Life Lately...

1. Dallas and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. We enjoyed a wonderful time away!!

2. We had a stellar Memorial Day weekend. It was jam packed with fun. And of course we felt overwhelmed in gratitude as we thought about the meaning of the holiday.

3. I have a new, sweet as pie, nephew. Canaan Dean was born May 30. Praise the Lord!!!

4. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. Today was her mastectomy. Such a bummer. Yet so thankful for medical doctors, teams, technology, and the Greatest Physician of all.

I am completely drained. Between not being home much, to sooooo much excitement, to emotional exhaustion, I am feeling overwhelmed. The housework isn't caught up, my kids are showing signs of being totally out of routine, I am falling asleep on the couch in the evening.

I have pictures of all of the above and will be sharing soon! I also have a lot of things on my mind. I'll be sharing that too.

Until then...good night.

For Your Laughing Pleasure...

First story:
A couple weeks ago Dallas put in a whopping 91 hours. That is a lot of working, my friends. As you can imagine, he was beyond tired. He got home in the dark and left in the dark. Keep all of those details in mind.

He called me one afternoon:
"Marissa, you aren't going to believe this."
"What?" I immediately started thinking the worse. A tired husband in a tractor.
"My lips have been so chapped, so this morning when I was leaving I grabbed a tube of chapstick. I have been using it all morning. But just now, when I was putting it on, I looked down and saw the words: for cracked nipples."
I seriously busted a gut. He had grabbed my Lansinoh cream in a to go, travel size, tube...not chapstick.
He was mortified. Of course it worked really well, but a man using nipple cream? You can about imagine his reaction.

Second story:
Maleah was picking her nose yesterday. I told her to stop.
Her response was, "But Mom, I'm getting a treasure."
Lovely, Maleah. And where in the world did you get that from?

Women of Faith

The last Tuesday morning we had bible study, they drew for free women of faith tickets. Angela (my dear friend) and I looked at each other with this "Pleeez" in our eyes. Unfortunately, we didn't win! However, a few days later, I caught wind that the winner wasn't able to go. I rounded up those tickets so fast. Boy am I ever thankful I did...

1. You aren't good enough! You never will be. But it's ok. You are not the good news. HE IS. This was the thing that stuck out to me the most. As women, we try to be the best wife, mom, daughter, friend, skinniest, prettiest, make sure we are doing every job just as it ought to be done, on and on. We forget that the "standard" was born in a manger! Jesus Christ, who is absolute perfection, wasn't always on a throne! He was born in a dirty old stable. Enough of us trying to be in all our glory. We are NOT the good news. It is HIM. Let him be the one.

2. Peace is not the absence of trouble. It's the presence of Christ.

3. Wounds of a friend are better than kisses of the enemy.

4. Luci Swindoll got up on the platform and said: When you're 5 you want to be 10. When you are 10 you want to be 20. When you are 20 you want to be 30. When you are 30 you want to be 20. When it's summer, you're hot and ready for fall. When it's fall you are ready for snow. When it's winter you want the freshness of spring. On and On. Before we can be happy we want more or something else.

I loved this. Who isn't guilty of this? I think we can beat the dead horse over so many decisions. We can think, think, think. We over-analyze everything.

She was saying how we can speak across the world to people through amazing technology, but with that same technology we can be in the same room as someone and not even have a conversation.

Her entire point was: Enjoy life. Enjoy today.

While we have to be very intentional about things, stop stewing and simply enjoy. She mentioned, "People always want to know if we should enjoy the world or improve it." Her answer was, "When we enjoy it, we do improve it."

All that to say, in order to enjoy life, we MUST have Jesus Christ. There is no real enjoyment outside of Him. He makes everything work together for the good of those who put their trust in Him. And that is exactly why we have the freedom to enjoy every breath we take!

5. Sheila Walsh told an amazing story about a very dry season in her life with a lot of pain. During this time, she had an encounter with an angel. Never had she had one before, and she hasn't had one since. But at this time, in the corner of a mental hospital room, this angel came to her, handed her a stuffed little lamb, and said as he walked out, "Sheila, the shepherd knows where to find you."

A good shepherd never loses his sheep. It doesn't matter where we are or what we are going through. He knows exactly where we are, and He will find us there. His love isn't if we're right or wrong, happy or sad. His love is who He is.

6. We are promised an abundant life. It might be dry for a season. Today might seem like anything but a full life. But, there is a promised land. And His promises stand true. You can bet your bottom dollar on it.

7. Lastly, find your monkeys! We need connection! There was an incredibly smart man who spoke to us. He had his doctorate and many other letters behind his name, having studied the human brain, body, etc. in finding happiness. There was a study done with monkeys. The jest of the study was that two monkeys were better than one. The chemicals in the monkey's brain, etc. were better off when the second monkey was put in the cage.

The same goes for us. Find monkeys! Find true friends who love you for who you are. Find friends who give. Find friends who speak truth. The wounds of a friend are better than kisses of the enemy.

Research showed (and crazy how the science lined up perfectly with the Bible, huh...just joking. God's pretty cool like that. He already had it all worked out.).....
-Don't go to no connection. It's isolation. It may seem safe, because you aren't letting anyone in, but here you will find fear and hopelessness.
-Second corner some run to is a bad connection. It leaves you feeling bad, guilty, etc. but we have hope.
-Third corner is a seductive, good connection. This may be food, promotions in our job, success. It feels good, but it's not good for you. It produces destructive fruit and diminishing returns.
-Go to the fourth corner. This is a real connection. First, you must have a relationship with Christ. Next, relationship with other brothers and sisters. This is home base (temporarily). This is where you will find contentment, love, fulfillment, joy. When you feel the need to run back to isolation from being burned, go straight to the fourth corner - Jesus. There you will find your real monkeys.

One of the highlights of my weekend was hearing Angie Smith speak. She has an incredible story. I have read her blog for way too long. I'm pretty much convinced we're on a first name basis. Unfortunately, lots of other women at the conference felt the same way!

Selah and Mary Mary also provided incredible music, and the worship team was so amazing.

Combine words of truth (all the above), my favorite blogger, good music, and wonderful friend bonding time, and you have a delightful weekend. Oh, and the tickets were free. That makes everything better.

I encourage y'all to go next year. It's an incredible weekend. You can't help but come home completely rejuvenated and thankful for all the blessings. In every single speaker's life and story, the recurring theme I saw was: God has His hand on everyone and everything. He always works things out, in His perfect timing. There is a season for everything. But at the end of all the seasons is a life overflowing with His beautiful abundance.

Tulip Time

Rewind to last weekend. I am very behind in the blogging world, and am catching up this week! Hold tight!

First up: Tulip Time 2011.

Every year at tulip time I meet up with my college friends. It always seems someone is getting married or having a baby, so we throw in a shower and call it a great time! It's usually a crapshoot whether or not Dallas gets to come along. This year was a big fat no. I called up my mom the night before and invited her! We each had a long week without the men in our lives, so a day away sounded splendid.

The wonderful and beautiful Nana and spunky Layla enjoying the beautiful weather:

The weather was deceivingly HOT. The kids got pretty fried. It's bound to happen the first sunny day of the year.

We left first thing in the morning. To say we were all very excited is quite the understatement. Then to pull up and see Nana was going to get in the van with us brought it all up another level. We were ready for a spankin' good time!

First stop was West Market park. Vendors set up their cute little booths there and it's a fun place to glance through. The girls scored on some pillowcases they picked out with their name on (they are obsessed with them!) and I got a precious metal tulip for my landscape garden area.

My wonderful mother offered to keep the girls so I could go out to meet the college gals with just Charlie boy. She walked around the town with them, looked at the beautiful, perfectly opened tulips, then parked it for the parade where I would be back to meet them. All the while, Charlie and I headed to Bos Landen for some girl time.

Missing a couple girls, but here we are celebrating the pregnancy of Lori and the upcoming wedding of Jenn:

The parade was wonderful, as it always is. The floats are incredible, and all three kids absolutely loved watching! After the parade, we headed for home.

The highlight of the parade was Thomas the Train:

What a delightful day!

Only Layla...

Would go potty on this:

This is Maleah's barbie toilet for her doll house. It is teeny tiny. And yes, Layla squatted on Maleah's carpeted floor to potty on the toilet.

(wishing I had a picture to scale so you could see the size)

Spunky Layla, you always keep us hoppin'. We will have lots of fun stories to tell about you as you grow since you are always up to something. We wouldn't have near the amount of fun with you in our family!

Trouble.

Charlie is officially, totally and completely, on the prowl. The days of putting him in one spot, running downstairs to switch the laundry, and coming back to find him in the same place are over. While this is a fun discovery, and sweet milestone, it also comes with a lot of trouble!! For example...

He gets himself into lots of predicaments. This was right after I rescued him from being completely bent in half over the kitchen table leg. I guess he doesn't look too upset:


Here he is after he emptied every last diaper out of the basket. Once again, he has the look of, so what Momma?:


This moment came all too soon. I remember with each of the kids the day I walk into their bedrooms and find them staring right at me, standing up! He looks pretty proud:


And the last piece of "trouble" is Maleah with the camera. She's really into taking pictures lately. Pretty good photographer, don't ya think:


This week has gone remarkably well with Dallas working an in sane amount of hours. However, I can so tell it is Thursday and I am wearing down, as is he! Thankfully the week can't go on f-o-r-e-v-e-r, and Sunday will soon be here offering some relief for everybody!

It's teaching night. The kids are spending the evening with Nana. All parties involved are excited. And that equals success.

Fun with Friends.

What a wonderful day.
A day with this friend does a world of good for my heart:

Erin and Eli came at 8:30 this morning. When we get together, we get together. Why wait? They stayed until 4:30 and we relished every moment together. We enjoyed food, okay lots of food, and conversation with one another. Erin understands me in a unique way, we are able to talk about really important things or things that mean absolutely nothing, and I love her insight and life experiences she's had and shares with me.

It always helps when the cutie patooties love being together:

The amazing Papa gave tractor rides. The three rode at the same time. Erin and I sat in the van and chatted. It was perfect:

Who needs to go to school when you have these kind of field trips available? Again, what a great papa. And are they not the cutest little students:

A lot of hard work and play calls for some relaxation and a snack:

Maleah was nodding off sitting straight up at 5:00 tonight. Today was f-u-n.

I'm going to leave you with this:
Do they look alike? Not at all. Do they look incredibly happy? Absolutely. Do they look ever so grateful for one another? Certainly, they do.

I have loved, and learned so much, from walking with Erin through her journey to find her little boy. We were talking today about his life, his birth mom, where he would be right now. His life was literally saved when Jim and Erin went to Ethiopia to rescue him. What a gift. And, what a gift he has given everyone he meets. His spunky personality and bigger than life smile puts all the reservations behind. You can not look at this little boy and not thank God for his place within the Weimer family.

Are they aware they could have troubles? Of course! But guess what, so could my children! What middle-schooler doesn't go through "identity" issues (if that's what you call it). Life isn't guaranteed to be peachy for them, just because they did this grand, heroic act. But they did provide little Eli food, a home, family, life.

This picture of Eli with his momma shows that it works. It's a design only the Lord can orchestrate.

10 Things Never to Say to a Stay-at-Home Mom

1. When the kids are older, do you think you'll get a real job?

2. How June Cleaver of you!

3. Oh, so you don't work?

4. Since you have extra time on your hands, could you whip up a few dozen brownies for the bake sale tomorrow?

5. All day with your kids? I can't even imagine.

6. I'm jealous. I wish my husband were rich so I wouldn't have to work either.

7. What do you do all day, anyway?

8. I'm sure you're not the only one who's ever wasted money on a college degree.

9. That explains why your son is so clingy!

10. Weird. I assumed your house would be superclean.

- Candy Kirby of thelaughingstork.com, with help from her Twitter followers and friends



Took this from my friend's blog. I just love it.

Charlie's New Face.

This makes me smile.