The Critter Party

Last week, when the boys were shooed away

at the girls' tea party, there was talk about doing a boys' party soon.

My plans for this one sprung from Paeton's love for turtles and all things that crawl.

And since he is going to be celebrating his tenth birthday within a couple of days

of landing in Indonesia . . . this was the right time.

We did this over dinner, so that Papa could be there too.

Looks like he is the photographer here.

I spent about five dollars at the Dollar store for some props

 

and the rest came from the garden.

Except for those things that came from the kitchen.

This was a fun and easy way to make a memory.

After dinner, the boys got out whatever sticks they could find

and played their own version of hockey.

They managed to work up quite a sweat!

Paeton,

how do I describe the memories and feelings

that come together on this your tenth birthday?

You were twelve weeks old when you first landed in Indonesia . . .

a tiny babe to be held in the sling of a pembantu 

while your mom and dad went to language school.

It amazes me how, as the years went by and as we visited, 

the connection of being family was never lost to you.

Your smiles for us have always warmed our hearts.

I call it God's grace.

During this time that you have been home,

we have had a window of time to grow in our relationship.

We have seen what a great role model you are for the younger ones 

by the way you care for them.

Your humble and gentle way with them

has them looking up to you as their hero.

We have seen your gifts of organization and attention to detail,

your creative mind - able to put things together 

like a surgeon or an architect.

This time around we send you off in the context of a whole new level.

You will not be held safe in the arms of an Indonesian helper.

Instead, you will have the freedom to explore the world around you,

to make new friends and learn new things.

We know who you are, a boy with a big heart,

eager to take in knowledge and eager to give.

And, to our comfort, still held

in the arms of our God who will watch over
your coming and your going
both now and forever more.

We love you,

Papa and Grammy

Tea Party 2014 Slide Show

 The children's tea set for six, I was given for Mother's Day, was used for the first time.

I'm wondering if I'll always be that sixth girl . . . or will there be another one?
Time will tell.
 Truth be told, I had so much fun watching them pour, stir and sip
I'd be happy to give my tea cup up for another girl.

Reflections on a Summer Day

We are about half way through a good summer. With some things in our life being up in the air, I've had to learn to take things as they come and to just appreciate each day. It's a funny thing, I've planned less and felt less busy but don't feel like I've done less. Time has filled up with many things accomplished without fussing much and time has also allowed me to rest and feel restored. I'm not sure if I've always thought this possible and I'm wondering how it happened.

These days I've also taken a step back, so to say, and become a bit more reflective about what to write. I've shared photos and talked about them, but I can't call that writing and that perplexes me because I desire a purpose for my life that is more than making it look good in photos. I don't want my family to think that every time I pick up a camera it's for a post. No one has said anything negative, but I'm thinking about the direction I wish to take. Chronicling is so much easier than true heart felt thoughts written, and so often I've opted for the easy way.

Thinking about this causes me to teeter between the idea of posting regularly, because the discipline in itself is good for me, or waiting to post until I have something to say.  Somehow that scares me, because it may require faith and discernment. I may simply fall off the face of the earth and lose this connection I've found here. These are my thoughts for now, desiring to accomplish something good in this little spec of space that is mine on the big wide internet.

A Few Scenes from the Sidelines

As we wait to see our photos

 I will remember a moment not caught on camera . . . 

an image of overwhelming sense of gratitude given away

by the tears I caught in the eyes of the one I'm able to share this dream with.

Kids' Photo Shoot Wardrobe

I love it when clothing stores make it easy to co-ordinate or mix and match a range of sizes.

And seeing the great sales at this time of the year, 

made for a fun try at putting together a wardrobe for eight

 . . . before they even knew this was being thought about. 

I realize this will not be the accepted manner of doing things once they get a bit older,

 but for now they are happy to oblige

and I'm enjoying the moments even before they are captured.

A Grammy's prerogative, I think.

Blueberry Season

If you live in this area you will have noticed, driving by the blueberry fields,
that they are ripe unto harvest. They are early this year.

We grabbed our ice cream pails 

and from the oldest 

to the youngest . . 

picked berries to fill our buckets.

It was nice to have such eager helpers.

When I got home, I rinsed them in the kitchen sink full of water,

lifted them out into a strainer and then into lined cookie sheets to dry.

Once dry, they went into rectangular stack-able Ziploc containers for the freezer.

Of course, there were some that never made it to the freezer.