Random Thoughts

I will really miss this porch.

Today is our last Saturday here. It still feels surreal. My brain knows that I only have a few more days here, but my heart is still numb.

The little kids are pretty clueless, so they are currently fine. They did well at the cabin last week, so I think they will probably transition pretty well. The older kids are a bit sad, and trying to say good-bye to their friends. Ryan has been gone a lot--much to Chloe's dismay. He ended up taking her with him yesterday. She had an offer to swim with us at a friend's house and she turned it down to hang out with Ryan. I was a bit shocked by that because she LOVES to swim.

The movers come in two days to start packing us up. I am thankful that I don't have to pack everything. We have some doctor and dentist visits to finish up and then we will be heading east as the truck pulls out. (sob)

The truck pulls out on Wed., and is not guaranteed an arrival until Sunday, so we need to pack enough clothes for that long. Great! It's like another vacation.

5 days of clothes + 12 people = 60 clean outfits. And let's not forget pajamas. And swimsuits. Shoes. Hairbows. Underwear. Jackets.

Our washer and dryer are staying here because the dryer outlet at the new house is electric and we have a gas dryer. We will need to buy a set in Boston and hopefully get it delivered immediately. Either that, or all the kids will get a lesson on how to pound out laundry on a rock.

I had visions of visiting friends along the way, stopping at Niagra Falls, etc. But Jeff, aka Lets-get-there-by-driving-12-straight-hours thinks not. Drat! I see his point, though. Dragging all of our stuff into a hotel is a huge undertaking and not much fun. And there IS the slim possibility of the truck getting there on Friday instead of Sunday.

A kind co-worker delivered some blow up mattresses to the house so that the ancient youthful parents' lower backs don't go out. So we will be hanging out there until the truck arrives. I have only seen a few pictures of the house online, so I want to get there before the truck to figure out furniture placement.

Some random pictures from our last week here...

The purple coneflowers are blooming in our yard

This probably sounds silly, but we see deer a lot around here and I LOVE them! Each time I see them, my camera is at home. urgh. I really wanted to be able to take some photos of them before we moved so I began to pray that God would put some in my path when I had a camera handy. Last Sunday, on the way home from church, we spotted two fawns and their Mama as we pulled into our subdivision. We watched them for a few minutes and then I decided to go get my camera and hope to find them still there. Not likely...but worth a try. To my delight, they were still there when I returned and I was able to take some photos. They are a bit blurry because the deer were farther away than my lens could handle, but they are better than nothing. God DOES care about every detail of our lives and I think He was delighted to answer my prayer. :)

Two sets of dirty feet-sies

Chloe, in Ryan's *rmy shirt that she wears to bed

The remainder of the pictures are of a sweet little boy we know. He is the child of a young, newly married couple who needed some photos taken. I needed the practice, so wah-la... We did each other a favor. :) This little guy has some of the most gorgeous blue eyes I have ever seen. AMAZING!

My kids

This morning, Jakie came into the room wearing one of the girls' Easter hats. Zoey looked at him and said, "You wook prvitty." ( That's Zoey-speak for, "You look pretty.")

Jake looked at her in disgust and said, "I not pvitty." And he wasn't. He looked absurd but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo. Rats...

This afternoon, Taylor thought it would be fun to let me smell his armpits. You know...a little mom/son bonding experience. He pinned me and rubbed his stinky armpits on my shirt. Gross. As I headed past him, I spotted a bag of dirty diapers that I was going to throw in the garbage. Perfect. I picked it up and waved it in his face. He tried to fend me off but I persisted. At some point in the fracas he accused me of pushing the bag into his mouth, which is completely untrue. He has been grumbling all evening, while I secretly gloat that I grossed him out more than he grossed me out. Bahahahaha

This evening, we were out in the backyard playing when Jillian started yelling, "Mom! Look at SaraGrace!"

I looked for her but didn't see any sign of her. "Where? Where?" I yelled.
Jillian yelled, "Up there! In the tree!"

With visions of my baby falling out of the tree and breaking her leg, I dashed over to the tree. She was not visible until I got right under it and sure enough...there she was. I had my camera in hand and she was already posing.

Rather than my kids being camera shy, I am now met with a chorus of, "Mom! Smile me!" whenever I get the camera out. It cracks me up! I'm glad they don't mind me sticking my camera in their faces at every opportunity.

I'm starting to see this expression a lot lately.

Chloe has been wanting me to curl her hair lately. It doesn't last long.

Could he look any more mischievous?

My little Chloe

Ryan and Chloe have been little buddies since Chloe came home from China at 18 months of age. She has been upset about him going into the *rmy and sleeps with--or wears--the *rmy shirt he was given when he enl*sted.

Tonight, after being put to bed, she came down about an hour later, just sobbing. When I asked her what was wrong, she gulped out, "I don't want Ryan to get hurt in the *rmy."

My heart turned over. I took her in my arms and tried to comfort her, but everything I said sounded so lame. She sobbed and sobbed and I finally offered to let her call Ryan to try to calm her down. Thankfully, he answered his cell phone right away and talked to her.

She is lying on the couch near me because she can't get to sleep, due to worrying about Ryan. Poor little punkin. Molly and I prayed with her and she nodded her head earnestly when I told her that we have to trust God and ask Him to give us courage and peace so that we don't worry every day.

I guess this will be a good time to have her memorize Matthew 6:27, 'Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?'

When he was getting senior pictures taken, he insisted on having Chloe in a few of them.

Convicting Post

Another friend directed me to this post and I am passing it on. It convicted me and gave me perspective (again).

Divine Appointments

You know...sometimes God just likes to let you know that He is amazingly detailed. We like to say that His timing is perfect, but sometimes we forget His precision.

Last night, I made an impromptu trip to WalM*rt. I got held up at the register because the stupid convenient self-check register kept saying I wasn't putting the item in the bag. I was mildly annoyed at the delay because I was in a hurry. However, as I was walking out of the store, a van was driving by and I suddenly noticed that the person in the driver's seat was waving wildly. I stopped and realized that it was a friend of mine who has been going through a very painful time lately. She really needed a shoulder to cry on last night, and God had me walk out of that store at the precise time she was driving by the entrance. Thirty seconds earlier or later and I would have missed her entirely. (In fact, my son was there at the same time and we never ran into each other.) My friend asked where I was parked so that she could pull her car nearby to continue our conversation, and wouldn't you know...there was one empty spot right next to my car for her. Every other spot around us was taken.

After ending our conversation, I traveled on to the grocery store. A few weeks ago, one of the cashier's had commented on the items I was buying and it came up that we were having a party for Ryan as he went in to the milit*ry. She said she had a friend in the service and prayed for him a lot--and then said, "I'll pray for your son." Ever since, I have been planning to return and give her a prayer card for Ryan. Last night, as I headed in, I thought, "Rats...she won't be here because it's night and she works the day shift. I hope I see her before we move." As I walked in, I was shocked to see her standing at the door. She was not at a register---she was a greeter! I have never seen her in that position--EVER. I walked up and reminded her of who I was and handed her the prayer card for Ryan. She later found me in the store and wanted his address, so she could write to him. That blessed me soooo much!

When I left, she was no longer at her post as greeter--and had been moved elsewhere in the store. God had put her where I needed to see her at the precise moment that I walked in. It was such a great reminder to me that God is NOT random. It sometimes seems like things happen without Him noticing, but He knows everything that is happening and there is purpose and meaning in it all. Just because we are often unaware of it, doesn't change the truth of who He is and what He is doing.

All About Jake

Little man, Jake, is three! We took him for a birthday lunch and then to the hardware store where he picked out a bike. He was so excited and rode it around the store. I let him skip his nap to ride it in the driveway--which ticked Zoey and Kate off a bit.

Later, we had birthday pie instead of cake...since we still have cake left over from Ryan's party. With three birthdays in one week, we get kind of birthday cake-d out.

We cannot imagine our lives without this special little guy--our only child from Guatemala. God led us to him in such an unusual way, and we are so glad we have this little blessing in our lives. He is constant entertainment. In honor of Jake's life...some pictures of him from this past week.

Cabin fun

We are home and doing laundry after our vacation at the cabin. :) It was nice to get away and spend some time as a family before hitting the ground running again as we gear up to move to the Boston area.




My nephew, who didn't want to pose for any pictures.

A little free advertising for our favorite canoe livery, Gott's Landing. We didn't canoe this year because the kids are too young.

"Mom, please don't take my picture."

Boat and canoe launch

Not far from my parents' cabin is the picturesque Au Sable river. It is a popular place to canoe, raft and draw fly fishermen from near and far. We took the kids to the river, where they spent hours wading and throwing pebbles into the water.



A sea gull that mesmerized the little kids.




This photo just doesn't do justice to the gorgeous scenery.






There are many dragonflies near the water and I can now challenge anyone to a game of Twister after twisting my body into contortions to get this shot.









My sister drove up on the weekend with my mom, and brought squirt guns for the kids. I'm plotting my revenge so touched by her thoughtfulness.

Update on my Brother-in-Law

We have received some encouraging news about my brother-in-law. He has a treatable form of leukemia and we are praying that he responds well to the medication. Thank you so much for praying.

Prayer Request

We just got a call that my brother-in-law has been diagnosed with leukemia. He is going to the hospital tomorrow and based on what the tests show, may have to stay for immediate treatment. Please pray. He is only 50 and still has one teenage child living at home. I have not had a chance to talk to him or my sister-in-law, but I know that they could use the prayer.

I'll update when we get more news.

I took this picture today as I sat at the pool with the kids. At the time, I thought about how majestic the sky looked. Whenever I see sunbeams, I think of God. It's like He shoots them directly into my heart to remind me that He is there, He is thinking about me, and He knows every detail of my life. As we digest this news about my brother-in-law, I am reminded again...that God already knew about this illness. He has a plan and He is right there beside them as they go to the hospital...as they try to sleep tonight...and will be there with them through every day ahead.

My parents have a coffee mug up here at the cabin with this saying on it:

Now, if I was saying this, it would be dripping with sarcasm. Every time I see this saying, I laugh because I love sarcastic humor. As I poured my coffee into it this morning, though, another thought came. God DOES say this to all of us ALL the time. He will drop everything to work on our problem (has actually been working on it before we were aware that we had a problem).

Thank you, God, that we can know that no matter what happens, You are there, working on our problems and holding us tight.

Fun at the Cabin

We love bunkbeds!




Jordan picks a daisy for Kate. He is her buddy.



This looks like she was posing because...she was.


Kate says, "Mom, will you smile me?" (This is her way of asking me to take a picture of her)

Jakey bravely sits in 3 inches of water on the steps of the pool

My nephew spent the day with us

This would have been a cool picture if not for the bathing beauty in the background.

"I'm gonna jump....I'm gonna jump..."

"Dang--I landed on the side of the pool!"



SaraGrace always finds a little friend to play with

Prune-y feet mean it's time to dry off

Huck Finn

On the drive up to the cabin, Jillian read a few chapters of Tom Sawyer out loud to us. One of the chapters was about an adventure Tom had with his friend, Huckleberry Finn. Huck was described as a boy who had no rules. He could come and go as he pleased, do what he wanted – and his most enviable perk was that he never had to take a bath!

None of the parents wanted their children to play with Huck because he was a bad example and led them into all kinds of trouble. Every boy in the town, however, played with Huck every chance he got.

I laughed as I listened to the story. I mentally shook my head at how the boys envied Huck so intensely. They had no idea that Huck didn’t have a parent who cared about him or one who took the time to teach him life lessons. All they could see was that Huck had no rules and seemed to have all the fun. They compared that to the awful, freedom-encroaching rules that they lived under, and they chafed. They didn’t realize that their parents loved them enough to set limits. That their parents were wiser and knew how poor choices would eventually ruin their children’s lives if left unchecked.

My laughter soon died, though, at another thought. How many of God’s children do the same thing? He gave us a few rules to live by, but rather than accept that they are good for us, we chafe. We think we are missing out on all the fun that others seem to be having. When we are too prideful to admit that God is wiser than we are, we fail to see that His rules are only to protect us from poor choices that will ruin our lives.

Christianity is not a religion with a bunch of rigid rules about how to be a good person. It is a relationship with a living God who wants to fill us with His joy, peace, and contentment, in spite of any circumstance in which we find ourselves. God, as the perfect parent, has given us some limits to live within. Staying within them gives us the freedom to live with Joy…to experience His Peace… to be Content in our circumstances...and to be lavishly loved.

At the Cabin

In the past few days, we have had a huge 4th of July party, Katie-bug went to U of M for her dental work under anesthesia, Taylor had a birthday, and we drove up to my parents' cabin. I'm tired. ha.

Kate's dental work went well. We had to be at the hospital at 6:45. UUUGGGGHHHHH. I am not a morning person. Ryan went with me to help if needed. Kate was very brave and only started to whimper when the dentist came into the pre-op area with his surgical hat on . She can tolerate scrubs, but those hats set her off. She was wheeled away in the same wagon as the one that carried her to heart surgery. (I took pics but forgot to bring the camera card to the main office where I am typing this.) A few hours later, the dentist came out to report that her teeth were better than they had hoped and they had not done any root canals or extractions! yay! She had a total of 10 cavities. They filled seven and capped three teeth, due to rot around her gumline. She is quite proud of her 'silver stars' and shows them to everyone. She again did not sleep off the anesthetic 'for hours' as they said she would. She woke up immediately and started freaking out. She saw her IV and hand splint and I know she thought she was in for the long haul. She calmed down when we were discharged and she was sitting in her stroller. Her only mishap was barfing into my hand on the elevator (while I was fishing around in a bag for her little barf thingy). The people on the elevator were fine with this grossed out. Oh well...what can you do?

We are currently at my parents' cabin 'Up North.' If you live in Michigan, you know what that means. The 'cabin' is actually a log home that is bigger than our first few homes. haha The kids love it! We are hoping to swim in the pool here but so far the weather is FREEZING. It was 57 last night after dinner!

I can only get internet in the main office, so I may not be online much. Next time I post, I will try to remember my camera card.

Thank you so much for the sweet comments that so many of you made on the blog about Ryan and for those of you who emailed your sweet comments to me. You have NO IDEA how much it blesses me to know that you care and that you will pray for Ryan.

Oh...and I keep forgetting to post this...we have a moving date. (sob) The packers are coming on the 20th of July and we will probably be in the Boston area by the end of the week. I feel totally numb at this point - which is typical for me. I am usually fine until things are over and then I tend to get emotional. I am very sad about leaving my family, but I am trusting that God has a GOOD reason for moving us there and am trying to look at it as another great adventure. I hear that they are having no summer this year and I tell ya....they better get it together before I get there!! hee! We want to go to the beach!