Monthly Archives: January 2007

Events, Grandparents, Musings

Happy Birthday Mamie

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happy b day

Happy Birthday Mamie!!! We love you. I’m so sorry we couldn’t be there to celebrate with you. It’s hard living far away. I could go on and on about what a wonderful mother you are (does everyone have a day or two??).

You have taught me how to love my children, support my husband, walk with Jesus, and be a good friend. You shared with me the love of reading and encouraged me to learn all that I could. You have loved me through the ups and downs of life. You give me wise counsel and weave strong bonds in our family even though I live miles away. You continue to teach me how to encourage and affirm people by your example. How often did you tell me I was a wonderful daughter and you were blessed to be my mother? What an amazing gift!

When someone asks me how I am able to be so patient with my children, I will always tell them that I had the most loving and kind mother who laid down her life for the Lord and her family. You challenge me regularly to be more passionate and faithful in my relationship with Jesus. When I think of how tirelessly you serve others, I am convicted to lay aside my selfishness and follow your example. You made raising a family and managing a home look easy, now I realize how hard you worked, without ever seeming to complain or fuss.

On your birthday, I send you my sweetest love and affections!

mamie and kathy

From the children:

Rachel (age 11) – Mamie is so fun. She’s awesome. I love the way she plays with us and watches and listens. I love going to the Inn and swimming with Mamie and Grandad. They stay in the hot tub with their books. Going to Texas was such a blast! It wouldn’t have been fun without Mamie and Grandad there.

rachel tx
Rachel lounges by the pool in Texas.

mamie and the girls

David (age 5 1/2) – Happy Birthday, Mamie! I love you! I hope you have a good birthday. I hope you come over in February. I love you really much. I like it how you play with me. I hope you have a good time with Grandad. Thank you for giving me presents. I miss you so much. I just want to go to the hotel and have a fun time. I’m becoming a really good swimmer. Thank you, Mamie, for letting me spend the night at your house a couple of times. I really like your house.

david

Daniel (age 9 1/2) – Happy Birthday! Did you get a cake? What kind? How many candles will you put on it? What kind of cake do you like? We ate some of Chandler’s birthday cake at lunch. I liked it. We went to PE today and had fun swimming. I remember when you taught me how to swim.

daniel pool

Sarah (age 4 1/2) – Happy Birthday! I liked it at Texas. I love you. I want to give you a hug. I had fun in the snow.

sarah

Joshua (age 13) – What I like best about Mamie is probably her selfless generosity. Nearly every time we visit her, she presents us with a bag filled with small gifts and candy. She also routinely invites us to spend the night with herself and Grandad when they stay at the hotel. This makes us feel very loved. Almost yearly she and Grandad either visit us, or invite us to visit them. I enjoyed every visit with Mamie, but I think my favorite one was the time we went to Maranatha. I love Mamie and I hope to see her soon.

joshua and boys

Joshua with Thom, Chase, Phil and Daniel at Marantha Camp in 2005.

Proverbs 31 describes my mother:

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Happy Birthday!
Kathy

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Daily Life, Project 365

Project 365 – Day 21 (Weekend Re-cap)

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This has been a busy, people-filled weekend. After co-op on Friday, we brought home one of Joshua’s friend. The boys were having a birthday party sleep-over but the birthday boy himself had gymnastics until evening time. We had dinner, played some games, and then sent the boys off to their party. The house always seems empty when one of the children are missing – changes the dynamics all around.

I slept in LATE on Saturday morning. It was lovely! Tim got up with the children and let me stay in bed. Such luxury!! He and the little boys went to the park to try out Daniel’s remote control helicopter. I don’t think they got any pictures – I’m still trying to recover from the shock. In the afternoon I took Daniel and David with me to pick up Joshua. We met another friend at the birthday party house and traded Daniel and David for two sisters. Not content to bring home just two girls, I decided to invite the two older sisters of the birthday boy. They eagerly accepted and ran off to pack. Poor Joshua, he was the only boy in the house with six girls! He was quite outnumbered.

bridgette

rachel workinghannahbethanysarah and abby

I wish I had recorded Rachel’s giggling. I’ve never heard her giggling quite that much in a weekend. It was very contagious. The girls were kind and let Sarah join them in their play. I am so pleased with the friends the children are making – bright, fun, polite, cheerful, interesting, all around lovely kids.

Tim and Joshua worked outside on our broken down fence. Hooray! They fixed two sides and now there is just one piece that is still broken. The windstorm of several weeks ago did quite the number on our fence.

fence
last piece left not standing

At some point in the afternoon we got a call from some old friends who were in the area. What a treat! They were able to come by and join us for dinner. Thankfully I had started a big batch of bread and already had a menu all planned for supper. We talked up a storm and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Since the children outnumbered the grownups and the dining room table was covered with my Christmas decorations (still piled high, I hate to admit), we let them have the kitchen table and the adults ate in the living room. We had a wonderful visit with Tom and Casey. Thanks for coming!!

tom and casey

I think the girls slept some Saturday night but I can’t be certain. Tim woke them up in the morning singing (at the top of his lungs) Oklahoma. Oh what a beautiful morning, indeed. Ha! There was much flurry of getting dressed, eating breakfast, packing clothes, etc. Finally Tim headed out with Joshua and the older girls. Sarah and I came along after them in the other car.

Tim taught our Sunday School class on 1 Corinthians 6. We had so much discussion and lively conversation that we only made it through half the passage. It was a good study with lots of interesting input from the group.

After church we met up with Jennifer and returned two girls in exchange for Daniel and David. Good to have everyone home again. Tim and Joshua went to Gig Harbor to pick up the recliner – the match to our “new” sofa. Tim is already referring to it as “his chair.” It’s beautiful and so comfortable – I can see the entire family is going to fight over it. Hopefully it won’t get too ugly.

daniel and rachel chair

Tim took this picture of Rachel and Daniel sitting on the recliner INSIDE the van. See, it’s already in hot demand and they haven’t even taken it out of the car!

Tim and Joshua carried it inside where David and Sarah quickly took up residence. I’m afraid the Orange Chair is going to feel somehow replaced.

joshua carries chair

david and sarah chair

In the afternoon Tim’s parents came by to return some things and pick up their cell phone. We had a lovely short visit with them. It’s always so nice to connect with family. The kids grabbed quick hugs and talked up a storm.

Our Bible study met at the church this evening. In order to use the church facilities we have to hire two babysitters who have gone through a Risk Prevention training. It took quite a bit of work finding sitters – but was worth the effort (and cash) in the end. We normally let the children play among themselves (the older ones help with the little ones) but it’s quite LOUD!! It was so nice being able to listen and concentrate on the speaker this evening and know that the children were being well cared for in the other room.

We went through the second session of Love and Respect. It is a fascinating study. I am enjoying it and will blog some of my thoughts later presuming I don’t forget it all. Lol! Our entire group was there this evening (except for the two husbands who are serving in the military overseas and four of the children who were home catching up on school work) which meant we had 12 adults and 18 children present. A big group!!

In an attempt to put into practice some of the things I’m learning in our marriage class, I made it a priority to give Tim a haircut this evening before bed (he’s been asking for one since Friday). Just as we were settling in for the night, we received a desperate call from a friend who had 4 (maybe 5) plates of leftover dessert that she desperately needed out of the house — too tempting. I did my duty as a friend and went over to offer solace, comfort, and doggie bags. Yum.

Tom, we have that lemon meringue pie now. Can you come back??

On the way home from Bible study Daniel started listing all the busy activities we have in the week ahead of us. I was already tired from a very full Sunday and totally exhausted by the time he was done talking. Ha! Thankfully a good night’s sleep will help tremendously.

Night!
Kathy

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Musings, Silliness

Christmas Pictures Past and Present

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I gathered these pictures while I was writing the Project 365 blog for Saturday and just had to post them. What a great look at Christmas over the years. I don’t have pictures scanned in the computer from most of the ’90′s so I’m missing all sorts of memorable shots. I’ll have to see if I can get one of the children to spend some time scanning them in.

Here’s a picture of Christmas in Michigan when Tim and I were dating. Wow, where do the years go by?
michigan christmas

I still have this Christmas quilt on the wall behind Joshua. I bought it at JC Penney’s and it looks as pretty now as it did then (although the colors might have been a little darker). Joshua must have been around 4 or 5 in this picture.

joshua pie

The year we moved to WA we didn’t have a Christmas tree (for the life of me I can’t remember why). We put all our presents on an IKEA bookshelf. Our decorations were all packed in boxes in the garage. Kids didn’t mind as long as we still celebrated Christmas. Ha!

ikea christmas

Christmas with David as the baby (2001) then Sarah as the babe in arms (2002).

david babysarah pie

Several times Rachel and I traveled to Minnesota before Christmas to see Nana, my mom, and her sisters. Tim liked to send me off so I would remember what a REAL winter feels like and appreciate the nice, warm rainy temps of WA.

MN christmas

Rachel, Nana, Aunt Stephanie, Aunt Kate, and Mamie.

How is it possible that the last couple of years we haven’t done this adorable pose (from 2003)??? Next year I’ll be sure to get one of the kids sitting in front of the tree. Don’t let me forget!

christmas kiddos

This was the only picture I could find of all the children in front of the Christmas tree in 2004.

2004 kids

This gorgeous tree was in the church lobby – 2005. What a bunch of sweetie pies – if you look closely you can see one of the children is trying hard not to cry (feeling sick but bravely carrying on for the sake of the photo).

2005

Last but not least, a picture from 2006 of the children out on the property – marching about after opening Christmas presents with G’ma and G’pa. Ah, how the years do fly by. We seem to favor the color red – Very Christmasy (also works for Valentine’s Day LOL!!).

2006

Kathy

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Project 365 – Day 20 (Christmas tree)

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There comes a point in most people’s lives when they have to take down their Christmas tree. It’s inevitable. Some people put away their decorations the day after Christmas, others wait until New Year’s and then begin the process, and then there’s our family: we try to make it until Valentine’s Day.

sarah and the tree

Sarah helps by posing sweetly in front of the almost empty tree.

Yes, that’s right, Valentine’s Day.
In February.
The middle of February.

Today I was called Mrs. Grinch, by my very own beloved husband. And why? Because I was taking ornaments off the tree and packing them up.

ornaments

Last year I convinced Tim and the children to buy an artificial tree. I found a gorgeous one at Lowes after the holidays. It was on sale and turned out to be a great deal. I think the kids hoped I would forget about it and end up buying them a real one anyway. I’m not sure how you can forget about a big huge, eight foot long box sitting in the garage but then I’ve seen our garage, it’s easy to get lost out there.

tim and joshua

Tim and Joshua worked out in the garage this afternoon.

The artificial tree was a terrible disappointment to the children. It’s amazing they survived Christmas at all. Joshua would barely speak to me about it. Rachel gave a whole devotional during school, one day, on how people with FAKE trees are like people who have a FAKE relationship with Jesus (definite emphasis on FAKE). It was truly inspiring. Everytime a visitor remarked on how beautiful the tree was and how it looked real (actually touching it to be sure) it was like rubbing salt in a wound. Poor dears! The only thing that helped them get through this tragedy was the large mound of presents that lay heaped under the (FAKE) branches.

When we lived out in the country (away from the convenience of Home Depot tree lots) we drove up into the mountains to cut down our own tree. One year Tim was sick and our neighbors were kind enough to bring us a freshly cut tree. We managed that two years running although eventually they realized Tim was faking it and we had to go and actually find a tree ourselves, preferably one that was for sale.
kathy and kiddos

Kathy, David and Sarah in November, 2003.

We were all very excited about getting our own tree. We were especially proud of Tim as the valiant tree conqueror.

tim and jay tree
tim tree hauling

Who gave these children an axe for splitting wood???

christmas tree ax

When your Christmas tree is real (be it fir, spruce, pine, etc) and you put it up in November or early December, by the time Christmas arrives the tree is standing up by sheer holiday spirit alone. One good breeze and you have a shower of needles on your beautiful tree skirt. No matter how thorough a sweeping and vacuuming job we do, it’s usually not until we move out of a house that we seem to get rid of those pesky tree needles.

Well, who knew that the purchase of a fake tree would result in a rather large, eternal, green living room center piece. I think Tim and the children would have been content to leave our tree up until next year. Mind you, now that I’ve spent half the afternoon taking down decorations, finding the Christmas bins, labeling things, and on and on, I’m more inclined to see their point of view. Lol! Especially since I’m no where near finished.

playmobil calendars

Stacks of Playmobil Advent Calendar boxes–empty now of their little pieces, ready to be filled next year.

I’m not sure why the Christmas un-decorating falls so squarely on my shoulders (although Tim and the boys do the box/bin hauling to and from the garage, no small task when you have over 10 bins). Does that happen in other houses or just mine? Is it because I attempt to be ultra organized and it’s impossible to follow my directions? Do I micro-manage? Is it that Christmas has passed so long ago that no one really wants to think about it? Putting away of decorations is just another ‘chore’ I’m trying to assign? Is it a passive/aggressive attempt to punish me for destroying the spirit of Christmas in January? Is it only fun to take OUT the decorations (“Yay, Christmas is coming!”) and therefore sad to put them AWAY. You hardly ever hear any one saying, “Yay, Christmas is over.” At least not the children or husbands in my house.

These are questions I ask myself as I wrap up ornaments, go around the house taking down bows, lights, Christmas cards, etc., knowing full well that no matter how hard I look, how organized I am, it won’t be until I stack all the bins neatly and tightly on the shelves (full to the brim with their lids pressed on securely) that I will find the last of the Christmas decorations. I try to stay ahead of the little impish elf who hides these things and keep a half empty bin ready and waiting but invariably I put that container on the bottom of a big stack. Sigh.

On a delightfully positive note, as I was pulling the lights off the tree this afternoon I found two Christmas presents tucked into the branches – both addressed to me!! Two cd’s from Tim that must have been forgotten. Surely that makes all the work worth while. Right? Don’t worry about answering, I’m too busy trying to turn these red bows into Valentine hearts.

Kathy

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Project 365, Sarah

Project 365 – Day 19 (Fri – S)

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Rachel says I have a “million” pictures of Sarah. Ha! I just sent her outside to take some photos of Sarah. Tim is working in the garage – trying to organize things – David and Sarah are “helping” him. I told Rachel I didn’t have enough pictures of Sarah and needed more, since it is her Special Day. Rachel looked at me in utter disbelief. “You may not have enough pictures from today, but in general you have millions of pictures of Sarah.” She is off by a few zeroes but I certainly have taken my fair share of photos of Muffin Sarah.

Sarah works

Today our homeschooling co-op resumed. The kids were all VERY thankful to be back with their friends; starting new, interesting courses. Sarah (age 4 1/2) is in the kindergarten class. I am with her for the second period as the teacher. Last semester I was in the classroom for two periods – an assistant for one class and the teacher for the other.

We did some crafts – bead necklaces on ribbons and Fruit Loop necklaces on yarn. Sarah loved the craft, it was a perfect choice for her. She wore her Fruit Loop jewelry the rest of the entire day, finally eating it this evening.

Sarah's jewelrySarah smiles

Sarah has several friends in her kindergarten class – there are some sweet little girls, just Sarah’s age, in the co-op. The teacher for the second two periods wasn’t there today so Sarah went into David’s class. She was tickled to be a “big girl” in Grandma Honey’s class (don’t you love that name!).

This evening, Tim and Sarah played Feed the Kitty again for Sarah’s game time. Right now they are stretched out on the floor, reading I Spy.

I spyspying and smiling

Sarah LOVES her Special Day time with Tim. She smiles and laughs, is almost giddy, with the joy of having uninterrupted Daddy Time. I think that Sarah and David have a special bond with Tim because he was home for much of their early years. Sarah was four months old when Tim lost his job with AT&T. His unemployment continued for almost a year and a half. What a blessing for the little ones in the midst of a very difficult time.

Kathy

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