Company Girl Coffee 8.4.09

Good morning girls! Even though Rachel Anne is having technical difficulties this morning, I thought I'd share a cup of coffee before I head out for the weekend with my family. You see, this weekend is Tent City, at my in-laws. :) It's where my DH's many siblings get together and camp out for the weekend. We're the only ones with children so far, which means lots of attention for my kiddos from their aunts and uncles! It is loads of fun.

Speaking of fun, my mom came out on Monday. We went to see Fiddler on the Roof on Tuesday night. My sister in law joined us. It was so good! It is the last tour for Topal, who played the father in the movie as well. We missed the first song (because guess who forgot the tickets). Even so, I enjoyed myself immensely. It was such an incredible performance! Thanks mom!

Kids are back in school and trying to settle into a routine. It always takes a while before we are used to the school schedule. I am still debating if I want to have my kids ride the bus home this year. I really enjoy picking them up at school. I love chatting with them on the way home about the day's events. My problem is that I still have two kids at home and I've been having to wake them up from nap on occasion to get there on time. I don't like the thought of the kids riding the bus home, (they had to do it all last year and bus life is INSANE) but I also don't like having to wake up my little ones either. What do you think?

Starting soon they will at least have to ride the bus twice a week. I got a babysitting job watching a cute 10 month old. :) He is adorable. It is two days full time and one half day. I met with his mom this week and it turns out that her husband played softball with my husband at our church a couple years back. God is so good. I got the job because my hairstylist gave my number to her friend, and it turns out we already know the couple! Small world, big God.

Well, I better tend to last minute packing and get my kiddos some breakfast. Have a great weekend all!
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee

Hi there! Grab a cup (you might need two) and let me catch you up on what's been happening in our lives while I have been on a blogging break. :)

I decided to go on an adventure with my kids this month across the state, without the company of their dad. The first big hurdle was the packing. We were going to be gone for 10 days, and packing for five kids and myself for 10 days was quite the feat! I ended up packing for about half that, because I knew I would have access to a washer/dryer where we were staying.

We headed out over the mountains and met my sister for lunch on the other side. Actually the kids were a lot better in the car than I expected. Most of our first day was spent driving and they did great. The best thing about that first day was that it was raining when we arrived. It was a welcome change to the severe heat we'd been having here.

The next few days are kind of a blur to me! We crammed in everything imaginable, like swimming, going to the beach, taking a nature hike, visiting a game farm, a marina, and more.

Saturday evening we caught a ferry to our final stop, beautiful Whidbey Island. I was born and raised there, and we spent Sunday to Wednesday visiting with family, walking on the beach, and playing in the sun. We were visited by the Tooth Fairy twice during our stay. Once for RL, and the very next day for CD.

Originally we were supposed to come home on Wednesday, but I extended the trip an extra day so that a good friend of mine could follow me back over the mountains as a travel companion. This I was very grateful for, because traveling 8-9 hours with 5 kids by myself at this point sounded exhausting! We came back the scenic route and stopped by the river for lunch, which I successfully fell in and got drenched! Luckily, even though my camera got wet, the trip's pictures, and my camera were saved.

I arrived home a very tired mama! It was well worth it though. We will share many happy memories from it for years to come.

Well, that's our trip. I wish I could show you all 150 pictures that I took on the trip, but they won't fit here. If you happen to be one of my friends on facebook, you can see more there. :)

School started yesterday, but I'll leave that special post for a different day. You're probably running out of coffee by now!

It's good to be back to share coffee with you. Have a great weekend everyone!
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee on Saturday

Good morning! Come on in and grab a cup of coffee. Yesterday I found myself without coffee. In fact, my cupboards and fridge were quite bare! I ended up making a very long grocery list and heading for the store yesterday afternoon when my DH got home. I was very proud of myself because I was very organized and took advantage of the sale going on at our local grocery store. The deal was if you bought $30 in certain products, you would get back $15 in coupons towards your next shopping order. So I separated out my list and made three different transactions. The $15 I got back on the first one went towards the second one (which I only paid $8 for after coupons) and then the $15 I got back on the second one went towards the third transaction. There was a girl behind me in line that was asking all kinds of questions because she had just started using coupons and wanted to know how I was saving so much money. I love catalinas! The trick is to be prepared (know what products are included in the deal) before you go to the store and then stick to your list!

It's quiet here this morning. The kiddos are sleeping in. Before very long, Saturdays will be the only day that they can do that! I can't believe there are less than three weeks before school starts. We're headed out for vacation on Monday so what's left of summer will slip by quickly. Sadly, we have to leave their daddy behind because he doesn't have enough vacation stored up yet to go with us. We're going camping as a family Labor Day weekend though, so that will be fun.

I've been reading a book lately that I just can't seem to put down. It's called "Three Cups of Tea." I highly recommend it! My mom read it and then gave me a copy. Once I finally picked it up and started reading, I couldn't believe I waited that long.

Here's a review from the web site:

In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time , Greg Mortenson, and journalist David Oliver Relin, recount the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

If you go to the Three Cups of Tea Web site and purchase the book there, 7 percent of your purchase will go toward a girls' education scholarship fund in Pakistan and Afghanistan. If you haven't already read it, I would encourage you to check it out yourself!

Well, the kiddos are finally stirring so I better get some breakfast started. I'm glad I could share coffee with you. Thanks for stopping by!

Siesta Scripture Memory Verse 8.1.09

I've been thinking a lot lately about God as my Rock. This image and verse were so generously provided by Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary last month. She had a wonderful devotion to go along with the verse.

Her thoughts struck me so deep that I decided to choose Isaiah 51:1 as my memory verse for the first half of August. As I commit this verse to memory, my focus and emphasis will be on these words "Look to the Rock..."

I'm sure it's no coincidence that Rachel Anne posted this verse right before I was praying about what verse to memorize this time around. God is showing me exactly what it means to me that He is "my Rock and my Fortress" (see 7.15 memory verse). I am glad that He uses others along the way to do so.

Thank you Rachel Anne, for sharing your heart!

Does God Sleep?

Isaiah 40:28-29
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

I asked my boys this morning if they thought that God sleeps. It was very interesting to hear their opposite responses.

BC said "No. 'Cause God doesn't get tired, and He has a lot to do."

JS said "Yes. Because God does all kinds of stuff all over the world and He needs to rest."

I don't know about sleep, but I think they are both right in a way. God doesn't get tired, but He does take time to rest.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." -Genesis 2:1-3

Around the House and Close to My Heart

This week over coffee Rachel Anne asked what projects we have going on around the house. Not too much happening here, accept that we need to replace our utility sink. Last week I realized there was a clog, and when my DH took it apart to fix it, we realized that there was some decay going on both with the pipe, and the drain hole in the sink. Time for a new sink! It looks like we're going to get one for a steal at $20 but we have to buy the faucet. DH will work on that tomorrow, but until then, he's fixed the washer hose to the drain pipe so I can still do laundry! Boy was I relieved to know I wasn't going to get too far behind on that!

Other than that, this last week was Kids' Camp at our Church. It was M-W. My older two got to camp out on church grounds and have lots of fun learning and playing games. It was their first time away from home over night without either mom or dad. They did great.

The theme was "Sticky Faith...Letting Jesus stick to you." When I picked up the kids on Wednesday they had all kinds of fun things to tell me, but one thing really blessed my heart.

My 7 yr old asked Christ into his heart during camp! I knew he was close. He's been talking about Jesus like they're best buds lately. I wish I could have been there for the moment, but I get to stick around for a lifetime to watch him grow in Christ. :) That's him, just a bit tired after we got home from camp.










My youngest kids camped out here at home. We played games and swam in the back yard. We even built a special tent in the boys' bedroom where it was nice and cool for them to sleep. All in all, it was a great time. We were all glad to have JS and RL back home on Wednesday.

Yesterday was my 15th Anniversary. (Scroll down to previous post to read my thoughts.) I made him his favorite dinner and then blessed him with a massage. He's blessing me by working on his "honey-please-do" list. :) This morning he vacuumed the coils on the back of the fridge. That was a HUGE item marked off my list!

The weather is reaching the 100degree mark here now. Too hot for me. I try to stay in doors as much as possible. The kiddos are using the pool lots. It was well worth the purchase. I think probably next year we'll have to upgrade in size though. They are my little fishes! :)

Well, have a great weekend all! I'm going back to work here around the house.

We are in love! (15 years and counting!)

Today is my 15th anniversary! I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday that I was walking down that wedding isle. We had an afternoon wedding, and it is as hot today as I remember it being 15 years ago!

Sorry to get up close and personal with the photo of us, but my husband is not a camera man. When I asked him if it was ok to take a picture of us for my blog, this is what I got! That's one of the many things I love about him though. He can make me laugh, no matter what the occasion. the song playing in the backround was the song that we walked out to after we were pronounced man and wife. :)

Actually, today is just like any other day of the year. It's Thursday, and the kids and I greeted him this morning and happily sent him off to work with hugs and kisses. There are no bells and whistles going off, and we don't have any special romantic plans for the evening. I simply gave him a squeeze, told him I loved him, and was looking forward to seeing him when he got home. We don't have a lot of extra money right now, so a massage by candle-light after the kids go to bed will be my gift to him.

But isn't that what marriage is all about? It's about serving your spouse in ways that make them feel loved. A romantic touch, an e-mail, a phone call during the day to say "I'm thinking of you." Perhaps it's a listening ear when they need one, or a sympathetic nod to indicate that you feel bad they had a rough day. I prefer to celebrate our marriage with the little things that happen every day. I don't need some fancy restaurant and a movie to make this day special.

Thank you for loving me for 15 years dear! You make me a better person and I look forward to the next 15 years of our lives together. :)