Yard Sale!!!

   Is it just me, or do you not realize how much you are attached to things until you try to get rid of them? We're having a yard sale this weekend, and this isn't a "clean out the attic of everything we haven't used in years" kind of yard sale. This is a "Get rid of everything that's not going to Brazil" kind of yard sale.  I'm not really a sentimental person, but getting rid of everything all at once is proving to be harder than I thought.

  There are things in my house that were obviously never going to Brazil with us, but they're decorations or things we use often and so it just wasn't something I thought about. Then I'm walking through the house looking for things to price and sell this weekend and it's "oh, yeah, I have to say goodbye to that too."

  Toys was the first things to go. The kids are down to around three toys a piece. YAY!!  And you know what, they have actually been playing with those toys, as opposed to dumping all the toys in the floor and not being able to find anything to play with.

  Side Note: I realize that I ended that last sentence with a preposition, but I think the correct grammar would be "with which to play", and who even talks like that?? 

  I've also had Woody's panic scene from Toy Story 2 going through my head for the last week.
"YAARRRDDD SAAALLLEEE. GUYS THERE'S A YARD SALE OUTSIDE!!"

  I'm also trying to come up with some eye catching signs for our yard sale. Let me share a few that I've found. 

  Nothing like using the force on them. 

Or having Batman invite to the yard sale. I would probably go to one if they had this sign. Just out of pure curiosity. 

This is also one that would spark my curiosity. Simply because they were creative with the sign. Even if it ended up being grannies old "collectibles", it'd be worth a stop. 

   That's all I've got for ya, because I have to go through the rest of my house. I'd love any suggestions for yard sale signs! And if you live in my area and are interested in coming, message me on Facebook (actually mom's Facebook) or Instagram and I'll give you my address. 

You Know It's VBS Week When ...

We've been busy with VBS around here this week. Our Midsummer Knights theme included a full-size castle built across the entire platform.

And more toys and 2-liters than you can count.

You know it's VBS week when--

--you do the dishes at 6:00 a.m., not because you care if your kitchen is clean, but because the dirty coffee cups are piling up and no one can do without caffeine this week.

--Your emoji menu's most used section includes crying and angry faces, weapons and a coffin.

--You stop often in the middle of a conversation, and you don't even realize it until the next day when the same topic comes up.

--It's the one week of the year when you have to consider couple's counseling.

--You can't get the VBS theme song out of your head.

--You've become adept at smiling through clenched teeth.

--You're seriously sick of popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy.

--You're meals consist of popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy.

--If you get to eat anything else, it's something you got at a drive through.

--You find yourself choosing outfits based on comfort and number of pockets instead of looks.

--You discard outfits because they don't go with your tiara … only to realize VBS ended two weeks ago.

--You find yourself saying things like, "Don't get close to the kids when you're wearing the weapon from your costume", "Who's playing Ugga Bugga this year", and "Did you get the pickles and the whipped cream?"

It's all worth it for adorable smiles like these.

And it's even more worth it when you consider that we've had 61 salvations so far this week. So what do you do for Vacation Bible School?

Happy Thoughts Thursday

So you've made it through half the week, but it's still not Friday yet. Sometimes by Thursday you need a little lift to make it to the weekend.

Our solution? Happy Thought Thursday. On Tuesdays you can drop a pet peeve or an irritation. On Thursdays, give us a praise, a thankfulness, or something that just makes you happy. Your contributions on Thursday can be deep and spiritual, such as thankfulness for your salvation, or as shallow as a cup of coffee or a good hair day.  Here are our happy thoughts for this week:

Stephanie: Applying for our visas went smoothly!
                     
Kylee: cuddling my kids

Jill:  48 decisions so far during Vacation Bible School!


 what about you? What makes you happy today?

My Man, Matt

It has been a little over 8 years since I went to my first Vacation Bible School. It was a special one in that, it was the first time Matt had invited me to spend time with him and his family.  Yes, it’s such a busy time but he had told his parents he wanted me to come during VBS so that I could see what his family was all about.  I was nervous simply because I had no idea what to expect. Prior to me coming to that VBS, Matt was threatened informed that he isn’t to be distracted or flirt, he still had to do his job. So he took that to the extreme and during VBS hours he basically ignored me. No one at the church even knew I was there for him until we sat together at church Wednesday night.

He was the emcee (and still is) for Vacation Bible School which means I got to see a side of him that I clearly hadn’t gotten to see yet. We had just met one month before so I only knew what I got from our phone calls.  As he led an auditorium full of kids being “all in” and goofy, I couldn’t help but to watch in adoration.  He truly enjoyed what he was doing and made sure the kids were having a great time.

The end of the week had approached and I knew that Matt was the one for me. 

The next year we weren’t together for VBS but that’s because we were 2 weeks away from our wedding. However, each year since then I’ve gotten the opportunity to work beside him and that’s not something I will ever take for granted. It has been interesting and exciting learning how to work together to make things happen and I love that we’re on the same team.

To this day and each year I still love watching him lead VBS. He is goofy and patient. His smile is infectious and his love for the Lord is admired.  Not to mention, he has awesome costume choices. I’m blessed to have him as my husband!

Testy Tuesdays

It's that time again. Just below are the pet peeves that are driving us crazy this week. Add your own in the comments, or ditto someone else. Commiserate with each other, blow off steam and go on your merry way.

Kylee: trying to come up with pet peeves 🤔

Stephanie:   when the little fairies and elves don't refill the ice cube trays or close the cupboards. 

Jill:  when the church phones quit working the day VBS starts.

Now it's your turn. What's bugging you?

Coffee in My Corner

    I'm not really a morning person. I very much enjoy my sleep in the mornings. It used to be that I would sleep until one of the kids woke me up, and thus started the day. And I always felt like I was trying to catch up with the day as it flew by. Then by 9 every night, I was exhausted and I didn't always feel like I'd accomplished a whole lot even though I went non-stop all day.

  It wasn't until I was doing a devotional book, and one of the chapter was about how we always seem to be "too busy" in our lives. The point was that we are rushing about life and seem to have so much to do, but are those things we "have to do" the things that God wants us to be doing. 

  On those days that I rushed around trying to catch up with my day, I would try to squeeze in my devotions and time with the Lord, and sometimes it would stress me out all the things that I still had to do. Did I have time to sit down and read my Bible for a while? What wouldn't get done because I stopped to do that? I still needed to run to the grocery store, and make sure we don't get behind on laundry, and dishes, and take care of the kids, and help that friend that I said I'd help... etc.

  While all of those are good and important things, the top of God's "to do" list for me was to spend time with Him. So I had to make a change. Once I realized that, getting up early in the morning became a priority. When I get up and spend some quiet time with Him, It's amazing how different the day goes. I can be up and get my coffee and sit in my corner on the couch with God's Word. There's time to spend time with Him, pray, and even stare at a wall and collect my thoughts before the kids wake up!

   When I can greet them as they get up instead of them greeting me when I wake up it makes it a lot easier to be a nice, happy momma in the mornings. Don't judge me, because I'm sure if you woke up with a little face about an inch from yours yelling, "momma, I need muffins and strawberry milk!!!" you don't get up with the happiest attitude either.

It's a reality, people...

  Don't get me wrong, there are still those mornings, but I've learned that having that coffee in my corner with Him is an absolute necessity to survival! Should be a no-brainer, but sometimes we like to do things the hard way. So, do you have a "coffee corner" spot?

Birthday Shenanigans

Yesterday was this guy's second birthday! 

  I don't know where the last two years disappeared to, because it doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was 8 months pregnant, walking around our lego themed Vacation Bible School dressed as "Prego Lego" .  Some friends reminded me of that memory the other day, and it feels like it just happened. Yet somehow, it's been two whole years. 

  We had his party last weekend when we had a bunch of family in, so yesterday we decided to just make it a fun day. We invited his best friend over and we set out on an adventure. He did not know that the adventure was the build a bear "pay your age" event. That adventure got changed to Chik-fil-A  for lunch after we saw the line that wrapped around the entire second floor of the mall. 

  After that exhausting fail, we went the forty minutes back to our house for a nap break before the birthday adventures resumed. Once we got all four children down and asleep at the same time, we did a happy dance. Just kidding, but no really.. it is a great accomplishment to make four children sleep at the same time.  

Two hours later, the adventure resumed, and we went swimming in the dinosaur pool in the yard. There was an hour of splashing daddy, throwing the basketballs out of the pool just so they could go get them and bring them back to the pool, singing "if you're happy and you know it make a big splash", and the occasional scream when the big splashes went into faces. 

Then, after my 3 year old daughter told me "this is the life, mommy", we went back inside because apparently "the life" made her "so cold".  Although, it was 90 degrees outside, so I doubt anyone was actually so cold. That's ok, though, because then we got to sing happy birthday and eat cupcakes. Followed by running circles around the house with plastic guns as the birthday boy yelled,  "stop in the name of da law" .

  All in all, it was an incredibly eventful day. And I had to let my control freak self go and learn to go with the flow. Apparently, you can't have every second of every day planned out because things might change. Who knew??