Memory Lane... Part 2

So I am still walking down memory lane trying to wade through years of photos... well at least the last 8 years of photos...

and WOW... not an easy thing to do.

It's emotionally draining I tell you!

Watching your kids grow up in a day is tough...

Watching the last of your children be born and your Grandmother pass in one afternoon...

Elating...  and Devastating

Of course I have found hundreds of photos that are just absolutely priceless to me,

and I realize that I have recently stopped taking as many photos as I once did...

So watch out people I am on a mission to start documenting my kids again.

Time slips away and you don't even realize that your kids are growing, you are changing, the world adjusts... right before your eyes... and in a blink really.

Tonight I wanted to share these because since Christmas with the loss of my Grandma I have really missed her.  She was an amazing woman and I was so lucky to be able to call her my Grandma.

 Grandma in her late 80's swinging with my kids outside..

She totally rocked.

 and here always ready to play tea party with the girls and their dolls.

She would sit for hours and let them serve her.

She always loved that the kids played with dolls and took time to be kids and not grow up too fast!

 Before leaving our house for a Canadian road trip with mom and dad.

 Loving on sweet Jack.

I feel so lucky that I can hopefully keep some memories alive for him.  

He turned 5  just a mere 2 days before she passed.

I have tons of photos of the two of them together.

She played and played with him for those first 5 years of life.

I know that he will remember because I will attach memories to those photos...

Being without Grandma for the this first Mother's Day was rough.  

She was the matriarch of the family and the one that kept everyone connected.

A true mother to so many.

I miss her.

But before I go getting emotional again...

I found some other pics that I adore... and one that is just plain random but has a great story!

 Emma and Jack.  

Cried when she found out "he" was going to be a boy...

and has been his closest buddy since birth.

I love that I have photos of their relationship through the years!

get ready for random...

 My mother's right hand.

She has no pinky.

This always fascinated and terrified my kids all at once...

especially when she would stick the pinky in her nose...

yeah

gets the kids every time!

anyway, long story but as a child she got her little chubby baby finger in/on and electrical plug in and severely damaged her finger.... years later the damage being so bad they ended up amputating.

Most people don't even notice that she is missing a digit.

But it made for a great lesson on why we don't touch electrical stuff to our kids when they were little.

I think that is how the "terrified" got into the equation!

 One of my all time favorite "sisters" pictures...

California trip and Elizabeth put make-up on my all to willing girls.

When they came out of the "make-up van" all the adults lost it!

It was too sweet for words!

Might be my all time favorite "Grandma" photo of my mother and girls walking on

"our beach" at the Adobe in Yachats!

 This photo is classified under

"moments I wish I could have back"

and

"thank goodness I took a photo so I can remind myself of what angels they are!"

This photo was taken the morning after an all night drive 

from California and our dearest friends the Dickinsons.

They all piled into Sam and Emma's queen bed and slept like babies all night...

This photo still holds true to sleep patterns.

Emma doesn't like to cozy and will sleep in her queen bed all alone every night.

The other 3 love to cozy and will crawl into each others beds and sleep over any chance they get.

And lastly...

Mr. Happy who has completely and totally stolen my heart.

Thankfully for all of you (and me) 

my collection of photos for the 8th grade slide show has almost come to an end...

Finding all these photos while looking for pictures of all the 8th graders ...

oh my.

I don't know how much more I can take...

Must FREEZE my children right now in this moment.

Be present in the moment.

And start taking more pictures so that I don't forget any of it!

Memory Lane

So Scott wants us to all look for photos of our 8th graders for pictures of their time at mg...

This is a real problem for me.

Seriously?

It just confirms the fact that my firstborn is growing up.

and that my other children are as well...

I am not posting any of the school pics... saving those for grad...

However I am going to post some of the gems that I found of my kids and leave it at that.

I sure hope that these kids realize how lucky they are in more ways than one.

They have built in playmates...

A family who loves them...

No need for anything...

A God who died for them....

Seriously lucky.

I may shed a few tears while posting these... just saying.

yep... I am done for.

Did I mention that the duder aka "future heartbreaker" got some cologne today?

long story...

She's 9!!!

My Baby Girl turned 9 years old today!

It probably wasn't what she hoped her day would be...

She had her bday streamers,

The Happy Birthday Streamer in the Dining room...

But there wasn't our family birthday dinner...

and there was no party.

Today her mommy worked...

so the spoiling that normally happens didn't happen.

But that's okay.  I know she felt the love from all of us.

It also didn't help that I spent 2 hours at the Community Service Center after school...

(LOVED sweet Roberta who at 88 years old was teaching these girls how to tie off quilts... and boy did it make me think of my sweet Grandma who used to run the Eugene Dorcas when I was a young girl... I REALLY miss my Grandma :( 

or that the Spring Musical for K-4 was tonight at 7pm.

Pretty much it wasn't a day for celebrating birthdays.

So we will do that later :) 

In other news...

My certificates came in the mail today!!!!!

Oh Yeah!  Whoot!  and found out I was actually certified K-12 instead of K-10 for PE and Special Ed.

:)  Now to get a job!

Anyway... my feet are tired and my right knee is really aching... 

too much standing at the pathfinder fair yesterday and working today.

Off to bed for me.

Miles of Fun

Today was the Mile Run at school...

I am lucky enough to get to watch all my girls run :)

They all beat their personal best which made me and them happy

(but still sick to their tummy they say!)

Syd & McKenna ran first with McKenna finishing 1st @ 7:27

Syd finished 6 or 7th I think around the 8 minute mark! :)

Up next was Sam and her group of 7 & 8th graders!

All she cared about was beating McKenna which she did at around 7:21 I believe :)  

She finished 5th I think?? Not sure... and it really doesn't matter anyway!

Emma was the last run of the day (photo courtesy of Susie Mayhew)

She is in the back left in the black and pink shirt :)

She finished 2nd running a 6:38 mile!  Beating last years time by over 30 seconds!

And as an added bonus she did not puke this year.  But seriously ??? 6:38 I was impressed!

In other news.  I baked two of these for Sabbath lunch tomorrow...

I am drooling.

And lastly,

tonight was pathfinder Investiture.

I love these kids and I love pathfinders.

Happy Sabbath.  I am headed to bed... just trying to be more regular here even if it is brief.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement my friends.

I appreciate you all.

Mornings.

My mornings rock.

This little dude comes into my bed and then cozies with me.

Then its downstairs to make sure the younger two girls are ready to leave for school.

Daddy has already left with the older 2 for handbells.

Drive to school in my pjs.

Come home.  Eat.  Hang with the duder.  

Worship/Bible Study.

Then shower time.  

We have a pretty big shower, so the dude and I take one together yet separately if that makes any sense.

He plays the entire time with his "collection" of stuff.

The day is coming where he will take a shower on his own... 

won't have time to play with his toys...

and these moments will be fleeting memories.

For now I will hang on to the simple days and savor the moments when the little man and I have time to just enjoy life.  

Of course there is always summer... my favorite time of every year, when all my kids are at home and we can all enjoy our family together. 

Be thankful today for the little things that you might take for granted because they are so routine and regular.  Someday you might long to have those moments back and won't be able to get them.  

Life is short and ever changing.  

Be thankful.  :)

Happy Thursday!

Dear ...

Today I was going through PILES of Tuesday folder papers, mail, and recycle

when I found this gem...

When I read this my heart melts...

and then I reread it and it melts a little more.

I hope my kids always tell each other how they feel and always heal any hurts.  I want them to always be close with one another.  It is one of my greatest wishes as a parent.

I wish we as adults could be this honest and open.

Dear ...

I really like you, your a great friend.  I appreciate the way you do this --.  Though sometimes I don't understand when you do or say this and it really annoys me... BUT you are my friend and I love you no matter what.

Your friend,

Suzanne

Wouldn't life be easier if we could actually SPEAK what we are feeling instead of beating around the bush pretending that "stuff/life" doesn't happen?  Avoiding things makes them into a bigger issue!

And while I am ranting...

I am sick of people bashing "people" "teachers" "friends" etc on facebook.

It really annoys me like they are hiding behind a screen to bash others... if you have an issue please just go to that person don't throw them under the bus and then run over them on fb.  

You have no idea what they are going through... show some compassion and respect.

Thank you.

I must admit I have hidden people from my feed because it was too frustrating reading those kinds of things over and over again... and I will not warrant a fb response to that kind of nonsense even though it REALLY is making me crazy.... and it's not even about me!  Go figure. 

Almost ready to drop fb for good.

I am okay however reading about bike rides, kids, family, friends, fun sports activities, tough times, work outs, people needing prayer, vacations, sun, rain, flowers, good & bad times.... ETC.

just enough DRAMA already.

SOAPBOX MOMENT DONE.

In other news I stayed home today and planted my flower pots outside :)  makes me happy.

Lawnmower still broken.  Josh needs an extra hand to get a snapped screw out of the socket.

Lakers lose by 1. :(  down 2-0 in the series... gonna be a big hill to climb.

 Danced with my boy to Britt Nicole (feat. Lecrae) about 12 times!  So fun.  

I enjoyed the sunshine.  Sam had a vision appt. with her besties dad.

Talked to my mom.  Texted my bestie.  Stalked a few of my favorite blogs.

Stared at one of my two new pots for the front porch.

Did some laundry.  Hauled kids to kingdom come and back.  Cringed as Jack pee'd in the yard with people over at our house... oh the life of boys!

Studied my James Bible Study which is rather interesting!  

FLS Bookclub tonight at Jenny's -- divine food :) interesting and sometimes awkward conversations!

Up next month is Stephanie Nielson's memoir "Heaven is Here"

As you know I have been following her blog for over 4 years so I am familiar with the story so it will be interesting to see how the book is different.

Now bedtime and a good book to distract me so I can get some sleep.

Beyond Blessed.

Today was the best day ever.

It was over 80 degrees and sunny.

I got to sleep in till nine.

My hubby bought me my fav drink & flowers...

My kids made me cards...

I talked with my mom & mom2 (I love you guys!!!)

But this is what made my day, week, month, year, life...
{mute projectplaylist on the side by clicking pause}



These kids filmed and edited this for me for my Mother's Day gift.

It was a total surprise (until around 7 this morning when Jack said "Don't tell mom about the video" as I was still in my sleep coma)

I have cried every time I watch it.

If I ever have a bad day again can you please just tell me to watch this?

Happy Mother's Day to all my mom friends who make this kind of difference every day!

Love you all!

Number the Stars & Volunteer Dinner & Humble.

Every year our Junior High English teacher leads the 7th & 8th graders through a Drama Production.

This year they performed "Number the Stars"

I was lucky to see Sam with one of the lead roles twice this week.

Can I just say proud mom?  Every parent there was hopefully as proud as I, because every single kid knocked it out of the ballpark.  The hard part for me is realizing that this is the end of my eldest's career of Elementary School.  She is getting ready to embark on the next journey.  It makes me sad, yet excited for her.  I just wish there was a way to slow it down.

The ladies of her play... Sam is on the left.  I my I went through a total walk down memory lane with Brooke's shoulder pads... seriously who else wore huge shoulder pads in High School & College?
I know I was a repeat offender!

Conrad & Sam (he is playing her father)

after the first performance.

I know I have said it before and I will say it again.  I feel so blessed to have my kids at the school they are at.  I love the teachers and the staff.  I love the kids there.  My kids have grown physically, mentally, and spiritually at school.  I would lying if I said there weren't bumps along the way... but the teachers, principal, and kids work together to get everything headed down the best possible path.  I truly believe we are growing kids who will be ready to stand up for Jesus, and make good choices in life.  I don't know about you but my life isn't perfect... so I can't expect everything else to be perfect... but if I place my hope in God I can trust that He will make it perfect in the end.

I can't believe that we have been here for 8 years already... and that my 6yr. old Sam is now 14 and graduating from the 8th grade in one month!  I know I have tried unsuccessfully to slow down time and now it is really happening.  Sam will be moving on to High School.  Judy & I have already talked about the tears that we are going to shed over this event (and no it is not because of the tuition increase... although I do want to cry over this fact!)

I feel a certain amount of connectedness to this particular class.  Maybe because Sam is my first child, maybe it is because I sub so often at the school, maybe it is the fact that I have coached these kids in soccer & basketball, or been the Girls Pathfinder leader for the last 4 years... or maybe it is just being a parent of one of these awesome kids... Who knows?

I just know they will be missed.

Anyway, Wednesday night The school celebrated the Volunteers at a Volunteer Dinner.
It was loads of fun, with picnic food & good company.
We played some "Minute to Win It" games.  It was hysterically funny!
Yes... we all got to play.
My table was even color coordinated on accident... Black and light blue.  Fun times!

 

So you know that I am an emotional wreck right?  This is no secret.  I wish sometimes that it were a secret... but seriously... WHEN DID I BECOME MY MOTHER?  

I cry over practically everything these days...

I see families, kids, couples, read stories, watch TV show, look at fb, blogs...

and you know what they all have in common?  

My tears.

UGH.

I used to make fun of my mom when she cried...

and now my kids are making fun of me when I cry.

So today my hubby texted me and said that someone (you will remain nameless, but my heart screams THANK YOU) read my blog and dropped by the school with a check for Ashley.  Actually a few of you gave $ in support of Ashley... but today it brought me to tears...

 just the power of the moment I guess... the humbleness of knowing GOD alone is in control.

This whole story about Ashley is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit and what can happen when we listen to the nudging that He alone can place on our heart.

I was humbled.

Recently our church has raised over $10,000 for a family we don't even know in order for them to bring home a sick child in adoption.   

Humbling.

Last night a parent turned around and drove back to my house in order to grab the soccer cleats my daughter forgot for her game. (Like 14 miles roundtrip to get them)

I watch random acts of kindness take place all over the place.  

Notes.  Phone Calls.  Thoughtful gifts and comments.

All can be inspired to make a difference.  

It starts in our hearts and can overflow to many.

Look at these kids... They donated hair to Locks of Love.  

Do you know how hard it is to cut off beautiful hair by choice?

These kids were inspired by Ashley... and some even wrote her letters of gratitude thanking her for the positive experience they had from meeting her, and that they would be praying for her.

 These guys all buzzed their heads to a "1" which is almost bald in support of Ashley.

There were even some other dads who buzzed their heads as well who are not in this picture.

It makes me wonder, do I miss the moment?

Am I ready when God places that gentle nudge on my heart?

Lord, Thank you for these gentle reminders.

Thank you for people who are ready and willing to serve you.

Help me to be ready when you call.  Help me to teach my kids what it means to truly live for you.

Amen.