August Family Celebration

 The day began on a rather sad and somber note. Michael attended the memorial service for Pastor John, the pastor where Cory and Arielle attend and serve. She dropped the boys off here while they were busy at the service. I want a legacy like Pastor John's. Our lives only intersected his briefly - but he was a wise man who spent time investing in others, even in those who he only briefly knew.  We had him in our home a few hours, Michael spent a couple of hours in his office, we conducted a parenting workshop at his church...Michael said a common thread from those who spoke is that Pastor John was a friend, a man who cared. We have seen him as one with a heart to invest in the next generation of leaders.  What a blessing he has been in Cory and Arielle's lives.  While they remembered John....we played with the boys. JaRissa and Noah arrived shortly after the boys did. They loved playing with Jared on the trampoline. 

Uncle Jared, Charles and Benny

These two cracked me up! The battery was running down (and did die before the day was over). They were sure they could make it work. They took turns pushing...their chatter delights me. 

I am so glad this month's family celebration fell so quickly on the heels of Stacia's birthday and Allie and Stacia starting college. It was good to be with the adult Gherkins who made it out yesterday. Luke and Krista were able to make it - Krista flies out again tomorrow morning. Izaak was here, he is coming up from classes and fishing to breathe. Jared and Larissa flew home from Juneau Friday evening - Noah is a great little traveler.  CoRielle and boys were here. CyRi and Livie were here. 

Today we celebrated Stacia turning 18, and two anniversaries: Luke and Krista's and Josiah and Carrie's.  We had a taco feed, apple pie/cobbler, ice cream and cheesecake. This may be the last month we are able to enjoy the outdoors during our celebration. Fall is in the air - but SHHHHHH you didn't hear that from ME. 

I take random photos here and there when we are together - but I miss so many people. Not one photo of Michael, Carrie, Izaak, Bre....but here are some I caught, or the kids caught and sent me. 

Benny shares a secret with GG

Why, yes, candles work well in pie.

BreZaak and kids got Stacia all sorts of study helps...

📷by Jamin 

I haven't a clue! 

📷by Jamin 

CoRielle picked up a fun wall clock.

📷by Jamin 

KrUke brought the go cart and 4 wheeler. They were a hit! 

Allie and me

Benny & Cory

Liv and Cy 📷by Josiah

Stacia and Allie 

Livie and Benny

Uncle Cory with all the kids

Noah and Larissa

Noah

Still trying....

Have you seen paint ball balloons? I'm not sure what their real name is, but Luke and Krista brought some. They warned parents to bring appropriate clothes for the big paint ball fight in the yard. Strangely, it was mostly the young crowd that participated. I expected everyone would jump in. Allie and Krista were in the middle of the fun. Near the end the fun was too much for Jamin to ignore, even though he hadn't brought old clothes. He jumped in and the kids chased him around and around the yard. I was in the middle taking pictures and everyone had clear instructions not to get me...alas, Krista's paintball exploded or some such thing.  This was great fun....lots of laughing, screaming and crying. Bella and Benny collided HARD.... They knew not to aim at faces...but to make them explode you squeeze the pellets, and the paint goes wherever it decides to go. 

Instructions and practice

Jamin in the back there

Benny, Gideon and Bella 

Benny and Bella

Benny may have been a bit faster and more determined than Uncle Jamin counted on. He did not give up until he had splattered Jamin. 

Go Benny. 

Get em! 

Krista had one more treat from her time in the Tokyo airport. We love the variety of kit kat flavors one can buy in Japan. My favorite today was lemon. 

When we moved the study around and created a spare 'oom, we decided we wanted to move the roll top desk downstairs. This was a tough decision as I use it and it's convenient in the nook. BUT....as I've said before, I felt God impressed on me to "build a sanctuary" in the nook. Several thought it would help to get the desk down to the study. This has been a whole process of realizing we actually CAN use all of the house however we want now... Michael and I could not get the thing down the stairs....and so we fattened them up and then asked if there were some men at the celebration who could help move the desk. I had already carried all the drawers down. 

 Help? Nah - they just DID it.  Cory and Jamin had quite a following as they moved the desk. 

Jared was SUPERVISING! 

They got it down the stairs and set in the study.  Moving all the furniture around from time to time is good for cleaning purposes. Look what I found stuck on the wall.  I knew that thing couldn't have burned so quickly. 

Shortly after this everyone began to go home. Maybe they were concerned what other projects I had lurking in the background. ::snort:: 

Stacia and I went to the church. Jenni is off having fun and while we don't begrudge her fun, we miss her. Stacia is filling in for her in Children's church tomorrow.  She needed to set up props and games etc. I needed to set up the coffee corner. 

When we returned home Michael had GG in bed. Stacia was checking out gift cards. Allie and I rearranged the nook....and then wonder of wonders...with more seating and space...everyone joined us in the nook for a late-night discussion of the week, the upcoming week and the day. 

It was a good day in our home. 

Papa's Playdate

 Sunday the grands at church asked Michael if they could have a Grandpa Playdate at their house this week. He suggested they come to our house Friday afternoon. I had plans to run errands and let them have time alone...but in the end they had been asking if Grandma would be around too - and it was fun to be a part of their grand day.  It was a blast to see Michael set aside his to do list and simply play with the kids. 

Note I made the cookies for papas playdate!

Brothers!

Annie checking for eggs

Jojo dancing to Papa's piano

Papa built a gate to our orchard today. Annie helped sweep the area with the magnet on a stick for spare nails, screws etc. 

These two loved riding down the drive. Annie started down the hill, heading for the gravel pile, Michael grabbed her off the bike in good time to save her from her impending crash. She had no clue how to break but if the big kids could do it, she was certainly going to try. They spent time learning how to break. 

Gideon and Bella 

Trudy

Papa's tired out - they decided to watch clouds

And how did my second day of the girls' college career go?  I enjoyed some quiet moments on the deck. 

mug shot 

I deep cleaned the common area downstairs and did more laundry. I researched a couple of Bible studies, spent some time journaling, praying and studying. There was nothing left to do but - BAKE.  I have found baking is a good way to think. 

I made cookies for Papa's playdate.  GG came out of his room and said, "I smell you're baking. I bet they're all sugar free."  Um...the ones on the right are keto - sugar free cookies. 

This is a cross between an apple pie and a cobbler. Not sure what to call it. LOL 

I made 5 dozen deviled eggs. That ought to keep this group for a bit of time? 

I planned to bake a cheesecake, but in the end decided the opportunity to sit and visit with Bre while Michael played with the kids was too great to pass up. I have no regrets. 

Allie and Stacia went to the fair after finishing up at the college. ABC gave all the Freshman free tickets. They are having a blast. They've finished all the entrance tests, all the sessions provided to incoming students, fees are paid, books and tuition paid...they are fully oriented.  They are getting a clearer picture of how in person vs/ online college compare. There are pros and cons for each option. They met many professors. They liked their fellow students. Stacia reports she didn't even hit a 1 on the anxiety scale we use around here. We have been very impressed with all the staff and professors we've met. 

Stacia raced to her laptop for her Japanese class when she got home. Allie took me into town to buy a few things for tomorrow and to pick up a pizza. We wanted to be together, I could have done it alone. I decided to unashamedly buy a cheesecake instead of making one. I was going to pass one off as my chocolate Andes cheesecake, but Bre said they'd know. LOL 

The kids went home. We had pizza. We spent the evening watching comfort movies...like Family Affair and the original Parent Trap.  It was a relaxing evening at the end of a busy week...going into a busier weekend. 

Jared and Larissa sent another couple of darling shots from Juneau. They're on their way back home. 

Such joy!

All By Myself?

A flurry of last-minute comments and activity and the girls were out the door for their first day of in person college. I forgot to take a picture. I teased them about first day photos with the white board. I realized my error immediately and grabbed this one. 

They're off on a grand adventure

They took separate cars as Stacia wanted to be able to come home as soon as possible. 

It quickly became apparent life has changed, and we are going to have to catch up with it. Michael had an appointment at 2:15. I had an appointment at 3:00 and we were both to meet at the church around 4 p.m. for another meeting. I thought it would all work as I thought the girls' last session began at 2...it began at 3 p.m. Arielle and the boys agreed to come to our rescue!

I found myself strangely "at odds and ends." Stacia turned 18 yesterday and her and Allie going to college orientation today put an exclamation mark on the fact homeschooling is over, and our babies are grown. I did what I do when transitions, like deployments, goodbyes, new pastors, moves and children moving, occur. I cleaned.... I dusted high and low, swept, dust mopped, put pork loin in the instant pot, folded Dad's laundry, started a load of our laundry, got Dad's breakfast, cleaned two bathrooms...in other words...I'd done all I could do...and it was 10:00. LOL I sat down with some tea, a scone and cozy mystery. 

Time for a self-care break 

I began to feel a bit lonely. I may have begun humming a rousing verse of "All by Myself," when Millie went crazy. Krista dropped in unexpectedly. She sat down and had a scone and tea with me. PERFECT timing. 

This gal has IMPECCABLE timing.

Michael joined us for a bit of conversation and then Krista and I ran errands. We got home and Arielle and the boys dropped by. I am thankful I am not all by myself at all today. We visited for a bit before I had to leave.  

Danny, Benny & Charles

The turbo 2 year olds

"Had to leave?"  My 3 pm appointment was an emergency pedi. My nail had split and hurt, and I decided a pedi was a better option than a doctor. LOL Turns out it was in-grown too.... but this gal is a wonder worker. They had a cancellation while I was there and asked me if I knew someone who wanted a pedi. I called Krista. LOL I laughed as she fielded office calls during the pedi. 

Last time I had a pedi - in June - I asked them to cut them short. They told me they couldn't cut them too short or I'd get ingrown toenails. Today she told me if you leave them too long or cut them too short you can develop ingrown toenails. Now this is far over my pay grade to know where the perfect point is. Right? The only solution is a monthly pedi. LOL In any event the pain nearly always goes away after a pedi...we talked about taking Dad in.  I'm not sure he'll want to, but it seems like a good idea to me. 

All better

Michael and I met up at the church for our meeting and came home a bit after 6:30 p.m. I arrived home with a raging migraine. THAT FAST. I have no clue what set it off this time.  I had not had tyramine and wasn't near scents. I just don't know. I took a handful of pills, discussed the girls first day of orientation with them, and promptly fell asleep. The girls pulled together dinner and I don't remember the rest of the evening at all. That is not a simple catch phrase. I honestly do not remember what happened the rest of the night. 

This is the point where I should say something profound. I am still processing the new season. It has been more than our baby simply turning 18 or completing our homeschooling journey. We've also said goodbye to good friends and ministry partners, and said hello to new friends and ministry partners, change is in the air in so many ways. I am not alarmed. I am not anxious. I am curious. What will I do next?  How does God plan to fill my hours? Or is it time to simply have more glorious margin? 

I have been a "stay at home" mom through my 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. I have homeschooled since I was 24. I'm 59. I still feel like I'm 30 or 40 - that's a post for another day. snort:: I COULD do a lot of things and I've discussed and thought about this upcoming season for quite a few years. I've watched so many friends hit this point - while I still had 7 or 8 to raise.  I feel like I've given it my all, left it all on the field, stayed engaged through the graduation of the last child... Now that it's here I do NOT want to go back to college. After all this time I'd have to start all over and by the time I got a masters and was "fully qualified" for my career I'd be 67 years old. ::gasp:: 

I see how much of what I planned to "school" to do - God has given me to do and I've been doing it for years. Few would deny I have had a teaching career. ::snort:: I've also had a full ministry. Ministry continues. Parenting continues. The parenting role has been shifting for quite some time. It grows and shifts with our children. I'm in more of a balcony cheering role at this point, than a hands-on dress, bathe and feed them role. There are wonderful perks to this season. Sure, I DO miss those days with a gloriously, chaotic crowd at home. However, I LOVE the adults these children have become...and when they bring the grandblessings around??? !!!!

Life is good. 

Very good, indeed. 

Our Baby Turned 18 Today!

 Our baby turned 18 today. It sort of snuck up on us. Stacia used to begin counting down the days until her birthday on Day 200.  This year we mentioned it on Day 18 and again on Day 7...and suddenly it is here! She got up at 0700 again and we snuggled under blankets, while everyone else slept, and watched another episode of White Collar.  She made French toast for her and GG for breakfast. I joined them for a birthday scone. 

Allie had the day off again today. We talked about when to give Stacia gifts and decided our best bet was right before we left for her birthday lunch. Allie finds the BEST gifts. Check this out. 

Stacia had asked for some Nikon stuff...and I was taken in by this. It looked VERY real from across the room....up close...it's a cup! 

We met Alex and Jamin at Alaska's Best Phillies - or something close to that. It was a fun lunch. 

We ran Allie home so she could meet up at the church to help prepare for tonight's Back to School Olympics. The rest of us went for a quick drive. 

Stacia soon left for youth group. This was her last night in the youth group. It was BITTERsweet.  She knows she is doing what she should be doing, but transitions can be tough. Our church doesn't have a college age group that is as close knit as the youth group has been. I'm praying she meets friends at college to help fill the void...and, of course, she CAN still hang out with her friends in the youth group - just won't be as easy and natural.  Community is worth being intentional about. 

Speaking of intentional, a friend invited me to spend a couple of hours with her during youth group. It was great to have time to connect without the typical time constraints we have when we are together. I cannot tell you how much I love my developing girl tribe. 

Look who started school today! Olivia (Livie) is in 5th grade. 

📷by Carrie

Better watch out guys! She'll be 18 before you know it! Don't blink...just stop blinking!!!

Tuesday Adventures

My day started out beautifully. I agreed to get up at 0700 and watch an episode of White Collar with Stacia. Stacia is working to get her mornings started earlier in preparation for the start of in person college classes - a first for her. 

I left at 0800 for my morning with the boys. It has been a stressful week for their little family, and for their church family. I told the boys the first thing we were going to do was pick up all their toys and do a bit of house tidying. I promised them a bike ride if we got done in time.  Success!

Blow this up for the cutest expressions

Danny and Charles have gotten FAST on their balance bikes. Charles loves to run and then pick his legs up and coast. They are quite the duo. Benny runs ahead and helps keep them in the boundaries. 

Go, Charles! 

Benny wanted to take me down a new road...and he showed me a secret trail! Wow the flowers!!! While I took this photo the two years olds disappeared. I could NOT see or hear them. I began calling for them.  "Boys, come find Bachan!"

Ah ha! There they are. 

Next, I tried to capture all 3 of them at once in the flowers. Oops! I forgot about Charle's balance issues. 

Benny, Charles, Danny

On the way home Danny all of a sudden jumped off his bike and began talking excitedly. He kept saying, "Bachan, come see!" and "Bachan, don't mash it. Don't mash it!" 

Danny has discovered worms. He was fascinated. I was thrilled to observe his gentle ways. Then, he stood up and stomped on it.  In that moment so many memories from being a boy mom came racing back into my conscious memory bank. ::snort:: 

I had hoped to have time to read and play with them when we got home. We had so much fun we barely got home and seated for a snack when Arielle was home. 

Allie had the day off work! We were thrilled.  We baked scones and visited. 

We made stroganoff for dinner and enjoyed having all five us at home for dinner.  We watched an episode of Almost Paradise (filmed in Cebu, Philippines) and Person of Interest. 

It was a perfectly relaxing evening. We are gearing up for a transition from online college to classroom college, from youth group to adult "stuff,"  and who knows what else. It was good to be together. 

Jared and Larissa sent this shot from their travels. Larissa usually works from home as her job is in IT. Every so often she has to travel to Juneau for a week. Jared and Noah are exploring while Larissa works. I can't quite decide what to caption Noah's expression. 

📷by Larissa

Marvelous Monday

 

We snuck in one more time together. Nora is joining her family in the bush/village tomorrow. The only way to fly in is on a little plane. I've begun planning how to get out and see a new part of Alaska while they are out there.  It was fun to sit and talk about a move and know as far as I can tell I do NOT have any moves in the foreseeable future.  While I completely believe our roots are in JESUS and he provided great stability in the midst of our moves...I do love this new rootedness tied to a place. We HAVE recently wrestled with realizing we'd placed a big "No, hands off" over living here...and we adjusted our hearts and are holding it all with open hands once again. That's a post for another day. 

On the way home from breakfast, I stopped and picked up more meds for Dad. If anyone would have told me how much time I'd be spending at pharmacies and doctors' offices in this season of my life I would have thought they'd lost their mind. LOL 

I spent some time at home working on a couple of ministry items. I updated our women's ministry page and spent a bit of time on the phone. 

A funny thing happened today...I began to see back to school photos. It hit me our baby graduated in the spring. I don't have any back-to-school lesson plans to gather, no curriculum to buy and since both girls are now starting in person classes, I am not going to have someone at home to watch GG so Mike and I can run out at the same time. LOL Bre saved the day by sharing photos.  These kids are excited about their first day of school. Annie told Bre she didn't want to grow up - I, myself, would like to freeze time for her. This is such a fun age. 

📷by BreAnne

Bella is in 2nd grade, Gideon in 1st grade and Annie in Pre K.
📷by BreAnne 

#mugshot

I finished the book above. I really enjoyed the read. I've done many of Beth's studies, and I know about the hot water she got herself into...it was good to read more of HER story and not what others have said about her. Such a story of God's faithfulness to her through some amazing ups and downs. Quite a testimony to His goodness and steadfast love. 

Another funny thing happened today. I called everyone to dinner only to discover Michael had left the "compound."  He's done that from time to time...gets so focused on what he is doing he heads off to the next town to buy tools or parts. This time he's building a gate for our little orchard in hopes of keeping moose out. I'm excited at the thought of not having to shimmy under ropes and boards to get in there any longer. In his defense, he DID send a text. I ignored my pinging phone as I was determined to get dinner on the table "on time." ::snort::   

Noah took his first airplane ride recently. Yep, he and Daddy are going with Mommy to work in our state's capital. He's such a sweet boy! If my dates are right he's approaching 7 months. 

📷by Larissa

📷by Larissa