Ten on Tuesday

1.  My goal for the summer is to wear the kids out as much as possible.  Since it has been 99 degrees everyday since school let out, that means to the pool we go.  Things are just better at the pool.  They are exercising without knowing it and will do it for hours.  My people tend to not be shy at the pool and are happy to hook up with a new friend for the day.  Packy is swimming great and will jump off the side and swim over to the steps about a hundred times.  He is the only one who still wants me to get in the pool so he can swim to me.  He will swim to me and back to the side about a hundred times.  See why we are worn out at the end of the day? 
2.  I have been thinking about contentment lately.  Talked about it with a few people. Paul says in Philippians 4:11, " I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." I love that he learned to be content.  It's a process.  We  aren't automatically content.  I have had the wants for most of my life.  Shoes, cars, jewelry, clothes, and whatever else I came across,  I wanted.  Today I am grateful for what I have and most of the time, content.  Practically this is what I have learned.  If I don't see it, I don't want it.  How many times have you walked in to a store to buy something you need and then see something you didn't know you needed, but now you have to have it?  I don't go to stores very often.  Even if it's an awesome sale.  I also get absolutely no catalogs (or magazines that are really catalogs) in the mail.  I have found that my kid's clothes are fine until I look at the Mini Boden catalog at my mom's house and then I feel like everyone needs new clothes. I don't look at the pictures of a store's new inventory on Facebook or get sale alerts on my email.  If I need some new shoes, I know Ashley will have some at Head over Heels, but I don't need them just because she got some super cute new ones in today. Out of sight, out of my wanting mind. 
3.  This helps me to appreciate what God has blessed me with.  I might have an old van with a wonky window but it gets me where I need to go.  I am a bad driver and run in to things so I don't think a newer car would even be a good idea for me at this point.  I try not to have an "I deserve" attitude because I don't deserve anything.  Everything I have was given to me by my heavenly Father and I want to be appreciative for each blessing.  If I got what I deserve, I would be living in the gutter, if living at all.  I think He wants me to be content, because it shows Him that He is enough.  I don't want Him plus all of the Earthly things He can pile in to my garage.  Just Him.  He is enough for me today.
4.  Don't get me wrong.  I like the things He has blessed me with.  I just have to keep learning to be content, whatever the circumstances.
5.  Packy went to a birthday party today for one his very good friends.  They had a blow up waterslide.  I think he went down the slide no less than 100 times over 2 hours. I am not kidding.  He did take a break for cake and ice cream but that was it.  He did not stop until his lips turned blue, not from cake.  Wear them out.  Every day of summer vacation.  Thank you Spencer!

6.  I did not start eating eggs until a few weeks ago.  When I was young my mom would try to make me eat them and I would refuse.  One day I was sitting at the table, after everyone else had long finished eating and I was still holding out on my eggs, when my grandfather came over.  I told him I did not want to eat my eggs and he said, "Why don't you want to eat them? They are only scrambled birds." That was it.  I was grossed out and did not revisit eggs until I was 37.  I told my best friend what my grandfather told me and she still does not eat eggs to this day.

7.  Egg muffins are the new breakfast stars at our house.  There are a ton of recipes but I like to make them  with whatever I have in the fridge.  I whisk together some eggs, grease my muffin pan, put whatever leftover veggies, sausage, and cheese I have in the muffin holes, pour the eggs on top and then bake for 15 minutes.  This helps save time in the morning and I can make different varieties for each person who eats eggs in our house. 

8.  Now that I have a DVR and a new TV, I swear I watch less television.  The only thing I care about watching is So You Think You Can Dance? because I do think I can dance.  It may not be good enough for Nigel,  but it makes me happy to shake around the house.  I really like Kat Deely.  She's so tall. 

9.  Packy and his dad have a tradition of going to the dunk (dump) on Saturday.  This past week they had to go because we had a lot of poison naughty (Ivy) that they had to get rid of.  I have to threaten Emory if she corrects his speech.  Don't teach him the right way to say it!  Let my baby stay a baby as long as he can.  And if that is wrong, I don't care. 

10.  Emory tries to say that she doesn't like for me to take her picture, but I know that she does. 

*Love this article about Living a Good Story in the Chaos.

*And this one about Becoming a Better Mother.

*And this one on Gratitude:the alternative to grumbling.