One Last Summer Fling

Last Saturday, we met my husband's parents, siblings and their children in St. Joseph, Michigan for the day. Whew! A two and a half hour drive up there meant we had to leave on a Saturday morning at 7 am. After getting up early for school this week it was a bit painful, but what a beautiful drive it was. Michigan is so green and beautiful right now and I loved seeing all the vineyards stretching for miles along the way. We also passed several little roadside stands selling fresh fruit and vegetables really making me want to stop...I hoped we would on the way home.

We arrived in St. Joseph and our first stop was The Curious Kids Museum. It was perfect for the ages of our kids and they went from one thing to the next. This was Kaiya's very favorite spot...we had to go back to it again right before leaving. She's such a water girl.

Curt and Kevin seemed to spend a lot of time here at the remote control trucks and I kept hearing Easton and Caedmon say "Can I try, can I try it?"...yeah this was a kid's museum right?

This was Caedmon's favorite spot...the Pirate Ship.

And here's another example of Kevin joining in on the fun at the "children's museum":)...swabbing the poop deck. I may act embarrassed at the time, but I am so glad that my husband jumps right in and plays with the kids like he does. They love it and so do I!

This was one of my favorites...the human size bubble maker. Sarah and I just had to try it too...too bad I didn't get a picture.Grandma giving Kaiya a lesson on tooth cleanlinessAfter the museum, we drove to the beach for a picnic. It was such a beautiful day with a nice breeze.

After lunch we changed and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the beach. The kids played and played and played and played. My daughter and son are opposite when it comes to feeling comfortable in water. Caedmon uses extra caution around water...not wanting to go too deep and like me, doesn't like to get The Hair wet. :) My daughter, on the other hand, would have drowned within two minutes of us being there if no one would have been watching her every move. I think my favorite part of the day was watching Grandma & Grandpa enjoy their grand kids. Before heading for home we all ate supper at Clementine's with sun-kissed faces and a big appetite. I also got to stop at one of those little roadside stands and picked up some peaches & corn on the cob. It was a yummy day indeed! :)

Thanks to my cousin Heather for helping me can the peaches on Monday! It sure was a treat to have you and your sweet kiddos here for the afternoon. Thanks again for your help and for encouraging me to get them done! Loved having you here!
Here's a quote from Caedmon recently while riding in the van...


Caedmon: "Mom, does God take care of me?"

Me: "Yes"

Caedmon: "Does He take care of Kaiya?"

Me: "Yes honey, He takes care of all the children in the world"

Caedmon: "He's going to rip!"

Jumping Into July

Our weekend was jam packed with lots of fun, but work came before play. Friday the fourth was spent at home mowing, doing laundry and even a little painting. We've been looking at and pricing trampolines this summer and finally bought one last Thursday evening at Menards. That was the very first thing on Caedmon's list to accomplish that day. He was super excited.
Daddy had two eager helpers to put the thing together. I didn't take long at all and the kids spent the rest of the day jumping...and jumping...and jumping! The kids were hogging it the whole day and I finally declared that it was mama's turn...they were pretty impressed with my moves. :) I saw Caedmon trying to copy me later. Later that evening we headed over to my sister's house for a cookout and fireworks show. Shanna hadn't even made it home from the hospital yet because of a delay with one of Emmi's blood tests. She insisted that we go ahead as planned and they made it home around nine. She is so amazing, she even brought Emmi out to the campfire a little for her first fireworks show. I got to hold the little pumpkin...such a snuggler.

We got home after midnight and the kids and Kevin officially broke in the trampoline by sleeping on it that night. I slept in my warm bed inside...I really am usually more adventurous, but knew we had such a big day the next day and didn't want to take the chance at losing any sleep. Amazingly, they all slept the whole night.

We headed up to the lake the next day for a get together with friends and had fun day filled with swimming, boating, birthday celebrating, games & food. Thanks Ryan and Renee for the invitation. Their parents hosted the party at their lake house and really made us feel so welcome. Renee's mom, a former teacher, did such a great job with all the kids. She planned games and had a birthday party for her granddaughter...little princess Cora with gifts for all the kids as well. Kaiya was on cloud nine at the princess party.

We left around eight and decided to stop at Pokagon on the way home for their fireworks show at dusk. They're favorite fireworks were the smiley face ones. Caedmon fell asleep right before the grand finale. It was a big day for him. And once again we got home around midnight. Thankfully the service at church the next day was a Family Service at 10:30. A picnic lunch followed then home and straight to bed for us.

The Gift Of The "Present"

That was the title of the sermon last Sunday at our church. Pastor Troy had the message and really made a lot of great points. In fact, both Kevin and I were fighting over a pen so we could quickly scribble down some notes.

It was about making the most of and being thankful for today and we've all heard that before, but he really drove it home last Sunday. Some of us are stuck in the past, but I think most of us are thinking about and focused on the future. We can't wait to finish high school...can't wait to get through college...can't wait to start a career, get married, have children, make more money, buy a larger home, better car, and so on.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." A quote by John Lennon and so true. My goal is to try to make the most of today, but it is a challenge sometimes for me. Luke 10:38-42 is the familiar story of Mary & Martha. Mary listens while Martha labors...I'm the Martha in this story...I want to be more like Mary.

Pastor Troy challenged us to live in 24 hr. compartments. If I only had 24 hours left of my life, what would I do?

Matthew 6:33-34 in the Message Bible states:

33" What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Here is what we've been up to this week.

A lake day with friends, Amy & Jaime. I enjoyed chatting and sunning with you two!

And you never know who's going to get hurt next around here...this time it was me. A little accident occurred and I'm not even sure how, but by the time all was said and done three out of four people that live here were crying. :) I was bending over and Kaiya bumped my chin with her head causing me to bite my lip pretty hard. As I was quickly walking down the hall holding my mouth with blood on my hand, Caedmon comes out of the bathroom...I run him over...he falls down on his behind and now three people are in tears.

I love the long summer evenings where daylight hangs around a little longer.

And today is my niece Rylie's eighth birthday. We met my mom at Burger King for lunch.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that is why they call it the "Present."