Running and throwing and jumping . . . oh my!

The older 3 kids are involved in a local track and field program and had their first meet last week. Both Levi and Daniel won every running race they entered! The "blue ribbon boys" really enjoyed themselves! Emily did best at the long jump-outjumping all the other girls her age (but not the 2 boys that were in the competition with her). I think it was a good experience for all of them. We were really proud of Emily for how well she handled the disappointment of not bringing home a handful of blue ribbons like the boys did. It was a lot of fun watching Levi and Daniel do so well . . . and Samuel and Anna were very patient (and goofy) cheerleaders!

Geocaching!

Kevin talked us into an early Father's Day present when he found a used hand held GPS on Craigslist. For many months we've talked about going geochaching and finally decided to try it! (This was obviously before my back went out). Kevin printed off a few "easy, kid friendly" caches . . . located a few steps from some local playgrounds. We put fresh batteries in the camera, packed a lunch and went off on an adventure -- our maiden geocaching voyage! We missed our turn for the first site. At the second site, we located the little grove of trees that the coordinates and the clues led us to -- we dug and we searched and we dug and we searched and 30 minutes later we decided to give up! Off to the next site . . . where we had the exact same experience! We came back home, looked on the computer and discovered that there was a cache hidden somewhere near the playground right across the street from our house! So we grabbed the GPS and walked over to the park -- determined to rescue this whole experience, so it wasn't a complete failure!! We found it! Microscopic as it was, we located our first itty bitty little cache! Hurray! We are looking forward to seeing how this sport of hiking and treasure hunting may just evolve into a treasured family hobby.

Walking is not to be taken for granted!

I've re-discovered this in the past week. With no warning (and for no apparent reason), my back decided to quit working last Sunday and remained that way far longer than it normally does! In spite of several trips to the chiropractor, most of the week spent lying on an ice pack and generally "taking it easy" (mostly because I had no choice) . . . it wasn't until Friday that I could finally walk more than a few steps. It still isn't back to "normal", but I'm very thankful to be mobile again. Fortunately for the kids, they were enrolled in a Vacation Bible School last week (each morning). When she was home, Emily enjoyed providing "room service" for me since I couldn't get downstairs for meals. She even found a dinner bell that she jingled delightedly to announce her arrival!

Sweet!

The morning of my birthday Emily asked permission to rummage through my box of fabric and other stuff for crafts, a few minutes later all of the kids disappeared into the basement. After about 30 minutes of secretive giggles, I discovered that they were creating matching "I love my mom" t-shirts! (which they wore when we went out to lunch and bowling with my sister and her kids)

Musings on Metamorphosis

So, we recently did the butterfly thing ~ you know, you order caterpillars, they arrive in the mail, they eat really yucky looking "food" for a few days and then they each form a chrysalis and hang upside down (or at least it looks that way) . . . and you wait . . . and you wait . . . and you wait and then one day you wake up and there is a butterfly! Well, all things considered this little adventure went well and we released 5 little butterflies into our backyard earlier today.

Here's where my brain has been wandering recently. A good week or so into the pupal (chrysalis) stage, I commented to Kevin that it sure looked to me like nothing was happening and I wondered if we would ever be seeing butterflies and that if butterflies really did appear that it would be a good lesson for me in "things are really happening, even when it looks like nothing is happening". Well, you guessed it . . . the very next morning we saw our first butterfly. Followed by three more within a few hours. The fourth chrysalis just hung there quietly. After two full days of four butterflies flitting about in their little habitat (and that last chrysalis just hanging there), I told the kids that "maybe the 5th one just wasn't going to become a butterfly. Sometimes that happens. Human babies sometimes make it to the embryo stage, but just don't make it". Low and behold, Emily came running into my room the next morning telling me that there was a 5th butterfly . . . I think I was more surprised than she was. So my take away from this little adventure is two-fold: 1) when we are waiting for something to take place in our lives or for God to answer a particular prayer -- we shouldn't give up too quickly . . . because 2) often times there is a lot happening even when we can't see it. Hmmmmmmm.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna's birthday was over a week ago . . . I'm trying to get caught up! She wanted a "pink puppy dog birthday", so we had a pink puppy dog cake in the park and adopted "pound puppies", lapped up ice cream (without spoons), tossed doggie treats into the "mouth" of a big, print out of a dog . . . and nearly got really wet when a storm moved in . . . all in all, it was fun! Anna loves to play on the swings at the park--on her belly! Kevin also managed to remember the annual photo with her big bear. Once we stop taking them every month (when the kids are babies), I'm really horrible at remembering to take them on their birthdays (yeay for Kevin!). The photo below of Samuel and Anna is from "field day" a few days before Anna's birthday. (We must really like her in that outfit, I just realized she's dressed the same on both days!)