Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
It was a fun week with my family. While Jake and I were working this week the girls were busy on the farm at Horse Camp. They were riding horses in the mornings, had a picnic lunch, helped with animal chores, and did a Bible Study at camp. It was a busy and tiring day for them, but they loved it and several times I think they would have preferred to stay at camp instead of coming home. They were able to experience a wide variety of tasks – trimming goat hooves, playing with soft baby lambs, washing horses & goats, hunting for chickens eggs, and more good activities. They had a blast and loved it!
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week.
Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday –Thankful that the kids have the opportunity to go to Horse / Farm / Bible Study camp while Jake and I were working. They loved it! Also, it is conveniently located only a few minutes away from my work which is a great bonus too!
Tuesday – Thankful for Jake and his thoughtfulness. He went out of his way to stop by the store and pick up some items as a surprise for me. I had been missing an ingredient in my smoothie drink this week (he picked up the chocolate flavor for me as a surprise), he got a couple non-dairy Mac-N-Cheese mixes for Brina, and bath salts to help me loosen up and relax a little bit more. Love it when he surprises me with special items that are perfect for that day, moment, or time. I am richly blessed to have him as my partner. Love this man dearly more and more all the time!!! XOXOXO
Wednesday – Thankful for my acupuncture doctor. My back and shoulder were really tender and they made time to see me today which was a huge help in loosening me back up.
Thursday – Thankful for my work and that they are willing to allow me to work around the girls camp schedule. The kids have been coming into work with me in the morning, I have been stopping to take them to camp and returning to work until they are out of camp. They have been a big help in getting little tasks done for me at work too.
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to get some errands run and chores done at home so we can head into the weekend a little more prepared and ready.
Saturday – Thankful for my weekend with family. We had a lot to get done with everything going on and a busy week ahead, but we worked together, had fun, and was able to get some items done that needed attention.
Sunday – Thankful our church, the message, and a place where our girls can learn and grow with other kids their age.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day.
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
It was a great week with my family. We had some good fun together while accomplishing a lot of little, but much needed tasks around the house and yard. The girls have been enjoying their summer adventures too! Love hearing about their days and what they have been learning at camp and the adventures they are enjoying. Thankful for an opportunity to have an extra day with my family over the July 4th Holiday.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week.
Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday –Thankful for a great July 4th Holiday to celebrate our country, time with my family, and a chance to have an extra day at home to get some items done!
Tuesday – Thankful that Jake took the girls into summer camp so I could get into work earlier. Also, grateful that I was able to get off work at lunch to pick up the girls and spend the afternoon with them. We had a lot of fun hanging out together.
Wednesday – Thankful for Jake and the girls help getting some items done around the house.
Thursday – Thankful for an opportunity to spend extra time with extended family. It wasn’t on the schedule until last night, but my Grandma Willa was in town visiting so we had an impromptu dinner with Grandma, my brother & his family, Aunt Pat, and my cousins and their families. We had a great meal, the kids played well, and a good time of catching up. Grateful for an opportunity to see family.
Friday – Thankful for the girls summer camp and the adventures that they have been able to enjoy this summer. They met a lot of neat people this week and was able to get in a lot of biking time (also the importance of staying hydrated on hot summer days in South Carolina). Both girls were grateful for the camel backs this week.
Saturday – Thankful for some time to catch up on projects around the house and yard. Grateful for Jake and all he does for our family.
Sunday – Thankful for the freedom to worship and fellowship with other believers.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day.
What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?
Our fortunes!
Recently we had Chinese food and the following were our fortunes from the meal:
- Jake – “You will be traveling to distant lands for business purposes” (He travels a lot of places for work!)
- Bridgette – “You will travel to many exotic places in the next few years.” (I LOVE to travel. I have already been to many amazing places over the years and I cannot wait to see more of the world. Plus, sometimes I get to travel with Jake when he goes on work trips. Maybe our fortunes were suppose to be together, sounds like more fun for me though! 🙂 Already looking forward to these exotic places we are going to together!)
- Brina – “You have a flair for adding fanciful dimension to any story.” (She is definitely the more fancy of the two kids!)
- Karlie – “You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties.” (I am curious about what she’s going to be doing!)
It was a fun evening of relaxing with the family, eating Chinese food, and laughing about silly fortunes. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives. We are richly blessed and take many things for granted every day. Let’s treasure the time with have with our friends, families, and those around us. It is not impossible to run into people that you know even if you are across the world. Our lives leave an imprint of each person we interact with whether it is only once or many times! Make each moment count for good!
Brina & Karlie’s 5th Grade Graduation Party & Celebration!
Brina and Karlie with Mrs. Johnson at their Graduation Celebration Party! Mrs. Johnson was Karlie’s homeroom teacher in 2nd Grade, taught Karlie in Gift & Talented Program from 3rd grade up, and was both girls STEM Club Coach for 2 years. Excellent teacher!!!
Such a sweet Daddy spent a lot of time helping get ready for this big day including helping cut starfish, decorate, blow up balloons, and so much more. Thankful to have a partner that pitches in and takes the time to celebrate with the kids!
Luau theme at the Grad Party! The kids had a blast!
Karlie with her homeroom teacher Mr. Moore and her friend David! Mr. Moore was an awesome teacher!
Brina hanging out with her friend at the party!
Sweet Sisters! Thankful for these two girls!Brina & Karlie’s Awards Ceremony! Congratulations Girls!
Brina and Karlie with Ms. Osbey. They loved spending time in the library as Library Assistants helping her!
Proud of these two girls!
Karlie receiving her Accelerated Reading Trophy! 🙂 She broke the school record in AR points! Loves her books! Way to go KARLIE!!!
Fifth Grade Awards Ceremony!
Hanging out with friends between Graduation and the Awards Ceremony
Safety Patrol!
Brina’s fantastic Homeroom Teacher this year Mrs. Husso! She was an amazing teacher and Brina learned a ton in her class!
Brina’s reading teacher for the past several years Mrs. Whitmire! She is AWESOME and has helped Brina so much with improving her reading skills! Wish we could take us with Brina to Middle School!!!
Karlie & Brina – 5th Grade 2016 Class Graduation & Awards Ceremony! Proud of these girls!
Both Karlie & Brina were the Highest Student in Social Studies for their home class!
Karlie & Brina were the highest student in READING for their home class! WooHoo Brina, she has learned so much over the past few years even with handling dyslexia. Proud of both of our girls!
Karlie highest student in Science for her home class!
Jet Toy Competition! Both Karlie and Brina’s individual teams went on to compete in the Regional Jet Toy Competition this year!
Brina won her class Science Fair and went on to win 1st Place Grand Prize in our Regional Science Fair competition! Very proud of Brina and all her hardwork! We calculated that she made over 400 cupcakes throughout her Science experiment! Way to go BRINA!!!
Award for Academic Excellence!
CONGRATULATIONS Brina & Karlie! 5th Grade Graduation Ceremony!
Proud of our girls!
We are so proud of our girls! They did it! Both girls successfully completed all of their elementary school classes. It is hard to believe that they are now heading into middle school. They went to Crosswell for 7 years! Thankful for all the great teachers and administration that invested all their time and energy into our girls. They have grown and learned a lot of about life, friends, and increased their knowledge.
Congratulations Brina & Karlie!
Today was a big celebration for all they have accomplished in their schooling. It came with a lot of emotions for me as their Mom. I was thrilled and happy while at the same time sad knowing that my babies are growing up very quickly. I want to hold onto and treasure these precious moments because these past few years have gone by way too fast.
Brina getting her diploma from Mr. Holliday!
We look forward to seeing them continue to grow. They are sweet girls who have grown up so much. It will be neat to see them transition into Middle School. Love our girls!
Karlie getting her diploma from Mr. Holliday!
My girls are not babies anymore!
Sometimes I Need Only…
Stop Focusing On How Stressed…
Flashback Friday: NICU Graduation Celebration
Ready for the NICU Graduation Celebration
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to September 2005 when the girls went to their NICU Graduation Celebration. It is hard to believe they are now 7 months old. We are thankful for all the doctors and nurses that helped our family during the time when the girls were staying in the NICU. They took good care of our babies and we learned a lot from them during their stay. It was a great event to celebrate. Glad the girls were still growing and healthy.
Relaxing while we pack up the diaper bag and get everything ready to head out. The super cute dresses are from my Aunt Mary Ann, Uncle Rick, and cousins Renelle & Laurel in Colorado! Thanks guys, they are adorable!
Karlie’s 1st Face Painting experience. She was not too sure about a stranger touching and putting stuff on her face even though the rest of us were right there.
Karlie made it through the face painting, but was not happy with us at the end. She was not a big fan of it. Her legs were kicking, arms waving, and was about to burst into tears to let us know that she was not impressed with this whole face painting adventure. A little TLC and snuggle calmed her down quickly and she was fine for the rest of the event.
Brina getting her face painted for the 1st time at the NICU Graduation Celebration. She didn’t seem to mind it at all.
Brina was relaxed and just let her paint her face. She figured Daddy was there it must be okay.
Karlie is all smiles now. She doesn’t even remember that her face is painted with a smiley face.
For some reason Brina loved chewing on this dress. Must of tasted good or had an appealing texture.
Brina talking and happy even though her pink heart is completely smeared all over her face from her fun NICU celebration adventure earlier that day!
Karlie is glad to be back home again. Her smiley face stayed on for several hours after we arrived back home.
Karlie and Brina are very lucky girls. During the NICU Graduation Celebration they won a door prize for some toy blocks and shapes. They are playing with their new toys now. They have no clue they won anything, but were happy to play with the new toys. So exciting!!!
Mother’s Day Celebration
Huge Mother’s Day chalk message on the driveway from Karlie!
I am blessed. Yesterday I was reminded again of how much God has given me. A family that loves me despite all my imperfections. Jake and the girls showered me with love on Mother’s Day. Even though Jake was on call this Mother’s Day weekend and was a little busier than normal, he made time to celebrate. It was a great day with the family.
They made me breakfast in bed. We went to church. Jake and the girls made an amazing lunch. That afternoon we relaxed, read books together, opened gifts, played games, and had fun. Thankful for my family and a chance to spend the day together. Their thoughtfulness made me feel loved and appreciated.
Breakfast in bed – cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, and sauteed mushrooms! Delicious!
Fresh flowers from the girls (they got them from Children’s Church)
Putting together the pinwheel steaks!
They choose what ingredients to stuff the steak with for lunch
Pinwheel steaks ready to go into the oven!
Stuffed with tomatoes, swiss cheese, goat cheese, bacon, ham, spinach, mushrooms, sunflowers, cranberries, and more goodies!
My steak was AMAZING!
Huge stuffed portobello mushroom! Stuffed with spinach, hummus, and topped with toasted granola – so tasty!
Mother’s Day cards from Jake and the girls. Karlie’s was the kitten and Brina’s the puppy.
Brina picked out a beautiful pink rose bush for me!
Karlie picked out a gorgeous red rose bush for me!
Adorable handmade flowers from my girls! Brina made the bright yellow one and Karlie made the blue and red one!
A place to sit and talk with Jake or read with the kids. Very comfy!
Sweet note from Brina. The top says “I am thankful to have a Mom like you because you are nice to me and play with me.” The bottom has a cute little poem!
Colorful Mother’s Day Butterfly from Brina
Cute card from Brina
Mother’s Day note from Brina wanting to know if I can play or cook with her! Love my girls!
Vibrant Mother’s Day drawing from Karlie
Sweet poem and note from Karlie on the back of her drawing.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
But no one a flower,
Just like you!
Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you are having a nice and relaxing day. Do you like the card and rose? The rose is a rare blue rose that only grows on Neptune! May you please read to me on the deck?
Thankful for my family! I treasure these times we have together. I am blessed.
