4th of July 2011

Rick had a DJing gig on the 4th that allowed us to go to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and watch the fireworks on a tour boat. It was a really neat experience for all of us. It was so nice to be able to spend time with the kiddos, making memories and celebrating the country's birthday!

   When we got to the Harbor, Rick loaded the DJ equipment on the boat and then we went and had dinner. We made it back to the back for one of their 45 minute tours of the Harbor. It was really neat to see the old buildings and hear about the history of the port. After we were done with the tour it was time for the fireworks  tour to start. It was a bit long for the kiddos, as we had already been on the boat for an hour, but they did really well. There was an air conditioned lower deck where we hung out until the fireworks display began. It was nice to just be able to hang out with the kiddos. And Rick did a great job DJing. People were singing and dancing. It was a really great evening even though we had a few snafus at the end of the night when we were trying to leave.

*The picture of the motorcycle and the guy with the motorcycle shows the ticket he was given for parking his bike on the pier and him coming back to find the ticket.  

Field Day 2011

Rick and I had off on the day the kiddos had Field Day (it was Rick's birthday, too). Noah's class went first. It was so neat to watch him doing all the relay races. I think the water relay was his favorite.

Kari's class started their games after lunch and it was really hot! She was doing really well with the games, but said she didn't wanted to stay. After a few more games, she changed her mind, but wanted us to go home. We decided to go to Costco until it was time to pick them up from school. We didn't even make it into Costco and the school nurse called saying Kari had a fever and needed to be picked up right away from school. So, we headed back to school, picked up Kari and Noah and ended the day with a few Slurpees.

  

The Last Few Months

I am so behind on the blog. I tried to upload some pictures for an Easter post, but none of the pictures downloaded correctly, I got frustrated and deleted the post. Sigh.

We had a delightful Easter, though. We went to the Pilkertons and had dinner and an egg hunt. We were able to take Kaysen with us and he was so good. He flirted with Karis, took a nap and made faces at the chickens. It was so nice to spend time with family and friends.

Kaysen turned 1 on Mother's Day this year. We had a SpongeBob party for him, complete with jellyfish balloons and a homemade cake. He was so intrigued with the cake and did really well eating it. It was so neat to see him having fun with the kiddos and family that came.

Rick turned 40 in May and Devin turned 20. We didn't celebrate until Devin came to visit in June to have lunch and swim with the kiddos.

Kari turned 9 in June and went to Dave and Buster's with a few friends to have lunch and play games. We were gifted a free hour of bowling, too. The girls had a lot of fun picking out their prizes and Noah didn't mind being the only boy. Rick made an incredible owl cake per Kari's request. It was delicious!  

School ended on June 14 and we started to make final plans for Cody to move to TX to live with his mom. He will be completing his junior and senior years of high school at Marcus High School in Flower Mound. We are praying that this is a easy transition for him and that he does well.

After Cody left for TX we have been spending a lot of time purging, cleaning and switching around the bedrooms, giving Kari and Noah their own rooms with Rick and me taking over the attic bedroom. Once everything is completed it is going to be so nice for all of us to have more space.      

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the 4th of July on a boat at the Inner Harbor. Rick is DJing on a cruise ship and we get to tag along with him. Kari and Noah are really excited. They enjoyed being able to swim and watch fireworks today, so shouldn't mind hanging out downtown tomorrow.

I just realized that we took a lot of pictures on Field Day, which took place on Rick's birthday, but I will have to post those later.

It's bedtime for me or I might fall asleep on the boat tomorrow!
    

Sausage* and Cheese Brunch Squares

 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
 1 package (22.5 ounces) frozen toaster hash brown patties, thawed (10 patties)
 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
 12 eggs
 ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
 1 lb. breakfast ground sausage
 4-5 green onions with tops, divided (1 cup sliced)
 3 plum tomatoes
 Additional coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly brush a large bar pan with oil. Crumble hash browns over bar pan; press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over hash browns.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth using stainless whisk. Gradually add eggs and
black pepper; whisk until smooth.

Slice green onions, reserving ¼ cup of the tops for garnish.

Place sausage and remaining green onions into sauté pan; cook and stir over medium heat. Stir sausage mixture into egg mixture.

Remove bar pan from oven to cooling rack. Pour egg mixture over crust. Return bar pan to oven; bake
6-8 minutes or until center is set.

Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half lengthwise; scrape out seeds and dice.

Remove bar pan from oven; top with remaining cheese, tomatoes and reserved green onions. Sprinkle with
additional black pepper, if desired.

Cut into squares and serve.

You can also add jalapenos to the sausage mixture. It adds some kick to it.

*This is a recipe from Pampered Chef that we changed a bit. Their original recipe has ham in it.

Kari's Awards' Ceremony

Well...Kari won first place in the essay contest! It was such a blessing to see her rewarded for her essay and a neat surprise that she won first place. I think she really wanted to win first place, but was not wanting to get her hopes up (1st place included a $100 award). I was cautiously optimistic. I started to cry when they announced her name.

She got to read her essay and it was so neat to hear her. She did this little hair flip thing while she read that was just so cute!

It was nice to have Grammie and Poppy at the luncheon and ceremony, too.

Here are a few pictures.....

The first picture is of Kari's certificate. The second one is Kari with her certificate. And the last one is of the program from the ceremony. None of the states were drawn in, so Noah drew in Texas. LOL

What An Honor

Cody and Kari both made honor roll this quarter! So very proud of them! Noah does not receive letter grades yet, but he did very well on his report card, too.

We are so blessed with some great kiddos!

Oh....and Kari won an essay contest! We get to go to an awards ceremony and luncheon on April 30 to celebrate her accomplishment. She will receive a plaque and a monetary award. She is so excited and again we are so proud of her. She is also learning to ride her bike without training wheels and is doing so well. And today she overcame her fear of riding the escalator at the mall.

Sigh.   

We really are blessed!

Just Keep Swimming.....

Life doesn't stop for anything. Not new birth, not death, not heartache. Nothing. It just keeps going and sometimes it is hard to keep up with and sometimes it is hard to keep going. But, even in the times when everything else is loudly spiraling out of control, God is not silent as it may seem He is. He is in the whisper and if we quiet down enough our own hearts and minds we can hear Him.

I am definitely trying to listen, but it is hard. I enjoy talking and find it hard to quiet my heart and mind in the midst of life and its constant motion. Especially when I think I know what God needs to hear about a certain situation or my solution to the problems in our family. But, I am trying. I really am trying.

And even in the midst of uncertainty, God is still blessing us every day. We are all healthy, the children are doing well in school, we have food and a home, hot water and air conditioning, cars that run and people that love and care for us. And most importantly a Savior that gave so sacrificially of Himself that He died for us, when we didn't deserve it. And there are so many days that I still don't deserve it, but I have His love, mercy and grace.

So, I keep swimming. Knowing that I need to for myself, my family and my God. 

 

Not Out of the Woods Yet

Parenting is hard. Marriage is hard. Life is hard.

We still have so many things going on right now that just make my head and heart hurt. But, God can heal broken hearts and lives and I know He has plans to restore our family. The waiting is hard, but will be so worth it. Right? It will be so worth it, right?

We still need wisdom and prayers.

But, life has been good, too. We are attending a church that we really like. The children are getting fed weekly with memory verses and Bible stories. We have even gone to my sister's church in La Plata a few times this month and really enjoyed it. I wish we weren't so far away from them or we'd visit more often. The kiddos love being at their house and cannot wait until we get to go again. Maybe for Easter.

We enjoyed some warmer weather last week and got to have a playdate at the park with some friends that just moved back from New Hampshire. Rick even did a bit of fishing. Now they are talking about us possibly getting some snow this weekend or early next week. That would be crazy.

The kiddos are all doing well in school. It seems to be a daily struggle with Cody, but Kari and Noah seem to enjoy doing school work and going above and beyond when it comes to their studies. Kari has entered a few writing contests and attends a math enrichment class. Noah loves to read and consistently tells us about the author of the month. He also attends an enrichment class for reading.

Kari has recently started hanging out with a girl from her class who also lives around the corner from us. It is neat to see her walking home from school with her friends and have Mckenna over for dinner or playtime. Noah struggles with her being gone, but also enjoys the time he gets to have Momma and Daddy all to himself.

Like I said, life is hard, but still good.            

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Rick's surgery went well and he is recovering nicely. I am so thankful that everything went well, because other things happened today that have broken my heart and made me shake my head.

Because I love my husband and my children I am not going to discuss what happened today. But, I am going to ask you to pray for wisdom, discernment and clarity for our family. We really need the hand of God to reach down and move in so many ways for our family.

Thank you for reading, following us, loving us and praying for us.

God is good.  

Day Break

I got the day off unexpectedly when J didn't show up for school. While on my way home, debating whether to go get my hair cut or go to the store, I noticed that Rick left his notebooks for work in the van. So, I headed to his school to drop them off for him. When I was walking across the parking lot he pulled up in his car. He was experiencing a lot of cramping and discomfort at school and was heading home to call the dentist. He has been dealing with a toothache that recently became infected. He was nervous that was going on had to do with the infection.

I followed him home and he called the dentist's office. They were able to change his appointment from next week to tomorrow. I am worried about him. He seems to be doing better.....I think having a day off helped, but I am still concerned. I know it is not easy having oral surgery. I am praying for a painless surgery and speedy recovery.

I forgot to take my medicine and vitamins last night, so having the day off ended up being a blessing for me, too. I always experience such a blah feeling when I forgot to take them and today was no exception. I am very thankful that Rick got the kiddos to bed. Now I can head to bed and get some much needed sleep before tomorrow. J is heading back to school after missing three days. It is always an adjustment for her after a weekend, so tomorrow should be interesting. I am going to need to be ready for her.         

Snow Day

Even after having off for Presidents' Day yesterday we ended up with an unexpected snow day today. It was especially unexpected due to the 70 degree weather we had at the end of last week. And before noon the sun and warm temps were melting the snow pretty fast making me wonder if a two hour delay would have been better. But, Rick, who was up earlier than me, said that the morning roads were a mess, so I guess it was in the best interest of safety that the school district closed today.

I just wish I felt better. Laundry needs to be done along with some other things and I am just not feeling very well.

But, I did find the paperwork I need and am having beef and broccoli for lunch. It is not all bad.   

Time Does Not Stop

I wish I had the gumption to write in this blog every day as I know there are things that happen on normal days that I should be recording, remembering, but it seems like I only take time to write when we do something out of the ordinary. But, shouldn't every day be extraordinary? I mean, if we have been given another day to live and breathe, shouldn't it be blog worthy? Maybe I am just thinking too much.

We took the kiddos to another museum a few weeks ago and it did not fare as well as the AVM. We went to the Walter's Art Gallery in Baltimore and even though we started the tour off with an art activity for the kiddos they weren't really impressed with the museum. Noah thought all of the self portraits were creepy and the longer we walked through the exhibits the faster Kari seemed to walk. Although, she did like the ancient jewelry. And both the kiddos enjoyed playing chess and checkers in the medieval knight's hall. Of course, both of them were sure the visit would improve greatly if we let them buy something from the snack or gift shop, but instead we headed to Costco and had lunch there for a fraction of the price.

This weekend we ventured into Baltimore to hang out at the Harbor. Our original plans were camping for a day or two, but it was so windy and cold on Saturday that we nixed those plans and decided on heading to DC to see some museums. But then Rick and I had trouble communicating (i.e had a fight), so we opted to stay close to home and head to the Harbor. We decided to take the lightrail, but ended up driving into the city instead because after already waiting for the lightrail for 30 minutes they announced over the loud speakers that they were experiencing a 30 minute delay. We were able to find cheap parking, so it ended up being okay, even though the kiddos were a bit bummed about not being able to ride the "train".

We spent some time in Barnes and Noble and then headed to Hooters for dinner. Kari was so excited when she thought the restaurant was for owl lovers. She was not impressed once we got into the restaurant and took our seats. Rick had been having some tooth pain all day and it intensified once we placed our order. So, we asked for to go boxes and stopped by Cheesecake Factory for dessert on the way to the car. 

It ended up being a pretty good day even though it started out a bit rough. Yesterday, we went to the park and then picked up Kaysen for the evening. It was neat to have him spend the night since we were off of school/work today.

And because we were off we headed to a matinee of Never Say Never (the Justin Beiber movie). I did not have any real expectations for the movie, but ended up enjoying it. Plus, I love seeing my kiddos enjoy something and Kari and Noah had a great time. Although, Noah did have to take three bathroom breaks. And we didn't even have any soda at the theater.

Now, there's a lasagna in the oven and I am hoping to get some laundry done before the school/work week starts. They are calling for snow tonight/tomorrow AM, so a two hour delay would be nice. If that happens, I might even get the vacuuming done this week.