Sunday, March 17, 2024

Joy Dare::February

 10,938. Spontaneous prayer in many languages
10,939. Refreshing the seasonal decor
10,940. Little lanterns


10,941. Finding more daffodils peeking up
10,942. Conversation date with Jeremy
10,943. Finishing a week of school strong
10,944. Candles on gray days
10,945. A whole afternoon of visiting with friends
10,946. Making plans
10,947. A day full of blue sky and sunshine
10,948. Full Sunday School class
10,949. A friend coming to church
10,950. Maria
10,951. Isaiah and Lydia on Monday nights
10,952. Jeremy got home early
10,953. Lunch affirmations
10,954. Dreaming up a couple getaways
10,955. A friend who made my project dreams come true
10,956. Planning this week's ESL lesson
10,957. Remembering to look up at night to see stars
10,958. Forgiveness
10,959. Isaiah genuinely laughing
10,960. Enough energy for the day
10,961. A slower pace for Friday
10,962. Taking a walk
10,963. Friday movie night
10,964. Feeling better
10,965. Warm sun this morning
10,966. Date night
10,967. Patience with Isaiah
10,968. Isaiah singing beside me in church
10,969. Being part of a church community
10,970. Josiah talking while we take drives
10,971. An exciting end of the Superbowl game
10,972. Jeremy will smile through about anything
10,973. Anna's day went better than she expected
10,974. Having Ezra for the afternoon
10,975. Aliza and Anna having their sister Valentine time
10,976. Going down memory lane with Mom
10,977. After dark outside time
10,978. Jeremy came home for a minute to drop off Valentine flowers



10,979. Talking to Cheryl
10,980. Valentine candy for the children
10,981. Making some healthy changes
10,982. Being able to laugh at myself
10.983. An ESL student come in with Valentine flower for the teahcers
10.984. Picking up lunch just because it's Friday
10,985. Bridal shower for my friend's daughter
10,986. Smith Island cake
10,987. Sleeping in on Saturday morning
10,988. Crossing off tasks on a long to do list
10,989. Night time talk with Josiah
10,990. Another full Sunday School class
10,991. Long conversations after church
10,992. Josiah did the driving
10,993. Working ahead on my week
10,994. Laughing with Aliza
10,995. Reading before bed
10,996. Spending the morning with Aliza
10,997. New computer desks
10,998. Catching up with a west coast friend
10,999. Isaiah cooperating to learn a new math concept
11,000. Signs of spring
11,001. Seeing God's provision and faithfulness
11,002. A morning with our favorite 21 month old


11,003. After class conversations
11,004. Boys with fresh hair cuts
11,005. Another week of school finished (I sense a theme on getting through school! lol)
11,006. Getting to know Nicole better
11,007. Siblings heading out the door for late Friday night CookOut shakes
11,008. Saturday cleaning
11,009. Starting the birthday season with the Sheats family
11,010. Cousins around the table playing Camel Up
11,011. Afternoon hymn sing
11,012. Budget planning
11,013. Hearing about Aliza's day
11,014. Daffodils are so close to blooming
11,015. Guitar lesson went so much better than Anna expected
11,016. Orange tinted moon
11,017. Getting way too excited about my Mom's project
11,018. Ramen for Josiah's birthday supper
11,019. Walking around the yard with Isaiah to look at all the daffodils
11,020. Josiah genuinely smiling
11,021. Celebrating Josiah all day
11,022. A new game to play together
11,023. Making cookies
11,024. Good conversations with Aliza
11,025. Lots of new feelings in my heart

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Celebrating Josiah and Aliza

 Wow. These last few weeks have been something. There have been plenty of days that I had hoped to write and by the end of the day there was no energy left for writing. All 4 children and I having colds this week didn't help at all! Now that I'm finally feeling better, I'm hoping there is a flurry of blog posts coming!

We had some fun birthday celebrations. Many ice cream cakes (4 in fact) were consumed in the course of a week. The first was for my those in my family who were able to come over for a birthday get together. The cousins played an exciting game of Exploding Kittens.

Josiah's birthday was on a Wednesday (Feb 28). He had the day off of school. Anna made him a card that was very funny.


He chose CookOut for lunch. The newest game (a card game) Josiah has been playing is SmashUp. Josiah taught his siblings to play which led to a fun afternoon together.

 

We normally have sandwiches for supper at church on Wednesdays, but we took Josiah's birthday as an excuse to take Domino's pizza for supper. When we got home we had his birthday dessert, chocolate covered strawberries and ice cream cake (#2). 

That Friday (March 1) was my brother's 40th birthday. My sisters, Mom and I baked some of his favorites and put together a snack basket for him. Of course we packaged everything into 40 servings. (The pies did count for multiple servings!) lol. Janell, Mom and I delivered it to him while he and Meghan were having lunch. It was a fun little mission to complete together. 

On Saturday (March 2) we had some friends over. I encouraged a really simple friends party with close friends that we are really comfortable around. We had Aliza's birthday supper that night--hibachi chicken and fried rice--since her actual birthday was full of activities. I did the prep and Jeremy did the cooking. It was a lovely afternoon topped off this ice cream cake for dessert. (#3)

Sunday, March 3, Aliza turned 18! Aliza loved that her birthday was on Sunday because all of her favorite things are on Sunday--church, theater, and youth group.

Sushi was what she wanted for lunch which we picked up on the way home from church. She was quite happy with her gift and then she headed off for theater where she was met by Grandma, Jeff, Janell, Renee and Lydia. Renee and Lydia had flowers for her. That was so special for Aliza.

Her theater director agreed to let her leave early so that she could get to youth group on time. I met her there with leftover hibachi for her supper and when she got home that night we had her birthday dessert, Brownie Ice Cream Sundae Pie (#4)

I assured Aliza that I will always be delighted to make her birthday supper and ice cream cake for as long as she wants me to. Have two milestone birthdays (16th and 18th) in very close proximity did make my Mama heart ache just a bit.

 

Sunday, March 3, 2024

 



                                  Happy 18th Birthday Aliza!


 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

 


                                Happy 16th Birthday Josiah!


 

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Savoring Moments and An Embarrassing Story

 


 I'm catching myself savoring these moments when all 4 children are together. I'm so aware that this season of life is quickly changing and I'm having all the feelings about it.

Instead of thinking too much about growing up children, we can laugh instead. During ESL last week I had such an embarrassing moment. We were playing the "flyswatter game" to review colors. I had colored pieces of construction paper taped to the whiteboard. The students were in two lines. I call out a color and the first students in line would race to the board to "swat" the correct color. The students were enjoying it and all was going well until I took a step back and slipped on a laminated poster that had fallen on the ground. The leg went completely out from under me and I ended up on the ground. Before I could even figure out what had happened, a student was helping me up. All I could do was laugh. How does that even happen to a person!? Most of the class couldn't see what happened because they were standing up in lines. Still embarrassing and a good story and a good reason to laugh at myself. 

There are no dull moments around here!

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Joy Dare::January

 10,849. Planning and filling in a new calendar
10,850. Jeremy made supper
10,851. Looking at pictures
10,852. School went well for the first day after break
10,853. Evenings at home this week
10,854. Watching some old home DVDs with Aliza
10,855. A book that is way too engaging
10,856. New mug for morning tea
10,857. Getting to know Anna's guitar teaching a little bit
10,858. Everyone's favorite supper
10,859. Conversations with Aliza about the future
10,860. Grandad teaching Bible class
10,861. Having Mom to myself for a bit
10,862. Welcoming company and still getting recycling taken care of
10,863. Quietly putting away the Christmas tree
10,864. Rainy Saturday that was good for reading
10,865. Catching up with church friends
10,866. Celebrating Dad
10,867. Peppermint tea this evening
10,868. Mature decisions being made
10,869. Listening
10,870. Little birds in the yard eating away
10,871. My winter counter tray

10,872. Cozy at home during the storm
10,873. Praying for Jeremy
10,874. Josiah doing well in Geometry
10,875. Anna excited about the things she's involved in
10,876. Six students today (you can't see them well in the picture!)
10,877. Welcoming so many ESL students
10,878. Job well done exhaustion
10,879. Our teenagers excited for a youth group weekend
10,880. Isaiah getting to be the big kid
10,881. Our home
10,882. Spending time with Isaiah
10,883. Playing with a sweet little girls at church
10,884. All of the stories from winter retreat
10,885. Visiting in Elizabeth's house
10,886. Josiah had a lot to say
10,887. Anna had a good guitar lesson
10,888. Watching snow fall is so peaceful
10,889. A little bit of snow gave us all an evening at home
10,890. Hot water
10,891. Making a special supper before I'm gone for a few days
10,892. Hugs and good byes
10,893. A Mom and Josiah adventure
10,894. Getting to be with Josiah on his first flight
10,895. Laughing over a game
10,896. A morning walk to breakfast
10,897. The warehouse wasn't too cold
10,898. Josiah really enjoyed supper
10,899. Lunch with Josiah
10,900. Beignets
10,901. Thankful for our rural living
10,902. Navigated through the city without getting lost
10,903. Just me and Josiah
10,904. No one else got sick
10,905. Smooth flights
10,906. Happy to be home
10,907. Having Jeremy beside me again
10,908. Jumping back into routine
10,909. 9 year old logic--shorts and t-shirt to play in the ice
10,910. Making a plan
10,911. Keeping my cool
10,912. Catching up with my Mom
10,913. The ability to multi task
10,914. Doing Reading on the porch with Isaiah
10,915. Being seen by a friend
10,916. I made Anna's day by making ziti for supper
10,917. Fresh air for the afternoon
10,918. An enthusiastic class of ESL students
10,919. A smooth day of school
10,920. Enjoying a 70 degree day in January
10,921. Finding some daffodils peeking up
10,922. Overheard: "If you weren't my cousin, my life would be 'uncomplete' " -Isaiah
10,923. Safety on a day with lots of driving
10,924. Celebrating Ronan
10,925. Our children had the best attitudes
10,926. Sunday afternoon--much needed
10,927. End of season football
10,928. Being the safe place for my girls
10,929. Early grocery pick up
10,930. When Janell tells me I'm actually normal
10,931. Lunch conversations
10,932. Mom had lunch with us
10,933. Anna practicing tap
10,934. A new Bible--with a really pretty cover
10,935. Hearing all the India stories again
10,936. Nighttime laughing with Josiah
10,937. Just Isaiah and I in the car talking
 

Friday, February 2, 2024

Winter ONE-derland

  Last weekend we got to celebrate our nephew's first birthday! It's been fun to watch Ronan grow this year and it's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since we met him. 

With it being Ronan's first birthday, I guess it was appropriate for us to have a couple firsts on this trip. This was our first family day trip to West Virginia. It was also the first time the bridge was closed making us go up and around the Chesapeake Bay. There was a horrible accident on the bridge that morning, closing the bridge for 8 hours. Adding an hour to our trip wouldn't usually be the end of the world, but on a day trip, that hour felt very long. 

We made it--a little late--and walked in to a wonderful winter ONE-derland.

Ronan has the family selfie smile perfected.
The party was in a church activity building complete with a pool table, air hockey, foosball, and couches. Our children thought they would be sitting, instead they got to move around and have a lot of fun.

Ronan wasn't feeling very good.

But he perked up enough to enjoy some cake...



And open his gifts.

Ronan has now received THREE of these dump trucks. His Grandma Karen and I both gave him one for Christmas and he got another one for his birthday. What are the chances? He does enjoy playing with that little truck. He was ready to open it up and play with it right away.
And then we drove back home. I'm so glad we were able to be there. As much as my heart feels it that my children are all growing up, it is so nice to be able to make a 5 hour drive to stay for 2 hours to drive 3hrs 45 min home again with young people who are pleasant to be around the whole time.

 

It was a family day that we will remember with fond memories and a "that was a little crazy but I'm sure glad we did it."