God is at camp

I am sitting here listening to quiet music, thinking about my two big kids at camp. Some of you already know the story of Mary heading to camp, but for those of you who haven't heard, I'll tell it. Mary is most certainly not my extrovert child. There have been times when she was younger that people would walk by and say "hello" to her, and I would have to make her say "hi." If I didn't she would just look down, and hope that they would go away and stop talking to her. Her shyness has always been something that she has had to work at. New situations bring on painful stomache problems. When camp was first discussed, and she said that she wanted to go, I was shocked. This past weekend, I was happy to see her eagerly packing and chatting non-stop about camp.

Mary had everything perfectly folded, lined up neatly. She even made labels for each day....


And then, there's Matt...


Finally, the day came. We loaded up the car and headed to Aunty Tricia's house to drop off the three little ones. We said our goodbyes and left. As we drove, Matthew told Mary all that she would expect at camp. We listened to him as he relived last year's week of camp. I could tell the nerves were settling in. Her face was blank. The smile was gone, and she was just staring out the window. Then she said, "Mom, I am excited, but my stomache is hurting." I said, "Mary, you are going to have the time of your life at camp. God has some great things for you, and Satan surely doesn't want you to hear them. Don't let the worry settle in. Pray those pains away." As we exited off the highway, she was full of questions. One of them being, "Mommy, do you think that I will get that counselor that was on the cover of the camp brochure?"  This particular picture showed a sweet counselor giving a little girl a piggy back ride.  Both of them were beaming with fun and joy. You could almost hear the laughter from the picture. Of course they always show the counselor and camper having the best time on the front of these brochures. Are those people real or staged? I tried to comfort her by telling her that whoever her counselor was, she would be happy. As camp was getting closer and closer and Mary's nerves were intensifying, I  began to wonder if it was possible to call the camp and ask about this counselor.  Maybe that would help calm Mary's nerves?  The problem was that there are so many camps from North Carolina to Colorado.  I'm sure this brochure came from the North Carolina camp. Mary persisted with questions about her counselor.  I just encouraged her to pray about it.  So, she did right there in the car.

We arrived on campus. Now, I was the one with the stomach pains! I just kept praying that God would give her a good counselor. We walked into an enormous log cabin, and fought our way through registration lines, suitcases, pillows, sleeping bags, excited children and weeping moms. There was a recreational room for children to play games and get to know one another, as parents got them registered. Immediately, Matthew took off. Mary stayed by my side. A friend of hers bounded up, wearing her blue team shirt and said, "Hey Mary!! It's Coke against Pepsi this year. We're on the Pepsi team, and we're in the same cabin." Mary half heartedly smiled. "Come on, Mary, let's go," her friend tried pursuading. Mary quietly shook her head, "no." I looked down at my girl, "It's ok, honey. Go play while I get you registered." Then, it happened. Every mom's nightmare...the tears came flowing down her cheeks. She leaned her head against me. I pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "It's ok.  I'll stay here until you're ok...I promise you." Right about then, I began wondering if I should have packed my own bag. After Mary was registered, it was time meet her counselor. The big moment! Quite frankly, it was more my big moment than Mary's. I wanted to meet the college aged girl that I was leaving my child with. A cute, smiley brunette with a Red Sox hat on walked up to us. Her name was Jess. She bent down and warmly greeted my tear-stained Mary. I caught Jess's eye and whispered, "first time away from home." She smiled and said, "I'm on it." As we walked to Mary's home for the week, Jess was telling her all about the games and fun activites that were planned. Mary's room was warm and sunny, filled with bunk beds. A small pile of candy was placed on each girl's bed...a little gift from Jess. There were three other girls sitting in the room. I introduced Mary and they awkwardly introduced themselves. Jess took a seat on a bed across from Mary, and pulled some papers out of her counselor package. She said she wanted to get Mary's address to keep in contact with her. As she reached for her notebook, last year's camp brochure fell out. She picked it up. "Hey...wanna see something neat?" She turned the brochure around, and pointed to the picture on the front of the famous smiling counselor giving the camper a piggy back ride. "This is me."  My mouth fell open. I looked at Mary.  Her entire face lit up. Both of us were just beaming. My eyes filled with tears as I reached out and hugged my girl tight, "Oh Mary! God knew!! Look! You got 'THE COVER GIRL OF THE CAMP', just like you wanted!!!!  God is going to take good care of you!!!" I told Jess the story of how Mary specifically asked if she would get the "camp brochure counselor."  I also told her about my doubts that it would happen. From that moment on, Mary was completely fine. No more stomach pains.  No more tears.  No more worry. I helped her make her bed, and chatted with the sweet girls that would be her roommates for the week. Mary's tears were gone, and now replaced by her dimples. She smiled and said, "I'm ok Mommy. You can go." I hugged her goodbye and walked way, wondering why I ever worried even for one second.

I Peter 5:7 "If you pray and trust God to take this anxiety away from you He will do it because He cares for you."

God had comforted our daughter in a way that only He could. Sometimes as a mom, you want to manipulate things just a bit just to make sure that your child gets what they want, or so they won't worry...or is it so I wouldn't worry? What if I had called the camp, trying to figure out who the girl was on the camp brochure and asked them to put my daughter in that cabin?  Mary would have completely missed out on the blessing of God's comfort.  And I would have taken the glory for manipulating the situation. For the first time I saw that God was our Mary's comfort, not me! That's how I want it to be. I'm not always going to be here for them.  I want our children to learn to rely on God. He needs to be their strength, their guide, their fortress, their rock and their COMFORTER!

Now, everyone....take a deep breath, abandon your anxious thoughts, and pray. It will all work out!

We promise! :o)

(Mary with her counselor, shortly after we found out that she was the "Cover Girl" on the brochure.)

Supersize Me

Lately, I feel like I'm Alice in Wonderland. Things around me seem to be unusually large. As we pulled in the driveway tonight, I saw what seemed like a huge pine cone. I got out of the car and started to walk toward it. It moved. I stopped. I ever so slowly, and very cautiously inched toward it again. It moved. My heart began to pound. I felt short of breath, and began sweating. The curiosity was too much for me to stop now. What was this mystery animal??? You can never be sure what kind of wildlife you will encounter around here, so I knew I had to arm myself. With a bad mitten racket in hand, I began my pursuit once more. This time, the creature moved TOWARD me! I yelled for back-up. Joel came running to my side. "What is it?" he asked. "I don't know, but it's very, very large," I breathlessly answered. We couldn't see a thing in the darkness of the night. Joel took the bad mitten out of my hand, and managed to get this large thing into the spotlight.

This is what it was....



























































ISN'T HE THE SICKEST THING EVER?????!!!! GAG! and he's so big, too!!!!!!!! I think I prefer the dead squirrell over this! My toes are curling as I type this. Looks like he just finished a little winged snack. Apparently, Mamma Toad forgot to wipe his mouth before he left home. Do you know how freakishly close I had to get to him to take this picture....and all because I wanted to show you guys. I hope you're appreciative. I can't tell you how many times my husband has come up behind me and said, "Ribbit" and I've hit the ceiling! Oh, the sacrifices I make to bring you the news around here.



And Mr. Toad wasn't the only thing that has been supersized. Get a load of the mushroom Matt found this week!!!



What's happening around here? I'm afraid what will be next!!

Just thinking about my report card

When I was growing up, report card day was either a day I loved or dreaded, depending of course on how hard I worked for that semester. One time, when I was in first grade, I even went so far as to sign my mom's signature because I was so ashamed of what I had done. Ok, I can hear all the laughter right now. If there's one thing I learned from that situation, it's that I had to practice mom's signature a little better. :o)

This past Saturday, I bumped into a young man who I use to babysit. He is now a Sophomore in college. I introduced myself to him as his "old babysitter." (little did he know that the "old" part that I was referring to did not necessarily mean "in the past" kind of old, but just plain "old." ) His mom was standing nearby. I said, "When did he grow up?" She smiled and said, "I know. It went by so fast. I'm just as shocked as you are." I walked away from our conversation thinking about our son. Matthew is now 10. Most children leave the nest at 18. That gives me 8 years left.


Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

-Oh Lord please! may our son always seek you with all his heart!

As a parent, your job is never done, of course, but I wonder if we are at the half way point with the "letting go" phase. I wonder if we have given him the tools of God's word to live a life for Him. I wonder what he'll be someday. I wonder what he will grow up telling his own children about his mother. How will he describe me as a mom? Then, I think about those report card days. What if God was to give me a grade today? There's no forging anything with God. He knows exactly who I am because He is my Creator. In my heart, I know the areas where I fail Him. I also know that I am only made of flesh, and I need the Lord to guide me every moment of the day. Spending time with God doesn't just mean "going to church on Sundays." It's a continual on-going relationship. It involves reading his word, and asking Him to teach me, and talking to Him through prayer. My job as a mom should be done mostly on my knees. I know I need to pray more for these precious ones. I need to pray more for myself...that I will be the kind of mom that they can see Christ in. If I forget about God and begin doing my job on my own, I have failed as a parent. If I neglect prayer, my mothering is not being done for my Lord's glory, and I can never be the kind of mom that God will smile upon. I'd like to get a good grade, because this job is eternal. So, I beg God to keep me on my knees.


If you as a mom are not praying for your children, who is?

Whose 60?

Could this adorable, little girl really be 60 years old?


My sweet Mommy turned 60. God has blessed me with a mother who invested her life into being a Godly mom. She has spent countless hours in the car taking us to and from school, back and forth to basketball or volleyball games, friend's houses, shopping, making meals, doing dishes, washing clothes, but what makes her so special, is that in the midst of all the "to do's" she had on her list, she always listened. She would drop anything she was doing to talk, encourage, listen or just let us share with her our silliness. (ie, our many goofy skits that she was in the audience for.) She applauded our every little accomplishment, whether it was going down the slide for the first time or making a snowman. She made each of us feel individually special. She cared enough to tell us when we made wrong friends. She loved and forgave our mistakes. She taught us that a life surrendered to God is a life that God can use. My mom is the one that I look up to in my mothering. She is the one I turn to for advice, and the one who is always encouraging me in my walk with the Lord. Thank you for being not just "a mom," but my friend. I love you, Mommy, and I'm so proud to be able to call you "my Mom."



These past few weeks have been packed full of fun and making memories. I'll share a few pictures here.

One of my favorite pics. :o)



Sweet Daddy moments....





Look at the grin on Annie's face! Complete trust, complete joy!


Dad took the kids blueberry picking one morning. They quickly pooped out after picking about a dixie cup full of blueberries. Dad's blueberry picking stamina lasted way longer. We'll be having blueberry muffins till the year 2013!



My sweet boy, growing up way too quickly!




It has been wonderful having Krissy home for a few days. (although it's never long enough) Our family is whole when she is here. It makes me sad when I walk in her room, and see the empty closet, the bed all made and the vacuume marks still in the carpet. She fills our home with so much joy and happiness. When we dropped her off at the airport today, little Annie was frantically trying to work herself out of her carseat. When she couldn't get it, she yelled, "Sum-buddies, help me! I need to go with Aunny Kwissy!" I turned around and explained to her that she couldn't go on the airplane because Aunty Krissy lives far away. It's never fun to drive off, leaving your loved one with their suitcase on the sidewalk of an airport. I rolled down the windows as we drove away so everyone could yell their "goodbyes and I love you's" one last time. Suddenly, little Annie could bare it no more. She burst into tears and said, "Now, I have no fwend!!!!!" I turned around to look at her. She had her fists shoved in her eyes, and was crying her little eyes out. We miss you, Krissy!





Last night, after a thunderstorm, God gave us this to look at:



Just breathtaking! We have so much to be thankful for!

My, Oh My, What a Wonderful Day!

Ice cream has a way of making any hot, sticky, humid day transform into a wonderful, delightful, cool summer day.


This little bird came right on over to join the party. He was looking for any little scrap or crumb that the kids might offer him. They weren't offering.



"Smile, kids!" (yeah, right, who wants to stop licking their cone and smile for a picture. Some of them gave a valiant effort.)

It was easy ordering when I stepped up to the window: "3 vanilla ice creams with rainbow sprinkles and 3 chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles." The oldest two are just like their mommy. They have come to full maturity in realizing that chocolate is superior to any dessert in this world. The word "vanilla" just plain ole makes me mad. It's gaggingly gross. I hate that white stuff!

And you can just forget about the motherly duty of "licking down the cone, so it doesn't get all over my poor child's hand."


It just ain't happening.

The end of a chapter in our life

Psalm 118:21 "I shall give thanks to you, for you have answered me."



We are so thankful to the Lord that our house sold. Today was the final clean out before the closing on Monday.



It was a blistering hot day to be inside a garage, and a stuffy house with no air conditioning on. Read the temperature on the mirror. We were melting ice under our shirts, and rubbing it up and down our arms, legs and neck.




I was cleaning the bathroom when I heard Joel yell from our bedroom, "WHAT IN THE WORLD????" I ran to see what the problem was. How could our practically new pillow sham look like this?



He threw back the covers. Prepare yourselves, ladies!!!!!!!!!!



A BIG, FAT, DEAD SQUIRREL IN OUR BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure enough, didn't he just curl right up for a snooze. The heat must have killed him. We still haven't figured out how he got in the house, nor how he managed to neatly tuck himself under the quilt. He couldn't have been there long because he didn't smell horrible. -unlike what is pictured. Joel acted as if he just found some rotting animal in our bed with rabies or something......ummmmmmmmm, never mind. You can see on our quilt where the squirrel scratched like nutty -no pun intended- to get out. UT DUH! DOOFUS! Ya might have survived if you just climbed out the same way ya crawled in!



We tossed out all the blankets, shams, and dead squirrel, and continued on our merry way. I'm telling ya, I jumped and screamed at every squirrel that scampered by!


After the work was done, we walked through each room, reminiscing about living here. We laughed at the time that Mikey locked Matt and Mary and I in the basement and I had to call my neighbor to come get us out. Another time, we decided we wanted to have a picnic in the middle of a major snow storm. So, we put snowcoats on all the kids, carried a breakfast tray outside, lit a candle, and served chili and corn muffins. Then there was the time that I was tucking Emma into bed, and I asked her to pray. She said, "Dear Jesus...........Knock, knock?...... " (long pause) I looked up to see her with her eyes squeezed shut tight, and the biggest grin on her face. I just leaned over and whisperd, "Sweetie, I think He's heard them all. Let's move on."

Other memories include:
-raking the leaves into piles, and watching the kids jump in them.
-birthday parties on the back porch
-walks around the block with a baby in my sling, two in a double stroller, one holding onto my arm and another on his bike. (I'm sure we looked like the Macy's parade to all the neighbors.)
-camping out in the backyard that took all day to set up, and lasted about 5 minutes into the night, because they were too scared. (with the exception of Emma, who we drug in since everyon else left)
-the driveway covered in sidewalk chalk art.
-the smoke detector that always went off whenever I opened the oven, and steam came out
-sharing one bathroom among 5 people...thankfully two were in diapers.
-shutting the curtains at dinner because none of was wanted to watch Mr. Dewey work on his car with no shirt on
-roasting marshmellows over the outdoor fireplace
-the pellet stove that kept as warm for many winters. The kids would come running when a new bag had to be poured in. They loved the feeling of hundreds upon hundreds of pellets run through their little fingers.
-hide and go seek. This was the best house for hide and go seek! One time, the kids asked Joel and I to go hide and then pop out and scare them. We listened to them make plans, whispering and arguing who was going to venture out first. You'd hear them marching and then stop, shuffle, shuffle. "You go." "I'm not going to be first...you go." They had themselves so worked up. In the meantime, Joel and I are sweating profusely waiting for them. Finally, Joel yelled, "Let's go!" When they finally conquered their fear, they cautiously entered the room where Joel was hiding. He burst around the corner and yelled, "RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" They screamed, and scattered like little chicks every which way. Matt ran right into the room where I was hiding for safety. I crawled out from under the bed and yelled, "RAAAAHHH!" I thought the poor boy was going to pass out. He screamed, and ran for the door. The door didn't open right away, and he bounced off of it onto the floor. -I'm laughing as I type this. Really, you had to be there.
-swimming in our tiny blow-up pool. We were funny looking for sure!
-my homeschool room filled with books, papers and pencils
-the playroom that I was constantly telling the kids to clean
-sitting on the front porch, reading my Bible and sipping coffee
-watching Bailey, my neighbor's dog, through my kitchen window as I cleaned the dishes.
-standing at the fence having long conversations with my sweet neighbor, Joe, whose wife had passed away shortly before we moved in. Oh how he loved to talk about her!
-playing with these sweet girls who we have come to love. We watched them grow up these past 5 years. They helped me load up the car today, and when it came time to leave. It was a tearful goodbye.



Perhaps the most life changing memories is the fact that we brought two babies home from the hospital to this house. This was the nursery that they slept in. It was within these four walls, that I rocked them, sang to them and prayed over them.



All of the restaurants we came to know so well through those two pregnancies...

Craving: calzones and french fries


Craving: Chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.


Craving: peanut butter cup sundae with chocolate almond chip ice cream and extra peanut butter sauce.



Each room was filled with love...



Each room was filled with laughter.....





Although we know that a house is just something temporal, I am reminded that five years of life took place here for which we will stand accountable to God for.

At the end of our walk down memory lane, it was time to say goodby to our precious, little, blue house. We shut the door behind us, and turned to leave. I was filled emotion... both happy and sad. Happy that the burden of trying to sell our home in this terrible market has been lifted, and yet, sad that we will never walk through that door again. This chapter in our lives in now closed for good.



As every reader knows, the end of a chapter brings the opening of a new one. God has a new chapter for us, and we look forward to making new memories together as a family. Our story isn't over yet....
just "to be continued."

My Daddy's Hand

I like to take walks with my Daddy. He talks to me, and tells me how much he loves me. One time he asked me if I was ever going to get married. "Noooooooooooooooo," I giggled. My daddy is so silly. Sometimes when we're on our walks, he tells me how God is going to use me some day. I don't really understand what he is talking about, but I can tell it's important because he has tears in his eyes.



I love my Daddy!



"A father holds his daughter's hand only a little while, but forever in his heart."

*************************************************************

Family

Your family is your foundation. It's where your story begins. It is through the family that we learn how relationships work. It's where we place into practice things like, love and forgiveness. When I was growing up, I remember one mother asking me if my sisters and I ever fought. I said, "Of course we do." She laughed and said, "Really? About what?" I said, "Umm...the normal things...clothes, wanting to watch our show on tv, just generally...wanting our own way." Family is not about living the perfect life, and never fighting. The question to be asked is, How many times do you forgive? As a matter of fact, this was a question that Peter had. In Matthew 18:21-22, he said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus replied, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." We aren't suppose to keep track of how many times we have to forgive. It should be a continual process.

We may not always get along....



But, God calls us to edify one another, to lift eachother up....



We've probably all memorized this verse as a child. Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just God in Christ also has forgiven you." -easy to memorize, hard to put into practice when someone has "pushed your buttons." Do you let bitterness build a nest in your heart?

Don't forget that someone may be watching you, and learning from your example how families and relationships work.....

We're all just one sweet word away from kindness, and one prayer away from forgivness.

"Boo-berries"

The other night, Emma, Annie and I walked next door to Dad and Mom's to pick blueberries, or "boo-berries" as Annie would call them. Now, I'm going to have to come right out, and admit that I'm not much of a blueberry fan. I guess I can attribute it to the "blueberry girl" on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory. What kid would want to eat a blueberry after watching a young child being rolled away by Oompa-Loompas to be "squeezed"? Or, perhaps it was the blueberry pie eating contest that Dad and Mom entered me in when I was 6 years old at a nearby fair. It was the grand prize of $3 that lured me up on the stage with all boys, and several pieces of pie. And wouldn't ya know it! it was a "no hands" pie eating contest! So, there I was on my knees, hands tucked behind my back, boys on either side of me, waiting for the judge to start the race. "Ready...SET...GO!" I splashed my face into the pie like a kid diving into the pool. IT WAS THE SICKEST PIE I'VE EVER TASTED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! No wonder they were paying kids to eat it. -probably cuz some poor Granny couldn't sell it at the bake off table! Being the good girl that I was, I did my best to "finish my plate" as my mamma had taught me. However, it was just too much. I continued to nibble. Apparently, my little buddy next door had the same thoughts, and completely barfed up his pie. My other buddy to the left...a rather large friend, had blueberries stuck up either nostril, and was asking for seconds. I looked up at the judge and said "I can't finish." So, they let me off the hook. They were probably afraid I'd toss my cookies, too. This story does have a happy ending, though....I got the $3.00 any way.



Well, thankfully these two have not see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory, nor have they ever entered a blueberry pie eating contest. They enjoyed our evening in the blueberry patch.



Annie said, "don't pick the yucky gween boo-berries, wight Mom?"









As we all know, picking blueberries can be quite exhausting. Just think how many times you are using your thumb and index finger?




Mission accomplished, gals. Now, let's get to the kitchen!


You can't get much fresher than this. Yum, these babies were delicious! I used a new recipe that will be tucked away in the family cook book forever more. These muffins did not taste "heavy" at all. They were flakey and packed full of fresh blueberries...almost scone-like.



E-mail me if you want the recipe.