The Bright Eyed Brunette

Happy Monday, friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. Our weekend project involved building a wrap-around walkway/porch on our houseboat. You know, just a quick little project. Carl has way more patience than I do when it comes to building things. He measures...and measures...and measures some more before deciding what to do. We make a pretty good team though. I'm always eager to help, even if it is when he says, "hold this while I figure this out." We started around 1 and finished around 5. We were thankful for a nice day. Usually when he gets off early, it is due to rain when you really can't do much.  Here are the before and after pictures: Notice how there is no walkway next to the porch. This is the part that took the longest.  Lots of measuring and cutting! We love it! It will give us lots more room to tie up and hang out! The back end. Makena and I have plans to tan back here while Carl and Trey fish out front! We did all of this on Saturday. I personally th...

 Happy Friday, Friends! Today I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  for another Friday Favorites. What a week it has been! Having picnics with Wrenley and Makena were pretty high up on my favorites list. She wanted a lunchable (big surprise there!) while Makena and I had tuna salad. Playing outside is a must with Wrenley! And she loves making sure the bird bath has plenty of water! Another thing on my favorites list is listening to Trey play the guitar. This smile is also my favorite! We had a celebration for my son-in-law, Caleb this week. He is a pretty great guy and we are thankful that he is "ours" now :)  He is my favorite son-in-law! As I was studying for my Gospel Project lesson earlier this week I realized we only have 3 more lessons! That means that summer break is just 3 weeks away (for our Wednesday night program)! Although I will still have to prepare lessons for Sunday School and VBS.  Summer is my favorite! This summer will be extra sp...

 I was scrolling through TikTok the other night when I came across a preacher who said, "God doesn't need our fingerprints on His blueprints." And that stuck with me.  There's something in us that really likes to help God out. We pray about a situation, ask Him to move, and then-- almost immediately-- start sketching out our own version of how it should happen. We draft the timeline, the method, the outcome, and sometimes even the backup plan. It's just as if we're saying, "Lord, I trust You...but just in case, here's what I think the blueprint should look like." But God doesn't need our fingerprints on His blueprints. His plans were complete long before we started making suggestions. Scripture reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."       ...

 Every family has that one thing they are known for. Maybe it's Grammy's favorite coconut pie, Uncle Joe's questionable grilling skills, or the annual holiday game night that somehow ends in mild chaos and someone storming out over Monopoly. And then there are families where the main course isn't food-- it's gossip. You know the kind. The kind where conversations are less "How have you been?" and more "Did you hear about what she said about them last week?" The kind where you can feel the tension in the room like humidity in July; thick, unavoidable, and just a little suffocating.  It usually starts innocently enough. You're in the kitchen, helping set out food, when someone leans in just a little too close and lowers their voice like they're about to share national secrets. "Now don't repeat this, but..." And just like that, you've been drafted. Suddenly you hear about :  Who isn't pulling their weight Who can't...

 Happy Easter Monday! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. We are still celebrating our Risen Savior over here! I have been slightly under the weather, but did my best to try and get all of the Easter fun in! On Saturday, Carl was off because it rained all day. We went to Carlie's to dye eggs with Wrenley. She was interested in it for about 5 seconds. Wrenley had Pappy dying eggs too! She made sure he had orange because it is his favorite color :) She and I went to play Barbies in her room while Carlie finished her eggs. We had to get a Happy Meal before we left to come back home. And Aunt Kena came to eat with us too! On Resurrection Sunday we all headed to church. I woke up feeling pretty rotten but knew I had to teach my class. We must have had a change in barometric pressure because it was a pretty gnarly migraine.  Our normal car selfie. Caleb was at the fire station today, so he is missing in our obligatory family picture. I came home after Sunday School and brough...

 There's something about April that feels like a quiet invitation to start again.                                       The trees begin to bud, the flowers push their way up through the soil, and the days stretch a little longer. After months of gray skies and bare branches, the world slowly wakes up. Spring doesn't rush in loudly-- it arrives gently, one bloom at a time. It reminds me that God often works the same way in our lives. Sometimes we expect big, dramatic change. We think growth has to look impressive or immediate. But often the Lord works in small, steady ways-- softening our hearts, renewing our prospective, and giving us the courage to begin again.  April also points our hearts toward Easter, the greatest reminder that God is in the business of renewal. When Jesus went to the cross, it looked like the end of the story. Hope seemed buried along with Him. But three d...