I'm getting old

We were given some free tickets to Six Flags and took the kids this afternoon. I have always been a lover of roller coasters but today my body took a beating and it is making me reconsider. Doug and I both rode the Goliath with Ryan who absolutely loved it. I can't tell you very much about it because I was praying and had my eyes closed the entire ride. Doug had to leave early for a meeting and Ryan and Ashleigh got me on the Scream Machine and Ninja for the second time. They each rode the entire ride with their hands up. I, on the other hand, committed the time to begging God to spare my life and thinking what kind of mother in her right mind puts her children on these rides.

We ended the day with an hour wait at Thunder River. We got drenched. I don't believe that I have ever seen 12 people get so soaked. Needless to say, we got stuck under the waterfall. Ryan and Ashleigh were giggling so loud.

My feet hurt. I am going to sleep now.

Great Day

This morning we went to Oakleaf chuch in Cartersville since we didn't have service (we had Saturday Celebration last night). It was nice to be able to go to a worship service and sit with Doug. They are doing a great job there and the people were super friendly. God is doing some cool things at Oakleaf. It was really a nice break. I will definitely have to say that the seats were the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in at a church before. The kids were a little hesitant at first but they had a great time. They are using the same kids curriculum that we are but Ryan really liked the cool lights. We explained that the lights were necessary since they meet in a theatre. Anyway, I recommend if you get a Sunday where you are not serving, take some time to get away and visit another church so you can completely disengage. We then had a nice lunch and came home and took a long nap during the thunderstorm. I love rainy Sunday afternoons. It was really a great day!

Small group

We just got home from hanging out with our small group. We met at Canterbury Lane's pool and grilled out. Our group is serious about eating. The kids swam while the adults were able to talk and catch up since we haven't met for awhile. We have a great small group and I love doing life with these guys. I am looking forward to us getting together weekly again. If you aren't connected with a small group, your are definitely missing out. If you attend CATR, you need to attend Connection Nite and get hooked up with a group.

Family Fusion Highlights

We got home last night from Family Fusion (a retreat for the entire family) with mounds of laundry and a ton of great memories and experiences. It was a great week and Wendell, Emily and his team did an outstanding job of serving and being Jesus this week to all of us that went. Here a few things that I got out of Family Fusion:
1. God has blessed me with an awesome husband and wonderful children!
2. Don't sit up when you are on the bottom bunk.
3. To be more intentional with my prayers for my children.
4. Some of the best time with God is spent when it is 4am and you can't sleep but your entire family is snoring.
5. Our family is uniquely designed and created for a purpose. We nailed down our mission statement for the Garvin family.
6. For me to continue to support, help and allow Doug to lead our family.
7. Turning on and off a shower takes a higher level of education than I obviously have.
8. We learn a lot about ourselves through our children.
9. Our family would not survive in the wilderness (we had to build a fire without matches and cook corn and needless to say we didn't win and I am not sure it was edible)
10. The best thing from this week was that I got to spend some wonderful time with my family and God drove home that there is no better calling and honor than being Doug's wife and Ryan & Ashleigh's mommy. I wouldn't trade my life with anyone!!

I would love to share pictures with you but of course we had our camera but we also had a dead battery :).

Family Fusion

We are waiting on Doug to get home from picking up his signs before we leave for Family Fusion. We will be gone until Wednesday afternoon. I have packed enough for an army. I always over pack but I don't know how to do it any other way. I am always afraid I am going to need something. Anyway, I know it is going to be a lot of fun and the kids are so excited! Say a prayer for safe travel and for God to do a great work in all our lives! Time to load the car....

For Sale

Well, our house is officially for sale. We put the sign in the yard yesterday. With the changes with my job and a few other things, we felt like God was telling us to sell our house. I have a lot of mixed emotions, but I do know that when it sells it will help us out a lot financially. I am anxious to see God move because the odds are against us for it selling fast. The market is slow, there are a ton of new homes and there is another house just like ours for sell. Oh well, God knows all this. I guess I think I need to remind Him :). All I know is when God tells me to do something, I need to do it and leave the "how" up to Him. It is all about faith.

Journaling

I love to journal my prayers. I have been journaling since I was in college and I go through seasons where I journal more than others. It is a very intimate time with me and God. I even have a few favorite spots that I love to sit and journal. Just this morning during some quiet time, I went through my current journal and just read what God had done in my life over the last year or so. I am definitely a work in progress, but it is amazing to see how much my faith has grown over the last year. God has met some really BIG needs and continues to provide in ways that I will never be able to understand or even explain. This verse and this verse were a reoccurring theme which helped me through what I would call some challenging experiences. My journal is very private and I cherish the journey that God is taking me on.

Doug's New Look

Check out Doug and his cool new glasses. I think he looks good in his new look.

Erasing Pads

While cleaning today, I found some Scotch Brite Easy Erasing Pads under the sink. I don't know how they got there because I don't remember buying them. Anyway, it said it was great on soap scum. I am a clean freak about my bathroom and have had a time getting the soap scum off of my tub and shower floor which both are marble. I have tried everything with lots of elbow grease and it is always difficult to get clean. That was until today with the help of these wonderful erasing pads. All I had to do was wipe over it with water and cleaner and it looked like new. I went crazy and starting cleaning the tile and everything else with the eraser. My bathroom is shining tonight. Now, all I have to do is to figure out where to buy them so I can stock up on them.

Another prayer

I'm not really sure how I ran across this blog but I can't get this pastor and family off of my mind. His son was in a golf cart accident and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks in serious condition. If you have time, read about it and keep this little 8 year old boy and his family in your prayers.

Seasoning Bags

I love the McCormick seasoning bags. They are so quick and easy. Just this week, we have had basil green beans, Italian potatoes and a roast. All you do is put the vegetable in the bag with the seasoning mixture and put it in the microwave for 10 minutes. This morning I put the roast, potatoes and carrots in the bag and when we got home we put it in the oven for about an hour. It makes the most tender roast. They kids have really enjoyed it all and Ryan will actually eat the green beans and carrots. I can't get him to eat any other green vegetable, but he really likes the way these are flavored. We tried the Italian potatoes for the first time this week and they were great. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was. I may enjoy cooking after all :).

Prayer

Please say a prayer for my cousin who I spoke about last week. The mother of Brandon has decided that she wants to keep him even though she has given her other 4 children away. She signed over her rights to Isabella in March of this year. Anyway, she is scheduled to be in court today. Our prayer is that Brandon will be given the life that God intends for him to have. We all only want what is best for him, but at the same time the emotional roller coaster has been very hard for my cousin and her husband. They have already fallen in love with him. I will keep you posted.

What's for Dinner?

Why is it when you are hungry, everything at the grocery store looks wonderful and very tempting? The kids and I went to Kroger this morning with our shopping list to get everything for the week. Of course, it was close to lunch time and it all looked really good. I told the kids that it was their job to make me stick to the list because we only had so much to spend. They really enjoyed this. They like keeping me in line. We have been making a menu for the week and only shopping from that. This has really helped us and has also made cooking a little easier for me. Doug does a lot of the cooking and one of the main reasons I don't is because I can't think of what to cook. In the past, we would call each other and ask several times during the day, "What do you want for dinner?". The answer was usually, "I don't know, what do you want?". Many times we would end up at Chick-fil-A. So, now we each get a turn picking our favorite meal for the week. We know that spaghetti and fettuccine will be a staple since that is one of the few things that Ryan will eat. We can always count on Ashleigh to have plenty of vegetables. This has been a lot of fun and has taken some of the stress of thinking "what are we going to eat tonight?" off of us. BTW, we were under budget this morning so we were able to add a few favorite snacks as well.

Simple Things

We took the kids to the Silver Comet Trail to ride bikes tonight. We always forget that you have to turn around and go back the same distance. We rode almost 10 miles. I had a difficult time keeping up with the kids. Of course, I blamed it on the fact that I was in the wrong gear most of the time :). As we were riding, I was enjoying the scenery and finding delight in Ryan and Ashleigh talking and giggling. I couldn't help to think how much God must delight when we take the time to notice all that he has created. I am sure he enjoys our laughter and when we take the time to acknowledge what a great God he is. I never want to get too busy that I don't enjoy the simple things in life. Here are some pictures of our evening. I can't wait to do it again!

A Busy Week

I have got a very busy week ahead of me. This will be my first week without any classes and now I have to play catch up on all the work I had gotten behind on. In addition to that, Family Fusion is next week so I have to get everything done to take 3 days off. I am ready to have a few days without the computer, work and my cell phone. I am looking forward to some much needed family time. I know God has great things in store for my family and all the families going. I feel like my time with my children has been cheated this summer due to a very unusual schedule. I reminded myself that it was for just a short season. I am hoping that by working extra hard this week, I will have to work very little between next Sunday and when school starts. It is hard to believe that this summer is almost over! I am also hoping to get some time in for me and the kids to go and spend some time with my sister and her kids. We always have a blast when we are together and the kids really miss each other. Let the work begin....

A Terrible Mom

I feel like a terrible mom after going to the eye doctor today with Ashleigh. She got glasses last year before school started and we were told that she only really needed them when she was reading. Well, she broke her glasses right before school got out in May and I have been putting off getting her new ones, especially since Doug broke his glasses a few weeks ago too. I received a check last week that I had been waiting on so we had the cash to take both of them to get their glasses. We found out that Ashleigh's eyes are a lot worse than we thought. We were told that she needed to get in glasses immediately and she had to wear them all the time. I just about cried. We ordered her new glasses (we had a hard time finding the "perfect" pair and the purple metallic ones didn't make the cut :)). She has to go back in October and they are expecting to change her prescription then as well. Doug ordered his cool new glasses. He really wanted a pair of prescription sunglasses but we didn't have quite enough money for those, so when the next check arrives we will order his sunglasses.

Payday!!

I have come to really love Payday, especially since starting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class. I will let you know that Doug has wanted us to take this class for a few years and the free spirited one that I am, did not want to be confined to a strict budget. However, after a month of being on the envelope system and paying off one bill, I love it. I love getting my check, going to the bank and getting the cash to put in the designated envelopes. There is power in telling your money where to go. I love paying for everything with cash instead of my debit card and worrying if there will be enough to buy groceries. I am even more excited because there is actually enough money in the hair cut envelope for me to get one. I highly recommend everyone going through this course. It has been great for our family.

What a day!

Today I finished my last class in order to renew my teaching certificate. Yeah!!!I have been in class most of the summer. I treated myself to a delicious Chick-fil-A milkshake. (It was even better because I had a coupon for a free one.) Tonight, we had a family night at the Kroger parking lot with moonwalks, slides, a rock climbing wall, cotton candy and much more. It was for the community and several hundred families came out and seemed to really enjoy themselves. I loved seeing all the new faces. I can't wait for Sunday. Well, I am tired and off to bed. Today has been another great day!

A neat story

My cousin and her husband found out about 8 years ago that they could never have kids and over the years they have been to different doctors and adoption agencies trying to get a child of their own. Over a year ago, they received a call from a distant relative on her husband's side that there was a 6 month old beautiful little girl that was in foster care and would be up for adoption. Of course, David and Jennifer said yes without any hesitation. We all fell in love with Isabella. Well, last week they received another call that Isabella's biological mom had a baby boy on June 30th and wanted to know if they were interested. Without giving it a second thought, David and Jennifer met their son for the first time today. You can see pictures and the rest of the story here. God is such a Big God and continues to amaze me! God has blessed our family once again.

I am so blessed

Today was a very busy day. I had 12 home visits and dodged thunderstorms all afternoon. Of course, my umbrella was at home so you can only imagine what my hair looked like. I visited with some of my families with medically fragile children (these kids are on ventilators and feeding tubes). These families always have the best attitude and always end up ministering to me. I am always asking God to allow me to be a blessing to them and I usually leave humbled and blessed. I love to see the progress that these children make every month and I love celebrating with their families. Well, I am off to snuggle with my kids and tuck them in to bed.

World of Coke

The kids and I went to the new World of Coke a few days ago. It was great. I recommend going. After staying in the museum for 2 hours and tasting all the flavors of Coke from around the world, they ran off their energy in the water fountains at Centennial Park. It was a wonderful day!

I'm blogging

I have been reading blogs for awhile so I guess it is time for me to join the blogging world. I always have something to say. I love to talk!!! (It may be a nice break for Doug for me to ramble here instead of to him all the time.)
I hope I have something to say that is worth reading.