My Happy Pills

I have a friend that God has clearly brought into my life on purpose. She has no idea how much she challenges me, encourages me, inspires me. I should probably tell her that, huh?

Yesterday she told me, while holding a fussy, clingy child, that her kids are her happy pills. It suddenly became clear to me how she can take all 4 kids to every field trip, travel to new places, invite people over regularly, and somehow keep her sanity.

It also became clear to me how far I've strayed from that perspective. While I absolutely adore my kids, I realized I've been seeing them as a burden lately. A part of my job.

Oh, I enjoy them immensely sometimes. 

I want to enjoy them all the time. Because they are a gift. They are a joy.

This doesn't mean I neglect my responsibilities. It doesn't mean I can't get frustrated or tired or need a break. It certainly doesn't mean they should be more of a joy to me than my husband or my Savior.

What it does mean is I have a fresh perspective: These babies are a way that God blesses me with temporary happiness AND deep, fulfilling joy.

I don't "have" to be a mommy, I "get" to be! How easy it is to forget that. I don't "have" to take out time for them, discipline them, enjoy them, love on them, show them grace, provide for them... I GET TO. And I am so grateful for this privilege.

Lord, thank You for the gifts of my children. Thank You for my friend and her reminder to view my babies as gifts. Thank You for equipping me for this incredible privilege of parenting!

K is for Kite

This past week in school we kept it simple. I didn't add anything to The Letter of the Week curriculum for Jack (except we started working on Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons). But it worked out perfectly because we did "K is for Kite" and today we went to the "Kite Komotion" festival in Shipshewana! This was our third year going and we thoroughly enjoyed it as usual!

It's free to the public which is how we like to do things. We got to watch professional kite flyers "dance" (according to Marie) and "race" (according to Jack) their incredible kites.

They also had beautiful and fascinating kites anchored to the ground for our viewing pleasure.

That is Jack with his free "ferbie" in his mouth.

The kids got to make their own kites! Marie made one two years ago and still uses it. Somehow these free kites beat out store bought kites any day!

After making our kites, we went out and flew them. Unfortunately, the camera was not on a good setting so no pics to share :/ But the kids had a blast! Kempton only flew his for a minute then decided to chase down everybody else's kites.

We did spend a little money this year and got the kids a shaved ice.

As we were leaving, I asked Jack what letter "kite" started with and he didn't even hesitate to give me the correct answer. He really shouldn't be old enough to know these things.

These flowers are spinning incredibly fast. Interesting that you can't tell in the picture!

Derek's wheel fell off of his truck early this morning while he was headed out to go turkey hunting. Talk about stressful. But spending the afternoon all together enjoying some free fun was a beautiful reminder that God not only is in control, but also blesses us beyond what we could ever deserve. Derek is safe, we have another vehicle to lean on, and we got to enjoy kites on a beautiful day together.

The Summer Fun Has Begun

This was the third summer we kicked off with a visit from the Jacobs side of the family. We love Memorial Day weekend!

 Part of the tradition is going to Rise and Roll on Saturday for some free food followed by petting puppies and playing on playsets.

We also enjoyed some golfing and a couple of bonfires.

And what is a Jacobs Family Gathering without some badminton?

Our next summertime adventure was a trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum with my bestest Jamie and her hubs.

The kids had a blast. Marie flew from one thing to the next while Jack mosied slowly, just like his dad.

We were there from open to close and loved every minute! It really is a great museum and I highly recommend it! I also recommend finding a best friend like Jamie :)

Many more summer adventures (aka blessings) ahead including a nice long trip to PA!

Sometimes it is just downright impossible to begin to fathom how much God loves us and loves to be a daddy.

The evolution of the Jacobs Garden

In the beginning was the first Jacobs Garden:

2011

After beautiful success, the expanded second Jacobs Garden was born:

2012

Not only were we blessed with another successful season, but we found that we really love to garden! So we tackled our biggest project yet...

The Jacobs Garden of 2013

 Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Jeremiah 29:5

Waiting for the best blessing

You've probably noticed that I love our house.

Love. It.

It is the biggest example in our lives of how waiting for God's timing is always the best option. We (mostly Derek) searched and waited for a house for 10 months before we closed on this one. Our realtor was getting a little irritated. Especially when the previous owners of this house rejected our best offer and we didn't really have a second choice. We loved this house.

God's timing is always perfect.

But it is stinkin' hard to wait for sometimes.

Just last week, God did it again... blessed our socks off with this...

We tried buying a van last year with our tax money. We (mostly Derek) searched and searched and searched and doors slammed over and over.

This year, I'm telling ya, God plopped this baby right into our laps!

Sold to us by another family that I will be praying showers of blessings on!

A house... a sufficiently-sized vehicle... food... clothing...

All necessities God is very much aware of. Wait, and these things will be more than just needs met, but truly the best blessings.

³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6)

Linking up HERE.

Trail of Blessings

It has been a morning full of blessings. The only way to express my gratitude to my Savior is to live every moment glorifying Him.

We had to run some errands to finish off the grocery list and get some soil to get the garden started (woot!). As we're driving down the county roads, I began praying that the Lord would fill me with His Spirit. I try to make this a habit when running errands with all 3 kids.

As always, He did just that.

We're sitting at the stop light of decision... left to this store, or right to that one. I had been planning on going to "this" one first but last minute decided on "that" one.

The shortened version: The kids were so good. I found everything I needed. I did not buy anything extra in spite of the temptations. And we only had to go to one store.

The most miraculous of all: I was patient.

The Holy Spirit was in charge.

There truly is nothing more satisfying than knowing you're doing exactly what God wants you to. Even (especially??) in the day-to-day stuff.

Thank You, Holy Spirit.

• Holy Spirit filling
• Kempton napping in his carseat
• Unexpected (and much needed!) chicken sale

• Guilt-free shopping
• "Horse" ride for a penny

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Day 16}

Thank You, God, for bills.

I'm just sitting down to pay our bills (because it's payday! Yay!) and it occurs to me that I'm not only crazy grateful that we have money in our account, but that we have a house, electricity, internet, phones. I'm not crazy about school loans but I'm so thankful for my education and a diploma for both of us! I'm thankful that we have all these blessings that result in bills.

So while I don't love bills, I'm so grateful for what they represent.

I'm also so thankful that God has grown us in how to manage our money (at least a little!) and we haven't seen red in awhile! Beautiful thing. He's got us covered.

Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:9-10

(Read Psalm 34! Chocked full of goodness!)

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Day 15}

Thank You, Father, for my Marie Love.

My first born. Oh, how I adore her.

Supposedly female first children have the tendency to butt heads with their mommas. It might have something to do with the fact that we are exactly alike. Armed with this knowledge, I've been praying since her birth that we would develop a close, trusting, lasting relationship.

She is so infuriating and so wonderful. She is obsessed with her little sibs, even the future sister she is sure will come "when Kempy is bigger."

The blessing that is my daughter is immeasurable.

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Days 13&14}

I just cannot seem to keep up. Every day I think of something great I want to write about. But then suddenly it's the next day and I think of something else and totally forget what I thought of the day before...

Anyway, here's me trying to catch up again. I have so much I am thankful for, and each thing deserves at least a little attention.

Day 13:

Thank You, Savior, for worship.

It is just such a blessing to be able to worship the Creator any time anywhere. I was listening to praise and worship on Pandora while in the shower and before I even realized what I was doing, I had my hands raised and tears in my eyes. My daily (well... almost daily) super mini vacation (aka a shower) turned into an impromptu worship session.

But one of the coolest things about worship is it doesn't just mean singing.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Everything we do can, and should be, a form of worship. How amazing is it that we can worship our Savior right where we are? We don't need to be perfect, have it all together,  have a good voice, or be gifted at all. We simply come.

Day 14:

Thank You, omniscient Father, for the Word of God.

Can I just tell you, the Bible has COME ALIVE in my life lately?? Since I started getting up early with Derek I've had a lot more time to study it. I have no trouble spending the whole hour+ before the kids wake up just enjoying the Word.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

There is no limit to what Scripture can do in a person's life; for a person's soul. Read it. Know it. Love it. Share it. I will never cease to do all four of those things because even if someone doesn't believe in the inerrant Truth of God's Word,  it is still true and ALIVE! Nothing I say can out-say/out-convince/outdo the Bible.

And I am so thankful that we have free access to the living Word here in the US for at least a little longer!

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Days 11&12}

Day 11:

Thank You, Great Physician, for our health.

We have been so blessed with great health. Our extended families have suffered from the dreaded cancer, but the 5 of us have not had anything out of the ordinary. We know that we live in a fallen world and are never guaranteed great health, so for now I will praise the Lord for the blessing of an illness-free little family!

Day 12:

Thank You, Jehovah Jireh, for our garden and freezer.

We tripled our garden the 2nd year, and in prep for next year, we tripled it again! Not only do we both love to garden, the harvest is fantastic! And we were super blessed with a freezer from the inlaws for Christmas! We're a few days away from payday which means the cupboards are getting bare, but we have plenty of veggies, a whole drawer full of beef, and cans of potatoes at my disposal.

I think gardening is a form of worship. I cannot look at a garden full of fresh veggies and not be in awe of God's provision. I'm so excited to teach my kids about gardening, so that no matter what, they have access to food.

Geesh, we are a spoiled little family. Thank You, Father, for being such an amazing Dad!

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Day 10}

Thank You, Abba, for my parents.

Skipping over the whole part about how they raised me, I'm so thankful for how much they love their grandkids, how they are always willing and desire to take care of them and their grown-up kids, how they love the Lord and how they love each other. I love all the wisdom that they possess but never force it on us. They cherish family above all else.

Thank you, Momma and Dadda, for my growing up years, the many years to come, and the handful in between. Love you!