Friday, May 28, 2010

School is Out! Summer is In!

The girls had their last day of school today and so were out a little early.  They had a long hot afternoon and a longer hotter summer with endless possibilites streteched out in front of them.  So what could be better than spending it under the sprinkler? Better watch out Summertime - here we come!





Now, do you think I could talk my boss into letting me have the next three months off? Sounds good to me!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Sunset Hour

I can appreciate a good sunset.  Is there such thing as a bad one?  Granted, some days we don't see them as well as on others, but somewhere, sometime, someone in the world has to be enjoying a good sunset.  We have our share of them here in Iowa.  Not much to obstruct the view.  It is relatively easy and rather tempting to think you could just keep on driving west until you fall right into it. 


The thing I find utterly amazing about sunsets is that it is not a singular event.  Just when you think it is the prettiest one you have ever seen, the colors change and tweak a bit in a matter of minutes.  You change your mind,  reconsider and think again,  now, this has to be the best one ever.  It's like God is letting you know that He will not be outdone and He's got much more where that came from. 


We are more than likely experiencing the sunset hour of my Dad's life.  There are beautiful moments.  There are changeable moments.  There are times when we dread the dark night to come.  But in all this, I feel there is a gift - much like a sunset.  We have had our chances to tell him we love him, to thank him for a job well done.  I think we have come to a place where we are not rearranging deck chairs on a ship that is going down,  but we have circled them up and decided to sit back and enjoy the view. What a beautiful sunset it is...


And in all this we know that God's love and provision for us in this matter will not be outdone. For Dad, and for us all, there is so much more where that came from.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Before You Know It...

...a whole year of Kindergarten is complete.


...she no longer has breck-tuss and goes to "pretty school"...


...she knows how to both say them and spell them too...


...her teacher is her hero...


...twelve years will fly by....


...before you know it.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Stick a Fork in Me....

...I'm done.  Granted, this is a little saying borrowed from PW, but I cannot think of any other sentiment that would adequately describe my current state of being.  And if you actually did stick said fork in me, I probably wouldn't bother to protest much.  Maybe a small squeal, a slight quiver of the affected extremity and then I would again lie dormant in my doneness.

Oh, enough with the drama.  Somewhere back in the early part of May, that feeling of having it all together that I somewhat tentatively grasp, began to unravel, and it has been rolling downhill ever since.  I have had plenty to blog about, but just not the time or inclination to get it out there.  I wanted to blog about my Mom's birthday (May 2), Mother's Day, Maren's soccer games, Marissa's viola recital,  Marissa's fantabulous room redo, my 5K training (or lack thereof) and the Tulip Festival.  And maybe on the down side, the fact that my dad was once again in the hospital.  That journey has been harder than expected.  Someday I will write about that again, but not today.

On a lighter note, I think I will just cover all the above in one fell swoop.  So bear with me. 

Mom's Birthday.  Mom turned another year older on May 2.  She spent a large portion of the day assaulted by the clamor and noise of her 8 grandchildren.  She wouldn't have it any other way.  All her grandchildren complain about her wet, sloppy kisses, but they always seem to come back for more.  Even Jackson.  Lizzie is too young to know better and therefore carries the brunt of mom's affections, as you can see here.

 Lizzie doesn't really mind at all.  Mom loves all her grandchildren full well.  I think the feeling is mutual.  Happy Birthday Mom!

Which brings me to Mother's Day.  My heroes have always been Mothers.  The Captain and I have been blessed to come from good mothering stock. I had a wonderful day myself.  The Captain was gone, but he had coached the M's quite well.  I asked Maren if she was going to feed me breakfast in bed, and she went and got me a Dt. Dr. Pepper.  Good girl.  I love being a mom. So does my sister-in-law Michelle.  This pictures speaks Mother's Day to me.

Being a Mom means attending soccer games. Even in bitterly cold "Spring" weather.  I almost wished for a Snuggie.  Then I stopped.   I will not give in to the Snuggie.  I will prevail.  Anyhoo, this was Princess Maren's first year of soccer.  She seemed a little more interested in doing cartwheels on the sidelines or playing with her new soccer friend than actually chasing that silly soccer ball around.  She actually scored a goal.  Much to her surprise.  What can I say, she loves being a princess.



Moms also go to recitals.  Sweet Marissa had her first viola recital.  And in the words she loves so well -  she rocked!  So proud of her!


Moms also have to step back and let their babies grow up a bit.  Sweet Marissa recently decided that she needed her own room.  Some privacy. A place to call her own.  So we did some renovating in the basement guest room.  Here's the before and what Marissa thought of it.


Here's our after:


And Marissa helped.  Helped paint.  Picked colors. Made a cute little bulletin board insert for the back of her bookcase.  She did good.


Yes, she still tolerates a visit from the Princess Maren every now and then.

Moms occasionally try to end their lives prematurely by running participating in a 5K Run that they may or may not have adequately trained for.  I got a little off track with my C25K training program with Dad in the hospital and a little brush with the start of pneumonia this late winter/early Spring.  I had to do a little walking to get 'er done.  But regardless, I did it! I am proud of me. Next goal: complete a 5Kwithout walking. Notice no pictures here.  The IA Pilot Wife wogging just ain't pretty.

And at long last we come to the Tulip Festival.  We were happy to have the Captain's fam come to visit all the way from Wichita, KS, again this year.  Had a good time. Lots of laughs, lots of food, and maybe one too many parades. : )

The local yokels like to compare Tulip Festival battle scars. Goes something like this.

  We did Ride Night, 4 parades (afternoon and evening), street scrubbing in authentic Dutch costumes, saw the Dutch Dozen, the Night Show, ran the 5K and hit the Pancake Fly-In Breakfast.
 
Well, we'll raise you 6 parades, Jr. Dutch Dance times 4, float riding, one trolley ride, the Quilt Show, worked the poffertje stand,watched fireworks and the Night show, did Vande Fear AND we even made it to the Community church service on Sunday morning.

Phew!  Nothing speaks to our fine Dutch heritage like martyrdom.

So I will leave you with some shots of the Tulip Festival.  I feel much better.  I feel caught up.  I feel like I can go on.  To Kindergarten graduation, summer rec registration, last day of school.... ahhh guess I'm not quite done yet.























Ok.  Now, I'm done.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Perfect Pairings Phillipians 1:6


Philippians 1:6

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Baloney has some more Perfect Parings going on her ' hood.  Go ahead and check them out and feel free to add your own!