Thankful Thursday...

Hmmmm...what am I thankful for this week? I'm thankful that...

• we have enough that we can share




• it has been raining here and the grass is green and the trees and flowers look so pretty and that it reminds me that even when it's a bit "yucky out" God is making things beautiful




• God gives all of us gifts and talents. And that we have this free will that allows us to embrace and use them however we choose (and sometimes those ways make us sad and needy and a little sick) but that, if we want to, we can let him work through us and he can do BIG things with them, if we want, and they can draw us nearer to him




• that even when we've really messed up...I mean really, really messed up...there is hope for redemption and that we can learn and we don't have to do it alone




• that all is well, and all is well and all manner of things is and shall be well




• sometimes God is so close that I can feel his breath

What are you thankful for today, my friends? I really want to know.

Belated End of School, Yellowstone and Drum Recital stuff...

Noah with DeAnn at the preschool picnic...

Eli and Sam on last day as a ladybug...

Family trip to Yellowstone on our way to Billings for my cousin's wedding...

Grace and Jackie pose after their Little Red Hen play at school...

Noah rocks it out at his drum recital...tiny boy...BIG SOUND!

So...to catch you up...you'll notice that I don't have a picture of Noah's last day of preschool or Grace's last day of school. Well...that's because I had jury duty starting on the last day of school. The trial lasted three days so our summer vacation started a little late. Jury duty was a pretty incredible experience (even though I didn't get my cathartic cry about my baby going on to kindergarten). The people on the jury were really great people and I was glad to serve...just wish it started a few days later!

Trip to Yellowstone...AMAZING! Eli has a new topic of interest (he gets fixated on learning everything about certain topics)...he's added geothermic activity to outer space. I sure learn a lot while I research whatever it is he's wondering about! We had a great time hiking around, checking out the geysers and mud pots (my favorites!) and saw millions of bison. And my cousin's wedding was very beautiful...unfortunately Noah got a high fever that night and he and I spent the evening cuddling in the lobby of the reception place. But we made it all the way to Denver before he started throwing up (I know, I know...TMI!). In all, super trip! We'd love to take the kids to Yellowstone again when they get a little older.

Noah's drum recital...So funny! Noah went first for the recital. When they announced his name he raised his drum sticks in the air like a rock star. He was supposed to play with a cd (his song was We Will Rock You!) but when there were technical difficulties, he just went ahead and started without the cd. When the cd finally started, he couldn't change his rhythm so he was a bit off from the cd but sure was rockin' it! And his one and a half minute song ended up lasting about five minutes (including his two minute fill at the end). So funny!

Scary Swimming Adventure!

Today was the first day that I deemed it warm enough to swim outside. As you know, I am not a fan of cold, or water, or swimming suits but I braved it and the boys and I went swimming with some buddies.
We went to a pool that we'd never been to before but I looked around the play/baby pool area and saw that the deepest part was 3 feet. Perfect! Everyone could touch! So I stood on the edge of the pool (in my shorts and t-shirt) with my friend and watched as the kids excitedly jumped in the shallow water. I don't know about you but I like to watch from the side when the kids are in a shallow pool so I can see everyone at the same time. Mostly I watched Eli because, as I've talked about before, that little buddy thinks he can swim but he's just not there yet. Suddenly, I saw Eli in the middle of the pool bobbing up and down. He couldn't touch the bottom and he was going under and my friend was saying, "Can he touch there?" I jumped in the pool and ran/swam as fast as I could to him slipping on the bottom all the way there. It felt like a scary dream...like I was running in slow motion. When I grabbed him and pulled him out of the pool he was gasping and choking. He was so scared and so was I. Turns out that it's 3 feet at the edge of the pool but several inches deeper than that in the middle.
After both of us calmed down a little and I got out of my dripping wet shorts and t-shirt, we got back in (together this time!) and had a great time. We worked on floating on our backs when we realize we're in too deep. He doesn't have it yet and I sure won't be letting my sweet boy out of my sight or in a pool by himself for a long, long time!

Thankful Thursday...

Wow! It's been awhile since I've done Thankful Thursday. I've got some catching up to do! I'm thankful that...

• Grace can swim the length of the pool! Now I don't have to worry about her so much in deep water! And she's learning new strokes which are very fun and challenging. YAY!
• Noah and Eli LOVE swimming, their swim teachers and the chilly pool! When Noah first started lessons at around 3, he would cry all the way to the pool in the car, throw a huge fit when we got there and, after some exhausting parenting work to get him into the pool, whimper through his classes. Now he makes sure as we're getting ready in the morning that we'll be ON TIME for swimming lessons and jumps right in the pool when it's time. Eli would NOT get in the hotel pool in China. He thought it was so scary and couldn't possibly be any fun. He really didn't like baths, either. When we got home, he wouldn't get in the hot tub...especially not in his swimsuit. Why would one need to wear clothes in a hot tub when one does not need clothes in a bath? And now, he goes under water and swims, he floats and he LOVES it (all while wearing a swimsuit)! Whoo hoo!
• Steve's job...I know I've written about it before but sometimes I have to remind myself, especially when he's travelling a lot, that I am truly thankful for him having a stable job that he loves, that feels fulfilling to him and that provides for our family so I can continue to stay home and eat bonbons all day! I do love my bonbons! :)
• We get to see Grace's buddy Jobe from school everyday at swimming lessons. Jobe is one cute little fellow. He has some special needs that have made him unable to take any classes to this point. His mom was pretty worried about how it would go for him. In the past he hasn't done real well with a lot of noise, a lot of kids around and water. But this week, we've seen Jobe get in the pool with a class full of kids, go underwater, float on his back and jump off the diving board to be caught by his teacher. WOW! In fact, today it took quite a bit of work to get Jobe to get out of the pool! :) Sometimes I watch the way God works in the lives of special needs kids and their families (ours included) and I'm just amazed. What a blessing!

What are you thankful for this week?

Summer Stuff...

Gotta love summer...even though this summer is pretty chilly and rainy and not at all what one would imagine a summer to be! Here are the haps for the amigos this summer...

• Due to our desire to keep all three amigos safe in the water and due to Eli's inaccurate and very frightening belief that he can swim, all three amigos start swimming lessons on Monday morning. Yay!
• Grace, Eli and cousin Caleb are in a theatre class which will present Mulan, Jr. at the end of the summer. They are loving it! This is the first thing Eli's been involved in that he asks twenty times a day if it's time to go and if rehearsal is today. If you're interested in attending the production, let me know and I'll get you tickets. The shows are July 31st, August 1st and August 5-7th at 7 pm.
• Noah, Grace and Eli are all in gymnastics classes this summer, too. All of their classes are in the evening and, of course, aren't on the same evenings. Makes for a tricky dinner schedule for all. But they are loving their new classes and making huge muscles! :) Noah told Papa Joe that his muscles are too big for his skin so they have to go around on the other side. Funny boy!
• And we're doing our Sunday Barbecues again. All are welcome! This year Team Z has a blow up movie screen and we can watch movies outside on it when it gets dark. So fun! We gave it a test run with Cars last Sunday and it was too cool! Since all of the drive-ins in the area are closed (phooey!), it feels super fun and a bit nostalgic to lay on a blanket on our lawn and watch a flick!

What are your plans for the summer?

And now...after many techno problems...Argentina!

So...I have been trying to blog...really, I have. But for some reason for the past few weeks my computer shuts down every time I try. Weird. But it's working today so, quick, here I go...

Argentina...
Amazing!
Truly one of the most powerful experiences of God's strength being made manifest in my weakness that I've ever had! As you know, I was feeling pretty out of my league about this whole thing...speaking publicly -- not my favorite thing to do, leaving my kiddos and Steve for several days -- not so easy. And yet from the beginning we (Andi and I) just knew we needed to go. And in the end, Andi and I came up with a very long list of God-sightings. More than I can, or probably should, share here. But here are a few...
In the weeks before we left I was struggling with my role in the whole retreat. I just wasn't sure what that was to be. But I very clearly knew that I needed to pray with the women. That's all I had. Which is interesting because I'm not sure that's what people who know me well would think of as my role for a retreat. Not that I'm not a praying gal because I am but I'm also pretty loud, silly and creative and am a big fan of fun. But as we planned, those things were not my role here. Talk about being in areas of weakness...contemplative...quiet...listening... And for me probably one of the most powerful parts of the retreat was praying with the women there. God gave me words to pray for these sisters I'd never met and may not ever see again on this side of heaven. And clear words of encouragement for them, too. And they, and I, left with tears in our eyes. Amazing!
Of the 40ish women that attended the retreat, there were probably more than 20 countries represented (including the Philippines). There were several denominations represented. I can't even come close to telling you how many languages were spoken in the group. It was such a privilege to worship with God's gals from all over the world!
One of the things that I've been struggling with lately has been being myself. Being truly who I am, who God created me to be, without fear. Not easy. And, for the weekend in Argentina, I was fully, 100% me. The people I met in Argentina, Andi, Andi's parents and sister, got full-force ME. It was an amazing, freeing experience to be somewhere where there aren't any preconceived notions about who you are, no baggage from past hurts, just the ability to be wholly yourself. Wow. That's just about all I can say about that...wow.
The whole weekend, I felt like God was doing big things in the women's lives (and in ours!), in their relationships (and in ours!) and in their hearts (and in ours!) and I knew 100% that I had absolutely NOTHING to do with it. I can't tell you how completely freeing that is, too. I just felt like a vessel that He was pouring out. He gave me words, I said them. He told me to be quiet, I did. He had me pray with and for people, I did. And I experienced amazing little God-winks throughout the weekend...like hearing that the Whitworth Choir was coming to Argentina the next week on tour (I was in that choir in college), having people seem to really like me, experiencing amazing generosity (with no guilty feelings!) and many other such things.
So many more God-sightings and I'd love to share them with you but I'll stop here. Want more? Let's go to coffee (actually, I hate coffee! How about tea?)!
As for Argentina, we saw a bit of Buenos Aires on Sunday...but not enough! I'd love to go back! And hopefully I will someday. But I don't think the point of the trip, for my soul at least, was flying off to Argentina though I have to admit I thought it was. I think the same thing could have happened in Kansas. The point was that God was saying, "Come away with me, let's spend some time together and you can meet some of my friends." And I did. And it was awesome!