Visiting the Monastery and Convent...

We had a very interesting trip this week when we took my mom and stepdad to see the monastery and convent. I knew my mom would just love to see it but I wasn't prepared for the beautiful architecture that we were able to see.
The stain glass windows were like nothing I've ever seen!
The beauty of the sanctuary, if even for a brief moment, transcended denomination.
Rest break for Bob and Dirk!
At the convent. In the front was a huge statue of Jesus. The red dot in the photo is Dirk standing in the shadow of Jesus--the perfect place for my wonderful pastor hubby to be.
My beautiful mom and me enjoying the beautiful day outside as we waited for our tour.
I am still in awe of the peace I felt in the prayer chapel at the convent.
Al waiting for her interview to see if they will accept her in the convent. (OK, so no, we're not Catholic, and no, she wasn't interested. But the thought of putting her in for a few years did cross through her father's mind!)

I Don't Get It

It's great being able to open our home up to friends and to the kids' friends.

A couple of weeks ago, they needed a place to have an "Office" party.


I just don't get what's so great about that show...

I Love Fall!

You would think at my age, I would have learned not to hold on to 'things' too tightly. Once again I have found myself having a hard time prying my fingers from the tight grip of something, in this case Autumn. The beautiful colors of the trees and the warm sunshine that has more often than not been a part of these dwindling days have filled me with such peace and enjoyment.



How can one resist the beauty that God has provided us in this changing season?!!

Lessons in Strength

Almost a week ago, we had the H1N1 visit our house. I am pretty sure, we are just one of almost a zillion people who have had it pass through their houses. What amazed me was the speed with which it attacked my oldest. My younger kids and I were working at the food pantry and by the time I got home, Cole was not doing well at all. Several things occurred in the next couple of days to assure me that God is still in control, for which I am so very thankful for. I felt so strongly that Cole needed to be checked out at the clinic. Once we got there, no small feat in that, the doctor felt we needed to proceed to the hospital. His fever had dehydrated him and his lungs weren't sounding clear so off we went. The doctor there, diagnosed him with H1N1 and began loads of fluids through an IV and honestly, I'm not sure what else they were doing. In the mean time, the kids' grandma had arrived for a visit and so was helping keep their minds off Cole's situation. (What timing! Another God thing!) It was then decided that Dirk would stay with Cole while I came back to the house so I caught a ride back with one of our church members. It was really hard to leave Cole but I knew he did NOT want me to be the one helping him to the restroom, etc. In the night, however, Cole woke up with blood gushing all over from his IV that had come out. They had definitely found a very good vein and by the time Dirk got the nurses, there was blood all over. I thank God that Dirk was there and realize God had appointed that too. Thankfully, we were able to bring him home and let him rest and recover. I learned something very important through this unfortunate situation. No matter how old your child is, when they are in the hospital, they are still your baby. I learned that he is a very strong young man and I hope maybe God has blessed me with some of His strength too.

19 Years and Counting!

My husband and I celebrated our 19th anniversary this weekend! It's been an amazing and wonderful time but what strikes me the most about this photo pre-wedding is the drastic change in hairstyles! ewww...
Our daughter went with us for a celebration lunch since the boys were gone. For the low, low cost of a Colt's jersey, she consented to have this impromptu photo session. Dirk picked the location and off we went. Hopefully, the poison ivy that was all around us will not become an issue... :)
I thank God that through a whole lot of mountains and valley's we are still together, holding hands, and being more in love than the day we married.

Ace and Emily

Not too long ago Will's adopted cat, Jag, became a mommy. It was pretty devestating to walk through the initial arrival of her offspring since we started out with seven and finally ended up with two of her little ones for the kids to cuddle and spoil. We've never really been big cat people and Amos has always taken his share and more of the love need for pets but that was all before Ace and Emily came to stay. For the most part, the cat family lives comfortably under the deck with what I thought were very rare visits inside for the kittens. Watching them these last couple of days has proven me wrong. These youngsters know their way around my house very well.
And now I know why my plants are looking so sad!
And I also know why our milk supply is going at a much faster rate too!

Something's Missing

Something is missing at our house and until it shows up, there may not be a lot of peace around here.

Earlier this week, I began to look for some photos that one of my sisters requested. No problem, I thought...little did I know! If you know me very well, you will know that I like photos. Lots of photos. If you know me at all, you also know that we've had a few moves in past years. I asked my husband to bring the somewhat large canisters from storage so I could go through them in search of the requested photos. Still sounds ok, right?

Then a couple of my children had their interest tweaked and started going through the canisters as well. At the bottom of one of the containers held our firstborn's babybook. Not only his babybook, but also the nice little scrapbook I put together with the cards we received along with the calendar of his first year of life--complete with all the stickers! Ok, so maybe you're sensing a little issue forming in the imagination of our youngest child? Our resident drama queen was a little put out that oldest child had what she considered TWO babybooks and made sure we all knew about it. At that point, she began the innocent search for her babybook. She searched through the first one...then the second one...then the last one...and by this time there were issues to say the least! "Where is MY babybook?! Am I even your child?", she said with all the enthusiasm of a soap opera diva. Because she didn't let off the hystrionics, I stopped whatever I was doing and went through the containers myself. Oops, *sheepish smile*, "I know you are ours, I just don't remember what I did with your book." I tried to calm her with. It didn't work. After that, I went through both of the cedar chests. Not there either. Uh-oh, now I'm getting into some deeper water with her. I offer to tell her almost every detail of her birth that I can remember (and haven't begged God to help me forget) but that didn't work either. Keep in mind that our son, whose book is also missing really could care less about the whole babybook thing, he found some pretty funky photos of his parents in the process and is by now bored with the whole thing.

Somewhere in a few moves and lots of photos, there is not just one babybook but two. Both of my younger children's books are missing. And honestly, I'm not sure where they are. But I do know that until I find them I'm going to be having to ask God to help me remember all those moments I had begged him previously to help me forget, just so I can 'prove' to her that she's really ours. And since I'm being honest, I will tell you that only their babybooks are missing. There's no point in looking for scrapbooks with their cards nicely arranged and cutsie calendars with stickers on. They just don't exist. *sheepish smile*.

There hasn't been much quiet in the house since the case of the missing babybooks has come up. And just when it seems to be settling down, she will make some crack about her being left out and unloved. I have no idea where she could possibly come up with her drama but it remains entertaining and because she doesn't allow us to forget, we'll keep looking for those books just to prove to her she is ours.

Not that she acts like either one of her parents, and that's not proof enough, mind you. :)

The Weekend!

To say I'm happy it's the weekend just doesn't begin to cover it. It seems like this week has been a long one and yet I find so many reason's to thank God for His love and constant presence!
Being able to stay with my niece and her husband following the birth of her firstborn was a true give and blessing. My prayer is that it somehow helped her and also my sister who so wanted to be the one helping her daughter grow accustomed to her newborn but couldn't. It was a week away from my own family with a bit less sleep on the schedule but oh so worth it.
Having recently returned from the funeral of my sister-in-law seems to have brought many of us into a deeper state of thinking. Her sudden death was a tragedy to my family and yet I was completely overwhelmed that every member of my family, with the exception of the one who was in the hospital herself, came to stand next to and give whatever love, support and encouragement we could to my brother and his family.
As my sister's health deteriorates it takes much faith and focus to know that God indeed has a plan for her life as well as every one of ours who are blessed to be praying for and encouraging her in her walk of faith.
To receive the news that a different sister had been taken to the hospital with a stroke seemed like more than this family could digest. But we are by the grace and unfathomable love of God. Thankfully, my oldest sister will be ok, IF she will take the advice of the doctors and walk the path of less worry.
All of these situations at times seem to weigh heavily upon my heart but it's in these moments when I can do nothing but open my Bible to the ever present comfort of our Heavenly Father.
Praising HIM for all He is through all the storms there are...

1,001 Things

There were at least 1,001 things I needed to do yesterday, but I didn't do them...

...I enjoyed the beautiful gift of my family and I couldn't think of anything more important to do.

It doesn't happen for long that Will is above the surface of the water.

Cole takes his job as lifeguard pretty seriously...

...he kept 'saving' Ally when she didn't need 'saving' and it got pretty hilarious. At least he's practiced up if the need ever arises for him to actually save someone!


In our family, being a girl doesn't necessarily mean they go easy on you!

The family that God has blessed me to be a part of.

Gabriel and The Ten Bridesmaids

Last week was a week of complete highs and lows for my family. I'm still trying to process the events and at the same time accomplish life in the present.
Gabriel, my great nephew finally arrived after giving his mom a bit of a struggle. What a beautiful treasure a newborn is! With my youngest being a teen now, I loved being on hand to help out this newly transformed family that went from two to three in the blink of an eye. Can one honestly look at a newborn and not be enveloped in hope and awe of God?

The joyous week took a sudden turn with a phone call telling me my oldest brother's wife, Violet, had very suddenly passed away. In an instant we went from life to death. And my heart broke for the family who lives on. I was eight hours from most of my own family so along with Ally and two of my sisters we made the trip from helping care for a newborn to helping family care for a death. The siblings and parents quickly closed ranks for my brother and his family, giving what comfort and support we could and knowing it was inadequate at best. The love my brother and his children had for Violet serves as a living testimony to the kind of woman she was. She took on the daunting task of marrying my brother who was the sole caregiver to his five children. Her body was laid to rest less than a mile from their farm. It's a place my brother will drive by daily. A place for him to remember and heal.

I realize it's not up to me to know why God does things. Violet had just taken the dog for a walk and was going to can pickles. She had no warning that her life was about to end. The priest shared the message of the ten bridesmaids at Violet's funeral. It's not been far from my thoughts ever since. May we all remain ready for the day we meet Jesus face to face...

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to wait for the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The five foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. The wise bridesmaids took their lamps and more oil in jars. Because the bridegroom was late, they became sleepy and went to sleep.
At midnight someone cried out, 'The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!' Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. But the foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.' The wise bridesmaids answered, 'No, the oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
So while the five foolish bridesmaids went to buy oil, the bridegroom came. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
Later the others came back and said, 'Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.' But the bridegroom answered, 'I tell you the truth, I don't want to know you.'
So always be ready, because you don't know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come. (Matthew 25)

Fences

I remember just yesterday my little two and a half year old running from one edge of the farm to the other, enjoying the thrill of life and freedom. It didn't take long for him to discover the joy of the corral and the pretend world it opened up for him.

He would play for hours in that old corral. At first, there were just 'pretend' animals but through the years the calves, sheep, pigs, and even a pony spent time in that corral. The corral was, for the most part, safe and not too far from mom or dad, should the need arise for some help. I can still see so clearly him playing with Paul and Ben and Grant and his little brother, Will.

I don't believe it was coincidence that God planted this spot for the photo session in my mind. The power of that corral hit me pretty strong that morning we took his senior pictures. I am so glad I wasn't the one behind the camera. It was all I could do to watch him climb a fence like the one that just yesterday seemed way too high for him.

As the years have so obviously flown by, I have watched my little boy with the boundless energy become a man. He's climbed alot of fences since way back then. Some of them were made of wood but many were not. Most of them were just plain fun, but a few gave him a splinter or two.

Today, he began his senior year of high school. Strangely enough, I find myself almost ferociously wanting to turn back time. To beg him, "Please, Coley, just go back one more time for me." I want to hear his little voice saying, "I love you infinity, can't start over" one more time! But in the next heartbeat, I know that's not what I truly want. There is a bright and beautiful world out there thanks to his knowledge of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I am excited for all the brand new fences he's yet to climb. And I anxiously await all God has for him.

Yet, even though my genuine excitement overpowers the useless wishing, I will always, always, always, be thankful for yesterday and the complete blessing of having my son in my life...

Son, you outgrew my lap, but never my heart. ~Author Unknown

Summer Randomness

Summer has been crazy and awesome! I'm already missing something that isn't even finished!




This summer has been the first one in a couple of years that we HAVEN'T moved--woohoo! We got to see friends in Ohio and family in Kansas and Nebraska. In the midst of that, several camps have been attended and we survived summer basketball. Throw in a little golf, a lot of swimming, some backyard corn hole, summer babysitting and fence-pulling jobs, and you've got a great summer. My feet have been dragging at the thought of returning to school but something tells me it'll all be okay. In spite of Cole's senior year, Ally getting her braces the very day school is supposed to start, and my niece having her baby any time (!!!) that I'm to go help her get acquainted with. I'm excited at all the things God has in store for my family--may we all remember to seek Him BEFORE we get too busy with life.

A Birthday To Remember...

We now have three teens in the house! We're truly having a time of celebration as our youngest reached her special milestone! The days when they were younger are such special memories but I have to say, we're enjoying this part as well. God has blessed us with some great kids and we love seeing them grow into who God is shaping them to be.

Ally begged for at least six months to head for the thrill rides for her birthday so off we went and had an awesome, if not heart-stopping day!

Cole and Ally were the only ones willing to go on this one!
Dirk was the 'lucky' one to take her on this monster.

Will and Al were the only ones willing to go for a spin on this one.

It seems like yesterday that she went on this ride and cried because it was too scary. This time they aimed for the edges because it was even more of a thrill.
A friend to share the day with made it a definite good time!