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This weekend was a super fun weekend…not a whole lot going on and just enjoyed some quality family time. Yesterday we went and looked at tent trailers and dreamed for someday when we will get one for our family! Taylin thought they were so fun to look at and demanded that she be the first one in EVERY single one of them!! We did some yard work , enjoyed a family dinner at PF Changs, feed the ducks (which is a misdemeanor  BTW!!!) and had fun playing at a new little park we just found in our neighborhood.

Tonight Tom was helping with youth group at church so Tay and I had a nice low key night. We starting things off with a nice bike ride on our street

Then she played in the sprinkler – which really meant she tried to drink the water!!

We topped the night off with a bowl of ice cream with sprinkle and an episode of Thomas the Train…I love the 1:1 time I get with Tay and am very grateful for a “hotish” summer weekend in Seattle. It’s nice to have a break from the rain and spend some quality time with the family.

Yesterday Tom and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary…it’s amazing how time flies. I feel like we have done so much in 5 years and have grown so much in 5 years. 

We have lived in 4 different houses
Gone to Hawaii, Mexico, California, Honduras and many fun camping trips
We bought our first house 🙂 
Had an amazing daughter 🙂
And have learned so much about each other!

We have gone from teenagers, to adults, to a family! Love you babe and I’m so excited to see what the next 5 years will bring us!

Tonight while I was cooking dinner Tay started walking down the hall and said, “Mom, I’m going to play in your room.” I said, “What are you going to to do in my room??” and in a very matter of fact voice she said “jump on your bed”

So she jumped

And jumped

Then the dog joined her…and I kicked her (the dog) off!!

What a hard life my two-year old lives sometimes…I love watching the little things in life that bring her so much joy!!

Then she decided to pretend she was asleep but I think she was tired from all the jumping…

she is such a sweetie and bring so much joy to our house!

 

This weekend was crazy busy but I still had a little time to do some yard work and powerwash our gutters and back patio. Once we are done I will post some pictures but here is a peak into what the back patio used to look like.

This was what it looked like when we moved in (the house had been vacant for 6 months)

This was last summer – we took apart the old patio – washed and reused the pavers.

 Stay tuned for updated pictures today or tomorrow!

So it’s been a couple of months since I returned from Honduras and am still reflecting on the trip. I know we did a lot there but I feel like there is still so much more to do. My sister-in-law Kathy ask us to write about our experience so we can share it with people who are considering a trip in the future. I thought I’d share it here with you guys as well.

Going on a missions trip is probably one of the best things you can do – you get to help someone in need and experience a different part of the world. Here is what I wrote about my trip…enjoy…

Leaving for Roatan I expected to do construction the whole time I was there. God had different plans and I had the opportunity to do quite a few different things and enjoyed every minute! The first thing I did was to help work on Nelly’s house.  I got to help pound nails, which is WAY hard, and frame some of her interior walls. We also shoveled buckets of rock that we used to make the walkway to her house more secure. In addition to working on Nelly’s house I got the opportunity to paint a bathroom at a local church. This turned out to be really fun and the church was so grateful for the few hours we spent. One of the other things I go to do was tutor some local kids. Last year I graduated and have yet to be able to use my degree. It was really fun to see I can use the tools I learned in school for the glory of God. I learned these things for a reason and even if I don’t get to use them on a regular basis God has a plan and he knows what I’m supposed to do with that knowledge.

This trip was a reminder that God’s plans are not always my plans! I live my life very planned out and I went into this trip expecting to work with my husband daily and do construction everyday both of which I was totally wrong on! I only worked one day with my husband and construction work was the thing I spent the least amount of time on! The trip also reminded me that I have so much! Often living in America it’s easy to get caught up in wanting bigger and better things. Going on this trip and seeing the conditions that people live in reminded me just how good we have it and how blessed we truly are.

I would recommend a trip like to everyone at least once in their life and annually if you can do it. The trips are fun, you get to connect with great people around the world and build awesome friendships. And most of all you get to change the life of someone forever! Think about it…you take a week out of your life and change someone’s life FOREVER!! It’s an amazing experience that you will never forget and if you’re worried about the money, don’t be, I have been on seven mission trips and God has provided for each and every one of them!

Here are a few pictures from the trip

Photo credit  CYE Photography

Our whole team – we ended up working on 3 different houses since we had such a big team!

My husband and I painting the church bathroom – painting cement walls is really time-consuming!!

My hansom hubby working hard on the bathroom!

The finished project (they picked the color…not us!!)

Photo courtesy of CYE Photography

A typical house in Roatan, Honduras  

Proof that I worked just as hard as the boys!! And I have so much respect for my dad now (he’s a carpenter!!)

Hard workin mama’s!!

 The “finished” interior – Also this is her Kitchen – notice EVERYTHING is missing!!

The walls don’t go to the ceiling – privacy may be an issue!!

My husband and i with Nelly – the proud owner of the home

The fished house we built

Me at the house dedication

Great new friendships were made!

An amazing young lady we met – she proves that your circumstances don’t define who you are

 

This is Tom he started/runs Dwellings – and is an amazing man!

It’s absolutly beautiful where we were!!

If you are interested in going and making an impact in someone’s life consider partnering with Dwellings. Dwellings is run but a great guy, Tom Hackett who has set out to change people live…one house at a time.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and hearing about my experience – if you’re not comfortable traveling overseas think about doing something in your local community. There are ton’s of great organizations to work with and I know you won’t regret it!

Welcome to my new blog!! I’m really excited to start a blog so I can post some of my crafty projects I’ve done, things I’ve learned, recipes I love and family pics etc. Please be patient as I learn more about blogging!! I’m just going to tell you know I’m not a great writer and I’m one of the worst spellers in the world!! So if your going to read my blog just expect crappy spelling!!

I hope you check it out and enjoy!