A whole week full of it...Blessings, that is!

I know that I have been pretty quite over the last week, but there has been some pretty cool stuff going on.  Here's the way it went:

On Friday evening and all day Saturday, Jimmy took the GED and passed!  On the first try!  And for those of you who don't know, English is not Jimmy's first language, nor is US history and culture his native history and culture.  For anyone to pass the GED on the first try to pretty good, but for him, it was absolutely outstanding!

So, since I had gotten a coupon for Pizzeria Unos in my e-mail since my birthday was coming up, we decided to go there and celebrate Jimmy's achievement, my birthday and Fathers' Day.  (We saw the tire cover pictured here on the back of a Jeep that was in front of us at a traffic light, and it just looked pretty cool.)

Anyway, we got to the restaurant, and the manager recognized us, so not only did he honor the coupon for a free entree (Jimmy got steak and shrimp!)  he also gave us a free family sized desert and a gift bag with a $5 coupon and a bunch of little fun toys for the kids.  It was great and our waitress was awesome, too.  (She actually dumped the kids mac n cheese into new plates after it was cooked and served so that the plates would not be hot when the came to the table.  That was pretty thoughtful and awesome of her!)

Then, on Sunday, we had a great time a church remembering how it was a year ago on Fathers' Day that Jimmy, Elizabeth and I got baptized.  Elizabeth, Maggie, Dale, Katie and Jordan sang a great song, East to West by Casting Crowns this Sunday, too.  I video taped it, but I can't get it to download, and it was really dark anyway.  But they did a great job.

After we got home, we all took a nap and then had a cookout.

 

And then we took some time to pick some raspberries...

And eat them...

Monday was uneventful, and then Tuesday was my birthday, which everyone around here forgot about.  Wednesday slipped by quietly as well except that Gabriel got sick and had to be brought home early from church so I didn't get to stay for the evening Bible study, which I heard was really good.

Then, Thursday, Elizabeth redeemed herself by baking cupcakes with Peter, who came by because he was dying to show us his uniform and his food that you only have to add water to and then it cooks itself in the packet.  They made the icing for the cupcakes from scratch, so even though Elizabeth knows that Peter is not supposed to be at the house when only my in-laws are home, it was hard to be upset with them when they worked so hard to make something special for me.

So, we sang happy birthday, and Jo helped me blow out the candles, and it was fun.

'Til Peter, in his huge military boots and his big boy self got too big for the inside of the house, and he and Elizabeth got shooed out to the front yard, where they did what all kids need to do at least for some time during the summer:  

Nothing.


Then, on Friday evening, I took a van load of kids to the church to watch a movie and eat pizza.  Elizabeth volunteered to go so that Jo, who is too young to be in the group yet, could stay.  And then somehow we ended up with 2 little girls spending the night with us...I'm still not too sure how that happened, but here they were, draped across floors and bunk beds.


We got up early on Saturday to set up the yard sale, and my 2 little sleepover girls were so excited!  They were running around shouting and helping to spread things out and organize and collect money.  

But for some reason, I don't have pictures of them...or of Jo going through everything saying that she wanted to keep it...

But I do have Gabe, who helped move things around after the girls set them up.

(No, Jimmy, it does NOT fit you, nor is it your style!)






Then, Saturday evening, Elizabeth packed up for reCharge, the camp she will be at all this week with the Youth Group...

and Gabriel unpacked.  

I honestly think he thought he was going to go.  He closed the lid on himself and Jo tried to zip him up.  Hmmm...maybe she thought it might be a good way for her to be the baby again...


After that, we went to Cici's Pizza for dinner.    I know that it sounds like we go out a lot, but really, we don't.  It's just that at Cici's, all 5 of us can have unlimited salad, pizza, dessert and water (yes, water.  We usually don't order drinks when we go out.  In fact, it was funny because I told my brother that we went out once and even got drinks and he said that he didn't know that they served alcohol at IHOP.  Ummm...no, Aaron, I mean drinks...milk, soda, tea.) anyway, we can all eat for $15.72.  That's just over $3 per person.  I can't even make a meal like that at home for $3 per person!  And, we don't have to do the dishes!  Or heat up the house with cooking!

Oh!  That reminds me!  On Tuesday, we actually broke down and got our AC replaced.  We now have central AC in the house again after almost 7 years.  We haven't really used it yet, but it's there, ready and waiting for when it's 105 in the shade and we're all melting.

Anyway, back to Saturday...

After we ate, we went to the pet store and I found some aquarium  plants that were on clearance and a cave that was on sale!  So, Jimmy got them for my birthday since the little placo that we got last year at Jo's birthday has grown so big that it gets stuck in the little house we used to have in there. 

You can see the morimo in the left corner of the tank.  It's grown, too.  The tank looks really cool now, but I don't know how to take a picture of it to do it justice.  The plants really liven it up, though.


Anyway, that was my awesome week in a nutshell.  (Albeit a large nutshell)


But, I guess what I mean to say in all of this is that I am blessed with the love and activity that constantly flows through our house.  


I mean really....

Does it get any better than this?

Come and celebrate your blessing with me this and every Monday over at He Sows, She Sows.