Sledding in August?

The weather here in Michigan has been cold (according to experts anyway-I personally have enjoyed it) and somewhat sporadic this summer.  My kids have enjoyed swimming in the backyard, camping, tons of baseball, playing with friends, vacactioning with Grandparents, birthday celebrations, and many other fun activities all summer long.  Now that we are winding down, they are beginning to become kind of particular about the weather.  Have you ever listened to your children's conversation w/out getting involved?
The other day all 3 of mine were at the counter eating soup for lunch (it was a little on the cool side that day) and here's what I heard:

""I'm sick of summer."
"Yeah, me too."
"Its been really cold."
"Yeah, we can't go swimming when its like this."
"You know what I can't wait for?"
"What?'
"Winter.  I can't wait to go to Charlie's Dump so we can go sledding,"
"Oh yeah, me too.  I love sledding."
"I think winter's my favorite time of year. Bring on the snow."

I had to really try hard not to laugh at this! (Although we laugh a ton as a family, I have to make sure its not over something they are being serious about).  They were serious. Just a few months ago they couldn't wait to jump in the pool!
Check out their sweet faces in the picture above.  They don't know how wonderfully silly they are and how much they enrich my life with them just simply being who they are. 

Hope you enjoyed this little story. Have a wonderful rest of your summer.  I'll leave you with one of the beautiful aspects of Michigan Sunsets:

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Judy Garland once said:

"Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else"

I love this!  I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent a great deal of time in my 20's worrying about what people thought of me, constantly comparing myself to the women around me, and needlessly agonizing over whether I measured up or not.  The scary thing about this is that I was putting myself up against society's standards.  It makes me really sad to think about the time I wasted and how I did not put my full trust in God.  The reason I can confidently share this with you is because God has done amazing things in my life since then.

Now, as a wiser woman in my 30's, I've learned that putting any weight on the world's standards is pointless, painful and more importantly not God-honoring.  I've learned the hard way that what God wants from me is to continue striving towards the woman he has designed me to be.  This always helps me when I need a reminder: 

I am BLESSED, CHOSEN, ADOPTED, ACCEPTED, REDEEMED AND FORGIVEN!  This was something from a Beth Moore study the ladies at our church did a few years ago.  It has stuck with me and has reminded me so many times how God sees me.

I am not perfect, but I am striving to be a better Me:  the one He created me to be.

I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite passages from Romans:
Romans 8: 38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you striving to be a first rate version of yourself?

Gratituesday:
Yesterday my youngest brother got up early in the morning and drove 2 hours to come work with my husband on putting new flooring down in our dining room.  We've lived in this house for 4 1/2 years and have forever wanted anything but what we had in the dining room-yep, you guessed it:  carpet!!!  With 3 kids and lots of spills (and the previous family's 2 kids and dog), the carpet looked like a splat mat and was very unattractive.  There were many times I was feeling less than thrilled to extend hospitality to others due to this ugly carpet.  We still did enjoy the company of many, and I've learned valuable lessons about what it means to extend hospitality. Anyway, I know that God does not call us to open our homes and our hearts if.... (the house looks great, our meals are extravagant, things are all in place, etc).  God calls us to open our hearts and homes because that is how we share and show the love of Jesus.  We are blessed to be a blessing!!
Today, I am grateful for the hard work and labor my brother and husband put into making our home more beautiful.  The floor looks amazing!!  May I continue to be a blessing to those around me.

So I finally decided to use part of a gift card I'd gotten for my birthday.  I've always wanted an ice cream maker but wasn't going to spend the $ on it.  Yesterday my husband dropped my daughther and I off @ Bed Bath and Beyond (with my 20% off coupon) and he and the boys ran an errand to Lowe's.  I came home with a Cuisinart ice cream maker and couldn't wait to get started.  Of course I didn't realize that the bowl has to be completely frozen b/f making ice cream!  (I had read this in the manual, but surely that didn't appy to us, right!  WRONG)  ARGHH!!  We were really wanting to try some homemade ice cream.  Well, I stuck the bowl in the freezer,  my husband ran to the store for some ingredients, and we all tried to forget about waiting for the yummy stuff!  The manual says is takes about 6 hours, but we couldn't wait so after 4 hours, we gathered round the kitchen counter and let the fun begin.  About 40 minutes later, it was obvious that it wasn't happening (the flavor was amazing, but texture too soupy) so we put it in the freezer for the next day and went to bed.  I was sooo bummed.  I had even made homemade hot fudge!  Oh well, it looks great in an old jelly jar (might even be something to look at for giving as a gift around Christmas time)! Something tells me that I need to continue the practice of patience.  Well, tomorrow is now today so that ice cream + hot fudge is calling our names.  Can't wait to dig in today!  I might post a pic here later!  Have a Blessed Sunday!

After Facebooking for a few months, I've decided it would be fun to have my own blog.  I love to connect with other women and have found a ton of creative, inspiring, amazing ladies out there who make me want to be a better person.  I'm not the most compter literate person, but I love to journal so I will need to practice patience as I begin this journey.  I hope to bless and to be blessed.