Weeknight Fun

Wind & Waves

Christmas Lights & Music

and Tingalayo (What?)

Yesterday was SO WINDY, winds at approximately 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 40. Whoa! What's the best thing to do on a day like this? Stay inside and watch the tree branches whipping around? Count how many garbage cans roll down the street? No. Go to the lake, of course. Mom and Dad came down and I took them on a tour along Lake Michigan, stopping at different points to see the waves crashing to shore. The water was brown with stirred up sand, and foamy white where it crashed down onto the beach and rocks. Amazing. Our first stop was at the Wind Point Lighthouse and when we got closer to the beach I spotted something I NEVER would have predicted. A person in the water. A crazy person surfing in the freezing cold water! Oh well, I shouldn't judge, it looked like he was dressed for the weather but it sure wouldn't be my idea of fun.

Later in the day I was wishing Archer and Shelly could have been with me to see the spectacular show of wind and water, but it would be dark by the time we could get back to the lake. No matter. I decided to try it anyway. When we got downtown and pulled into the gravel drive along the breakwater, we found other people with the same thought - park facing the water, as close as you can get to the rocks, and just watch. Wow! There was cheering, screaming, laughing, and a few, "I'm scared!!!" The water looked at times like it would come crashing down on our car, but we were just far enough away that it always fell in front of us. Within inches. Crazy! Who does that? I assured the kids were were safe in our cozy warm car and we stayed and watched the waves for almost an hour. Even though it had gotten dark we could still see the breathtaking foaming swells that flew up in front of us.

When the kids declared they were hungry we left, and as we came into our neighborhood we saw the music and light show was on in full force. So of course we stopped to watch and listen for a few songs. A neighbor has orchestrated a Christmas show to marvel at, with flashing lights programmed in time to Christmas music.

Finally, finally, we came home. Hot dogs for supper. (Yeah I know, not so healthy. But we did have carrots!) Followed by a hearty round of "Tingalayo." What, you've never heard of it? I challenge you to listen. But be warned, you'll have this song stuck in your head for days. Shelly learned it at school, so now we occasionally watch it online, and of course I pretended to be Tingalayo. With the kids taking turns riding on my back as I acted out the song. Run and jump? Sure. Dance? No problem. "Again, again!" I don't think so, two times around was enough for this Tingalayo!

Turkey Day Fun

Today I was in a race with a mob of runners, Mom and I ran the two mile while Dad, James and Danielle ran the 10k. James accidentally took a wrong turn and ran with the two milers, Danielle bailed on her 10k and came back early, and Dad was the only one to run the 10k. Mom and I ran most of our course together, splitting up only at the very end. David, E, Shell and Arch were our cheering section, and also in charge of event photography.

After that fun was over, we came back to our house for Thanksgiving lunch. No turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, just soup. And bread, fruit, cheese, spinach dip (2 kinds!), fresh homemade warm bread... Did I mention the warm apple cider? And hot out of the oven apple pie! Yum!!! We enjoyed the Packer game together, stuffed ourselves silly, and then parted ways. Just in time for a nap.

Snuggling on the couch after lunch

On to Uncle Todd's house! We were running a little late (like an hour late, sorry family!), but something surprised me as we pulled up to Todd's house. The Christmas tree was already on! Usually it comes on at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Were we really that late? Did we really miss the Tree Lighting? He turned it on early this year, it is just as beautiful as ever.

We enjoyed great food as usual, and then the conversation turned to Christmas. After all, the Tree Lighting signals the official beginning of the season, and we had some logistics to work out. Where? When? Who's buying the gifts for who? Time to draw names. As Heidi sat reciting kids' names (there are TEN now and I cannot be trusted to remember them ALL) she also snatched a couple of papers and wrote her name down. Then mine. And then chaos and protests sounded as the adults drew names and we tried to figure out the logistics of how many papers each grown up should have. Two? You have three kids? Then three papers. But Todd took two names, so how many should I get? And of course, the truth finally came out... Heidi? Amy? "It was Heidi's idea!" I tattled, not wanting to take the blame for the trick. "YOU put the names in the cup!" she cried back and we all checked our papers, sorted out who had the right number and who needed another, and again the families parted ways.

Its so simple, just cooking a meal and showing up to the same place to eat it together. But somehow that simple thing is the perfect recipe for cooking up laughter, good conversation and great memories. It was a little hectic with a really early start and not much down-time, but it was worth it. Worth every little hassle, worth crawling out of bed early and roaming around the city in the cold windy weather, worth the effort to cook and clean and everything else that comes with the holidays. So definitely worth it.

I love you all, Happy Thanksgiving!

Today

Today I am thankful for family, my parents and siblings, and also my own family that we're buiding, my husband and children. Each one of these people is a gift in my life. I am thankful for a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat and all my needs being met. And I'm thankful for the bountiful, uncountable blessings that God has showered upon me throughout my life.

But most of all I am thankful for His gift of life. The amazing, miraculous gift of salvation that He has shared with me, even though I don't deserve it, even though I could never earn it and never have a chance to pay it back. What would you do if someone you knew gave you a million dollars even though they knew you could never pay them back? Would you say thank you every day? Would you try to honor that person by using that gift to its fullest potential? Would you try to do nice things for that person, just to show how much you appreciate what they've done for you? What would you do?

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

~ Psalm 105:1

Long Overdue

One Year Pics

Mmm doesn't it look yummy? Dive in already!

He dove into that cake, then had a bath, then no time for clothes, let's open some presents!

Ok, its kinda chilly in here. Let's get some jammies on.

What a happy One Year Old with his Daddy :)

My Coach

I've started running, trying to build up endurance to get a little further than just the mailbox and  back. (I also have a pathological belief that parents should always be able to outrun their children. Ask my dad about this. He was always faster than us.) Today Archer came with me on a 4.5 mile course, he rode his bike and I ran. And walked, and ran, and walked some more. I kept telling him he needs to be cheering me on, and along with his endless stream of chatter, he threw in some encouragement. It was a great distraction. At the end, he rode ahead of me, ran into our garage and ran back out with two orange cones. He ran down to the end of the driveway and placed the two cones on the street, directly in my path, my Finish Line. I raised my arms and cheered for myself as I crossed the line, high fives to my coach and we were all smiles as we bust into the house, our faces red from the wind but happy to have finished the race together.

Thanks Coach!

Imagine you're a chef. Or short order cook. Or even just a hamburger flipper at the local fast food place. Now imagine that nine out of ten hamburgers that you make are rejected, your customers turn up their noses and offer such insults as, "Eww that's GROSS!" "I'll NEVER eat that" and "You know I HATE that!" For some reason you never get fired from you job. Plus, bonus, you can't quit. Sounds like fun, right?

Motherhood (and fatherhood too) is the daily picture of perseverance through trial, discouragement, even pain. (The big revelation to me that the day I gave birth to my children is the BEGINNING of the pain they cause me, not the ONLY day they injure me was a tough one to swallow!) I have so much admiration and respect for mothers who go day in and day out without snapping at their kids, locking them up in a closet and eating a gallon of chocolate ice cream all by themselves. Way to go, all you great moms that I know! (No, I've never locked my kids in a closet. But I HAVE locked myself in my car to get five minutes peace away from them. It only lasted three minutes.)

Christmas is Here! (Almost)

When I picked up Shell and E from their classroom of chaos this morning, after the leaders' meeting for Mops, Shelly announced, "Its SNOWING!!" (Actually, she didn't so much announce it, as SCREAM it, for all the other moms to hear as they walked past.) "Its SNOWING!! That means ITS ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!! I'm so excited!" (Picture her jumping up and down, hair flying, E completley bewildered at what's happening.) I had an impulse to tell her Christmas is still really far away, but I made a conscious choice. Quit being the serious one, Mom, and just go along with it, it doesn't hurt anything! On the way home I realized it actually IS almost Christmas. I mean, we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is only six weeks away. And its snowing! Who cares if its cold, who cares if there are more shoes, boots, jackets, mittens and hats than ever before to step over, toss out of the way, look for because they've gotten lost... Who cares? Its ALMOST CHRISTMAS for goodness sake!

Once again I marvel at a child's point of view and am reminded I would be much happier if I looked at the world her way. She loves Jesus, its snowing outside, Christmas is almost here. What else is there?

Elijah: 1 Year

Can you believe it? Me neither. ONE WHOLE YEAR! Just in the last week he's started saying "Ma" and he's gotten much more confident with his walking. Still not completely stable, but he's making great strides. (Plus now he's climbing. Nothing's going to stop him!)

What an amazing journey this last year has been. A new person in our family, new routines, schedules, new teaching. Archer and Shelly are like little parents, sometimes I hear them saying things to E that I say to them and its a double edged sword. Good, yes. But I hear those things I wish I hadn't said also coming out of their mouths. Ugh. Be careful, little ears are listening and little mouths are repeating! Archer actually babysits for us now sometimes on Saturday mornings. He watches E while I sleep in or do other stuff. As long as I stay out of the living room and Elijah doesn't see me, this works pretty well. And as long as I pay the babysitter well, he's willing to do it again.

I feel like I'm always obsessing about time. "Time goes so fast!" I'm always writing it on the blog, always thinking it. And at the little moments during my day, obsessing about how many minutes before I tell Arch to get his shoes on and send him out the door, how many minutes to get Shell's coat on, buckle everyone in, and take the two minute trip to the bus stop. Three hours till they come home. Five minutes till I start supper. "Two minutes to bedtime!" I call out.

I've had this question on my mind lately. How does God experience time? He is eternal, so somehow time doesn't exist for him. Or time exists, it passes but never runs out. He exists outside the limits of time (as we experience it) but is eternal which means He has all of it, probably holds it in his hand or something. What does God think of my fixation on the clock? My fear that time is passing me by too quickly and I'll miss something, my obsession about being on time and yet always being late. God is in control, surely. Does He ever go back... change it?

I digress. Elijah's birthday, the first anniversary of his birth, is truly a celebration in our family and as we go back, in our memories, to that day when he joined us, we celebrate and look forward to the many years ahead, the many fun times we'll have, the smiles we'll share. I look forward to seeing where we'll end up, but I'm enjoying the journey along the way!

I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
~ Eccl 3:14:15