A long and wonderful weekend!

Happy late Independence Day! We had a great weekend here at the Skinner house. Josh took off Friday so we had a 4 day weekend.

Thursday and Friday were spent at home trimming bushes and playing in the yard. It was hot but Anna's pool provided relief. Thursday evening we went to the ISCA house to celebrate the holiday. Good food, friends, and conversation! The house has totally changed and looks great. Anna enjoyed playing in her old stomping grounds. After the kids were in bed, josh burned the bush trimmings and that was our "fireworks" for the night. We did see some in our neighborhood and even had some parachutes land in our yard:)

Saturday we went out and about. We made it to Homegoods in Rogers and found a rug for the house :). Afterwards we ate at On the Border and had an excellent dinner!! The kids did great until we went back to Homegoods after dinner. Josh did great entertaining them while I went to pay for the rug.

Sunday Josh watched the kids so I could do more errands, and then we all went to Home Depot together. It was a nice trip and we got a few necessities for some home projects. 

 

AND...I finished Anna's valance (finally) for her room.  Here is a look:

 

 

We really had a great weekend and enjoyed our down time.  It was a blessing from the Lord. 

Anna 13 months

Time is flying and Anna is 13 months! I've been behind lately due to our big move! More about that later. 

A few things I want to remember...
1.She has walked by herself a few times.  Not an everyday thing, but getting closer! I bought her some shoes to help encourage her!!
2.She is liking the new apartment.  Yesterday, she went and stood by the door and tried to put on her shoes so we could go outside.  It was HILARIOUS! (see sequence of pics below).
3.She is a meat eater.  We have officially introduced meats into Anna's diet and she is loving it.  She especially likes Chick Fil A grilled nuggets.
4.She stays up longer between nap - like 3 to 3.5 hours instead of only 2.  It is really fun and we can get out a lot more. 

"I wanna go outside!"

"Maybe if I put on my shoes, mom will let me out there."

"Mom, can we go now? "

"Well if you're just going to stand there, can I have some puffs?"

Free at last (notice the new shoes!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy girl :)

Thanks for reading and hope you all have a good weekend!

Cousins - a late post!

Back in June, we headed south to visit with Josh's family.  It was short and sweet- we did the whole trip in a day (3 hour drive there, 6 total).  And let me tell you, Anna was OUT on the way home, which was perfect!!!

She had so much fun.  I wish family was closer because I'm sure she would want to see these boys all the time (not to mention Josh and I would love to see everyone)!! The boys were great with Anna - very excited to have her! They drug out all their toys for her and even gave us some to take home (books & tricycle!!). 

We did a potluck meal and it was wonderful.  The girls all sat at one table and talked while the boys corralled the kids.

                                          How sweet is it that Anna has her hand on cousin Alex??

More posts soon, after moving is finished!

A few things...

I've tried some new recipes:


Finished a few projects:





Watched fireworks on Dickson after eating homemade icecream with fun friends:





Went to Eureka Springs with my Grandma:






p.s. : We had a GREAT time. She is such a blessing in my life. I hope that I can be as genuine, sweet, and funny as she is when I reach 72.


and...Visited the doctor:
I think I have a solution to the problem with my feet/ankles! I saw a podiatrist a couple of weeks ago and he told me that I have fallen arches, which is most likely causing my pain. I was thrilled to hear that there is a cause for my pain. He will probably make me some orthotics (fancy shoe inserts) to help keep my arch from falling when I walk. YAY!

A few updates:
Josh is working and trying to ride his bike whenever he can. He is also swimming quite a bit. I'm sorry I don't have much more to say about him. He eats a lot of crushed red pepper these days.

We are hoping to take a mini getaway next weekend for our anniversary. I'll blog about that later.



I wanted to share something with you that I've learned from Beth Moore (I just love her):

She challenges women to face their fears. We all have fear and can let it control us- giving Satan, rather than God, the victory.

For example, I fear an intruder will come in my home and do horrible things to me. However, have I ever thought through this fear? If an intruder comes, then what? I will hide. Then what? I may be hurt or killed. Then what? Well, if I'm killed, then I get to see God face to face!!!! If I'm hurt, I'll go to the hospital and recover. Then what? I'll go back to life again and get a weapon to protect myself. Then what? I'll be ok.

The question is...will we still love God even if our worse fear becomes reality? Or will we serve Him only if He keeps our fears from becoming reality? This hit me pretty hard, for I am so guilty of letting fear control me.

If an intruder comes to my home, will I loose faith because God didn't protect me? If Josh dies, will I be miserable forever and blame God? The choice is mine. If my biggest fear becomes reality, then God. That's it. Then God. God will sustain us! He promises it in His Word: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9b and "For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men." Lamentations 3:31-33. (English Standard Version)

We don't have to let fear control us! As Esther said, "If I perish, then I perish." She faced the fear of death and moved past it, becoming a hall of famer in the Bible!

This is not my own wisdom, but I thought I would pass it on. It is from the Beth Moore study on Esther. I hope it is a blessing and causes you to face your fears.

Hope you're having a good summer!

Greetings

So, we've decided to start a blog! We chose the name Just Passing Through based on Psalm 103: 15-18:

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. "

Here is a not-so-brief update of our summer so far:

My dear friend Ashley Arce came to visit...what a blessing. She makes me laugh like no one else can! Josh and I enjoyed her visit and were reminded of what a blessing her and Derrek are in our lives. So glad to have their friendship! Here's a pic of Ash at the girls' house during our cooking party:

Since school got out, I (Ashley) have been traveling. I visited Louisiana and saw Heather, Aurelia, Rebecca, and Ava. Heather is a teacher now, and you won't find a better 4th grade teacher than her. She loves her job, and I'm so excited for her. Rebecca is real life mom, which is still hard to believe. She keeps Ava disciplined, on a routine, and loved. God has blessed her with great support of her family and friends, a great hubby, a darling daughter, and a new ministry with the cheer squad at NHS. Then I went with Aurelia to Waco to see her new house. I loved it!!! I'm so happy for her and Lyle. They are using their house as a ministry tool, which is awesome. They love to have people in their home. It was a blessing to meet their friends and see what God is up to in their lives.

Josh and I took a little get-a-way to the mountains of Arkansas. We interacted with hillbillies, enjoyed the scenery, did mindless activities, and reconnected. It was WONDERFUL! Favorite memories of this trip: watching a lightning storm from our cabin porch and the show Rivermonsters...

We also visited his grandparents in Kansas. His mom, brother, and us took a road trip to help them with their garden and see the sights and sounds of Russel, KS and the surrounding area. Highlights of the trip: Watching Shrek in 3-D at the Dream Theatre, listening to Grandpa give directions, and finding some awesome stuff at local garage sales! Here is us at the movie and a pic of the family:

The next weekend, Josh went to Louisiana to visit college buds, and I went to Michigan to visit family. We both were attacked by mosquitoes (the ones in Michigan are HUGE!), went fishing (Josh in the gulf, me in a pond), laughed a lot, and ate yummy food. Josh got to eat crawfish and I ate mom's home cooking. Not sure which is better. He got to meet Mark Craig's little twin boys-I'm jealous-and have guy time. He definitely needed it. I was spoiled like crazy.
Favorite memory of my trip: hanging with my mom and her sisters. They are hilarious and know how to have a good time...I love listening to their stories and watching them interact. Here's a pic of my my mom and her sisters and my grandma:

Now, we're home. We are trying to be intentional about investing in the students in our house. We are praying for more opportunities to show love to them and be available. I love being able to cook for people, and God has given lots of opportunities for that. Josh is always joking around with everyone in the house. Example: He yells out the guys names when he sees them and often uses broken English with them. HILARIOUS!!! He is great at breaking down walls with humor :)

Sorry this was so long. Hope you enjoyed the update.