Last Week and This Week

So I've been trying to do a better job of letting go of my to-do list.  I generally feel compelled to do lots of random things, some of which are important and some of which I should not even do, and I feel ill at ease until they are checked off.  The book we are reading for summer Bible Study (Grace for the Good Girl) has helped me see that I haven't been looking to God to direct my days and how I spend my time.

It's not a quick fix, but I am trying to release some expectations that I have put on myself to do too much...trying to let go of caring so much about how others perceive me...trying to not look to feedback from other people to make me feel good.

God is making it clear to me that if I am going to follow him, that means looking to him each day to show me what to do and trusting him to give me the resources and time to do it.  It means I don't say yes to everything, don't do things just because I'm afraid of what people will think if I don't, don't commit to things that leave me stressed and cranky with my family because I don't have the time for it, don't allow my to-do list to keep me from enjoying today.  It isn't easy for me.

So anyway, that's one reason I haven't been blogging as much...because it's something that can be good but isn't always how I need to spend my time.

Last week we had fun celebrating Father's Day with Matt's family.  We spent all day relaxing, talking, eating, playing games, etc.  It was nice to enjoy family.

This being our first "summer break" (since every summer before has been the same as the rest of the year, with no kids in school yet), I have made a list of summer fun things for us to do and it's been good to get out of my "stay at home and work on stuff" typical self and have fun.  Since Matt gets off early some days, he has been able to join us, which is not only fun, but super helpful.  The other days of the week, we usually go the gym and hang out at home.  The boys are hanging in there and doing their own workouts:)

Last week, our two fun things were the museum and story time at the library.  One went very well and one not so much.

This was the fun one:

This was a spinning metal circle in the table and you had to try to roll metal discs onto it so they would "orbit".  The boys (especially the big guy on the left) loved it!


The not so fun one was story time.  We got there and looked for books a little while and then Matt went to take the boys to story time while I checked out books with Julia, who was screaming when Matt tried to take her with him:)  Always fun in a quiet place.

So I had a ton of books at the self checkout counter and was sprawled on the floor with them, trying to figure out which books should go on Joshua's new library card and which on ours when Julia wandered off.  I told her to come back and she responded with a very sweet, obedient, "I WILL NOT!"  So I sternly told her she would and she did her typical "someone's fussing at me and it's the end of the world" scream/cry.  I tried to get her to hush (it's the library, remember) and returned to my mountain of books to find that I had lost our family library card in the process.

So I dumped out my purse and sorted through that and the books about 5 times to no avail, all the while people watched me out of the corner of their eyes (well, one lady actually stared).  Finally gave up and put everything on Joshua's card and Matt returned with the boys, who were a bit grumpy and did not enjoy the story time (singing and hand motions are not their thing).  We got a new library card and headed home.  Not the most fun summer fun outing, but we live and learn!

This week is full, as we have our Backyard Bible Clubs for church.  I'm teaching one of the 3-5 groups and it's fun so far.  Their attention spans are about 5 minutes if that, but hopefully something is sinking in!  The boys seem to enjoy their group too, though Gray always tells me he doesn't like things that he does---I think because he doesn't want to leave.  We are gong to be some tired people by the end of the week, but hopefully tired and happy too!  And if the weather holds out, we're going to get to do another family summer fun thing on Sunday---an afternoon trip to a nearby lake!

Hope you have a great week!

Happy Father's Day to My Daddy!

Thinking about my Daddy on this Father's Day weekend.  Wish we could celebrate together but hope you'll enjoy these "Best of Daddy and Holly" pictures anyway.  Thanks for all your love and support for 30 years!!  Have a great Father's Day!

love,

Holly

1981

1983

 1985

 1989

1996

Rain Rain Go Away!

Well we woke this morning, ready to face another full beach day.  We ate breakfast, packed food, put on bathing suits, got lots of sunscreen on, headed to the car, and....stepped out into the rain.  Oh boy, this day isn't going to be what we hoped.

We drove down to the beach a little dejected, knowing the forecast for the whole day was rain, but a little hopeful it would pass.  We ended up deciding to go out on the beach in the rain (and cold) anyway, so to the sand we went.  The kids were just fine getting rained on and playing and then thankfully the rain went away for quite awhile.  We didn't bring anything but umbrellas so I have no pictures, but it was a fun morning, aside from the little miss pitching a fit because I wasn't jumping her right in the waves.  It was low tide and we were down by the water, but she cried her way all the way up to where you first step out onto the sand.  People passing by were looking at her and wondering where in the world were her parents I'm sure:)  She got over it with a little Daddy comfort and the rest of the morning went well.  We tried out another pool and headed home for lunch and naps.

After naps, we went over to Barefoot landing and had a good time browsing shops, eating out, seeing real tigers, going down a big slide(Joshua), riding the carousel (Gray), watching turtles swim in the water, and checking out all the other babies (Julia).  I must admit our challenge to not spend money on treats made it hard for me to go along with this touristy, pricey outing.  But I know that I need to let go of control of some things and hey--we started a few days before June anyway.

Julia loved walking around Barefoot, especially going over the big bridge.  She galloped, sang, and waved her arms the whole way.  Then she had to take a break for a good ol night night sniff.  This is classic Julia in her comfort zone.  Notice the careful 'v' positioning of her first two fingers so her night night securely covers her nose:)

Other Julia-isms lately:  She calls our "villa" here our "place house".  She calls her brothers "You cupcake!".  She does not like "sun scweam".  She loves sleeping in her playpen..think it has something to do with the big fluffy pillow I put in there from the bed in her room:)  She has a runny nose and follows this protocol when it's dripping:  Step 1- Shout for everyone to hear, "My nosey's coming out!", Step 2- "I need a kleenex" as she's already in the process of grabbing my shirt, bathing suit, whatever I'm wearing to wipe her nose on.  Lovely.  And as you saw in the last post, when we've been anywhere outside, she has to pee often and so she just takes a wide stance and yells, "I'm going pee pee!" so all the strangers around are sure to notice her polluting the sand/pool.  On that note, I'll end this update.

Surprise Beach Trip!

 "What?!  You mean you're giving us your luxury golf resort villa at the beach for 3 days?  You've got to be kidding me!"

Yep, we were just as surprised as Julia to get this free vacation handed to us a few days ago.  What a gift!  So far we've had lots of fun and relaxation.  Here are a few (aka a ton) of pictures to prove it!

 Waiting for the shuttle to the beach!  This turned out to be an experience in itself...

 The van picked us up and the driver declared we were the first people he had ever picked up from our particular stop.  Apparently most people that stay where we were (right on the golf course) are more concerned with golfing than going down to the beach...or they just drive themselves, which we will most definitely do now that we know where we can park!  The driver and his assistant were older guys from up north, nice and funny.  We got a grand tour of what seemed like every street of the area and then found one family waiting to be picked up...or at least their stuff was there.  We waited and waited and then decided to leave until we saw them strolling casual down the street, loaded down with even more stuff.  Finally we got everyone and everything into the van and made it to the ocean!!  Thankfully the kids were pretty amused with being squeezed into a big van and meeting strangers that the long ride wasn't a big deal.

 The last time we were at the beach, I was pregnant with Julia, so here she is taking in her first experience of the ocean!  She was a little iffy about the sand at first, but it took about a minute to warm up to everything and she decided it was all super fun.

 This guy remembers the beach and has been so excited about our trip.  He claimed he would go out in the ocean as far as he needed to in order to swim, but I think the ocean was a bit more than he remembered.  He loved splashing in the water and wasn't afraid.  He later played a game with the waves where he'd swing punches at them and then keep score of who won.  (Reminded me of some pictures I took from Kim's oldest Andrew "fighting" the ocean when he was 5 or 6... he's now a teenager!)  Final score:  Joshua:  200, Ocean:  2...one wave did knock him over, after all. :)

 Gray loved the water too.  We had this net which was left on the shuttle, but it soon broke.  He had a blast with his little boogie board, though.  He'd throw it in the air, watch the wave carry it and then chase after it, totally delighted.

 It wasn't all happy times, though.  Julia took her first spill right away, but she recovered quickly.

 She ditched the skirt and was ready for more:)

 Oops, she's stopping to pee in the sand.  Yes, I realize this is gross, but there was no warning.

 This is the way a princess digs...so ladylike:)

 Jumping the waves

 Excitement

 Joshua became quite interested in building a sand castle.  He's always been a digger!

 Gray was amused by dumping water into a hole.  So simple, but so fun for him.

 Lunch time!  Then we headed back for naps.

 Later it was pool time.  We walked the beautiful short path through the golf course to go for a swim.  All the kids are enjoying extra time with Daddy, but particularly Miss Julia, who seems to be learning how to wrap him around her little finger:)

 Making Daddy kiss her toy

 Splashing Daddy in the face

 Making Daddy ask to hold her

 Getting Daddy to walk her around the pool

 Happy guy!  His proudest pool moment:  Kicking around on his kickboard in the 1 ft deep area:)  (Later we got him to go a short distance kicking in the 3 ft area...he was resistant, but finally did it!  Hoping he can become a little more competent in the water this summer.)

Joshua practiced swimming a few feet at a time, but wasn't ready for me to film him yet:)  He also enjoyed diving for toys.  He is definitely feeling more comfortable in the water now that he's taller.

We ended the day with dinner and an attempt at walking around Barefoot Landing, which was a fail due to rain.  So we played games and read the book Matt's been reading to the boys.  Fun day!

Win an iPad2

If you're into that sort of cool technology stuff, enter today to win an iPad2 and most importantly to support my friend Tricia (from Gatlinburg Summer Project) and her husband adopt their first baby.

http://www.matthewandtricia.com/2012/05/ipad-2-giveaway.html

$25 for 2 entries, 1 entry for sharing on your blog.  Kicker is it ends tomorrow afternoon!  Sorry for late notice!!

First and Last

Remember this guy?

This was Joshua's first day of school.  He was so scared and sad.  I was heartbroken to see him so afraid and clinging to me.  We felt like God wanted us to send him to public school, but were we wrong?

Well Thursday was Joshua's last day of kindergarten and as you can see, he is a different boy!

As we rode to school this morning, we spent some time talking about all the blessings that have come through this year and we thanked God for being so faithful to lead us to this choice and take good care of Joshua.

Everything hasn't been perfect.  We haven't been thrilled with all the teaching and administration.  We have seen Joshua lack motivation and he has had to do so much busy work.

But we look back on this school year as so good for many reasons. 

He learned how to write much more clearly and picked up some other skills here and there.  He actually sings at school, which he was always too self conscious to do even at home.  He has loved art.  He has gotten awards from most of his "specials" teachers plus a couple of "Student of the Month" awards.

But the things I most value from this year don't have much to do with academics.

 Joshua was a shy, socially withdrawn, self-conscious boy around anyone but family when he started kindergarten.  

Today, he has more friends than he can count and he actually initiates conversations with them with ease.  

He has befriended girls and boys of all social classes and races.  

He has made friends in his classes and even with kids in other classes and grades that he has met on the playground.  

He has learned valuable lessons about who to make your best friend.  

He has become much more comfortable talking to adults.  

He has learned how to operate in a big classroom and in a small group.  

He has been responsible in fixing his lunch every day and never forgetting to put it in his backpack each morning.

He has reached out to help those with needs.  

He has stood up for himself and his friends.

He has prayed for his classmates and even asked some if they know Jesus.  

He has had fun.

I am so thankful.  God showed us that for our family, at least for now, public school is the way to go.  We were blessed in following his plan.

A Missionary in Our Midst

Okay, so this guy doesn't look like your stereotypical missionary.  He likes to make silly faces for the camera, wear superhero clothes, and tell the same knock-knock jokes over and over.

But something tells me our Gray is going to lead one interesting life.

We are on the third week of praying for countries at dinner and it has been great for our family.  We are more attuned to the needs of the world, we're learning how to talk to God more, we're learning geography.

Tonight was Guatemala.  I learned that it has the highest murder rate of all Latin American countries.  Can you imagine living in a place where people have no respect for the lives of their neighbors and no remorse about killing people left and right for their own gain...or maybe for no reason at all?

I was talking to the kids about that and Gray said, "Well we could go there and when we see the bad guys killing people we could tell them to stop and tell them about Jesus."

I told him that was a great idea and if God wants us to do that, we should say yes.  Joshua was a bit horrified at the idea, mostly because of the risk of being separated from his stuffed animals, but Gray said, "Okay, well that's what I'm going to pray."  And he did.

He asked God to let us go to Guatemala and tell bad guys about Jesus.

I told him that even if our family didn't go, maybe one day when Gray is a big man, God might want him to do that.

Gray was good with this, except he foresaw one problem.  He said, "Okay, I'll do that, but you'll have to tell me how to get there!"

Don't you just love his childlike faith?

Of course, truth be told, I'd be terrified to take my children there or even to send my grown child to live among gangs and murderers, but I pray if God wanted us to do something like that, we'd say yes.  To live is Christ and to die is gain, right?