I am blessed...

A few weeks ago, I heard a brief comment from a speaker at our church who has very spiritually-minded and awesome children that he has them speak a few things over themselves every morning. It touched me deeply and I decided to do the same. So I sat down and asked the Holy Spirit to help me make a list of things I want my kids to know about themselves. I draw on these things then all day long, when they need correction or not, to remind them who and how awesome God made them!


I am blessed.
I am happy.
I am nice and fun to be around.
I am a helper.
I am anointed.
I am rich.
I am good-looking.
I will look for the greatest possible good that could happen in me and in those around me.
My words are pleasant and bring life.
My tongue is used to encourage and lift up.
Rebellion, deceit and dishonor are far from me and will not influence me.
I will call on the powerful Name of Jesus to give me authority and power in all situations.
God's peace will be where I walk and His joy is what I proclaim!

grandpa's 90th birthday bash!

This year my grandpa turned 90! (And my grandma is right behind him.) In true Houseworth-family tradition, we had a good excuse to all get together and party! We had fun seeing cousins and aunts and uncles from Portland to Colorado to New Jersey and Texas, of course. Here are a few pics of our few days of celebrating, but there are definitely more on facebook, if you're interested.

We loved seeing each other and honoring grandpa, but some of the coolest part was a table full of memorabilia from his days in the Air Force. He was a Lt. Col. and flew Fighters. They had his uniform, all of his medals, log books dating back to the 40s, drawings, pictures, and so much more! What wonderful history!

(The great-grandkids showing off their El Fenix tatoos.)

slowing down

I had a major revelation this week. I tend to overcommit myself. It's not anyone's fault, but my own. I have so many exciting things I want to do, but I just don't have the time or the energy to do them!

Among the things I want to do and have semi-committed myself to doing in the past couple of months include:
-training for and running a 5K
-eating "clean" as much as possible
-teaching summer voice lessons
-painting, remodeling, updating our new house
-getting back into a 5-day-a-week gym routine
-trying to make more money having a part-time job
-playing league tennis
-worship leading as much as possible

and these are on top of the housewife/mommy/nurse/housekeeper roles that I'm already fulfilling (and take top priority).

If I could, there are even more things I would add in a second to my list of desires. Traveling, reading, blogging, late night get-togethers with friends, and more would fill my time completely up! But the truth is, even with trying to do all of these things, I'm finding I'm more and more unhappy doing the things I love. I'm starting to cut things down. Don't let me disappoint you if I've committed to do something for or with you. I would LOVE to, but it's just going to have to wait.

Maybe when the kids are all in school and I have more time during the day to play. Maybe then I can take up tennis again. Or every year pick one or two things on my list to delve into. Or maybe when the kids leave for college. We'll see.

But one thing I know. My life looks a lot better when it's not filled to the brim with STUFF to do. Even stuff I love to do. Sure, there are things we need to get done, like the house, but I can do that if I'm not doing 20 other activities that day, and the kids don't suffer.

So I'm paring down. And I'm excited about it.

it's (one of the) most wonderful times of the year...

The older I get, the more I like summer. Not just because of the pool, the relaxing warm showers after the pool (and the long naps the kids take after the pool), the sno-cones, the lazy Sundays, the vacations, and my birthday.

I love all the tennis!! This weekend is the French Open finals. Next month is Wimbledon. then August and September is the US Open. I love it!