Growing Kids, Turning 40, and Loving My Life

The last number of months have been full of lots of living....ordinary moments sandwiched in between some pretty amazing stuff.

Our kids grow and change and learn new responsibilities, yet in many ways, my days flow from one to the next and can feel rather mundane.

I spent much of my winter taking my boys to basketball practice and watching their games. I absolutely love watching them play and improve and learn real-life lessons from the game of basketball. I am so proud to be their Mother. 

On February 28, Logan turned 14. Soon after his birthday, he got his permit...and took driver's ed....and now has his official paper from his driving instructor waiting in our safe, until time to get his school permit this fall. 

We all went to an Iowa basketball game for Logan's birthday.

He also grew about 4 inches this past year and every now and then, as I look up to him, I wonder just where in the world the time has gone.

Leon and I took our annual weekend away the first part of March. This time we got a hotel close to home. The children stayed at home and the boys did all the chores. Leon's brother and wife spent the nights with our kids. It was a delightful weekend away. We took one, poor-quality picture the whole weekend.

Life has had a lot of ordinary moments, as well. If a cowgirl emptying the dishwasher is ordinary.

 And the 9 year old learns to cook...

 And then I turned 40! What a birthday! My sisters from MO and TX (almost) surprised me for the weekend. Leon got a hotel room for us for a night, and we also spent time with the rest of the family. It was a very, very special weekend and I felt very loved and celebrated.

 And then one night some friends showed up in costume and kidnapped me for the evening. Pedicures, riding the carousel, and a delicious meal....

Turning 40 isn't so bad...

Easter weekend we had plans of going fishing, but the weather wasn't cooperating. Leon suggested making donuts.....and I said, "Only if you help."

 And he did a great job of frying them all....

 Our wonderful taste-tester stopped by to see if they were edible.....he usually smells donuts from miles away.

Easter Sunday traditional photo-

And we planted garden....

Our first campfire for the year-

Our first hike at the reservoir for this year-

AND WE FINISHED SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls and I went to the Tulip Festival in Pella with my Mom and some more family....

Yesterday was Mother's Day.....

I was thoroughly spoiled. Lunch at Red Lobster with the family, a nice, long walk alone, movie and popcorn last evening, and The Pioneer Woman's lovely red dishes from Wal-mart!!

The last several months I've been doing a lot of reflecting on where I am in life right now compared to my life oh, say, 5 years ago. In the area of our children alone, we are in quite a different stage. I find it super exciting, to watch them grow and change and mature, but it also means a shift in parenting, and I'm not always doing so well in that. Leon often (gently) reminds me that they aren't 4 years old anymore, and I need that reminder. Honestly, I love, love this stage but it also has its challenges. 

One of the best things that's happened in the recent months is the healing of my own heart and the way God has led me to walk through some past pain in order to experience freedom. I am seeing his promise of Restoration for the year 2016 come true. 

As for this blog, well, I am praying that God would give me my voice back, so to speak, to be able to write again. So far, it has felt safer to keep a journal of sorts for our family's adventures and day-to-day living. And we'll see where God takes it from there.

Happy, happy spring! It's a delightful time of the year!

Winter Daze

Honestly, it's starting to feel like the winter is just never going to end, and one very cold day fades right into the next. But.it.can't.be.much.longer. It's almost March and March means SPRING....or not. This is Iowa after all.

I used to take a lot of pictures of my children when they were all little bitty things running around here and doing their cute stuff. Alas, I often forget to take pictures of their half grown cute selves these days, but don't worry, the camera is still well-loved. They are the ones behind the camera now instead of me. And I delete many pictures and deal with dead batteries all the time. The latest rage is video clips, and lots of them. Sometimes I just can't believe what I find on my camera that was 'photo worthy'!

Brooklyn is reading and reading and reading these days!

We celebrated our 100th day of school with a family picnic on the living room floor. It was a wild day in which Leon and I dashed off for a tax appointment soon after this photo was taken. Several years ago, we surprised the children with a night out at a hotel with a water slide for our 100th day of school and let's just say, every year since, they are a wee bit disappointed when that special day doesn't bring with it an extravagant celebration.

For Christmas, we gave the boys a model of an engine. Leon had almost more fun than the boys did, putting this thing together and explaining all the parts to them, one cold, snowy evening.

Jamison and Annika are digging behind the dryer for 'lost' items. Every item they retrieve has a cash prize of 10 cents so it's pretty exciting for them.

The girls and their pets......

We got 10 baby lambs for the children to bottle feed. They have a love/hate relationship with these little guys. But everyone agrees that they are soooo cute!

Leon installed my microwave over the stove this week!!!! This has been on my 'honey-do' list for awhile, so I am thrilled to have it done.

We went to see the newest little family member last weekend. Oh my! What a beautiful little girl and just the perfect size! We didn't want to leave her!

I found this sign on the girl's bedroom door.

Since becoming chicken farmers, we now have lots and lots of eggs to pack each day. Annika took a  photo of the eggs on the conveyor belt.

And last but not least, today we are celebrating Logan's birthday! We are now officially parent's of a teenager! He's been a bit under the weather and so we are holding off on his steak dinner until tomorrow, in hopes that his appetite will be back to normal.

21 more days till Spring starts! Hang in there!

Mom's 80th Celebration

Last July, my dear Mom turned 80. She was almost 42 when she had me so somehow, even though she's 80 now, I still don't think of her as old. We celebrated big- with {almost} the entire family coming home for the weekend. There are 70 of us altogether so it is no small feat to find a date that suits the whole clan. Two of the grandchildren were missing but otherwise we had a complete reunion.

We started off the weekend by the 8 siblings and our spouses taking Mom to a special restaurant for dinner. The grandchildren stayed back and had a meal in the garage- Grand Central Station for the food. We joined them for dessert- pie, baked by Mom. Her food is a highlight for the grandchildren, but this time, the only thing we let her make was pie. And we all enjoyed that pie to the fullest!

Saturday we had brunch catered in. I can't say enough good about getting meals catered when you have a bunch like this.

After brunch, we took family pictures and then did our traditional birthday celebration by blessing  Mom and hearing her share memories from her past. She showed us her first coloring book and doll. Niece Allison modeled her wedding dress.

After our evening meal, Karen and I organized a rousing game of chaos Trivia for the family. We divided into 6 teams and we then asked questions about individuals in the family and you got points for getting a correct answer. It was loud, competition was steaming hot, and it was a total chaotic experience, but made some great memories! We all tried to hand in clues about ourselves that people wouldn't likely guess.

Sunday we went to church with Mom and then set up for her Open House that afternoon. About 300 people came through to celebrate with her. We also had a slide show going with old pictures of the family which was very entertaining.

The weekend flew by like it always does when we're together. I was reminded again of how incredibly blessed I am with my big, crazy, loud family. We have strong personalities and loud voices and great story tellers. We have painful memories and we have terrifically good memories. We are all a unique piece in the puzzle. But when we get together, we have a beautiful kaleidoscope of color that makes us who we are- FAMILY!

The whole clan-

Grandma with her grandchildren

Mom and her daughters-

Mom and her sons-

All eight children-

The children with their spouses-