Caribou Castle

Ribbons!

2012-02-01T18:04:00.000-05:00

This is just a great Pinterest idea that I did and had to share...with scrapbooking (which I haven't done in ages) and other crafty things, I had tons of ribbon bits that were all tangled up and annoying. THEN I stumbled upon this fabulous idea...check it out! (It works like a dream! And looks pretty too!)

I have been working to organize my craft stuff in this weird room we have upstairs. It used to be a (tiny) kitchen when previous owners had the back part of the house turned into an apartment. We opened it up and use the whole house, but this room had a kitchen sink and a few cupboards in it. DH uses it as his sink area to get ready in the morning. Since he has recently started making his own beer and has to have a warm place for the beer to sit and turn into beer, this room is also the spot for that--mostly since it is warm and not a place where the kids go. So his stuff only takes up a little tiny part of the room. I have usurped the rest of the room as my craft space. So far, I'm liking it a lot. :) I've done a few projects that I'll try to take pictures of and post. Mostly it's just nice to have a place to put all this stuff. Apparently ribbon has been a thorn in my side for awhile, because I was also deliriously happy to work this out for the spools:

It's not a great picture, but you get the idea. The bar and the hangy things are from Ikea (LOVE Ikea!) and they are SUPER cheap...I think the bar was $2.99 and each of the hangy things was $1.99. Not only are they organized, but now I can just neatly thread them down without even having to take them out!

I love to organize things!

Boxes

2012-01-21T14:46:00.001-05:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to stop just thinking of great activities to do with the kids, but actually do some. I love, love, love Pinterest and have found SO many wonderful things on there. It's like reading all the great ideas people post on blogs all at once, and actually being able to remember where they are when you are ready to do them! I've even started a "Done!" board so I can move over things that I have actually done! (If you need an invite to get started on Pinterest, just send me a message!)

Anyway, today was one of the days I decided to DO something with the kiddos. We had tons of boxes left over from Christmas, so I decided we would make box-houses! Got the idea from here (through Pinterest, of course).

The kids had a great time with it. It took some time on my part with a blade and some duct tape, but it was definitely worth it! The kids really got creative with them and were well-occupied with a great activity!

"Mom, don't freak out"

2012-01-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

Just what every parent wants to hear.

Side note... and this is to MY mother...Mom, don't freak out.

Naomi and Phoebe have started piano lessons with Jon. The girls were practicing piano for a bit and suddenly Naomi came running in. "Mom, don't freak out when you see this, but I thought of a GREAT way to teach Phoebe this song!" I went in to the piano.

What did I see? Stickers color coding some of the keys.

What did I do? I freaked out.

You have to understand the piano situation in my life. My mother is a professional pianist. The piano we currently have is an upright Steinway that my mom got from her aunt when she turned 16. It has traveled with my parents back and forth across the country as they moved. It has traveled with us (when we inherited it after my mom got her baby grand) back and forth across the country as we moved. It has come close to demise in an apartment building stairwell more than once, but has survived.

And I know the rules well.

The piano has to be on an inside wall, but not by a heater.
No food or drink near the piano, and definitely no food or drink ON the piano.
You wash your hands before you play the piano.
No decorative items or tchotchkes on the piano.
The piano is not a toy, it is an instrument.
You don't just bang on it, you play it.
You gently dust the keys- all use of cleaner of any type is prohibited.

And certainly, certainly... no stickers on the keys! That one doesn't even make the official and oft-repeated list because it is SUCH an egregious and flagrant error that it is just known that no one, unless they were some type of insane instrument-torturer would even conceive of the idea of doing something so horrific. But back to the story...

To my credit, I didn't TOTALLY freak out. I said "OH honey!" in a horrified voice and put my hands to my face. Just like my mom would have. Immediately Naomi started crying, and I knew even that had been to harsh. I took her in my arms and hugged her. I told her that it was a wonderful, creative idea of a way to teach Phoebe a song, and I was so glad she'd thought of it, but no, we couldn't have stickers on the keys. As a peace offering, I told her we would pull out the old keyboard ($4 at Goodwill) and she could put the stickers on there. That seemed to satisfy her and as we both calmed down, I apologized for freaking out.

As much as we want to take good care of the things that we have, they are just things after all. We can't take 'em with us. Even a Steinway. And it wasn't as if she was flagrantly treating the piano poorly. In fact, she was thinking and acting kindly toward her sister, taking a gentle leadership role to teach her...pouring good things into their relationship...which is something worth far more than any instrument. That instrument could be gone in the blink of an eye by theft or fire (well...not in the blink of an eye by theft I guess, it is HEAVY...so perhaps we could say "over the course of an afternoon when no one is home and the neighbors are completely unaware of what is going on"...but you get my drift), but the relationship between two sisters, as well as the one between a mother and her daughter have eternal value.

That is where I want my focus to be. On the relationship. Not the stuff.

So everyone (and by everyone, I mean my mom) can breathe easier, I will tell you that the stickers came off quickly and easily.

Crisis averted.

PS: Name this movie quote: "But that's a priceless Steinway!" "Not anymore."

Annual Interviews

2012-01-07T21:46:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh! I just did our 1st Annual Interviews with the kids (actually--I think I did one a few years ago just with Naomi, but this year I did it with all six kiddos). It was hilarious and SO CUTE. I totally wish I had videotaped them too in addition to writing them down. Next year I will. I put pictures of them below. The questions may be particularly hard to read, but here is the link to the website where I got them. The kids also drew a self-portrait up in the corner. These are just priceless! I wish I had started years ago!

Quotes

2011-12-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

Our Oldest Boy is quite a character. He is the most inquisitive person I know...I'm glad he is curious, but I do think his unending questions are a defense mechanism to avoid talking about the more serious things that are going on in his life. But that's not what this post is about...it is about the astonishing things that come out of his mouth. Here is a brief smattering...

(at dinner) "How many people here wish dogs had hands? Because I sure do!"
(at church, when the pastor asked everyone to consider what they might ask of God) "I would ask that my feet would be 3 sizes too big for these shoes!"
(in the car) "I wish I was made of P-URE crystal!"
(at dinner) "Raise your hand if you wish you were cold-blooded!"

Allowing gun play or not allowing gun play...that is the question

2011-12-13T13:01:00.000-05:00

I keep coming back to this question lately in parenting. It's all new to me with boys now, of course. My girls never wanted to play with guns, or even really thought about them at all. But now they are front and center...frequently.

I have nothing against guns per se, and had I the pleasure of raising these boys from birth, it might be a different story. Unfortunately, the situation I find myself in is that their only real experience with guns is shooting things with a BB gun and playing "Call of Duty." I know. Rated M for Mature for a reason. Trust me, that is not happening in our house.

I know that boys have the inborn desire to conquer and to compete, but I just want it to come about in the right attitude--that of heroism and rescue and protection...not aggression, violence and anger. How do I make that happen? I've wrestled with the idea of getting the boys little green army men to play with for Christmas...and decided against it. I'm feeling more drawn to cowboy-themed play as well as knights...if there must be fighting and duels, at least those seem a little more civilized to me for some reason or another. I don't want to girlify my boys, but I do want them to have an accurate understanding of guns and how/why they should be used.

My husband is not a hunter, and he was never in the military, and we do not own a gun. Some good friends of mine have suggested getting someone who was (or is) in the military to talk with the boys about it (particularly Oldest Boy--who seems the most obsessed). He seems convinced that it's all about blowing people up and stabbing them and if you go into the army you will definitely die. I've tried to tell him that most people in the military do NOT die, and in fact, I know several personally who were or are in the military who are still very much alive, and also that the military's main goal is to protect people, and that they try to work things out with words first. (I hope that last part is true.) I don't think he believes me. I also may have a hunter discuss guns and gun safety with him. We'll see.

The boys have a hearing coming up, and things may be exactly the same, or they may change...I think I'll put off gun-training for awhile to see what happens at the hearing and then go from there.

I'd love any thoughts you might like to share on gun-play for young boys.

DIY Christmas

2011-12-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

I am getting SO SO SO excited about a DIY Christmas!

Money is a little tight this Christmas...partly due to a few large car repair bills we've just had. But also, as you know from my last post on gifts, that we are re-thinking gifts and gift-giving this year. I do want my kids to give each other gifts, as well as the adults in our family, so where does that leave us? With a DIY Christmas. Thanks to my new best friend Pinterest and my long-standing good friend Google, I am finding all sorts of good ideas! In fact, I'm having to reign in myself from going crazy with wanting to make gifts now for everyone!

This website I stumbled upon: http://blogs.babble.com/the-new-home-ec/2011/11/09/25-diy-gifts-for-little-dudes/ has some GREAT ideas for gifts for boys. I'm trying to find things that the girls can help me make for the boys and vice versa. I think it is SO much easier to come up with things for girls, don't you? There are about a bajillion websites out there with how to make cute headbands, jewelry, princess skirts, felt food, and all sorts of things. Boys are more difficult. Men are the most difficult. I did find this website as well as this one that had some pretty good ideas for men.

Anyway, it should be fun making the stuff...I'll have to post later (no promises) to show what we made. It will be nice time for me to spend with the kids making things for others, and it will be fun for them to give gifts that they actually made!

Bang

2011-12-05T20:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, I think I've decided that I do like my bangs after all, so I am going to share a picture with you. :)

Sometimes things get you thinking....

2011-11-21T23:40:00.001-05:00

Little guy's first day at the new Head Start went well! It is definitely a relief for me. :) I can't believe this week is Thanksgiving! Crazy.

I bought my first Christmas present today--heelys for the two older boys. I know...what am I thinking?! Well, I'm thinking that last year I let the girls ride their scooters and use roller skates inside but there is NO WAY that is happening this year...but I might be able to handle heelys. At least they can stop more easily...and I can always confiscate the wheels and then they still have a nice pair of sneakers. :)

So what about Christmas presents this year?

This picture has nothing to do with this entry...just a cute pic from the fall. :)

I saw this today and it got me thinking. I've wanted to do something like this for awhile...have some sort of direction for gift-giving, but I haven't really committed to anything yet. (Check out this and this for some more insightful thoughts about gifts for your kids...)

Why think about it?

Practically and Educationally...
I already try to stay away from things that are plastic (that's a tough one to avoid, I think) and ESPECIALLY things that require batteries. I think batteries are a pretty good way to separate the worst toys from those that are better. Of course there are exceptions (we have really liked our tag readers and our vtech cameras), but in general--you've probably heard the saying "the more the toy does, the less the child does" and I definitely agree with that. Also- these are the gifts that just keep on taking...you have to keep replacing those batteries. Ugh.

If our children are going to play with things- we, as their parents have a responsibility not only to keep the wrong kind of play things out of their hands, but to put the right ones in their hands. Those that, as they play with them, will help them to connect synapses in their brain, expand their imagination and creativity, and help them practice working out life.

My children see very few commercials--something I am extremely thankful for. I can still remember Naomi being about 20 months old and seeing a string of commercials...after each commercial she said "I want a (fill in the blank...whatever the commercial was for." And it wasn't even kids stuff...one was for a Honeybaked Ham Turkey (it was Thanksgiving time) and she said "I wish I had a turkey like that!" That whole scenario made a big impact on me and really opened my eyes to how even tiny children can be massively affected by marketing. When giving gifts- this situation is actually really helpful because my kids don't always really know what they "want." They aren't aware of all the things that are out there. Of course, if they look through a catalog or go to a store with me, they can come up with lots of ideas, but it actually gives me a lot of freedom to choose gifts for them that I believe to be good choices.

The essence of a gift...
When you think back to your childhood...what gifts do you even remember getting? What are the ones that you used, and used and used? What are the ones that you (or your parents) have saved for your own children?

There are very few Christmas gifts that I really remember from my childhood. I remember The Heart Family (Barbies) and a pair of black jeans (I think that one is just a fluke). I remember my 10-speed bicycle. From my teen years- I remember the gold necklace from my father, my Aiwa stereo, and my Nikon camera. I think that's all I really remember! Kind of crazy...and the interesting thing is-- the Heart Family is alive and well at my parents house, and the my girls play with them when we're there (as a mom- I'm not such a big fan of Barbies anymore, so we don't have any at our house) the 10-speed is in our garage, and the Aiwa stereo is on top of my refrigerator (CD player doesn't work anymore, but now I play my iPhone through it!). I'm sure the black jeans were given to the Salvation Army years ago, I had the Nikon camera until Jon and I got a digital camera, and I had the necklace until just a few years ago.

Not every gift we give our kids has to be deep and meaningful and something that they'll still have as adults- but I think if we make intentional, conscious choices, we won't end up wasting our money and our gift-giving opportunities on just stuff. Stuff that just takes up room, gets broken or lost, and of course, requires batteries.
(Disclaimer: I think my parents did a good job with this--my recollection of gifts was not to put down their gift choices.)

I love the idea of experience gifts. A vacation...a season pass to the zoo...tickets to something special. This year my in-laws are taking all of us to see a show at Sight and Sound theater. I am SO excited about this--it's something I've wanted to do for years, and I think it is a fabulous gift! My sisters-in-law and I just recently decided that instead of exchanging gifts for our kids this year, we are going to spend a day at a bounce-house place or something like that instead. Those are the gifts that they will remember the most! And they are building relationships along the way. My own parents made every effort to have us travel a lot when we were growing up--often that was part of our Christmas or birthday gifts--and those are certainly experiences that will last a lifetime.

Don't get me wrong- I'm not opposed to gifts. God is a gift-giver, so giving gifts puts me in good company! I just think we need to actually consider what we are doing and saying by the gifts we give--which leads me to the next point..

And then there is the moral and ethical impact of buying gifts.
Plastic. I'm thankful for the invention of plastic, but when it comes to toys, thumbs down. I'm so drawn to toys made of natural materials...wool, wood, linen, silk. Things that won't be in a landfill for the next ten thousand years. It is all SO expensive, though...and where can you find a wooden bathtub for your American Girl doll? (I should check that out before I write it...I be there are some on etsy.com) I have to remind myself to take baby steps.

As Jon and I have become and are becoming more aware of injustice in the world and our own irresponsibility as a nation, we have started sharing some of that with the kids. Jon recently had some discussions with the kids about child slave labor in other countries, and it has definitely had an impact. Naomi has started asking if things are made in China, and if they were made by child slaves. I don't want to freak her out, but I also want her to grow up aware of the world around her, and be someone who fights against injustice and pleads the case of the poor and needy, the orphan and the widow. I don't think we have the luxury to let our children grow up ignorant and self-centered as is typical of most people in our country. I dropped off all the Operation Christmas Child boxes from our church today (I was THRILLED that we had 58 this year!) and was able to even have a chat about needy children with Phoebe and Esther. It's hard for them to imagine not having toys...or not having food. Phoebe was especially struck about the thought of kids not having food...and not being able to just go to the store and buy food. She started thinking of how we could put food in the shoeboxes. :) We may go back and try to revisit that idea and look through the Operation Christmas Child catalog for other ways to give.

Ultimately we vote every day, with every dollar that we spend. What are we voting for?

My Day

2011-11-17T16:27:00.000-05:00

7:42 I leave the house with youngest 3 kids in tow to take Phoebe to preschool. As we're outside, we see a cat that has been prowling around and we found out belongs to one of Jon's students. We stick the cat in the garage.
8:09 I arrive back home and I call the owners of the cat to tell them we have him in our garage and they can come get him.
8:10 I listen to a phone message that says Phoebe has a field trip today but no permission slip. I call back- thankfully I can give permission over the phone. I deal with a slight amount of guilt over this and that I am not going with her to watch pizza being made.
8:13 I look at the clock think I have just enough time to cut myself the bangs I've been hankering for before I have to take W--how about if I call him "Little Guy" from now on-- to the Head Start bus. As I go to get the scissors and Esther is headed into the bathroom (so she won't have an accident while we wait for the bus) I hear someone screaming bloody murder. I hustle toward the sound to find that Esther has shut the bathroom door in Little Guy's face, closing his fingers in the hinge-side of the door. Quickly, I open the door, run his fingers under cold water and then put an ice pack on. He's crying and crying, and I cuddle with him. No blood- just dents and swelling. Now here is one of those times when the "just treat them like your own kids" recommendation doesn't work. If this were one of my daughters, I would have kept an eye on their fingers, their use of them, and their general demeanor. But- with foster kids, any questionable type of injury you typically have to take them to the doctor right away.
8:20 Esther is jealous of the attention Little Guy is getting and starts throwing a fit because I won't stop taking care of him and paint her fingernails
8:21 I called our case aid and case worker to report the injury- it was recommended to me that I take him in.
8:23 I call the doctor and got an appointment at 9:45. This day is not turning out the way I planned. I remember to hold my plans with an open palm...I have the time to do what He has planned for me to do today...take a deep breath...
8:25 I call my friend to see if I could bring Esther to her house during the appointment. (She says yes).
8:28 I call Head Start to say explain the situation and tell them that assuming he's okay, I'll be bringing him late.
8:45 As I'm trying to get ready and get out the door, the phone rings. I answer the phone (why?? Oh the tyranny of the urgent) and hide in the bathroom so I can hear...Little Guy is crying because of his injury, Esther is crying about nail polish...it is Human Services with some information about some respite care for the boys after Thanksgiving. So I don't have to enter the cry zone, I use my eyeliner pencil and the back of a magazine to write down the info. I am thankful to find something to write with, and I am thankful for the respite care so Jon and I can have a few days to ourselves...who knows when that will happen again!
9:08 I drop of Esther
9:45 We arrive at the doctor's office- thankfully they say that it is not broken and we don't even need an x-ray, but it will probably get bruised and look worse before it looks better. His use of those fingers has improved just in the ride over.
10:45 Drop off Little Guy for his last day at his current Head Start (he starts at the new location on Monday)
11:30 Pick up Phoebe from preschool
11:45 Pick up Esther from my friends' house...stay and chat awhile...I end up paying her $20 for her dry sink which we load up into my van.
12:45 Arrive back home...hear on the phone messages that the cat owners came and got him and are thrilled to have him back. :)
1:10 I rush my girls through eating lunch (ummmm...cereal) and down for a quick nap
2:00 Wake the girls up to go get Little Guy from the Head Start bus. He was fast asleep and drooling. :) I'm very glad we're switching times for Head Start...he'll be able to have a proper nap at home each day.
2:45 Arrive back home with all 3 littles. Whew.
3:00 I stand in front of the bathroom mirror, holding my hair-cutting scissors and debating whether or not I should chop myself some bangs. I haven't had a real haircut since May. I'm bored with my hair and I don't see a trip to the salon in my immediate future. Snip, snip, snip. Hmmm...they are shorter than I thought they would be. Note to self: It is not a good idea to give yourself bangs. Oh, well. It's only hair. It will grow--and this is not the worst mistake I ever made with my hair.

Oh yeah...the breakfast dishes. Well, I think I'll sit down and write a blog entry instead.

Jumping back in...and rambling

2011-11-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

I want to start writing here more frequently, I really do. But it's finding the time, of course. I thought I was busy BEFORE we got 3 boys...! Adding 3 children into our mix has definitely added more than 3x the busyness I had before, but it's all starting to fall into place now--a new normal. We just got our youngest little guy transferred to a different Head Start facility that has hours closer to that of Phoebe's preschool, so I won't have to do quite as much running back and forth during the day to pick people up and drop people off. All the littles will be able to have a proper nap in the afternoon, and I will have slightly larger chunks of time during the day in which to accomplish things....I would love it if one of those things could be blogging! I like to be able to keep a record of what is going on with us--of course, I have to be careful with privacy policies and everything for the boys, so I can't always share everything, but I also like to be able to keep friends and family abreast of what is going on. And writing is cathartic for me.

Soo- hopefully I will be able to do that soon. I am currently out of town for 24 hours for a meeting regarding Children's Ministry for the Vineyard in our region. It is nice to stay in a clean, quiet hotel room...but I still woke up early, even without a nagging alarm saying I had six kids to get ready and out the door by 7:30. Jon is holding down the fort by himself today, so you can pray for him if you think of it! It's one thing to do it on a weekend...it's another to do it on a normal school day!

On the drive up here I was able to listen to several episodes of "This American Life," which I quite enjoyed. Not something I get to do often. :) I told my mom recently that I will have to stop buying books and only buy recorded books...because I can't sit and read...but I can "read" while I clean the kitchen, and that may be the best I can do right now! :) I did just order and put on my iPhone "Bringing Up Girls" by Dr. Dobson, and it seems good so far. I also ordered "Bringing Up Boys," but found that it was abridged, so I want to return it and see if I can find the unabridged version. Why do they abridge books? I don't understand that.

This past weekend we celebrated Phoebe's 5th birthday with my family, and will have another celebration this coming weekend with Jon's family. Hard to believe she's 5 already! I'll try to share some pics in another post. My sister Mary was here and she showed me how to knit (again) and I started a project (again). Finishing them seems to be my trouble, but this one is just a scarf, so hopefully I can follow through. I am using this absolutely gorgeous hand-spun yarn I got at the Mother Earth News Fair back in September. So maybe I'll have a new scarf before it gets warm again!

Well, I better get out of this cozy hotel bed and into the shower to get ready for the day! So long for now.

Friday

2011-11-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

This is a post that I wrote (and didn't publish) back on September 2 I'm thankful that I can say that it has gotten better...but this is the reality of how I felt that day.

"I'm not doing too well."

That's what I said to my husband at lunch today as I called, sobbing. Another appointment this morning...this one in my home...with the people from Head Start, here to register W. She started at 8:30, (as we had scheduled) and I had the three little ones here. I discovered that two more people were coming, too, and everyone was here until almost 11:00. I had NO idea it was going to be that long. The kids were busy getting into mischief without me available to watch over them as much and Phoebe ended up biting W while they were here, so I had to deal with that in addition to trying to seem like I had it together so they didn't think I was a terrible mom/foster mom. More scheduling things...more appointments...more phone calls to make. No, I'm not allowed to bring the girls with me when I have to go spend the morning at Head Start...so now I have to plan for (and pay) a sitter.

Bio parents have rights too. They had to be asked if the boys can play soccer...and now want to come to their practices and games- but I don't want to baby-sit them. Judy is trying to work it out.

What have I gotten us into? I'm overwhelmed.

My house is a mess. I have laundry piled up. The girls (myself included) are emotional- acting out in ways they haven't for a long time. I'm irritated, tired, frustrated, lonely. You name it.

The Package

2011-09-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

A large package arrives in the mail.

It is addressed to my husband. I think nothing of it because he often gets large packages in the mail--usually band equipment, so I set it on his desk.

He arrives home later and the following conversation ensues:

J: "What's this?"
C: "I don't know. It came in the mail today. I thought you would know what it was."

We both stare at the package.

J: "Do you think it's a bomb? Am I bomb-worthy?"

I chuckle, but this new angle is something I didn't consider. Of course, that's ridiculous, but still... We stare at the package again. There is a clear return address and name in the corner...someone we've never heard of.

Somewhat (though not trying to appear so) cautiously, we open the box.

J: "It's a sleeping bag!?"
C: "A sleeping bag?" Then the lightbulb goes on. "Oh! I know what that is! It's a birthday gift for one of the boys--mom bought it on ebay! She must have sent it directly here."

We laugh, and move on with our day. Crisis averted.

Welcome to the Jungle!

2011-08-25T18:47:00.000-04:00

I picked this gorgeous picture of Lake Michigan from our trip this summer because of the incredible calm and peace I felt as I took it.

I have dreaded these past two weeks.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we now have 3 foster boys, M is 8, G is 6 and W is 3. So we now have stairstep kids: 8, 7, 6, 4 (soon to be 5), 3, and 2 (soon to be 3). It's almost like having 3 sets of twins...or at least what I imagine that would be like.

We got them in the beginning of August, and we knew they were coming. We had had them for shorter periods of time in July so we could all get used to each other and transition from their previous foster home to ours.

Once again we are back in the fostering swing, except this time it's 3 kids instead of one...doctors appointments, therapy sessions, visits, phone calls and the army of people who are somehow connected with their case. It is dizzying.

On a very practical note- I am extremely thankful for my iphone, which helps me keep all this information (minus the paperwork) in one neat little package that I always have with me!

So why have I been dreading these past two weeks? I'll tell you. My husband went back to work (he is a teacher). Last week he had band camp 9-4 each day. This week he has had inservice 8-3:30 and then band camp from 6-8:30. And the kids don't go back to school till Monday. That's right...I've been home all day with all 6 kids, and putting everyone to bed each night this week all.by.my.self. And you know how I feel about bedtime.

I've adopted an "embrace the pain" philosophy...I wanted to make this time happen rather than letting it happen to me. I've tried to plan the days- more structured time works better for everyone-- as well as planning "outings" on some of the days...just to get us out of the house.

I've also (and most importantly) been getting up earlier to seek the Lord each day (as I should be all the time!) and ask Him for help.

Isn't it funny how we pray and then we're surprised when it happens?

So honestly, this time has been way better than I anticipated...fun even (at times). :)

Tonight I'm dragging a little...and so I have escaped to the computer for a moment of solitude and writing therapy while the kids are roller skating in the hall, among other things. 'Cause it's 6:33pm, and bedtime is looming. I'll have to be "on" once again in just a few minutes...or as soon as I hear screaming.

This fostering has been emotionally draining, and I'm sure this is just the start. I told DH that I have been more emotional in the last month than I have in the last 10 years, and I think that's pretty accurate...but that's a whole other story.

I won't lie- I'm looking forward to school starting on Monday. I'll have 3 off to school full day, 1 to preschool 2 half-days a week, 1 in Head Start (which doesn't start till Sept 13), and 1 still home with me full time. I don't think our schedule will be more relaxed...but at least it will be a schedule. I don't do well with unstructured time. Well, I enjoy it-- but I don't accomplish much. This is something at which I would like to get better. I'm always ready for the structure that a new school year brings after the summer.

Did I mention that in the short time the boys have been with us we've had to take all 6 kids in for 4 sets of rabies shots? No? Well that story is soon to come...

Wisconsin 2011

2011-08-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful time, as usual, in Wisconsin this year!

We got to spend some wonderful time with my older brother, Glenn, who we don't see often.

After we went on a tour of the wildlife refuge center, the girls created their own! (I'm not sure what Naomi's gangsta pose it all about!)

Grandpa took each of the girls fishing...and each one got a big bass! We had them for dinner! :)

We had fun horseback (or ponyback in this case) riding! I couldn't take a picture of Essie on hers because I spent all the time keeping him in line! He was a little wild...and my mom got a kick out of watching me try to control him...while trying to keep Essie on the pony as well!

The kids are getting big enough (hooray!) that the adults are able to sit and watch them play at the lake beach, but still enjoy some relaxing time! :)

Dr. Brynn is taking care of her grandma (my aunt Barb) at the Children's Museum!

My cousin, his wife and their son going fishing at the Children's Museum.

Essie seemed like such a real, efficient, pioneer mama at the cabin in the Children's Museum!

The best picture (of MANY taken) of the 7 second cousins.

Matching shorts! And they didn't even plan it...:)

Our "everyone" (except me and my grandparents) picture at Paul Bunyan's on the last day.

Monday

2011-08-15T07:52:00.000-04:00

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish al the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I just listened last evening to a Focus on the Family radio broadcast by Ken Davis, the well-known Christian comedian. It was funny, but also poignant. He discussed the nature of sheep and their need for a shepherd.

When the lion comes to steal, kill and destroy, the sheep cannot fight for themselves, they MUST run to the shepherd.

Often, we underestimate the power of the enemy. I don't want to give him glory in anyway, but the Word of God is clear about Satan's intentions and about his craftiness. We need to be on the alert. We need to be ready to run to our Shepherd. Those who lag behind will be easily picked off.

We now have 3 foster boys. If you're counting, that means we have six kids total. This is definitely what I want...but it is hard.

I need a Shepherd. We all do.

Climbing Tree

2011-06-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

Last time my parents were here, we asked my dad to clean up the low-hanging branches on some of our trees with his chainsaw. After he had done this, we realized that one tree (which turned out to be a cherry tree...that may or may not end up giving us some cherries in a year, now that it's been pruned!) looked like it had the potential to be a great climbing tree for our girls. So my dad proceeded to clear out all the little, cluttery branches on the inside of the tree that might get in the way of climbing (or poke an eye out!) and we ended up with a beautiful climbing tree! The girls (especially Naomi, who can now climb up and down with no assistance) have had a blast climbing up and down! My mom told my girls that when she was pregnant with me, someone asked her why she wanted to have kids, and she answered "So I have someone to climb trees with!" :) Such an awesome, authentic, childhood play experience! I love it! Thanks Dad!

Rainy Day in June

2011-06-22T00:01:00.002-04:00

What do you know, there really is a treasure chest at the end of the rainbow! This was probably the brightest, longest-lasting rainbow I have ever witnessed. It was even a double for awhile.

Strawberries!

2011-06-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

So beautiful and yummy!

I had been hoping to get out and pick strawberries, and after much hemming and hawing about whether it was a good time to go, we just went. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to the actual berry patch, but I have a few pics of the processing afterwards. We processed about 50 lbs of strawberries! Some into jam, some into the freezer, and some into strawberry shortcake for dessert! Yum! Amazingly, I might go back next week. I'm not sure the 8 bags in our freezer will last us the year! :)

Madly processing strawberries before it got to be too late!

Clean and Green: Soap Nuts

2011-06-17T00:01:00.003-04:00

In addition to trying to eat better, whole foods, we are also trying to use natural cleaners and household items as much as possible...it's all babysteps for sure. But one step I have taken is to start using soap nuts for my laundry. Now I'm sure you're wondering what soap nuts are. They are actually berries from a plant that have been dried. They have natural cleaning properties and of course are 100% fragrance free and dye free. I can also compost them when I'm done using them since they are certified organic! No bottles to add to the landfills, fewer chemicals in my house, and they are better for my family's skin.

But how well do they clean? (You might be wondering...) Well, I've been using them for at least a month now, and I have 3-6 kids in the house depending on how many foster kids we have at the time, and frankly, they seem to be doing as well or better than the commercial detergent I was using before. Each package from NaturOli comes with instructions on how to use your soap nuts. I know that there are many more ways I could be using soap nuts, but I have not yet ventured into all of that.

Kefir and Kombucha

2011-06-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well, in an effort to eat (and drink) better, I have moved into the world of probiotics. I found out from some of my favorite blogs (Kitchen Stewardship) about these beverages.

I recently placed an order from Cultures for Health for the grains to help me get rolling. I honestly don't totally understand these drinks, but what I DO understand is that they have some of the same things that are in yogurt and they are good for you. Furthermore, my husband had some kombucha that I purchased at the health-food store and said that he liked it so much, that he might stop drinking jugs of iced tea and drink this instead, which is a totally AMAZING statement...I cannot even tell you how monumental that is.

So I decided I should make it. I started with water kefir, which only takes a few days to re-hydrate (they send it to you dehydrated) and a few days to brew. So far, flavoring it with lemon has been the favorite around here. They have a natural, gentle fizziness, which makes my kids think they're having soda. :)

The kombucha takes a lot longer to re-hydrate, so I can't report on that yet. I'll try to soon!

This is what the package looks like

This is what the grains look like- dehydrated.

Here are the grains in the bottom of the jar.

There they go...busy re-hydrating!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-15T20:10:00.001-04:00

While we went on a date, the babysitters did this with our kids:

And then...calm

2011-06-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

My last post was about the craziness with the weather and all the kiddos we had, and now, suddenly, the skies are clear and sunny every day, and we are down to just our three girls. It's amazing how easy 3 kids can seem when you've had 6! Kudos to all those moms of big families out there! For some reason, I'm STILL not able to get caught up on the laundry. :) Laundry...the nemesis of every mom. But I digress...

This past weekend the kids played nicely outside and Jon and I were able to get an AMAZING amount of yard work done. All of my baby plants are now happily in the ground, and I've planted some seeds directly into the ground as well. I got a drip hose which I LOVE and have been making good use of that over nights because we haven't had rain lately, and I want to make sure all my hard work "ain't been in vain for nothin'"! (Name that quote..)

This is basically the first summer that I will ever have an official garden. I've made meager attempts two of the last four years, but we have also moved two of the last four summers, so needless to say, it hasn't gone well. There definitely is a learning curve too...I've been out there diligently sprinkling my diatemaceous (sp?) earth to kill all the slugs, making sure I'm not watering the leaves to bring on any diseases, making sure I build up the soil around my tiny, spindly baby asparagus (that we don't get to enjoy for 3 years!), etc. I'm doing it all organic, so that cuts out most of the but sprays and such. We've planted trees too...two apples, two plums, one cherry, and a sourwood! We also transplanted 3 blueberries, and a black raspberry, around 8 or 9 strawberry plants and around the same number of raspberries! I could go on, but I'll just say that I'm sad to realize our blackberry didn't survive the trip from our old house, but thrilled to realize that the grapevine I had almost given up on has sent out a new shoot, and appears to be alive after all!

In an effort to get back to basics with food, and live a cleaner and greener life, I've been making lots of small changes that are adding up to big changes...the garden being one of them. I can't WAIT to have lots of fresh veggies (we've already been enjoying our greens!) and I'll post more soon about some of the other things...like soap nuts, washing my face with oil and why I've given up shampoo! Stay tuned...

Stormy weather

2011-06-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's hard to even think about sitting down to write, now, but I miss it, and so I'm going to make time to do it. I also don't want to leave the things that have been going on, undocumented.

The title of this post is about actual stormy weather, and about emotional stormy weather.

As most of you know, we have begun our journey of fostering. Our first foster daughter went home to her mom on Monday, after being with us for almost exactly two months. I definitely felt like we were just starting to really get to know her, and get into a rhythm in our home with her. But I know that it is good for her to be with her mom, and I hope that things can stay stable there.

Last Wednesday, we got two more kids. A brother and sister. They have been with us a week now, and unlike our first foster daughter, who came to us from another foster home-- these two came to us fresh from their home. We don't know how long they will be with us....but I guess that's par for the foster-parenting course.

Regarding the physical stormy weather, last Thursday we had a really bad storm--with no power, and a tornado. It came up SO quickly. Jon and Naomi were outside at a band performance (thankfully the actual performance was over) and had to run and lie on the ground between two trucks as giant trees fell around them. I'm thankful that I didn't realize just how bad it was until they were safely home.

I was at home with five other kids who I had just put to bed, but now had to get out of bed and bring downstairs to huddle in our interior bathroom with no windows. I debated going to the basement, but decided the bathroom was probably better.

The kids were scared. Amazingly, I was not scared. I'm sure it was only the peace of Christ that was with me, helping me not to be scared. We prayed and sang songs and the kids came around. They were even goofing around a little at that point. So I put them back to bed.

It is very dark when the power is out at night. And very quiet. It's quite creepy. It makes me think that people a hundred and fifty years ago slept like that every night, after they blew out their lamps. No street lights, no fans humming. And I'm sure there are people around the world even now, in 2011, who sleep like that every night.

School was cancelled on Friday because of the widespread power outages due to the storm damage. My brother was planning to come into town, so we went and picked him up. We were still without power, which for us also means we were out of running water, since we have a well. We heard from the electric company that the power wouldn't be on until Monday or Tuesday, and we decided there was no way we could just stick around at home with all these kids and no water!

We decided to drive to my parents' house, and we started out in our two vans (we didn't all fit in one!) when Jon called me on my cell: "Turn around and go back to the house. Get the kids out and go inside. I'll explain later." I did as I was told...I don't think he has ever spoken to me like that before and I took him seriously. And I was scared. I prayed the whole way back (thankfully we hadn't gotten very far). Guess what...more tornadoes! About an hour and a half later, we tried a SECOND time to leave, but turned back after Jon heard the weather report.

At that point, we gave up, spent the night at home, and decided to leave first thing Saturday morning. "First thing" ended up meaning that we were on the road by 7:00...all 9 of us, plus the dog. When you have no power, no chance of a shower or breakfast, and you'd rather go to the bathrooms somewhere you can flush, it makes good motivation to leave quickly! Plus, we were already packed.

We had a nice time at my parents', but the last week we have had both a literal whirlwind as well as a whirlwind of emotions. I'm eager to settle down a little. We'll see...

Last night Jon said to me: "One think I have not felt in a LONG time...boredom. What's that like?"

Although the kids have said each day...sometimes several times: "Is there a tornado?" It has also evolved into a hilarious joke for them because Esther said once "A giant tomato!" So now they repeat that line over and over and dissolve into giggles. Esther is being a good sport about it!

Our prayers are with those people who were truly devastated in Joplin, MO. And I am thankful that our kids (and we!) got a lesson in trusting in the Lord, and knowing there is nothing we can do to control our situation.

Bedtime, take 2...and other consequences

2011-05-25T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well, bedtimes have been rough...even with Jon here. It was getting to be like every night was a slumber party...with girls congregating in the bathroom...giggling nonstop, etc.

So Jon and I have been discussing heavily (and I even threw it out there on facebook for some input!) what we should do. We came up with a plan that is somewhat individualized for each child. The older two (N & M) get the privilege of staying up an extra 15 minutes to read in their beds, but then it's lights out. There will be no warnings, and if we hear any goofiness or talking, they each will immediately be moved into separate rooms (I'm very thankful we have two extra, empty bedrooms at our disposal!) where they will stay the whole night (we had been moving them back when we went to bed) as well as the next TWO nights. The only thing they may bring with them is their special blanket..no other special stuffed animals or paraphrenalia. (sp?) (There are real beds with sheets, pillows and covers in those other rooms, lest you think this is cruel and unusual punishment).

So far, and it's been 5 nights now, I think, those two have been doing a GREAT job! There have been a couple nights where the goofiness of tooth-brushing made me fear for sleep-time, but they have been able to pull it together.

For the littlest one, Esther, she has been starting out each night in our room. We move her back when we come to bed. This has been working and I think it is also helpful to Phoebe.

Phoebe's biggest issue has been getting out of bed repeatedly for various mysterious localized ailments ("My heel hurts!"), multiple trips to the bathroom, for drinks, and other things that seem hard for her to remember: "MOM!" "What?" "Uh, uh, ummmm. I , uh, well, can you come up here?" Soo, as recommended on our facebook poll by my good friend Audra, we have given her the privilege of starting out each night with 3 pennies on her mantle. She may go to the bathroom and then get right back into bed if necessary, but anything (other than an extreme emergency...gushing blood, fire, etc) that she calls down to us for will result in her losing a penny. If all three pennies are lost, there will be further consequences. If she keeps the pennies, she gets to put them in her allowance jar each morning. So far, this has also worked like a charm. Let's hope it keeps up!

We are discovering, especially with the oldest two, that we are needing to take our time in deciding consequences, and we are expanding our creative consequence toolbelt. Finding their "currency," or what really matters to them, is what we're working on.

There was another incident recently where Naomi and M were basically bullying Phoebe and then telling her not to tell us. Well, when we found out, we wanted to nip this in the bud, so we came down hard. Naomi was the instigator, so she got a tougher punishment...she lost the privilege of having Bella, her American Girl Doll, for a week, and all of Bella's clothes and accessories were Phoebe's to use during that week for her doll. (The bullying was related to AG dolls...hard to imagine, but true.) Both N and M lost the privilege of playing "waterslide" outside on Saturday, which was something they both had been excited about. We had looooong talks with each girl individually about the seriousness of bullying, and of telling anyone (or being told!) not to tell an adult about bullying.

Ultimately, I think the consequences hit their mark.... yesterday was a rough day. There were genuine tears, and I got a note saying "I want Bella!!!!!!!"

I feel like the last week or two I've been through the parenting ringer. But, as Jon pointed out, by not letting these things slide now, while they're little, it will hopefully (and prayerfully!) save us grief of a more serious nature when they are older. I think the mysterious nature of "We will have to discuss what your consequences will be." as well as the threat of compounding consequences "If you choose to fuss and whine about accepting your consequences, then you will choose to be without Bella for two weeks" have helped to drive the point home. We have also tried to impress on them the fact that, by their behavior, they are choosing these consequences, it's not something we are doing to them.

Of course we want our children to know that even (and probably especially) during times of discipline, we love them so, so much, and that is why we discipline...to save them from worse trouble in the future. So in the midst of all this, we are also trying to make special time to spend with each girl, so they know they are loved, and they are fully acceptable...but the behavior is unacceptable. And acknowledging that we, along with them, are weak in our flesh. We all need to call on the Lord, to accept and cry out to the Holy Spirit for help in our weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Parenting is a complex, strenuous, and multi-faceted profession that surely keeps us on our toes. We strive to parent our children the way God parents us. Full of grace...looking to our ultimate goals for them, and preparing them to face life as strong adults, firm in their position and their purpose, knowing where their help comes from.

Sorry for the exhaustive post about discipline, but it has been weighing heavily on my mind and heart these past few days and I feel I need to work out my thoughts through writing on virtual paper.

Easter

2011-05-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

I know it's a little belated, but I have been LIMPING by...using our ancient desktop for some applications and my quickly-failing old laptop for other applications...and unfortunately neither one of them could support pictures, so that is why there have been so few blog posts lately! Buuuuutt...now I have a new (to me) laptop! Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful friends Carl and Rachel Emerson in Belgium! Jon got a new MacBook Pro, and I got his (gently used) one that is only two years old. He does a lot more high-tech stuff so he needs the newer one, and I will do just fine with this one that is literally like a breath of fresh air after dealing with those other two!

So we had a wonderful time at Easter with Jon's family. Unfortunately, our foster daughter, we'll call her "M," wasn't able to come with us, but we had a good time anyway. I have a bunch of beautiful pictures to share from egg-dying. The filtered light was SO perfect in there for picture-taking. So bear with me and scootch back a month to Easter!

When it rains, it pours...

2011-04-26T21:51:00.000-04:00

We have had some CRAZY rain and severe thunderstorms, and the lovely flash flood warnings and power flickerings & outages that go with it. On the one hand, rain is good, and I for one, really enjoy sitting on the porch and watching a good storm. On the other hand, our basement has inches of water through it and our poor sump pump is working nonstop. There are also roads closed due to flooding, and my husband heard rumors tonight that school might actually be closed tomorrow because of it!

I kind of chuckled to myself this evening (while at the same time praying for protection) as I thought about how weary we all were of the long winter (hey...that sounds like the title of a great book...) this year and how everyone was complaining about snow and wishing for spring. The trouble is, now that spring has sprung, we have a whole new set of complaints.

We are so fickle.

Isn't that just how we are? We complain and beg God to change our situation, and then when it's not the "grass is greener" scenario we imagined, we say "Well, this, isn't what I had in mind!"

It reminds me of the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. They had been in slavery and were crying out to God to free them, and when He did, (by amazing miracles, no less!) they doubted Him and complained and blamed Him for bringing them out to the desert to kill them!

And really, do we want everything to be our way all the time?

Of course, it's good and wonderful to ask God for things, and He even tells that we don't have because we don't ask, but I think we need to keep our desires in perspective.

It is often in our most challenging times that we are (or have the opportunity to be) closer to God than ever before. It is then that we move off our spiritual comfort-level plateau "further up and further in" (name that quote...from another great book) to what He has for us. We MUST lean into Him, because we cannot handle it ourselves. When we humble ourselves and acknowledge that, then we are able to move forward.

So what does God have for you right now?

Bedtime

2011-04-19T20:48:00.000-04:00

Bedtime- my kids' that is- is one of my least favorite times of the day. Actually, it's probably 100% my least favorite time of the day. My wonderful husband is typically the bedtime guy. That started waaaay back when I was weaning Naomi from her final nursing, which was of course, the bedtime nursing. {sniff...is there anything sweeter than that bedtime nursing?} Anyway, it was meant distract her from noticing that she wasn't getting nursed. It worked. It worked so well that we did it with all three of our girls and he is officially the bedtime guru.

Except when he's not home.

That's when mom steps up and I am for sure the second-string version of the bedtime guru. Because I have no other option, I keep plugging ahead with the bedtimes I have to do.

I don't want them to be stressful...I want them to be sweet and wonderful and special times with each kid.

Sometimes that happens.

And other times they whine and I yell and don't feel much like praying for them when it's time for that. It makes me question why we have our kids share rooms (although when I'm feeling sane, I do believe it's the best choice for them). Those are the nights I feel like a bad parent.

I think it's the goofiness that drives me the most crazy. When I tell them to brush their teeth or get jammies on and then I find them running around the room, or falling on the floor, or hiding under their bed, or making loud animal noises and cracking each other up. I always get this odd sense of being in junior high when you have a substitute teacher, who doesn't really know what s/he is doing, and all the kids know it (jr high kids are like piranha when they sense weakness) and they gang up on that poor substitute to make his/her day a living hell. And of course, the more the sub gets upset, the funnier the kids think it is. I raise a glass of salute to all the substitute teachers out there!

I am the sub in this metaphor. And I don't like it.

Actually, thanks to the Grace-Based Parenting course that our small group just finished, I feel like I have been doing MUCH better with bedtime. I've been preparing myself ahead of time to be kind (but firm), and gracious, and pushing into the pain of having to get all these ragamuffins into bed when I'd frankly like to just go to bed myself. So much of it is about my own attitude.

I can remember in high school I had a teacher who handed out a short writing called "Attitude is Everything" on the first day of school. I think we got bonus points if we memorized it. It has stuck with me.

Unfortunately, there will always be those nights, when I'm tired and the kids are particularly goofy or whiney, or both, and they are getting on my last nerve. But those are the nights (ahem, tonight) when we as the adults need to press in even more to our Gracious Heavenly Father's presence, to lay down our frustrations and our burdens, and pick up His peace and His sufficient grace, to press on into the good works He has prepared for us to do. I'm so thankful that He is big enough to listen to us vent and give us exactly what we need to move past it.

I think I can say that unequivocally, that those good works are first to be put into action in our own homes... treating our family members with grace and love, serving them in ways that may be tedious to us, and for which we may not receive the gratitude we would like.

The deepest way we work out our salvation with fear and trembling is as we maneuver through the relationships with those who are closest to us. Everything God uses us for outside of that is an outgrowth of the progress we have made inside those relationships.

As I tell my kids: We can't control what other people think or do, we can only control what we think or do. We have the choice to respond rather than react. To give love in return for hate. To be kind when others are mean.

And that is good advice. Maybe I'm not such a bad parent after all.

PS: Right now I'm so tired that I can't remember if I have already written about this kind of thing. But since it keeps coming up in my life, it keeps being relevant, so I don't apologize for it. :)

A New Normal

2011-04-15T13:35:00.000-04:00

Well, we've entered a new normal. We have a foster daughter now and have entered the world of fostering...lots of Dr visits, parent visits, meetings, etc. Remember how I posted about pulling back the reins of our activities to focus on keeping a peaceful home? Well, I'm now on a new plane of learning how to do that. We also have done some respite care (having kids for just a couple days) this past week, and will be doing it again next week, with a different child.

This past week we had two extra children, so that brought our total up to 6. They were older than our oldest daughter, which we decided to try since it was just a couple of days. And what days they were. Nonstop from 5:45am to 8:30pm. It definitely changed the whole dynamic in our home. I don't think we will take kids older than Naomi again--even for a couple days. It opened up a whole world of issues and concerns that you don't have with younger kids. I'll be ready for it as our kids grow, but I just don't think I am now. We got through the days and the nights, and actually had a pretty good time--and I think the kids did too. The extra kiddos we had this week were quite needy, and I think it caused us to pay less attention to our own kids' needs.

All the "crowd control" methods I learned when teaching I feel bubbling up within me again. Dinnertime and bedtime feel a little like an assembly line production. I don't want to miss out on the heart and soul of that precious time, though, so I must be as prepared as possible with the logistics and mundane tasks that can crowd out the opportunity for a deeper relationship connection in the ordinary moments of life.

I find that I must be more disciplined with myself, so I can be more flexible with the kids.

I cannot put off making lunches until the morning...there is no time, and it just will stress everyone out. As a matter of fact, whatever can be done the night before (picking out clothes, setting the table for breakfast, etc.) must be done. These are the things I always wished I did anyway, but now must do so we can all move through the rhythms of the day peacefully. And the kids need to know what is coming. The more informed they can be about schedules and transitions, the more prepared they are to handle them appropriately--even if it's not what they want to be doing.

Fostering in general so far has made me so thankful for my own kids...I cannot imagine what it must be like to have your children taken from you...or as a child, to be taken from your parents. It has caused me to be more gracious, attentive, and "fully present" with my kids...making the most of every opportunity for some extra cuddling or hugging, and individual time of any kind...even if it's just taking one with me when I run to the supermarket. If I'm giving these things to the foster kids, should mine get any less? I am more acutely aware of the investment I am making in children's lives...both the kids I encounter through fostering as well as my biological children. If I was striving to be an intentional parent before, my efforts have multiplied exponentially now.

Even though the past week was challenging, I found myself choked up as I left our respite kids for the last time.

I can't share details of our foster kids--or their pictures--in public forums like this. But I can talk about the changes taking place inside of me and our bio kids. My kids are having to stretch and grow in new ways, just as Jon and I are. As my mom said "You'll learn SO much through this process." Another friend said that she explained fostering to her kids as "baby-sitting for God." While true, some of these things sound so idealistic, while the nitty-gritty of the work is in the ordinary moments of life, and the daily moments of struggle, that then bloom into those moments you never forget, and may change your (or their) life forever.

PS: Anyone have a 10-or-12 passenger van they want to sell (or give!)? :)

Ricey is nicey.

2011-04-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

A couple years ago I made a cornmeal table for my kids to play in by putting tons of cornmeal into an under-the-bed plastic storage bin. They and some friends played in it, and of course made a HUGE mess, but had a ton of fun.

So I decided to do it again.

But I decided to follow the wisdom of children's museums and preschools everywhere and go with rice this time. It has been a huge hit!

I can't tell you how many HOURS this has kept them occupied.

Same day

2011-04-11T00:01:00.001-04:00

These were all taken on the same day--a snow day.

Colors

2011-04-08T00:01:00.001-04:00

Colors of the season...

Fun with markers!

Time to go through the shoe and boot bins to find the next size up for these growing feet!

Post Office

2011-04-06T21:40:00.001-04:00

My girls have gone mail-crazy! They are quickly using up all of my envelopes, which they are coloring on, and then taping shut (?) so they can mail them! Since I didn't have the heart to explain that we couldn't really mail them, I made them their own little mailbox. The tricky part was figuring out a way to get the flag to stay up! I ended up using a cut straw as the hinge, and then I used the rest of the straw to create a little resting place for the flag, on which it rests nicely. The girls have been having lots of fun with it...and we've all been getting lots of letters. :)

Aren't we classy?

2011-04-05T22:18:00.003-04:00

As I ran to get the camera, my husband said "I see a blog post coming!" When we have spaghetti, Jon and all the kids love to have plain noodles, after they've had the requisite serving with sauce. Not only that, but they eat it a very special way...learned from their daddy. :) (Sorry the lighting isn't great in this picture!)

Magnet Poetry

2011-04-04T00:01:00.001-04:00

I got a little kit of magnet poetry at a MOPS meeting a couple years ago, but since my kids were putting things in their mouths, I packed them away. But now, I've pulled them out, and look what I was blessed with from Naomi:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

Roller Skating

2011-04-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Recently Naomi had her 7th birthday (more pictures to come!) and my in-laws gave her this great old-school pair of roller skates that she LOVES LOVES LOVES! She went out to the garage and got all her safety gear, and has been skating up a storm in our hall. I think it's time we make a date at the roller rink! Welcome back 1987!

Crocus!

2011-03-31T00:01:00.001-04:00

When we planted our bulbs back in the fall, I looked forward to what we are starting to experience now...the reward of those bulbs coming up! It has been seriously COLD here... 18 degrees yesterday morning, so I wasn't sure how the bulbs and other things we planted would be doing. But today I was encouraged:

Naomi was enthralled!

Birthday girl!

2011-03-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

We've had a full birthday week here recently, to fit in all the family and friend parties, so here are the pics from them all! I can't believe she's 7.

Excited about her piggy bank!

I love the self-conscious fingers in her hair.

She's reaching to take the candle out--not to touch a flame!

Grandpa helped all the little girls make their bracelets!

Maple Farm Open House

2011-03-29T21:13:00.000-04:00

Things have been crazy. This is my husband's busiest time of year, and it affects us all. I find myself pulling back in all other areas of life to compensate. Only about a month left of this though, and then things lighten up a lot.

To add to the situation- my laptop has finally died. Boo. Our desktop (which I am very thankful for- it's great for the kids to use and it serves as a printer port so we can print wirelessly) is ancient, and super slow. Because it's so old, it doesn't have some of the software that I have been using to do various things...including some of the work I do for our church as well as the photo storage that I use for EVERYTHING, (especially blogging!)

So, I've been a little frustrated. And I wanted to explain why I haven't written much.

You're probably thinking, enough of the complaining...what about this Maple Farm?

So here it is!

The past two weekends the local maple farms were having open houses, and we decided to some of our limited "family time" to go to it. It was a fun time...we got to have maple dogs, maple mustard, maple coffee, maple cream, maple sugar, and maple candy! The owners were so nice and gave us a fabulous demonstration, answering all of my annoying questions, and letting the girls drill holes into a tree to put in the tubing to collect the sap.

Did you know that to get a gallon of maple syrup, you need the sap from about 8-10 trees? It's clear when it first comes out. Also- their tapping season is only "Valentine's Day to April Fool's Day!"

Boiling syrup!

Fresh syrup right out of the boiler--not yet strained.

Mr. Miller literally adding wood to the wood-burning boiler!

This is the outside of the sugar shack--where all the magic happens!

Golden beautifulness!

I bought two gallons- one of "dark" (for our Sunday morning pancakes) and one of "grade B" (for cooking & baking).

Old school tapping.

Mortifying Star-Gazing Experience

2011-03-24T16:32:00.001-04:00

Five Iron Frenzy

Well, some of my friends were asking for this, so here it is. Most people who are close to me at least have some inkling that Five Iron Frenzy is my favorite band of all time. I think I've seen them 4 times in concert, including their final show ever, when I was 5 months pregnant in November of 2003. One time I saw them in concert- probably the smallest venue, was either at Slippery Rock university, or more likely Grove City College. For some reason I always get those two mixed up, so I can't remember which one it was. I'm sure my husband will remember...maybe he will comment on this post and clear it up for all of us. :)

Anyway, because it was a smaller venue and a smaller crowd, they were on a stage that had been set up in a large room, so they were pretty close to us. Most of you also know that I was in a band in college that was actually similar to Five Iron Frenzy in many ways. I played trumpet in that band, and we covered a couple of FIF's songs. Back to that concert at the unidentified college...as the show was over, and they were cleaning up their stuff, I (in all my college-aged girl, post-concert hyperness) went over to Brad (his actual name is Nathaniel), their trumpet player, and was all like "Hi! I play trumpet too, I can play Every New Day! You guys are awesome!" (and probably some additional embarrassing comments that I have since blocked from my memory.) He answered with some vague "That's cool." comment. But you know he was tired and just wondering how long he was going to have to put up with me yelling in his face. Looking back, it was very "The Chris Farley Show"-esque...if you've ever seen that SNL skit.

So, now you might be thinking, "that's not that bad...certainly not something to swear off star-gazing hype for the rest of your life."

But wait, there's more.

This is Brad. And just for the record, I wasn't in love with him or anything. I just really liked the band, and we both played trumpet.

Fastforward a year or so...our band is now doing a tour through Colorado (where FIF is from) and we are actually STAYING at Brad's parents' HOUSE. Brad didn't live there anymore, but he and another member of the band, Jeff the girl (her real name is Leanor) came over to talk with us and hang out for awhile one day. I was embarrassed from my previous episode with Brad, so I figured I should just point out the elephant in the room, have a good laugh and then we could all get on with our lives. Well, I brought it up and he totally didn't remember it. So then, rather than let it go, I kept going with things like "Yeah, remember, I was talking about playing trumpet and how I could play Every New Day?" Nope, he still didn't remember it, so I KEPT ON TALKING...trying to get him to remember this embarrassing thing, not realizing that I was creating an even MORE embarrassing situation as I let diarrhea of the mouth take over. Somebody (and by that I mean my husband, who sat watching me commit social suicide) should have stopped me.

Ugh.

Then- later I was outside with Jeff the girl an asked if I could have a picture with her, and she said "Okay, let's do the 'Guns N Roses' pose." (I think it was Guns N Roses) Well, I didn't know what that was, and clearly even now barely do. But I didn't say that, and there was an awkward moment as I fumbled around, trying to watch what she was doing...etc. I eventually figured it out, but truly, I don't think I have ever felt as un-cool as I did that day. Just thinking about it makes me feel all gangly and nerdy.

So there you have it, Ronda, Philip, Paula and Ben. Enjoy.

To many, it may not be the MOST embarrassing star-gazing situation you can imagine, but it was enough to cure me.

Waiting for the call

2011-03-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Well, we are officially approved to be foster parents now! I feel like we are waiting to go into labor or something...knowing the phone could ring at any time, and we could suddenly have 1, 2 or 3* more children...and they could be here tonight! The experience for me has been like finding out I was pregnant for the first time...what will they look like? What will they act like? I'm excited and nervous at the same time...not really being able to imagine what the whole process will be like since I've never experienced it before. Well, it's like being pregnant except that I don't know what gender my child will be, what age they will be, or how many are coming! Ha ha!

*Apparently to have more than that, we'd have to be approved as a "group home!" yikes. The foster care lady said that it's not really a big deal to be approved- you just have to have the fire chief come through your house and say how many people can safely live there-- according to fire code and all that, I guess.

Haircuts

2011-03-11T00:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, remember these ragamuffins?

This was the best "before" picture I could find. Phoebe often has closed eyes in picture...and what's up with Esther? Doesn't she look cross-eyed?

Anyway, the idea had been that we were growing their hair and growing out their bangs. The only problem was, they wouldn't keep barrettes in to hold their bangs up, and they wouldn't let me brush their hair--at least the two little ones wouldn't. Naomi has been doing a good job keeping her hair brushed, for the most part. She wants to grow her hair long so she can match her American Girl Doll (you remember...the doll formerly known as Bella?). So, finally, one day I told Phoebe and Essie that they had to let me brush it or get it cut. Both decided to get it cut (amidst howls of pain as I was very carefully and gently brushing their hair). Since I still cut their hair, we got to work then and there. Here are some mid-and-after pictures:

I love how both these pictures capture her with her tongue out. She has a pretty strong lisp right now
and often has her tongue in this position. So cute!

You can se Phoebe scratching some loose hair that has fallen into her dress!
We've discovered that having them sit on top of the washing machine seems to be the best place for me to cut their hair.

What an improvement! Both haircuts are shaped to be longer in the front and shorter in the back, which cuts down immensely on the bed-head rats nests that seem to materialize overnight on the back of their heads. Plus, it's just a cute, spunky cut. As my mom used to say "Now I can see your beautiful eyes!"

Valentine's Day

2011-03-10T00:01:00.002-05:00

I know we're a little behind on this one, but I wanted to share the valentines Naomi took in to school this year. They were very easy, but cute. We cut out hearts and then taped a package of Smarties to the hearts, and she drew a little face on the Smarties wrapper with a Sharpie. Voila! A cute Valentine's Day butterfly. :)

Making food fun: Pepper Flowers

2011-03-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

I love it when genius strikes in the most mundane of tasks. For some reason, my girls preferred to eat sweet pepper pieces if they were in strips, and the cut up pieces from the ends were undesirable. One day, as I was cutting, I noticed that the ends looked like flowers, so I didn't cut them up, and advertised them as "pepper flowers" to the girls, and now they are a huge hit--and the MOST desirable part of the pepper. They do understand that the pepper flowers are rare though, and only two come with each pepper.

When my sister was visiting a week ago, I told her about this, and she mentioned (and then actually did it!) cutting peppers all into pepper flowers, rather than strips, which of course was brilliant! The girls loved it, and it was an easy way to make something fairly boring, more fun.
It's amazing how just the littlest of things that make something special can mean so much to our kids! I tend to be an "eat your crust and your apple skin" type mom, but even I have been known to cut sandwiches and apples with cookie cutters to make fun shapes. Serving water in plastic goblets or having a "picnic" on the floor of the living room make an ordinary meal more special.

What are some clever (and easy) ways you make life more fun for your kids?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday! Check it out for more great tips.

Eager

2011-03-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

We are eager for spring! It's barely noticeable, and we will likely still have some snow in our future, but the temperatures (and the sun!) are starting to creep up on us! It's such a delight to wake up to daylight at 6:45 (as we did this morning...thankfully...because we forgot to set our alarms last night!). I know that will be squelched in a week as we "Spring Forward" on the 13th (don't forget!), but at least we are moving in the right direction.

I love living somewhere with four seasons. I just enjoy each one of them as they come, and then as I'm getting tired of one, the next one shows signs of arrival. As we've been cooped up inside more than I would like, here are some day-to-day pictures of what we have been doing...and the various ways my house has been a mess. :)

"Let's look at all the shells and rocks and everything in our 'outside treasures bin,' Mom!"

Scraps of paper, fabric, tape...all the tools needed to make all kinds of things. :)

Making dwellings (and headdresses) for the Zhu-zhu pets

I'm very thankful for a house with a large enough hallway that the kids can ride their scooters inside...
it has helped burn off quite a bit of energy!

Cooking

This is for sure the most embarrassing...yes, that is a pile of dirty laundry. Can you see Esther peeking out?
They LOVE to throw all the dirty laundry over the upstairs railing down the the first floor. And they love
even more to get to be the one who lies on the floor while the others throw the clothes down!

Of course, making forts of varying types. We always bring in the little trampoline and
toddler playground for the winter--just like the scooters, it helps to get some energy out!

Building a "lily pad" path across the hall to get from the living room to the family room
without stepping in the lava, which is apparently in our hallway.

Fine Motor Skills

2011-03-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

We had a family time a few weeks ago where we cut out hearts to make a Valentine garland. While we were working, I noticed that Phoebe didn't know how to use a scissors! Apparently that was a skill that had slipped past me for her to this point. So, I devised a little cutting practice for her the next day. I made sure she used the "good" kid-scissors, that have lots of holes in a good, secure handle, to help her hold them properly. She did really well with it! I'm sure it's something we'll have to revisit, but it was a start.

Developing those fine motor skills amazingly helps kids develop in other ways, too. I don't have all the stats, but I'm pretty sure it helps somehow in language development. Just take my word for it. I know when I was teaching we had kids work with playdough to help develop those small-motor skills too. Sometimes we forget that our kids need to practice these skills!

Mother/Daughter/Aunt/Grandmother Tea

2011-03-04T00:01:00.003-05:00

You know that short-term choir practice that was interfering with dance, and how we quit dance? Well, then it turned out that that choir practice was interfering with a very special day for my daughter and me (and, as it turned out, my mother and my sister as well) so we quit the choir. The performance ended up being at the same time as the Mother/Daughter Tea for my daughter's school. We couldn't go last year for some reason, so when the paper came home this year, she pleaded that we could go. When I realized the conflict, Jon and I discussed it, and let her make the choice. I felt bad because the choir director is a fantastic lady and a good friend, and it was for a unity service of our church and several others in the community, which of course, is a good thing to be involved with. We're at the point where we're not questioning the validity of a good experience or activity, but just how it will play out in our lives, and how good it will be in the life of our family.

So my daughter chose the tea, and we invited my mom and my sister, since they were going to be traveling up to our house anyway that weekend, and fortunately, everyone was able to come! My sister even came despite the fact that it was the day before she moved to Washington DC! So, we all had a really nice time, supporting the school through this FUNdraiser and supporting our relationships at the same time.

It was fun to get dressed up, and of course Naomi took her American Girl Doll (who was originally named--by Naomi--Bella, but then who went on to have her name changed to Jasmine. Naomi says Bella is her nickname, which is a good thing because we all got used to calling her Bella and none of us ever remember to call her Jasmine. Bella--I mean Jasmine--thankfully isn't too bothered by what we call her).

As a parent, I think we have those opposite-of-deja-vu (is there a name for that?) moments from time to time...where we get a little window into the future. This tea--and actually looking at the pictures from this tea--was one of those for me. I suddenly got a glimpse of my little girl as a young lady...not almost 7, but almost 17, with her earrings and her hair up, looking pretty and polite and mature. It caused me to catch my breath, and almost get teary for a minute. Thankfully I didn't lose my composure, but it was a good reminder not to lose those special minutes together, because they do go quickly.

As someone wise once said (and I have oft repeated) the days are long, but the years are short.

Naomi with her Aunt Mary

She decided she preferred lemonade to tea.

This may be my favorite picture of the bunch. What a moment it catches!
It reminds me of my grandmother drinking tea with her pearls on and making pleasant conversation.

They gave her this purple apron as a gift upon arrival (the girls decorated cupcakes, so this was to protect their dresses), but I had to laugh because the cute little ladybug is wearing a black (leather?) spiked collar! I guess even ladybugs are going punk-rock these days. :)

Those massive clip-on earrings (and the necklace and bracelet for that matter) were a gift to her from my father. He has a treasure bin of "jew-wels" (costume jewelry from yard sales) that he lets the girls pick from when they come to visit.
She took them off half-way through, saying they hurt her ears. As my mom said, "At least getting your ears pierced only hurts once!

Potentially

2011-02-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

So, I discovered something that has put a name to what is in my heart...afterschooling. Have you ever heard of this? Apparently there is a movement of "afterschooling" parents who work to intentionally provide enrichment and learning activities outside of school to enhance their children's learning. I think this is a potentially exciting thing- but it's also a potentially bad thing.

Potentially, this could help parents to realize that they are the primary teacher of their child, no matter what their "formal" schooling choice- and take the mantle of responsibility for their child's education.

Potentially, this could provide some great family time, developing relationships, and keeping away from the TV.

Potentially, this could help create curious, lifelong learners.

Potentially, though, this could lead to even more over-stressed kids, and over-stressed parents who make this into "one more thing" their kids have to do, and who pound education into their kids' heads, prizing accomplishment over relationship.

Book Club: The Five Love Languages of Children (ch 7-9)

2011-02-17T12:00:00.002-05:00

On my other blog, I had been doing a book club series, and we were in the middle of The Five Love Languages of Children, by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, so I thought I would keep it going over here. This week, we were to read chapters 7-9. Here is what I got out of those chapters:

Chapter 7: How to Discover Your Child's Primary Love Language
Now that we are past reading about the descriptions of each love language and how they display themselves in children, the authors are starting to focus on how to use those love languages in life. As parents, we need to focus on all five of the love languages. It takes time to learn and understand our kids' love languages, and they may evolve and change over time, so if we make sure we incorporate all five of the love languages, then we can be sure our children are feeling loved. Even though we each have a primary love language, we have degrees of all of them, and so need to be filled up in all areas. Also, as we demonstrate and include our kids in demonstrating the five love languages, they will be equipped to demonstrate them towards others as well.
To help discover your child's primary love language, here are some things to look for:
1. Observe (with the 5 LL's in mind) how your child expresses love to you.
For example, do they tell you they love you? Do they snuggle up next to you, or climb on your back? Do they make and give you gifts, pictures, etc.? Do they just "hang out" in the room where you are? Do they do things for you, or ask to help?
2. Observe how your child expresses love to others.
3. Listen to what your child requests most often.
4. Notice what your child most frequently complains about.
5. Give your child a choice between two options.

The authors suggest a 15-week experiment to figure out your child's love language...where you spend three weeks each, really focusing on demonstrating one of the love languages, and taking note of how your children react. Sometimes the idea of "taking notes" on our kids may seem too formal, but really--anything we really want to know or understand, we need to take seriously and document information. How much more with our kids!

Chapter 8: Discipline and the Love Languages
Often, the word "discipline" has a negative connotation, but we know from the Bible that discipline (although unpleasant at the time) yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:11) Who doesn't want that for their kids?! When it is time to discipline our kids, we need to make special use of their primary love languages. If my child's love language is words of affirmation, I shouldn't exploit their love language by using words to make them feel bad, but rather I should surround their discipline and/or consequences with words to confirm in their hearts how much I love them, regardless of their behavior. Remember, we are displeased with their behavior, but it does not effect how we feel about the child. It is so important for them to know that. If my child's primary love language is physical touch, I need to make sure I'm surrounding their discipline with hugs. If our children feel secure in our love, they will respond better to our discipline.

Chapter 9: Learning and the Love Languages
Wee can improve how our children learn by making use of their love languages. A child who has involved parents and a full love tank is going to be much more prepared, emotionally, to handle learning. If you are familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, he suggests that we must have the more basic needs met before we are able to deal with higher levels of needs and accomplishments. Love and security are lower on the list than learning- thus, we need love and security before we are able to accept or excel in learning. If we make sure our kids' love tanks are filled up, then we are setting them up to pursue higher levels of accomplishment and understanding. I love the example on the last two pages of the chapter- you'll have to read it for a recap! :)

Only one more week to finish up this book! Next week I'll announce our book for March...:)

Intentional Parenting

2011-02-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

For a few months now, I have been keeping a second blog: Intentional Parenting. It started out as a way (I had hoped) to connect and have an "online conversation" with the parents of my church to discuss parenting. Since my posts went to facebook, I got most of my "comments" through facebook, rather than on the blog, but it never really turned into the online conversation I had been hoping for. Also, I started to realize that I couldn't really keep up with two blogs, and I was sad about not writing here as much as I would have liked to. Some of the things I posted on the other blog, I really wanted to have here, but didn't want to be redundant...etc, etc, etc. So, for numerous reasons, I'm shutting down Intentional Parenting, and focusing here, but I think I will include more talk about parenting here- since it is such a passion of mine.

Just kidding...

2011-02-14T16:56:00.000-05:00

TODAY is the day I'm a guest-blogger over at my friend Audra's blog: Rediscovering Domesticity! Click over and check it out- 5 ways to stay connected with your spouse!

(I had pre-scheduled my blog post last Friday and had planned to take it off if she didn't post it then...but then I forgot....blah blah blah)

Mawwiage...it's what bwings us togever, today

2011-02-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

My friend, Audra, over at Rediscovering Domesticity is doing a series on marriage, and has asked me to do some guest blogging for her. Sooo...scoot on over to her blog to check it out!

The Loux Family

2011-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is the Loux Family. I kinda know them...they are a relative of a friend. Anyway, the TV Show Extreme Home Makeover is looking for a family in Missouri, and it would be SUCH a blessing if this family could receive a new home! Please read below to get their story... if you wish you may copy and paste any part of this post to write your own email nomination. You must also include the list of family members (below). Deadline is March 31. Please email submissions to: CastingMissouri@gmail.com. Let's help this family continue to do this amazing work of God! Here was my email submission letter:

To Whom it May Concern at Extreme Home Makeover:

I cannot imagine a more deserving family for an Extreme Home Makeover in Missouri!

Renee’ and her beautiful children tragically lost their husband and daddy in 2009 just 2 days before Christmas in a car accident. Renee and Derek worked together trumpeting the cause of the orphan. They not only spoke out in defense of the fatherless, they put actions to their words by bringing children into their own home.

Renee and Derek’s first son, Josiah was born with Spina Bifida and passed away at age 2 1/2. Josiah’s incredible life opened their eyes and ours to the precious gift of children with special needs. They went on to have 2 beautiful daughters Sophia and Michaela. Over the past 10 years, Derek and Renee adopted 8 children. Their 5 daughters, Teyolla, Keyolla, Telma, Leeann, and Sana are all adopted from the Marshall Islands. Through Derek and Renee’s loving parenting, much prayer, and devotion to their daughters, these precious beauties have walked through incredible healing and restoration. Their 3 precious boys (Sasha, Ethan, and Silas) were abandoned at birth in an orphanage in Ukraine. Sasha has Spina Bifida. Ethan and Silas both have Down syndrome. The boys were severely malnourished, emotionally neglected and were suffering on so many levels. Derek and Renee literally nursed Ethan, a 5 year old weighing 11 lbs, unable to walk or even crawl, back to life! As a family we witness this starving, sick little boy come back to life, a true miracle of God’s kindness and his parent’s loving commitment.

After, her husband’s death, Renee' not only walked through grief and suffering with her children in such a remarkable way, she also stood tall, determined to carry on the mission that she and Derek worked passionately for- defending orphans and standing for justice.

Renee currently serves as the director of the Orphan Justice Center in Kansas City, MO with the mission to RESCUE, ADOPT, and RESTORE! The goal of OJC is to raise awareness, equip families to adopt, and establish safe, restorative communities for orphans.

In addition on a personal level, Renee continues to walk heroically, bringing orphans into her home and calling them her own. Since Derek’s death, Renee has brought a beautiful 1 year old boy, Judah, into her home, has taken in a little blind girl, Joanna to assist her parents in getting her the care and education she needs to thrive, and has opened her home and offered to legally adopt a 30 year old, Dawn, an orphan herself, who is working on the streets of Ecuador caring for orphans.

Renee has been given 45 acres in Grandview, MO to help her walk out the vision she and Derek had to build a home with space enough to personally take in 30+ orphans. Their dream together was to take in children with special needs and provide them with a loving home where they could be restored and healed. Their dream was to have horticultural therapy, equine therapy, along with traditional therapies. You can read more about their vision at The JOSIAH FUND website.

This precious family: Renee, her mother Flo, and the 12 children currently in their home, share a 4 bedroom home that is bursting at the seams. They have exhausted every available space and have simply run out of room. Renee doesn’t know the word “No” when it comes to children in need. Their garage and family room have both been converted to extra sleeping space, and there is simply no room left. In addition, their current home has three floors and requires Renee to lift Sasha and his wheelchair from level to level so that he can be with the family.

Please consider building a new home for this precious, deserving family.

Here are the family members:

Renee-mother (49)

Flo- Renee’s mother (72)

Telma-Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

Teyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

Keyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

LeeAnn- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (16)

Sophia- Renee’s daughter (13)

Michaela- Renee’s daughter (10)

Sana- Renee’s daughter adopted from the Marshall Islands (9)

Sasha- Renee’s son with Spina Bifida adopted from Ukraine (8)

Ethan- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (7)

Silas- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (4)

Judah – Renee’ son adopted from the Marshall Islands (1)

Joanna- a blind girl under the legal guardianship of Renee (from the Marshall Islands) age 13

Thank you for your consideration of this deserving family!

Sincerely,

Carolyn Ruth

Being a Quitter

2011-01-31T09:02:00.001-05:00

I have been a firm believer in NOT being a quitter-- if you join something, you need to stick it out till the end of the season. But, as a parent, I'm learning that there are times when you have to choose what is best for your family over the principle of not being a quitter. I still think it's important to be faithful to your commitments, but my commitment to my family and the atmosphere of our family trumps the commitment to activities. And my girls are still very young.

So, today we are dance-quitters.

In August, I was so excited that a dance school was coming to our area. There are some that are about a half-hour away, but it was always such a big deal to drive all the way over there, so I was thrilled when one started that was closer. My girls were excited. I was excited. We bought a variety of beautiful new dance shoes. One of the many reasons I love the beginning of the school year is the beginning of new activities.

But we don't want to be the "hurried" family.

Last evening, after racing to a (short term) after school choir rehearsal, and everyone was fussing and crying and hungry and I had accidentally shut the door on my baby's fingers, and we were rushing from choir rehearsal to dance (for the next two hours) and suddenly I thought. "What are we doing?!" These things are not that important. They are not worth sacrificing the welfare of my family relationships and what is best for my children. And what is best for them is not to trek back and forth across the county to different activities all the time. My first thought was that it was just having dance on Friday nights that was the problem, so we planned to go Saturday morning instead- but we ran into the same scenario: me rushing everyone into dance clothes and getting their hair done and out the door- while they are stalling and fussing and whining. Finally, I said (not in a I'm-threatening-you-so-you-will-hurry-up, but in an actual, wondering way) "Should we just not go to dance anymore?" To my surprise, both of my dancing girls said they didn't want to go anymore. So I checked with Jon and he said it was a good choice. I know my girls enjoy dancing- but I have started to wonder if I was putting my own desires onto them. I DO NOT want to be a parent who lives vicariously through her children or who overloads them with activities that I think they should enjoy, whether or not they actually do.

(For the record- just because my girls fuss and whine does not mean that we stop doing whatever they are fussing and whining about. But there are times when we have to evaluate why this is happening, and whether or not we are doing what is best for them.)
There is something to be said for activities that will develop a skill that they will need in life (like swimming lessons) and even, I believe, for something like music that will enrich their lives in countless ways. But there are so many good activities- and we can't do them all.

And the most important activity of all is for them to be spending time with us and with each other- playing creatively, and living in a peaceful, non-rushed home.

Making tough choices like this speaks volumes to our kids about their value to us- and how they are more important to me than any activity. Their character development is much more valuable than any skill they may develop. Our relationships trump any activity.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2011-01-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

‎"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands

in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he

stands at times of challenge and controversy."

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this day that our country has chosen to honor and remember Dr. King, take time to discuss him with your family.

Read more at my Intentional Parenting blog

Snow Day!

2011-01-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

Today was our first one of the year! (Both the school year and the calendar year!) It's so exciting to get that call in the morning. We actually get two automated calls (one as a parent and one because my husband is a teacher), one personal call from the phone tree (apparently the automated calls are not to be trusted) and one text. Frankly, it can be hard to fall asleep after all that- especially because then we're excited! But we managed to push through and fall back asleep!

We all slept in a little (not too much), Jon made pancakes, we played in the snow, had hot chocolate, cuddled together and watched reruns of "Flipper" on Netflix (have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE getting Netflix through our Wii?) and the girls built a "sleepover" in the living room. It was just what a snow day should be- fun and relaxing. Here are some pictures from our day:

Our new yard is flat- we'll have to find a new hill on which to sled!

Suzie really is a snow-dog! She loves it! She gets all playful and puppyish in the snow!

She wanted to shovel- and we only have 2 kid shovels.

She got over it and wanted to eat snow. She spent most of her time outside eating snow and making snow angels!

I said "Pull down your gaiter so I can see your face!"

Eating snow was a popular activity.

Mmmm...nothing like coming in for hot chocolate!

I gave each of the girls a little ramekin of micro-mini marshmallows to add to their drink (or eat plain.) :)

Invitation

2011-01-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have started writing another blog, which is one reason my posts here have been somewhat sporadic lately. (Although really, isn't that how it's always been?) Anyway, I decided to make a blog specifically about parenting, and I'd love to have input from anyone who reads this blog. My original idea for the blog was to have it be an online forum for equipping and encouragement for the parents in my church. I think though, that it may end up taking a different route. We'll see. :) Please check it out: I ntentional Parenting.

The Cadillac

2011-01-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

my first loaf!

In the ongoing saga of breadmaking in my life, entered, just over Christmas, the Cadillac of breadmakers: The Zojirushi. (Imagine light shining down and James Earl Jones speaking!) It is supposed to solve all of my bread woes-even making good sandwich bread, so I can (ta-da!) stop buying bread at all. Wow. In some ways it's very exciting, but also a little intimidating- and now I feel very pressured to make all this amazing bread. It was easier to complain about bread. :)

Anyway, Zoji (as he shall be henceforth known) has a wonderful timer feature, where you can set it for up to 13 hours- so that you have fresh, hot bread whenever you are ready for it! For my first loaf (picture above) we set the timer the night before and sure enough- voila! Beautiful white bread all ready for breakfast! We used the leftover bread (I love a 2-lb loaf!) for sandwiches, french toast and croutons.

Today Zoji is making Italian Herb Bread, which I am looking forward to very much for dinner. I love that I can just put the stuff in, set it, and then not have to think about it again till eating time. So far, I'm extremely pleased with Zoji, and I can't wait to experiment with all the different features!

Meet, Zoji. He is beautiful, no?

Saturday at home

2011-01-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to share some pictures of the kids today. Jon had indoor drumline rehearsal all day, so the rest of us were just hanging out at home. They were doing a big craft project decorating some paper from a roll of newsprint with everything we could find around to use. Naomi got a "big box of fun" as an award at AWANA and this was the first day we used the items in it. Since it's gotten cold, we have also brought in our little plastic playground and cleaned it up for the girls to use inside. Today they covered it all and made a little nest in there for themselves.

A look back at 2010

2010-12-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

I had to take this picture for two reasons- one, because it appears to be SO inappropriate! (Don't worry, it's grape juice!) The other is that we all marveled because she climbed up on the sofa, drink in hand and never spilled a drop!

We rang in the new year at 9:00 with the South Sandwich Islands (the only people actually entering 2011 at this time) so we could celebrate with the kids and then get them to bed! It is likely that I won't make it to midnight myself, but you never know. :)

Since I didn’t manage to get a Christmas letter out last year, I figured I’d better do it this year! But, since I didn’t get it by Christmas, we’ll just call it our 2010 letter!

We had a lot going on as usual…

Esther turned 2 in September, and she is such a delight. She’s a great talker and does a good job of keeping up with her sisters and their escapades as well as keeping them (and us) laughing.

Phoebe turned 4 in November, and amazes us always with her creativity and expressiveness. She was thrilled this year to finally be old enough to be involved in the Awana program at a local church, which she enjoys very much. It is so fun to see how she has moved into the “big sister” role at home during the day as Naomi is in school.

Naomi turned 6 in March and started First grade in September. She loves to do crafts and create things. She enjoys school and is involved in a number of different activities, including violin and piano lessons, which she just started this fall. One highlight of the year for Naomi (and us) was when she decided to get baptized, which she did in August.

Jon continues to work as the band director for grades 4-12 in Blossburg. This year he is also back to teaching Kindergarten general music class, so he has the whole gamut of age groups, which he says keeps his day interesting. J At long last, he has finished his masters degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh! He went in to defend his thesis in November and passed with flying colors. We are all glad that that process is over. To celebrate his graduation, we spent a weekend in New York City, which was a lot of fun. He also plays drums regularly for our church worship team, and even leads worship on guitar occasionally.

I (Carolyn) continue to be a home manager (the 21^st century version of a homemaker) and enjoy the time I can spend at home with the kids. I also work a few hours a week as the Children’s Ministry Director for our church, which is a great job for me. Not only are the hours extremely flexible, but Children and Family ministry is an area I am extremely passionate about. I currently write two blogs, one for the Children’s Ministry at church, which you can find at www.vineyardkidswellsboro.blogspot.com, and one I write for our family, which you can find at www.cariboucastle.blogspot.com, if you’re interested. I resigned this past year from a 3-year stint on the MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) steering team, but still attend regularly.

Our old dog, Suzie, is still around, turning 14 this past year. She is very dear and a wonderful companion to all of us.

One big change for us this year was that we moved (again)- only a quarter mile up the street from our last home! It is a fabulous new-to-us (but built in the 1840’s) home that has plenty of space for us to spread out, and hopefully open up to visitors. Which, by the way, you are all welcome to stay with us, if you are up in our area!

We look forward to 2011 with anticipation, the excitement and challenges that it will hold, eager to see how God will continue to move in our lives. God bless you all!

Christmas Pics

2010-12-30T14:51:00.003-05:00

I know this is a terrible quality picture-
but I didn't have a better one, and this is so cute!
This is Christmas Eve in their new jammies!

Christmas morning!

My mom out sledding with all the girls

She was SO excited about her new Thomas pajamas!

Opening presents with the cousins!

Technically, this was baby Danica's first birthday party, but since it was over our Christmas break trip, it counts as a Christmas picture!

Squeezies

2010-12-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

I've wanted a glass juicer for awhile and was thrilled to find one at a yard sale this summer for about 50 cents, I think. Anyway, we used it today after Middle said "Can you actually MAKE orange juice?" We happen to have a bunch of fruit right now from the band fruit sale, so I pulled out the tangelos (which syllable does the emphasis actually go on? I'm in the 1st syllable camp. It sounds weird when people say "tanGELos." but I digress...) and we went to town.

I love the tongue!

Both Middle and Youngest got in on the action. Youngest wasn't getting how hard you had to push down, but Middle ended up doing a really good job! Four tangelos doesn't make a ton of juice, and then we strained it to get all the seeds out (and pulp) it reduced the volume even more, but we enjoyed a little big of fresh-squeezed juice with our lunch!

Lowes

2010-12-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

We just got a Lowes down the street, and while I have mixed feelings about big businesses coming in to a small town, I am excited that Lowes is here. DH took Middle and Little to their "Build and Grow" program a couple of weeks ago. When they got back they just looked SO cute in their gear...and those hammers are real! We packed them away for next time, so we don't end up with holes in the walls...or in heads. :)

Only a few tears were shed by Oldest when she found out they had gone...they went while she was at art class. I assured her that she would get to go soon, plus, she got to do all the fun stuff at art class.

I like the little things they make there, though, and I think the whole experience is fun! This time they made little wooden tic-tac-toe boxes, and over the course of the next couple times, they'll be making train cars! So, if you have the chance and there is a Lowe's near you, take your kids!

Oh, Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree...

2010-12-05T14:30:00.002-05:00

Since we now have beautiful 12-ft ceilings, we were able to get a substantial Christmas tree this year, which was a lot of fun! We had to buy extra lights, but it was worth it. We even had some excitement when the tree fell over as we were getting the lights put on...and it totally bent our tree stand! Apparently it wasn't made to hold such a big tree, so Jon (DH) had to run out and purchase a NEW tree stand that night. It's super strong welded metal with a lifetime warranty, so hopefully this one will hold up. :)

I've known since we first looked at this house where the Christmas tree would go- right in front of this huge picture window! It's great because you can see it so nicely from the road too, when we open the shutters.

We had our annual "Christmas-Tree-Decorating-Party" where we have snacky kinds of food for dinner. This is a tradition that started when I was a kid, and we have continued with our family. This year we got a late start, and didn't get finished with the whole process (partly due to scheduled activities and the whole new tree-stand thing) until about 10pm, and we were all exhausted.

One thing we did do well this year was getting out all of our Christmas monsters (that's what we call large plastic bins- it's a long story) a few days before we did the tree, and we got all the house decorating (other than the tree) done before we did the tree. It was nice to not cram it all into one day.

We have a completely irreverent dog angel that goes on top of our tree, which I feel like I may have written about before. We got it as a last-minute effort for our very first tiny Christmas tree as a married couple, and have now just never gotten rid of it. At this point, it's kind of a kitschy tradition, so I don't think we'll be stopping anytime soon.

The girls helped decorate and we had a really nice time. I love how a real tree smells, and this one is great. It's also a nice, soft tree, so we didn't have to worry about getting

poked.

PS: I'm back-posting this since I never got around to posting when it actually happened!

Bread- again

2010-12-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have been following me for the past few months, you know that bread is my baking nemesis. Because of this, I have been hesitant to try again. My friend, Rebekah, had given me a bread recipe a long time ago and told me that it was foolproof, so, after procrastinating for months, I decided to go for it.

You can imagine my surprise, when it actually turned out! I was more than a little nervous that it would be another flop, but sure enough, it was easy and delicious, and now I'm eager to try some "variations" with it, such as adding rosemary, which I know Rebekah has done also. Here is the recipe to this fabulous bread. And here is a little shout-out to Rebekah, Happy Birthday!

Fall pictures

2010-11-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

Bulbs

2010-11-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is my first experience planting bulbs. We have big empty spaces on either side of the front porch, and thought it would be great to have things come up in the spring before I even have a chance to get out and do any gardening. So I bought over 100 bulbs of various kinds, and finally had a chance for the girls and I to plant them. Like many things that I procrastinate about, it took WAY less time than I imagined, and now we have those flowers to look forward to in the spring!

Just an observation, and I don't know if it is the same for all of you, but it seems to me that the projects I procrastinate about usually go really fast when I finally do them, but the jobs I jump into spontaneously, thinking "this won't take long" end up taking about 18 times longer than I thought. Does this happen to you?

Birthday Girl (times 2)

2010-11-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Birthday #1

Middle just had her 4th birthday. Because we don't live close to either of our families, we ended up having two birthday parties for her. The first party was at Chocolate World in Hershey, which we had never been to before. It was so much fun! We rode the free ride and the kids LOVED it! Youngest kept saying "This is fun! This is fun!"

The girls love getting together with their cousins and Mom-mom!

Their little cousin had a birthday a couple days before Middle's and we didn't get to go to her party, so we celebrated her birthday too. I cracked up at this picture of the girls "excitement" when they got to blow out their candles!

The birthday girls were so excited.

Over the weekend, then we had birthday party #2 with my family and friends. She still hasn't mastered blowing out the candles. We're so thankful for you, little one! I can't believe you're 4!

Flashback

2010-11-17T00:01:00.003-05:00

l just took Oldest shopping the other day for school clothes. She grows like a weed, and since she's the oldest of three girls, I have to say I spend quite a bit more on clothes for her, and try to buy high-quality ones (Lands End, Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, Gap, etc) so they will stay nice and can be passed down twice. We had a nice day shopping together, although she had a sore throat and didn't talk as much as usual, which was too bad. I mostly felt like I was talking to myself.

Anyway, I started to feel a little bit like I was in the twilight zone as I looked through the girls clothes-- leg warmers, pink and grey, bold graphic prints--hello, it is SO the 80's all over again. I knew it was- I saw it in magazines and noticed the side ponytails popping up on high school girls, but it really hit me on this shopping trip. What really made me chuckle ruefully was spying a rack of charm bracelets at the Gap. I totally remember charm bracelets and necklaces. I remember my dad taking me to Pittsburgh for a "date" and we went up the incline and shopped around and he bought me a charm necklace and several cute charms. I specifically remember a telephone where the receiver came off the hook and a baby bottle. Baby bottles were the charm to have. Boy, fashion marketers sure know how to hit their marks- I suddenly found myself nostalgic and then buying not one, but three charm bracelets- one for each of my girls. This situation right here is why fashion is cyclical- not because that's just how it goes, but because of money! They wait 25 or 30 years until the next generation is having kids who are buying clothes and accessories that were just like they wore when they were kids, and they get all nostalgic and buy them all over again for their own kids. I think the same is true for toys- Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, Care Bears and Star Wars to name a few.

Way too late...(Pumpkin carving)

2010-11-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

This all happened back in October, when it should have happened, but I didn't get around to posting it then. I do, however, want it to be in my blog book that I will print out in January! So here it is: pics from our Pumpkin Carving night. We read the book "The Pumpkin Parable" by Liz Curtis Higgs, which is a great way to make a spiritual tie-in. The girls painted pumpkins, and told DH they wanted a "girl" pumpkin, which he made- complete with eyelashes. We ate by candlelight for several meals, until our girl pumpkin started to rot, and I was afraid it was going to get maggots. Then I put it in the compost. :) I also made pumpkin pie (not from those pumpkins!) which we had for dessert AND breakfast the next morning. My mom always did this--let us have pumpkin pie for breakfast (when there was pumpkin pie in the house) and I always LOVED it. :) So fun!

On Wisconsin!

2010-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

"Sweet Retreat"

Not long ago I took a trip to Wisconsin with my mother. It was the first time since I was 16 that my mom and I have traveled together, just the two of us! We went up to visit my grandparents and help them close up the cottage that they own "up north" for the winter. It was so nice to have such a long, luxurious amount of time to sit and chat, both with my mother and my grandparents. I even got to see my great aunt and uncle as well as some of their kids and grandkids (my first cousins once-removed, and my second cousins?) which was a treat.

Lost Lake

New Glarus

This picture and the two below are of "The Farm" which has been in our family for generations. My aunt has been working on paintings of The Farm as it has evolved over the years. My great aunt and uncle currently live there as well, and some of their kids and grandkids live various places on the property. My family on my grandmother's side (my great uncle is her brother) has a rich Swiss heritage, which I am pleased to be a part of.

L to R: My mom, her cousin Toni, Toni's son, my great-uncle Fred, and my great-aunt Mickey.

Faux Bento

2010-10-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

One thing I have inherited from my mother is a dislike for packing lunches. I have not yet been disciplined enough to pack them the night before. I have, however gotten better at making sandwiches for the whole week when I get out the PB & J to make the first one. I have also discovered something wonderful that has helped tremendously-the faux Bento box. Real bento boxes are beautifully arranged little cute food made to fit cute little containers and reduce waste. Not quite so cute, but faux bentos are available at Wal-Mart. They also reduce waste as well as the ridiculous number of plastic bags that I have to buy. I bought enough of them that I can (mostly) premake all the lunches and have them ready to go. Even if I don't premake them, they are still quick and easy to put together in the morning. Faux Bento works for me!

The Perfect Green

2010-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

I may be going crazy. I was on a mission for the perfect green paint. I'm starting to think it may not exist, but I will get as close as I can without going over the edge...mentally. I have borrowed paint from friends and purchased samples...in addition to raiding the ridiculous collection of paint that we have somehow accumulated over the past few years. I am sure we didn't bring any paint with us from Colorado, so that means all of this paint has become a part of our lives in only the last 5 years. Yikes. Granted-we have lived in 4 different houses since then, but one was a rental and we didn't paint there.

Since I wanted the perfect apple green, I suppose it makes sense to go with a color actually called "Apple," and that is the one I finally settled on (not just because of the name) but goodness, you have to be sure about these things...especially in the kitchen, where I spend SO much time. I don't want all that time to be spent thinking how much I hate the paint color and how it's not really the color I wanted. We started with Wheatgrass- a color I had chosen a few years ago for a different project that never panned out (painting stripes on our old playroom walls...too time-consuming!). Mostly we started with it because I knew I wanted the kitchen green, and we had it already. In my mind I was thinking it was a little brighter...once I got it up on the wall in a sample splotch it seemed so dingy and almost dirty that I knew right away it wasn't "the one." After only a slight bit of whining, I convinced DH that I really needed the right green for the kitchen, but I promised that we would use good old Wheatgrass for another room (maybe the storage room?).

So, I thought of friends of mine who have nice greens in their houses and asked for the names of the colors-they were kind enough to even give me their old paint cans and let me paint sample swatches on my very own walls. I also purchased two more "sample" pints to try out some other colors. It is SO hard to tell what something is going to look like on the walls from the tiny little paint chips you see in the store. Computers are really no better since they don't really show the true color that you will have to live with day in and day out. While at Sherwin-Williams, I bought two more gallons of paint from the "oops" shelf- it's a sickness, I tell you. One is a very cute pink that hopefully we will use in the girls' room eventually- plus it was the low VOC paint that is like $40 a gallon and I got if for $6.99! But I digress...

The paint that I THOUGHT would be the winner (top left in the clock picture-Savannah) ended up looking too minty, as did the one on the top right (Romaine). I knew even when I opened up the sample to put it on the wall that they were not the winners. The ultimate winner is the bottom left in the clock picture, named, you guessed it- Apple. Color names- now that could be a whole blog post in itself. I LOVE color names-paint chips, sweater colors in a magazine (J.Crew is the best) you name it--I wish that was my job-coming up with names for colors. I suppose someone out there gets paid to do that. If you are reading this and you are responsible for hiring the color-naming experts for your company, please hire me! I know I would be great at it!

Anyway, as you may have figured- we are midway between a before and after picture of the kitchen. The paint is up, but there is still some work to be done that won't be done for the next few months, and since I want to get the full effect in the before and after pics, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until closer to Christmas. Ultimately, even all this is only "Phase 1" of a kitchen remodel because in a few years (hopefully "few" is accurate) we will do a BIG kitchen remodel.

Corn maze

2010-10-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

Oldest said "When you take the picture, I'll go like 'this'"

A few weeks ago we had our annual church Harvest Party. It is always a good time (we did it early this year to avoid the snow we had last year!) and this year was no exception. Since DH is the band director, he is not available Friday nights in the fall, so it was just me and the girls. I felt very prepared this year- had the stroller, everyone is a year older, etc. The first thing we did was the corn maze. Last year there were two corn mazes- the easy one and the hard one. We did the easy one, and the map they gave us was a cinch to follow. This year- not so much. Just one maze, and it was very complicated. The map was more of a "guide"than an actual map, and ended up being more hurtful than helpful. This corn maze took most people about 15 minutes, but for me, with my 3 little girls, it was about 45. More than once I found myself looking to the sky and jumping to see surrounding trees to try and get my bearings. I came up with an escape plan, should we REALLY feel lost. Thankfully I didn't have to use it....pushing the stroller through all the corn straight out to one side wouldn't have been easy. Anyway, the girls had fun, and I survived. This year, the corn maze kicked my butt.

I can't tell you how glad I was to see the exit!

Hallway addition

2010-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in my earlier hallway post that there were still some things to come and this is one of them...

I've come to the realization that it is better to have bulletin board that is WIDE instead of tall-otherwise your papers all get covered up. But I wanted something a little more interesting to look at than just plain corkboard- especially since the walls are so neutral in the hall. I've done the fabric-covering thing with corkboard and that was nice, but I wanted to do something different. Sooo, I bought a bunch of the bulletin board squares that you can put up yourself. I puled out the craft paints and the girls and I went to town. It turned out just as I hoped it would! I hope it holds up okay. I bought some 3M strips and put them up (my sister helped). It is now cluttered with papers (I'm not sharing a picture of that) and not quite as pretty, but since I left the space under the corkboard we still get to see some of the prettiness.

Fiesta!!

2010-10-13T08:00:00.003-04:00

I love my Fiestaware! When we first got married I just wanted cobalt, and I got quite a bit of it as wedding gifts. Recently, though I've decided to add colors to pep up my dishes. I've added a light blue, yellow, green, and white. I love all the colors. My mom and I went to the factory in West Virginia. They have a fabulous "seconds" room and the main retail room is GORGEOUS! Not only is Fiestaware beautiful, but I love how sturdy it is. We have dropped dishes many, many times. Many. And the number of pieces that have actually broken are very few. I think that I lost a few bowls when the shelves in the kitchen cabinet fell out. Fiestaware works for me! Feast your eyes on the beautiful colors...

DH

2010-10-10T22:22:00.003-04:00

Things have been CRAZY busy, and I was out of town for awhile, but I wanted to get this posted today...(hey-I still have an hour and a half!) Today is my husband's birthday. It's particularly exciting because it's 10-10-10! "binary day" he said this morning. Ha!

I wanted to share this picture of him that I just took the other day. What an amazing guy- out there mowing the lawn with a baby on his back. And even more than that...it's a friends' baby! I was watching some friends' kids and the little guy was getting fussy as I was trying to make dinner so he offered to put him in the backpack while he mowed. Worked like a charm. So anyway, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my wonderful husband! He has been involved in every facet of parenting, and I cannot imagine a better father for our children. He is a hard-worker (while I was out of town for a few days he painted our kitchen--trim and ceiling included-- and tiled the backsplash), the smartest person I know, and my best friend. Our birthdays are very close (mine was Oct 4th!) but I love that he's always a year older than me...except for 6 days. He is exceedingly thoughtful and kind, eager to help those in need. When I watch him with his students, I am always impressed with how he can relate to middle school and high school kids. I am so thankful to have a man who loves God and loves me. So anyway, happy birthday honey!

Hallway...after (part 1)

2010-09-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

I had to label this part 1 of the "after" pictures of the side hallway because there are still some details to come, but I decided if I waited until it was completely done, I might never post. so here they are! (This is an L-shaped hallway). This painting project took WAY longer than I anticipated because there is so. much. trim. Remember the "before"? Here is the "after":

The new paint is a light beige (Sherwin Williams' Kilim Beige) that brightens the hallway up so nicely! Feels so much cleaner.

(Pay no attention to that toilet paper and other messiness!) And now, for the best part:

It has gotten much use. :)

Apple Pie

2010-09-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

I've been challenging myself to spend more time with my kids. It's amazing how I can be home with them all day, but not really BE with them. So the other day I had Middle pick a book for me to read (from our "fall" books) and she picked this one:

As we read, I got inspired...and this came next:

We had it after dinner that night, a la mode, and then again for breakfast the next morning. It was delicious. :) (And I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've made my own pie crusts for apple pie!)

A special treat

2010-09-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

My grandfather replied to my "the Orchard" post with a story of his own, and I asked him if I could share it with you. He agreed, so here it is!

We particularly enjoyed this and the pictures, partly because your mom (DH's MIL) Had sent an email describing it in the same glowing terms that you did. And I hope that it will be a tradition that you honor as well as we-all have honored the morning dip at Eagle Shores. Even though it might not always be convenient to go, do your best to do it if you can. The reason I make such a point of this is that we too, had such an orchard, set in just such a beautiful spot, Alpine Valley Orchards outside New Glarus, and while we never raised it to the status of a tradition, we tried to get down there at least once each fall. In addition to the beautiful area and the lovely fall days and the apples, the big attraction was a beautiful big red barn (for storage and selling) where they sold a large piece of still warm home-made apple pie with a large scoop of CINNAMON ice cream for, I think, $1.50 a serving. Life could not get much better than that.

This was not a family thing. I don't think it was operating as any more than just an orchard when our family was intact, or at least we had not heard of it.

Then one beautiful fall day we went down with our mouths watering for some apple pie and cinnamon ice cream, and found to our dismay that it was no longer operating. The trees had been removed and, I think platted into building lots or some such sacrilege. The same old story ... they could not get help at the times that they needed it to do all the grunt work that goes into all those beautiful apples. I can think of three such orchards around Madison that met the same fate. So enjoy a crisp cold bit, make some apple pies, and hope for the best. I remember when your mom took us to an Amish orchard near Indiana and got some Winesaps, and I ate a cold crisp one and I don't think I have ever had such a delicious apple. Later that year she sent us a box of them and while they were good, they could not compare to that one just off the tree on a cold day. I think Winesaps are not such good keepers, so eat them before the Cortlands, which are much better keepers.

Fall Porch- (this is for you Kristie!)

2010-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

In my quest to not have a cluttered house, I have kind of swung in the opposite direction, ending up with a spartan, boring house. Now that we are in our new house, it feels even MORE bare and boring because it is so big. My meager attempts to now get back into decorating have fallen way short. Literally. With such high ceilings, any of our decorating items get lost unless they are oversized. But that's another blog post. Our beautiful new porch looked so bare, and yes, we still need furniture (I'm thinking of wooden rocking chairs...) but we were wanting to make it look warm and welcoming, so we started with a little fall decorating. I feel very out of my element trying to prepare these spaces, but I'm sure I'll learn as I go We bought some pumpkins and mums. I brought out our wagon, a chair and a recently-purchased old metal milk can. (It's super rusty right now, but I have big plans for it...more on that to come).

Below is our back/side porch. I got an old apple crate and put a basket with Indian corn and gourds in it. On the bottom is Oldest's "outdoor treasure" bucket, which is filled with rocks, shells, and a deer antler. (Our dog, Suzie, always sniffs it and wants to chew on it-the deer antler- as we come in the door!)

This next picture isn't fall-related, but it was something my husband just did that needed to be done...below these steps was a really ugly, yucky area. Mostly some sort of old, weird blacktop, but with holes in it and stuff. So, he used soil to even it out and then repurposed these stone tiles from a path on the other side of our house that goes to a door that we never use. It may not be the patio we dream of having, but it is SO much better than it was!

hallway...before

2010-09-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a little teaser of a project that our friend, Adam, started last weekend, and I'm hoping to finish this coming weekend! (I'm hoping posting this will push me to do it!) But these are the "before" pictures of our back downstairs hallway, leading in from the side door, which is the door we use 95% of the time.

the Orchard

2010-09-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

I think we've officially established a tradition of going to a local orchard every fall. DH has a lot of marching band competitions in the fall so he wasn't able to come with us, but my parents were along as well as a college-dude friend of the family. My mom has kind of an obsession with apples...she loves to buy them, eat them, make things with them, etc. I also found out this weekend that she also has an addiction (her word, not mine) to chocolate milk, which I find very funny, since I can't remember her ever letting us (or at least me...who knows how all of the rules were loosened for my younger brother and sister) have chocolate milk! Ha ha!

Anyway, the day was beautiful and the setting of the orchard is fantastic-just what you would hope an orchard would be like. :) We also bought some varieties that we weren't able to pick as well as some pumpkins, pears, cider, and cheese curds! Yum!

We also enjoyed looking at the newly constructed windmills. :)

What a cutie!

2010-09-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

I got a few nice pictures of Youngest playing in the butterfly hat and a tutu. So cute! I've had this hat for all my girls, and I just love it. I'm pretty sure I have pictures of all three of them in it...I'll have to look back and see if I can find the others! Enjoy the cuteness...

Birthday!

2010-09-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

We just celebrated Youngest's 2nd birthday! I had big plans for all kinds of special birthday things, but life got in the way and I didn't have time for most of it. That's okay though, because we had a great party anyway! My SIL, MIL and FIL came into town for the weekend and we celebrated my niece's 4th birthday as well, since their birthdays are only 4 days apart. We ended up with Wal-Mart cupcakes because I ran out of time, but no one seemed to mind. :) My other SIL made the ADORABLE shirt and tutu that Youngest is wearing. Check out her Etsy shop: Holly Designs. It's a little hard to see the shirt well, but it has E to the 2nd power, which I thought was a cute idea. She is also wearing the "Birthday Girl" crown that we pull out for birthdays!

Hey-they DO pay attention sometimes!

2010-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last year, after reading the book Going Public, which inspired both my husband and I tremendously, we started getting everybody up at 6:30am on school days to read the Bible and pray together. Yes, it's hard. Yes, there are MANY days when I would rather just sleep in, but it has turned out to be a really special family time together. And, the other day I walked in to the dining room to see Middle sitting at the table with our morning-time Bible, saying "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord" (we've been reading Psalms and Proverbs) and then saying to Youngest "It's your turn to pray." Which she did, exactly like she does in the morning. It was super cute, and it warmed my heart and encouraged me as a parent.

Waterpark!

2010-09-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last week we had some really hot days so our girls took advantage of a last chance to have a "waterpark" in the yard. We have a HUGE piece of plastic that we put down the slide and then took the hose up to the top. They slid pretty far! We eventually even put an old bed "egg carton" pad under the plastic for a softer landing at the bottom of the slide.

And so the painting begins...

2010-09-06T20:53:00.007-04:00

We had a bunch of company this past weekend, and made it a big "work" weekend on the house. Lots of little projects were done, but one bigger project was painting the porch floor. When we moved in, there wasn't anything around the bottom of the porch, and the porch floor was peeling badly. DH, my FIL and our friend Adam worked to scrape the old paint off, and then they primed and painted it...red! I LOVE red! I saw a red floor in a picture once and thought it looked so cool! I think the porch looks really sharp now and the red is not too overwhelming since you can't see much of it from the street. In our two previous houses, I've painted the front door red, which I have really liked, but I just can't bring myself to paint the big old door in this house. Apparently the door isn't actually original, but it is huge and heavy and I'm just not SURE I want to paint it yet, so I will wait. DH also re-purposed some lattice that I had him rip off two places to cover the open space under the porch.

Before: (on move in day)

Primed porch:

After...ahhh, so beautiful!

Before: (primed)

After:

House pictures

2010-08-26T23:03:00.003-04:00

Well, I've had many requests for pictures of the new house, and even though it's not quite the format I had hoped for, if you look to the right and scroll down a bit, you can see a slideshow of house pictures! For larger pictures, click on "see all" and it will take you into photobucket where you can see them all.

the Roof (rhymes with aloof...for all you Wisconsinites)

2010-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

As per our agreement with our homeowner's insurance company, we had to get our roof replaced, ASAP. (We had to be under contract for it within 60 days of closing!) So we did. Our contractor was SO great...arrived early, worked efficiently, didn't leave a mess, did a great job! It was done in a week! They took 18,000 lbs off our roof! Our contractor said "Your roof is breathing a sigh of relief." They put 2,000 lbs back on with the new roof.

I went outside one day to put mail in the mailbox, and lo and behold, there was a giant truck with a huge crane on it in my yard! I called DH and the girls and we all went outside to watch the shingles be lifted up to the roof. It was pretty cool.

First day of School!

2010-08-23T22:16:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day of school! Oldest is in First Grade, and DH of course is still teaching music K-12. It was pouring rain, so I couldn't get as many great pics as I wanted...and since Oldest goes to the same school as DH, I didn't even leave the house! She was a cutie-patootie though, and I cut her bangs very quickly before school this morning...something I had been planning to do for a week or so now, but they were totally in her eyes, so I figured it was worth the risk. When we woke her at 6:30 this morning, she said "I want to go to school right now!" She was dressed and ready within minutes. :) She is totally a gift-giver and maker and had a card she made in a decorated bag all ready to go for one of her little friends who was going to be in her class. She said her friend loved it. :)

Travel Adventures

2010-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

I had to put this one as it's own post...on our way to Wisconsin, as we came through Chicago, we drove past a young lady on the road and DH said "Her car is on fire! We need to pull over and help her." So we did. There wasn't a whole lot we could do...DH called 911 and then encouraged her, strongly, to not to try to get anything out of the car and to move AWAY from the vehicle! For some reason she seemed reluctant to do that. As we waited for emergency services to come (and she had friends who were on their way to pick her up) another couple stopped to help also, and we all just kind of watched the car burn. It was an adventure. Oldest was quite concerned that our car was also going to catch on fire, but we were parked a safe distance away. It was a good opportunity to talk with her about helping others, even when it may be inconvenient or uncomfortable to do so.

The Children's Museum, WI

2010-08-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

More Wisconsin pictures...I had to make this all its own post because I took a ton of pictures when we all went to the Children's museum up there. All the kids (and adults!) had a great time at this fun, clever place.

Wisconsin 2010

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

I actually meant to post all these pics (and some others yet to come) before the pic of the girls sleeping on the way home, but oh well! When you schedule posts, sometimes you don't have as much time as you think you will before it posts! These are various pictures of my wonderful, talented, quirky extended family from our time up in Northern Wisconsin at (as we call it) "The Cottage." (Which is actually a resort of many cottages.)

The one above is my brother with my middle daughter. He said that he must have picked up hundreds of stones that afternoon for her to toss into the lake. He is one of the best people I know for playing with kids the way they (the kids) want to play. Often as adults we play with kids the way WE want to play. Or at least I do. Anyway, he is endlessly patient and kind.

Milestone

2010-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

While we were in Wisconsin, we hit a milestone...

Oldest lost her first tooth! It was a long time coming...very loose and apparently painful, until finally, FINALLY she let me pull it out! DH informed me that pulling out teeth was "my thing." It was such a relief for all of us when it was finally out, and of course, such an exciting thing for her. She was a little surprised that she could still make her "s" sound. I guess the "All I Want for Christmas" song had her thinking that she wouldn't be able to.

Ah, Paul. How I love thee....let me count the ways! My family has been going to Paul Bunyan's restaurant in Northern Wisconsin for many many years. Way before I was born. And taking pictures of the kids in front of Paul and Babe has been going on just as long. We saw a great picture this summer of my uncle when he was about 3 with Paul. This year it's our three girls and three of my cousins' kids. (So I think that makes our kids 2nd cousins?)

We always go for brunch for the day we pack up and leave the resort. And the food is. so. good.

Yes, my cousin's son is wearing an Optimus Prime Transformer costume. And yes, my Oldest is wearing green argyle knee socks with her turquoise shorts. Love it!
Almost home...
And that's the way (uh-huh, uh-huh) we like it!

SOLD!

2010-08-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

or in our case...bought. :)

I can't even believe how it has all worked out. It has been such an amazing process and God has blessed us so much. We even now have a fabulous new roof, but it's a little hard to take a picture of that. It's been so crazy because in the 3 weeks we've lived here, we all have only been here for 1! The first week DH was away at his last (finally!) class for his masters degree, so it was just me and the girls. Then the second week we were in Wisconsin visiting extended family, and then we've been home this past week...working hard and trying to get things out of boxes. Real life kind of starts for us on Monday since DH's school year starts with Marching Band Camp. So I need to get my stuff together and start getting into a workable routine for our family. And I LOVE getting organized. :) Especially in my wonderful new house. :)