Touching Tribute and Shameless Plug

I received a link today to this touching tribute to our men and women in the military. The vocalist is a new artist, Leah Faith, who attends my dad's church in Alabama (U.S.). The shameless plug is the fact that the girl who plays the wife of the soldier is my baby sister (all grown up, of course!), and my brother-in-law produced the video. Hope you enjoy! (Hint: You might grab a box of tissues before you click "play.")

Quote of the Week

"Be faithful in the small things, because it is in them that your strength lies."

--Mother Teresa

Weekend Fun and Projects

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as we did. On Friday we attended a community I Love America celebration that our church hosts each year. They have a ton of games for kids, live music, presentation of the gospel message, then a spectacular fireworks display. It was a long day, and we didn't make it through all the fireworks (Little Miss is not a fan of loud noises!) But it was a lot of fun, nonetheless.

The rest of our weekend was spent cleaning out and organizing our attic to prepare for an upcoming Yard Sale. Since we're unsure if we have completed our family, I have kept some baby clothes from both Little Miss and Little Man, plus my maternity clothes. We spent Saturday and part of Sunday shopping for plastic bins, hauling boxes down from the attic, and reorganizing and labeling boxes for easy access in the future. I was pretty proud of the outcome (although a lot of the credit goes to Hubby for being the Organizational Guru). After a weekend of hard work, here's what we have to show for it:

Next on our "list" is the other keepsake-type stuff in our attic (high school yearbooks, college term papers, wedding memoribilia, baby keepsakes, etc.) Do you have any creative and/or ingenious ways to store such keepsake items? If so, leave me a comment...I'd love to hear your ideas! (Feel free to leave a comment even if you don't have any organizational ideas...one can never have too many comments...as long as you keep them nice!) ;)

Know & Tell Friday

Well, since it's a holiday, I almost COMPLETELY forgot about Know & Tell Friday! Good thing I checked my friend Lora's blog (My Blessed Life). So, here goes...

1. If you are a blogger, what got you started? Have you ever made, or do you hope to make, money blogging? My friend Lora got me started. Her blog got me hooked, and I figure two of my favorite things are writing and friendship, so why not? I've never made money blogging, but would love to someday. Maybe when the kids are a little older and I can pour more time into it.

2. Are you a collector of anything? I used to collect a few different things, but then I married The Minimalist and my eyes were opened to the fine art of simple living. :)

3. Apple juice or orange juice? Usually orange, but occasionally apple.

4. What are 3 of your best personality traits? outgoing, considerate, loyal (had to ask Hubby to help with those!)

5. Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid. No responsibilities!

6. What is usually your first thought when you wake up? "what the heck?!!?!"

7. Regarding material possessions: the more the merrier or less is best? Depends...when I'm shopping it's "more the merrier," when I'm cleaning, it's "less is best." I guess I'm a bit schizophrenic. :)

For more fun responses, head over to Kickin' It In Crazyville.

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy Birthday America!

As we celebrate the anniversary of our nation's independence today, there are so many things I am thankful for--the freedom to worship whomever and however I choose, to express myself through speech either private or public, the godly heritage on which our founding fathers chose to establish this great country (even if we've drifted far from it!), and most of all the freedom to train my children in the faith without fear of persecution or imprisonment.

I know our country is not perfect. All you have to do is watch the news for a few minutes to discover all that is wrong with our country (especially in an election year!). But today is a day to focus on all that is right with our country. There is so much for which we should be thankful. We live in a great, prosperous country, and I hope you take the time today to celebrate that.

Before I go, I want to share some great pictures that I believe capture the heart of "Americana." They were all taken by my brother-in-law. You can visit his gallery here.

The "Old Farmhouse" that belonged to Hubby's grandparents

My in-laws' log cabin

Happy 4th of July, everyone! Enjoy your time with family and friends!

Forgiveness

I hate that after 30+ years in this thing we call the Christian walk, I still have to ask for it (forgiveness). But I'm so glad that once I do, it's available--from God, from my family, from my friends. Unfortunately, it's often those closest to me whom I ask it of most often. I guess that's how it is with us all. We show our true colors to those we really love. It's just that sometimes those colors aren't the prettiest in the box. Sometimes they're tainted with fatigue, attitudes, emotions, tempers, reactions...the list goes on.

The whole concept of God's forgiveness fascinates me. When you really stop to think about the fact that God chooses to completely erase our trangressions, it's overwhelming. To think that He can absolutely NOT remember my previous sins (for which I've asked forgiveness) is utterly amazing to me. I only wish I could do the same, because it seems that when I fall I'm reminded of all the times I've fallen before and will probably do so again. I'm reminded once again how truly mortal and imperfect I am. Then again, I guess that might be a blessing in disguise, for not only am I reminded of my failures, but I'm reminded of His grace...His truly amazing grace.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed

our transgressions from us"

--Psalm 103:12

Quote of the Week

"The years teach much which the days never knew. "

--Ralph Waldo Emerson