Silver Lining

I'm back from a GREAT family vacation!

We went to Barkley Lake, Ky.


Here are a few pictures

view from our dock

The kids taking pictures of themselves

kids posing, lol

We rented a beautiful log house on the lake and a boat for a week.

We fished, tubed and just played in the water all week long.

Levi and the Carp that jumped in the boat!

Bekah and her cute self:)

Levi and his tiny fish

Gram's and the kids! They LOVE her so much!

Grandma and Pa 

Kainah enjoying Lake life!

Hannah showing some love:)

Hannah relaxing on the boat

We also went to see the buffalo and Elk roam:)
We helped out a family who's boat had broke down.

I loved that we could show the kids that even though we were low on gas, 

used up our last hour of play time on the lake for the evening,and did this with a heart 

of only helping...not expecting or wanting anything in return...that this is

what we were suppose to do...and do it gladly.

After that night we had a few misfortunes:(

In my private thoughts I thought...really? Come on!

Our misfortunes started with our tube missing. then Hannah's favorite glasses

flew off her head into the lake, and then the biggie...

MY PHONE:( 

I had been so careful with it the whole trip and on the last day.

I bent down to wet a towel for someone and it fell out of my pocket:(((((

The kids tried to find it...nice..but no luck.

Funny how much we as a family use my phone...especially on a trip.

We survived without it.

I wasn't going to jump into a high priced phone just to get one.

I knew I might have better luck back home and I did:)

After our week at the Lake we drove up to Our home town to visit family and friends.

Our first home.
We put in the up stairs, the front deck, the sliding, and so much more.
Everyone has a starter home...this was ours.

Inside the labyrinth 

A cool part was that the county fair was going on at the same time so it 

gave the kids something to do with their friends.

It was great to see everyone but I knew my home was no longer there.

Have you ever been to a place that used feel like home but now 

feels like a strange familiar yet foreign land?

A place that, for unknown reasons, brings anxiety to you in ways you can't 

explain but makes you just want to get far away from.

This heart full of unknown pain has beauty and love all around...

and it tries to focus on that.

I had a headache most of the time I was in Evansville and stayed on my 

whopper pain killers. I don't like that I have to take those but when the pain 

won't go, that's all I have.

We got home and I got into my crazy life that I love!

Shopping to fill the frig and for a phone.

Church and then hours of computer work to get certified for the 

fall Football and Cheer season.

Today we start it off with 

Well check ups, Volleyball meetings, and tumblings class.

Time to spend with each one of my kids about the up coming year and 

about what's happening now is super important to me.  

So, when I look at my crazy schedule I take a breath and think...then I 

remember how thankful I am that I have the kind of relationship with 

my kids that I can just plop on their bed and say 

"what's up with you?" and this will bring about a conversation:)

How thankful I am for my kids!

Thankful, too, that I homeschool...

to be able to fit a little bit more time to talk with my treasures!

Almost home!
I decided to hang out in the back to see how it felt.
Man oh man, they have it good back there!