Coffee Date Monday: wherever you go

It's been a while since we've had a coffee date.

So, grab your coffee (or your beverage of choice) and get comfy.  If you were here today, here's what we would most likely discuss.

My front porch.  Quite the topic, right?  Well this weekend, along with weeding, trimming, and cleaning up the yard, we cleaned off the porch.  Like took everything off and wiped it down clean.  There were green spots on the siding that are no more! And, instead of looking like a bunch of chairs thrown onto the porch, we have quite the lovely little sitting area.  So lovely that I spent an hour out there reading last night.

Weather.  Another old lady topic, I know.  But the weather this week has been in the mid 70s and quite simply: it's been heavenly. You can smell fall in the air.

Projects. I'm determined to finish some projects this week.  I'm painting our filing cabinet, making a wooden ruler for measuring cooper's height, re-purposing a washboard, and getting things ready for my learning time with Cooper (yes, I'm doing school with him at home this year and will dedicate a whole post to that next monday).  Wish me luck in all my endeavors. (Then you'd tell me "take luck" and we'd discuss Brian Regan and the awesome comedian that he is.  And probably laugh about it, then I'd make you watch it 'cause he's on netflix, and then I'd cry from laughing so hard.)

Cooper.  Yesterday on the way home from church I glanced at his work.  He colored his Moses and the Red Sea page in scribbles of green, and had a magnet with Joshua 1:9, "God is with you wherever you go."  When we got home, Andrew asked him what he learned at church.  His answer: "Jesus loves you wherever you go." I then told Andrew the verse on that was on the magnet.  After we picked up our jaws off the floor, we started texting/posting about this awesome moment.  So happy to know that Cooper is remembering what he is learning about God in church.  We still have quite the way to go, though, because he also told us he pushed a boy named Jack because Jack had bubbles he wanted, and he made Jack cry.  And, right after telling us what he learned, he hit me in the face with some gloves.  And, buddy buddy decided the best way to stay awake during nap time while your parents are outside working is to take toothpaste and spread it all over the place upstairs, then take permanent art markers and draw all over you mom and dads' chair, dresser, bedroom walls....and all over his body. It's two steps forward, one back.  But the precious moments like we experienced today give us a glimmer of hope that one day our goal of him loving God and honoring Him in all he does will come to fruition.

This week on the blog: summer highlight #4, a talk on relationships, and a special birthday post.

Speaking of birthdays, "Happy Birthday, Mom/Nana! We love and miss you."

What's on your mind and heart today?

...Anybody know how to get permanent marker off the wall?