Birthday, Birthdays, an anniversary and a wedding!

              Life doesn't offer a pause button, but if it did I'd be sure to use it at times! We've been busy with my baby turning two, and my oldest turning six...where oh where did time go??? We celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary in September, witnessed the wedding of Roger's younger brother, I helped with a Ladies Retreat at church, we had revival services with Tom Farrell, moved on to Missions conference, and started school with Garett somewhere in that list too!



Our anniversary weekend...same dress I wore for our honeymoon, seven years ago!

         We had a family get-together for Travis' birthday, and then Garett had a party with a few families over with their children. Garett asked for tacos for his birthday dinner, and he was SO excited to pick out his own birthday cake from Wal-mart. I did an interview with Garett and asked him a few questions. I saved the questions and hope to repeat them in future years to see how his responses mature and change.





Here are his responses:
 1) What is your favorite thing to do? "maybe....play outside"
 2) What is your favorite food? vegetables
 3) Who is your best friend? "uh...I don't know"
 4) What would be the best birthday present ever? "maybe this" (pointing to the airplane, he had just opened for his birthday)
 5) What is one new thing you learned this year? "maybe...school"
 6) What would you like to be when you grow up? "maybe..I don't know"
 7) If someone was to give you money for a birthday present, what would be the perfect amount? "maybe..twenty dollars".


My four little men...six, four, three and two!

I enjoyed listening to his responses, and I look forward too doing an interview with my other children on their upcoming birthdays as well.

          While life has been just a tad overwhelming these past few weeks, I 've been challenged to manage my time better and blogging hasn't been a priority. However, we have some big changes coming up for our family in the next few weeks and months, and I have been reminded by a friend that I need to get back at this. Stay tuned for new adventures within our family!

Family wedding...Roger's brother, Mark and wife, Allison

       

Excuses, Excuses...but, yes, It's true!

         I have a whole list of reasons why I haven't been blogging lately, but suffice it to say...the computer is fixed (that's a major one), the summer is slowing down, my phone camera is overloaded with pictures, school starts in a few weeks, and on and on it goes!

         The summer has been OVERLOADED with fun memories, lots of trips to see extended family,
swimming, biking, and much, much more. It would be impossible to recap all that has happened in the last few weeks, but since this is my blog, and I can write about whatever I wish...I'm going to try! :)

       The week following Vacation Bible School, my sister, myself and my boys took off on a 17 hour car ride to North Carolina. We were DELIGHTED to reach our destination! The boys spent the next 12 days enjoying swimming (every day), jet skiing, water tubing, a visit to the ocean, a visit to the mountains, and lots of sun and fresh air. It was a special treat to visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where we spent 3 days wallowing in the ocean, and loving the five pools at the resort we stayed at. My biggest drawback to the trip, was not having my husband along. I missed him desperately, and I was reminded again of all his work with our children. I did enjoy catching up on visiting with my sisters, and visiting with my mom's extended family.

     While visiting the ocean, Chandler asked me, "How do they fill this up every night?" It took me a minute to figure out that he was talking about the ocean water and figured it to be a large pool that someone filled up every night! It was a great opportunity to talk about how God made the ocean and that God "filled" it up.

    While children are a challenge at times, and I feel overwhelmed most of the time, I know that I am one very wealthy woman. Not in money, but in raising four boys for His glory. I treasure the memories that were created, and thank God for each child that He has blessed us with.

Beach Buds

Hot tub at resort

My four and their cousin, Jeremiah

Wyatt and Aunt Jenn

Mom and boys tubing

Loving the pool time

Mom and the boys

Vacation Bible School, a busy week, and an amazing gift!

What a week! We started off the week with Vacation Bible School’s opening night on Monday. I taught the 3 and 4 years olds and felt extremely overwhelmed most of the week. We had fun, but I’m not sure what they learned! We painted, made several crafts, played outside, participated in the penny offering, and I taught the two lessons, over and over. I wanted our focus to be on obedience to parents, that we are all sinners, and that Jesus loves us and died for us. It was an amazing week, with over 200 kids coming through the doors of the church to hear about Jesus! There were several professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and many, many visitors. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to help out, and I’m also thankful that I have 365 days to recover before it comes again!

                                                                                                                  


My children spent time this week visiting neighbors, asking me to call friends and relatives, looking for visitors to come to Vacation Bible School. Chandler was especially diligent and asked me daily, “Who can I invite today?”. But all their hard work paid off…Garett placed 5th in the bring the most visitors contest, Wyatt placed 3rd, and Chandler placed 1st! They were ecstatic about the gifts they received, and they were up early this morning to play with the new toys!

We also visited the strawberry patch this week! My children had a great time, and I’m thankful that I didn’t need a whole lot of strawberries as they quickly lost interest! I had a hard time convincing Travis that I wanted to keep the strawberries in the box! We were able to go with my sister and a friend with her two boys, so it was a strawberry party in the field…with lots of little boys!

Busy Boys!

My helping hands

What fun memories we created! The boys had a great time, and I’m so thankful for each one of them!

Boys, Boys, Boys!

Travis

Strawberry Hands

                                                                                           


And now for the most exciting news of all! I received a wonderful gift this week as the result of lots of prayers, faithful teachers, a wonderful church family, and a special little boy. This week Garett asked Jesus to come into his heart! He woke up on Wednesday morning, June 13, 2012, and the first thing he told me was, “Mom, I got saved last night!”. I asked him if he had asked Jesus to come into his heart at Vacation Bible School, and he replied, “No, but they talked about it, and when I came home and got in my bed, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and take away my sin”. I asked him if he knew what it meant to ask Jesus to come into his heart. He gave a very clear response in replying that he knew he was a sinner, Jesus had died for him, Jesus lives in heaven, and when Garett dies he’s going to Heaven to be with Jesus! How I’ve prayed for this day, and it is with great rejoicing that I give glory to God.

Catching up in a nutshell!

I never seem to have the time to write on here like I'd like to, but I consider this blog like my online journal of my family life. Hence, I am playing catch-up! The summer is officially here, with Garett finishing his year of 4K, a family camping trip over Memorial day weekend, plus a canoe trip with friends, running a 5K, and Chandler's surgery (tonsils and adenoids removed). All that to say, I've been very, very busy! And next week starts Vacation Bible School at our church. I'll be teaching the 3-4 year olds, and I definitely feel out of my comfort zone here! I have my own children in this age group and know how much time and effort is required to help them grow, so I'm a little overwhelmed. I do not want to waste 2 1/2 hours every night for five nights, I really want this group of little people to learn something!

My awesome husband and Travis

On May 19th, I ran a 5K in our local town. It was a very warm day, about 90 degrees, and the race was at 11:30am. Another friend from our church, Jared, ran as well. My husband walked around with the kids and cheered me on. I placed 6 out of 215 women and third in my age group. I ran a time of 23:54, which in college, would have been awful for me, but 7 years out of college...I'm very happy with that! 

The friend that also ran in the race... he's lost over 100 lbs.!

Also, on May 19th, we took a canoe trip with some close friends of ours, the Longsines and the Schuberts, and a family from my dad's church. It was the perfect length for children as the water was high and moved along quickly. All of our kids went and seemed to have a great time!

The final week in May wrapped up school for Garett, followed by a camping trip with other families from our church. We went to a little campground in the Dells, and we had a great time! Saturday was a little rough as it rained off and on, and the mosquitoes were terrible! But, Sunday was beautiful! After church, we went down to the water and played water games. The mosquitoes were not nearly as bad making the day much, much better!

Getting ready to go swimming!

Loved the water

Travis has lots of little mothers!

Following the camping trip, Chandler had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids. I was really dreading the whole affair...not necessarily the surgery, but the aftermath of the sore throat and a possible very whining child! He came through the surgery with flying colors. He had the surgery at 8am, and we were home by noon. That was with a stop to Wal-mart to get Popsicles and ice cream, and McDonald's for french fries...yes, he ate french fries the day of his surgery! We are now on day five following the surgery and other than acting a little more tired and asking for extra fluids, my boy is the same! We are supposed to try to get him to rest and relax, but also let him take the lead in activities...so he's been riding his bike, climbing trees, and eating more Popsicles...I think he'll be fine!

Before surgery...he didn't want to wear the gown, "It's a dress!"

After surgery...resting, cuddling, and drinking

Already the summer is looking full with lots of fun family times planned. First is Vacation Bible School, then I'm taking the kids to North Carolina to see my sister and other extended family. Followed by one of my best friends from college coming to visit for a few days, then special meetings at our church. After that the family reunion with all of my husbands side, plus a few camping trips, canoe outings, and whatever else we find to do in the summer! I'm looking forward to the future, and all that God has in store for us. I know that the summer will be busy and full, but I treasure these moments with my family and the memories we are creating for a lifetime!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my 29th birthday! It is still hard to believe that this is my last year in my twenties. It was a beautiful day weather wise for my special day, but birthdays aren't nearly as exciting when your twenty nine as when you are nine! I spent a good part of the day spending time with the kids...we played outside, went to the park, cleaned the house, and all the other things that are part of every day living. I had a few minutes to myself while the children were napping and I spent some time reflecting on my life! I AM BLESSED! I have a wonderful marriage, and while not without struggles, we continue to work though life together, enjoying each other and the memories we have created. I have four, handsome, healthy children! While they are a lot of work, I wouldn't trade them for anything this world could offer. Each day is an exciting adventure that brings new challenges, new memories, and fresh hugs and kisses. I was amazed at all that God has given me and the experiences He has allowed me to have in this lifetime. I am looking forward to many more life experiences,but I know that if I died tonight, I'll be seeing my Saviour! I'm looking forward to that time, but until then, I'll just enjoy life to the fullest surrounded by my loving husband, and four boys who make life so exciting! Happy birthday to me!

MUD??? Oh, yeah!

All boy!

Love this one!

A little like a little pig!

MUD? Yes, please!

Our county received four inches of rain last night, and then probably about another 1 1/2 inches today. So, suffice it to say, "It's really wet!". My boys were esctatic to see the mud puddles in our yard, and went through several outfits  of clothes before I got smart, and told them they could come in the house in their underwear and put the wet, "used" clothes back on to go outside. We've had two baths today, and now everyone is fed, clean, and dry and off to bed in a little bit. YES! They loved it!

WET and MUDDY!

He was pretending to be a polar bear!

Not quite sure...



Over and done!



This is me..about 2 months before giving birth to Travis.
Running a 1/2 marathon was even a thought in my mind!

My sisters all think I'm crazy, because I do enjoy running and I actually don't mind excercising. The hardest part is getting going, but once I'm in my workout clothes and doing something, I generally enjoy it. I like the way my body feels after a hard workout, and my competitive nature makes me want to try to beat someone else's efforts (that can be a blessing and a curse!). But in training for my first 1/2 marathon, I lost track of how many times I doubted my ability to finish or wondered if I was crazy to even try. It's been 7 years since my running years of college cross-country, and 6 years of marriage, plus 4 kids in five years...let's just say, I had my doubts! 

On Saturday, April 28, 2012, I ran my first one-half marathon! It was harder than I anticipated it being, and to be honest, I don't know if I'll ever run another...maybe someday? I think part of the problem of it seeming longer than 13.1 miles was the fact that there were only 107 runners in the whole 13.1 miles! So, everyone was pretty spread out and it was hard to feed off of other runners enthusiam. Usually, in a race, I have this great desire to try to catch "just one more person", but in this race, everyone was so far spread out that I just didn't have the energy.


My friend and neighbor, Carolyn. Since the above picture, I've lost
57 pounds!

I was thrilled when my neighbor and friend, Carolyn, agreed to run with me. She's run many half and full marathons and kept me encouraged and moving forward. She also carried a camel back and pulled something out about every two miles and ate! She ate an apple, fruit snacks, mints, gum, granola bars...and kept asking me if I wanted anything, "um, no, thanks. Pretty sure I'd be throwing up beside the road!" I hadn't trained with eating anything and on mile 7 the race assistants offered us some energy "goo". It was the most disgusting thing ever! I think, if I ever run another, I'll try training my body to eat while running, because I'm sure it would help my energy levels.



This was about mile 10

The weather was overcast and about 38 degrees. Then about mile 3 it started sprinkling, then about mile 5 it was sleeting a little bit. It did go back to just raining, but it was a long, cold run. On one hand, that was good because it kept me from walking! After I had already been sweating, I knew if I stopped and walked, I'd be freezing!

My two happy boys!

My amazing husband and the boys cheered me on from start to finish. They followed the roads to various parts of the race and would all get out and cheer me on...I loved it! I have so many people to thank in the parts they played to help me reach this goal on my "bucket list". First of all, my husband, who is awesomely supportive and loves me even though he may think I'm crazy! And my parents, who watched the boys on occasions so I could get in another run. Also, my friend, Rebekah Longsine, http://myweeklymenus.blogspot.com/ who also put up with last minute phone calls and almost always agreed to watch my kids so I could continue to stay on track. My wonderful friend, Jessica Gardner, http://jessandrichard.blogspot.com, who trained and competed in a 1/2 marathon the week before me. I was challenged and inspired by her hard work in running a 1/2 marathon in the mountains of Colorado! And to all my friends, who encouraged, prayed, and strengthened my faith...from the bottom of my heart, THANK-YOU!

But, without Christ, I am nothing and ultimately the praise for this accomplishment goes to my heavenly Father, Jesus Christ. I have pushed my body farther than I thought possible, yet Christ gave me the strength to finish.

THE END!!!

And how did I do? I was pretty please with the end results. My goal was under 2 hours and I finished in 1:54:50. I had a pace of 8:46, and I place 32 overall in the race, and I placed 8th out of 51 female runners. All in all, I was happy with the end results.



My amazing family...I am blessed!