A Weekend of Celebrating!

The first week in August is a big deal at our house. My DH has a birthday on the 4th and every year our anniversary comes just 3 days later. Really, what were we thinking??  Apparently NOT about having 5 kids and the need to spread our date night celebrations evenly throughout the year!

As is common with his actual birth date, we  "celebrated" with a baseball game. 

 

We're talking, he-gets-home-from-work-in-time-to-jump-in-the-van-that-I-already-have-packed-with-all-the-kids-and-gear-and-we-speed-there-just-in-time-and-get-home-sometime-after-10:30.

Yeah, that was a fun Birthday Party.

We decided (a whole week ahead) to go away for the weekend for our anniversary. The super brave sister/aunt agreed to be on boy patrol for us and baby girl kept Grandma company for the weekend. But since (again, as is common) it was anybody's guess when the hubs would get home on Friday I decided to make a special birthday dinner for the two of us here. Thus eliminating the need to spend half the evening driving and waiting in line. Trying to make it a little extra special and escape our chaotic, not recently cleaned house, I created a fancy-schmancy little setting on the front porch.

Table for 2, Please!

Just try to ignore the traffic roaring by mere yards away. We did!

 While he dropped the kids off, I grilled steaks, 'loaded' baked potatoes, tossed salads and threw in some garlic bread and crispy broccoli for good measure. Making sure we had just enough room left for the traditional birthday carrot cake.

The Man Slab! What can I say, the hubs is a carnivore. :o)

The 'Birthday Boy' with some of his loot!

 Saturday morning we headed toward Philadelphia with absolutely NO schedule! We stopped for coffee and then hit the mall for some exercise and window shopping (mostly!)

 We found plenty of things to remind us of our sweet, crazy boys back home.

 We may have missed them a little bit. (But not for long!)

I know what you're thinking, you are pitying my poor man because I drug him mercilessly around the mall. I say only this, he made several purchases, I made one!

(not even for me--a birthday present for the next family member's b-day)

This is where the hubs says "I thought 5 was a lot."

We also went exploring at IKEA. First time there for both of us. More exercise and lots of fascination with the carts that can be pushed sideways. Boys will be boys!

And then we punched our motel (the one that had our reservation and credit card #) into the gps and it said "PERMANENTLY CLOSED."

Excuse me?? What??

And as we get off the highway we see this....

 .....gigantic, empty parking lot. This does NOT look good!

After a bit of investigation, he assures me that it is indeed still open but it seems we may have been one of about 7 guests for the weekend. I counted 4 cars in the parking lot when we checked out. Crazy! 

Our room rate included dinner at one of the in house restaurants. We of course took full advantage of that!

 Shrimp Cocktail Appetizer

 Another Man Slab for Him.

(Don't worry we'll be eating sensibly again soon!)

  Lobster Tail and Pasta for her.

Our total bill $87.something--Covered! 

 Gotta love that!

After dinner we made a special trip here.

 
I guess I was so busy making sure that there were enough clean shorts, diapers, stuffed friends etc. for the little people that I didn't think enough about what I packed for me.  I mean I had a change of clothes and my toothbrush, what else could I need? Or maybe it's just been so long since I did it that I forgot. Anyway, in addition to my steamy cup of Starbucks, I purchased a brand new book (gulp!) for all of 20 plus dollars. And one that I could have checked out of the church library at that. But a chance to read a good books and to just BE with my sweetheart--priceless!

 On Sunday, we drove into downtown Philly  (just have to say, I was quite thankful for my professional driver, I was NOT cut out to for city life! I knew that before, I was just reminded!) to check out the market where Garry used to go as a kid. More "window" shopping!

I love to stroll through places like this and see the creative ways the many tasty treasures and cool crafties are displayed. It intrigues me how some displays just beg you to stop/buy and others not so much!


After the market we did some more strolling in a nature preserve garden. Not much blooming in August, but oh well!

Proof that I actually went along on this trip. 

Apparently only one of us is obsessed with taking pictures of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

So happy together!

Isn't he good looking? Yeah, I think so too!

And after all that serious exercise (yeah right!) We had to take in one more peaceful dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. (I've been wanting to check that place out for awhile now!)  Delicious food. Quality Time Together. Uninterrupted Conversations. And Cheesecake!! What more could you need to finish out an incredible weekend?

 I told my husband on the way home I didn't do anything all weekend that I didn't want to do. I ate when I felt like it....all food I didn't have to make. I got out of bed when I felt like it (and then crawled back in, most times.) No one interrupted my sweet dreams with crying or fussing. I didn't wipe anyone's butt but my own. I didn't even no 2 people could make such a mess in a motel room in less than 24 hours, but I didn't feel like putting things away, so I didn't. It was delightful!! And on top of all that I was reminded again how lucky I am! I have been blessed with a man of God,who loves me, treats me right, provides for our family, makes me laugh, and who has patiently put up with all my flaws for 12 years!! 

I read somewhere recently that the average marriage last 5-7 years (if that's accurate? I don't know.)  REALLY?? So if you factor in my Grandparents who were married 59 years when my Grandma passed away and my husband's Grandparents who have been married 65+ years, that's going to sway the averages, right? How many marriages are never even making it to that 5 year mark then? It's a scary thought! Does making it to "double the average" guarantee us anything??
NOPE!
We are both still very human!  We both need to continue to "put off the old man." We both have days when it would be easier to act like a child and we must decide to be adults. We both say things we regret sometimes. We both get plenty of chances to practice (and choose) Forgiveness!
(That's a big one right there, btw!)

 But we took the time to Celebrate 12 Happy Years! We were reminded of the things that brought us together. We stepped back far enough from 'parenting duty' to remember that we were  married first and we can only be successful as parents if we make our relationship a priority even on the busy days (which is all of them these days!) We have renewed determination to 'make this work.'  We both know that there will be "for better"  and "for worse" days ahead but we are committed either way. We made a promise to each other. We made a promise to God.  We represent Christ and His Bride, the church.

This is not a small commitment, but we made it and we meant it! 

 
 So here's to the next 12 (or hopefully, 70!)
I've heard it keeps getting better!

Growing like.......

  the CORN.

 

We are officially using this line in place of the traditional....."Growing like a weed" line. {You know, since we don't have any weeds around here anyway. It just seems more relevant don't ya think? If only.....}

 The above pictures was taken on the 15th of June and I took the one below just one week later.

So even though there are many days when I am S.U.R.E. I can see my children actually adding to their stature before my very eyes, I guess they're not actually growing quite as fast as the corn.

 

 No, this is not one of those high school photography class assignments. You know the kind where you're supposed to make it look like someone is standing on the end of your little finger. No folks, no optical illusions here. The corn in our back yard is really that tall. For those of you who don't know .........my hubby is about 6 foot 1

........my baby girl is usually that happy

.......this corn is only starting to go into tassel here.

DISCLAIMER: No one in my household gets credit for this corn. I have no idea what variety it is or what sort of 'miracle grow' it was given. We simply live in the house across the driveway from the cornfield. But come to think of it we have thrown some pretty potent 'refrigerator science projects' that way so maybe...... :o)

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

While we're on the subject.....

 'Corn Day' is traditional summer entertainment for our family.

The young, the old, the in-laws, the cousins, the cousins of cousins, they all gather bright and early. This year's first crop yielded 80 dozen beautiful ears of tasty yellow corn. Believe it or not my children look forward to corn day--mostly because it means spending a whole day at their cousins house. They do seem to get distracted or 'finished'  somewhere shy of the 900th ear but they can be great little huskers at least for awhile.

 And when the husking is finished their are many great adventures to be had while the "moms" do the cooking, cutting and packing for the freezer.

Of course, there is nothing like the taste of fresh corn on the cob as a reward for your efforts.

And if in the middle of the cooking, cutting, packing process a thunderstorm approaches, you just ask the farmer to back the wagon into the garage {as the corn continues to cook. yup, that kettle is just a boiling away, no big deal.} The process continues under roof while a wonderful rain waters the coming 'second picking.' Thank you Jesus for family, for food, for good times together and for continually providing for us!!!

Summer Vacation - The 1st Month

Well, it's been a whole month since we said 'Good-Bye' to school teachers and friends. Here's a peak at what we've been doing to pass the time. (Ha! as if it would stop moving if we left it.)


We started our vacation with a BANG! The last day of school ended Tuesday at lunch time. Wednesday morning we headed to the beach for the rest of the week.

 We (well, actually, they) did a lot of digging!

A lot of smiling!

And a Lot of Eating! 

Baby Doll did GREAT!!!

She was quit happy to sit in her stroller and watch the entertainment her brothers provided. She even took naps in the stroller.

 This little Stinker got his kicks by sticking anything he could find in front of his face whenever I pointed the camera in his direction.

What's so fascinating about the bucket?

This little guy. Isn't he cute?

See, what did I tell you? Every. Single. Time.

Good. Good. Times.

Other Adventures so far this Summer included.....

 Oregon Dairy Farm Days

 A few refreshing water activities.

Countless Baseball Games.

 An indoor camp night.

Helping Mommy make laundry soap 
(serious concentration required.)

 

Swinging in the sunshine!

And lots of tasty summer treats and goodies.

Ice Cream.

Hot Dogs.

S'mores.
Y.U.M.

I was a little skeptical at first that taking our "big" vacation (I'm aware that to those of you taking 6 week trips out west, 4 days at the beach probably sounds a little lame, but it's a pretty big deal around here!) so early in the summer would be a good idea but it worked out fantastic!! (1) It was much easier for me to pack and get ready without over-excited-impatient-to-get-going boys underfoot. (2) We beat the crowds to the beach.....most schools got out later than us. (3) We jumped right into summer fun and eliminated a lot of the transition problems of boredom and relearning-to-get-along-with-each-other-while-everybody's-home-again-syndrome. It's pretty easy for us to fall into "lazy summer mode" when school is over. We take advantage of slower paced mornings and relaxed schedules and before we know it the first couple of weeks of summer are gone without any memories to show for them. Kicking off summer with some great memory making at the beach inspired me to keep the fun going for my kiddos, to make sure that I don't spend all summer doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, surviving (trust me, those things swallow up my every hour if I let them, they're never-ending!) to take time to enjoy this stage of life and the 5 Sweetest, Cutest, Most Fabulous Gifts I've ever been given! To help me stay focused (since I'm a wee bit, OK, an extreme, start-off-with-great-ideas-and-lose-steam-half-way-through-Sanguine) I set a goal to make 101 Memories this summer. (One for each day from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.) It's working! We're having a super fun summer and I have been reminded again that the smallest things mean the most to my children. Even butterfly shaped sandwiches or a watering can makes them so happy!

I could still use some great (simple) memory making ideas for the rest of the summer.......Will you share your ideas???

Moving On, Part II

 (THE COMPLETELY PICTURE-LESS POST.)

After a couple of weeks of following Real Estate websites and doing a bit of our own snooping and browsing in strangers houses we found a place we decided we could make work. An older 2 story with a large 2 car garage (read lots of storage space!) in a great little neighborhood.  It has some quirks, a 4 1/2  foot ceiling on the side of the bathroom where the bathtub is located, for example.  There would not be room in the driveway for Garry to bring his trailer home. But we decided it was probably better to have room for all of our children then room for the trailer and Garry thought he knew of a place very close where he could park. So in spite of it's issues we decided to make an offer on it.

The house had been on the market for a little while so we chose to offer less than the asking price. They did not take it. [NO DEAL] So we spent a few days reconsidering. Was this not where God wanted us? Should we take their counter offer or go back to our search??? We decided to wait it out a few days. Sure enough, it worked, they came back after a week and took our offer after all. [DEAL]

We were excited about the confirmation that this was where we belonged. We started to dream about how we would update it and  make it our "own" and work on details like what schools our children would attend.

And then we got another call. This one informed us that the house had not passed the inspection required for our loan. [DEAL'S OFF] (That happens to be the very reason the deal fell through 2 years ago when we ended up here.) The issue; a few inches of crawl space under the kitchen floor. There is currently 6, we need 18. Apparently this is a problem that costs $15,000 to fix (according to the contractor) or maybe just a couple of a strong guys and a hard days work (according to my husband.) We requested permission to do the work ourselves but were denied for liability reasons. [DEAL'S OFF] But perhaps they could use my husband's brainy plan of action and fix it after all. [Yup, DEAL'S BACK ON] Things seem to working out again.

Settlement date is set, paperwork is underway. YEAH!! Two days later....another call. Did you notice that "seemed" word again??  Yes, it seemed to be working out until they called back to say they decided NOT to fix the problem after all. So if they will not fix it and they will not allow us to fix it, there is no way that we can get a loan for the house. [END OF DEAL.]

So after almost six weeks we are back to square one. Frustrating? Absolutely!!! From our perspective it feels like a lot of wasted time but life is not only about our perspective. We are trusting that this could only mean one thing, God has something better in store for us. We are hoping he chooses to share it with us soon!! In the mean time, if you know of any great houses for sale or for rent please forward the number to us!!

(We are unable to get in contact with our landlord {as he is out of the country for 2 weeks} to find out our absolute deadline for getting out of here. We were originally told August but it was not specified as to weather that was August 1st or 31st. That answer will determine if we are looking to buy or rent.)

10 Months Old

Baby Doll is Ten Months Old already! 

Somebody, Please, tell me how this happened??

(These are actually her nine month pictures. But don't worry, she's still just as sweet!!)

Pulling herself up on anything and everything. 

(Comes in handy for watching big brother antics out in the front yard!)

Still only 2 pretty little teeth.

(But we're  working hard on that!)

But now that she's all grown up like that, 

she's becoming Mommy's little helper.

And we LOVE her to pieces!

(but really Deary, must you grow up so fast??)

Moving On....

About 2 years ago we made the decision to sell our house. It was a great house, on a quite street, in a lovely neighborhood, with a great back yard. It wasn't that we didn't like it there, we loved it! But Garry's work had been less then steady for the previous year or more and we just felt like we were pressed too tight. We decided it would be best to try to sell before we got ourselves into a hole we couldn't climb out of. So we put that little sign out in the front yard and I spent the next two weeks cleaning like a crazy woman and trying to think of places to go so that strangers could browse and snoop through my house. Oh and in our spare time we went searching for another suitable place for our little family.

And then in what seemed to be perfect divine timing we found a place we thought would work and got an offer on our house the same week. We even waited until the offer we made (which was a little far fetched) was accepted before we took the offer being made to us. We were convinced. This is what we were supposed to do. The house we decided to buy was not in the area we would've preferred but it seemed that  that's where God wanted us and it was a great property so we started packing boxes.

  (No children were stored in boxes for a harmful length of time at any point during this process!)

Perhaps you noticed that I used the word 'seemed' several times in this paragraph. Here's why. Just two, yes, ONE, TWO! weeks before settlement the agreement fell through for the place we thought we were buying. Talk about scrambling!!! We felt sure that we should go through with the sale of our place but 2 weeks is not enough time to find another and get paperwork done.

 We decided to look for a rental but we wanted to stay within our school district. We figured renting would be less than ideal and quite temporary so we didn't want to put our kids through multiple school changes. I spent about 10 minutes online searching for rentals till I figured out our mission was IMPOSSIBLE. We were looking at 1 bedroom apartments for rent for almost as much as the mortgage we were trying to get out from under. A kind friend heard about our situation and offered to send and e-mail to spread the word with some friends (she's one of those people who knows everyone :o) to see if anyone knew of anything. Through that email we found this house.

There were several divine interventions going on with this deal too! This house was empty and had not been advertised to the public yet. (Typically it would be advertised for 2 months before it was empty.) Within a week of our deal falling through we had looked at this one (the only one we looked at) and put a down payment on it. It was never even advertised to the public. The only catch was that we needed to commit to staying here a year or paying a early termination fee. We decided it was worth it.

So in November of 2009 we moved in. It's certainly not the perfect house. It's over a hundred years old and it wouldn't take you long to figure that out if you stopped in. The kitchen boasts cabinets from the 1950's (I'm guessing) and a monstrous u.g.l.y. propane heater. We lived here less than one day before I decided that the kitchen light simply had to be replaced with one that actually shed some light. The front door has a window pain held "securely" in place by duct tape. The bedroom that 3 of my children share is about 7" x 12". And I tell people we have 4 seasons here, Mice, Spiders, Ants and Stinkbugs! Not to mention the centipedes, ladybugs, mildew and other miscellaneous critters. But all in all it has worked out amazingly well. The kids have a great yard to play in. Garry can park his truck here. And we've got a great "easy access" location. And with a good supply of purging and decluttering (and a bit of storage in the in laws basement) we've squeezed in here rather comfortably.

(The one thing this place does have is l.o.t.s of great photo shoot opps!)

Sorry, that got pretty long winded but that brings us to just few months ago, April 2011. Garry and I were discussing the fact that we had planned to only be here a few months and here we were, still here after almost a year and a half. Of course part of that conversation was the fact that we had not been able to save like we had hoped in that time to buy another place. During that conversation I said these words to my husband, "I think we need to just stay here, be content, be thankful that it's working as well as it is and try to keep saving until God makes it clear that he wants us somewhere else."

Not 2 weeks later we got a call. Not just any call, a call from our land lord. Our place is an estate, owned by many siblings together, and apparently someone from the family wants to live here. They were kind enough to give us double the required notice of 2 months. But 4 months to find a place for a family of 7 (allowing time in that for paperwork) didn't seem all that generous at the time. We're back to spending 'free time' searching real estate websites and date nights looking at houses. Yeah! (please hear the sarcasm!) Being able to stay here just one more year would have had so many advantages but there is no way we could say that God didn't make it clear!!

So our list of criteria looked something like this:

*room for a family of 7
*a lot big enough for 4 boys with lots of energy and a place to park a truck and trailer
*somewhere where there are not noise/ parking restriction against the truck (this eliminates developments)
* preferably something not leaning obviously to one side or missing pertinent parts
*something  within our limited budget

Should be No problem right?? (sarcasm sneaking in there again!) So I wavered back and forth between knowing in my heart that God had this under control and he was going to do something amazing for us and the there-is-no-way-in-the-world-this-could-possibly-workout-worry. Most of the time I really was in the first category though. I was even kind of excited deep down inside to see how God was gonna "Work all things together for good!" on this one!

I've kept you long enough for today...stay tuned for the next exciting episode of "The Miller's Moving Mayhem?"