a wonderful surprise...

About two weeks ago I got this package. Well, it was actually funny because Sara and I usually see the UPS guy go by our house every day and usually I like to say "man! I hope we get a package today" and we NEVER do. Then one day, the truck stops in front of the house and I yell "Sara, we are getting a package!" and then I look closer and yell, "Sara, we are getting TWO packages!". Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I love getting any type of real mail and packages are just that much better. 

So, one box was for Sara and one was for me.

And when I opened the box, this basket was staring at me from inside! My dear friends and roommates (I refuse to call them "ex-roommates") Jenny and Lindsay sent me this basket full of things I love. And I have never gotten a basket of goodies before, but let me tell you, it is exciting. It contained my two favorite things: chocolate and peanut butter. There were chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, AND chocolate peanut butter cup cookies! Do they know me or what??

Thank you, you two. You have always been so good to me, and it was such a wonderful blessing. I love you both and miss you even more. I am glad Katesister is getting married so I get to see you guys in a few months!

Projects all around!

Spring is officially here! Well, it has been for a while now, but I want to formally announce it because summer will probably come faster than it is wanted. I have so enjoyed being here for spring. In Minnesota, I feel as if it goes from snow to spring for two days and then summer. Not the case here. All of the flowers and bright colors have been such a blessing. Just the other day, all the dogwoods bloomed (yes, I am learning the proper names for trees, not just saying "the pink ones"). They are such a bright, vibrant pink it really is incredible to me. So, I guess I just want you all to know, I LOVE SPRING. It makes me very excited. 

As for me. We have been busy with projects here. Sara and I tackled the basement while Kyle and Linda (his mother) "plowed the land" as I like to call it. I think I mentioned before that Sara and Kyle and the family decided to plant a garden. Also, I decided to try my hand at planting flowers as a surprise to Sara and Kyle when they got back from their vacation. And I have pictures!! So.... here they are. Enjoy.

(A before shot of one of the areas Sara and I scraped, scrubbed clean and then painted...)

(Ahhh.... so much better! We even got to throw those little flecks on the floor!)

(A fusion of two projects in one day. Notice the pre-cleaned wall to the left and the people outside are "plowing the land"! And yes, I know it is not "plowing", but I have fun saying that...)

(The garden! Soon we will have real things growing in here!)

(Our seedlings when they were first planted. They are just little seeds and I think that part of me did not actually believe they were going to grow. That is the tomato plant in the back, we bought it already started and it has doubled in size and now lives outside)

(And then they grew!!! Every day when we would water them we would inspect the dirt to see if we could see anything green.... and then one day, there was a green sprout and then they just kept coming. It was one of the most exciting things, growing something!)

(Here is another shot of a few. They are bigger now with "hearty" looking leaves!)

(Planting number one...)

(Number two...)

(And number three!)

So! Those are all of our projects. We will be planting and transporting seedlings to the real "farm" (haha) this weekend. So hopefully I will put those pictures up too. We will be planting green peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes, green beans, and corn. I am most excited for the corn! I think my favorite thing to do has been the flowers because it was so relaxing. And it was fun to be able to create any arrangement that I wanted and see how they turn out. I was taught well by mom and so hopefully I can carry that on! Isn't it wonderful to get things done?? Yes, yes it is. 

one year

Really? Has it already been a year? That is what I was finding myself asking a lot yesterday. I cannot believe that I have lived one year with my father in my life. The day actually went better than I was expecting it to, which is a huge answer to prayer. Sara, Mom and I just hung out, got some lunch, ran some errands and then mom made all of us a very delicious dinner. It was a normal day, which is just the way I wanted it to happen. I was not so much dreading the day, just welcoming it to come and go as fast as it wants to. To be honest, I am glad we are past a year. There are officially no more "first" anythings.

When I look back on the last year, I can see where the Lord has been guiding us as a family and me personally. A lot has happened in this past year and I can dare to say He has even more in store for me and my family. One huge, huge thing that God definitely had his hand in happened this past Monday. I started this new class/study called Healing and Deliverance (more to come on that later). Well in the class, you are split into breakout groups. Our group met on Monday and since it was the first week we shared our stories. Sidenote: It is incredible to hear someone tell their story, how they got to this day because it makes you realize there is so much more to people that you could ever guess. I am really excited to dig deep with these girls, they all seem so wonderful.

Anyways, to make a long story shorter, there is a girl in my group that shares in my experience because her father recently made the same choice that mine did. We are the same age, with such a similar experience and when we realized we just looked at each other and I am sure we both felt a little relief. The Lord is good in reminding us that we are not alone and I am just so excited to get to know this girl. There is something so comforting to know that she understands better than most people, not to say that my friends have not been wonderful, because they are, but this is just different. So, I guess I wanted to share this because I am in awe of what the Lord is doing in my life. I am surrendering and receiving what He has planned for me!

easter and poop

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday here in Kentucky! Mom, Sara, Kyle and I went to Kyle's parents house and spent the day with his family. We enjoyed good company, nice weather and good food! I have not had an Easter with young kids since I was little and it made the day that much better. Erin, Kyle's sister, has two boys (Jack and Sam) and they are great. Mom put together these wonderful baskets for them and with wide eyes they played with all their new toys and shoved in as much chocolate into their mouths as they could before Erin took it away.

They also decorated an egg for everyone which were hidden later for the egg hunt. The funny thing about this is that there were only 11 eggs, but they were all found about seven times. The men in the family had fun taking the already found eggs out of their baskets when they were not looking and re-hid them. It was entertaining to hear them yell "there is another one!" about an egg they had JUST found. Something tells me this will not last for too many more years, so they better have fund while they can. Overall, it was a very, very good Easter. I am blessed to have spent it with such wonderful family.

On another note, we have been very busy around the house. We have cleaned and painted most of the basement. And we have tilled "the land" as I like to say. Sara and Kyle have decided they want to start a vegetable garden out back, so Kyle worked the earth and got the area ready. I have vowed to get better at taking pictures so I can put them on here and my hope is that sometime in the next few days I can put up pictures of all our projects.

I leave you with this funny story....

One day when I was watching two little boys, this is a conversation I had with a 3 year old:

boy: I am going to hide from you...

me: why would you want to hide from me?

boy: (pause) .... because there is poop in my pants (runs away)

me: (blank stare)

just a little taste of some of my experiences here in Kentucky!