You Don't See That Every Day

Change is the ones constant in our lives. This week has been full of change, like most people's across our area I would suppose. On Monday we sent our Boy off to another country -- with some wonderful friends, so that helps. And we got him a Return ticket. On Wednesday the two older girls returned to school, one as a sophomore and one as a senior. I'm still trying to figure out how she got to be so grown up. And for the last two days we've only had two girls at home. The older girls' school has an all high school retreat to start the year, so they've not been home at all. It has been quiet around here. On a happy note, I was able to go to bed early and get plenty of sleep one night. What is it with teenagers not wanting to go to bed at night?! A bit more change -- I've been wanting to update the younger girls' room for awhile, hoping it will help stop the cluttered look. So the three of us went shopping for new lamps, new bedding, and new p...

We got to go camping with the Mr this summer at least once. We hadn't been yurting since before Little K born, so I found a yurt that was available (so hard to do in the summer!) and reserved it. In the old days, before my kids went to away school, we used to go camping after Labor Day when others where heading back to school. Of course that changed as we added to the family and to the school's tuition. But we still wanted to go camping and by camping I mean going somewhere that didn't feel like our backyard with neighbors Right Next to us. Our trip to Diamond Lake a few years back was perfect for that -- our family and about five others in a huge campground. So with a few hit and misses we have found that camping a couple of days Before Labor Day weekend is the best time to go. As we are packing to go home on Friday most people are arriving for the long weekend. And that way we also have time to relax at home before we send the kids to school. This year we cam...

This birthday was unlike any other. I usually get to pick where we go for my birthday - and I usually head to the beach.  We did make it to the sand on Friday night. We had dinner at the restaurant, and then got a short time to walk on the beach. Little K was not feeling well, and I didn't want to stay out too late because I had plans for the next morning. Beautiful weather, delicious food, good company. It was a great start to my birthday weekend.    Early Saturday morning I got up to run a 5K to raise money for a pregnancy center. I love babies, and what better way to celebrate MY birth-day than to help others get to their birth-day! I had a great run - coming in under 30 minutes... which I haven't done in a long, long, long time. I even placed first in my age group. A BIG thank you to all of you who sponsored me - you gave the best birthday gifts of all! Right after that I hurried drove home ever so slowly and cautiously, to clean-up and head out with the f...

Summer is almost over. We've had lots of family time this summer, as I might have mentioned in previous posts. August slipped past us quickly. We started the month with another family picnic, this time on my Dad's side of the family. He is one of two of his family left. We ate, we visited, we played games. This year the games were not the traditional races or feats of strength (3-legged race is brutal). We did some "Minute to Win It" like games instead. Besides the wind blowing the red plastic cups off the tables, it was a fun time. And there were water balloons to throw at my brother in the end. Somehow he got a hold of a few and soaked our dad with them. I'll be surprised to see if he's still in the Will. Little K has her ballet camp again this year. She wasn't so sure she wanted to go back on the second day because her muscles hurt. But she made it through the week and really enjoyed it! We get to see the results when she puts on Shows at ...

Summer is here. Swimming, grilling, and family reunions. Around our area the temps have been in the 90s for awhile. We had a few cooling off days and now the sun is back on full force. In times like these it's nice to have friends with a pool. A couple of Sundays ago, I woke the Mr from his Sunday nap and said get your swim shorts on, we're going!  And we had a very enjoyable, laughter-filled afternoon of swimming and Marco Polo. This past weekend we didn't have a pool, but we had a lot of fun. My niece and nephew, whom we don't get to see often ... I think it may have been 7 years since they were here ... came and stayed with us. We really enjoyed getting to know them again as adults. And my kids loved hanging out with their cousins. We also had a family reunion combined with a 60th Anniversary party for my aunt and uncle. There were so many people there - many I didn't know, even though I recognized their last name. But first, we started the weekend ...

I was at the store the other day and saw something that made me cringe. A little child was yelling back to his mom, telling her No , he was Not going to do what she had asked him to do. Now, I know my children are not perfect angels. Believe me, they have plenty of faults, just like we all do. But they were never allowed to tell their parents No - as in directly defying an "order". Young parents, I get it - you're tired, you don't want to fight that battle again, and so you let them get away with that behavior. But really, if you let them do it now, it's going to get worse. Letting them tell you No now destroys the respect relationship between a parent and a child. Yes, I think a child needs to respect their parents. How else do they learn about authority? When a police officer pulls them over and asks them to get out of the car, do you think it will go well with them if they tell the police officer No? Or think about their teacher in school. The teacher asks ...

My kids often played school with their siblings, friends, and/or cousins when they were younger. I did it when I was a kid too. But I never wanted to be a Teacher. (Yes, there is irony in me homeschooling my children.) As I've gotten older and experienced the world. I've come to appreciate teachers much, much more. I spend maybe an hour or two twice a month teaching kids in Sunday school. I can't imagine doing that day after day during the school year. I've also had a large number of coaches in my life. 4 years of high school track and then cross country,  4 years of basketball and two more in college, along with the dozens of coaches my kids have gone through .... brings me to really appreciate the patience and knowledge passed on from these coaches to me and to my children. But this past week I have had a new experience in the teaching realm. I got to coach Long Jump for our track and field group at the church Skills Camp. It was ... wonderful. I thoroughly enjoy...