What a day!!!

...had a friend spend the night for D's birthday

...helped Eunice move in this morning

...unpacked

...fed all the movers lunch

...took Danny, Rebekah, Christian and Abby to the pool to swim

...bathed kiddos

...helped unpack more boxes

...made birthday dinner for Danny

...had birthday dinner (yummy biscuits and gravy - his favorite)

...cleaned up

...unpacked more boxes

...put 4 kids to bed

...did laundry for hubby's trip tomorrow am

...got food ready for potluck tomorrow

...rearranged furniture

...going to pack hubby soon

I was actually SO busy that I forgot my coffee this morning - that's practically insane!!!

But, it's been a great day!!! Being busy is not so bad when one is joyful :)

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!

Car talk...

Christian: Auntie Lynn, what would happen if a wok tocked?

Me: Hmm, I suppose I would know when dinner was done!

C: But what if a wok talked?

Me: Well, it might say, feed me, I'm hungry.

C: No, I mean a Rock

Me: OH!!! If a Rock Talked! (I was a little distracted by driving)

C: Yeah!

Rebekah: Maybe our family should speak Spanish

C: Ola

Abby: How do you say grill in Spanish?

Daniel: Well GIRL is chica, and boy is chico

C: My cheek can say 'oh'

April showers....

Yeah, it's been pouring cats and dogs around here lately... lots of rain = lots of people with wet basements, and some with more than just water... yuck!

It seems like April's been a tough month - you know what they say - when it rains, it pours! I'm sure you can think of a few struggles that you've seen some of your friends, maybe yourself, going through... maybe it's 'water' related... flooding banks, basements (or waiting for your water to break :) ) ... or maybe it's the tears that have flowed for other reasons...

But, don't be discouraged!!! April showers bring May flowers... and not just in children's rhymes!

Psalm 84:5-7a

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping),
They make is a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools (blessings).
They go from strength to strength.

Isn't it just beautiful? It doesn't need my commentary - the Lord said it perfectly!

So, my friends, cling to His Word today... and be encouraged that those flowers are sure to come after the rain!!!

"There shall be showers of blessing:"
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops 'round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

Check it out...

My adorable niece Gracie made the newspaper - how fun!

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1517794

I love you guys and miss you bunches!!!

a little scary...

We are moving and considering not taking our dog with us... this has been tough for the kids and hubby, but I seriously did not expect to hear this conversation...

Rebekah: Dad, I'm sad that we can't keep Aggie.

Dad: I know, I am too.

R: Well, I have it all figured out. We can just stuff her and take her with us.

D: Rebekah! That would mean she'd be dead!

R: I know, but that way we could still pet her every morning! I think that's way better than
just giving her away!

Aaaaaaahhhhh....

...the perfect, warm, easy, yummy-in-my-tummy crock-pot soup for a cold, snowy day!

3/4 cup frozen cut green beans
2/3 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 lb. meat (I sometimes use stew meat, sometimes ground turkey)
1 large chopped onion
2/3 cup uncooked barley
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cans beef broth
2 cans diced tomato (with roasted garlic, or add your own)
1 can (8oz.) tomato sauce


Right now, thanks to Rex and kids club, barley is a big hit at our house... so this old well-loved recipe has become much requested again :)

We are on our first official road trip of the year! I was hoping I could blog photos from my phone, but it doesn't look like I can work it out....

So far, so good... We played the mile game today - traveling through western Kansas we saw grain bins and water towers over 9 miles away. We are getting really good at guessing long distances. The winner gets to choose the next object to guess... I won the last round, so that means I get big slobbery kisses on both cheeks at the Colby rest area. Oh, I just can't wait!!!

We are also embellishing Scott's recently renewed love of classical music and are currently listening to Mozart. We may listen to Pilgrim's Progress soon- we are halfway through... And we brought along our old faithful Chronicles of Narnia on CD. No more movies - our player broke this past year - I am truly hoping we make it well without it. I really don't care to have to play the abc game or 'I'm going on a trip' more than once or twice :).

Okay - here are our top reasons we love to travel together as a family...

scenery is beautiful
Pretzel pieces
Collecting ball caps
Playing 'how far away is it'
Talking together for hours
Going skiing
More than 1/2 hour of DS
Catch up on phone calls
Quizzing state facts
Baskin Robbins for lunch!
Spring break
Catching up on crafts
Get to see amazing things and beautiful places


If you think of us this week, pray for us. Yes, we are having fun, but we are also sharing the Lord. Last year 2 girls got saved on this trip! The youth look forward to this all year, and one of the reasons is the relationships we have built. They love Scott (of course) and really listen to him!

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of them who bring good news" (haha - that's our verse for the week. Maybe we'll take a pic of our feet at the continental divide!)

Happy Spring break!!!