P365 – Day 90 (Pancakes w/Asparagus)

This morning Kathy had the privilege of driving a good friend to the airport at 5:30 in the morning. I tried not to snicker into my pillow as she stumbled around the bathroom … such actions do not promote marital bliss, in my experience. Still, it was hard not to take some satisfaction in the thought that Kathy was sharing in one of the unpleasant facets of my life, since I have to get up early most days.

As the day progressed, it never did deliver on the promised sunshine, but stayed gloomy all day. I kept waiting for Kathy to ‘crash’, since she had stayed up late the night before. Instead, she got a little punch-happy, which was a little strange for the kids.

tim's dinner plate
Kathy always likes to ensure that there is some greenery on our plates.

I never have been very fond of asparagus, and have enjoyed it only once (when Kathy’s aunt served it in Minneapolis). As you can see, our Saturday evening traditional pancake feast took a nasty turn.

tasty pancake
I’m don’t think this photo will make it to the cover of the Williams Sonoma catalog.

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P365 – Day 89 (A Girl & Her Cellphone)

I swapped two of the boys for two girls this afternoon. What a trade! It leaves Joshua a little outnumbered but that can’t be helped. The house is full of scampering and skipping about with little dolls in hand instead of wrestling and charging around with cars and swords.

The truly scary moment came in the evening when I snapped this series of pictures. Are these girls teenagers in the making?

sarah and elise

Elise, is this going to be a long call because we’ve got things to do before we go to bed?

girls

I’ll just pose for the camera while she’s on the phone. Check out those goggles!

both talking

Sarah: Oh what a beautiful evening, oh what a beautiful night. I’ve got a beautiful feeling, everything’s going my way.

Elise: Yes, Mom, okay, yes, I love you too. You’re a little off key there, Sarah.

Now to be fair Elise was on the phone saying good night to her mother and didn’t request to use the phone but still, all I could think about was these two cuties ten years from now.

smiling

“Just a second, Mom, I’ve got to smile pretty for the camera.”

It took me a little bit but I finally wrestled the phone from the girls and sent them off to bed. :) I’m not ready for teenager girls, yet!

Kathy

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tn_dyson

Vacuum Give-Away

No, sorry to say, I’m not the one giving away a vacuum cleaner. I can’t spare mine. Every month or so it’s time to vacuum and I wouldn’t know what to do without it. Just kidding, the kids are regular vacuumers (is that a word?) and several of them can actually change the bag like a pro.

5 Minutes for Moms (a website that encourages bloggers to connect) is hosting a vacuum give-away. Go to the website and sign up your blog name (they also have instructions on how to be a part of the contest if you don’t have a blog).

dyson

This Dyson Slim vacuum cleaner is worth over $450. What an incredible give-away. A big thanks to Susan and Janice (the twin sisters who run the 5Minutes4Moms blog) for reviewing the vacuum cleaner and sharing the opportunity with us.

Kathy

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P365 – Day 87 (One pathetic picture)

It’s not that we had such a busy day. I could have taken more pictures. The children were brilliant and photogenic as always. We went places and did things – all potentially photo worthy.

Joshua made chocolate chip cookies for Sarah’s AWANA class – that would have been a great series of photos, featuring Chef Joshua (Baker Joshua?). Rachel and I ran some errands this evening. We could have taken some shots of Trader Joe’s (love that store) or the bulk food section at Fred Meyer. Julee and I went for a great walk this evening. Gorgeous sunset over the water.

Nope.
Nothing.
Nada.

All I ended up was this one, rather pathetic picture. I almost hate to post it, but I do have a Project 365 obligation to meet. Here it is. My picture for the day:

kids at the park

Kids at the park – even the title is rather pathetic.

I had a meeting at the park this afternoon with some awesome friends from the Women’s Retreat Team (we need those capital letters – helps us feel official). Normally I would spend most of the park time running (okay, walking) after the kids and taking fantastic pictures of their adorable cuteness, but this time I actually had to sit down and do some work. I guess my “awesome friends” don’t really understand the significance of this blog. Sigh. After the meeting I considered restaging the whole park/play time for the sake of some good pictures but I was so darn cold from sitting on the bench that I hurried us all home instead.

I can just see the little shake of his head and hear the scorn in Joshua’s voice as he reads this blog, “Only one picture, Mom, one?” Not quite a question, more a statement of disbelief. Such disappointment. I’m not sure how I will look him in the eye.

Tomorrow is another day, Joshua, that’s all I can say.

Kathy

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P365 – Day 86 (I won!!)

Unlike Lindsay Lohan, in Just My Luck, I am not a particularly ‘lucky’ person. Of course, as a Christian, I can’t really subscribe to the idea of ‘luck.’

The Bible seems clear that God is Sovereign over all and thus nothing is merely the matter of chance:

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…Ephesians 1:11

Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

GotQuestions.org has this to say about luck:

“From an earthly perspective, as Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 share, things may seem to happen at random, but throughout the whole of Scripture, it is clear that God is in control of all of His creation and is somehow able to take the random acts of natural law, the free will of both good and evil men, and the wicked intent of demons and combine them all to accomplish His good and perfect will (Genesis 50:20; Job chapters 1 and 42; John 9:1-7). And Christians, specifically, are given the promise that He works all things, whether seemingly good or bad, together for God to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).”

How wonderful to serve a God who loves us enough to care about our character and our hearts more than our comfort.

cute bag

This gift bag is so cute. Can I use it as a purse? Would anyone realize it’s just made out of paper? What would happen in a good rain? Hmmm.

With all of that said, I certainly won’t say no to a little blessing coming into my life. I had a meeting this evening with a friend. We scheduled it before realizing there was a baby shower at church. Of course, we wanted to go and celebrate that sweet little baby. We decided to go to the shower and then have our meeting afterward.

At the shower we played a version of Bingo – Baby Bingo. You fill out a blank Bingo card with the items you think the mother is going to receive. As she opens the packages, you mark off a square until you get Bingo. I won in the first 10 minutes!! Being mature and in the company of godly women, I restrained myself from jumping up and down and shouting, “BINGO!” Of course, I’ve won games at showers before and the gifts were often less than impressive. Still, the competitive side does flare up from time to time and winning is always fun.

This time the gift was something quite lovely. I won this adorable bracelet by Lillian Vernon:

bracelet

The great thing about this gorgeous gift is that if you don’t have time to put in your own pictures, you can just claim the ones on the bracelet as your own family.

bracelet

During the lull between food, games and gifts, Michelle and I went ahead and started our meeting. We decided to scrap the coffee shop (original plan) and go the Y instead for the rest of our meeting. We managed to sneak in a good, solid hour of cardio. Oh yeah! That’s what I call a Power Meeting!

Michelle made me try her favorite elliptical (for 30 grueling minutes) and I promised to post a picture on the blog.

elliptical

Unlike my fave, the Precor, this one is by Cybex. Again, it’s a bargain at $3500. Here’s one going on Ebay for over $5500. Let me just say, my monthly Y membership seems much more reasonable when I factor in the costs for all the machinery they offer (not to mention classes and pool time and so on).

The night ended (is it over yet? I’m up so late I’m not sure if it’s morning or night) with a call from my wonderful Thai missionary friend.

Ah! Presents, an awesome workout, and a call from a friend. That’s a pretty blessed evening! Thank You, God, for orchestrating all of those details.

Why would I ever give fate or faceless luck the credit for the good things that come into my life when there is so clearly a holy and sovereign God who loves me and wants to be a part of my life?

Kathy

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