Finally, "Some" Pictures.

Last time I blogged, I couldn't upload any pictures. Don't know why. So, here they are in random order.
Dessert and Cousin TT (Twinkle Toes) give Darling a ride. (PS. The water is only a foot deep)

Fun tubing: Duke, Dessert, & Cousin E

Uncle Johnny brought up his kayaks!! Fun.

Dot & Darling:

Catch of the Day!

Watching Uncle J clean fish. One of his many talents. :-) (He wore alot of hats that week. Dad to his kids, Uncle to mine, Teacher for the drawing class, etc.)

These are pictures from Dime's Encampment graduation.

He's the short one in this picture. At least one of the tall guys in this picture is only a little over a year older than him. I'm starting to wonder if all the tall people moved hear to be near Paul Bunyan.

I have about 100 of these pictures. That's what I get for leaving my camera on the picnic table. :-)

She was having a blast with big brother Drum.

Cousins are so fun!! Yep, that's my kid with the socks on, no shoes, by the campfire. And I wonder how his socks get so black on the bottom?

Dot's July 4th dessert:

My favorite spot at the cabin. On the lake during the sunset:

I have about 30 of these adorable pictures of Darling in her swim suit. :-) She had a great time with her cousin playing in the water.

The annual 4th of July boat parade. The kids one 1st place this year!! (only two speed boat entries) They looked great!! The 3 older boy cousins are in the front of the boat, dressed in army and air force uniforms. Dot is in the back wearing the sailor hat. The rest are waving flags.

Watching the parade from the dock:

Dunk's friend he stayed with in SD. He enjoyed his trip for the 4th.

The ever-changing face of the lake.

Happy Birthday Dime!!

He had a great party with friends.

Three Teenagers!!

Three teenagers!! Since son # 2 turned 13, we are now the parents of three teenagers. :-) I'm loving it so far. Sure, we spat back and forth, but they are great kids, and I really enjoy hanging out with them, and watching them with their friends. Dime had a great birthday party last night and got to have one of the boys spend the night with him in his fort. He has it all hooked up so they could watch a movie out there. After I take the friend back to St. Cloud, we head up to the Lake. We'll come home tomorrow, so it isn't a long trip.

Friday night we were in a parade for my Mom. I think it is one of the longest parades I've been in! and fastest as well!! I kept thinking we were almost done, and it kept going. Dot, Dime, Deer, and Duke rode unicycles. Dessert handed out stickers with me. Dunk & Drum were busy with stickers. Darling was just cute in her stroller. :-) The kids had a blast afterwards with their cousins, and grandparents at the fair! Dot, Darling, and I went for a snack and then to get some items she still needed for her trip. The others were pumped up and chatty when I picked them up at 10. They boys got these little frisbees that fold up and spring out. They are great!! Dime rode the tornado! :-) Fun memories!!

Sunday we went to Dot's commissioning service at her youth group's church. There are about 20 on the trip! Great group. Then we headed over to my Dad's Mom's family reunion. We had a great time eating and playing. Later, I took Dot home to finish packing while the rest played. Then we went back, picked them up, took Dot's luggage to be loaded at 8pm, went to Wal-Mart for one more thing she forgot, and finally got HOME!! :-) Dunk took her for her ride at 4:15 am Monday. By 9 LA time she was in CA!! We haven't heard from her, but no news is good news at this point. We've been praying for her a ton. It has been weird to have her gone. A Mom likes her chicks in her nest. :-) I'm so proud of her commitment though. She definitely is going beyond her comfort zone. :-)

I've recently read the series "MisMatch", "ReMatch", and "Matchpoint" by Erynn Mangum. They are hilarious!!!! and excellent! Dot borrowed them from a friend, and Dot, Deer, and I laughed and laughed our way through these books. If you love coffee, chocolate, and chick fliks; you'd love these books! I Don't drink coffee, like chocolate in only certain forms (fudgy chocolate cake, blue symphony bars, German-chocolate cake my Mom makes, you get the idea), but I still LOVED reading her matchless funniness! Wish I owned a set to read again, and loan out. :-)

Book Review: Love as a Way of Life

I'm finally getting on here to blog, in the middle of the night! A girl's got to get a chance to blog sometime. :-) I'm going to start with a book review!
"Love as a Way of Life" by Gary Chapman was a wonderful encouraging read. It shares uplifting, heart-encouraging stories and practical ideas to develop the 7 characteristics of a life of love. This book focuses on how to give love, not just get it. The seven characteristics are kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty. Each characteristic is developed with examples and explanations. I really enjoyed the definition of patience - allowing someone to be imperfect.
I believe this is so important as it sets us aside as Christians, that we show love to one another. Our local Christian radio has days set apart for a "Drive Thru Difference." They encourage their whole audience to participate in showing acts of kindness throughout the day. It shows the power of Christ's love in our lives. "Won by Love," about Norma McCorvey the Jane Roe in Roe V. Wade, is an awesome book that shows the power of just sharing Christ's love with others, including our "enemies." The movie "Evan Almighty" shares a great idea for remembering to share Christ's love for others in doing an "Act of Random Kindness" - ARK. I've considered pasting up the word ARK around our house as a reminder. No matter who starts it, showing kindness breeds more kindness.
As part of the book's summary states, "Convinced that in a world of constant conflict people desperately need authentic love, Chapman paints a compelling vision of how life can be richer and relationships more satisfying for anyone who practices Love As a Way of Life."
The book is way richer than my summary. You have four options:
1. Purchase the book at http://www.amazon.com/Love-Way-Life-Transforming-Aspect/dp/0385518587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215792028&sr=1-1
2. Purchase the book at your local bookstore.
3. Borrow my copy of the book.
4. Comment here for your chance to own this fantastic, encouraging book!

I really should post about what we've been up to lately. Anna had a fantastic week at my folk's cabin learning with her friend from my brother about drawing. We enjoyed being with my niece and two nephews. The kids had a great week, and I really enjoyed the time to visit with my brothers. I'd do that again every summer. :-)

Dime survived Encampment!! It was a great, working, learning experience for him and he was so grateful to pass. Drum made it through Wednesday and then realized he needed to try again next summer. It has been one of those learning experiences he will value in the years ahead. We are pleased with his attitude towards those who finished, even when he did not. Great work guys!!

Last week we hosted a Gameathon for 13 guys on Tuesday to Wednesday and 24 girls on Thursday to Friday!! The kids worked so hard getting ready, and then played hard and had a blast! Believe it or not, I have not one picture of our second annual event. I was too busy keeping up with kids, the meals, and keeping picked up. I really enjoy watching the kids enjoy themselves. My favorite is helping with the timing for the obstacle course. It is 2-3 minutes of grueling labor. :-) :-) No problems with extra energy kids after that!! :-)

Our great news lately is that Dunk got a job around home. Well, I should modify that. He was driving 5 hours to a different state and staying there and then driving 5 min to work each day. Now he spends his nights at home, but is driving 2 hours one way to work. It is definitely an improvement to see him at night, but still draining for him. This job will last two weeks, and I'm praying hard his next job is closer to home (and of course would last all year or more). Doesn't hurt to dream big and pray hard!! :-)

Sunday we celebrated Grandma W's birthday with 76 trombones!! Well, skipping the trombones I guess. :-) It was great to see Aunt S.

This week Dot is getting ready for her big mission's trip, and the rest of us are catching up on this and that around the house. Papa W put in three lights in the dining room, which look fantastic!!! Dot got her eye's checked and found out they are improving!! That's a switch. She loves her new contacts because she can see so much better with the proper prescription. No wonder they were bugging her.

I really better hit the hay. I'm going to try to post this after the book review post, so we will see what happens to the date, etc.