Looks like we made it!!

Tomorrow marks the end of another school year. There's just 1/2 of a day left of preschool, second grade, and fourth grade. The girls have had the best time this year. All of them have grown and changed in such positive ways. I am excited about the beginning of the summer. Its going to be wonderful to be with my kids, playing, swimming, taking it easy. Even though I appreciate the routine of school, it will be nice to have a few months of relaxing. The past few days I have sorted clothes, cleaned out the clutter, and used every bin and basket available to me to organize the kids' stuff so we are ready for our summer to start. It's been like being in therapy for a couple of days!!! Organizing and throwing stuff out... AHHHHH... just what I need!!! What would this girl do without Rubbermaid??

Beauty

First summer activity

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we went on a camping trip up to Hermit Park. This is a place where I went camping as a kid, and I love going there with my family. We hiked, ate hotdogs and banana boats and Ashley's Hobo packets, played Scrabble, read, slept, ate s'mores, walked, picked flowers, built a fort, climbed trees, had pinecone wars, and played until we were all tired out. I was amazed at how well everyone slept and ate. This was the first camping trip where we didn't have any diapers to change and it was glorious! None of us loved the outdoor potty (Meredith and Mommy especially), but even that went ok because we brought the little potty chair. The weekend was very special as we spent time talking about our summer plans and enjoying every moment that we had together. It was a perfect beginning to summer 2009!

thoughts on camping... according to Meredith

• "Mama,", Meredith said as she was sitting by the stove inside the cabin while the rest of the kids were outside in the cold, "the next time that we come here, we should bring a T.V. and a bath tub."

• Meredith and I had to run into town to get something that we forgot. We ended up at the local Safeway, and Meredith said that she needed to go to the bathroom. We found it, and she looked inside the stall and said "Ah! A potty like at home."

mind...full

This weekend isn't going how I thought it was going to. I wasn't expecting to be at home tonight. I was supposed to be at Beth Moore's conference up in Laramie. I wasn't expecting to be so preoccupied today. I had a chiropractor appointment and drove past the office for a mile before I realized I missed it. I wasn't expecting Marky to like the costume I put together at the last minute. She loved it. Hallelujah. I wasn't expecting to get to sit down for coffee with a friend this afternoon... because I wasn't expecting to be around this afternoon. I'm so glad to have gotten some time with her.

Some days just don't go as I expect them to. Maybe that's a good thing.

We are leaving in the morning for a 2 night, 3 day camping trip. I am glad we are leaving. I need to go. As we leave home together as a family, I hope to leave this full mind of mine at home. My heart is hurting over the pain that some people I love are experiencing. I'm burdened and I can't stop praying for them. I'm also trying to figure out how to fix the hurt, even though I know I can't. But God can, and He's a better fixer anyways. While I'm in the mountains, I'm hoping to relax and be mindful of being with my family - making memories, loving on each one of them, cherishing the moments that are slippery and will be missed if my mind is elsewhere. I am not very good at being present or "in the moment" as it is often said. My thoughts are usually fixed on yesterday or tomorrow, but I'm asking God to help me with this very thing this weekend. Even though it's not what I was expecting, I am completely convinced that it's all going just as He has planned. I'm so thankful to trust my days to Him, as well as my loved ones with Him. These next few days, my deepest desire is to see things from His perspective. Praise the Lord that He resides over it all! I want to have fun and leave my "mind fulls", my worries, my expectations all behind (along with several other things that I will INCONVENIENTLY forget to pack, I just know it - please don't let it be my pillow... remember your pillow, Heather.)

Happy Memorial Day!


Colossians 3:1-2
So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from His perspective.

Worth it

I was downstairs tonight when I heard the garage door open. I figured that it was either the boogie man or Patrick - my money was on Patrick since he had called from DIA about 2 hours prior to said door opening. Neither Michael or Meredith heard it, so I said to both of them "Could you run upstairs and check on something for me?" Being the obedient children that they are (!!!) they ran right up. Meredith's daily goal is to out-do Michael in all things, so she beat him in the race up the stairs. When she got upstairs she yelled "DADDY!!!" and then turned to her pokey brother and announced Patrick's arrival. I then heard Michael say, "Oh Daddy! I'm so excited that you're home!" Now THAT is worth being gone for a few days.

A confession or two

Yesterday I hit a wall. The "I'm tired of being the mom" wall. I hit it hard. The whining, the messes, the fighting. I just didn't want to do it one more day. First confession, I was tired of my kids. That's hard to say, but it was the truth. On top of that, the house was so dirty. Months of busyness had taken it's toll on every surface and catching up seemed like an impossibility. Patrick is traveling all week, and I could see an eternal week stretching out in front of me if I didn't get some help... some relief. So I called the best reinforcement I have - my daytime babysitter, Lisa. She agreed to help me out by taking BOTH of the little ones for the day. They were SO excited to go play and I was so thankful that I fell asleep last night with a huge smile. Because my house was such a disaster, I had been contemplating hiring someone to clean it. Instead, this morning I decided that this was how I was going to spend my day. Rather than paying someone else to clean, I was going to do it! It was so much fun - REALLY!!! I put on the radio, LOUD, and cleaned like I was the maid, cleaning someone else's house. I cleaned EVERYTHING!!! Here comes confession #2 - I love bleach. I know I am not supposed to enjoy it so much, but I do. I know that the times call for me to love something organic and natural, but I can't give it up. When I purchase it at the store, I feel like I have to sneak out so that no one sees me. It just works so well!!! And it SMELLS so clean!!! I certainly got my fill of it today. Don't hate me or judge me for my confessions. It's just how some days are - you feel overwhelmed and at wits end, then God uses something small - a few hours alone - to bring you back to how good life really is. It turned out to be quite a wonderful day. The best thing was when I picked up my little ones and the big girls came home I was back to being a happy mom. I was grateful for the time away from them, the time to take care of our home, and the time to get us all back where we belong.

Chairs

I found these chairs this winter for an INCREDIBLE price. I have always wanted to have a set of adirondack chairs in my yard, but wasn't willing to give up the arm and leg that they cost. YET - I believe that the Lord knows my heart's desires, and He lead me to find these chairs this winter. They were in need of some TLC, which I had a lot of, so they have gone from sad to spectacular over the past few months. I LOVE them so much. These are the chairs that I'm going to sit still in over the summer. That really is what I want to do. And I'm going to. Stop laughing, Lara. :)

BEFORE



AFTER

Pay dirt

Last Monday, Patrick and I began a yard project that we've almost got completely finished. Really, it is my project... Patrick was just kind enough to come along for the ride. I have been planning this project, which is a new flower garden, out in my head for about 9 months. I knew that in order to begin my project I was going to need a TON of dirt; dirt isn't cheap and so I thought that I was going to have to put my project off a few more months. A gardening friend of mine suggested that a good place to try to find some *free* dirt would be on Craig's list. I didn't think that we would have any success with this route, but I was WRONG!! And boy am I glad that I was!!! We found some *FREE* dirt on Craig's list and there was SO MUCH of it!!! We had to go get it, but that was alright, We didn't mind. In fact, our babysitter Vicki showed up right before we were leaving and offered to keep the 2 little ones at home and feed them dinner. Patrick and I were actually sort of on a date. A dirt date. That first night, we got 2 loads, and then the next night we took all of the kiddos and picked up a third. Over the weekend, Patrick went and got a fourth load. It was great dirt too!!! I never thought that I would be so excited about dirt!!! So, over the weekend, we pulled out rocks, ripped up sod, shoveled dirt, and planted seeds and plants. I'm so excited about how it looks. It was also just a great project for Patrick and I to do together. He also worked on his vegetable garden this weekend. It is beautiful. I am so happy with our yard right now. I just need to sit still long enough to enjoy it. I'm working on that...

Girls night out

We were blessed to get to see Aunt Clara this weekend. Meredith and I went on a date to see Clara perform her music at a local cafe called "Everyday Joes". She was exceptional as always. To say that Meredith worships the ground that Clara walks on would not be over - exaggerating. Meredith could be heard (hopefully only by me!) singing along with Clara to her favorite tunes. She kept asking Clara to hold her and kept hugging her. From the minute that Meredith woke up on Saturday until the time that we saw Clara, Meredith was completely preoccupied with her. "Mommy, I wonder what Aunt Clara is going to wear tonight?" These were her VERY FIRST words upon waking Saturday morning. Because of course it's all about the outfit- I believe that precious Meredith might follow in Aunt Clara's footsteps as far as that is concerned. It's never just the clothes - its an outfit. Head to toe. Of course, I don't have much room to talk here now do I? We both enjoyed Clara's concert a lot. After the concert, Meredith and I went and got a bite to eat because we were pretty hungry. She called Daddy and Michael at home to tell them all about it. She fell asleep on the drive home, completely content having just spent the night "snuggled" up to her favorite star. Lucky for us, Clara needed a ride back to the airport this afternoon. Because Marky, Maddie and Michael weren't able to go to the concert, it was especially wonderful because Clara's grandma dropped her off at our house so that we could take her to DIA. The rest of the kiddos were thrilled for the chance to be with her. Michael jumped right up into her arms. We had a lovely visit on the way down to the airport and loved "seeing her off". On the way home from the airport Michael sighed and said, "Why does Aunt Clara have to go away?" I think he's smitten!!