T-minus 5 days...

In five days I will be taking my children to kindergarten; them with their little backpacks, me with an entire box of tissues! I am excited but more so overwhelmed and nostalgic. I've tried not thinking about it over the summer but as the day approaches, I'm filled with sappy moments and random crying bouts. I'm not really sure why either! Some of it are my fears, but most, I guess, is the fact that this is one of the marks in their maturity. They are growing up! (You say, "No, duh! It happens to all of us!" I say "Just wait till it's your kid".) They are now school children. And it doesn't make matters any better when, at lunch today, Nicole mentions that she misses being four (because she liked being at home and dancing). A couple more tears were let loose.
My little guys are heading towards so many new firsts- first day of school, first time their name gets on the board (for talking, no doubt! They are Ryan's and mine.), first best friend, first little crush which are wonderful and exciting but also freaky and intimidating. And school isn't quite what it was when we were there (24 years ago- Wow!). But I also trust in the Sovereign God who loves my children with greater love than even I can give. (And that's a lot of love!) And He has taken great care of them up to this day. I just need to keep remembering that!

Good times, great people!

We just got back from our family (and hopefully annual) vacation to Davenport with our great friends, the Claassens. It was wonderful being in the salty air and not frying at 100 degrees! We actually had to wear jeans and sweatshirts in the mornings and evenings- in July! Unheard of in Redding!! It was a great time! The kids had never been to the coast before so they loved taking it all in (and even taking some of it home- sand in every crevice!!) We also had the opportunity to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium- the kids were amazed at the 500 ton tuna! As Nicole said, "that's a big sandwich!"

Here's some pics from the trip:

The jellyfish exhibit @ Monterey Bay Aquarium

Us on Cannery Row

Nate showing me his muscles on the beach

Lauren taking it all in...

Cool starfish we found.

Me being a goof (shocking, I know!)

Our Crazy Crew!! Six kids worth of craziness~

Nicole on Fishermen's Wharf, Monterey

Nicole chasing the waves.

It was such a great trip- rockin' out to the Robots' soundtrack in traffic jams; eating junk food while on the road; peeling wet jeans off little bodies; the kids ordering Clam Chowder and pounding down Ryan's calamari (eww!); hanging out with good friends; exploring the ocean shore through fresh eyes; walking hand in hand with my daughter on the beach; digging to China in the sand (or at least trying to); soaking up God's beautiful creation. These surely are blessed days!

Can't wait 'til next year~

When life gives you lemons...

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself! Even in the midst of Ryan being gone for a week, I am being productive- dare I say even domestic! (Praise goes to the Good Lord who has kept my sanity for me!) On Sunday, I (with the help of friends) made a batch of lemon bars- from scratch! It was a lot of work grating the stinking lemon peels (something like 5 TBS!!) but it was delicious. Then on Wednesday, the kids and I made oatmeal cookies together. Today I actually ventured out and made lemonade from scratch- I may be a bit biased but it is the best tasting lemonade I've ever had. Which makes me wonder, "why haven't I tried it before"? And, "why can't I be this productive when Ryan is home?" Tonight my big plans go to completing some work for the office and scrubbing the bathrooms. We'll see how things go...

I've also been having some great and not so great moments as a mom recently. The great moments? Having a "spa day" with the girls! I went to the store and spent about $8 for little supplies to pamper the girls- body puffs, flowered nail files of their own, toe separators (just like in the real spas), new nail polishes, and of course a little snack of Junior Mints. Oh, yeah, this was full service! It was so much fun; the girls both speak of the day with great joy and can't wait for the next one. For me, it was a blast just being able to spend some time with the girls pampering them with love and listening to them giggle over being "like a mom". These days make me smile!

Then there are days that cause heartache... Today I came around the corner and saw one of my kids playing with an unknown toy. I asked them where they got it and instant shame swept their little face. I pulled them in the bedroom to talk w/them (without the prying ears of their siblings) and chatted with them. We had been over at a friends house the day before and I had seen one of these kinds of toys there so figured that this was one of theirs. Upon talking w/ them, they admitted to taking it from there. I then discussed that this was not ok and the consequences of their actions (their need to apologize to our friends, and the possibility that Dad would not be giving him a "you've been a good boy while I'm gone" gift). Their little heart was broken and sorrowful. They cried in my arms and then wouldn't eat lunch nor even talk with us at the table. It broke my heart to see my child like this but I understand the importance of their learning the lesson. Its also a bit embarrassing that it is my child that did this. I know, looking in on the situation, I'd see it as no big deal, just the naivety of a child desiring something that was not theirs- that they'd made a mistake. But as their mom, I want the lesson to be learned and not repeated. I've heard it once that children are the part of their mother's heart walking outside her body; therefore a mother feels joyful at her children's joy, sad when her children are sad. I can attest to this today.

Absense makes the heart grow fonder...

I'm alone. Ryan is in Mexico with the High School Students and I am here in the house with three (crazy) children. Nothing like those times to make you miss your best friend and love. Its interesting how you don't show appreciation for something until you lack it... I love how he makes dinner for our family when I have no ideas left in my mind. I love how he sends me out on Girl's Night when he can see I've had enough. I love how he calls me midday just to tell me he loves me and is thinking of me. He lets me sleep in on occasion. He helps pickup the house once the kids have gone to bed. He always is the one to pick up the dog doo (I hate that job!). He takes care of broken things around the house (p.s.- does anyone know how to fix a broken towel rack??) I love how he snuggles next to me to keep me warm. I love his tender kisses on the back of my neck while I'm doing the dishes. I love falling asleep talking about our day, telling him a funny story about our kids or even discussing which one's gonna be in charge of making breakfast the next morning. I miss him!

Lazy Summer Days

The summer months are incredibly busy! We are gearing up for Ryan's trip to Mexico (in less than 2 days) and have been trying to enjoy our warm summer days.

Today I had quite the rewarding aftern oon: the kids were playing in a little inflatable pool they got for their birthday and I reclined and read a book (I'm addicted to Harry Potter- I'm on book 5! Gotta have something to do while Ryan's gone, right?). Feeling the warm breeze roll over my skin as I get lost in another world is grand! It's hard not to feel guilty when you're laying there doing absolutely nothing, but it felt great!! There'll be time for laundry later... he, he.


Here are some recent pics I took- my sister is teaching me how to use the manual settings on my camera after I've owned it for almost 2 years. Pathetic, I know! (Thank you Rosetta!!) Maybe one day I'll be able to take some photography classes so I can pretend to know what I'm doing even more! I have started a flickr account, thanks to the encouragement of Erin, and that has given me lots of great ideas- as exampled with the lemons for eyes!



I also got to spend an afternoon with my adorable niece! She is so wonderful!! I love watching her grow and watching my sister be an awesome mother to her. It is amazing that it was only 2 years ago that I was there with Lauren- and yet we now seem so many years from that stage. Proof that we've got to appreciate the stage that they are in now and soak up as much memories as we can... That said, I'm gonna go play some Barbies with the girls!




Miss Myra lights up every time you start to sing "Patty-Cake" and starts doing the moves. How can you not smile?

Yesterday I found out how I did at the fair. As always the ones that I think are going to be great don't do anything, and the ones I think are "eh" win... go figure. These are my entries:

First place- 2007 Fair

Third Place- Farm Animals

I didn't win anything for the rest of these but thought you might like to see them:

Abstract(Lots of entries of the bridge here)

Children(The one that won on in this category was funny-
a little girl holding a frog in each hand; very cute!)

Flowers(This is one category that I didn't understand the judges decision)

Portraits and Character Studies

Still Life
(One of the winners for still life was balloons- that one confused me BIG time!
They move! Quite the opposite of still!!)

Water(Some beautiful water shots were there!!)

Wildlife

There were some awesome photos this year! It's fun looking at other people's creativity and admiring the beauty God created that they captured. But oddly enough, some of the second place winners I thought were better than the first place winners; and there were some there that didn't even place but looked much better than the first or second places... that is why I say that the judging was odd. (Not just me, but Ryan and Erin agreed too!) And I'm not saying this out of bitterness, that mine should have won- the ones that I thought were better were complete strangers to me. I think that they need to have the judges on-site at the fair so they can defend their decisions- some of them I just really didn't understand so any insight would have helped. Erin and I want to be the judges next year; we'd set it straight! ;)

So, there you go. Shasta County Fair 2008- not the ones I was thinking, but content anyway. If you have the time you should go look and appreciate the very beautiful images.

Some milestones

The month of May carried with it some significant milestones. First it was Nathan and Nicole's birthday. They turned 5 years old this month. To me, that is amazing! Where did the years go? How did I get to be a mother to Kindergarteners?? I often look at them and can see their sweet little faces in the hospital the night they were born. I cannot believe that in less than 3 months, I will be dropping my children off for the first time at the classroom doors. You'd better believe that I'll be covering them in kisses and tearing up (that is if I can hold it together and not let loose until I get to the car!). And if that isn't enough for a mom to deal with, the day after their birthday Nicole says to me in all seriousness, "Mom, now that I'm five, can I drive the car?" I know this is gonna come way too soon!

Nate also finished up his last game of soccer this month. This was our families first introduction to organized sports- and Ryan's introduction to coaching. (Did I mention that Ryan didn't know much about soccer before the season started?) It was a new step in the life of our little family! Oh, boy- you should have seen Nathan's eyeballs when he saw his trophy, too. He says to me, "I think it real. Real gold!" He is quite taken to it now; anyone who stops by the house gets to see it (whether they asked or not)... He's even taken to sleep with it as I captured in this picture tonight! :) He had gone to bed without it but when I went to check on him there it was with him in bed- let's hope that it doesn't break; there would be tears for sure!!





But what I think is the best part of this month is that Ryan and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 22nd. I consider myself very blessed to have this man call me his wife. I love being married to him; I love that he is my best friend; I love how he loves me! I love that I get to share life with him. I love that I continue to fall more in love with him through the days and weeks. I love our marriage!
Thank you God for blessing us so! You are quite amazing!!