It’s been a full few weeks! Here’s a peek at the behind-the-scenes goings on at the Paine household…
Our kids were over the moon excited that they got to meet Phil Vischer from VeggieTales and What’s In The Bible? at the God’s Awesome Word event here in Nashville.
Honestly, I have never seen our kids so stoked about getting to meet someone!! It made me realize anew how grateful we are for how this man has impacted our children and taught them so much about God and His Word through the What’s in the Bible DVD’s!
My baby boy is getting all grown up! He’s loving soccer — especially his Saturday morning games. I’m so proud of his determination, focus, and team spirit!
We spent part of one afternoon weeding/cleaning out the front flower bed as a family. This has been on the to-do list ever since we moved here in May (I’m a little ashamed to admit that!).
We finally all decided to jump in and tackle what had seemed like a BIG project that we’d been putting off for months. Guess what? With all of us working together, it took less than 30 minutes!
This was a great reminder that sometimes a seemingly big project won’t be nearly as time-consuming as you think. So stop procrastinating and just do it!
I made my first ever sourdough bread starter that I got for just a few dollars as part of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle sale. Move over, Ma Ingalls!
I was excited that it actually worked like it was supposed to, but was very disappointed in the taste of the sourdough bread. I learned so much about how to make a starter and keep it alive, but I think I’m going to try a different starter recipe and see if we like it any better.
I was SO thrilled to discover that Dollar Tree here in TN has my family’s favorite sandwich bread for just $1 per loaf here in TN just like they did in Kansas! Our freezer is now well-stocked for the next few weeks! It’s often the little things that can make a new city feel like home.
Huge highlight of the past few weeks: My good friend Ginger who blogs at Just One of the Boys got to come visit!
We laughed, drank coffee, window-shopped in downtown Franklin, talked blogging and books, shared our hearts, and stayed up way too late… And it was such a blast! Our whole family was sad to see her leave!
Friendships like this — where you can just be completely yourself and someone can just come and make themselves feel right at home — are such a gift!
When we made our first sourdough bread from our sourdough starter, Silas made his own little loaf with chocolate chips (his idea). I have trained him well: pretty much everything is always better with chocolate! 🙂
Ever have moments when you’re just so proud of a friend you want to burst? That was me at the book launch party for Angie Smith and Breezy Brookshire’s new book, For Such a Time as This. I love these women so much and was honored to get to celebrate their hard work tonight.
Also? I can’t wait to read through this book with our kids! It’s beautifully done and the pages contain deep truths and messages that are written at the level that a young child can grasp. Watch the trailer for this book here.
Getting to spend time with this group of women one evening last week was an honor. Each of them have inspired me and blessed me through their writings and lives. And it was worth driving for an hour in very crazy Nashville traffic to make it there. 🙂
After a long, exhausting day as a parent at the end of last week, this little gal brightened it up so much by surprising me with this freshly made cup of coffee with whipped cream and a special straw… Just because she wanted to bless me.
For me, it was much more than a cup of coffee: it was a reminder that God sees me in my feeble attempts to parent these children He’s given us, that He loves me, and that He’s at work behind-the-scenes even when I don’t see it on the surface.
I’m not a crafter at all, but these dear gals let me join them for a fun afternoon making Christmas crafts. It was a blast and it was great to step out and learn some new skills… Like the basics of using a glue gun (I told you I wasn’t a crafter!!)
Lots of Personal Processing Going On
The past month I’ve been hit hard with processing our move. That’s been good and needed, but also hard. I think that there was so much going on for the first few months and I was so focused on helping my family settle, that I didn’t have time to process things myself.
So it finally hit — a few months after the fact! I’ve cried multiple times per week (which is very out of character for me!), I’ve struggled through doubts and “what ifs”, and there have been some rough patches for me these past few weeks as I’ve continued to figure out how to navigate the new waters of this completely new lifestyle we’ve embraced as a family, new friends, new community, new situations, and so much unfamiliar territory.
I’m grateful for the people God has placed into my life who have let me be completely honest as I’ve processed. Who have listened, prayed, cared, and loved on me. Every day, I’m learning more and more what it means to be a friend and how important it is to take the time to cultivate these relationships in our lives.
So that’s a little recap on our lives from the past few weeks. Life has been full and I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of personal processing, but I also have this deep inner sense of peace and joy and gratitude. There are so many blessings in the midst of the everyday and I want to take time to notice them and be grateful for them!
How has life been at your house? Anything new, exciting, or difficult going on?
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