done when the kids are visiting grandparents.  Total cost:  cost of food and movie

• Ideas for future dates

The dates above all cost money but it can be done even cheaper than this.  Some ideas are:

• sitting outside in the evening under the stars with some homemade lemonade or sweet tea {hot cocoa if cold}
• early morning coffee {probably not much talking then since one of us is not a morning person}
• walks down the block in the evenings
• movies after the kids go to bed {love Netflix}

I truly believe that it is important to make sure that we focus on our marriages and each other.  This is hard to do when our children are very little.  I will admit that it has gotten easier to do as our children have gotten older.  But I believe that even the little things add up in our marriages.

Do you have some affordable date ideas?  I’d love to hear it! 

This post is linked to: 

A little table in the garden

In the garden sits a table

~a little glass table~

that collects a lot of stuff.

It usually holds garden tools, kids’ toys & nature finds, and sometimes freshly picked garden goodies.

But it has an even more special job than that.

Sometimes this little table is an escape for a Mom with a book that needs to stay dry from the water splashing from the pool.

And sometimes it’s a place where a Mom can go to think & pray or even to collect a little calmness and patience.

But some of the best things

~the very best things~

are the views from this table.

  children enjoying summer fun

a yard tool/machine loving little boy watching his oldest brother mowing the front lawn 

a butterfly enjoying the purple coneflowers

 a little boy sharing deep thoughts and his Mom’s soda

 a chicken busy at work in the compost bin

 a scruffy, water soaked puppy watches the chickens from what he must consider a safe distance

 a beautiful sunflower against the bright blue sky

 a young man hard at work who looks an awful lot like his daddy in the picture

 chickens sneaking into the garden despite my best efforts to deter them

 a puppy who now watches the even closer chickens with a suspicious eye {and keeps his distance – he’s learned his lesson well for the puppy the chickens do not like}

And I am struck

~once again~

with just how blessed I am.

Blessed with family, a home, land to work, the beauty of nature around me, joy, and love {just to name a few}.

I am thankful for my little table in the garden and how it can help remind me of what’s important in this life.

Friends and fish

That’s quite a title there, isn’t it?  Those two things seem to be totally unrelated in life.  And yet for our family, there is a connection.

Let me take you back a little bit.  A few years ago, I was feeling very lonely.  It seems weird to be lonely in a house filled with five children and a husband who is your very best friend.  But I was lonely.  I’m sure I could analyze that and figure out the whole why behind it but I won’t.  I just knew that I wanted a friend.  Even more than that, I felt like I needed a friend.

I began to pray to God and asked that He would send me a friend.  And I just knew that this friend would be a homeschooling mom who liked to garden, sew, can food, music, etc…basically she would be someone just like me!

 

Now here’s where it gets kind of funny.  But it not only gets funny – it gets kind of cool too.

God answered my prayer.  But not like I anticipated.  It even took me a little while to see that my prayer had been answered but had been answered in a much larger way than I anticipated.

You see, I did not get a friend just like me.  I got many new friends and not a one of them is exactly like me.  Actually, each of my friends shares some interests with me but not all of my interests.  I have one friend who loves music but doesn’t care to spend time outside.   Some of my dear friends are homeschooling moms but one of my dearest is not a homeschool mom.  And another one of my friends is not even a mom!  All of these friends share pieces of my life and they encourage me along this journey.

 

  What does this all have to do with friends and fish?  It’s actually quite a stretch to try to connect the two but…perhaps one of the most surprising answers to my prayer for friends was being blessed to be friends with people who are much older than myself. 

Our family was blessed with becoming friends with people who are the age of our Grandparents.  This couple, the W’s, had four children.  They are also avid gardeners.  The W’s have been on the same journey that we are on – a journey that seeks to raise children for God and as people who love to spend time in nature.  They have so much to share…and not just worldly goods but  life experiences, love of God, and knowledge.  It is good to have friends who have been there/done that to help support and encourage you.

 

 

Last week, they called us and asked us if we wanted to spend some time out at their place.  We headed out on a Friday evening after David got home from work and we fished from their pond.  Then we roasted hot dogs and sat out under the stars as we talked about gardening.  All of the pictures in this post are from that visit to the W’s place.

 I am thankful that God sent all of these friends into my life.  Now my prayer is that I will be a friend to them also for I truly believe that you must be a friend to have a friend.   May I also reach out and share the life experiences, love of God, and knowledge that I have gained with others too.  That’s what being a friend is all about anyway!

 

 

My word for the New Year

All this past week I’ve had this blog post swirling around in my head but have not been able to write because of internet problems.  What has been going in my head has been quite comical too.  {smile}

You see, when I first began thinking on my word for the new year, I had one particular word come to mind.  And I mean it immediately came into my head when I started thinking on what my word could be for the year... I’m pretty sure there is no denying that this is my focus word for the year.

But all week while I waited for the internet to be fixed, I’ve been trying to change my word.  My conversations with God went a little something like this:

So I’ve been reading Philippians 4 and I think that Joy would be a good word.  I need to do less complaining.

And I would still hear this other word in my head.

What about Contentment?  I could sure use a big dose of that!

And yet again, I would hear this other word.

I even tried this one:

I could focus on all three.  Make all three my words for the year.

I then remembered how I tend to take on too many things and focus on too many things therefore making my life a little cah-ra-zy!  It needs to be simple. One word.

By now, you’re probably ready for me to get to the point of the blog post, huh? {smile}  So my word for the new year is:

Others

I have recently seen…who am I kidding…I’ve always been painfully aware of my tendency to make it all about me.  Yes, I do need to focus on me some in regards to my health and stuff like that…not talking about that.  Talking more about making sure that I focus on truly giving myself for others.

• Giving myself to my kiddos without complaining or sighing
• Giving my husband respect and helping him without complaining or sighing (my pattern is starting to appear, isn’t it?)
• Spending mornings with God and really diving deeply into His word.  Being open to His calling (dare we say it?) without complaining or sighing.
• Opening my home to others and letting go of my insecurities about it
• Making sure that my friends have a safe place to come to in times of need…anytime
• Being the kind of neighbor that I need to be and not expecting anything in return
• Being there for my extended family – my parents, Dave’s parents, our Grandmas, all of our brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts & uncles, and nieces & nephews & cousins.  I want them to know how much they mean to us and making sure that I show them.
• Loving the “un-cool” of the world or those that tend to be looked down upon.  They need love too.

Most of us are very busy.  And in my busy-ness, I tend to forget to focus on others.   I can get so caught up in the laundry and dishes that I forget to smile at my family.  Or when called to help with a task, I’ll let out a big sigh.  Or I forget to call a loved one on his or her birthday.  Or I’m not there to listen to a friend who needs an ear.

We need to be busy taking care of our families and doing our day-to-day tasks.  But my prayer is that in my everyday, I will take time to not just get the next task done but to show love to those around me.  To truly give myself to

Others

And I have a feeling that when I start focusing more on others and less on myself, I may just get to experience those other two words (joy and contentment) that I tried to make my focus words of the year. 

Thanksgiving

 photo taken by Emma

This post is very late what with Thanksgiving happening a week ago.  And even though it is quite fashionably late, I’m going to post it anyway.  Over the last few weeks of blog quietness, I’ve been thinking on why I have this blog and what I want to do with it.  Honestly, I came close to just deleting it.  Sometimes I feel so…lacking…when it comes to this blog.  I am not really a writer.  Nor am I a photographer.  I wondered if the world really needed another blog.

Then I realized that the world might not need another blog but I needed this blog and my family needed this blog.  First, I need an outlet – a place to create something and express my thoughts.  My family needs me to preserve our memories.  And with that, I had the purpose for this blog.  I want to write down what we do in our everyday as we strive towards our dreams.  I love to look back at some of the older posts and see my kids and how they’ve changed.  It’s a lot of fun to see the garden over the years and read about our homeschool.  Yes, I needed to keep the blog open.

And then, quite unexpectedly, someone commented to me that my blog helped them.  What?  This little blog helped someone?  At first, I panicked because I felt totally unqualified or unable to actually help someone.  (Still do, really)  But then I felt…honored (and quite humbled too).  Honored that God would use this little place to speak to someone in some way.  It is my prayer that I will always use this space on the web to bring glory to Him!

And what’s that got to do with Thanksgiving?

Nothing really.  {smile}  Other than just to say that sometimes this place might be a little behind on the times or not so eloquent but I’ll still keep sharing what’s on my mind and in my heart.

So…on to Thanksgiving… {smile} 

 photo taken by Emma (and that’s her feet too)

I love Thanksgiving.  Always have.  It is such a simple day.  Just a lot of yummy food.  Family.  And no pressure.  We talk, we laugh, we remember.

Thanksgiving has taken on a whole new twist for me these past few years though.  Six years ago, I met at the same house you see in the above pictures.   Six years ago, I stood in this yard and I talked with my Baby Brother.  We joked.  We had “our jokes”.  We laughed.  He was carrying a burden that day too.  He was going through some rough times in his life.  We talked about that too.  It’s just what siblings do.

 photo taken by Emma (can you tell I was too busy talking to take pictures at Thanksgiving)

And that was the last time that I talked to, hugged, laughed with, and advised my little brother.

Now I’m not trying to be all sad or make this a sad post.  Quite the opposite, actually.  I miss my little brother and I think of him often…especially at Thanksgiving.  But his death made me very aware that there are many things we need to do in our short times here on this earth.  And you’ve probably heard these same things many times but they are always worth repeating…even if it’s just to drill it through my thick head again! {smile}

 Emma shooting a b.b. gun

Live everyday to its fullest.

Laugh as much as possible and as often as possible.

Don’t cry over spilt milk.  (so cliche but so true)

 Abby riding at PawPaw and Grammy’s house

Spend time with family.

Take a lot of pictures…and take pictures of everything.

Let people know that you love them.  Hug them.  Let them know you appreciate them and how special they are to you.

 I spent time in my Dad’s garden the day after Thanksgiving…does it get any better than this? {smile}

 

Give generously to others.

Give not only your worldly goods but your time to others.

Spend some time doing what you love.

 fresh green beans from Dad’s garden

Spend time with God.  He is the Author of true peace and comfort.

Know God’s Son, Jesus.  Believe in Him.  Follow Him.

Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams or be different from the crowd.

 

 Grant shooting at targets with a b.b. gun

Don’t be afraid to show the real you.

Let others know you’re not perfect.  (I’m not saying complain but let others know that you mess up.  It makes you real. So talking to myself right here!)

And I’m sure that there are other things I could list but my tired mama brain is not bringing it forth right now.  (See…letting you know that I’m not perfect! {smile})

What about you?  What would you add to this list? 

I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit city girl

I was born in a large southern city and it was my home during my early years.  At the age of eight, my dad began pastoring a country church in another state.  It was a bit of a culture shock as I learned that I wouldn’t spend every Friday night at a certain seafood restaurant eating popcorn shrimp.  The state we moved to didn’t even have this restaurant in the nearest larger city.  (This restaurant did eventually open in this city though…but many, many years later.)

 

Despite the culture shock of going from city dweller to country dweller,  I learned to love the country during those two years that we lived deep in the country in the church’s parsonage.  There was a pond out in front of the house and I would spend my days there fishing with my Dad and asking him to take the fish off of the hook.  There were woods around the house and I made a little house on the edge.  I played outside daily and encountered all sorts of wildlife.

Then our family moved to a small town.  Our new town was so small that we had one store, one (small) library, a post office, a school, and a caution light!  (They later added a bank too. {smile})  I spent most of my life there in that small town…even came back after college to live there during the first four years of our marriage.  My childhood days were spent working in Grandma’s garden, going hunting with my Dad & brother, and working with friends in chicken houses. 

 the kids eating frozen fruit pops out front…this made me smile

David and I chose to leave that small town with our two young boys and move to a middle-sized city where he worked.  It has been a move that worked for us as we were now able to spend more time together as a family.  David’s commute was cut drastically and we’ve been very happy here.

I’ve lived in one of the largest cities in America right down to a country town that didn’t even have its own zip code!  (It used the zip for a “larger” town nearby.)  Sometimes I wonder if I’m more of a country girl or a city girl?

 my silly kids

I count myself as a country girl.  I love working in the garden and love getting my hands into the dirt.  I love my city chicks.  I love wearing my “muck” boots and walking barefoot through the grass.  I don’t mind animal yuckiness even though I don’t care for blood too much.  I would rather be outside than inside any day.  I love exploring nature and wildlife here in my own backyard.

But I’m a little bit city girl too.  I love to wear high heels and getting my hair highlighted.  I love to wear my wide-legged trouser pants to church with my heels and pearls (and then come home and go check on the chickens while wearing this outfit).   I love the convenience of the city.  I love being able to go out to eat and having many choices.  I love being able to do my shopping in spurts instead of spending one entire day shopping in the “big city”.  I love the activities and culture that the big city has to offer.

My heart is in the country.  One day we hope that our family will live in the country and have a real farm.  But for today, we live here in the city.  We aren’t really farmers (even though we call it our farm)…we are far from that dream.  But we do try to live a simpler country life here in the city. 

And it can be done.  If you are a city dweller who dreams of living in the country, you can make steps toward that dream.  Turn part of your backyard into a garden.  You will be amazed at what you can grow in a small space.  Learn more about gardening as you work towards your dream of country living.  That’s what we are doing…paying down debt by living a little more simply and learning about gardening.

 

If you are a city dweller who just wants to slow down a little bit, you can do that too.  Evaluate whether you need to add one more activity to your to-do list.  Don’t be afraid to say no when needed and cut back as needed too.  Stay home a little more.  Plant a few vegetables or herbs.  Just enjoy a slower lifestyle even if it’s only for a few days a week. 

Or maybe you are a city dweller and you love the city and don’t care to go country…that’s ok too.  I say just be who you are no matter where you are. 

As for me, I am a little bit country and a little bit city girl.

And I like it that way.  {smile}

 

 

Carpe Diem ~

And that, folks, is the extent of my Latin.

It is Latin, right?

~smile~

Whatever it is, I do know what it means.

Seize the Day

I love schedules, list, routines…if it organizes my days, I love it.

Those things keep me moving forward, give me focus, and help me to feel like I’ve had purpose to my days.

But there is one thing I have to always remember about schedules, lists, routines, etc.  It is that they are simply tools.

I don’t need to let them rule my life and make me miserable.  If I’m feeling stressed about completing a list and snapping at my family, then I know that I need to step away from the list.

 It’s so hot here right now.  (111 degrees one day!)  So outside time consists of swimming in the pool and jumping in the sprinkler at the same time.  Even though it was dusk when this picture was taken, it was still very hot outside.

This week I did ok with keeping myself from being so focused on a list and I stayed fairly laid back.  (Trust me, sometimes I am so not laid back!)  But I realized the importance of just throwing the schedules, lists, routines out the window for a while.

 Sorry for blurry pictures.  My camera doesn’t do so well in low light.  But notice that the kids had set up a spot light for their night swim!  Cracked me up!

 

The other night, the kids asked if they could go swimming. 

It was bedtime. 

Now, I realize that they may have been trying to stretch out that bedtime as late as possible.  They always want to stay up later.  (Which I so don’t get.  I’d go to bed early if someone made me!) 

And even though it was late.  We said “YES”.

Seize the Day

They swam for quite a while that night.  David and I actually got to sit and talk to each other for a while.  It was nice.

 

The next morning, they asked to go swimming again. 

I looked at my awaiting to-do list and said “YES”. 

Summer is almost over.  School will bring with it routines, schedules, and lists. 

Seize the Day

Childhood goes by rather quickly.  I have one child who will begin high school in one year!  I want his memories of his childhood to be filled with fun family times.

Will the work that needs to be done get done?

Yes.

Will everything on the list get done?

Maybe not today.  ~smile~

But I’ve got happy kids.  And happy kids make for a happy mom.  We all know that a happy mom makes for a happy home. 

Carpe Diem

And now I’m off to seize my day.  Today I will be catching up those things on my to-do list that can’t wait and probably going out to sit in 100 plus degrees while kiddos swim. 

This weekend will be a weekend of fixing up the school area and there is something pretty big happening this weekend too! ~wink~ 

Next week, will probably be a lot of homeschool talk since that’s all I can think about.  ~smile~  But if you need a little weekend reading, check out the curriculum choices on the “Not” Back to School Blog Hop. 

Have a blessed weekend, my blog friends!