Ready, Set..

Go!

{doesn't everyone wanna somersault in their front yard, swimsuit and rain boots necessary?}

sweet, spunky Grace.

i love her. a lot.

Kindergarten

 Growing up, my mother was an oldies fan.

that meant that now, in my {ahem} early thirties,

i know lots of random lyrics.

lyrics like

it was an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini

that she wore for the first time today.

tonight,

i've got 

{leaving on a jet plane,

don't know when I'll be back again}.

in my head.

except instead of a vietnam soldier or some ex-boyfriend the song was meant for,

i'm thinking of my about-to-be kindergartener.

{this Kindergarten business?

it kinda feels like he's leaving on a jet plane, right?}

 

in our household tonight,

all our bags are packed,

he's ready to go.

 

 

his lunch is packed,

he's ready to go.

Grant, buddy,

Now the time has come for you to leave,

one more time let me kiss you
i'll dream about the days to come.

This bittersweet stuff?

it's gotta stop.

 soon.

my momma heart may not take it much more.

but, for now,

i smile at Grant's 5-year-old exuberance,

embrace this Kindergarten stuff,

and trust the Lord all the more,

with this dear, sweet boy of ours

who is about to be one step closer 

to growing up.

Coffee date!

{okay, so, wrote this LAST Monday morning, and it sat in my drafts folder for a week.

here ya go, anyway. }

--

Happy Monday morning, all.

I sit drinking a homemade latte...

wanna join me for a coffee date?

this is what I'd tell you.

---

It's a bit cool 

{well, cool at least for the hottest-july-ever-stuff we had}

and rainy this morning.

kinda making me eager for fall, here, folks -

pumpkin bread and coffee and sweaters and boots and crisp mornings -

{will try to remain content with summer for now.}

 --

some friends loaned us some puppets, and the kids have loved playing with them.

 grace, our animal-loving-3-year-old, has kinda fallen in love with them.

--

everyone's FB statuses and photos of first-day-of-school pictuers are killing me.

seriously -

we have one more week of not-Kindergarten-yet and I'm enjoying it.

a little bit ago I was texting a friend about her daughter's first-day-of-Kindergarten 

and was crying happy and sad tears for her over the text of "dropped her off".

{Kindergarten, people!}

seriously, when did my babies get big? 

--

{i'm on my second latte. 

what are you drinking this morning? I'll get you another cup.}

organization makes me really happy.

and yet, somehow, i'm okay with laundry unfolded. weird.

found this idea on Pinterest for ribbon organization out of a slacks hanger.
fab-u-lous.

--

I just started this new bible study called 

{Lord, Change my Attitude}.

4 days in and totally challenged.

I'll be leading a small group of ladies from church through it this fall and I'm way excited about it.

somehow getting together with sweet friends, sharing how the Bible is changing our lives -

it's really special, and I've missed our Bible study over the summer.

what have you been reading?

--

alright, friends.

my latte is almost gone and it's getting cold anyway.

hope your Monday is smooth, blessed, and you stay in step with the Spirit's leading today.

May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart be pleasing in His sight,

our Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. 

psalms 19:14

Love y'all!

Saturday night.

grace abigail.

Yesterday I ran a quick errand 

{for the never-ending paperwork of health insurance!}

The office where I had to go was located directly next to one of my doctor's office.

the doctor's office that I had not been to since late last February.

the doctor's office in which I sat, stunned.

the doctor's office where we first heard the words 

{multiple sclerosis}.

it kinda brought back a wave of emotions 

that surprised me, since, for the most part,

I feel okay with this whole

{I-have-a-progressive-neurological-disease} business.

seeing the doctor's office took me back to that point

late last winter where we cried out for God's comfort, grace, and hope.

and it reminded me, so, so, so much

that He has answered.

although I believe He is the Great Physician,

for whatever reason,

He has allowed this disease in my life.

and, in doing so,

He has poured out grace upon unending grace.

i don't know if I can be thankful for a progressive disease.

really? i'm kinda not.

but, in a supernatural way, I'm thankful for the depth of understanding of God's complete Sovereignty.

we're told our faith is of greater worth than gold,

and that the testing of our faith proves it genuine.

i peter 1

somehow, in some Divine way,

may this testing of my faith -

the testing that comes in a package called MS,

the testing that comes with doctor's offices and medical tests

and lots of future uncertainty,

may it be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

and tonight, I pray for you.

anyone that may be reading this simple little blog of mine -

this blog that started as a family journal of sorts and has evolved into this,

this place I share what is deep inside my heart,

what somehow comes out better in writing 

anyway than what I could try to articulate it verbally -

i pray for you.

whatever the testing of your faith is tonight -

whether it comes in a package called health problems,

financial problems, kid problems, contentment issues,

marriage issues -

whatever the package is called?

may your faith be proven genuine through it,

and may the name of our Lord be praised.

Bento Box!

I don't mean to get too heavy around here recently - 

{all of this neurology talk. eek. it's the dichotomy of a serious illness - wanting to talk about it, but so NOT wanting to talk about it. does that make any sense?}

so, on a much lighter note - 

My favorite new way to pack the kiddos' lunches and snacks:

super cute, right?