Twelve Years!

Today makes 12 years that Heath and I have been married.  It's gone so fast!  Our anniversary get-away this year was quite different than anything we'd done before.  Refusing to believe that we're not kids anymore, we spent the weekend being quite adventurous!  For the first time ever, we went camping together!  We borrowed a tent and used our very own campground (aka our empty land that will one day--we hope--have our house on it).  A completely free trip!  Even though it had been a hot and humid day the night was almost perfect . . . cooler temperatures, full moon, and the sound of millions of crickets and cicadas.  :)

On Saturday we went to Harpers Ferry, not for any historical or educational purpose, but for another thing we've never done . . . an aerial adventure course, which is a big obstacle course up in the trees!  Focusing mainly on the zip line parts we'd read about, we weren't completely prepared for the work involved!  It was fine for Heath (who has more arm strength than I could ever imagine having), but I had a few difficulties even on the easier courses.  At one point, early in our climb, was a tight rope walk.  Sounds fun, huh?  There was a "thing" to hold onto, and of course you're connected to the cables so you won't die if you fall.  But let me tell you, it was extremely difficult, it was a gazillion feet up in the air, and it was pretty much the scariest and most difficult physical feat I've ever attempted!  Heath just scampered across as if he were a cat on a roof, but I had some issues: mainly terror and the inability to move.  I did make it across without falling, much to my own surprise and relief.  And nothing else on the course was quite that hard (or horrifying).  There were a lot of different things to climb or precariously balance your way across.  But the best part were the zip lines.  No work, just fun!  The whole thing was exciting though, and definitely a good work out!  I'd love to do it again someday . . . minus the tight rope part!

 So today, as I think back on the last dozen years, there have been good times, bad times, mediocre times, great times.  But no matter what kind of "times" we've had, we've had them together.  I am so thankful for the husband God has given me, and all the times we've shared.  Happy Anniversary, Heath.  I love you!

One Down, 35 To Go . . .

 . .. weeks of school, that is!  Our first week is over, and it went surprisingly well.  Ethan's in 3rd grade this year, Jesse's in 1st, Tabitha's in her second year of preschool, and Rayanna....well, her job is keeping things interesting.  =)

I finished planning just a couple of weeks ago.  I always love the planning.  For most things, it's better than the actual event!  For homeschool planning I treat myself to time feasting on the curricula I've picked, mapping out the plan for the year, and (then the most exciting step) scheduling the days.  Making every piece of the puzzle fit into its specific box on the chart is one of the great joys of my life.  I felt quite satisfied when I looked back at that beautiful, detailed table (6 columns and 26 rows with subdivisions) and saw how nicely everything was going to work out.  Ahhhh....such a beautiful sight.

But then, the real days begin.  Usually it's within the first two hours that someONE fails to cooperate, or someTHING happens that clearly was not marked for that box on the schedule.  Of course, being the somewhat perfectionistic person that I am, I'm ready to rip up my beautiful schedule and ship the kids off to public school at that point!  At least if I were home alone I could make my gorgeous schedule work out in real life as well as it does on paper!!

But, I think I must be maturing a little.  This week, when things veered off the plan, I gently brought them back without feeling like my world was caving in.  And, believe it or not, the kids did cooperate very well!  I've been worried about one certain child.  He'd been complaining about starting school, and during the first couple of days gave me a lot of grief.  Wednesday night we had a homeschool moms prayer meeting at church.  My friend Diana and I prayed for each other and each other's kids, and guess what . . . God answered!  Thursday was a perfect school day.  And this certain child who'd been doing all the complaining, finished his work without a gripe and actually asked for MORE SCHOOL when we were done!  Those words are music to a homeschooling mom's ears!  The other two students have had great attitudes too, and our little "terror of toddlerdom" hasn't been TOO overwhelming.  (But she's another whole story, for a future post.)  The other amazing thing is that, since starting school, the fighting level has gone WAY down.  During the summer the kids had two activities that they wanted to do constantly:  playing video games and fighting with siblings.  In between those activities, they'd wander around being bored and causing trouble.  But since starting school, the boys have been playing together in creative ways that have nothing to do with screens, and Jesse actually went two whole days without even asking to play a video game!  That's unheard of for him!  It's been great having structure back in our days, and seeing more peace and creativity as a result!

Anyway, all this to say that I've really enjoyed our first week of school.  I'm very thankful to be homeschooling, that we have the freedom and ability to do it, and that we've chosen it for our family.  I do have to admit that I sometimes envy the moms who have all those hours to themselves on school days, but if we continue to have even just occasional weeks like this one, I know it's all worth it.  To be sharing so many experiences as a family, to be personally building so much into their lives, to be learning so much myself, to see God working in so many ways . . . yes, it's worth it.  And when I'm stuck in one of the pits that I know will come sometimes during the next 35 weeks, someone point me back to this post and remind me that it truly is worth it!!

Our Morning View

As we were eating breakfast this morning, we looked out on the front porch and saw this:

and this: 

and this: 

and this: 

When I went outside to take pictures, I also saw this:

and this: 

and this:

Beautiful???  

Yes.  

Creepy beyond all imagination and way too like the old Arachnaphobia movie ???? 

YES!!

Jesse Loses a Tooth!

Well, Jesse has finally joined the ranks of the toothless.  He's been waiting a long time and put up with 2 loose teeth for the last several weeks.  Today, with the help of Daddy, one came out!  =)  Here he is displaying his accomplishment.  

Prince Edward Island

Heath's mom an I just got back from a trip to one of the most beautiful places on earth!  Prince Edward Island, famous for red sand beaches and Anne of Green Gables.  Hardly any people, sunny and 75-ish degrees, perfectly amazing.

For four peaceful days, we marveled at God's gorgeous creation and soaked in the beautiful weather.  We enjoyed lobster, raspberry cordial, and delicious breakfasts at our B&B (called "Kindred Spirits" of course),  We also learned a lot about LM Montgomery (author of the Anne books).  It was a very relaxing trip.  Rather than ramble on about it, I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Lisa

“A death in the family”. That's a phrase I've never had to use before. Our family has never experienced the sadness of losing anyone. Until now. Other than my great-grandparents (whom I didn't know very well) I've never lost a close friend or family member. I've never had to say, “My ________ died.” Until now.

The last time I saw my aunt Lisa was April 2011 on one of our huge family trips to the Outer Banks. We had a nice, long conversation on the beach—the first time the two of us had ever had such a “real” conversation. Amidst all the chaos of our big family gatherings, I remember thinking how nice it was to talk with her one-on-one, and I was looking forward to the next time we could do that. But I guess that next time will have to wait until Heaven. Last August she was diagnosed with cancer, at the age of only 44. I was scared, but I thought, “Today's medical technology and doctors will fix her.” But they couldn't. As it got more serious I thought, “God's just using this as a trial to draw us all closer to Him. He will heal her.” But He didn't. And now, I keep wishing I'd committed every word of that last conversation to memory. With all her treatments and surgeries and all the family taking turns visiting her, I never got a chance to see her again. We kept in touch by email, but that talk on the beach and the good-bye hug a few hours later, are the last memories I have of her.

What do we do with this? How does a family ever go on without one of its members? Will we ever be the same again? In one way, I know we won't. In this lifetime, we'll never hear Lisa's contagious laugh or see her beautiful smile again. She won't be there adding life to our beach trips and love to our Christmases. We won't have her around to talk with, joke with, laugh with. There will always be something missing when we get together.

And yet I know that our family WILL be the same in some ways. I know we won't lose all the precious memories we have of Lisa. I know we won't lose the connection we all share. I know we won't lose our ability to have fun, even though we've faced grief. And I know we won't lose our faith. Though God didn't answer the way we wanted Him to, He is still good, He is still in control, and He still desperately loves us and will carry each of us through this time of grieving.

Lisa has been an inspiration and an example to many. Her faith was strong, and now her faith and hope have been realized in meeting her Savior face to face. She persevered through suffering, and now her suffering is over. I know she has touched many lives and that God will use this for good. But it hurts. Saying goodbye is always hard, and saying goodbye for a lifetime is so painful. But on the other hand it is just that—a lifetime. And a lifetime is so short compared to eternity. Because of Jesus we'll have all eternity to spend with Lisa, and with Him. Because of Jesus we can grieve without being hopeless. Our hope is fulfilled in Christ, and we will see Lisa again; we just have to wait a little longer than we'd like.

Lisa, we love you and miss you so much. Can't wait until we're together again.

Our Road Trip

Well, we survived.  2300 miles, 2 adults, 4 kids, 1 pick-up truck (with 6 seats and 4 doors thankfully), 1 bathroom remodel, 4 doctor appointments, 2 hotels, 1 former roommate and her 3 family members, 2 parents, 1 brother, 1 sister, 1 brother-in-law, 1 nephew, and about 38 hours of driving not counting stops = one tired family!

We just got back from our summer "vacation."  Part of it was Tabitha's appointments, and most of it was work for Heath, but nonetheless, it still had some vacation aspects to it.  :)  We went out to my parents' house in Omaha, NE, with a dual purpose:  Heath could remodel a bathroom for my sister and her husband, and the rest of us could have fun visiting!  I feel a little bad for Heath, but mostly thankful that I have such a wonderful husband.  :)

We got to meet up with my freshman-year roommate, Rachael and her family.  The kids had a blast swimming in the hotel pool, and Rachael and I really enjoyed catching up after 10 2/3 years!

Rachael and her girls with me and half my kids

Tabitha's appointments went fine.  She still has kidney reflux, worse than before.  So her urologist has increased her medication for that.  We're working on scheduling, but sometime in the next 3-6 months or so she'll be going back for kidney surgery and Malone surgery.  The extent of the kidney surgery will depend on how this medication affects things.  They'll do more testing when we get there--hopefully things will be good enough that she'll only need the kidney adjustment and not bladder reconstruction.  So pray with us for that!  Also, she'll be having a "Malone" put in her belly button.  This is a little opening, via the appendix, that will enable her to have her enemas that way.  She'll also be able to do it herself eventually, which will be very important as she gets older!  At this point it looks like she'll need catheters for life, and probably enemas too.  But they do say sometimes kids in her situation will be able to manage without enemas when they're older, but there's no way of telling whether or not she will be able to.  I'm trying to just take it a day at a time.  She isn't bothered much by any of it, but I get easily overwhelmed when I think of this going on forever.  Pray for me to walk step by step, without trying to figure out the future!

After the medical stuff we continued our drive all the way to Omaha.  It was wonderful to see my family!  Well, half of my siblings were away (Jeremy--working at a camp, Ashley--teaching in Korea, Michael--stationed in Alaska), but we got to see Stephen and Carrie and Lcas (her husband), plus Mom & Dad, and Michael's son Aidan.  We also got to meet Mom & Dad's baby foster daughter.  We did a lot of fun stuff with them, and it's always good to see everybody.

such cute sisters

Rayanna with Grandpa & Grandma

the boys with Uncle Stephen

Aren't we cute?

 . . . or maybe not.

Heath & Lcas

Grandma and the boys put on a magic show for us!

Heath spent the whole week working on Carrie & Lcas' bathroom.  It was a big project, but they were able to get it done on time.  Then we drove back over 2 days.  The trip went astonishingly well until the last couple hours, when we had all had enough and I lost my temper and let everyone have it!  Such a nice way to end a trip!  >:-P  But we're home now and resettled.  I'm very thankful for the chance to go and for the safe and (almost) problem-free trip!