Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Oren's 5th Birthday!

 Oren talked a lot about a Paw Patrol cake, which he would have loved.
But then the big kids and I found these really cool construction toys at North 40 and Hazel and I googled dirt cakes... Hazel was inspired and came up with this. She did a terrific job!
 Dirt piles, rocks... so fun! And yummy too




 The bubble gun was certainly a favorite!






Oren's birthday was great. And I was reminded throughout the day the beauty of simplifying.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Happy Birthday Oren!


 Today, this sweet baby is FIVE.
I am not sure how this happened! This guy has grown very quickly.



 The day he was born! One of the happiest of my life!


 Watching Oren perform in his Christmas concert was WONDERFUL!! And this week he will have his spring concert!!





HAPPY BIRTHDAY OREN PAUL!!!

Friday, May 18, 2018

Our Week...





 These boys! Playing catch, wiffle ball fun, time in the creek.
We have had some WARM days!! PERFECT for swimming!
These boys have had many evenings at home lately.
High school (freshman team ) baseball has ended  - enjoying a breather before Sun Devils. Willem practices two night a week, typically. But he has tonight, a normal practice evening, off.

 Cabin Cozy



Ernie - our FRIENDLY, darling foster kitty!! 

 We enjoy life on the creek for sure. No  better place to be.


I cannot wait for Oren to catch something on this little pole. He is a determined fisherman.


Wednesday, May 16, 2018

So much more than a blurter

I have a favorite baseball field in Moses Lake. It is at Lakeview.
Watching Merit and Will play there remains a highlight in my mind. Chasing Hazel, pregnant with Oren at some of these games... and then pushing Oren in the stroller as Hazel played at the park. I would try to watch the game from behind center field while pushing Hazel on the swings.
Merit and Migs were umpires yesterday at that favorite field at Lakeview. My big boys are too old to play there now - it seemed so strange to see my fifteen year old son as an umpire there when not very long ago he was a nine year old playing there.
As I approached the field,  boy in right field hollered "Hi Mrs. Jansen!" I know this boy well from subbing in his class. He likes to try to mess around in class. A pencil tossing, distracting kid, who often blurts... He is a tough one in the classroom. I saw a different kid in right field.
I watched him closely. He looked over several times. He was always in ready position. At the end of the game he hollered "bye Mrs. Jansen!" And I was thankful I had the opportunity to see this child outside of the classroom.
Today I subbed kinder. I am not sure how he knew I was in that kinder classroom, but he came in at the end of the day. We talked baseball for a while and then he told me that his mom recently had stomach surgery, removing masses. He told me he cried when he saw her in the hospital. He told me she felt like she might vomit and the doctors did not want her too because it would strain her stomach and muscles and probably incisions. He told me he is the oldest and that he needs to make breakfast and dinner. He is worried about his mom and he said she says she is in a lot of pain. He is trying to help her. He is trying to help his family.
I had sort of decided two weeks ago that this kid drove me bonkers.
Yesterday and today I saw something very different.
He does not drive me bonkers.
I suppose this is a lesson to never "decide" what I think of someone.
Sometimes we need to see people in a different environment to have a better sense of who they are.
And when we show them we WANT to KNOW who they are, we see a better version of that person.

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Saturday, May 12, 2018

Saturday Fun

 I love this little cabin.
 Today was a good Saturday.
LOTS of time outdoors.


Still waiting for bats to move into our bat boxes. 


 It was warm enough for a swim!
This guy is almost five!



Tuesday, May 1, 2018



 We are definitely enjoying spring. Our weather these past couple of weeks has been wonderful.



Last night, two friends and I drove out to Royal City to New Life Fellowship there.
Lynn Frey (She is a pastor's wife. She lives in Moses Lake) spoke. The topic was loss and grief. She shared a lot about her own journey. I was a bit afraid that if I let a tear slip, many would begin to fall.
She did such a nice job sharing her journey and also talking about the importance of being ANCHORED. Anchored in Christ, hope secured.

The whole evening was special. The desserts were amazing! Each table hostess did a fantastic job on their table. The singing, the prayer, the speaker... it was all really special.

Chilly days, good days

 7 degrees, 14 degrees ..... Gosh these days are chilly but the sunshine is glorious! Each day little ice crystals for on the Russian Olives...