days 26 + 27: happy + a friend

Saturday's word was "happy." This was the first picture I snapped. :)


And then we had the best day working on our flowerbed and just hanging out.



There was a nap, too!




Here's the before: more leaf litter & weeds than I expected...Yowza!


Noble's choice. Apparently he opened the package and tried some, as it promised "hundreds of edible seeds." :)



Working as a team...




Final stretch--you can't tell, but it was dark by the time we got to this point. Daddy brought out a couple of lanterns, and we pressed on.



Sunday morning I snapped a pic of the finished product. We'll plant seeds in these pots this week & fill on some of the bed's blank spots.



It's a little bare where Bubby planted his sunflowers, but it's so satisfying to know we cleaned it out!


day 27: I got to spend time with my favorite friend on a photo shoot. :)


Then we went to see Adam's band's first gig. I'm exhausted this morning, but it's totally worth it!

And nope, I don't miss the bar scene!

day 25: facial feature

I think I kind of love how weird &
not so pretty this picture is. Heather & I were laughing yesterday about what we would post today...I thought I'd take a picture of my knuckleheads' brown eyes and my blue eyes. But that would mean corralling them, and they're having too much fun playing in the yard. And no, I cannot remember the last time we did this after school. So here's a facial feature cheat: I absolutely love $5 aviators from the Walmarts. Don't hate me because I'm so glamorous, y'all. :)

day 24: a talent

This one's tough, as I don't have an obvious talent.  I have a wanna-be hobby (scrapbooking with Project Life), but no talents.  It took me half a day of walking by this to recognize something that may not be a talent, but not everyone is able to do it (or thinks it's important).

So, are you ready?

My talent is...

...making every day count.

Because every day matters, no matter how busy we are or how tough things feel or how much money's in the bank or how much time is on the clock.

Every day matters.

I know deep down my kids won't remember the big things, or the details, but I know they'll remember how they FELT as children.  My prayer is that they feel loved and respected and cherished and challenged...and too many more to list here.

Back in the olden days, when I had more time on my hands, I blogged a lot more about the things I did to decorate for each season, or mark each occasion or milestone.  I still do that stuff, but maybe not as well as a few years ago.  I think the important thing is that I still do it.

Like today, James is out of town and the kids and I are just exhausted (see days 16-22).  In years past, standardized testing days have merited cute gifts and banners and fun table decorations, but I'm just not there today.  But I still made it a special morning for my science tester, even though the table display leaves much to be desired.  I'm hoping just the fact that I did it counts.  Fingers crossed!

I have a bit of free time this afternoon, so I'm going to try to get my Project Life organized so I can catch up in the next few days.  We'll see how it goes, but I know it won't happen if I don't try.  

Another one of my talents that aren't really talents:  happys.  I can make a happy out of just about anything, just ask my family and friends.  We are winding up an entire month of daily happys for a staff of 100 at the middle school, and it's been a lot of fun even in the midst of the storm that's been raging here for the past 5 weeks.  If you don't know what a happy is, read this http://adventuresofmommygirl.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-2-happys.html.


Happys, making and giving them, make me happy.  I think a lot of times we miss the boat with grand gestures and expensive gifts:  sometimes people just want to know you're thinking of them, and that's enough.  Well, I sure hope it is, because I'm better at the little things than the grand gestures.  :)

day 22: angle

I didn't actually post this one...but I liked this picture I snapped in Sealy.

I spend a lot of time looking at the world from this angle, behind the wheel.  In fact, James and I added it up after 11 hours of driving on Tuesday--we've driven 6,000 miles in the Explorer alone since we had the transmission fixed 2 months ago.

Yep.

That's right.

day 23: extreme close up

I am enjoying my date with my big girl. I love hearing about how hard it is to be a 5th grader. :)

days 16-21

I wonder how many times I've said this on my blog...the past few days have been a whirlwind.  There, I said it again.  A whirlwind of family and travel and work and worship and family and travel...and family.

Saturday, April 19th was the 5th anniversary of Dad's death.  Mom has been working for months on quilts for the kids made out of Grandpa's shirts & pants, and this weekend she gave the kids the finished products.  Noble and Kayci are in loooooove with their quilts, and have declared them their new favorite blankets.  Kayci's is backed in chevron (Mom basically made a second quilt top by piecing gray & white to make a really cute chevron pattern) and Noble's is backed in minky.  Chevron and something to wuv on?  The kids love, love, love these quilts and they've been on their beds (and on the couch) since we got home Saturday.  :)
Can we make this one days 16 + 17:  old and new?  
I did day 18, looking out...I enjoyed some alone time with my Boy Thursday night and Friday morning (thanks to Ronny driving over an hour to meet us to pick up Mom & the kids, thanks, Ronny!).  We needed some down time.  It wasn't exciting or flashy, and I can't speak for my Boy, but just a few hours of a good meal, a good night's sleep and some time outside watching him work really refreshed me.  :)

day 19:  favorite color

Duh.  I actually took this picture yesterday, but you've seen me wear these a LOT.  A couple of years ago for my birthday, Kayci gave me an orange beaded bracelet that she made and an orange scarf.  I have cherished those gifts, y'all, because she really thought about what would make me happy.  Orange makes me really happy.  I've lost track of how many times I've restrung those beads, but I love wearing them not just because they're orange, but because Kayci was thoughtful enough to make them for me.  I wouldn't trade them for anything.

day 20:  today I...

Well, yesterday I (along with my family and most of the people we know and love) celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Amen?  :)

It's kind of funny...I worked a LOT this week, along with my family of 4 and our pastor's whole family getting the Children's Ministry ready for an influx of kids yesterday.  We were so ready, y'all...and literally HALF of our regular kids were absent.  And we had 4 guests, total, which still meant we had fewer kids than a normal Sunday.  But we'll call it a dry run, we'll be ready next year.  Because here's the thing:  that's not the important part.  The important part is that we were able to focus on what really matters...Jesus.  What He did for you and for me, how He paid our debts and then overcame death to sit at the right hand of His Father, our Father, in Heaven.  Don't skip over that--that is what Easter is all about.

Now, I'll admit that all of our Clarkson traditions are egg & bunny related.  But that's not what Easter is, y'all.  It's fun, but it's so important to me to focus on Jesus during Lent and refocus on my faith and what He did for me.  

After church, we hopped in the truck and headed to Houston.  Nana and Dan were unable to go to church yesterday, so we wanted to spend some time with them and take them a good meal.  Well, I don't know if Luby's counts as a good meal but it's what we could do this weekend.  But I think the time itself was really the important part.  

Here's the one and only picture of us from Easter Sunday...I don't know if that's funny or sad.  I am still learning this ministry thing, y'all, and I'm going to have to find a holiday balance.  :)

When we got to Nana's, the kids headed right outside to play.  These aren't great pictures, but we were amazed at how long they played with sticks and that big ol' tree.  Loved it!



Nana's garden is pretty amazing, but most of it has gone to seed or been eaten by birds and squirrels since they can't get out to tend it.  The spinach is doing well, though, and James has snipped some a couple of times for them and for us.  I'm tempted to put some in here, because it's sooooo much better than what we buy in the store.  Here are my boys harvesting some spinach.  :)


day 21:  in motion


Here's another cheat...I snapped this last night as we were driving home.  The sky was absolutely gorgeous, a perfect end to a beautiful day.  What a blessing!

day 18: looking out

Days 16 & 17 were filled with lots of "old" and "new" as we worked on our Children's Ministry building...but I was too busy to take a picture, apparently.

But I'm on it today, and "looking out" fits in perfectly as I sit in the car on the side of a country road looking out at my Boy. He's out there capturing what he sees with his eyes and in his head with his trusty lens, and I love watching him work.

It's the little things that make me appreciate my many blessings.

day 15: transportation

How fitting, as the 15th was a commute day. :)



On the way home, I stopped at Hobby Lobby to get Kayci's icing tip for the special Easter cupcakes she's planning to make at Ronny's. Bunny cake is our tradition, but we'll bend since she's so into cupcakes right now! Anyway...I got off track.

As I was leaving the store, something happened to me that has never happened before. A lady called out, "Excuse me, ma'am?" So I went over to her and she said, "Do you work at Region 4?" At first I thought she must have been a student from way back when I taught face-to-face, but when I found out her name I realized she was one of my recent online students. She recognized me from the pictures and videos I posted in the course! It was just cool, and so nice to put a sweet face with a name. What a fun way to end a long day!

Birthday Boy

March 19:  DaddyBoy turned 39!  Imagine witty text here.  And no, that's not the coat we bought him--that's a $600 one he tried on for fun.

#greatproblemtohave

This was going to be a post about how the kids asked if they could earn money, so we brainstormed chores they can do to earn said money.  We're on payday #3 (started Spring Break) and so far, it's working great.  They're working hard!  Now, it means the bathroom gets a bit dirtier than I like before Kayci cleans it, and the dusting is about 90% awesome when Noble finishes...but seriously, what a great problem to have!  I would note that they take care of their "regular" responsibilities for free--some things are just part of being part of a family.  These are extra jobs that I normally do that they are taking on for pay.  :)

Scenes from Spring Break...

I never went back and filled in the text for this one...we had so much fun with Lynn & her family at the end of Spring Break. Seeing them two days in a row was priceless!

day 13 + 14

I'm going to cheat and not only combine the post, but combine the photos.  It was too easy to pass up!

day 13:  a favorite place + day 14:  living thing

Here are 2 of my favorite living things hanging out (as they love to do each morning during quiet time) in my favorite place, our bedroom.  I try to keep our bedroom clean and clutter-free so we can relax in here, but not doing laundry for a week equals a mountain of laundry.  You can also see the crap that hides behind our door when the door is open, but that's okay--we're good enough friends that you can see my messes.  And my dirty coffee cup.  And the receipts I need to file, because we are SERIOUSLY tracking our expenses this pay period.  (Did I tell y'all we're going through Financial Peace again?  I'm excited...we have a different focus this time, and it's nice not to feel like we're at the end of our rope.  Now if only that nice down payment would just save itself...)

I'm very grateful to be in Brenham today instead of on the road.  I'm grateful for our growing Children's Ministry, even though it means unexpected work this week.  I'm grateful for time with my Clarkson family this weekend, and Easter traditions.  I'm grateful for some much-needed time with my Boy.  I'm grateful for time to serve on the kids' PTOs, and for a job that pays well but allows flexibility for me to do things during the school day.  I'm grateful for that job that I still love after all these years.   I'm grateful for the Love Language Minute devotional that I'm reading through for the 4th year in a row, and how it still ministers to me day after day.  I'm grateful for friends, old and new, for my church family and for my real family.  I'm grateful for how God heals, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I'm just...grateful.  It's a good way to go into a Monday!

days 11 + 12

day 11: outside

Finally, finally...this year, the bluebonnets DaddyBoy & the kids planted are GROWING!  It's just a few in a flowerbed desperately in need of some work, but it makes my knuckleheads so happy to know that finally, they had a good bluebonnet year.  It's the little things, y'all.

day 12:  I ate...

...fair food!  Yep, that's right.  I'm classy like that!  We went to the Bluebonnet Festival in Chappell Hill just to eat junk food for lunch.  In a word?  YUM!  It was overcast, and I feel like a big dummy because we all got sunburned (not very Kristi-like!).  But, it was a day that we spent time with just the 4 of us (hasn't happened in a while--it's been crazier than usual this past month) doing things that make us happy.  Spending time outside, playing with Daddy (Noble), shopping with Mommy (Kayci), and eating fair food (all of us!).  Oh, and the nap afterward was LEGENDARY.