Thankful

February 25, 2015 KME 6 Comments

Sometimes you laugh and delight over the little things. Sometimes you cry and grieve over big things. Life seems to be about big, little, and everything in between. I want to be faithful in what God is calling me to do. I want to be willing to grow, even if is painful and stretching along the way. I want the fact that I am a follower of Jesus to make a difference in what I say, how I say it, what I think, how I act, and how I love/chastise/encourage/walk among the people in my life.

This has been an interesting and challenging two weeks. Today I was grateful for many, many things.

1. Sunshine
2. Prayer time w/friends
3. Hot tea & strong coffee
4. Wise counsel
5. Laughter
6. Teens who are listening to the Lord
7. Children who pray for me
8. A godly husband
9. Peace and direction from the Holy Spirit
10. Late night Winco shopping & friends who (unknowingly) match

I'm thankful for friends who match - even when we didn't both plan to be in purple!

Love that we both ended up wearing purple today!

Project 365 – Day 55
Kathy

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Aslan's Country

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David, Project 365, Recipes/Food

Mais Oui!

February 23, 2015 Tim 4 Comments

Yes, we may. We may happily devour Poulet Cordon Bleu, thanks to David’s French homework. He is taking a class online with The Potter’s School, and one of our favorite assignments of this semester is for each student to cook a French meal.

Chicken fillets pounded thin, wrapped around pieces of ham and swiss cheese, coated in butter and breadcrumbs …. Mmmmm.

Kathy wanted me to take David out to dinner at a French restaurant, but all the French restaurants in our area are inexplicably closed today or have gone out of business. We’re busy late tomorrow, and yes, the assignment is due Wednesday. Planning in advance is not our strength.

So we gathered the necessary ingredients and assembled four large portions of Chicken Cordon Bleu, and popped them in the oven. While we waited, we made two different versions of crêpes, liberally spreading them with jam, sliced pieces of fresh strawberries, and whipped cream.

Easy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Basic Crêpes

There was nothing creepy about these crêpes …

Yes, it is a hardship to be a homeschool Dad these days. I don’t know how I manage to do it with such savoir-faire and panache. (Those are bonus Frenchy-type words, to make this blog post more Cultural.)

As I was checking my plate for any microscopic crumbs I may have overlooked, Kathy belatedly spoke up.

“Did you save any for your lunch, tomorrow?” Kathy asked plaintively.

Preparing my food for the days I work in the city is one of Kathy’s least favorite chores. I’m gone so long, she has to come up with something for all three meals of the day, which is no picnic, at 11 pm, when she’s ready to think about it. Alternatively, if she doesn’t send me off with a well-stocked lunch bag, I’ll probably eat biscuits and Nutella all day, and will come home ten pounds heavier. Since many of us are in the midst of a weight loss plan (you can see our progress at the bottom of the left panel), I figure she’ll rassle me up something (but it won’t be leftover chicken Cordon Bleu, since I ate my entire piece at one go).

David and Sarah wisely saved half of theirs for tomorrow.

Project 365, Day 54
Tim

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Camp Kids Come Home

February 22, 2015 KME 5 Comments

This year the middle school and high school winter camps were the same weekend. Stop and read that again. The Same Weekend. As in, the same weekend.

Note to the church youth leaders -

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! You are the best ever. Thank you for loving my (occasionally? often?) moody, goofy, beloved children. Thank you for playing crazy games with them. Thank you for modeling a Christ-centered life before them. Thank you for listening to them and rebuking them and leading them. Thank you for being serious at times and wild and messy at other times.

Thank you for scheduling things so all three of my children went to camp at the same time.

I wish I could pay you each a million dollars each. Or at least bring you a basket of apples

Buying apples on the way to pick up the kids.

I should have bought this whole basket of apples and the flowers.

I was gone on Friday when Daniel, David and Sarah were dropped off at church. Normally I follow them around and take pictures of the groups of eager students and all the piles of sleeping bags and suitcases. Thankfully one of the other moms snapped a quick shot in the parking lot and forwarded it to me.

A forwarded picture, however, can only capture so much. My little mama’s heart wanted to be there when the kids came home. Normally I’m more than willing to let Tim run and pick up the children from church events or have Daniel drive everyone. But I missed those rascals. I’m not ready for an empty house. A weekend was long enough (well, almost). I knew they would be coming home, tired and wearing their camp shirts, surrounded by their friends. I wanted to hug them and take pictures of them and stand around with other moms and dads, eager to have their weary (and potentially 3 days unshowered) kids home.

My sweetie – picking out some fresh tomatoes for dinner.

Tim was very kind and took me off on a little date to buy some fruits and veggies on our way to pick up the children at church. I love that man! He is so kind and patient with me, especially when I am sentimental and silly at times.

Shopping for fruits and veggies with my sweetie makes me happy.

And there they were. Just as I expected. Tired and sweet. Thankful to be picked up. Suitcases full of dirty clothes. Ragged plastic bags holding sleeping bags. Vans of leaders and teens. Parents emerging from waiting cars. Lots of hugs.

David and Zachary – too tired to stand up.

Love these two kids!

Daniel and Jordan – glad to be home!

Beautiful middle school girls!

At home Daniel went for a walk – needed some alone time. David and Sarah ate supper, started laundry, took showers. We listened to stories, looked at their camp journals, and listened some more.

My sweet Sarah

Later Rachel called and had a LONG talk with David and Sarah while they unpacked and settled down for the night. I love hearing their voices as they connect with their big sister. Then Daniel got on the computer and Joshua popped online. The boys went on to have a LONG conversation. Oh my word, my heart is full to the brim. To see my older children pour into their younger siblings. To trust that they give godly counsel and encouragement. To know that they want them to love the Lord and serve Him. To know that they want to hear the details and know what questions to ask.

Blessings Abundant.
Welcome home, Camp Kids. Sleep well.

Project 365 – Day 53
Kathy

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Love Box

February 21, 2015 Tim 3 Comments

Kathy spent the last couple of days at a Beth Moore conference in Redmond, and I have missed her quite a bit. I spent part of the time assembling a belated Christmas present that never quite got finished — a Love Box.

Fireproof for up to a half-hour, the box says. I sure hope our house burns quickly, if we have a fire …

The basic idea is to have a central place to store important documents and instructions in case something happens to me. It was a little weird to assemble all this information — planning for my own self to be out of the picture. A lot of the details (things about bank accounts, assets, retirement accounts, life insurance) was scattered all over the place, and some of it was only in my head. I feel better about having it written down, in case the Lord calls me home early.

Remembering Kathy’s Dad’s sudden illness and death four years ago, it seems the sort of thing I should do, just in case. I only hope that I can be anywhere near as careful in providing for Kathy as Granddad was, in his financial provision for Mamie.

Pretty in Pink

It was a gorgeous afternoon here — temperatures in the 60′s, with clear blue skies. Kathy and I went for a walk along the waterfront in Steilacoom, and she chattered away about the conference and a myriad of other things. That girl can really talk, when we’ve been apart for a few days!

Fortunately, I am a pretty good listener, and very glad to have her home.

Project 365, Day 52
Tim

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