This momma needed a break, a time of recharging and refreshing. So I decided to try vacation again. This time in an environment where the kids are comfortable and the area is relatively safe and requires less supervision then a place like the beach.
This is the view from the back deck:
My father in law own a timeshare to a golf resort. This year they had an extra condo we could rent for a very reasonable price.
Another back deck view, this time from the second floor balcony.
I connect with God and find peace in places just like this. There is something about just being here that is restful.
snack time...
We had worked hard to prepare for an easy week. Casseroles and easy meals were prepped and frozen. Mother's helper was hired, schedule laid out... I was looking forward to some serious down time.
Our breakfast view...
Unfortunately, my helper injured herself and was unable to come with us. So we did a quick revision of our week. But I was still looking forward to a week of recharging with just a little less relaxation.
Special treats like cranberry juice in wine goblets.
We arrive Saturday in high spirits. Unfortunately things did not go well the first two days, injured back, rattlesnakes, injured child, neighbors, angry child, rain and more rain...
Beach time...
But eventually with lots of prayer from many friends, we overcame the obstacles and still had fun. We had fun days at the beach on the lake, blowing bubbles, riding bikes and lots of fun games, USA bingo and qwerkle are our two favorites!
With a steady supply of coffee, lots of quality family down time, lots of tv time for kiddoes so momma could recharge, lots of sleeping in, eating breakfast in our pjs, snacks all day long, and lots of time on the back deck, just enjoying God's beautiful creation and this momma feels recharged and refreshed.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Lazy summer days... I find that having a place for peaceful, quiet family interaction is so important. Moments that create happy, fuzzy feelings are so important for all kids, but even more so for thos who have experienced trauma. Trying to bring those moments into our every day chaos is not that difficult, if we are intentional.
Hugs from sweet Abi is a happy, fuzzy moment...
Special desserts cooked on the grill are a happy, fuzzy moment..
One of MY favorite happy places is my deck. Dinner made on the grill and served on the picnic table is just a peaceful, happy moment.
Everyone joins in the cooking, prepping fun...
Add some music and really good food and it becomes a fun family night with very little extra work! The kids love this as much as I do. We do it about once a week, during the summer. Simple yummy food on a beautiful summer evening...
Family: spending time together and building the bonds of attachment that will last a lifetime. We are raising the next generation. What we do today will affect not only our kids, but our grandkids and great grandkids. The moments of intentional peace, intentionally saying no to outside commitments, the moments of just "being" with our kids. It doesn't need to be great things, it doesn't need to be expensive or fancy. Just time and attention are important, relationship matters...
The things my kids say:
Me: we need to clean this pool out! It looks like a swamp!
Son: Mom, that is Cool! Can we let it go so we can pretend we are swimming in a pond.
Elizabeth cleaned out the cupboard. I come in to find all the contents on the floor in front of the cupboard and she is no where to be found.
When I call her, she pops out of the cupboard.... deep breath and make a choice. "Do I yell or laugh?"
Later when she is all done, I check her work. Complimenting her neat cupboard but questioning her method of organizing... her answer... I left room to hide when we play hide and go seek.
Later: 6 yr old friend stops by to play with the boys. Matia had just combed out her hair. It was in a big afro. Friend takes one look at her and says "Wow, you look scary!".
(Thankfully it t was said in way that she did not take offense)
A long, long time ago in a not so far away land there lived a young woman who was loved by a handsome young man. They had come together from lands afar and fallen in love. He was her Prince Charming. She, his beautiful lady (She was definitely not a princess). They had dreams... dreams of beautiful homes, vacations to far away lands...dreams of love and a life time.
Every August they made the journey to their favorite vacation spot in far away mountains, where he played golf and she spend her days by the pool. Her greatest worry was getting a nice tan, his to win at golf...
One beautiful evening they took a romantic walk around the golf course...
They were happy to just be together, hand in hand...
Young love, full of promise...
He held her heart in his hands, she secure in his love...
They stopped by a pond, at dusk, a beautiful mist rising from the shimmery waters, breathing in the beauty of God's creation...
When suddenly he knelt before her, holding a ring in his hand: Will you marry me?
She dropped to her knees. Yes, my love.
He presented her with the beautiful ring. A promise of his love forever...
A moment of reflection, a deep kiss...
They talked, dreaming of a future together. forever. happily ever after.
She was marrying her Prince Charming...
Except real life never ends like the fairy tales...
3 years later, her Prince Charming became her Angel in Heaven. She was left with nothing but tears and heartache. All the dreams disappeared.
Now ten years later, she returns to the not so far away land for the annual vacation. She returns without him, as she has more times then she cares to count.
She reflects over what she has learned in 10 years, broken hearts, broken promises, tears, healing, grace, and beauty from the ashes.. When you chose to rise above the pain, to pray through the heartache, cry healing tears, then can you make new dreams... Dreams that align with what the Heavenly Father has planned for you.
In this journey, she become the treasured daughter of a King and the mother of 6 beautiful children. She was privileged to experience incredible miracles and be used to work for the King of Kings. Because He needs broken people for His kingdom.
I love this song.. I love that I serve the God of the impossible. I love that God takes the incapable and makes them more then able. I love that God takes what little I have and multiplies it.
I love that God doesn't ask for great people, but great faith.
School is officially in session! So I decided I wanted first day of school pictures, but because I am not a fan of the boring, traditional pictures, I decided to do "in the moment pictures".
Lee, Grade 5 He likes his privacy...
David Grade 4
He is very social and moves from room to room. I allow him this freedom as long as his work gets done. It actually works better then expecting him to stay in one spot.
Elizabeth Grade 4 She is an independent learner and works at her own pace, often working double the assignment.
Fayth continuing Grade 2
She is easily distracted and works best if given strong boundaries and asked to stay sitting at the table or on her bed.
I let the kids choose 2 subjects they wanted to start today. Lee chose math (with great delight!) and reading. (he sat down and read half his textbook before I caught on to what he was doing) David chose language arts and spelling. Elizabeth chose the same.. but did 2 lessons on each one. Fayth, is continuing with 2nd grade and trying hard to reach the end by the end of the year, so she worked a full load.
I love the excitement of new books. I love the new curriculum and I am glad that I seem to have overcome the dread I had at having to start school again!
Someone turned ten.. and it was his lucky day! I found this really cool bike at a yardsale 2 days before his birthday! His love language is gifts, so birthdays are fun for him!
David is happy go lucky child. Life is always good. He does everything with enthusiasm and a sparkle in his eye.
He is the first one to hug a hurting person or do a kind deed for someone. He is all boy, impulsive crazy and just full of energy.
He wanted suspenders for his birthday, so I bought him a pair of suspenders. lol He was quite the happy boy, riding his chopper wearing jeans and suspenders (just like his little mennonite friend)
For birthdays we do a family fun/memory day instead of birthday parties. David chose to go to the park to ride his new bike. Grandma joined us for lunch and he made some new friends at the park who had fun playing!
We love VBS week at our church! This was a big year, we build a Tabernacle and learned lots about it!
The best part for momma? I don't have to cook all week! We have VBS 5 nights, dinner is served each evening for all the helpers. The kids loved the yummy dinners!
These pictures are in a random order... So bear with me!
This is the last evening, we did our worship time in the side yard... The kids love the songs and dances they learned this year!
We have several stations set up for kids to do activities. Also in the middle of this area is the roped off spot for the Tabernacle.
Miss J singing her heart out. She has an amazing gift and the kids love singing with her.
When she is not singing, you may just find her talking to the donkeys..
Lee's group was working on the cloth that covered the tabernacle.
Elizabeth was cutting herbs.
They worked hard and fast to build this really cool but unusual tabernacle!
Adding some finishing touches...
The finished product. It was really cool!!
"Moses" leading the first Israelites on a tour of the Tabernacle.
The High Priest blessed each of the kids as they walked through the door..
The boys had some questions for Moses. I love this picture.
Now Part 2: which is really the night before Part 1. lol
They brought in the most adorable little animals..
Someone had created this beautiful mountain and each evening the kids would gather here for story time, first with "Caleb" then with "Moses".
A miniature Tabernacle built by the Junior Youth Group.
We had a lot of rain, so many of our activities ended up being inside!
The kids helped paint the pieces of the Tabernacle.
The 3 of us spend alot of time hanging out in the nursery!!
The baby chickies...
They had an excellent teaching and an amazing vbs this year. I spend the majority of my time in the nursery, because some of my kiddoes do not tolerate the heat well at all. I missed out on most of the storytimes, but the kids really enjoyed it and hopefully will remember this for a long time!!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
I love the days of summer... The days of hanging at the pool, balanced with fun activities and food prep.
Don't laugh. That is the picture of my summer. ;)
We had no appointments last week and none this week, so we tried to plan a visit with my family who lives 6 hrs away, but due to circumstances out of my control, we could not go. So around noon, we made plan b.
Lee was working with his mentor for the day. The other kids were hanging out with me, listening to messages online and relaxing on the hammock. A friend called and asked if I could pick up a case a cherries for her...
So we decided to hit the road. I love shopping local.
We first stopped at the little local hardware store, run by a plain older man who always has interesting conversations going with other old men who hang out there and tell weird old stories. (funny thing is, they do not know I speak their language) I love this place, its messy and nothing is ever where it's supposed to be, but everything is dirt cheap.
Second stop, the little locally run grocery store for 40 lbs of cherries and 20 lbs of blueberries. My goal is to freeze and can as many fruits and vegetables as possible this year.
The kids had a dinner of apples, pickles (from our garden), and cherries in the car.
Third stop, the local farm that has THE BEST ice cream and milk. The kids got ice cream for dessert..
Then on to another little amish store, because I forgot to get freezer boxes at the first store. I picked up eggs, and tons of very reasonably priced freezer containers!
Finally we were done!!! The kids had been riding along patiently, without complaint. So since we were at the other end of the county we stopped to see our old neighbors. The kid absolutely love their farm. It's huge and a kids paradise. (parent's safety nightmare!) This friend has 8 kids with the oldest only 10 yrs old!!! They have massive old tobacco barns and the kids love to run and play in them, along with the big old hay barns. They got good and dirty in the 45 minutes us momma's were visiting.
We headed over to pick up Lee, at his mentor's house. They had a fun, but hard working day of cutting up and old tree. I am so thankful for these opportunities for my kids!
After loading up my dirty sweaty boy we headed home... But the kids were begging to see Grandma E. So we turned around and made a stop at her house! Grandma has red berries growing along her driveway. The kids were in heaven, stuffing their faces with berries!!
We finally arrived home at 8:30 pm. Tired, dirty sweaty kids and lots of fruit needing attention.
I love that my kids know how to enjoy hard work. I had 2 get in the shower while the other 2 worked on the cherries and I worked on the blueberries. Elizabeth and David had a competition going, to see who could fill containers faster. It took us 30 minutes to clean and freezer package all our berries and cherries!!
