we packed it in this weekend.
nothing major but lots of little and big things to keep us busy.
big beautiful post rain sky as the sun was setting.
the cows were near our house chompin' on grass….wondering what i was doing.
we have a cucumber! it's very exciting for this non vegetable growing family. big news!
i drove my three to their last swimmeet….clueless that it would be 9 hours before we left.
i wanted to run screaming down the street.
8 hours is TOO LONG for kids!!!
and their moms who are melting in the 110 degree HEAT!
all these art supplies make me happy.
happy to see them working on art just because.
and it's so nice when the tv is off!
talby and annie treated craig and i to a restaurant night.
(i made the meal but we won't get technical)
waffle even wore a bow tie.
annie served the drinks.
talby served the meal.
it was so fancy. they loved being waitresses. it was so cute!
i finished kisses from katie.
and i am sad it's over.
i could read hundreds more pages of her life in uganda.
her big beautiful heart is completely inspirational.
i watched four of scott's six games this weekend.
they won the tournament which makes for a happy kid afterwards. thankful for that.
and Craig even let annie sit on the bench for the last game….adorable.
i started reading Seven.
i am LOVING it!!! you have got to get this book and read it! it is SO FUNNY and REAL.
i was scared of it because i was fearful of feeling guilty.
BUT it's not like that.
it's just so good.
it's a lovely challenging book that everyone can learn from and think about.
GET IT!
softball is almost over.
waffle ran away and came home filthy!
naughty.
what did you do this weekend?
we didn't clean anything….and it's obvious.
boo.
i want cleaning fairies to come by today.
Wendy C - I love that you take the time to get in front of the camera with your kids!
We just returned from a week vacation in Florida and I was not in one photo.
You are my inspriation for a new goal of getting in front of the camera too!
Thanks, Meg!
Rachel @ Polka Dots and Lemonade - Love the pictures! I especially loved the cows – it made me think of home. My family just moved from Texas (where I’ve lived my whole life) to California. Most of the time we love it out here in SoCal, but sometimes I definintely miss “The Big D”.
Ashley - 1) I love that photo of the lone cow. The colors are amazing!! 2) I also love your last photo. You always have awesome snapshots. I would love to learn how to use my camera to get photos like yours. Your family seems really great!
Ashley
She Loves Life - I LOVED the book Kisses from Katie too and didn’t want it to end!! Made me really think about the fact that God does really use every type, age, and race of people to live out his love ! I have Seven on my list of books to read too!
I’d love it if the cleaning fairies visited my house too but they say a “dirty” house is a sign of a life well lived and I like that as one of my motto’s…it kind of takes the guilt away a tiddly bit : )
Lisa - Cleaning is so completely over-rated. 🙂 I would much rather spend my weekends doing fun things with my kiddos and my hubby than cleaning and feeling crabby – life’s too short…have a dusty house!
Krista Priest - Were you in Abilene for the swim meet? Our whole family was there too. Where do you live now? In the country?
nora - I love your photos! And cleaning is overrated, in my humble opinion 🙂
happygirl - Great weekend! Reading 7 scares me. One of the bloggers I follow took the 7 challenge and it looked so hard. I’m looking forward to seeing how you are inspired by it. 🙂
Doris - Hey, I gave you award in my new post 🙂 It’s for Beautiful blogger:
http://truthwithdoris.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/beautiful-blogger-award/
Pat - DITTO ON THE SWIM MEET EVENT – I WAS THERE ALSO – SAW YOU SWELTERING UNDER A
TREE!!!!!!!
Anne - Glad you posted about Jen Hatmaker’s newest book. I’m totally going to check it out. She spoke at a MOPS group meeting I attended a few years ago, and was very funny, inspirational, and genuine. She’s great!
Lisa - I have become the 7 pusher…I think everyone around me is probably sick of hearing about it! I just found out that Jen Hatmaker is speaking at Life Church in Olathe Monday 7/16 – thought I’d share! 🙂
Jen Brandt - Meg, I love looking at your pictures. They make me happy. Thank you for your blog. I’ve decided to live life and not worry about my house so much this summer. HOWEVER, I made a big, anally typed “everybody needs to pitch in and help out” cleaning list and all four of us got to work on Saturday. I couldn’t take it anymore. Besides that, we hung out at the pool all Friday evening, attended a very moving baptism for my best friend’s and her hubby’s adopted daughter Sunday (I cried my eyes out with joy!), more pool after church, and then hubby and I went to dinner and outside concert – Last Summer on Earth Tour: Cracker, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Blues Traveler, and Bare Naked Ladies. Beautiful evening to be outside! I hope you have a rockin’ week!
Valerie @ Chateau a La Mode - Oh how I would love cleaning fairies. What is it about summer that makes my house such a mess? I don’t have an excuse for the rest of the year either. Hmmmm, guess it must just be me! Love your family summer days, love that you have cows and chickens all over the place like it’s normal…heehee. Keep enjoying the summer.
Jennifer - Such fun pictures! It always brings a smile to my face when I see Waffle in your posts. 🙂 Thanks for the book suggestion…I’m heading over to Amazon right now to buy me a copy. Sounds very interesting.
Blessings!
jennifer
Rachel B. - I got to spend time with a school friend and her husband. We hadn’t seen each other since 1991. It was an awesome time.
p.s.-love Waffle’s bowtie!
Jolene (Homespun Heritage) - We are now finished with our reno room! We turned an extra room into a bedroom (5 month long project!) and they finally finished the trim! I got to move stuff back in today…while it is technically a bedroom we use it for a playroom and mama’s craft area! We adore the brightness! (Need to get this up on the blog!) Umm…that was mostly it! Spent Sat. running around doing errands, getting groceries, trying not to die in the heat from this past week.
This week…finish up moving back into the playroom…pack a bit for our 3 week China trip, get paperwork done that needs to be brought with us (slightly important!), and organize/purge the house of STUFF before we go!
Jennifer - Wonderful happy colorful pictures as always. I can’t believe that swim meets go that long! How horrible! Outside in the heat??? My girls do irish dance and we have usually 8 hr days at competitions too. 8 hrs+ of accordian music. :/ And loud hard shoe clomping. I almost always leave with a headache.
Christa - I am reading 7 at the moment too and love it! The other night, I had a good 10 minute laughing fit in bed at midnight trying to read one part of it to my husband. Sooo funny! But also so relatable. And inspiring. And challenging. I thought too that I’d feel like I was reading one big guilt trip but you’re right, it’s not like that at all. I want everyone I know to read it!
This weekend had one day of being at home and one day of being gone all day. But both days were fun and awesome in their own way. 🙂
laura b - I want the grocery shopping fairy to come to my home! Haven’t shopped in 2 weeks and the kids are getting desperate (I do have food in the house, just not snacks and now out of bread). And my copy of “7” just arrived in the mail. Haven’t started it yet, but I have heard good things. But I agree, I’m a little worried about feeling guilty!
Meredith - I had a fun weekend. It started Friday with my 3 1/2 yr old and my Mom and I going to Philadelphia to Franklin Park to ride the Carousel and have milkshakes in the park. We picked up my 5k pack and just hung out. Cleaning, went to my inlaws pool with the boys and hung with the little one again at night while my oldest son and husband when to the dirt races. Sunday I did the Color Run in Philly. It was amazing. I would never have heard about it if it was not for your posts. Thanks, it was a great time and I can not wait to do it next year. You would have loved it. I ran almost the entire 5k around walkers and then stopping to take pictures. Yours was crazy busy too and I have now put your book suggestions into my phone so I remember.
kerry - aaah – I love the reserved Coca-Cola message as well!
So funny – I just updated my Facebook status before I read this post:
“Where is that flipping cleaning fairy???!!” Haha – moms think alike! 🙂
Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft - My favorite part of this post?
“Coka-Cola Zero – 1 reserved (2 left)” 🙂
Too funny!
CathyC - Hi Meg, I love that book 7! I read it a few weeks ago in a flash because I could barely put it down. Now my friend is reading it too. Very inspirational.
Have a great day!
Becki - I had to pin that awesome quote, and I do want to read both of those books! Your photography is amazing, and when I saw how great those art supplies looked all spread out in the crate (I pinned the photo), I was upset because I saw one just like that at the flea market on Saturday. Maybe it will be there again next week.
AND I love that your dog’s name is Waffle!
amy - please send the cleaning fairies to illinois next. thanks. i actually had quite a bit of free time myself this weekend working on shop stuff but that means i really got nothing done around the house–no cleaning, no laundry and no house projects. ughhh. i love the dinner idea, i am gonna let the kids do that one night this week for us, they would love it. i love that pic of waffle getting sprayed.
Sarah - Thanks for saying that you started 7! I have been so intrigued by it and scared to buy it to read, too. 🙂 I was actually just reading Jen’s blog for a long time last night and feeling that pull to read it get stronger. Quite certain this blog post of yours just pushed me over the edge to head to Amazon to buy it. Thanks!
Also, I read Kisses for Katie 7-8 months ago…sooooooo good! I had the exact same feelings in that I was very sad when I finished it. Was one of the most inspirational books I have ever read. Completely amazing girl and I firmly believe there will be much more than any of us can imagine to the legacy she is leaving. Amazing.
tiffany gardner - had a tough weekend. thanks for making my monday a bit more shiny.
seriously sassy mama - You were a busy bee. I love the pictures of the cows.
Jane Frederick - Oh ‘my, even ater 30 years, my husband and I haven’t forgotten the swim meet torture. Those long meets out in the heat and sun are NOT fun! Of course our boys have fond memories of playing Magic while waiting their turn.
Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - We celebrated our 11th anniversary, finished planning our vacation(heading south from NY), and got a new rug. Oh and the cleaning fairies? When one contacts you to do a review send it over here…Id be glad to employ too:)
jennie - just got 7 on my kindle this weekend, going to read it at the beach. can’t wait!
Debbie Smallie - My MIL and her mother just dropped by because “they were in the neighborhood” and I was instantly VERY aware of how little cleaning happened here this weekend. A 30 minute heads-up should be manditory!!! And I feel your pain about the swim meet…we have one tonight. Hours of sitting to watch seconds of swimming..FUN!
maggie - i wished for cleaning fairies too but so far they only come when i leave a $60 check on the counter 🙂 we celebrated our 12 year anniversary..nothing fancy but just us two…i enjoy all your country pictures and that waffle is super cute! wishing you a great week {wishing the cleaning fairy pay you a visit}.
Lee Ann - I want to read “7” next. I read “Kisses from Katie” a few weeks ago. I checked it out from the library and then promptly ordered it. I try not to buy a lot of books, but that’s a keeper for sure! I can’t wait for my girls to read it. I want them to know her story. To know that following God’s plan isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.
Michelle - I want cleaning fairies every day!
We had a slightly insane weekend of cottage time, dinners with friends, a concert, a party for my husband’s old Air National Guard unit that is being retired, and a baby shower for our nephew that has already made his appearance.
I’m using this week to take a much needed NAP.
tina - Our weekend was packed full of small fun stuff too! I wish we had a cleaning fairy at our house also!!!!! Happy Monday 🙂
Terrie - It was a crazy, busy, FUN weekend!
Photo field trip to the winery to shoot their vineyard…
1st group photo shoot…23 peeps! So nervous!! Think it went ok…
Impromptu photo field trip with the girls around town…
Dinner with the boys at Brookville…shooting pics as we were driving there and to see the
Grandson, daughter & son-in-law… fun!
If you find those cleaning fairies…please send them my way when you are done with them!! 🙂