Grateful

About four years ago, while in a women's Bible Study at my church, our pastor's wife passed around a meal sign up sheet for a mom with a newborn, she had just had her second baby. The sign up sheet was passed around and maybe three women agreed to take the new momma a meal. Everyone busy, all with kids of their own, some with jobs outside of the home...  Our pastor's wife (who by the way has taught me many life lessons) passed the sheet around again. She said "I know you are busy. I understand. But this young mom, who just brought home her second baby, needs us." She said we could bring a frozen lasagna or Papa Murphy's. It didn't have to be from scratch. It did not have to be fancy. It was what we felt we could do at that time. But she so encouraged us to reach out. I signed the sheet on the second go around. Forever grateful I did.
That momma recently lost a child, a little boy.

Merit read an instagram post last night. The guy sounding depressed, his post somewhat desperate. Merit read it to me. I asked Merit if he had his contacts. He told me he did not have a phone # but could send this boy a message through instagram. It was sort of a "we have to check in moment." -- Prayers being whispered.

A buddy of Merit's recently reported that he does not know who his dad is. A freshman kid, no dad, his mom working her butt off. God bless them. He's a great kid.

I see children not bathed, hungry and in need of encouragement. Giving a kindergarten class a bunch of pancakes, sneaky chef style, with wheat germ and oatmeal is ONE thing I can do. A small thing.

Our elementary P.E. teacher was willing to support Merit's most recent sport fundraiser, she has supported him in the past too. I told her we took a different avenue and asked if she would support a struggling kid. Not only did she, willingly, she said "anytime you know of a kid who is struggling to meet the goal, let me know."

We have had a week of supportive friends reaching out, of kindness, of good stuff.

I hope I never miss the boat.
I pray I can take care of others while I take care of my own family.

I pray I can make a difference.

My heart is heavy but it is also grateful. I GET the opportunity. I SEE where we can help. Our kids are learning this too. REACHING out, making a difference, one step at a time, one day at a time. Thank you God.

Leavenworth

I made 16 pancakes for 16 cute kindergartners yesterday! And again today. Oatmeal and wheat germ added. Kindergarteners are sponges! Their learning AMAZING! And healthy snacks are important. My kids love them too! We even packed them in lunches.

SPRING is in the air. Gorgeous sunny days! But still pretty cold.

Our Leavenworth time last week was so nice. Here are some pictures.

 The kids certainly got artsy at that fun cabin.
Reese and Natasha made a delicious steak dinner!
It was hard to say good bye. But hopefully we will see them in April!

Weekend

Thursday we got some time with Natasha, Reese and family in a pretty cool cabin in Leavenworth. I literally watched them stretch their legs and viewed them enjoy the fun, huge space. (probably 1,400 square feet so by no means a large house but it was in comparison to their current space :-) They are living in a travel trailer and will be for some time. But their land is right across the street from my dads and where they are "camping" so they really get to prepare and dream. Natasha makes me think of my mom sometimes. Hazel soaks up cousin girl time! She is so often surrounded by boys. That cousin fun was dreamy. Lane and Willem snow shoed! Willem LOVED it! 

Friday night started off with tamales and salsa and chips at home - no one having to be be anywhere, the "slowness"feeling good. 
Yesterday I sat in bleachers in the SUN, yes it was cold too but in the SUN, watching the freshmen scrimmage. Familiar faces feeling oh so fun. Glad that baseball season is starting up again.
Last night we BBQd steak and potatoes, it was so good. 
Today was the youth auction at church! I was so excited about putting together a few baskets! It was a fun way to help. 
I took Merit and Royce to the Big Bend baseball game today. They sat with Carter and his grandpa. The grandmas and grandpas we encounter and form relationships with have been so very fun, a blessing. Rick, Carter's grandpa, used to play for the Mariners, his love for baseball and his knowledge of the game SHINES! Merit gets a kick out him and enjoys his stories. It was a fun afternoon. 
Hazel, Willem,Vance, Oren and I enjoyed time at the creek and cabin today. Connie and Nellie joined the fun.  This afternoon I took on the dreaded job of cleaning the chicken coop! But we got it done and I am "nesting", preparing for baby chicks! Hazel CANNOT wait! 
Hazel helped clean the coop too. She is a farm girl. 
Pictures to come!

A Tuesday Catch Up

The way the sunlight is shining through our house right now, beautiful! Even through dirty windows. 

Willem and Oren! Buddies

Baseball fundraising begins. Dear heavens. But when you have two kids that play 3 sports, there is going to be some fundraising! Considering delivering banana bread or chocolate cream cheese cupcakes to those who buy a gold card! :-)!

I baked banana bread today, got a bag of clothes going for Goodwill and am putting together 2 baskets and a bundle of cards for our youth auction Sunday. The baskets are so fun! One is a little baking basket and the other is a "spa" basket! It includes a loofah, a handmade soap, a face mask and.... hmmm thinking of a hair product or nail polish. 

Oren begged for a stroller ride this morning. Yesterday was a gorgeous day for a walk and ride! Today was a bit cooler and the wind felt really chilly. Our adventure took us downtown where we had some protection because of the buildings. It was cold but good. 

Baseball try outs are going on for Merit. 

Willem is still in basketball. 

Last weekends tourney was a favorite of mine. We had fun in Wenatchee and it was great to hang out with the team. Smash won 4 games and lost 1. We took third in the tournament.

Hazel is so excited to go horse back riding again too. She also took an art class on Friday and I had the pleasure of being a volunteer. She is a creative girl.

Oren loves writing, building with blocks and playing trucks. He likes school most days.

More pictures from a beautiful afternoon outside yesterday.

ENJOYING the NOW

 I have gotten misty eyed so often over the past week or two. Keeping our kids safe.


I am reminded time and time again to pray, knowing God hears our prayers, and to ENJOY the NOW.
Yesterday was a great day of doing just THAT.

 Oren is such a goofball and I love it.

Happy Tuesday

Our Presidents Day Weekend was really good.
The kids were out of school at noon on Friday. An afternoon of just hanging out felt good.
Willem played black light dodge ball with a lot of cool kids Friday night at church!
A fun game and a great message - that started off the weekend terrifically.
Saturday Vance took Willem to Kittitas for two back to back basketball games. They were home in time for dinner, worked great. Merit, Hazel, Oren and I hit the park and took a cold, refreshing walk.
Sunday, Vance made a big pot of split pea and ham soup. Delicious, and the day was just relaxing.
Yesterday, Hazel, Merit, Willem and I headed to Kittitas for two more games for Willem. They were WINS yesterday! Willem's youngest fan, Quinn, cheered him on during his first game. This team is fun and has a lot of strengths.
We ate at Jimmy Johns, yum! Got to visit with family there which was great. And enjoyed a sunny, cold day.
Today is full! Oren has pre-school, piano for Will, Awana for Hazel, basketball for Will, maybe baseball for Merit... LOTS of laundry for me! And I am having a couple of gals over this afternoon.
Happy Tuesday.

Sunday

A McDonalds coffee with 2 creamers and vanilla is pretty yummy

He did such a good job on his Paw Patrol valentines.

 We woke up to snow valentine morning

 Our chickens are ready for spring.
We have four chickens and get one egg a day.
Vance teases me about this chicken raising and farm fresh eggs (or the lack thereof). Seems easier than it really is. But we will get chicks this spring! Can't wait! And six months after that, they will be producing.
Oh and when they aren't laying, they are still eating and pooping. Chickens are messy! But they are entertaining too.

 It was a COLD day to hit the park yesterday, but it was also a lot of fun!
The fresh air and exercise felt oh so good.

It's FRIDAY!

Me at 8 a.m. this morning: " I have no idea what we are going to do for dinner tonight." Hazel in a cheerful voice, "Well, it is morning time and you have ALL day to think about it!" -------haha, yes!

I have had some great moments and some tough moments while substitute teaching lately.
I subbed yesterday in a warm, welcoming class with a wonderful learning environment. Most of the day was really nice. But there was a behavior incident at recess. A little boy who was supposed to spend his recess in the office did not (and I failed to remind him of this). The event was a bummer and sad and I felt I did not totally do my part. And it is even more tough when I walk into a classroom where I am very unfamiliar with behaviors. I am often very encouraged my subbing adventures, but there can be hard stuff too.

It sure does feel good though to be a listening ear for this kids, to be an encourager and to help them learn.

We are excited for a 3 1/2 day weekend!!

This week was good here...
It was letter "O" week at Oren's school. He had a fun Valentine party too!
Hazel enjoyed making homemade Valentines! And on Valentine evening she made chocolate covered strawberries for all of us!
Willem was sick and is finally starting to feel better. - He loves P.E.! He has it first period. He is doing well in all of his classes!!
Merit is eating us out of house and home. Last night I was listening to him help Hazel with her math. I loved it. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

A Valentine Late Start!! YES!
And we don't have to make up late starts!! Willem starts at 10, Merit at 10:20 (this is a guess, he'll be there by 10!) and Hazel 11 - YAY! Oren loves having his Hazel home a couple of extra hours! 
The snow is beautiful!! Maybe 4 inches? The sun is shining now though so it is beginning to melt a bit. 

Eight years ago I was reading blogs and posting on my blog, regularly. If I had a half an hour to sit down in the afternoon, I read blogs. I got to know people in different corners of the U.S., big cities and small cities. They shared child rearing, recipes, Bible studies, family vacations... I was introduced to great books and loved reading about the lives of other women. And then blogs became less popular, it seems. Facebook, Instagram, texting... anything INSTANT sort of took their place. And people maybe didn't want to take the time to read blogs or write blog posts for that matter.

I know that REAL conversations, REAL people, a handwritten letter and a hug do far more for any of us than a Facebook or Instagram post. But when I can share pictures of my kids and see pics of other kids in our lives, when I can quickly learn the score to a basketball game, when I can see whose child is doing a fundraiser, when I have the opportunity to wish someone a Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary; Facebook and Instagram are pretty cool. Although it takes more time to blog and to read blogs, it really is worth it and I hope to do even more of it. When I was home more with napping babies and nursing babies it really was a fun. If I was up at night with a sick baby, I could read (and often be encouraged) by a blog I love.

I hopped on Knit by God's Hands this morning! She had a neat Valentine message. Lady in the Stone House is always a good read. I love her adventures.

And today, we are delivering little valentine bundles to teachers and a few friends!
Oren shared valentines with his pre-school classmates yesterday. He had a very fun party. Hazel has her party today!

Tomorrow I get to be Hazel's teacher! YAY!

ENJOY THIS HEART DAY! AND LET PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE LOVED! 

Random Happenings

 I sort of got my craft room work space ready for working.  - this room is a catch all for sure! Lots of out of season clothes, tons of card making supplies, binders of school work from previous years, holiday decor... oh my saving haunts me at times. But once somewhat picked up, this has become a great, quiet place for Merit to do his homework. And I sneak in here now and again to make cards.We have an old TV in this room so Oren thought it was pretty cool the other day to watch Stuart Little while I made a few cards and folded some laundry.

 These chickens beg to free range on sunny days! And I cannot help but give in.

Willem's defense is awesome! 

He is gaining the confidence to shoot a bit more too. 

Oren Paul

Imagination!!

Rocket pics from a few weeks ago!

I subbed yesterday and was tech impaired!! And once 4th graders see you are struggling (as a sub)

many students are ready to take over. I was sweating and frazzled. That hasn't happened in a long time! My next gig is second grade, Hazel's class. I will do better.