Spring Getaway

 Two years ago we went to Great Wolf Lodge for the first time. That time we went directly from my Grandad's graveside service and I realized I had COVID. Anna didn't go down any of the slides because she was afraid of the height. It wasn't the greatest trip and so we were pretty excited for a second chance. It also came at a good time when we all just needed a break from the grind of school and activities.

Isaiah was over-the-top, barely-able-to-contain-it excited.

The boys didn't waste even a minute before going down the first slide.

Anna had some fear to overcome. She knew if she didn't do it, she would be so disappointed in herself. I knew that if she got up the steps one time, she would be just fine. She had quite the support group.

Aliza on her right and Alena on her left--their arms through hers--she made it!

And she loved it!

She was so proud of herself! From then on she still had Aliza and Alena on each side of her, but she didn't look back.

Our Wolf Pack complete with their wolf ears.

The Tornado is the biggest slide. The boys did it over and over. Isaiah kept up with the big boys the whole time. The girls also did it countless times.

Possibly the most memorable moment for all of the children is when I did the Tornado. I did all of the slides this time which made me happy. There was also plenty of time to sit back and watch the children have lots of fun. And there was time to hang out with just Isaiah in the wave pool.

This was such a good and needed getaway. I came home relaxed and rejuvenated and ready to hit the ground running again.
 

Tree Cutting Party

 My parents had a couple tall pine trees cut. It was a beautiful day and we made it the start of a little spring break from school.

Dad thoroughly enjoyed the morning of sitting back and watching the work get done without his involvement.

We all enjoyed watching with him! It was quite the spectator event. Between watching puddles rise and trees being cut down, I know I'm very easily entertained!

The company took the largest pieces of trunk. By the end of the project there were 7 or 8 trunk pieces in that truck.

After lunch all of us got to work. Grandad worked on cutting the large pieces while the rest of us loaded the pickup. When the pickup was full, Josiah drove us to the transfer station where we could unload. Josiah had the best time driving Grandad's truck!

While we were loading the pickup I put this plastic cup of water on the bumper of the truck. I completely forgot about it, and was VERY surprised to find it just as I left it when we got to the transfer station. I told Josiah he must be a very smooth driver.

 That afternoon we loaded the truck 4 times and took 3 loads to the transfer station. I preferred loading the truck. Josiah preferred unloading. We were all happy to get to help Grandad get a start on his cleanup. I think we could hardly see a dent in it that afternoon. The next day Jeremy, Josiah, Isaiah and some of the other men went back and helped get the biggest pile cleaned up. 

Even though I completely wore myself out as I was still getting over a cold, it felt good to get out and work in the beginning days of spring.

So Much Water

 Time will tell if the rain coming this weekend causes as much flooding in our yard as the rain we got a couple weeks ago! I've seen a lot of water in our yard, but I believe, that this is the most water I've seen in our almost 23 years here.

When Aliza got home from dance it was pouring. Isaiah watched for her, ran over to her car to tell her to wait for him to get an umbrella, got the umbrella out of the van and then walked her in. Best little brother ever.

Josiah and Isaiah checked the water level in the ditch every day. Isaiah did some ditch swimming of course.

The ditch overflowed which led to the ditch in from our house flooding which led to our driveway being mostly underwater.

A day or so later we saw the Dept. of Natural Resources stop and unclog the under-the-road-pipe. With that clear, the water in the front and driveway drained quickly. 

Yes, it is quite possible I spent too much time watching the water rise. We are entertained easily around here.
 

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

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.

 

 

                                  Happy 18th Birthday Aliza!