Mother's Day

Last week one of my kids had a "secret assignment" they were working on at school. The week before Mother's Day? What could it be? He needed a few photos of just him and mom. I was stumped. As I dug through my hard drive, I had all sorts of photos of the kid and a lot less of me, but almost none together. And that inspired my one request for Mother's Day. I didn't care if I got dinner out, or flowers or anything else. All I wanted was a photo with me and my crew and individual shots with each of them one on one. Nate humored me.

But I also got pancakes. Heavenly.

Easters

The Easter Bunny pulled a late night hiding candy. She was a little sleep deprived, staying up ironing spring clothes she had just pulled out of bins in the basement. Fifty degrees, you will not keep us from our short sleeves and spring dresses. Anyway, here is her handiwork:






Our church put on a Passion Play that was amazing to watch. It was so neat to see so many people involved. So powerful. The man that played Jesus was incredible.


We spent the afternoon at my Grandparents' house with most of my siblings. (Missed you Gabe and Naomi!) More egg hunting ensued and much delicious food was consumed. The pineapple upsidedown cake had my name all over it. And today it's back to school after a long spring break.

The end.

Interim

Interim: "n. An interval of time between one event, process, or period and another."

And that's what this week is, isn't it? The flurry of Christmas is over. The garbage can in the garage is overflowing with shredded wrapping paper, waiting for the trash man to take it away. Gifts are being played with, users manuals read, and waistlines have expanded. Most of the visiting family has returned home.

But the new year isn't here yet.

This week is the lull. The waiting. The meantime. I'm feeling particularly introspective this year. Pondering 2009 and all that has taken place. It's a little overwhelming for me to think about. You never know what a year will hold. I think reflecting can be a holy act. Acknowledging, thinking, thanking, remembering. Looking for God in the ins and outs of life within the time frame of a whole year. Where He has brought us, what He has taught us, where He carried us.

In just a couple of days we will throw the confetti and blow the noisemakers and look toward the future with hope for what a new year will hold. Exciting and unknown. Full of possibilities. God only knows what a new year will bring. But there is value in the meantime. God, show me Who You Are in the meantime.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Laundry Pile Family.

Christmas is Coming

Things are looking a little more Christmasy around here.

The house is decorated, with my favorite "wreath" on the front door.


The tree is up. We went with our old faithful, 6 ft. $25 in 1995 artificial, dug up from retirement in the basement. Just the right amount of tree for our increasingly smaller living room. I am never more aware of how much the kids have grown as I am when the first snow comes and there are more bodies in the house along with all of the snow grear. The kids decorated the tree, although some of the ornaments are already missing.



Breakfast in a Christmas bowl makes oatmeal festive.

Merry Christmas? Happy Holidays?

I never click away from Lifenut disappointed. Gretchen's words are delightful, thought provoking, and occasionally heart wrenching. This Chrismas post especially spoke to my heart. Thank you Gretchen for a perspective check. Bring on the Christmas shopping.

December? Already?

Am I the only one that feels like Christmas has tiptoed from behind and then pounced? I hear talk all over of people putting up their lights and trees and being done with shopping as the month just begins. This year seems to be a little more laid back for the Laundry Pile family. We still have a wooden pumpkin hanging from our front door. Now mind you, it's the inside of the front door but it hangs just the same. Our thankful paper chain decks the halls in our kitchen. So far, there are no lights on the outside of our house, a first since we have lived here. And now it's a little too chilly to ask poor Nate to climb up on the roof to wrestle with half lit strings of lights, never to feel his finger tips again.

And I'm ok with it. At first I felt a little panic rise up inside me, maybe mixed with some guilt. Isn't it our responsibility to "make Christmas" for our kids? But as I've thought about it, I think this year we are going to just take things at our own pace. We'll eventually figure out what we want to do for a tree. Gifts will be purchased. Carols will be sung. I refuse to let it become insane. I'm going to take a deep breath, and just live December. I'm going soak in the Christmas story, remembering Jesus and why he came to walk on this planet. I don't think He is honored in our chaotic insanity. I think He's honored in our intentionality. I think as December unfolds before us, I'm going to ask Him which things He would have me put at the top of my to do list. And I'll wait patiently and expectantly for His answer.

Randomess, Because it's Been Awhile

Last year we inadvertently missed most of the Christmas specials on TV. Not this year. I pulled out a piece of poster board and made a master list including date, channel, and time. We have a date with The Grinch on Monday night at seven.

In other news, Everly rolled over for the first time. And not just a fluke, "How did that happen?" type roll. She actually did it again and again and again. So that's fun.

What else? I haven't blogged for so long, I don't even know where I left off.

Nate and I were able to get away together for a few days at a Youth Leader's Retreat. It was really fun. We had a great speaker and good times with the other youth leaders in our denomination. One of the nights we went to see the movie 2012. Yeah, it was pretty funny but I don't think it was supposed to be. Let me give you a summary: It's the end of the world and you meet a group of people who will miraculously survive all sorts of natural disasters and manage to escape by the skin of their teeth every. single. time.

The retreat was held only a couple hours from where our friends live now. We decided to make a quick trip to visit them and two other families that are dear to us. It went way too fast but we had lots of laughs with good friends.


I love the interaction going on in this picture, there may or may not have been fighting over the baby.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Nate's Mom really outdid herself making dinner for a houseful. It was delish. Also, there were four different kinds of pie and they were all fantastic. Believe me, I know. I ate a piece of each. And so this morning I felt obligated to go for a run. A run the day after a holiday can be labeled a guilt driven run. It was pretty darn cold out there and I wasn't quite dressed for it. By the end I couldn't feel my thighs. But who needs thighs anyway? Oh wait...

Does anyone else have a running list of Christmas song that drive them crazy? I tend to be drawn to the classics lately, all the sappy emotional ones just kind of tick me off. Wow. I really am the Grinch. Geez.

Halloween 09 Report

Trick or Treat this year was a "raid the dress up box" theme. We re-costumed. Road kill made another appearance, so did Tyler's old Karate uniform. (Not sure what you even call them, I'm sure there's something official) Jack threw on an eye patch and a bandanna and called himself a pirate, and Gemma went as a mommy complete with a purse to put her candy in. Not a bad idea... note to self: a traveling secret stash could be convenient. Toby went as The Two Year Old Boy Who Refused To Wear A Costume. Whatever. The big two stayed back and passed out candy. Nate grilled steaks while we were out and tortured all the parents with grill aroma as they came near our house. Everly slept in the wrap, oblivious. It was so much fun to trick or treat with Andrea. She was visiting from out East. We ate more candy than we should have. The bonus is that the only thing left the Monday morning after Halloween is a handful of Tootsie Rolls. We are all about The Binge.

I give you costume photos:

Mother's Day Weekend

It was a lovely weekend.

Saturday morning was one of my favorite races of all time. Run Like A Mother. I think this is the 4th time I have done this race, the second time I've been pregnant. I was happy that my hips gave me the day off from aching and allowed me to run the whole thing. I finished the 4 miles in 36:56, and completely enjoyed my post race bagel and coffee. Doing this race with friends makes it even better. We had way too much fun.


Saturday night we went out with friends. Dinner, a movie, and coffee. It was perfect. Who cries in a Star Trek movie? The pregnant lady, that's who. Ten minutes in and I was a mess.

Nate did good, he bought me a maxi dress for Mother's Day. Bring on the comfort. After church, we spent the afternoon at my parent's house. We feasted on grilled chicken with coconut cake for dessert. Some people took naps and some people went mushroom hunting. I'll let you figure out which option I chose. This is the bounty that was found.



The kids were great. I was lavished with home made cards and cheerful help all day long. One child even gave me the gift of actually wearing their glasses that they have worn a total of two times since getting them a year ago. Isn't that nice?

Happy Mother's Day

Easter Pictures.

The obligatory Day-After-A-Holiday picture.

You can just feel how excited they all were about having to pose on the couch for yet another sibling photo. They should just be glad I don't make them line up in green on St. Patrick's Day. Seriously. I could totally make them.

Actually, I think they were all starting to come down off of their sugar highs. I felt kind of guilty sending them to their Sunday morning classes with only Easter candy for breakfast. Their poor, poor teachers.

The Gospel Truth

This IS Easter.

Confession

I still have Christmas decorations up. Don't judge me.

I took down the tree and that was as far as I got, but according to my Christmas Cactus, I've still got time.

Christmas is Over. Wow, That Was Fun.

Here is my Christmas recap, four days later.

We celebrated with Nate's parents a week early. They were the guilty party who bestowed upon us the new love of my life, Guitar Hero World Tour. And also, try not to be jealous but we all got these:

The only thing better than actually going to Treasure City, is reliving that experience everyday by wearing the shirt.

On Christmas Eve morning, we had our own Christmas at our house. Gemma's dreams came true and she donned the makings of a "pink princess". We weren't really sure what that entailed but we were happy that she was pleased with our interpretation. An interpretation that slightly resembles a square-dancer waving a wand.


The girls took their gaming to a whole new level with DS for each that matches their pajamas. Because if we are going to game, we are going to do it with style.


Don't worry, the boys got presents too, and I promise they didn't open lumps of coal. It was tempting though...

That night we continued the family tradition of sleeping over at my parents' along with all of my siblings. There are 18 of us in that house. Let that sink in for a little bit. Actually, despite what you would think, it's really, really fun. We look forward to it all year. On Christmas morning, we all get up early and Dad shares his Christmas letter to us. There are usually lots of tears. Then the chaos begins. So much wrapping paper. I mean, check it out.


Please forgive me for that dark, nasty photo. It was before I got MY NEW LENS. I love, love, love it. Same lighting conditions, different lens:


Notice his sweet hat. My sister Holly knitted it. She may have Lyme's disease, but she is turning lemons into lemonade and using this down time to knit like no other. She even learned mittens and I am sporting some pretty cute ones thanks to her.

Ok, so then we headed down to my Grandparent's house and had one more Christmas there. This is where the annual wrapping paper war happens. Man, that is some serious stuff. Nate even suited up in homemade armor, hoping to survive unharmed.


Since then, we have had fun game nights and snacks. The kids are off until next week and we are spending a whole lot of time with the Wii. I'm really excited about getting this house put back together. It looks like someone opened the front door, threw in a bunch of presents, and then shook the place like a snow globe. It's that bad.

I'll leave you with this picture of the crew. It's a Christmas miracle, no one blinked, everyone is looking at the camera, and no one is crying.

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

One Week Out

My Christmas/Winter observations and ponderings so far:

Number one: Wherever the socks went, the gloves and mittens have joined them. I must be missing something here because even the new gray gloves I just bought for a certain child (that will remain unnamed) didn't even last a week. The remaining lonely glove has now joined the three other right handed mittens without mates in the top drawer of the hat and mitten bins.

Number two: It has become readily apparent that my kids have a different interpretation of the nativity story:


Number three: The lights on the Christmas tree are sticky and covered in finger prints. Look closely. I tired to capture it.


Number four: Last night the kids had their last practice for the Christmas program coming up on Sunday night. I'm hoping that this year none of my kids feel the need to make a performance that stands out. Let me set this up for you. What we have here is last year's video. Initially it appears that the culprit is Caedmon, the squirrely kid in the striped sweater. Not so. Jack strikes again.

Ringing Bell

Last Saturday I had the privilege of doing something I have never done before. I rang the Salvation Army bell. At the last minute, they needed someone to step in and fill an empty slot so I went along with Noelle and one of her friends. We had a two hour time slot outside of Walmart on a fairly warm but windy day. As soon as the sun started to set, my toes started to lose feeling. We kept warm with cocoa purchased at the little cafe right inside the door.

The two hours passed fairly quickly, people coming and going constantly, some with a couple bags, others with carts piled high. Many people stopped and smiled as they put in some change or some bills. We sang for awhile. Well, the girls did. We repeated jingle bells about a hundred thousand times.

There was one moment that I will remember fondly. I watched a family approach from across the parking lot, a mom and her friend and a few kids. When they were about a stone's throw away, one of the boys picked up the pace and practically ran, pulling away from the rest of his family. I'd say he was about 9 years old or so. I thought he was just trying to get inside sooner where it was nice and warm. Nope. He ran straight towards us and our bucket. With a shy smile he reached in his pocket and pulled out a little black wallet. As he opened it I could see four or five bills all in a row. He pulled out a dollar and stuffed it into the bucket and then turned and ran back to his mom as we thanked him and called out Merry Christmas. His mom smiled at me and as they walked into the store I heard her ask him, "Did you use one of the dollars in your wallet? Good job buddy."

It was a sweet moment. A little boy giving out of his own wallet, on his own. No one putting change in his hand, no one coaxing him to the bucket.

Just precious.

I'm Thankful That I'm Royalty

Yes, it's official. I have a crown.

After a bit of a delay, I finally got a real, white, pretty, eye tooth. Or as I like to call it, my iTooth. It ended up being quite the experience. The first appointment was a slam dunk. Everything went well and she put a temporary on and sent me on my way with instructions to carry toothpaste in my pocket in case it came off. Very reassuring. The second appointment didn't go so well. The tooth came back from the lab and she wasn't happy with how it looked, with the shape of it. I laid there in the chair as she put it in place and I watched her and the assistant exchange a curious but knowing look. I knew right away something was wrong. She didn't end up using it because, in her words, "it looked like a snaggletooth." Snaggletooth is not the look I am going for here. So she put the temporary back on and told the lab they needed to try again.

I cried. Because I'm mature like that. But I waited until I got home to cry, crying at the dentist's office is reserved for novocaine needles but even then it's just silent tears that escape the corners of your eyes against your will. So I had two more weeks with a temporary. Then on Monday I went in for my coronation. No novocaine was needed. She popped that baby in and did a little tweaking. Mostly painless. She did mess with my gums a lot and after doing so she made the most interesting comment. "Your tissues are going to be upset." All I could picture was being chased down by an angry box of Kleenex.

So number one on my Thankful list this year is a very superficial, very cosmetic, "I'm thankful for my smile." Since I was 14 years old I've dealt with an iTooth that didn't fit with the rest of my teeth. Now it finally does.

I have all of the typical things to be Thankful for. All the things I take for granted on regular old days. God forgive me for being so dismissive of huge blessings in my life.

My kids haven't gotten the thankfulness memo yet. Not ten minutes into Thanksgiving Eve and they were at each other's throats. There is no school today and it is very, very clear that they are not at all thankful for each other's presence. Or for the selection of cereal. Or for one t.v. to be shared by all. Looks like a crash course in Thankfulness is on the agenda for the day. Thankfulness boot camp.

It will involve cleaning for sure.

Trick Or Treat Aftermath

Look what I found when I went to roll the trundle bed away. Half eaten secret stashes. Are they my kids or what?!


Tonight we trick or treated. Not sure why our town decided not to trick or treat on the actual night of the 31st, but whatever.

After school we carved pumpkins. Might as well try to cram as much craziness into one day as possible. It's a good motto to live by. You can tell from the expressions how they felt about pumpkin guts. Poor, poor, traumatized Camryn.


Please don't judge me by my kitchen walls. So I filled some nail holes and never painted over them. Does that make me a bad person?

"I get to use a knife and touch this awesome slimy stuff inside this pumpkin? Awesome. This is the best day ever."

More pictures of my kids dressed up . Because it's my blog. Notice that Gemma and Jack have decided to wear something different than they did last night. The hulk costume is a classic around here. It will never die.

The jack o' lanterns, all lit up.


And finally, the loot. Oh good gracious, I can feel my blood sugar levels rising just looking at that pile. If we make it out of the next couple days without slipping into a sugar induced coma, it's going to be a miracle.


I'm going to have to run a marathon every day to burn off the amount of chocolate I'm consuming. I'm not even kidding.