BAC2ONE

Yeah! The kids had a blast at BAC2ONE this week!
Anna did a lot of painting - abstract art, shoe jazz, pop art painting, and tie dye. She has some fun pieces to display in her room.
Ryan did sewing (a throw pillow), applique (on a notebook), and a pinewood boat. He really enjoyed the hand sewing in the sewing class, and I thought he did a neat job.
Mark did scrapbooking (which he loved!), applique (on a notebook), and Stomp. In Stomp, they learned to follow and keep a beat with their sticks.
Josiah helped every day with MiniBAC (which is for the teacher's kids, ages 3-6). He was well loved by all the little girls, especially one that just hung on him all week. He called her, Pinkie. :)
Joy taught Brain Power (a class on Logic), and led a small group. Her class went really well, and they wrote a play starring Sherlock Holmes and Watson using their Logic skills. It went really well!!
Jeffrey was busy working for Grandpa W. this week. He's saving towards flying lessons, and fixing his car, so that someday he can put insurance on it and have his own car.
Emily and I kept up the home front. :) We drove forgotten pictures into class, washed laundry, dishes, got a flat tire fixed twice, and did miscellaneous paperwork. I finished my paperwork for the two older boys who are attending a charter school this year. It seems like I really should have done more, but the days sure were busy.
We all watched a movie last night with homemade blizzards to wind down, then slept in this morning. Yeah, for relaxing weekends!!

Motorcycle Training Invention!

Jerry's newest invention is a motorcycle trainer that allows the student to ride in circles in a controlled environment while learning to shift gears, use the clutch, and the brakes. He can walk alongside giving direction, or randomly yell stop and start, while adding in safety instructions. After having worked with students who have struggled to master the shifting gears concept and worried for their safety, he came up with this idea. It's an excellent tool to also give older people or handicapped kids a chance to get to experience riding a motorcycle all by themselves. He plans to add a removable side seat, so he can sit by the driver and give directions without having to run around the circle with them. We're excited about marketing it. :)

Happy Birthday Josiah!

A couple of weeks ago, Josiah turned 15! We celebrated by going for pizza after church, and then coming home for ice cream cake and presents. Later that evening, after Jerry left for work, the kids and I headed up North to spend Josiah's actual birthday at the cabin. His buddy, also Josiah, came up to hang out with him. The girls and their friend prepared an awesome activity hunt with clues, biking, an obstacle course, etc. Each team of two had to name an egg and keep him unbroken throughout the event. I wish I had pictures of Smudge, Saphira, Flare, etc. The girls teams beat for finishing first, but the boys team won the obstacle course. The kids had fun swimming, tubing, jumping off the pontoon in the middle of the lake, and eating and eating. :)
Josiah enjoys hanging out with friends, hunting, fishing, working for his Grandpas, playing cribbage, watching movies, participating with CAP, and playing guitar. He's had some once-in-a-lifetime (but hopefully not for him) fishing catches this summer. He's great at meeting new people, and could have a great conversation with a tree stump. You'd probably want to come listen, it would be so interesting. He's great at entertaining Emily in the car with his on-the-spot stories. He had a blast this summer playing the part of Aladdin in a play. He's an entertaining kid with a great heart, but typical teenage issues. As I said in a family newsletter when he was little, that Josiah loves reactions whether with hugs or slugs. He's a great son, and we are so glad God made you - Josiah!!

Please Pray!

Please, please, pray for our good friends in China. They found out the little girl they have taken care of since she was a newborn, and who they were working on adopting, is being adopted by someone else. Her paperwork got to the desk before theirs. The orphanage director wants them to bring her back to the orphanage to wait for her new parents to arrive. Not good. Sweet Bryn is only 1. An unbelievable set of events is about to transpire in her little life. It seems impossible that they will really have to walk through these next steps. Please pray for them.

A Success!

The first night of the play was a great success!! Everyone had a blast, and though all lines were not memorized perfectly, it went fine. Joy said she occasionally would hear a backwards echo and wondered about it, until it finally dawned on her that someone was saying the lines quietly back stage, and then the actor was saying them out loud. Funny!
Prairie Fire Theater does an excellent job putting the play on in a week. After two years of doing this, I am still so impressed. The two representatives they sent out are great actors and fantastic with kids!
Yesterday, I went with the kids to rehearsal to help Anna's group with their hair. I was going to go back stage and quietly work on it, in between when they are on stage. Well, the kids went to change into their costumes and then the play started, and I wasn't sure where the kids had all gone. I enjoyed watching for awhile, and then decided I better find them. I went around to the stage door and was surprised to not see anyone in the hallway. I opened the stage door and there were 40 kids quiet as mice, while the rest were on stage. WOW!! The order they keep and the way they do it is fascinating to watch.
For a photo op last night, they had the cast on stage arranged in groups, which they then told the kids to squeeze together. That happened so smoothly. Then she had the kids repeat after her all the directions for that night. ie - thanks for coming, to our play, we will put, our costumes in, a paper bag, the bag stays here, we go home, we will be back, at 9 am, etc., etc. Then smile, then cheese, then funny faces. Unbelievably smooth. Then she had certain groups leave the stage, and certain ones line up in front of the curtains, so that parents could get pictures of their child's group. Cool! As she sensed one group was done, she'd call the next group out. To say I'm impressed, would be an understatement.
Anyways...the kids had a blast, and I'll be getting them up soon for Take 2 this morning. I did take a ton of pictures during the play, so hope to post them soon.

MICE!!!!!!!!

Josiah has caught over 10 mice in our pantry!!!!!!!!!!!! That is ridiculous!!!!!!!! I haven't noticed them anywhere else. But, that is WAY TOO MANY. He set the trap, closed the pantry door, waited until he heard the snap -about 20 minutes, then emptied the trap, set it again, etc. 5 MICE IN ONE EVENING!!!!!!!!!
The other night one of them popped the lid off the hot cocoa and they had a field day in it. IN A BRAND NEW CONTAINER!!! Do you know how much hot cocoa costs!!! I had finally just bought a new one, because Joy really, really, really likes it.
Anyways, I'll calm down now....

Oka Pudding

Today, Emily informed me that she wanted "oka pudding". I tried a number of items so see if that was what she wanted.
Emily: No, No, No! You made oka pudding yesterday.
Me: Really? I didn't make anything yesterday, but Joy made broccoli cheese soup. Do you want some?
Emily: No! Oka pudding.
Okay, I thought, doesn't sound like chocolate pudding, butterscotch pudding, vanilla pudding,...
Me: ...oh, tapioca pudding?
Emily: Yeah!! (sounding like - Duh!) Oka pudding!!
Me: I don't have enough milk to make tapioca pudding. See this container, it's mostly empty.
Emily: Yes, you do!
She went to the fridge, opened the door, looked in it and brought me a 1/2 gallon of milk Jerry had brought home that I forgot about. But it only had 1 cup of milk in it.
Me: Yeah, but this doesn't have enough milk in it. It only comes up to here (I show her the level), but it needs to come up to here (I point to the top of the carton). (I hand it back to her.)
Emily takes the milk carton and tips it back and forth, thinking. Then she tips it upside down and points to the top of the carton, which now has milk at the level I pointed to before.
Emily: Now, it has milk up to there. (points at milk level in upside down carton.
I laughed: Yeah, right! Smart cookie! But, there still isn't enough milk for tapioca pudding until we go to Wal-Mart.
Emily smiled and gave me the carton. :)
Needless to say, after our trip to Wal-Mart, I made her "Oka pudding". She ate two big bowls.

This Week

This week, 5 of the kids are involved in a local play. Jeffrey is the sultan, Josiah is Alladin, Anna is one of the slaves of the ring, and Ryan and Mark are vagabonds (Ryan has speaking parts). They've had a lot of fun rehearsing every day. They will perform it Friday night at 7 and Saturday morning at 10. Hopefully I will remember to take Jerry's camera and get some pictures! I forgot to take it to auditions. Tuesday, different kids had different practice times, but the rest of the week, Jeffrey drives the crew there and brings them home. Boy, do I love extra drivers in the family!

Grandma W had her birthday this week! We went out to eat with Papa & Grandma, bringing the cake, balloons, and presents to the restaurant. So fun! I tried to make the cake, but discovered I was out of flour, so were Papa and Gramma. So, we ended up purchasing a cake. When we came home, I finished the one I started and put it in the oven. I went to bed and forgot about it, but PTL for Joy, she smelled it and took it out of the oven in time.

Yesterday, Joy, Emily, and I got hair trims. We bribed Emily, and she did great! None of us got major cuts, but just trims, but it sure feels and looks good. :) Anna's turn is tomorrow.

I spent some time organizing by my desk yesterday. It was so bad and was driving me crazy. Now it looks better and is inspiring. I have so many other spots that need a little work. To me, that is relaxing to be home and putzing on organizing something, while the other kids are around putzing on their stuff.

I have some paperwork to do for school that is making me feel panicked. Just forms to fill out for Jeffrey and Josiah to go to a charter school. But, I've never done this, will I do it right? Are we making the right decision? Deadlines are looming, but I'm putting it off.

I desperately need lunch meat to pack the kids sandwiches for this afternoon, so why am I sitting at the computer in my glasses and pj's? I better get moving.

PS. Please pray for my girlfriend in China. There are some adoption problems that need serious prayer time. Her mom-heart is breaking and she needs hope.

Love & War - A Belated Book Review

I received several fantastic books to review, but it ended up being crazy busy. I really enjoyed the following book and didn't want to miss it.


"Love & War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of" by John and Stasi Eldredge is awesome! What a wonderful book. Dh and I read 1/2 of it together, and then he's been working out of town, and I wanted to finish it for the book report. This is really fun to read through as a couple, or take turns reading it.
"Love & War" is more about fighting for your marriage, than fighting in your marriage. It helps each other to understand why fighting is going on, and who to work against to stop the fight in it's tracks.
This is an excellent book to encourage the wonderful and unique relationship we call marriage.
To purchase the book online, check out the WaterBrook Multnomah website:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385529808

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Sorry, no give-away copies. Well worth the purchase for yourself, friends, newlyweds, anniversaries, etc. :)

July 4th, 2010

Here's Joy's take on the weekend:

"July 3rd found Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle James and Ethan, Uncle John, and our family enjoying the 80-90 degree weather by swimming, boating, playing tennis, and riding bikes. Grandpa organized Sunset Pines’ (our cabin name) first annual Duck Race, in which we lined up our ducks and splashed them (without touching) towards the finish line. Uncle John was the grand winner. Grandpa also brought out empty plastic barrels, which were fun to roll over.
Grandma was almost finished frying the morning’s catch (with Uncle John’s 22 inch walleye!) when the oven switched off. The house went dark. The fans stopped blowing.
It was nearing sundown and no amount of flipping the switches on the circuit breaker was helping, so candles were found, the uncooked fish put away, and supper eaten outside. Nobody worried as the sunset cruise played out as usual. I am quite sure the kids thought it a grand adventure and the adults thought it a bearable torture.
Our neighbor graciously allowed us to plug in our refrigerator, a fan, and a lamp via extension cord. Grandpa’s fireworks lit up the night. James made a bright, toasty bonfire. Jerry and the kids took a delicious swim in the cool water and warmed up over the fire, toasting marshmallows and smacking on smores. Eventually Ryan and Ethan retired to their tent, and I played shadow games with them. Jeffrey and Mark also eventually retired to their tent. The adults sat in the half-light of a single lantern and told stories about old adventures, until, at last, the day was put to sleep.
Grandma and I woke up to rain spattering through open windows. A flurry of action ensued. Windows were banged shut, clothes were snatched off the rail, damp campers arrived inside, James raced out to bring in the tents, and Grandpa’s umbrella was battered mercilessly by the wind.
By the time the action stopped, it was 6:15. Some went back to bed, others stayed up. An electrician fixed the line and the power was back on about 9 o’clock. By 10, everyone was awoken and we set out for a hearty breakfast after a hard night.
Our favorite restaurant was packed, to everyone’s dreary disappointment, and McDonald’s was the next best thing.
Anna and I had just finished our food when we saw one of our friend’s from church, who told us she was heading up to her Grandma’s house for the 4th. After that Anna and I ran over to the Curio, who was having a sale. Everyone soon joined us and we bought taffys and sucking sticks. Christina found a new sweatshirt.
At home, I made strawberry-blueberry smoothies. Everyone enjoyed them. Grandpa took a siesta and then Jodi, Tirzah, and Armin arrived – just in time for the 4th of July boat parade. We hold 3 trophies from said event. We didn’t compete this year – I guess having 4 trophies would have sort of ruined the mantelpiece.
The parade was just finished when suddenly there was a great crack and Grandpa sunk a foot as the dock cracked. Others grabbed his hands and pulled him away from getting a wet dunking. Apparently there had been a weak spot and the glue hadn’t held. The guys donned swimsuits and took the section of dock out, where it is awaiting repairs.
Though 4th of July 2010 may have seemed like a prolonged streak of bad luck, but to us every moment was an adventure and an exercise in appreciating all that we have in America."

Air Show Week

What a week!! It was fun, but I'm so glad it's over.
The beginning of the week was spent in intense preparation for the air show. I was working with the schedule, which we finished Tuesday night at 11pm. Sending it to all the needed people took a bit, and then I finally got to hit the hay. Wednesday was the calm before the storm. My Dad took the boys and Emily up to the cabin, so I got a quiet day to catch up on laundry and surface cleaning amidst the phone calls.
Thursday morning, the older boys and Emily returned. Then Jeffrey and Josiah went with me to the Air Show, while Emily got to spend time with her other grandparents.

Thursday night, I spent the night up the hill, so G&G didn't have to get up early as I did. They ended up worrying about whether I would wake up at 4 am. I had set the alarm a little early and slipped out of the house so quietly even the dog didn't wake up. Papa woke up, and was having trouble getting out of bed with his sore arm. He finally asked Gma to turn on the light so she could help him. She accidentally hit some alarm button which started going beep, beep really loud! She jumped and started over to the bed to get Papa up to turn it off. Meanwhile, Papa had finally made it up by himself and was on his way over. Gma ran into Papa in the dark and then screamed that someone was in the room. All this was while they were both trying to be so quiet so they wouldn't wake up Emily and I. :) Emily didn't even wake up when they finally got to my room to see if I was there. Gma crawled in with Emily and peace reigned. :)

Jeffrey and Josiah did a great job working the air show with their CAP buddies. Friday, we worked from 5:30 til about 6. Then we had box suppers and I stayed until there we other Senior Members back from the Flight Line and I was free to go. Jeffrey and Josiah spent the two nights in tents at the air show. I got home about 9:30. Anna had been picked up from coming home from camp by Papa W, so she was home. My Dad brought Ryan, Mark, and Emily home just after I arrived, and then Jerry showed up 20 minutes later. What a zoo for awhile. Finally, we all hit the hay.

Saturday was a repeat of Friday, except for much more intense at the air show. Jerry and the rest of the crew went and helped at a couple parades, and then when he headed back to his car, found out he had two flat tires. He had driven over something in a ditch. Bummer! He went to my folks, left the kids there, borrowed my brother's car, drove back into town and bought some stuff at the hardware store to fix the tires. Two hours later, he was back to pick them up and head home. Phew! I got home at 9:30 to a happy, dirty crew. We got the next day figured out, and finally hit the hay again.

Sunday, Jerry took Ryan and Mark to the air show, while Emily, Anna, and I hung out at home. I took a 3 1/2 hour nap and still felt so wiped out. We did get the kitchen cleaned up and started on the mound of laundry, but not much else. Jerry and the boys had a great time. After the air show, they picked up the two older boys (that took 2 1/2 hours) and their buddy, and then came home! Their buddy was picked up and we were all home again, except for Joy, who returns late tonight.

I have not one picture of the week. Joy has her camera and Jerry's battery to his camera. Anna had hers, and mine is broke. So, no pictures. Hopefully someone will have some from the weekend, and pass them on to us. We'll see. We were all so busy, there was hardly time for pictures. If there is an air show next year, we'll have to designate a photographer for the weekend.

From Joy in Haiti

Bottles, cans, wrappers, plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and other miscellaneous filth blanket the ground. Goats trample garbage in their rush to escape the rain. Crumbling cement walls stand meaninglessly on the landscape. A torn blue tarp waves in the wind.
Someone calls this home.

A sense of spiritual decay is as rampant as the physical decay. Hope feels like that tarp, waving aimlessly in the wind. Joy has been smothered under the garbage heaps. Peace has turned to loneliness.


Two women stand on a heap of garbage. They’ve walked two hours to be here just in case the truck comes today. One hugs a swath of plastic around her neck against the rain. The other wears a plastic bag over her dress. One of them has an injured knee. I ask Shadrach to ask them if I can pray for them. They say yes. I pray for strength, a sense of God’s presence, a reminder of the riches stored up for them in heaven. She smiles and I cannot continue. I’m choked up because I don’t know what to say.

My biggest challenges are overcoming fear and pride, in reaching out to people I don’t know, in battling the feeling of desperate inadequacy in sharing the Gospel. Her biggest challenge is staying alive. She told that to Chris.


What character! What a heart! Strength without sustenance, endurance beyond mere patience, a heart that has for years held on to that tattered tarp of hope. She amazes me to no end. She’s not garbage. She’s a shell. Inside her the hardships form a pearl of great worth – a character born of stress I’ve never imagined. This woman is the person I want to be – enduring, patient, hopeful. She will someday experience this verse – and oh, how much more keenly than we will. “The will rise up on wings like eagles and soar. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not grow faint.”

God bless her.

A Moment

I love this picture. Look at the moment of quiet in the midst of vacation fun. The tubes, the fishing boat, the paddle boat, the fishing pole on the dock, the swim rafts, the deck chairs, the sun on the water all speak of summer. In the quiet yard, a squirrel on the bird feeder pauses, inches from the porch where a quiet soul crept patiently to snap a picture. The squirrel's moment of a sneak treat from the well stocked feeders. His pause to wonder whether the intruder will let him catch a snack, or scare him away. (He got his snack this time.)

On the way to Haiti!

Joy's on her way to Haiti! Please pray for her this week. I know she's in the center of God's will for her. It's in the 100's during the day there, and the 80's at night. The team's motto is: We like it that way! They are eager and excited to be Jesus to the people of Haiti.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Last May, we enjoyed celebrating Ryan's birthday. He had his cousins here and had a blast of a day. On the cake is Dibl, the minor dragon from the Dragon Keeper Series by Donita K. Paul. I had trouble transferring Dibl from the pan to the cake, so his wings broke a bit. I'm still learning to work with the fondant. I thought his body turned out so cool and then I had to cover it with the folded wings, oh well. Ryan was happy!
Ryan really enjoys books and gets into a series with passion. While I'm reading aloud the next books in the series, he'll start with the first and work on reading it himself. How he keeps it straight where he is at in the story, he figures out. :)
We are now in the fourth book of the DK series.
Ryan enjoys flipping on the tramp (even adding a twist to the flip!), catching rabbits and chipmunks in the back yard, playing with Mark and Emily, riding bike with Jeffrey, and hanging out with Dad. Ryan is saving up for a laptop. He loves computers and cell phones, and drools over his Grandpa and Uncles iphones. I think he'll be a techy as he gets older. He has a webkinz pet, Puddles, and loves to discover the unique things he can do on that site. He's had a cell phone for two years now. After a year of begging, we added his line. He's been faithful paying for it and keeping his phone charged and kept track of. If anyone in the family has a problem on their phone, we ask Ryan. He'll figure it out.
Ryan's been mowing the grass up the hill at Papa W's this year. He really enjoys that job and riding the tractor. He does alot of the mowing down the hill as well. His favorite is the riding mower, but he'll do the push mower part when needed. Ryan enjoys riding his unicycle in the parades for his Grandma, and handing out stickers to the younger kids.
Ryan's cheerful personality is a blessing in this family, and we are so grateful God chose us to have Ryan. May God bless you and direct your year ahead, Ryan.
We love you!!

Little Details

I'm constantly amazed at the little details in life. Sometimes the "little" details are not so little for that day, but in the grand scheme of life they are. I need to get some laundry done, pay a bill, file some papers, talk with Dime, visit a friend, find a receipt, bake bread, deal with Darling, etc, etc. They are all little details, but they are important at the same time.
Anyways, lately I've been spending a lot of time on those little details. :-)
Meanwhile, I've been thinking about friends who have had huge weeks on top of all those little details. Their little details are on top of big deals like dealing with a wedding and surgery for a baby. They've been in my prayers a lot.
Drum made it home from Leadership Quest. It was a great experience for him. Yeah!
Dime headed off to camp this morning. Next Sunday, Dot heads to Haiti, and Deer heads to camp with her friends. It feels like such a busy June. The guys and I are gearing up for a huge local airshow where we'll be volunteering. They have Flight Marshaling Training in a week in preparation for it. I'm excited for the activity, but there sure have been a ton of little details in arranging for it. Whew!
Drum's excited as he's earned enough to get his own phone. When the kids get their license, we require that they get a phone line added to ours, and pay monthly. Besides paying their bill, they are responsible to keep it charged and with them when they drive. He's looking forward to purchasing his. I'm enjoying watching my kids grow up. :-) Another one of those little details that mean so much. :-)

Fresh Starts

My inspiration for today is:
God's not given up on me yet, so I guess I won't.
Sometimes when I haven't jogged for a few days, and I'm having a "fat" week, I feel like quitting. It feels hopeless. But then I remember that God doesn't give up on me. He keeps chiseling away my imperfections until my last day on earth, so why should I give up when He won't. That's why each day feels like a fresh start. Sometimes I mess it up from the get go, but I'm still going to keep starting.

Smoothies!

Dot's new hobby is making smoothies. She's even got me hooked (on eating them, not making them). What a great way to have yogurt, banana, strawberries, and blueberries! All that nutrition in a delicious drink. Her Great Aunt Juletta heard about her interest and gave her a smoothie recipe book on Memorial Day weekend! Dot was thrilled, and she's looking forward to making most of the smoothies in the book. The girls tried the raspberry peach one in this picture. We are looking forward to freezing tons of strawberries and blueberries this year. :-)

The Great Northern!

On Memorial Day Weekend we were up at my folks cabin. Most of the guys were fishing on a bigger lake close by. Jerry decided to take the younger boys out fishing on our lake for fun. Duke was casting when all of a sudden he felt a sharp tug on his line. He was in for a hard pull. "Grab the net!!" he yelled as he was pulling it in. They had forgot it at home. He kept reeling until laying right next to the boat was a huge Northern! Jerry grabbed the line to help get it in the boat. It snapped! He made a quick decision and reached over and flipped the fish into the boat. It immediately started thrashing viciously, and they had to stand on it to keep it from flipping out of the boat. They finally were able to head back to the cabin, where they arrived soon after to an excited audience! It measured 32 inches and weighed 6 1/2 pounds! After lots of pictures, they stored it in a bucket of cold water until the rest of the crew arrived. The guys came home proud of their catch. Each had caught their limit, and they laid them out on the ground to see. Then Duke got his fish and laid it next to theirs. It dwarfed them. So funny!!! What an exciting night!

He Passed!!!!!!

We now have a new driver!!
On Wednesday, Drum passed his behind-the-wheel test and became our second child to be able to go somewhere by himself. Yeah!!
Thursday night he soloed and drove himself to a friend's house to visit for a few hours. Ahh...Freedom... :-)

Were you wondering whether I forgot I blogged?
Well, this Daisy got so crazy, and then it felt like so much to catch up on that I was overwhelmed. Here's to a fresh start for the summer!