Category Archives: Daily Life

P365 – Day 35 (Sunday Skipping)

Skipping along through the day via pictures. It’s so special to have my parents here in town with us. They came over in the morning, before church. Mom helped with Sarah’s hair.

sarah's hairdresser

I had the camera out (need to charge it) and so it wasn’t in my purse during church. I would have taken a picture or two of Sarah sitting beside me in Sunday School class. She brought her coloring book and pencils and a workbook/sticker book and was quiet and contented the entire time. Such an angel. Not feeling very well – cold symptoms.

We spent some time looking at the videos from Mom and Dad’s Costa Rica trip. Gorgeous rain forests and wild animals there in CR. The kids snuggled up for the video time.

mamie and danielg'dad and Sarah

In the middle of the afternoon Tim’s parents came by for an unexpected visit. It was so nice to have them here. We had been wishing that we had invited them to join us for lunch so it was especially pleasant to have them come by. We had a nice discussion time and then even snapped a few pictures. As Grandpa said, “Is this going to make its way into the blog?” Of course!!

the whole crew

We went back over to the hotel to swim, and came home very hungry for delicious steaks (the kids had scrambled eggs, except for a few fortunate morsels wheedled from the grown-ups). We finished the evening watching Facing the Giants.

It was a delightful day, well-filled with time with grandparents.

grandparents

Kathy

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Skype is Great!

I must admit I LOVE Skype!!! Go to www.skype.com to read more about this amazing internet phone service. This evening Tim and Joshua were lounging about in Cream Puff and her mother (the couch – needs a creative name) when Joshua suddenly jumped up, saying someone was trying to Skype us.

comfy and cozy

Don’t they look cozy!

Who could it be but my wonderful friend, Tina, calling from Thailand. What an astounding thing it is to be able to talk, over the computer, to someone who is halfway across the world. Not only that but to hear her clearly without hardly any delay in the transmission. I could even make out the dogs barking outside her house! Wow!!

It was school time so Rachel wasn’t able to talk to the girls. Zachary, however, was home, sick, so he and Daniel had a fun little chat.

keyboard in hand

skype

It was 9:30 pm here and 12:30 pm there (but different days) which is mind boggling if you think too hard about it. Ha! I am so thankful for modern technology in times like this.

Kathy

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Project 365 – Day 27 (Misc Sat)

Rachel went with me to the women’s breakfast at our church this morning. She was a delightful companion and I was pleased to have her join me. The breakfast was delicious and the fellowship lovely. Two women spoke, one of which was my friend, Holly. She did an excellent job!! I was so proud of her and encouraged by what she had to say.

Sarah and Daniel enjoyed having their friends over and squeezed in as much fun as they possibly could. Sarah was so tired she slept through Rachel and Elise both getting up and going downstairs to watch a movie. She was the last one awake this morning. Daniel told me he and Adam got only about seven hours of sleep.

sarah and elise

The girls took the scooters outside on the basketball court. Sarah loves her new scooter.
daniel and adam

The boys played outside, upstairs, in the garage and, finally, on the computer. We’ve been so blessed with good friends!!

Joshua had a meeting with the middle school leaders at church this morning. They want him to be involved in student leadership and asked him to join them in working on the winter retreat. What an honor!

As part of Joshua’s Special Day we played one of our new games, Puerto Rico. I was totally confused at first but Joshua and Tim worked hard to figure out the rules and we ended up having a great time.

Joshua and the box
Joshua sets up the gametim

We need a fourth player. Maybe we can convince Daniel or Rachel to play next time. The game is interesting as your change roles each round. You can be the trader and everyone trades in their goods. The next time you can choose to be a builder and everyone builds a plantation or warehouse. It was interesting. Tim promised Joshua that there were hidden complexities they hadn’t discovered yet that would add to the competitive nature of the game (oh great). Where are the Burts and the PMGE’s?? We have all these new games and our favorite gaming families are out of the country. Argh!!

In the latter part of the afternoon Tim worked in the garage. He put on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (for the kiddos) and did some organizing. He is trying to work through the chaos and disorder in small steps and get his tools all gathered and organized. It’s a bit overwhelming at times.

Daniel and Sarah

Daniel and Sarah help put away movies.

Daniel chose to play Turn the Tide for his Special Day. We played a few rounds but Daniel and I both lost rather badly and we voted to switch games. Ha! You can do that when it’s your Special Day. Joshua and Tim like Turn the Tide – it’s not one of my favorites. I can’t seem to get the algorithms fixed in my mind so I continually play the cards poorly. I’m sure I just need to give it a few more chances.

Sarah and Rachel went off to take a bath and we grabbed David to join us for a game of Castle Keep. Sadly (for the rest of us), David trounced us and walked away with the castle victory. I like a game that a 5 year old, 9 year old and 13 year old can all enjoy (not to mention Mom and Dad – ages unspecified).

Sarah and Rachel came down for blueberry smoothies and some Voyage of the Dawn Treader reading. Tim read 2 chapters aloud while I braided hair and put away Christmas decorations.

pink girls

Sweet girls in pink!

Tomorrow we have Sunday school, church, preschool class duty, and then a potluck and Bible study in the evening. At some point I need to squeeze in some school planning and general housework. Whew. I’m trying not to feel tired already. Lol.

Kathy

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Silly Kids and Scooters

Today the sun was out and the temperature was warm (relatively speaking). The younger children and I went to BSF in the morning while the older kids went to PE. It’s a busy household. David thanked me profusely for taking him to BSF and not making him go to PE. Hmmm. Not sure what that means since he has complained about BSF in past. I think all the activity at the Y is wearing him out. I decided he was getting enough swimming time in on the other days of the week and he could have the day off. I did, however, take Sarah to her gymnastics class (slipping out of BSF early). David was thrilled to have some free time to play in the gymnastics room. There was only one class meeting at that time and there was plenty of space for him to run around and enjoy the different equipment.

david and sarah

We have been waiting for a break in the cold, snowy weather to present Sarah with a scooter. Rachel, Daniel and David all received scooters for Christmas (and adore them) and so Tim was tickled to find one on clearance that was just Sarah’s size. It has been hidden away in the garage until the sun deigned to make it’s appearance again. Today was that day!!

sarah's scooter

scooter 1

The other scooters came assembled but this one required a little bit of work. Joshua, of course, took that job over immediately.

joshua

what could it be?

What is in the box???

He did beautifully until it came to one point – getting a safety cap on the end of the axle. He tried and tried. I tried and tried. Daniel tried. We were all a little frustrated.

joshua and the wheel
david and the wheel

Finally Daniel set out for some masking tape (“maybe we can tape the thing on and then pound it with the hammer”) and I went to consult Tim. The next few minutes were a blur. Somehow I missed the big breakthrough (should have been there to capture it on film) but Tim figured out some way to get the rascally piece on.

sarah smiles

sarah waits

Sarah waits patiently for her big brother to finish putting together her scooter. She knows he will be successful!

almost ready

Sarah gleefully set off to try out her scooter. She was rather unsure on her feet at first but finally got it working. The children played outside for a nice long time.

sarah ready to ride

While the rest of the group was at AWANA this evening, Rachel went out for hot cocoa with Miss Bobbi from church. Bobbi has served in ROCK (5th and 6th graders) for several years but is currently on hiatus. A few months ago I approached her about spending some time one-on-one with Rachel and, to my delight, she accepted. I am so pleased that Rachel will have another godly woman in her life.

rachel and bobbi

After hot cocoa, the girls returned home and we introduced Bobbi to Sleeping Queens and Heximoes. When the rest of the family returned, David and Sarah rushed in to see “who is this Miss Bobbi.” David, in his inimitable style, immediately said, “She looks way younger than I thought she was.” Lol!! We all laughed and laughed. I have to wonder just who he thought she was and how “old” he suspected her to be. Bobbi came to our Christmas party in December but there were many people there and I don’t think David particularly noticed her. He certainly does bring laughter into our family.

I have some adorable pictures of David and Sarah on the stairs but they are so interesting I have to save them for another blog. They will be perfect for a tale of some sort.

Kathy

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Project 365 – Day 21 (Weekend Re-cap)

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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