The Randomness of Days

Psalm 90:12  

So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

The days just seem to fly by, then a week, then a month, then a whole year.

How did we get to 2016 already?

I really, really try, but yet often fail, to make my days count for something.

Who can I help?  Who can I bless?

Am I sharing the gospel with the children still at home?

Am I sharing Christ and His Word when I "sit in my house, walk by the way,

when I lie down, and when I rise up"  as Deuteronomy 11:19 instructs.

Here are some random photos of our last week, as we are all walking by the way.

Joe, David, and the boys went to an elderly neighbor's house to bring back a trailer

full of wood that will be chopped into firewood.  David does a very good job at this

and is almost done with another cord.

Finally!  The cold, wet, snowy weather has passed and we are back to

normal Arizona weather - highs in the 60's today!

Isaac and Joshua have really enjoyed getting back outside and enjoying their bikes!

School is back in session, as well as AWANA, which is just fine with me!

We all do better on routine!

I made The Pioneer Woman's ground beef enchiladas tonight - one of our favorites.

If you like Mexican food, try her recipe!

I do *tweak* it a bit for simplification!

Rachel's back in school, too, in her LAST SEMESTER of nursing school.

She declined my picture taking, saying she wasn't "picture-ready".

But Little Miss is always ready with a smile these days!

Yes, it's a bit blurry, but this girl is always on the move!

See that little rump of hers going up? She is getting ready to crawl, folks!

So that is just a glimpse of what's been going on at our house.  Nothing monumental, just the ordinariness of days.  But yet in God's plan, each day is special and unique, and gives us an opportunity to praise Him.........even for the ordinary days.

It really works!

I am not a big fan of household tips that I run across on Facebook, or the internet in general.  

Most are too good to be true......and don't really work.

HOWEVER, and that's a BIG however, I tried one household cleaner that I saw over and

 over, with people posting tremendous results.

So I tried it.......about a year ago.  And have been using it ever since!

Clean showers have always been a problem for me, with all the soap scum buildup.  

But mix these two ingredients together and you get a really great cleaner.

Dawn (blue) dish soap and white vinegar.  Mix them half and half in a spray

bottle and there you go!

I really don't care for the smell of vinegar, but have gotten used to it as I have 

used it over the past year.

If your shower has a really bad build up, this could take several applications, but

I find that if I use this fairly regularly, my shower is very shiny.  

And of course, this could be used in all parts of the bathroom, too.

So, give it a try!  Let me know what you think!

More Wild Weather - SNOW!!!!

SNOW?

In Arizona?  Not unheard of, but definitely a rare occurrence for sure.

Our elevation here in our small town is about 4200' so we have four mild seasons.

We get snow flurries on occasion, but to get several inches that stick is indeed rare.

I went outside before  the sun peeked out this morning to capture the beautiful snowfall that we had

last evening and into last night.

Yes, this is how I went outside.  Flip flops were handy..........

Isaac and Joshua were so excited to head outside!

Taking the trash out became a new and wonderful adventure - ha ha!  I've never

seen them this excited for a trash run!

The snow was beautiful on our row  of evergreens.

No, I did not walk out to the trash in my flip flops - I put on my boots!

When the sun started to peak through, it was magical!

Even though it has warmed up, and most of this has melted.....into mud, it was a great 

morning, and made two boys VERY HAPPY!

The Effects of El Nino

Yes, this is what it looks like in our neck of the woods these days!  Where's the sun and the warmth?

Because of all the rain and cold temperatures this week, Isaac and Joshua are decked out in winter coats and mud boots.  Hmmmmm.......this is okay on occasion, but the whole week?

Checking out our rain gauge - one inch yesterday and it's still raining lightly.  

But hey, at least it is NOT SNOW !!!!!

Even Willie, the dog, and Cocoa, the cat are getting along.

Definitely not normal.

All this rain is definitely good for the trees and bushes.

And yes, having a cozy fire on a daily basis is comforting to the soul.

So I guess we will just enjoy the weather and look forward to really green

grass come spring......when it warms up!

A Fresh Start - 2016

It's time to get back in the swing of things with my blog!  This past year has been more than challenging - in a variety of ways - but God is good and my hope is in Him. So I am off to a good start with the new year and want to catch up on the hodge-podge of life since I last posted.

First of all, the little princess is GROWING!!!!

She's up to eleven pounds, rolling over, smiling, and just generally being cute.

We all adore her!

Courtney arrived from Alabama for Christmas and was overjoyed to meet and spend 

time with her little niece.

Jonathan arrived and enjoyed meeting Elenna, too!

Let's see what else went on over the Christmas Break.....

Courtney and the boys made the obligatory batch of sugar cookies and decorated them.

Lots of board games were played!

Courtney and Rachel did a workout together while Elenna looked on.

This is the post-workout collapse!

We enjoyed gift-giving on Christmas Day!

Isaac got a new bike!

Elenna is excited to *chew* on her new book!

A BIG Gatorade for a BIG brother!

We took family picures!

Courtney and I said, "Enough is Enough" to Rachel..........

We took her captive and got her ears pierced.

She did great!

We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant so that Courtney could get the

salsa flowing back in her veins!

Everyone enjoyed playing TWISTER - thanks to Jonathan!

So, that's a quick recap of our Christmas and New Year's break.

I will leave you with two more pictures of Elenna!

Happy New Year everyone!  

May your year be a blessed one full of God's

many blessings!