Hilton Head Island

     We had a blast at Hilton Head Island!  We ate at great restaurants, loved the Westin Resort, & had fun in the water & sand!  The little ones really enjoyed themselves, too!  :)  Wonderful getaway!

Watermelons & Lemonade

    
     Watermelon season here is about to end.  The last melons are being harvested & shipped off into semi trucks heading all across the country (sometimes even Canada).  The kids usually want to pick & sell a few times a year.  We always try to do this when things slow down & Nathan has the extra time.  This year we set up a Watermelon & Lemonade stand at my parent's house.  My sister's twin boys helped out.  The kids really enjoyed it.  They also made them some extra cash.  It is a wonderful blessing that they have no clue about being without or the money.  They just enjoy the fun together!

2nd Class? Not For Me!

     Has this ever happened to you?  You were having a perfectly normal, wonderful day until you are catching the brunt of someone's opinion.  I guess some people just feel "led" to let you know that you are not doing things the way they think you should.  Everyone has an opinion, and I respect that.  Guess what?  I have some very strong ones too!  :)  I just usually don't go around pointing them out...
     Anyways, I am well aware of the fact that I am not dumb.  I was at the top of my graduating class.  I earned several scholarships from having the highest SAT test score.  I do realize that I am capable of enrolling into college & finishing a major money making degree.  I choose not to.  I am blessed to be an American & make my own decisions.
     Instead, I choose to stay home with my children (night & day).  I choose to home school.  I choose to teach them with all of my heart to love God.  I choose to be here.  I want this!  I believe the Lord honors & blesses our home for following His ways.  We have never done without.
     Some consider this as living below my God given intelligence, maybe even 2nd class.  Not me!  I consider this an honor.  I don't want anyone else raising my children.  I am thankful for the resources & ability to teach them.  I love being with them!  Motherhood is not a task I take lightly.  I do desire to give it my best!  Thank you Lord for the strength & courage you give me to stand firm & not back up to popular belief.
 

Calvary Holiness Youth Camp 2012

     This is one of the highlights of every year!!!  Thanks to Uncle ZT & Aunt Sandi, we got to stay again this year on the grounds using their camper.  The kids LOVE the VBS classes, games, choir, skits, playground full of kids, train rides, snow cones, & usually poop out during the evening services.   :)  We love Calvary Holiness Youth Camp! 

Cake Art

My Kaley & Marianna & niece Hope

The girls had a great time taking a cake class from Cake Art in Dublin!  We also went by the mall & ate Japanese!  It was a fun day for all of us!  :)

Home Sweet Home

     We have worked really hard in our yard this year.  My Aunt Ethel Ann helped us with landscaping ideas.  She also has a Day Lily farm & you can see her beautiful pictures on Facebook under Day Lilies at Deepwood Gardens.       

     My kids spotted these flowers beside the road while we were out raking pine straw for the flower beds.  Gladiolas are Nathan's favorite flowers, so he turned us around & went to cut them for me!  We surely enjoyed them for days! :)

Kindness

     From a child, most everyone is told and taught to be kind.  It's an elementary lesson, one that can be rehearsed so many times in our mind, yet overlooked.  Instead, I'd like kindness to be stitched into my heart and automatically show up. 
     Proverbs 31 speaks of a "virtuous woman" whose "price is far above rubies."  Verse 26 declares, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."  How wonderful to be around such a lady as this! 
     I follow a blog called Simply Farmhouse.  Lately, she posted a 30 day husband encouragement challenge.  I guess this may have started this thought process.  It mainly encouraged a wife to speak words of kindness and hold back any words of negativity.  Then, it encouraged kindness through your everyday actions.  Everyone has heard that actions speak volumes louder than words!
     Soon after, I began noticing little things that I would usually say that I didn't mean and how they could sound rather harsh.  Everyone that knows Nathan, knows he is not a fussy person.  He will not argue.  He is not easily angered or upset, and that is such a blessing for our marriage!  However, just saying little things can spring a rift in a happy family setting quite easily.  It may be just "Why did you do that?" or "I just swept the floor and now look..."  It doesn't have to be a huge argument for him not to LOVE coming home.  I've learned that some things are much better left unsaid.  If he's already made a decision, then what's the use in being fussy over it?  Nagging is something men hate!  It is so easily done...without even realizing it, it can become habit. 
     An elder preacher, Brother Archie Morgan shared a testimony with us about a dear sister at church who has passed on.  He told of her kind words and deeds.  He still remembers her that way because her kindness never died.  Her kindness still encourages and blesses his heart even today.
     I desire our house to be a place of refuge.  I desire my words to be words of kindness.  I desire for my husband and children to know that my words and actions are loving.  I do love them dearly!  I want to create a habit of praise and an atmosphere of smiling.  I want happy children.  I have done it, but I HATE yelling.  Being a fussy box is unhappy misery spilling out for everyone to see.
     When praying for someone here recently who looks so sull and unhappy, the thought just came to me, "Kill them with kindness!"  As I found out right away, this may kill me first!  But, I just laughed and went right on to plan my next sneak attack of kindness!
     May we all go and seek to be kind in word and deed.  God will bless us!  Our kindness will not die even after we are gone.  Let's leave a legacy of kindness to be remembered by!  :)