5 on Friday

1- On the road again... this is becoming a habit! Yes, we are dropping Riley, our second daughter, off at college this weekend.  I will post about it next week...until then prayers for this momma's heart would be appreciated!  She will rock it.  The verdict is still out on me!

2- On our various travels we got to visit with old friends who have opened a new Culvers franchise just a few exits away from the Kansas City airport.  I love how our travels and our friends frequently cross paths!  If you are in the area, stop by and say hi to them for us!

3- We finally made it to the Omaha Zoo.  You know, because everyone says it is the best!  It was on Riley's to do list before she left for college.  We had a great day and are eager to go back when it is not quite so hot!

4- Our last trip (told you this was becoming a habit) took us back to the place of our first assignment, where our oldest was born!  We had not been back there in 22 years, so it was fun to see how much had changed.  And a few things that had not!

5- Proud bragging moment.  Ashton's quilt business, Ashton's Attic, is starting to take off and provide a living for her.  Just this week she sold two!  She is taking orders for Christmas now- be sure to get on her calendar!

Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

Blessings,

5 On Friday

Our life in random order-

1- After two months of practice and two weeks of shows, Riley is finally done performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  She has had a blast and worked with an amazing director and cast members.  Time to start packing for college now!

2- Colby played baseball this summer for the first time.  I am not a huge fan of sports for kids for several reasons, but we decided that a short time gig we could do.  He had a blast, learned a lot, and his team even won the championship!  I survived the heat!

3- Sweet Words

4- The garden is actually growing.  Too bad I am a cruddy planter.  The tomatoes are hidden by the cucumbers and the zucchini has taken over the watermelon.  The deer have eaten every bean and pea that came up, but THAT is not my fault.  Raspberries are done and the blackberries are starting to go crazy.  Next year I will plant according to the lessons I have learned and maybe we will have more than zucchini and cucumbers to share!  We did somehow miss a few zucchini that grew way too large, so we have been shredding it and making zucchini bread as well.  Yum!

5- I broke my toe last week and I am still slightly pouting about it.  I will spare you the picture.

Blessings,

5 on Friday

As you can imagine, if you keep up with things here or on our Family, Faith and Fridays Facebook page, this week has been a little crazy!  So our random 5 is a random 3 this week because, well, I am exhausted!


1- Our raspberry bushes have exploded so now not only does Colby pick in the mornings, and sometimes in the evenings, but we also have various friends picking too!  Come on over!

2- This kiddo celebrated his 9th birthday on Saturday!

3- I am tired!  Did I mention that already?  We have dear friends visiting this weekend and I cannot wait to just settle in and relax with them!  There's just something about friends that puts things into perspective!  How blessed we are!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8

Blessings, 

5 on Friday- Summer Crazy!

I do like summers, mostly, so I am not complaining, mostly, but boy has our crazy life just gotten crazier.  Why does summer just do that?

1- Riley began practice for the local community theatre's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat.  She has practice Monday through Friday through mid July and then ends with 5 performances.  Crazy!

2- Colby began playing baseball for the local parks and rec here in town.  I thought, two practices a week, I can do that.  Never mind that I did not realize there are also two games a week.  In case you missed that- 2 + 2 = 4.  FOUR nights a week.  Crazy!

Every baseball guy needs someone to help put their socks on right?

3- Ashton is knee deep in working part time and building her sewing business full time.  She just finished up four quilts and has now several other orders waiting for her.  She picked up this adorable sewing machine so she could add another one for use when she teaches.  (Did I mention that she also teaches 5 students sewing as well?)  Crazy!

4- Salem has one week left of 8th grade!  Yes, he will be a FRESHMAN in high school soon and also keeps busy with a part time job at the ball field here in town.  Did you miss that I am getting ready to teach high school for the THIRD time!?  Crazy!

5- Because I just needed another thing on my plate (hear the sarcasm?), I planted a garden the past few days.  Lettuce, carrots, onions, peas, beans, cucumber, tomatoes and watermelon.  If the bunnies will stay out of my garden we might actually grow something.  The back half of the bed you see is all raspberry bushes that are actually producing.  They were taking over the front bed, so Clarke and I cut them way back and I have threatened to take them out all together after this season, but for now they are a daily source of joy for Colby!  He loves going out each morning and picking raspberries for breakfast.  Unfortunately they are so thickly planted, there a probably hundreds of berries we just cannot even reach to enjoy.  Crazy!

The breakfast of champs!

I actually have A LOT more crazy I could add to the list, but I will stop for now!

How about you?  What are you doing crazy this summer?

Blessings,

5 on Friday- Random Family-ness

1.  Riley auditioned and is going to be in the local community theater's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  We are so proud of her!

2. Said daughter also just returned from NYC for her graduation trip.  Her request was no party, just a trip, so she and her dad hopped on a plane for a four night trip.  You can read all about that trip here.

3.  This daughter, in case you thought I forgot about her, is busy working for David's Bridal as well as her own business of alterations and T-shirt quilts.  (She recently finished 4 of them!)  She has a lot of things going on in her life right now and I am excited to see where God is taking her.

4.  My boys- yes, we do still have them! ;)  They are busy finishing up school and finding time to play in between subjects.  Salem is also working part time and I still can't believe he is going to be a freshman in a few short months!

5.  Talk about silly, but I still have to share.  Our dogs shed like crazy.  Not a good thing when you have a child who is allergic to dogs.  So we broke down, paid way too much, and bought one of those furminator thingies from Pet Smart.  Oh. My. Goodness!  Talk about worth its weight in gold.  This was just try number one with that silly thing.  Aspen loved it and we could have made another whole dog with the hair that came off her!  Seriously.

See, told you, complete randomness! ;)

Blessings,

5 On Friday

After several review posts in a row last week and this week (yes I still do review things from time to time), I thought maybe I would catch you up on the every day life of the Pleasants.  It's not always exciting, but it is always full!

1) For those of you who do not follow us on Facebook, our second daughter had the opportunity to go to a homeschool dance with a good friend of hers.  This we have never done before, so it was all new.  And fun!  They had a great time with all of their friends.

2) My hubby has had the week off so we are knee deep in house projects.  Here's a peek, but I hope next week I can do a full post on the work that we have done.

3) My mom is in town!!  Yay mom!  She is here for two weeks and we are loving every minute.  She lives too far away, but I am working on that! ;)

4) This kiddo is also in a big  production of Midsummer Night's Dream. Actually they perform twice tonight, with another full cast performing on Thursday and Saturday.  This will be her last highschool performance before she heads to college in the fall to obtain her BFA in Musical Theatre.

5) Life is good.  Never perfect, but good.  We are liking Omaha, love our church, have made wonderful new friends, and are excited about what God is doing in our lives.  It is not secret that last year was a hard one, but we are healing and it is good.  I am reminded daily-

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

It is my prayer that we learn and grow through ALL THINGS!

Blessings,

5 on Friday

Is it warm where you are?  It has been unseasonably warm, so I am told, here in Nebraska.  Several days we have been able to sit outside and enjoy the sun and I even have had the itch to trade out clothes for spring things.  Ahhh, I could get used to this.

1. I got to go shopping with Riley this week for a formal dress.  Yes, she's going to a homeschool dance with a really good friend of hers.  And no, can't share a picture of the dress yet because she would kill me! ;)  But it was oh so fun to shop.

2.  My mom comes to visit in a few weeks. This is the first time we have moved without her help in a long time.  I miss her and can't wait to show her our life here!

3.  Ashton got another job!  Yes, she is holding down like 4-5 part time jobs.  This week she started working at David's Bridal in their alterations department as well.  Plus, she picked up three more quilt orders.  The girl is busy!  I also got to surprise her by inviting two of her sweet friends from SD down to surprise her for her 22nd birthday!  The look on her face was priceless and we LOVED having them here.  I love seeing her so happy these days!

Funny story.  Ashton NEVER wears black.  Never!  And now she has to for her job!  Well, I think it is funny.  She does not!

4.  My sweet hubby was gone this week and while no, it was not a year this time, I still missed him.  Yay for SHORT business trips.

5.  Life in Omaha is good.  Church is good.  Friends are good.  Shopping is good. (just saying)  Kids are good.  It is all good!  I am overwhelmed by God's goodness.  And while our joy in life should ultimately come from God and God alone, I do think He allows us to enjoy the things in life He blesses us WITH as well.

I pray you find the blessings this week too!

5 on Friday

What a week it has been, as evidenced by my lack of a post on Wednesday.  What's been going on?  Oh, you know, the normal craziness of life.

1- I normally try to post on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  It is something I got into a habit of when I first started this little blog, and I have tried hard to maintain that pace with very few exceptions.  Until these past few weeks, that is.  And for some reason life seems to be getting the best of me.  And when life happens, and you bemoan the fact, your sneaky daughter gets on your blog and takes matters into her own hands.  I have since changed the password, but that explains the sweet post she slipped past me on Wednesday!

2.  This gorgeous lady, my first born and yes I am a biased mom, turned 22 yesterday.  I remember the first time I laid eyes on her.  She captured my heart.  Still does.  Such a gentle spirit, an encourager, loves her family and friends with zeal, chases after God with determination.  A seamstress by trade and a homebody by heart, you will usually find her brainstorming new projects at a sewing machine or teaching young people.

3.  Riley, our second daughter, graduated from high school this past week.  She worked hard to complete 32 hours worth of classes, many of which will transfer to college and so she is taking a few weeks off to relax. Then she will get a part time job.  Says dad. ;)

4.  My sweet grandmother turned 90 this week as well!  I adore her!  When I was little she lived with my mom and me for a year.  I remember when people would tell her what a cute daughter she had and she would say thank you and wink at me.  She would take me with her when she went to clean apartments and I remember singing Delta Dawn at the top of our lungs together.  Eventually she moved on, but I then attended college in the town she lived and once again we were buddies.  She would fixed me roast beef and mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner and wash my clothes.  Such sweet memories.  I think she should move to Omaha!  Hint hint!

5.  Hmmm, let's see, what else?  Still sick here, which is part of my excuse for my random blogging. (Well, that and this handsome guy has been home during the days and he is a distraction.)  I was finally put on an antibiotic so hopefully I will be on the mend soon!  And back to some more productive blog posts.  Or not.  We will see!

I pray this finds you well.  Have a blessed week, my friends!

Blessings,

5 On Friday

Hey, I had fun with this last week, so here goes-

1.  My three olders have started taking ballroom dancing.  They love it.  I am amazed!

2.  My youngest announced that he loves his new math!  We are trying out Math U See Gamma and Times Tales and he is whizzing through the times tables.  Every day of school is not wonderful here (shocker, I know haha) so this is HUGE!  Wish they had been around when I was a third grader.  Seriously, ya'll, I thought I would never learn multiplication facts.  I am pretty sure my mom and teacher thought I would never learn either!

3.  Have I mentioned Riley is a senior?  After being accepted at 7 schools (don't get me started) she has finally decided where to go.  I think she is going to actually let me share on Monday!  Here's hoping.

4.  Because of his deployment my sweet hubby has had a lot of time off of work.  Because of that, he has had the past two weeks off.  Can I just say that retirement cannot come soon enough?  I kind of like having him home.  It's like having Handy Mandy around.  And he's cute, too! ;)

5.  We have friends coming to visit us this weekend!  Remember Farmer Dan and his wife?  You know, the ones who taught us to butcher cows, pigs and chickens.  We have been blessed with so many special friends over the years but I have found that in each location God allows me to find a special friend that I do not know how I have done without.  This family- they are that and so much more.  They embraced and loved us from the minute we met them, they included us in their amazing farm adventures, they sustained us during our year deployment, they love us unconditionally, and they became family!  If you happen to think of me this weekend, know that I have a huge smile on my face and a full heart!  Oh, and maybe a head filled with schemes to get them to move near me!

I pray you had a beautiful week, friends.  I am thankful for YOU as well and that you choose to spend time here in our little corner of the blogging world!

Blessings,