Envy

An ugly thing happened to me today as I stood in line at Justice watching the woman in front of me check out her items. As I watched her fold piece, after piece of clothing- two FULL stacks of beautiful, non-clearance girl's clothing, I found myself becoming envious. I looked down at my handsome ten-year-old in his hand-me-down sweatshirt, worn-out jeans, and broken shoes and wished that I could run into some store and spoil him with a whole new wardrobe. I swallowed down my envy and looked down at my chatty, five-year-old who was beaming up at me in perfect happiness that he had found the perfect pajamas to give his cousin. Rather than celebrating with him that he had helped to chose such a fun gift, I pondered just how many times I say, "No, they aren't on clearance," to him when we pass the superhero pajamas at Target. Unfortunately, I carried that feeling of envy home with me -ugly and ungrateful. I entered my home, was greeted by my overly-enthusiastic dogs and the hustle and bustle of watching and helping my kids wrap their gifts, and was reminded that I have so much. Maybe we don't have brand new clothes most of the time, and maybe we don't have all of the latest gadgets, but we have so much more. I treasure the time I am able to spend with my children, the hours spent reading and snuggling together. I treasure my husband who still lights up when he comes home from work (even when he can probably smell the baby spit on my shoulder when he kisses me.) I'm thankful for my warm home on a rainy day, the phone calls from family with just the right words of love and encouragement when I need them. God has blessed us in more ways than I can begin to list, or than anyone else would possibly care to read. Suddenly, a couple of piles of new clothes doesn't seem so important.

Highlights from May and June

CoCo and Neil-Te with their cars and trophies. CoCo designed a sleek, fast, and stylish car. Neil-Te wanted only a wedge so his car would be fast.

SS turned 19 four days after GB was born. I figured that I had better post a picture since I'm pretty sure that she was so sleep-deprived that she barely remembers!

Neil-Te graduated from Children in Worship (the children's program at church) and received his first "big boy" Bible. SS completed her college-bound program the same day.

GB's first official bath. Don't you just love all the hair?!

This is just a regular day for A. He's a cuddler and a reader and has discovered that newborns, snuggly dogs and a good book are a great way to spend some free time.

There were times over the past few years when SS would decide not to complete high school, but with a lot of support from teachers and school staff, she persevered through the daily challenge. We are so proud of her accomplishment, and so is she!

Our Home Has Grown By Two Feet!

Since our granddaughter is 6 months now, I guess that I should update my blog!

Here is SS at the hospital the day before she had GB (a little uncreative, but for now I'll use GB for grand-baby).

GB - moments after birth - perfectly healthy at 7 lbs. 14 oz. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be with SS during her labor and delivery, but I have to admit it was tough to see her endure the pain. Yet another situation where you wish you could bear the burden for you kids!

SS bonded with GB within seconds of seeing her. It was beautiful to witness. God is so good.

The boys were thrilled to become uncles and continue to be. They just love GB.

SS and GB just before we headed home from the hospital.

Baby Shower and Anniversary

Though I haven't blogged about it, we are expecting the arrival of our first grandbaby next week. While SS has been busy growing a healthy baby, finishing up school, and preparing for college, we have been preparing our home and our family for the arrival of this precious child.
We covet your prayers and are thankful for our family and friends who are always so loving and supportive. My mother hosted a baby shower for SS in early April, and SS was "showered" with supplies and love. Thank you, thank you, mom and family!!!
SS celebrated her 3rd anniversary of her arrival to America on the same day as her baby shower. Here she is with her brothers just before anniversary breakfast. (I love that I have a sunny kitchen, but it does make for some lousy picture-taking!)

Double Digits!

CoCo's 10! He also had three birthday desires. He wanted slot cars, a fluffy body pillow, and a sherpa-like blanket. For his special dinner, he chose tacos.

Here he is with his body pillow from his cousins. (A and CoCo had a family birthday party a few days before Co's birthday.)

Birthday morning sillies.

Breakfast with the grandparents, and a cookie cake from Grandma. (CoCo still doesn't like regular cake.)

More sillies at an afternoon playdate.

Happy Birthdays!

It's birthday month!

A is now 12! His birthday wish list this year? York Peppermint Patties, sweet midget pickles, and a black marker! His dinner menu? Same as always - homemade macaroni and cheese. He did choose carrots and pineapple this year, which is a change.

Dad is another year older - not sure what his age claim is this year. Doesn't this look like the face of youth, though?

Mom made a great birthday dinner for me on my birthday. Nice to be spoiled!

This is my birthday treat from my hubby. I've been considering getting a lap dog since we had to put our cat down in the fall. I really wanted a cuddler, but didn't want to endanger a kitten with our overly-enthusiastic German Shepherd. So here is our new Cockalier (Cocker Spaniel and Cavalier mix). We all just love him! He plays with the kids and follows us around, and most importantly, he sleeps on my lap when I'm reading or watching television. I can just feel stress slip away while he snoozes!

Going Broke

Daddy: You lost ANOTHER tooth!
A: (pulling his tooth out of the tooth fairy pillow for inspection)Yep. It's a big one.
Daddy: How many teeth does that make in the last 10 days?! You're going to make us go broke!
A: (slyly) I thought the tooth fairy brought us the money.
Daddy: (without any hesitation) Well, she sends us the bill!

Begin Again

When I looked through my pictures today and discovered that I had only taken about 10 pictures during the entire month of February, I realized that it was indeed time to begin to blog again. Where to begin after a 4 month break? I'm not really sure. Guess I'll start with today. Here is what everyone in the house was doing while I was panicking about failing to document our family's life.

Hubby - calm, as always. Working on a new project - extra cabinets for the kitchen.

Three of the boys - playing a superhero game.

Our big guy - showing off more lost teeth.

Our girl - watching a Burmese movie and happy to have a homework-free evening.

Our newest addition -

CoCo's hermit crabs. His "aunt" disposed of them yesterday...oops, I mean generously gave them to CoCo. He's happy; she's happy. Win, win.

Not an exciting post, but it's a start!

The Toothless Wonder

Neil -Te has been waiting and waiting for his teeth to fall out. His brothers have lost their teeth. His cousins have lost their teeth. His friends have lost their teeth. Poor Neil-Te turned 7 last week, and still had all of his baby teeth. Yesterday, while eating a pear (not a ripe one, of course - He can never quite wait that extra day for them to be truly ripe!), he realized that he had lost his tooth - literally. It was nowhere to be found. Not in the pear. Not on the table. Not on the floor. Not in his clothes. Probably inside of him. He has the proud honor of having truly lost his tooth. (He actually was not thrilled about that and was sure that I needed to search his bowel movements. Luckily, I was able to show him on Facebook that the tooth fairy had still come to visit some of his friends who had only written notes. Thanks for that, friends!)

As he was getting ready for bed, he asked Daddy to wiggle his other tooth a couple of times. Daddy wiggled once, then once more, and proceeded to pull out the tooth. Much crying and screaming ensued. (I was fairly certain he had fallen off his bunk.) Apparently, he just didn't like the blood- no pain, no injuries, just a couple spots of blood that really freaked him out. Now, he has another tooth honor - the first of his brothers to lose two in one day!

Our Toothless Wonder is a happy man.

First Day

It has begun! Let the whirlwind begin!

BASH

We have gone camping with our college friends every summer for over 15 years. Last year was the first year without a Big Awesome Summer Happening. It appeared that there would be no BASH again this year, until two of our "social coordinators" decided to hold a Michigan Backyard BASH. One of the BASHer couples graciously hosted a smaller version of BASH in their backyard. They also hosted our family in their basement for the weekend. (We did a token night in the tent for the official BASH overnight, but happily retreated to the basement the next night because it was SOoo hot outside.)
The family that we stayed with have three boys - 7, 4, and 2. Our kids had so much fun with them. Here is a picture of the 7 boys feeding the geese and ducks. (Don't worry - despite this serene picture, they did give the birds a good chasing!)

Here are the BASHers who made it to the overnight. (The 2nd couple on from the left are the ones who hosted.)

BASH - the next generation!

This is the youngest BASHER - two weeks old! What a pleasure! Hubby was happy for me to get my "baby-fix," but really she just made me want one! (Until she cried and her mom reminded me of the sleep loss! ;-) )

SB2W

CoCo and Neil-Te had the opportunity to participate in Summer's Best Two Weeks, a Christian sports camp. This was CoCo's 3rd year, and Neil-Te's first. Neil-Te was in a new, half-day session called "Squad Zero." He had a great time and was especially excited to see his squad leader, Phil, every day. At the end of the week, Neil-Te was awarded the "Miles of Smiles" award (That's the paper plate award in the picture.). I always tell him that he has a magic smile; I think that he believes me now!
CoCo had a great time again. He is competitive by nature and loves all different types of sports. He especially enjoyed the gymnastic bar tricks (even earned a Super on bar (14 tricks, I think)!) and wrestling. He achieved his "overall small" this year. That is what the varsity letter in the picture is for. That means that he accomplished all of the events up to a certain skill level. He also received the Bible Award for his squad this year. Despite trying to comment on my feelings about that, I can't seem to express how much seeing him receive that award meant. May God continue to guide my children and may they always desire to serve him.

CoCo swimming during the swim meet.

CoCo doing a long jump.

Trying to cool off in the shade during the track meet. (Imagine running races when the temperature is in the mid-90's! I actually had to take the little guys-and my biggest- home early because they were getting so miserable.)
I think it's safe to say that for two of my boys, these were "Summer's Best Two Weeks!"

Hubby's Birthday

Another year older!

Bathroom - Almost Done!

The tiling is complete. We are just waiting for the grout to cure so that we can seal it. I also have to chose curtains. I had planned to use a safari one, but the bathroom is so pretty that I want to put a more grown-up one in there.
We kept the old vanity, medicine cabinet, lighting and linen closet. We just replaced the knobs, and hubby added a tiled backsplash. He's hugely disappointed that the old stuff takes away from the new look, but it saves a lot of money. (Besides, the vanity was the first thing he built for this house, and I'm sentimentally attached.) Oh, yeah, please admire my new toilet - so far, no plunging needed! I am a happy woman.

Summer Project Update

I did it. I asked him for a new toilet in the kids' bathroom. At some point in time, some toy or other object had gotten stuck in the toilet. Basically, I was tired of plunging. I also mentioned that maybe we should throw down some new linoleum since the glue under our current one was yellowing.

Yep... you guessed it - bathroom makeover time! Of course, he couldn't bear the idea of spending any time fixing the bathroom without "doing it right!" (I can't say that I lamented the loss of those shower tiles or the blue tub.) We all know that he really just wanted a project!

Hubby attempted one of those glazing kits to turn our tub white. After the 72 hour cure time, it chipped. I think hubby's venting his frustration in this picture! ;-)

Here's our brand new bathtub. I'm just hoping it can withstand the amount of dirt and sand that it will encounter!

Here's the lovely view of the outside of our house. Some people purchase garden accessories. Guess we just don't need them! (Think I could share some with my cousin at his housewarming party?)

Summer Updates

Since I've missed so much, here are some highlights.

Father's Day

Grandma's Birthday

First summer working full-time.

Playing with cousins and camping. (Unfortunately, I was negligent in picture-taking during our camping trips. This is the only event I managed to capture. I even missed fireworks on the fourth of July!)