12 Again...

I often have teased my boys over the years that I've been through ____ grade five times (once when I did it and once for each of them).  Now that LG is in our family, some grades will be SIX times for me.  Today I was thinking that ages aren't much different.  I remember turning 12.  I remember BEING 12.  I remember wanting to be older and be able to do things my older friends did.  I remember being in turmoil emotionally and going from happy-go-lucky to woe-is-me in a split second.  In some ways, the boys haven't gone through 12 like I did.  Yet some other pieces are very familiar. Adolescence is adolescence.  I started my "fifth time through 12 today" with DS 4's birthday.

I've shared on my blog before about the surprise he was to me (and to us).  And he, too, has had some rough days of adolescence that seem to define the tween and early teen years for so many.  Lately though, I've had glimpses of something more.  I've seen glimpses of a young man emerging where a child has been.  It only took me five times through to see that these little peeks into the future were probably there for each of them (and for me).  I just wasn't looking for them.

I think, in so many ways, DS 4's life has taught me to look at things that I hadn't seen before.  It has taught me to savor moments and to understand just how precious life is.  He's taught me to realize that my plans are so often not God's plans. He's also been a constant reminder not to rush things.  As he's wanted to be bigger and older since he was little.   For these lessons, I will be eternally grateful.

Today's been special.  We have had a standing "deal" with our kids for birthdays:  "You can have a party OR you can have $100 in cash."  Most often, they chose the $100.  I know this does not necessarily make me a nominee for Mother-of-the-Year...but that's another blog for another day.  He's often chosen a party.

This year, though, he was torn.  He mentioned wanting a new basketball hoop.  Yesterday, I brought him the giant box and he was surprised and EXCITED. And most important, thankful!

Today the surprises continued as DS 4 received the gift we've been holding back from him.  He's been playing a guitar for weeks at church that was donated for a mission thrift sale.  He's been asking for it...even swooning over it.  Last week, DH and I picked it up for him (and got them to throw in a small amp and case with it) for less than 1/10 of the price we found it for online.  DS 4 came out of church crushed when the person told him the guitar had been sold.  Several times this week he's said, "I can't believe they sold my guitar.  I wanted to buy it."

Today we presented him with it and he said, "Wait!  Am I DREAMING?"  He was thrilled.  No, he was beyond thrilled.

It was so worth it to see him enjoy something he's been wanting and waiting for.  Speaking of which, I hope he's going to enjoy these next few years because they too, have been something he's been wanting and waiting for, since he was a little boy.

Happy Birthday DS 4!  I love you!

Selling the Garage...

Kids are so funny sometimes.  Our neighborhood is having the annual community garage sale today.  Now I have to tell you, I love GOING to other people's sales...but I HATE sitting in my yard selling my own JUNK!  It's a lot of work for very little return.

LG and I were out and about this morning looking at other people's garage sales and the farmer's market when I received a call from DS 4 asking if it was OK for him to set up a table in our front yard for him to sell HIS stuff.today.  Since I'd like to burn  donate half of his stuff to some other home, I said "sure!"

Five minutes later (while paying at the Farmer's Market) I received another call from him.  "Mom, a lady made an offer on your Halloween Wreaths."  "WHAT!?!?!?  NO, you may NOT sell my stuff..."  He said "OK."  I told him I'd be home reminded him again NOT to sell my stuff and hung up.

When I arrived home, I realized just WHY the lady made an offer on my stuff.  DS 4 is happily selling HIS stuff in the driveway with the garage door up and the junk inside FULLY exposed.  It looks like a salvage yard in there right now since we've been remodeling and I was MORTIFIED as I drove down the road.

I promptly parked...ok, it wasn't promptly cause the street is FILLED with cars.  Once I parked, I put the garage down, ran through the house and added about 27 things to his little store and shut the garage.  I could add more.  But I'm done.

During the creation of this blog, he came to get me to tell me a lady wants to try my bike out (which I gave him to sell) and she can't cause the tires are flat.  I went outside and resisted the urge to tell her this is not a full service station, it's a GARAGE sale...you take a chance.  I was honest.  It rides fine.  Still, she's determined to go home get an air pump and come back and try it out.  Whatever!

Once again, I am reminded why I DO. NOT. PARTICIPATE.  in the annual community garage sale.  At 1:00, I'm packing the stuff up that DS 4's dragged out and not sold and donating it to the church where someone else can worry about selling it.

It was a call no parent wants to hear.  "Mrs. N, I have A in the clinic and he's been hit in the head with a baseball bat.  We have to notify parents anytime there's a head injury.  Here's the Principal."  The call continued:  "Mrs. N. this is Mrs. R the Principal, A is bleeding pretty bad and the nurse and I want to call the ambulance to transport him to the ER"  In my head I remember thinking, "The AMBULANCE!?!?"  I asked if I could call my DH to come up there.  We only live about 2 miles from the school.  She said, "Yes, but we are going to go ahead and call the paramedics." 

My mind was racing!  DH didn't answer the first time I called.  I ran to my own car, knowing I could not get to the school in the time it would take paramedics to assess and transport him.  Still, I needed to make my way toward that end of town even if it was going to lead to the hospital. 

When the call came in, I was testing a second grade student on our district reading assessment.  Mid-assessment I asked the other teacher in the room to finish the assessment and I ran out.  I'm sure they wondered what was going on.  I called my AP as I reached the car to let her know I was leaving campus. 

The next call I made was to DH.  This was probably only 2 minutes after receiving the call from the school.  DH answered and said he was on his way.  It wasn't long until I got a call from DH and he said he and DS 1 were transporting our DS 4 to the hospital.  I met them in ER. 

DS 4 was bandaged, but in good spirits when he arrived.  He told the triage nurse that he was "orientated".  I think he meant "oriented"!  DH and DS 1 took pictures to send to their friends and our family.  I was going to post one here, but can't get it to upload.  Immediately my other boys texted back and said, "That is going to be the coolest scar ever!"  It seems that his wound is the shape of an arrowhead.  Here's the finished product where you can see the arrow look...

20 stitches later, and a whopper of a headache, DS 4 came home.  He remained in good spirits.  And I remain thankful that this accident was not more damaging.  Only an inch lower and it could have been his eye.  And I will be forever grateful for the "village" that surrounds us to reach out and help in times of need. 

Who's Got Talent?

This Guy's Got Talent…
A few months back, DS 3 (who is the Sophomore Class President) was brainstorming a fundraising project for his class. He mentioned that he’d like to try a take-off on America’s Got Talent and make it named after his high school “R’s Got Talent”. He took the idea to the student boards and was met with a little bit of resistance from other classes. They basically didn’t believe that Sophomores could “pull off” such an event. In essence, they threw the gauntlet. DS 3 was determined and began working on pulling his officers together for this event.

They recruited 12 acts. He created tickets and fliers and banners to hang around the school. He found judges (including the youth pastor from our church and one of the leaders). He created a Facebook invite and started inviting students from the school to attend. He had the Principal help him create a phone message that was delivered to all 2400 student homes inviting them to come on out. I helped him create a rubric for the judges to use to give feedback to the acts. DS 3 even talked his Dad into being a “corporate sponsor” and sponsoring the ability to “text vote” for the winner!

Monday night, however, he was a bit discouraged. They had only sold 15 tickets! He felt good about all the logistics except how many people would be in the audience! Just like most things that are well-planned, though, it all worked out. By lunchtime on Tuesday (the day of the show), they had sold 127 tickets—which was enough for them to break even financially.

He was feeling better by the time DS 4, LG and I arrived for the show Tuesday night. DS 3 was running around in Producer/Director mode…and maintained his laser focus throughout the event. It wasn’t long until people began streaming in through the doors to come see if, in fact, RHS and the Sophomore Board has talent. The event was quite well attended. The judges were funny—as they worked on being a little like Simon, Pierce, David, Paula, Sharon, Kara and, at times, Randy. The acts were enjoyable. And the kids had fun watching their peers perform. It was an incredible event and the Sophomore class ended up making more than $1000 on it!

Yep, I’d say DS 3 has talent! And, for that matter, so does DS 4…

After the show, I was talking to DH on the phone and waiting on DS 3 to be ready to go home. I looked across the auditorium and there is my 11yo, DS 4, with about 8 – 10 high school girls around him. Several of them had their cell phones up and were video taping DS 4 singing to them! People have been telling DS 4 that he looks like Justin Bieber (see pic below left) lately and he’s eating it up. He was having a ball entertaining these strangers! (Of course, as I relayed it to DH via the phone he said, “Yeah! That’s my boy!”
One thing is for certain, there is NEVER. EVER. One dull moment in our house! Gotta' love 'em!

Deep Thoughts for a Wednesday....

This morning DS 4, LG and I were on the way to work, DS 4 and I had an interesting conversation:

As we passed under the interstate, DS 4 said, "Mom, you know how homeless people sometimes crawl up in the slope of the bridge and sleep?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "I don't think you could get a peaceful night's sleep like that. I mean it must be so loud. I wonder how many of them go deaf or at least hard of hearing."

I told him that I wasn't sure about that, but I was sure it would be hard to sleep with traffic passing overhead.

Then he said, "I wonder what dreams they had as children. I mean it must be really sad to be homeless and know that they probably dreamed big when they were little."

Yes, son, that is quite sad.

I teared up...not so much because of broken dreams of the homeless...but because this young man has such a heart of compassion!

The song that is making it's way through my heart and mind today is Leeland and Brandon Heath: Follow You.

Leeland - Follow You with special guest Brandon Heath (official video) from Provident Label Group on Vimeo.

A WHY?? and a WOW!!

DS 4 is officially in the tween years. He turned 11 a few weeks ago. I have to say that these years (between 10 and 14) have not been my favorites for any of the guys. It's such a time of transition for them. I've been thinking a lot about how each of the first three navigated these waters and praying especially for DS 4 as he takes his turn. And, of course, it makes me reflective!

Today I was at the store with him. He was spending his birthday money from his grandparents. While there, he wanted something and I said "no". He's definitely mastered the art of trying to persuade. In fact, I was thinking today that this skill should serve him well on our state writing exam in the 8th grade where he'll likely have to write a persuasive essay. Still, like most of us, his list of "reasons" can often sound like whining.

Like any younger sibling, they LOVE to throw the "But so-and-so got such-and-such and you didn't say no..." While listening to it (and practicing the art of not feuling it) I saw a young Mother stroll by with three kids in the cart. The one in the front looked to be an older toddler or even young preK child. He had a HUGE pacifier sticking out of his mouth. I confess my FIRST thought was "Wow, he seems to be a bit old for THAT!" Followed quickly by this thought, "Why don't they make a pacifier for the tween set?" At least I might be able to elicit a little peace and quiet when it's needed.

Honestly, right after that I could only imagine how many times someone might like to have one for ME! I am sure there's times the boys would like for me to just be quiet. And likewise I'm sure DH has had that thought a time or three or four! Add to that my friends, my extended family, my colleagues and God. While I try not to do it often...I know that we all have our "whiny moments" when we are behaving like the child we used to be---pleading to have things just our way.

I prayed then that God would help me recognize it when it rises in me. I also whispered a prayer of thanks that my kids really ARE past that age. I know that no age or stage lasts forever---thank goodness!

And in the WoW! department.

While we were out shopping, I took back an iPod player that I purchased a few weeks ago back to Target. Here's the deal...I couldn't find the receipt. I didn't have the box, the instruction manual...or anything else but the player and the little things that came with it. It seemed to be working fine on all accounts BUT when you put the iPod in it, nothing comes out. Soooo...I went with the purpose of having someone help me with it or calling the company so I could figure it out.

I didn't even KNOW which credit card I used!

I packed up all the pieces I did have in a pampered chef box and took it to customer service. The lady at the counter said, "You need to go back to electronics and find the exact model and then I can look it up on one of your cards." DS 4 and I found it on display, but no boxes. The girl back there wrote all pertinent information down for me. We picked out an alternate model and returned to the front desk.

I gave the lady the number and she found it in about two seconds flat! She scanned the new machine and I was out the door in about 15 minutes total! Not ONE question asked. AMAZING!

Soooo....there ya' go a WHY? and a WOW! from my neck of the woods! Happy Saturday!

Weekend Window Plus

I've just taken a whirlwind trip to Panama City and back (a 7 hour drive one way), so my brain is a little fried. I thought I'd do a little "bullet list" update on our weekend and my clan--so here ya go:

* The trip to Panama City was productive. My friend (and writing partner) Sandy and I went to present and network at a workshop for teachers.

* DH was home with the kids. I'm so thankful for this man and his willingness to be such an important part of our family and the day-to-day running of our home.

* DS 2 and I talked when I was driving north. I drove right through the town where they live. It was HARD for me to know that he was right near the interstate when I was driving by and I had to keep going! He spent the weekend at a retreat in preparation for his upcoming mission trip to Nicaragua. I am so excited for him to go. I know it will be a blessing for him.

* DS 1 and I actually connected on my way home. Sandy's daughter and SIL live in the same town...so we stopped and took the three of them to dinner. SO nice to visit with them even if it was just briefly. DS 1 is doing well...he LOVES attending all the sporting events at the University. He had been at a fencing tournament earlier in the day and even told me he went to watch "Underwater Hockey"...not sure how you watch that...but OK.

* DS 3 continues to be quite busy at school and at church. He is now transitioning to run sound and seems to enjoy it. Track season has begun and he is planning to pole vault again. I have to tell you, he amazes me at his determination with this. I am praying he has success getting over the bar this year. He has been working out a lot at the gym and really is focused on his goal. I love that about him. He knows how to keep his eyes on the goal and focus.

* DS 4 spent the last three days of last week in bed. He had a horrible cold. He seems better now. In a week's time he's asked to be homeschooled, switch classes, and/or switch schools. This made me think perhaps something was happening at school. We've dug and talked and asked and questioned. Last week he told his Dad...and today out of the blue told me...I just don't like getting up as early as we have to. I will like it better when I can get up a little later. I want to say "Welcome to life son!" The middle school years have not been my favorite with ANY of my boys...so as we face them...I covet your prayers. :-)

* LG has had a great week. She continues to adjust well and brings us all such joy with her cute little personality. I had to laugh as she played Hide-n-Seek with DS 4 yesterday. It was so sweet to listen to them as if they had been together for ever! She actually had a crying spell one night last week. I know it doesn't sound like that's a "good thing"...but I have not seen her cry once since she moved in. So...this tells me that she feels comfortable enough with us to share what's going on in her heart. It also reveals that she's a normal little girl who has had to endure some very grown-up circumstances. No one wants to be removed from their family. No one. We expect that there will be an ebb and flow of emotion anyway. I'm just glad to see it surface. I think it means that we can continue to help her take the road to stability and security.

Well...friends, that's it from my neck of the woods today. Perhaps I'll get back to more substantial "thought-blogging" one of these days. Who knows? It's a strange season I'm in. Still, I'm thankful for this outlet...even when it seems a bit superficial.

Lessons learned while pedaling...

Though it's quite a distant shot, DS 3 and LG are pedaling down our street in this picture. I am pedaling behind them...and shooting the photo (which is a pretty good feat if I do say so myself). Unseen in this photo is DS 4 who was also along for the ride.

We have been working with LG to learn bike riding. DH has run along side her. DS 3 has held her up and taught her balance once she gets started. DS 4 shouts encouragement to her as she makes her attempts to do it all by herself.

Yesterday, we took off to ride around the neighborhood. LG is pretty good once she gets going, but she requires someone to hold the bike steady and give her the starting push to begin.

I started her off yesterday and the three of us followed along. She rode pretty far then hit a stopping point. She didn't fall, but getting started was a chore. We wanted her to learn to do it herself. So we coached from the side while she worked on it. After a few long minutes, she did it! All by herself!

As you would expect from an unsteady rider, there were other stops and starts. And she had a couple of moments of sheer frustration. At one point she announced that she would be "walking her bike back to the house!" I told her "No, you are going to do it. Just take your time and look forward!" She held her hands up and showed me that they were red. I determined that she must have an absolute death grip on the handles! Still, the boys and I reminded her to stop looking at the pedals, loosen the grip and look forward. And gently we nudged her back up on the bike.

Every time I spoke the words, they resonated with me. "Loosen the grip and look forward." I thought, "That's exactly right!" When we are in the midst of a trial. When we can't focus. When we feel whiny and cranky and tired and would rather take an alternate route...perhaps we just need to loosen the grip and look forward.

Soon, LG was able to finish the ride. She rode home a little tired. She was a little sweaty. But she was triumphant. She rode farther than she ever had. She rode alone longer than she ever had. SHE. DID. IT!

The bike ride was refreshing. I enjoyed spending time with the kids. I can't wait until she's even more confident and we can try out some of the bike trails that are around here. But the most important thing that happened for me wasn't the memory making...it was the life lesson that was waiting to gently nudge me home!

As the Year Winds Down...

I know, I know...I've been off in blogging...AGAIN! Life has been so busy and I've been neglectful. I have so much to say, but haven't taken the time to say it. Soooo...here's a recap of the last 17 days in photos and words:

It was no small miracle that the trees and decorations got put up. It's such a process at our house and this year, it was in the midst of a very busy schedule.

Things were up just in time for DS 1 to come home and enjoy a moment under the tree with DS 3 and LG.
We had a day in Tampa to take pics with family. This is a picture that DS 3 took of my DH and Me.

And here's one of our family.

My Mom gave us tickets to spend one day at Busch Gardens before the holiday. I took DSs 2, 3, and 4 and LG and some of their friends for a day up there. It was a nice day and we had a blast! DS 4 even rode his first roller coaster.

DS 3, LG and I went out one night to look at holiday lights. We found this display at a local church where the lights are synchronized to music. They had hot chocolate and cookies after you walked through their huge display.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve Service and a quiet celebration at my in-laws. Grandma was quite creative in her gift giving this year! The boys and LG loved opening each of their presents that were filled with so much LOVE!

Once again the boys indulged me and let me get them all Christmas PJ's. It is always a fun thing for me to shop for them. This year it was a little difficult because I had to also find something that would work for LG. Still...she had a blast in the mix of all these guys!

We spent Christmas Day at my Dad's house. As always it's filled with laughter, great food, and family fun!

At the beginning of this week, we loaded up DS2 and what remained of DS 1's stuff and moved them to Gainesville. Here is DH and his co-pilot LG ready to drive the truck!

DSs 1 and 2 got a very nice apartment and will be living together this semester. They seem excited to take this venture. I am reminded of when they were little...they told me they'd never be able to be apart because they were used to sharing a room. So...here they are moved in and once again, sharing living space! I'm glad they're such good friends.
After we dropped them off, DH, DS 3, LG and I went to Orlando for a couple of days. We enjoyed the Ice! Exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel. It's such an amazing thing to see and LG was simply fun to take through it!

Shoot, it was fun just having her at the hotel. She'd never been on an escalator and was THRILLED with that experience! Then, we did the glass elevator which amazed her.

While in Orlando, we met DH's brother and his family for dinner (and to pick up DS 4 who stayed with Grandma and Grandpa a couple of days). It was a lovely visit.

Yesterday, we took the family to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. It was JAM PACKED and we ended up leaving early. There's no sense trying to get it all in when you're a Floridian and you can get up there in a non-peak season. Sooo...we dropped off my niece, had a nice dinner and headed home.

Knowing she'd never been on an escalator, you can imagine that the moving sidewalks at Universal were also a novelty for her!

That pretty much brings us here...to New Year's Eve. I had good intentions of getting Christmas completely down today, but I didn't. I have enjoyed a nap. I enjoyed the quiet. I enjoyed doing pretty much nothing.

There's no question that this has been a busy few weeks. Heck...it's been a busy life! My goal for 2010 is to learn to sit still and just enjoy some quiet moments.

I hope your December has been just as memorable and that your New Year is filled with much love and joy!!

Some Weekend Highlights and a Thought...

What a BUSY weekend!! It was filled with church stuff, family, and holiday festivities for us.

Friday, DS 1 came home for his National Guard Drill weekend. While sitting here talking to us, at about 8:00pm, he realized that he left part of his uniform at his apartment (almost 3 hours away). So, knowing that he HAD to have it, and there is no "loaner" program, he drove BACK to his apartment and BACK to our house that night. Six hours!

I had a training all day on Saturday at our school. It was good, but it was hard to get up and get there. It was a steady rain outside and honestly, I'd have rather just stayed in bed with a good book!

Saturday evening, LG and I met a team from our church to pass out goodie bags and bubble necklaces to kids at the holiday parade. I have to tell you that I had a total meltdown because five of the youth dropped off the team at the last minute. That frustrates me! My friend, Sandy, stepped in to help at the last minute. I love having sweet friends who will help like that. Here's a picture of Sandy with LG ready to go.

Anyway, we had a BLAST at the parade and kids (and their parents) were blown away that they were getting FREE stuff for no reason! It's another great outreach opportunity and way to have a positive impact on the community.

LG and I stayed at the parade with our friend Kate and her two girls. It turned a bit colder that evening...but it was PERFECT for a holiday parade. I have to say that NOW I'm feeling more like it's December and Christmas is right around the corner.

Below is a picture of LG and me at the parade I love it!

On Sunday, we had another outreach at church. Our church is providing Christmas for 16 needy kids from my school. We had a great time sorting and wrapping and preparing the gifts for these children right during the service!

While a team sorted and wrapped these gifts for local outreach...our youth pastor shared about his recent mission trip to Ethiopia.

I love it when we do this sort of thing. It's a picture of what I think the church "should" be--active and involved in the community and the world.

Sunday afternoon, I took LG to visit her younger siblings at a local park. We had a great time talking to the family they are with and playing together. It was good to see the kids. I am always amazed that LG doesn't push back when we go to leave those visits. She loves going and loves visiting, but she also loves coming home.

Sunday evening, DSs 2 and 3 helped us get out the boxes of Christmas decorations from the attic. My guys are totally used to me at this time of year and just indulge me as we I decorate. Seriously, they help a bit. I love it that they just "do their thing" to help make it happen--and don't mind my mini-"moments" that sometimes occur during the process. I've got one tree up and a few more to go. The boxes are sorted into their rooms for decoration. I am feeling pretty calm amidst that chaos.

To sum up our weekend: It was busy, but fulfilling. VERY fulfilling!

It's hard sometimes...

I have a "boundary pusher". You know, the kid who is told "no"...but still crosses the line just to see how far he can go? Actually, I gave birth to more than ONE boundary pusher. Still the creme-de-la-creme is my youngest son. I know that there are many factors that lead to this behavior. Perhaps it's because I was a bit of a boundary pusher myself as a child. Perhaps it's because his father was. And perhaps it's also because he's been successful at it more than a few times in his short life. I know that I am not good at always drawing the black and white line. What can I say? I see the gray!

It doesn't matter HOW he developed the skill. What matters most is that we recognize it and handle it properly. There's nothing I can do about his DNA. I can, however, work on my response to the moments when he's pushing.

Today, was a bit of a test for me. He asked if he could come to my office for lunch. I have work to do. A lot of it. He thinks when he comes in here and quietly watches TV that I can still get my work done. For the most part, he's right. But it's still a distraction. I told him "No, not today."

He started with the "Pllleeeaassseee!" which has about 10 syllables when he's trying to move the boundary. I explained that he asked the question, I gave the answer and that was final.

Then, I did the thing I learned in Psych. 101: "ignore the behavior and it'll go away". I turned my back to continue opening car doors at parent pick-up. Almost as if it's a mantra, I was repeating the Psych. words over and over in my head while the pleading and begging was happening behind me. It was quiet begging, but it was still begging. I said nothing except "good morning" to the kids who were arriving at school. Finally, I felt this hand on my shoulder and a bit of a hug followed up by these words, "Well, have a good day Mom!" And he walked away. He walked away!

He didn't see my eyes well up with tears. He doesn't know that I wanted to grab him and say, "OK come for lunch." He also doesn't know that the Trace Adkins song plays over and over in my head when I skip these "opportunities"--"You're gonna' miss this...".

Mostly, though, he doesn't understand yet, that the very WORST thing I could do is not stick by my "no". He'll figure it out someday. I realize it may be when I am a Grandmother watching him raise his own children. Still I know he'll get it.

Do you know WHY I am so sure?
Because i'm sure my own parents are watching me navigate the parenting waters and whispering a great sigh of relief that I finally understand!

Holiday Reflections...

What a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday we have had! Of course, I was a bit whiny that my colleagues in other counties had the entire week off...but we made the most of having three days and the weekend.

Thursday morning, I took LG over to her Grandma's to visit with her brothers and cousins that she hasn't seen since she moved here. She and I had a visit with her Grandma and we've visited her younger siblings. But she had not seen her older brothers and cousins.

I have to be honest, I wondered what this would be like. I had never been to Grandma's home. This was the place she and the other kids were removed from a little over a month ago. And, honestly, if it were me in my 8yo body, I probably would not have wanted to leave my family and return to a foster family.

But there was none of that. She had a great time visiting. We took pictures so she can have them for her own scrapbook/room. It was nice talking with the boys and her Aunt/Uncle who have them. And Grandma was happy to share some of the things she wanted LG to have as she prepares to move to a smaller home.

LG and I came home in time to visit with our family and begin our own celebration. It was a great day shared with the blessing of family. DH did a great job preparing the turkey as usual. We served up buffet style and brought tables in to the living room so we could share the meal together.

This year we bought "real" glasses for the mashed potato bar. The kids seemed to enjoy doctoring up their potatoes and preparing them for eating.

Here's part of the group settling in to the meal:

And here's the other part of the group:


After dinner it was great fun playing corn hole and enjoying the beautiful weather! One of the blessings this year was having DS 1 home. Last year he had just begun Basic Training. This year he was able to be here for a good portion of the weekend with us. I know DS 4 enjoyed it--he really misses the guys when they are not home.
LG and DS 2 enjoyed hanging out on the back porch and visiting after the meal.
DS 3 played corn hole in his "special outfit". Do you suppose it helped him? I think they won...so who knows for sure??

We paused to take some family group shots. I think this one is going to be our Christmas card this year. It CRACKED me UP and says quite a lot about this zany family of mine!



I hope your holiday was also filled with special memories and moments!

It might be November, BUT...

I'm celebrating MOTHER'S DAY!

What a weekend I have had! It's been one that has taken my mind to that day in May when I remember just how proud and blessed I am to be a Mother.

Friday night my entire family (minus DS 1 who is away at school) went to the David Crowder* Band Concert. It was awesome! Although I didn't get a great pic of all of us there, you can see us there seated and ready for the music to start. While watching the kids interact, DH leaned over to me and said, "If you didn't know, you wouldn't know." He's right.

Saturday, LG and I went to an appointment for her in the morning and then to the Farmer's Market. It was as natural as could be for us to be walking downtown and enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies down there.

In the afternoon, DSs 2, 4, LG and I went to the aquarium to help DS 2 get some homework done for his Oceanography class. I loved it when LG thought the eel was saying her name. Here she is mimicking the eel's mouth movement "saying her name": Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner when DS 1 stopped over. It was the first time that we ate with all five kids at the table. For me, it was a very special moment watching the natural ebb and flow of family conversation over dinner.

This morning, we went to church and LG came out afterward and handed me a card she made for me during kids' church. I have to share it cause it absolutely speaks for itself (I covered her name in the second photo:


After church, DS 3, LG and I went to lunch and enjoyed some time together. They helped me run a couple of errands.

We closed out the weekend with an evening trip to a brand new park in town. Here is one of my favorite pictures of LG and DS 4 playing there:

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We enjoyed ourselves. We enjoyed each other. The family thread was woven through each moment. For me, the Mother in our house, it was just perfect and, in the words of LG, filled with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!