the more we get together...the happier we'll be

whew! what an amazing weekend of all things california! as i sit here and recap the great time we all had this weekend, i think of how fast times like these are going. i mean two of our sons are now in their teens and the other two are nipping at their heels. this is going fast. matt and i have purposed not only to nurture our marriage relationship but to nurture our parental relationship, quick!

as you may or may not know from other forms of media {boy are we connected or what?!} my sweet love took me away for a night of camping on friday. it was fantastic!! as much as i enjoy being right on the 101...sarcasm...it was the sweetest sound to hear nothing at all. well, really we were able to hear many things...crickets, birds, rustling in the darkness, owls{yes, i know they are birds, but such a sound isn't heard from just any bird}...we were also able to just sit and observe the stars. so so dark up there in the mountains! and that was just the evening. in the morning we took time to really enjoy each other's company our morning coffee, our bible study and the scenes around us...in the immediate back of our site was a creek running through...another sound we were so glad to be listening to. this creation that we are living in, all around us, is so magical! God meant for us to take it in and sometimes we go months with out even noticing it! im thankful that my husband and i were able to retreat to the mountains to reconnect with God, each other and His creation.

funny, isn't it...matt and i "see" each other everyday! but it was different to go away from normalcy and look at each other. be with each other. same goes for our sons. we are here, home together almost every day. but not nearly enough do we stop and just be with one another.

sunday was great! matt took christian and cameron (and the dogs) up the mountain behind our house and hacked the trail. machetes and men. something about it! connor and calvin spent time walking on and surfing at the beach with our neighbors. and i spent a few good hours riding redd. after all of that, we came together and built gingerbread structures and continued in our reading aloud together of the chronicles of narnia...we are on the dawn treader...what a GREAT story! and what a special time that is sometimes hard to accomplish...the boys(and myself, i confess) don't always want to stop turn off the media and read with one another. it's hard, but the life long benefits are more than worth it!

anyway, my point is...sometimes it is HARD to do the things we are supposed to do. working on relationships(with each other as well as our intimacy with God), parenting, being...really being with one another. BUT the more we do this, the more we'll do it! how do ya like that?! even better though is romans 7:14-25...look it up.

it's been several years!

WOW!! i just remembered that i have a blog! darn fb ruining my creative writing...isn't that just like us though...so much easier just to put a snippet up rather than taking the time to write a full thought! i couldn't even remember the name of this blog and where to find it...interesting.

i was thinking, as i riffled through all the OLD {my kids are so grown up since these last pics were taken!}posts on this blog, not much has changed, but at the same time, soooo much has changed. my sons have entered a different phase{half of them are teens!}, i have entered a different phase, my marriage is in a different phase. essentially, we are the same God lovin' people but we have all put a few lessons on the board since i last wrote. it's goooooood to look back to where you once were. it's like a measuring stick to where you are now.

one thing that has changed is that now...right now...i am only a WIFE and MOM! Praise the Lord! perhaps, one reason that i've lost track of this blog is that i couldn't find it under all of my hats. we homeschooled for a few years, somewhat successfully, but now...the boys are back to public school and all is well. i'm loving so much my "new job"! it is so obviously where God wants me to be.

so maybe, just maybe, i'll use some of my time to hang out here and get some thoughts out of my head. i used to love doing that...time to revisit~i do believe. stay tuned...might just get interesting!

Halloween 2008

Sunset.

Most of our neighborhood kids ready to go. (Connor came up with "hobo" which here in SoCal isn't so rare, Cameron was GI Cam.)

Calvin, I mean, Cap. Jack Sparrow.

This one I have named "Skele-son" :)

Busy!

Hey there! Lately, I haven't been keeping up on the blog scene. Here's why...

Our last six months started off with a bang...

1st Cameron whacked his leg on our white board for a whopping six stitches.

2nd Calvin fell in the living room while wrestling with Christian. That led to a very scary morning that included a CT scan and a concussion diagnosis.

3rd Cameron flipped over his handle bars which ended in SEVERAL stab wounds from the rocks on his face. The ER doc glued him up good!

4th Connor swinging on two desks in the classroom fell and smacked his head on the concrete/tile floor...was disoriented for approximatly 30 min. Was sent to the office, walked into the office turned around and went to the cafeteria and sat down to eat. This lead to another ER visit, CT scan and concussion diagnosis.

5th (12 DAYS LATER!!) Connor, while surfing, smacked his face/mouth on his surf board which results in four stitches inside of his top lip.

6th Calvin skateboarding at the Santa Barbara Skate Park, falls. His helmet jolted back exposing his forehead. Instant goose egg and vomitting. Back to the CT scan for him. 2nd concussion diagnosis.

7th Cameron. Can't find him. Christian and Connor lost track of him about an hour before coming home. They thought he came home. He didn't. So after physically looking for him in the house, calling everyone we know, searching in all of our normal play spots, calling the police and searching some more...we found him. He was in a family's home that we have never played with before. Til 9:30!!!!!!! Ugh, the most agonizing few hours of my whole life.

8th and final(for now) Christian riding a mini motorcycle falls in the field behind our house, on his wrist. After about 24 hours he is still in pain, and it is swollen. Xrays reveal no broken bones. Just a bad sprain. In a splint for a week!

Can I have a break now?

Tales of a Real Homemaker Part II

'Memeber all that ranting and feeling sorry for myself? Forget that! I am back...we had a great weekend, the weather was like summer. See for yourself.

Connor and Calvin spent high tide building a driftwood fort in the rocks.

Tales of a real American homemaker.

Hey...

I don't need to tell you that it has been a while since my last corespondence. I've been busy...doin' nothin. It's weird really, normally I am the busiest woman on the planet with the Matt, the boys, the dogs, the house...but just recently my motivation has gone. I am so annoyed with that. I am just consumed by being lazy. Not that I have let everything go to you know where...but it's more that I don't feel productive. Yeah, I have been checking homework, keeping up with the dogs, getting dinner on the table by five or six, laundry is mostly caught up, the house is semi orderly, blah, blah, blah...but I don't know. I guess I go through these phases of unrest. Like I don't really exist. Or I feel like my "job" is not enough. Maybe it is because we are struggling with finances right now, as usual, and I can't deposit any money. It is so frustrating! Might be more of a control issue or freedom issue...we are sort of slaves to the very thing that we are trying to get away from. Stupid money! I don't know. I am just a bit annoyed. It seems you have to be really wealthy to live simply.

One big factor in all of this is my "goal" has been shot down. My plan to go to school this year has been put off again. It is the right thing to do, since Calvin isn't in Kindegarten yet(not til 2009/10) We are unable to justify spending an outrageous amount of $$, which we don't have, for childcare. So, Calvin will be better off with the extra year home with me but I am still horribly sad! I just feel like everytime I set a personal goal...it doesn't work out. Then I think, it really isn't about me...quit being such a baby. It's a rollercoaster, really. Gosh, I must sound like such a whiner! Sorry 'bout that. Okay, I think I am done feeling sorry for myself.

Check back soon, I will work on a less selfish, whinny post. :)

Calvin

This last week has been rough. Here was our iternerary...
Monday: Boys to school, Matt to work, Calvin to Grandpa's and Mom to the dentist to extract two of the four wisdom teeth.(the other two will be taken Jan. 7th)
Tuesday: Boys to school, Matt to work, Calvin and I to stay home for my recovery time.
Wednesday: Boys to school, Matt to work, Cal and I more recovery and get ready for Grandma to come and hang while Matt and I go to the company Christmas dinner.
Then there is Thursday when time/schedules didn't matter: Boys to school, Matt to work...While wrestling with Christian, Calvin fell back and hit his head on the carpet floor, Calvin cries more than usual, Calvin throws up(red flag), Calvin falls immediatley to sleep(red flag!!)...but not before he told me that he wanted to go to heaven...can you even believe he said that??!! Mom and Calvin go to the doctor, Mom cries more than usual, Calvin is checked out...and a CT scan is ordered. We drive to another facility that would take less time to get in, MUCH more crying and praying for sweet Calvin. Calvin eats some lunch and soon after throws it up...falls asleep in the car. Next, CT scan, and back to our doc for another exam and the reading of the scan...Results: Negative for everything...no bleeding or swelling...Calvin is diagnosed with a concussion. He is VERY sleepy and must be constantly monitored for the next 24 hours. A SERIOUS talk with all four sons (with lots of crying from Mom) about the dangers of rough housing occurs. Thursday night waking Calvin up a few times to make sure he can.
Friday: All seems well. Calvin still complains of a headache and his symptoms can last for up to a month! But with rest and time he will heal fine.
These are the things that often give us a HUGE slap in the face and remind us that our time is limited here. It isn't always going to be crazy, loud, sleep deprived, stressful...my sons will be grown some day and I am to cherish ALL of the time that I have with each of them. It doesn't take a huge dramatic fall off of a roof for my son to have a concussion...he fell on the carpet. It could have been worse, a whole ton worse...and thank God that it wasn't.
So for today: recovery for Calvin (and Mom, I'm exhausted)