SUMMER DAY 9, Sun June 7

Seasons of life....something I've been pondering the last 24 hours. I love looking back over time & recognizing different seasons I've lived and really grasping a new understanding for what God had up His sleeve. While I will never fully "get" everything God does, I can rest securely in knowing He's ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS got a plan and no matter how many times I stomp my feet & ask Him to play according to *my* schedule & plans, He will always do things according to His plan....and I am grateful for that.

Yesterday was a hard day for Larry. He has good days & bad ones since he left his pastoral job in early April. Just like any other loss in life (a death, a relationship that ends, a marriage ending...), loss of a job can sometimes spur feelings of grief. And when your job is not only a "job" but a ministry as well, it's like losing part of your identity. While he will always be "Pastor Larry" to so many precious people at our old church, in a lot of ways, when you lose the title, you lose a bit of what was defining you and in that way, Larry's struggled & grieved. We went to a birthday party yesterday for the son of one of the pastors at our old church, one of Larry's ex coworkers & brothers in ministry. We love them dearly and enjoyed our time with them, but Larry left feeling a little sad. Being that close to someone not only physically & emotionally but spiritually for several years, it's like visiting with the spouse you recently divorced....it brings up a lot of feelings that you may've not even known were there. Afterward, we saw the movie & then ran to Walmart for a couple things and ran into several people who were members of our old church. It was GREAT to see them and they were so kind & loving to talk to. But still, it was hard.

I likened his feelings about the day yesterday to the way I've grieved about A&K's time here and then their departure. I know how he feels. He ministered and poured his whole being into the ministry at Rose Heights. He was invested in so many relationships. He reached so many families, so many people....he had such a huge scope of influence. And when God led us to walk away, we are absolutely confident that it was the right time & the right thing to do, but it was still hard and the emotions involved run deep. And just like I look back at the time we had with A&K and can smile & remember a lot of fantastic moments along the way, it doesn't take much to make me cry & miss them & wish things had turned out differently.

Seasons of life....God brings us to different things in life that we need to experience to see Him more clearly, to taste Him more fully, to feel Him more deeply. We can't understand Him. And you know, that's OK. If we could, He wouldn't be much of a God. I mean, if my finite little brain can wrap itself around HIS plans, He's not real BIG after all is He? Seasons come & go. Pain comes with change. Anguish & grief & mourning can cut so deeply that we don't feel like there is a way to come up for air....but in time, we realize how many things He was orchestrating.

I've been looking back on our years at Rose Heights & all the things that were accomplished because of that season. We were able to buy this house. We were able to consider adoption again (we always had talked about it...) and to bring Andrew & Kourtney into our home at a time in their lives when they needed us most. Larry was able to have back surgery & recover gradually rather than being required to be back at work very soon afterward. We were able to get the van we have now & add a bathroom onto the house. And aside from all the "stuff" we were able to get & do, Larry was able to reach the very specific people who God intended him to reach. We were able to grow in our relationships with Christ in ways we had not fully understood before. We were able to take our children & show them a life lived solely to reach others. We were able to lead them to minister to people in secret without seeking approval or reward. We were able to encounter people we would've never otherwise met, to grow relationships that would've never otherwise have been forged. We are able to continue those friendships in a new way now! Larry was able to seek the fruition of a vision to reach the people who fall through the cracks in church...the ones who don't fit the mold so to speak. We've been ministered to by the people of the church in ways that words can't express. The list is endless and more things keep coming to mind.

The reality is that God showed us to a place of ministry at Rose Heights and that season brought so many amazing things with it. As we embark on a new season of our lives, I know that He will bring new & fresh blessings as well.

Psalms 139 says that no matter where we go, He is already there. If we lay down or stand up, if we go down into a valley or climb a mountain or swim to the far side of the ocean, God is already there. It's refreshing to know that this new season will be as awesome & blessed as the last.

SUMMER DAY 8, Sat June 6

What a great day! After having a slight case of Dr. Pepper-induced insomnia last night, I was able to sleep til 8:30 this morning. What a treat! I'm so glad the kids are older now & am to eat breakfast on their own, watch TV or play on the computer til we wake up on the weekends!

Larry & I had a little trick up our sleeves last night. We knew that we were all going to a birthday party today for a friend's son. Since we are going to our church's Family Camp 3 nights this coming week, that means we saved some on groceries this week & had a tiny bit to spare in the budget, so we wanted to take the kids to see the movie UP after the party. We got online last night & bought tickets & had the print out in my purse at the party. It was fun to wait until the last minute to spring it on the kids because they have REALLYYYYYYYY been wanting to see the movie.

In case you haven't heard of it, here is the preview on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqzFUhGPJg I can't embed the video here because it's been disabled, but you can go to that link & watch it.

Caution: movie spoiler!
The basic storyline is that Carl Fredrickson (the old man in the movie) is a widower. As a child, he & his little friend (who later became his wife) dreamed of exploring & having great adventures. They had a scrapbook of things they wanted to go see & do but life got in the way & they were never able to do it. After his wife's death, Mr. Fredrickson settled into a routine of day to day life while major construction went on around his home. He refused to sell his property so his lot was whittled down to just enough grass for his house to sit on, surrounded by a lot of concrete & construction crews. One day, when he got mad at one of the construction workers, he hit him with his cane. It cut the man's head so the next thing you know Mr. Fredrickson is in court, being ordered to move to a retirement village. He, however, has another plan! When the retirement home bus comes to pick him up, he laughs out the window & says "Goodbye boys!" as he launches his house into the sky courtesy of a thousand helium-filled balloons. Mr. Fredrickson plans to float his house to a place in South America called Paradise Falls that he & his wife always dreamed of going to, but a Wilderness Scout who was on the porch when he floated off into the sky throws a kink in his plans and changes the course of all the rest of the movie. Living out his life's adventure plan, he realizes that maybe the adventure of his lifetime was actually all the years he spent with his sweet wife and it's time to let go of all those dreams and start a new adventure. So he does!

I'll let you watch it & fill in all the gaps from there! It was a great family movie. We were suprised to see it rated PG, but the things I read online tonight said it's due to the peril & suspense involved. So ok, if you consider an animated story with a sweet plot to be suspenseful, then watch out Dora the Explorer....you're bound to be the next one to get stamped with a PG rating!! After all, you just never know where that sneaky Swiper the Fox is gonna show up! :)

By the time we got home from the birthday party & movie, it was 5:00! What a great Saturday!

SUMMER DAY 7, Fri June 5

This morning, Savannah had an orthodontist appointment at 10:00. Afterward, we met one of my ex-students & her mom at the fire station for a tour. I took lots of pictures, but I'm just going to share this 1. The sun was in Samuel's eyes so while he doesn't look real thrilled, I can assure you that he was the one most "into" the tour. He climbed into every seat in the truck without hesitation & really enjoyed hearing the fireman talk. Of course, he made it clear on the way home that he doesn't want to be a fireman. No thanks....he wants to be a chef...and a lawyer...and a professional skateboarder...and the list goes on. But fireman is not on the list.


After Savannah's appointment, we had a few minutes to spare before we had to be at the fire station. I've been wanting to take some pictures of the kids at The Children's Park in town, but have never had a chance to stop. I knew we wouldn't have long, but I figured even if we only stayed 10 minutes, I could snap a few pictures. I'm now convinced that we must go back as a family & do this again with a friend there to take pictures for us!

Here is Sarah on the waterfall.

The other kids quickly followed her up!


Savannah & Samuel liked the rocks in the stream.


Me & my sweet boy

and me & the girls


The waterfall is so pretty!


Probably my favorite picture of all! These giant teddy bears are so sweet to look at & the kids readily posed with them...and everyone smiled. Trust me, that NEVER happens with these three who typically argue (with each other) about having to take a picture at all.

The Children's Park is a beautiful park designed in memory of children who were miscarried, stillborn or lost in infancy. It's a really pretty place to bring children for pictures, to have a quiet time alone or just to sit & think. It's well-known in our town as a beautiful location for family pictures. There is no playground so I figured my kids would poo-poo the idea of hanging out a park without a slide or swings. Instead, they loved it & all three asked if we could go back sometime. Between the giant teddy bears, rock waterfalls, bridges to cross & the stream to play in, they were in awe. We will definately go back sometime!!

SUMMER DAY 6, Thurs June 4

Today, all three kids went to work with me. Savannah got to meet "our" class for the summer & was engaged with everyone pretty quickly. She'll make a good babysitter and/or teacher one day! Samuel & Sarah went to the school-age class & had fun. (Although I must admit that they would rather do something else other than go to work with me.....but oh well, such is life.)

We didn't do much of anything exciting the rest of the day. Just came home & rested & did chores, read a little while....you get the idea.

Tomorrow's a big day. Savannah has an orthdontist appt and then we have a fire station tour with one of the little girls who was in my class this past year. Can't wait!

SUMMER DAY 5, Wed June 3

Just a few pictures of our day!

My sweet Sarah during quiet time today. But wait...the angle of that picture is suspicious. Yes, that's my coffee table I'm seeing just past her...and the blanket on the edge of the pic is up on the back of the couch she's sitting on. Wait! It appears that a certain little boy was climbing on the back of the couch to take this picture. Hmmm...looks like we may need to have a talk about climbing the furniture again.


You may recognize Blue Bunny from Samuel's surgery pictures. Here you'll see Blue Bunny with his extended family. Apparently they were in for a family reunion during quiet time. I think I have a little boy who is a photography student in training.


During our quiet reading time:




And I hope you will click this one to make it larger. This afternoon, it began to rain. It wasn't in the forecast that I had seen last night, so we weren't expecting it. Sarah always enjoys "watching" the rain, so she went out onto the front porch with a little stool & just sat to watch the rain fall about 5:30. She had only been outside a few minutes when Larry pulled in the driveway from work. I figured he might wonder why our youngest child was sitting on the front porch by herself in the rain (ha ha) so as he got out of his truck & headed toward the door, I leaned out & simply stated "She's watching the rain." He grinned & handed me his briefcase & said "I think I'll join her." And he did. He sat his work clothes-clad self on the dirty wet porch & watched the rain with his little girl. :::sniff sniff::: I love this man.

SUMMER DAY 4, Tues June 2

Last night, Savannah & Sarah spent the night with my niece. I really wasn't sure how to feel about that because typically when the 3 of them try to do anything together, Sarah gets left out & made to feel like the tag along little sister who is bugging them. Thankfully this time, I don't think that turned out to be the case. I asked her about it tonight at bedtime & she didn't seem to have any negative memories of last night.

While the girls played at my sister's house, Samuel & I went to work. He talked my ear off on the way to work (I finally had to ask him to hush because he was driving me nutty) but he did great the rest of the day. It was so sweet to watch him helping all the little kids this afternoon. I signed up to work After Care, my school's extended hours care for children to stay an additional 90 minutes. Since I'm working it, my kids have to go out to the playground with me & "endure" After Care. I loved watching Samuel help kids down the slide, push little girls on wheeled cars and hold open the trashcan lid for a shorter little one who couldn't reach. I'm so proud of him! What a gentleman!

We picked up the girls after work & came home to watch Arthur on PBS, do chores, have some quiet reading time and then make supper. Unfortunately, Samuel ended up getting grounded from playing outside tomorrow because he wouldn't do his chores. Such is life.

Tonight, Larry & I went on a long walk around the neighborhood & really enjoyed having the quiet time alone to talk.

And voila...that's our 4th day of summer. Pretty exciting, huh?

SUMMER DAY 3, Mon June 1

I had to go to a work day at the school today, so the kids went on a "field trip" with Grandma and Grandpa. They went back to the drive-thru safari we went to last summer. They had fun...and this year, the emu didn't even try to get into the car with them. ha ha!

Before they left, each of the kids got a copy of this week's Bible verse. I hung one on their bathroom mirror so they'd each see it a thousand times this week and I gave them a copy next to their breakfast plate. This copy is on the vent-a-hood above the stove so I'll keep seeing it all week, too!



We put up the summer reading poster for the kids to start working on as well. We didn't get to it today, but that's mostly due to laziness on my part. I was kind of worn out mentally so I didn't push a reading time. We'll do that tomorrow.



The kids have new chore lists for the summer, too. A couple weeks ago, I sat down with all three kids and told them which chores had to be done weekly, daily, twice a week, etc and had them volunteer for which ones they wanted to do & how often they wanted to do it. I told them that if I had a chore no one wanted, I'd just assign it, so I had a lot of ready volunteers. ha ha (Honestly, I think I only had to assign 1 chore, so it went better than expected.)



And last, but certainly not least, we got this announcement in the mail today (you can click it to make it bigger). My sister & brother in law have been in the process of adopting my newest niece & nephew. It's all finally done. All they have left is their court date to finalize it all & make it official. I've editted the pic to not disclose private information, but I wanted to share this sweet announcement!