five friday funks . . . and favs!

i just thought it would be funny to change it up a little this week

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tics - i pulled one off of me last night

* * * * *

field trip cancelation - 

b/c of the bad storms & tornado warnings 

the first grade field trip to meadow farm was nixed

* * * * *

anxiety

* * * * *

crankytudes

* * * * *

restless nights for the boys
pollen & coughing
is not contributing to their sleep


but there's still favs!

finishing a book and getting into the next in the series

* * * * * 

a fabulous start to our friday
(way, way different from our thursday morning start)

because of the Lord's great love
we are not consumed
for his compassions never fail
they are new every morning
great is your faithfulness
lam. 3:22-23

* * * * * 

laughing & praying w/ coworkers
and girlfriends

* * * * * 

the benefits i already see in just a few weeks
without my biggest addiction

* * * * * 

relief
when anxiety was great within me
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
psalm 94:19

cute comparison

10/07

4/11

three & a half years

little boys

same rock

growing up

contact wearing j

glasses forgotten b

needing haircuts

i miss the "little" days
and love the bigger days

joy this week

:: the woods behind our house are filling in with spring green
   we can no longer see the cars passing down springfield road
   way behind our house

:: freckles are making their annual appearance on j's face

:: boys slept in until 9:30
ok ~ so mama did too ;)

:: i've missed you hugs from & for pre-k-ers

:: painful relief

:: answered prayers

:: loving on a friend
sadly, in very similar shoes as i am in
(i did not find joy in her situation
but in the fact that God is using my story
to minister to someone else)

:: air conditioning

:: bedtime conversations & cuddles
with my boys

:: my new "because he lives" play list

look what i found

little b may have found it strange 

that i took a pic of our kitchen window sill

however, it looks like it may have worn off on him.

he asked if he could take some pics w/ my camera

and i hesitantly said ok

when i was flipping through them i found this

so first he wrote a love note on our dry erase tablet

then took a picture

soooooo sweet!

i won't delete the picture

i deleted a bunch

of backpacks, the tv, roxy, my feet, shoes, etc.

and will try to hold off erasing the tablet

my kitchen window

when lucy blogged about her window

it got me to thinking!

i should have also snapped a pic of ben

when he saw me snap this one.

he looked at me oddly then said

"seriously mama, c'mon"

then walked away.

he knows i enjoy taking pics

but like you, doesn't understand the thrill here!

Happy Easter

five friday favs

"Remembrance"

so glad sarah posted it

* * * * * 

goochland drive in

bring your easter baskets

and get them filled with popcorn for a $1

the best part was having my favorite 9 year old

crawl up beside me b/c he was cold

then we both got warm

* * * * * 

alone time

* * * * * 

a week filled with my boys

and my friends

* * * * * 

"peepsters"

i was confident they would be gross

(i don't like . . . make that, hate peeps)

however these were a fun treat

Spring Break Day 3

day 2 was filled with reconnecting & catching up 

with our lynchburg friends,

lots of outdoor play,

games, pizza,

but the cameras never came out the entire time

day 3 

we packed some pb & j's

turkey & cheese sandwiches

fruit & water

and headed out to Maymont

for some free fun

 with several of these darlins

complaining & whining along the way

 i nipped most of it with a promise/bribe

of grape lime-aids from bill's barbeque for the ride home

this is a pose that i took of the boys LONG ago 

when j was in kindergarten

i wanted to compare

 sassy jillie

strike a pose

some nice lady offered to take a pic of all of us

it's a little blurry but we can't complain

joy today

but really from the past week ~ i picked some that really stood out

::  pumpkin seeds sprouting
all be it accidental
i transplanted dirt from our compost pile
rich soil!
a couple of weeks later
leaves are popping through
oops

:: a rainy day stay home jammer day

:: a visit from mama & daddy

:: a pedicure from a friend
with another friend

:: my new comforter

:: the celebration screams & squeals that i heard
from inside the house
ALL the way down the street
from the bus friday afternoon
spring break!!

:: a phone call from a vacationing friend
just to say hi
i think she misses me

:: a clean house
top to bottom

Hosanna!

i have no idea where the time went 

between rising & shining sunday morning and driving to church.

but when i looked down at the dash and it was after 11 

when were turing out of our street, 

it hit me there was NO way to make it for the 11 service.  

i was so looking forward to it as well.  

so . . . . i turned the van around with the idea we would have church at home.  

a couple of years ago we did the resurrection biscuits 

and i remembered that we had biscuits & marshmallows at home.  

PERFECT!  

i managed to snap a few pictures during our time.

HOSANNA!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel!

spring break day 1

all the tools, seeds, containers, etc. to get our seeds started

 dirt straight from our compost pile

some of the completed starters

teacher appreciation gifts started

flowers planted

my latest way of getting laundry put away efficiently

instead of having piles of folded laundry waiting

i did NOT take pictures of our overhaul cleaning of the boys' rooms

as they should always look good

have you heard of the 40 bags in 40 days?

getting rid of 40 bags of unused stuff during lent?

i think this weekend alone i purged at least 20

b/w trash, outgrown clothes, toys, books, movies

hope thrift here we come!

and how come i'm just now reading about 

this Easter Garden 

i'll have to bookmark it for next year

i promised the boys a more fun day tomorrow.

although we only did the "chore" stuff early on

we got the cleaning stuff out of the way 

in hopes to play the rest of the week!

five friday favs

little benjamin who speaks no english

but his face lights up hugely when singing & dancing

he grins from ear to ear

brings a smile to my face just thinking about it

* * * * *

psalm 25

esp. 4,5 & 10

* * * * * 

field trip with jacob

spending time w/ him &  his class

watching him interact with his fav *girl* friend

loving his interest in greek mythology

* * * * * 

colgate 360

random, i know

but i found a package of them under my bathroom sink

* * * * * 

report cards

honor roll & hard math worker

Batter Up!

spRinG has SPruNg!

such fun

these boys!

 now my door looks really really good

thanks jenn!

i love my new wreath!

the games my boys make up

"trampoline ball"

it's a baseball bat, basketball, & trampoline "field"

swing batter batter swing

from high school musical

that song that ALWAYS floods my mind

w/ all things baseball

i used to sing it on the way to all of ben's games

random, i know

i do love their creativity!

stay tuned

next time:

tenni-ball

JOY today

some girlfriends of mine & i have been reading One Thousand Gifts together.  while chatting as we can about what we think.  there are only a couple of us that are getting into it, the others are pushing their way through.  i LOVE that it has convicted me to slow down & breathe with the boys.  it's reminded me to focus on my word for this year.  (psalm 51:12 & 94:19) it's helped me to rethink the way i pray . . . praying with a thankful heart is the only way to pray.  enter his courts with thanksgiving!    may i look at God's world through "thankful eyes".

i won't be doing a 1000 gifts list per say but i will be more mindful of my thankfulness.  i will continue to write them down as i feel lead in my own journal.  while i can't imagine getting thrilled over grated cheese or soapy suds, i will make mention to the lord of his good.  i will thank him for opening my eyes to even more glimpses of him and his unspeakable joy.

bringing me JOY today ~

:: sharing the story of Jesus ~ He's ALIVE! to 11 bright eyed preschoolers.  many of them looked up at me with such wonder.  then we did the resurrection biscuits . . . baked a marshmallow inside a biscuit.  the biscuit is empty just like the tomb.  "ms. skammer the marshmallow is gone . . .  just like Jesus!" one little darlin exclaimed!

:: jacob calling me back to his room last night to pray with him.

:: godly girlfriends ~ their friendship, wisdom & support.  one dropped afternoon plans just to *listen*

:: ben's already sporting a farmer's tan ~ i couldn't help but smile when he came down the other night; he was definitely trying to dilly dally his way from bed time but it was a reminder that summer is on it's way!

:: the words from a friend/coworker attached to a cd

:: the relief from allergy issues

:: and how can one not smile when looking at this little dude.  some of those bangles & beads are soooooo old.  glad i hadn't gotten rid of them!

:: in being content ~ philippians 4:11-13 ~ an ongoing prayer

summing up today

1 jammer day for mama

0 basketball games

4 chewed up socks in the back yard

1 clean & organized closet

4 days of NO coke 0 

5 bags to Hope Thrift

1 play date

3 clean bathrooms

2 snoring boys

2 books read ~ 1st & 2nd Timothy were really good to me.  i think i'll reread tomorrow

6 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded & put away

2 more waiting - 1 in the wash & 1 in the dryer

3 chik fil a lunches to go

five friday favs

jacob's request for cuddling

pretty sure it was to put off homework

but i'll take it!

* * * * * 

allegra d

* * * * * 

breaking down a hard read

in conversations with girlfriends

* * * * * 

reading through my prayer/scripture journal

from the past year

reflecting on God's faithfulness

and his provision for joy

even in suffering

* * * * * 

some amazing little 4 & 5 year olds

many signed up for kindergarten today

i can't believe it's "that time" already

i love my little friends

and can't believe it's almost time for them to graduate

wish i could "loop" with them

skamshots

love

love

LOVE

our new doors

here's hoping little roxy girl doesn't get out any more

thanks mama & daddy!

 meeting my babes at the bus

i love this time of day

especially on a pretty day

we play catch w/ jacob's football as we head home

the sign that i had to promise not to hold up at the race

i kept my promise!

ben's rainbow looks pretty blowing in the windows

i got the idea from meg

love love love this too

sweet sarah made for us a few years ago for our roanoke home

it traveled back w/ us here

this verse still holds so much for me

even in a different setting/situation 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

psalm 16:6

five friday favs on a beautiful sunday morning

pottery painting with my favorite 9 year old

* * * * * 

the red velvet cupcake from my boys

to make me feel better

when the day wasn't so good

* * * * * 

both of our boys running the fun run

so proud!

* * * * * 

all the vcu hype

it's fun to join the local team support

our boys have really enjoyed it this season

* * * * * 

my kuerig coffee makers

haha!

i got 2 for my birthday

both sets of parents had the same great idea

so far my favorite flavor is 

butter toffee

FunRun

Both of our boys ran today. 

Last night when we went to pick up Ben's packet, 

Jacob decided he wanted to run as well.

and he did!

I'm so thrilled he changed his mind!

Jacob's age group was before Ben's.

I wasn't concerned about him going w/out an adult

b/c I was sure Ben & JM would catch up.  

Then they would all be together.

The ONLY person I saw come through the finish line was JM.

NEITHER of the boys!

Fortunately JM knew Ben sprinted ahead of him

but Jacob on the other hand . . .

we found 20 minutes later!

that was a LONG time to be wondering his where abouts!

Hopefully Jacob is "hooked" now on running!
Dolphin Dash . . . here we come!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders 

and the sin that so easily entangles, 

and let us run with perseverance 

the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1