Togo

Mark and I left the next morning without the children! Maggie, Phoenix, and Luke stayed at Grandmother and Granddad's house for the first time by themselves! Yikes!

We headed to Minnesota. It took us all day, but we finally arrived at Flaming Pines! Who's been?

I can't tell much about this camp because I was suffering from a little migraine that night (Probably from all the blubbering I did after leaving our babies behind). But I can say that I enjoyed meeting up with my cousins Paul and Robin! Woo-Hoo!

Mark spent a great evening with not only prospective students, but with quite a few who are already enrolled to come this Fall!

IT'S GREAT TO BE AT HARDING!!

Brighton

Our next stop was Midwest Bible Camp (MWBC). But, on our way, we drove through St. Louis. Mark knew of a cool transportation museum and wanted to show the kids, but we were pressed for time. We went ahead and stopped and just enjoyed all the neat items outside instead of taking a tour. It was fun!

Next was Brighton, Iowa. Who's been to MWBC? This is the camp Mark grew up going to and being a part of. Maggie will go next summer! It was a lot of fun. (And a shout-out to Laura and Molly...my Iowa peeps!)

We enjoyed "playing" with old friends and then listening to Mark's talk.

(Everyone who's ever been a part of MWBC knows my husband is a legend for singing "Low Budget"...these young campers requested a private performance. :)






After camp, we drove to Muscatine where we met up with Mark's parents at church and enjoyed their VBS!

Finally we got to go to Nichols and spend the night with Granddad and Grandmother. We were so ready for a comfortable bed!

IT'S GREAT TO BE AT HARDING!!

Rolla

This summer, the kids and I got to go with Mark on his Mammoth Trip. Every year, he travels through "his" states recruiting for Harding. The kids and I went this year and had a blast! Part-way through the trip, we dropped the kids off in Iowa at Mark's parents' house and he and I went on by ourselves. It was a trip full of adventure!

Our first stop was Little Prairie Bible Camp in Rolla, Missouri. Who's been? I never had. It was a nice place full of nice people. The minute we opened our car doors and stepped into the heat, we almost melted. It was a grueling 116 degrees (at 6:00 in the evening)!

Despite the heat, however, Mark was in his element. He jumped right in and started playing a little b-ball (knock-out!) with the campers.

While he played, we sat in front of a gigantic fan and tried to stay cool. (Thanks, Josh, for the popsicles!!)

We were surprised when Mark was asked to lead chapel, which he did very well. I began to appreciate my husband anew and see a side of him I don't often get to see.

IT'S GREAT TO BE AT HARDING!!

Romance vs. Reality (Part One)

Is it just me, or are things often better read than experienced? For example, dancing in the rain. This sounds so poetic, dreamy, beautiful...and if it's the perfect rain on a perfect day (i.e., warm, light rain, no wind, etc) then it actually is very nice. But, most of the time, dancing in the rain means getting soaked, having to change clothes and warm up, and then frizzy hair. This is romance verses reality.

I am a writer. I actually love to write the romance view to extremes. I, in fact, am a romantic at heart. However this can be a huge roadblock in enjoying real life. I'm not talking about the Harlequin paperbacks that lead one to believe that all women are perfectly shaped and all men are rascals until their eyes fall on that perfect woman...and then they're reformed and wonderful, bla bla bla. No...surely we all know that's hooey.

I'm talking about how we word things, or more how we see things. I like to read about other people's experiences. Yay for modern technology...FaceBook, Blogspot, etc... I am able to see into others lives in ways that I never could before. Yes. I am nosy. Well, more to the point, I'm interested. And I get caught up in reading about how so-n-so went to the beach and laid on a soft towel, soaked up the sun, read three novels, and relaxed wonderfully.

I start thinking, I want to go to the beach!! But do I? I mean, yes it's fun. But I need to think about the reality of it...the sand that gets in those oh-so-uncomfortable places; the sunburns; the heat; did I mention the sand? Add that into the experience and it becomes reality. Still a great vacation...but not so "perfect" see?

The same can be said for camping. The fresh air, the scenery, nature...ah! AND, the bugs, the critters, the lack of plumbing.....

Taking this a bit deeper, I seem to "romance" other families. I see how "perfect" some families are. The children are well-behaved; the mom is smiling and trim and stylish; the dad is present and happy and ironed. How do they do it?!

In reality, they do it with a lot of hard work! The mom has to catch up on sleep every chance she gets and pray a lot to keep that smile on her face. The stylish clothes come from hard work and penny-pinching. The children are well-behaved because of many disciplinary moments...many crying and arguing moments...many fit-throwing moments. The dad is present because he has learned to sacrifice and re-prioritize. He had to get up and iron his own shirt this morning, but did it because he knows his wife needed those few extra minutes to sleep. That's the reality of it.

I don't really know what my point is....this is me just rambling and sharing thoughts I haven't organized yet. But, for those of us romantics out there, life can get depressing if we don't force ourselves to take off the rose-colored glasses and see things as they really are. We romantics are often afraid to do that because giving up the dream of wanting things to be perfect might mean finally realizing things are NOT.

What I've pleasantly found is that the not-perfect world is so much more likeable!!

It's a Cinch to Pinch

~Money-Saving Tips for Those Who are Serious About Saving Money~

During the Great Depression, and for some time after, women shared ways to scrimp and save in order to bring peace and quality to their homes and home-lives. It used to be the woman's job to make sure there was enough food on the table, the clothes were always fresh, ironed, mended, and that the children were trained, the husbands were happy, and the house was clean. It used to be that women took pride in such things.

When did that stop?

When did it become all about keeping up with the Joneses? Sometime between then and now, it became taboo to talk about cutting corners or sacrificing in order to provide essentials for your home and family. It became insensitive to assume that it was simply the woman's job to smooth out material, emotional, and financial wrinkles. Women began sharing the latest fashions, home-designs, and fads. Talk of how hard things can be was replaced with talk of the latest in trends.

I was born in the wrong era.

I do take pride in "running" our household. Mark is a hard worker outside the home and it stands to reason that I should be a hard worker FOR our home! This job is dirty, sweaty, tearful, exhausting, and so rewarding it often stuns me.

So...taboo, or not...for those of you Housewives out there gleaning all you can in order to provide the best for your family, here ya go:

1. Only buy one box of dishwashing detergent per month (or two months...our family is large enough to dirty dishes quite plentifully). If/When you run out before the month is out, wash by hand! You heard me!

2. Always make a list before going to the store and STICK TO THE LIST (and don't go to the store hungry)!! Also, before making that list, get creative. Go through your pantry and see if there's anything in there that could do for a casserole, soup, etc... You'd be surprised what might please your family that you find in the back of your freezer!

3. Curb the desire to buy new clothes unless you NEED them! If something is just a tad too small, try exercising a little more for one week. Just one week will bring the waistline more comfort. Wearing the same dress to church two Sundays in a row is NOT the end of the world. Simplify your wardrobe; it's possible to be sensible and fashionable if you are diligent and frugal! Be proud that you're saving money! If you must buy something, try first to find it at a second-hand shop. Not only do you save a bundle, but these shops are often profiting wonderful causes. (My favorite in Searcy is Paws Inn. Clothing is only a quarter and if you feel like splurging, there's handmade jewelry for fifty cents! Money goes to building a shelter for animals.)

That's it for now. I have tons more, so this isn't last on this subject! I'd love to hear your own ideas for saving! Share!!

Heaven

When I was a little girl, I used to like to imagine what Heaven will be like. In my young mind, I fantasized about castles, crowns, green hills, and laughter.

When I was a bit older and thinking about what Heaven must be like, I referred to scripture and tried to wrap my mind around singing angels, golden streets, and pearled gates.

When I became a wife and mother, I had a certainty in my heart that Heaven holds all that is right and good. I just simply knew, without having to exert imagination, that Heaven is beautiful and peaceful.

In the past few years, I've experienced earthly loss. I literally watched my daddy take his last breath as he stepped over from this world and into the angels' arms. I've felt pain, grief, devastation...but also peace, comfort, and relief. The passing of our loved ones from this life into the Next is hurtful in only a worldly way. It is also a celebration our hearts can't fully comprehend. A joy that is not quite yet complete.

I have begun now to think of Heaven as home. It is my home...it is being prepared for me. In all of our travels, some have reached that destination before me and as I picture what Heaven must be like, I think of castles, crowns, green hills, and laughter...singing angels, golden streets, pearled gates...righteousness, goodness, beauty, peace...and I see all of those loved ones there amongst it all.

One day, I'll be there too. What joy!!

Hot Woman on a Hot Day

Yesterday morning, the kids and I spent an hour in Spring Park enjoying (enjoying?) a small petting zoo. It was 95 degrees, but the kids didn't seem to mind as much as I did. My clothes were sticking to me and I wondered at the wisdom in wearing denim capris. As I longed for cotton shorts, I noticed a girl standing a few feet from me. I'm no longer any good at judging a gal's age...this woman could've been 20 or 40. But, at any rate, she had to be hot!

When I say hot, I do not imply that she was good-looking, though she may have been. I couldn't look at her face because of my shock in her attire. On a hot day, I am used to being assaulted by the indecency of women all around me. Hot weather seems to be permission to show as much skin as possible in any gathering. This was a gathering primarily of mamas and children, and yet, on some women, there was more skin than material showing.

This girl, however, was not in that category at all. I remind you it was 95 degrees, sticky, without as much as a small breeze, and somehow the smell of the animals seemed to add to the heat. This girl was dressed in a sweatshirt and blue jeans, that were tucked into fur-lined boots. I couldn't take my eyes off her. As my children passed by her, I wanted to shield them, for surely she was running a temperature! What was WRONG with her?!

She appeared very relaxed and comfortable. It was some sort of magic that she worked. While the rest of us, moderate to scantily clad women were damp and red-faced, this bundled up anomaly simply stood by herself with a contented look about her.

I did enjoy the look on my kids' faces as they took a ride on the Shetland pony (named Popsicles) and fed the ducks, bunnies, and goat. But this oddly dressed young woman took the prize for capturing my attention above all else.

Against my prophecies, she did not suffer heat stroke, nor did she have so much as one bead of sweat on her brow the last time I risked a glance her way. That woman most assuredly practices wizardry and I found myself rathering to look in the direction of the women in short-shorts and too-tight-tanks...looking at the sweat-less sweathshirted girl made me sweat even more!