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Pictures aren't working as usual so you'll have to excuse me for the wordiness!
We have been super busy this summer and this is the first week in over a month that we have been able to have a couple of days to just breathe. Yesterday, all we did was go over to my mom's to give her animals some TLC (she's out of town for a week and my stepdad works all day) and the boys poop-scooped for a little moolah. Wow, so exciting! Woo!
Today is quiet, too and I am thankful. As much as we loved having family in town, it is tiring to go go go everyday. Not to mention that we totally blew our budget on all the extra little ice cream trips and fun little things that go along with visiting family and holidays! Ouch.
We celebrated a couple of bdays last week. Our Samuel turned TEN last Monday! He is growing up so fast. His interests are changing, his attitude is varying day by day, he's shooting up as fast as his sunflower plant outside, he is torn between growing up and staying a little kid! He even got kind of sad on the night of his birthday and said he didn't want to be 10! But that is totally my mini-me right there. I didn't want to grow up either. I was so sure I was going to live at home forever:) He's a fun kid though. He gets more subtle humor now, which is fun and he has been so good about sharing what he thinks about/worries about; usually right at bedtime. We love that he thinks about things seriously and really wants to do the right thing and love God.
We had a Magic Mountain party for Samuel the Friday before his bday with his cousins, Mr Z and two friends from school. Magic Mountain is a fun place with an arcade, go karts, laser tag, bumper boats, etc. Everyone seemed to have a really great time! The only thing Samuel didn't like was that he wasn't quite tall enough for Go Karts so he had to ride the Rookie Karts and got stuck with the slowest one! Bummer. Other than that, he had a great time.
On Wednesday, I turned...older. I admit I wasn't in a very good mood all day. For a number of reasons. I just woke up not excited at all and feeling a wee bit grouchy. But by the end of the day, I was feeling good! Ben got friends and family together and they all went in on a Vitamix for me and (all Ben's idea!) we had a smoothie party that night. I was nervous because we don't have a great place for entertaining because it's very small and closed in downstairs and the parking situation is yuck but it all worked out! We crammed in 21 people (including us!) and cranked out smoothies and milkshakes all night! We made at least 6 kinds, I think. It was SO so fun. It was funny though because everyone was like, "Yeah, bring on more smoothies!" and then all at once, everyone reached their limit and were just done:)
Can I just say, that I could totally be a Vitamix Spokeswoman?? I ADORE my Vitamix!! I have had my eye on one forever, it seems. I just can't even believe the night and day difference between it and my old blender. The blender worked decently for the past 5 years for us but it never mixed smoothies really well (you know, hunks of ice left in it and floating pieces of spinach....not exactly conducive for yumminess!) The Vitamix is freaking awesome! The consistency is absolutely amazing and I can't believe what we can put in there and have it taste awesome! We put in fresh fruit, veggies, frozen fruits, ice, etc and wow. Everyday, wow! It makes so much and blends it to perfection and I just love that we are getting more fruits and veggies in our bodies than ever.
Our whole family is rocking' the smoothie love every day. No one can get enough! I really can't say enough about it and how much everyone should have one:) Okay, ad over now! (Can I get Vitamix to hire me???)
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Let's see, other news....we are on the brink of making some really big decisions and oh, it's a bit stressful! I guess I just need to get used to the fact that life is stressful as an adult and there aren't going to be many times where things come easily or run peacefully. Not for our life anyways! We are trying to be at peace with the fact that for some reason, God has the Thomas family on the slow track. (i.e. Sllllloooooowwwwww.)
Nothing comes easily to us, as it seems to for most of the people we know. Jobs, houses, settledness, etc. Now, I know that those are external things and that we are learning some invaluable spiritual lessons, things we are passing on to our children. And I am truly thankful for that. I don't want everything handed to me on a platter!
However....if I am really honest (which you know I like to be!), I would say that it would be nice to not have to struggle so hard to make ends meet or to have this giant school debt breathing down our necks or to be able to easily put our kids in sports or preschool or whatnot or to have a little home of our own so that we don't have to throw away our hard-earned money anymore.
The good news is that while some of the things we face are tough and quite honestly, discouraging, we aren't knocked down and devastated. We are just really trying to take things one day at a time and trust God to care for us and guide us in this great unknown journey of ours. A favorite verse(s) that I read yesterday:
Lamentations 3:21-25
"21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[a]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him."
to the soul who seeks him."
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