he got the job!

• my husband got a job! We're talking a full-time job. Ok, no benefits, but we're so thankful he got a job that will start in two weeks. Thank you Lord!
• we're praying I find work that gives us medical insurance and that we can dig ourselves out of the hole we've gotten ourselves in from 2 years of part-time/ unemployment. 
• it seems daunting, but I'm trusting God will help us find a way.
• it's going to be close to 120 degrees this weekend. Yikes!
• the estate sale dates I've been working towards are this weekend.
• God help us. But gosh I love my job.
• my son Tyler is moving to Wisconsin in July.
• I will miss him terribly.
• my other son Shawn & his wife Nicole just celebrated 9 years.
• we're watching The West Wing on Netflix. I am loving every single episode.
• I simply adore Josh... and Donna... and Mrs. Landingham... and Toby... and Leo...
• and of course the President. Omg, Martin Sheen is the best.
• No, I take that back. None of them are anything without great writers. 
• And Aaron Sorkin happens to be the best of the best.
• Ok, I started this post this morning, and just an hour ago Randy & I watched the Season 2 finale. And I am still in tears. And some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.
• Although I have a feeling Randy & I are the only ones in Phoenix to have never seen an episode prior to a month ago.
• Ok, what else... our dear friend Ed took us on a roadtrip to Safford, Arizona last weekend. 
• You know how much I love a roadtrip. But what you couldn't know is how much I needed a roadtrip at this time. 
• So thankful to be out on the open road to clear my head and commune with nature.
• Here's Ed & I with Mt Graham in the background ~ the highest peak in Arizona.

my faith journey

I have a hard time letting people do for me. I mean, I think I want the help. But then I don't. I guess just knowing they want to help in some way is enough for me... but the actual letting them do for me is hard.
So I'm learning to let others meet our needs. I've taken some baby-steps here and there, but this past weekend was a biggy. I let someone host a yard sale for us. Someone I didn't even know that well. Someone that I now know, having spent several hours in the sweltering heat working a yard sale. And you know what, it felt good.
You see we're in a very difficult season. My husband has been looking for full-time work for over two years. In that time he has only had two interviews for part-time jobs and while one of those jobs ended after one year, the other ended after 3 months. He has not had one interview for a full-time job. Needless to say, times are tough. And I have not handled it well. At all. In our almost 34 years of marriage, we've never both been weary and tired, unable to pull the other out of the muck and mire. Till now. I can easily go to a scary place where I isolate, believe the lies in my head and lose hope.
It's been tough on our marriage. While I need to process out loud, he doesn't. While I'm more relational, he isn't. While those things drew us together in the early years, only frustrate in the later. Or maybe it's the daily stress that continues to weaken our resolve to be there for each other. But we remain committed for the long haul. No matter what. Because of love.
Anyway, the yard sale was such a blessing. Yes, the proceeds met a huge need. But the blessing of watching someone give of their time and resources had me in tears... and wondering why would they do that? Why would someone sacrifice time with their family on a Saturday to spend several hours in the heat with me? Because of Christ in them. Because of love.
Which brings me to today... Randy has an interview for a full-time job tomorrow afternoon. I don't even like typing those words out loud. In fact, that is part of the reason I don't say much at all, cuz it's hard enough on me if things don't pan out, but I don't want to disappoint others. So many have prayed and prayed and nothing seems to be happening... ok, other than I am learning to depend on God, trusting His plans, in His perfect timing. But if you know me at all, you know I'm all about a great story, a redemptive story, a happy-ending story. Well, I would much rather move along in this particular chapter of my life... and get on to the next, where everything starts to make sense and I get to shout from the mountaintops the faithfulness of God. Oh I know, He's faithful right now. But man oh man, I can so quickly lose heart and crumble under the weight and gravity of our situation.
SO many changes in these past two years that just don't always make sense. At least for now. But God has a plan. He always does. And yes, after 30+ years in full-time ministry, He is not done with us yet. We will serve Him and follow Him no matter what we're doing. So we're praying soon we can get about the business of doing whatever it is that he has for us in this next chapter. In the mean time, I don't want to miss the lessons along the way. I don't want to fight the pain and suffering, but rather embrace all that he is teaching me every. single. day.

On a lighter note, we went to brunch today with our kids and grandkids for Father's Day, and I said to Elsie (age 2) "Elsie, it's Father's Day for your Daddy!". And she says all indignant "It's not Father's Day, it's Mother's Day for Fathers!" haha! Oh that girl is one smart cookie.

Oh and may I add, she's quite the little haircutter too. Yes, Elsie took a scissors to her hair this week and in a matter of minutes, she cut her hair. Like a whole lot!
God love her. :)

Rejoice in hope
be patient in tribulation
be constant in prayer
Rom. 12:12

Nathan & Jonah @ 1

Just so you know ~ extreme amounts of cuteness are embedded in this post!

My grandsons Nathan & Jonah turned 1 the end of April.

They are really and truly the sweetest little boys ever.

And yes I have tears rolling down my cheek just thinking about the love they already have for each other, and the memories they will make in the years to come.

I can't wait to see their personalities expressed through their differences and their similarities.

I think they're praying the photo session will end soon...

... so they can play with their favorite sisters in the whole world.

Oh this family melts me. I love them to pieces.

Oh my oshkosh b'gosh ~ are they just the cutest or what!!!

Special thanks to En Love Photography ~ love your work!

Ball jars & Tupperware

Ball jars and I go way back. In fact we have sort of a love/hate relationship. 

Years of canning in a hot, humid kitchen in the dead of summer can do that to you. You love the results, but hate the process. Come on, you know the gig... planting the garden, weeding the garden, harvesting the garden... and then the hours upon hours of snipping beans, shelling peas, slicing cucs... I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I wanted to break those blasted Ball jars at times.

But now, they make me all nostalgic, representing a simpler time, remembering the rows of colorful produce, all preserved and placed beautifully in our basement shelves. Hey, don't get me wrong, not nostalgic enough to want to ever can again as long as I live! 

So when I came upon these wide-mouth Ball jars at an earlier Estate Sale, I decided they would be our drinking glasses. You see I'm picky about glasses, especially hand washing them. I want to be able to get my whole hand and dish rag inside. These fit the bill. And my 24 year old son loves them. You know, big and beefy.

Well, last week I went to my local Fry's Food Store and saw these Ball plastic storage caps on clearance. Seriously, the only thing that would make my glasses even better is to find the perfect leak-proof plastic lids to give them even more bang for their buck. 

My 8 glasses now have 8 matching lids!

Oh the possibilities ~ dressings, dips, sauces, gravies, smoothies, puddings, lemon curd, etc.

And speaking of my favorite glasses... if you're a Duck Dynasty fan you most likely know that Sy goes no where without his favorite ice tea glass ~ a pastel Tupperware glass. And seriously folks, I get it! I LOVE my two pastel Tupperware glasses. They are totally and completely spill and leak-proof ~ as long as you burp the lid. I have been mixing homemade dressings, along with shaking flour and cold water for gravies in these babies for over 30 years, with no plans to sell... even though they are fetching a good chunk on eBay since Duck Dynasty hit the airwaves. 

But here's the deal, I am now the coolest Mom ever because my son Tyler not only loves Duck Dynasty and Sy, but loves the fact that his Mom has the same Tupperware glasses that Sy is either sippin' or stashin' in his back pocket. God love him!