kid pics - feel free to scroll past :)

At the playground...

On the lake...
On the trail...

Let's go for a walk...




Miss Grump

Echo!...

Playing together...

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Take a fresh look at your To-Do list. (and I will mine!)

Do you feel so busy that you can barely catch your breath before the next round of activities begins? I have been following the journey of a young woman who has bravely shared her experiences as she is 'waiting to die', in her words. Our friend Tim shared this video on Facebook a while back (thanks Tim!). I encourage you to watch it after you read this post by Rachel... To- Do List - and to remember her in prayer as you rush around trying to get your to-do lists checked off.

Edit: As I was looking at Rachel's site today 7/7 - a box popped up informing us that Rachel's wait ended on July 2nd. Her testimony endures.

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The Summer of the Sparkling House...HELP!!!

We have been living in our cozy little Teahouse for 13 years now. The 10 months before we moved in was a process of complete gutting and remodel of the original house and putting on an addition. We don't have a huge house or even a large house by many standards. It's a modest 3-bed/2-bath house which seemeed much bigger before we had kiddos!

I am not much of a housekeeper - there, I said it! I would like to be but I fall woefully short. I always have a load or two or eight of laundry to do, dishes in the sink or drainer to take care of, floors to sweep clean of all the dog hair, carpets to vacuum... you get the idea.

I've begun the process of cleaning the basement and am about 3/4 finished. The part that is not done is Al's tool bench, fishing gear storage, etc. I can't really do anything with that. So, now I must maintain and move upward to the rest of the house.

The challenge for me this summer is to make my house sparkling clean - from the floors, cabinets (inside & out), closets, baseboards, walls, underbeds, corners and ceilings! This is something I hope to accomplish while I take care of my kiddos along with two other sweet girls. On top of that, we have 3 dogs (1 is a puppy!), 2 cats, and me! We have limited storage and literally piles of books everywhere. I'm going to have to look past the things I can't control and cheerfully take care of the rest. I've got a handle on the clutter - for the most part.

Why should you care? Well, you don't have to, but I want some advice and tips! When I was at the church making the copies of the bulletin last week, I saw that Barb had her youngest sweet girl cleaning the scuffs of the floor with a magic eraser. Well let me just say that I tried it on my floor and the scuffs that I assumed were just part of the design were gone!!! Thanks, Barb! I'll return your little girl soon! (haha) So you all have favorite cleaning tips & products. Help a sister out!

First - any ideas for cleaning my white laminate kitchen cabinets? I've tried soap/water, scrubbers, goo-gone, and even the magic eraser. It's not too bad, but it could be cleaner...

I'll come up with more questions later.

PS - for any Seinfeld fans, the title is an homage to ...'The summer of George!'

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