Some call it Spring Break, Some call it a Snow Day

Call it whatever you want, it means I have a house full of kids and 5 inches of wet, heavy white stuff all around me.  I was determined to carry on with my day, but it all fell apart as I was running in to shower after the gym and before Bible study.  Too many people with too many questions and I already am prone to forget what I am doing if I am not repeating it to myself constantly.  So instead I threw on some shorts, drove over to Morgan's house and took pictures of us sitting in the snow.  Why?  Sometimes you just have to keep a sense of humor and roll with it.  I am confident that someday spring will in fact arrive and these cold, wet, unpredictable days will become unpredictable for entirely new reasons.

It is early afternoon and I have gone from quiet, dark, coffee in hand, Bible on my lap, to spinning in the cold, dark, music filled room, to a living room full of teens cutting out pictures of vegetable and googling "what is a legume?" while others sat by knitting clothes for a school project.  It's a strange and wonderful world that I live in.  Then I get intermittent texts from friends such as:

  And my children's friends dropping by with Mochas, just because.  God brings blessing in strange and mysterious ways, and I am very thankful.

This is not really what I pictured my life looking like when I was 20 something and idealistic.  I can't imagine what my 60 something life will look like.  This 40 something gig is always on the brink of disaster, and certainly never boring.  So far my kids are doing really great things.  Madie will graduate from college in May!  How did that happen?  Not only graduate, but graduate with honors.  I was just happy to get to wear a cap and gown, but she is hitting it out of the park.  Unfortunately I won't be there to witness this incredible event.  Too many people here need supervision, especially in mid-May, not to mention bad financial planning means $600 tickets are not an option.  The grandparents will be there to fill in and cheer and take pictures and glow in her presence.  Maybe by the time Brook graduates next year I will be able to get away.  I so clearly remember thinking what if they never get potty trained, or learn to read?  They did!  It is awesome!  Even Soren who struggles reading out loud, asked for Temple Grandin's new book for his birthday.  Mind Blown!

My kids may still compare me to Malcom in the Middle's mom, but I know they mean it as a compliment.  If they don't I will ignore the implications.  I love each and every one of them.  They are amazing people because they have an amazing savior.  Their mom is questionable, but doing the best she can.  I'm hoping I'll be an awesome grandma someday, someday way far away from now.  I'll keep working on chasing after God, loving my kiddos and rolling with the day God gives me.  Clearly Bible study went well without me, our 4H meeting will be great because Karsten loves it, and we have awesome leaders, the snow will just keep coming and we will do our best to make the most of whatever comes.  This isn't the life I imagined, and it is so much better!

I am thankful for:
1.  Morgan's photography skills and lack of other things to do.
2.  Snow days, even in March.
3.  Grant's mocha making skills and free time.
4.  Karsten's full life spilling over everything in my house.
5.  The incredible lack of major car accidents in our lives, especially with four teen drivers.
6.  Exercise which truly keeps me sane, is that an addiction?
7.  The Word of God which also keeps me sane, and is ok if it is an addiction.
8. 4H, which keeps my kids busy and active in their communities.
9. Spring break, to remind me how great all the other breaks are.
10.  Swimming which keeps Helen sane.
11. Great books for all seasons.
12.  KG, who never ceases to make me smile.  Every.single.day.
13.  Rick who manages to live with us all, and keep us from going bankrupt in so many ways.
14.  Laughter

A Nail In The Hand

It's been another eventful week.  Rick was in Nevada for a good portion of it, so I did my best to keep everyone fed, bathed, loved and educated.  I ended every day bone tired, and knowing there would be more to do the next day.  It is good to go to bed bone tired, you sleep really well, unless someone wakes you up to see if they can snuggle you.

Last night, thankfully, no one tried to wake me up.  Apparently after I went to bed, the kids came home from their slurpy run to the sound of the frog symphony in our pond.  Karsten has been a bit annoyed with this nightly serenade, so he decided to throw some old boards into the pond to shut them up.  Apparently the third time was not the charm, and the board had a nail in it which pierced his hand as it sailed off into the night.  He came running into the house to his two older sisters who tried to figure out how to handle the situation.  Brook apparently was lobbying for a trip to the ER, Madie was not so sure.  They woke Rick up and all decided to wait until the morning to decide.  The PA who saw them this morning said it definitely needed stitches, and sewed him up.

I posted the cliff note version of this on Facebook, and a friend pointed out the irony of a nail in the hand on Good Friday.  It is sort of poignant.  God has done some very interesting things in Karsten's life over the years.  I have learned to trust him to his heavenly father and know that he has a plan.  I had told Karsten not to throw things in the pond, I hadn't envisioned boards when I gave that command.  The frogs are back this evening taunting him with their song.  They have won this round, but I am confident that he will back in the fight.  A couple weeks of laying low will probably do him good.

The older girls had their first two track meets.  One was a surprise event on Tuesday.  They have done respectably, but not what they had hoped.  The season is early, and given that we have no field equipment to practice our jumps, I think they have done well.  I'll miss track season.  It is fun to see the girls work hard and master some difficult skills.

We have been discovering more and more school options.  I have to say that I am really excited about the opportunities we have for next year.  We found a program that offers dual credit for our high schoolers with some very interesting classes.  It incorporates some of the ideas that we heard about at PLU in their international honors program, but they can do it in high school.  We will start the application process and see what happens.  We found an ESL program for Martha.  When Rick called them to see if it would be appropriate for her, we discovered that the lady who teaches the class knew about us.  She was one of the founders of the school we had considered teaching at in Indonesia.  I have been astounded again and again by God's faithfulness and blessing in all the twists and turns we have taken in our life.

A dear friend emailed and offered to let Madie come stay with them for a while and get a change of scenery.  It was completely unexpected, but would be such a blessing to Madie and to us, and hopefully to them.  I was feeling a little bit discouraged by how things were working out for Madie.  We are still very hopeful that she will be able to take a volunteer trip this summer.  We are trying to figure out how to do some fundraising to take care of the travel expenses.  There are some questions we need to answer before we are ready to send her to Europe by herself, but I really feel like this would be a great way for her to grow in maturity and faith.  She just needs to come up with the airfare, and they will take care of the rest.  God has been so good to us, and I have felt so good about the options he has presented that we have not expected in any way.

This Easter weekend has already been beautiful.  The weather is warm.  The flowers are springing up everywhere.  Yesterday while I walked with Eden the smell of dinners being cooked outside reminded me of Ethiopia.  It was such a sweet memory, and a longing to go back.  It reminded me of all the people we have met from Ethiopia, who have adopted from Ethiopia, who are serving in Ethiopia now, it made me so very grateful for our Ethiopian children and all that they have brought into our lives.  We are planning to celebrate Easter with some very dear friends who have hosted us for Easter for many years.  I was thinking about our Easter celebrations of the past.  We have been getting together since our children were all very young.  Many of them are now married and have small children of their own.  It has been a wild ride, and I am so looking forward to our annual get together.  Friends eating, hiding eggs, getting spring sunburns, and laughing as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and life everlasting.  It truly is better than Christmas.

I am thankful for...

Friends that have become family

Gifts paid forward

Surprises

New friends met, and relationships growing

Doctors to stitch up hands

Frogs to inspire boys to do dumb things

Husbands that come home

Eternal life

Teens and holes in the walls

My life is very, very full.  It is good, it flies by quickly.  I need to commit to writing on my blog on a regular basis.  Even if it is only posting a picture, that is semi-focused just so I don't forget all that is happening around me.

My Mom spent a month in Arizona, and arrived back in the very chilly northwest early this week.  She drove over to retrieve her car and her dog.  Note, her dog, not my dog, yay!  Karsten turned 13 on Monday.  I had the day off of work on Tuesday.  I had a haircut in the morning, and then we went out for lunch and manicure.  I have to say, that could be addictive.  The sun was even shining, which means it was pretty much the perfect day.

Mom left town, we had parish group dinner at our house, and the next day Brant and Rachel and crew rolled in.  My house is feeling the effects of lots of bodies, lots of food, lots of feet, lots of people sleeping everywhere.  I have one broken window, and one butt print in the sheet rock.  My teenage son learned that wrestling at 13 does a lot more damage than wrestling at 5.  My introvert side is screaming for a little quiet time, but I am training it to make the most of what it gets and be content with constant streams of social interaction.

In the midst of all this my oven has been dead for two weeks.  I could seriously use a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, maybe that is God's way of giving me a Lenten fast.  I have been maximizing my 22 qt roaster that I bought as the turkey roaster for Thanksgiving.  If you have a kitchen and you think you need to get a second oven, let me tell you those roaster's are the bomb.  I think I got mine for right around $40.  It has baked cakes, cheesecakes, giant batches of sausage stew, baked potatoes, and turkey.  I am loving it!  My new oven actually made it into town on Friday, but so did Brant and Rachel so I asked them to hang onto it until things in the house settled down.  I have had more than my fair share of broken appliances, and home improvement projects during large family gatherings.  I have learned that it is worth the wait to have a little less chaos when there are extra people in the house.

My kids had a few dicey moments this week, and I have to say I am so impressed with them.  They have handled all of the chaos graciously.  They have managed their homework, jobs, social lives, family, chores and sleep well.  They have been helpful to me, and to their friends.  God is good, and I am so grateful that He has kept us in His hand.  Every time I am sure we are headed for a disaster, things shake out and all is well.  They have a much better grip on life than I ever have, glory to God!

I am thankful for...

Cousins cheering each other on

Girls dressing up and dancing together

Lots of bodies filling my house with love

Pretty fingernails

Mothers of teenagers, seeing faith working out

Martha telling me she likes me, unsolicited

Holes in the wall, signs of good times

Work and all the food it supplies

Friends taking care of my kids, just because they want to

5th Teen in the House

Karsten turned 13 today, which makes five teenagers in my home.  I can say that I would take five teens over five toddlers any day.  They are a lot of fun, even though they eat a ton of food.  I think back to the days of sitting at the table until they cleaned their plates after hours of battles and wonder why in the world I wasted all that time.  Today I would jump for joy if they would stop eating for an hour or so.  Karsten wanted Mongolian beef for his birthday dinner.  I haven't quite mastered that one yet, so we headed over to New Garden in Pullman and gave the rest of the diners a show.  I guess just having us walk in the room and sit down is pretty interesting for most folks.  We enjoyed dinner and came home to have white chocolate, raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

I didn't want to let the day get by without acknowledging Karsten's big day.  He turned thirteen.  He is an amazing young man, and I am so God has kept him around this long.  He had more than his fair share of close calls as a toddler, but I am sure God has a plan for this guy.  He is a hard worker, and continues to be diligent in everything that he is asked to do.  He cares for the people around him, especially the kids that others tend to exclude.  He has lately started to give the attitude of his mother.  He is mocking those that think they are all that, but he is still lacking in the appropriate amount of sarcasm.  People think he is cocky, but we make sure he stays  humble at home.

He has been given many gifts.  He is athletic and likes to play sports.  He has never been driven to win in sports where he is an individual.  He does well in track, but he is not out to  beat everybody.  He tends to be more competitive when he is playing team sports.  I think his drive to win increases when he has others counting on him.  He is amazingly sweet to his sisters.  And both of his brother think he is the best.  He is my go to guy.  He acts like a first born even though he is the middle child.

I know God has big plans for Karsten.  He has many friends, and he loves to be around people.  I am very blessed to have him, he gets better every year.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy.