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Summer Bucket List fun!

Written by Joy
6 Comments
Summer Bucket List fun!


At the beginning of summer, I started noticing how a lot of families were making Summer Bucket lists.  It looked like a lot of fun, so I thought my kids and I would sit down and write one as well.  Then Honey, from Sunflower Schoolhouse asked if I would like to be a part of a Summer Bucket list series.  So a group of bloggers will be posting about what all is on our list, hopefully to  give you a little inspiration and extra ideas!  I hope you will join in with our fun!

After Honey had asked if I would join in this series, we got some news that we would be moving cross country away from family and friends.  So I thought I would add a little twist to some of the activities we would do.  Why not see how many activities we could do with our friends before we moved?  Needless to say, the kids have been having a blast and making memories with friends they won’t see for a while.

Our first activity that we had was a sleepover with a friend.  They had been asking for a long time if their friend, Jacob could come spend the night.  My kids had the whole visit planned!  The biggest highlight of the sleepover, was getting to play some video games.  They played several different games on the XBox and the Wii. My favorite was watching them play the Just Dance games.  It is so funny watching them dance to the songs.  What they don’t know is they are getting exercise when dancing AND was wearing themselves out for bedtime! 😉

The kids did go outside to play when it cooled off a little.  They had fun jumping on the trampoline and playing hide and seek.  During the hottest time of the day, they cooled off with popsicles and even watched a couple of movies with bowls of popcorn and kool-aid to wash it down with.

Jacob has been my son’s best friend for several years and I am so glad that we finally had a chance to have him over for a sleepover.  I know my son is going to miss him a lot, but we will always have the memory of this fun and fantastic sleepover for years to come.

Have you ever made a Bucket list before?  Do your children have sleepovers?

Be sure to stop by these other bloggers to see what fun they are having this summer!

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Tonya @ The Traveling Praters

Jeniffer & Melissa @ Sisters ‘N Cloth

Tara @ Feels Like Home Blog

Lisa @ Creativlei

Nancy @ Proverbs 31 Jewels

Jennifer @ Teaching Boys

Kelli @ Adventurez In Child’rearing

2012, family, ,

so thankful and blessed #914-925.. plus some big news

Written by Joy
4 Comments
so thankful and blessed #914-925.. plus some big news

God is so amazing at how He provides for His children.  We never go without or lack anything that is a necessity.  He knows our needs even before we do!  Yes, He knows what is going to happen to His children.  I am thankful for all that He has given and blessed us with.   I am going to keep trusting Him too. he hasn’t failed us yet.  So, I am looking forward to see what he has for us in our next adventure as a family.

Jeremiah 29:11

11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

After praying and praying and asking close friends to pray for and with us, my husband has taken a new job at a University.  The University is in Golden, Colorado.  Yes, we will be moving.  Moving 1500 miles away from our home and oldest son.  Moving even further away from our extended family in Florida.  After much praying and trusting in God, we will be moving at the end of July.  Only 5 short weeks away.  Yes, God knows the plans he has for us.  He just wants us to trust him and take that leap of faith.  Our family is going to do just that.  So, as we begin to pack and spend some last minute time with friends around us, I ask that you keep our family in your prayers.  This is even a bigger move for us than moving from Florida to NC, yet, we are excited about the plans that God has laid before us.

Now on to the many blessings that He has given us.

914. a job that my husband has enjoyed the last 7 1/2 years.

915. friends and family that have been praying with and for us.

916. a new job that will offer more income and better insurance.

917. our small garden growing and producing veggies and fruits.

918. air conditioning

919. coca cola to sooth my stomach when I have a migraine

920. friends to confide in.

921. scripture to help us make better decisions.

922. a praying husband.

923. praying children.

924. my daughter being able to go camping with a friend.

925.  Jeremiah 29:11.

I would love for you to join me and the others linking up at A Holy Experience. We would love to see how God has blessed you and your family.

2012, family, multitude Mondays, ,

5 years ago today…

Written by Joy
2 Comments
5 years ago today…

Five years ago today, June 22nd, my family lost a very special person.  My dad.  He was a wonderful man of God.  He did his best to raise his family in a loving Christian home.  He wasn’t a perfect man, but he did do his best to live for God daily.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.  Especially around the holidays and birthdays.  He was always the first one to call me early in the morning.  He was always there for all 4 of us kids.  If we ever needed anything, all we had to do was call him.  There are still some things that I will ask myself, “what would daddy do in this situation.”

Cancer is an evil disease.  It took my dad way too soon in my opinion.  However, I know God took him home when we wanted him.  My dad had done his job on this earth and it was time to go on to his heavenly home.  I am thankful for all the memories that I have of my dad.  However, the best part is knowing that he is in Heaven with God and I will be there with him one day singing and rejoicing and praising God right along with him.

2012, family, , ,

Father’s Day

Written by Joy
2 Comments
Father’s Day

This is the day we recognize the father’s in our life.  First, I want to say Happy Father’s Day to my husband.  He truly is the best dad in the whole world to our kids.  I am so thankful God sent this man to be in my life.

I also wanted to mention my dad as well.  Even though he is no longer with us on this earth, he will always my in my heart.  He truly was a wonderful dad and grandpa.

I also wanted to give one more shout out to another Father.  My Heavenly Father.  He gave the ultimate sacrifice of any dad ever.  He sent us His son, to die on the cross to save us from sin.  No father loves us more, like He does!

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there!

2012, family

a little trip..(part 2)

Written by Joy
a little trip..(part 2)

As I said in the post before, my husband and I went on a little trip to Golden, CO.  We visited a couple of different museums and visitors centers.  However, one of the best parts of the trip to me (besides being with my husband), was the drive up to Mt. Evans.  Mt. Evans has the highest paved road in North America.  From where you turn off the major Interstate 70 you will drive until you are 14, 240 feet at the summit.  The drive up to the top and back down to the bottom is truly amazing.  The views are gorgeous and the wildlife you see is just beautiful.

As we were driving to the top, we first pulled off at the Mt. Goliath Natural area.  It’s a little building were they talk and show the landscaping of the mountains.  It shows the 3 different levels of the mountains.  It also showcases the vegetation of the land.  The plants, flowers and trees are different at each level due to the climate.  This area is actually a boundary between the sub-alpine forests and the tundra.   This area also contains most of the Bristlecone pines.  They have dated some of the pines to be older than 1600 years.

We continued the drive to the top and then came to Summit Lake pull-off.  At the time we were there, Summit Lake was still frozen.  I had never seen a frozen lake before!  However, we were unable to walk to the lake due to safety concerns.  The Wildlife Rangers were accessing the situation at the time.

The first day we went to Mt. Evans, Summit Lake was as far as we could drive.  It had snowed the previous day/night and they had the road closed to the top. We were determined to go to the top of the mountain, so we came back the following day.  We wanted to tell our kids that we had been 14,000+ feet on top of a mountain!  {grin}  So the next day, we made the journey back to Mt. Evans and were told we could drive all the way to the top.  I never tire of the beautiful views that God has created.  The views did not disappoint as we passed Summit Lake.  Around every curve there was another gorgeous view.  What surprised us was seeing people riding their bicycles and even a man walking up so high.  We know the air gets thinner as you go higher and was told to be careful and to drink plenty of fluids.  Yet, these men were out enjoying a ride and stroll at such a high altitude!

We then came around the corner to the very top.  There was this huge stone building that I later found out was once called The Crest House – “The Castle in the Sky”.  However, a propane tank exploded and blew the roof and part of the building up.  They then changed it into a visitor’s platform.   The views from the different levels were amazing. There is also an Observatory on top of the mountain as well.  We didn’t make it around to see this.  The wind was blowing so hard that it was very hard to stand up and was freezing cold!

What surprised me the most up on top of this mountain?  Seeing mountain goats and sheep!  I had never seen a mountain goat or sheep before.  I could not believe how docile and calm these animals were.  They continued grazing, breaking through the little bit of snow and ice that hadn’t melted yet.

I was unable to get close enough to the mountain sheep to get any pictures of them.  However, take my word for it when I say that they are beautiful creations of God.

The views from the top were so beautiful and I am glad we had decided to come back on that second day.

 

I am so glad that I was able to go on this trip with my husband.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime trip with just the two of us, until our children are all on their own.  As much as we enjoyed being with one another, we both said the next time we took off again on a trip like this, our children will definitely be with us.

Have you ever been on a trip and wished you had your children with you?

2012, family, homeschooling, , ,