double digits

"I'm this many!"

brand new Lydia 6.6.02

Lydia Joy is 10! That means that half our kids are now in double digits. I remember the day she was born as if it were way less than an entire decade ago. She and Jacob were our only non-St. John's-born kiddos. Lydia was born at United. Rebekah was still a baby (just a bit more than 14 months old) and Jacob had recently turned 3. Our lives were a bit crazy, as you might imagine, with 3 kids 3 and under.

As a baby Lydia slept lots, but would ONLY sleep in her bed. I felt like nearly ever moment we were at home, she was in her bed :: get her up in the morning, feed her breakfast, bring Jacob to preschool, come home and put her down for a nap, pluck her out of her crib sound asleep, pick Jacob up from preschool, feed the kids lunch, put her down for another nap, wake her up when Dad got home, feed the family dinner and put her to bed for the night. But if we traveled away from our home, and her crib, she wouldn't sleep a wink. And she wouldn't sleep in the car either. We went on a LONG driving vacation over her 2nd birthday and she went nearly 48-hours straight without sleep during the first leg of our trip. Finally, that second night she slept and has been find sleeping away from home ever since. But that 48 hours is one I do not want to repeat ever again, I can tell you that!

with her GG who brought her birthday cupcakes

with one of her birthday gifts

at 3 months or so

just a week or so old

Lydia was one of our more challenging children for years, but has really mellowed out in the past year or so into a really sweet girl.

Here is a funny Lydia story from the other day that just makes me love her all the more :: we had gotten a bag of hand-me-down clothes from a friend and in it was a black t-shirt for Sara with a heart and "gap" in script-y letters on the front. Lydia says to me, "What does that say on Sara's shirt?". I said, "Gap." She responded with, "That's what I thought, but what does that mean?" Totally made my day that she has no idea why a shirt would say "Gap" on the front. I told her (since she wasn't aware) that Gap was the name of a clothing store. This may come as a shock to any of you who knew me, say, in high school, when I could think of nothing better than having a job at The Gap and loved when my clothes advertised where they had come from. But, as it turns out, I have grown up a tad since then. Pretty much my kids wear hand-me-downs (which are SUCH a blessings!), thrifted clothes, occasionally new stuff from Target and things that their Grandma buys them . . . you know, for occasions when they should all coordinate, since coordinating hand-me-downs for 6 are a bit hard to come by!

Happy 10th Birthday Lydia! You add lots of fun to our family and we are so thankful for you.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2229. a calm-ish week
2230. paint colors chosen
2231. carpet chosen
2232.  helpful flooring consultants who keep us from making decisions we will probably regret later
2233. unexpected fabulous deals {a new exterior light for $0.01. can't really beat that!}
2234. celebrating my mom on her birthday
2235. Sara saying "Happy Ama" over and over and over again on my mom's birthday
2236. scheduling Rebekah's first shift at "work". so exciting!!
2237. the 1st grade play {so adorable and very funny}
2238. perfect type-casting :: Joey as Chicken Little
2239. the volunteer breakfast at school :: one of my favorite mornings of the year
2240. winning a door prize at the volunteer breakfast {$15 Panera gift card}
2241. date night with Rebekah :: Chatterbox Pub, Barnes & Noble, Patina, Half Price Books and Starbucks. so fun!
2242. scooping ice cream all afternoon at a grad party for my friend's daughter :: how did we get to this lifestage already? my peers have kids going off to college. i wonder how many grad parties i will help with in the next nearly 20 years. maybe let's not think about that too hard, actually. i'm tired enough already!
2243. friends
2244. a night of crafting :: I feel so much more me when I create things!
2245. the last week of school!
2246. new couch and rug all ready to freshen up the living room as soon as the sheetrock dust all settles
2247. perfectly lovely weather
2248. the power of music
2249. kids workshop at Home Depot :: a pleasant surprise
2250. basement shopping at IKEA {and some yummy meatballs, because you can't really go to IKEA and not have some meatballs}

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

Happy Ama

Today is my mom's birthday. She is wonderful and we are all so thankful for her.

Anna singing "Happy Birthday" to her {I think the whispering at the end is my favorite part} ::

 Sara refuses to {or maybe, can't} say the word "birthday", but she walked around all day saying "Happy Ama" over and over and over again. Sweet girl ::

Happy Birthday Mom. Happy Birthday Ama. We sure do love you!

multitude monday {a day late}

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::
{two weeks worth!}

2190. the smell of fresh lumber {LOVE that smell!}::

 2191. super cute reminders of important truths
2192. a gracious son who understands that when there are 27 things {slight exaggeration} going on in one evening, a momma might not be able to make it to his band concert
2193. breakfast with friends
2194. surviving a CRAZY busy day :: sanity {mostly} in tact
2195. the staff appreciation breakfast at our kids' elementary school :: always a blast to be a part of
2196. my up-for-anything, good-sport of a husband willing to dress up in a tux for #2195
2197. my first 5K, with a better time than I expected . . . it was almost fun, even!
2198. all 3 Hunger Games books (new) for $11 . . . gotta love the school book fair!
2199. Anna finishing up her first year of preschool. It was a great year for her ::

Anna with her teachers Anna and Deb

2200. a great orchestra concert for R and LJ
2201. carpools {praise God!}
2202. 1st graders at Field Day
2203. Joe's excitement at the blue teams tug-o-fun victory ::

2204. TONS of rain, which leads to cancelled soccer practice, which led to an unexpected calm, quiet evening as a family {ok, it's never really calm or quiet around here unless it's 2 a.m. -- and even then it's not a given!, but we were all home together with nowhere anyone needed to be}
2205. 11-year-old girls having TONS of fun with photo booth
2206. polite kids who say thank you {more than once, even!} when you drop them off at home
2207. the cool, touch-screen, futuristic pop machine that I "met" on our date night :: vanilla Coke and peach Fanta {not mixed together!}. Yummy!
2208. encouraging, supportive friends
2209. "real" mail
2210. Friday morning breakfast at Keys with my mom and Allie
2211. The General Store {a great place to spend 3 hours on a rainy Saturday, especially when you have great company to shop with!}
2212. being a mother-of-3 for a couple days :: a nice break from the usual!
2213. a beautiful, heart-felt prayer at church on Sunday that was a sermon in itself!
2214. funny things said by my favorite 4-year-old
2215. kids {and adults}with sharpies writing all over the basement walls, pre-sheetrock ::

we're not all spiritual all the time, you see!

  2216. watching Dolphin Tale snuggled on the couch, just Jacob and me, after everyone else was in bed for the night
2217. having the other half of our family back home and being all together again
2218. insulation. drywall. things coming together
2219. drywall guys listening to CD's of the Bible while working on my basement :: what a blessing!
2220. family walk to the local cemetery on memorial Day :: good talks as we walked
2221. family picnic on Memorial Day
2222. Rebekah's artsy eye and love for photography. She's a natural, I think ::

2223. family fun at French Lake Park::

2224. seeing extended family from far away who we rarely see
2225. excitement over Luke and Jenn's new lot, neighborhood, park and blueprints
2226. a productive day
2227. out with the old, in with the new
2228. Sara starting to actually "sing" along to music :: so very cute and fun to hear!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

I ran away

For weary mothers outnumbered by children.

To be played by squeaky, nails-on-the-chalkboard beginning violinists

A Lament

A Psalm of Shana

I could not take it one more second.

Will they never get to sleep?

With no shoes and no bra – in my jammies – I left

Straight out the door, without thought.

Walked down the road in the dark;

In the dark of night.

I cried out to the Lord, “I don’t even know what to say.

I can’t do it anymore. They are making me crazy.

I am quite possibly already crazy!”

I returned home and sat in a lawn chair

It was dark.

It was quiet and still.

I was cold.

Not ready, yet, to go back in,

I got in the van, reclined the seat and covered up with a size 6/7 raincoat I found strewn on the van floor.

It was surprisingly warm and comforting.

Finally someone came looking for me.

It was late.

I went inside, brushed my teeth and headed for bed.

The baby cried.

I ignored her.

I want to sleep.

When I lay down in my bed, one is there.

When I try the couch, one is there.

Oh when will they stay in their own beds?

How long, oh Lord, until they sleep through the night?

Sleep finally comes.

I wake and see an adorable, dirty, peaceful, sleeping face ringed with curls and remember the depth of my love.

Thankful that Your faithfulness is new with each morning.

Today is full to bursting. So much to juggle!
Lord, have mercy!
But then, really! harmonicas at 6:38?
Do they not understand some are still asleep and need to stay that way?

Let me remember the Mother's Day of just days ago,
Full of love and (relative) peace and blessings.
Return to me those children, oh Lord.
Return to me those children.

Multitude Monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2166. spending the evening at the library as a family
2167. jigsaw puzzles
2168. 3 years since Grandma joined Papa in heaven
2169. 19 months of Sara::
2170. a bunch of retired guys (I assume they are retired) playing a serious game of softball at 9:30 on a Thursday morning
2171. naps in the sun :: soaking up vitamin D
2172. garage sale bargains
2173. basement progress::

fun discovery :: the year our house was built etched in the foundation

2174. an older man (grandpa, I'm assuming) and 2 preschool-aged kiddos carrying fishing poles and walking down the sidewalk toward the lake
2175. chats with friends
2176. a fun 5th grade concert
2177. friends willing to let us peek in every nook and cranny of their basement and talk "basement remodel" with us
2178. celebrating 40 years of life for a dear, dear friend {Happy Birthday, Karin!!}
2179. a glorious weekend
2180. a dry run of next weeks 5K (my first ever!) :: running while Rebekah kept me company on her scooter
2181. the privilege of being a mother
2182. my 6 crazy, adorable kiddos::
2183. all my amazing mom friends and how they help me to be a better mom
2184. my fabulous, beautiful {inside and out!} mother!
2185. a family trip to the park on a beautiful evening
2186. celebrating Mother's Day with my mother and her mother

my adorable grandma and me

2187. family
2188. watching squirrels frolic in the yard
2189. warmest day of 2012 so far :: 85 degrees


Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2144. meeting this season's soccer coaches and teammates
2145. basement draintile :: check!
2146. neighborhood potlucks
2147. wonderful neighbors :: 60+ years in the same house for a couple people on our block. i love that longevity (we're still some of the "newbies" at nearly 15 years here)
2148. Bible study ladies
2149. a husband who comes to my rescue and is my hero
2150. an early morning run (6:15 :: ouch!)
2151. a fun, relaxing Saturday
2152. the quacking of a duck breaking the quiet morning
2153. enough grace for each day (but no extra, it would seem)
2154. a yummy grilled cheese and fries
2155. bike helmets
2156. the smell of fresh cut grass
2157. friends who let you use their bathroom and absorb your family into their family birthday celebration, uninvited though you were -- not to mention the fact that there are 8 of you!!
2158.  fresh haircuts for all 3"boys"
2159. family walks
2160. the smell of a steamy mug of Earl Gray on a cold, rainy afternoon
2161. carpools
2162. caring, encouraging, challenging, supportive teachers who sincerely want the best for our kids and want to see them succeed. what a blessing!
2163. family traditions
2164. the right words at the right time and the difference it can make
2165. preschool teachers :: God bless 'em, that is a job I could not do!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

multitude monday

Well, after 10 {I think it was 10} weeks off, here are last weeks blessings. I kept listing them during my break, but if I started where I left off {#1982} it would be a LONG list, so I'll just pick up with this week.

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2127. Bible study . . . and the wonderful women who share intimately in my life. who pray for me. cry with me. laugh with me {sometimes AT me}. who encourage me.
2128. seeing a little hint of progress after months of work
2129. the arrival of a dumpster in our yard
2130. basement demo :: all gutted now
2131. hearing a wonderful, encouraging, challenging message from Wess Stafford
2132. a few great garage sale deals
2133. CSC banquet :: arguably my very favorite night of the year
2134. seeing so many friends
2135. seeing Angie all grown up :: beautiful and eloquent and loving the Lord!
2136. seeing God's hand on so many lives :: ours and others
2137. 17 years since he asked and I accepted
2138. picking up coffee on the way to church
2139. fun lunch at Bonnie's with my parents
2140. Lydia's spring choir musical and family and friends there to watch
2141. Rebekah's kind, generous spirit
2142. cheering on our church softball team in the rain
2143. teacher workshop day {and a "sunny and 70's" forecast!}

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

seventeen

seventeen years ago tonight he asked.

seventeen years ago tonight I said yes.

after more than 3 years of dating and nearly 4 years after we met.

with much fanfare and a big {surprise} party waiting for us at my parent's house.

two kids took the first major step into a life that is now so much more than these 2 could have imaged.

i might not be wearing that ring he gave me in the picture on my finger today {it's in a safe place, though}, but i'd answer the same again in a heartbeat!

randomness

A few random things, in case you care::

• I got a haircut today. I was planning to grow my hair long enough to donate it, but it was driving me mad and since I value what little bit of sanity I've got, I got it cut. It's kind of a shaggy, long-ish bob.
• I was driving behind a Porsche going about 52mph in a 65 on 94 today. There was no traffic. Most people were doing 70. As I blew past this Porsche in my maxi van, I had the urge to say :: "Buddy, do you realize what you're driving? It's a PORSCHE! Pick up the pace, already!"
• I had a coupon for a free Frappe at Burger King, so I went through the drive-thru and picked one up. It wasn't really all that great and it gave me a brain freeze. TWICE! Those suckers hurt! Anna begged me for a drink of it, so I let her have the rest. I'm sure I'll pay for that later, but oh well!
• We have a HUGE dumpster in our driveway. It'll be there for months. It's not pretty, but it is exciting!
• We are about to start on the drain tile and radon mitigation part of our basement undertaking. Not at all a glamorous way to spend thousands of hard-earned dollars, but it'll be so good to have it done.
• I love where we live. About a 10-minute walk from home last night {walking at the pace of a 4-year-old} we spotted a white-tail about 30 feet off the road and stopped to watch a deer who had stopped to watch us. Also we walked by a swampy pond and enjoyed the sound of frogs. I love that we could get to either downtown St. Paul or Minneapolis in about 10 minutes by car and still be only blocks away from deep woods and wildlife! Perfect, if you ask me!
• The sunshine is glorious!
• Joe has an eye appointment tomorrow. We'll see if his patch on his glasses that he's been wearing for a few months has made any noticeable difference in his vision.
• I've had a {pretty nasty} cold for nearly 2 weeks. I'm about ready to be done with blowing my nose. Hopefully it will be gone soon . . . like yesterday!

seven

Seven years ago today we were introduced to this little man. This bird-skinny, crazy-haired little man.

4.19.05

skinny little arms and legs :: about 3 months old

that hair!

He's been counting down to this day for months. I doubt it will live up to all the hype, but today is his birthday. His seventh birthday. Seven! Wow.

This seventh year has been, by far, the toughest yet for this little guy. Although it is all of our story -- living through this year -- I'll let it be Joe's story and not "air" his stuff to the entire cyber world. But, believe me, it's been a pretty rough 9 months or so around here. By far our toughest parenting {probably whole of life} struggle and challenge so far, piled on top of the normal, day-to-day struggles and challenges of a big family. We're not ignorant enough to think we won't have other struggles. Worse struggles. There are 8 of us who are fiercely interconnected and who fiercely love each other, so there's gonna be plenty of pain and struggle. It's pretty clear that we can count on it. {Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1.2-3 :: it clearly says "whenever you face trials", not "if you face trials".} So, we know this probably isn't the worst of it. But so far, it is our worst and that's no fun.

"I'm this many!"

a typical Joe face::

A bit about Joe at 7 ::

• he shares a room with Sara, on the main floor across the hall from us
• he LOVES Legos. especially the Ninjago collection.
• his reading coach at school is named Fred {he is my friend, Laura's dad and Joe's friend, Maya's grandpa}. Joe loves Fred!
• he's {mostly} over superheros -- after a run that lasted nearly half his lifetime!
  
• he is an exceptionally popular guy! at conferences his teacher told us that one day in class they made "friendship wheels" where everyone wrote down a few of the people they consider to be their friends and Joe's name was on nearly everyone's wheel. far and away, the teacher told us, Joe was named more than anyone else on his classmates wheels.
• he is a great jump-roper
• he is in an after school Lego club through community ed and he LOVES it.
• Lego club is on Thursdays, which means today he gets a birthday AND to go to Lego club. it's a red-letter day!
• he can be so sweet and loving.
• he takes up an entire queen sized bed when he sleeps . . . and he grinds his teeth!
• he got glasses this year -- and big teeth in the front -- and looks cuter than ever, if you ask me!
• he claims his favorite food is candy, but he also likes macaroni and cheese.
• earlier this year he banged his tooth/mouth on the dining room table and chipped the table. the table, not the tooth . . . kid's got a hard head!
• he is always -- I really mean always, like as in constantly, without stopping -- making noise. usually he's not talking, just making random Joe-ish sound effects.
• he had these corduroy pants with skulls on them that were hand-me-downs that he LOVED and wore through both knees from wearing them nearly every day this winter.
  
• we love him like crazy and can't imagine our family without him.
  

Joe has had a cold lately {so have a bunch of us} and last night his cough was exceptionally bad and he couldn't sleep, so he came in bed with us. It wasn't "us" for long, though, as Kirb decided to relocate to the couch. So, Joe and I were snuggled in bed . . . Joe coughing and coughing. For a while it was nearly constant and he couldn't sleep. He was pretty miserable and at one point a little after 1 he said to me "When will it be morning?". It was probably 3:30 when he {and, consequently, when I} finally fell asleep. He was up again before 6:30 -- even though he usually sleeps until at least 7 or 7:30 -- because, after all, you've got to maximize your big day. Hopefully he'll still be awake and functional when it's time for Lego club! We'll just have to see, I guess.

off to the bus on his 7th birthday
{his backpack is OLD and the front pouch has a broken zipper. maybe next year he'll get a new one. one that wasn't a hand-me-down. one in which all the zippers work . . . we'll see!}::

eighteen

{typical Sara face}

Well, Sara is officially closer to 2 than she is to 1.
18 months already!
1-1/2 years.

with one of her {many} big sisters::

another classic Sara look::

Here's some stuff about Sara at 18 months::

• she talks up a storm
• her words include :: uh oh, up, Daddy, Mommy, Annie {what she calls Anna}, Ama, BopBop, Jo-Jo, a Sara-version of Lydia, baby, Sara {although it sounds like it starts with a "b"}, puppy, yeah, yes, no, out, hi, bye, hot, poopy
• she eats like MAD. we say she's a bottomless pit. she can eat more than 2 or 3 of our other kids combined and she eats just about anything you put in front of her . . . except for peas!
• she waves in such a way that you imagine she is turning a doorknob that only she can see
• she runs. and climbs. and slides. and swings
• it's a whole new ballgame now that she can reach things on the edge of the counter
• her favorite mischief, as of late, is to climb up onto the dining room table and make a huge mess of whatever is on there :: siblings homework, a deck of cards, leftover lunch {which she will promptly consume!}. she'd stay up there "playing" for hours, I imagine, if I would let her!
• it's nearly impossible to change her diaper without pinning her down -- adult legs over toddler arms . . . and if you don't hang on to her feet she'll kick you. hard. it might even leave a bruise!
• she weighs 27 pounds {85th percentile} and is almost 34 inches tall {92nd percentile}
• she wears a size 2T in most stuff . . . the hand-me-downs from nearly-4-year-old Ava no longer fit her by the time we get them {Ava's a petite little bundle!}
• her thighs aren't quite as enormous as they used to be . . . but still quite chubby and adorable
• she'd stay in the bathtub ALL day if we'd let her {unless she had the option of playing on top of the dining room table} . . . it's been so unseasonable warm this spring, that I often drain all the water and then let her keep playing in there {and since the water's gone, I can go in the kitchen and get stuff done!} until she gets cold and yells at me to get her out. she's happy. she's contained. there's no water to dump all over the floor {another favorite pastime of hers}. it buys me some time! that's a winner in my book!
• yup, "yells at me". she's a yeller! you should hear it! holy cow!
• she's also VERY opinionated . . . thus the "need" for yelling to get her point across -- and, let's be honest, to be loud enough for anyone to hear her over the ever-present noise in our house.
• she still, as a rule, doesn't sleep all night. little stinker!
• I suppose if I were ambitious I could try to potty train her, since she announces before hand that she's going to poop, then she poops, then she repeats "poopy" over and over, while holding her crotch, until we change her.
• she still far prefers her daddy to be up with her in the middle of the night
• she's quite skilled at the puppy dog eyes, tears and pouty face and can call them up at a moments notice, the instant daddy leaves the house {even if just to take out the trash}
• she's loves to be read to and to "read" books to herself too.
• she thinks she runs the place. no matter where we go. she is completely comfortable and feels she's in charge :: home, church, preschool, the library, the Y . . .
• she is a breeze to put to sleep {make sure she has a nuk, put her in her crib and shut the door} but the trade off is the 11 pm crying, but it's nothing a little snuggle and a drink won't fix {96% of the time anyway . . . we won't talk about the other 4%}

Here are a few more Sara pictures, for your viewing pleasure. You're welcome!

hunting Easter eggs with dad
{there was LOTS of competition -- 20 kids 15 and under!}

a bit of her plunder::

relaxing with grandpa {she's a Mennonite through and through, I guess, with that little head covering and holding a baby! see how proud Grandpa is?}::

enjoying some lunch on daddy's lap::

I couldn't pass up these jammies when I saw them at Costco
{on sale, even . . . or, more correctly, with a manufacturer rebate, taken off at the register}
never have truer words been printed on 2T jammies::