Phil

I love every other Wednesday.

Every other Wednesday afternoon, Grandma comes to our house for "Art With Grandma."

Joshua and Matthew look forward to this day so much!

I do too.  

After all these years of knowing her 

and spending time with her, 

I should no longer be amazed at her creativity. 

But I am.

Each and every time.

Last Wednesday, Grandma came over with one of the little boys' (and Carrie and William's) favorite books...

I was busy in the house when Grandma and GG came, so I didn't realize they were here.

The kids did though.

And this is where I found everyone when the house became too quiet.

Grandma was hoping for a rain-free day and a good place to read the story.

She was blessed with both!

Look at Charlie.

Even a dog enjoys a good book every now and then.

Everyone is waiting on their cue...

GG enjoys watching the kids listen to a story.

She enjoys watching the kids to anything.  

One pair of shoes goes...

 Clomp!  Clomp!

One pair of pants goes...

Wiggle!  Wiggle!

One shirt goes...

Shake!  Shake!

One pair of gloves goes...

Clap!  Clap!

One hat goes...

Nod!  Nod!

One pumpkin goes...

Boo!  Boo!

And one black dog goes...

Play with me!  Play with me!

Do you want the ball?

Do you?!

And what do you get when you put one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one shirt, one pair of gloves, one hat, and one pumpkin together?

You get Phil (because he's filled with leaves),

the Scarecrow...

And here is Matthew with the finishing touches...

the extension cord that will make Phil's face light up!

William says that he really isn't a Scarecrow at all.

He's really a ScareJodi.

Just look at him!

You would jump too if you walked out of the house and had that in your peripheral vision!

And don't think that he couldn't 

be called a ScareWilliam too.

I've heard William jump and utter too 

as he leaves the house.

All kidding aside, when Phil is replaced in December with Christmas lights, 

I might cry a little bit.

He is a pretty cool Scarecrow.

Where has Carrie been this entire time?

Ah...working on her research paper.

Now for the finishing touch.

Would you like to go inside and see what that is?

Grandma thinks of everything!

Sorry Phil.

"No cupcakes for you!"

(Said with the Soup Nazi accent.)

Judy, sometimes events and days go by so quickly that I don't say how thankful I am that you are my kids' Grandma...and my Mother-in-Law (that sounds so cold...you truly have become a Mom to me).  Thank you for making memories with us and for loving us so much.  

God blessed me with you.

Enjoying Grandma and her creativity,

31 Days of Saying, "Yes!"...Day 3

31 Days Challenge

Saying, "Yes!" to a Starbucks coffee with my daughter.

Saying, "No" to extra get-ready time before church.

It's about time that I say "Yes" to Carrie.

She asks me almost every week if she can buy me a Starbucks on the way to church, but every week, I tell her 

"No. There's just not enough time."

This week, because of this challenge, I thought twice.

And here's what's funny.

I thought that I really needed those extra 

"coffee minutes" to get ready for church.

But I don't.

I realized something that I think I already knew.  

I'm a procrastinator.  

Big time.

Another coin with two sides...I think that I don't have time for something, but in reality, I am deciding to give that time to something else.

It's all about choices.

Why is this just now making sense to me?

Here's my pretty girl with her Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

And here's a picture of my pretty Salted Caramel Mocha.

Yummy!

And this has nothing to do with saying "Yes" except that I stopped in the middle of the road to take this picture on the way home from dropping Carrie off at church.

I'm a sucker for farm scenery.

Breathtaking...

Saying, "Yes!" to driving the speed limit and paying attention to my gas light.

Saying, "No" to getting pulled over for speeding and running out of gas.

Not only did I have time to stop for a coffee with my daughter, but I also had time to drive the speed limit and stop for gas!  

AND...I even had time to clean up 

a couple of card tables that I had forgotten that I had promised to take to church later that morning.

Saying, "Yes!" to eating out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Saying, "No" to our budget.

What's a budget?

I don't know.

Normally, we don't go out to eat after church because of the expense, but today we all decided that it would be a good thing.

And it was.

Matthew practiced his snapping while we waited for our drinks.

 Josh caught us up on what he learned in Sunday School.

And on what hand Luke Skywalker lost in the fifth Star Wars.

We all enjoyed our time out together.

I even got to enjoy watching the littles share their dinners.

I have been realizing these past few days just how many "Yes" and "No" moments there are in a day.

Hundreds!

Enjoying more intentional living,