Water Fun

Every day this past week has involved water of some kind. We've frequented the city pool a lot more as the days have grown hotter. It's become quite a juggling act, as Rach & Zekers are loving swimming in the "big pool", while Karis and Moo, for the most part, are quite content to play in the kiddie pool. But they all just love going, and I guess the good news is that it wears them out almost as much as it wears me out!





Last Saturday, we went boating at Ceasar's Creek with my sister Hannah and her family. My Mom watched Malachi and Luke, their 2-yr-old little boy, at the house, while the rest of us went to the lake. We spent most of the time tubing and swimming - it was an absolutely perfect day and the water was refreshing . . . or, it would have been if I hadn't had someone hanging on my neck the whole time! We ended the day at Fazoli's; the kiddos were so good we actually got to carry on a conversation at one table while they all sat at another and ate their dinner. Surreal, but very nice!





Sunday, we stopped by my parents' house to drop of homemade Fathers' Day cards for my Dad, and all the cousins played on the Slip 'n Slide. I have to say, we found more dirt and grass in their bathing suits than I would have ever thought possible. But they all had a blast, especially Mr. Moo. Then Monday, we went to the pool again and they ran through the sprinkler all evening. It was nice not having to water my flowers that day!

The last 2 pics don't involve water, but I couldn't resist putting them up anyway. Tuesday morning we all just stayed in our PJs until noon and played together. I was reminded how much my kids make me belly laugh on an almost daily basis. Zekers has decided to try for a Hannah Montana look-alike contest (thanks a lot, Kurstin!), so he spent nearly the entire morning in a wig, shouting into a microphone and dancing around. I just love his randomness and whimsical nature.




In the midst of the busyness of life, days like these are a true gift, and I treasure every one of them.

Firsts

The past couple of weeks have been riddled with "firsts" for me . . .

I had my first garage sale last Thursday and Friday. Almost 12 years of marriage and clothes/toys/other items from 4 kiddos can create quite a pile-up, and it was getting difficult to navigate through our attic and parts of the basement! Since November, I've been slowly sorting through some of the stuff, and last week every spare minute was spent out in the garage or up in the attic, organizing and pricing. (I went through bins and bins of baby clothes; also, we dumped all of the stuffed animals we've accumulated onto the basement floor - which covered the entire carpeted area - and had the kiddos each pick their 15 favorites to keep, then got rid of the rest. I never imagined I'd see so many tears over "friends" they hadn't seen or thought about in years.) My mom also came with a truckload of stuff to sell. It was going to be the garage sale to end all garage sales.

And then it rained. And rained. And rained. Thursday it pretty much came down all day long - until about 3, an hour before the end of the sale. And I realized how nuts people can be about garage sales, because they came and crowded into our already-full garage all day long in the pouring rain, sometimes 20 at a time, packed in there like sardines. So shockingly, business was good.

Friday was a lot nicer, and Rachel & Zekers got to set up their cookies & lemonade stand. At the end of the day, I was happy with the amount of clothing and larger items we sold. We carted the rest to Goodwill, Biddlestone's and Hastings. This is AFTER giving away dozens of bags of clothes to several friends, AND at our moms group clothing exchange, and selling many more bags' worth at the garage sale. Talk about visible evidence of God's provision! I couldn't help thinking as I bagged everything up that He's given us WAY more than we deserve.

Turns out, we should have waited to get rid of the leftovers, since not one, but TWO people showed up at our door the next day asking about a set of mauve sheets I had for sale. Go figure.

Saturday morning I ran my first 5K. Perfect weather, beautiful scenery (the race was in Celina by the lake) and good friends all made the morning a success. Since we'd never run more than 2 miles prior to the race, I was incredibly nervous, wondering if I could even do it. But it turned out to be much easier than I anticipated. My time wasn't great (29:14), but maybe if I ever get cleared by the doctor to run again, I can get a little faster. At the time, though, I was just excited to actually run all 3.1 miles without any health issues!

If you want to view photos, here is the link. There is a picture of the 7 of us (Sheldon, Isaac, Janal, Amanda, Kati, Isabel and me) on the left sidebar if you scroll down a little, and under that, a link to view individual photos of runners in action.

Saturday evening I finished knitting my first scarf. I'd been wanting to learn how to knit for the past several years, and then several weeks ago, had lunch with a friend who showed me how in about 20 minutes. (Thanks, Kelly!!) I've found that it's a great way to relax at the end of a long day. My bedtime routine over the past several weeks has become: knit for about 15 minutes, then go to bed and read for another 15 or 20 (or 60!) until my eyes refuse to stay open any longer.

This week is VBS at our church - not a first! I have a group of six 3-yr-olds and a teen helper, who is a lifesaver, as some of them like to wander. If you read this, pray that their little hearts are reached this week, that gospel seeds are planted and that they love Jesus more at the end of the week than they did at the beginning.

(The picture to the right doesn't really have anything to do with this post; I just thought I'd throw in a little snapshot of some father-son bonding time.)

Literature and Lambs

Thursday the kiddos and I spent the day with my best friend from college, Johanna, and her 2 kiddos, Max & Hope. Max is Zeke's age, and Hope was born the day after Malachi. We spent a good part of the day at Carriage Hill in Huber Heights - about an hour drive for her (she lives in Columbus) and 40 minutes for us.

The last time Danny & I and the kiddos went to Carriage Hill, one of the pigs was due to give birth in about a week, so the kiddos were all very excited to see the little piglets. Well, we found out, after searching in vain for her babies, that she was never pregnant! She just kept getting bigger and they all thought she was expecting, until about a week after her due date when they called in the vet. Strange. We did, however, get to see a newborn lamb - unusual for this time of year. And Rachel got to take a few more pictures.

Of course, we ended the day with a trip to the penny candy store. I love that we can get 5 people candy for $1.19. The kiddos love the rare treat of getting to consume large amounts of sugar all at once. We finished out the day at McDonalds, hoping the kiddos would play and we could have a chance to talk for a little while. We should have known better! But overall it was a fun day, and all 4 kiddos completely wore themselves out!







I just finished reading this book. My friend Dee recommended it, so I went to the library, checked it out, and read it in 2 days. It's that good. I got a little less sleep than I needed for a couple of nights, because I could not put it down. Wow. I love Hosseini's writing style and that you cannot read his account without being deeply impacted. Thank you Dee! I'm also getting ready to read his book A Thousand Splendid Suns. Hopefully this one won't be as riveting and I can get some sleep.

More

More tests. More waiting. More wondering. More trusting.

For now, that's what it boils down to. I had an appointment with an allergy / athsma specialist today. They didn't do any actual testing (gotta love insurance hassles!), but I spent quite a while with the doctor and came away feeling like the visit wasn't the total waste of time I thought it was going to be. I went to a lab and had about 6-8 vials of blood drawn for a plethora of tests, including thyroid and auto-immune; I should find out the results in a couple of weeks.

She informed me that there are several different kinds of allergies: your basic itching, watering, sneezing kind of allergy; allergies that are like hives under your skin and cause intense itching / rash / swelling -type symptoms; and systemic allergies, which basically affect multiple body systems. She thinks I have the last 2 kinds. And I know I've always had the first kind - with mold, pollen, dust, etc. So I guess this means . . . I'm a walking allergy!

Speaking of walking, it looks like that's what I'll be doing for a while. My last 3 or 4 attacks have hit immediately after going running, and the last one (last Monday) was pretty severe. The doctor thinks the attacks may be induced by my running, especially since I started running about 8 weeks ago, and the new symptoms (swelling, itching, rashing) started up soon after that. She told me I have to stop running, but had compassion when I explained that I've been planning to run a 5K in 10 days, and said I could run up until then but I need to stop after that. The good news is: I have a regimen of pills I can take the day of the race to ward off an attack and still run the whole thing. Normally, if I run a comfortable distance (2 miles or so), I'm fine, but if I push myself a little harder than normal (3 miles), wham! I'm out of commission for the morning.

The most frustrating thing about all of this, is that, even though running has always been on my top ten list of least favorite activities, I've actually begun to enjoy my early morning runs. I've had more energy all day long; I've begun to get in shape - something that hasn't been the case for a very long time! - and it's helped me to be more disciplined in other areas of my life, like my eating (sometimes!). It just feels GOOD to run and sweat and work hard to achieve a goal. If it wasn't for these "health issues", I'd probably start working on a 10K after this race!

I hate that I have no control over these physical limitations. I hate that I can't just grit my teeth and try harder and make it go away. I hate that God won't get on board with my agenda! Ultimately, I know it has to do with pride, and an unwillingness to surrender. The last few days in particular, He has shown me just how small my own "problems" are compared to so many others, and how much I have to be grateful for - and no reason at all to complain. That doesn't make things any less frustrating, but it has driven me to my knees more often. And that's really what it's about: learning, slowly and painfully, to rely on HIS strength.

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord watches over you-- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Grumper

It always amazes me how different four kids, with the same parents, can be. Zekers has always been sweet, sensitive and cuddly . . . unless you try to take a picture of him. He's good for about 2 shots (which never seem to turn out right); then, he just turns into a grump and absolutely refuses to cooperate.

So, for your viewing enjoyment, here are just a few of many, many attempts to get a decent picture of him at the park on Friday.





After only a few seconds, we realized the "all 4 kids together" shot was not happening that day.




But, to give him some props for good behavior, we did get a couple of OK pics on the bridge. Of course, my bright idea to get him with the pond in the background was destroyed when we saw that someone had decided to drain all the ponds, leaving him standing on a bridge over a bunch of dirt and dead fish.





While at the park, a couple of very nice older gentlemen let the kiddos play with and feed their dogs. It took Malachi a while to grasp the fact that the dog treats were for the dogs and not for him, but after downing a few of them, he finally got it.




Last but not least: a sign we pass often on our way home from Richmond. If you ever find yourself in need of both cheese and fabric, this is the place for you!

Good News!

Yes!! I'm allergic!! I don't know to what, and right now, I don't care . . .

After meeting with the GI specialist again yesterday, Danny and I both felt like we were absolutely walking on air. I've had a couple more attacks since we saw him on May 1st with even more additional symptoms, and this, together with all of my test results coming back normal, points to an allergic reaction. My histamine levels are typically normal, but during an attack they increase dramatically, causing itching/burning and swelling throughout my body; and may be responsible for the intestinal inflammation and other nasty symptoms I've had since February. The last time I began having an attack, I took an antihistamine, which stopped it in its tracks.

I have an appointment with an allergist on June 3rd, and I'm praying they are able to pinpoint the problem (literally!). Since several of the attacks have hit in the morning, sometimes 12 hours after I've last eaten, I don't think it has anything to do with food, but could be environmental. Who knows - maybe we'll end up having to move into a different house.

So I at least know that I will (if God wills it) be around to watch my kids grow up. And I know that I have a perfectly functioning gall bladder. What more can I ask? :) I feel as though I've been handed a second chance at life. Is it me, or is the sun shining more brightly than usual today??

All in a Day's Work

We spent Thursday evening with Danny's sister Robyn, her husband John and their boys, Quinn & Ian. The kiddos thought it was just about the greatest thing in the world that they got to take turns riding on Uncle John's scooter.

Rachel and Zeke took a turn, then Karis got to ride. The helmet was a little large, but it worked!



Poor Mr. Moo. It just wasn't happening with the helmet . . .



But that didn't stop him from taking his turn!



More Mr. Moo craziness. He's as strong as a little ox, and we've discovered that he loves to hang on things, including basketball hoops.




I know he looks totally unhappy in both pictures, but honestly, as soon as we get him down he wants to go up again!





Friday was such a perfect day, we took a family trip to Carriage Hill. Our original plan was to go to the "Me Zoo" in Indiana. But as we got ready to take off, Danny checked online for the hours and found out it's CLOSED on Fridays. So . . . on to Plan B. The kiddos loved seeing the pregnant pig, chasing chickens, petting little lambs and especially playing in the old-time schoolhouse / kitchen area. They made us all kinds of interesting meals with the fake food.




Mr. Moo walked around sporting not one vest, but two!




I love this picture of Moo & Danny - matching strides.



Fun on the swing




We let Rachel try her hand at photography.



We ended the day with a family bike ride, which lasted until Danny got a flat tire. But for the first time, Rachel was able to ride her bike and keep up with us. (She kept passing us and got pretty cocky about it until she had a big wipe-out!)

Now we just need to find a day when the Me Zoo is actually open!

Thoughts from a Random Child

Today I received the following Mother's Day card:


Front (picture of cat, dog, Zeke, Mommy, trees)


Inside


Back



Danny said he didn't know anything about the message on the back until Zeke asked him how to spell "chicken."

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Bits & Pieces

After seeing the specialist this afternoon, there's not a whole lot to report. He asked a lot of questions and typed away furiously as I talked. Next week, I'll have three different tests done, including a CAT scan and one that involves radioactive fluid. Just call me the "human night light"! The dr. said that most likely the inflammation is not the main problem, but a "side effect" of something else - he thinks it may be my gall bladder, since a lot of the symptoms seem to fit and women my age who have had multiple pregnancies are most at risk for this. There are also a couple of extremely rare conditions he wants to rule out. The results will take a couple of weeks to come back.

For now, I'd rather think about all the incredible deals we found at a couple of thrift stores earlier this morning! Between the roller blades I found for Rach, and the bags of toys from Aunt Robyn, the kiddos are all happily (and quite noisily) playing. You know, I find that I don't mind noise at all, as long as it's happy noise.

Here are a few pictures of some "firsts" for the kiddos:

Rachel's first school performance, Literacy in Motion


Zekers' first soccer game, last Saturday. He and Rachel are on the same team and Danny is coaching again. So far this "season", 2 practices and 2 games have been rained out, but Saturday the weather was just about perfect.


Karis got to attend her second princess party - but the first one she's gone to all by herself without Rachel - for 2 good friends, Hannah & Grace. They played so hard that she informed me on the way home, "Mommy, I'm exhausted."

yada yada yada

I'll keep this short:

Last night, around 6:30, as we were getting ready to go to LIFE group, I had another attack, surpassed only by the attack that put me in the hospital 4 weeks ago. Besides the pain and "flushing", several new (non-blog-appropriate) symptoms cropped up.

The good news is:

1. My appointment with the GI specialist is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 in Beavercreek.
2. I am feeling much better this morning and able to function pretty well.
3. Our family doctor said the new symptoms may have helped him to figure out what's going on. He's going to be talking to the specialist about running some additional tests.

God has been working on me, telling me to swallow my pride and just let you know that I can use your prayers right now. All this stuff scares the kids (especially last night - for the first time it happened while they were awake), and puts a lot of extra stress on Danny (which he won't admit to, but I know it does). And it's not too pleasant for me, either. So if you have a chance today & tomorrow, I would really appreciate your prayers.

Another Day

It's been one of those days.

I love my children dearly, and wouldn't trade them for the world; but there are days when the idea of hog-tying them together and then just leaving the house for a while seems very appealing!

For the past 2 mornings, they've hit the ground fighting. They know exactly how to push each other's buttons, and at times seem to get endless entertainment from it. Usually we've found that days which start off with a spanking tend to go more smoothly than days which don't. But that was not the case today. While trying to feed them breakfast, do their hair, dress the little ones and get Rachel ready for school, I gave out 3 spankings. And things just got worse from there.

I had about a dozen "quick" errands to run this morning. Ha! Three young children + lots of rain = slow and frustrating shopping. They picked at each other. They whined. They cried. They had to go potty about every 10 minutes. They splashed in puddles and got soaking wet. They cried some more. They took off their shoes and socks in the van while I was driving. Finally we were finished with most of the errands and had only one left - Wal Mart.

Nearly the entire time, Karis defied everything I told her. She ran so far out ahead that she nearly got lost; she and Zekers tried to play hide-and-seek among the paper towels and ended up knocking almost all of them out into the aisle. She lost her flip-flop and neglected to tell me until several minutes later. Most of all, she would not leave Mr. Moo alone. Strapped into his seat, he was helpless to avoid the kicking and smothering she dished out. By the time we got to the check-out, I'd had it. I told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she so much as touched her brother again she was getting a spanking. Which, of course, she did.

As soon as I informed her that a spanking was forthcoming, the floodgates opened. She brushed up against Malachi and looked at me, so I told her she was getting one additional whack. More tears and loud sobbing. It was my turn in the checkout line. The cashier glared at me reproachfully, then proceeded to ignore the abusive mommy and speak only to the poor little girl with the puppy dog eyes. "Are you sad, Sweetheart?" she asked. "You're much too pretty to be sad." (Evidently, only ugly people deserve to be sad.) She continued her sympathetic comments to Karis until she handed me the receipt, at which point the tone of her "Have a nice day" indicated she would much rather have said, "Fall off a cliff."

We headed to the van, where Karis got her spanking (I'm always prepared!). I can't say things have been that much better since, but to quote Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, "Tomorrow is another day!" (There's another, more well-known quote from the same book/movie that I would like to repeat when they whine to me about how unfair their lives are, but I haven't . . . yet.)

I love how in the midst of the most trying circumstances, God brings little bits of humor to provide bright spots that keep me going. After one spanking this morning, Zekers came out to the living room and gave the following apology: "Karis, I'm sorry for smacking you in the face with the gecko. Will you forgive me? Rachel, I'm sorry for hitting you on the head with Mommy's kneeling pad. Will you forgive me?" And they just went on like it was nothing out of the ordinary to be smacked around by a stuffed gecko or a kneeling pad. . . . and I suppose it wasn't. (The "kneeling pad" was given to everyone who attended the True Woman conference last fall, and I have to confess, although I DO pray, I have never used the pad. The kiddos recently discovered it and love to play with it - mostly as a weapon, apparently.)

Also, there is nothing funnier than hearing Kari Bou, who pronounces her R's like W's, try to say the word "rubber." Since she repeats herself about 15 times, even after her comment is acknowledged, I was in a helpless puddle of laughter after the third time she said, "Mommy, I think this (kneeling) pad is made of rubber," and laughed harder each time she said it, which, of course, inspired her to say it even more.

So here's to laughter, and here's hoping that tomorrow is another (very different) day!

Unbelievable

Normally, I wouldn't put up 4 pictures of clothing tables. But I'm showing you this because I just could not believe it.

Our moms' group had a clothing exchange today. Whoever wanted to get rid of kids' clothing sizes 0-6, brought it in and set it up on tables, arranged by size. Then we all looked through the clothing and took what we needed. Last year, I brought some girls clothing and ended up going home with a bagful of clothes for Malachi. This year, though, I decided it was high time to give away ALL of the clothing that Karis and Malachi have outgrown.

So Danny and the kiddos and I went to the church last night and spent several hours laying out clothes. And here they are. I could not believe the sheer volume of little outfits that have just been laying around in boxes!

It was so fun to be able to help each other out this way. I'm a total mush bag when it comes to cute outfits my kiddos have worn - each one holds sentimental value for me. So I think it is one of the coolest things seeing little outfits that were hard to part with on other kiddos we know and love. And we have lots more space now! Woo hoo!

Oh, and I did come home with a couple of things for the kiddos: summer PJ's, some cute shirts for Rach, and . . . . a jester hat for Moo, which he must love as much as I do, since he wore it all afternoon, in spite of 80-degree temps. It made me sweat just looking at him. But it's darn cute.

OK, these pictures below are of JUST our clothes . . . and this morning, many more were added by other moms!

Oh, How the Days Go By

I was just noticing that I used to post a lot more when I first started this blog (which was over 3 years ago . . . weird).

Also noticing that I need to change the above picture, but Rachel's bus is coming. It will have to wait - again!

If I wrote down everything (or even just a small fraction) of what's in my head and on my heart at this moment, I'd be here until the wee hours of tomorrow morning. So I'll just let the pictures tell the story; and each one certainly is a story all its own!

I do feel compelled to share that my heart is overflowing with gratitude. I feel better than I have in a very long time - and I have Christ to thank for that. Of course, I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that for the past 4 weeks I've eliminated coffee from my diet, and cut way back on sugar (among other things) . . . . NOOOoooo! Plus, on warm, sunny days like today, my soul just revels in the beauty of God's creation, saturated with new life!

After a lot of prayer and going back and forth, I finally made an appointment with a GI specialist for May 1st. I've been doing a little research online, and the more I read, the more questions I have about all of this. So I figure I'll go see the doctor once and try to find some answers. "And that's all I have to say about that."

One more thing I want to say: with each day, I am more grateful for the 2 families God has added to our pastoral staff. Recently, Jodi, Isabel and I - and all our kiddos - got to spend some time hanging out, and I realized afterward just what a blessing they are to me. I'm glad God, in His sovereignty, has placed us all together and I'm excited at the prospect of serving with them for a long time to come (if God wills it).

And now presenting . . . some moments from our week:



At our last moms group meeting, we talked about freezing things ahead. So the kiddos and I spent the day making cookies, spooning them out (or rolling them into balls) and freezing them in bags of several dozen each. It was so much fun (especially licking the batter afterward), and now we have dozens of cookies that I can pull out of the freezer and pop into the oven!


I could write pages on this. Last weekend we had our first ever Grace women's retreat. The bummer is - I didn't take my camera!! So I have no photos from the actual retreat, but after I came home, I just had to capture the creative gifts of several women on the planning team. The weekend was a gift from God, and it made me doubly grateful to be part of His family. I left challenged to live more purposefully and to invest my time and energies in that which has eternal value. How incredible is it to get away for 2 absolutely Christ-soaked days?? I'm so thankful that Linda and Diana had the vision and gave so much of their time and energy to help this happen.



The kiddos had some friends over earlier in the week and everyone played dress-up. Funny story: I am not a very crafty person. So, every time they come over, Micah asks to do a craft. (My friend Erin - his mom - is one of the most crafty and creative people I know.) I scramble around, trying to find glue sticks and scraps of colored paper and other supplies and feeling like a total loser because I'm the only mom who doesn't do cool crafts with her kids and their friends. He always asks specifically for popsicle sticks, which I, of course, never have on hand. Well, this time, we happened to make a trip to Wal-Mart right before they came over, and I, determined to turn over a new leaf, loaded up on popsicle sticks and a few other craft items. I had everything sitting out on the table ready to go. "Are you guys ready to do a fun craft?" I asked, bursting with pride at my preparedness and creativity. At which point he wrinkled his nose and said very emphatically, "NO! No crafts today!" So . . . we now have lots of craft supplies. Maybe we'll get them out in the fall!



OK, Mr. Moo is living up to my term of endearment for him: "The Little Tank". His new hobby is tackling his brother - and we're working on teaching him that there is a difference between a hug and a body slam.


Karis received some handed-down sandals from a friend who's a few years older, and I'm half expecting her to request that she be buried with them someday! The second she gets out of bed, she puts them on, and can't wait for this weekend, when she'll finally be allowed to wear them outside.


She also received a pink parasol this week. I'm glad it's finally stopped raining, so I can take a break from constantly trying to explain the difference between a parasol and an umbrella.


A chip off the old block . . .


The kiddos got to spend some time playing with friends - one for each of them.



Moo and Seth pretty much just played around each other. I love this age - so cute and fat and funny.



I love this one of the 2 older boys - although Zekers came out of the tree with his pants pretty much shredded. (Note to self: nylon and bark do not mix!)


Mr. Moo and his "happy eyes." Danny and I also decided that he has "Mater" teeth. (Watch Cars and you'll see what I mean.)