A Fun Friday

Oh, what a fun day we've had. We got a very late start to the day which included a fast trip to the store for me to buy milk, cereal and bananas for breakfast. My bread freezer was empty, we were out of milk and fruit and I didn't want to waste some of my school year stash of breakfasts so I raced out early. The other alternative was having the kids eat scrambled eggs and Saltines for breakfast ... which they probably would have enjoyed.

Anyway, right after breakfast we met John at the baseball diamonds to play ball at 9:00. Joanie stopped by after a long night of being on-call in Cheyenne and so did Grandma. We also got to meet Winston's nanny, Kayla. It was a fun hour until we had to leave to meet my MOMYs friends at the park for a back-to-school park day. What fun! I'm thinking we had a grand total of 35 kids divided among 6 moms and 4 older children were at home or school. What an encouragement to be around other moms with lots of kids who home school.

All this was before 1:00. When we returned we put the littles down for naps and Josiah and I ran to Walmart and filled 3 carts full of food. Since August was so busy, I didn't shop as efficiently as I normally would and we ran low on lots of staples. It feels good to have the pantry full again although I'm realizing I forgot a few major things ... like lettuce! I had a big treat at the Walmart, too, my friend Jodia was there with her beautiful children. I got to hold tiny Falyssa ... oh, what a sweet baby and family.

Tonight was Family Night and we watched an edited version of The Pink Panther and ate chicken sandwiches with a special dessert. (I used my pizza option last night ... not necessarily a wise move but ...)

We're looking forward to a long weekend. Tomorrow we'll enjoy a picnic at the park with the Mohr Family. Sunday we'll be in Castle Rock for church and Monday's plans have yet to be decided. Josiah will help with CAP at a Salute to Military Families at the Event Center all day tomorrow. A great opportunity for him to serve. They will have live feed from all over the world and he will get to meet many interesting people I'm sure.

I will post pictures of my beautiful garage this weekend. We took a van full of junk to the landfill and moved a ton of stuff to the storage room. While the garage is in great shape, I will now have to tackle the basement and storage room next week to accomodate the things we moved. I still have boxes to sort through from various moves ... how crazy is that? But I am now basking in my neat garage and avoiding the basement at all costs.

San Francisco Pictures

I had hoped to figure out how to make a slide show but ... it was just too time consuming so here are some of my favorite pictures from San Francisco with Mike ... it makes me want to go back.

Kathryn and Mike on the ferry in the Bay
A bit of the Golden Gate Bridge ... it was foggy so this doesn't do it justice but still pretty magnificent to see.

The trolley on the roundabout ... we took the trolley a few times but found when it was crowded a cab was the way to go. We also walked all the way from Fisherman's Wharf to Coit Tower through China Town and back to our hotel. It was really fun.
Sail boats ... not something you see in Colorado everyday!
Sea Lions at the pier ... oh, Timmy would have loved this!
Alcatraz ... the "man" in Mike really would have liked to take the tour but the "romantic" in him realized a prison tour might put a damper on the "romantic weekend away".
Coit Tower
The view from Coit Tower
I wanted a picture to illustrate to the kids the angle of the hills and I thought this elementary school was a good example. I can't imagine walking my kids through the city to school. The bars on the windows are a whole other story.

The view of the hills from the trolley.
A store front in China Town.

And, finally, my three little beauties in their new pink, silky, Chinese jammies. Elizabeth's are a little big and she managed to wiggle her way out of them in her crib. Too funny!

I have to say, when I just had little bitty kids people would always say things like, "this time goes by so fast ... embrace it", and I knew they were right. Now, it seems like over-night, I have kids big enough to babysit and live close to family. It's almost surreal. I hadn't left all of the kids for a weekend in 10 years and, as scary as it was to leave, it was like a whole new world opening up. What a wonderful, wonderful time we had. I couldn't have done it without my parents, John and Joanie and the Fahrenbrucks. My kids were so well loved and cared for that I'm not sure I was even missed!

A few pictures from the State Fair

The 2008 Reserved Champions for Demonstrations ages 8 - 13 .... drumroll ....

MARY STEPHENS AND KYLA BOX

While at the fair we tried to take pictures of things each person left at home might enjoy ...

A Transformer for the older boys ...











A tiger for Timmy ...








Mama pig and piglets for the little girls ...








Mama horse and colt for Mary ...








Shayla with bunnies for Ben ...











A donkey for Jacob ...








And, finally, garage organizational supplies for Mike ... hehe.

These piglets thought this puppy was one of them ... isn't that sweet?!
There were lots of really neat displays but I thought this one was pretty funny.

Later I hope to post a slide show of our trip to San Francisco but for now duty calls and I must go ...

Biology Class for Josiah

I was so eaten up (a Texas phrase meaning ... well, eaten up) with the garage this morning I forgot to mention that today Josiah started Biology with a teacher in Loveland. In the Spring, when evaluating my year, I decided that the most helpful classes Josiah could take away from home would be in the areas of Science and Math. Science because of the labs and equipment and Math because of the grading (I strongly dislike grading). The local coop was only offering Algebra and Chemistry. Algebra sounded helpful BUT it was offered at a very inconvenient time and location. I stewed about this for a bit and then resigned myself to the Algebra class option. Over the summer I've been slowly accumulating the supplies for Biology so I could teach it from home and was feeling pretty overwhelmed at the prospects of dissecting pigs, buying a microscope and doing labs. Well, last week I received an e-mail with a list of former Loveland Christian High School teachers who were offering classes to home schoolers. One of the classes was Biology! Woohoo! The cost is just a bit more than if I taught it myself not counting gas to get Josiah to and from but well worth it. So I withdrew him from the Algebra class and signed him up for Biology. He was pretty disappointed as the Algebra class was offered at a large coop and he was anamored with the idea of friends to goof off with before and after class. But, after his first class, he's very pleased. He enjoyed it and felt prepared. He's already reading the text book ... which isn't surprising because he's read every text book I've ever bought him within a week of starting the course. He likes the reading part. It's the notes, quizes and labs that are tedious for him. But I think he'll do great and I feel relieved to not have that class looming on the horizon. The teacher reminds me of my brother, Patrick, very zealous and cheerful. He seems really passionate about Biology and is teaching it from a Biblical perspective. What a huge blessing!

Tackling the garage which leads to the laundry room which leads to ...

Today we will tackle the garage. It will be the beginning of the long process of moving things from the garage to the storage room and things from the laundry room to the garage and so on and so on. I need to set aside what I would "ideally" like for the garage and make do with what we have by being creative. Shoes and coats are always my biggest frustration in the garage (which is why lockers sound so appealing to me). Everyone has a shelf for their shoes and 3 hooks for their coats ... sounds simple doesn't it. When you get home you hang up your coat and put your shoes on the shelf ... so why do I find shoes behind the bathroom door and coats shoved under the shoe shelves? Rachel actually lost 1 shoe from 2 different pairs this summer. I know I'll find them eventually, probably buried in the sand out back. I figure if every child has 1 pair of tennis shoes + 1 pair of crocs/sandals + 1 pair of church shoes = 6 shoes X 9 children = 54 shoes to keep track of. Then you figure in snow boots and miscellaneous extra shoes that look cute with the girls dresses you get a garage that looks like a discard pile at Goodwill. Coats are a whole other story ... winter coats, rain coats, cardigans for the girls, flight jackets for the boys, fleeces, sweat shirts .... ahhhhhh! It makes a mom want to throw in the towel and move to Jamaica where each person could just wear a swim suit and flip flops all year long.

Second to my shoes/coats frustration is the issue of children putting things away in the garage where they go all the time. Is that too much to ask? Apparently. There are usually tools on the floor or helmets in the recycling bin ... it's excruciating. But, it's like everything around here, I need to be diligent with inspecting every single day so that things never get out of control and the kids need to be diligent in putting things away properly. A mom can dream. So now we begin ...

Chili Sauce Hamburgers

We've had these a few times and really love them. I grill them but we eat them like mini-meatloaves topped with Chili Sauce without buns.

1 pound ground beef
2 T finely chopped bell pepper
1 T finely minced onion
1 T Chili Powder
1 T Chili Sauce
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t salt

Combine ingredients and form into burgers.

Josiah would like it noted that he thinks this is a horrible way to treat a hamburger and protests the senseless use of onions in such a perfect meal. Ha!

Back on schedule and 2 weeks to get ready for school ...

This morning we got back on schedule after weeks of craziness. It feels wonderful to be up and going early with a plan for the day. We wanted to get the kids back on schedule before we started school so it wasn't such a big change over night. The new fall schedule will have Mike and I up at 5:30 and the kids up at 7:00. We'll eat breakfast and do devotions as a family at 8:00 and begin school by 9:00. This gives Mike and I time to get ready, have time with the Lord and make breakfast before the kids wake up. Once the kids are awake we'll get the littles dressed, oversee morning chores and then inspect before we sit down for breakfast. This morning it worked beautifully and we were all done by 7:30.

I made Refrigerator Bran Muffins for breakfast (I posted the link under recipes) and they were delicious! The idea is the batter can sit in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks so you can have fresh muffins each day. One recipe will only feed us twice so I'll need to at least double it.

I have two weeks until we start school so I plan to use the time to clean, organize and bake so we can hit the ground running on the 8th. Here are my goals:

Bake muffins, bread, biscuits, waffles and pancakes for freezer.
Cook several types of dried beans to freeze in 2 cup increments.
Cook lots of meat for the freezer.
Organize the storage room.
Organize the garage.
Organize the laundry room.
Organize the school room.

Mary and I have made some pretty good progress in the school room and I hope to finish it up today as well as bake bread, cookies and 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters for the freezer. The most difficult part of doing all of the above is keeping my littles (and sometimes bigs) from destroying what I am not working on while I work. While the cat is away .... so I hope to assign a big kid to the littles at all times to control the chaos. Mike also has some projects for the kids he'd like done so that will be a good energy burner for the boys.

We have decided to buy this house and I am excited to make it my own. It's really hard to not get distracted and want to paint and decorate and spend lots of money on organizing. I have all sorts of brilliant ideas of how to organize this or that but need to pace myself both financially and time wise. For example, wouldn't a row of lockers in the garage be perfect for shoes and coats?! Or big cabinets in my laundry room to organize laundry baskets and supplies! Or a pale pink room for my little girls and an ocean blue room for the little boys. But none of these things are on the top of my priority list so I need to focus on the important.

Now that Mike is home with my camera cable I will post pictures of both the State Fair and San Francisco. Oh, and I've waited this long to say that Mary and Kyla won 2nd place with their demonstation at the State Fair! Woohoo! We had a surprising lovely time in Pueblo. As lovely as a time as anyone could probably have .... in Pueblo. The weather was cool, we arrived before the crowds and they had some really fun sights to see. It was the last event in a months worth of craziness though and getting home felt like entering the Promised Land. And now to begin the day ....

Friday Chores, Preparing for the State Fair and Mike's Return

Friday Chores

Josiah - Morning Chores then Family Room

• Put away goodies found under couches and tables
• Vacuum
• Dust
• Clean TV screen and fire place front
• Steam Clean in front of couches (he sat on the floor after CAP and his boots left SHOE POLISH on the carpet .... ACK!)
  

Mary - Morning Chores then Wood Floors/Kitchen/Laundry Room

• Sweep and mop wood floors
• Put away misc. on counters and table
• Wipe down counters and table
• Restock napkins & plates
• Wipe down tops of washer and dryer and put away misc.

Luke - Morning Chores then Front/School Rooms

• Pick up
• Dust including piano
  
• Vacuum
• Clean computer screens and front door glass

Benjamin - Morning Chores then Trash/Back Yard and Garage

• Collect all trash and take to dumpster
• Pick up back yard
• Pick up garage

Jacob - Morning Chores then Trash/Back Yard and Garage

• Put new bags in trash cans
• Pick up back yard
• Pick up garage
• Vacuum van around Lizzy's seat (he let her have a bag of crackers while we drove last night without permission and she spread them far and wide.)

Timothy - Morning Chores then Trash/Stairs and Garage

• Vacuum stairs
• Shoe Shelves
• Pick up garage

Anna and Rachel - Mom's Personal Assistants

Elizabeth - Take a really long morning nap .... pleeeeeeeeeease!

The kids and I tackled the basement yesterday so we wouldn't have so much to do today. If you remember the van and carpets were just steam cleaned by the men of my house only to be destroyed by little men and a teenager in the span of 2 hours! They WILL re-clean what has been destroyed.

Mike gets home at midnight tonight but I leave at 6:00 to head to Pueblo with Mary, Joanie and the Boxes for the State Fair. I hate to leave again after just returning but it couldn't be helped and at least the kids will awake to Mike's presence. He might even get them donuts so .... Mary and Kyla do their presentation at 2:00, awards are at 2:45 and then we'll head home. I hate to be so anxious to race down and come back but I miss Mike. If we get home in time, Mike and I could sneak down to Greek Fest in Old Town and have some time together while eating yummy Greek food. Plus, as my brother John said, Pueblo should really pay ME to come to their town for the State Fair ... hot, dirty, far away, ... not a real vacation destination.

If I have time I'd like to get more laundry folded and make some muffin batter for Sunday. We'll see! I feel pretty ambitious today but am realistic to know that on a Friday my older kids may not share my enthusiasm. (Thursday night activities wear them out!)

Thursday and the weekend ahead ...

Thusdays are always a pretty busy day for us. We always have Civil Air Patrol in the evening and every other week we have Highland Dance before CAP. Josiah has an inspection tonight and needs his hair cut as well. But my biggest endeavor today will be to lay out everything I already have for school and see what I still need to order or find before we begin school on the 8th. I've decided to start school on the 8th as opposed to the 2nd because that is the day both Josiah's Algebra class and BSF will begin so it seems fitting to just begin regular school at the same time. Plus it gives me a few extra days to get organized. I've just learned of a biology class that Josiah can take which I want to look into. I would rather sacrifice the Algebra and have him take Biology from someone else as Biology requires so many expensive supplies and has so much lab work. Plus, I like Algebra and wouldn't mind teaching that to him. We'll see.

I didn't post a menu for this week because we've just been winging it since I came home. The funny thing is I think the kids like my "wingin' it" meals much better than ones I actually plan and work on. Go figure! I'm brain storming ideas of how to simplify for the school year and I think meals will be one area I stream line. Typically I have made something for breakfast each day but I'm considering alternating cereal/oatmeal and toast and then saving my special breakfasts for Saturdays. Another thought I had is to make a huge batch of muffin batter one day and then using it for subsequent breakfasts for a few days. My issue with cereal is that it doesn't fill the kids up and it's expensive but it is just so easy! Ideally I like to have time on Saturdays to cook for the week ahead but if Mike is gone all week or the kids have an activity on Saturday it doesn't seem to work out. A few times last year I took the 1st Saturday of the month and did once a month cooking so that is an idea as well. Just things to think on before we hit the ground running on the 8th.

So, after all that rambling, here is what I need to accomplish before the 8th (ideally, of course):

*Organize school curriculum
*Organize school shelves
*Re-do Master Schedule
*Re-do Chore Charts
*Order any miscellaneous school supplies
*Plan menus
*Submit application to CHEC before the 31st
*Submit application for Estes Park highland games for Mary

That's all I can think of for now. We'll start on the 8th regardless of how much I get done. I have learned that if I wait until everything is perfect before I start then I will never be able to start. And now to begin the day ...

The Beatitudes for Homemakers

Gina McIntosh sent these to me and I found them very dear and encouraging. Thanks, Gina.

Beatitudes For Homemakers

by Ella May Miller

Blessed is she whose daily tasks are a work of love; for her willing hands and happy heart transform duty into joyous service to all her family and God.

Blessed is she who opens the door to welcome both stranger and well-loved friends; for gracious hospitality is a test of brotherly love.

Blessed is she who mends both stockings and broken toys and broken hearts; for her understanding is a balm to her husband and children.

Blessed is she who scours and scrubs; for well she knows that cleanliness is one expression of godliness.

Blessed is she whom children love; for the love of a child is of greater value than fortune or fame.

Blessed is she who sings in her work; for music lightens the heaviest load and brightens the dullest chore.

Blessed is she who dusts away doubt and fear and sweeps all the cobwebs of confusion; for her faith will triumph over all adversity.

Blessed is she who serves laughter and smiles with every meal; for her cheerfulness is an aid to mental and physical digestion.

Blessed is she who introduces Jesus Christ to her children; for Godly sons and daughters shall be her reward.

Blessed is she who preserves the sacredness of the Christian home; for hers is a divine trust that crowns her with dignity.

What great reminders of the high calling of homemaking, mothering and marriage.

On a more mundane note, I seem to have brought a California sickness home with me and have been feeling pretty cruddy. I am hoping to awake tomorrow morning feeling refreshed so I can tackle the house, laundry, school planning and trip preparation. Mary and I will leave Friday night for Pueblo so that she and Kyla can present their horse demonstration at the State Fair. Mary is very excited. My dear sister-in-law will be driving us plus the neighbors ... thank you, Joanie! My sister-in-law, Marcy, calls Joanie "Generous Joanie" because she is always so willing to help and share.

Mike is still in San Francisco and won't get home until after midnight on Friday. As much fun as we had together as we explored the city, having to stay there longer has been pretty exasperating for Mike. It's a fun place to visit but between high taxes, high prices, dirty streets, homeless people, unusual people, tourists and crowds not a place to spend more than a few days. The taxes alone stunned me ... 14% sales tax, 3.5% food tax, 2.5% liquor tax and 2.5% universal healthcare tax ... can you believe that?! And that's on top of ridiculous prices. You would think with that much money being received in taxes the city could buy a hose and clean off the sidewalks or really splurge and buy a street cleaner. Anyway, everyone is anxious for Mike to come home.

I'm printing off the above poem to encourage me this week and hope it encourages others as well.

Home Sweet Home

I'm home. San Francisco with Mike was wonderful. I didn't get home from the airport until 1:00 am and then didn't get to bed until 2:30 am and then Rachel welcomed me home by crawling into bed with me at 5:30 am ... so I'm tired. The kids had a blast but are wiped out as well. I will post pictures and details later when I get a bit caught up around here. But life is good and all is well in the Stephens world!

Trip preparations, groceries and laundry ...

This picture is my relaxing reminder of what lies ahead when I muster up all my courage and leave the kids for 3 days and 2 nights! Can I really do this? Oh, so scary! When I get too nervous I can imagine sitting by the ocean and watching the sail boats with Mike's arm wrapped around me. A very peaceful image. Plus no one will be asking me questions and I won't have little hands tugging on my skirt .... oh, boohoo ... I like those little voices and hands. I'll have to have Mike ask me random questions and tug on my skirt every so often to comfort me.

We went to Sams and Walmart this morning to grocery shop so the house is full of all necessities while I'm gone. No one will starve and there is plenty of toilet paper. What else could anyone need?

Luke took his test to appease the school district for the year. (Homeschooling kids in Colorado have to be tested every two years ... eyeroll and sigh.) The administrator (who is a homeschooling mom) asked him what curriculum we use for music, art and science. Hmmmm .... music and art curriculum? What a good idea! Ha! For music I guess we learn all the classic hymns and psalms and for art we paint, play with playdoh, color, draw and visit an occasional museum. We've also read about the great composers at times. But, honestly, what do you remember from art and music classes in school? I remember making a ceiling tile that looked like an Animal Cracker box in 8th grade and I made a clay bust of a man's head that was supposed to look like my Dad but in reality looked like Prince Charles. I was in choir, too, but was never very good. As good as Luke is at Chess and math, I really am not too worried about his future in music and art anyways. But it did make me chuckle a bit.

And now back to laundry. My goal this week has been to stay on top of it every day ... fold everything that is washed every night AND put it all away so that I'm totally caught up when I leave on Friday. The discouraging part is when I leave, even if I truly have every thing done, by Monday morning there will be 11 sets of jammies to wash (if they remember to rewear their jammies every night) and 33 sets of clothes to wash. Plus washcloths and dishtowels from the kitchen and ... it's not worth calculating. As I catch up next week I will remember my relaxing weekend and not care.

Happy 40th Birthday, Scott!

Harrison, Scott and Sabrina at Scott's party on Sunday!

My big brother, Scott, turns 40 today. The two little pip squeaks in the above picture are his kids. I adore the sweet little things. I wish I'd gotten a picture that included his wife, Renee, but we were all kid juggling that night and the ones with Renee and the kids don't have Scott and visa versa. Scott has always been a great brother. He took care of me when I was little, was my good friend in high school and college and, even now that we're adults, he always remembers my birthday and Mother's Day. He is wonderfully generous to our family, is an amazing chef and still can make me laugh harder than anyone in the world. I share stories of his childhood with my boys as examples of what NOT to do ... like the time he and Rob Rutherford made a tiny village of houses and people in Rob's garage and thought it would be funny to throw a smoke bomb from the 4th into the little village. Well, the "smoke bomb" was really an M-80 and the tiny village was blown to smithereens. Scott and Rob were scared senseless. I hope he has a great birthday and wish I were closer and could bring him a cupcake!

Mike gets home tonight from Chicago and we can't wait to see his smiling face. I steam cleaned the family and living rooms and hope to surprise him with how nice they look. Of couse, as the carpet was still drying Timothy spilled ice cream trying to serve Mary by walking across the family room! Isn't that the way it always goes when you've just cleaned something?

Monday and the busy week ahead ...

After spending Saturday at the Scottish festival and Sunday at Scott's birthday we are all pretty wiped out. I am trying to get motivated for the week ahead as I prepare for my trip to San Francisco with Mike. My goals are:

Monday - errands, wash laundry and steam clean (don't ask)
Tuesday - fold laundry, cook, clean and fellowship night with church
Wednesday - grocery shop, Luke's IOWA testing, pay bills and the letter "Y"
Thursday - pack and organize the kids things for weekend, the letter "Z" and CAP
Friday - Bon Voyage!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something important. I don't know who should be more scared for the weekend ahead, me or the team of people helping me with the kiddos. My dear friend Diana, her two children, my parents, the Box Family, Uncle John and Joanie will all be helping with the kids this weekend. I've told them, "the kids just need to eat, sleep and play and not necessarily in that order."

Mary and Kyla have switched gears and are now in the throws of preparing their Demonstration Project for the State Fair. They are revamping their board and tweeking their speech.

My living room may never recover ...

Mary Places 2nd in the Sword Dance and 6th in the Seann Truibhas

Mary and Kyla with their ribbons.

We had a wonderful day yesterday as Mary and Kyla competed at the Highlands Ranch Scottish Festival. Mary placed 2nd in the Sword Dance and 6th in the Seann Triubhas while Kyla placed 4th in the Highland Fling. It was a great achievement for both of them as Mary kicked a sword last year and had to stop dancing so she was determined to master the Sword Dance ... and she did! This was Kyla's very first competition so placing at all was a great accomplishment. Every year I question the wisdom in holding these dance competitions in the SUMMER! This is Scottish dancing ... the girls wear wool and velvet! I'm guessing the reason is to take advantage of summer vacations and no school but, WOW, it was hot. Not as hot as the competition in Arlington, Texas, we went to but hot none the less.

We were unable to meet dear little Henry as he was admitted into the hospital with high bilirubin levels on Friday night and didn't get home until late Saturday afternoon. Pray for him and his exhausted parents.

Today after a lovely Family Church we sent Mike off to Chicago and are preparing to go to my brother, Scott's, 40th birthday party in Lyons. The kids are especially excited as it is being held at a restaurant with a basement full of arcade games! Here are a few more pictures from yesterday:

Mary waiting for her turn to dance the Sword.















Jaylee, Anna and Rachel "dancing" while we wait for Mary and Kyla's turns.






Mary accepting her 2nd place ribbon.

I think the second place ribbon on the right is especially beautiful!

Friday Chores and Weekend Preparation

We are getting a really late start today. It's cool, it's rainy and we're all tired. But, very shortly we will begin Friday Chores and preparation for the weekend. My amazing, wonderful, charming, handsome husband folded laundry last night to help me catch up. Now all we have to do is put it away and try to stay on top of it. My big kids are behind on their laundry because I was monopolizing the washer/dryer all week. Our house is not a democracy ... it's more like a monarchy where the queen gets first dibs on everything. I also want to get some cooking done to take to Marcy when we go to Denver to meet little Henry.

Because we cleaned up after the Fitzgerald's left the house isn't in too bad of shape and hopefully Friday Chores won't take too long. Although, I did notice that the little boys skipped the entire back of the van when they cleaned it on Thursday ... boys!

Josiah - Room, dust basement, vacuum basement and his laundry.

Mary - Room, kids bathroom, sweep and mop hardwoods and bake.

Luke - Room, basement bathroom, move couches/tables so Ben & Jacob can put away what has escaped beneath, vacuum main floor, laundry.

Benjamin - Room, collect trash, put away things from under couches/tables, basement.

Jacob - Room, bags in trash cans, put away things from under couches/tables, basement.

Timothy - Room, vacuum both sets of stairs, shoe shelves and coats.

Little girls - help me (I use the word "help" very loosely) and help Mary bake.

Me - Help girls with their room, pick up/dust my room, vacuum upstairs, clean my bathroom, cook (it's always tricky to get my room done because Mike is working up there.)

Somewhere in here we'll squeeze in finishing up the van.

Tomorrow Mike will take the 5 boys and Elizabeth to see the Rams open practice at Hughes Stadium. I'll take Mary, Rachel and Anna to meet little Henry and to Mary's dance competition in Highlands Ranch. It should be a fun day for all! Our van desperately needs to be steam cleaned and Mike may attempt to tackle that as well. I hope. Sunday afternoon is my brother, Scott's, 40th birthday party in Lyons. Poor Mike will be flying out that morning and will miss the festivities. And so it begins ...

Catching up ...

It seems that after a camping trip for the boys, the county fair, church in Castle Rock all day Sunday and house guests I'm a bit (ha!) behind on ... well, everything. At last count I have 12 large laundry baskets full of laundry not counting some sheets and sleeping bags. Not that I'm complaining ... I'd do double the laundry just to do it all again! But I do need to get busy.

The next three weeks will be our busiest this summer. This weekend is the Highlands Ranch Highland Games, next weekend Mike and I are going to San Francisco (alone ... so scary!) and the following weekend I'll be taking Mary to the State Fair for 4-H. I'm thinking that Labor Day has to be the following weekend but I'm refuse to think that far ahead. I am going to quadruple cook for the next several days to stock up on meals for dinners and will make some huge batches of kolaches and muffins for on-the-go breakfasts and lunches.

I think by the time the summer ends even the kids will be relieved to get back to a less chaotic schedule. I've learned that I can't HOMEschool if I'm never home so once September rolls around we'll buckled down. We will have to take some time off when I take my trip out East with Mary but I'll cross that crazy bridge when I get to it. Now off to fold and wash, fold and wash ...

Baby Henry and The Fitzgeralds ... Life is so good!

My tiny nephew, Baby Henry Patrick, arrived Monday evening weighing 5 lbs. 9 oz. and after close examination looks to be 37 weeks and not 34 as expected! What a praise! He is nursing and healthy and an absolute miracle. I hope to meet him on Saturday when I drive to Denver for the Highlands Ranch Highland Games. I can hardly wait!

Our visit with the Fitzgerald family was wonderful. We played, visited, prayed, laughed and explored the mountains! I can't put into words what an encouragement my friend Vicki is to me and how blessed I am to know her and her children. Robert and Vicki have two grown children, Kylie (21ish) and Nelson (18ish), and four younger children, Jonathan (12), Joshua (10) Hannah (11) and Grace (8). They had a beautiful, tiny baby girl named Kristina who died at one month of age while we were living in Dallas. It was a privilege to walk through that horrible tragedy with them and watch the Lord bring them through it with grace and joy. Only Vicki, Jonathan, Hanna and Grace were able to come on this trip. Here are some pictures of our time with them.

Before getting gelato in Old Town Ft. Collins our first night together.
Hannah, Jonathan, Vicki and Gracie at the Continental Divide
... it was COLD!
These brave troopers hiked up to the tippy top of the Continental Divide ... including Anna at all of 4 years of age!
Sledding in AUGUST!
Jacob, Luke and Jonathan roasting marshmallows.
Vicki helping Elizabeth eat a marshmallow! Lizzy is thinking, "Hey, you guys have been holding out one me ... these are delicious!" I can't wait to get copies of Vicki's pictures as she recorded each step of Lizzy's marshmallow journey and it was hilarious!
Cold, wet, tired, dirty, happy children at Bear Lake as the sun was setting ...
the end of a glorious day.
And, finally, a picture to inspire all of you to come visit!
This is the view as you hike around Sprague Lake.

We are continuing to pray for Vicki and her children as they travel to Denver for the funeral of her cousin. We know that Vicki's family, by the Holy Spirit, will bring the light and peace that only Christ can give to this hurting family. We will also be praying as they drive the 18 hour drive back to East Texas. And, of course, we are praying they will return as a family very soon.

A New Nephew Is On His Way!

My lovely sister-in-law, Marcy's, water broke 5 weeks early this morning so baby is on his way! We are anxiously awaiting news. Please pray for safety and ease in the delivery of the baby! I had ambitious plans of bringing her a freezer full of meals but kept thinking I had a whole month to prepare ... see what happens when I procrastinate?! Once my house guests leave I'll be cookin' up a storm for dear Marcy!

Timmy Lost His First Tooth!

Cutie! Look at that tiny hole ... he's so excited!

We're in the throws of preparing for the Fitzgerald's arrival later this afternoon! I'm putting Vicki and the girls in Anna and Rachel's room and Jonathan down with the big boys in their new and improved gorilla cage. Thankfully Vicki won't care that my house is what I call the "snap-together" variety. Not everything matches or coordinates but it's homey. Martha Stewart I am not. I heard a funny quote the other day that I could relate to: "Wonder Woman ... no ... Martha Stewart ... no ... The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe ... now THAT'S someone I can relate to!" Ha!

The Fitzgerald's Are Coming .... Hooray!!!!!!

My precious friend, Vicki Fitzgerald, called yesterday to say they had a death in the family (a cousin ... very sad situation) and will be coming to Colorado from East Texas TOMORROW! Woooohooooo! I could cry I am so excited. Vicki has been a faithful friend and prayer warrior since we first met her when Jacob was a baby seven years ago. Her daughter, Kylie, was our nanny the summer before Rachel was born as well. It will be a true delight to share our home with them and I am giddy with excitement. We'll work hard tomorrow to get ready for their arrival.

My book project is not finished yet. Our new school books arrived and we have 4 big boxes of new things to accommodate. While my back was turned Elizabeth and Rachel were "helping" me by unloading our smaller bookcase in the front room ... why do little kids like to unload bookshelves? I did make them clean it all up!
Josiah and Luke went camping with Uncle Patrick, Cousin Sophie and Grandpa this weekend. I gave them each a disposable camera and will look forward to posting pictures of their trip at some point. Here is a picture just before they left.
After they left we took the rest of the family and our neighbor, Kyla, to the County Fair to admire Mary's 4-H project and to see the sights. Mary won First Place for her book, Reserve Champion for her display board and a pink ribbon for something that I can't remember. It was really fun but really hot ... like Texas hot ... in the upper 90's.
Next year I hope to get the whole family involved in 4-H. It was a great experience for Mary and offers amazing opportunities even for city folk like us. The City of Fort Collins is debating whether or not to allow people to have up to four chickens in their backyards in city limits. I'm all for it ... fresh eggs ... but having lost 2 turtles to either local raccoons or foxes I'm a little nervous wondering how long our chickens would last. I think we'll most likely keep our projects to topics like rocketry or maybe something with our cat. Mary, of course, will go on to the next unit in Horseless Horse and continue to pray for a horse of her own (now that would be a miracle!)