Our Treasures from Afar

Can Mom do Math?

2012-01-25T12:44:00.003-05:00

If you have read this blog for long, you will know the answer to that question.

A big fat, NO.

Math is definitely not a strength that I possess.

SaraGrace apparently thinks I need some practice because she has been making me worksheets. AUUGGGHHHHH......

And to top it off, it seems to be some type of geometry.

Should I tell her that geometry was a subject that I failed in high school?

It was the teacher's fault.

He laughed at anyone who asked a question.

Needless to say, I didn't ask any and quietly dropped out of the class.

So maybe a better teacher would have been able to explain to me why two triangles plus a circle could equal a square or something. Or is that only algebra?

Whatever...

I seemed to have survived in life without knowing anything about that.

Until now.

If SaraGrace has anything to say about it, I WILL be learning something about math related shapes. She seems to make up her own version of 'math' as she goes along though.

And she happily informed me that I only got a 99% on my paper while Daddy got a 100%.

That's why he is responsible for all the math at our house.

Jake's World

2012-01-20T09:24:00.003-05:00

Jake and Zoey are on a new kick...earning money.

I'm not sure what started it but they are willing to work for pennies.

Literally.

"Mom, can we fold clothes for a penny?"

"Um...sure! I might even give you two pennies if you do a good job."

It's probably bad of me to take advantage of their lack of knowledge regarding the actual value of coins. It's just hard not to smile and offer two pennies instead of one quarter, you know?

Trust me when I say that they just lose whatever I give them anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

The other day, Jake asked if he and Zoey could clean the bathroom for a penny. The main bathroom is dubbed, 'the kids' bathroom' because no one else wants to use it. It's gross. No matter how often it gets cleaned, it's trashed within an hour.

I do not fully understand how that is possible, but it happens. It's still a mystery how toothpaste gobs can get e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e., toilet paper on the floor, etc. GROSS.

Happily, I agreed to 'let' them clean it. I figured anything is better than nothing.

Surprisingly, they did a really nice job. They even cleaned the toothpaste gobs out of the sink. Who knew that 5 year old were capable of this?

The next morning, Jake walked into the bathroom after the teenager had used it. With a dramatic sigh, and hands outstretched, he exclaimed, "NOT AGAIN! I jus cleaned dis! Who made dis mess in here? I bet Taydor did dis!"

I totally cracked up. And I might have even muttered under my breath, "Welcome to my world, Jake, welcome to my world.

Katie-Bug has a birthday

2012-01-18T10:13:00.011-05:00

The Bug had a birthday this week...how can she be SIX already?! Ack! She was beside herself with excitement for D.A.Y.S.

Sunday at church, every time someone said hi to her, she said, "Tomorrow is my birthday!" And look pleased as punch when they said, "Oh! Happy Birthday, Kate!"

She's subtle, that one.

This year....SCORE...her birthday landed on Martin Luther King day, so she had the day off from school. Although...when you're a kid and you don't get to take your birthday treats to school on the DAY of your actual birthday, it can be cause for consternation.

She chose Red Robin for our usual lunch-out-after-church restaurant and happily slurped and smacked her free sundae after being sung to by half the establishment.

SaraGrace was hounding me to do a photoshoot with her new headband, so Kate jumped in for a few shots. It WAS her birthday, after all.

{In case you forgot, she would remind you. Every. Hour.}

Awwww....my two heart babies, and Hope Healing Home alumni.

Let's open presents! Jake wanted a picture with the birthday girl. That's cool because it's not every day that a girl gets to pose with a bona fide super hero.

I wrapped these myself.

Be impressed.

"Yay! I'm so excited!!!!"

"Wheeee! A dollhouse!"

"Yay! Matchbox cars!"

Stop judging. She ASKED for them! :)

And you can tell that she is super excited about them, too.

Jillian made the cake and did another fabulous job.

I love that big smile on her face!

Three tries and they were out.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Jake...the Super Hero

2012-01-16T09:53:00.008-05:00

Jake came downstairs this morning dressed like this:

"I'm da Batman tiger guy."

"Check out my sweet cape."

Side view

"Wanna see me jump so my cape flies out?"

"See my ninja flying skills!"

{And please stop noticing that I have nothing hanging on the wall behind the tv, despite the fact that we have lived here for a year and a half. It's a huge wall and I can't decide what to put up there. Argh!}

And again...

"Jake! You got like three feet of air that time!"

Jake's New Do

2012-01-03T22:25:00.005-05:00

Me: Noticing a notch out of Jake's hair... "Did you cut your hair?"

Jake: NO!

Me: Really? Because it looks like you did.

Jake: Nooooo (insert slight whiney tone)

Other kids notice which brings a chorus of: "Jake, yes you did!"

Jake takes umbrage: "NOOOO!"

Another chorus of: "Yes, you did!"

Jake: starts crying

Me: Jake! You're not in trouble. Just tell the truth. Did you cut your hair?
Jake: (Wails) Yessssssss.

Me: (relieved to know that it wasn't from the haircut I gave him) Where were you when you cut it?
Jake: Blank stare

Me: Were you in the bathroom? The kitchen?

Jake: Noooo.

Me: Where?

Jake: (softly) At school.

Me: You cut your hair at school?!

Jake: Yeah.

Me: What? You just sat in your seat and took a hunk out of your hair?

Jake: Yeah.

And I thought they went to school to learn. ha.

Taylor took fiendish delight in telling Jake I was going to have to give him a buzz cut to fix it.

I didn't.

He's just going to have to go around with a notch out of his hair for awhile. Ryan gave himself an identical cut at about the same age.

It's a fad for 5 year olds.

Just so you know.

You're welcome. {I wouldn't want you to miss out on the cutting edge of hair fashion.}

First Trip of the Year to ER

2012-01-02T23:03:00.004-05:00

Well, the year is new but we have made our first trip to ER.

Little Miss Katie-bug forgot my warning not to touch the stockings hung on the mantle, due to the possibility of a large, heavy holder falling on their heads.

Hehhhhhhhhhh....

I was out with the bigger girls and Taylor was babysitting when I got a call. Katie had pulled a stocking holder down on her face, near her eye and it was bleeding. He wasn't sure if she needed a stitch.

When I got home, I ascertained that she did need one because it was an impact split of her skin near her eye. It was nice and clean, but it would not stay together. I tried a steri-strip because it was a pretty small cut, but alas...it wouldn't stay closed. Taylor had done a great job of getting her wound cleaned, bandaged, and a dose of Tylen*l for the pain.

Off we went to ER because the doctor's office was closed today.

I knew we would have a long wait when I saw three ambulances outside the loading area, and the parking lot packed with cars.

Thankfully, I think kids get triaged to the front of the line. We still waited several hours, but it could have been much worse. When they took us back, there were gurney's end to end lining both sides of the hallway--all occupied with people! Apparently everyone decided to get injured or sick today since the doctor's offices were closed. It was a zoo in ER!

Kate was brave and only needed one stitch. She was happy to get a milk shake on the way home. Jeff told me that the kids were going to start getting hurt on purpose so they could score some individual Mommy time and a milk shake. ha!

Modeling the bandage that Taylor put on her cheek while she waits to be seen.

Please excuse the dreadful cellphone photos.

Christmas Wrap-up

2012-01-01T20:33:00.009-05:00

I really need to try to get back to blogging...

We just returned from a trip to Ohio and Iowa to see both sides of the family for Christmas!

We even survived it.

We had 2 vans, 9 kids, 1 dog, good attitudes and a renegade stomach virus.

The kids were actually great in the cars and I do not have one complaint about their behavior. The weather was great--no snowy roads. There weren't even any traffic jams!

We were at my parents' for the first leg of the trip since they are on the way to Jeff's parents. We spent two days with them, including Christmas eve, and then got up on Christmas day to drive to Iowa.

Grandma passes out the presents! All of my siblings and their kids were there most of the day and then we went to Christmas eve service at my parents' church.

Skype allowed Ryan and Dani to see some of the festivities.

We can't WAIT to open our presents!!

We spent two days there and were able to see all of Jeff's siblings--some of whom I hadn't seen in several years. It was so fun to see everyone! One of my friends who has a daughter the same age as Ryan, also paid a visit which was such a treat!

Cousins are fun!

I'm pretty sure this photo doesn't need an explanation. Aren't they cute?!

Playing "Memory." You do not want to challenge Chloe to a game of this. She is amazing at it.

We did have two kids come down with the stomach flu but thankfully the rest of us did not succumb.

I had the brilliant idea to leave most of our luggage at my parents and only take a portion of our stuff to Jeff's parents. It would decrease the amount of schlepping that needed to be done.

Right?

Well....theoretically.

It did decrease the amount but it caused a great deal of confusion later on.

When we got back to my parents' we had a barfing child in the car (thankfully, into a bowl).

This caused our parental brains to misfire.

We rested there a day and then Jeff began loading up all our junk...suitcases, backpacks, presents, and all manner of paraphernalia. (Remember, some of our stuff was still packed in the car, since we didn't have to bring it in from our Iowa leg of the trip. This is important to the story because it caused us not to remember what we had started out with.) Still...the amount of stuff clogged up a large area in my parents house.

So much so that we didn't notice that something was missing.

At all.

A rather large something.

(Yes, I did do a walk-thru to check for missing items but this particular something was tucked out of sight)

We had an uneventful drive home and unpacked the cars.

Still didn't notice anything missing.

(Oh...except for my computer cord which my mom had already taken to UPS.)

Time to get ready for bed and I wanted something out of my suitcase.

Except it didn't seem to be upstairs.

Or downstairs.

Or in the car.

But it was in Ohio.

ACK!

My entire suitcase is in Ohio and I am not. Most of my winter clothes were in it so I have very little to wear until my poor mother packs it up and makes the trek back to UPS with the large box.

The good news is that we did not leave any of our children in Ohio.

Despite our latest mishap, we had a wonderful trip and loved being able to see our families. What a blessing!!

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours!

2011-12-24T23:36:00.001-05:00

Good News!

2011-12-23T22:36:00.001-05:00

This is the field near Bethlehem that is believed to be the hillside where the shepherds were told that Jesus, our Savior, had been born.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Sweetness

2011-12-20T21:45:00.002-05:00

You may remember that my Bible study group was putting together a photo shoot for families in our area who would not be able to afford one. As of my last post on the subject, we didn't know who we would be photographing.

Three days before the shoot, we found out. It had seemed like God was leading us to a women & children's shelter but all of our calls and emails went unanswered. What to do? We kept praying.

A few days before the shoot, the phone rang. It was one of our previous contacts from the local food pantry. She had several families interested.

So we were off and running. We ended up with four families, which was far fewer than we thought we could handle.

Hmmm...God knew that our first run-thru was going to be a steep learning curve and only sent us four. He's so smart that way. All of the families were single mom's and one of the mom's had nine kids!

Two days before the shoot, a friend from our church contacted me to say that she had tons of donations of toys and clothes that she could set up so that the mom's and kids could 'shop' for Christmas.

So on the big day, we had each family come, be photographed, go inside for hot chocolate and treats, and then go shopping.

Oh my goodness....it was the most touching thing to see the reactions of the mom's when we told them there was a 'shop.'

One family was particularly touching. We noticed that the mom had dressed her kids in matching white shirts. She told us that she bought them two years ago for a family photo but then she was never able to afford one. When I told her that she could go shop for her children, she started to cry and told me that her ex-husband wasn't paying his child support and because of that, she had no presents for her kids. Wah!

While she was shopping, I told her four kids that they could go and pick out a present for their mom. {There was a different room where a shop had been set up for the kids.} Her oldest son was about 12 and he softly told me that he was saving his money to buy a Christmas tree for his mom because it was all she wanted for Christmas. He said a friend was going to help him get the tree home once he saved the money. While my brain started swimming with, "How can we get them a tree?" I urged all of them to go choose something for their mama in the shop.

As they left the room, I turned to the woman behind me and she had this awestruck look on her face, as if God had just spoken to her.

He had.

She said, "My husband and I are in charge of the Boy Scout Christmas tree lot today. We can get them a tree!" She quickly got her husband on his cell phone and made arrangements to get the tree delivered. A few hours later, he set up a tree in the living room of a very excited family.

How amazing is God! He saw the desire of that little boy's heart. He even changed the original date of our shoot to the day that a woman from our Bible study was going to be in charge of the Christmas tree lot.

Coincidence? I think not.

It was an amazing privilege to be a part of spreading some Christmas love.

Nothing says Christmas like...

2011-12-11T21:12:00.021-05:00

...a kids Christmas program.

This morning was the kids Christmas program at church. Seven of our kids were in the program. That means, in the picture below, you would have seven chances instead of one, to play, "Where's Waldo."

Molly had a small speaking part as a shepherd.

Five of our kids were angels. Even Jake. Three of them were in the front row which gave us three possibilities for public disgrace.

Here Jake can be seen adjusting his halo. Why they even let him wear one, I'll never know.

So far so good on the synchronized hand-motions.

One musical number included sunglasses as props.

Miss Chloe took her job as angel very seriously and did a wonderful job.

SaraGrace and Jordan also worked hard.

Jake...still going strong on the motions. {He was bribed.}

Notice the halo is gone.

He says it broke.

Look closely and notice where Jake put the sunglasses when not in use.

They fit snugly around his middle.

This move by Jake sent Taylor, Jeff and I into fits of laughter.

I know that we were rude.

But seriously...would you be able to keep a straight face?

The sunglasses on his stomach kinda took it over the top.

Notice all the boys on Jake's right. Especially the one with his hands in his pockets.

Could he be any less thrilled to be there?

The synchronized hand motions have run seriously amok. Notice the little boys on the right. Not one of them is doing the same thing.

When Jake had to continually adjust the sunglasses around his waist, he came up with a new plan. Glancing suavely at the little girl next to him {I kid you not} he made a big production of tucking them into his shirt the way Daddy does. When he finished, he pointed to it so the others would take note.

Kid on right still has his hands in his pockets.

But after all that, he put them back on. And hitched up his pants.

No one else was wearing their glasses except the little girl next to him who followed his lead.

Zoey, to the left, is showing some attitude at this point.

The glasses fell off, he bent down to pick them up and quickly put them back on.

Fail.

Zoey...chewing her nails (why?), Katie kicks up her heels, and Jake turns the wrong way.

They all look pretty confused in this shot.

Zoey was the only kid in the whole program who bowed.

Twice.

We did manage to finish the production without anyone picking their noses or pulling their dresses over their heads.

Yay! Success!

Who Knew Being a Christian could be so stinkin' exciting?

2011-12-02T09:14:00.002-05:00

For any of you who have been with me on this blog through some of our adoptions, you know that our lives used to have a lot of exciting, mountain moving God stories. But the past two years or so...not so much. It wasn't that God wasn't working in our lives, it's just that He was doing quiet things in our hearts and helping us through the mundane.

Who made up the word, 'mundane?' Even the word sounds boring.

And well...mundane isn't my favorite place to live. However, sometimes God knows that we need a rest from all that adrenaline that He pumps through us when we get to see Him in action in big ways.

Lately, I started to really miss those mountain-moving days.

I might have even whined a little bit to God about that.

And I might have even asked Him for a bit of excitement to change my dishwasher emptying-laundry folding-bathroom cleaning days. Not that I don't appreciate the fact that housework in American is so much better than sweeping a mud hut. But anyway...

Well, He decided to spice my life up a bit and I'm tellin' ya....it is SO FUN to be part of some action again! :)

I have to go back a few years to put this all in context, so bear with me.

A few years ago, I entered an essay contest on a whim. The prize was a free photography workshop with a well-known photographer in another state. I entered at the last minute and then forgot about it. My essay was NOT my best work. At all. (I say this so that you can fully appreciate what God did later...)

The winner was to be announced on a certain day and I actually forgot until the email reminder came. I began to read the post and was completely shocked to find that I had won!

Seriously?!?!

No way!

After arriving at the workshop location, I had dinner with the photographer who had offered my prize. I was completely floored when she shared with me how she had chosen me as the winner. She said that God had put it on her heart to offer one free spot at the workshop because there was a person that He wanted there and that person could not be there any other way. So she made the offer and then started to get submissions. As the essays poured in, she got overwhelmed because they were all good and she had no idea how she would chose just one person. She began to pray that God would make one person's essay stand out and do a little dance in front of her so that she would know. And then she read mine...and God made it known to her that I was the one.

Well...I was completely humbled and in awe that God would go to all that trouble to put me there. WHY?

When I went, my goal was to learn to take better pictures of my kids. That's it.

I remember sitting there for those two days wondering why God had sent me. I was surrounded by professional photographers who all had their own businesses. And there was l'il ole me with my entry level camera.

By the time I left, a seed had been planted. That seed was to start a photography business. So I went home and studied.

And studied.

And practiced.

And studied some more.

And this year, I have been in business. God has sent me client after client in the most amazing ways. Not too many. Not too few. Just enough.

Even though I LOVE the job, I was still wondering...."God, why am I doing this? How is this furthering Your kingdom? Because really...life isn't about making money. I want to reach people with Your love and let them know they can be in a relationship with you that will change their lives."

And there were other things...negative thoughts like, "What do you think you're doing? You're 47 years old and you have 10 kids. Do you really think you are going to start a business?

But here is where it gets good. You've been waiting for that, right?

I'm in a Bible study group and the author of our study challenged the group to a community service project. We had to choose a group of people who is often overlooked and show them in a tangible way that God loved them.

Many ideas were discussed...all of them good. How would we choose? We didn't know.

One day I was talking to one of the mom's in my group and mentioned my dream of going to a foreign country on a mission trip, taking family photos, printing, framing them and giving them to people. She had grown up in Honduras and she told me that she would have LOVED to have been able to have a photo of herself as a child.

Hmmmm......

Then the next day, she sent me an email that basically said, 'Karin...we don't have to wait to go on a mission trip to take those pictures! We can serve the needy right here in our community. We could do it as our Bible study group project!"

I was totally excited. She shared it with the group and it was instantly decided that it was the project we were supposed to do!

We have been full steam ahead because we wanted to do it before Christmas. It hasn't been a smooth road. There have been many twists and turns--and even now, the road has forked and forked so that I'm not sure WHO is going to get photographed next week. But God knows. And I know He will show us.

But here is another very cool thing...

I 'just happened' (yeah...right) to see a post on a fellow photographer's site this week about a charity group that was doing...THE SAME THING. Only they were doing it on a much bigger scale. They are even doing their photoshoot world-wide ON THE SAME DATE as we are. And they had put together a very well done video.

It turns out that God has been stirring people up ALL OVER THE WORLD with the same mission.

1. Find someone to photograph who would normally not be able to afford it.

2. Take their picture.

3. Print and frame their picture.

4. Deliver it to them.

That is EXACTLY what we had been planning to do. And now we find out that God told another (much more famous) person to do the same thing. God was already at work...we were just supposed to hop on the train. (If you have done the "Experiencing God" Bible study by Henry Blackaby, I know you are cheering, 'Yes! See where God is already at work and then join Him!') This group even had some of the same ideas about providing snacks, delivering the gifts, etc.

And now I know why God sent me to that workshop a few years ago. He wanted to include me in something He was doing. Had I not gone, I would never have had the confidence to attempt portraits of anyone except my own children. But now, I can use my new-found abilities to help spread His love to those who might not otherwise hear the Good News.

God is just so cool.

I wanted to post this so that some of you might be able to go join an event in your community. Many of the photoshoots will be happening Dec. 10th so you still have time to volunteer. They need greeters, snack makers/servers, administrators, hair stylists, photographers, etc. The name of the group is Help-Portrait. You can go to their website HERE. At the top of their page, click on the video. You will be moved. Maybe even to tears. I am posting it below for those of you who don't get the blog via email.

How We Spent Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T11:35:00.023-05:00

It started here.

While the turkey was in the oven, we got out the tree and decorations.

J-Man tests out the lights. Yay...they work!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

My favorite cooks working on dinner.

"Hey, Dakey! Do you like pie?"

"Yes! I can't wait to eat some."

Rub-a-dub-dub...bring on the grub.

I asked Jeff to take this picture to prove I was there.

These two both have birthday's this week!

My two big girls. I heart them!

Jakie's lovely table manners.

Then on Saturday, we decided to go to Plymouth--our favorite place--because you know...the Mayflower is there and there is that whole 'this-is-where-the-first-Thanksgiving-happened' and all

The temperature was a factor, too.

If I believed in global warming, I would be saying, "WOOT! I'm loving it."

But I don't believe in it, so I'll just say, "Hooray for temperatures in the 60's on Thanksgiving weekend!"

Am I the only one whose heart goes pitter-patter when I see street names like 'Samoset' and 'Carver?'
I mean...really....how cool is that?

My pumpkins on the beach. Jake wanted to know if he should wear his bathing suit. He was so confused.

There WERE some tourists dipping their bare feet in the frigid water.

Amateurs.

Beach combing for shells and beach glass.

Leaving the beach (sob).

Down to the harbor. I never get tired of this amazing view. I could sit and look at it for hours, listening to the sounds of the boats, the water, the birds. A little slice of heaven.

But of course, I never get to sit and look at it for hours.

So I take pictures.

Every time.

Of the same thing.

It's a sickness.

The Mayflower II.

My kids are unimpressed that it's not the ORIGINAL Mayflower.

Sheesh.

And let me tell you, if I had to have endured the voyage on this tiny vessel with 80+ people, I would have been certifiable by the time she landed. Just sayin'...

The kids think it's really cool that people uh....went potty in a bucket and tossed it over the side.

I'm thinking that isn't the only thing that got tossed over the side.

My cookies could go just thinking about it.

If you haven't read the stories about the voyage, you should. The hold of the ship was uh...where all the sick people were. Sea sick. Dysentary. ETC.

Yikes.

It really makes you appreciate the horrible suffering that people went through to get here.

Let's not forget.

Bye, bye Plymouth Harbor. Hope to see you again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T14:58:00.001-05:00

Haircuts gone horribly awry...

2011-11-20T21:34:00.005-05:00

It's no big secret that I cut my kids' hair.

It usually turns out fairly well.
They're kids.

How coiffed do they have to be?

And besides...when the older boys were little, they suffered through some pretty horrible hair cuts by 'professional' stylists that must not have finished at the top of their class.

Just sayin'... I figured I couldn't do any worse and I wouldn't have to pay $12.

Last night the little boys needed haircuts. For some reason, they had ants in their pants. Normally they are so good about sitting still but not last night. Jordan kept turning his head from side to side just as I was cutting.

Exasperated, I said to him, "PLEASE...sit still. Your hair is going to look totally weird if you don't stop wiggling and turning your head when I'm trying to cut it."

Jeff was walking by and said, "Yeah. Sit still or you're going to look Lloyd from 'Dumb and Dumber.' Oops....too late."

And I'm sad to say...

Well, you take a look and see if he doesn't bear an uncanny resemblance.

Thankfully, he doesn't look in the mirror very often, so maybe he won't realize how bad it looks?

{J-Man...I'm so sorry I made your hair look THIS bad. }

Baby Timothy

2011-11-19T09:22:00.007-05:00

Morning Star recently had a new arrival! Baby Timothy arrived as a very sick little guy with a severe heart condition, needing immediate hospitalization. In China, hospital bills must be paid upfront before treatment will be given. Morning Star needed $5,000 up front and Timothy's bill could easily exceed $10,000. I had just completed the "Doors Of Israel" print fundraiser and was able to send all of that to help. Thank you soooo much to all of you who purchased the print!

Because this little guy's medical bills are going to be high, I am extending the fundraiser. If you would be interested in helping Timothy by purchasing a 'Doors of Israel' print, leave a comment below telling me how to contact you. There are two sizes: 16x24 or 11x14. It is also possible to get the print already framed. Let me know if you want this option. With Christmas around the corner, this might be a nice gift for someone on your list! All of the photos of the doors were taken when I was in Israel earlier this year.

ALL PROCEEDS go to help the babies at Morning Star. If baby Timothy doesn't need the funds, there will be another baby who does.

Cost of the 16x24 is $65 + $4 shipping. Total $69

Cost of the 11x14 is $45 + $4 shipping. Total is $49

If this is more than your budget allows but you would still like to help (I know that any amount helps!) you can donate directly to Morning Star HERE.

11.11.11

2011-11-11T21:42:00.002-05:00

To all the veteran's and active duty personnel...THANK YOU for your service to our country. Thank you for standing between us and danger. Thank you to the families who endure long separations and hardship.

Please know that you are deeply appreciated and loved.

And to our Ryan....we miss you and are so proud of you!

It's that time of year

2011-11-07T22:29:00.003-05:00

Time for a family photo.

This brings more whining, griping and general unhappiness than telling the kids to clean their rooms.

What is the big deal?

I don't get it.

I have been taking family photos for other people and thinking about how I wanted to do ours this year. I mean, most of the families I photographed were fairly congenial about the whole thing.

And I took many shots.

And there were many poses.

In more than one location.

I momentarily forgot that my family wasn't all that cooperative. Buoyed by my own foolish euphoric fantasies about getting a great family photo for us, I announced:

"We're taking family photos this weekend!"

Everyone cheered.

Right. There was a ridiculous amount of complaining.

But as the weekend neared, low and behold, it SNOWED.

Sigh....

So we had to wait for it to melt.

It did...and warmed up nicely but my fantasies came to an abrupt end. My main prop disappeared. Argh. You see...there was a really cool antique pick-up truck parked outside of a car refurbishing business. The truck sat out there all summer. I had finally worked up the courage to go up and ask if I could bring my family over to be photographed there. The owner was quick to oblige and said photographers have come at other times and he was fine with us coming.

And then he moved his truck. As in...it's nowhere to be seen.

How rude.

Yesterday was beautiful...sunny and warm. Jeff asked if I wanted to do the family picture and I knew I better come up with plan B or I might miss the opportunity completely.

I put together some props (not NEARLY as cool as an antique truck....grrrr....), changed all the clothing that I had planned for us to wear, and we headed across the street to a spot I have used before.

You should have heard them grumbling. Good grief. Even the dog had an attitude.

Guess how many shots I got before there was a mutiny?

Four.

Yes, four TOTAL shots.

Sigh.

Not exactly what I had in mind. I reserve the right to a re-shoot if that truck reappears!

Happy Birthday, SaraGrace!

2011-11-01T20:35:00.010-05:00

SaraGrace turned 8 today.

How is that possible?

We just brought her home from China five minutes ago, didn't we? Sigh... She loves to hear stories of her first days with us in China and I thought it would be fun to post a photo or two from way back then.

In her crib at the orphanage, tinged so blue and struggling to get enough breath.

Crazy, spunky kid who was this comfortable with me after only a few days together.

I wanted to post more photos, but cannot seem to locate them...grrr...

Anyway--we had a very fun day today. First, school was cancelled due to lack of power. Second, I had a haircut scheduled, so I took her with me. My amazingly wonderful hair stylist was able to squeeze SaraGrace in for a trim as well. Usually Mama cuts SaraGrace's hair, so this was a big treat for her. When her cut was all done, she also got a cute little braid. {Thank you, Emily...you made her day!}

On the way out to the car she said, "That started out kinda boring but then it got really exciting." She was grinning from ear to ear and continued to tell me how happy she was and how much fun she was having with me.

So I did what any other mom would do who wants to spend a few more precious minutes with her daughter.

I said, "Do you want to stop at McDonalds for lunch on the way home?"

Yeah. I stooped that low.

And it was handsomely rewarded with an squeal of delight.

In the back of my mind though, was a dark foreboding.

You see...when I called to schedule flu shots for our family, the only time and day they could accommodate all of us was.... TODAY.

Ack!

In the past, SaraGrace has not been what you would call brave about getting shots.

And that is putting it mildly.

I kept my dark secret the entire day until we pulled into the doctor's office parking lot. She guessed it as we all trooped through the door.

To my great surprise, I did not hear the great weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth that I was expecting.

Except for one child.

Jake.

Oh.My.Word.

The child went nuts.

But this post is supposed to be about SaraGrace.

She told me on the way home from the doctor that she didn't mind a bit having a shot on her birthday and that it was still a 'super, exciting day.' I love that kid!

Let the present-opening begin!

Modeling her cute braid.

Her first 'big kid' Bible. She picked it out. She is totally into reading and wanted books for her birthday.

Jillian made this cake all by herself.

SaraGrace picked out all the cake colors and it turned out looking like a rainbow. So HER!

Halloween cancelled....{gasp}

2011-11-01T08:08:00.016-05:00

OK--Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I would ignore it completely except that I remember how much I liked dressing up and getting candy when I was a kid.

Well, when the storm knocked out power here, it was decided by our town--and most surrounding towns--that it was too dangerous to have the kiddos out trick-or-treating. Kinda hard to see where you are going in the pitch darkness, not to mention that some towns still have live power lines down.

Our neighborhood had power, so when an email was sent out explaining that the town had decided to reschedule trick-or-treating to Friday night, there was a flurry of email response. It seems that some parents didn't think their children could handle the terrible disappointment of having to wait an extra four days for Halloween.

Seriously?

Your kids can't understand that there are people in their community with no power (aka...freezing cold) and that the holiday is just going to take a few extra days to arrive?

You know what? If our kids cannot handle such a small disappointment, what will they do when a true hardship befalls them? What are we teaching them if we never let them experience any discomfort? UGH.

It was decided that our neighborhood would have two nights of trick-or-treat...last night and the official night this Friday.

Jeff and I were disgusted. And didn't participate. What was really funny is that when I was explaining everything to our kids, and mentioned that they might see a few trick-or-treaters out, Molly said, 'I think that is ridiculous. We don't need to trick-or-treat twice." Thank you, Molly. Out of the mouth of an 11 year old.

OK--stepping off my soap box to post some pictures, because we have Internet this morning!

Tree branches down in the town center. This was a common sight.

No matter the circumstances....God is love.

My favorite barn...{swoon}

Our Winter Storm

2011-10-31T12:39:00.002-05:00

As I'm sure you have seen on the news, we got slammed with a bizarre October snowstorm on Saturday night.

I am happy to say we have power. Ecstatically happy.

I'm not so happy to say that many of our town, and nearby towns, do not.

We do not have cable, Internet, or home phone, so we didn't know how to find out of there was church yesterday without driving over to see.

It was cancelled.

School is cancelled. We have been told that most areas should not expect to receive power until Thursday. Yikes!

The teen has decided to sleep all day because he is bored out of his skull.

There are so many trees down. It's amazing. And seems much worse than the aftermath of Irene. The power outages from that are so fresh in the minds of everyone here. I don't think anyone was really up for round two. I know I certainly wasn't. Our lights started flickering on Saturday and all I could do was hold my breath and pray, "Oh God, please have mercy. I can't take the kids out to the backyard to poop in the snow." ha

I really feel for those without power because it's cold. Like in the 30's at night kind of cold. Not good for babies and kids who can't keep covers on. Not too much fun for crews out trying to restore power either.

And let's not forget how early it gets dark this time of year. Yeah. 5:30 and it's dark with nothing to do. Yippee.

Like I said...I'm deliriously happy to have power.

I'm using some kind of AT&T apparatus to get Internet but it's slow as a snail (think dial-up) so I'm not sure how many pictures I will have the patience to upload, but I'll give it a try.

I drove around yesterday taking photos because....well...despite the awfulness of the situation, the color of the leaves set against a back drop of snow is quite beautiful. It definitely made me think of the Majesty of the Creator and how all this beauty was just a little foretaste of heaven.

{OK--scratch the picture idea. They won't upload. When we get Internet back, I'll post some.}

Doors of Israel in two sizes

2011-10-28T08:28:00.004-05:00

Finally getting this done.... {but I made it in plenty of time for Christmas!}

Here are two sizes of the Doors Of Israel print. I have previously offered the 16x24 and now have an 11x14 available.

The 11x14 needed an extra row of doors to make it work--so it is slightly different than the original print.

Here is the 11x14 priced at $35 + $4 shipping.

And here is the 16x24, priced at $65 plus $4 shipping

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO Morning Star Foundation to help the babies. If you would like to purchase, please leave a comment below with an email address and I will contact you for payment details.

Thank you so much!!

It's here!

2011-10-25T08:06:00.007-05:00

Zoey's new leg that is! It's so cute.

Unwrapping it...

Checking it out...

The difference... (guess we should have taken the soccer sock off first... She wanted to be a

'soccer guy' at school for dress up day so she was in uniform when the package came)

Trying it out...

Constipated smile for the obligatory-for-mom shot

Look out world!!!

She is actually struggling with it a bit. It is so different for her to have a foot that has so much give in it. The ankle still doesn't bend but the foot has a lot of give, which enables her to bend the middle of it. She tends to limp instead. She's trying--but it will take some getting used to. Her knee seems to be holding up just fine so that is a positive sign.

Miss Zoey is getting a new leg!

2011-10-19T12:39:00.011-05:00

Well, Miss Zoey has grown enough that she is needing a new leg! For the past three weeks, we have made a once-a-week trip to Shriners for fittings. We were excited to hear that she is going to be able to try a below-the-knee leg this time! Yay! Her current leg goes up over her knee with kind of butterfly sides so that she can bend it. However, she cannot bend her knee completely and it's annoying to her.

Her new leg will allow her to bend her leg enough to sit crossed legged. Woohoo! She is also getting a higher tech foot that gives a lot so that it feels more like a real one. Cool! Her current leg has a completely stationary foot. She just knows that the new one will enable her to run faster and jump higher!

We are expecting her new leg to arrive in the mail any day now. She chose a plaid fabric this time and we are anxious to see what it looks like. ( Mama is going to miss that adorable flowered one but it has gotten pretty battered and scratched!)

Week One...Chloe went too for a check-up. There were sailor's there visiting the kids. So cool! I was very proud of our military when I saw them interacting with the kids.

Time for the saw after getting a casted model of her leg.

Zoey hates the noise of the saw!

Week two--Mommy forgot the camera. Ack!

Week three--This time they had dogs available for the kids to play with. Zoey loved it!

First glimpse of her new leg! It's much shorter and look how clean that foot is! The fabric will be added last.

Lots of walking when you get a new leg. Zoey was getting very disgusted with how many times she had to walk back and forth, back and forth. So funny!

Our last trip was so pretty because all the leaves were changing. Enjoy!

A Little Excitement Around Here

2011-10-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I got a very exciting email from a staff member at Give Kids the World.

{GKTW is where we stayed when we were in Florida on SaraGrace's Make-A-Wish trip.} Anyhoo...the staff member had stumbled across my blog and contacted me to ask if I would be willing to let them use any of my photos.

Seriously?

I was totally flattered...excited...thrilled because I know that they have volunteer staff who use some very nice equipment to take advertising photos for them.

So I sent her some.

Today she sent me their first completed project--a large banner with SaraGrace's picture on it. It's so cute! And because I love to advertise for GKTW, I am going to post the photo she sent me as well as encourage you to go check out their website. It is not part of Make-A-Wish, but MAW sends a lot of their kids there. GKTW is only for families who have a child with a life-threatening health condition. We loved our time there--so many amazing children and families. GKTW depend on volunteers and donations to keep operating. It would be such a great place to volunteer for a day if you were in FL on vacation.

They have some more advertising projects that they told me they would share with me in November. I can't wait to see them!

Saturday in Vermont

2011-10-03T09:28:00.004-05:00

We {ok..."I"} have been wanting to see the covered bridges of Vermont since the day I found out we were moving to New England.

However...taking a bunch of small children in two vans and driving around all day didn't seem too appealing to anyone in my family.

Party-poopers.

Just kidding.

Our kids' school was supposed to have a Harvest Fair on Saturday but it was postponed due to rain so Jeff suggested we make our much anticipated trip to Vermont.

Yes, it was raining. But better to see the bridges in the rain than not at all, right?

Right.

So everyone piled in two vans and off we went. We were five minutes down the road and Jake asked, 'How wong til we get dere?"

Sigh.

Our first stop was the Vermont General Store. I had looked it up online and was all prepared for it's coolness.

It didn't disappoint. If you like all things nostalgic, you would love this place. You really should visit us so we can take you there.

Come on...you know you want to.

Our kids were able to see things like: Mrs. Beasley, metal kazoos, tinker toys, penny candy (for real--not $25 ea), old brands of soda pop, cast iron stove, etc.

And then it was on to the bridges. Oh my goodness...the countryside...Swoon! It was so beautiful. I tried to take photos through the car window but with the rain, the wipers, and trying to drive and shoot at the same time....well....most of them were blurry or just not that great.

These photos were taken in a small town--Grafton, I believe. There were two bridges there. At the second one Jeff pulled up next to me and said, "Do you want to photograph this or are they all starting to look the same?"

ACK!

Why did I get the feeling that this day was going to be way more exciting for me than for some members of my family?

I started brainwashing the little kids in my car. "Isn't this cool? Isn't this fun?"
"Yes! Yes!" they all agreed.

So cool...a REAL covered bridge. Wheee!

Same bridge....antique processing.

And here is another one! Are you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next one?

Neither was my family.

I, however, was thinking that the scenery was a little piece of heaven.

Same bridge...different processing.

And here is another one. OK--I admit this is getting a little bit redundant but I promise you that it didn't seem like it when we were driving to each one.

At least...not for me.

I'm starting to understand the older kids' less than thrilled reaction to it all.

OK--now this one was cool. It was still in use. We drove through it and the little kids were all yelling about how amazing it was. The older girls told me later that they thought it was going to fall down and they were scared.

Last one...and thank goodness it's red.

Because everyone knows that all Vermont covered bridges are SUPPOSED to be red.

Every calendar has RED covered bridges right?

Who would buy a calendar with brown or weathered gray ones?

This one is not in use for vehicles but we were able to walk through it--which was fun.

It was only sprinkling here so most of the family was willing to pose for a photo.

It was worth every minute of the drive. I was in awe of the beauty there.

I was also a little in awe at the rudeness of the drivers in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Good grief!

I'm pretty sure that they keep their hands on their horns at all times just in case someone might be thinking of any type of rule infraction.

Never let a good infraction go to waste.

If there is even a hint that someone might be considering slowing down in front of you, be sure to honk.

In All My Spare Time...

2011-09-29T08:44:00.006-05:00

Sorry to have been AWOL from the blog. Sigh...

It's all the free time I have now.

Yeah.

That.

It's funny how it never materialized.

At. All.

Now that the kids are in school and they know I won't have tag-a-longs, they are quick to ask me to run errands for them.

So now I spend all day in the car.

Every. Day.

Well, at least it seems like it!

So I get nothing done.

It's frustrating.

If you have emailed me and I haven't written back, please do not be mad. I will get back to you.

I will.

It's just that writing emails while driving is generally frowned upon.

The coming weeks don't look much more promising for extra time to blog or email, however.

God has been keeping me extra busy lately with a little side job.

Photography.

So fun! I love it!

And so time consuming.

Also not possible to do while driving.

Speaking of photography....

Looking for an early Christmas present? The Doors Of Israel photo is FINALLY available in size 16x24. That is currently the only size available for order, but more will be coming soon! The reason for that is because each size has to be completely redone from scratch. It isn't possible to just resize the entire image. Soooo.... It takes hours of work to make each one but I plan to work on an 11x14 size soon.

I ordered one to preview and it looks great! The colors are a bit richer than the sample below, so the sample doesn't do it justice. The final print has a larger amount of black edging on the sides and a tad bit more on the top. I can't wait to get it framed and on the wall. I just might have to do a Doors of New England to hang next to it.... Hmmmm.......

A large portion of the proceeds will go to Morning Star Foundation to help take care of the sweet babies who live there. Because of the cost of printing and the fact that this is a fundraiser for them, we ask for a minimum donation of $65 + $4 shipping (total $69) for this print. If you would like to give more, 100% of every dollar over $69 will be donated to Morning Star.

If you would like to order a Doors of Israel print in size 16x24, please leave a comment with your contact information or email me and let me know. I will send you an invoice via Pay-Pal and as soon as I receive your payment, I will order your print for you.

Also...if you order more than one print, you only need to pay once for shipping.

Let's go to the fair!

2011-09-18T21:45:00.038-05:00

Saturday there was a fair in our area. Whee! Let's go! Even the teen went along.

It was amusing to see the ticket booth with "ATM money tree" signage. As usual, the fair rides were ridiculously expensive, so the little kids only got to ride one ride. They were fine with it and had fun watching each other pick their favorite ride to try.

'Pass out the tickets, Dad!"

I am kicking myself for not buying this sign!

"Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner." -Napoleon Dynamite

{Sorry. I couldn't resist. I love that movie.}

Poor SaraGrace was not tall enough to ride any of the big kid rides. She is just so tiny. She is too old to want to ride the kiddie rides, so she chose not to ride at all. She was disappointed but handled it really well. She got to have a treat instead. Daddy took her to pick one out.

A good time was had by all.

Braces, and first day of school pics

2011-09-16T08:12:00.014-05:00

***First...today is the last day to bid on the beautiful baby quilt! The bids are up to $155! Hooray! You have until 6PM Eastern Time tonight to place your bid. Click HERE to read the post about the quilt, baby Michael, and bidding.***

This was a big week for Jillian. She got her braces! She has been wearing a retainer to pull some of her molars back but it wasn't working all that well. So, this week she had two teeth pulled (ouch) and braces put on.

She wasn't really THAT pale after getting her braces. It was just the crummy lighting in our backyard at the time.

And as promised...here are a few back-to-school photos. These were taken after school and not on the actual first day.

It was pouring rain the first three days of school, which makes it pretty impossible to take outdoor photos. :)

Certain kids were um...not cooperative...aka: CRYING about getting a photo, so first shot was of their shoes. Not everyone needed new shoes, but most of them did.

Tears gone...all the little kids want a photo with big sister.

Time for shots of everyone's backpacks.

Some passed the time by lying on the ground, but at least they were willing to smile for mom.

These two like having photos taken together. :)

Close-up shoe shots.

Then when you are all done with the individual shots, you can go to www.Picnik.com and use their FREE collages to make a little memento of their first day of school.

Like this:

Easy, peasy. I made this in a few minutes. Print it out and voila...stick in the baby book!

Picnik also has lots of additional ways to edit photos and make collages when you purchase their $25 a year subscription. Well worth the money if you want to do a little extra with your photos. I don't work for them--I just enjoy their product. :)

Belated 9-11 post

2011-09-14T09:20:00.001-05:00

The Quilt Auction is off and running and our current high bid is $150!! Woohoo! Thank you so much for all who have participated. You still have time to bid--deadline is Friday at 6PM.

You may have noticed {or not} that I didn't post on 9-11. I had intended to but I got caught up in the moment and watched a lot of the coverage. I had forgotten how many of our kids had no idea what 9-11 was. I fielded a lot of questions from them. They were quite bewildered by it all.SaraGrace finally asked me, "But what did we ever do to them?"

Good question.

I had forgotten that both of the planes that hit the WT towers had originated from Boston.

We have now flown out of there. We pick people up from there.

It's so very close to home.

Our church had a special time of remembering and it was very powerful to watch the people around me. It was an event that impacted the entire country, but for those who live in the Boston area, it was so much more intense. They knew people who died that day. A lot of them had flown that flight on different days. It happened at THEIR airport. Taylor had a teacher who broke down in class on Friday because he lost five friends that awful day.

My mind drifted to the day my cousin told us he was going back to Iraq. It was the last time I would ever see him. He lost his life to a sniper on Thanksgiving Day a few years ago. He left behind a wife and two young children. I remembered his funeral. The flags. The military presence. The sadness.

And Ryan...he is in the Army because of the feelings it invoked in him to watch what had happened to his country. His unit is scheduled to go to Afghanistan early next year and I watched the recap with a different feeling than I did when it happened. We sang, "I'm Proud to be an American," at church and when we got to the part that says, "And I'd stand up next to you to defend her still today," I got a lump in my throat.

Because I would rather stand up than have my baby boy stand up for me.

But stand up he is.

I am proud of him.

But I want him to come home.

Just like every other mother of a soldier.

But America...she stands for FREEDOM. And it's worth the fight. This country is so very special. Not perfect, but special. Let's not lose sight of that in our desire for comfort and security. This country is still the best that the world has to offer. Don't let anyone tell you differently. If you don't believe me...travel a bit.

As for us...others who came before have paid a far greater price so that we could live in freedom. Let's not take it for granted or squander what we have been given.

I end with these words excerpted from Ronald Reagan's "A Shining City on a Hill" speech...

{RE: Signing of the Declaration of Independence}

"Well, as I say, whether story or legend, the signing of the document that day in Independence Hall was miracle enough. Fifty-six men, a little band so unique -- we have never seen their like since -- pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Sixteen gave their lives, most gave their fortunes and all of them preserved their sacred honor. What manner of men were they? Certainly they were not an unwashed, revolutionary rebel, nor were then adventurers in a heroic mood. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants and tradesmen, nine were farmers. They were men who would achieve security but valued freedom more.

And what price did they pay? John Hart was driven from the side of his desperately ill wife. After more than a year of living almost as an animal in the forest and in caves, he returned to find his wife had died and his children had vanished. He never saw them again, his property was destroyed and he died of a broken heart -- but with no regret, only pride in the part he had played that day in Independence Hall. Carter Braxton of Virginia lost all his ships -- they were sold to pay his debts. He died in rags. So it was with Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Rutledge, Morris, Livingston, and Middleton. Nelson, learning that Cornwallis was using his home for a headquarters, personally begged Washington to fire on him and destroy his home--he died bankrupt. It has never been reported that any of these men ever expressed bitterness or renounced their action as not worth the price. Fifty-six rank-and-file, ordinary citizens had founded a nation that grew from sea to shining sea, five million farms, quiet villages, cities that never sleep -- all done without an area re-development plan, urban renewal or a rural legal assistance program.

You can call it mysticism if you want to, but I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage."

Sweet baby Michael needs our help!

2011-09-12T09:06:00.012-05:00

Michael--yesterday in ICU

Sweet baby Michael normally resides with our friends, Bill and Lynsay, at Morning Star home in China. He was brought to them in very bad shape and desperately needed heart surgery. You can read his full story HERE.

After initially being told that the hospital would not attempt a surgery on such a sick infant, they relented and agreed to try. However, they said not to expect much.

In China, you must pay up front for surgery and hospitalizations. The expected cost was $15,000. Of course, Bill and Lynsay did not have that amount. However...God miraculously provided.

Michael had his surgery and was doing well but then took a turn for the worse. The bill is increasing daily as he struggles for life in ICU.

Last year, after our 'baby blanket and pillow' fundraiser for Morning Star, a friend sent me a beautiful baby quilt to auction off. {Thank you, Anne Devlin!} I have been hanging onto it until God led me to offer it and I believe that time is NOW!

So...to help with baby Michael's expenses, I will auction off the quilt this week. I am starting the bids at $50 and the bidding will end on Friday, Sept. 15 at 6:00PM. To bid, please leave a comment letting me know what your bid is. If you do not want to bid publicly, I will allow you to bid privately but you need to leave a comment with your email address so that I can contact you.

I will try to keep the comment section updated so that you know what the bidding is up to.

I know this may not be a huge chunk of change in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit will help. Also, if you prefer, you can go directly to the Morning Star blog and donate.

Do you know an expectant or new mom, or a new baby who would love to have this quilt? How awesome to be able to give a gift like this, knowing that not only will it wrap a new baby, but help a baby on the other side of the world to fight for life! As a new mom, I know I would have been very touched to receive a gift like this.

The quilt is in shades of rose, mint green and brown.

One of the squares has a beautifully embroidered Chinese symbol for 'Love.'

Another view...

Close-up of the beautiful stitching

Let the bidding begin! Let's rally around a tiny orphan who needs our help!

And please pray for a miracle for tiny Michael.

Fight, little man, fight!

After all that...

2011-09-09T09:18:00.004-05:00

It seems that my gym-teacher career is already over.

Sob.

Yes. I went into the school to discuss the position and my starting date, and found that the principal had forgotten that I had volunteered for the position.

She had already found someone else.

So I am replaced.

And I had that cool whistle just waiting to be used.

And I came clean with ya'll unnecessarily about my overly-competitive spirit.

Darn.

Just pretend you never read any of that stuff, okay?

PS: Just to clarify....I was chaperone at a high school/college age camp. The girl I pushed was bigger than me. Wouldn't want you to think I would push a small child into a snow bank. I do have some self-control.

For all of you naysayers...

2011-09-08T08:59:00.002-05:00

...and scoffers....about my budding career as a gym teacher.

I'll have you know that I DO know my way around a gym.

And I may have given some of you the wrong impression over the years about exercising.

It's true that I am quite lax in that department.

It's also true that now and then, I get on an exercise kick that lasts about three days.

But it's also true that I used to play sports.

I loved them.

I even followed all the wretched 'professional' Detroit teams in our state. Especially the Tigers.

My brother and I knew all the batting averages of our favorite players and ERA's of the pitchers.

If you don't know what ERA means....well...you'll have to Google it.

I'm not bitter about the fact that I followed the Tigers every year while they battled it out with Cleveland for last place in their division but two years after I got married and moved too far away to listen to any of the games on the radio, they won the stinkin' World Series.

Well anyway....I had to quit playing sports.

You know why?

Because I'm too competitive.

It's a curse.

If you are a teen and playing with the youth group, you can be competitive. Why? Because there are lots of boys and they are competitive too. And I didn't mind ticking off the boys if I stole the ball from them. But the girls? They take it personally.

I like having friends.

Girl friends don't steal the ball from each other.

So I don't play sports.

The last time I played anything was hockey.

It was my first time playing hockey and it was at a winter camp where I was supposed to be a chaperone.

We divided the teams into Canadians vs. Americans.

Bad idea.

Very bad idea.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big ol' American nerd.

I wear red,white and blue on the 4th.

I dress my kids the same.

I am deeply patriotic and it's so perfect that God's choice for our first born's birthday was the 4th of July.

So anyway....

Our team was losing. It was to be expected.

The Canadian team actually wore hockey skates.

The American team didn't even know white, female hockey skates existed.

We wore figure skates.

And we didn't have much of a clue how to play hockey.

Just get the puck. Put it in the net.

And we had seen a few hockey highlights on the news to know that you could 'check' people into the boards.

And we all knew the "Miracle on Ice" story of the American Olympic team. This was our big chance to beat the Canadians at their own sport and create our own little miracle right there at camp Barakel.

{Delusions of grandeur are no stranger to me, apparently.}

Well...we had no boards at this location but we did have snowdrifts along the edges of the rink.

I wanted the puck.

It was in front of a girl. I was behind her.

I wanted the puck.

I am sad to say that all reason completely left me and I pushed her into the snow bank.

I got the puck.

I put it in the net.

I also put myself into the net. But no one said I had to do it gracefully.

The girl was not happy with me for pushing her face into the snow.

I was not very happy with myself for being so mean.

But I knew if the opportunity presented itself, I would do it again.

So I don't play sports anymore.

Because I can't seem to control myself.

I play with my kids now and that is okay because I have no need to win.

It's the need to win that seems to be the problem for me.

Sigh....

Their First Day

2011-09-07T20:33:00.007-05:00

It was raining this morning so we didn't get any good pictures. I will retake some when the weather is better--which might be a few days from now.

Everyone hopped out of bed and got dressed. They were so excited. The 'triplets' were a little nervous, but mostly just excited. Jake and Kate were worried about leaving mommy home all by herself. I assured them I would be fine.

I left out the possibility of me Snoopy-dancing.

Dressed and ready with their new backpacks.

Jake isn't even wearing his pants backwards.

The middle kids--now old pros at the first day of school.

My big girls--they look so grown up. Wah.

I'm sure some will notice all the paper towel rolls they are holding.

Yeah.

Required at school. Not sure why only one per class. I just followed instructions.

We had a few morning mishaps.

Like a brand new gallon of milk getting dropped and having the bottom burst. That was fun.

And a little kid wearing a backpack managed to knock the head off of my Chinese soldier.

Oh well...there is glue.

Pretty soon they all piled into the van. Jake climbed in and then back out...ran back to me and said, "I will miss you, Mommy." Awwww....

Then they drove off with Jeff.

And the house got very, very quiet.

Very.

It was weird.

Even the dog was confused.

I'm not sure I like it but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I took myself to Panera for lunch. It's quite a step up from Burger King.

Just sayin.'

I had a quick stop to make at Target, where the check-out girl recognized me and said, "No kids today?"

We then commiserated about how we miss our kids when they are at school.

Jake gets picked up 30 minutes before the other kids so it was just he and I for a little while. He had a great day. Soon the other kids were done and came piling out to the van. Thankfully, everyone had a wonderful day and chattered happily all the way home.

Next week I will start my new career at their school as the gym teacher. Wheeee! It helps pay their tuition. Gym is at the end of the day, so I will head there around 1PM.

I have a whistle.

I'm looking forward to using it.

A lot.

Oh the authority it will give me.

Stop snickering and don't be jealous.

Labor Day and Back to....

2011-09-06T20:56:00.016-05:00

The kids were begging to go the local apple orchard on Monday, which we thought was a good idea.

It is September after all.

Sadly, there will be no pick-your-own at this orchard this year due to tropical storm Irene. Apparently so many apples were knocked off the trees that they don't have enough left to pick.

So we just ate some. The ones in this barrel were free samples. Yum....

One of the kids wanted to know if I made this corn.

Hmmm....

I know I'm not a great cook, but my corn does not look like this.

A kind lady offered to take this pic. Too bad it's so blurry.

Jake...my little man has the most sparkly eyes.

After we bought the apples, they wanted to play on the rock wall. This isn't a good angle to see it, but there is a rock wall there that is about a foot high.

Follow the leader...

Let's race!

Where do I put my apple when I'm done?

Another forced-by-mamarazzi group shot

My man. I love him.

Giving the kids a few pointers about pumping water 'back in the day.'

And this is where you tie your horse.

We could have really used one of these last week.

And now we bid a sad farewell to summer. Why can't winter fly by as fast?

Tonight, these were lined up again in the kitchen.

Taylor started school today but everyone else starts tomorrow.

Everyone.

That's right.

All nine of them.

No one is staying home with mom tomorrow.

The three little kids are starting school tomorrow as well, and they are VERY excited.

I've been trying not to think about it. My babies are going off to school.

But I was sad.

Until today.

It was raining. They were fighting. And hormonal. And grouchy. More tears were shed in the first 45 minutes of the day than were shed all last month.

And then I started to be less sad about them going to school.

A lot less sad.

And maybe even a tiny bit happy.

But I'm sure when the house falls silent except for the sound of the dog licking places that shouldn't be licked, I will miss the kids very much.

Yes. I'm sure I will.

Irene in Pictures

2011-08-31T21:10:00.022-05:00

We have power! WOOHOO!!!!

I have never been so happy to turn on a light...turn on a faucet...FLUSH.

Last night we had power for 5 glorious minutes. The older girls were in bed but not asleep and came running downstairs to celebrate. They blew all the candles out and then suddenly, the power went out again. It was like that scene from "Christmas Vacation," where the next door neighbors kept being alternately blinded by the light and then being plunged into darkness. Remember them?

{"Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?"

"I don't know, Margot."}

In the dark, the girls started yelling, "I can't see! Where are you?" They were bumping into each other and stumbling around. It was sooo funny!

And the power never came back on.

So we went to bed.

Jeff had a 6AM flight today so he had to get up at 3Am. Despite building himself a lovely outdoor shower yesterday, he wasn't about to go outside to use it at 3AM. The poor guy had to get on the plane wearing a ball cap. Thankfully when he arrived at his hotel, they let him check in early and get a nice hot shower. He sent me a text with a photo of the hotel hair dryer and said, "Don't hate me."

Ha.

I left for Walmart to see if I could score a hair dryer that would plug into our car charger. Alas, they did not have one.

Dejected, I headed home.

Upon arriving home, to my great shock and delight, I walked in and saw a LIGHT on!!! :)) We were all a bit afraid that our power wouldn't last so I told everyone to go use the bathroom and FLUSH before the power went out again.

Thankfully, we still have power and it seems that our little ordeal is over.

And just when I was getting used to being like Caroline Ingalls...

So...to recap the tropical storm in photos....

The rain...

the wind...

Wind and rain for hours... We lost one large oak tree and held our breath and prayed for the others. Thankfully, we didn't lose any more.

After the rain had passed and the majority of the winds had died down, Taylor decided to play with our patio umbrella.

Yeah.

Glad we brought that in out of the wind and rain to keep it from getting ruined.

{Don't think we would have let him do this to a nice umbrella. This one is in its last season because it already went sailing over the deck and crashed 10 feet to the ground below in a previous wind storm.}

Irene - 1 Taylor - 0

Let's try skateboarding and see if the wind will take me uphill.

Or over a curb.

Let's try this again.

Oh yeah....it works! What a nut!

Some of the damage in our area as we drove around.

The oak trees with deep root systems were snapped off. The maple trees were generally pulled over with roots showing. I didn't get any photos of those, though.

There were miles of this type of mess on the roads from leaves, trees that had been cut and removed, etc. Our car is covered with it and it's all hardened and gross.

I guess that is what we get for being early gawkers.

Tree down on a side road.

This road has been closed since Sunday. It's still closed--and it's our main connection to the nearest Walmart. Crews have been working there for the past two days.

Since we knew the kids would be opening the fridge by accident, Jeff barred the door. In the end it didn't matter...pretty much everything had to be thrown away anyway.

We tried to use coolers and ice for some of our stuff but all of the stores ran out of ice so it was hard to come by. Some gas stations were also running out of gas since so many stations had no power.

Here is our glamorous outdoor spa that Jeff built.

Don't be jealous.

It worked.

It was a bit cold, though.

After he got it set up, we used it as a one-size-fits-all potty and shower.

Someone should patent it.

Jake models the interior.

The bucket with kitty litter was today's potty because I just couldn't face the kitty litter {indoors} for one more day. It was seriously making me gag. Thankfully, the bucket was only necessary for a few hours this morning.
Nice, huh?

I can see why this type of set-up is generally frowned upon under normal circumstances.

Can I just say.....

EWWWWWWWWW..... it was SO GROSS!

It's pretty humbling to think that many in this world live in worse conditions than this on a daily basis. I feel a bit guilty about being so happy to go back to my cushy life.

Or maybe grateful would be a better choice.

Irene Update

2011-08-30T19:03:00.002-05:00

I have a few minutes of Internet on an Internet card--before my computer battery gives out so I'm going to update the blog. :)

We are doing fine. We are still without power and reports don't sound encouraging for getting it back soon. The Police Department issued a statement saying, 'Power will not be restored in the short term. Plan accordingly."

Jeff says the Power Co. website says we will be getting it soon. I'm hoping Jeff's is more correct.

We emptied out the fridge and freezer today. Jeff grilled everything we thought was safe to eat but we lost a lot of food. Bummer!

Thankfully the weather has been beautiful since the storm passed by so we are doing okay without having air conditioning.

I would LOVE to get our toilets working, a shower, and the use of my hair dryer, but other than that, we can cope.

The hair dryer situation is grave. Don't laugh. You know you are cringing at the thought of not having yours. Admit it!

I had to take Molly to an eye appointment today (another Walmart--why do THEY always have power? They are not on generators. Hmmmm......) The lady there made a comment about her hair and having no power and I joined in with loud lamenting about how awful my hair looked. Hair dryers...we need them!

Every store that has power is completely out of ice, so we can't keep much in our coolers. I did score three bags at a little out of the way place tonight--Woohoo! That will keep our milk cold for cereal in the morning. Some of the gas stations were out of gas, but we have been able to find some in other locations.

The toilet situation is becoming comical--mostly because if we don't laugh we will barf. Each time we make a run for supplies at the nearest Walmart, I take several kids and we use the restrooms there. Ha! Who knew I would end up looking forward to using public restrooms at Walmart? :)

You just haven't lived until you help your kids poop in the backyard and dispose of it the same as we dispose of our doggie's poopy. Can I just say....GROSS?!?!?!?

Ewwwwwwwwwww.......

There. That felt good.

And even grosser....my sister is law told us what her friend in Hurricane Country does when out of power. Drain toilet. Line with plastic garbage bag. Dump in kitty litter. Use at will.

Gross, huh?

Sadly....we were forced to do that. Don't hate me. I was desperate.

I wonder how we will convince the little boys that it is NOT okay to pee outside after this is over?

Yeah....just some random thoughts that flit through my mind.

In case you didn't fully understand our situation, here is the explanation. We have water (I incorrectly stated that we are on a well--brain cramp--we have city water). However, our neighborhood is on a community septic system. That means a pump carries 'stuff' to an offsite location. And the pump isn't working because there is no power. So that means that although we have water, we cannot put it down any of our drains. So no showers, no flushing toilets, etc. And if we disobey orders, we will end up with nasty stuff backing up into our house. Not good. Most people around here are not in our situation and can flush and take showers. Cold showers aren't really all that appealing however.

Jeff rigged up an outdoor shower today with the garden hose that just cracked me up. I doubt it will be so funny tomorrow when I am forced to use it. Ack. I am thankful to be married to an engineer, though.

Sadly, he has to go out of town on business tomorrow and the teen and I will have to hold down the fort. But do not fear...we have this whole going-without-power thing down.

Sort of.

I tried to load a photo but this connection is too slow and pictures are just going to have to wait until we get power.

No Flushing Permitted!!

2011-08-29T09:16:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Karin asked me to kindly thank you for all your advice regarding their toilet situation. She and Jeff do know that they can put water into the tank in order to flush...but the bigger problem is, that all the flushed "stuff" goes into a community septic tank...so they are asked NOT to flush AT ALL so that things don't get backed up, community-wide.

Hope that makes sense! They are having success with other methods...though disgusting, it's success, no less.

Please keep praying! They have a lot of food that will go back soon if their power isn't restored quickly.

No Power {no toilets}! PLEASE PRAY!

2011-08-28T17:19:00.004-05:00

Hello, friends! This is Lori, Karin's friend. She asked me to post to her blog to tell you that they are without electricity because of the storm. Which, not only means no power...but NO WATER because they are on a well that requires a pump that requires electricity! Get it?

And you can only imagine how umm, unpleasant it will be for eleven people (ELEVEN PEOPLE!!) to go without such modern NECESSITIES!

Please pray for them, would you?!

I'll keep ya posted!

The Storm

2011-08-28T08:57:00.003-05:00

Current photos... They don't really do justice since you can't see the movement, but it gives you an idea.

We are fine...still have power, so are sitting in our jammies watching the news reports.

Batten Down the Hatches

2011-08-27T21:10:00.007-05:00

The storm is coming and we are ready.

We think.

First, we went into the basement to retrieve a phone with a cord. The cords were in a ball.

The kids looked at the phone and said, "What is that?"

Candles. Batteries. Matches.

All the containers we could find to fill up with water. We will fill the tubs when we go to bed tonight. Hopefully no one will fall in when they use the bathroom during the night!

Lots of peanut butter. {gag} But it's better than starving.

A state of emergency will go into effect at 12:01AM, so church has been cancelled. I'm hoping we don't lose power, but it's quite possible that we will. If so, water and bathroom facilities will be the biggest issue for everyone in our area. We are on a well and won't have water if the power is out. Our neighborhood is on a community septic thingy and have been told not to flush more than twice even if we know how to pour water into the toilet to get it to flush. Ack! Eleven people+no potty= NOT GOOD.

But at least we will be dry, have peanut butter and are not in danger of losing our house.

If we don't lose power, I will post an update. If you don't hear from me, you can assume we have no power. I tried to figure out how to post from my phone but gave up in disgust. haha!

A Lesson in Forgiveness

2011-08-25T08:35:00.003-05:00

Last week I blogged about the cool car show we went to see. We were having a wonderful time until....

Someone ruined it.

Let me back track. When we arrived, I gave the kids strict instructions to NOT TOUCH any of the cars. At the first car we viewed, SaraGrace reminded them again, "DO NOT TOUCH any of the cars! Just look!"

Moving through the line of cars, SaraGrace aka: 'She-who-will-not-be-ignored' continued to shout occasional reminders to NOT TOUCH.

The kids were doing great. There were a few times when they leaned in to see the interiors that they touched by accident, but most of the time, they waited to be lifted up.

So, after a half hour of good behavior, I was lagging behind a bit to get some photographs of the cars. The kids were still doing fine with Jeff and the older girls, and 'She-who-will-not-be-ignored.'

Suddenly, an older man came up to me and said angrily, "You have a lot of kids but you're not watching them. Well, I've been watching them and they are going around pounding on the windows of cars. They pounded on my car." Then he turned on his heel and stalked off.

I was so shocked that I just stammered an apology. I couldn't imagine that my kids were doing that in the short time I had lagged behind. I quickly went to Jeff to tell him and he was also shocked. The big girls defended the little kids by saying that they had not even been touching any cars, much less banging on the windows.

{These are the same girls who will rat out their younger siblings at every opportunity, so I believed them when they said the little kids were behaving.}

Hot-under-the-collar-man continued to send hostile glances in my direction while I tried to ascertain what had happened.

{Just so you know, if my children HAD been guilty, I would have marched them over to the angry man and had them apologize. I'm not one of those mom's who labors under the delusion that my kids can do no wrong.}

It became apparent that the kids were being falsely accused. And my Injustice-O-Meter started to get into the dangerously high red zone.

I was so seriously ticked off. The nerve of that guy! What possessed him to make that up?

And I could not calm down. We were winding down our evening anyway, and as we started to head to our car, my Injustice-O-Meter was in danger of exploding.

Once in the car, I started to pray...and to try to talk myself out of being so mad. It was just some guy. What did I care what he thought?

It didn't work.

I was steaming.

{A little hint about me. Nothing pushes my buttons more than some injustice. And if it happens to be directed at my family...well....}

I knew it was stupid. But I couldn't stop being mad.

And then God said in His usual quiet way...'Karin...you need to forgive him.'

GAH!

'But I'm not done being mad at him, God.'

'Suit yourself, but if you forgive him you won't be mad anymore.'

Grrrrrrrr......

I reluctantly said, 'OK. I forgive him." Not that the guy deserved it. Not that it changed anything about what he had done. But the decision I made was to free myself from the anger I felt.

All I did was make a decision. The angry feelings were still there when I said I forgave him.

We arrived home and got the kids to bed when I suddenly realized that I was no longer angry.

At all.

I had originally wanted to write a blog post excoriating the guy but I couldn't even work myself up.

I tried.

Nope. Nothin'.

I was freed.

God is so amazing when we obey Him!! He didn't want me to forgive just so I could be self-righteous or take the high road. He just wanted to free me from the destructive anger that I was feeling. And I didn't have to do anything except say, "I forgive that guy." God did all the rest and I was FREE.

I love God. He's so cool.

Savoring Summer

2011-08-24T09:39:00.031-05:00

We are down to our last few weeks before school starts after Labor Day and are savoring every minute. The weather has been gorgeous this week--no humidity! Seems like it's always humid here, so it's a treat to have the low humidity.

Jake decided he was going to learn to ride a two-wheeler this week. No clue why. His first day out with me holding the back of the bike was an unmitigated disaster.

Ok...that might be overstating it a bit. But I wanted to use the word unmitigated.

Let's just say, I didn't have much hope of him riding alone in the near future.

But the boy surprised me. Who knew?

And when Zoey saw that her little brother could do something she hadn't mastered....well....that was just not cool.

So Miss Spunky-pants decided to learn too. And don't bother helping her or holding the bike, thank you very much.

She struggled a bit because her prosthetic comes up over her knee which makes it pretty hard to bend enough to operate the pedals. She figured it out, though.

So....that left Kate...the oldest of the three. She demured. And then she decided to try it too. She is under strict orders from the doctor to wear protective gear because of the blood thinner she takes, so Zoey reminded her and helped her with her helmet.

Kate....well....can I used the phrase unmitigated disaster again? Probably not. My English comp teacher would be appalled at the overuse.

Anyway...Kate is trying but she hasn't figured out the balance yet. It might have something to do with her always wanting to find the camera and smile at Mommy. She couldn't seem to concentrate on the job at hand.

It's just as well because we have one bike for them to ride.

Don't judge.

Summer is almost over and we didn't know they were going to take a sudden interest in two-wheeling.

They are learning to take turns.

I'm learning to be patient with the constant, 'He's had it for a loooong time.' and 'No! She had it for a looooong time and took da bike away from me.'

Gah!

Savor....savor...savor... Right?!

One very determined little girl!

Careening out of control...

"I'm an excellent driver."

Still putting his clothes on backwards. I find it endearing.

Zoey gets Kate ready to ride.

Big sister, Chloe, does her best to teach Kate to balance.

Meanwhile, Jordan and SaraGrace enjoy playing on the porch...bringing back memories of summer afternoons spent on the porch when I was a child.

Jillian gave the dog a bath--much to Ginger's chagrin. To cheer her up, Jake went and got her a spoonful of peanut butter.

"Jake! Did you take a bite before you brought this outside? Answer carefully because we see your teeth marks!"

"I seriously do not get this family's strange obsession with bathing."

"I lower my tail in protest and refuse your pathetic attempts to comfort me with peanut butter."

"Oh. Well, now that you cover it in leftover crumbs from your popcorn chicken, I relent in my decision to punish you."

Our kids have developed a new way to roller skate. They each wear one skate and push off with the other foot. They can go extremely fast, stay in control and twice as many kids can skate at the same time. Whatever works.... :)

Kate and Jordan came up with an exciting ride for their favorite 'friends.'

Put them each in a skate and....

push them down the hill! Wheeee!

Cruisin'

2011-08-19T22:43:00.006-05:00

We headed to a local car show the other night to check out all the cool cars. The kids totally love looking at cars that come from 'when mommy and daddy were young.'

At least they now realize that there WERE cars when we were young.

We've been asked.

Gah!

It's fun to wander around and see what everyone likes. Jordan likes green cars. Mommy likes red ones. SaraGrace likes all of them, especially the colorful ones. Jake and Zoey don't like the noise of the engines being revved. Kate just likes to hold hands with someone. Chloe looks for cars that Ryan would like. Jillian and Molly just enjoy walking around and looking. Jeff likes ones from his childhood.

Jake and Zoey covers their ears as engines are revved nearby.

Ryan, this one is for you.

Cleaning the Basement

2011-08-17T21:15:00.005-05:00

Summer is winding down.

Do I hear sobbing?

Yes, it's me.

Our kids don't start school for a few more weeks so we are trying to make the most of our last days of freedom.

On rainy days, we sometimes head to the basement.

To clean.

There are boxes down there that have been moved to a new home several times without so much as a glance inside. It seemed easier to keep moving them rather than deal with them.

Jeff knew it should be done.

I knew it should be done.

Neither of us wanted to tackle the job.

However...

I finally made the plunge. And I began to purge.

And purge.

And there is still a ridiculous amount of junk down there.

Sticking things in boxes and hauling them down to the basement where they are out-of-sight-out-of-mind is a bad. bad idea.

They get moldy.

Which is stinky and gives you headaches.

They get dusty.

And sometimes they have gross dead bugs in them.

Last week I came across the most vile thing yet.

I had a Chinese box that I had put a lot of my treasured trinkets from China in.

{Yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition but I don't care.}

Back to the box.

Before I even opened it, something nasty caught my eye.

Could it be.....mouse poop?

Ewwwwww......

And there was some other stuff...kinda fluffy looking.

Could it be....{gasp}?

A nest?

{Shudder}

I gingerly pulled the box lid open and sure enough....lots of nasty looking nest stuff. Thankfully no mouse carcass.

Well, I was ticked off when I saw the damage.

They chewed my very valuable set of post cards from Beijing! How rude! I carried those home all the way from China, thank you very much.

There was an embroidered fan that looked like it had gotten peed on.

A lot.

I had to stifle a giggle, though, when I saw what they had feasted on the most.

I had saved a snack that we were given on one of our in-China flights. I have no idea what it was but it was a clear bag of green balls. They were hard as a rock and looked like peach pits--only smaller. I thought they were hilarious.

Apparently, the mice thought they were very tasty.

'Cause those babies were all gone.

So I have a question. There is a souvenir that I want to keep. It's a small cloisonne mirror and comb set. Does anyone know if I can clean it safely and keep it? Or is there too much risk of mice-carrying-plague nastiness?

Let me know, will ya?

The teen even got into the cleaning frenzy.

His room is down there.

I won't say how bad it was but cleaning it involved a rake.

To the Beach!

2011-08-11T20:55:00.026-05:00

One thing I love about living in New England is the beach. It's so beautiful. And the nearby houses with cedar shake shingles, picket fences and American flags don't hurt either.

Thought it would be fun to edit the photos in a vintage processing.

The waves were much bigger than usual so the kids spent the first hour running away from them. The water was FREEZING. My feet went numb after a few minutes of standing in it.

I just can't get enough of Katie's tutu swimsuit.

"No, Jake, you cannot put your drink back in the cooler with the others."

Little buddies

Jillian had big plans to build a sand castle but it never came together due to the mutiny of several of the sand engineers.

Yep. Still in love with the tutu. I'm sorry. I just can't help myself. The sandy cheeks were pretty cute, too.

Chloe is getting too big!

Part way through the day, we saw some other kids 'surfing' so decided to give it a try. The kids have been watching "Soul Surfer" lately so they wanted to be like Bethany Hamilton.

{If you haven't seen the movie, you should. It's really good.}

Zoey and Molly were the first to try it but before the day ended, everyone except Jillian and Jake had 'surfed.' Even me.

Yep. I wanted to see if it was as fun as it looked.

It was.

For the whole foot or so that the wave moved me before my legs dragged on the sandy bottom.

Oh well.

Who knew Molly would turn out to be one of the brave ones? She was so timid when she was little.

Chloe rides into the shallow water

Jake and Kate get their small boogie boards to surf like the other kids.

"Wook at me, Mom! I so brave!"

"Um..Dakey? We aren't goin' anywhere. We just staying here."

{Notice Zoey in the background on a 'real' board because she isn't afraid of some frigid water and waves.}

After we were done at the beach we went to a local eatery for some fish and chips. YUM! It wasn't far from Cupcake Charlie's--a cupcake place that has been on the cooking channel (which Jillian loves to watch).

Heading inside...

Oooh, so many choices! The kids had to split them because they were so ridiculously expensive.

It was such a cute little place.

Licking the frosting off.

MMMMMmmmmmmm.......

A bed and breakfast near the beach. So pretty.

I'm THAT age

2011-08-08T20:50:00.002-05:00

Apparently, I am now at the age where people need to qualify any compliment with the phrase, 'for your age.'

I've been getting that a lot lately.

And not even from the teenager.

No...it's been from normal people...you know...adult types.

"You're looking nice, 'for your age.'"

So today I went for my yearly physical. Not only that but somehow my mammogram also got scheduled for today without my knowledge. By the time I found out, it was too late to change either appointment.

Gah!

Two locations with instruments of torture all in one day.

Don't be jealous.

So, my doctor notes my weight and says it's perfect. I protest, knowing full well that I am carrying around an extra 20 pounds that disgust me. She looked at me and smiled, "But 'at your age' you can't possibly think you will weigh the same as when you were a teenager."

Well, then.

Buoyed by such a lovely sentiment, I headed for my mammogram.

I walked in and gave them my name. The receptionist asked if I had pre-registered. I said no and she gave me a disapproving look, tsk tsked and nodded in the direction of the sitting room. "Have a seat until someone can register you," she said with barely restrained disdain.

Muttering to myself about how she wouldn't have pre-registered either if she would have had to speak on the phone above the general din of 9 kids in the background, I obediently sat down.

Mercifully, the mammo was done fairly quickly. I can't figure out why they can't come up with a less painful test than having a machine crush a part of your body between two pieces of metal. Wow...really?

I had a chatty technician who thought that nattering about how she wanted to move to Florida would distract me from the fact that a very tender part of me was being pressed like a shirt at the cleaners.

It. Didn't.Work.

She assured me she was very good at her job and it seems she was because I didn't get a call-back.

Thank goodness!

Don't let this scare you away from getting a mammogram. It's not really THAT bad. It's not pleasant, but neither is the dentist or a colonoscopy. Hey, I already signed up for my mammo for next year. Woot!

I guess those kind of tests are just a normal part of life for people 'at my age.'

Debt

2011-08-05T23:01:00.003-05:00

I'm nauseous at the news that the S & P has Downgraded the United States credit rating from a AAA to a AA+. The U.S. has had a AAA credit rating since 1910. Here is the dumbed down explanation of our situation.

‎"If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, they spend $75,000 a year, & are $327,000 in credit card debt. They are currently proposing BIG spending cuts to reduce their spending to $72,000 a year. These are the actual proportions of the federal budget & debt, reduced to a level that we can understand." - Dave Ramsey

Kind of mind-boggling, don't ya think?

An Opportunity to Help the kids at Morning Star

2011-08-04T20:42:00.003-05:00

I have a friend who is traveling to China to adopt her daughter and her first day will be spent in Beijing with our friends Bill and Lynsay and the kids at Morning Star. Morning Star is a foster home for kids with medical special needs. Lynsay has made a list of items they need and Gayly is hoping to take the items to China.

If you are interested in helping, you can go HERE to Gayly's blog for more information.

There is life after the microwave dies

2011-08-03T09:04:00.003-05:00

I found out an interesting fact.

There is life after the microwave dies. Even if you have 9 children at home.

Ours quit a little over a week ago. {Gasp!}

How would we cope? How would we heat up left-overs?

It made us dig back into our memory banks, say, oh.... about 25 years ago. What DID we do back in the day?

Apparently, we heated things ON THE STOVE in a pan or something.

Who knew?

Jeff began to reminisce about the first microwave he bought for me when we were newly married.

I had no idea what to do with it.

He was a bit put out. He had bought this amazing gift and his wife was not as thrilled as he thought she would be.

You see...his family always had the new techy stuff. They had a microwave back when they made them with dials instead of push buttons. I bet you didn't know they were ever made that way, did you?

And my family? Well...we just were kind of late to the game when it came to high tech gadgets. Our one exception was the uber cool Eight-Track tape player that came in one of our cars.

We were so hip with that one.

So...back to the microwave... After getting my first one, it took me years to get the hang of it (I inherited the lack-o-techy gene).

But now....I am ninja with it {cough} and I didn't know if I could go back.

I'm happy to say that we DID figure out how to heat up some of our food on the stove. So maybe we should see how long we can go before we get our microwave fixed.

Naaaaaa......

Slip-and Slide Fun

2011-08-01T19:41:00.021-05:00

What is there to do when it's summer and it's hot?

Some people have pools.

We don't.

A few days ago, the kids started playing a game called, "drip, drip, drop,' which is played a lot like 'duck, duck, goose,' except you drip water on heads and then dump a cup of water on the person you tag as 'it.' I came outside to watch and I'm tellin' ya...they looked pitiful.

Eight kids trying to get wet with one small bucket of water.

So I did what any mother would do. I went to the store to see if there were any water-based activities I could get for them. I came home with a brand, spankin' new slip and slide.

We tried it out on the hill in our backyard. It says on the instructions that this won't work.

But we were only imagining the fun we could have...stars in our eyes...and throwing caution to the wind.

Big sister tries it first. Whee! Sure enough...it was F.U.N.

Go, Katie!

Molly is a crazy dare-devil.

SaraGrace slides down with a bit of drama... Surprise, surprise.

J-Man careens off the side

Now here I must stop and point out something you may not have noticed.

Jake.

He is standing in pretty much the same place in each of the above pictures. He was too scared to go down.

We encouraged him to try.

He refused.

We cajoled. We pleaded.

He remained unmoved.

But eventually...ever so slowly...he began to edge over to the top of the slide.

And then his sweet sister, Molly, gave him a gentle kick in the pants.

It was just what he needed.

Crossing his arms in an effort to exude bravado. Yeah. We weren't fooled. Look closely and you can see Molly's foot in the back of his pants. hee!

And down he goes! And it primed his pump...to use an old phrase. There was no looking back after he realized that it truly WAS fun.

After a bit, we did have to move the slide to flat ground. Sadly, the kids were sliding off the end of it when it was on the hill and were tearing up the grass and getting all muddy.

Rats.

The slide was not the best activity for Zoey. She couldn't wear her leg on the slide for fear of tearing it (the slide, that is). She couldn't get enough speed hopping up to it and trying to slide. She did a lot of army crawling through the water but finally we decided that she needed someone to pull her. Jillian quickly volunteered. Love that girl! Eventually Molly got on the other side of Zoey and it worked great!

Dancing through the raindrops

The girls watch as J-Man goes flying by them

Time for a graham cracker break

Prune-y little feet covered with grass

They had a blast! They have played with it for three days in row--which was a blessing because Jeff has been gone since last Wed. He is coming home tomorrow (woot, woot). The kids have been really good in spite of a nasty virus that traveled through them with a fever, sore throat, stomach pain and headache. It wasn't strep--just a yucky virus.

I love summer!! I can't believe it's already August. WAAHHHH.......

Oh...and by the way...we were told this week that Kate will not be having surgery. After reviewing Kate's case, the surgeon did not feel it was worth the risk to do the surgery when Kate's current procedure (the fontan) is working so well for her. We are pretty relieved. I just didn't have peace about it. Maybe the timing is off--or maybe there will be some new technology in the future for Kate's heart.

Real Mom's Don't Let Teens Use Their Cell Phones

2011-07-26T09:16:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we went to the beach. The Teen had purchased himself a brand new phone and was playing with it while we frolicked in the sand.

A while later I noticed that he and Jeff were up to something.

They were laughing hysterically and pointing phones in the direction of a spectacle up the beach.

And then I noticed that the Teen was playing with my phone.

It would seem that the camera on my phone was better than his or something.

When I checked on the source of their hilarity they told me that there was a guy sitting there who was um...rather large...and looked as if he was wearing a sweater.

Except it was his hair.

I rolled my eyes.

It was what could be expected by a juvenile teen.

And it WAS kinda funny.

Later I noticed that there were about 5 or 6 photos of said man on my phone.

The following morning I received a call.

A very odd call.

It went something like this:

Ring.....

Me: Hello?

Unknown (older female) person: Who am I talking to?

Me: What?

UP: Who is this?

Me: Who am I talking to? {thinking....how rude is this person?!}

UP: Who am I talking to?

{Yes...this conversation actually occurred.} Sigh....

Me: Who are you wanting to speak to?

UP: Is this your phone?

Me: Yes.

UP: {using her angry voice} I received an obscene photo texted to me from your phone of a nude man on a beach.

Me: WHAT?!!!!

UP: Yes. I don't appreciate it AT ALL!!! I'm considering contacting the authorities.

Me: {Thinking mean thoughts about my teen} I am SO SORRY. My son was playing with my phone yesterday. I assure you that I would not send you an obscene photo. I am a 40+ woman with children!

UP: {calming down slightly} Oh. Well. {insert huffing} I can hear that you have children. {For once I was glad that they were being obnoxiously loud when I was on the phone}

Me: {wanting to say, "Oh yes! Lots and lots of them!!} I am so sorry. I will definitely be speaking to my son.

{Insert me wanting to pinch his little head off because I am thinking that he chose some random phone number to text the photo to. And I am also envisioning the news headlines..."Mom of 10, leading double life, found to be texting creepy photos to strangers." }

We finally hung up when I was reasonably sure she would not be contacting the authorities. I began plotting how I would punish my son.

When he got home, I asked him if he had sent a text from my phone while at the beach. He said, "Yes, I sent the picture from your phone to mine but I never got it."

Me: Yeah. {I think I should get some credit here because I refrained from saying something snotty like, "Yeah, genius. Do you think you might have typed in an incorrect phone number?} You just got your phone--did you possibly type the number wrong when you sent 'yourself' the photo?

Teen: I don't know. Maybe.

Me: Well...I just got a call from a very irate woman who says that *I* sent her an obscene photo of a naked man on a beach. {For the record, the man was NOT naked...it's just that he was sitting down and his swim suit was riding fashionably low.}

Teen: {Looking sheepish} Oh. Let me recheck my number.

The mystery was solved when we realized that the Teen had transposed two numbers and had sent the hideous photo to some poor {now traumatized} older woman who thought she was being targeted in some devious scam.

Nice.

I love being a mom.

And I love my teen. I can't wait until I have a house full of them.

Let's see....

Next year = 2 teens

In two years = 3 teens

In three years = back down to 2

In four years = still 2

In five years = 3

In six years = 4

In seven years = 5

In eight years = 7 teens living in our house {that is the year I am making my official reservation at the nut house}

So long, lovely locks!

2011-07-20T21:17:00.014-05:00

SaraGrace has been growing her hair out for about a year so that she could donate it to a place that would make a wig for a child with cancer.

Well, today was the day!

We had waited until it was long enough so that she wouldn't look like a boy when we cut it, so she has a cute little bob.

She was very brave, although toward the end she said, "I feel like I'm going to cry."

But she didn't.

And thankfully, she loves her new hairdo and has been skipping around the house all evening telling me how much she likes it.

Second thoughts...

Snip, snip...

No turning back now...

Molly helped out by taking photos and Jillian helped me measure and rubber band the hair.

SaraGrace's new look! I love it! It matches her bouncy personality.

Amazing Story of God's Provision!

2011-07-19T13:50:00.002-05:00

A little drama has been playing out for Ryan and Dani the past few weeks. They need paperwork proving they are actually married before the Army can update their status. The marriage license wasn't enough. They had to have proof that they actually got married. That means that Ryan is still getting paid as a single guy, and Dani cannot get an ID or get on base by herself.

They needed a marriage certificate, which is generated after the wedding takes place.

Those of us in the adoption community know all about the fun of getting one of those. {Grrrr....} It's a pesky piece of paper that the government needs for official business and it has to have the State Seal on it.

We also know how fun it can be to retrieve said piece of paper when government employees don't give a rip about getting it to us.

Each time Dani called the Country Clerk she was told that the paperwork had not arrived from the church, verifying that the marriage took place. Well...that was odd. It was sent the Monday after the wedding. How long could it possibly take to get there? Hmmm???

After two weeks of waiting, my dad decided to go down to the Judge's office this morning where the certificates are processed. He asked for prayer and we all prayed for favor with the officials he would see.

{Let's just say, we didn't have high expectations for their willingness to go above and beyond for this situation.}

We knew it would take prayer and we asked God to intervene.

My dad called me this morning during VBS. {Oh yes...it's VBS week and today's theme was...get this..."God hears us when we call."}

He was laughing.

That was a good sign.

Then he said, 'Karin! You won't believe this! I have the certificate in my hot little hands! God did a total miracle in there today!"

He went on to tell me that when he arrived at the Judge's office, the Judge was actually standing there at the door.

{As opposed to in his office or anywhere else in the large suite of offices.}

The judge looked at him, shook his hand and seemed to recognize him. My parents had attended the court proceedings for my sisters' kids when they were adopted, and this judge had presided over the case. He remembered my dad!

{Out of all the people he sees on a daily basis...}

He asked if my dad was there for another adoption. My dad said no, that he was there because he was having trouble getting a marriage certificate.

The judge said, "Really? Tell me about it."

OK...let's just pause for a moment. This guy is a very well known judge in that city. It's a very LARGE city. He's a busy man. He could have said, "Oh...the marriage division is one floor down. Have a nice day."

But no.

He listened as my dad explained the situation and when he heard that Ryan was a military guy, he said he was going to personally walk my dad downstairs and get everything sorted out! On the way, he wanted to know all about Ryan.

Once downstairs, he told the marriage clerks to process the paperwork right away.

They couldn't find it.

The judge continued to stand there, rather than instructing the staff to help and then leaving. {Who does that?}

It eventually became obvious that the paperwork was permanently missing. At that point, the judge said, "Look. I'm the judge. The pastor who did the ceremony is here. This young man is military and we are going to get this done TODAY. Generate a new one and give him the certificate!"

He waited until the certificate was in my dad's hands and then turned and thanked my dad for Ryan's service!

OK, let's recap.

Busy, important Judge's don't just stand at the door greeting people and asking them about their personal lives--and then LISTENING.

They don't personally take someone over to the clerk's office and instruct the staff to prioritize and process paperwork.

They don't stick around to make sure paperwork is found.

They don't stick around long enough to realize that the paperwork needs to be recreated.

They don't turn and thank YOU for YOUR grandson's service after they have gone way above and beyond the call of duty for you.

If the judge had not accompanied my dad to the marriage division, he probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere with them. The paperwork wasn't there. He could have asked them to generate it but it's doubtful they would have. Who knows how long this little saga would have continued?

But God!!

It is so exciting when we get to see God orchestrate an event like that! It was as if the Judge was standing there waiting for my dad to arrive so that he could give him the royal treatment.

God is always orchestrating our lives but often we don't get to see it--or we don't understand what He is doing. I love it when He lets us see it as it is happening!

So keep on praying for everything you need! God always answers our prayers but sometimes He really likes to blow our little minds! :)

Meeting a Special Friend

2011-07-18T21:19:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday we had a fun outing to Boston to meet a special friend. Zoey's BFF from her orphanage was going to be in town with her family. We had never met but her mom and I had corresponded online since before our girls were adopted.

Her daughter, Abby, has memories of the orphanage and had originally asked her new mom and dad to adopt Zoey because Zoey was her best friend. How precious! At the time, we were already in process to bring Zoey home, so they were able to assure Abby that her little friend would soon have a family of her very own.

We met at the beach. It had been in the 90's all week.

But not on Thursday.

It was in the 70's.

With gale force winds.

That put the wind chill around what? 65? ugh.

But we are tough, right?

We CAN enjoy ourselves.

Shivering? Pshaw.

Spitting out sand? Pshaw.

After two hours, we got our lunch.

Pizza seemed like a good choice.

Until...

One child set her plate down and it flipped over.

Nice.

Then one child put his plate down to go grab a drink and nimbly kicked sand onto his pizza.

Sigh.

After several of the kids had pizza covered with sand, we decided that we had put up with enough sand in our faces and headed to McDonalds.

Zoey and Abby had fun--although it took Zoey a little while to warm up. They were just getting comfortable with each other when we had to head home.

Sorry...not many pics because of the blowing sand. Not good to get that into camera gears.

Abby brought Zoey a necklace. It was one that matched hers. One said "Best" and other said, "Friend." Zoey is fingering her necklace in this photo. She's been wearing it ever since.

Wah! Jake is Five.

2011-07-14T22:14:00.002-05:00

Wah! My little man is five. I want him to stay little forever.

He's been counting down the days to his birthday and was so excited when the day finally came. Jillian decorated his cake and he asked to go to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Once there, he ordered fish and fries. Go figure.

Happy Birthday, my sparkly-eyed Jakey!

Catch-up Post

2011-07-11T22:08:00.020-05:00

First, an update on little guy, Tommy. We saw him today and he is doing very well! He is already out of PICU and although tired, he looked amazingly alert and healthy. Thank you, Jesus. He will have to stay in the hospital until his chest tubes stop draining large amounts of fluid, though.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And now for a recap of our day of swimming while we were visiting old friends the week of Ryan and Dani's wedding. We had no sooner walked into the pool area and were setting down our stuff when we heard a loud splash. We whirled around to see that Miss Zoey had dived into the pool with no life jacket. Good grief! She was bobbing up and under and pretty much panicking. Neither Jeff nor I had swimsuits on. Jeff started unloading his phone and wallet from his pockets so he could go in and get her. Somehow, she bobbed over close enough for him to reach in and grab her without going in.

Despite her exciting beginning, Zoey had no qualms about going back in the water.

SaraGrace and my sweet neice, Brittany.

I LOVE swimming!

My swimming is more low key but I still have fun.

"Jake...you got like three feet of air that time!"

"And you got your face wet...wow."

"That's right! I'm ninja at this swimming thing."

Jake had a scare when he dove {sort of} into his tube only to have it go over, putting his face under the tube, stuck underwater. YIKES! Thankfully, we saw it happen and grabbed him. He told everyone later that he drowned three times.

The princess tries to get some air.

And gets a nice splash, thank you very much!

After Zoey swam awhile with her leg on, the socks became quite heavy so she decided to try swimming without it. She mostly likes jumping in--which meant she had to hop over to the side first.

Getting into position...

The crouch...

She hurtles through space and time...

{OK...I know that is a slight exaggeration}

Love the tightly closed eyes and look of intensity!

SPLASH!!

The teenager was there but he gets all cranky when I take photos of him and post them on the blog, so I will use all of my will-power and not post any.

Thank you, Susie, we had a wonderful time swimming with you in your pool!

Please pray for a little guy...

2011-07-08T09:28:00.003-05:00

...who is having a heart surgery similar to Katie's today. His mom is a childhood friend of mine and her little boy, Tommy, was adopted from China. He is having surgery at Boston Children's today at noon. It's a very complicated surgery and he needs prayer.

His family lives in Washington state and will be here for several weeks. It's costly for them and a friend has set up a Chip In to help with expenses.

His mom's blog is: Our Many Blessings where you can go for updates.

Please pray for this sweet little guy!

Thankful Heart

2011-07-05T22:17:00.071-05:00

As I savor the sweet memories made last week, I can only say that I am so thankful for all the blessings God rained down on us.

Thankful for family and friends who stepped in to help to give Ryan and Dani a wonderful wedding.

Thankful for our friends, Mark and Margie who allowed us to use their beautiful property for the reception.

Thankful to Dean and Barb who provided gorgeous flowers.

Thankful to my parents' friends who spent all day preparing and serving food in 95 degree heat.

Thankful that although it did rain, it only shortened the wedding reception by two hours.

The flu...ahhh...yes. That was special.

A few of our kids had gotten a stomach bug over the past few weeks and I ended up getting it the day of the rehearsal. I made it to the Thursday rehearsal but missed the dinner, swimming and fireworks that night. I was feeling fine by Friday night. Friday morning, Ryan was sick but felt pretty good by that night. Our big fear was that the Bride would be sick on Saturday, but thankfully she wasn't. She started to feel a bit unwell by the end of the reception but it's hard to say if it was flu or exhaustion.

There was one very special person who DID have the flu that day, though. :( Dani has been living with a very special couple and the wife, Regina, had helped Dani with all the wedding plans. She sent me a text Saturday morning telling me she was deathly sick and I thought she was joking. Sadly, she was not. She missed the wedding and the reception. She had a much more virulent strain than we did. I am still just so sad for her.

So anyway....the wedding. It was sunny, hot and humid. As in 95 degrees and humid. The girls met at the church to get their hair done, which was very fun to watch.

Pre-wedding photos:

Peeking through the blinds to watch the guests arrive.

SaraGrace admires her new big sister

And then it was time for all of us to get ready to walk down the aisle. We were all milling around when suddenly the music cuing the Grandma's and Mom's started. I looked at Jeff and noticed he had gotten teary eyed. I asked if he was okay and he said, "It's starting. Our Ryan is getting married."

{My pictures inside the church are very dark and grainy because I do not have the flash equipment needed to do the job correctly.}

As Ryan got his first glimpse of Dani, he teared up which made the rest of us tear up as well.

Jeff patted Dani's hand as they stood at the doorway and then they started their walk up the aisle.

I should have focused on Ryan rather than my dad...but you can still see the expression on Ryan's face as Dani stood in front of him.

My dad married them which was so special. He talked about how Ryan was his first grandchild and that he had been given the privilege of explaining to Dani how to become a Christian and to baptize her.

You may kiss the bride!

Post-wedding posed shots. I couldn't fit everyone in so Taylor isn't in this photo. Drat.

Grandparent photos

Taylor using the down time to check his messages.

Then it was off to the reception. It was held in a beautiful setting that was owned by friends of ours who were kind enough to let us use it.

So fun to see sweet Emma again! She was one of 'my' babies when I was a foster care coordinator for Love Without Boundaries and it was amazing when God brought her home to a dear friend.

Molly reconnects with her special friend, Shali.

Jeff's mom and sister...love this picture of them!

Jordan and his bestest buddy who drove all the way from Alabama to ~~see him~~ attend the wedding.

Ryan's version of the Royal wave...and our version of a beautiful horse-drawn carriage.

Mother/Son dance... I love that boy!

The last time they danced was in China when Jillian was six months old. Where has the time gone?

Jeff's brother and wife, Laurie

My parents

Jeff's parents

Time to throw the garter

The two Amigo's wait for....um..."What are we doing here?"

Jordan was the surprised recipient

Jeff and his sister

Dollar dance...my girls all paid their dollar to dance with Ryan, although some of them chickened out. Not SaraGrace...she is all about being a princess and going to the ball.

Love these sweet shots of Ryan dancing with his Grandma

Dancing with Dani--so fun!

My boys...it makes a mother proud. ha.

Ryan dancing with his sisters

The whole group dancing thing really caught on...

And then there were my crazy friends... :)

Jake dances with Mama. Notice the little tongue hanging out. {I think my brother took this pic. He took several and now I can't remember which ones he took and which ones I took. So, Mark...if I am not crediting you...so sorry.}

Love the look on SaraGrace's face as she dances with her Daddy {taken by my brother, I think}

Ok--I know I took this one since Mark is in it...with his beautiful wife, Meredith.

The reception had to be cut short by a storm rolling in. Thankfully, we were warned in time to get everything put away and taken down before it hit. It was incredibly hot and humid, so we all were sweating buckets but we had lots of water and just made the best of it. We had so much fun and are so thankful for everyone who helped make it happen.

Happy Birthday!

2011-07-04T20:47:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Ryan!!! And Happy Birthday America!!

I'm in a hotel room in New York again.

In the bathroom.

Almost fell in the toilet because the lid was up.

Thank you, God, for giving us peripheral vision.

It could have been ugly.

I know you are all waiting for a wedding write up and I promise you I will do that but it's not gonna happen tonight.

I'm beat and I have to drive again tomorrow.

But when we get home, I will write the full story.

The Digest version is:

There was stomach flu afoot.

A special person did not make it to the wedding.

The Bride and Groom did.

The wedding turned out beautifully despite 95 degree heat and high humidity.

The Bride and Groom are on their way to their next posting and are driving all night tonight--so if you want to pray for them, this Mama would so appreciate it!

Here is one picture for you... {don't hate, there will be more soon}

Sneak Peek at the Newlyweds

2011-07-02T23:37:00.003-05:00

Friends, Family and Fun!

2011-06-29T08:40:00.021-05:00

It's been a whirlwind since we arrived! We survived the trip and the kids actually did very well. We only had one mishap when there was a slight {ahem} fender bender.

I am considering maintaining my innocence.

How was I to know that some woman had pulled in way too close behind me at the gas pump?

I was only complying with my husband's suggestion to back up, get out of line when I was done, and go to McD's to get the kids some lunch.

It couldn't have been that in my haste, I forgot to look in the rear view mirror! {gasp}

I knew I should have driven the old van on the way here.

Sigh...

My husband was very gracious and told me that is what we have insurance for.

I love him.

Sunday afternoon there was a bridal shower for Danielle at church. I am sorry to say that I had my camera settings wrong and all my picture turned out blurry. You will have to use your imagination to 'see' the North Woods theme and all the gifts.

Gah!!

Monday we took the kids to the zoo. My brother's wife and three kids joined us, much to the delight of my kids who hadn't seen their cousins in almost two years.

Daddy holds Jake up to see the polar bears

Katie and cousin Maddie are best buds

"OK troops, here is how it's goin' down. I have a ticket for each of you to ride the carousel but you have to line up!"

"Are you serious?"

Waiting patiently.

Wheee!! Mommy photographs because rides that go in circles make her nauseous.

"We are so excited we can barely contain ourselves."

Cousins are the best!

New baby elephant born two months ago at the zoo!!

Grandpa holds Hudson up for a better view.

Kissin' cousins

Is it me or is this kid still giving me the stink eye?

That evening, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and were so happy to see our old friends there.

Clavo - our friend, whose smile we miss so much.

Neli and the girls. We miss Neli very much!

Ryan, Taylor and Jake all have birthday's in the next two weeks, so we decided to have our traditional celebration. Clavo would always bring the kids a Mexican fried ice cream, dip his finger in the whipped cream and put it on their nose.

However...this time, all the kids got a plate of whipped cream in their faces. Except Ryan. He conveniently went to the bathroom right before they came out with the birthday treat. Dani had to stand in for him and SHE got the whipped cream in the face!

Ryan came out and began to help her get it cleaned up. Notice Mr. Stealth behind him, sneaking up for round 2.

Score!

Happy Birthday, boys!!

From a hotel deep in the heart of New York....

2011-06-24T21:47:00.004-05:00

I'm sit-ting in the bath-room.

It's the only available seat with a light because everyone else is in bed {supposed to be sleeping}. The things we do to blog.

We are in upstate New York and will continue our 14 hour trek tomorrow. So far the kids have done well.

I could have done without the pouring rain that made it next to impossible to see at night.

Behind my husband's van.

It's not his fault that his vehicle created a ton of moisture behind the wheels that made it seem like I was driving through thick fog.

Or that I felt he was driving too fast for the conditions.

Because his conditions were not the same as mine.

{In other words...he could see the road.}

Not sure why I don't like driving 75 mph at night in the rain when I can't see the road. I'm just weird like that.

But we arrived safely--thankfully. My girls were praying in the backseat.

No pictures tonight. I'm just {not} that good.

Although it might have been entertaining to get a shot of Kate who wiped out in the rain soaked parking lot after I told her to make sure she didn't drag her blankie and get it wet. {Sigh}

It's wet.

There isn't a puddle in front of the curb anymore, though since Kate's blanket soaked that up. But hey... Kate eliminated the possibility of Jake falling into it. So it was a good thing.

We are so excited to be seeing Ryan tomorrow night!! And Dani, too! The little kids ask 10 times a day when they will see Ryan and 'Daniel."

Sorry, Dani...they just can't get it right.

And of course we are super excited to be seeing Grandma and Grandpa, siblings, cousins....ahhhh. Can't wait!! Jeff's parents and siblings will be arriving next week and we are so excited to be getting to see them, too.

People should get married more often.

Just sayin.'

Well, I better join my crew in getting some shut-eye or I will not be able to stay awake driving tomorrow.

And anyway, this toilet seat is getting hard. {I put the lid down--don't get grossed out.}

Just to clarify....the wedding is not this weekend...it's next weekend. We are going a week early to visit and help out.

Packing....

2011-06-22T21:38:00.002-05:00

First day of packing down.

More days of packing ahead.

Laundry.

More Packing.

Making kids wear pajamas all day so we can have only clean clothes in suitcases.

Wondering if I should wear pajamas all day. {Don't judge}

Seeing if said packing will fit in suitcases.

See if said suitcases will fit in cars.

At least we have two cars that are making the trip.

There is always a silver lining.

Random Family Update

2011-06-21T20:36:00.009-05:00

We are in wedding countdown....less than two weeks to go. Can't wait to make the 14 hour trip with nine kids {cough, cough}.

We have not heard anything yet from the doctors at Boston Children's about the possibility of Kate having heart surgery.

Molly had a birthday last week. The years are just flying by and my babies are growing up. {sob}

Jillian decorated the cake--which is why it looks so cute.

Jillian and Molly

The girls had friends over yesterday and decided to do a lemonade stand. I had my doubts that they would sell much but they stayed out there all day and made around $8. They were so thrilled.

And a Miss Zoey pro-other leg update...

Her leg is holding up well. We went to the beach on Father's Day (and I forgot my camera...gah!). Her leg held up well, although got pretty heavy once wet because she has to wear two pair of heavy socks inside it to keep it on. {Her leg continues to atrophy and when the current prosthetic gets too loose, she will get another one. For now, she is wearing two socks instead of one.} She took it off part way through the afternoon. I think someone should come up with some cool-max socks that don't get heavy when they are wet! Maybe I will suggest that next time we are at Shriners.

Today she was roller skating. I think you would have to look close to notice she has an artificial leg! Go Zoey!!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-18T22:29:00.001-05:00

The "Doors of Israel" photo

2011-06-18T09:26:00.002-05:00

I have had several requests from people wanting to purchase a copy of the "Doors of Israel" print. I am working on making that available. My main problem is that the template I used to make it will only enlarge to about 11x14. I am trying to find a template that would allow me to make a bigger one but I'm not sure what size is of interest. If you are interested in a print, can you please leave a comment or email me the size you would like? (No obligation to purchase--just gives me an idea of the size that would interest everyone.)

Thank you!! I will offer it soon and 30 percent of the proceeds will go to help the babies at Morning Star Foundation.