Yearly Archives: 2009

Events

AWANA Recap

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Last night I loaded the latest pictures onto the computer; 457 of them, taken between the 13th and the 26th of May. Ah, I think I finally have enough fresh shots in my collection to do some blogging. I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

AWANA
Mother’s Day
Parties
New bread recipes
And so on…

But first, let’s look at some highlights from AWANA.

Sparks Gentlemen

Joshua and Timothy were awesome leaders for the 1st and 2nd graders.

Our busy activities are winding down. Homeschool co-op finished several weeks ago. Whew! My Thursday nights are unbelievably stress-free without the teacher prep scramble for co-op. The kids miss seeing their friends every week as do I, but it’s delightful to have a break from the responsibilities and extra work.

Way to go!!

AWANA also ended this month. Last night Tim, Daniel and Joshua went to a “Thank You” dinner for the leaders. Joshua helped all year with the Sparkies and Daniel worked in the games. They have beautiful servant hearts. It’s a joy to see them develop their gifts and minister to others. I’m proud of them!!

Honoring Dan

Daniel was given the Sacred Whistle for his role as Game Assistant.

David and Sarah had a great year in AWANA. They both worked diligently to memorize their verses and complete their books. I’m impressed with their ability to learn God’s Word and hide it in their hearts. I pray that it will be a blessing to them their entire lives.

sarah and the girls

Sarah LOVES Caedie and Jaalah.

One of the sweetest things in parenting is to watch the children develop close friendships with each other (as siblings) and with other families. We have been extraordinarily blessed over the years to have wonderful friends. I do not take it lightly, for granted, or without a significant measure of THANKS as I think of the amazing people God has brought into our lives.

brother and sister

Eli and Emma are some of our bestest friends.

Buddies!

Alex and David ruled the Yellow Team!

I am so grateful for our church and all the faithful servants who give of their time, energy and devotion to the youngest members of the congregation.

Kathy
More to follow soon (I hope).

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Musings

Where Has the Sunshine Gone?

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Seriously, I’m wondering if we’ll have gray clouds for the whole month week. The younger kids and I went to the Space Needle yesterday. It rained the entire drive to Seattle, but then the sun burst forth while we were on the observatory deck of the Space Needle. There is something so delicious about standing in the sunshine! By the time we returned home it was gray and cloudy again. At least we’re consistent.

birthday gift

An awesome birthday gift from Daniel’s favorite cousin.

No, I didn’t take any pictures. Sigh. Completely forgot my camera. I did remember coffee and snacks for the kids, so you can obviously see where my priorities lie these days. Ha!

ice cream pie

An ice cream pie creation by Tim and Daniel for the birthday party.

I think I need some fresh inspiration in my photography. Any ideas? Perhaps a class. I wonder if I could fit that into our crazy schedule. Oh, did I mention that Daniel has recently joined Rachel and Joshua in being a member of the YMCA swim team? Lots of swimming going on in our family. Never a dull moment!

Despite our clouds and cool weather, the garden has begun. We’ll have tomatoes and lettuce this summer!!

the garden begins...

Kathy

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Events, Joshua, Rachel

The Golden Goggles

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Last Saturday was a big day for our two oldest swimmers, as they celebrated the end of the swim season and their first year as Swim Team members. The local YMCA offers swimming classes, and (for those who take it a bit more seriously) a swim team, separated into A, B and C sub-teams. Joshua started in November, as a ‘B’ team swimmer, and Rachel followed in December, qualifying for ‘C’ team.

Rachel's Medal
Rachel found swim team to be very challenging at first, but has overcome, and now enjoys it.

The Swim Team Sleepover was held at the Y, and included a meal, an award ceremony, and many games and activities. Kathy and the older two stayed until midnight, while the younger three and I made our exit after the ceremony (and the meal).

Receiving an Award
Joshua nearly had to go down on one knee to receive his medal. He towers over the landscape, these days.

Joshua and Rachel were both honored with medals for participation, and Joshua was given the ‘Golden Goggles Award’ for being the ‘Best Male All-Round Swimmer’. As the coach commented, Joshua’s discipline, commitment and willingness to give 100% at practices, distinguished him among the others and he was singled out for the coveted Golden Goggle award.

The Golden Goggles
As it turned out, the ‘gold’ was spray paint, but this award is none-the-less cherished.

I was very proud of him, and of the significant effort he has invested into the team, with three weeknight practices each week, and additional swimming time on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Joshua and Rachel have both worked hard to improve their swimming skills and physical fitness, and they are an inspiration to their parents in the areas of discipline and ‘stick-to-it-iveness’.

Earlier that same day, Joshua played the role of Duke Orsino in an adaptation of Twelfth Night, performed by a group of players from our homeschool co-op. As he rattled off line after line of Shakespearean verse, I couldn’t help wonder to myself: “Where did this versatile man-child come from?”

Honored Boy
I remember when this boy was a pipsqueak. Now he gathers honor by the bushel.

Kathy and I shake our heads a lot, watching our children surpass us in a variety of ways. “I didn’t teach them that,” I’ll confide to Kathy. “Me neither,” she’ll agree. But for all their discipline and accomplishments, I think the thing that makes me proudest is that each of my children, to one extent or another, has given their heart to Jesus and is working hard to be a worthy and devoted disciple.

As the apostle John said in his third letter: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. ”

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Daily Life

Sunshine Warped Their Brains

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Has Spring finally arrived? Sunshine. Warm weather. Homeschooling out on the yard. Dandelions covering the grass. Allergies for Tim.

eat this little fishie

This goldfish is a goner.

Okay, so not all of the signs of Spring are positive.

Glorious sunshine is one aspect of the season that we all adore. Perhaps in other parts of the US a sunny day in April, with temperatures in the mid to high 70′s, would signal the beginning of summer. I’ve heard of such places.

Not so in western Washington. Pretty much what we can expect is … rain. Oh we have wonderful, beautiful sunny days in the spring and summer, but you’re better off planning on clouds and gray weather.

beach buddies

Sand, beach and buddies, ah life is good.

Every ray of sunshine is an unexpected delight and sends us rushing outside to savor the warmth. Some of us rush a little too far and end up in the water.

suck it in, boys

The Puget Sound is a cold body of water, but there are spots with warm sand.

Yesterday there was a terrible rumor that our warm weather (70′s two days in a row, a near miracle) was coming to an end. I received a desperate email from a friend begging for suggesting an afternoon outing at the beach. Who was I to deny a mom in need of sunshine? We called/texted/emailed around, inviting others to join us. Off we went with chairs, snacks, and bathing suits.

crazy children

Is it just me or do their lips look blue?

Crazy children! It’s NOT summer yet, dear hearts. Still, we did so enjoy our first day at the beach. I have hopes (dreams) of many more to come.

Kathy

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Daily Life

Almost Daniel’s Birthday

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Tomorrow is Daniel’s birthday. Okay, technically it’s already his birthday (the 15th) as it’s after midnight, but since I haven’t gone to bed yet, I’m not counting it.

I still have some presents to wrap and streamers to hang. Yikes! I love sleep as much as the next person, but it’s awfully inconvenient the way it cuts into the day (or night).

sleeping or dying

These two look so peaceful.

Thank goodness the house is sparkling clean and I have the birthday meals all planned for tomorrow.

Oh, no, wait, that must be someone else’s house and life. I have visions of a clean house and a delicious birthday breakfast. See, I do sleep, it’s proven by the fact that I dream.

easter eggs

Let’s see if I can describe some of the chaos of the house. There is a stack of dvds next to my computer. I’m not sure which child thought there would be time to watch movies tonight. I put the younger ones straight to bed and the older ones to work. Silly children.

There’s a strange mixture of stuffed animals and unmatched socks tumbling off the couch in the family room, topped off with some winter hats and mittens from a family skit we did on Saturday. Another dvd sits forlornly on the edge of the couch. Wow, I count six dvds in total. Someone has a serious hankering for a movie night. Sounds good to me!! Let’s abandon all this work and watch movies instead.

sarah's goodies

Some treats to take to the neighbor.

On the table is a few birthday presents for Daniel that need to be wrapped, along with a small collection of things Tim wrapped for me. In Christmas paper. Yes, Christmas paper. It’s reversible, does that redeem us?

In the kitchen is a Happy Easter balloon Sarah was given at the grocery store along with bags of groceries I have yet to put away. Nothing frozen (thawing), I hope. Oh, I forgot to mention the 50 pounds of whole wheat flour in the family room. It’s sitting there because I haven’t decided what exactly to do with it. 50 pounds of flour is a bit bigger than I imagined.

Wrapped in Christmas paper it would be very impressive. I’m not sure Daniel would really think that a funny joke, so I’ll pass on that little late night joke.

Why, you might wonder am I blogging at this hour of the night when I have so much work to do? Well, see my 13 year old daughter’s friend glared at me today. Glared through the cell phone. She’s a very impressive glarer. She told me firmly to get blogging. I guess it’s been too long since Tim and I filled the cyberspace with our babbling and she missed us.

teens can glare and text!

“I’m trying to work with you, Mom!”

So there you have it. What is a girl to do? I’m nothing if not attentive to the needs of our readers.

Oh, and it’s easier to sit and blog than get up and actually clean the house and hang streamers. Daniel will be sad, however, if there isn’t some sort of celebration awaiting him in the morning, so I probably should get working.

Happy Easter

Happy Birthday, Daniel!! We love you!!

Kathy

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