Grandma's 90th Birthday

Earlier this month we celebrated my Grandmother's 90th birthday! As I reflect upon the influence she has been on me, I realize that I am very blessed to have her as My grandma. She is so gifted and inspiring in her efforts to create and nurture.

Ever since I was a little girl she has made numerous gifts for me as well as her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends, sister, and I am sure many others. Although now I am older and realize how many hours she must have put into all of her creations, as I child she made it seem so effortless. She made me think that I could do it too. Although I am not nearly accomplished in what I can create, grandma taught me the joy of creating for others.

Red geraniums welcome our arrival, golden blossoms flowing along the landscape, purple lilacs dancing in the breeze, pink petunias flowing like waterfalls, forget-me-nots peeking through the cracks of the stepping stones, lupin reaching for the sky, delphinium displaying their bright blue blooms, rose buds anticipating their aroma filling the air of my grandma's back yard. As a little girl, I was blessed to have grandma include me in the process of nurturing her garden. She had us help her plant seeds and water the plants in the green house. She taught us many of the names of the flowers that she had in her yard. Now that I have my own children, it is important to me to share with them this process of growth. The needed time to nurture something in order to appreciate the result.

Now that grandma is 90, she continues to create stockings for her great-grandchildren, plant seeds in her green house, host more than 20 people at her home for holidays....need I say more? She is a gifted and determined woman to have accomplished all that she has. Thank you Grandma for being an inspiration to create and nurture. We love you.

Froggie Treats

Our Halloween inspiration this year came from our dear neighbor, Sandra, who has a love for costumes...and frogs....and the boys of course. She gave the boys these costumes last year for their birthday, knowing that they would fit them just perfectly this year.

Sandra and Micah

Micah at Sandra's house after collecting many treats!

These are our three little jumping frogs

Sandra also gave our whole family coordinating Halloween shirts. The boys really liked their pumpkin shirts as they called them.

Pumpkin Carving

This was Kenta's first attempt in carving a pumpkin....make that four pumpkins!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys to a local pumpkin patch to see some animals, pick out a pumpkin of their own, and 'experience fall'. There were two large fields of pumpkins and I was certain that they were going to want to pick the largest pumpkin they could find, but instead they searched and searched for pumpkins small enough that they could carry it themselves. They would walk around saying, "too big, too big, too big...." Then when they found one that they thought they could manage they very excitedly would run to that pumpkin and clumsily maneuver themselves back to the wheel barrow to add it to their pile. Together they collected about 6-7 small pumpkins...by themselves, then they got to choose one to take home.

This was the pumpkin Isaiah picked.
Micah liked the white pumpkin, but it was too big to make the cut.

Josiah liked the large pile of mini pumpkins.

They were all very helpful in making the wheel barrow heavier for their dad to pull up the hill.

And I think that they all had a fun day, except that Josiah thought the goose was much too loud.

Cousins!

My sister, came over for a visit with her children and all the kids had so much fun with their cousins. My sister and I had a good time too catching up, being close, and watching the kids enjoy one another. It was a house full as we had all six kids and three adults in our two bedroom condo, but the close proximity just made it more cozy.

They even got to have their first real overnight sleep over! The cousins slept on sleeping bags in the boys room. The boys all thought it was very special to have their cousins sleeping with them in their room.

They are coming again in a few weeks. We are looking forward to another sleep over!

Other fun moments...

We had to have S'Mores... The boys didn't know what it was at first and were cautious as usual, but as soon as we told them it had chocolate in it, they ate it with gusto! They got a little frustrated with the stickiness of the marshmallow, however. This is Micah after enjoying his yummy treat.
One of the highlights of the trip was playing hide and seek in the TALL grass. We had to watch the boys closely otherwise they might disappear into the maze of grass.

Walks on the beach were always an adventure. Isaiah loved to pick up and look at everything he came across.

Kenta bought the boys some golf clubs, and baseball bats to entertain them while they were outside. Josiah couldn't seem to put them down. He has quite the future in baseball or golf. He must get that from his Grandpa.

This is Josiah relaxing at the cabin in between outings. Now that is what vacation is supposed to be about, right?

Fishing

The trip wouldn't have been complete if we didn't catch any fish while we were there! We caught two little bass and one nice sized one.

The boys were not sure about it at first, but before we released it back to the river, they each touched it once.

Playing at the Beach

I knew I would enjoy watching the boys play and splash in the water. They enjoyed the freedom of playing with all the water and sand that they could ever imagine. I think it was fun for all of us, but their smiles tell the story of the fun they had.

Isaiah and Daddy going for a dip.
Micah was a little fish. He loved to be in the water and splash, dig, blow bubbles, jump, crawl....

Their laughter exploded as we would lift them up and drop them in to the water all at the same time.

Grammy has always been the queen of sand creations. The boys were mesmerized by her sand sculptures and all the amazing rocks she could find. Too bad Grandpa would only let her take a few of them home in his boat. :)

Boating

The boys were very excited to go on their first ride on Grandpa's boat. They could hardly contain themselves as we walked down to the beach.

They all enjoyed the ride, except Micah was very clear that he did not like the wind. He wanted to be sure that we closed the front window so that it was not windy. They each got a turn to ride with Grandpa and help drive the boat.

But by the end of the morning adventures, the ride home was a lullaby. Isaiah was asleep with in minutes and we had to work to keep the other two awake so they would take a nap at home.

Thanks Grandpa for sharing your boat with us.

Quote of the Week

Micah was in his room with his pretend tool kit sawing on his foot.
Mommy: "What are you fixing, Micah?"
Micah: "I am fixing myself!"

When I find that I need fixing, whether it is my body or soul, my first reaction is often to "fix myself". May the Lord give me wisdom to rest in the one who is my healer and redeemer.

We Want To Be Like Dad...

Day at the Beach

The boys love to splash and play in the water.
Here, Micah is putting rocks in a boat and pretending that they are Jesus's disciples that are in the boat during a storm.

When I asked Isaiah what he liked about the beach, he said, "The Rocks."

Josiah seemed to enjoy throwing the balls into the water the most.

Soaking In The Rays

The boys have been enjoying our warm weather as they get to play in the pool and splash their mommy and daddy with water. We are having fun in the sun!

Our Blooming Artist

After a trip to the zoo and taking a good look at this friendly porcupine.....

Isaiah drew this interpretation of his encounter.

His commentary was that it was a porcupine and the drawing off to the right is his food.