Hello sweet blog friends.

I've really missed you.

Whew ... where, oh where do I start?

As much as I have wanted to share all that's been going on with you here in Bloglandia,
I also didn't want to share.
I wanted to hold in it,
keep it to myself,
cherish it for a while.

Ever felt that way?

My emotions have been so all-over-the-place that putting them into words seemed like an impossibility.

Quite frankly, it seemed wrong to even try.
I knew I wasn't able to find the right words, the precise expressions to fully convey
the magnitude of what my heart was experiencing.

I guess to sum it up, my mind has been stretched to it's limit, my heart full to overflowing.
And so, as not to do it a grand injustice, I kept it all to myself ...
replaying all the sweet memories over & over in my mind.

I've also been processing ... letting my mind settle a bit after a wild whirlwind of a summer & fall.

Annnd... a task that could be avoided no longer,
I've been bringing some much needed order to this house that's been neglected for a while!
I'll tell you all about that later.
Weddings are much more fun to talk about ;)

So, just in case you missed it, our twins sons got married within 3 weeks of each other!
I got my first daughter-n-law on September 20 ... and the second one on October 12.
They are both some kind of wonderful <3
Each wedding was perfect.
I can't wait to show you how gorgeous they were as soon as the pictures are back.
Here are a few snapshots for a preview.

Handsome Gunnar & Gorgeous Abigail~

Handsome Garrett & Beautiful Carissa~

The four newlyweds!

So yes, quite a whirlwind.
Seriously?
Having one child to marry is a big enough deal ... but two so close together?
Yes, it was a very big deal!

In addition to that, both boys bought their first homes within a few weeks of each other!
We are SO proud of that accomplishment!
All the saving ... and saving ... and saving paid off!!

It was pretty neat for Garrett to be the realtor for both his & Gunnar's home.

From August 22 until the second week of October, we found ourselves helping both boys,
all of us working tirelessly remodeling two houses.
Both purchased very nice homes, but they wanted to do some updating to prepare them for their brides.
{Again, so many, many details I could've shared along the way,
but I guess they just weren't meant for the blogosphere.
It's hard to be working from sun up to sun down & blog all at the same time!}

Garrett & Gunnar at work on Garrett's house ... doing what the Penningtons do well:  flooring.
Garrett put in a gorgeous terrazzo floor.

Gunnar chose & installed a ceramic tile that looks like hardwoods ... super cool.

He also gutted the bathroom & installed lapboard.
{Matt was such a huge help & we could never thank him enough!}
I gave it a whitewashed paint treatment & it turned into the cutest cottage-y bathroom ever.

There were countless friends & family that pitched in to help ... & at the end of all the work,
both houses looked & felt like brand new!
We are so grateful for the blessings God has bestowed & we take none of them for granted.
Maybe I can share more of the before & after pics someday.
Course, the special touches from my sweet daughters-n-law have made the houses into 'homes'
& we are so proud of them.

God has been & continues to be SO good.
His faithfulness is sure ... and applies to every aspect of our life.
He continually demonstrates that.

I was sure that my heart would never recover from missing our boys so much.

I was certain that the transition from what has been for almost 20 years
to what is now would be nearly impossible for this momma's heart.

I was so afraid of the new & filled with questions .

And the only reason I have not been overtaken through all this is that I was PRAYERFUL!
James and I were saturating ourselves & each other with prayer.
That was the key.

And why is it that we are still sometimes surprised when God answers?

That is precisely what God has done ... He has heard & answered our prayers.
We are transitioning just fine.
We don't feel a gaping hole of hurt, sadness, & emptiness.
Yes, we miss them terribly.
Yes, there have been tears ... plenty.
There are days that I ache to just hear their voice or see them walk through the door.
I miss them at the table each evening, eating together & sharing about our day.
But I remember that James & I did our part, our job as parents.
With the help of the Lord, we trained them to manhood & prepared them to establish their own dominion.
I also reflect back on how I felt when we got married ... how excited we were to begin our new life together.
When I take control of my thoughts, it snaps me out of that selfish, only-thinking-about-me mode
that can so easily take me over.

James & I are also enjoying this one-on-one time with our last boy at home, Mr. Riley.
He turned 17 in the midst of all this activity!
He's been shopping for his first vehicle for a few months now, determined to find just what he wants.
He worked full-time for JL all summer & is now working part-time while he finishes his senior year.
{He's misses his brothers around the house too, btw.}
Isn't he so handsome?!

So... to sum it all up, I wish I could've documented every detail here on the blog,
but I think it's probably just how it needed to be.
I have a heart full of moments & memories that I'll treasure for a lifetime.

I've experienced lots of new things, shed many tears, & learned valuable lessons about myself & others.
I've looked on with a proud heart at the man God gave me & the 3 sons we created together.
We've shared in two of the most important days of their lives.
Our family has grown as we've welcomed two of the loveliest young ladies on the planet.
And we anticipate God's provision, blessing, & faithfulness in the years to come.
Isn't He so amazing?

Thanks a bunch for listening to my heart.

I'll now resume the regularly scheduled postings about decorating & yummy food ;)

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday          C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House  I Should Be Mopping the Floor
                  Between Naps on the Porch  The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

And we have a SECOND proposal!

In case you didn't know it, our oldest sons are twins.
They are a whole 5 minutes a part.
Doing things together ... well, that's just how they roll.

And apparently engagements are no exceptions to the rule!

On March 1, 15 days after Gunnar proposed, Garrett did too!
Oh my ... this mamma's heart is experiencing all sorts of emotions ;)
It's been an exciting few months around here, to be sure, with all the ring shopping & future planning.

Garrett was so happy that we had a break in this bitter cold & snowy Indiana weather so he could
propose in a place that means to much to Carissa & him.

We've camped together, the Ellis family & us, many times at Brown County State Park,
since the kiddos were little ...
& it was during one of those camping trips that he told Carissa that he liked her!
It was at the end of a trail right by the nature center ... and this is right where he proposed.

What a gorgeous spot.
What a gorgeous couple.

And a gorgeous ring!

We love these two together & are prayerful for their future moving forward.

Better than I was, more than I am.

All of this happened, by taking your hand.

Politics & Garrett's TeenPact Speech

Hello blog world, friends, & family =)

We are in the final days before Election 2012, down to the wire.
These last few months {seems like years} have been FULL of campaigns & commercials ...
both of which, I'm not ganna lie, I am quite ready to be over with!
I will not be sad to see those go.
I may be sad about who's in the White House, but not ganna miss the political blah blah blah.

That being said, our household is pretty politically involved.
We have one, however, who is our resident 'future politician'.
Garrett has been interested for as long as I can remember ... & involved for as long as he's been able.
He has worked on various local campaigns, from state representatives to the mayoral campaign.
He attends our local political events & our town hall public meetings each month.
He's attended various rallies, seeing more political figures than I could name off
{George W Bush, McCain, Palin, Christie, & many others}.

He's just got the knack.
He doesn't forget a thing.
He can quote all day long ... knows facts & figures from anything political.
Garrett loves history ... not just world or US, but history of any kind.
Since he was small, he was interested in our family genealogy,
asking lot of questions from his grandparents about our ancestors & heritage.

Lately, we've seen him excel in areas in which he's had no specific training.
He can debate like no body's business & on numerous occasions, he's been asked if he
has studied debate or participates on a debate team.
He hasn't, & to this he replies, 'You just have to know my Dad.' ;)

He's always been well-spoken, a very good communicator,
but has never been involved in speech giving of any kind.
We didn't even study that in homeschool, yet this is another area in which he's been gifted
& we are so grateful!
It's amazing to see how God equips each of us differently, but perfectly according to our nature,
personality, & furthermore, for our specific callings in life.

Back in the spring, Garrett attended TeenPact, a hands-on leadership training course.
Their mission sums them up:

to train youth to understand the political process, value their liberty, 

defend their Christian faith and engage the culture at a time 

in their lives when, typically, they do not care about such things.

 

It was his first time to attend & against the odds, Garrett, an unknown with no family ties
or other previous TeenPact affiliation, was elected governor from 80 of his peers.
This was the highest & most distinguished position to which you could be elected.
Upon election, he had to prepare & deliver a speech {the very next day} to a very large crowd
comprised of fellow TeenPact students, parents, staff, & state coordinators.

He came home that evening & right before bed, he came into our bedroom & said,
"I like I know what I am going to speak about ... Josiah & the lost book of the law."
He shared a few quick thoughts & ideas, getting his Dad's opinion, & off he went.
He never asked us another thing.
We didn't proof it ... he didn't practice it on us ... nothing else.

The next afternoon, in front of a room full of people, in a room at the Indiana Statehouse,
he got up to deliver his speech.
Now, I must say, as a parent, I was nervous for him!
This is something he's never done before ... speech writing, public speaking.
I didn't doubt his abilities, but I was putting myself in his shoes ... & I was nervous!!

But I shouldn't have been.
He nailed it!!
I was trying hard not to jostle my camera around as I was recording, but the tears were sneaking
down my cheeks as I watched & listened to my son deliver an outstanding speech with
a profound message.
I was so proud of him.
Several parents asked us if he wrote his speech himself, because they were so surprised at
the depth of the message he shared.

I am sooo happy to be able to share this video of his entire speech.
{Thanks to our dear friend for tweaking it ... it was really hard to hear & he fixed that}
It's only 5 minutes long ... & it's so, so good.
Take time to listen.

A few weeks ago, Garrett was invited by Generation Joshua to campaign for Senator Murdock.
He leaves today & will be gone until Wednesday.
Generation Joshua is providing all lodging, transportation & food.
He'll be working with Gen-Josh volunteers from around the country, in this last push before election day.
He doesn't even know what all the activities will be, but I know for sure, he'll be happily involved.

He's also been invited to attend a rally at Lucas Oil Stadium from the Mike Pence campaign,
so he's going to try & fit that in, as well.

I don't know what the future holds for Garrett, in the arena of politics or life in general, for that matter,
but I take comfort knowing that God is guiding his every step.
He's opening doors & providing connections & opportunities.
In the meantime, I'll be here on the home front, covering Garrett with a momma's prayers ...
trusting God to lead & protect him.

Join me in praying for our country, now & for the next several days, especially.

My country 'tis of thee, 
sweet land of liberty.
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died.
Land of the pilgrim's pride.
From every mountainside,
Let FREEDOM ring!