Minivan Moments

What do you do when the people who should build you up... instead tear you down? When it hurts. ... What do you do when the people who know you the best... instead use your worst against you? When it hurts. ... What do you do when the people you trust to care about your feelings... instead slap you in the face? When it hurts.... When it hurts you, it hurts God. When it hurts, cry out for His help. The Father's arms are open, His shoulder is available, and His heart hurts with yours. There is no pain that we endure alone, for God loves us so much more than we can even imagine loving another person. God is bigger than your problems, stronger than your enemies, and more loving than your closest friends or family members. So, when it hurts, He can heal.... Let Him.

Okay, for my literal Quin, summer is not yet here, but for the rest of the Spring Hill population, summertime has arrived! The kids are out of school, the ice cream truck comes every afternoon, the sun is blazing, the grill is smokin', and the middle-of-the-week/not-waiting-for-the-weekend double sleepovers have begun! All we need is for the pools to open! The kids have had NON-STOP companionship since Tuesday (seriously, like around the clock )... how are we ever going to accept our quiet homeschooling life after this? And how can summer possibly go on this way!??! Ah, well, the joys of childhood are most often remembered by our past summertime escapades... let the memories begin!!!

So, apparently, Cocoa is a bit of a dominatrix. She decided from Day 1 that she would be the boss over everyone, and the more we knock her down the hierarchy of power, the more she asserts herself over Oliver. Poor little dude has just about been humped to death! He has taken to sneaking inside to hide between the couches so she can't dominate him in front of the neighbors. And yesterday, he started giving her back some of what she has been dishing out, and she isn't real keen on the concept. Since Oliver is still a puppy, he gets stronger and bossier everyday. Cocoa is getting a taste of her own medicine today, and she has shown heavy resistance to being the submissive one many times! Since i can't quite explain what they are doing to my naive children, i keep separating them and telling them to "knock it off!" That really doesn't appear to be working, though, and it is a bit disconcerting to watch a female dog teach a male dog how to mount.... Ah, wel...

Yes, Monday was a day of renewal, a refreshing of my spirit, and a reawakening of the hard worker that lurks in this lazy body. We cleaned up a LOT, did a BUNCH of laundry, made some time for friends, and prepared a family meal - as a family. i reorganized my thoughts about the house, our collective "stuff," and realigned my priorities to be more in line with God's priorities. Monday was a good day. And today is Tuesday. God has a sense of humor. Tuesday, it appears, is going to be a bit more challenging. While i lay in wait all day Monday for my monthly female companion ( ahem ), it seems God had a different plan. Tuesday is clearly the day my monthly female companion ( ahem ) will arrive. Tuesday is full of cramping, headaches, and lethargy. Yes, God has a sense of humor... or something . So, today, i will put away my long list of things to accomplish and i will do what i can - and with 3 children, the final week of homeschooling, 2 dogs, housekeeping and bills...

( now that you are all humming ) i am starting a new week, a new day, a new life .... Everyday the Lord allows me to wake up, i am given an opportunity, and that opportunity presents me with a choice: to do what is easy , or to do what is right , good , and appropriate . Most days, if i am honest, i choose a little of both, vacillating back and forth between what feels good and what i know is right. This day, today, i want to do better. i want to hear God's voice ( and obey Him ), follow God's lead ( not my own agenda ), appreciate Jesus' sacrifice ( no job is too hard/small/meaningless ), love others the way Jesus did ( putting them before myself ), and be invisible ( so that when people look at me, they see Jesus ). As i offer my self , my family , my hands , my day to my God, i am set free... free to worship, free to live, free to be a friend of God, free from sin, free from an unyielding burden, free from the world's influence, free . And free is a good place to...

Yesterday, we put a glass outside to collect rain water. Umm, then we forgot to check it until this morning, and it appears as if it didn't rain. Since we know that isn't the case, our rain collecting turned into a lesson on evaporation! Last night, we built our first tent - inside, of course - and the kids slept in it all night! That was exciting!! The next time we sleep in our tent, hopefully it will be outside.... Rain, rain, go away ..... Today, the kids have put Frosted Cheerios into a container with milk and have put it into the freezer to see what happens to it. I'll let you know how that turns out. If you have any great ideas for simple household experiments, please pass them along! My kids love science and experimenting! Happy Thursday!

The rain broke, the strawberry picking field opened, and we had ourselves an impromptu field trip. Literally. We took a trip over to the local strawberry field where you can pick your own strawberries, and we battled mud, mold, and bugs to get our share of the plump, delicious, red berries. We ended up with 6 pounds for our house alone (not including the three other households that were represented). Dania and Donald did their darnedest to consume as many as we picked, but we managed to outdo them. Sticky fingers and pink chins were their battle scars, while we walked away with crusty stuff (i refuse to consider what the stuff could be) under our fingernails. After washing them all, decapitating half of them, and flash freezing 1/5 of them, i forsee a lot of strawberries in our future! Jam, anyone?