Another Lake-Filled Weekend!

We enjoyed a fun weekend at my brothers lake cabin.  My whole side of the family was there which fills their cabin up quick!  The kids have a blast playing together and no matter the temperature they were ready to jump in the water.  I love that cousins = friends!

1st Day of School

Today was the first day of school for 3 out of 4 kids.  We have a 5th grader, 3rd grader and a 2nd grader.  All BEYOND excited for school to start.  They were excited to see friends and all three love math and science.  It's the first year Josiah and Alayna could ride the bus together.  It's also the only year, until they are seniors that they will be in the same school together.  It was fun seeing their excitement...until they left...then my little man was crushed to see his best friends all leave on the bus without him.  Thankfully we've had a fun day and soon we will walk to the bus stop and greet them with hugs and listen to all their stories about their first day of school!

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Family Filled Weekend

Friday night we had a double date with Dan's sister and brother in law and we enjoyed riding a surrey bike through Lindenwood Park and great conversation as we hung out.

Saturday we hung out all afternoon and then took in a Red Hawks game and each kid made it in the big screen and they greeted Hawk Eye before we went into the game.  It was a fun and memorable night!

Tomorrow we will enjoy going to church together and then we will say good bye until next summer most likely.  It's bitter sweet...

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A glimpse of God's heart?

As I type this I'm listening to my daughter sing along to worship songs...she is a monotone not so great singer right now, but oddly enough I love listening to her.  I wonder if that's how the Lord hears us...He loves the sound of our heart, not the sound of our voice....

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Do you see what I see??

We went to the eye Dr today.  The whole family got their eyes checked. Josiah is far sighted, but at his age that will hopefully correct itself.  Seth also is far sighted and it's possible he will need glasses in the next couple years.  It was his first time at the eye doctor and he thought it was pretty fun!

Alayna is far sighted along with her brothers, but twice as much as Josiah.  She needs glasses for school and reading.  We picked out her glasses and they are ADORABLE...much cuter than my first pair...though they are purple just like mine were.  :-)  She's not thrilled with the idea and she was worried about being teased.We read "You are special" by Max Lucado tonight and it was just what she needed to hear.  After that, she realized how many people/friends wear glasses and she was excited about them.  We will get them just in time for school to start.  Hopefully her excitement will continue!

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A weekend away!

Dan came home from work Thursday with great news...after a long week and some late nights, he had Friday off!  We were able to leave earlier than expected and we headed to his dad's lake cabin.  Our family of 6 in their RV...it was a great time away.  Four wheeling, boating, tubing, skiing, fort building, roasting marshmallows and overall time away.  It was great!  Our phone died Friday night and we forgot a charger so I only have pictures from Friday, and honestly, I loved not feeling pressure to capture family moments for my kids to have...it's not natural for me at all!!!

Feelings...nothing more than feelings

Those are the lyrics to an old song, but it came to mind today as I was thinking about how often in this world we rely on our 'feelings'.  

When we meet a potential spouse we rely on how we 'feel' initially to let us know whether to continue getting to know them or not.  Now I don't want to totally discount 'feelings', but we rely on them FAR too often.  Marriages have ended because the initial 'feeling' has gone away and people want to live on that emotional high.   

We also rely on feelings when it comes to parenting, we want to become a parent and imagine all that it will entail....then we have kids and realize all that we dreamt about parenting is in reality, a very small part and decide it's too much work to teach and train...hopefully somebody else will do it.  It is consistent work, constant love, and dedicated caring.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom, but not because I always 'feel' like it.

Why in the world was I thinking about all of this today??  Well, some days being a Foster Parent is easier than others.  Sometimes I don't 'feel' like doing this anymore (I could make that decision and we would be done) yet, I know without a doubt that this is where God has called our family for this season of our life.  

It's not always easy loving a child when you don't understand all the reasons they do what they do, when they are clingy, when they try to manipulate using emotions, etc. (the other kids do the same things at times).  She needs constant love, dedicated caring, and people pointing her to the One that can provide that for her...the same as all of our children.  I pray that our actions reflect that of our Father, I know we fail, (but my prayer is that "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more Romans 5:20) and that even in our failings, I pray that she (and all of our kids) can see the reflection of Jesus in our life.  I'm honestly thankful for all that we have learned and been able to teach our kids through being a foster family...our FD has been a wonderful blessing, but like each of our kids, some days are better than others.    

Today I have been reminding myself to 'Get Dressed':

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

I continue to love, care and point ALL my kids to the Lord...not because I always 'feel' like it but because it is what I have been "called" and "set apart" to do in the lives of each of my children as well as others that the Lord brings into my life.  How could I NOT forgive others when the Lord forgives me over and over and over again.

After that long reminder of who God is and what He has done for me...I know He is enough to help me finish the day!

June & July

Here's a look at June...we enjoyed time at the lake, the kids had 'Grandma Camp' in St. Cloud,  our Foster Daughter moved into our home, Josiah & Alayna each had basketball camp, Josiah went to Mind Storm Lego Camp, we did our landscaping, Seth learned to ride a bike, and too many other smaller things to list, but here is a small peak at our life in June!

Here's a look at July...swimming lessons for all 4 kids (the 3 older ones passed, but Seth needs to work on his arm strokes), Josiah had football camp, we finished our landscaping, took a trip to St. Cloud, went to the lake a couple times, had family over, Alayna got horribly sick...lots of things...but here are a few pictures to capture the month of July!

Though I realize I just tried to capture 2 months (that involved lots of adjustments, changes, fun, sickness, family, friends, camps, etc.) in 1 short post...I had to do something so I could start blogging about our current life and not get bogged down with reliving the past couple months.  Maybe I will be more consistent again...but don't hold your breath waiting! :)