Planning, Perspiring, and Praying

Hello all! A little update on our not so little family on the left coast. First off, this picture is of the kids at Crater Lake, OR. We were psyched to see SNOW! The kids ran to it, and immediately made snowballs. We had Kurt touch snow for the first time! My little California baby!

I am in a frenzied state of non-action, as I try to plan out our 2007-2008 school year. So much I want to do, so little desire to do most of it! I have matched up history programs (Story of the World 1 for Lillian, History Odyssey 2 for the bigguns.) I've added in some read-aloud books, and made up reading lists of historical fiction and literature for the year. I have chosen our science curriculum - My World Science. I have purchased math, Latin, grammar, and some preschool books for Gabriel. And now I poop out. I've got nothing left. I'm thinking maybe a daily trip to Starbucks might improve the situation...

Oh, and the name of the blog...75 and Sunny...it's a misnomer. Try 95 and Sunny. Or 105 and Stiflingly Hot. "But, at least it's a dry heat," you're thinking. Yeah, rilly, rilly dry and HOT!

We have heard some heart-breaking news from some dear, dear ones in CT this week. It is so very, very hard not being there to tangibly "do" something. But then, God has shown me what "praying without ceasing" looks like. Please know, dear friends, that I may be far away, but I am praying for you to the same loving, awesome God that you serve. We sang the following hymn on Sunday, and this verse made me think of you:

Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what he ordaineth?

We miss you all so, so, so much! We (I!!) get so jealous to hear of trips to Ginza's without us! But, we are where God would have us, and I am thankful for His great care and provision...His abundant blessing for our not so little family. We love you guys...

Half a Year

Somehow, I have no idea how, half a year has gone by since the Lord gave us Kurt. It's magically, horrifyingly amazing. He is six months old today, and has been such a blessing to our not so little family.

There isn't a day goes by that the older children don't exclaim, time and again, how cute and wonderful he is. How much they love him. There isn't a day goes by where Gustav doesn't remark how awesome he is. And there isn't a day goes by where I don't think quietly to myself...I don't deserve him. How I don't deserve any of the five wonderfully precious children the Lord has granted to me.

There is nothing like children to keep you humble...in so many ways. They are always the first ones to see me fail in my walk with the Lord. Always the first to endure the irritated tone of voice, the angry retort, the giving in to sin. They are always the first to see me weak and selfish. They are always the first to see me asking forgiveness through tears, broken, undeserving.

And next to my Father in heaven, they are always first to forgive. To turn the other cheek. To love Mommy because she's Mommy, not because she's a GOOD Mommy. To try and make me feel better. To demonstrate their love in so many little, and wonderful, ways.

Thank you, dear Father, for the blessings we don't deserve. Especially for the pink cheeked, boisterous, loving, cuddling, breathing variety that call me Mommy. You are so good.

Happy half-birthday, Kurtie.

Nostalgia

Just looking through old pictures. Enjoy them with me!

Yikes!

So, we were coming home after seeing "the movie which must not be named" today and saw this as we drove into the driveway. Our first brush with a brush fire...very close to our house! It actually looked worse than this, but I wanted to get a closer look, so we drove around for a while. By the time we got home, it was almost out. I must admit, I did get a little nervous.

By the way, the movie was very good :-)

Have a wonderful, brush fire-free day, everyone!

Life Isn't Always a Bowl Full of Cherries

So pathetic, but so cute!! All together now. “Poooor Kuuurt!”

Life is Like an Elliptical...

Did you think I was going to say "a box of chocolates?" Nope. I don't really like boxes of chocolates for the exact reason Forrest Gump mentions. That's what makes M&M's so perfect...every one is just as good as the previous one and the next one, and the next... But I digress...

I have been struggling with myself for some weeks now (months? years??) It's the Christian's struggle, I suppose, or at least it should be. I so desire to be organized and efficient in the use of my time. I so desire to get to the end of my day and consider it a day productively spent for the Lord. Training my children. Setting a godly example. Shunning laziness and empty hours spent in pursuits with no lasting effect. You know, I want to be a faithful servant.

So, all of my thinking, reading, praying has at least produced a diagnosis. I lack intensity and endurance. I lack follow-through. I start out strong, full of desire and zeal. But after a few hours of struggling with my own sin and those of the five little sinners in my care, my intensity wavers, totters, staggers, and eventually falters. I can usually point to a specific time in my afternoon where I lose my intensity and the day begins spiraling downward. My priorities are no longer the Lord's, and it becomes a "hold on for dear life"-type scenario. How disappointing, those days, when I lay in bed waiting for sleep to come.

At this point you must be wondering why I called this “Life is Like an Elliptical?”

I am a lover of analogies. Always have been. Loved that portion of the SAT! So there I was, this morning, climbing onto the elliptical trainer for my workout. I was dreading it, as it had been a few days since I last worked out. And we all know how tough it is to climb back on the horse, so to speak. I chose the interval training program...2.5 minutes easy, 2.5 minutes difficult...over and over. I had that fleeting thought as I climbed on, “How like life. Every day is spent plodding through easy intervals followed by harder ones.” As I set the timer and began going, I found myself watching the timer. 24:59, 24:58, 24:57...Ugh. Would I ever finish? So, quickly changing tact, I decided to watch the RPM's and keep them as steady as possible. My objective was to keep the RPM steady despite which interval I was on, easy or difficult.

See where I'm going?

Instead of responding to the “tick-tick” of my day, questioning whether I will make it to the end, I need to keep my eyes, and heart, focused on my RPM's. It's about remaining consistent through the interval training of our day, for that's just what it is. Physically, I desire to maintain my RPM's as a means to health. Spiritually, I desire to maintain my RPM's as a means to sanctification. The Lord has chosen my interval training program for this day. Who am I to choose to get off before my timer says zero?

May Thy rich grace impart

Strength to my fainting heart,

My zeal inspire.

As Thou hast died for me,

Oh may my love to Thee

Pure, warm and changeless be,

A living fire.

Ray Palmer, 1830

from “My Faith Looks Up to Thee”

FOUR!

Gabriel also celebrated a birthday while on our vacation. Lillian's was on the day we left for vacation. Gabriel's was the day we returned home. Both of them, unfortunately, had birthdays that were primarily spent in the car.

Thankfully, though, we had a big birthday bash while at our family reunion...celebrating Lillian's, Gabriel's, and my niece's birthday. There were presents, three(!) cakes, and lots of fun. Here, Gabriel is sporting the fun sunglasses that Grandma Patty found for him. Aren't they cool?

Gabriel received a replacement pair of yellow rain boots from us. Many of you may know about his rain boot obsession. It started because he could put them on by himself. Then, they became his favorite shoes in the whole world...worthy of wearing with shorts, church clothes, and his bathing suit! He also received a cowboy guitar, Thomas stuff, dinosaur eggs, and goggles to wear when he swims.

What can I say about Gabriel? My friend Karen summed it up when she asked how I can get anything done with him around. It's too easy to just listen to him talk and crack up all the time. And that is so true. He is such a charming, witty little guy. He keeps everyone in the family laughing. What a great quality! So, happy birthday, Big Boy! Here's to another year of tickling our funny bones!

Lucky Number 7

We left for our family vacation on Monday, June 11th, which also happens to be Lillian's birthday. We were all a little sad that her birthday had to be spent in the car, but she was a wonderful sport about it! We made it to Sacramento (California is a really LLLOOOOOONG
state), found a hotel with a pool, and Lillian got to pick a movie to see. The winner? Shrek 3.
I stayed back in the hotel watching Animal Planet with Gabriel and Kurt.

Lillian is turning into such a sweet young lady. Her sense of humor keeps us constantly in stitches. She asked for a rock polisher for her birthday, so I see an increase (which is hard to believe) in the number of rocks coming into the house. My little geologist!

Happy birthday, Lillian! You bring joy into our lives and we are forever thankful to the sovereign Lord for lending you to us in this lifetime. May you be richly blessed this year!

Lucky Number 7

We left for our family vacation on Monday, June 11th, which also happens to be Lillian's birthday. We were all a little sad that her birthday had to be spent in the car, but she was a wonderful sport about it! We made it to Sacramento (California is a really LLLOOOOOONG
state), found a hotel with a pool, and Lillian got to pick a movie to see. The winner? Shrek 3.
I stayed back in the hotel watching Animal Planet with Gabriel and Kurt.

Lillian is turning into such a sweet young lady. Her sense of humor keeps us constantly in stitches. She asked for a rock polisher for her birthday, so I see an increase (which is hard to believe) in the number of rocks coming into the house. My little geologist!

Happy birthday, Lillian! You bring joy into our lives and we are forever thankful to the sovereign Lord for lending you to us in this lifetime. May you be richly blessed this year!

Plans and Pancakes

This past Saturday morning while Gustav was at his men's Bible study, the kids and I sat down to some steaming whole wheat banana pancakes and some exquisitely sweet cantaloupe and a little conversation. Here's how it went:

Gretchen: When I grow up, I am going to marry a man I like. He's going to make a lot of money and we'll have a big house.

Gabriel: I'm going to have one of those long things with the water that you race on.

Me: A slip and slide?

Gabriel: Yeah.

Gretchen: And we'll have 6 kids.

Gabriel: I'm going to have TEN kids, but no wife.

Everyone: (giggling) You can't do that, Gabriel!

Lillian: These pancakes are so yummy!

Gabriel: They are soooo good I'm gonna throw up!

Me: Thanks, honey.

Lillian: Did he just say he was going to throw up?

Me: Yes, but I think he meant it as a compliment.

Me: Nicholas, what do you want to do when you grow up?

Nicholas: Aaahhhh...Welll...I might be in the military. Or maybe I'll go into I.T........just joking.

Me: (laughing hysterically) Good one, Nicholas.

Gabriel: I'm going to be a navy.

Nicholas: You can't be A navy, you are IN the navy.

Gabriel: No, Nicholas, I will be A Navy!

Everyone: Lots of laughing.



I think every family needs a four year old.

Travels to Atlanta

My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on June 25th. In this world, with so little emphasis placed on the commitment of marriage, such a milestone is definitely worthy of much celebration. And so, my Mom and Dad, brother Mike and his girlfriend Kristen, and Kurt and I traveled to Atlanta, GA to my sister Beth's house. It had been years since all of us were together in the same place, and we really enjoyed the sweet time spent together.

Here my Mom and Dad are holding their gift from us...a one-of-a-kind Main Street, with many, many memories from growing up within the picture. The date of their wedding, our names and birth dates, the sports we played in high school, the car we learned to drive on, our colleges, favorite restaurants, family pets, and all their grandchildren. It was the perfect gift! Kudos to Beth for finding such a thing.

That's my sweet and beautiful niece, Meghan, holding Kurt above. It was so fun to spend time with her, as well, and she just loved Baby Kurtain (as she calls him!)

I won't go into detail about my travel experience there and back. Suffice it to say, it was miserable. Delays, missed flights, long hours in Dallas' airport. (I almost called you, Carol!!) But, despite all of the headache getting there and getting home, it was so worth it to celebrate with all of my family. I would do it again in a heartbeat.