Same Bat Time, Different Bat Channel

If you're looking for more witty commentary from yours truly you can now find it at www.thefamilyquiver.blogspot.com. A work in progress, but it's coming!

Tri, Tri Again?

I am totally undecided about what to do on Saturday. There is a triathlon I really want to do but I haven't trained for it specifically. It is only a 1/2 mile swim, 18 mile bike and a 5 mile run. How hard can it be?

So before you think I'm totally crazy hear me out. The swim shouldn't be that bad because I am a swimmer at heart...I could swim in my sleep so really it comes down to endurance. I figure a 1/2 mile swim should take me about 10 to 12 minutes at the most and since I can run at a pretty good clip for over an hour, what's the difference really. As long as I don't get kicked in the face or gut I figure I should be fine.

Next is the bike. 18 miles just doesn't sound like a big deal to me for some reason... again remembering that I run between 6 and 8 miles regularly.

The run at only 5 miles should be a walk in the park considering how far I usually run and the conditions I'm used to running in as mentioned in an earlier post. And it's a course I've run before...an added plus.

All in all I figure it should take me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I should be able to do that right? I'm usually at the gym for usually an hour and 15 minutes, working the whole time and then running for an hour or more.

Here are the downsides.
1. I haven't trained...although I plan on swimming around the lake in my backyard a few times between now and then.

2. It's been over 8 years since I've done a triathlon.

3. I've had 4 kids since I did the last triathlon.

4. It costs $80 just to enter...what a ripoff for 2 hours of grueling torture...actually 2 hours of an adrenaline high but still a ripoff.

5. It will take up the better part of a morning

However

1. Isn't training, training really? It seems as if it takes a lot of endurance and that I know I have

2. Don't athletes get better as they age? So what if I'm 8 years older right?

3. I had 3 of those kids without any drugs...that should count for something

4. $80 sucks no matter how I look at it

5. It's just one morning, is that really a big deal?

I don't know, I'm torn. I know that triathlons are almost as much of a mental feat as they are a physical one. My mind is strong...I know I can do it. My body is strong...stronger than it was 8 years ago. I would be teaching my kids by example that they can do anything...almost.

Then again, maybe I'm just nuts. I guess you'll have to let me know!

Breathing

The new song that comes up first in my playlist is very inspirational to me right now. I find it very comforting to remember that everybody feels the way I do right now. There are times where we feel like it's all we can do just to keep breathing. Sometimes even that feels like too much.

Times that we wish things were different or maybe even the same when they've become different much to our disliking and beyond our control. Times when time itself seems to stand still. Waiting. Breathing in, breathing out.

I teach the girls that come to my Lamaze classes all about breathing. I show them how to do it and we do it, again and again each class. I teach them how we can use breathing to calm us, to focus our minds and how we can even use breathing to take us to a different time and place. Why then does breathing right now even seem so hard? Why aren't I better at it?

By the time I got to my third labor my breathing was so ingrained it was like a reflex, an automatic response. It provided a means of escaping the pain that was threatening to overpower me. Breathing helped me stay in control.

I teach my girls that labor is like waves...you can either ride them or let them wash over you. But isn't life itself a bit like waves in the same way? Sometimes life batters us and sometimes it lulls us to a peaceful sleep.

I remember one time when I was younger and we were on one of our annual boat trpis way up North. The waves were huge. We would ride way up in the air and come slamming down on the backside not knowing what we may be slamming down on top of or where the waves would toss us. We were in a group with other boats but with no radar we couldn't see where they were and there was no way that we could see them with our eyes...the waves were too enormous. Scary times. The same waves that lapped on the side of the boat when I was going to bed were tossing us around, threatening to capsize us at any time.

I definitely feel the waves of life right now but they aren't the peaceful, lulling kind. More like the violent out of control kind. I feel like I'm teetering between riding them and getting pulled under. It seems at times like I have no radar to guide me or show me where I'm headed or where my allies even are. Breathing in, breathing out...that's me right now...hoping I don't capsize.

I'm reminded of the story we had in school just this week of how Jesus calmed the storm and waves that threatened to capsize his helpers. His friends were all panicked, thinking they were certainly near death. Yet He remained calm, even was sleeping. Breathing in, breathing out as though nothing was going on around Him.

I know just as He calms that storm He can calm the storms in my own life. Even though I feel panicked and like the waves will overtake me sometimes, I know I just need to follow His example...breathing in, breathing out...remaining calm. Focusing on the same breathing that I teach every week... at least once. The very same breathing that is so ingrained and can take me to a different time and space. The same breathing that relaxed me as I brought forth life with each baby I've delivered. The power to overcome pain, storms and unknown direction with each breath. Living, breathing...in and out, trusting in the One who can calm even the most horrendous storm to calm even me.

Hello again!

Sorry that all the pictures are at the beginning but I've had trouble with my blog ever since I put up the last slide show. Below you will find the narration that goes with all the pictures. Grrrrr.


Whew! It has been busy around here lately. I had planned on posting last night but then Jim ended up getting a conference call that he needed me to listen to from work. That took up an hour and then we were busy after that starting to get him packed. He could be leaving anytime to provide disaster relief for either Hurricane Gustav or Hannah through Fema. He did this last year with hurricane Dean which if you remember, didn't end up being anything and he ended up getting flown back home soon after he got there. He was bummed that there was no excitement but I was quite relieved since Emily was only 6 days old when he left. This time around I am super excited for him though and hope he ends up not only being able to go, but actually do something. He is on team 2 and team 1 is leaving tonight...we'll have to see.

In addition to that we had our friends out here yesterday...actually they are our old neighbors and the kids' best friends. It was a great day of weather, tubing, wave running and skiing. Speaking of which...no one can call us old since Jim and I have water skied twice this past week...a feat we haven't done since we were half our age! We both got up on the first try and Jim even dropped one ski...quite the stud I must say!

Levi also lost his tooth this past week and was quite amazed that the tooth fairy found him all the way out here. Secretly I think Annalise is relieved that she found Levi because now she knows for sure that the tooth fairy will find her as well.

Rebecca is getting ready for dance class which starts in just over 1 week. She is constantly twirling around here just like she was at home. She is going to have a blast and I think she has a lot of natural talent as well just like her big sister. Pretty soon I'll have 3 twirling ballerinas!

We are also eagerly anticipating our hole being dug for the house. Hopefully this week or the week after. We are so excited and I am loving deciding on all the paint colors and stuff. I opened up the Pottery Barn Kids catalog which was a big mistake considering we are having a hard enough time staying on budget for the house alone. So if any of you are looking for gift ideas for moi...ahem...a gift card from there would be superb!

Anyhoo...it was so cute the other day when Emily was eating lunch..."Who me, tired?!" We could not wake her up no matter what we did. Finally I just put her in bed (which woke her up like a charm of course). When she isn't sleeping she is walking around like crazy and is frighteningly close to running around. She's got all the other kids to keep up with I guess.

Well I think I'll be done babbling for awhile now as I have more looking to do in the before mentioned catalog. Apparently I'm glutton for punishment as I don't think I would ever actually allow myself to buy anything from there...garage sales and Walmart are more in my price range but a girl can dream!

Peace

NOGIVEUP

This is what the licence plate in front of me read today as I was on the road. I was deep in thought, praising God for His faithfulness over the past 5 months since we decided to put our house up for sale. All the ups and downs, the disappointments, the tears.

Today we are the proud owners of a lot on which we will be building our next home. Digging will start within a couple of weeks. We are more than thrilled to finally have some direction in our lives again.

The idea of signing on the dotted line today was very overwhelming as it approached. We felt this is where God was leading for various reasons but still the commitment was still very scary. Once we did it...peace. I have no doubt that this is the door God has finally opened for us. Actually, it was open all along...we finally just walked through it.

Everyone has their hard times, but the last 3 years with Jim in school have been really tough for all of us. To think of how God has brought us to the point where we are now...Jim is getting ready to start his new job as soon as next week. Everything He's brought us through...

NOGIVEUP...true?

right on the money.

NOGIVEUP...minimal?

definately not.

NOGIVEUP...could we have done all of this on our own?

hardly.

Heaven

I'm not sure if it gets any better than this on this side of heaven!

Fun filled Day

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For whatever reason there are technical difficulties but you can click on view all images and see the slide show!

Well Trained

These are the two words that describe what I will be like when we move from this house. I'm preparing for at least one more 10K this year and running out here is quite the challenge.



Apparently because we are near a lake it is always windy here. I don't just mean a gentle breeze. I'm talking like gale force winds. When I'm running I feel like I must look like one of those cartoon characters that are spinning their legs but not going anywhere. Or perhaps like I'm running in slow motion. My ear buds often blow out of my ears when the wind catches them just right.



Another way that I will be well trained is due to all the hills that are out here. I'm used to running on relatively flat terrain but this is quite the opposite. The hills are big and loooooooong. Every time I finally get to the top of one I feel like I'm going to die, or at least that I need to walk for awhile...but I just keep pushing forward...one foot in front of the other ( I actually chant this to myself when things get really tough and it seems to help).



Add to those things the fact that there are a few drivers that don't know proper etiquette when approaching runners along the side of the road. Out here in the middle of nowhere there are no sidewalks but just a very skinny shoulder on the side of the road. The speed limits are 55 and many people travel well above that. So proper etiquette states that if there is no one in the opposing lane of traffic a driver should move well away from said shoulder of the road. Well when this doesn't happen I'm left feeling like I'm running inside a tornado from all the wind that the speeding car whose paint I basically have on my arm they were so close causes in it's wake.



I had a different challenge today...gagging and vomiting while I was running. Why, you ask? Well because the stench of cow manure was so strong I could taste it. That's right, taste it. Note to self: when running downwind from the farm, turn around before coming within 100 yards.



The road is nice and newly paved but this equates to being hotter than a frying pan with the black pavement. I swear I can hear my skin sizzling as I near the end of my run.



Today I was also challenged by the fact that my MP3 player died about halfway through my run. My music is what keeps me going and I knew it was just not going to be good once I lost that today. My music is my only companion out here in the middle of nowhere. Well unless you count the various forms of roadkill that I encounter on these high speed roads. The really big problem with that is I could hear this freshly hit raccoon moaning as I ran past it. Sick!



The first morning I ran here I could see something terrifying in the distance as I kept approaching it. What could it be for this bird a phobe but a row of roosters walking across the road. I have a HUGE phobia of anything that has feathers so for me this was a very big deal. I debated about what to do...close my eyes, curl up in a ball on the side of the road and wait for them to pass (or peck my eyes out) or do what I decided to do. Start making a bunch of noise with my feet in the gravel and chant loudly "oh dear, please leave me alone" repeatedly and hope for the best. All in all this plan didn't turn out too badly as they waddled their little selves a bit quicker than before but still much too close for my liking but I did manage to survive.



I often find it easier with all of these obstacles to close my eyes while I'm running, somehow drawing some extra strength from within. This could be a bit dangerous as I could find myself in the ditch if I stray too far to the left. Or should I say canyon as it is a 15 foot drop just to the side of the road in some places. I'm thinking I should increase my life insurance policy on myself soon.



Anyway, while I was running with my eyes closed today I realized that running this way is much like the way life feels to me right now. I feel like I'm running through each day with my eyes closed. I'm just living one day at a time right now much like putting one foot in front of the other while I'm running. I don't know exactly where I'm going but I do trust the One who does. What I do know is that the road is leading me somewhere if I just stay on it. There are times that I do find myself in the ditch though. Times where I've doubted, times where I'm frustrated by the crazy setbacks that seem to keep coming our way. There are times that I encounter dying hopes and dreams much like encountering roadkill on the road or even scary situations much like a flock of roosters. There have been uphills and downhills and I can't quite find a parallel for the stench of manure...it's just manure.



We all have our uphill days and our downhill days but I was totally convicted of how I choose to deal with my uphill days by my devotional this morning which posed a question very near and dear to my situation right now. The author asked "Can you resolve to set your heart at peace knowing that God's best answer may already be on its way?" Ouch. I had to answer that right now my answer was a resounding no.



So I guess as much as my body is being trained while I'm living here, so is my faith. By the time I leave here I hope my faith will be as well trained as I know my body will.

Two Extremes

How is it that life can offer you two polar opposite extremes at once, almost as if changing in a very moment.

On the one hand we have been meeting with builders trying to figure out if building is a possibility for us. Trying to schedule meetings in between Jim's work schedule and my class schedule and living 35 mins. away from where we are looking has again proven to be a stressful situation. Equally as stressful I think as walking through house after house has been. Although I do have to say that envisioning a home just the way I would choose again has been more fun than walking through existing homes.

On the other hand, we've been playing in the lake, tubing and taking long walks a lot. I've finished reading a couple of books and started the very overwhelming task of getting caught up on my scrap booking. The key to having 10 ongoing albums has always been not getting more than a few months behind. Now as I am almost a year behind in most I have been so looking forward to having just a bit of free time to catch back up and it has felt great to just get started.

We went back to the old neighborhood this past week so the kids could play with their friends next door and it was easier than I thought it would be to go there. It was just weird I guess. We've definitely settled in here and living there seems like a lifetime ago even though it has only been 3 weeks since we moved out. I'm hoping in a way that time would start to speed up. Although maybe not...it is kind of nice to just kick back sometimes. I'm not looking forward to unpacking everything that I just packed.

The kids are definitely enjoying their time here and settling in a bit more and not getting up at the crack of dawn anymore now that they are getting more used to their new sleeping environments. They are having fun with all the "toys" that are here: pinball, airhockey and of course, cable! They are pretty much always entertained whether inside or out.

Enjoy the pictures of what life has been like lately and I'll keep all up to date on our future living situation as we get it figured out!

Baby Girl

What a day. A fun day filled with boats, laughter and presents but a day with a lot of emotion too. My baby turned one today.

First birthdays are never easy for me. I love babies. I always instruct all my kids to stay babies forever but so far none have listened and Emily is no exception as today proves.

I wish that I could somehow know when exactly the "firsts" will end. I would embrace the lasts so much more than I embrace even the firsts. When will be the last nightime feeding? When will be the last time she crawls? When will the clingy mommy phase that can sometimes be so tiring end? If I knew I would relish the last moments of each. She is so close to walking and everyone is cheering her on and I just don't. She will get there soon enough I just have no desire to speed her along.

Emily has been such a gift to us. She has a few rare difficult moments, but for the most part she has been such a joy. I "put my order in" for an easy baby with #4 and it has definitely been that way with her. She has delighted not only her parents but her siblings have been in love with her from the first day she came home from the hospital. The kids have always wanted to help with her and I keep waiting for that to wear off and get boring but it just hasn't. They are completely captivated by her to this day. They still fight over who gets the front row seat when Emily tries a new food. Go figure.

Emily's short life has not been without it's miraculous moments from the start. The Dr. told me I wasn't even pregnant when I indeed was because my pregnancy hormone levels were so low. As the next couple of weeks went on, the levels continued to be dangerously low and the Dr. told me I would most likely miscarry. The problems just went on from there...but sure enough she proved all the concerns to be false when she made her grand entrance. What a little peanut...5 lbs, 15 ounces.

Then there was the problems she was having with her eyes that proved to be nothing as well. She has been such a miracle to us every day.

What can I say about her? She has such the personality. She definitely has a mind of her own and there is no one that can stop her when she makes it up. She is also fearless as she just proved tonight. She actually climbed up on a footstool and right up onto Grandpa's lap all in search of his waterbottle. "Watch out world, here I come," is her mantra and has been ever since my labor started with contractions lasting 2 minutes with only 30 seconds rest right from the start. Have mercy.

She has a husky Rachael Ray type voice that is very different than any of the other girls in our family. She laughs all the time and the kids never tire of egging her on with it. She has the prettiest curly eyelashes and peach fuzz hair that blows in the wind now. She is definitely going to have very curly, toe head blond hair. She is oh so close to walking, waves hello and goodbye and loves nodding her head. She smacks her lips mimicking people who are chewing and loves to eat anything and everything. She likes to eat big people food now as she seems to have decided that she is no longer a baby although she is nowhere near ready to give up breastfeeding which is just fine with me.

I no longer have a "zero year old" as the other kids love to joke about. She has officially joined the ranks of being a toddler. I'm left feeling both happy and sad. Of course sad about what's left behind including the "baby" stage as Emily may be our last. Excited for all the future brings...love, laughter, life.

For now I'll just keep sucking on those baby cheeks for every last moment that I can as I know those days are numbered as well. I'll bury my head in her neck and inhale that baby smell that she still has. I'll savor her clinginess every last time she offers it.

She has been such a blessing to me and our family and has brought such a unique love to out family life. We are so thankful that God had a different plan for her life than what it appeared from the very start. We can't wait to see that plan unfold as it must be something really special.

Happy birthday Emmy Bear, mommy loves you.

Ramona

What is faster than a locomotive...

Can leap down a flight of 6 stairs in a single bound...

Is more bubbly than the finest champagne...

Look up in the air...

It's a bird, it's a plane it's SuperBecca!

Four years ago tomorrow she made her grand entrance after the longest, most excruciating labor of all my four children and during the 4 days that followed I was certain that I was going to die I was in so much pain. She had bruised my ribs in utero and was a more powerful breastfeeder than any super poly grip hold could ever dream of being.

Also known as Ramona (the Ramona Quimby variety), she is constantly finding herself in some sort of conundrum. Her spunky little haircut is a red haired version of Ramona herslf that is quite remarkable. She also has that spitfire personality Ramona Quimbly is well known for.

The fast locomotive I described in the opening is not so much in reference to her legs as it is to her mouth. Someone certainly must have had this Kathy in mind(her middle name is Kathleen) when they coined the phrase "Chatty Kathy" as this girl's mouth is never quiet and by never I do mean NEVER!!! She even speaks a mile a minute in her sleep...no kidding. Just tonight while out for a walk I had to say "Becca, quiet" 8 times just to keep my head from exploding.

She manages to get herself "tied up" in her clothes when she is getting either dressed or undressed quite frequently. Just this afternoon wails were coming from the bathroom where I found her on the ground on her side floundering around like a fish out of water as she was trying to put her overall outfit back on after going to the bathroom and she literally had all four limbs somehow tangled up inside her inside out, and rightside out twisted outfit. She was stuck in this position in between the toilet and the wall after she flailed around on the floor for awhile before calling for help.

With the price of gas these days I find myself wishing I could somehow channel the gas this little 28 pound girl puts out. She could attend and win any farting contest in any college fraternity anywhere not by noise level but by frequency. I hope she never decides to light them on fire as I will surely find myself homeless, although I wouldn't put it past her.

She is afraid of nothing which she proved just the other night at the zoo when she would have preferred to get in the tank with the sting rays she was petting at the zoo. Her little arms charged right into the water before Jim could even explain what she was supposed to be doing. Levi was busy whining about being scared to ride the camel while Rebecca lept from the platform into the "driver's seat" of the animal that is 10 times her size.

To this day she confuses my two sisters who look nothing alike simply because she is too busy to pay attention to who is who yet she knew all her letter sounds by the time she was 3.

If something is not right with her, you will know it...guaranteed... as her whine is screechier (yes, I made this word up) than any firetruck's siren. She could host a diving competition off the ledge of her bottom lip that she makes when she pouts (also another sign that all is not well with her) and don't even think about crossing her as she will most certainly entangle you in a dusty brawl much like Nellie Olsen of Little House on the Prairie fame. She even manages to do that little squinty thing with her eye that Nellie does as she puts her fists up by her face ready to sock you one. Not really, but she might someday soon when she gets just a bit older...she takes nothing from no one...EVER!

On the other hand, her smile can light up a room and she has that little cute laugh that little girls have. She is ticklish everywhere at just the lightest touch and can spin in circles around most professional ballerinas. She dances all the time, often to only the music in her own mind and can sing any praise and worship song that she's ever heard, even if only one time.

She's smart as a whip which frustrates her older brother to no end. She does nothing unless it's her own idea, but when it is, the sky is the limit, there is nothing she can't do when she tries. She "reads" books to herself for hours every day even changing her voice to reflect each different character. Her eyes are more piercing than her whine as they are an absolutely striking shade of blue and they are framed by the longest blondest eyelashes I've ever seen.

She wears dresses every day even though she doesn't mind rolling around in the dirt in them and has been doing her own hair for more than a year. She is a girly girl and dreams of one day being a real princess with a pet frog of course. She loves being a big sister and can't wait to be a mom someday.

She makes me laugh everyday and never hesitates to hand out hugs and kisses. She keeps me on my toes and always keeps me guessing about what is going on inside that mind of hers. She is teaching me that parenting isn't so much by the books but is more about by the kid. She forces me to look outside myself for the answers and to look up more instead. She has taught me more about unconditional love during the past 4 years than I ever knew before. And not so much the unconditional love I need to give her as the unconditional love she gives me when I so often "screw up" in dealing with her.

I'm so thankful for the gift she's been to me and the joy she's brought to my life. Our family would not be the same without her and I look forward to the years to come. Happy birthday Becca Boo...mommy loves you.

Pot of Gold

What I want to know is when am I going to get to the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow? It sure is taking a long time. We found out this week that the house we put an offer in on is no longer for sale. The owner's mortgage lender is now trying to make things work for them. Great for them, not so much for us. Back to square one.

Life has had it's ups and down since we've moved here. As I've explained earlier, relationships are experiencing a whole different or perhaps long since forgotten dynamic. This is why despite the downs, I choose to see the beauty of the rainbow right now. The elusive pot of gold definitely seems way out of reach now though.

We are so tired of looking for a house and are just not having any luck finding something that will work well for our particular needs...ahem, my needs...so we are kicking around the idea of building again instead. However as we and I'm sure all of you know this is no short process. These are such tough decisions....once we commit to something I think it will be less stressful but for now I'd love to see just a shimmer of gold at the rainbow's edge as a preview.

My personality is such that I can endure anything as long as I know where the end is. This not knowing is what causes all the stress for me. The kids were talking just the other day about how excited they are to see certain things of theirs that have been packed up since April when we put our house on the market. I have to admit I somewhat agree and if after we are settled in our house if I never see another roll of box tape that will be just fine with me.

I guess for now I'll keep looking through the colors of my rainbow ever in search of just the tiniest little gold shimmer.

Whirlwind

The whirlwind we've been living in continues this week because I am teaching 3 Lamaze classes, cleaning the house that I clean once a week and doing baby food testing 4 days. Next week should finally slow down and I look so forward to that. I have had some time though to appreciate a few things that I can share.

So living with my husband's' parents has been really great for my marriage which is exactly the opposite of normal thinking...most would expect it to be quite stressful. My inlaws are very giving, laid back, genuinely sweet people which has allowed me to see all these wonderful qualities in my husband as well. These are traits that he has had all along. In fact these are many of the traits that attracted me to him in the first place but with all the busyness of life and the way that we take others for granted these traits have been all but forgotten by me. In some cases these very traits have become annoyances at times instead of the great qualities I've been reminded of over the past few days.

It's been really great to have time to just enjoy the kids more like I used to be able to do before we sold the house and had to deal with all of that. I even found myself laughing with them which unfortunately had become totally foreign as of late. I've given hugs, cuddled, played games, read books and finally had time to pray...really pray with the kids at bedtime again. All things that I knew I was missing but could do nothing about over the past 2 weeks or so. I can't wait until next week when life slows down more and I can do even more of these things.

I've figured out that we have way too much stuff and can do without some of it. I can't wait to get all my stuff back after having lived without some of it for over 6 months by that time and decide if we really need it...Craig's list, here I come!

I think though what I've really gained over the past few days is the reminder that God really does have a plan even when it seems like He doesn't. That there is often a plan that is much better than anything we could have come up with. The reassurance that He, my Father, really does give good gifts to me just like I give good gifts to my kids. Often these are gifts that I know they need or would love unbeknown to them.

Over the past few days I've received the gift of a fresh perspective of my husband and our marriage. Over the past few years this area has really taken a beating as so much has been focused on getting through school and working as much as possible and whatever was left went to the kids all because it had to be this way. It had been really hard to find any time or energy to put anything into the marriage for both of us. What a gift just the past few days has been in this area. I am so excited to see how much more our marriage will grow over the next couple of months while we are able to continue to grow without the added pressure of a home and all that goes with it.

I have received the gift of fun and laughter where there more recently has been only stress and quite often unrealistic expectations. The kids have enjoyed having their mother back instead of the green eyed monster.

I have received the gift of my Father's love in a tangible way. I've received the gift of starting to see the exciting future that he has planned for me and my family.

I have recieved peace and the ability to sing praises in all things...especially things that are difficult and uncharted. For me, this is a huge step.

Moved

Well, we are out of our house. A big thank you to all who helped...especially our friend Mike who stuck with Jim until 2am when we were down to the wire. We could not have done it without any of you.

I don't have much to say, surprisingly. I'm very emotionally drained. My eyes are almost swollen shut due to crying, allergies and lack of sleep. But I'll post more later.

We do not have Internet at my in laws so my posts won't be quite as frequent. I'll try to do my best to post at least once a week or so.

That;s all for now...more about moving later.

Reunion

Everyone in the whole salon always used to crowd around the windows to watch them get out of the car and approach the door. First he would come around to her door and help her out of the car. Then he would close the door for her and hand in hand they would walk slowly inside as he held the door for her.

Once inside, he would carefully take off her coat and then remove his own coat and hat and fold them neatly on the seat next to him. At this point all the girls that had been watching were still watching in quiet amazement as she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll be back in a little while," she said. To which he responded, "ok, dear."

After she was done she would often ask him how she looked and he would tell her she looked very nice, dear. Then the process that happened when they arrived happened exactly in reverse as they left. This happened each and every time they came.

After they left the girls always told me how cute my grandparents were and how they wished they could be like that with their husbands when they were older. They loved it when my grandparents came to the salon for me to do her hair. The rare love they shared for a lifetime was so apparent and remarkable to see lived out. I was always so proud at the loving example I had of what love could be compared to what so many of the others were missing in their own lives.

I have so many memories of them doing everything together...making meals, doing dishes, gardening, housework and so many more that I'm sure I'm not recalling at this time.

I guess it doesn't surprise me that my grandma died today, only 4 1/2 short months after he did. She had been lost in the world of Alzheimer's for quite some time and her mind didn't even realize that he was gone; that her husband, such a vital part of her existence had died...or did she?

They say that often older people that live a lifetime together can't live apart when one dies first. That they often follow one right after the other.

I'd like to think that her love for him and his love for her that was once so vibrant really was still like a magnetic force that drew her to him, so shortly after he had left her. That even though her mind which had so seemingly betrayed her for these past years really didn't fail her at all. Somehow her mind knew that she belonged with him and her body soon followed.

Of course I'm no scientist and have no proof but through these rare glimpses into their love I certainly do think it's possible.

What a reunion there must have been today. Even though death had only separated them for a short time, Alzheimer's had separated them for years. I bet they talked about all the old times that she had forgotten and the more present times that she experienced physically, but mentally missed. I bet she finally saw the legacy that their love had brought through the many great grandchildren that have been born over the past ten years that she never realized existed.

I even think that if there was a door leading into heaven he opened it for her and maybe she gave him that peck on the cheek that I so often saw. I think he showed her around and introduced her to all the saints of old that he's met over the past few months. I bet they sang some old hymns together and marveled at the glorious gardens together as gardening was always a love that they shared.

As I say goodbye to my last living grandparent tonight I have a renewed strength in the power that love has. I have a renewed vision to live out their love that they've shown me with my own husband. I hope someday I can walk hand in hand with my husband everywhere I go. That together we can draw a crowd at the window to watch something that is just as normal for us as it was for them. That my grand kids can hear how cute their grandparents are just for being in love after 60 years. That even if my mind leaves me as well, that my love can draw me where I belong, and to whom.

Prayer Request

Please pray for our family this week...especially for me. On top of all the moving this week I now have had kids with the stomach flu...only MY kids would get the stomach flu in July. But, we didn't yet fulfill the yearly quota of it 8 times like we normally do, so I guess there's no time like the present.

Back to more throw up!

Toothy

Thank goodness Annalise has finally lost this tooth. It has been dangling there for the past 2 weeks. I have no idea what it was connected with but I couldn't pull it out no matter what I did. I have been pulling teeth out for years (just ask my sisters) and have never had such trouble. Every time she smiled you were greeted with this crooked grin as this tooth sagged more on one end than the other.

Annalise has been whining about losing this tooth since she lost her last one. For those of you that are not keeping track, this was last fall. That is almost one year of whining "I think this tooth is just about ready, " almost daily. Even the dentist told her it would still be a few months when she was in during the spring.

She is convinced that the bigger the tooth, the more they are worth. Where ever did she get this mistaken notion from...certainly not me. She is also very concerned about the tooth fairy getting a forwarded address for the future loot she plans on hauling in. She is convinced that the one next to it surely will be coming out soon...hmmm, do I sense another year of daily whining? Let's hope not!

Sorry

Sorry to everyone but I just spent 1 1/2 hours uploading a new slide show of a fun block party at my parents' house but when I was just about done, I lost it all. Sorry to those of you that would like to see pictures but with how busy my life is right now I don't have time to do it again.

Slide Show of Move #1

Here are the pictures that go with the post below!

One Down, One to Go

Well, moving day #1 has come and gone, thank goodness. Monday was the day we got the truck for the first time to bring all of our boxes and some small furniture to storage. It's amazing how much stuff you have when you start trying to fit it all in boxes. Then to see it all stacked up lining the wall of the storage unit was quite amazing.

We are SO thankful that Stephanie and Ben offered and helped out. Stephanie helped all day with dealing with the kids and packing and unpacking the truck and then Ben met us at the storage place in and helped unload and stack the boxes.

We finished up the two trips to storage swimming the the neighbor's pool and ended the day on a cool and fun note. Hopefully move #2 will go as smoothly next week.

Yay!

He passed!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life

So Jim is getting ready to take his first round of National Testing on Saturday. I understand that this is a pretty serious test and it is not easy. I just talked to someone yesterday that needed to take it 3 times before passing. Ugh. Not to mention the fact that it costs $150 each time you need to take it, this would really sink as I know he is more than ready to close the "school" part of his life and get on with working in his chosen career.

I worry though that with all of this moving business and added stress that there is in his already stressful life that his being able to focus and really think through the questions will be compromised. I've tried to take care of all the packing myself and for the most part I have succeeded, but there are some things that he's done as well. At the same time I know that the distraction takes some of the pressure off always thinking and worrying about passing. Hard to say if the balance has been right. I guess we'll see.

So for all of you prayer warriors that read my blog, please remember Jim on Saturday.

I'm trying to come up with an appropriate, non-offensive nick name for Emily. She drives us crazy with the fact that EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. Crumbs, those dust bunnies in the corner of the wood floor, random strands of long hair, paper scraps, electrical cords...if you can name it, she will eat it. Hoover, Eureka, Dyson...none of these seem to fit as she is just too cute for any of these. If you come up with anything, please let me know.

Levi continues to heal his burn. Hard to say if there will be a scar. It just makes my stomach turn every time I look at his open wound and think about it all being a scar. I keep telling myself that he's a boy and scars a cool. All the same, it makes me want to cry to think of my perfect little boy maimed for the rest of his life. I guess this is a time to change my perspective and be thankful that he's only burned on his arm and not all over like the patients that Jim sees when he consults with the burn unit at the hospital about caring for Levi.

Just for the record, as I type I see my little hoover up there eating hair that she has found on the floor. Notice her scrounging around on the steps for treasures to eat. Yuck!

Fourth of July

I've decided that because I now have 4 kids and am usually husbandless I just don't have much of a chance at gatherings to take pictures. I'm lucky enough just to survive with all my children in one piece... and actually get them home in one piece.

Since it's hard to tell what we did due to lack of pictures I'll have to tell you that we went to my parents' house for awhile. We had great food, great laughs and a ton of fun playing games.

The adults played that ladders game that is all the rage apparently and the kids played around with their new super soakers. Unfortunately Levi managed to find the hot grill while he was trying to get away from Annalise shooting him, but he should heal up nicely.

He's such a boy. He hit his arm on the grill, has a second degree burn that goes from his elbow to his shoulder and he cried for about 30 seconds and them was off playing again. Even now when we have to change the bandage it doesn't seem to bother him. He just takes it all in stride. I know if this had happened to either of my girls the world surely would have ended.

Anyway, I'm off to packing.

Odds n' Ends

Just thought I'd catch y'all up on some goings on around here.

Boxes are everywhere...I'm packing up as many as I can each day. That usually ends up being around 6 or so. I have now finished packing every one's bedrooms and closets and all bathrooms of non essentials. I have also planned every one's clothing in terms of what will be going to the parents' with us for both summer and fall. That really does feel like a tremendous load off since I like to do things in an organized fashion.

We have also kept busy getting things ready to move like catching up transferring pictures to discs for ordering, backing up the computers to prepare them for moving. I have organized all my creative memory stuff since I'll be catching up on all my albums while we are there. I'm also in the process of transferring all our 8mm tapes to VHS so that is all taken care of for awhile too. I just can't imagine getting to a new house and all the work that will entail with all this mundane stuff to do as well. I'd rather just get it out of the way now.

Emily has kept busy most times while I'm preoccupied doing all this stuff. She really has gotten pretty good at just putzing around. She continues to make a mess while eating as you can see which hasn't helped the laundry load any.

Rebecca. Ah Rebecca, where to start? She continues to make us laugh everyday even if it is just the cute way she has of saying words. She still is of the age where she will use a word in the wrong context or pronounce it really goofy. She is taking everything in stride since she is the one that craves one on one time the most out of all the kids and needless to say there hasn't been much time for that lately. She does capture my heart as well by her love of corn. For those of you that may not be aware, my love of corn on the cob led me to win an eating contest a few years back at 13 ears in one sitting! Rebecca is starting to be able to keep up with me.

I've more recently caught you up on Levi so I can just get by right now with saying he just continues to be Levi.

Annalise has recently gotten her summer do and is looking way cute in it. I think she is going to be a seminarian someday as she is constantly got her nose in the Bible and is full of Christian advice. This morning I came into the girls' room to find that Annalise had gotten my Bible and was reading some verses to Rebecca. She said that Rebecca wasn't doing a good enough job making her bed and she (Annalise) was reading her some verses on perseverance to help inspire her. Yesterday she came and told me that her friends who are brother and sister were fighting and that God told her to help them make a brand new start. She suggested to her friends that they each tell each other they were sorry and start treating each other nicely. At this point I did warn her against becoming too bossy and preachy but I was impressed by her actions. Her friends did heed her advice and all was well, by the way.

The kids have been spending all day every day outside this week. For one thing, it gets them out of my hair so I can pack. But also because they are playing with their friends next door for every last moment that they can before we move. They are only here every other week since they are visiting their dad, so even though we don't move for another 3 weeks, they only have one more week with them with the way the weeks fall.

I am hoping to take the kids to see fireworks this weekend and we are all hoping to do some swimming as well. Happy 4th!

Well Done

What happened? This is what I want to know.

The other day I was feeling really guilty about the fact that with all this packing and showings and house hunting my family hasn't been cooked and baked for like they are used to. My kids and husband usually always have home made treats of some kind and I couldn't even remember the last time I made anything it's been so long.

So I set to work in the kitchen. I spent pretty much all day there making all kinds of things from desserts to baked goods to shredding cheese for easy use later. When it came to dinner, hot dogs and home made pasta salad were on the menu. The pasta salad was easy but when it came to the grilled hot dogs, watch out.

I have to say, I am not normally grilled challenged. I often make entire meals on the grill on those really hot days that I don't want to turn anything on in the kitchen. Grilled asparagus, grilled, roasted potatoes and meats of all kinds. I often make meals that are at least a little gourmet in the kitchen....food network.com is my best friend. This is why I thought hot dogs would be no exception.

They would be perfect for my dad as he loves his hot dogs "well done" but for our family they were a bit difficult to choke down at times (I'm too Dutch to throw them away!)

Perhaps I should just stick to food network.com and leave the basics for someone else!

Grandpa's Girl!

We discovered the other day that Emily has a new favorite food....mashed potatoes and gravy. She didn't much care about the potatoes until I put on the gravy...then she couldn't get enough.

The love of mashed potatoes and gravy is a delicacy that has been handed down through the generations in my family. They are my favorite food, my Dad's favorite food, they were my Grandpa's favorite food and I'm not sure beyond that.

I beamed with pride as I shared the joyful news with my Dad to which he responded that she was Grandpa's girl.

Indeed.

Big News!

We have big news to announce...and no, I'm not pregnant again.

We are putting an offer on a house this afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes this is very exciting as you can tell by all the exclamation mark.

I cant' really go into a lot of details because it is a foreclosure situation that the seller would like to keep on the low down but I can give you some details.

Because it is actually a short-sale they are a whole different ballgame than even a straight foreclosure. Basically the way it works is that we put in our offer which is a full-price offer of a house that is an incredible steal. The sellers then have to accept it, which they will, but then the bank needs to accept the offer...or deny it. But the not so short part of a short sale is that then we have to wait for the bank and that can take up to 3 months to get any kind of response. Yes that's right, THREE months before we hear ANYTHING from them. After that, if it is accepted it is then another month before closing so it could very well be 4 months before we actually move in.

This actually will work out well for us though since we have someplace to go and it will give us some much needed time off from all the house buying and selling and also give Jim an opportunity to focus on passing his tests. Not to mention that I won't have a house to take care of by myself so me and the kids will get some much needed R&R and just plain having fun!

Anyway, after we hear from the bank, if our offer is accepted we just set up the closing. If it isn't accepted, we then decide whether we are going to make a new, higher offer and then go from there.

So, about the house. It has a large master suite, 2 regular sized bedrooms and then one HUGE bonus room over the garage that we would eventually use as a bedroom for 2 or 3 girls...actually about 12 kids would fit in the room since it is like 10x25 or something like that.

The kitchen and dining area are very large which is something else that we needed with our growing family. The garage is much bigger than the one we have now which is something else that is difficult with our current living situation. The basement is an unfinished walkout so we can tailor that to our needs down the road.

It is almost 2 years old and has been well taken care of. It has neutral colors that I can't wait to personalize. It has a large lot which is something that is hard to find these days and it is in a neighborhood which we had fallen in love with in Byron Center some time ago. There are a ton of young kids there and great neighbors on both sides according to the homeowner...again with younger kids. The kids would have a great time there we think and see it as a great opportunity for them...and us. We truly feel God has led us to this point.

We are super excited to have come this far but are far from having a home yet. Now we wait. Our agent feels pretty good about the bank accepting our offer but we could use the prayers from all of you for God to guide this transaction according to His plan as we have now done everything we can. We'll keep you posted on any further details, but probably not for a while.

Equally as exciting to me...well almost is that I have found a new passion in the most unlikely place. I ran in my first 10k yesterday and absolutely LOVED it. I found myself actually praising God for the wonderful ability He's given me to do such a thing while I was running. I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to do something that I find so fulfilling.

It's much more challenging than a 5k and has more serious runners in it...I love being around other self-disciplined, driven people. I guess then I don't feel so crazy all by myself! It is more like my experience with triathlons except much less time consuming, less expensive equipment and cheaper entry fees.

Even though I have run that distance for a couple of months now, I still doubted my ability and was quite shocked that I never felt like I was going to die like I expected. I knew there was some big hills but was happy to find that they weren't as much of a killer as I expected. I even had quite a bit of energy left at the end of the race and was able to sprint the last 200 yards or so. I was pretty happy with my time of 52:02. I can run it on a treadmill somewhere between 49 and 51 minutes...so with the hills and unfamiliarity of the whole thing I was very pleased. I finished 78 out of a total of 378 women and in the top half of my age group. Next time I'll be a bit more familiar with the while thing and able to race a bit more and get an even better time.

Speaking of the next time...I can't wait for it!

Summer!

Summer hasn't arrived in this family until you've gone swimming in the neighbor's pool at Grandpa and Grandma's. Yesterday was finally the day the kids have been asking for for the entire last 9 months.

Last year Rebecca just screamed when she was anywhere near the water but this year she jumped right in! We were shocked when she also announced that she wanted to go down the slide. She was completely fearless!

Then there was Emily. She couldn't get enough. She just kept wanting to go deeper and deeper in and she would have been the happiest if I would have just let her go. Her little feet kicked a mile a minute and she just may have been able to stay afloat. She splashed and splashed and was completely cover all over her face but she loved every minute of it. the water was only 78, but she stayed in for at least 15 minutes...longer than Annalise did.

As I mentioned, Annalise didn't stay in very long because she was cold.

Levi was the usual sport that he is about things despite the fact that he was cold too.

Both of the older kids definitely need to have a refresher on their "swimming lessons" as they took a few steps backwards but I'm sure they will recover the lost ground in no time.

It was a great time and felt even better on such a hot day!

Girls

Check out these girls. I captured these pictures of the girls that reflect their personalities so well that I just had to share them even though I don't have much more to say. Well I always have more to say but that will have to wait for another day as I am exhausted!

Selective Memory

You know it's a pivotal day in history when your kid actually beats you at a game. Not just any old chance game...roll of the dice, flip of the card but a good old fashioned use your brain only kind of game. Memory. Levi. Blew his mother out of the water.

Last night, our family room was the scene. Just he and I were playing and he chose memory of all games. He also wanted to play with all of the cards. Since there are over 40 pairs of cards usually we just play with some under the assumption that he couldn't play with so many cards. This was my first wrong assumption.

He found the first pair fair and square early in the game. Figuring I would have to "not find" some pairs that I knew or help him find some of his own pairs this early find was quite the shocker. I decided not to give in to help him so quickly. Pair after pair kept building up in Levi's pile and my little pile was quickly dwarfed by his.

About this time my competitive nature kicked in and I realized that I was in trouble and needed to get down to some serious business in order to win. No matter what I did I could not find pairs like he could. He turned over the match so many times and I could swear that I'd never seen that card before yet with the way he turned it over it was obvious that it had been turned over before and I clearly forgot.

Me, not remember. Me, with the photographic memory. I drive myself crazy with the fact that I only have to look at a phone number once and it is forever ingrained in my memory. Handy when you're in the car and you need to call extraneous places like Sam's Club or Family Christian Store but a bummer when these things are taking up valuable brain space and you can't get them out.

Well, the final score was Levi 27 pairs, me.....15. Yikes. That's my boy! A day to remember indeed. I am amazed at the wonderment of children yet again. Levi can't seem to remember to put his pajamas away in the morning but his memory clearly works just fine. What's up with that?

Muscle Building

So our house has passed inspections. Not that we thought it wouldn't, but we are one step closer to leaving. I am amazed at how hard this has been for me. I think some people deal with change better than others (read, not me) but I think that what has made it so difficult is that we don't have a new home to move to at this point. We really have no idea where we are going to end up, for that matter.

In essence, we are closing a very major chapter in our lives without being able to open a new one. We are saying goodbye to all the old memories without really knowing when we'll make new ones. This has been really hard for me.

I wish it was as easy for me as it is for my kids. It's all fine with them. They see it as some grand adventure (minus leaving their neighbor friends behind). They think it's just great that we're going to live at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. We obviously are very thankful that they have opened their home to us for as long as we need it, but it isn't the same as moving to a house that you can call your own.

I guess this is yet another instance where I can totally understand why God commands us to have faith like a child. They don't know where we're going, but that's ok. They trust that we've got it all figured out and it will be fine, come what may. Why can't we as adults do that?

I keep telling myself that not only am I training for a 10K right now I 'm also being trained in faith. Faith that even though I don't know where we're going, that's ok. Faith that my Father has it all figured out and it will be fine, come what may...where have I heard that before?

Training for a 10K has been painful but not nearly as painful as the faith training I've been going through. Things I never even wanted to think about before, I've had to embrace. The face I see when I look in the mirror looks very different than the face I saw even 2 months ago. I've had to actually live what I preach to my kids...that everything is in His timing, not ours. I've had to admit to others but more importantly to myself that I don't have all the answers and I don;t actually have a plan. I've had to walk through some doors that He's opened saying, "You want me to go there...are you sure?"

Faith. Such a little word... such a huge concept.

I know that faith building is like muscle building. You need to break down before you can build up. But just like muscle building I know one day I'll look in the mirror and see something that wasn't there before and say, "Man, where did that come from?" Just like you do when you see evidence of a muscle that you never knew you had.

I'm no different than anyone else. I want the muscle without all the work. But it's the work that makes us appreciate just how far we've come. The pain makes the reward all that much better. The pain earns us the muscle that we never would have seen otherwise. The pain changes us.

Change me, even though it hurts.

Buckets

This is the amount of tears that I have cried over the past 5 days.

This is the way that I have been living for the past 5 days...with buckets and boxes and piles of things everywhere.

Our house is sold and it is completely bittersweet. I have been an emotional wreck and under more stress than I ever have been. We were offered a fair price for our house...2 people were fighting over it, but the best offer included us being out 10 days after close. That left us no time to try to find a house and kick some poor other family out 10 days after close. Between being sad and stressed out I heard such comments as...

"Mom, what's wrong with your face?"
"Mom, why are you crying?"
"Mom, what's the matter?"
"Mom, why do you look like that?"

Not to mention that I lost a bunch of weight so now my kids are mocking me because my underwear is always showing because my shorts keep falling down.

I know that selling your house is the reason for putting it on the market but it just became very real when it came time to sign on the dotted line. My kids were all brought home from the hospital here, we dreamed about this house long before we ever built it and our hand prints are forever imprinted in our driveway. Our footprints and memories are everywhere in this house and the time is quickly drawing to a close for us to make more memories here. A chapter in our life is closing and this for me is never easy.

I love looking forward, but I also have a hard time letting go of what's behind. I'm a sap and way too emotional sometimes. I like things planned and I'm a total homebody. I love being home, making memories with my husband and kids and we are finding ourselves homeless, so to speak.

We have decided to take some of the pressure of this whole thing off and accept the ability that Jim's parents have given us to stay there for as long as we need to find a house. That way, Jim can focus on his testing that he has coming up in the next month and we can start eating meals at home again instead of in the car. We have spent literally every day eating at least 1 meal in the car for the past 2 weeks as we have been constantly evicted from our house for showings or on the road trying to find our future home.

We are very fortunate to have parents that can allow us to do this and accommodate us comfortably. It will be quite an adventure but will buy us some much needed time to find the right house for us. We had found a couple of houses that we loved over the past few months, but lost them since we still had a house to sell. Now we are in a position to be able to buy a house that we love once we find it. This is definitely easier said than done, believe it or not.

I'll keep you updated on our adventure and fill you in on some more of the things that have been going on around here lately but frankly after having lost almost an entire weeks worth of sleep (in addition to losing weight I lose sleep when stressed) I'm exhausted and need to head up to bed.

Woo Hoo!

Today was my first race in almost 2 years. I've lived in Cutlerville for 9 years and now my house is for sale and this is the first year I've run the race that takes place here. I've always watched everyone else run past while secretly longing to be running.




When Jim was in retail Saturdays were always a big day that he would be working and ever since switching to AMR he's always been working too. Except for this year. My wonderful husband stayed up for close to 48 hours so that he could watch the kids while I ran.


It was great except for I had a hard time knowing how to pace myself since I've been running 6 miles instead of 3 for the past couple of months. I didn't want to have too much energy left at the end so I gave it everything I had. I'm wearing black and grey shorts, sort of in the middle of the pack in the pictures.





I was pretty pleased with the results...23:35, 9th in my age group and 68 out of 575 women.


The kids had fun watching the whole thing. Now I just have to gear up for my 10K in 2 weeks!


Thanks to my honey for the great start to my day!

Daddy Day

So we took the kids to the park yesterday and it was packed. I noticed something different about the people that were there. They were mostly Dads. They had multiple children with them. They had water bottles and packed lunches. They were giving timeouts when their children misbehaved and helping them climb and slide.

the funniest part about this though was that while they were doing all this they were standing in a circle together talking. I couldn't resist creeping over to hear what I thought would be the latest sports scores or grilling basics 101. Instead I was dumbfounded that the topics of the day were potty training and eating habits/recipes they have discovered work for their kids.

It was hilarious! They were sharing titles of books they've read about these issues and had discussions about the books. I actually made a mental note about a couple of them!

These were macho, gym going type guys being Dads. I wish I could have faded away and left my husband to bond with the other Dads, but oh well. I got some valuable parenting advice!

Way to go Dads!

"Put it in Writing!"

Don't you love it when God speaks to you. It's not always easy to hear but sometimes it's so loud I actually laugh at myself for the times that I doubt whether He actually speaks. I had one of those times just now.

We have two showings on our house in the next 2 days. One couple is coming back for a 2nd time with their parents...always a good sign.

This has caused me to begin freaking out again as we have not found that perfect house yet, or at least one that didn't get bought by someone else! For those of you that know me at all, it won't surprise you to know that I feel such panic about finding myself homeless that I stalk the realtor websites several times a day hoping to find that perfect house that wasn't listed the hour before when I checked. We have seemingly looked at everything in the areas we are thinking we should be in and there is nothing else to see and nothing that we absolutely love yet. Panic sets in next for me...we also have a realtor that is working with us to find us our perfect house yet somehow this doesn't seem to lessen my craziness.

So, I was going online to search the listings that I had just searched and decided to check my email first. I subscribe to daily devotionals from P31 ministries and when I pulled up today's entry my jaw hit the floor, or desk as it were.

It was about waiting. Waiting for God. Little waits like the line at the bank and big waits (like finding a house). The author went on to say that during times of long waits she needs to remember to focus on her relationship with God rather than the issue that is causing her to wait. That's right, waiting on God rather than checking the online listings for the 10th time today. Well, it didn't say that exactly, but that's what I heard.

Next came the laughing part...at myself. Duh. I'd much rather read my Bible, or a devotional or a relevant Christian book than I would scan the web for the perfect house. So that's just what I did. Read the devotional again. Instead of feeling a sense of panic like I do when I don't find the house we're looking for I felt a sense of peace.

My wonderful husband keeps telling me to calm down about the whole thing. To trust that He's got it all figured out. That the right house will appear at the right time. I have always ignored him, dismissing his suggestion as part of his laid-back personality. After all, in the 16 (yikes) years that we've been together I can't think of one time that I've seen him panic. Of course he's not going to feel the same amount of stress I do about this whole house thing but I know that God uses the people in our lives to speak to us sometimes...I wasn't listening.

Sometimes I just wish He would put His personal messages to us in writing(other than the Bible). Well, I heard Him today. I laugh at the thought of him shaking his head muttering to Himself, "well, well...she finally heard me!" I know as the perfect picture of patience He didn't really say this but I in my sinful nature sure would have if my kid finally heard me after the 50th time!

I heard You, loud and clear. I think I'll set my Bible next to the keyboard just to make sure I don't forget!

Fishy Genes

Okay, so I was off by when Emily's first tooth would arrive...it came today instead of yesterday. Just when I thought she was done with her tricks she continued to surprise me. Yesterday I left her in our downstairs family room...or so I htought where she can't get into any trouble while I went upstairs to put some laundry away. When I came back downstairs a few minutes later I found her in our upper living room. I thought I lost my mind as I could have sworn I left her on the lower level. I also felt totally irresponsible as the steps are right there for her to tumble down in the living room. I was shocked a few hours later to actually watch her crawl up the whole flight of stairs right before my very eyes as if she'd done it her whole life. What a stinker...she's already succeeding at making me feel like I"m crazy and she's not even 1!

We had a fun day outside today. My kids LOVE playing with water. They can find water anywhere. In the dead of winter they somehow manage to find even the tiniest drip coming out of the downspout and somehow manage to soak themselves. In the warmer months they find water in watering cans, sand toys, the bottom of the slide or even collected in the dips in the sidewalk. They are constantly wet and half of the time muddy too.

For this reason I try to let them "get it out of their systems" whenever I can. Maybe if they are allowed to play with it more often they will leave it alone when they aren't allowed (so far this hasn't worked). But, water was a favorite past time of mine as I'd swear I'm part fish so I love to watch them have fun with it too.

Who needs a pool when you have storage tubs? Levi discovered that headfirst when the bucket is on the driveway isn't the best idea. Annalise wanted something to swim in but had a ton of fun when she discovered the joy of dunking her head and then soaking others with the flinging of her hair. Rebecca was so cute because the cold water took her breath away every time she got in.

Then there was Emily. This was her first bucket pool experience and her "fishy" genetics did appear as she squealed with delight. Her water was warm initially but after it cooled down she was content to crawl around in the water on the driveway. Somehow I think she'll follow right along in the footsteps of the others and be able to find water anywhere....even in the desert.

We also had her try out her shades. she decided they were better for sucking on than actually wearing but she still looked like a movie star. Too cute.

The other day I came home from the gym in the afternoon and was a sweaty mess so I put the sprinkler out, we got on our suits and we all ran through it. The kids thought that was pretty fun too. No I do not have pictures of that as I'm sure it was quite the site. Not every day that a thirty something woman runs through the sprinkler.