This is my 2009-2010 planner. I have ordered from the same company for 5 years. I LOVE it! It was created by two moms and the inside reflects that wisdom 
Their company name is familytime.mine and they are only sold at Borders and on Amazon. If you need a new planner for the school year, I highly recommend this one!
At General Assembly this year, Eric received a free copy of Paul David Tripp’s Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad . I just finished it and loved so much of the content.
His main theme is that we are currently living in a world that is like a broken-down home. “Every single room has been dirtied and damaged by sin. Not one part of it shines with anything like the pure glory that was so evident when it was first made.” (17) We know this- we see it in our lives and feel it as live- we say,”Life is hard.” Do we know why it is hard? He says because sin and the fall have made what was once beautiful and easy now difficult and hard.
But Tripp doesn’t leave us there; he reminds us that this broken-down house is in process of being restored. He keeps his metaphor going by reminding us how difficult it is to live in a house that is being restored. It takes patience and time- often you wonder if there is any progress being made. Our encouragement is God’s character and his promises,”God is the ultimate Restorer, and He never rests.” (21)
So finally Tripp helps us apply these truths by encouraging us how to live in an enviroment that is difficult and damaged and yet that is being restored. He challenges us that we “have been created and called by God for more than survival…He wants our lives to be shaped by uncomprimising honesty and undimished hope.” (20) His book is filled with word pictures and life application. I look forward to studying it with a group soon!
Well we have been SPOILED in this household! This week while Eric was gone to California we had LOTS of fun visitors and they were all family!
This time I have pictures of my cousin Charlotte (who just celebrated her 1st wedding anniversary!) and my aunt Sallye and uncle Tommy. The kids had a blast wrestling with Charlotte. She played all kinds of games and I think she is paying for it now! She has to be bruised, sore and tired
Tom and Sallye met up with us and we took the kids back to Bridge Street. That place is just beautiful on a summer night. Sallye has a great camera and took a group shot for us.
There was an adult for every child Then my aunt and uncle surprised everyone with a train ride! I thought Cord was going to flip out- He was so excited. Tommy even rode with Cord- too cute!
The ride ended and Cord wanted to keep going. Now that he knows that you can ride stuff at the mall I am in big trouble.
After the train ride, Tom and Sallye totally surprise them all again with a ride on the carousel. They don’t know you can do that either
We ended all the fun at the Chocolate Crocodile. whew! I tried to get all of them to stay two more nights, but I guess they had to get back to their homes Charlotte stayed overnight and helped me get to church the next day. Again, we stayed up way too late visiting.
To top it all off, my in-laws took Cord again! They are loving all over that little boy and helping keep me sane. They have willingly taken a two year old for many nights in a row- a task few would want to try. I am soooo blessed.
The past two weeks have been a challenge because homes just function best when everyone is there; but there are times when the time away is necessary and really good. I am so thankful that Eric had a chance to take the youth group to St Louis for his mission trip and be able to reconnect the next week with friends in California. He will be strengthened, renewed and encouraged when he returns.
The most amazing thing from my two weeks has been experiencing the blessing of family. And I mean Big Family- extended family. Can you count how many family members pulled around me and loved on us? It is overwhelming. That they would take time out of their equally busy lives and spend time with us is a ministry to our hearts and it created moments that I will not forget. I guess there are seasons in life and some require more help than others, and I am hoping that one day there will be a time when we get to be there for them as they have been for us.
I mean look how grateful Lucy is that you came! (Grammy, Popo, Marian, Dot Dot, Cdub, Heather, Mary, Charlotte, Sallye, Tommy!)
Lucy LOVES spaghetti. And she jumped right in to this bowl at Jason’s Deli. Yes, we are out in public with that face.
The best part of it all is that my Aunt Mary started it! Lucy was eating like crazy and had very messy hands. Mary asked her,”Where is Lucy?”. Demonstrating her new favorite game, Lucy threw her hands up to her face and waited for,”There she is!” We did it over and over with her, laughing hysterically at the mess she was making. Not only did Mary start the fun, she cleaned her up for me! Wow! Who wants that job? I am soooo glad that someone had a camera!
While Eric was on his mission trip, I was being cared for- two of the many helpers in my life were my aunt Mary and my cousin Heather. They came up on Friday night and we had a BLAST. We met up at Bridge Street, shopped and ate out. The weather was beautiful, so being outside was such a treat. Heather (who is absolutely beautiful!) was shopping for back to school clothes. The fun part was getting to play dress up with her. It reminded me of the movie that stars Tyra Banks where she is a Barbie doll that comes to life. My girls LOVED it. Heather bought them each a clip that they are wearing all the time now
They played in the fountains (and got in trouble for it).
They played follow the leader- my aunt is actually a very creative leader in that game and had us all following her doing the craziest things. We stayed up LATE (like good Grainger girls), watched a movie, had great talks. The next day the girls went to art class.
The rest of us walked around the lake. We spent Saturday afternoon eating lunch with Heather’s college roommate and shopping at another mall. Again my girls loved playing stylist to Heather and gave her far too many opinions I am sure! My aunt surprised me with ponytail holders that I saw at the mall- how fun!
The only snag we had was when my aunt got her finger stuck underneath the seat of her car- ouch! After a dousing in Windex. she was free and we were all relieved! The time flew and I felt so blessed to have family that loves like this~ thanks Fosters.
Just today…
olivia rode a bike without training wheels down the street.
emma rode a bike without training wheels down the street.
lucy walked holding one of my fingers.
cord used the potty correctly.
It has been a big day of growing up in the zellner household.
A friend of mine posted a link to M&M’s website for free chocolate! The address is www.realchocolate.com . Of course, when I got to the site I was dying to order the personalized M&M’s. Why oh why don’t I have a reason (or the extra cash) to order some? They are just sooo cute!
Today I took three of the kids blueberry picking at Marymac Farms in Brownsboro,AL. It was very easy to get to and the couple who run that farm were so sweet and generous. Armed with our “own containers” as the website said, we headed through the farm.
I have been told that people don’t use monogrammed, feathered pails to pick berries, but I didn’t know- we had never been berry picking before The pails survived, Cord ate a pound right off the bushes, and it was soooo FUN!
We ended up with 7 pounds and 6 ounces of blueberries. At $1.50/ lb, we only spent $11.00. We may need to go back one more time.
As you may know, Eric has a green suburban. He loves it and much to his happiness, so do all the children. They love to take rides in it and wash it ( you really can’t tell the difference!) Well Cord is not great at pronouncing all of his words. He usually drops a syllable or two. And so he calls the green truck,”Daddy’s burban” He talks about it all the time. “There is Daddy’s burban.” or “Where is Daddy’s burban?” I am just warning you that if you hear that he REALLY is talking about Eric’s car!
In a sermon on Sunday night, our assistant pastor mentioned a quote from Dale Ralph Davis about the power of God’s Word- He said,” It has the power to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” What an amazing thing that the very same book can cause uncomfortableness, agitation, sorrow, painful revelation as it reveals the sin in our lives and the pride of our hearts and the degree to which we love ourselves and not our God- and then that same text can bring comfort, encouragement, peace, and freedom as it reveals God’s forgiveness and His Sovereignty over all of life. The very same person needs both! We need a kick out of our sins we’ve grown comfortable with and we need restoration that can only come from a perfect God who provides the perfect obedience we need and who takes the wrath that we deserve.
This is why I love Sundays. I could write post after post about what I get to hear and how that challenges me and gives me hope- whether it is our morning sermon series on Romans, our Sunday School class on Proverbs, or our evening worship, I am getting to know what God’s Word says and how that applies to all of life. To hear some of the sermons or read the texts, click on our webpage http://westminster-pc.org.
