growing up

Tonight a milestone was scaled in our home. To some, this may not mean a whole lot, but to a mom who has been working with her son on reading, this is a HUGE thing. Sam doesn't really like to read. He likes being read to and has started graduating from pictures books to chapter books (with some pictures). It is like pulling teeth to get him to read words, but at the library the other day, I took my time in picking out some very easy beginner books for him to read. I realized how hard it is to find books that have very few words on the pages, and yet are full sentences where every word could be sounded out. I found three. And he read an entire one, all by himself, tonight. You could see he was getting so frustrated with himself over some words, but when it clicked in his brain, he got really excited when he re-read the entire sentence. His eyes lit up and he got a huge smile on his face. Praise filled our home tonight over his huge accomplishment. I'm so very proud of him, and from this big step, I hope he sees how amazing reading can be and all the adventures he can imagine from reading books.

#2

Today Ed left on trip number two. The past days have been filled with dehydrating chicken for jerky, green peppers and onions for fajitas, apples, strawberries and blueberries to add to the morning oatmeal. Eight sandwiches were baked for lunches, noodles measured out for stroganoff, rice to accompany the fajitas, and every bag labeled for each guy. Breakfasts, snacks, lunches, snacks, dinners. The kitchen has once again exploded with foods for trail mix, oatmeal bars (which I couldn't sneak a few in as all 16 were needed), bags of packaged tuna and apple cider found on the clearance rack at a nearby grocery store. The dishwasher is getting its workout and the rest of the mess can wait until tomorrow.

To end the day after the guys left I started clearing out the shed, garage and basement for a garage sale the neighbors are having. The truck was stuffed full and so much more is going to go tomorrow.

Right now my bed is calling along with the movie I picked out for me from the library. I think a small snack is in order too.

plans

Today Ed left on his first of three backpacking trips for the men's ministry. So with him gone, we're finding things to do to keep busy until his return on Sunday.

Today was helping my dear friend sing at a kids park party by the lake. I love being by the water and the kids did too. I could've done without Ronald McDonald talking to me though (clowns give me the heebee geebees), but all was well.

Tomorrow is blueberry picking!! YAY!!! Time to stock up the freezer to last us through the fall, winter and spring until next year.

Tomorrow night is the musician bbq and Ed's mom is coming for the weekend. Me, myself and I get to indulge in an evening of adult conversation, and eat as slow as I'd like. I'm very much looking forward to it!

Saturday is undetermined as to what is going to happen.

Sunday is church and then Ed will be home by dinner time.

Right now it is time for books and bed. The kitchen that exploded with preparations of camping food for the guys, is mainly cleaned up and will still be there tomorrow morning.

thankful

Today is a day of thankfulness.
For:
A washer and dryer.
A working refrigerator.
Fans.
Clothes line.
Communication to the outside world.
Lights.
Water.
Flushing toilets.
The basics that I take advantage of every single day and not realize it.

After a 19 hour stint of having no electricity (which also means no water and no septic), I am truly thankful for the every day items in our home. It made today a really fun adventure though!!

Our holiday

It has been another great 4th holiday. It began on the 3rd with 70+ friends and family gathered at our home to eat very yummy food while chatting and playing games. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks show across the street and thesmores around the fire pit. Our family was praying all week for the rain to hold off, and other than 30 seconds of sprinkles, it didn't start raining until we climbed into bed
last night. Thank you Jesus!!

Today was a lazy day of sleeping in, going out to breakfast with Grandma, watching a parade, going to a fair for sno-cones and inflatable rides and then out to lunch with Grandma, followed by a nice nap. Tonight is cleaning up the house and taking it easy.

What a great holiday it has been! I experienced the blessings of having a cleaning fairy yesterday who was a HUGE help, the relaxing atmosphere of a large crowd at our home and being able to celebrate our country's birth with my family.

Now the kitchen needs some loving attention and so does the newly decorated laundry room that is keeping an eye on the mountains of laundry that need to be done.

Happy 4th of July!!

blink

Have you ever seen one of those stunt drivers in the movies where their car is flying through the air on its side then lands on it's roof,smushing the car so much that you can't even pick out the windows anymore? That is the only way I can describe the horror that flew before my eyes last evening and is seared inside of my brain. Replaying over and over again. Happening in slow motion. Hearing metal collide into metal. Smelling burnt rubber. Seeing the shocked faces of those standing around me. Everyone standing stone still. Watching. Trying to comprehend what just happened before all of our eyes. Then in the blink of an eye, people running to help all involved. Parents searching frantically for their kids. It was a movie being played out. Or so it seemed.

After watching the fireworks out in a little farm town, from the lawn of a friends uncle's house with the majority of the people our family didn't know, this scene happened. We were getting ready to leave when we heard a horrible metal on metal impact, turned around to see a car hurdling through the air to land on it's roof, on
the lawn, that we were all standing on.

Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt. The 20 year old of the flying car came out with a scraped elbow. How he lived I don't think anyone will be able to comprehend as he wasn't wearing hisseat belt.

I hope I never see, hear, smell anything like this again.

And while sitting there watching the entire town's fire department take care of all that were involved, our 3 year old pipes up and says, "I think we should pray for that man. That he's ok." And we did just that.

A wake up call of how life can so swiftly change. And a reminder of the child like faith we are called to have, to go to Christ with our scraped knees, thankful hearts and crushing blows.

flying by

Sitting here working today, I realized I've been doing this job for 7 years. So I stopped and revisted the past handful of years of life.

Moved to our first house.
Sam was born.
Experiencing all the firsts of a baby, including some extras like surgery and hospitals and changing bandages and needles.
Potty training.
Backpacking trips with a toddler.
Catalyst.
Moved to our 2nd house.
2nd baby and all the firsts with her which did not include extras.
Totalling our only vehicle.
10 year anniversary.
Backpacking trip with a preschooler and toddler.
Turning 30.
Ups and downs.
1st day of school.
Growing.
Being broken.
Trusting.
Experiencing the depths of Christ.

Time lived, not lost.

ironic

It's really ironic how the post below can mean something totally different now. When I wrote that, things were not happening like we expected them too. In the weeks that have followed, life has taken several different turns, but the thoughts below still apply. I need to continue keeping my hands open, even if what is happening (or not happening) does not line up with what we like. Of course, it's not at all about what we want, but what God wants for me and us as a family, which is going to be SO much better than what we ever expected.

Surrendering open hands to the Maker's will does not come easy.
A war between self will and His.
Clenched fists.
10 fingers.
Holding on so tightly.
White knuckles.
Realizing that you HAVE to let go.
To surrender the frustration.
The worry.
Doubt.
Ever so slowly the fingers open.
Not out of force, but of one's own choosing.
Each joint creaks.
Until palms are open.
Wide.
To let go.
And receive.
Being vulnerable.
Washed in peace.
Tears.
Deep rest.

meandering

It's raining. And thundering.

It's 2:37 a.m. and thanks to some knucklehead kids running down the street yelling at each other, I am wide awake.

My other half is gone for tonight and tomorrow scouting a trail. I hope he's fast asleep, snuggled in his sleeping bag.

Kids are snoring.

A nice breeze is coming through the window.

An ant on steroids crawled across my arm and scared the begeebees out of me.

I'm not a big fan of the dark.

I do like listening to the rain though. My favorite place to listen to the continuing cadence of water drops is snuggled up next to my husband in a tent.

I should probably go back to bed.

choices

Making choices is sometimes one of the easiest things to do and sometimes one of the hardest things to do. It is unbelievable how many choices come to head each day. Little choices like what to eat for breakfast or when to brush your teeth. Larger choices like the severity of discipline your child should get after disobeying comes a bit harder. Choosing a budget and sticking to it. Internal decisions/battles that can affect your being or catapult you back to square one. An array of choices.

I made a choice awhile back to take a break from something that was part of my everyday life. It was made after hearing the pastor of our church talk about taking one thing to fast from and try it for a month. Evaluate after the month and one would find that if a person can live without it one month, why not try for another. How in turn, fasting from something external can affect your internal thought process and the choices of what should/shouldn't be said out loud.

So I prayed about what to fast from and a month later, like a two by four upside the head, I was clearly given an answer of what to fast from. I made it a month. Two months. Then that little voice said, "You can make the choice to stop fasting. You can handle it. You've made it this long and are stronger now than you were months ago. Go ahead." The voice was so faint. Barely above a whisper. Hardly noticed. Unfortunately it was listened to and acted on. The choice was made to indulge and how quickly I sped right back to square one. You would think, "Lesson learned. That will not happen again." Square one has been visited more than once.

That little voice is so persistent. Every day. Day in and day out. It doesn't give up. It also doesn't get any louder, but keeps a steady beat that doesn't skip. Barely audible until I realize almost too late. Funny thing...it doesn't tell me the consequences I will face if I make the choice and accept what it says. That would obviously defeat the entire purpose.

I have had outs. I have taken the outs to keep myself in check. For these I am so very thankful. Prayer, husband, friends, accountability, and learning to change the thought processes and just some.

Overall it has been a very good choice. I am glad my Lord brought it to my mind
and that despite how hard it was to give up, I obeyed. Have failed, learned from the failure, failed again, had to learn again and humbly ask for forgiveness and continue on. Thankfully He is a forgiving Savior who grants grace that is so undeserving and is there to help in all my choices. Easy and hard. Day in and day out.

weekends

Last weekend's anniversary celebration was chalked full.

It started Friday night with dinner out at a great local eatery with friends and then viewing Nacho Libre which caused side splitting laughing.


Saturday started with breakfast at another great local eatery, a drive to the lakeshore where we ditched the vehicle and hopped on our bikes for a couple hours. We then devoured a light snack while sitting by the bay, changed for dinner, ate way too much at a fanstastic restaurant and ended with flurries by the shore.




We also were surprised by a kite festival that was taking place. Neither of us had seen kites as big as some were. It was extremely windy by the shore and we watched one kite literally drag a man on his stomach across the beach until another man grabbed his legs and was able to stop him.



Sunday was church, mom-in-law taking us out on our official anniversary, a quick nap, video shoot at a car repair and then home to do house/yard work.

Too sum it up, Monday came waaaaaaay too quick.

Another weekend is sneaking up on us and this time will include a trip to the parents homestead where three out of five of us siblings are gathering to help the parents do some landscaping reconstruction (or I should say destruction). Then it will be a trip back home with one day filled with church and dinner with friends and then one day working on the yard.

Whew! I'm ready for a nap!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

closed

The Eatery will be closed for business this weekend due to a celebration.

12 years ago tomorrow a wedding took place bringing together two, much younger, people. Since then, there has been four moves, two kids, 5 vehicles, vacations, highs, lows, memories and a growing friendship like no other.

I am so very thankful for the man I married.

Today we celebrate.

A day away.

I love you Ed, for our life together and for many more years to come.

Tonight's feature

Tonight at The Eatery, there was a shortage of ketchup. So instead of going out and buying a bottle, I figured it couldn't be that hard to make it from scratch. With little time left before the homemade fries were done, a quick making recipe was located with all ingredients found in the old mother cupboard.

The survey (two restaurant regulars under six and one over 35) said thumbs sideways to down. The chef agreed.

Too sweet.

The hands are itching to experiment again and the kitchen is rearing to go.

The next recipe has been found.

Will it be too salty?

Or just right?

Results to come.

The Eatery

The Eatery. Now open.

Main course: Homemade chicken and brown rice soup chalked full of yummy veggies.

Salad: Organic mix of spring greens, topped with rippened red strawberries, crunchy sunflower seeds, perfect pecans and dressing of choice.

Dessert: Small bowl of non homemade icecream. :)

randomness

I find it rather odd that my computer says it is 84 degrees outside yet here I sit with a short sleeve shirt on, a long sleeve sweater, long pants and a pair of socks. And the air conditioning is not on. Can't complain about that!!

Princess has a long sleeve/pant jumpsuit on sitting next to me making snakes and bread out of the play dough (and I was informed that the snakes do go in the bread so the snakes can say "sssssss"). Will be some fantastic bread!

We received yet another gift in the mail on Saturday in which we are able
to use for our anniversary this weekend. Humbled and awed again by
God's blessings being showered upon us during this season of our lives.
Living the message that our pastor spoke about yesterday. Choosing to
be content with what we have. Choosing to not go away for a weekend and
being blessed in a totally different way where we are now able to "get
away" for a bit.

During my morning study, God made me aware of some issues going on in my heart. Issues I was completely unaware of until the brick hit me between the eyes. A wake up call, if you may. Now learning to fully accept Christ's forgiveness on these matters even when I feel like I don't deserve it. Learning about His grace and mercy
all over again.

recap

Monday: Finding out that clamp on biking shoes are a lot harder to get used to than what was previously thought. Learning that the brain is one tricky instrument in how it interacts with the rest of the body. Your eyes SEE that the right foot is FREE from it's restraint. The brain says, "HELOOL!!! Your right foot is FREE, lean to the right!" and yet the body says, "Must get off on the left. Must get off on the left. Must get off on the left." in which case, the left foot is NOT free and the driveway comes rushing up very quickly to meet you, still connected to your bike. Then finding out that the grass is softer than the driveway, not by much though, and that the bike is still just as hard when it sandwiches you between itself and the ground.

Tuesday: Receiving a "need you to come and pick us up" call while on a walk with the princess. Two roaring trains of thought were: broken bones or blood. Blood was the winner. A chin full of skin is implanted on the pavement in the neighborhood behind us, left by an adventerous, thrill-seeking, bike-riding six year old.

Wednesday: Learning once again to be patient with what the future holds for our family. Waiting is a word that is becoming cemented in our brains.

Thursday: Finding a 2nd humbling blessing in the mail that still leaves us speachless. Meeting someone new. Staying out until 11:30 and not realizing it.

Friday: A bright, warm sunny day of playing baseball in the driveway, enjoying strawberries and baking.

Saturday: A party for a good friend and her little baby.

Sunday: Time to reflect on the week, worship with a multitude of others and celebrate two women in our lives who have given so much of themselves.

cleaning

With the warmer weather here, we have been sorting through what to get rid of in our home. I have found a swap place on-line for the city I live in. It's like an on-line garage sale. My list is growing. Bike, dresser, furniture covers, bunk bed, and I'm sure the more I dig, the more can be sold.

It amazes me how much "stuff" we have. How fortunate and blessed we are for the home we have, for the items in it. I was once again reminded Monday night of how nothing is mine. I'm just the caretaker for the things loaned to me. It was the kick in the rear end I needed. Not just take better care of material things, but my husband, my kids, my body.

So as spring cleaning takes place in our home, it's also a time for me to spring clean my soul and try to get rid of the excess "stuff". To take better care of what has been given on loan to me, but to take better care of myself too.

hopeful

I think it's here to stay.
Days with no coats, boots, snowpants, hats, gloves, or mittens.
Sunshine.
Flowers!
Seeing the earth wake up from it's very long drousy hibernation.
Spring Peepers.
Colors.
To have it arrive is a sweet fragrance.
Renewal.
Newness.
A new season.
Here to stay.

doozy of an outcome

Sam's 6th year has started out with a big bang, including the twirling stars.
Yesterday was the yearly checkups for both kids.
Healthy as horses. Good to know.
Last night, Sam was playing baseball with a friend and was hit smack dab in the forehead. On top of that, he tried to hit the ball and ended up hitting himself with the bat right where the ball hit. Drop, stop and roll took place. Well....more like drop, stop and scream.
This morning he woke up needing to throw up and had a 102+ temp. He went back to sleep on the couch until 1:00.
My mind started whirling with concusses thoughts.
Ended up back at the doctor this afternoon.
Diagnosis?
Strep throat.
Who knew? I told my friend that it was probably a blessing that her son hit
Sam with the ball since that was the main reason I took him to the doctor. Otherwise it could have been days before we went, which would've not had a nice sunny outcome.

15 seconds after the medicine was ingested, he was feeling much better. Stomach groans stopped. Then I strongly suggested the two of them watch tv as the wrestling ensued and a 2nd child with strep around here is something that can be done without.

I'm ready for a nap!