~Count Your Blessings~

Welcome June!

June is a big month around these parts...

~We celebrate two big girl birthdays (10 & 11!)

~Micah turns 1.5! 

~We have swimming lessons!

~We spend a lot of time at the pool!

~We start the reading program at the library AND our family reading challenge! (The person with the most pages read by the end of the summer gets a special (TBD) prize! 

~We will begin our "trial-run" schooling schedule! (We bought some workbooks last night and I am excited!)

~We go on vacation!!!!

 

Here's to a great first month of summer!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mine is coming along quite nicely. (Save for the poor cucumber plants who seem to be struggling a bit.)

I figure if I get anything to grow and we actually eat something from my garden, then we are doing well. My black thumb is pretty pervasive so I am very excited that things are sprouting and growing!

Thinning them out a smidge...

 

(Tomato)

 

(Spinach)

 

(Lettuce)

 

(Onions)

 

In My Yard

 

 

**Project 365 is finally up to date. Go take a peek!**

(There are now pages you can click on to go to more recent dates without having to page through. Enjoy!)

ten on tuesday

1. Oh, it has been a fun week! And busy! But the week ahead is m u c h  slower paced and we are laying low and catching our breath a bit. Whew. :)

2. School's Out!! Do they look ready or what?

(This calls for celebration floats!)

 

That night we did a Hawaiian-style family fun night. We all dressed up, ate a fun tropical meal, watched "Soul Surfer", played limbo and grilled pineapple for dessert. So much fun!

 

3. There is much plotting and planning and preparing for a special little girl who turns 10 in just 6 days. Ten. Wow.

4. Sometimes you just need to run around the yard in just a diaper. Wal-Mart style. Tee hee. :)

(On a side note, just look at his poor dry legs. He has such bad eczema. We put meds and lotion on A LOT and it just keeps on looking horrible. Poor little guy.)

 

5. We had a "School's Out!!" BBQ on Friday and IT. WAS. SO. FUN. We grilled, enjoyed super yummy potluck food and did a campfire and smores. It was super great. (We hope to have lots of get-togethers this summer now that we have so much more space.)

(Sweet Belle and her BFF. They sure are cuties!)

(Of course a princess dress is best when making smores. :)

 

6. It turns out that we has Os trees growing in our backyard. I am excited because they tend to grow pretty fast and are just lovely to have around. Grow little trees, grow!!

 

7. I got this fun drink dispenser from PB and I really like it. (One small problem, it tends to leak a bit from the spout. We may just need to tighten it a bit.) It was great to have for punch at our party.

 

8. She is going to have that "looks cute just out of bed" thing going for her. Her mother? Not so much. :)

 

9. Trying to get back into stamping...I miss it. Weekly card challenges with friends helps a lot. It gives me a small and doable goal. 

 

10. I set up a summer routine for my girls and I. They are each going to cook one dinner and one breakfast a week (learning to cook a bit is one big goal I have for my sweeties - good bonding time and an important lesson) and do some light chores. We are also planning to do some light school work just to get an idea of how home-schooling would look if we decide to go that route next year. It should be fun and a good framework for how our days will look. Otherwise we may wile away our days on the couch in our jammies. :)

 

My Mother's Hands

My sister has them.

My Kaity has them.

It has been 5 long years since my Mama passed. I miss her so much it makes my insides ache and my breath catch. 

But she lives on. She lives on in the eyes that look back at me in the mirror. She lives on in the way my laugh morphs into something not my own, but hers. She lives on in my sisters humor and quick wit. She lives on in hands and smiles and memories.

I am so glad we have these sweet pieces left behind to give us a push when we get bogged down in grief and to dry the tears of remembering the years gone by.

I love you, Mama. And I miss you tremendously.

First and Last Days - 2011-2012

 

                                                                              Superhero Sisters!

My Precious Girl

Today was Lauren's last day of preschool. They had a short little ice cream/saying goodbye party and as hard as I tried to hold it together...I didn't. I didn't sob or anything too embarrassing, but there were tears.

And then tonight she comes bounding down the stairs saying, "Mommy, you are not going to believe this! I can reach Kaity's sink WITHOUT the stool!" I smiled and said something about that being the last straw and that I was tying a brick to her head to keep her little. To which she replied, "I told you Mommy, that even when I am big I will still snuggle you." I smiled and asked her if she was sure? Then, in a moment so precious my heart about burst from my chest, she stuck out her little pinky and said, "Pinky swear, Mommy." I wrapped my pinky around hers and replied, "pinky swear." You better believe my eyes welled up again.

Goodness, I love these kids so much that is quite literally hurts. The firsts and the lasts hurt. Packing away too small clothes hurts. Giving more freedom and independence hurts. Knowing they need me less and less each day hurts. Saying goodbye to preschool and bathroom stools hurts.

But I then remind myself that this is what it is all about. Letting go. Training up. Letting God make these people into who He wants them to be, to His Glory.

Thank you Lord for the incredible gift of mothering. For these 4 precious people. For the 18 or so years I get with them. For the diapers, the boogers, the spills, the noise, the mess, the laundry, the dishes...for all of it. Every little bit of it. I love it all. I love them so.

Ten on Friday

1. We are wrapping up a few weeks of insanity around these parts. Tonight we are off to a Rockies game with Joel's company and then have just a few small things to attend to this weekend, but are generally going to be L A Z Y and B O R I N G this weekend. :) Just the way I like it. The most productive thing I hope to achieve is planting my garden. My garden is ready and waiting and Mother's Day is past so we are a green light for planting! I am SUPER DUPER excited!

2. Both J and I are sick with nasty head colds. Right on the tail of the stomach bug we all had, I am feeling a bit hostile and bitter towards germs and sickness right now. SO OVER IT! So far none of my lovelies have it, so that is a blessing.

3. My sweet little man had his first haircut on Mother's Day. As you can see it went really well. :) He had no problems whatsoever with the whole process. ;) (Actually, I am amazed that he didn't lose an eye...he was a MANIAC!)

BEFORE: My sweet little ragamuffin child

 

DURING: My raging lunatic child.

 

AFTER: My handsome little man-child. Wow, does he look different and SO MUCH BIGGER! (Insert tears - his and mine)

4. It was a real blessing that both K and B had their field day at the same time this year and their rotation of events happened to be right next to each other...so I literally could turn one way and see K and turn the other way and see B. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect this year.

5. It was a big weekend for Megan. She graduated from college with her teaching degree and moved to KS officially to start her new life with her hubby. It was indeed a weekend of great celebration and painful good-byes.

 

6. I went to a Mother's Tea at Lauren's school last Friday and that was a real treat. Such precious little sweeties in her class.

7. Lauren also had her ballet show last weekend. (Yes, you read that right...a recital, a graduation, a graduation party, and Mother's Day...it was one of THOSE weekends.) 

Here is my little lady all ready for her show.

8. After today, Lauren has 2 days of school and my big girls have 3 1/2 days left. HOORAY! I am very very very ready for summer break. My big girls had today off for a teacher work day and it was nice to have them around during errands and such this morning. They are becoming such good little helpers and love to lend a hand. I welcome the extra hands in my life right now. :)

9. We have set our summer vacations plans in stone. A roadtrip to Lake Michigan with dear friends with a stop along the way at Great Wolf Lodge for a couple days of water park fun. It should be a great time, although I would be lying if I said I didn't have some anxiety about how Micah will do on the long car ride and sleeping anywhere but his crib. Ok, A LOT anxious is more like it. :) I think the first couple days are going to be rough. Yikes.

10. We are also looking at possibly taking a fall break trip to Yellowstone - Grand Tetons - Jackson Hole. One of my very favorite places in the US...simply gorgeous. That's all a little tentative still, but sounds super fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

The Girl on the Street

Last weekend it was mostly rainy, cloudy and cool. Weather I love love love.

I ran to the bank last minute on Friday afternoon and as I turned in to my bank I noticed a young woman on the corner across from the bank holding a sign asking for help of any kind. I am usually one to help when I have cash on hand and am able to get their attention. So I prayed that if God would have me give her the $20 I had in my wallet that He would have her within my reach when I pulled out of the bank.

Well, sure enough, as I pulled away she was crossing the intersection right in front of me. I called out to her and she quickly made her way over to my window. It was then that our eyes met. She was quite young...early 20's maybe. I handed her the money and she very sincerely thanked me. I could see that she had been crying. I pulled away from this girl begging in the rain and said a prayer for her. A prayer for her safety, a prayer for some hope and a break that may help her get back on her feet. As I drove on I wondered to myself just how a lovely, young woman gets to that place? What set of circumstances or bad decisions (hers or someone elses) has led to her standing in the rain begging for help? It broke my heart. She is someone's precious daughter. She is Christ's precious child.

I often feel so helpless to truly help someone in need like this young girl. What good can my measly 20.00 do when her life has come to street begging? Maybe my 20.00 might get her a warm meal and some clean water. Maybe a chocolate something for later when she needs a little treat. But I can offer my prayers also. Prayers that God will redeem her life and situation and bring her back to a somewhat normal life at some point. Prayers are more mighty than the money. I know that. 

So I will continue to pray for this young lady. Poor girl. I could just see the heartbreak and desperacy in her eyes. I cannot imagine the pain and loneliness of having nothing like that.