Catching Up

There are things from these last weeks I don't wish to forget... and those things I've already forgotten.

Leah was part delighted part startled by the sparklers that spit their sparks at her. Our oldest, our firstborn, our dear Leah turned 8 last week. It's hard to believe that already 8 years have flown by. We've made many mistakes learning to be parents and really, she's carried the weight of our learning. Our prayer is she will have patience with us as we head into these next 8 years and that God will give us all wisdom, strength and yes, also patience, to raise her in His ways. We are encouraged in the knowing He is faithful to His promises!

And a picture long waited for :) Yes, Steve finished ripping down the lean to he started demoing with the kids a while back. It's made the yard seem that much lighter and airy. The kids are delighted with the idea that with some hard work their play space will get a bit bigger.
And you will notice that despite many strong winds in the last year the trees are still standing... or lets say, leaning!

One of the other things I'll forget if I don't write it right away? That would be Cara's serious assurance that it will happen "next week when I'm a boy" and the age old but always treasured, "I'm not going to get married to a Dad, I'll always stay with you!"

Then there was Cam who last week after a night of heaving well into the early morning woke up feeling oh so cheerful and stopped me to say, "thanks for taking such good care of me when I was sick in the night, Mama." I told someone it seemed as though a gift from God coming in the middle of the mostly thankless mom job of caring for sick little ones and doing lots of wash. A heaping dose of love washing over my tired frame. Only a gracious God would know how precious and encouraging that one sentence would be.

I probably would also enjoy remembering some day that this same boy after his first two times over the bucket said in a tiny pitiful voice, "I think I'm going to be sick forever."

That's it for today but hopefully I get into the habit of sitting behind this screen more often again. Today was a prime day for taking pictures and recording memories. The skies were even more blue and beautiful than that picture above and we took full advantage of it stopping at a couple of play grounds and jumping on the tramp. It didn't occur to me until too late that I probably could have gotten some beautiful pictures to sit alongside the recording of memories.

First Snow :)

You know you don't get much snow where you live when 6:30 breakfast attire included snow suits, gloves and toques!


I could have written an entire post about the following hour of trying to make sure the kids were ready for the bus 10 minutes early, everyone happy with the snow apparel they were awarded with and the impatience of the littles waiting their turn to be outside ready. That post would have included themes like extreme elevated blood pressure, crying, whining, waiting bus and patient bus driver and a Mom ready to let them all take care of themselves while she went and crawled back in bed. But we got Sam and Leah on the bus and Cara, Cody and Cam dressed and outside by 7:35. After all the previous snot and tears I was pleasantly surprised to have so much fun with them out there for the next hour and a half.

By 8:00 we had 4 snowmen made, Cara, Cody, Cam and Papa. By 8:04 all four snowmen lay in heaps and the rascals were started on new snow friends before I could even properly document the construction and destruction of the first set.

100% boy.
I apologized to them that the snowman turned out so snow lady-ish but the didn't seem to mind one bit :) As a total side note I found it very interesting that two 3 year olds, who couldn't draw a person even if bribed with candy, were so able to pick out rocks for eyes, sticks for noses, smile and arms and place them so correctly. There must be some kind of research out there in regards to this kind of learning. I did help them lock that smile in place but otherwise I thought they did impressively.
It was a fun morning but I will admit I wasn't one bit sad when they showed no interest in going out again Monday morning. Sometimes half the battle is convincing the dresser upper that the fun the dressees will have is worth the effort.

Sometimes....

Currently I have one pan of spaghetti sauce on the stove with burned ground beef. I forgot about it. And that's what happens when I forget.

Currently I have a 9 x 13 pan of blackened baked goods on my back lawn. I also forgot about it. I blame it on the blackened ground beef. I couldn't smell the baked goods until they were near flames because I was still trying to recover from the first nasal assault.

For those of you who would lovingly remind me of the purpose of the timer? You would be delighted to know that while I was typing this up Leah's voice finally broke through my cloud of concentration, "Mom, the timers going, you're going to burn your next batch if you don't get it out of the oven!"

But the very biggest problem of all?? The name of the charcoaled baked goods????

NEVER FAIL CHOCOLATE CHIP SQUARES

There ought to be a law against false guarantees like that!


been one of those kinds of days.

A few more pictures...

(Please note the pictures are not in any particular order and are for the most part focused on my family. Picture credits go to a few people who were kind enough to grab the camera and take them including my own dear Leah (who got about 25 pictures of a partial cake :) ) Pictures are not in too much sense of order.

The very special couple. It was so special to be able to be there and be a part of their wedding day.

What do you get when you add Overduin and Kenyon families together? Lots of music! (just our family here) I think one of Holly's friends made this beautiful cake with the toppers being an appropriate pair of chess pieces :)
Oh, there's Aunt Liz again and this time she's surrounded herself with a whole bunch of kids. Remember that birthday card you sent Steve? You know the castle with lots of rooms for lots of kids? I think it would be a great place to babysit, Aunt Liz. Just think of the amazing game of hide and seek you could play. In fact, you could babysit for a whole week and find new hiding spots every day. What do you think? ;)
Lots of aunts and uncles from both Mom and Dad's side.





And cousins.



Also seen from this point of view.



There was more, much more but that's all I'll post.

To sum it up via the way of Martin and Yen's phonetic punctuation...it was a wonderful day and a special reception ffffffffffffft pbbt!

The beautiful reception in not so beautiful pictures!

It was so pretty, warm, cozy, warm and welcoming in there. Great job to the decorating masterminds!


Doesn't do it justice from this awkward angle.The table centerpieces were in little pumpkins that took over Holly's Mom's kitchen before they were all gutted and ready to be filled! But the end result was so pretty!

The guest table had the train on it that Jeff made for Holly and that together they filled with texts of the promises of God's never ending grace - picture a never ending freight train with overloaded cars . (this train theme is one that has shaped their entire relationship but a story I'm not going to share here.)

Again this picture doesn't really give it justice. This pumpkin was quite big and the arrangement probably almost 3 feet tall, I think!

A place to take pictures. We tried....it might take some photoshopping to get a picture that actually is somewhat normal!

Oh! Hi Aunt Liz. Don't tell me you're babysitting!? :)

Ah, yes, Cam at his finest!

Love of a Parent

A loving mom says "yes" to playdoh. I don't love them in this way very often. This is a small fraction of the floor's new coloring. :)
A loving and really great Dad says "yes" to can we help you tear down the shop and teaches them the right and safe way to go about ripping off shingles and throwing them into a tarp covered truck. For those who get nervous at these types of activities you may want to stop here. They look closer to the edge than they really were.

Sam shows off his superior throw and aim.

Leah proves that a near year of vaulting has given her enough arm muscle to make her a serious and effective worker.

Cam would like you to know he hadn't had that much fun working with his Dad in a very long while and made a funny face to prove it. I hope you can click on this picture. "Can you put that one on your blog, Mom?" Giggle, giggle!

Once most of the shingles were removed and Steve started on the tar paper the two big kids made use of their free time to jump from the roof to the trampoline. :) Lucky them, we had to climb on the bars of the swing set when we were little!

And once the work got "dangerous" and Steve started getting rid of the sheeting he stuck them all in a spot they could keep watching from in safety.

Clean up the job site! Good thing for cute and willing helpers.

And I Quote

Having just picked up the kids from the Koopman's house after a quick appointment for Cara this mom questioned them on needing a snack not even an 1 1/2 after lunch.

Me: "Did you guys tell Mrs. Koopman you were hungry?
Boys: "Yes, we were hungry!"
Me: "You turkeys, you just had lunch."
Cam: "But we're hungry little pigs!"

Taking a Break...

from the past to fit in some today. The reception was filled with beautiful details both in the decorating as well as the content (program and people). The thought of sorting through it has been bit daunting so I'm going to include a picture or two from today and leave the rest of the ON for another time. Be warned I'm about to include some lovely pictures of myself!
Last week at Bible Study, while speaking on the subject of contentment, one of the ladies wisely related the advice of loving what you have. Huh? Well, for example, say I really am tired of my vehicle, it has a few dents, the carpets inside are stained, the paint's not as shiny as when I got it 9 years ago (hypothetically speaking, of course). Lately I've found myself eyeing the ads for all the car lots in town. Honestly? I've picked out which vehicle I would drive off the lot if I had a chance. Only one problem, the dented, not so shiny, slightly stinky one I currently own still runs smoothly enough. It is not a safety hazard, it is not facing thousands of $ in repair.
So, what to do? The longer I look at the shiny ones the more I despise the one I've got. Enters in, "love what you have". Dust, vaccum and clean out the garbage, wash and maybe even wax my old one back to shiningness. And before I know it my old van is looking a lot less shabby and unlovable than before. I've invested enough energy that I relearn to love, or at least appreciate and be content, with the vehicle I got.
Now, vehicles aren't necessarily my discontentment issue as accurately as prior example might describe the vehicle we own. But, rest assured the discontentment rears it's ugly head other places here. It can be something as insignificant as a trimless wall in the house or old dinged and dirty walls. It can be significant, as huge as my children and husband. Living in this sinful world I'm sure I'm not the only one to wrestle with these issues. But having been equipped with the wise advice of an unsuspecting dear lady I can fight against my rotten sinful heart. I can love what I have (and there's no denying I have lots - more than most!)
So today, on a gorgeously sunny day I scrubbed walls with milk trails and muddy fingerprints, I washed floors and cleaned up clutter and already my house is looking better. Already I'm looking around with a more appreciative attitude. I hugged my kids close and shared some silly moments with them (and I'll admit, got frustrated when they refused to stay outside and brought mud across my just clean floor - sigh) But right now I know I'm more aware that I have to change and where I can start. All the while acknowleging I can't do it apart from God's help.

So pray God will make me a more godly and content stay at home mom to these dear kids...

(one of who came up to me 10 minutes ago, planted a big kiss on my cheek and said, "you are my cutest big girl" thanks Cara!!)
and make me everything this dear man (who's smiling so lovingly at me) needs me to be.
And I'm pretty convinced that by putting even greater amounts of energy into loving them they will become more and more precious to me. I don't know I'm getting out quite what I mean.... they are already very precious to me but I'm just trying to honestly admit to you that I too look outside of our family and sometimes feel discontent with what and even who I have.

Ps. And I thought a wedding reception post would be daunting?! This musing took me farther than I thought, sharing a picture I wasn't planning on at the beginning. Thanks for coming back to read our family moments and my scrawling thoughts. I appreciate you all!

The families

His Hers

Ours. Too bad for me Cam wouldn't go where I thought he should and Steve was needed back with the group so this is all we got - it's not balanced and really it's not even nice but it is the members of our family that attended the wedding. :)

Where I failed...

So, considering the fact we took huge numbers of pictures my actual recording of this most wonderful day is actually quite pathetic.

I have the program hander outers. Quite a charming set of cousins if I do say so myself.
Especially when they're nervously giggling together over the mushy wording or something in the programs.

Should you have gone up the other entrance this handsome boy would have handed you your copy.

There there was the 3 cousins who took the minutes preceeding the ceremony to enjoy eachother and the time to run around and play on the stairs.

One the pictures I was really hoping to capture... Jeff grinning (uncontrollably - sorry Jeff but you know I love that grin even if I do usually enjoy it on Steve's face!) at his approaching dearest Holly.

The beautiful (inside and out) bride, my new sis-in-law.

And I think about here I put the camera on the floor and just enjoyed the rest of the service. Too bad but it just wasn't working to take pictures from where I was sitting, trying to get a better angle and work around my kiddos heads.

Continuing

Figuring out the details...
...and practicing.

The day of... the boys/men getting Jeff's car ready. Take one look at them and you'll notice it was COLD!

This is how we transformed Joel and Marianne's neighborhood (sorry, this picture is included here because this is when I took it!) Between the 3 trailers and a roving band of miscellaneous people we kept their driveway and street(s) filled!

Meanwhile, the guys had gone back inside to get ready. The girls (not the bride and company but O family) had already been working on hair etc. all morning and it was fun as there was nothing to stress about and only time to enjoy each others company... and encourage eachother to try something different :) Jeff got this far and then almost no further... Daniel again :)

And Daniel... I'm not really sorry :)