Just A Few Thoughts

Is it the end of June already?  My how time flies!  Too much has been going on to tell it all here.  How about a re-cap of the last week?  This past week I was...

Blessed... with a visit from my mom and sister.  We've lived here for a year now and this is the first time my mom has been able to come out and see our new home and the Dollar Plus store.  I was so excited to have both of them here and thankful that my sister would make the trip only a day after she finished up teaching for the year.  The visit ended all too quickly.

Encouraged... by a quote that I read in my "Praying God's Word Day by Day" devotional.  It read "Walking consistently does not mean walking perfectly.  It means we may stumble, but we will not fall."  When I lose my footing, the Lord is sure to come along and set my feet on solid ground again.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm."  (Psalm 40:1-2)

Frustrated... that my dog keeps digging out of our yard and I now have to keep him on a chain when he is alone.  Remember that story, the Pokey Little Puppy?  That's what my dog reminds me of.  He just has to get out into the wide wide world and see what's out there!

Joyful...  because my kids had so much fun at VBS this week.  They came home singing all kinds of fun songs and telling stories about what they learned.  It was a great experience for them.  They made lots of new friends and learned many good lessons from the Word.

Weary... from a long month of events, travelling, and excitement. I anticipate a busy July, where the fun will continue.  Many parents pack the Summer full with sports, swimming lessons, camping, and other events, but not me.  We plan one major trip (in August) and the rest of the Summer seems to fill itself up without my help.  We have company coming next week for the 4th of July and there are 3 birthdays and a family reunion plus our anniversary in July.  I try to take advantage of every moment of down time!

Reflective... because we have been here for almost exactly a year now.  It has been a good year.  The kids love their school and have made a lot of good friends.  I am so thankful for this house and for the family that lives here.  Over all, we are very blessed.

I guess that brings me full circle to blessed!  I hope that you also feel blessed by the Lord in this journey of life. 

~Melissa

^"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." -Ephesians 1:3

Where I Find My Strength

This is such a beautiful song and the prayer that has been rising from my heart lately.  Just thought I would share it.  The name of the song is "Please Be My Strength."  Their new album "Ghosts Upon the Earth" comes out September 20th if you like their style.

I've tried to stand my ground
I've tried to understand
But I can't seem to find
My faith again

Like water on the sand
Or grasping at the wind
I keep on falling short

So please be my strength
Please be my strength
'Cause I don't have any more
I don't have any more

I'm looking for a place
Where I can plant my faith
One thing I know for sure

I cannot create it
And I cannot sustain it
It's Your love
That's keeping me

Please be my strength
Please be my strength
I don't have any more
I don't have any more

And at my final breath
I hope that I can say
I fought the good fight
Of faith

I pray your glory shines
This doubting heart of mine
And all would know that You

You are my strength
You are my strength

You and You alone
You keep bringing me back home

Oh, You are my strength
You are my strength

You and You alone
Keep bringing me back home
It's You and You alone
Bringing me back home

This and That - CG Coffee 4.29.11

I don't have any ONE thing that I want to post about this morning, so I'm just going to hit some highlights from this month and call it good.  Please excuse my randomness today. :)

The first week of April was our Spring break.  Spring hasn't really happened here yet.  In fact, it snowed this morning!  I'm not complaining though.  My heart and prayers go out to the people in this country that are dealing with the devastating tornadoes that have passed through their towns.  It has definitely been a tough Spring for them.

On April 14th, we opened the doors to our Dollar Plus Store.  There is definitely a need for it in the location we chose.  Once everything was out on the shelves and ready to go it was pretty impressive.  It wasn't long before my husband had to order more product to re-stock the shelves where customers had cleaned out the inventory.  After two weeks I think he's getting a handle on when to order and what to keep in back-stock.

Last week my life-long friend and mentor came for a visit.  I really loved having her company along with her Daughter-in-Law and Grandson.  She cut my hair and LR's while she was here.  LR has been begging to have her hair cut short for a while now.  No more tangles! :) 






My Expert Egg Finders!



Easter weekend we went to my MIL's house to celebrate with family.  We hid over 300 eggs in their back yard for the kids to find.  The weather was beautiful!  It's the first sun I've actually felt warming me in months.  It was nice to soak up some vitamin D for a change.  I loved watching the kids as they enjoyed the fresh air and HUGE back yard to play all sorts of games.



306 Eggs!



Lookin' Good!

JS got his glasses this morning.  It's a totally new feeling for him, so he'll have to get used to wearing them.  Hopefully they will help him see better in school and at home when he's doing his homework.  I know eyes change a lot at his age (8), so we'll have him checked again this summer as a follow-up.  I think he looks very handsome in them.  He looks even more like his dad now.



My DH is looking around at homes for us now.  We're down to the 7 week mark 'til we move.  I haven't been doing as much packing as I should, but it's slowly coming along.  I try to do a little bit every day.  I'm getting pretty "garbage" and "donate" happy.  The way I look at it, if it hasn't been used in the last year, then why should I keep it?

Speaking of which, I should probably get back to it.  I want to keep on top of my list.  Thanks for stopping by for coffee to chat and have a great weekend!

~Melissa



Company Girl Coffee 2.11.11

T.G.I.F! I'm happy to have made it to the end of the week. I have been trying to stick with my 28 in 28 challenge, despite this cold that we're passing around. We've thrown out plenty of garbage, packed boxes of things we don't need and stored them in the garage for the move, and bagged/boxed up items to donate. I am going to reach well beyond my goal of 28 bags by the end of this month.

Today was the 100th day of school. LR was so excited! She's been looking forward to it for some time now. The kindergarten classes celebrated together with a popcorn party and lots of activities involving the number 100.

This morning with my 4yr old I finished off one of the hardest puzzles we've ever done. It took us a few days to complete it. Everyone pitched in to help. We didn't realize until we were half way into it that all the pieces had two holes and two prongs. It made it rather difficult because they all seemed alike. The picture was also a lot like a painting, so the colors all blended together. I'm glad it's done. Now we can move on to the next one! :)

Today we got an offer on my dad's house. I'm happy that there is a couple interested in buying it but I have mixed feelings about the possibility of that chapter of my life being closed. I have a lot of fond memories involving that old house. Growing up we would go and visit my Grandma there and after she passed away, my dad moved in. I was living in Seattle at the time, so I would go over and just hang out with him. I miss my dad so much. It's hard to say goodbye to a home that has been such a big part of my life, but I know the memories will remain stored up in my heart forever.

Speaking of memories, we only have two Sundays left at our church. Last week was my husband's final sermon. He did a great job. He got a little choked up when he was talking about how it's God's will for us all to be plugged in at a church. We are going to miss our church family so much! Our time there has been wonderful.

Things are really coming together for the new store. My DH has been planning and ordering, preparing for the big convention that he and my Father in Law will go to in two weeks. They will be ordering all the product for the store there. When they return home from that, they will begin setting up shelves and preparing for opening day! It's all so exciting!

Well, I've got to be moving on to the next thing on my list, but I'm looking forward to getting around for coffee this week. Have a great weekend all! Thanks for stopping in to visit. :)

~Melissa

Sanctuary in the Middle of Change

I've been thinking a lot this week about my Homekeeping Mission Statement for 2011. The first time I wrote one, was back in 2008, when I joined the Company Girl fun and dove into Small Things.

Back then, I had a one year old, a three year old, a four year old, a five year old, and a six year old! Needless to say, I needed that mission statement to keep me sane! Today, my children are a little older, and four out of five of them are in school. Though the wording has changed some, the main statement (in bold) has stuck with me.

HOMEKEEPING MISSION 2011
I want my home to be, peaceful, simple, and cozy. I will value my relationships with my husband and children by showing them unconditional love and acceptance. I will maintain a reasonable housekeeping schedule and designate chores to keep clutter at bay. I will decorate tastefully and affordably, creating a relaxing environment for my family and all who enter my home.

Do you recognize the three elements in the beginning? They may be different words, but they are still the same three legs of an old reliable stool. Peace, Order, and Beauty. You can find the origin of this story on Rachel Anne's Blog.

And now for my big announcement:
My family will be moving to a new location in June of 2011! We have the opportunity to begin a new business adventure in my husband's home town, where his parents still live. I will be blogging more about it in the future, but today I simply wanted to share the good news with you over coffee.

Over the next several months, I will be living out my Homekeeping Mission Statement while I pack, organize, and slim down our belongings. I'll be honest with you. Maintaining sanctuary in our home while preparing for the big move will be a challenge. Hopefully, with a little patience and a lot of prayer, this Company Girl will be able to keep peace, order, and beauty alive in the middle of it all. :)

May all of your homes be blessed in 2011!
~Melissa

The Blessing of a Smile

This morning when I woke up and came out into the living room, I was greeted with this beautiful smile!All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth...

In every smile there is a blessing. I am incredibly blessed.

Why not pass on the blessing of a smile to someone you meet today?

~Melissa

Safety First!

This week my children learned about fire safety in school. Yesterday one of my sons approached me a little concerned and asked "Mom, does Dad check those white things on the ceiling regularly to make sure they work?" It took me a minute to figure out that he was talking about our fire alarms. I told him yes, but he wasn't satisfied. "But does he check them every week? Because if there's a fire, we want to be safe."

His persistence made me smile. We have talked about exit strategies and where we would meet, and other fire safety rules. Should there ever be a fire in our home, (which I hope and pray never happens) we will be ready for it. I believe it is important to educate my children here at home about safety matters, and I'm glad they teach it in school also.

Apparently, after a week of discussing fire safety, someone thought it would be a good idea to have our own personal fireman watching over us. Let me explain with photos.

Do you see him there, at the top right corner of the fireplace? Here...I'll move in a little closer for you.

When I questioned my son about it this morning he said that the fireman was making sure we are safe. That's my boy! Safety first! :)

Have a great day everyone...and be safe!

Please Don't Follow Me Just to Get Your Name Out There!

All right, this is just a short post to apologize if I offended anyone by blocking them from joining my blog. In the future, if you are that person and would like to join, please identify yourself in the comments section. If I have never heard of you then it is likely that I will block you because this is my personal blog that I share with family and friends. It is not a blog to join if you would like to advertise your organization or promote your cause. I don't even really have that many followers, so you'd be better off latching yourself on to someone else's blog. Again, my deepest apologies if you sincerely wanted to follow my blog with genuine interest in what I have to say here.

To my regular followers, I am sorry if they used my list to tack onto you.
Thank you,
~Melissa~

Monday Miscellany

It's Monday, and I'm ready to face another week! If only I hadn't stayed up so late last night!

Do you like the new look of my blog? I figured, as long as I'm giving my laundry room a makeover, I might as well do the same for my blog! Thanks, A, for letting me be your guinea pig as you learn a new program! :) I love how colorful it is.

Speaking of the laundry room, I'm still making progress. I have cleaned off the desk and am ready to take it apart. The huge "L" shape just does not fit well in there, so for now, we'll just keep the hutch. I'll be spending quite a bit of time down there today doing laundry, so hopefully I'll get a lot more accomplished.

I took Saturday off from the project to spend the morning at a friend's house making projects of a more creative kind. My sweet friend A (the same one who designed my blog) let me use her craft supplies to make valentine boxes for my kids. Last year the valentines that they brought home got spread all over the house. This way, they can be kept in their special containers. Thanks again A!

Today over at Home Sanctuary Rachel Anne is helping us Menu Plan for an entire month! I tend to be a weekly planner, (I have about 9 weeks of menus, recipes, and grocery lists saved on my computer so far) but if you've never menu planned before, her instructions are a great way to start! Then there's no guess work involved in what's for dinner. :)

Well, I had best get started on my laundry and other chores for the day!
Have a great week all!
~Melissa~

Our Week in Review

We celebrated the last of our July Birthdays last week. Summer brings a parade of Birthdays starting on June 10th and ending July 21st. 4 birthdays, just in our immediate family. If you count the Aunt, Uncle, Great Grandmother, and friends of the family, well, you get the picture! It's a whole lot of birthday cake!!! That's enough sweets to last me until Thanksgiving! (Which, incidentally, is around the time that we begin the rest of our birthday celebrations!)

In other news, BC lost his first tooth on Thursday! He was so excited. Wednesday he came to me and exclaimed "My tooth is loose, my tooth is loose!" He wanted it to fall out right then. I told him to be patient and let it come out when it was ready. He went back to swimming, and a few minutes later he came to me and said "Mommy, I don't think I should swim anymore because of my loose tooth." I smiled big and told him it was ok to swim with a loose tooth, but he had already made up his mind. I think he was afraid it would fall out in the water never to be found again!

The next day I could hear him shouting clear on the other side of the house "My tooth fell out!!!!" We immediately put the tooth in a baggy for safekeeping until that night. He wanted to keep it under his pillow but since the boys were "camping out" in their bedroom on the floor that night I told him that it would probably be safer on the book shelf next to him. He was very happy the next morning to find 4 shiny quarters in its place! :)

While BC was busy losing his first tooth, RL decided to come down with a stomach virus. She woke up sick Thursday morning and continued to throw up well into the afternoon. She seemed to be feeling better for a while, but that evening she started up again. Since she has a past history of getting dehydrated when sick, I decided to see how the night went, but call the doctor in the morning.

I woke up at 5:30am Friday to RL still sick. At 8:00am I called the Dr. and made the appointment. The soonest they could see her was 11:00am. It was not good news. The Dr. sent us to the ER with hopes that they could put her on an IV there and rehydrate her. After 4 tries to get an IV in (OUCH...my little girl was so brave) they took a "break" and brought in the best nurse they had to do the job. They finally got a drip going and we waited for the blood test results to come back.

More bad news settled in when the ER Dr. said that he didn't think that a few hours on an IV was going to do it. He wanted to admit her to the hospital over night. This would be my third stay with her in the hospital due to dehydration. I waited until we were settled in her room and called her dad to tell him the news.

I was impressed and rather relieved at how quickly the Children's Hospital Dr. came to see us in her room. After going over RL's history, she talked with me about a theory that hasn't come up in past visits. (Both of the other times were at a different hospital.) She said that since RL's blood sugar has been low with each incident that we should look into seeing an Endocrinologist. She even called the specialist for me and they agreed that RL needs to be seen.

I stayed the night with RL at the hospital and by morning she was rehydrated and eating again. Yesterday around 1:00pm we arrived home. Tired, but happy to be here. Tomorrow I will call and make an appointment with the specialist. I hope to find some answers as to why she gets dehydrated so quickly. For now though, I am just glad to see my baby girl smiling again.

Well, that's the news for now! I am taking a recovery day today. Recover our health, recover the house! That way I'll be ready to face the new week set before me. :)

Thankfulness in Busy Times

Hi all! It's the first Tuesday of a brand new month! I've been kind of scarce lately because we've been really busy around here. Seems like there's something going on every weekend now, and the calendar looks just as full in June. Today I want to take time to stop and give thanks in the midst of it all and share a little about what's been happening here.

May 23-24th was our quick trip to Seattle with our three older kids. We got to hang out with a friend we haven't seen in years. I am so thankful that we got to reconnect, meet his wife and daughter, and just spend time with their family. They were so gracious to open their home to us and provide us with free tickets to the game on Sunday.

The game! It was so fun! What a great first baseball game experience for our kids. We walked around the stadium and enjoyed the sights. We even got Branden Morrow's autograph. When the game started, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run in the first inning! All in all, it was a great game, and the Mariners won. :)

Although I had a nice trip, I was glad to be home to my youngest two again on Sunday. I am so thankful for all five of my children! I couldn't imagine life without any of them. We spent Monday (Memorial Day Holiday) just hanging out as a family. I love days like that. We worked in the yard and played a little too. Good family bonding time.

Last week I worked some more on Spring cleaning. I spent time in the kitchen on my cupboards and continued to sort, organize and purge. Sometimes I wish I had more kitchen space, but I am thankful for what room I do have. It is my space and what I make of it is up to me. Sometimes all we need is a little imagination to make a space our own. :)

Friday rolled around and it was finally time for my girlfriend's retreat to Women of Faith! I had been looking forward to it for months! My friends picked me up at 8:30am and we headed down to the Arena. What an awesome first day! The speakers, the worship, the company...I am so thankful for all of it!

Another friend was able to join us for dinner and we had a BLAST! We had dinner in style. I am so thankful to my friend Michelle, who made this all possible for me. I only paid for my ticket and t-shirt. She blessed me with a whole lot more!


The evening session ended with a Steven Curtis Chapman concert! I love his music. He's one of the first Christian singers that I started listening to back in my teens. It was a treat to see him in person and I am thankful he was part of the conference.

The fun continued at our motel that night. Andrea met up with us again and the five of us played games and just hung out. It was the silliest time ever! We laughed until we cried. I am so thankful for friends that I can just let go with!

Here's the kicker...in the middle of the night sometime I got sick. I didn't stop throwing up until well after dawn. You know what though? Even though I missed the second day of the conference, I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with friends and I am glad they were there to pray for me and watch over me when I needed them. Andrea brought me home where I spent most of the day sleeping and recovering from what must have been a touch of the flu. Thanks for looking out for me girls!

I could not go without saying how thankful I am for my loving husband. He is, in my mind, the greatest for letting me have a special weekend while he watched the kids. Even when I came home sick early on Saturday morning, he took care of the kids all day so that I could rest. He made sure that I had peace and quiet, which is not easy in a house full of kids! I love him so much!

Well, that's my list for this week! I have so much to be thankful for and I am glad to share it with you. Have a great week!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Rainy Days and Mondays sung by Karen Carpenter is an old favorite of mine.

What is it about a Monday that makes it so hard to get moving? Is it because I have to get my children back on morning routine after two days of sleeping in? Could it be that I have a hard time getting motivated after a relaxed weekend with the family? Maybe it's the anticipation of a long to-do list as I do most of my house cleaning on Mondays.

Actually, it's probably a combination of all these things. This morning though, I think it also has something to do with the fact that the weather took a turn for the worse. It was so nice yesterday for Mother's Day. Today the clouds have rolled in and the rain has taken over.

It's time to turn on a little upbeat music, get to work, and I'll be "Singin' in the Rain!" in no time! :)

What do you do to get motivated on days like these???

Bad Hair Day

This morning I woke up feeling like this:

But then I realized that "bad hair day" doesn't have to mean bad day!

"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful!" -Psalm 68:3