• Dirty Rocks + Rock Tumbler = Shiny Gems

    It’s amazing how having kids can open your eyes to so many things, including learning more about yourself, life, and God.  A couple years ago my cousin got the girls a rock tumbler.  They LOVE it and are always on the look out for neat rocks (yes, my girls love rocks).  On numerous trips, hikes, or walking through the yard they can be found collecting various rocks to run through the tumbler.  It is a great activity for kids and can be a neat teaching tool as well.

    The rock tumbling process goes something like this……

    • Find a variety of dirty average looking small rocks
    • Put them through the tumbler to remove all the grit and smooth out the rough edges
    • Polish them

    The whole process takes days and seems forever for the kids, but the end result is something beautiful and well worth the wait.

    Recently, I came across a bag of rocks while I was cleaning.  I had to smile knowing exactly why one of my ziploc bags had been used to stash a handful of ordinary, dull, and plain rocks.  The girls know that even though they look like any old dirty rock once they are tumbled and polished their true colors will shine beautifully.

    As I was standing there looking at those old, dusty rocks it struck me that my heart is much like those sharp and dirty rocks.  There is a lot of junk that needs to be knocked off my heart and life before the beauty of God’s love can shine through.  Thankfully with His help and a tremendous amount of patience on His part He slowly and faithfully cleans the dirt away, smooths out the roughness, and round the sharp edges.  When His love, goodness, mercy, and kindness radiates from my brokenness it opens the doors for opportunities to make a positive eternal impact on the hearts and lives those around us.

    Elenco Rock TumblerAn example of a rock tumbler you can get from Amazon if you are looking for a fun activity to do with your kids!

  • Family Fun with Silly String!

    The girls found some leftover silly string that we had and wanted to “surprise” Daddy when he came home from work. Somehow they managed to get the silly string all over themselves and Skipper, Jake only got a few strings on him. It was something fun to do before heading into dinner and brought a lot of giggles. Of course Jake knew something was up as soon as he arrived home and heard the girls giggling non-stop…..

    Karlie covered in Silly String

     Karlie wearing her library reading metal and a bunch of silly string. It was hilarious watching them try to squirt Daddy, each other and Skipper!

    Brina on the run!! I never did catch a one of her standing still which is why this one is blurry.

    Brina was pretty good at escaping silly string.  If any would get on her she would quickly pick it off and put it on someone else, including Skipper.  Loved hearing them come up with this “plan” to surprise Daddy and hearing their giggles as they ran around the yard.

    Skipper getting gained up on with silly string!

    Skipper really didn’t know what to do with all the silly string.  She was a good sport letting the girls spray her and running around the yard with the rest of the family.  I think Skipper probably got the majority of the silly string because she had the best reaction.  Thankful for a dog that puts up with the goofy kiddos!

    Even though Daddy was the initial target he stayed pretty clean!

    I did warn him to take off his work shirt prior to getting out of the car.  The silly string was fun but I wasn’t sure if it would stain.  It probably would have been fine but no sense making more work for me on laundry day.