the back door

a few years ago, it seemed like i was never in our worship service. being the children's director i found myself filling in a lot with the kiddos. while that is great, i found myself rather dry. somehow i found holly's blog which led me to here . i often listened to his sermons and still do on occasion. one of the things i've loved about elevation's philosophy is that 10% of their tithe is tithed back to the community. they partner with many organizations. this winter, holly blogged about their Love Week. this year they partnered with several churches in the charlotte area and logged many hours of community service. they partnered with schools, agencies, and basically blessed the community. our pastor has a heart for community involvement. it seems like us small town church-goers are pretty good at the one-anothering the bible talks about, but we often forget about one-anothering those outside our walls. so i took the leap and threw out love week at a staff m

getting a weather radio to keep himself tuned it to current stats! whiz boy turned 11 this july! i would say that seems crazy, and it does, but then again it doesn't! my little boy has grown up and at times that makes me sad, but then again....it is our job to raise them and let them go. for now, i'm prepping myself to embrace those preteen years and enjoy the ride it takes us on! princess got him a dog pillow pet...he did say it is very soft! whiz boy is full of information, kind of like a walking encyclopedia(i learned to spell that word in 2nd grade in a sing songy kind of way and even while typing it it sounded sing songy!). he has his father's sense of humor although learning when to use it and when not to use it has been a challenge. i have to say, that for all the times i feel like pulling my hair out, he really is a great kid with a spunky spirit and zest for life. i mean he is full core from sunrise to sunset, which in the summer makes for long days for this momma!

so we don't have ac, which means we are hot, which means we aren't very motivated. so while i sit in a dark room with 2 fans on me i thought i'd share some randomness...... our back porch has been getting a make-over. hubby has done a great job and it looks tons better just primed!!! oscar dog has gotten a bit hot lately too...while he is not fond of water he has tolerated several dips in the pool:) the kids have greatly enjoyed the pool too...and yes, the water is brown because of iron, but they don't seem to care. we shock it for them every once in a while! oscar had a special treat one night when we gave him "one minute to lick it!" and for those of you wondering...the jar was empty and found its way to the trash when he was done! i did good for father's day and bought hubby these chairs. i bought him 2 so i could join him for coffee! of course assembly was required. he had help for the 2nd chair. since then i bought 2 more - they are still in the boxe

well, this morning i was pretty excited to get out in our garden and start picking my green beans! i love green beans and pick mine young so i can freeze them for the year. they always taste so yummy. last year we had this crazy crop of beans. i mean seriously, i'd never seen so many beans on one plant! so this morning, the kids chore was to pick beans and we all headed out early. son started on the peas (he loves to shell them too and has just spent the last hour doing just that without one complaint!) and princess and i started in with our bags on the 4 rows of green beans. i was sure our crop would be more "normal" this summer, but oh no....again, this bizarre bumper crop! so here are my lessons: ...just put your hiney in the dirt and scoot your way through the plants. ...leave the shoes on the side of the garden ...enjoy the dirt that covers you head to toe when you decide sitting in the dirt is easier on your neck and back than the forever squat position ...you

the past several weeks have found me pondering quite a few deep issues. i tend to go through phases like that. but saturday morning i found myself in long sleeves and jeans knee deep in pasture grass all alone picking rasberries. it has been a rare treat this summer to find myself alone. i spent some time thinking through some of my recent ponderings. ironically, while picking the berries God opened up more than i think i wanted to hear! you see, this past couple of weeks i've come face to face with some issues from my past. while they aren't really big issues they were ones that stir up some buried hurt. i'd been processing them and trying to move on yet again. during this time i had some conversations with a few people. one person was sharing how for them it was just easier to "forgive" the person who hurt them, but then to walk away from the friendship as a way of avoiding anymore hurt. while i completely understand that, i can't help but think tha