Fun with Family and Friends

Sometimes I know I take my family and friends for granted. I am so blessed to be surrounded again by so many people who I love and enjoy living life with. We have been busy the past week. We got to enjoy a camping trip with just our kids this past weekend in Port Angeles/Sequim area. It was wonderful. A good time was had by all. Then we got to have a playdate with some of our cousins and close friends. Then I got to have lunch with a dear friend of mine who is expecting her first baby in about 4 weeks. Today we got to celebrate my baby sisters 30th birthday and she and I had a wonderful time together.

I am blown away by the overflowing of blessings in my life. Thank you God for giving me so much and forgive me when I lose sight of things and want for more. Thank you that you are better at distinguishing between my wants and my needs than I am.

You never know!

You never know when God is going to use you to speak His truth to a listening ear. Don't ever decide not to encourage someone with God's word. It was just what I needed to hear tonight. So maybe you will be encouraged in your own way too.

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - Rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Phil 4:4-8

The Challenge

What is going on?!! I just was reading up on blog updates by friends. Two of those friends wrote specifically about what God has been doing in their life and how He is really speaking into and through thier lives and quiet time with him. There is a real relationship there. I have already told you in my last blog that God is calling me out and specifically seeking me right now. He has reminded me that I need to be growing and that I need to be DAILY in his word.

I am challenged in a way that is not comfortable to me. I am being asked to do more than seek him. I am being persued by the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. I want to grow but do not look forward to the growing pains that I know will come with that growth. And yet, my soul is excited to spend more time with him today. It's a joy and excitement I can not explain.

Thank you to Amy, Kristin, and Breanna for sharing your hearts today. God used you to encourage me. I thank God for you all and pray blessings over you tonight tenfold.

Trees

I learned something about trees yesterday. But before I tell you, I should give a quick background. One of my neighbors came over about a week ago and asked me if we wanted a couple of free apple trees. All we had to do was dig them up. We asked how big and she said they were about 8-9 feet tall and fairly new trees. (planted about 3 years ago) So we said yes. Well, yesterday was the day. We planned to go over to her sister in law's house about 5 minutes away and dig up the two trees.

All started out great. We got there with two shovels in hand ready to get a couple of new trees. Turns out one was newer and one we never should have begun to attempt to pull out. They are both yoshimoto cherry blossom trees. There is even some cool cherry like fruit on them. The newer one came out no problem. The established one that was about 25 feet tall and HUGE took almost 3 hours to get out. Greg is a BEAR! He never gave up. He really can do anything. I can't believe we were able to dig it up with a pick ax and two shovels. Although, we had to chop the life out of some roots that themselves were the size of small trees. So I'm praying it will re-root and survive in our yard. So yes, we had to come home and plant the tree right away to try and preserve what was left of the root system. So last night about 9:45 p.m. till around 11:00 we furiously dug a new 2 foot hole in ROCKS (gotta love Puyallup) to replant the tree.









All that to say, I learned something yesterday. I was reminded of the beauty and perfection of God's creation. I was definitely reminded to not take nature for granted. And mostly I learned that strength comes as we grow. The tree was practically impossible to move in the environment where it had been growing. It was strong and ferocious. But, now in my yard it will have to be braced and taken care of a lot till it regenerates and grows again. God has been challenging me through the beginning of this summer to grow. He has been reminding me that I need strength and to gain that awesome strength I have to be growing in HIM.

The other delightful insight I got into growing came with my kids! Greg and I have been out of the baby stage for a couple of years. Although we miss parts of our kids baby years we also love moving forward. Yesterday was one of those fun moving forward days. Our kids actually accomplished cleaning thier bathroom ALL BY THEMSELVES. I had to grab my camera because I was in shock and wanted to savor it for days to come. There was no whining or complaining. In fact, there was a little fighting over who would get to clean the toilet and the bathtub and when would it be their turn. MUSIC to my ears.









And lastly, a little garden update. I haven't posted pictures since they began to sprout. The pumpkin leaves are getting bigger. The corn is raising higher. The tomato plants are out of control and the carrot tops are so beautiful.











We also had some encouraging leaves pop out this week on a rose bush. This isn't just any rose bush. Greg and the kids got to take it from Marie's garden (Greg's mom) before his dad's house sold last month. We transplanted it and it all but died almost immediately. So we bought some transplant stuff and hoped for the best. This week it started to get some leaves again and is showing signs of strength as well. We are so thrilled. Now we will have our rosebush and our blueberry bush (which someone gave us when she died) to fill our hearts and remind us often of the woman we look forward to being reunited with in Heaven.