abundantly blessed

My goodness! The time has flown by. My last post was in Feb. of this year and now it is already November......time passes too quickly.
So let's see, when I last left off I had posted about our snowfall. Since then we have been through spring, summer and now we are pretty deep into fall. The time changed this week, making it feel even more like fall with the dark evenings. Oh, how I wish I was better at keeping up with my blog. It would be so great to have a daily or even weekly post with pictures to remember the days of our lives with. But alas, an update every once in awhile is better than no update at all.
The lapsed seasons were full of blessings. The Lord is so faithful and good to us. He is daily with us, guiding us in the ways which we should go. I will try not to let a day go by where I do not take the time to express my gratitude to my Saviour. We have been memorizing the scripture from Ephesians, "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph 2:8-9
There is not one thing I can do to earn my God's love, forgiveness, and favor. It is only through God's amazing grace that I can be loved by Him, forgiven by Him and favored in His eyes.
During this season of "thanksgiving" let me all the more turn my thanks to the One who loves me.
Our California trip this summer was so dear to me because the Lord, in His sweetness, chose to bless us. I am so grateful that my eyes were open to the nearness of the Lord. He put a rainbow in the sky for Jonah and I to admire as we looked out the airplane window. Jonah was quick to recognize it as a reminder from the Lord that He was watching out for us on our trip. California was an amazing adventure full of energy and excursions as well as highways and hotels. Three weeks were spent there visiting San Francisco, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. We took in all the sights and truly enjoyed our time exploring California as a family. On our return trip the Lord placed another rainbow in the sky, a big, beautiful, full, double rainbow put there as if to say, "Welcome home, I was with you at the beginning, in the middle and here am I with you at the end of your adventure." I know others could see the rainbow, but I am pretty sure that one was meant just for me :-)
So here we are, about to wind down another year. In the beginning of the year and throughout the year His abundant blessings have flowed. May my eyes be attentive to the blessings surrounding me as we walk through the upcoming holiday season!

Hump Day!!!

Well, it was back to normal today, and that includes the weather.

Mr. Snowman still sits on our trampoline but he is getting smaller by the minute.

The skies were sunny today and temps were in the 50's. I'll take that! That is what I love about Texas.....spring like weather last weekend, winter on Tuesday, blue skies and sunshine by Wednesday.

My crew and I were back to regular school as well. We had a pretty normal day. Rebekah had been asking me to make a sticker chart for them to earn stickers. Once the chart is full they earn $5.00! Not a bad gig! It will take them 20 days of good attitudes and good work to fill the chart. I am happy to say they all have earned their first sticker!

Fittingly, I am doing a Bible study all about attitude. It is by James Mac Donald and is called, Lord, Change My Attitude. Maybe I should make a sticker chart for myself. What kind of space would I have filled in for today? A cute sticker or a big blank spot waiting for a better day?

Hmmmm.....

Happy hump day!!!

It's SNOWING in Central Texas!!!! Not just little snow flurries but big, fat, giant snowflakes!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! I feel like a little kid :-)

I have given my kids the day off from school...one of the beauty parts of homeschooling. We are observing and interacting with the weather today!

Well, well, well...it has been over a year since I last posted on my blog! Excuses?.....I've got 'em!
Mostly the fact that I am not very good at it!
I have been reading a gal's blog that has spurred me on to want to try again. http://www.katheats.com/ is the name of her blog. She is an eater of whole, real food, something I am interested in doing better. I stumbled upon her blog one day last week and have been enjoying learning from it. I have even tried a recipe for kale chips! My kids even tried it...they taste like potato chips....bit of an after taste though! I was proud of us for trying something new!
I think I may have even discovered an enjoyment for oatmeal!!!! I have tried, and tried, and tried again to develop a love for a bowl of oatmeal but it has eluded me....up until this point!
I have discovered the perfect bowl of oatmeal!!! I actually look forward to my bowl of oatmeal!!
The secret is in the mix-ins!!!! My favorite way to make it right now is a 1/4 cup oatmeal mixed with a cup of milk. Bring to a boil and then...get this....cut up 1/2 a banana and toss into the oatmeal. Let it simmer for about 10- 20 minutes..the banana melts right in giving it a yummy nanner flavor. I then top it with walnuts and then for the best part......a dollop of peanut butter or almond butter with some left on the spoon so you get a taste of it each time you take a bit! yum!!! For anyone that knows me knows I have grown up with a mighty love for peanut butter! So glad peanut butter is a whole food!!! Just for fun I will take a picture in the a.m. of my oatmeal creation and try to get savy enough on my blog with a post of the picture!
As for the stuff of life....Mike's still working, kids are still growing, I'm still homeschooling.....life is good!