Memorial Day Weekend

Merit's regular league baseball ended last Thursday.

What a fun team, encouraging, fun coaches... good times.

Last night practice started for All Stars. Wow, we will be

busy!! Lots of baseball in our future.

Carter (#3) is a great baseball player! He also likes to make time for Hazel.

He is always so sweet to her at games and practices. :)

It was fun to have Matt, Phil, Cody (Phil's buddy) and Rob,

Lesha and family in Moses Lake over the weekend.

campfire fun

Willem loves a good fire.

Brielle and a delicious s'mores

Miss Hazel

Sunday the guys golfed while Lesha and I took the six kids to the water park.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! It was really fun to be there. The

kids played great and had a ball.

Loved visiting and laughing with Lesha!

Natasha, we missed you! We wished you were here!!

Brother Phil

This guy makes me laugh, smile. He's such a good guy!

Merit, Matt and Will

Uncle Matt stayed the longest. We soaked him up!

Merit with a s'mores

my bros

Friday Update

This girl.

Oh I am crazy about her. She has the cutest voice. She makes me smile.

I have had lots of photography fun lately!! Seniors, one year olds, families...

More pics on my photography blog...

Card making has been fun... check out my etsy shop!

These weeks are busy and good.

Last night was Merit's last regular league baseball game. Getting to know the players, the coaches and their families was REALLY fun!

I find myself getting teary eyed a lot... rather emotional lately. And no, I am not pregnant (but wouldn't that be great news to report. ;) Anyway, when I watch some of these boys play with so much HEART, it makes me teary eyed. And when I watch single dads bust their butts to get their sons to practices and games... it makes me thankful that Vance and I share the resonsibility that some folks carry alone.

Can't wait to see some family this weekend!

Naches

We had a busy, great weekend. Friday night was All Star baseball tryouts. We received word earlier in the week that Merit had been nominated by his regular league coach. The tryouts were exciting to watch. We got a call yesterday that Merit made the team! Then, Saturday and Sunday we supported the Ninjas soccer team in Yakima! Merit and the other Ninjas played a great tournament. They worked well together as a team, hustled and were just fun to watch.
We camped Saturday night in Naches and it was beautiful!! There was a hiking trail that was fantastic. There was a bridge that crossed the Naches River, it was fun to cross on foot and a bit scary too. Willem loves nature and any kind of outdoor adventure so this certainly was his cup of tea. We had a really nice time together.

exploring girl!!

There were lots and lots of wildflowers blooming.

 awesome sight

I have more pictures to post!! I will be back in a couple of days...

Willem's allergies are kind of bad right now! This time of year is when it hits.

I feel bad for him. He loves to be outside but his eyes can get so red and itchy.

I came down with a cold. And Vance isn't feeling great today...

yikes, we need to all get to feeling better. It is another busy week. ;)

Finding joy and friendship in the journey, Missing my mom and being a mom

I am having some goat issues.

Our neighbor goat is about to tip me over.

"GO HONE GOAT!" is what Hazel often yells.

I've been pulling weeds and working a little harder at preventing weeds. I did the pinterest newspaper trick (suppose to be a great weed preventor) in a large area in our backyard.  I didn't think the wind was blowing the day I took on this project, but I quickly discovered it was. So, trying to lay newspaper over a big area with a little wind  and a curious puppy wasn't easy. Also, I kept running acrossed coupons I wanted to clip. That is me: thrifty, easily distracted and random. Then I bought several bags of mulch and spread that out over the newspaper. As I have madeover a couple of areas, I have been motivated to buy some fun perennials and a couple of blueberry bushes. These plants don't thrive in an area where a goat loves to eat and wander. Quickly, my plants were eaten. Why is this neighbor goat not focusing on my weeds?? It seems to focus on my new blooms and treasured plants. And why does this goat sometimes roam free?

Today over coffee I shared our goat problem with 5 great friends. We often find ourselves sharing things much bigger than a roaming goat. But I realized as I shared my story that this is a group of women who are easy to share with. The good, bad, sad, silly and ugly. God has blessed me with some fantastic friends. I left the morning at Maria's feeling blessed and nourished. With mother's day right around the corner, I certainly miss the friendship I had with my mom. I miss sharing the big things and the little things with her. She would laugh if she could see me or Vance chasing this goat off.  I miss many things about her. God knows our needs and places people in our life who never replace those who we've lost but these people bring us joy and share our pains - if we let them.

I feel so blessed also to have four siblings who share with me memories of our dear mom!

They are some of my favorite people to be around.

http://thegypsymama.com/2012/05/mothers-day-for-the-motherless-daughter/

Today, my friend Katie (a beautiful blessing, a friend who also shares joys and pain) emailed me the above link to a blog with a post I might be able to relate to.

I did. I love the way the author writes and through tears I read through her beautiful post... thought I would share.

This weekend will be a weekend of soaking up these kids! And remembering my mom with love...

Finger painting! I never let the boys do this at 2. I am so much more laid back

than I was several years ago. I love watching my kids be creative!

Jansen Family Happenings

There is something about watching this boy play baseball that is really good for the soul.

There is something about his attitude and drive that makes me smile.

I thank God for Merit's talent and good sportsmanship.

Merit had a tournament Saturday and Sunday. Baseball, baseball and more baseball. Merit is on two baseball teams and is learning a lot and gaining skill. Merit gets a lot more playing time on the Reds team compared to the Rebels, but he is having fun on both teams. Vance had an opportunity to go to Vegas with his dad, brother and the Allred guys. It was cool they could do this weekend trip. The three kids and I were at the baseball fields. Willem and Hazel had a ball. Willem rode his scooter, was excited about the concession stand snacks and had fun hanging out. Hazel loves the playground and making new friends. Thanks to Sandy and Gramma Kris for their support and fun... we had a great weekend!

The weather has been beautiful.

Yesterday Willem, Hazel and I met Vance for a lunch date at the Japanese Gardens.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Hazel is very crazy about her dad. She is SO excited when he gets home from work. If he is gone overnight or for a couple of days, she asks about him often. I love this.