"Reenie" turns 13!

No, you don't need to adjust your eyes, that IS Serena....at four years old...with a mustache!! On December 27, little Serena ("Reenie" as I call her) turned 13! Yes, a teenager! Yikes... Anyway, we decided to have a mustache bash for her, so I took an old pic of her and added a mustache to it. She even looks cute with "lip spinach", a "cookie brusher", "a misplaced eyebrow", oh yes, we learned lots of names for the common "stache" at her party. I'm sure the grandparents just love these crazy themes these girls come up with!

And here she is today, looking beautiful and sweet. I have a feeling the teen years are going to be quite a challenge...maybe a whole new blog will have to begin for this! Serena is full of energy, spirit, enthusiasm, and did I say energy?? She was born running and hasn't stopped since! We love her and can't believe she's getting so grown up! happy birthday, Reenie. We love you!

Christmas Thoughts

December was a busy time for us as usual, so I don't have much time to post. That means I skip a lot of important stuff! On December 4th, I attended the Christmas Tea at my old/new church (complicated) and sat at my mom's beautiful table. It was nice to see many friends there and others too. I met the new pastor's wife and found her to be very friendly and warm. That following weekend was our annual Christmas parade, which meant lots of people at my parents' house. I always help out with the afterglow, so I found the week to be quite busy and by Saturday, I was pooped! Again, it was nice to catch up with friends and we always love the atmosphere at the parade with all the lights at night. We then celebrated my dad's birthday by attending the Christmas Program at church. I loved it...of course the kids were wonderful as usual, but the adult program was done Hee Haw style, complete with Rednecks. How fitting for our small little farming town! Many old friends welcomed us back and made us feel like family. And then there are others. :) Anyway, we met the new pastor and found him to be quite nice and welcoming. He found us after the service and made contact with us again. His wife remembered me from the tea, so again I found her to be kind and gracious. We have been contemplating coming back for awhile. We just have to make some new decisions about how we will react to certain situations and people. God is growing us, that's for sure. With His grace, we can overcome. So, after that nice program, we met up with my parents for a nice lunch and birthday celebration. The following Tuesday was our special Christmas concert the girls are in over at Warriner Hall. This was Nat's first time playing bass for the jazz band and Serena's first time playing tenor in the junior jazz band! I am always so happy to attend this concert, I can't even tell you! It's like going to Frankenmuth and doing our light tour all rolled into one! It's just a festive beautiful time of watching our young people entertain us with all their talents. I was so proud of our girls too. Nat just owned that bass! :) Steve and I presented the girls with bundles of roses after the performance. And then where do you go after? Pixie, of course with Grandma and Grandpa! So much fun. Christmas shopping and baking and candy making, wrapping, running, and spending took up many of the days after that! Finally we made it to Christmas Eve. Many of our family members couldn't make it this year, so our crowd was quite small. Just my sister and I, with her husband and my family at my parent's house. We managed to do a fun auction exchange anyway, played a lively game of Catchphrase, and enjoyed the chocolate fountain. It has been a nice shift since the emphasis is not on gifts so much as just having time to visit. Christmas day was wonderful with our girls, as it always has been. As they get older, I realize time is shorter and shorter, having our girls here at home with us under the tree. I appreciate and savor every second. Believe me. My most precious gift besides my family was the print the girls did of Angel for me. Since Steve's family was delaying Christmas for one day, we had the whole day to just do whatever we wanted! It was nice, just hanging out in our jammies for the day. On the day after Christmas, we went to the facility where Steve's 93 year old grandma is now living. The goal was to get family pictures with Grandma. All 32 of us! Steve's aunt agreed to photograph, but she asked us to help a bit, which we did. I got to know her a bit better and really enjoyed spending time with her. We also met our new nephew who is 10 months old, and he was a complete joy! Seeing him sit in Grandma's lap was nothing short of amazing. It was beyond poetic. Grandma is not who she used to be, but I saw her spark when that little baby was placed on her lap. She smiled. She waved to him, and responded in a way she hadn't for months. Years even. Steve's mom was amazed at how her mother perked up in the presence of her family. She even exclaimed, "I didn't know what a big family I had!" It was a gift, I'm sure, to all of us. The pictures took a couple hours and then we headed back to Steve's parent's home. Having so many nieces and nephews all doing such interesting things makes for a fun day! And having the new baby and new parents was a special addition to my day as well. What can I say about the Christmas season? It's all about LOVE. It's about miracles. It's about Family, and it's giving. Of yourself, your time, your gifts inside. Happy New Year...

Michigan Poem

I saw this on a friend's blog a few years ago and I came across it again today. I love all things Michigan, of course, including our "mitten" shape! I actually "published" a book about our cold Michigan life and sent it to a friend in Missouri. She loved it so much that she had it bound for me. I still treasure it today. It has nothing to do with this poem, of course, but maybe I'll share my book at some point too. Here goes...sorry I can't indent and make this all cool. It's winter here in Michigan and the gentle breezes blow Seventy miles an hour At twenty-five below Oh, how I love ole Michigan When the snow's up to your butt You take a breath of winter And your nose freezes shut Yes, the weather here is wonderful So I guess I'll hang around I could never leave my Michigan 'Cause I'm frozen to the ground. By the way, no snow as of yet, but I hear it's coming. Maybe in time for Santa??

Room at the Inn? I hope not.

"It's the moooost wonderful tiiime of the year..." Is it really? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Okay, right after Thanksgiving, people go nuts shopping. That to me just sets a tone of "crazy" right off the bat. For some reason, we think December means making more cookies than you normally make, making candy that you never make, attending too many parties-some of which you would ordinarily pass on, buying more than you normally buy, and filling up your calendar with all things "Christmas". Then we all sit back and wonder "why am I so cranky?" "Why don't these pants fit anymore?" "Where did all our money go?" "Who are all these people?" Yes, we all say that, and probably much more! Don't you think that's kind of opposite of what Christmas really was meant to mean? Am I the first to bring this up? Of course not, but why do we talk about the same thing year after year? Why don't we ever just "get it"? Why don't we say, forget all the cards, 86 the cookies, no more office parties, no more gift exchanges, I'm going to the manger for Christmas!! If you want to send me a card, send it to the manger address! I'm not wearing Spanx to the party! I'm wearing my barn clothes! Leave me and Jesus alone!" That's how I feel each December, as I participate (sometimes robotically) in all things "Christmas". But when I can create some peace, some room, some time, it's all about CHRISTmas, It's all about Jesus, and it's all about Him. Not the gifts, not the cookies, not the decorating, not the carols, not the shopping. And that's when I get it. Now, keeping it? That's up to me. And you. Merry Christmas to all.....and to all, a good time at that manger this year.

Expectations

"Cease expecting and you shall gain all things." This is a quote by an unknown author and has stuck with me for years. It is so true. Our expectations get us into trouble. Expecting someone to do what they say. Expecting it not to rain when you planned a vacation. Expecting to lose that 10 pounds before your class reunion. Expecting someone to be kind because you have been kind. No. I've learned in life that if I'm angry, if I'm frustrated, if I'm anxious, it's because my expectations are clouding reality. The only One you can always expect anything from is God. People are wonderful, in general, but I can promise you they will let you down. I can promise you without even knowing me that I will unknowingly let you down. I can't meet your expectations. Since you can control that part of you, I hope that you don't depend on me to meet your every expectation. To do so would be setting us both up for failure. And yet, I find myself expecting people to say or do or behave in a way that makes sense to me! I know this going in, and yet I still allow myself to hope that maybe just maybe they'll get it. They usually don't. Sometimes I don't get it either. Certain people have expected things from me that I'm not even capable of giving. If they knew me well enough, they'd know that already. And I know not to expect my carefree friend to know when I'm hurting. She just isn't wired that way. And so I don't wait for her to react the way I want her to, I just seek out the one I need, because I know what to expect from her. And I can always seek God, who already knows what I need and always gives me what I expect. I have to watch my own expectations and understand that while a healthy amount of expectation keeps some people in line,(my kids, for one) it confuses others. Some people walk around as if they owe no one anything. No apology, no reason, not even an excuse. Sometimes not even a glance. I think we just need to give each other a break. Like the cars who always seem to think I have my brights on...ugh! I can't tell you how many people flash me at night. It drives me nuts and is so distracting. I never drive with my brights and yet these dillweeds keep punishing me anyway. I would expect them to be courteous and gracious, but doing that would just make me even more frustrated when they can't do that for me. Cease expecting. Stop waiting for someone to get in line to make you happy. It won't happen. Get yourself some perspective and realize your comfort doesn't come from people doing what you expect, or the hope of losing that 10 pounds. It comes from the only One who can always meet your expectations, and from now on, I will be expecting more of myself in remembering that.

Hanging Tough?

"life isn't fair." It's something we've drilled into our kids since they were toddlers, and yet I still expect life to be fair sometimes as an adult! What is wrong with me that I actually think things will work out..and to my advantage...in my timing....and exactly the way I want them... Yeah, I'm laughing too. Must be drinking too much eggnog. We found out this morning that the dog (Angel's puppy) we were offered back in October (long story) was basically adopted right out from under us. Nothing happened the way we were promised. We were all excited about him coming here. Epic fail, as the kids would say. I lamented a bit more about that on her personal blog so I won't go into detail here. And while that seems like not such a big deal, it's just another drop in the bucket of disappointments this year. We keep wondering what is going on, and yet part of me already knows. See, I began praying fervently about some very specific things...friendships, money, parenting,church, and some other big ones too. I knew God would answer, as He always does, it's just that His answers have really rocked my boat. Most of his answers are difficult to take. I know this because I've been listening. I've noticed some friendships fizzling for my own good. I've noticed some heavy discipline in the financial department. I've received some direction that I can't believe I have to take. I wanted this dog for my family so bad that I was blinded by it. God said "no." He tells me "no" quite often, and I'm glad He is guiding, but I'd be lying if I said it was easy to take. After Friday night's news of no dog, I put my head down on my computer and I cried. I could tell the girls were feeling worse for me than for themselves, as they just said, "Mom, it's okay. It's just not meant to be and at least he has a home". I felt like a child as I simply muttered back, "i'm so tired of being let down." But in fact, I'm not let down that often. I just feel that way. God never lets me down, but He does discipline me in a way I need to be disciplined. Like a child, I don't like to hear it, but I need it. I am blessed to have this family to go through all of these things with, good, bad, ugly, and dogless too. Serena has been dealing with some friendship troubles at school that have just had me seething! I am just tired of all the peaty mean people in her life. I was having an emotional reaction on a "decompress" drive, and suddenly I felt God giving me this, "stop giving this so much weight. It's not as important as you think." What? I went back home and had a nice long talk with Serena in efforts to make her feel better and learn how to deal with this in a mature, Christian way. It turns out she was already doing that. I'm the one who went all postal. She said to me, "sure, it hurts. I thought she was my best friend, but you know what? Best friends don't do that to each other, so I guess it was time to let her go." Wow. If only I could be that mature under pressure! Again, though, I was compiling my feelings about all the things going wrong and i was reacting to them. Weak moments just get us into trouble. With God's grace, I can do all of these new challenging things. I can handle all of God's answers. And once in awhile, I'll be as mature as my 12 year old when I do it!

Trees and Birthdays

Since Thanksgiving, we got busy tearing up the house and decking the halls, inside and out. I am nowhere near done and I've lost my energy to finish! I know how to get it back, don't you worry. As soon as my Girl Scout cookies arrive, I'll be good to go! Anyway, we bought a new tree this year after mulling over several options to replace our last one. I'm allergic to trees (such a nerd I am) and I didn't know how Angel would handle the needles. She seems to eat very strange things these days. We also figured that in the 15 years we had a fake tree, we saved a ton of money! So, we went ahead and got a nice new beautiful 9 foot pre-lit tree! (Did you hear that angel choir??) Only problem is, we are so very traditional about Christmas and we like playful, childlike trees covered in the kids ornaments. That means a multi-colored "color book" tree to us. Well, we don't care for the weirdish psychedelic colors of the new LED lights, so we went with (drumroll) clear lights. Yeah, that fell flat on me too at first! It's all decorated, finally after having to figure out why part of the tree wasn't lighting...pre-lit, fellas at the factory...not currently dark. Anyway, it does look beautiful in our living room. It is stately, elegant, and not so traditional, though it has all of our traditional ornaments on it. Oh well, we also have 2 other trees decorated and if you stand in one spot, you can see them all at the same time. The mystery spot, I guess we call it now. On Wednesday, we celebrated Steve's birthday with a special theme party. When Natalie turned 6, I turned our kitchen into a pizza parlor, and made matching aprons and chefs hats for all 13 of her friends....i was so much more energetic back then! Anyway, Nat thought it would be neat to do for her daddy, since we have a standing Friday night homemade pizza night at our house. It took me ALL day, but I did get the kitchen transformed, as well as menus printed, signs made, and a storefront window completed. Of course, I got the dough made and all the toppings ready too. Welcome to Papa's Amazing Pizza!

Where you are waited on by beautiful girls with mustaches!

The birthday guy has to toss his own dough! He's really good at it too!

Hi "cake" is a giant cookie decorated to look like a pizza. Didn't the girls do a great job? Daddy thought so too.

We had such a fun time throwing this party for Steve/Daddy. He works so hard for us and has been having such a hard time with work lately. He comes home tired and deflated sometimes. On this day, we just kept coming at him with more and more love. He had a great time and so did we!

Thankful

For all God has given me...Love, Life, Grace, Mercy, Family, and more LOVE, I am so thankful!!

Dog Days?

I just had to share this embarassing info with you...I pointed out the other day that this blog has been up since 2008. July to be exact. My dog Angel's blog has been up since June of this year, I think. Her pageviews are already approximately half the amount of my 4 year old personal blog! I know I've pointed this out before, but it just amazes me to think that my dog is way more popular than me! Like I should be surprised...Anyway, I don't know what Angel's secret to popularity is, but I might start watching her a little closer for some hints. Like maybe I should beg people to pay attention to me? Maybe I should cuddle up on people's laps? Maybe I should just have a fluffier hairstyle? Maybe I should bark...chase chipmunks...sleep in the sun...I don't know what she has over me, but it's pretty impressive. I don't know, guys, maybe it's time to close up this shop and be Angel's permanent personal assistant, blogging only about her and all of her adventures?? I'm thinking about it...seriously...no comments....no reactions...no nothing. No one is even reading this! Oh, well, I think I need to go chew on some rawhide and do some other crazy dog stuff. See ya later. Arf!!

Bang a Gong

The "Sound of Music" means something entirely different at my house! The other day as Nat and Serena practiced their alto and tenor saxes together, I actually said out loud to myself, "some day I'm going to miss hearing this". Every day is full of music at our house, whether it's guitar, piano, keyboard, singing, saxophones, or drumming on every horizontal surface! I absolutely love it...even when I'm trying to rest. Even when I'm on the phone, even when I'm trying to watch a movie. Because I know one day, my house will be silent. And boring. And lonely. And quiet. Shhhhh... So for now, I love and cherish the noise. Bring it on. Bang a gong!!

Happy Howl-a-Birthday

Those of you with great computer connections....consider yourselves very lucky! My computer and I differ greatly on how things should be done. Long story short, I can't blog from home anymore! Ugh! Anyway, we've been busy! On October 29th, Angel turned 2 and we had our annual family Halloween party. Complete with a dog-themed decor and food, we also had a dog-themed scavenger hunt! Steve decked out the tree house as the final stop, and it was spooky! The party was so much fun. We've done it for several years now, just the four of us, and it never fails to be a great family time.

Steve always has fun coming up with the scavenger hunt, and I love coming up with a menu and decorations. This year we had "bones and blood" (bone-shaped breadsticks with marinara), "mummy dogs", "Kibbles and Bits" (chex mix), "bones and barf" (bone-shaped cookies with pumpkin dip), "found in the yard" (chocolate clusters), and the usual stromboli, tortilla roll ups, chips and cheese, and a "purr purr platter" (mexican layer dip with a cat face). The girls still love all the fun foods and the names I come up with. Every year I think maybe they're outgrowing it. Nope. They said they'd bring their kids home one day for the parties!! I can't wait. Well, yes, I can....

What's New in the Neighborhood

What's new in the neighborhood.... a few new shiitakes developed over the last few days because of this balmy October weather. I love walking a few feet into the woods and being able to pick a few gourmet mushrooms! We are in the process of trying to adopt another dog. I can't get into the details just yet, since there is a special situation going on behind the whole decision and it's not my story to tell. Bottom line, if it works out, we'll have 2 adorable white puppies in the house. Natalie's surgery has been scheduled for June 17th next year. Seems like a long way off, but there is alot to plan...finances, house/dog sitter, emotional and physical preparation, etc...Nat's feet are getting a bit cold, as expected. Steve has a chance to go to a world series game this Sunday, but I'm hoping he doesn't go. I wish I could tell you why! Just know I have a very good reason. I just can't share here. My mom and I went to a sweet little gift shop today and she bought my belated birthay present. A Lang calendar (that matches hers) and a print that I already have hanging over our bed. It's a beautiful rolling hills setting in the background, a big maple tree in the foreground with "Love you 4ever" carved in the trunk! It has a beautiful saying on it about marriage...I just loved it immediately! I also purchased a beautiful picture of Jesus holding a black lamb close to his chest, smiling down at it. When I asked about the print, the store owner told me that the author had a special reason for using a black sheep instead of the traditional white ones. She said the artist's father used to raise suffolk (sp) sheep, and that sometimes new Christians feel like outsiders in their new Christian environment.Sometimes they feel like the "black sheep", and these prints are to remind them that Jesus loves ALL of his sheep and sees them all the same. Now I want the whole series! And at only $3 for a 5x7, I just might get them all! So that's what's new in the neighborhood. Not much. Well, there is more, but I like to keep you waiting. Have a great weekend!

Change

In the past, I used to speak a lot before I'd think. I used to get myself in some doozies! I look back now and it's a bit embarassing to think of some of the things I've said. Kind of like toothpaste out of the tube, words just don't get "put back". They are "out there" for as long as people choose to think about them. The only way to "undo" something you wish you hadn't said is to apologize (if possible) to them, apologize to God, and stop doing that altogether. I had to step back and ask myself why I felt the need to open my mouth in the first place. A lot of times I was trying to gain favor with someone (kind of a funny way to do it now that I think about it!), trying to seem a certain way, or I was trying to control a situation. Really, it was never from a good place! And most of all, it was inauthentic, because it wasn't my heart. It wasn't until I found a safe place to share my heart that I began to feel accepted for the flawed person I was. My safe place, I will always say, was a good God-loving friend who saw all through my facade, and put up with my words! She knew better and soon, I began to know better too. I watched her and I began to "get it." The reason I bring up this story is not to claim that I've arrived in some way, but I do know I've had some victory in this area. It takes work to keep that victory! Sometimes I still catch myself slipping. So the reason I revisit this is because it has enabled me to be a better friend to those who don't always say the right thing at the right time. The friend who gossips a bit, the one who judges harshly, the one who puts down the woman at the store, the one who criticizes EVERYTHING all the time it seems. I have become more patient with them. More tolerant of the behavior, and more understanding of where it may come from. I want to be that "friend" who knows their heart is better than that. She didn't correct me with words. I don't correct with words. When someone is saying something inappropriate to me, I picture that I am talking to my old self! In other words, don't forget, YOU USED TO DO THAT TOO!! And as I think about that, I just act better and hope she sees. And while I claim my friend showed me the right way, I know that it was God all along, answering my cry for help. "Show me a better way. Bring me better friends. Make me better.Help me be more like you." And then it's no surprise that God would be helping me to help someone else. It's just the way I've seen it work. You want to be better? The only one who can make you better is God, but you have to recognize your weaknesses that trip you up or cause you to harm others. Then you have to admit you need help. God's help. Then you listen and do what He says. Hopefully He will provide you with a beautiful friend like mine, who came at just the right time. Thank you Sara. And thank you God.

Volley Girl

Serena's first year of school Volleyball is done! It's been a lot of fun for both of us, as I've been helping the 7th and 8th grade teams at practice since the season started. It was an accident that started it! The coach was late getting to practice one day as she had been involved in an accident (she was ok, by the way). So her mom asked if I knew anything about volleyball. I replied, "sure" and ran the practice until she got back. I really enjoyed working with both teams, but I have to say that coaching is harder than it looks! Let's just say if all you had to worry about was teaching the sport and showing up, it would be a piece of cake! There are so many elements to coaching that can just really make it difficult, and I'm not sure it would be a good fit for me. I did commit to helping again next year because I really loved teaching and encouraging the girls to do their best!

The girls had never touched a volleyball before the season started, so let's just say this....we did the best we could!! Serena had fun and did her best, and that's all we ever require. Next year should be even better, especially if our coach decides to stay!

Politics...here I go again...

I don't like election years. Sigh...I don't like politics. I care about the world and all of that. I have my own personal beliefs about politics, I just don't care to spend time discussing it much. The girls have been barraged by political nonsense at school, of course. Here are just a few highlights...if you care. Don't blame you if you don't! * Nat had to write a paper on the differences between demos and repubs. At the end of the paper, she HAD to declare her commitment to one or the other. What?? That's crazy. I told her she didn't HAVE to be anything. Apparently, the assignment required she did. I said, find out what the teacher is and be the opposite. That's just ridiculous....politics...right up there with enemas in my opinion. (not that I'd know anything about those, mind you) *Serena came home and told me all kinds of things about our current president, as told to her by an obviously brainwashed child of overly political parents who clearly watch one biased station on TV. No, to my knowledge, Obama is not trying to turn our children into slaves to get back at us. What are these parents thinking??? *If you're a Christian, apparently you HAVE to be republican. That's funny. I'm a Christian and I'm NOT a republican. (I just heard your appalled "WHAT??") That's right. Christians can be a little something called "AMERICANS". That's what I am. And I don't have to cater to a party to be that! So, what we're trying to show our kids is that you do HAVE to think for yourself. I encourage them to not discuss politics UNLESS they understand what they are saying. It is irresponsible to run your mouth because of what someone on TV is saying. What your parents are saying in the kitchen...what your church or place of business tells you you have to think. What a party tells you to do. This is America, and we have the right to think for ourselves. Intelligently, thoughtfully, mindfully, and with a love for our country as our main objective. I love this country, but I don't have to be a republican, a democrat, or a whateverist to prove it. And I certainly don't expect my kids to run around being my little mouthpieces, regurgitating my thoughts and opinions. When they are old enough to approach politics with maturity, I can't wait to hear what THEY think. And I hope they are respectful in sharing with their classmates these ideas. I have been pretty annoyed with some of the crazy things the girls come home and tell me. Clearly these parents aren't being objective or educational in their teachings, and all that does is confuse kids. It also teaches them to be very narrow-minded. Not cool. When I was a kid, I loved Jimmy Carter. I wasn't a democrat (that I knew of), and I didn't know or care what my parents thought. I loved him because he had a cool voice and he loved peanuts. Ahh...to be an innocent child and love your president. That would be a nice refreshing change.

Life Pictures

This is the caramel-covered honeycrisp apple I made for Natalie one day (when braces-wearing sister was gone!), He has peanut hair and a chocolate chip face. He didn't last long!

I am always amazed to see all my rosebushes still blooming, even after all the cold weather and most of the leaves have gone away.

I can't get enough of the trees...ya know?

One night, Natalie and I relaxed out on the patio in front of the fire. Those are her warm and toasty feet! Life may get crazy, busy, and even annoying sometimes, but I always have my camera and I can always escape!

Relax...it's Fall

What's a chilly fall day without homemade soup? Last weekend I made baked potato soup....in homemade bread bowls....yum, if I must say so myself!

Here's Serena, trying on Nat's homecoming dress. I know! She looks so grown up...and pretty cute too!

Speaking of cute, here's one of the pics I took last week on our annual "fall photo shoot".

Angel loves to snuggle in a warm blanket after her bath. I just love that time with her...so relaxing. That sums up Fall for me...relaxing!

Falling For Fall

Miss Angel enjoying a beautiful fall day!

One of many of our surrounding trees all "aflame"

The view from the deck. I never get tired of looking out my windows

It's so nice to drive through these trees every day just to come home!

Every corner inside has a little touch of fall too! I just love Fall. Can you tell?? It's just another one of God's many beautiful gifts...

Homecoming

Sniff Sniff, tears....our girl went to her first Homecoming Dance! She and her friends got ready at Grammy's (my mom's) and had their pictures taken on the same staircase where I used to be photographed on such occasions. Nat had a blast at the dance, as we expected she would, and she looked like a doll! Thanks to my sister, Nat was all put together, wearing a dress and accessories from my sister's formal wear shop. Daddy even got dressed up just to open the door and escort her to the dance. What a fun time the girls all had, doing each other's hair and makeup! I had some very special time with Natalie at home beforehand, doing her hair and eating twizzlers...these are the times we will all remember.

Happenings

Wish I could post more,but until we can get some sort of high speed, i have to wait until I go into civilization! We've been busy enjoying these last couple of weeks with school now in session. On Labor Day weekend we sort of fulfilled one of my wishes...to watch a movie outside! We built a fire and just plugged in our portable DVD player and put it on the picnic table...rednecks for sure! We had our snacks and comfy chairs and loved every minute of it! The girls looked so cute on the first day, Natalie with her 'mermaid' braid, Serena with her beloved Beatles shirt. They are both enjoying their first year of jr. high and high school so far. Natalie marched for the first time last week IN THE RAIN. She wasn't too thrilled about it but as usual, the band did a super great job. I yelled louder for them than our winning football team! I was also busy doing some shooting...pictures, that is, of our triplets in the family. They are crazy to work with, but so fun too.

They all look so much alike, don't they? These are the new uniforms our community provided! Not quite the nerdy one I had to wear a looooong time ago!

Aren't they sweet?

My special after-school snack for them...homemade oatmeal cream pies!

Chelsea, Riley, and Nicole, almost 16 already!

A Crashin' Good Time

Who doesn't love the fair?? This year we skipped our local fair and went to the Ogemaw County Fair to meet up with some friends for the demo derby! I love a good race and even better..big crashes! Especially with combines...I know...who'd have guessed it? My friend Sara and I even picked our own cars...hers won both times. "Her car" said "Sara" on the side. Mine said "JR 69" My initials and birth year...whoops...now you know! We just thought it was kinda cool...anyway..so much fun! We all earned a punch on our "Redneck Cards" that night as we whooped and hollered and even let out a couple "YEE-HAWWWWS!" We ended the night with you guessed it....chocolate dipped cheesecake. ON A STICK!! Cotton candy, french fries, giant pretzels...hmm..sounds a little bad now that I'm sharing. Oh well, once a year, right??

Backin' Up the Bus

I'm a bit late in posting some things we've done this summer...mainly because my dial up is not only slow, it's non-existent most of the time! Anyway, we held my brother's wedding reception at my mom's in early august, and I had the honor of making the cake! It wasn't too much work, perfect for a garden party. We had a beautiful dinner with family and friends which would have ended wonderfully but for the fact one of our guest's cars was broken into. Some money was stolen...so sad that you can't leave your doors unlocked in a small town anymore. A few days later, we celebrated Nat's half birthday with a "smiley face" theme, complete with a smiley face cookie, lollipop bouquet, and a smiley face garland that Serena made with help from my Cricut cutter. Nat loves smiley faces, so this theme made her smile when she saw it. After her outdoor party, we took it inside and made our own smiley faces...See if you can guess who made which face...you may be surprised to find that mine looks like Charlie Brown!!:) What? Not surprised? Me either!!

Highs and Lows and In-Betweens

Where do I begin? Obviously I've been a bit preoccupied, not keeping up with my posts. A couple weeks ago we went shopping for Natalie's first homecoming dress. That was fun and exciting! My sister owns a formal wear business, so it's always fun to go and visit her and try on all the dresses. Well, the girls do anyway! She picked out a beautiful fun little dress and all the accessories. She's going with a group of friends, very fitting for a brand new freshman. I'm excited for her, but a bit nervous too. High school can be tough. In the midst of all of our fun, we lost our camper due to a major mouse attack. There was so much damage that we could not use it this summer. It was a total loss. It's just one more thing that has not gone well this summer, and yet I still smile.Or maybe that's gas...Sigh. More important than our destroyed camper was the call we got from her latest x rays. Her spine curvature has progressed to the point that surgery is necessary. So we took a trip down to U of M hospital and talked about her options. We will be scheduling the surgery for early next summer so she doesn't miss one day of school, as she requested. She may have to put off taking driver's ed since she will be recovering for quite some time. I know I'm being "matter of fact" about this. It's just a lot to grasp. However, I am grateful that what she has is not much worse, as we saw in the waiting rooms. She and I have had many special talks together not just about the surgery, but about God. We have had a lot to deal with this summer, starting with her having to quit volleyball, her beloved sport. It's just not fair...but that's another road I don't like to go down because it just makes me angry all over again. The good news is that her band teacher got a shiny new bass guitar for her to learn this summer, so she has been crazy jamming on that thing! Our house is vibrating from that big ole amp in the corner of the family room. I love how happy it makes her to be able to play music like that. She's looking forward to playing in the jazz band for the first year and we can't wait to cheer her on. Without volleyball in the way, she'll have more time for her music, which is her passion. Where one door closes, another opens...right? And I just keep praying for other doors to fly open....because I'm really tired of getting my fingers smashed in ones I try to open myself.

Gold Medal Fan

I have become addicted to the Olympics! I can't get enough, and I've even been watching events that make no sense to me...like water polo, and the 5 minutes I wasted, I mean, spent, watching synchronized swimming. Really? That eye shadow was hideous! My favorite is always gymnastics, having been into gymnastics as a kid, and of course, I love beach volleyball too. I have been mesmerized by the racing, pole vaulting and high jump. The swimming was so exciting as well as the synchronized diving...oh, I could go on! I wish it was on all summer. I haven't been this excited to watch something since oh....the winter olympics...and figure skating, speed skating, skiing...oh, I am addicted to the Olympics...and the great USA!!!

Focus on the Blessings, Not the Problems

While we are in "church transition", I have been watching a lot of Joyce Meyer again. I am also reading one of her older books, "Be anxious for Nothing". A song that keeps playing in my mind is one by 4Him called "He Never Changes". In my Bible I continue to come across Scriptures on trials, tribulations, and peace. Not three words I would ever put in the same sentence, especially after these last couple of years. My husband and I have been experiencing a lot of "life challenges", such as many things breaking around the house, 2 cars in need of repair, sick parents,a change in our church situation,friendships ending, health changes, increasing prices on everything from gas to house insurance and on and on. Each time we are faced with yet another challenge, we are forced to accept it by saying "no one died", because truly, that would be something to cry over. And yet, life stuff still hurts. So while I am watching Joyce Meyer, it is no coincidence at all that she has been focusing on making it through your trials and tests with joy and not sorrow. She has been reminding me that being put through many tests is a sign that God is strengthening us. That he is paying attention to our prayer requests and answering those in His unique way. She said the other day that we spend too much time fighting against our problems because we don't understand that we are being tested. Well, we may not understand why things "seem" to go from bad to worse, but we have HOPE that God is working it out for some great purpose and HE will be glorified through it. I am always amazed how these things turn out. I can always see how God worked things out even when it seems futile. In our human minds, we just can't figure this stuff out. That's why it's even more important to just keep our eyes on who God is and don't worry about what He is doing. I have also been reminded to live one day at a time. Don't worry about yesterday, don't think about tomorrow, but deal with one day's problems at a time. And while all this "stuff" is going on, I haven't missed the fact that our marriage has been strengthened! Our spiritual life has improved! Our family time is even more special! And those are the things to focus on. The blessings and not the problems!

Looking Back

Just a couple of pics from the past. This was 2005, back when my girls were just little chickies! I love looking back at the old pics, though it's kind of bittersweet....sigh...they are lovely young ladies today, and one day will be beautiful women, inside and out!

Everyone Needs Somebody to Love

Just poppin' in to share with you the beautiful oriole couple we had visiting a couple of weeks ago. Along with them came our bearded hen with her babies...yes, a bearded hen with babies. I was so happy for her, as she had always come to feed all by herself, unlike the other turkeys. So, for all of you who didn't know it already, for every Jack, there is a Jill. Much like nature, some of us are always trying to look our best to impress someone. Well, guess what? There is no one to impress, really. Just be your beautiful self, and the right one will come along! Just ask my bearded hen...and her beautiful babies! :)