Riverbend Ramblings

Curly Girl turned 11 today. I love you, my Hope!

Labels: Special Days, The Kiddos

Happy Friday! Our family is up early getting ready for a fun-filled day trip, but I'm going to make you wait to find out where we're going. Let's just say that we'll probably be standing in long lines a good part of the day.

Here are five of my faves from this week:

1. Bible preaching. Several great messages were preached during our church's fall Bible conference Sunday through Wednesday. I'm still pondering thoughts from a couple in particular. You know, we really waste so much time on the trivial things in life. It was good for me to sit in church four nights in a row and meditate on God's word.

2. Saving money. Thanks to pleasant temperatures so far this month, I think we've only had to run the a/c one day. That makes a HUGE difference in our electric bill.

3. Smart kiddos. All four of the kids made the 1st quarter Honor Roll at school. The girls all made straight A's, and Case made all A's & B's. They have all worked hard, and I haven't had to hound them.

4. Clean carpet. We've lived in our house for four years, and we've never had the carpets steam cleaned. The carpet is very light colored, so you can imagine what it looks like with six people and a dog tracking all over it. After doing a ton of research and waiting until I had a 30% off coupon, I purchased heavy duty carpet cleaner. After cleaning a couple of the worst areas, the carpet looks brand new. Seriously. The doggie stains are completely gone. Now I'm smiling when I look at the floor. The carpet cleaner was a big investment, but a small one compared to installing new carpet.

5. Early morning views. I took this picture when I walked outside to get the newspaper. I just stood there for a few minutes admiring the Creator's creation.


If you would like to share your favorites from the past week, you can link up here.

Labels: Favorite Things

I've had a good week, in spite of being a bit under the weather with a head cold. Some things I'm thankful for...

1. A girls' night out. The girls and I enjoyed watching the Imperial Symphony Orchestra perform. The guest pianist was a 19-year-old Julliard student and the son of a man who has judged some of the girls' piano competitions. This event has been on the calendar for a few months, but I didn't get advanced tickets because I wasn't sure whether or not we'd be able to go. Thankfully, the concert wasn't sold out. Students received free admission, so I was the only one who needed a ticket. I asked for the least expensive seat, which ended up being on the very front row in front of the stage. It wasn't the best view of the orchestra, but we were right up close to watch the pianist's hands as they flew across the keys playing Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16. We had so much fun! Check out our view from the "cheap seats".



2. Giving my voice on election day. It's good to know that my vote counted, even if the national election didn't turn out to my liking. Thankfully, no matter what, God is still in control.


3. Good friends who are good encouragers. I received some uplifting emails and texts this week from a couple of my friends just when I needed a little pick-me-up.

Labels: Favorite Things