35 Things I Loved About Today.

1. Getting to sleep in a little bit (we played hookie from church today)

2. My kids waking me up by running into our room and shouting, "Mommy, wake up, it's time for your birthday!"

3. The hot cup of spicy, creamy Chai that my husband went to get me from Beaner's (and he got it right....non-fat, no-whip)

4. A sweet hand-drawn card from my daughter

5. A Snoopy card from my son....he wrote his signature "H" in it all by himself, with a little help from Daddy on the other letters

6. A double 40%-off coupon from Michaels in the paper (!)

7. A leisurely drive through the gorgeous West Michigan countryside

8. A trip to Hoffmaster State Park beach for the day

8. A yummy Subway club sandwich eaten picnic-style for lunch with my family

9. The warm sun on my bare skin

10. Splashing in the water at the Lake Michigan beach with my kids and husband

11. Building sandcastles

12. A gorgeous 80-degree day, the perfect beach weather

13. Tanned cheeks and shoulders for all of us

14. Watching my kids enjoy the lakeshore

15. Resting on my pink beach chair with my bare toes buried in the sand

16. Cold Frescas in the cooler

17, Stopping at Butch's Beach Burritos for a Mexican dinner before heading home

18. Driving through our old town, Spring Lake, and seeing our old church, stomping grounds, etc....always will feel a little bit like home.

19. Air-conditioning in the car

20. Stopping for a bite of chocolate on the way home

21. My sweet son falling sound asleep within minutes into the drive home...so tuckered out.

22. A Happy Birthday phone message from my little sister

23. A Happy Birthday phone call from my mom and dad

24. A Happy Birthday phone call from my other little sister

25. Welcome-home kisses from Ruby-Roo

26. A carrot Birthday Cake (my favorite) complete with the 3-5 candles

27. My husband's joke that we can save the candles for my 5-3 birthday.....believe me, he'll be there LONG before I will!

28. The sweet taste of cream cheese frosting

29. Blowing out the candles with help from my kids

30. A Happy Birthday hug and kiss from my husband

31. A new 10.3 megapixel camera from my husband.....Thanks, Honey. You're the very best.

32. A beautiful card from my huband with so many loving endearments.

33. My husband popping me a bag of popcorn to watch TV tonight.

34. Watching my son play pirate dress-up and enjoy some of the birthday gifts he received a few weeks back.

35. That turning 35 has been an awesome experience....so far! I did realize this week as I was filling out a restaurant survey that I now have to classify myself in the "35-44" age bracket as opposed to the "25-34".....sounds a bit too close to middle age for me!

Saturday Celebrations.

Today, we are enjoying the simple joy of being at home and around our little town, celebrating the things with which God blesses us. Things like:

Fresh veggies from our own garden....so delicious.


Enjoying a good book on the deck in the early evening coolness.
A little white pumpkin that appeared....making me think of fall, my very favorite season (though I in no way want to wish summer away).
Friends through whom God blesses you time and time again.....especially that they don't mind being a bit "goofy" once in a while!

Can you believe the size of this cucumber?

And little girls with increasingly toothless grins (both front teeth are loose, and she just lost two on the bottom)...is there anything better?

And participating in our small-hometown parade where we got to put smiles on lots of kids' faces with big handfuls of candy.
And little boys with popsicle-red mustaches!! Thanks, God, for the blessings that you so richly pour out on us.

Back to the Simple Things.

You know, there is something about death that causes us to return to the simple things. We have attended five funerals in less than two weeks, and quite frankly, we hope we don't have to attend another for a long, long, LONG time. Some of the funerals have been joyful celebrations of the life of someone who loved the Lord and the fruit of their life was clear proof. Others, to be honest, rang empty. It is amazing the stark difference of attending a funeral when the person was a known Christian vs. a funeral where the person wasn't committed to Christ. What became clearer to me in this successsion of funerals was this: In the end, all that matters is Christ and living His will. It doesn't matter what you do, how good you are at what you do, how many awards and accolades you have earned, how big your assets are......all that matters is Christ. God is teaching me, through all this pain, more what He meant in the words of Paul: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

So this week, I have been paying attention to and really savoring the simple things. Like the daisies from Mondays post. And taking a few days away from the computer. And spending extra time cuddling with my kids. And lunch with my husband. And laying on the floor for over an hour with puppy Ruby last night.....it is amazing how therapeutic dogs can be with their nose nudges and warm bellies and wet little kisses. And picking blueberries. And going to the beach. And watering my flowers. And smelling the just-rained air.

Today, I am headed out for a day-long scrapping outing. The Great American Scrapbook Convention is in town, so I'll start there and then on to Pages in Time for scrapping until midnight. Hopefully, the events of the last two weeks will enhance my reflectiveness and creativity as I focus on God's rich, rich blessings in my life. Also, I am gearing up for the big 3-5......yes, I turn 35 years old on Sunday, so I have been a bit nostalgic about that also. Happy, Happy Friday, and don't forget to enjoy--really SAVOR--the simple things today.

Daisies on a Monday.

There has been a lot of sadness and loss and death and mourning around us, some our own and some of those we care about. There is a lot of numbness and asking of the tough questions. This morning, as I was out watering the flowers in our front yard, the sight of the daisies in our flower garden just made me so happy. Broke through the sadness, if only for a few moments. The daisy is so beautiful in its simplicity. That little hue of purple around the center of these sun daisies....just brought to my mind that God is a God of details. A God who thinks of every last thing. And He will sustain. He hasn't forgotten us, nor has He turned from us. In fact, He promises that He is working all these things for our good...for the good of those who are mourning and hurting and have lost. The same God who Hand-crafted these daisies down to the very last minute detail has Hand-crafted a plan to stitch together all of these circumstances and tragedies for our good and for His glory. So today, on a Monday in July, I am thankful that God used these daisies to remind me of His power and His faithfulness and His immense, immeasureable love for us.

More Tragedy and Loss.

My husband's phone rang early in Chicago this morning. We were called home early from our vacation with some shocking tragic and unbelievable news. Two wonderful people--a coach and our athletic trainer--were personal friends, colleagues, and just really good people. And they are both dead after a murder-suicide. We are numb and cannot make sense of this. It seems more like an episode of CSI or a Lifetime movie, but this is real life. These are our friends, somebody's son and daughter, many students' teachers, and loved by many. So please keep our family, community, school and these families deep in prayer. So many questions that will go unanswered.

Greetings from Chicago!

We have enjoyed such an incredible time here in the Chicago suburbs so far. Last night, after getting settled into our hotel (a Holiday Inn with the most incredible comfortable beds and goose-down pillows we have ever had in a hotel!), we ate out at the Cheesecake Factory. My husband took a walk on the edge and agreed to order a dinner of various appetizers...spring rolls, lots of avocado-type dishes, calamari, sweet corn cake....I really enjoyed it, but let's just say he would have rather had a burger. Of course, we took a couple of pieces of cheesecake home for dessert....carrot cake cheesecake for me and Hayden, and cookie dough cheesecake for Kennedy and Matt....gotta love the real stuff, so yummy!

After a great night's sleep, we headed for the Brookfield Zoo, where we have a family membership. It is definitely one of our very favorite zoos. Some highlights from today's visit included:
The kids pretending they were little joeys in this cool kangaroo statue:

Watching the gorgeous giraffes, including a baby giraffe.
A ride on one of the country's only carved-wood carousels...look at that joy!
A little break for blue raspberry Icees and rainbow Dippin' Dots....cool and yummy.
OK, this is the first time we have ever witnessed an elephant pee and poop. Let's just say....totally amazing. This elephant peed enough to overflow a bathtub and that poop was larger than my four-year-old son. My husband was severely impressed.

We alway love the dolphin show!
Kennedy's pure love for all animals shows in this candid photo I caught of her watching the elephants.

Touching and interacting with several different types of stingrays.


A great day at the zoo capped off with another Chicago classic......a Giordano's pizza. We worked up an appetite with all the walking so really dug into this yummy pie. But, we still came home with almost half of the pie left.....scrumptious. Pizza, anyone? We are back at the hotel resting now and getting ready to head down to the pool for a swim. Tomorrow, we plan to sleep in, swim, have lunch at Mike Ditka's new restaurant, and leisurely head back to Michigan.

Off to the Windy City.

I'm getting the last load of laundry folded and we are planning to leave right around lunch time. Found a neighbor to puppy-sit Ruby, have some snacks packed, and made a few last-minute phone calls. We are hoping for just a few days of relaxation with the kids.....after a really emotional week, we just need a couple days to focus on each other as a family. My next post will probably be on Saturday, so enjoy the week!