Baseball, Baseball, and more Baseball

We have been very busy with baseball lately. (this weekend, we had four games! very HOT games)

Jake's team is struggling a bit this season. Last year they were champs, so it is hard for them to keep losing. We are trying to keep it as fun as possible, though. :)

At first, I was a little reluctant about having to go to so many games, but I really love watching Jake play. It is so exciting and I am just so proud of him. It's really kind of nice to be "forced" to take the time to sit and visit with other moms and let the kids play with the other siblings.

Jake gets a little down on himself at times.

I am so grateful that John is there to keep encouraging him and to help him to be the best player he can be.

John is a great coach.

We are hoping for some wins very soon. Jake would appreciate any prayers about this.

:)

:)

Favorites on Fridays

My Kids' Favorite New Fad : Silly Bandz

These silly shaped rubber bands (I think they are actually made out of silicone) are such a hit with kids these days! Look around and you will see them on so many kids' wrists. They like to collect them and trade them. I was at Jake's recess the other day and the kids were standing in little circles trading them! I wonder how long this fad will last. (Once again, another idea I wish I had come up with!!)

Smile Because it Happened

I found a memory card in one of my cameras that was full of these old pictures I had forgotten about. My heart was warmed as I looked through them. I cannot believe how fast time flies.

I have a tendency to get sad when I look at old pictures of the kids because I don't want them to grow up too quickly.

My mom gave me a poster that says, "Don't cry because it's over . . . smile because it happened." I need to do that and I also need to remember that each new phase in the kids' lives is just as wonderful as the previous phase.

(I still wish I could bottle them up while they are little, though!)

Hangin' Out

This picture makes me smile.

:)

Favorites on Fridays

Favorite Peanut Butter: Trader Joe's Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (salted or unsalted)

I love this peanut butter for a few reasons.

1. It is organic, which is important for peanut butter because peanut crops are rotated with cotton crops, which use a lot of pesticides.

2. It only has peanuts. (and salt, if you buy the salted) I never buy brands like Jif or Skippy because they have partially hydrogenated yuck and sugar in them. :(

3. It tastes GREAT!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

What have we been doing lately??

a little bit of this . . . this . . .
this. . .
and this.

We love it!!

p.s. . . they won tonight!! (in the rain) Yay!!!!

My Guy

Have I ever mentioned how proud I am of this kid??

I'm just sayin' . . .

It has been cold and rainy for the past few days, but I managed to get some flowers planted.

I'm getting a little anxious for summer-like weather to arrive!

My Life is not a Bed of Roses

The name of my blog is "Counting Our Blessings". I named it that because even in bad times, I want to be thankful and remember all of the wonderful things that God is doing and has done for me and my family. I want to assure you that my life is definitely not a bed of roses.

I have hard times, just like everyone else. My kids fight, John and I don't get along, I have crabby days, kids puke in my van, I get tickets from crabby police officers, my favorite grocery store closes . . . oh wait! . . . ALL of those things happened to me just yesterday! There are some days when I feel like I have nothing good to write about, but then I sit down and I feel foolish for feeling sorry for myself. Just like you, I have so much to be thankful for. I believe that there is always something you can count as a blessing! And there is always someone that you can think of that has it worse than you.

I want to encourage you to take the time and count your blessings today! (as I am writing this, my kids are fighting) Gotta go!!

Mmmmm . . . .

My neighbor let me cut these off her bush . . .

I am thankful that God created such things of beauty for us to enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day!

There has been a bird nesting in our tree right outside our dining room window. For a couple of weeks, while it was building its nest, it would fly from the tree into the window, fall down, fly back into the tree, into the window, fall down . . . for hours. When the incessant thumping on the window stopped, we thought the bird had gone away, but Caroline discovered the bird was busy doing something else. One day, there was only one egg. The next day, two. The third day, three.

We have a great view of the bird sitting on her nest from our dining room window. (look closely, I couldn't get any closer to her . . . she has a tendency of screeching at us when we get too close) We keep checking on her and there she sits . . . so patiently waiting for her little ones to hatch. I think it is wonderful how God has given even the tiny birds a maternal instinct.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, John's mom, and to all of my mommy friends out there!!!! (and to the mommy bird that is so patiently waiting for her eggs to hatch) I love you all!!!

:)

Here is a quote that I found and I think it was written with my mom in mind.

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

Thank you, Mom, for always being there for me.

And here are some more quotes I found . . .

* * *
A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

* * *
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

* * *
I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

* * *
Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce

* * *
If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle

* * *
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty

* * *
I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Terri Guillemets

* * *
[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. ~Emily Dickinson

* * *
Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

* * *
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. ~Abraham Lincoln

Family Room Progress

OK . . . so here is what our family room looked like before we started our big project. Caroline clearly loved the way it was, but I sure didn't. No matter which way we rearranged the furniture, it just was not "right". Something had to be done.

I have decided to put up something called board and batten. I thought it would be the perfect solution to my problem. You see, there was this huge wall of dry wall on the left when you walked into the room. I just could not figure out what to do with it. The board and batten treatment was my answer!! (we decided to not just do it on one wall, but all of them)

Here is the beginning of our project (after we ripped up the ugly brown carpet! (YAY!!!)

Here is who we called in to help us (actually to do) our big project . . . my brother, Steve. (an excellent handyman, by the way . . . and he is for hire . . . and he travels to you!!)And here is who else we hired. You can't see him very well, but that is our friend Pete, also a very excellent handyman. (can you see John standing back watching??)

John learned a lot watching . . . I'm kidding . . . he did a LOT of the work, too! (especially on the floor).

I absolutely LOVE how the board and batten treatment turned out. It took me two whole days to paint. Now we are trying to figure out what color to paint above it. After that is finished, I will post some more pictures . . . stay tuned! :)

Hooray!! Jake's team won!

Jake's baseball team won their first game tonight! Their team has been struggling a bit this season, so the win was a welcome surprise!! Jake pitched really well and got two hits. I'm always so proud of him no matter what the score is, though.

Unfortunately, John was unable to help coach this game due to tutoring.

It's the Little Things that Make Me Smile

Some things just make me smile. . . . . . like this pencil that one of my tutoring kids was using.

Remember to find something to smile about today . . . even if it is something small. :)

Behind the Plastic

OK . . . so, I had this great idea to do something to our family room. Something different . . . so I decided to put board and batten on the walls (I'll describe board and batten in a later post).

As with any project, it turned out to be waaay harder and more complex than I had anticipated. When we were tearing off the baseboards, we discovered that the ugly brown carpeting that I hated was covering up hardwood floors (yay!!!! but more work!!).

John was really happy about being able to refinish the floor !! :) I am so proud of him for taking on this project.

you can see a little preview of the board and batten in this picture

Here is the ugly brown carpeting that I am so glad to be rid of. :)

John had to fill in a lot of gaping cracks before he sanded.
We rented a sander that had a vacuum on it . . HIGHLY recommend the one with the vacuum! Hardly any sawdust!!

Here is the floor after three rounds of sanding.



Here it is after the polyurethane. John had to put four layers on with light sanding between each layer. In this picture, it looks pretty glossy because it is still wet.


We'll post more pics later . . . I've been busy painting and painting and painting. Loving the walls!!!! :)