Happy Homemaker Monday - 5/11/20

Happy Monday, everyone!  I decided to join back with Sandra at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom for her Happy Homemaker Mondays and you'll notice I'm joining on my new blog page.  I apologize if that's confusing for those of you who have been following me on my other page.  I may update that one from time to time but please feel free to follow me here too.  I have future plans for this blog.  To those who haven't followed me over at that blog I stumbled across Sandra's blog a few years ago and had so much fun joining her in these HHM posts.  Please go check out her page, if you have the time.  It's one of my favorite blogs to read.  Anyway, I may not be completely organized in my thoughts today but I love doing these.  I have everything exactly as she does it but with my own answers.  Here we go … 

♥♥The Weather♥♥
Monday - cloudy, 54
Tuesday - partly cloudy, 54
Wednesday - sunny, 57
Thursday - cloudy, 63
Friday - rain, 68
Saturday - rain, 79
Sunday - rain, 81


♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥
I woke up feeling really moody and short tempered.  I've been feeling that way a lot lately.  I'm just feeling physically and mentally worn down but I know it won't last.  My husband and I are seeing a test in our marriage and it caused a fight earlier this weekend.  I am so sick of feeling like I'm being unheard, but the difference between men and women is that women are emotional where men just want to brush everything off.  I could really use a friend to talk to, and I'm missing that so much right now.     


♥♥On my mind♥♥
A lot of things.  People I'm missing.  Ready to get life back to normal but at the same time enjoying this break from the busyness of life.    


♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥
A cup of coffee and a bowl of rice crispies.          


♥♥On my reading pile♥♥
I've been reading Scripture like crazy lately.  It helps.  I just finished a Karen Kingsbury book and getting ready to find something else from my book shelf.  My hubby bought me an autographed copy of Dana Loesh Grace Cancelled but I'm not sure I'm in the mood to read those political/bring me down kind of books.  I like reading informative stuff but I need something uplifting in these current days.  

♥♥On my tv♥♥

We just got Disney+ so we've been watching some things from there.  My son got into the Mandalirian show.  I've never been much of a Star Wars fan, but I can deal with it.  

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥
Here's where the unorganizing comes in.  I love having a full menu planned for the entire week, but lately that's been a challenge for me and something I've become lazy about.  Today we will be having leftovers but I'm not sure about the rest of the week.  Meal planning has become a day to day decision.  I promise to have a full menu for next week.  


♥♥From the camera♥♥

   Love seeing all the flowers around the house that are blooming.  My favorite time of year.  

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

Everything is pretty clean, minus a few piles here and there and some of my daughter's toys.  My son is sitting on the couch on one of his Zoom meetings.  My husband is downstairs on the computer doing his work.  The dog is snuggled up on the couch next to my son.     


♥♥Chore I'm not looking forward to today, or this week♥♥
Pulling weeds and mowing.  I really need to find some rubber mulch to remulch the flower beds.  I love rubber mulch.  I lay it down and it lasts for years.  Our flower beds can use some fresh mulch and some new bushes/flowers.  My husband is having trouble finding rubber mulch though.  None at Lowe's right now and Walmart closed their garden section.              


♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥
Go for walks by myself with music playing on my mp3 player.  That always relaxes me.            


♥♥On my prayer list♥♥
The world, our country, our President and other elected officials
Those affected by this virus
The hearts of people.  We've been a country that has been divided for a long time but it seems this virus has made it so much worse.
My marriage.  


♥♥Devotional/Bible Verse♥♥

 "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world," -- John 16:33 (NIV)

That is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and has been for a long time.  It's a verse I've been clinging to a lot during our recent situation.  When it comes to all this virus stuff I try my best to stay informed but I also am not feeling fearful or worried.  I hear so many spend so much time complaining or feeling scared.  As the country is slowly starting to open back up, and some places in our area are doing so without the governor's approval, there's a lot of talk about how "wrong" it is or how "right" it is.  I have faith that, regardless of what happens, God is seeing us through and will meet us at the end of it.  Even though we are in the midst of this pandemic, He's already conquered it.  

Mother's Day Quarantine Style 2020 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas!!  I hope your special day was filled with lots of blessings and joy.

I haven't been feeling well lately; emotionally and physically.  I'm constantly tired and lack energy.  But my kids made sure I had a special Mother's Day and I am grateful and blessed.

I was told I had to stay in bed this morning and even though I was awake and waiting I was enjoying the peace and quiet.  Then I was told breakfast was ready.  I do not like the whole breakfast in bed thing and it was a nice breakfast in the dining room with the family.  My son made eggs, bacon and pancakes.

Then I was gifted with a ton of handmade cards, letters, and artwork, and a new candle (oh, I love smelly stuff), and a flower lollipop, a cute bear statue for the garden and a Disney+ subscription (which benefits the entire family), and lots and lots of love.  We watched the new Aladdin movie and I can't wait to dive into more movies on Disney+.  I told my daughter that when her dad and brother go camping in July we'll have an entire week to watch all the sappy princess movies.  The ones her brother doesn't care for, but he did say Aladdin is the best one.  My dad had taken the kids to see it in the movies but this was the first time I had seen it.  A bit different than the cartoon version but still so, so good.

We sat in the living room, still in pajamas, watching our church service online.  I can't wait to be in church again.

It was nice to be able to Facetime with my mom.  I'm so thankful for technology, which allows me to see her when I can't actually see her.

Even though places are slowly starting to open up my dad wants to keep my mom quarantined until all of this virus stuff is officially over.  That could take a while and I miss my parents so much.

My son made chicken quesadillas for lunch.  My daughter helped make dinner and dessert.  Chicken parmesian.  My family knows the way to my heart is with Italian food.

We went for a walk around the neighborhood and then spent the evening snuggled up together.

I can't thank God enough for allowing me to be the mother of these two precious people.  Sometimes I feel like I'm nailing this whole mom thing and other times I feel like I'm screwing it all up.  But I am forever grateful for being a mother, the greatest gift life has to offer.

I didn't get a picture of us together this year so we'll bring it back to Mother's Day 2014 with this one. 

Sunday Hike

We went on another adventure today after watching our church service at home.  This time we went to Nixon Park, which was a first for my hubby.  The Nature Center was closed but the trails were open and the turtles were in their usual positions on the logs in the lake.  We are a family that loves to hike and their trails are a little tricky and I'm proud the almost 9 year old handled it with very little complaining.

I can't help but feel sad whenever I think of the events and people we are missing, but I am also very thankful for this chance to pause from our busy lives so we can relax as well as reflect on all the things we took for granted.  When life goes back to normal we can get back to it all with fresh eyes.  God is blessing us through this, even if we can't understand it all at this moment.

Hope the upcoming week brings blessings and peace to you all!

It's A Beautiful Day

I'm really so glad we are in the month of May.  Summer is around the corner and I just love, love, love the hotter temperatures.  This is truly my favorite time of the year!  Today we took full advantage of the 70 degree weather and busted out of the house.  This was the first time the kids were able to get away in a long time.  We went to one of my favorite spots in our county, I blogged about it over the summer.

There's a trail that goes up a hill for 1/2 mile, overlooking the Susquehanna River, and at the very top is a bunch of seats made out of rocks and in the direct center is a compass, and also a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson, one of my favorite authors when I was little.  Many know him from Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but as a child I loved his poem The Swing.  I have it in a book of children's poems my mother had given me.

Once we arrived to the top we ate a picnic lunch and enjoyed the view.

There's been a rumor I've heard from several different sources that the owner of the Washington Redskins owns one of these houses that overlook the river.  All of these homes are gorgeous.  My son pointed to all of them and said to my daughter, "Could you imagine living in one of those houses?  How cool would that be?"  You could make it happen, kid!  In the words of his favorite monster truck driver, "Dream it, Wish it, Do it."

These hotter temps are a little too much for our black pug but he enjoyed getting out of the house, too.  My parents live in that county over the river.  There's a song my mom and I used to sing when I was a child going to my grandparents' house but for us to visit my parents we LITERALLY have to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go.  Do you know that song?  Or maybe your childhood wasn't as cheesy as mine was.  

We stopped for ice cream and ate it at home.  Actually, I finished mine on the way home.  Soooo good!  We spent a lot of time enjoying more of the sunshine in my backyard.

Last summer we started finding rocks that people painted and left along different parks and if you find them you post it on a Facebook group called PROPA.  My daughter loved it and wanted to paint her own.  The girl has had an obsession with rocks since she was a toddler.  She has a huge collection in a box.  So, this is a fun hobby for her.

My hubby set up the baseball equipment for them to practice.

A barbecue for dinner.  Bouncy fun on the trampoline.   Yeah kids, your mom is way cool!

And we relaxed by the fire with some S'Mores and more backyard fun.

Then ended the night with a little television and the kids sleeping under a fort in the living room.   

It was a great day and it makes me so thankful for the family God blessed me with.   It's been great to be able to take some time to stop and smell the ... lilacs.