10. A great new tutoring client - I started in June working with a very sweet Jr. Higher whose goal is to become fluent in Spanish. I enjoy our time together and am glad she wants to keep working together during the school year.
9. Being involved more at Josh and Annie's school - Yes, it may seem odd that school is on the summer list but we attend a year round school that started July 21. Since Craig has been doing contract work and our business he has been working at home the past couple months. I am really enjoying volunteering in Josh's class on Mondays and Annie's class on Wednesdays. I also got my sub license. Orientation at the district office was this morning and I start subbing tomorrow!
8. Celebrating 12 years of marriage! I thank God every day for giving me such an amazing husband. Not only do we love being married and raising our family together, we like working together! Our summer "date nights" often involve us working weddings together. This summer we have really enjoyed some really beautiful weddings at Lake Tahoe.
7. Good road trips and fun times with family - we have made a couple trips to the Bay Area and to Sacramento this summer and enjoyed the time spent on the road and during our visits. A highlight is our annual get-together and Scott & Debbie's house where just the 19 of us hang out.
6. A visit from Uncle Kevin - My brother Kevin (www.iseenthat.blogspot.com) finished a two-year program for his teaching credential in May and was finally able to come up for a long weekend. We ALL love hanging out with Uncle Kevin...movie in the park, Sparks Marina and our new favorite activity: drinks on the trampoline.
5. The trampoline - some friends gave us a huge trampoline this summer and we all love it. Josh and Annie bounce when they need a break from homework. Craig and I take the little boys out to jump almost every day between lunch and naps. And, thanks to Kevin's inspiration, we've even invited friends over for margaritas on the trampoline.
4. Cancer Relay for Life - I have a whole separate post and a slide show on this but it needed to be on the list. We walked in honor of my grandma (turning 93 in 2 weeks) and Craig's cousin who both went through chemo/radiation within the last year and are now doing well. Praise God! We were thankful the opportunity to be a part of something meaningful and important.
3. CLASS - I spent 3 wonderful and challenging days attending the Christian Leaders Authors and Speaker Services seminar in Livermore. I feel excited, equipped and energized about taking my speaking ministry to the next step.
2. Max is potty-trained! Yes, only one more left in diapers. What a milestone! He turned 3 on August 4 and we gave him his present first thing in the morning - a new potty seat that plays music after each success! He loves his Thomas the Train underwear and carries a fold-up Sesame Street potty seat in a little backpack every time we go somewhere.
1. Watching God provide for us - The past 6 months have been quite a roller coaster for us but we have truly experienced peace amidst the challenges. When we approach a sudden turn, our response is more of a "Oh, I wonder what God is going to do now to take of this!" than a "Oh no, what are we going to do?" And that feels like a good place to be.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Counting "Buggies"
My older kids recently watched a Herbie movie and have now taken up an activity that my brothers and I practiced in our younger days - counting "buggies" more commonly known as Volkswagon Beetles. It is fun to see how excited they get when they spot one, and I love watching the younger kids copy the older ones and shout "Buggy!" from their car seat or stroller.
This week I realized something interesting. In spite of the fact that I haven't consciously counted Volkswagons in at least 20 years, suddenly I am noticing them again. Twice this week I while I was out without Josh and Annie I counted them and reported the total number and various colors to the children when I returned home. Today I saw 6 just on the way home from the gym. I had never noticed how many there were.
It was then that I began to wonder about how many other things I don't notice. Am I missing important things that I should be noticing? Do I notice when someone is lonely or sad or worried? Do I notice if a neighbor needs something? Do I notice when a friend hasn't been at church lately? Do I notice when my kids need a little extra time or attention from me? Do I notice when someone does something nice for me? Do I notice how God provides for my needs and supplies me with so many "wants" to boot? And, more importantly, what do I do when I notice?
I don't want to get so caught up in the "stuff" of mothering that I don't spend enough time just loving on my kids. I don't want to be too busy to help or too tired to say "Thank you." Maybe we need to look around at the people around us more carefully than the cars on the road. Maybe next time we're out counting buggies we'll start counting blessings.
This week I realized something interesting. In spite of the fact that I haven't consciously counted Volkswagons in at least 20 years, suddenly I am noticing them again. Twice this week I while I was out without Josh and Annie I counted them and reported the total number and various colors to the children when I returned home. Today I saw 6 just on the way home from the gym. I had never noticed how many there were.
It was then that I began to wonder about how many other things I don't notice. Am I missing important things that I should be noticing? Do I notice when someone is lonely or sad or worried? Do I notice if a neighbor needs something? Do I notice when a friend hasn't been at church lately? Do I notice when my kids need a little extra time or attention from me? Do I notice when someone does something nice for me? Do I notice how God provides for my needs and supplies me with so many "wants" to boot? And, more importantly, what do I do when I notice?
I don't want to get so caught up in the "stuff" of mothering that I don't spend enough time just loving on my kids. I don't want to be too busy to help or too tired to say "Thank you." Maybe we need to look around at the people around us more carefully than the cars on the road. Maybe next time we're out counting buggies we'll start counting blessings.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Relay for Life - American Cancer Society
This past weekend Craig, Josh, Annie and I walked with my mom in the ACS Relay for Life in Almaden Valley. We walked as a part of a team from South Hills, the church where I was raised. This was such a neat experience for all of us. It felt so good to do something tangible - everyone has been touched by cancer in some way and this gave us a chance to help make a difference.
This spring my 92 year old grandma - Antoinette Petrov - went through 5 weeks of chemo and radiation treatments. Just tonight we learned the good news - they got it all! Craig's cousin Marina also recently went through chemo. We had the opportunity to purchase luminarias in their honor.
Relay is a 24 hour event but we weren't there the whole time (hence the name). We were there for the opening ceremonies and watched the "survivor lap" (survivor shirts are purple, supporters wore white, if you are looking at the pictures in the slideshow to the left) before walking our one hour shift. We returned at night for the luminaria ceremony - complete with a guest speaker and some bag pipe players who did a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace, and many other great songs - before walking some more. What a beautiful visual - a 1/4 mile track lined with luminarias - each representing someone's mother, father, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa or son or daughter. And then in the bleachers - more, spelling out the word "hope".
Together we can make a difference.
This spring my 92 year old grandma - Antoinette Petrov - went through 5 weeks of chemo and radiation treatments. Just tonight we learned the good news - they got it all! Craig's cousin Marina also recently went through chemo. We had the opportunity to purchase luminarias in their honor.
Relay is a 24 hour event but we weren't there the whole time (hence the name). We were there for the opening ceremonies and watched the "survivor lap" (survivor shirts are purple, supporters wore white, if you are looking at the pictures in the slideshow to the left) before walking our one hour shift. We returned at night for the luminaria ceremony - complete with a guest speaker and some bag pipe players who did a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace, and many other great songs - before walking some more. What a beautiful visual - a 1/4 mile track lined with luminarias - each representing someone's mother, father, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa or son or daughter. And then in the bleachers - more, spelling out the word "hope".
Together we can make a difference.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Things I'm Thankful for This Weekend
1. Antibiotics. I had a terrible case of strep throat...all 6 of us are on antibiotics. I feel so much better than I did a few days ago. I'm also particularly thankful for fruity flavored liquid antibiotics. Getting the kids to take medicine has never been so easy. (As long as I remember to consult the spreadsheet and get the right kid the right dosage at the right time.)
2. Waking up at 8am. This is nothing short of a miracle with 4 kids. Waking up at 8am on Saturday was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
3. Saturday breakfast. I love this tradition that Craig has of making fantastic breakfasts on the weekends. I love that Max calls Dutch pancakes "Pancake Muffin Mans" and that he calls raspberries "tiny grapes" as he picks them out of the fruit sauce.
4. Giggles. So many times this weekend I caught myself just smiling as I watched my kids play together and giggle about all sorts of goofy things. I also found myself trying to stifle my own giggles now and then, like when Max got out of bed and hid in the closet. He had only promised not to climb into bed with Josh or Annie anymore...I hadn't specifically said anything about not going in the closet.
5. Weddings. Even though I didn't go to the shoot this weekend, I'm thankful for the way God provides for us through our business. I thank God for my husband and his love of wedding videography, and the fun we have when we do work together.
6. Macaroni & Cheese. I don't actually like Kraft mac'n'cheese but it's a crowd pleaser and it works for dinner when Craig is gone.
7. Our yard. Our kids had so much fun playing outside this weekend. They made up obstacle courses and pulled each other in the wagon around the front yard. They played in their cardboard box playhouse on the back deck and spent hours in an inflatable pool that they bought themselves at Wal-Mart.
8. My kids. I love watching them play together. Even though there are many tough times, I can see the joy of the "buddy system" every day.
9. Brave friends, peach ice cream & traveling pants. I'm thankful that Sarah and Anna came over Saturday night to watch the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with me, in spite of the fact that we are all technically getting over strep. And I'm really thankful for Anna's homemade peach ice cream made with fresh-from-the-farmers-market-today peaches.
10. Craig. He's an amazing husband and a fantastic father. Even though we didn't have huge plans, I enjoyed spending Father's Day with him.
2. Waking up at 8am. This is nothing short of a miracle with 4 kids. Waking up at 8am on Saturday was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
3. Saturday breakfast. I love this tradition that Craig has of making fantastic breakfasts on the weekends. I love that Max calls Dutch pancakes "Pancake Muffin Mans" and that he calls raspberries "tiny grapes" as he picks them out of the fruit sauce.
4. Giggles. So many times this weekend I caught myself just smiling as I watched my kids play together and giggle about all sorts of goofy things. I also found myself trying to stifle my own giggles now and then, like when Max got out of bed and hid in the closet. He had only promised not to climb into bed with Josh or Annie anymore...I hadn't specifically said anything about not going in the closet.
5. Weddings. Even though I didn't go to the shoot this weekend, I'm thankful for the way God provides for us through our business. I thank God for my husband and his love of wedding videography, and the fun we have when we do work together.
6. Macaroni & Cheese. I don't actually like Kraft mac'n'cheese but it's a crowd pleaser and it works for dinner when Craig is gone.
7. Our yard. Our kids had so much fun playing outside this weekend. They made up obstacle courses and pulled each other in the wagon around the front yard. They played in their cardboard box playhouse on the back deck and spent hours in an inflatable pool that they bought themselves at Wal-Mart.
8. My kids. I love watching them play together. Even though there are many tough times, I can see the joy of the "buddy system" every day.
9. Brave friends, peach ice cream & traveling pants. I'm thankful that Sarah and Anna came over Saturday night to watch the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with me, in spite of the fact that we are all technically getting over strep. And I'm really thankful for Anna's homemade peach ice cream made with fresh-from-the-farmers-market-today peaches.
10. Craig. He's an amazing husband and a fantastic father. Even though we didn't have huge plans, I enjoyed spending Father's Day with him.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A Day in My Life...
7:20 - drag myself out of bed since 3 kids are already downstairs with Craig; get dressed in workout clothes and pack bag for the gym
8:20 - make sure that Josh and Annie have had breakfast, brushed their teeth, packed their lunches and have their homework in their backpacks and are out the door in time to catch the school bus
play with Max and Noah and feed them breakfast
9:05 - leave for the gym
9:06 - call Craig to ask a quick question and find out the Josh and Annie's school is in lockdown because of a report of a student carrying a gun
9:07 - drive by the school to ease any fears that my imagination has been conjuring up; see that everything looks normal and head to the gym
9:40 - check kids into childcare and head upstairs to ride a bike; poop out after 5 miles, so some abs, and go take a shower.
11:30 - meet a Mary Kay consultant in the Kohl's parking lot to barter some products (found her on craigslist); leave with a couple lipsticks, a cleansing bar and my moisturizer that I traded for products that cost me nothing!
11:40 - head to Wal-Mart; decide against using the backpack/cart routine and put the boys in the double stroller and carry a hand cart; can't find the snacks I wanted for today's meeting...choose something else and get the rest of the items on the list, which now fill my entire hand cart and the whole bottom compartment of the stroller.
12:30 - get home, unload groceries, chat with neighbor who is gardening, feed kids and eat some leftover pizza
1:00 - put Noah down, play with Max on the computer
1:15 - put Max down, start preparing for this afternoon's meeting
1:40 - realize how tired I am and decide to take a short nap before the sitter comes
1:42 - get call from boss with more things to prep for today's meeting
1:43 - call sitter (good friend) and ask her to please get me a Dr Pepper on her way
2:20 - scramble to get out the door on time with everything I need, wave to neighbor who is still gardening
2:45 - arrive at meeting site to set up and realize I'm missing the papers my boss I asked me to bring
2:52 - locate someone in the building kind enough to receive a fax and call sitter
3:00 - 5:15 - long meeting...
5:15 - 5:30 - finish paperwork so I can finally get paid, head home, chat with neighbor who let Annie help her in her gardening
5:45 - greet kids, chat with sitter, try on shoes she brought me, start dinner; realize that dinner won't be done before Annie needs to leave for Girl Scouts so I make her a turkey sandwich
6:05 - Craig comes home - earlier than expected!
6:25 - take Annie to Girl Scouts (wave to neighbor with the beautiful garden)
6:35 - eat dinner with the boys
6:55 - leave for the park (as previously promised, before I knew Craig would be home early)
7:25 - leave the park to get Annie from Girl Scouts (leave Craig and Josh there because they had wandered off looking for frogs and lost track of time), go back to look for Craig and Josh
7:40 - return to house; get in Craig's car and leave for tutoring job
8:00 - 9:30 - work on a translation assignment for a Spanish 8 student
9:37 - pop into the "other" Wal-Mart to look for a particular article of clothing (mission unsuccessful)
10:01 - arrive home; check e-mail, MOPS website, craigslist job postings and Facebook updates; write this blog
10:45 - heading to bed
(Can't wait for tomorrow - minimum day for Josh and Annie, packing for the weekend, driving to San Jose...)
8:20 - make sure that Josh and Annie have had breakfast, brushed their teeth, packed their lunches and have their homework in their backpacks and are out the door in time to catch the school bus
play with Max and Noah and feed them breakfast
9:05 - leave for the gym
9:06 - call Craig to ask a quick question and find out the Josh and Annie's school is in lockdown because of a report of a student carrying a gun
9:07 - drive by the school to ease any fears that my imagination has been conjuring up; see that everything looks normal and head to the gym
9:40 - check kids into childcare and head upstairs to ride a bike; poop out after 5 miles, so some abs, and go take a shower.
11:30 - meet a Mary Kay consultant in the Kohl's parking lot to barter some products (found her on craigslist); leave with a couple lipsticks, a cleansing bar and my moisturizer that I traded for products that cost me nothing!
11:40 - head to Wal-Mart; decide against using the backpack/cart routine and put the boys in the double stroller and carry a hand cart; can't find the snacks I wanted for today's meeting...choose something else and get the rest of the items on the list, which now fill my entire hand cart and the whole bottom compartment of the stroller.
12:30 - get home, unload groceries, chat with neighbor who is gardening, feed kids and eat some leftover pizza
1:00 - put Noah down, play with Max on the computer
1:15 - put Max down, start preparing for this afternoon's meeting
1:40 - realize how tired I am and decide to take a short nap before the sitter comes
1:42 - get call from boss with more things to prep for today's meeting
1:43 - call sitter (good friend) and ask her to please get me a Dr Pepper on her way
2:20 - scramble to get out the door on time with everything I need, wave to neighbor who is still gardening
2:45 - arrive at meeting site to set up and realize I'm missing the papers my boss I asked me to bring
2:52 - locate someone in the building kind enough to receive a fax and call sitter
3:00 - 5:15 - long meeting...
5:15 - 5:30 - finish paperwork so I can finally get paid, head home, chat with neighbor who let Annie help her in her gardening
5:45 - greet kids, chat with sitter, try on shoes she brought me, start dinner; realize that dinner won't be done before Annie needs to leave for Girl Scouts so I make her a turkey sandwich
6:05 - Craig comes home - earlier than expected!
6:25 - take Annie to Girl Scouts (wave to neighbor with the beautiful garden)
6:35 - eat dinner with the boys
6:55 - leave for the park (as previously promised, before I knew Craig would be home early)
7:25 - leave the park to get Annie from Girl Scouts (leave Craig and Josh there because they had wandered off looking for frogs and lost track of time), go back to look for Craig and Josh
7:40 - return to house; get in Craig's car and leave for tutoring job
8:00 - 9:30 - work on a translation assignment for a Spanish 8 student
9:37 - pop into the "other" Wal-Mart to look for a particular article of clothing (mission unsuccessful)
10:01 - arrive home; check e-mail, MOPS website, craigslist job postings and Facebook updates; write this blog
10:45 - heading to bed
(Can't wait for tomorrow - minimum day for Josh and Annie, packing for the weekend, driving to San Jose...)
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