To the Bestest Dad Ever...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my dear husband and the father of our five wonderful children who absolutely adore him!

He's only been a dad for almost 9 years, but I've loved him for over 16. (Our 16th anniversary is coming up next month.)

For all the wrestling, game playing, disciplining, reading, fort building, library going, pancake making, hot dog grilling and other incredible dad things you do...

WE LOVE YOU!

Enjoy your day! (And your new grill!)

Confessions over Company Girl Coffee

Good morning! Come on in and stay for a spell. I have to admit, I've been sleeping in lately. Until 7:30am, that is. You see, I am not a very big morning person. I wish I could wake up with as much energy and enthusiasm as my children, but I tend to drag my feet until I've had my first cup of coffee. Read on, if you dare, for a few more confessions about how I sometimes make it through my mornings :)

Confession #1: I let my kids watch cartoons in the morning. Yes, I admit it. As long as I approve of the show, they are allowed to watch it. I still believe in putting a limit on screen time, but I don't think it hurts any to let them watch their favorites. This morning's choice isn't even a cartoon. It's a show called "Hi Five", with songs and skits and puppets and they LOVE it! :) Truthfully, I love it too. I love the sound of the laughter it produces from my children.

Confession #2: Some mornings I use cheater breakfasts like toaster waffles. I try to pick the ones that have more fiber and less sugar, of coarse. Add some fruit and you have an instant kid pleaser. Once in a while I just have a morning when I need an easy "fix it yourself" breakfast.

Confession #3: I often sneak in a little devotion time while the kids are getting ready for school, or wherever we may be going that day. They are all old enough to get dressed by themselves now, so while I send them off to their rooms to get ready, I take a few quiet moments to myself. Sometimes it might be all I can get until they go to bed...especially during the summer.

Confession #4: When we have plans to go somewhere, I usually don't get ready until AFTER all my kids are ready. I know this is probably backwards, but I like the feeling of knowing everyone is good to go, so I can take whatever time that's left to tend to my own needs. This is especially helpful to me on Sundays so I know that when I'm ready all I have to do is announce that it's time to go out the door and everyone is dressed to shoes with no last minute surprises.

Now that you know a few of my coping methods to make it through my mornings, I'd love to hear some of yours. Do you have a morning routine? Anyone out there get up at the crack of dawn? (Gasp!) How do you start your day successfully?

Have a great weekend all!
~Melissa~

Company Girl Coffee "Summer Time"

Today is the last day of school! Summer break is finally here and I am looking forward to spending time with all my kids at home. We have two scheduled weeks of traveling. One is next week and we are going over the mountains to visit Grandparents. The other is in July, at the Oregon Coast. The last time we went to the Coast my oldest was turning 3. She'll be 9 in July, so you can see why we're a bit excited to spend a week at the ocean! We were blessed at Christmas with season passes to a nearby theme park, so we'll spend some time there together too.

Other than that, we spend our Summers pretty laid back. I am going to have some fun and make a poster with my kids that has suggestions of things to do when you get bored. I got the idea from a friend of mine. "50 Things To Do This Summer." All written out with boxes next to each suggestion so they can check things off as they go. We'll also take pictures as we go so that we can make a scrapbook at the end of summer. (Which will go on our list!)

I made a decision that I'm not going to put off making memories with my kids out of fear that everything won't be perfect. Not too long ago I read Beth Moore's book "So Long Insecurity," and there was a chapter in it that was basically a prayer for healing. One part of the prayer still lingers with me every time I hesitate to do something new that stretches my creativity abilities.

"Forgive me for being such a perfectionist that I resist doing something good out of the fear that it won't be great..."

On that note, I'm off to take my kids to their last day of school. It's only a half day, so maybe if the weather turns nice, I'll prepare a picnic lunch. Otherwise, we just might have a picnic in the middle of our living room. :)

Have a great summer all! I'll be seeing you around.
~Melissa~

The Birthday Boy

Today is my son BC's 7th birthday. We went and got donuts for breakfast, and cupcakes for his class, and pizza for dinner. :)











Then he opened his presents and we played Trouble together. It was a fun day. I can't believe he's already 7. They're growing up so fast.

Happy birthday son. I love you!

He will be Found

After a great worship night, I tucked the kids into bed, grabbed my computer, and began to search for a song that has been running through my head lately. I must have heard it on the radio because my husband (the Worship Pastor at our church) says we've never sang it church before. The song is "My Help Comes From the Lord," by The Museum. Great lyrics. Catchy tune. Here's the chorus:

Maker of heaven, giver of life
You are my strength, my song in the night
My refuge, my shelter, now and forever more
My help comes from the Lord.

Anyone who has read my blog before knows that I love a good worship song. Most of my playlist is made up of praise and worship songs that speak straight into my life. Tonight, my heart soared as I worshiped my God. It was as if there was only the two of us in the room and I was singing directly to Him. There's another worship song that has a refrain that goes "I don't wanna talk about You, like You're not in the room. Wanna look right at You, wanna sing right to You." Yes, His presence was thick in the sanctuary this evening. As I walked away, I didn't want to lose that feeling.

The great thing is, I don't have to! As long as I am seeking Him, He will be found.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a says:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you..." (Emphasis mine.)

Oh yes, He will be found. In the ordinary moments of my day. When I am preparing meals, He is there. When I am washing sticky fingerprints off the walls, He is there. He is found in the quiet moments that I steal away during the day and in the crazy loud laughter that comes with having five kids. I love that about God.

My 7 year old asked me on the way home tonight, "What did you do tonight mom?" To which I answered "I sang to God with all my heart, son."

Then my three year old asked, "Mommy, God was there?" And I said "Yes, son, God is everywhere."

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." -Psalm 105:4

Always singing, always seeking,
~Melissa~

Catching up over Company Girl Coffee

Hello friends...it's been a while. Not because I haven't wanted to sit down and blog. Mostly because I have been trying to be a little more frugal with my time. Every time I have sat down to blog this month I have asked myself the question "is there something better that I need to be doing with this time?" I use the word "better" because I don't believe that blogging is a waste of my time. It's just sometimes not the best use of my time.

That being said, why don't you grab your cup of whatever you're drinking today and we'll do a little catching up on things. I don't make any promises to stop by and visit everyone who's having coffee this weekend. All I can say is that I appreciate your company, and I'll do my best to make the rounds.

For those of you who may have been praying for my family member with cancer, my thanks go out to you. They had surgery to remove the tumor in their colon, and have been recovering from that. The doctors want to do chemotherapy, but can't begin the process until my family member gains back some weight and can walk on their own. We now know that the cancer has spread so it is stage IV. Your continued prayers are appreciated. We have a long road ahead of us. I did get to go and visit last month, and just knowing that I will see them in heaven, regardless of the outcome, is a comfort to me.

Here on the homefront we have been busy with all kinds of preparations for school year end. I can't believe I will have 4 out of 5 in school next year. LR goes to kindergarten roundup next week. She is so excited to start school. She has been practicing writing her name (first and last) and already knows all of the core words for kindergarten. She's even reading a little on her own now. She lost her third tooth this week. My baby girl is growing up.

Speaking of growing, this weekend we will be doing some moving around of furniture in the girls' room. LR has long since out-grown her toddler bed so we will be bringing up the twin long bed that matches her sister's from our spare bedroom tomorrow. Yesterday we went and picked out special sheets for her. I wanted to paint in their room too, but it's not in the budget right now. This is a great way to do some more cleaning and purging though, and it will definitely transform the room to look like new.

Only 2 more weeks left of school. We have two weeks of travel planned this summer. One in June, and one in July. The rest of our time will be spent here at home and around the town. Tell me...what are you doing with your kids this summer? I'd love to hear some ideas to keep busy.

Well, time to go! Gotta get those kiddos off to school. :) Thanks for stopping by and have a great Memorial Day weekend.

~Melissa~

Mother's Day Pictures

Last year I started a fun tradition with my kids on Mother's Day. Through the years I am going to take a picture with each of my kids. (For as long as they'll let me, anyway.) That way, I can look back at the photos and see how much they've grown. :) One day, after they're all grown and gone from the house, I want to put the photos all together in a special Mother's Day photo album. Let's see...that's 5 photos every year times x amount of years...well, it's a lot!

Here are this year's photos! (In order, youngest to oldest - CD, 3, LR, 5, BC, 6, JS, 7, RL, 8)