Joey's Home!

Yesterday I got to go and pick up my son from the airport!  It was so good to see him after three weeks.  He had all kinds of things to talk about, and he made some good friends.
It was so amazing- when he realized I had brought Buddy (Michael Jude), he just oohed and awwed over him again and again. 
He came home and slept, then ate and talked, then slept some more.  Our home is full once more.
And here he is being mauled and adored by some of his fan club.

Simple Pleasures

I remember when our little family first moved to Colorado. Kenny and I had a 4 year-old, a 2 year-old, and an almost 1 year-old.  The move was exciting in every way.  We were here to help plant a new church, we were on an adventure in a new place, and were on our own. And yet many days I found myself wishing for home.  One particularly home-sick day, the boys and I were awakened by a strange sound.  Well, yes, there are always strange sounds when you have little boys, but this was even stranger.  I went to the window and yelled for the boys to come quickly.  Outside the back of our home were 3 or 4 amazingly cheerful hot-air balloons, slowly making their way through the Colorado sky.  We found such pleasure in that morning, I'll always remember it.
And this morning, almost 14 years later, Kenny asked me to take Danny to work, and as the 2 of us were pulling out of our cul-de-sac, we were surprised to look up and see a couple of absolutely gorgeous hot-air balloons floating through a cloudless blue morning sky.  What a perk to our morning!
On my way home, I thought of all I had to do today (no surprise there).  And then I thought of my Emma, who was resting on the couch.  A smile crept across my face as I thought...And after I pulled into the driveway, I ran into the house and grabbed Emma (the only one awake), and off we went to chase the balloons.

Time Alone with Mom or Dad is Rare in this Family!

When we got home from our outing, it was time to make peach jam!  I had bought 50 pounds of peaches last week, and today had to be the day!

Box #1 of 2

Ellie, Ready to Add the Pectin

Ready to Freeze!

Smooey Couldn't Wait to Try it!

Natty just kept licking the jam off his bread and spreading more on.  And yes, they did have a healthy lunch beforehand.

Dressing the Octopus

Littleton with Friends

Last week after we dropped Sammy off at his Constitutional Literacy class, we had the chance to go to the Littleton Museum with our friends, the Webb's.  The museum is free, clean and well-kept, and just a lot of fun for any 'olden-days-lovers'.
It was a beautiful summer day, a little cooler than many we've had so far, and we so enjoyed our time.

Our Modern-Day Kiddos at a Historical 2-Room House

The Wagon Masters...

...And Their Lovely Little Passengers

Colorado Skies

Good Buddies

Such a Sleepy Baby

As we got into the van to leave, Michael got hungry, or something.  Here he is chowing down on his foot.

Other People

Tonight as Kenny was reading The Swiss Family Robinson to us, the phone rang.  I noticed the number was not familiar, but it looked as though it may be from Joey's camp in Kansas City.  I answered, and the young woman on the other end asked if I was Joey's mom.  Then she told me he had tripped (running in a game, I found out later), and fallen face-first into a music stand.  He was fine, she said, but cut on the cheek and near the eye.  The counselor wanted to take him in for stitches, just to keep a bad scar from happening.  They needed our permission to take him in.
The last time I got off the phone that fast was years ago when the vet called at 6:00 in the morning to let us know Danny's Guinea pig had not made it through the night.  I hung up with the vet then, and cried.
And tonight, when I said thank you to the young woman, I hung up quickly and cried again.  Right in the middle of the Swiss Family Robinson.  Why, you ask?  Because other people were taking my son to the emergency room.  In another state. He was going to be seen by a strange doctor in a strange hospital. Without me, his Mom.
It hit me how much I miss him, how the speed of his flapping wings has picked up, how from here on out, I am going to have to keep giving him over to other people.
I know he's fine with it, but to this Mother Hen, it stinks.
I think I'll go buy a plane ticket to Kansas City.

Defining the Season

I like definitions.  And labels.  And boxes.  
I like understanding where I am and who's doing what.
But right now I find it hard to define what season of life I am in.  It seems for so long I was in the season of only having littles, teaching them to be still for naps, be kind to eachother, and walk in a line like ducks at the grocery store.  I am still doing that, and yet...
My oldest turns 18 this week, and he has 9 younger brothers and sisters.  That means I have been having babies for a long time.  I am in my 40's, so I am no longer new at this. I am itching to help some younger mothers along the way, tell them what I know, and encourage them to keep the faith.  Yet I am also a mother to littles, and those littles need naps and a home-based life and a steady routine and a rested Mama.  And that reality keeps me from being physically as involved in my older boys stuff.  
We went to a potluck for speech and debate last weekend, and I was the only one with a nursing baby.  Most of the parents' youngest children were older than my youngest four children.  
It's crazy, really.  As I'm adding to our numbers, the older ones are starting to fall out the other side!  Danny heads off to debate camp this week, and then onto a full-time job through the elections.  Joey is in Kansas City having the time of his life.  The next 3 are pushing their way up and ready to move forward and grow into adulthood.  
Kenny and I have been wanting a larger house for a while now.  He is patiently trying to pay down the mortgage, and I am patiently trying to re-shift and re-organize so we can stay here until he is ready to make that move.  But lately we've joked that if we just wait a while longer, our family will start shrinking and we won't need to move! 
And what am I learning through the whirlwind of changes?  That I will never pass this way again, and so I had better make it count.  As Debbie Pearl writes, "Life is NOW.'  
It's a rich and full season, even if I can't put it in a box.

Joey

Yesterday Kenny and I got up at 4:00 in the morning to send our 16 year-old off to Kansas City for a prayer and worship camp.  For 3 weeks.  He was nervous about the flight and all, but once he got on the plane and felt it 'move back and forth', he got really jazzed for his adventure.

We're so proud of him.  He told us at the beginning of the summer that he wanted to do this.  But it was going to cost over $1,200.  So, as we looked at our wonderful new carpet and hoped for a newer car for Kenny, we had to say 'not this year'. 
Joey started to pray about it, and not too long after, a couple we know approached him and asked if he had any interest in going.  He smiled, and said yes.  They then offered to have him work for them and earn $300, up to his departure date.  Then the worship and prayer ministry here in town gave him a scholarship of $500.  The momentum was building! 
He sent out emails and flyers all around, looking for work.  And it came in, and he raised all of the money.  In fact, last week as he was mowing, he was thinking of how he would need some spending money while there.  But he had no more jobs.  So he prayed.  When he got home, there was a phone call from a woman he had mowed the front yard for (for $15).  She said she now wanted him to do front and back, for $50.  And then my Mom decided to send him $20 to take with him.

Needless to say, it's been such a good growing experience for our young man.  He has matured in many ways, and watched his God provide. And now, he is in the hands of others.  We are praying for him to have wisdom, discernment, and JOY as he learns.  And we are touched by his example of trusting in the Lord.
And yes, we already miss him very very much.