Careers for Introverts

 I did a little google search today on careers for introverts.  It was pretty interesting.  I can't remember the number 1 answer, but number 2 was farmer or rancher.  They projected their income at 70K+.  That must be an average because I know farmers who make a whole lot more and a whole lot less.  While I would LOVE to be a farmer or rancher, I'm short on land, energy, and fellow workers.  I kept going down the list.  I probably would have been a great plumber.  I took an aptitude test in high school which suggested I join the military or dig ditches.  The counselor did not encourage me to pursue either of these options.  My dad, who grew up on a wheat and cattle ranch was solidly against the farm/ranch options, so I majored in nutrition.  I'm not sure what I thought I was going to do with that, but I did know I liked to eat.  I did a short stint with General Mills in their food lab.  It was an interesting job, but I no longer live in Minnesota, and I took a solid 25 years off to raise my children.

So, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up.  I had a solid start on being a dog breeder, but then we sold our property and moved to a much more densely populated area.  One particular neighbor made it very clear that he was not supportive of my vocation in our new location.  My sweet Berners are now in new homes, with lovely people living their best lives.  I think this satisfied my neighbor, since I haven't received any hate mail since they left.  Animal breeding was on the list of introvert careers, by the way, so I as in the right ball park.  I worked for a season (retail season) at Costco.  I'm not sure I can do that until I'm 80.  I did get in really good shape, and met some really great people.  I may go back once I get back from a 21 day trip in June.  It was solid pay, low stress, and I won't have to have a gym membership.  I also worked as a ski instructor this winter.  It was really fun to be outside, teaching little people to love to ski.  It is a fairly short season, and the pay was hit and miss.  I will totally be back up there next season even if it's only one day a week.

Part of my dilemma is knowing how much time I need to be working.  How much money do I need to make?  How much energy can I give?  I am always wondering how long my health will stay good, and will I need to help my parents or children at some point.  I considered going to graduate school to get a counseling degree, but spending 60K at 53, with 2 kids who still need to get through college seems out of reach.  The one career that looked remotely plausible was writing.  I do have a college degree.  I can work on the technical skills of writing.  I am fairly articulate, usually.  So here I am.  I need practice.  I need to work at it.  I need to figure out who needs someone to write for them and how do I get paid for it?

We will see where this goes, but it seems like as good a plan as any.  Rick writes for a living and does very well.  He is much more detail oriented and technical than I am.  He does have me read things occasionally to see if a lay person can understand what he's saying.  I'm going to take this plan to my father and see what he thinks.  I know he can provide abundantly more than I can imagine.  Every now and then people ask if I will write a book on parenting.  I have too many friends who have done that.  I think about it every once in a while.  My latest thought on the subject is how to write a book for parents that encourages them to know that all the trials and stress of parenting is totally worth it.  The honor of raising little humans is less about how they "turn out" and more about showing up and doing your best day in and day out.  I don't want to try to tell someone how to raise their child, I want to encourage them that parenting is important, and hard, and worth every sleepless night and gray hair.  I don't know if anyone wants to read that.  I definitely don't know if anyone would publish that.  For now, I hope I can get some quiet space to write about whatever is happening.  I hope that it gets better and more readable over time.  

Thankful for: Computers that make writing so much easier. Dogs to take on walks.  Rivers to walk next to. Birds laying eggs, catching fish, singing, swimming, flying, and generally being birds. April flowers coming to life.  Snow capped mountains stunning me every single day. A functional kitchen that I got to design.  Clean water that comes out of tap, hot and cold, in my house.  Uninterrupted time to think and write and talk to myself without any judgement.

So Much Thankfulness

You would think with seven extra people in my house, and Thanksgiving looming that I would not find myself with a few quiet moments.  I'm not sure how this happened but here I am.  This has been an absolutely wonderful week with family and friends.  Tomorrow promises to be a very fun filled day, and I am so excited about it.

My house has proved to be very well suited for all the liveliness that we can fill it with.  We had 28 people, the majority under the age of 10, here yesterday and it was wonderful.  We were stuck in the house with the wind howling wildly outside, and there was very little howling inside.  We played Family, our new favorite game.  We ate chili.  We played air hockey.  The boys had a little jumpfest downstairs on all of the extra beds.  Friends were made, and it was great.

Mom, Brant, and Rachel arrived late last night.  I am very thankful I didn't have to drive over the pass.  It looked horrid.  This morning we all sipped coffee and chatted while the kids milled around in their p.j.'s.  It is so warm here today that we went to the park and played tag and football.  It has been very nice to have the cousins here for a whole week.  We have much to be thankful for.

Tomorrow we are planning a five course, all day meal.  We are starting the day with the first annual freeze your buns fun run.  I am ridiculously excited to run in the chill with so many good friends before I settle in to stuff my body full of delicious food.  It is going to be a lovely day.  The kids are all at a really fun age, and they spend time together playing really well.  There is an entire playmobile town in my basement, and even the teenagers have been busy setting it up.  We have played a lot of Just Dance, which is always good for a laugh.  Grandma is sitting at the table beading necklaces for everyone, and Bronwyn is decorating our recipes so that we will have a holiday book to remember this week by.  We are working on developing a few Thanksgiving traditions.  The recipe book will be fun.  We have a tree of thanks that has been very fun, maybe I will stick some of the leaves in the recipe book.  Helen is thankful for Mom and Bir, which turns out to be Mom and dinner, she is also thankful for brothers and sisters, which is very good.  This may become my favorite holiday.

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Cousins piled on couches watching movies

Giant bowls of popcorn being devoured

Playing football at the park

Tables full of glittery beads

Coffee with UB and Rachel

Dessert all day long

Friends that like to run and walk

Daughters decorating tables

Husbands spending the day keeping kids busy

Friends to play family with

The smell of brownies calling people from all over the house

Warm fall afternoons

Full Day

Today was a glorious, mundane, fall Saturday.  Our last cross country meet for the high school was this morning.  Brook ran well, and stayed right with her team mate.  She finished third in her race.  Running can be such a solo sport, I am glad she had a chance to run with someone.  Madie finished strong as well.  It was a beautiful day for running and being outside.  Rick drove the kids, and took Helen with him.  Karsten has one more meet this coming week.

I stayed home and cleaned up around the house.  I made some pumpkin bread and dug out the winter clothes.  You never know when the snow might start to fall.  The kids had friends over, and there was a lot of activity around the house.  I went downstairs at one point, and my basement had been transformed into a full fledged office.  The girls were dressed in their best office attire, and there were office supplies, and stamps everywhere.  It made me really happy.  They were all playing together, and it was very creative.  There was an aroma of pumpkin and cinnamon throughout the house.  When Rick came home he added some color to the kitchen.

By the time dinner was finally ready, there were a few hitches with the painting happening in the midst of meal prep, we had added a few to our numbers.  It was a lively meal.  Our dining room accommodates our immediate family comfortably, but we always seem to have more than just us.  I am sort of eyeing one wall that could be moved out several feet someday when we need to make room for husbands and wives.  It seems that no matter how many square feet we have it, we manage to fill it up.  It is a wonderful problem to have.

It was a full day all around, very productive, very satisfying.  I am thankful for Saturdays like this one.

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Blank notebooks, so full of promise

The smell of spices

Paint, so much change in one little can

Running

Soggy lawns, turning green again

Wispy white clouds hanging in the sky

Friends to encourage

Phone calls to grandparents

Full pantries

Evening light

Stick in the mud

Okay, so I have tried to figure Wordpress out and failed.  It looks pretty cool, but I am technologically challenged and don't want to take the weeks to figure out how to maximize its coolness.  So here I am again.  I am sorely tempted to pitch in all technology and take up a stick and draw in the mud, but my kids found the printed copies of my blog, and they got so much pleasure out of thumbing through them, I felt like I had to keep plugging away.  The big tangle for me was figuring out how to post pictures.

Here is a sampling of what I have been trying to post:

 Madie's birthday gift.  One friend commented "gnarly chest hair."

 Grandpa Tony came to town.  We were all very happy to see him for a couple of days.

 Not sure why this is sideways, but what can I do in less than 30 minutes?  Grandpa Wayne sent down some of the bounty from his garden.  Soren was so happy, not that you can tell that in this picture.  We are hoping to grow a few of our own here next year.

 Karsten got to run a glory race at St. George's.  For some reason they ran the sixth graders separate from the rest of the middle school.  Karsten came in first by a long shot, and had a big smile to show for it.  The big sand hill is a joy to run down in itself, but when you have a sizable lead it is even better.  Grandpa Wayne got to watch which was also a bonus.

 The sixth grade play was called A Fragrant Garden.  Karsten did a fine job, as did the rest of the class.

 Madie and Brooke got to run at the Bullpup Invite.  It was a perfect day, and we had lots of time to clown around between races.  We had two kids sleep in, so it caused a small panic on the front end of the trip, but we made it in time for the freshmen to run their race.  Brooke does much better when she is trying to beat the boys.  She ran a 21:44, which won the race for the freshmen girls, and would have put her in 17th for the varsity.  Madie did a great job as well.

There you have it, the many reasons I don't have time to sit at the computer and figure out how to make my life look glamorous.  We are in the home stretch of cross country.  Bronster finished her volleyball season last night with the final hit of the game to end an undefeated season.  It was a lot of fun to watch, but will be hard to follow up with next year.

The kids finish their first quarter of school this week.  They are polishing speech meet pieces, taking the psat, writing papers, doing geography projects, and reading more and more.  It has been a lot of fun enjoying the changing seasons with them.  Listening to them hide God's word in their hearts, and singing His praises.  It leaves me tired at the end of the day, but knowing I put in a good day's work.

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spongy ground filling back up with water

the sound of rain pounding against windows

chilly mornings

the smell of good things baking in the oven

sports seasons finished well

harvest

fresh tomatoes

fall flowers

red tree leaves

children reciting God's word

reading with children, enjoying my favorite books over and over again

pumpkin spice lattes

Zippin' By

I've had a couple of people ask why they don't get my blog posts anymore.  I answered, honestly, that I haven't written any.  I have not had time to sit and do the "head things" much lately.  I tend to put my head down and plow into whatever work is ahead of me, thinking that when it is done I will sit and read or write.  Oddly enough, there is always one more thing to do.

If you are wondering how to pray for me, here it is:  I need to see how God would like me to spend my time.  Right this second I am blogging.  I am not riding my bicycle with my husband, I am not eating lunch, I am not finishing my book for book group, I am not working on my Bible study lesson, and I am not folding laundry.  For every thing I choose to do there is a far longer list of things I am choosing not to do, and that seems to be the rub.  I want to choose the things that God would choose.  I confess that I tend to be a Martha, and I recognize I need to find my Mary side.

When my children were little and I had to "just do the next thing" the next thing was obvious.  I had to keep the child from running in the street, change the diaper that was revolting us all, turn off the burner under the pot that was smoking, explain why it is not okay to push your little sister off the bed...Tedious yes, but obvious also.  Now that the children are not constantly trying to kill themselves the decisions get tougher.  Do I quit doing their laundry and start going to Bible study?  Do I volunteer at school, and for how many hours a week?  Do I make a really yummy meal, or keep it simple and leave time to read before the kids get home?  Do I drive to the cross country meet, or stay home make dinner, and chat with a friend?  Some how my mind gets befuddled.  The other challenge is remembering what I was doing when I keep getting texts from children and spouses about things they need to add to my to do list.  Do I have to address those, or can they really take care of them themselves?  As I read this I think of my friend's gentle exhortation to delegate.  Yes, I do need to delegate more.  That of course is much easier than it sounds, and still requires some time and management.

Life is just not willing to wait for me to get it all done.  I need to choose wisely what to invest in, and what to prune.  There are definitely some things that need to be passed on to the little homemakers in training that zip through the house occasionally.  I need to remember that some of these things NEED to be passed on.  I am not doing them any favors by letting them expect that things will magically take care of themselves if they leave it long enough.  My pride in keeping things running smoothly is going to have to be sacrificed to let them learn to take care of their own business.  I will have to pray about what God really has for me to do.  What are the things that He wants me to see, and to pour my life into?  This silly little blog is my small attempt at stepping off the fast track to try to see the view.  When I am zipping along letting the landscape fly by, I am missing all of the beautiful things God has set right here in front of me.  I don't want to miss the moments that I am in, because I know that they will be gone in a twinkle.

I wish I had all the answers.  I wish I could make it plain for all of you young moms out there slogging through stinky diapers and too short nap times.  All I can say is, throw open the windows from time to time.  Take in a deep breath of fresh air.  These days are long, but the years are short.  Those little hands won't always want to hold yours, at least not in public.  Take a nap with that little one, you will need the rest.  The laundry and the dishes will always pile up, but your husband will be home to help you out eventually.  You are doing the most amazing work in the world, and it makes a world of difference to those little people around your feet.  Be thankful for all of the little messes, soon enough they will be big messes!  Thanks be to God!

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Bible study groups

Women praying together

Grandmas that love to cook

Ibuprofen

Freshly vacuumed floors

Husbands trying to meet needs, and read minds :)

Friends to bear our burdens with

Quiet afternoons

Very Early, Very Random

Here we are on another leisurely Saturday morning.  Two children are still asleep, (they apparently can sleep through anything), five children are headed to Silverwood, and one lone soul is off to Clarkston.  I was gently wakened, shortly after 6, by my husband telling me, "two stray boys are in the basement."  I confess my first thoughts were, "how old are they, and how long have they been there?"  Fortunately they had not been there long, and said husband had brought them.  Needless to say that jolt to the system took care of one cup of coffee.

This is not one of my finest mornings.  My two cross country runners are off, I did not make them breakfast or lunch.  I am feeling woefully inadequate for the task at hand.  I have been repeating over and over, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", (Thank you for the reminder JR).  Yesterday was a long day.  I forgot one class, lost my temper, gave my own daughter a pink slip, and I'm sure there was more that I don't even remember.  I felt like I was literally running from crisis to crisis.  Rick and I were at school until 9:30, we got home and had to get everyone to bed so that most of us could be out of the house before 7.  I know several friends who would look at this schedule and say, "big deal."  Yep, I'm a wimp.

Thankfully I can choose to look at all the things I miffed, or I can look at all of the things that Christ died for, and be grateful.  I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me.  He gives me strength to do what must be done.  He also gives grace to forgive what I miffed.  And really I miffed my own standard, not His.  I did ask for forgiveness, many times, yesterday, and by grace I am forgiven.  I'm not walking around with my tail between my legs this morning, I'm getting down to today's business.  God's mercy is new every morning.  I don't have to carry the burden of yesterday's leftovers, I can leave them there.

Today has enough worry of its own.  Do I go to the cross country meet, or the fair?  Do I try to get to the Fall Market, or clean up my office?  Do I get dinner together now, or wait until I know who is coming home for dinner?  It is shaping up to be another very full day.  The good news for me is that the work is not my own.  I will do my best to get done what I can, and to keep my attitude positive.  What doesn't get done today, will still be there tomorrow, or Monday.  I'm not inadequate or a bad mom, I'm just limited. 

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Good books

Golden fields

Coffee, every morning

Logos

Good friends, to point out blind spots

Forgiveness from children, they are full of grace

Fall

Daughters sleeping

Siblings looking for each other

Fruit Loops

Brooklyn is 15

My blond bomber turns 15 today.  She is the child that is least like me, and I LOVE to be around her.  She is witty, quiet, sensitive, fast, leisurely and bright.  She loves food, running, hanging out with her friends, drawing, and tormenting her siblings.

When she was little, people thought she was shy.  She was quiet unless she was around Madie and I.  When we were at home, she was a giggly spaz.  I thought people were crazy, but then I realized that she doesn't become her charming self until she knows you pretty well.  God blessed her with amazing, blond, curly, hair.  It has been a blessing and a curse.  She would prefer to blend in, but that doesn't happen with hair like hers.  She has had women she has never met, sink their fingers into her hair and stroke it while we were out shopping.  She likes her private space so this phenomenon is very unsettling to her.  She has also realized that being fairly fast in a small town, with the added bonus of being pretty easy to spot even at longer distances, many people around town recognize her.  She really doesn't like the attention, but what can she do?  She just blushes and quietly says "thanks."

Over the years I have had many future plans for Brooke.  I originally thought she would be a great roller derby queen.  Really, you don't want to mess with her.  She has mellowed on that front a bit.  For a while she would loiter downtown in front of the French restaurant drooling.  I thought maybe culinary arts were in her future.  She is very helpful in the kitchen, so that is not ruled out.  She asked me about design recently.  She is quite artistic, and she loves being outside.  We had encouraged her to look into Botany.  She is a well rounded lady, and I am sure that whatever she chooses to pursue will be wonderful.  I have a feeling it will change from time to time, and she will have  a good reason for the change.

I love you Brokus, you are a sweet girl.  I'm glad that God put you right behind Madie to keep her humble.  You have been a blessing to Martha, and I love how you have embraced her.  Keep running hard because it is fun.  May God continue to pour out his blessing, and give you a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in His sight.

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Listening to the neighbors laughing and chatting in their back yards every evening.

Ice cream cakes from Baskin Robbins, easy!

Fresh produce straight out of the dirt.

Sweaty socks all over my house, they come with the pitter patter of little, and not so little feet.

Recess duty

Helping dear friends to transition to new places.

Young ladies wanting to help children learn.

Older ladies wanting to help children learn.

Fun school lunch ideas.

High fives from little ones.

Bike rides with Helen before school.

Grocery shopping with older folks, making me miss my parents.

New house plants.

Working hard, getting nowhere

I should be folding laundry, but then again I should always be folding laundry.  Today I will let it wait.  My children are all occupied at school, finally, and this is a good thing.  A summer of hanging out, gets to be a bit much for all of us.  I have had several people ask me what I am going to do with all my time now that the kids are all at school.  Well, I am going to teach a couple of PE classes, help my daughter strengthen her reading skills, take a few turns at playground duty, keep the food coming at a regular pace, and try not to lose what's left of my memory.

My biggest brain teaser currently is how to get Martha up to speed in school.  There are several challenges in this realm, and it quite frankly is not my area of expertise.  God may be stretching me in new directions on this one, and I am extremely doubtful of my capability.  Yes, I could homeschool her, but with everyone else in school that presents several issues.  I could send her to a public school, but that also has its own set of issues.  I can continue to try to help her where she is and see what kind of progress we can make.  It is just very up in the air, in my head.  She is doing fine with her school schedule and her friends, and as long as she is making forward motion I'm not going to mess with it until I have a good solid alternative.  Indecision is one of my pet peeves, so this may seem like a silly thing, I get that.

The other personal issue I am wrestling with is my own set of unrealistic expectations.  While I can listen, smile and nod along with people telling me I can't do it all, for some reason I keep trying to do it all.  I want my house to be reasonably clean and organized.  I want to have dinner on the table with everyone smiling around it, telling me how wonderful it is.  I want my kids to be able to play sports.  I want to be able to help everyone with their homework.  I want to be able to do music lessons,  I want Madison to be able to work during the school year.  I want them all to get straight A's.  I want them all to go to college, marry beautiful people and live happily ever after, preferably within walking distance of me.  What?  Am I asking too much?

Somehow I find myself chasing rainbows.  They are so pretty after all.  I am trying very hard to remember that those rainbows are a gift from God.  I cannot work my way to grasping one.  I can drive, and plan, and sweat, and worry, but it won't get me all the things I want.  I did actually drop to my knees this morning and admit to God that I can't do it.  I know it, really I do.  I guess in the end all of my scurrying is just showing everyone that I don't trust God to do what He promises.  He promises to give us rest.  His expectations are actually pretty low, much lower than mine.  If I know this, why don't I let it come out my fingertips?  Honestly, I don't know.  Somehow there is a sick comfort in knowing that I worked my butt off.  All that busyness got me no where, but I was working the whole time :)

I'm hoping that if I tell myself this enough times it will sink in.  I may have to endure sweaty socks building up in the children's rooms.  I may have to live with pouty teenagers telling me that EVERYONE else gets to do all of this stuff.  I may have to live with B's, or the knowledge that some other mom had to do lunch duty.  God's yoke is light, mine is not.  When will I put mine down and take His up?

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Lunch duty teachers

Phone calls from concerned family, I love you all!

Bearing one another's burdens

Lunch with friends

Hot August afternoons

After-school snacks

Children making music

Dog curled up at my feet

Moments alone

Completing lists, or at least making it to 1000 on a list that is never complete!

Silverwood

Thursday was our annual trip to Silverwood.  I usually let Rick chaperon this fun filled day, but I thought I had better take a turn.  He stayed home with the little guys, and I took Brooke, Bronwyn and Karsten up north. 

Martha is staying with friends this week so she missed it.  She actually considered staying home and going to Silverwood with us instead of staying with her friends.  This is such a huge change since last year.  Last year she wanted nothing to do with Silverwood.  This year she really wanted to be at the park with her friends.  I can't tell you how good that feels from a parenting perspective.  She is feeling like this is where she belongs, and she desires to spend time with us.  So much can change in one year!  Not only that, I wished she had been there, then I would have had someone to ride with.

I drove our fifteen passenger van up with a full load of kids.  They were pretty mellow on the ride up, which changed drastically on the ride home.  I really didn't know what to expect once I got there.  The last time I went to Silverwood was sometime in the early 1990's with a college friend.  I was hoping I would find a quiet corner to hole up in with the third book of Harry Potter.  Quiet corners do not exist at Silverwood, just for the record.  What I decided is that next year I will bring a friend, wear quick dry clothes, and secure a beach chair early.  I suspected that I would have kids around me most of the day.  I was totally wrong there.  As soon as they had their tickets, and knew where to meet at the end of the day they were long gone.  I was so thankful for texting, otherwise I would have lost them until 9.

I can see that they are preparing to leave the nest.  Karsten was the youngest one I had with me, and I did have to go look for him at one point, only because he had left everyone whose phone numbers I had.  In five short years Helen will be Karsten's age.  Five years isn't really very long in the grand scheme of things.  It was a thrilling thought, and sad at the same time.  This is what I have been raising them for.  I am seeing my little kids become adults right before my eyes.  The great thing is that I really like the people they are becoming.  I was sad that they wanted to hang out with their friends instead of me.  I understood of course, and I know they didn't see it that way, but it was a shift from where we have been for the last sixteen years.

It made me think about a lot of things.  I really need to be careful that I don't treat my big kids like little kids.  Sometimes I give group lectures that don't really apply to them.  I need to be sure that I praise them for all of the great things they do.  I need to remember how many things they still have to learn, mostly through experience.  I need to extended a lot of grace while they are learning how to take responsibility for things.  This is a sensitive time in their lives.  They seem to take my advice as criticism, actually they take most advice as criticism.  My words need to be gentle, concise, and gracious.  Overreacting just causes them to be defensive, so I need to remain calm.  I really need to work on keeping things light.  There are going to be lots of funny stories in the next few years.  They won't be funny at the time, but they will become funny with age.  I am really loving these years, when I stop to take a breath and enjoy the moment. 

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X-ray

Free breakfast

Teenage girls to watch siblings

Dinner at Nectar

Tough little boys

LAX games

Phone calls from kids that are not home

Parents cheering on children week after week

Calling on God when I can't find things, they always show up

Daughters starting to think about life after high school

Papa Murphy's

Strong personalities, the spice of life

Group discounts

Mole Hills

I have been reflecting on the mountains of laundry that seem to come with every vacation.  I find myself murmuring about all of the hand me downs that collect in my house.  I walk from room to room and all that catches my eye is dust bunnies and duffel bags of sports equipment.  The list goes on and on, so I had to stop and write down the good things.

My husband came home from a meeting last night with some really disheartening news.  It hit me that all of my little irritations in life are really mole hills, lots of mole hills maybe, but mole hills none the less.  I have to remind myself way too often be thankful for all of this ordinary life around me.  I have friends that are really truly dealing with mountains in their lives.  The morning we were getting ready to leave for vacation I flounced in to church with my hair all messed up, and my lip poking out.  I sat in the back because I was late, so I had a good view of my peeps.  God was very gracious in opening my eyes to what a total jerk I was being.  He brought to mind many struggles that are happening around me.  I started to see how pathetic my attitude was, and how much time I am wasting fussing about nothing.  So what if my husband left all the aluminum cans that we have been saving for six months in a black bag on the curb for the recycling guy?  Ya, the guy wouldn't be there for three more days, and you couldn't tell what was in the bag without opening it, but he might be psychic and figure it out.  So we came home to aluminum cans all over the yard, really is this a mountain or a mole hill?

I am truly grateful that our biggest problems are what our kids watch on t.v.  Whether or not their skirts are long enough not to offend the lady two rows over.  What classes should Mads take next fall?  Should we go to camp on Labor Day or not?  I am grateful for all of the neighbor kids that ring my doorbell 60 or 70 times a day.  I am grateful for the tub of plaid skirts that I get to wade through for this coming school year.  I am thankful for the pile of sheets that go on the nine beds in my house.  All of these things are blessings.  I am thankful that when I go to bed every night, I still have things left to do.  I am still needed.  God is truly good to me, too good in fact.

There may be mountains ahead.  There have certainly been mountains behind.  It is good to know that every Sunday I sit down and sing with the people that will help me climb them.  For now my job is to rejoice in the ordinary life and to keep praying for those around me climbing the crags.  I need to make a few extra meals for those that can't.  I need to set aside some of my overflow for those who are feeling a bit dry.  I need to encourage those that are feeling weak.  I need to keep my perspective and tell my kids how much I love them, and my sweet husband.  Life is full of good things, if you are willing to see it that way.

#877-900

Friends turning 40, and dessert that I don't have to make

Hand me downs

Teens that sleep until the crack of noon

Neighbors that let my kids play on their x-box

School uniforms, who doesn't love plaid?

Cool breezes

Kids that can ride their bikes to the pool

Daughters that call from their friend's because they need their Mom

People to shop with and for

Carpooling

New Furniture

Money well spent

So many friends in walking distance

Praying for those in the valleys

Pictures of flowers on facebook

Wet towels everywhere, the pool is open

Pool passes

Moms telling their kids well done

Family squabbles, which mean we are all still talking to each other

Bicycles all over the yard, and the kids that are able to ride them

The cat that has returned

Grandmas that spoil their granddogs

I'm up bright and early this morning with Nes.  He has developed very swollen glands that are painful.  We had a couple of kids with colds when we came that seem to be developing into painful illnesses of different varieties.  The good news is that the clinic here is small, and the doctor is very nice.  It is also a great way to meet the local folks.  Small towns are always more interesting when you get to know a few people.

We had friends arrive yesterday, which brought much rejoicing.  Our kids played tag, and swam together after dinner.  It is always fun to add people to our party.  I think the other residents that were at the pool last night were happy to see us go.  We weren't the quiet night swimmers they were hoping for.  I can't wait to see all the kids on the beach today.

We took a walk to the jetty at low tide the other day.  The beach is full of crazy creatures that we don't see every day.  We found a ton of star fish, anemones, barnacles, and crabs.  We crawled around on the rocks poking the anemones to see them squirt.  Somebody needs to make a video game of that.  We did not bring any of the star fish home, in case anyone is wondering.  We left them all there, a little stunned, but no worse for the wear.  It started to rain, so we called beach grandma for a ride home.  She picked us up, lectured us about poking the anemones, and let us out to wash the sand off of our bodies.

Yesterday we buried Helen in the sand.  We called her Mount St. Helen.  Rick videoed her erupting, but I can't figure out how to get it on my blog.  It was a short eruption.  Soren's was longer last year.

We are missing Madie.  She has called a couple of times.  She is home trying to recover from a good case of shin splints.  I'm a little worried that she may not make it for cross country, but we will see.  She has been dabbling in hair cuts and henna tattoos.  She is such a teenage girl.  I just hope she doesn't have a Mohawk by the time we get home.  Our cat showed up at our neighbor's house, so she gets to retrieve him before we get home.  There is never a dull moment, even at the beach.

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Doctors

Small towns

Adoption stories

Kids playing tag with Kevin

Listening to kids breathe while they sleep

Early morning taps on the shoulder from children needing me

Sunrise

Thank you from a little lady who misses her poodle, and found Kiki comforting

Driftwood covered in barnacles, little arms moving in all directions

Little bulbs of seaweed that shoot water when you step on them, Soren's new favorite pastime

Wet towels all over the house, signs of good times

Life at the Beach

I feel like our summer vacation really happens here.  We have the whole family together, with no place to go, no one needs to be at some event, no one has to be up at a certain time, no one is calling us, it is just 10 people and miles of sand.  It may be that my introvert side finds this incredibly soothing, and the extroverts in the family are dieing of boredom.  They aren't complaining, so I am going to imagine that they love it as much as I do. 

This year we had to leave Mads at home.  She got a real job this summer, and couldn't get a whole week off.  This is a very bittersweet event.  We miss her terribly, but I am so glad that she is growing up and getting responsibilities that she needs to have.  After my very ugly departure,she is probably grateful for a little time without the whole family.  I don't do getting us all off on trips gracefully.  Note to self:  Never,  never leave on a Sunday after church.  I needed most of the morning for confession of sin, not making of beds.  Mads was a trooper.  She finally told me it was time to just get out of the house, stop fussing, and let her take care of whatever mess I left.  I love that girl!

The beach always calms my soul.  It puts my life back into perspective.  The kids have a great time digging in the sand, jumping in the waves, collecting rocks and shells, walking for miles, swimming in the pool, and just being together.  Every other person asks us how many kids we have.  We are enjoying coming up with witty remarks to this question and collecting stunned answers.  Yes, we do have our hands full!  We have had several people comment on how happy the kids are, and how well they get along.  This doesn't happen at home.  Maybe it is because there is no Wii to fight over out here.  Maybe it is because I need miles of sand in my back yard for them to build forts in.  They really do work well together, and make some pretty awesome sand towns.  Even the big girls get into decorating the village with shells.  The entertainment factor at our little beach town is nil to minuscule.  There is no movie theater.  There is one pizza place that is open intermittently and never when the sign it is.  We have walked all the way in to town to find that everything is closed.  It makes me laugh every time.  Thank God the beach is always open, and it is strewn with fun things to collect.

We got a ton of sun on Monday.  We have had clouds and mist since then.  They keep the pool at about 95 degrees, so there is always that to fall back on.  Helen fell asleep while watching a movie in the afternoon.  Playing hard wears them out, and we all sleep really well.  I have finished one book, and am well into the next.  I wish we could fit these breaks in more often, but I am grateful for at least one week out of the year.  Chef Pamela keeps us fed, which is wearing her out.  It takes her a couple of days to adjust to how much we can eat at one meal.  It's a good thing Mads isn't here, she eats enough for two or three all by herself.  We have friends coming in on the weekend to hang out with us.  We are all very excited about that!

I'm sure if I were here all the time I would find it monotonous, but for now we are lucky enough to be at the beach.

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Rosemary bushes, they smell delightful

Sand castles

Walks on the beach

Beach glass

The sound of waves crashing on the shore

Suntanned boys

Little Richards donuts, WOW

Watching the sun sink into the waves every evening

Hot tubs

The triumphant yells of children finding treasures on the beach

Burying Soren in the sand

Mads calling to tell me about her new haircut

Good jobs

Fresh crab

Worn out children napping in the afternoon

Finishing a good book

Bronster the Teen

We have had a wild week with the cousins visiting.  It is a lot of fun, a lot of food, a lot of activity, a lot visiting, a lot of cat naps to make up for the lost sleep.  In the middle of it all Bronwyn turned 13.  She had asked to have venison stroganoff for dinner, with cauliflower and cream sauce.  For dessert she wanted coconut cream pie, or German chocolate cake (my personal faves!).  She wanted life cereal and Cool ranch Doritos to top off the special day.  The bummer was, that she told me this right after I got home from the grocery store, so I couldn't fulfill all the requests.  I will make it up this coming week while we are at the beach.

Bronwyn is a busy girl.  She is quiet, and tends to need some alone time, but she also has A LOT of friends.  She was invited to go boating with friends on her birthday, so we let her go instead of making her stay home with us.  She took a couple of sisters too.  They had a grand time, and it made up for the fact that we are her constant party here.  She has a dear friend that has a birthday the same week, so they are having their party this weekend.  She never lacks for activity, which makes her hard to keep up with sometimes.

She is probably the child most like me.  We could both curl up and say nothing for days if other folks didn't draw us out.  She is very focused, and needs to have some time to process things before diving in, sometimes literally.  She has a lot of intensity, and needs to be reminded to see the good things in life.  There was a time that she made me question my entire parenting philosophy.  Praise God that all of our hard work and prayers paid off, and she has grown into a lovely young lady.  She is still our fighter who always jumps in on the side of the underdog.  I know that no one is going to take advantage of this little lady.

I love you Bronster.

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Visits from good friends who have moved on

Cousins

Lifegaurds

Summer rain showers

Teen age girls

Homemade jam

Answered prayers for those who have fallen ill

Cat naps

Boys digging holes all afternoon, for no apparent reason

Neighborhood kids working together, having fun

Little girls shopping for houses, so many good things to look forward too

Friends who are moving, we will miss them, but also want to see how God will bless them

Summer vacations

Party, Party, Party

We just got home from our Dr. appointment/July birthday hoo ha trip.  It was mostly uneventful, and a whole lotta fun.  Martha and Nes are both doing very well health wise.  For this I am profoundly thankful.  Martha spent the weekend with her dear friends in Olympia.  We spent one night at the Hills getting our Hill family fix.  We need to do that far more often.  Then we sped through the mountains, (which is MUCH more fun in a Camry than a 15 passenger van), back to UB and Rachel's house.

Our time with the cousins gets wilder and wilder as the kids get older.  While we don't have nearly as much throwing up and wetting the bed as we have in years past, we have at least quadrupled the amount of food we eat, and the amount of space we take up.  Finding a patch of empty space without a child or an animal is no easy task.  Rachel said she got up to make coffee one morning and had flashbacks of college parties with people sleeping everywhere.  Life just gets better and better.  We laugh even more, and have more helpers everywhere we go.  We can even have the adults go out and leave the kids at home for part of the time.

Rachel had a birthday this week as well as Tage and Helen.  They are all so lucky, grills and fireworks every year for their birthdays.  I'm totally jealous.  Helen woke up this morning with a big smile on her face.  She looked at me and said, "It's my birthday."  She wanted corn dogs and ice cream cake.  A wonderful birthday dinner following a small road trip.  UB would have had it on the road trip.  He has wisely told me that corn dogs from the gas station are so much better than the ones at the deli.  (I still can't believe he came from my mother.)  I swapped a couple of my kids for a niece and a nephew.  Rick got to drive the party wagon with the under 10 crowd.  I drove the teenage car, actually Madie drove the teenage car which meant we got home half an hour later than planned.

Helen is a little spitfire.  She reminds me of me, so much so that I often have to repent of my sin, because I know exactly where she gets it.  She has a few very close friends.  She has to know someone for quite some time before she becomes their friend.  Once she does, they are very special to her.  She is tough as nails and I am pretty sure she was going to take down one of the neighbor girls until I intervened this evening.  When she is tired you do not want to be in her way.  She needs a lot of sleep!  She needs her space and can play very nicely all by herself.  She has become very attached to Nes, which is very sweet, except when she is tired.  I have a feeling she will be the one to take care of me in my old age, she and Martha.  Sometimes they are sure they can't stand each other, but I am pretty sure Helen would lay her life down for Martha if push came to shove.  I am very grateful for my Omega baby.  I pray that God would use her in mighty ways, and I am sure that He will.

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Arriving home after a road trip safe and sound, again.

Friends that miss us when we are gone.

Friends that let us stay with them, brave souls that they are.

Healthy kids, 9 of them.

Swimming pools full of friends.

Thistles as tall as I am, and easy to pull too.

Simple dinners that make kids happy.

Sisters hugging each other because they were missed.

Teenagers that can laugh at themselves.

Skins ability to heal itself, wonderfully designed stuff.

Cool water on hot days.

Beautiful colors of rolling fields overhung by azure skies.

Cool evenings with the windows open wide.

Serenade of crickets and frogs.

Leg rubs from sweet husbands.

Still Here, or There

  We are all moved, all but the cat.  We were without Internet except for the iDols, and I just can't blog on a phone.  So here we are, down the hill from our former home.  I have to say, I LOVE this house.  I have never said that about a house as we moved in before.  We have always moved in to fixer uppers, so I was excited about the potential of the house, but not the house itself.  This time I could imagine grand kids running in the backyard.  The bedrooms give everyone a little space.  The living room is cozy enough that the kids prefer to be downstairs in toy land.  The dining room is just perfect for our crowded table, and there is a breakfast nook in the kitchen.  I really don't think I could have come up with a better plan if I had built it myself.  Add to that that the lawn is established and there are a few trees with a good ten years of growth, and you have pretty much a dream come true.  I know this house does not make me more sanctified, but it has dropped my stress level in half, at least once we finally signed the closing papers.

I am hoping that I may now resume my regularly scheduled summer.  Today was even warm!  The trick to making my summer work seems to be figuring out how to keep the kids from getting bored, without causing me to live in my car.  All but the youngest three can go to the pool by themselves now, which is helpful.  The boys can walk to Lacrosse, and our piano teacher comes to the house.  I'm encouraging bike riding, but for some reason that does not cause rejoicing in the ranks.  It is still a puzzle to be figured out, but I have at least eight more weeks to work on it.

A friend asked me last night how the thankful list was coming.  I told her I was in the 600s, she said she had started one too, but was only on 137.  I know it will bless her, so I encouraged her to keep on going.

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Pink cheeks and blond hair.

lightening storms in the evenings.

Sitting on the deck with a glass of wine admiring God's show.

Friends returning from long vacations.

Many babysitting jobs.

Moms getting to know each other better at the pool.

Kids who can swim well enough they don't need my constant supervision.

Walking to the pool with the kiddos.

Cats who don't want to leave their home.

Friends who return every summer, I can't believe how much they grow in a year.

Teenage daughters becoming lovely women.

Snuggling children and explaining that thunder won't hurt them.

Free basketball hoops, thank you Rices!

Is it Friday Yet?

I have started several posts, only to find them wandering aimlessly nowhere.  I guess thought provoking posts will have to wait, and mundane daily life will be the name of the game.  This is the week of transitioning into the summer schedule.  The older kids have had finals this week, while the younger kids have been cleaning out lockers and having play days.

 Next week Martha and I are headed for New York.  I have to say that I am terribly excited.  It will be a quick trip, but I know it will be memorable.  We will be speaking at a fundraising dinner for the Rollstone Foundation.  It is a foundation that helps families adopting children with special needs.  They have blessed us mightily in the past few years, and I am so happy to be able to meet Michael and Pam in person.

Tomorrow is Eden's birthday.  Lord willing I will post some pictures of her big day.  She has ordered up steak, potatoes, and cheesecake.  Michele has even offered to make her burritos for lunch.  She had better feel special after a day like that, especially since it is the last day of school.

Here are a few pictures from this last week:

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Getting special gifts for seniors that are graduating.

Teary moms watching their babies leave the nest.

Beautiful Brides.

Boys who want to learn to cook, and sing.

First graders crying because life isn't fair.

5th and 6th graders getting the gym set up for the awards assembly.

First grade sound offs, again, and again.

Birthday parties.

Pink strawberry blossoms.

Hospitality from strangers.

A wonderful dinner with my Mom and my husband.

Friends blessing my children on their birthdays.

Getting thank you gifts for all of the people that have served my children all year.

The smell of rain and freshly cut grass.