Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, May 20, 2013

In the great outdoors...summer is here, at least if mosquitoes and humidity are any indication! Oh, and snakes. Two awaited us in the garage today, welcoming us home from our morning adventures (more to come on that in a minute).

Within our four walls...air conditioning.

A heart of thanksgiving...for so much!!!

- A great weekend visit with the Choates.

- The blessing of a loaned vehicle to make the trip (we didn’t realize how much of a blessing that was until today!).

- God’s nudges that led to a prayer warrior praying over our family while he worked this morning.

- More nudges that encouraged me to charge my phone earlier than I might have otherwise done so, leading to an almost fully charged phone when a charged phone was really needed.

- Physical protection for Doug when the van died on him on the road to a meeting in Little Rock this morning.

- Physical protection for the kids and me when the car tire separated but did not blow when we were on our way to pick Doug up.

- The provision of not one or two, but five church members in the right place at the right time to help all of us. We didn’t even need them all, but we realized after all was said and done that no matter what decisions we had made, someone was already in place to meet the needs we would have had.

- The provision of two new tires for the car to replace not only the one that separated but also the practically brand new spare in the trunk that something had apparently slashed, leaving us with no useful spare.

- The fact that the two snakes in the garage were not poisonous and were not in such a place that they bit any of us when we returned home and startled them.

- Peace through every step of the way this morning, including peace over all three kids. They weathered it all beautifully!

A heart of prayer...for wisdom as we wait to hear back from the mechanic about the van.

Random observations...I keep thinking of things that need to be added to the grand to-do list (my friend Julie calls it the Mother Load, and right now that’s about how mine looks!). One of the tasks is to create a good, workable summer schedule. In the meantime, may I please have a nap?

My silly children...were enjoying themselves while one of our rescuers put the tire back on the car this morning.

Thoughts from the kitchen...some days, there just are no thoughts from the kitchen. I will say, though, that yesterday’s no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies were a good idea. They sure did make us smile when we got home!

On my bookshelf...I’m really liking this week’s review book, The Gospel Centered Woman. The author has some really thought-provoking perspectives.

Projects...sewing like crazy for the birthday girl! I haven’t made much progress, but hopefully everything will be quick and easy. 

Sounds of the moment...just the air conditioner blowing. I think the kids are enjoying some down-time.

Last week we learned...that it doesn’t matter how badly you play miniature golf, as long as you do it with good friends!

A favorite thing from last week...

(more pictures to come)

The planner...up in the air. Lunch meeting with the Gleaners tomorrow and a twelfth birthday celebration on Sunday. Editing, sewing, etc. Beyond that, we’re trying to stay flexible as we await news on the van.

Because visuals are fun...this gorgeous, solid white moth was stuck to our windshield one day last week.