confident? ... not really...

My senior year in college, my friend, Linda, had a hand-crafted poster on her wall...


           Our greatest strength is our greatest weakness


It has been almost 20 years since I first saw that quote on Linda's wall.  I thought, at the ripe-old age of 22, I knew the meaning behind the quote.  Of course, I thought I knew a lot of things then....


This week, this quote came to mind again.... After a basket-making marathon on Thursday, my basket guru, Anne, commented on how confident I am (obviously, I need to spend more time with Anne...).  She said, "You just exude confidence..."  


Yeah... well... I guess to most people I do...


I told her of Linda's quote and how my greatest strength is my greatest weakness.  


Yes... I act confident because I hate to be seen as weak.


Yes.. I appear like I know what I'm doing because I hate to fail.


Yes... I can pull it off... most of the time.


Yes... I often think I have the ability to do more than I actually can.


...and... yes... I have a God who pulls me out of more messes than I can ever remember and a man who is willing to clean up after me....

my greatest strength is my greatest weakness

and if I act confident... I can pretend that no one knows how deeply insecure I truly am

reflections of decluttering...

This week I've opted to be on summer vacation.  Although, I can't break from everything, I can take a break from most things.  It's been nice.


While I've been breaking from most things, I've been decluttering... sorting through stuff that has compiled while I was busy doing other things.  I've decluttered my bedroom and kitchen.  The kids have sorted through things in their rooms and the living room is now live-able.  Slowly but surely... I'm reclaiming my world... again....


While decluttering areas in my world that everyone sees, I've also been doing some soul searching and reflecting... planning and praying.... trying to determine what needs to stay in my life and what needs to go... weeding out the clutter that weighs my heart down.


I wish I could do this once and be done... however, I know my own weaknesses.  I know I will set strong boundaries for my home and life only to lower them soon.  I know I will clean only to find a mess tomorrow.  I know I will declutter only to find piles growing in corners and closets again.  


I know I will choose to live a quieter life only to find myself on the proverbial hamster wheel next week. 


For now, though, it feels good to rest and reflect.  It feels peaceful to be putting my world in order.  It feels lighter to declutter.   


I need times like these.

foreclosed?!

Ok...I'm mortified!  Mortified to the point of considering finding a hole and crawling in it FOREVER!


Before I state the reason for the mortification... here's are my excuses...


~I've facebooked and blogged about the crazy life I lead running hither and yon... seriously, folks... I'm not kidding!


~Between 4H judging, fair and vacation, I have not been home for 3 weeks...


~I don't live in a perfect world... 


~I LOVE my man and my life... and I wouldn't trade either for the world!


... now on to the story...


(I considered posting a picture or two of this situation but was afraid of posting any physical evidence on the web)


Apparently while we were camping last week, some long time friends stopped by for a visit.  I actually knew that they were coming to town to visit mutual friends but I had no idea that they were stopping here too.  


In a perfect world, this would not be an issue.  I would, of course, be sad that I missed their visit but would be thankful that they thought to try to stop and say HI.  


However, as I said, I don't live in a perfect world...  


Instead, my world has a driveway that is being rebuilt with piles of rocks lying in wait... grass that has grown and over grown... dead trees lying in said overgrown grass waiting to go to a friend's home to provide heat and warmth this winter... and crushed cardboard boxes waiting to be burned some night when it is cool enough to build a campfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.


So, when said friends stopped by they seriously thought that no one lived in our house and that it was being foreclosed!  They were VERY concerned for our well-being.


... and I'm mortified!

all camped out?

This weekend we are camping with our church family in Southern Indiana. 


...Southern Indiana is Indiana's best kept secret... rolling hills, waterfalls, caves, rich forests... absolutely beautiful... quite unlike the Northern part of the State.... but, I digress...


Two weeks ago, today, Chad hitched the trailer up and took it to our county fair and we've been living in our camper since.  This is the third, and final, stop on our two week adventure.


Yesterday, several people asked us if we were "camped out" or tired of camping.  


"NO WAY!" was Ellen's response


"Love it!" was Chad's response


I concur.  There are a few creature comforts from home that I miss but I could camp for weeks with my family.  


I love the adventures we find and the time we spend together...  


I love the memories made and the times we spend reflecting on them...  


I love the late nights around the campfire and the afternoon naps in the heat of the day...


I love the slower pace and the time to consciously connect with Chad and the kids...


I love it all!


Honestly, I have no idea what it would take for me to say "I'm all camped out!"  but I would love to camp long enough to find out!

Friday's fave five... in a 5000 words...

I'm linking up, again this week, with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for this week's Friday's fave five... five things for which I am thankful this week.

A year and half ago, our family was blessed with a new cousin.  He came to us through the foster system.  We have no idea how long we will be blessed to know and love him. 

Yesterday, while traveling from one campground to another, we stopped and had lunch at Cracker Barrel with my sister, niece and nephew. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... here are five thousand words of love for one little guy I am most thankful for...

solitude...

The camper is clean... vacuumed... mopped... beds made... cupboards cleaned out...


I should be walking up to get the laundry out of the dryer in the laundry room of the campground...


I should be folding and storing clean clothes....


I should be taking a quick shower (for quick is all you get in a little RV shower)...


I should be stowing away for another trip down the road...


...and yet...


I found a moment of solitude....


In fact, I almost didn't recognize it.


It presented its self as a few moments for mom to clean and pack up while Dad and the 3 E's went into town...


Of course I accepted it at face value.  I took it for what it presented its self to be... 


I didn't see it...


I didn't hear it...


I didn't feel it...


...until now.  A few moments of solitude...

summer pics...

I've asked my friend, Marah, at Memory Lane Photography, to do a family photo session for each season of 2010.  I can't explain why it is so important to me but thankfully my family is willing to go along with my weird ideas... and so is my photographer.

Marah is amazing!  For our summer shoot, she spent almost 2 hours at the fair with us last week.  The kids showed off their projects and we had a blast!  

This was the most fun family photo session we have ever had and what you see here is just a fraction of the number of pictures she took...

don't choose to be the cause...

Ah, the joys of parenting a teen boy...


My dad blogged yesterday about his memories of being a teen boy and how he prays for his grandsons.  It's a good thing the effective prayers of a righteous man accomplish much because if it were not for the prayers of his Papa, my 13 year old son may not live to see the age of 18....


We've known for a while that our extended cab truck is too small.  When we purchased it 6 years ago to pull our 5th wheel, all 3 kids fit nicely in the back seat with room to spare.... 


A lot can change in six years.  Now we have a 5 ft 11 in 13 year old with size 13 feet who feels like he needs the entire back seat to himself.  This leads to a lot of instigating arguments and antagonizing his sisters... which leads to "ERIC! Stop it!  Mom!!" or "Mom, tell Eric to leave me alone!"... which, in turn, leads to "Eric! Knock it off!" ... and then... "But, Mom..."


Sometimes the calm wisdom of my husband astounds me and yesterday was no exception.  After the aforementioned conversations took place, my husband calmly said...


"Eric, don't choose to be the cause of the conflict, choose to be the resolution!"  


Quietly, my son pondered those words.  


While he still chooses to be the cause of conflicts, I am praying that he will instead choose to be the resolution...


Oh, that my son would grow into a man who chooses to be the resolution to a conflict, rather than the cause of one!

catchin' up...

Vacation... a time to get away from the hustle and bustle of life... a chance to see a different part of the country... a moment in life to focus on family... an opportunity taken for rest and relaxation... 


or a time when the lack of sleep over the past three weeks catches up and a 4 1/2 hour nap is in order...


Isn't vacation wonderful?

world's smallest campground pool...

We're camping in south central Ohio with my in laws at a lovely private campground on the top of a beautiful hill.  As we were driving up the long driveway, we all commented on how beautiful the scenery is here.

"Is there a pool here, Mom?"

"I don't know... we'll have to wait and see..."

"LOOK!  There IS a pool!"

...Yep, there is a pool here.  However, it has to be the world's smallest campground pool.  

Big enough, though, to cool off and have a good time... 


and the perfect size pool to learn to swim!  Ellen swam the length of the pool over ten times just because she now knows how to swim.

Travel the World... TOS Crew Review

I love teaching my kids together.  However, with a 13 year old, 11 year old and 6 year old, this is not always easy.  In fact, at times I've almost given up all together.  However, because I love watching them work together, discover together and learn together, I keep trying new ways to teach them a particular subject matter... together.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a wealth of unit studies, modules and lessons that are geared for multilevel learning... including Travel the World... a unit study on God's world and geography.

This 56 page eBook is perfect for the family with multilevel learners.  I love the coloring pages for little ones, activity pages for older ones who can read well and the word search designed specifically for high school students.  When I first opened this eBook, I thought I would be most impressed with its multilevel design.  

However, I love most that this module starts with Scripture... 

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

—Isaiah 45:18

Honestly, I don't think we can ever overestimate the importance of pointing our children to God and His truths as we teach them.  I love that Travel the World begins by teaching our children that the world... or the study of geography... starts with a Creator God who formed our earth!

The hyperlinks, quizzes, map activities and activity pages in this eBook make learning geography fun for the entire family.  And, at $7.95, it would be an affordable addition to any homeschool electronic library.

**I received this eBook free of charge for the purpose of writing this review.

top 10...

I've been bragging on my kids lately and all of the awards and accolades that they have received during the past two weeks of 4H... so, I thought I'd share an award I got from The Trendy Treehouse for my entry in last week's photo contest.

As I have said, this is one of my all time favorite pictures of Emily...

I'm glad someone else liked it too!

still waiting to out grow it...

It is said that wisdom comes with age... I'm beginning to think there are some things you never out grow.


For instance, my man has never out-grown his need for an occasional road trip and I haven't out-grown my love of children's books.  So, today, we sent the kids on to friends' homes and took a quick road trip to buy my girls' school curriculum used through Craig's List.


We were blessed to have our road trip take us to Saugatuck, MI.  I know there will be those that read this post who have never seen Michigan's West Coast.  Honestly, next to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the west coast of Michigan is my favorite place on earth and Saugatuck is a beautiful little town right on the coast.


I had visions of splendor this morning thinking of our trip.  Why is it that time seems to speed up while one is on vacation?  There was no way I was going to be able to get everything on my list done because time seemed to go in hyper-speed today.  We didn't do nearly all that I wanted to do and we still were VERY late picking the girls up this afternoon.


We did get what we went for, though... and I am thrilled with the books.  On the way home, I was contentedly riding along thankful for a little day of relaxing when I decided to use Chad's phone to look up a Sonic Drive-In... I forgot that there are some things you never outgrow...


I remember so many times getting car sick as a kid and my mom would reassure me that some day I would outgrow this affliction.  Well... 41 years later, I still get car sick.  Ugghh!!  and while the majority of the time of our road trip sped by... the last hour seemed like a 100 hours.


I'd love to never out-grow my love of children's books but I could be really happy to out-grow being car sick!

Friday's Fave Five... at the County Fair

Once again, I'm linking up to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.  Each week, Susanne asks us to post the five things we are most thankful for from that week.


Here is my five favorite things from the county fair...

1) AIR CONDITIONING!!  We've had rain, heat indexes of 104 degrees and storms.  I'm so thankful that we can bring our camper to the fair and can have a place to escape the elements... with the heat this week, I've been most thankful for the air conditioning in our camper!

2) 4H AUCTION Each year the 4H kids have the opportunity to auction their animals and make a little money in exchange for their hard work raising the animal.  Eric auctioned his chickens... small breasts and all... and did very well.  He will use this year's auction money to help pay for next year's animals and feed.  

3) FAIR FOOD  This is one of my 2 favorite food stands at our fair.  I'm a fair food snob.  I hate buying food at the carnival stands.  However, I love to spend our fair food money at the local stands that support local not-for-profit organizations.  This one is a local food bank and soup kitchen and the profits from the sale of food during the fair help their organization throughout the year.  Their fresh cheeseburgers are soooo good!

4) THIS MAT My Dad made me and my sisters these mats last year for Christmas.  At the time I thought I liked it but now I know I LOVE it!!  For the first year we haven't had sand burrs in our camper.  I love that all the sand burrs fall between the slats and stay outside!  I've heard several acclamations of "Where did you get that mat?  I want one!"  Thanks again Dad!!

5) CAMPING AT THE FAIR We are so blessed to be able to camp at the fair with friends!  In this picture, our camper is the farthest one that you can see along the row of campers.  Of the other campers, only the pop-up is a family that I don't know well.  The others are filled with friends.  It has been so fun to have the kids play in the evenings together and to be able to run back and forth between the campers.


my one not-favorite-thing....

THIS HILL... we climb it several times a day to get to buildings, barns, etc.... the picture of all of our campers was taken from the hill.  The kids love rolling down it, riding their bike down it and running down it.  I don't have quite such a love affair with the hill...

the calm after the storm...

It's 8:23 p.m. and all is quiet... all are at rest... all is well.  It's the calm after the storm.


A small thunderstorm moved through our area early this afternoon.  Before the storm, the heat index was about 104 degrees.... after the storm, the temp was 75 degrees.  In about 30 minutes, the temperature dropped about 30 degrees.  


Amazingly, not only was there a storm brewing outside... we had a small t-storm brew inside as well.  And, after a little lightening and a little thunder, the inside temperature has dropped 30 degrees or so and all is well and all is calm again.


I wish there were a way to help my children understand that God created their bodies to need rest.  For whatever reason, they just don't get it.  We've been running hard and fast for weeks and in particular, this last week.  Late, late nights and early mornings.  All day on the go and begging to stay up late for yet another night of fun with friends.  Hot daily temperatures make for hot tempers.  And as tempers heat up, storms brew.


My kids also don't seem to understand that it doesn't matter how old you are, you still need rest or you might just explode into a 13 year old t-storm that melts into a 13 year old puddle.  


And, after that puddle falls asleep... the calm after the storm.

discrimination?

I've shared this on facebook today and I just have to blog it... mostly because I have found it quite humorous all day...


Today was chicken judging day...

and Eric received a blue ribbon for his pen of two broilers...

These lovely birds were not in the running for champion broilers because...

their breasts were too small.


Does that qualify for sexual discrimination?

was lost... now found!

Dontcha just love it when lost items turn up in the most unexpected places?  Take our camera, for instance.  Seriously, who would have ever expected it to be in the mom's purse?  Really!?  So, now if I can just find my brain....


Now that the camera is found, safe and sound, here are a few dog show pictures of Emily and Ebony...

This is the beginning of Ebony's showmanship class...for this event, the 4H students had to be dressed up 

I hate that this picture is blurry but I think it's a great picture of Emily and Ebony in action.

Here the judge is checking Ebony over and asking Emily questions.  Since Ebony is not a pure breed dog and this is not an actual AKC dog show, the judge simply checked to make sure that Emily takes care of Ebony.

This is Emily and Ebony showing in obedience class.  The 4H kids were allowed to change into shorts and their club shirts for this class.  Ebony placed 2nd in the class!

This is Emily and Ebony (in the background) entering the outside ring for the agility class, 2nd place again!

I wish this picture wasn't blurry... (at this point I had almost totally drained the camera battery) but I love this look on Emme's face.  She was having such a great time!

I'll post more fair pictures tomorrow.  I don't claim to be a photographer but I love taking pictures of my kids having fun here at the fair.

Last night, I hired my friend, Marah, to take our summer family pictures here at the fair.  We had so much fun!  You can check out a sneak peek on her blog...

memory lane photography

it's all worth it...

I wish I could post pictures for you of the girls' animal shows yesterday. It was amazing and they both did great.... however, as is typical during fair week, the camera (with pictures on the memory card) is not to be found right now... I'm always missing something during Fair Week and this year I seem to be missing my brain....


The two day dog show was an incredible experience for both Emme and Ebony.  On Saturday, all dressed up, Emily first showed Ebony in showmanship.   Because Ebony is a mix (the nicer name for Mutt...) we didn't expect Emily to place but it was great experience... in a hot... very, very hot tent... but great experience nevertheless. 


After lunch, a much more casually dressed Emme demonstrated obedience with Ebony.  This was a crack up because Ebony is bad at obedience... I think she really doesn't want to be told what to do but she did GREAT!  I don't know if it was because she was so hot and tired or if it was because Emily was having so much fun but either way they placed second!!


Sunday's show was all out side in the hot sun.  We tried to squeeze in as much shade as we could but with his new haircut, Chad's head is a lovely shade of pink today.  


At the last minute, Emily opted to show in all four classes yesterday afternoon.  This made for a long day but it was great experience for Emme and I think she will do better next year because she now understands all of the shows and all of the classes.  At the end of the day, she placed second again in agility!  She had a wonderful time and came back to the camper all laden with prizes and ribbons.


I missed Emme's award show because Ellen showed Horse and Pony last night.  Because of her age, she is led by lead-line on the horse.  She and her "big girl" friend, Julia, and Julia's horse, Lady, did poles, barrels and keyhole riding last night.  And, she came running back to the camper with a plaque and a ribbon excited with her prize!


Seeing Emily's smile during the dog show and Ellen's grin while riding through the poles, I was reminded, anew, of why I do what I do... it's all worth it for me when I see my kids having a blast, doing what they love to do and doing it to the best of their ability.  Those precious smiles are what fuel my fire for 4H.

Friday's Fave Five...

My favorite blogging time of the week has come around again... time to link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for another week of Friday's Fave Five.


Here are the five things I am most thankful this week...


1) my kids... I tend to repeat myself often on listing the kids and Chad as my favorite things.  It's really because they are!  This past week, my kids have been amazing.... We've been running around for 4H.  The two older kids have shown a lot of responsibility and maturity in getting their things done and done well.  


2) my friends... this is another I've repeated over the weeks of listing my favorite things.  There was a time, in the not to distant past, when I felt alone... without friends who understood me or my choices in life.  Now, I'm not only blessed with friends but with friends who are willing to walk alongside me and encourage me.  It's only because of His great mercy that I have been blessed with a wide array of friends... different ages, different walks of life, different views but all very precious to me.


3) my church... last Sunday our church had a big church picnic after the morning service.  Once again, I was moved at how God blesses me.  He heard my prayers for a home church where Chad and I could grow in our faith and our children could as well.  As He always does, He blessed above and beyond what I could have imagined.  Yesterday I spent the day with a new friend from church.  It did my heart good to hear her testimony of how our church has met her needs and the needs of her children.  


4) 4H... This time of year, I become very overwhelmed with all that 4H entails.  However, if I allow myself to take a step back and see all that 4H offers my children... I realize, anew, how much I love that my kids are involved in it.  We have an awesome 4H club with an incredible leader who takes a personal interest in each project the kids work on.  She's amazing and we are blessed to be part of 4H with her!


5)  my God... I can not list my faves each week without thanking the One who gives me blessings.  I love the way He works in my heart and in my life and I love, even more, the way he works in the hearts and lives of my children!

and on the agenda for today...

 Sixteen years ago, I made a basket.  I loved weaving it... watching it develop into something usable and beautiful.  Unfortunately for me, the class I took was the last class offered.

All of these years later, I've lamented that I don't know anyone who could teach me how to make a basket...


... until today!

and the results are in...

I would love to promise that this is the last 4H judging results post for 2010.  However... there are a few more things to be judged... such as dog and chickens.  For the next few days, though, all results are in...  So sorry for those of you who are bored to tears...




Emily


miscellaneous crafts...

                                                           (blue honor)


mock dog show...

                                            (75% on obedience, 100% on showmanship)


update on Eric...

                                                    (chosen to be reserve champ)

for the love of watermelon...

While at the grocery store this morning, I sent Chad a text asking him what he wanted for lunch.  The answer... watermelon.

Lunch today was only Chad and Ellen and together they devoured a quarter of the very large melon I brought home.  

While I wasn't here to hear this lunch time monologue, Chad assured me this is how it happened and Ellen's giggles were enough to verify it.

Ellen.... "My tummy hurts... I think I ate too much watermelon... I think I'll have another piece"

... is it any wonder we call her Ellen Melon?

and on the second day...

Our second... and thankfully last... day of 4H general project judging is wrapping up.  One more project to be judged and a mock dog show tonight and then... a few days reprieve before Fair.


Here's mid-second day wrap up (once again, please don't feel like you have to read this post if you really don't care how my kids have done with 4H this year....).


Eric...


fine arts...

          (this one was judged yesterday but we found out today that it is Grand Champion)


Collections...

                                                     (Grand Champion)


Miscellaneous Crafts...

                                                      (blue ribbon)


Emily...


Miscellaneous Crafts...

                                                     (blue honor)


The kids are thrilled with their results.  I'm thrilled with their hard work.  Often there is a lot of excitement when they sign up for a project in January.  The excitement then trickles down until there is little-to-no excitement for their project when it's time for judging.  This year, I was impressed at how diligent they were in doing a good job finishing their projects for fair.

summer fun...

Joining up with The Trendy Treehouse for shutter love Tuesday.... 

This week's theme is "summer fun" and for years our family's summer fun included several trips a week to the city's fountains.  I love this one of Emme!

at the end of day one...

*** disclaimer... for those of you who are not close friends or family and who really don't care how my kids did on their 4H projects, feel free to stop reading now....


...fini... finished... all done... turned in today.  Phew!  All 4H projects were turned in this morning and this mom exhaled loudly.  Feels so good to be finished!


Here is how the kids at the end of day one...


Eric...

                                            (blue honor ribbon~potentially champion)

                                                              (blue ribbon)

                                                             (blue ribbon)

                                                          (blue honors ribbon)


Emily...

                                                             (blue ribbon)

                                                                (blue ribbon)

                                                                (blue ribbon)


... stayed tuned... results from second day of judging coming tomorrow...