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I’m joining in with Jennifer Fulwiler @ ConversionDiary for quick takes Friday.  She’s among one of my frequented and favorite bookmarks, though I’ve not really joined in for Quick takes before.  However, since I’m on a blog “roll”–pun intended–I figured I’d join in this week and…..”Holy COW”! I can’t believe I figured out how to paste in the code for this.  It’s a banner week, I tell you!!!  You can visit her site and see what she’s been up to as well as everyone else!!

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This week marks week 3 of a  FULL week of regular workouts @ O’dark hundred-ish, aka 5:15 a.m..  I was hit and miss about 2 days a week for a few weeks before that and then my sister (God love her little cheerleader-self), graciously offered to text me in the a.m. at 4:45 a.m. as she heads out on her early morning walk to assure that I’m awake.  And then continues to pester text me until I am REALLY up.  And since I actually have to get out of the bed to avoid waking  hubby who does NOT need to be up that early, it’s working….not to jinx, but it might even be getting easier.  Hmmm!  Who knew?

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

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My mom was visiting this week from Pennsylvania.  It’s been 3 months since she moved and we all needed a fix of Mimi.  Especially our youngest.  They have a very special bond.  We picked her up from the airport on Saturday and had Olive Garden lunch with my step sisters and nieces and then had her over tonight for dinner…coincidentally, my husband’s cousin from New Hampshire was here at the same time with his brother who lives in town, so dinner time was  HOPPIN’ here tonight.

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We measured the boys this week and Son #1 has officially bypassed me a good 2 inches!  14 years old and 5’8″.  Son #2 is neck in neck with me.  12 years old and 5’6″.  Daughter #1 is still shorter, but at 9 years old and 5″, it won’t be long.  Fortunately, daughter #2 appears to have gotten the short end of the stick (pun intended….I should stop that…or not….) and will continue to be our little peanut.  Phew, I’ll need someone to commiserate with in this tall family…how in the world did they get so grown so quickly?  I think my uterus is aching…..

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TGIF!  For me that means a 2 day work week next week!  Can you hear the WOOT WOOT?!?!?  I missed my annual scrapbook weekend last year and now that hubby is home, next week I am taking the girls with me to North Florida to hang with my sister and her family.  (things are going great, but hubby and I agreed it might be better to split the kids for the weekend) The girls and I will visit our old friends for a day or so; then I will leave the girlies with Aunt TT and the gang and head to the beach with the big girls and catch up on everyone’s life IN PERSON…not just on FB, email and texting.  We’ll eat, laugh, stay in our PJ’s, walk on the beach and maybe even scrapbook in between.  I’ll miss my boys within the first 5 minutes of hitting 95, but a girlfriend weekend is salve for the soul!!!

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ” Proverbs 18:24

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Hubby has worked so hard these past few months.  For the past TWO months he’s worked 7 days a week, and doing HARD  labor, at the end of the day, he.  is.  spent.  So we are ALL super excited at his new job that starts Monday.  ONE job.  FULL TIME.  Some commuting.  Some work-at-home.  We are blessed.  We are grateful.  We are in awe.  In this economy, it’s tough enough to get a job and when you have the odds stacked against you like he does, it is amazing to watch God work a miracle and knit this together for us.  WOW.

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself.” Matthew 6:34

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This weekend we have a fun family parade to look forward to with both girls walking in it with their respective music and dance groups (parades are so NOT my cup of tea, but the girls sure get a kick out of them, so I will “take one for the team” and suck it up—don’t judge me, just keeping it real).  Our church has a  family living Rosary and pot luck dinner on Sunday afternoon, followed by Youth Mass.  And did I mention, we are supposed to have mid 80’s for the high and high 50’s for the low? HELLO there Fall weather…..OH how I have missed YOU!!!  Happy Weekend and……  For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Ah, who doesn’t love waking in the morning at o’dark hundred?  Especially now, before the time change and it’s dark for a bit longer in the morning and you really want to keep sleeping.

It’s been almost a month now, and with the help of my sister’s annoying daily text message to assure I’m out of bed, I’ve been getting back on the early morning workout track.  In the end it’s best for me.  I can work out at lunch (I have an hour break), but often I use that time for errands.  Technically, I could work out after work, however, my energy level is all but depleted at that time and I simply don’t want to .  So, it’s back to mornings.  I’ve always done better in the mornings and so it comes full circle again….but I do miss sleeping in that comfy bed, all dark and snuggly….

Now my boys have this crazy request in the mornings (mostly one boy, but the other enjoys it from time to time) and that is to be woken up by ice cubes.  For myself, I think someone would get punched…but that’s me.  For him, it’s a sure-fire way to get his rear in gear and a giggle fest for his brother.

Boys.  I just don’t get them.  <sigh>

I am truly NOT complaining about the rain recently.  We’ve sure needed it; that’s been our summer pattern…drought, rain, drought, rain….usually in the afternoon.  THIS time, we’ve gotten it several mornings which always throws me off for some reason.  And to make matters worse, we have three lovely arched windows in our scan room at work so when it’s nice….it’s taunting, and when it’s not…..I want to take a nap!!  Maybe I’ll get a nap this weekend since there’s more of the wet stuff headed our way!

Our good friends (minus hubby) came through town the other night with their two boys on the way to Port Canaveral for a cruise.  After MUCH coercion, she finally agreed to stay with us for the night (versus a hotel) and we had SUCH a great visit!!  It’s common knowledge:  girlfriends are good for the soul.

On the agenda for the weekend:  a visit from my mom (YAY!).  The girls and I will pick her up from the airport and then have lunch before we bring her to her friend’s house…and then have her over at least twice this week for dinner!!  She will visit with my sis later next month…this whole living several states away is for the birds!!  We’ll enjoy her while we can though.

An observation from the pantry after the kids were home all day for a teacher duty day:  Oreos last FOREVER when kids are at school all day.  Not so much when they are home.  Good thing tomorrow is grocery day.

Somehow, even with the rain, the girls managed to swim a large portion of the day at a friend’s house.  Sadly, they mistook the beginning of school as the end of the sunscreen..the aloe plant has already been cut and is ready to apply..and I’m thinking bedtime will be early….gotta love the pool!

And we wind up the week in celebration of hubby’s new FULL TIME job which begins in another week!  Another example of God’s perfect timing as his other 2 main jobs are both either finishing up or petering out.  So, it appears the 2+ months of working 7 days a week are coming to an end, can I get an “AMEN”?!??!!?  Gratitude and appreciation of God’s plan merely scratch the surface of what we are experiencing right now.  What.  A.  Ride!

Matthew 6:34 

To say this past week has been topsy-turvy is really quite the understatement.  However, we knew there would be “these days” and we would persevere through, but oh MY goodness when you are knee-deep in the muck of it all, it is some tough stuff.  Looking forward we can have a “plan” (and you know what God thinks about our plans…) and therefore be optimistic that we are prepared; looking back we can see (often) WHY things happened the way they did or didn’t and how God used it all.  When we are looking around for a way out (or through) the mess we are in, it’s easy to lose focus, to panic and to throw those “plans” to the wind.

At this moment, we are in the “looking back” stage.  Able to see how God’s hand, His perfect timing, was indeed, PERFECT.  Each season and step He has completely prepared us, even when we begged to move on to the next step, He firmly and lovingly held us back until He was ready.   And that is maddening when you are in the middle of whatever “it” is.  It’s an exercise in TRUST and I must need a lot of practice because I have AMPLE opportunity at working on trusting His plan and not trying to interject my own opinions and efforts.  They inevitably muck it up anyway.

However, as we joyfully celebrate CE’s new job–fulltime, ONE job, (starting in 2 weeks), it’s a blessing to look back and praise His timing and once again, beg forgiveness in a lack of trust.  Again.  An amazing 3 months of summer schedule, nice and easy to re-acclimate to a family of 6 without all the time crunches of the school year and after school activities.  Flexible (though not consistent) work schedules to supplement the family dollar and to acclimate back to the work force as a “worker bee” without the stressors of timelines and important decisions.  A month of school in to gain a foothold on the school routine before adding in a new work routine, slowly adapting to changes as they come.

Patience.  Trust.  Hope in the Lord.  Excruciating in practice.  Daily effort.  Pray without ceasing.  It doesn’t always come easily.  We often must wait.  However, He does reward those who seek Him.  Maybe not in the manner we were hoping for, maybe in a path we never considered, but He always takes care of us in the manner that is best for us.