Better Late than Never

Last night I finally saw the pictures that Uncle Mike took at Grandpa and Grandma's 65th wedding anniversary celebration. Here are a few fun ones:

This first one is of the girls (and Scott who snuck in the photo) after our meal at the Tea Room. Apparently this place gets used for actual tea parties and it was fun to dress up in the old hats and boas.
This is my favorite photo of G&G with the great grandchildren. I particularly like this photo because Bethany is throwing a fit, Grandma is trying to manage her wiggly body, while Grandpa watches on, Isaac isn't sure about the whole situation and Scott is snickering at his sister.
And of course a family picture. Getting all of us to look one direction and smile would take a professional some effort! Bethany was thrilled her her sucker and could care less about the family photo!

Thanks Uncle Mike for taking and sharing pictures with the rest of us.

Snow in July

Though we aren't having our traditional summer heat, this picture isn't of snow in the road ditch. Friday we had two different nasty storms roll through. They weren't wide spread storms but the damage the storms caused was huge for some.

I got a call from Ryan around 4pm. He was out on a farm call and the other vet had just called to tell him about his broken windshield, the calf huts that were flying all over, the broken windows, etc. Ryan was in the hardest hit area. It looked like someone had taken a rotary mower through farms and the clippings were strewn all over the highway. The soybean fields looked hay fields gone bad with little twiggies sticking out of the ground. Corn fields looked like locusts had come through and stripped the stalks and in some fields there was only about 18 inches of stalk remaining.

My phone call with Ryan was entertaining to say the least. Ryan informed me that I wouldn't have to worry about pulling the weeds in my garden. The garden was gone. There were remnants of plants but nothing salvageable. The good news was that we didn't have any trees down and our house was still there.

A short while later I left the office, stopped for a few groceries and picked up the kids. When we were leaving moms the sprinkling was turning to rain. By time I got home (10 minute drive and 7 miles down the road), it was pouring down rain, the wind was blowing and it was hailing like crazy. I pulled onto the lawn and Ryan met me at the van to grab the kids. I moved the van back to its normal spot, pulling it in the old garage as much as possible. As I ran back up the the house, through the rain I noticed a tree had fallen. It wasn't the whole tree and it didn't cause any damage. I was sure thankful that I wasn't still parked by the front door since the tree would have fallen right next to me and scared the tar out of me!

Today brings the usual Monday craziness with the added issue of storm damage. While my boss in on vacation, I get to act in his absence and this time I'm actually having to actually act in his behalf on a few things!

If you would say a prayer for those who have damage: broken windows, destroyed siding, partial and total crop loss. It would be no fun to be in their shoes!

Long Overdue Picture Update

A few from cousin Sarah's wedding: the first is me with cousin Jimmy and his wife Cathy (bride's parents). The second is Bethany dancing with Sarah - we still hear about this from Bethany so she must have loved that. The third is mommy and Bethany on her 2nd birthday which was celebrated at a wedding.

These next few are from the day we ripped the carpet out of "the carpeted room". Bethany was a good little helper and loved playing in the gathered up nasty old carpet.

And a few from the Parade on the 4th of July... neither of my kids appreciate the loud sirens

but they are good sports and wave to everyone...

Bethany and her Grandpa Danny. It was too cute that he drives a school bus and bought her a school bus for her birthday.

One night we went fishing at Beulahland, ate shrimp scampi that Ryan prepared over the fire, had peach cobbler from the dutch oven and played on the swings. Not your typical July weather but we managed to keep warm and have fun.

Kids' Birthday Party

We had a very fun birthday party with the kids. Take a look for yourself:

as requested... the Larry Boy cake

being told to wait to open gifts...

Where is my Hairbrush?

... maybe I have a little bit of Veggies Tales on the brain.  Maybe that's because I spent about 6 to 8 hours making Scott and Bethany an awesome LarryBoy cake for their birthday party on Saturday.  I would never want to volunteer to make such a cake if it hadn't been for Scott's specific request.  I must say that I was quite impressed with it.  I'll add pictures when I get a chance... maybe on Thursday.

 

I may not be searching for my hair brush but I am wondering where my time went.  Yes, the summer has been flying by.  Granted, I'm enjoying the weeks as they go by, but we're into late July and I've hardly been outside to enjoy the summer heat (or lack thereof around here). 

 

This past week or so we've had my dad here visiting.  I've tried to make sure I spend some time with him and at the same time make sure that I'm taking care of my other responsibilities.  I was off on Friday and my poor dad spent the morning amidst the chaos of me and the kids at WallyWorld.  That evening though was a little more fun.  All of us (being Ryan, me, the kids, my mom, ralph, and my dad) went fishing out at the beaulahland.  One at a time, I took the kids out on the little paddle boats with their fishing pole.  It was cool out and windy so we were wearing our sweatshirts and having fun.  The fish weren't biting much but we still had fun.  While the majority of us fished, Dad enjoyed the camping chair and Ryan was busy at the fire pit cooking up shrimp scampi and had peach cobbler in the dutch oven.  After supper, the kids played on the swings and though us adults were chilled, the kids couldn't get enough of the outdoor fun!

 

Saturday was the kids' birthday party.  This year we only invited family.  I debated on inviting kids but then they all bring gifts and I don't want them to do that since I don't buy for each kid on their birthday.  Plus, a friend of mine mentioned that she only did big birthday parties every 5 years and the kids appreciated that.  My kids, at this age, were perfectly happy with just having their family to share their cake with.  And they did share - it wasn't even a problem for the two of them to share the LarryBoy cake.

 

Last night I finally began reading a book that my friend Michelle let me borrow.  It's a book about God's perspective on being the help meet that God designed us to be.  I'm appreciating what I've read and though I've read other books about marriage, this one seems to have a little different twist.  The hard part is saying that its all great information when I clearly am not the stay at home wife/mom.  I don't know if God's working on my heart about that but I keep reading more and more about that and wondering how to possibly make that work out financially.

 

Lastly, I've been slowly working on our adoption fundraiser.  One friend informed me that she doesn't agree with the fundraiser idea.  It's her opinion that if someone feels led to adopt, then they need to sacrifice and do so.  It was good for her to share her opinion.  At the same time, I felt like I needed to qualify how we're sacrificing.  And even with us sacrificing things we want/need, we just can't save up the $40,000 that we've been told we'll need.  So this fundraiser is so far going to be an online auction of donated items from friends, family and even businesses and strangers. [if you would like to donate to the auction, please let me know and I will gladly take your donation].  So, that's taking some of my lunch time each day as I email and talk to people about possible donations and some time in the evenings putting the website together to host the auction.

 

Life is sweet, my husband is a wonderful provider, my kids are precious and God's grace is amazing!

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WHIRLWIND

As of the past few days, I've:

  - gone to a parade with the family

  - tore out carpet in the one room that has carpet in our house

  - watched as hubby tore out the wall in that same room (and was quite irritated with the results)

  - wondered if someone was in our attic when in fact the popping noises were fireworks and us old fogies were already in bed

  - made Bethany a black baby doll.  She's my sample doll and has an ugly shirt, no face and no hair.  Bethany doesn't seem to mind and Scott has requested one.

  - Wondered if it's okay for my SON to have a baby doll... how can I make it masculine???

  - Chopped my hair.  It was cute before the cut but needed a trim.  Now its short and thin (she said she texturized it).  Thank God hair grows back!

  - Practically begged people to provide child care for my little ones

  - Started my first batch of kombucha

  - Missed California

  - Dreamed of the possibility of being home with my kids and working from home.

  - Started thinking through a new fundraiser idea I have for adoption.  It will revolve around a meal and an auction.  More on that later as things (hopefully and prayerfully) come together.

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Go Bulldogs

I wore one of my new Fresno State Bulldog shirts today. Scott thought he had to wear his Bulldog shirt too. Bethany was MAD when we made her take off the Bulldog shirt she wore Tuesday night and all day yesterday. The clean, but a few months older, Bulldog shirt would not suffice for her today. That child!

Home Again

After our flight out to California, I was sure I never wanted to fly with Bethany again. Fortunately Bethany was a different child on our return flight.

Bethany slept the entire second flight. It was awesome. We landed at 1145pm. Grabbed our bags and was headed to my van (along side some kind strangers who agreed I shouldn't walk by myself) to my van. Paid $126 for parking, peeled my contacts out, put my glasses on and was head down the highway towards home by 1215am.

The 3 hour drive was shortened a bit. Even then it was a LONG drive home. By Rochester I was struggling to keep my eyes open and had about 80 miles to go. But I couldn't stop then. With lots and lots of prayer, begging God to keep me awake, and with a little help from cold water on my face, I stayed awake and pulled into my inlaws driveway at 3am.

I snuggled Bethany up to Scott in his bed before climbing under some blankets on the basement couch. Scott woke once and was half way up the stairs when I called him and he had to snuggle me for a few minutes. Bright and early at 7am, the construction crew was pounding away. Four hours of sleep and I could have used at least four more. But who cares, I was [almost] home.

After home-made waffles, I managed to hide back downstairs for a brief nap before Scott found me and woke me up. We left my inlaws and went straight to the clinic so I could see my hubby. Oh how sweet it was to be together as a family again!

Living to the Fullest

Any time I come home, it seems like a mad rush to see all the people I need and want to see. Last September when we we're home for 15 days, we took it slowly. That is so not the case this time. I'm physically in Kingsburg for 5 days and it has gone so quickly. There's so many people I want to see, places I want to stop, pools I want to swim in (it's hot here). But bringing a 2 year old with me [Happy Birthday Bethany] forces me to slow down a bit.

Wednesday and Thursday I spent the whole day with family. Friday I spent the day with some close friends and made a quick trip to the Fair Trade store in Reedley with my Grandma. This morning I stopped to visit various family members before bringing Bethany back to Ashley's for a nap. This quiet time has been fun to blog and iron my dress for sarah's wedding tonight... if I manage to find the iron. I'm hoping for a quick tanning session in the hot sun before Bethany wakes up. We'll see if I get that accomplished.

Tomorrow will be church and hanging out with friends. I have been so blessed to spend time with some old friends that I don't keep in contact with very often. As I sat down this afternoon I was thinking about all the people I still want to see and my mom called to ask my plans for tomorrow. She's hoping our family can gather again. I think that would be great but also want to see those I've not yet seen. The days are full and I know I won't get to see everyone before I leave.

I've loved being near convenience and only driving 5 minutes to a Walgreens where I also happened to pick up a new Fresno State shirt. And only driving a few miles to stop in at my Grandma's for breakfast with her. I love that. Thank you Ryan and Eunice for encouraging me to come out here even though it wasn't in my plans!

For Ryan since it was too big to email

65th Anniv. Pics

I didn't have my camera out most of the weekend but I did catch a few pics worth sharing.

Makin' Cookies

This morning we woke earlier than I hoped and went to my Nanny's house. The word is out to everyone now that I'm in CA so it was no surprise. However, Great Gram was surprised to see me there right away this morning and really surprised to see little Bethany. Of course, Bethany jumped right up to the counter to help Great Gram make cookies (even though Gram was making raisin pie). The two of them had a blast and I'm guessing that the ingredients and therefore the pie won't be quite perfect. It may even have a smidge of a taste of oreo here and there. But the two of them had fun and I even heard Great Gram say that this just made her day.

I'm so glad for the opportunity to be here. Today the family gathers at 4pm to have a celebration of life service for my Uncle James. It will be good to see those who can make it.

Also to note, I couldn't wait to really surprise Kristine so I did call her last night from my dad's cell phone. She was still surprised to make the connection with my voice and the local number but not as surprised as if I'd knocked on her front door.

I'm HERE

Well I made it to CA just fine. As I was driving up to Minneapolis to the airport, I was thinking that it was really no big deal to travel alone with an almost 2 year old. There was no reason things shouldn't go smoothly. Boy was I wrong!



Just after noon we stopped in Rochester to grab a few things at Target (including a restraint/leash for Bethany) and drive thru at McD's. Bethany proceeded to eat a few fries and throw the rest on the floor.



We arrived at the airport and I had to circle it once since I took the wrong lane. It was hot outside (97 and humid) so we rushed inside and got to the ticket counter where Bethany threw the first of many huge fits. She didn't like the monkey on her back that was her leash thingy. I didn't trust her without it. I ended up holding her while fumbling through my bag to check in. At this point, she pee'd through her full diaper and soaked her cute new bermuda shorts and my cute new shirt. Right there at the check in I laid her on the floor and changed her, leaving her in her diaper and me with a soaked shirt. Note to self: next time bring an extra pair of clothes for myself too! I debated on buying a new shirt but figured I was spending enough money so I pulled out the wet wipes and tried to clean my shirt.

Bethany was hungry but she had the opportunity to eat and I'd pitched her food. I also wanted to wait till we got on the airplane to feed her and occupy her that way for a while. Boarding the plane was a mess. She screamed and cried. She wanted her daddy. She didn't want on the airplane. She wanted a nutrigrain bar. She didn't want the bar. She crumbled it everywhere and finally began to eat it. She had snot and bar smeared everywhere (not that I cared about my shirt now). I felt bad for the passengers all within 5-10 rows of us. She never napped.

The layover proved similar. She wanted a hamburger. No, she wanted a sandwich. She wouldn't eat the sandwich. She doesn't like craisins but she really does love them and finally ate some. She wanted the snack mix that the girl across from us was eating. The girl was willing to share but I was a mean mommy. Boarding our second flight wasn't as bad. She only cried for the first 40 minutes and it wasn't hysterical like the first flight. She wanted juice but we were in the last row and the flight attendant started at the first row. It was a long few minutes of waiting. Bethany was mean to everyone and even then two people took pictures of that cute litle girl they sat by. Odd, I didn't think she was being cute at all!!! About 20 minutes before we landed, she finally crashed. I carried her limp body all through the airport and held her while getting the car. She was grumpy with Grandpa Danny who was only trying to help.

Thank you dad for meeting us at the airport. I wish it wasn't so late and we could have grabbed a bite to eat with you.

We made it to Ashley's around 1030. And Bethany stayed asleep. She was finally peaceful!

Thank you Ashley for letting me crash your house last minute.

Long Few Days

It's been a long few days.

We began with a celebration for Ryan's Grandparents:
- Late to their house Friday afternoon after 2 stops that took way longer than needed.
- Scott slept 12 hours that night - with a little help from our friend Ben A Dryl.
- Saturday the whole family and we had a nice meal in town.
- Got to meet Eric's special friend Amanda. We think she's special too.
- Mom called to say that they were losing my Uncle James - he had surgery on Wednesday and never breathed on his own again after that.
- Family left and we headed downstairs and snuggled on the twin air mattress for a while digesting the coming loss of my Uncle.
- Mom is leaving to CA (yes, she just returned from there) to be there for her sister.


We wake up before 6 to our son needing a potty break. He happened to burp up a little substance and told us he threw up in his mouth. I wish that was the only interruption to our morning plans.


Just after 6 I awoke again to what I thought was Scott throwing up. It wasn't. He was having a SEIZURE. Yes, another seizure. Ryan dealt with Scott while I ran up and called 911 after a little hesitation. Scott and I took our second trip to Blank's Children's Hospital via ambulance. He was fine but I was floored because he wasn't supposed to have another seizure; he's supposed to grow out of this random-no-explanation seizure. They think it was a febrile seizure even though his temp went down right away. He shows for having some kind of infection (they think strep throat) thus the seizure.

So while we were supposed to be in church with the whole family, we were in the emergency room. We left Blanks and met my parents (who are on their way to CA) at Panera Bread while we got a bite to eat. We got back to the celebration just in time for a quick shower and lunch. We got to visit with family a while more before everyone left.

We had plans of being home for the closing program for VBS. But are ways aren't always God's ways. And He ultimately has the plan in His hands. So, we're taking the advice of the doctor and are remaining here for 24 hours to make sure another doesn't occur. During this time, we're having fun hanging out with family some more.

Thank you Lord for a healthy son!

GUITAR

About a month ago one of my girlfriends was selling her guitar and it came with one free lesson from her (guitar lesson teaching) husbad.  I mentioned to Ryan that I would love to learn how to play guitar.  Thought it sounded like fun, I have other priorities for the money I've saved and would rather remodel the living room. 

 

Nothing else was said.

 

Until last night.

 

We were about 2 hours over due for bed time and both tired.  Ryan mentioned that he had something for me since he didn't buy me an anniversary gift and asked if I wanted it then or later.  Duh, of course I want it now.  He turned off the light and laid a Big Baby Taylor guitar in my lap.  I was so surprised.  Taylor is a nice (which also means expensive) brand.  He bought it used on ebay.  It's not in perfect condition but it is more than I would need.  Ryan had been in kahootz with Shane (the guitar teacher) about the whole deal.  He'd been watching them on ebay for the past month.  Sunday while out on calls, he stopped at the clinic to check his bid.  He was beat out by 55 cents and with only a few minutes left, he upped his bid and bought me a guitar.  Sweet deal. 

 

Now I just need to find time and money in the budget to get guitar lessons...

 

This morning Michelle sent me a text message saying she wasn't working out.  I was fine with that and spent that time instead making my hubby breakfast in bed.  Scrambled eggs with guacamole... umm good. 

 

Thanks love for the guitar!

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Live Like That

Last night during the intro of our Vacation Bible School with the Boomerang Express located Down Under, there was a short video clip located in and around the harbor in Sydney. While I was thoroughly enjoying the views, the question came to mind if I could live there and still live like Jesus. I've been thinking a lot recently about living more like Jesus and was glad that it came to mind without my direct persuasion. Could I live in a big city, a beautiful city, and still live like Jesus? I entertained that thought for a few moments when I concluded that I didn't think so.

Random thought, I know.

A short while later, we had finished the intro and our bible study time before moving to our music and missions time. Each night during the missions time, they focus on a missionary around the world. Last night's focus was a missionary here in the states, working in Wyoming or Montana. The missionary had moved there to start a church. But because it was so rural and people had chores to do plus a long drive to town, they didn't attend church. This guy started Cowboy Church. No dressing up. Boots and jeans. Sometimes clean, sometimes straight from chores. Nothing fancy. Just every day people with the same goal in mind meeting together. As I watched the brief video, the same thought as earlier occurred to me. Without even having to think about it, I could answer my own question.

I could certainly live like that!

Funny how those thoughts occur and how those things happen. It's been so good to see how God has been working in my life. To see how I happen to cross paths with the perfect people, how I happen, to read a certain book of the bible, and how it all happens to be bringing me closer to God. Thank you Lord for happening to have Your hand in those situations.

Repentance

Saturday we took our neighbor with us to the park in town for a fun-filled kick-off for Vacation Bible School. It went well and the boys did wonderfully together (much better these days than the first time they socialized this spring). They were tired when it was time to go home. On the way out of town, Aaron started crying. Of course I asked to see what was wrong. Apparently Scott told Aaron that he was going to put him in jail. Aaron didn't like that idea and cried (he's not a wimpy kid, it had to have been that he was tired). I assured Aaron that Scott would not put him in jail and by the time we got to Aaron's, he was done crying.

That night when Scott prayed, he remembered little Aaron without my prompting. He was sorry that he told Aaron that he'd put him in jail and said he wouldn't put Aaron in jail. He was thankful for his family, some church friends, and his neighbor, Aaron. What a sweet kid I [sometimes] have.

Cartwheel

Not sure how it happened this morning but while Ryan was gone working out, I was laying in bed reading my bible.  It was ~615am.  I heard someone coming up the stairs and knew it was the dog and it wasn't heavy enough steps to be Ryan.  Should I be concerned???  It was Scott.  I figured he'd went down stairs to find me and come back up.  When I asked him about it, he informed me that daddy let him watch Mary Poppins this morning.  What time did that kid get up???  Thank you honey for letting me sleep since I feel like I got no sleep all night! 
 
I'm not sure if it was on Mary Poppins or something else but Scott began asking me about cartwheels and was trying to do them in the living room.  With a little assistance, he managed back up.  And much to his surprise, I showed him that mommy could do a cartwheel too.  Glad you weren't there because it was embarrassing.  It was by no means a cartwheel that I would have done back in the day!  In fact, I didn't even get my legs straight up in the air.  Maybe mommy needs to go back to gymnastics and take Scott along!

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Thank you Michelle

This morning while working out, I was complaining to my buddies about Ryan being gone a lot lately which has left me doing the solo parenting and putting kids to bed most nights. The past 2 1/2 weeks have also been random schedules because my mom is gone and others are filling in with kid duty. Last night particularly was rough though. I couldn't get Bethany to bed with screaming. I would let her scream for a while before going back in her room. My efforts to soothe her worked until I would place her back in her bed. Tired and with a long list of house chores to accomplish, I was frustrated with Bethany's lack of sleeping. This went from 815 to midnight. At midnight I rolled over and she was out. I was thankful since I knew my alarm would be going off in 5 1/2 hours. Just 5 minutes later Scott walked in the room because he was scared. I thought "seriously, can a tired mom get any sleep tonight?" I finally got him settled in Bethany's bed and carried her limp body in their to snuggle with him. I was so tempted to go downstairs and start cleaning but I knew I needed my sleep!

All that to preface my conversation with my buddies this morning. As I was sharing my story, Michelle shared something interesting with me. As we seek to live like Jesus lived (which isn't easy in our culture), she reminded me that some of Jesus' followers were married. They were gone doing ministry with Jesus which means that they weren't home to tuck their kids in bed at night. When she was really struggling with her husband being gone most nights, she thought about this and it made it easier to deal with. God called them to serve and minister and they weren't able to tuck their kids into bed each night. I had never thought of that. Though I want to be like Christ, I struggle to look to the bible for those kinds of things. I'm so thankful that Michelle shared that with me and a refreshing thought... even though that wasn't what I wanted to hear, it was what I needed to hear.

***Disclaimer***
I'm not saying that its acceptable for husbands/dads to be gone every night all the time. I think there's a difference between those guys out gratifying themselves and being out for ministry/service. I also understand that there needs to be a balance in life and I'm glad to know that Ryan's VBS train building will be short lived since VBS starts on Saturday!

Weekend Report

I spent Friday night and Saturday morning at Beulahland Bible Camp hanging out with the Mexico City team. It was great to bond with old and new friends while we did some cultural presentations, shared what God's doing in our lives, prayed with our partners and studied God's Word. It was exciting to hear two of our team mates express a desire to be baptized. Both of them had been baptized at a young age but want to be baptized now as a public statement regarding their faith. What a cool end to our time together.

At noon Ryan, the kids, and our friend Elaine met me at the camp for a picnic and fishing. It was cold and rainy but we were prepared for lunch and Scott was determined to fish. It was a light rain so we managed that but were cold. Scott caught a big fish right away but after that Elaine was the only one who caught fish. As an international student from Malaysia, this was her first fishing experience and she loved it. I also paddled around the big pond with the kids and they loved it but my quads didn't!

Saturday night we did a quick run to Ryan's folks and grabbed some pizza in town before getting to their house. We ate our "diet" pizza [I think thin crust pizza is like being on a diet cause I love bread] had a quick tour of the remodel project, helped them move some things, showed them the waiting child list for adoption and picked a little girl that I want to get some more information about, stopped at WallyWorld on our way home and got in bed late.

Sunday was a full day at the church. I was home at 3pm and had a lazy afternoon with the family. Ryan left to work on the train that he and a few guys are building for vacation bible school, and eventually I got the wild indians in bed. [I seriously wonder how differently they would act if they didn't have sugar in their diet.] I popped two tylen0l pm's and headed to bed!