A Very Generous Father's Day Gift

My husband received one of the most generous father's day gifts this year. It is a one-of-a-kind gift that took much love and sacrifice on the part of my daughter who gave it to him. Unless you know the background, you really can't appreciate what a gift this really is. Here's a picture of it:

And here's what it says:

"To David,

I am your loving daughter Kari. I have decided that the best thing I could give to you for Father's Day was a coupon. Now, you are probably wondering what the coupon is for. So, continue reading.

I hereby give David E. Larson permission to dance to the song Alejandro by Lady Gaga in front of me in public or in private 25 times. Each time you do it, I have to mark a number.

Signed,

Kari E. Larson 6/20/10

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25"

Don't kids come up with the best things ever?! This will make me smile for years to come, as will Dave's dancing. ;)

Locks of Love

I realize that I don't post much here anymore. Mainly, it's because more people see what I post on Facebook than ever stop by my good ol' blog. However, I know there are a few of you who aren't on Facebook (gasp!), so I'm posting some pictures of Kari and her donation to Locks of Love.

*Pics removed per K's request.

Before:

No turning back now!

J. did a great job with Kari's hair. She's my sons' favorite hairdresser, and now I think Kari's pretty happy with her, too!

Kari loves to climb on top of Grandpa's work truck. On this day, she decided she should make a bed for herself up there.

I love this short-haired girl!

I Wish........

I found the following courtesy of "The Organizer Lady." I wish................my family had this memorized and lived this out! :) If you are blessed enough to have young children, start training them NOW! I know it seems hard, but believe me, it doesn't get easier when they are older!

In Our Family

• In our family, we make our beds before we leave our room in the morning.
• In our family, we put dishes into the dishwasher, not the sink.
• In our family, we put what we need the next day by the front door the night before.
• In our family, we don't drop our things when we come in the door. We take them and put them where they belong.
• In our family, we put dirty clothes into the hamper as soon as we take them off.
• In our family, we take responsibility for completing the chores assigned to us.
• In our family, we don't complain about our responsibilities.
• In our family, we always flush the toilet immediately.
• In our family, we put up toys, games, tools, and stuff we are using immediately.
• In our family, we don't leave things out just because we plan to get back to the project later.
• In our family, we wash, dry, fold, and put up our clothes as one continuous job.
• In our family, we make sure all trash goes into the trash basket.
• In our family, we keep our closets and drawers neat.
• In our family, we use the team concept. Each person does his part to support all.
• In our family, we are willing to help others where necessary because we are a team.
• In our family, we talk kindly to each other.
• In our family, we think ahead to solve problems before they happen.
• In our family, we pay attention to maintaining beauty.
• In our family, we push our chairs up to the table when we leave.
• In our family, we strive to complete projects and clean up expeditiously.
• In our family, the person who uses the last sheet of toilet paper puts new roll on the roller.
• In our family, we value each other and the contribution each makes.

Late to Church

Our family usually gets to church in three different vehicles at three different times on Sunday. Since I want my children to actually love the Lord and not hate church, I only make them attend two services most of the time. I usually have the three younger kids with me on Sunday mornings, and on the way to church, we listen worship CDs to prepare our hearts for worship. We often pray for the services and for our hearts to be open to what the Lord wants to speak to each one of us. Do you believe this? If so, please stop reading right now because you are about to be disillusioned! We're just like your family; sometimes by the time we get to church, we've had it with each other!

We are usually at church in time for service. I may not walk into service until after worship has started, but that's just because I love visiting and connecting with others so much that it's hard for me to get away to be in auditorium by the time the worship team starts playing. But then there are other times. Well, let's just say that we're a typical family, and people (read that - children) don't always cooperate like we think they should. This morning was one of those mornings.

Dave had taken my youngest with him, and Hannah was going by herself because she had to leave for Sacramento immediately after second service. So that left me with the two boys. I let them sleep until about 45 minutes before it was time to leave for church. After getting them up, amazingly, they were both "ready" in about 20 minutes. Since I was still putting myself together, they went to sit in the car. I am not kidding; they sat in the car, in the garage, with the garage door closed, for 20 minutes waiting for me. Once I had everything together, I headed out to the car, pleased that my boys were ready and waiting so patiently for me.

By this time, it was about 20 minutes before service was to start - plenty of time for us to get there. I put the car in reverse to back out of the garage, and as I did so, I looked over at my son and could tell he hadn't even washed his face. My mistake was assuming that "ready" meant the same thing to both of us. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson on this by now. So, I asked my son if he had washed his face, and he said, "Yes."

Now what was I supposed to do with that because it was clear to me that he hadn't? So, I said, "Are you telling me the truth?" to which he replied, "No." I think I was supposed to feel better about it because at least he owned up to it right away. So I told him I would not leave the house until his face was washed, and of course, he was angry with me because, as we all know, it was MY fault. Then, I looked back at my other son, and I could tell he hadn't even "done" his hair (whatever that really means for boys). Last night, I had told him he needed to take a shower before church since he wasn't taking one that night. Again, I assumed that he would obediently do that since I had specifically told him to do so JUST LAST NIGHT! He was also wearing a wrinkled t-shirt that was actually clean, but it had been wadded up when he put his clean clothes away in his drawer.

So, I put the car into park and told the boys that I wouldn't leave until they had both done everything it takes to be fully "ready" for church. I also did the typical mother thing and said, "At your ages, I should NOT have to ask you every stinkin' morning if you've washed your face (or brushed your teeth, or made your bed, or put on clean clothes - insert what you want here). So, now I have two boys who are angry with me because I am asking them to do what I consider to be NORMAL, EVERYDAY, GET-READY STUFF!

Both boys got out of the car (can't you just hear the car doors slamming?) and headed back into the house. They proceeded to tell me to go to church by myself and they would just stay home. Well, in my opinion, that would have been letting them off way too easily, so I told them that they WOULD go to church and that we'd leave whenever they were ready.

At this point, I was their favorite person in the whole, wide world! NOT! Anyway, we didn't even leave our house until 7 minutes after service had started, and it was a silent ride for the most part. Finally, we arrived at church and both boys exited the car, put their hands in their pockets, and walked off towards the youth room, with nary a "Goodbye," or even a shrug to me. Ah, the joys of parenting.

I gathered my Bible and purse and headed towards the auditorium not looking forward to having to walk in late. I realized, however, that there was an up side to arriving after the service had started; I got into auditorium much more quickly because there was no one to stop and have conversations with on the way in. :-)

Summer Hiatus

My Beautiful Children

*Pic Removed per K's request.

In an attempt to actually interact with my children, I will be taking a break from posting for the summer.  Unless something truly interesting happens (which, face it,  99.95% of my blog posts have not been about anything interesting), I won't be posting.  I also will not be checking my email regularly; I plan to pick one day a week to check my emails (by then I'll have hundreds, but oh well).  So.......if you would like to contact me, you'll have the old-fashioned choices of either picking up the phone to call me or (horror of horrors) writing me a letter and sending it snail mail.

As I step away, I will be in prayer regarding whether this blog is something that will continue.  I was only doing this blog as a step of obedience to what I felt the Lord was calling me to do two years ago, but I know for certain that His plan for me was NOT to abandon my children as I became more and more addicted to checking my email and keeping up with blogs (both mine and others).  As my children grow and go forth into their lives, they won't remember if I answered every last email or text, or if I kept up with posting or reading the many blogs I've come to enjoy, or if I always had some witty, little saying for my facebook status, or if I cared about twittering, blackberries, instant messaging, or online devotionals.  But my children will remember if I took the time to play that game of Sorry, or to walk to the library, or to read out loud to them, or to visit family, or to swim, or to roast marshmallows, or to just sit down face to face with them and really, I mean REALLY, listen to them.  

I am ashamed to say how long it's been since I've given myself to my kids.  I meet needs (sometimes); I wash clothes and buy groceries; and I'm in the same house with them, but I am not WITH them.  There is great value in being fully present in the here and now, and I'll be really honest and just tell you that that is a struggle for me and how my brain is wired.    I don't care where I am or who I'm with, my brain is going a hundred miles an hour, thinking of anything and everything except just enjoying the current moment.  Lack of engagement (disconnect) is also a part of my battle with depression.  I am praying that the Lord will help me to be able to change and overcome this.  I would covet your prayers regarding this issue.  

I am the only mother that will be standing before God accounting for the training, parenting, and loving of the  four precious children He has given me.  I don't think I will hear "Well done," if I have neglected my husband and children because of my over-involvement with keeping up with emails and blogs.  I am choosing to step out of the technology fast lane (well, with me and technology, it's more like stepping out of the right hand, slow lane on the freeway, but you get the point).  

I am feeling such a sense of empowerment by making this choice, but I also wonder about those who may email me and not get a response right away.  I do not have an "auto respond" with my email address, so I don't know how to let people know I'm not being rude, but that I'm only checking my emails once a week.  I know that others have become accustomed to me checking my emails multiple times a day, but I just don't want to do that anymore.  I think I have "Disconnect Anxiety,"  which is an actual disorder now, I guess.  Click the link for a very interesting article that I just found when writing this post.  I guess the pain of continuing to be chained to my email and computer is more than my worry and anxiety about hurting someone's feelings or missing something important.  

So, my friend, I bid you goodbye for the summer.  If you have children, please join me in evaluating the amount of time you spend being with your kids, but not WITH your kids.  

Thanks for joining me in the journey for these last two years.  I consider it an honor that you have given some of the measured moments of your life to traveling this path with me.  I most earnestly pray blessings, peace, and health for you all.  

In His name and for His glory,

Gena

Oh, and in case you think I'm overstating the case that my family needs me to be more attentive and involved with them, just take a look at this.
*Pic Removed per K's request.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

Yeah, I thought that would help you understand.  :-)

Eric's Sectional Meet Photos

Just thought I'd post some pics of my son at the Sac/Joaquin Division 1 Sectional Meet. Eric has had a great season and did well at the sectional meet, but, alas, he didn't make it through to State Finals.  The sectional meet was a great way to end the season, though, and he has a lot to look forward to next year as a senior.  It should be fun.

Birthday Brunch

A couple of weeks ago, it was "Birthday Brunch" time with my mom and sisters.  Twice a year we get together at Mimi's to celebrate two of our birthdays.  In April, it was my two sister's birthdays, in case the presents in front of them didn't give that away!  Aren't they beautiful?  I am so proud of the two of them.  They are great women, fantastic moms, and the best, most fun and loving sisters I could ask for.  

At the restaurant, we almost always sit at the same table and can easily spend a couple of hours catching up with one another and sharing the latest news in each of our families. Between us there are ten children, so there's never a shortage of news to share.  As you can see in the picture of me and my mom, there usually aren't too many people in the room where we sit, and that's probably a good thing because we girls can laugh rather loudly.  (I'm sure you find that hard to believe!) 

The birthday brunch tradition is one that I look forward to because it's just the four of us.  We see each other at other times, of course, but usually it's with our husbands and children in tow, and although it's tons of fun, we don't often get time to visit with one another.  Carving out some time alone with just the four of us is just what we need once in a while!  These times take me back to when it was just the four of us in our home, and I find a great strength in the reconnection that takes place when we are together.  Yes, I am blessed.

Resurrection Day!

I have a hard time comprehending the sacrifice Jesus made for my sin, and there are no words to describe my gratefulness for it.  To think that the power that raised him from the dead is available to me today is amazing.  Happy, glorious Easter to all of us who long to follow after the risen Christ with our whole hearts.  

We will be spending Easter at my sister's house after the three morning services.  Dave will be wiped out, but the kids will have so much fun with all of their cousins.  I thought I had been given the easiest of items to bring to her house for our meal, but the dessert that I was to make really threw me for a loop.  This dessert has an initial layer that needs to be baked for exactly (as the recipe stipulates) 8 minutes at 400 degrees.  Easy, right?  Well, I put the dish in the oven, and then proceeded to set the timer for 20 minutes.  Why?  I guess it's because the one recipe that I make all the time, my grandma's Texas cake, needs to bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, so when I saw that recipe said 400 degrees, I went on auto-pilot and set the timer for 20 minutes, and as a result, the crust was charred!

No biggie, though; I would just make another one.  That would have worked well, but I was being so efficient, that after I put the second batch in the oven (and setting the timer for eight minutes), I looked at the next recipe I needed to start on and realized that I needed something from the store so I thought I'd just run to get the last few items I needed.  I didn't even think about the dessert crust I had just put in the oven!  So, I ran off to the store, picked up my few items, and then came back home to the smell of another burnt crust!  I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!  That's what I get for trying to do a couple of things at the same time and not paying attention!

My kids  got their Easter baskets on Saturday morning.  It's a tradition we started long ago for our family.  "Why on earth would you give your kids their Easter baskets the day before Easter?" you might wonder.  Well, on Easter mornings, Dave is up and out of the house even earlier than usual (Easter being a big day in his line of work and all), so we aren't able to be together when the kids get up.  Long ago, we decided that the Easter bunny (oh, lighten up!) would come to our house on the Saturday before Easter so that we could have a fun morning together as a family.   It works great for us!

I appreciate all the extra work everyone (and I mean everyone!) put in to help make our Easter services flow so well and our campus look so great!  The fact that so many people love Jesus and are willing to do whatever it takes to point others to Him is a HUGE blessing!   I LOVE MY NEW LIFE FAMILY!   You guys are the best!

 

Celebration Weekend!

The title of this post is somewhat of a misnomer because my anniversary is next weekend, and we will be celebrating 23 years of marriage, so that will REALLY be a "celebration weekend," but this weekend also has lots of celebrating in it.  

First of all, it's Valentine's Day this weekend.  Now, Dave and I don't do much at all for Valentine's day because we'd rather save our money for our anniversary, but I do love celebrating the day of love with my kiddos.  Simple, homemade, heartfelt cards are the absolute best!  And then, tonight we celebrated the 15th and 13th birthdays of my two beautiful nieces.  Tomorrow, my daughter will attend two birthday parties (for three different children), and we will attend the wedding of my cousin's daughter.   Whew; what a weekend!

Today, the fam went to the movies (a fun thing to do when all the kids are off school, right?).  Four of us saw the 3D movie, Coraline, and the other two went to see Paul Blart, Mall Cop.  We had free passes to the cinema in  Riverbank, so we loaded up the van and headed off.  We don't go to the movies often, but every once in a while, it's a fun treat, and we all happened to be free this morning to go together.  How often does that happen?!

I was blessed to receive a handmade Valentine's card from a friend of mine, so I officially release you all to go and bless someone with a Valentine's day surprise. 

We LOVE because GOD LOVED us FIRST. 1 John 4:19

The Red House - Part 4

(If you want to see the previous three entries, just scroll down the page)

Today, we'll look at some unusual aspects of this lovely and cozy home. Art and scripture are important to this family, and you'll discover that in these next few pictures.

The artwork below was painted by a family member. If you look closely, you'll see the scripture verse written in a curving line around the fruit. Beautiful!

Below is a picture of a carved scripture mounted in the mud room as you enter the house. It is definitely hand done, but since it is not signed, I don't know if a family member made it.

The following picture was actually inside a closet/passageway between two of the bedrooms. It is a charming and sweet surprise to come upon.

In the laundry room, there is this hand-painted artwork and scripture which serves as a good reminder.

And truthfully, this was one of my favorites. It is a picture drawn by one of the owners' grandsons. I'm not sure if the picture is of the owner or his son (Mattias's father), but it melts my heart and makes me smile. Isn't it priceless?

Tomorrow will be my last post on The Red House. Be sure to stop by to see what we found outside! You'll love it!

The Red House - Part Two

Yesterday, I began our little tour of the Red House.  This house was built in the late 1800's and has had a very few updates since then.  Most of the modern conveniences were there (stove, refrigerator, microwave, indoor toilet, running water, washer/dryer, a wood stove, and electricity).  Missing was a phone, a TV, a computer, or a radio.   Bliss, I tell you!   Oh, and there wasn't a dishwasher which made my youngest very happy because she loved washing the dishes by hand.  Too bad that doesn't carry over to home!  And talk about clean; I couldn't find one spot of dust in the entire place!  They continue to take such good care of the house.  Today's tour will show you some of the inside of the house.

So, here's part of the kitchen: 

The living room:

One of the kid's rooms upstairs (all beds had down comforters in fresh duvet covers, along with flannel sheets- oh so comfy in a house heated only with a wood stove!):

And finally, two pictures of the stained glass windows in the house:

As previously mentioned, Dave wasn't able to run the half-marathon, but my two youngest were able to run their 3K fun run with Just Run!  I couldn't leave this post without showing your their perfect strides as they crossed the finish line:

*Pic Removed per K's request.

and with their medals:

*Pic Removed per K's request.

The Red House

We were blessed to be able to get away for a couple of days last week (for the half-marathon that Dave didn't run), and we stayed at the greatest place. It is an old farmhouse that is available for people in full-time ministry at a very (VERY) reasonable rate. The family that owns the land lives in a house next door to the house we stayed in. They feel that providing this peaceful place for people in full-time ministry is a ministry of theirs. How cool is that? The first evening we were there, the man who owns the farm came over to make sure we were okay and then he asked if he could pray over us. Oh my goodness! What a blessing that was! This couple have raised all of their children on this rural farmland. They have a son serving in full-time ministry as a missionary pilot in Brazil, so I'm sure they understand the blessing that they are able to be to those who serve.

Anyway, I took a lot of pictures, but none of them capture the coziness and peace that we experienced being there. Stop back by here because I will share some more photos over the next few days.

The house we stayed in is called, "The Red House." Aptly named, don't you agree?

We'll start with the fresh flowers that were placed throughout the home. This first picture is what was directly in front of us when we walked through the door.
As if that weren't enough of a beautiful and thoughtful surprise, look at all the other surprises we found. See if you don't end up taking a deep cleansing breath looking at these photos.




And I forgot to take a picture of the flowers in the center of the farmhouse dining table that had a package of cookies and a welcome card beside it. So, so thoughtful. We knew we were in for a special couple of days. Next up? You'll have to come back to find out.

Honestly, We're Not Trying to Steal Your Stuff!

Okay, I was doing laundry again today (well, what's new about that?), and I ran across a shirt that I have never seen before. I know it isn't a shirt that I bought for my son, and I know no one gave it to him, but here it was coming out of my dryer. I asked my son about it and he said he had worn it (I am most observant, obviously) and put it in the dirty clothes basket. I asked him where he got it and he told me, "I don't know, my drawer?"

I'm sure it was simple to my son - "I need a shirt. Shirts are in my drawer. All shirts in my drawer are mine. This shirt, although I've never seen it before, is in my drawer. Therefore, it must be mine. I will wear it."

And so, here I am folding a shirt that I've never seen before to put back in my son's drawer. I asked him if it belonged to any of the numerous kids who come over to play, but he said no. So, I'll put it back in his drawer and he'll wear it again. However, I have this fear that another mom (either at church or in the neighborhood) will see my son in this shirt and think that we just took something of theirs. So, I give you all permission to let me know if you ever see any of my children wearing anything that belongs to you child. It wasn't deliberate, honestly!

At my house, this same phenomenon is especially true during the swimming season with beach towels. I have beach towels that I know are not ours, but there is no name on them and no way to know who they belong to. So, same goes for beach towels; if you see one of yours when you're here, just let me know and you can have it back. And....I'll do the same if I see one of my beach towels at your house, okay?

And...you can thank me that I won't even go into the little kids' underwear that shows up from time to time! :-)

Hannah's Coming Home Tonight!

Just a little update:

Hannah will arrive home from the Dominican Republic at about midnight tonight.  She lands in S.F. and will be driven home by some friends.  I can't wait to get the call to go pick her up!  I know she'll be too tired to tell me much since she won't get to town until at least 3:00 AM, but after a good sleep, I look forward to hearing all about it!  She turned 18 while she was there; she left the U.S. a child and is returning an adult.  I missed her on her birthday especially; she was in my thoughts and prayers all day.  It will be good to give her a hug!  Tonight, I'm thankful for a great daughter arriving safely home.  :-)

The San Francisco Airport as Hannah will see it coming in tonight.

I'll Get to Use the Measuring Cups!

As I have watched the news and read the newspapers this week, I paid careful attention to what was happening with the Telegraph fire.  In my last post shared the loss that I felt knowing our trailers were gone, along with the sentimental items that were my grandmother's.  However, tonight I received this email from my sister who just arrived home from a family vacation:

Hi Gigi: (That's what my nieces and nephew call me)

I just checked on your blog--we got back tonight at
8:00. I don't know if you have been in contact with
Uncle Warren, but he called Dan last night and said
that our trailers were saved and that the CDF is using
our knoll as a staging area. The hills look very
different because they used the cat, but our trailers
still stand.

Maybe you know this already, but I thought I'd send
you a note about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No.....I didn't know that, and I am so giddy that I want to just jump up and hug someone, anyone.  From all accounts, it looked as if the fire went right through our property, but amazingly, the CDF must have worked hard to keep the fire away.  It will be interesting to see how the hillside looks, as I'm sure many of the trees and manzanita are gone.  It will also be barren driving the dirt roads back in there because I'm sure the hillsides are charred.  I'm not sure when we will be able to get in there ourselves, but it looks like we still have a place to go.  I'll use my grandma's measuring cups with renewed thankfulness and wonder next time.    

Flights and Fire

Hannah arrived safely in the Dominican Republic (DR from here on out) after a rough flight from Miami.  Several of the students were sick in the air from all of the turbulence, but once they hit land, they felt better.  No word on whether or not Hannah was one of those who became ill, but all's well that ends well, right?!  I probably won't hear anything again until the team meets back up to head home.

On a sad note, the Telegraph fire outside of Mariposa has taken the land that my family has owned for close to forty years.  Well, I guess that's not entirely correct; the land is still there, it's the trees, structures, and trailers that are gone.  It's a sentimental loss, and all of our family is safe, so we must keep things in perspective.  I've had many wonderful times at that property and I believe our property is one of the reasons that my extended family has stayed close all of these years.  

My grandfather and grandmother, together with her brother and his wife, bought forty acres in the middle of the Stanislaus National Forest.  Their dream was that both of their families would have a place that they could go to so that it might keep the families close to one another.  Their plan worked, and I am blessed to have regular contact with my extended family.   I come from a big family and we've shared some great times sitting around the camp fire, visiting long into the evening.  The one time of year that ALL of the family makes it up to the mountains is Thanksgiving, and it's a blast.   Usually around 11:00 AM a big ride is organized and most everyone gets on their motorcycles and quads to travel off to Black Mountain, Soap Stone Ridge, the old mine, or other interesting locales. 

You can get to my family's mountain property by going through Greeley Hill or through Mariposa which means it is smack-dab in the middle of the Telegraph fire.  The only way in to our property is on dirt roads through the Stanislaus National Forest.  Pine and oak trees cover the hills and line the roads.  Manzanita bushes fill in the mountainsides, and at certain times of the year, poison oak is my number one enemy.  On the news reports, you'll hear frequent references to the "rugged terrain."  That terrain is what is hindering the efforts to contain the fire.

I don't know what we'll find when we are able to get back in to our property.  Our mountaintop camp will be black and barren, I'm sure, but I will want to see what, if anything, survived from our trailer.  There is nothing of true monetary value that was in there, but there were many items that belonged to my grandmother that were of sentimental value to me.  There was the wooden shoe that we kept the matches in; my uncle brought it home from Germany as a gift for his mom (my grandma).  The etched mirror on the wall, although spotted with age, made me smile when I saw it.  My grandma would mount the pictures that we drew for her on that mirror.  There were still a couple of my grandma's over-shirts and jackets in the closet because every once in a while they came in handy.  There were some tin measuring cups that were nothing special, really, but they were old and dented around the bottom edge, and I felt close to my grandmother when I used them.   

None of those things would mean anything to anyone else, but they brought me comfort when I saw or used them.  Those are the things I will miss.  I know of people who have lost everything in their homes to a fire, and this doesn't even compare.  But it is a loss and a grief, nonetheless, for me.  The latest report that I saw said that they now have the fire 40 % contained.  If that is true, that's a marked improvement over last night when it was only 15% contained.

Anyway, I hope to get back to my bullet points on being easily offended one of these days.  I've already started another post on that, but kids, activities, open houses, and family have pretty much taken all of my time.  It takes a while to get a post written, especially because I'm not a natural writer and I have to really work at it.  Let's just see how long it takes me to get back to that!

Please Pray

We dropped my daughter off at the S.F. airport last night because she and her missions group were flying out at 8:50 PM.  They were headed to Miami, and then to the Dominican Republic.  She is in the air as I type this, somewhere over the Atlantic.  Just asking all of you to pray for her and her missions team while they are there.  It is a great chance for each of them to share God's love through serving, and to experience a heart renewal as they see His purposes for them.  Thanks for standing with us in prayer.

A Few Days Away and Backyard Movie Night

We were able to get away for a couple of days to the Pinecrest Lake area.  I guess most of Turlock thought Pinecrest sounded like a good idea also because we saw two of our close neighbors who went there to camp and there were about six families from the church who had headed to the lake for a little vacation (although we didn't see all of them personally).  Fun times!

We headed home this afternoon to get ready for "Backyard Movie Night."   My youngest daughter and her friend planned the entire evening and all the kids on the block joined us.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

Here's my daughter welcoming our next door neighbors.  She had them sign a ticket when they arrived for the raffle that would take place just before the movie.  She had four different movie candies that the winners could choose from.

My daughter and her friend thought of everything.  Although you can' t read these signs, they point the way to the food and drinks, and more importantly, the bathroom.

Don't let the older kids tell you that they don't like movie night!  :-)

*Pic Removed per K's request.

With popcorn and lemonade in hand, we're almost ready for the movie.   These are just some of the children who run from house to house all day (and evening) long now that it is summer.

And what movie, you may ask, did we show?  Well, Alvin and the Chipmunks, of course, because kids just love to sing in their chipmunk voices.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

It was refill time for some of the girls.  I have pictures of all of these girls from the time they were small.  I love that they are growing up together through the years.

As the movie was winding down, the kids were still glued to the screen.  Within a few minutes of the movie ending, they were all in the pool for one quick dip before heading home.

Abusive Use of Power

I have a confession to make.  I sometimes (okay, maybe often) abuse my power as a mother.  Yes, I do.  

I do such abusive things as require my children to make their beds; GASP!  I assign morning and evening chores to each of my children; now you see why having four children is a blessing to me.  :-)   I ask my children to help with things like bringing in and putting away the groceries.  I make my children apologize to one another when they have wronged another family member by their attitude or actions.  I've been known to lock my children outside the back door (twice) until they can settle their squabble because I didn't think I should be in the middle of it and I had no patience for it (this not only saved me, but probably them as well!).  I've abused my power by asking one of my children to get me something (the newspaper, a drink, a pencil, etc...) after just sitting down and finding myself too tired to get back up to obtain said item myself.  Shocking, I know!   

However, in the last couple of weeks, I've really outdone myself.  Brace yourselves; the confession is coming..........I've made my children watch episodes of the first season of "The Waltons!"  

I can just hear the murmurs now, "Psssst.....did you hear what Pastor Dave's wife did?"  "Oh, yes she did!"  "Can you believe it?"

Yes, I did ask my children to watch The Waltons with me, and although they won't tell you this....they liked it.  Well, they did give me the obligatory, "Do we have to?"  but they do that about a lot of things.  Anyway, when I saw the "The Waltons" on Netflix, I thought, "Hey, that would be a good summertime program to watch as a family."  

I have fond memories of watching "The Waltons," and I realize that dates me, but I'm not hiding my age from anyone anyway.  I loved that it was set during the depression era; I empathized with not having any money.  I loved that the family worked through things together.  I loved that John Walton (not to be confused with John Boy) stood up for his family.  I loved the way the grandpa and grandma "quarreled" with one another.  I loved the lessons taught by each episode.

I began to think that those things would be great for my children to experience this summer instead of using their TV time to watch shows which I often think run high on "entertainment" and low on "life lessons."  So, I added "The Waltons" to my queue on Netflix and secretly waited for the disc to arrive.  

When the familiar, red Netflix envelope appeared in the mail, the children excitedly open it only to ask the following questions:  "Hey, who ordered this?"  "What is this?"   "Do we have to watch this?"  "Can we send it back?"  

Yes, I have delightful and passive children who always lovingly oblige to what I request of them.  NOT!

Anyway, we began with the first episode while having our "pizza picnic" on the living room floor.  Yes, the opening of the show is WAAAAYYY longer than the opening of today's TV shows.  Yes, the show does seem to move slowly at times (which is part of why I like it).  Yes, the special effects are often corny by today's standards.  And yes, (are you ready?)  my children have slowly been captured by the characters and the story lines.  DON'T TELL THEIR FRIENDS!  :-)

So, I imagine we will slowly work our way through the rest of season one only to move on to season two.  It will take a while and I don't want to overdose my children (because that would REALLY qualify as abuse), but I simply love the values and lessons that are taught through the lives of this large family that lived on a mountain during the depression.  

Yes, I've abused my power as a mother, but I do believe my children will thank me for it later (or at least they will have one more thing to make fun of me about when they are with their friends).

Play Day in Monterey

Although we won't be taking a big vacation this year, we are planning a couple of day trips for our family.  Our first day away was Monday when Dave took a vacation day and we loaded up our bikes and went to Monterey.  My sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces went with us, and the ten of us had a blast!  We parked at the beach in Seaside, and proceeded to ride our bikes into Monterey.  We stopped at the wharf, ate lunch at Archie's, visited the aquarium, continued our ride down to Lover's Point for rock-jumping, and then headed back to Seaside to load up the bikes and travel to San Juan Bautista for dinner.  It was a simple, peaceful day filled with laughter and joy.  We are blessed.