Return of the Jedi Happy Sahm

Well, we're home. I'm glad we had such a great time. It's good to get some distance from the chaos of life and to just get time with your family, who truly loves you for you and not for the things you can do or the way they like to manipulate you to do or believe what you want them to believe. (Although I do have a few friends who would fall under this catergory as well that I love deep as family and from whom I never need a vacation) I love my family and the time I got with them. I know we fostered some very important memories with the kids and are believing that the times now will continue for them together as siblings with quality relationships and strength of character. Don't get me wrong, they are siblings in the real sense, they do get on each other's nerves and bicker from time to time, but they have deep love and a dedication to each other. They help hold each other accountable and build each other up, pray with one another and have learned how to truly humble themselves to one another to grant or ask forgiveness with a pure heart....no ulterior motives or digressions. I am so proud of them. As I see other adults go down destructive paths I take time to pray for my own children and ask the Lord to keep them faithful and true to His calling on their lives. In the midst of things going on around, I also take time to pray this for people I know..."He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!"

Our visit to the zoo and other stuff

We are having a really good time as a family. Our time with Daddy is so rare, it makes our trip even that much better. My beloved is such a wonderful father, with strength and kindness. I am so proud of who he is and the way he is a part of raising our children. This time has surely deepened the bond between him and our children. For anyone who does not know, he works retail, which means that he works on Saturdays and many weekends. He does not always get to be at gatherings, he misses most sports events the kids are in and many concerts/events, not ever by choice, but by work obligations. This is something that he rather dislikes about his job, but he feels called to his career, so he works willingly and catches up with most things through video. :) Anyway, this trip is a jewel of great value in the crown of our family.

Here are two photos from yesterday:
Daddy and Christi


Ryan wresting a snake... bronzed snake Blessings on your weekend.

More fishing pictures....

Christi's fish....

Ryan fishing....

Bria, Niki and Christi fishing together.

I'm Baaaaaack

Whew! It was a whirlwind of tent set up, cooking out, fishing, swimming and general family togetherness. We only got rained on once...Here are some pictures....
Our Campsite...the front set up is ours, with the gazebo and orange and gray tent


The Roaring River where we fished. More to follow tomorrow. :)

Gone Fishing

We are packing the tents, lining the poles, digging for worms (OK, actually buying them at the bait store) and loading the van for a little communion with nature. So for the next couple of days I welcome you to think of questions or subjects you would be interested in my writing about. If you have a picture or photo subject you would like considered, let me know and I will work on getting it on the site for you. :) God's Blessings on your week, see you back here Wednesday or Thursday.

Readying the vehicle for the trip

OK, so this isn't our vehicle, but there was a day not too long ago when this was my mode of travel....of course it was the 70's and 80's and I was merely a child. But it is with much chagrin and some fondness that I view this car. For those of you really young people, it is called a station wagon...for Jean 2, it looks just like my dad's car, huh? Although it's not the most updated of cars, it would come in handy on a trip like our upcoming camping expedition. Hm, maybe I'll stop by that house and see if they want to loan it out. LOL

Here's to memories of bologna sandwiches, riding down the highway laying in the back (nope, no seat belts) waving at people who drove behind us, and no air conditioning since Dad said it made the car use more gas.

Putting Around

This week our oldest two daughters have been gone to Youth camp, so our youngest two got the privilege spending special time with Mommy and Daddy. One of our days, we went to a little mini-golf, one of Ryan's ideas. We all had a great time.

Hay! It's a barn.

I have this fascination with barns, I don't know why, but I do. I love the look of them. This is one I photographed recently (Yes, Laurie from Jean 2's neighborhood, it's your barn). There are a few others that I plan to photograph in the next few weeks, I might even share them.
Here's to a pastorally restful night.

It has been raining here. Lots and lots of rain. Our areas are under flash flood warnings, the rivers are swollen beyond their banks and more rain is forecast for next week. All this would be no problem if it weren't for the fact that Husband and I have booked three days of camping on the banks of the Roaring River. Now the question remains for us, will the river be roaring beyond it's banks when we go, will it rain us out, will be end up in a hotel with the kids and call it camping? All good questions for which we still don't have answers. The only thing I do know for sure, Husband is taking a week of vacation and we get to see him everyday. Yippee! Rain, Rain go away. Come again some other (far in the future) day.

Guess who's spending a lot of time outdoors these days. Yep. Us! My youngest two are simply enamoured with the outdoors. We sit and watch the light fade, the fireflies appear and then we count....how many blinks in a minute. Christi is now determined to find the perfect jar to punch holes in the lid so we can make a "real live lantern". We'll keep you posted.

How memories must look

While playing outside tonight, as dusk was falling around, Ryan and Christi were playing in the yard. They were swinging pool noodles pretending they were fishing. I thought to myself "Oh, I hope I remember this moment!" I pulled out my camera and shot a stream of photos. This one, in it's blur and shadows and multiple images within the same shot put a lump in my throat as I mused, "this must be how a memory looks from a distance".

Peace falls as dew on the flowers

Last night, Bria and I were out watering the flowers and watching lightening bugs fill the air. There's something so significantly peaceful and right about a night like that.

Toe-tally summer feet

(Ok, so ignore the sausage shaped toes and just concentrate on the beautiful polish job and cute little flowers. And yes, my feet are crossed in the picture)

I love getting pedicures. There's something that is rewarding about suffering through the filing, scraping, buffing, cutting and cuticle pushing that makes the toes look so summer-y and flip-flop ready.

Batter Up!

The first baseball game of the season on Tuesday night was a very exciting one for Ryan. He is a member of the Bears, a Boys and Girls Club sponsored team. The game was full of hits (he didn't make it on base, but tried with all his might) ending with a score tied 11-11. Everyone cheered for everyone else, the coach is a very even keeled and encouraging guy and the team supports one another. I am very pleased. Not to mention how cute he looks in his very first pair of baseball pants, now if i could just get him to leave his shirt tucked in. :)

Here's to a summer full of popcorn, nachos and cheers. GO BEARS!

Chalk it up to Zzzzzzzz's

Our house
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Tomorrow our home becomes "Summer Central". Yea! The kids are excited, I'm excited, my hubby is even excited. Of course, most of our excitement comes from the knowledge that we get to sleep in mornings. :) And frozen ice pops. Yum.

No Thanks, I'm stuffed.

Christy and Christi
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Christi and I made a trip for essentials one day last week (read that as "went to the mall") . We had received a 10 bear bucks to Build-a-bear in the mail the week before, so Christi felt it was necessary to bring along her Bunny Christy (guess who she's named after) to get a new outfit. After much deliberation (a half hour of mind changing, waffling and indecision) it was settled that they should have the same color on for the rest of the day, right down to the pink bow in the hair/hare.
I am so thankful that I have one more sweet girl to watch grow up and become a young lady.

In Memory

Nana (Ruth) White, my husband's grandma...kids great-grandma, passed away tonight a few minutes before 11pm. She has been very sick for a long time, and with God's mercy, has now passed into a constant state of peace and joy of in the presence of the Lord.

The chorus to a song that springs to mind is "In the Presence" the words are:

In the Presence of Jehovah

God Almighty, Prince of Peace

Troubles vanish, hearts are mended

In the Presence of the King.

Guinness Anyone?

nicki
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

On Friday, June 1st, 2007 my daughter's middle school set out to break a world record "Largest Human Chair". They had to bring in 4th and 5th graders from the feeder schools to add to their numbers to have enough students to break the record and sit upon each other's laps for a minute and a half. It was a process that required much patience, a lot of "scoot closer" and then a 785-person "SIT" as the principle counted 90 seconds on a bull horn.

They did it and now, my daughter is part of a world record! Kinda cool huh?

...walk beside me and be my friend.

walking
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

To love another person is to help them love God.
-- Søren Kierkegaard


My youngest two and I took a walk with Jean 2 yesterday. In the circumstances of the day, my only goal was to show love.

Future Blogger?

Future Blogger?
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

We recently made a trip to our local mall. While my older two were clothes shopping my younger two and I took refuge first in Border's and then set up camp at a table at Starbuck's. My son had managed to convince me to let him purchase a Junie B. Jones (and Me) jourmal. {The book allows the reader to take turns with Junie answering questions journal style, thus creating a journal together} He was so excited that he asked for a pen right away. He wrote and answered questions for an hour and a half without one complaint about how long he was having to wait for his sisters to finish shopping. For those of you with son's who just "love" the mall, will understand the greatness of that moment.

Playing Catch

Playing catch
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

My husband played baseball throughout his youth and had told me that he had dreamed of having a son to play catch with one day. This year his dream has come to life in our backyard. Our precious son, seven and half years of rugged boy-ness, is on a coach pitch baseball team. He is a quick study, after ten minutes of instructive demonstrations and hand manipulations, he was catching nearly every ball.

Finding Beauty

butterfly among the flowers
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

We love summer around our house. And I mean LOVE IT. We love the beautiful flowers, the long days with no school, the freedom and the butterflies. { If you look closely there is a black butterfly at the top grouping of flowers. } The kids had been searching for weeks so they were so excited to spot their first butterfly of the season.
Happy summer (just 5 1/2 more days of school for my kids) and good reading. :)

Daddy and Christi

Daddy and Christi
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Our favorite place to eat as a family is Hinode Japanese Steakhouse. And everyone but Ryan loves sushi rolls. We have a few favorites, but Christi has one favorite, the Springfield Roll. She has become quite the sushi master, eating 6 or 8 pieces at a sitting, using chopsticks for kids no less. What a difference from my childhood of going to Pizza Inn every two weeks or staying the night with Jean 2 so I could go to McDonald's on Fridays.

Ryan and his new spike-y do

Ryan and his new spike-y do
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Ryan, my precious boy, loves to have his hair blow dried. So when we went to get haircuts, he made a deal with the stylist...She could style his hair however she wanted if she would first blow dry his hair. I think he looks rather handsome. ;)

Bria after her new haircut

Bria after her new haircut
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

I am breathless when I look at this picture of Bria. She's so grown up, too grown up. I know she's only 13, but I feel like I'm going to turn around tomorrow and be standing at her gradution. After a tough adjustment year organization wise that affected her grades and a productive year of making LOTS of new friends, things are about to relax as summer approaches. I am so proud of who she is, strong and brilliant.

Nicki's eyes

Nicki's eyes
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Nicki has green eyes. That's not so unusual unless you take into account that only one other person on both sides of the family has green eyes..and that's my mom. I always loved my mom's green eyes, so exotic to me since all of ous kids had dad's dark brown eyes. When our first child was born, I was surprised to see she had blue eyes, and then when Nicki came along her eyes started blue and then turned to green...I fell in love with them.

Ryan's Primary Family (Kindergarteners and First graders) took an end of year field trip to the Imax Theatre. The show was Underwater Adventures. The screen is gigantic, which made for some pretty tense moments during hunt scenes. Everyone had a great time.

... See my Tabblo>

My new fav pic of Christy

My new fav pic of Christy
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

This, my friends, is my new favorite picture of my youngest. She kept asking me to take her picture this day and posed each time. All of a sudden there was this Angel that appeared on my camera screen.

"She utters not a single word, but in her eyes conversations are heard."

Baby Robins

Baby Robins
Originally uploaded by Jean 1.

Christy and I went to Daddy's work to buy a new van and while we were there Daddy showed us a new addition to the Automotive family. There are six baby robins living in a small shrub outside the door of the Pontiac side of the carlot.
By the way, we like our new van, too! :)

New Friends

My daughter and I made three new friends today. The names of our new friends are Megan, Rachel and Izzy. They are the cutest little girls and so fun that my daughter has played and talked with them for hours already. I love hearing the cute conversations going on, the laughing about Scooby Doo and what needs to go in their purses. You know, typical little girl stuff. We met them during one of our weekly trips to Borders Bookstore in the kids section. Christine would bring me books to read, I would read them then she would head out to find something else for me to read. Sometimes, during one of our reading sessions, we will have other children come along and listen to the story as well. It was during this time that noticed the three little girls, waiting patiently for someone to notice them and invite them to come and play. My daughter and I spent some time with them, invited them to our house to play dress up and posed together for some pictures. I am so glad that we met them and look forward to many more playdates for Christine with her new pals.

Photo takes during a playdate with our new friends.

I'm Back!

Well, I've been on a bit of a sabbatical from this blog. Life got busy, time got short and priorities were organized to make more room. I've still been contributing to A Pair of Jeans and to writing.com. Now, I'm a bit freer and decided to give this blog a bit more attention. I have decided to try to make it more of a blogography...meaning a photography blog...one picture and a bit of writing to go with it.



Today I make my entrance to this version of blogging, I hope you enjoy.



Christi and I love going to bookstores once a week. Usually we go on Thursday mornings. There is a story time that we sometimes try to catch, but usually we just like to look at the books ourselves and spend time just talking quietly and sharing a lunch. This is the lunch that was chosen this past trip. We had a nice piece of mud pie cheese cake (Christi ate most of it, not good at sharing desserts) a apple wood ham sandwich and I had a vanilla latte (I had all of it, I'm not too good at sharing caffeine). It was a lovely time spent talking and eating and just relaxing.

Saturday Photo Hunt: Time

OK...so I admit it...I ran short on TIME and am just now getting around to posting my entry (hee hee). So here is my photo

Arrival "Time"

This is my dad with my youngest two sisters in the NICU in 1978. They were born six weeks early, weighing in @ 2 and 3 pounds (and some odd ounces). The spent quite a few weeks in the hospital before being released due to premature birth problems. But, as TIME passed, they grew, thrived and are now both moms. As a matter of fact, the one on the left is going with me to Cancun in a little over a week.

two..two...two posts in one!

A quick post before I head off to accomplish more wonderful and amazing tasks. OK, so maybe not necessarily wonderful nor amazing, but tasks none-the-less. I have been going full steam ahead since last week, but I am getting close to the light at the end of the tunnel. I have worked two "Holiday Bazaars" with one more tomorrow for my MoreOrganizedMom.com business doing orders for my photography side line business, subbing for three days (one more day on Monday) for a friend and taking care of the house and home. (Yes, house and home are two different things...house is where we live, home is who we are.) I'll try to come up with some funny stories next week when I haven't used all my energy on the above tasks, until then, here's my PhotoHunt entry:

Plush

This is where I am headed in two weeks. Yippee! I always feel like I'm living the plush and pampered life when we are here (Cancun)

Saturday Photo hunt: Growth

I posted this a little while back on my other blog...but it's perfect for this subject so here it is...

Moving through chubby cheeks, lost teeth, bad hair styles, retro fashions and all that it entails...but the most amazing thing to note is that throughout my childhood, until the last four photos, each photo was taken in a different school in a different town...sometimes in a different state....Taking me to 14 schools, five states and 32 houses. Moving is the very definition of my childhood years.

... See my Tabblo>

Love Thursday

As inspired by Irene, I am listing some of my favorite nods to love:

Favorite Love movie : Return to Me
Favorite Love Song: Something We Do (Clint Black)
I remember well the day we wed I can see that picture in my head I still believe the words we said Forever will ring true Love is certain, love is kind Love is yours and love is mine But it isn't somethin' that we find It's somethin' that we do It's holdin' tight, lettin' go It's flyin' high and layin' low Let your strongest feelin' show And your weekness too It's a little and alot to ask An endless and a welcome task Love isn't somethin' that we have It's somethin' that we do Chorus: We helped to make eachother all that we can be Though we can find our strength and inspiration independently

The way we work together is what sets our love apart So closely that we can't tell where I end and where you start It gives me heart rememberin' how We started with a simple vow There's so much to look back on now Still it feels brand new We're on a road that has no end And each day we begin again Love's not just somethin' that we're in It's somethin' that we do Chorus Love is wide, love is long Love is deep and love is strong Love is why I love this song And I hope you love it too I remember well the day we wed I can see that picture in my head Love isn't just those words we said It's somethin' that we do There's no request too big or small We give ourselves, we give our all Love isn't someplace that we fall It's somethin' that we do

Favorite Love gift :bouquet of flowers dh have me that had a flower that started with a letter of my name to completely spell out my first name.
Favorite Love picture

Packing my sunblock

Caribbean Travel Links


Dh and I, along with sis and her dh, are one month from our paradise retreat. We are chucking the kids aside and grabbing our Bullfrog sunscreen and flip flops and heading south. Which also gives me one month to lose as much weight as I can and still remain healthy. (yep...halloween candy is now safe around me...I have a bigger picture to keep in my mind).

Saturday Photo Hunt

This the house that was built by Rose Wilder Lane for her parents, Almazo and Laura (Ingalls) Wilder. Each part of the house was chosen specifically by Rose for this house. When it was built, it was of the highest quality. The house plans were ordered from JC Penny, as was all the furniture and decorations. I love the WINDOWS that Rose has installed, for she wanted her parents to be able to look out and see the hills and surrounding acreage.

Love Thursday

In honor of Love Thursday, I thought I would dedicate this post to what Mommy will do to make little one laugh and to share that "bonding quality time".

While my three olders are away at school, young one needs a playmate sometimes. Someone who will be silly and fun. Someone who wants to just play. Sometimes, that someone needs to be me...many, many, many sometimes. One day, little one decided that she wanted to start giving mommy makeovers, just like she sees her older two sisters do with their friends. So, she asked, I felt her need to "create" and she was done..she said..."Oh, Mommy...you look just like a princess, we need to take a picture!"

And here we are making some loving, yet silly, faces. Happy Love Thursday...and try not to be jealous, she's available for free consultations on Thursdays and Fridays.

Happy Trick or Treaters

Here are pics of my youngest bloglets in their "Door-to-door asking for candy" ensembles.

Christi as a cowgirl, riding her horse

Ryan as Obi Wan Keno bi...Homemade costume since he decided at the last minute on his costume.

We all had fun, Daddy was even off work to go with us. Afterward, we went to a family style restaurant to eat a nice leisurely dinner...and PIE.