Yes I am back. I am emotionally ready to re-engage the blog world and start catching you all up on what we have been doing. There is so much! Let’s start with a short video of our Jamaica trip!
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Game 1 for the Rock Cats
Mason had his first game tonight of tball. Quite entertaining. He had some hits, some decent throw in the right direction and stopped the ball several times. He also had moments when the ball went right past him and he stood there oblivious, the time he stood on second base talking to the girl from the other team when he was supposed to be running to third base and then the time when he decided to skip second base all together and go straight to third. I guess this is what tball is all about when you are 4 years old. We enjoyed so much watching Mason tonight. I was the mom cheering for him (and everyone else) quite loudly and Brian was the dad take pictures and video. Yay! So proud of our ball player!
Tomorrow Brian and I are off for some rest and relaxation for the next week and a half. We are looking forward to lots of quality time together. The kids will be with Grandma and Pa having lots of fun. We are excited about some time away but I know we will both be itching to come home to our 3 little people!
Signing off until we return…
Dads
I am surrounded by a lot of amazing Dads. From my grandpas to my brother, to my own Dad and father-in-law to my very own husband. I love watching them all in their roles as dads, grandpas and great grandpas. Now that I am older and have children of my own I get it. I get that you’ll do almost anything to make your child or grandchild laugh, comfort them, make them feel safe and sacrifice for them. You love them more than you thought was possible. And it is a joy to do so. So when I see my husband, grandpa, Dad and brother love my kids and their own kids in this way I appreciate it that much more. Day in day out I see it all around me, especially from my own husband. I am so thankful our kids and myself have the opportunity and blessing to be loved by so many wonderful men.
Happy Fathers Day to you all
and a special Happy Fathers Day to my very own Dad!
5 on Friday
We have been busy over here. Here is what we’ve been up to!
1. T-ball season has started and Mason is so excited because he not only gets to play on a real team but he gets to do with it his cousin Austin. Wow. Can’t say that I ever thought I would see the day when my son and my nephew would be playing T-ball together. It was great to be standing next to my husband and my brother watching our boys play. Awwww…made my heart full. Now on to baseball talk…Mase is a little all star. He loves playing, gets frustrated when we doesn’t catch every that is hit. He runs all over the infield attempting to catch any ball that is hit. We haven’t quite grasped the concept of staying in your position. Him and Austin are quite the duo out there and are so fun to watch. Go Rock Cats! Yeah, I don’t understand the name either.
2. We have signed up for the summer reading program at the local library. The children’s section is awesome and they have all kinds of fun things to do for the kids besides picking from a huge selection of books. This week they had a tshirt painting for everyone. We forgot our tshirts so last minute we got plain hankerchiefs. The boys made pirate flags and the girls made blankies for the babies. Although it was slightly chaotic doing our projects the kids had fun!
3. We also went swimming at Baylor Beach. It’s a man made pond with all kinds of slides, fountains and things to climb on. It’s clean, cheap and close. Yeah, we are going to be spending a lot time there I think. The kids LOVED it! And I did too:)
4. A fun treat for me was going shopping with my sister-in-law. She needed a new dress for a wedding and I needed a swim suit. Not an easy task. But I am happy to say we came home successful! But really how can it not be a success when you have your parents watching all 6 kids and we get to be out alone. I had a great time. Thanks Ang! And mom and dad for manning the troops!
5. While we were busy here Brian took a quick trip to Virginia to meet with the head of the military ministry of Campus Crusade. Pretty cool, huh? He did some consulting for them on how to use the internet more effectively within their ministry. These are the amazing opportunities Brian has with his new position.
And now it’s time to relax a bit for the weekend. We have another full week ahead of us@
Jesus in a swimsuit.
Mason asked me this on our way to swimming tonight:
“Mom did Jesus have to wear a swimsuit when he walked on water?”
“ummmm…no.”
Profound. Isn’t he? Always thinking. Always thinking:)
But if Jesus did wear a swimsuit maybe something like these?
Strawberries!
On Friday we made strawberry jam from strawberries handpicked by mom that morning. We all had aprons on and we went to town mashing them. That was definitely the kids favorite part…that and eating what they were smashing. The recipe was super easy. Just add a packet of pectin and some a lot of sugar and stir for 3 minutes. We made 14 small tubs to put in the freezer. Some day these little tubs will come to our new home in Indy with us. That is fun to think about! I get excited to have PB & J sandwiches just thinking about it!
5 on Friday
1. It’s official after 30 years in education my Dad is a retiree. Here he is today coming home from his last day of work. At least from this job. He’s not one to sit around so I know he will be off to something new very soon. Way to go Dad. I’m so proud of you and thankful for all your hard work!
2. The kids have been little adventurers since we’ve been here. And the best part is they often go off by themselves. There is so much more to explore here. New adventures abound!
3. Swimming, biking and running. That is what Brian and I have been doing here. We have more time and energy to work out and access to a pool. We are little cross trainers over here and loving it!
4. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that Mason hasn’t asked when we are going back to Chico. “Can we just go back for 20 minutes so I can see all my friends?” It breaks my heart that he misses his friends so much. I wish we could go back for 20 minutes too. I have a couple more hugs to give.
5. Did you wonder if Chipotle Friday continues outside of Chico? Why yes it does! We will be heading there soon and then topping it off with a trip to Handel’s Ice Cream. We are trying to keep some consistency to kids lives and looking forward to some quality family time tonight!
Have a great weekend!
lovin’ the differences
There are definitely things I am missing about Chico. But there are things here in Ohio that I get to do that are nice differences.
My parents have cable so I get to watch fun channels like Food Network and HGTV.
I can often get ready for the day with little to no interruptions because there are others to keep the kids occupied.
It’s almost guaranteed that I will see a family member or friend when we are out and about around town.
I can go swimming for exercise at a local pool for a $1.
New running routes, mostly composed of hills. I’m not sure if I love this but it’s good for my glutes:)
Brian and I can easily find a babysitter if we want to go do something, even last minute.
It doesn’t get dark till after 9pm and there are lots and lots of lightening bugs to catch!
I’m thankful for all these little things.
How?
How do you move forward when there’s so much you just don’t want to let go of?
How do let your son feel sad from missing his friends but help him love forward even when you are feeling the same way?
How do you let your self rest and enjoy this break we’ve been given but also get the work done we need to make the next step happen?
How do you figure out life and a schedule for 3 three little ones when their wondering where our home is?
How do you walk by faith not by sight?
You trust, you believe, you cry, you laugh, you talk, you hug, you accept.
At least this is what I am trying to do.
5 on Friday
ONE canceled flight due to weather.
TWO trips to the airport.
THREE total flights.
FOUR hours of sleep for the kids, ZERO for mom.
FIVE Barelas all safely in Ohio
There were also a 7 hour layover and a 3 hour layover, several meltdowns by all of us, lots of suckers, new books from the airport book store to pass the time, a daughter ran over with the stroller from a mom not paying attention (that would be me), lots of answered questions about “where are we going?” “where is daddy?” “where is my stuff?” why aren’t we on the plane?” and finally…finally a glorious reunion with an anxious grandma.
We made it!
We are in Ohio. All 5 of us. With a lot of our stuff. With one of our cars. It feels different than a visit. We are really here. We are adjusting. Wondering what life will be like now. I don’t think it’s really hit me that I don’t live in Cali anymore. My heart aches when I think of our house, our friends, our neighborhood, our life there. For now I’m choosing to not really think about it and I’m enjoying being with family, hugging my parents and watching the kids with Pa and Grandma. Denial. It’ll work for now.
I’m thankful for God’s provision in getting us here. Wow. What an awesome God that worked out so many details for us all to get here safely. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t easy. But we made it!
Now for summer to begin.