Enjoying The Little Things

Lately things have been crazy here at the Rickard household.  Matt's parents visited over the 4th of July weekend.  While they were here, they were going to keep the kids so Matt and I could go out on a date ALONE (would be the first time in over three months).  We weren't even a mile down the road when the brakes in Matt's car went out.  It was a very scary thing, but I am thankful for the angels that were protecting us because we drove straight through two intersections.  So the car ended up in the shop...again.  That was on July 6th.  The following Sunday after church, we were backing out of our parking spot and the van would not shift into drive.  Matt ended up having to drive it like a stick shift to get us home.  Thank God we made it safely.  He drove it to work like that a few days until we got the car back from the shop since he needed a way to get to work.  We got the car back last Wednesday and now the van is at the shop waiting to be looked at.  We are praying it is a cheap fix because we can NOT afford a huge repair bill.  We know God will provide, He has always seen us through.  But I'm not lying, sometimes it gets scary wondering where the money to pay for some things is going to come from.  (That's just me being honest.)  So my parents cam this past weekend and stayed with us for five days (more on that later).  Matt gets home from work this past Monday, and the brakes were acting funny.  Brake lines were just repaired, so what could it be?  Come to find out they didn't tighten the bolts very well (on the brake line AND the tires) so brake fluid leaked out all over.  That could have caused a serious accident.  Thankful for God's protection, and that Matt is very knowledgeable when it comes to fixing things.  He got everything all tightened up and the brake fluid refilled.  Thankfully Mom and Dad were here in case he would have needed to borrow their car for the day work.

Since the van was in the shop, there was no way we could (legally) squeeze all six of us in the car.  So Matt took the kids to church Wednesday night so I could enjoy a little quiet time.  It was so nice to catch up on some housework and just take some time for myself and talk with God.  Here's a picture of the evening sky from my deck.

Earlier last week, I was sitting outside watching the kids play while Matt watched the car.  I love seeing their carefree spirit and excitement for life.  I've been so busy that I sometimes forget to enjoy the little things in life, like the excitement of playing in puddles and racing your bike around the driveway.

The kids have two weeks of school under their belts so far.  We've gotten into a great routine and our days have been going very smoothly.  Here are some of the things the little ones have been working on.

E is for elephant

Aiden made a book of the 7 days of creation for his art project.

Claire is in love with Do-A-Dot markers.  

I also finished a book I've been reading for the past three months called Experiencing God At Home.  It was a really good book full of lots of information.  I will write a review on it soon.  Next on my reading list is No More Perfect Kids by Jill Savage and Kathy Koch.  I can't wait to read that one.  

Yesterday morning while my parents were still here, we found a little kitten outside.  So the kids have adopted the poor thing and named him Mittens.  We aren't sure, but think he is close to four weeks old.  

My parents left to go back to Ohio this morning and took the two oldest kids back with them since we are going back up in a week.  It's odd having only two kids at home, but I am taking advantage of their nap time to catch up on some things.  

Well, I think that pretty much sums up the past couple weeks.  Hope you take the time to enjoy the little things, for they are what matter most.  :)

Back To School

We finished our first day back to school a little while ago- after a very rocky start.  I think part of it was the kids staying up til 10:30 last night.  I didn't want to put them to bed too early since their grandparents were still here.  So they all woke up quite a bit cranky.  After a few tears, we got into our groove and they were sad when school time was over.  Evelyn had the nerve to tell me she was bored when school was done.  Sorry dear, we can't have school ALL day!  The other big struggle was trying to arrange the schedule so no one was sitting and waiting for their turn.  Teaching four kids in four different grade levels is hard!  But once we got into the groove of things, the rest of the day went smoothly.  Mostly everyone is pumped for tomorrow.  If History and Science were all Jacob had to learn, he'd be more excited too.  He's very eager to work on those subjects this year.  Praying that with a few more hours of sleep tonight, that tomorrow will flow a little more smoothly for all of us.

Here are a few back to school pics from this morning: