It's Official--House For Sale

It's official. The Sunnydale House is now for sale. You can find the listing here, on Zillow. It has been loved for 15 years. The first year by Mikie as he built it and then the last 14 years by all of us. It's just a little bit hard to pack up and move to a new place. We know that the family who moves in next will have as much fun in that house as we have.

It's a great place for...
Neighbors,
Fun,
Riding bikes in the street,
Running and Walking,
Making S'mores,
Snow sledding,
Raising animals,
Raising children,
Making memories.

I thought it only fitting to document some of our favorite times over the years. I wish I had access to all of my favorite pics but for now here are a few. Please don't judge the quality of these photos. Some are mine, some are the kids, some from friends, some are just when life happens, a few are by Wendy Ivens Photography. 

Tennessee Weekend of Prayer--August 1st and 2nd

As our students head back to school, Governor Haslam has declared the first weekend in August to be Weekend of Prayer Over Students. I have organized a Facebook page, Weekend of Prayer for our county schools. Please join us no matter where your school is and pray this weekend.

For those that will be prayer walking, I have used several sources to create a list of things to pray for as well as a prayer that you can use. I'm not very good with inserting documents so I think the easiest way will be to either read it from your mobile device or copy and paste it into a Word document and print. If you need, I can email it to you, just comment below with your email address. You can also find it on the Facebook page here Weekend of Prayer.


Thank you for putting our schools first this weekend. Of course these are great ideas to pray everyday for our schools.

Suggested Prayers:

For Students:

*Their Faith--That every student will come to know Christ, early and deeply and discover his/her value in Christ, his/her particular function in the body of Chris and most of all, develop a passionate love for the Lord and others.

*John 13:34

*Their Worth--That our students know they are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10

*Students will be respectful, kind and courteous to teachers, staff and peers.

*A desire to learn and disciplined in preparation (be on time, homework completed, etc.)

*Godly wisdom

*Spiritual guidance and direction of each student. 

*Purity

*Friendships and connections

*Hedge of protection from:

*peer pressure

*bullying, fighting, unrest

*drugs, alcohol, smoking, sex, pornography

*media

*insecurity

*gossip and misunderstandings

*injuries

*sickness

*emotional issues

For Teachers and Administration:

*Unity within the staff.

*Confidence in teaching, knowledge, leadership skills and wisdom.

*Godly wisdom and humility. 

*Passion to light the path of their class.  “Show me your ways, O Lord, Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God, my Savior.” Psalm 25:4-5

*A heart of prayer for their students.

*A hedge of protection for health and faith, for their marriage and family.

*Relief from excessive stress and patience. 

For Families:

*Families in this neighborhood.

*Employment

*Financial wisdom

*Peace and joy in parenting

*Parent involvement at school.

*Family time with God.

Prayer for Our School

Lord God, we thank you for the opportunity to begin the 2015-2016 school year, and we ask that you bless the faculty, the students and families of __________ (your school). We pray that you will guide us in all ways and that we will seek your will in everyting that we do.

As we walk around the grounds of __________school, Lord, may you bless the land and put a hedge of protection around it. Bless this school and all who pass through its halls of learning. May its teachers be filled with love and skilled in imparting true knowledge. May its students be open-minded and their learning full of joy and eagerness. May this school always be a safe, fun, loving place for these children. A school of wisdom, truth and good will toward all, helping to build up our community and your kindom of justice, love and peace. 

Lord, bless and protect the children of _____________school. Thank you for the gift of our children. They are precious in Your sight, for You were once a child. You know the many temptations and peer pressures that come to our young people everyday. Shield them O Lord and guide them. Help them find godly friends who will support, encourage and uphold them to Christian faith. 

Bless our teachers with true wisdom and may they teach not only academic instructions, but proper morals and love of God and higher authority. As they open their mouths to relay knowledge and wisdom, may their words be filled with inspiration and encouragement, that our students will be strenghtened to use their knowledge in developing their talents and abiliteis to make a difference for the betterment of this world. 

Show us parents, teachers and students a special measure of Your grace, lead us in the right paths. Help us not to lean in our own undestanding, but in all our ways, may we acknowledge You. Give us all true wisdom which finds it joy in You. Dear Lord, as our Teacher, help us to remember that you are the beginning of wisdom. May there be more prayerful parents, teachers and students who will stand up for You. May we cling to the truth and may our lights shine so brightly that the world of learning may be reminded that knowledge is fleeting, but Godly wisdom is eternal.

Thank you, O Lord of wisdom, our Sovereign and Mighty God, who shows us the Way, The Truth and the Life through Jesus Christ, Our Savior. Continue to teach us our ways, bless our growth in grace and give us deeper understanding of Your good and gracious will. To the Greatest Teacher who ever lived, Our Savior and Friend Jesus, may Your will be done according to your promises. Amen.

Summer Photo Fun

I've not taken my Canon T2i camera with me this summer when we have traveled. I've just used my iPhone for pictures. Wendy and I still have several weddings to photograph this year and I want to give it and my back a break. These are some of my favorite everyday shots from my iPhone that the kids and I really like. What are you using for summer photography?

Looked for this baby for days to take to Washington D.C. found the day we got back.
I'll post the D.C. trip a little later.  

Me and my Daddy--Father's Day!

Julia's wedding and the only one here that I did use my Canon for.
 I've know Julia since she was little and she was one of my first piano students.
 You can check out Wendy Ivens Photography here for all your photography needs.

We bought a selfie stick in Nashvegas! We were there for the National Beta Convention.

Nashville Downtown

You got to practice.

Love how they work together to figure out the pattern of the subway tile I wanted for the parlor fireplace.
Find out more about our farmhouse remodel here.

This girl celebrated her 9th birthday with ramen noodles for breakfast in bed.
Yes, it's a number four, all the other candles have moved already. 

Sisters! They look so grown up.

A wedding I got to attend and not work. It was held at the beautiful Storybrook Farm.
Can't believe I got him to take a picture.

Our good friends and awesome teachers.  Becky has taught the three youngest.
 Josh had Mattie last year and will eventually have the other three. Many wishes for Happy EverAfter. 

2014 Year in Review

At the beginning of the year, I decided that my "word" for 2014 was live. You can check that post out here at 2014--My Word of the Year. If you're wondering, I know most of you aren't, how my year of living turned out read on. Part of the following post was my game plan for 2014 the bold sentences that follow each goal tell how things turned out.

In January 2014, this is how I described my life... Um, boring. It's more like the antonyms, deactive, ineffective, asleep, stagnant, unproductive. But what can I do in 2014 to make live look like it's true meaning?

Sundays--

God, Family, Friends, FUN--No Internet, no phone except in case of emergency and I will decide whether your emergency is my emergency too. Most Sundays I did pretty well with no Internet. Although, I did edit and post pictures to Facebook instead of napping on many of those Sundays. 

Everyday--

Hubby and Kids and family first after God. They are my life. More time with them. I often put other people's needs or things I think need to be done before my family. I'm not apologizing for telling people no. Look people in the eye when I talk to them, especially my kids, in the same room, not from across the house. I even miss out on family time with parents, siblings and our niece and nephews because I'm busy doing something someone else thinks I should have or make time for.

I'm not saying I won't do things to help people. But I will pray and seek God's will and take into consideration my families thoughts and needs before I commit. I did much better with the kids. Mikie is still working on the remodel and I didn't do so great in the time with Mikie goal. the remodel is almost finished and this is still one of my goals for 2015, strengthing our marriage. 

Let Go--

I made my own planner/journal in December. I know God was preparing me to live as I worked on it. It has a calendar for each month, but no hourly schedule. It's more of a journal to record what we do each day after it's done. I want to remember these times, but I'm not going to be tied to a schedule, or to journaling everyday. Live in the moment. Even behind my camera I can live and the kids and I can record our year of memories in our Project Life Book. Well, no Project Life Book even started in 2014. I do have a cart full of photos ready to print, most from my phone. One for each day of the year to go in the journal.

Simplify--

Schedules, basketball ends next week. Other than Mattie running track and field sports are done until next basketball season. The kids are pretty athletic, but our lives aren't going to be run by sports. We hope to move this summer. A big yard sale will follow. Mikie spends every day off remodeling, the kids and I fill our off days with things that don't always help our family or fit into our family mission statement. Still working on this one and that's all I'll say about that. 

Social Media--

None on Sunday and limited time the rest of the week. I have some sponsored posts for the blog coming up. Time spent on social media needs to honor God and help my blog, not my nose problem. I do this one pretty well during the school year, not so well during breaks. 

Health--

I can't live if I'm not alive. Healthier eating, more exercise, less crap, less stress. In the words of Dave Ramsey, "Live like no one else, so that later you can live like no one else." I know he is talking about budgeting, which we already do, but it applies to my whole life. This is a goal every year. 

So in 2014, I will live, live for God, live for now, love for the future, live for my family, friends and fun. Live like there's no tomorrow. Live with no regrets. I did all of those things in 2014 plus so much more. 

What's your word?

Disclaimer: I didn't take time from my family to post this. I'm enjoying a second sick day this week, thanks to strep and a fever. So other than sleep, no one was neglected.

Look for my year in review in pictures and my 2015 goals coming soon.

Saying goodbye to the old and looking forward to the new!