Category Archives: Family

Daily Life, Kathy, Silliness

Too tired to blog? Sleep Blogging.

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I do most of my blogging late at night. The kids are in bed, the house is quiet and I have time to think and write. Since we moved the chairs around in the family room my ‘computer chair’ is now Cream Puff (the incredibly comfortable, leather recliner we bought from some friends). If I’m not careful I find myself drifting asleep while sitting at the computer, in the middle of typing. This, my friends, is not good.

There is a phrase for this phenomenon: blog sleeping or maybe even sleep blogging. It’s similar to sleep walking and sleep talking although potentially MUCH more embarrassing. When you walk or talk in your sleep, who sees or hears you? Your family (if they happen to wake). If you’re in college then perhaps the number is greater – roommates or other people in the dorm.

If you sleep blog, however, there is the potential for LOTS of people to witness it (I mean, there are 10′s of people who frequent this blog on a semi-regular basis). Not to mention the fact that the blog would be forever held in the cyber world.

Taking all of this into consideration, although I started a blog last night, loaded pictures, and even tried to be somewhat thoughtful, I couldn’t publish it. I was sleep blogging. I would type some and then recline into the plush depths of Cream Puff and fall asleep. I was afraid that I would wake in the morning, go to read the blog and find that all I had posted was blogging gibberish.

That would certainly elicit a few comments!

So, I had to face Joshua (“No blog this morning, Mom???”) and Tim. They are the early risers in the family and my faithful blog readers. Here’s the e-mail Tim sent me. Sigh.

Imagine my shock when I found no new blog on our website this morning. What could possibly have happened?

Abduction by space aliens?
No, I remember you were in bed when I left.
Power failure?
No, my alarm went off (curse it to the fiery inferno) just as I was getting back to sleep from my allergy attack.
Broke both hands at the wrists?
No, you would have woken me up to take you to the emergency room.

The mind boggles … I’m sure you’ll have a good answer for your outraged readers. :) Tim

The pressure, folks, the pressure.

Kathy

*Edited to add picture

blogging

I was obviously missing my coffee last night when I was sleep blogging. A little caffeine can really perk up a blog.

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Daniel, Events, Project 365

P365 – Day 106 (Yo-Yo’s from Norway)

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The relentless pace of this Project 365 drives me to take pictures (at least ONE) daily. My children and other fans keep me blogging practically daily. The look Joshua gives me in the morning when he discovers I haven’t blogged (which has only happened ONCE or TWICE since I started) is heart breaking. Okay, it’s amusing and gratifying (keep ‘em hungry I always say) at the same time but serves to keep me on the straight and narrow path of blogging.

samuel and daniel

Cousin Samuel and Daniel May 2006

I’m not very good at approaching thing in a balanced manner. The idea that I could take a picture (and therefore still fulfill the basic requirement of the Project 365) and NOT blog on it, is very difficult for me to grasp. Tim tells me I can take a day off from blogging now and then but all I hear is “Wah, wah, wah” like he’s Charlie Brown’s teacher. Of course, I know what’s really going on. He just wants to get me off the blog so HE can do some writing. Some people are so devious they’ll use anything in their power to steal a blog.

samuel and daniel

Samuel and Daniel as Indians in the Nisqually Historic Re-enactment, April 2006.

All of this (way too long) is to say I just can’t let Day 106 fall into obscurity. I simply HAVE to blog on it. I took the pictures. I have things to say (I heard that :snort: Tim). Heaven forbid I let there be a lapse in the blogging days.

Whew, it feels good to just get that off my chest. Now I can go on to post a very short blog on Day 106.

Daniel got a package from Norway. Yay! The Cousins live in Norway.

group of missionaries

A bunch of Nisqually Missionaries.

The Cousins were here for all the birthdays last year. Samuel and Daniel spent many hours playing together and plotting sleep overs. Only good things come from Norway (in our very limited experience).

As soon as Joshua saw the package he announced, “It’s a yo-yo.”

daniel's package

What could it be?

Okay, I have very strict rules in my house about presents. You are not allowed to give away secrets. You are not allowed to feel packages and guess what they are. You are, under no circumstances, allowed to tell the birthday person what someone else got them. This is a line that we DO NOT CROSS. The fact that Joshua would tell Daniel that there was a yo-yo in his Norway package was a serious offense!

what is it?

This looks suspicious!

I immediately took Joshua aside for a lecture and possibly some push-ups. Birthdays are sacred events and infringing on gift secrecy is a big deal. From the push-up position Joshua maintained his innocence. “I just guessed. I don’t KNOW what’s in there.” Since Joshua is generally considered a trust-worthy and honest young man, we decided to take him on his word (and let him out of the push-up position).

Imagine our shock when, indeed, Daniel’s package from Norway contained a YO-YO!!!!

It IS a yo-yo!

All eyes flew from the yo-yo to Joshua, who immediately burst into laughter. “I didn’t know! I didn’t know!” He protested (between guffaws). “It was just a guess. Really, you have to believe me.”

laughingmore laughing

Thankfully Daniel is a kind-hearted boy and doesn’t hold grudges. He forgave Joshua’s indiscretion, whether it was real or accidental, and went straight-away to try out his new yo-yo. The rest of us, however, are still a bit miffed. I shudder to think what The Cousins are going to do once they read this blog. It’s a good thing Joshua’s birthday isn’t until October, he has plenty of time to redeem himself. I can just imagine what kind of package Joshua COULD receive (those Vikings were some intense warriors).

Kathy

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Events, Kathy

Thinking Blogger Award

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I’ve been Tagged!

My kids play Freeze Tag, Bible Tag, and one (new to me) called Candle Tag where you freeze in place and then slowly melt to the ground. Tag is a great game – it can be played in small or large spaces, it lets kids run off some of their never ending energy, and even has a built in rest time where you can catch your breath (my kind of game). Of course, the game can be rather discouraging for those who are not fast runners (that would be me). Depending on the mercy of the group playing, you could potentially be stuck “It” for the entire game, never catching any one, until you finally run home crying (hypothetically speaking).

This tag, however, is of a different sort!

Back in February of this year Ilker Yoldas created a new sort of tag. It’s a blog tag (of course) and comes with an award. Very cool!

Dorothy has tagged me for this lovely award. Dorothy lives in England and lets me come on field trips with her (via her blog). She writes in such a real voice that I often find myself laughing and nodding at the same time as I read her posts.

When you are “tagged” with the Thinking Blog Award, you pick five blogs that make you think and “tag” them. They then go on to pick five, and they pick five friends, and so on. I love the idea of sharing favorite blogs and connecting people. I am honored that Dorothy and Yvonne both tagged me. Yvonne (another one of Dorothy’s five picks) has an amazing blog full of challenge, insight and spiritual depth.

Here a list of rules to share with the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.

The participation rules are simple:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post (the original post on the award) so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

It’s hard to choose five blogs (just five??) that make me think but here they are:

1. Amy from In Pursuit of Proverbs 31 is a blog I’ve recently discovered. She wrote a post about decluttering the house that was powerful and convicting. The deciding factor on whether to keep or toss things — scripture! Amy has a wonderful testimony. Read and enjoy.

2. Edited to change – the blog I had chosen has since been closed. The blogger is a homeschooling mom of five awesome kiddos, and good friend. She is working on developing a new blog but I’m unsure of whether she wishes me to share the link.

3. One of my college roommates began blogging last March. The delight I took in reading Rachel’s blog was one of the thing that encouraged me to pick up the blogging baton on our Duckabush Blog. I loved hearing about her life and thoughts on parenting, God and housecleaning (not necessarily in that order). She recently wrote a post on how to survive those crazy days with a new baby in the house and it brought back such a rush of memories I almost needed a nap right then and there. :)

4. Emily in FL, a SHS e-mail loop friend, has a wonderful family blog. She is working on a very lengthy series on friendship that is both challenging and practical. Emily definitely captures “Life” on her blog, “Life in Pictures.”

5. Tina, a dear friend serving with New Tribes Mission in Thailand, has a brand new blog. I love reading anything Tina writes because she is truly a woman after God’s own heart and I knew her “when.” When she was an ordinary person (not a lofty missionary :) ), when she lived down the road from us, and when she was a mom just like the rest of us. Watching their family be called into the ministry and follow God’s leading (over years of labor and faithfulness) has been a huge blessing in my life.

Whew. It took me all evening (it seemed) to come up with this list. I hope you grab a cup of coffee, maybe some chocolate, and find some new treasures.

Kathy

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P365 – Day 115 (Middle School)

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Joshua’s Middle School Small Group came to our house this evening. It was quite an honor to be chosen as the host for the night. The standards were high. The e-mail from one of the leaders said,

All we ask from our hosts is:

1) A godly example of a Christian home
2) A place to meet
3) A snack

I imagine #1 was important to the leaders but not something the 7th graders particularly care about (or even notice). #2 was high on the list for both leaders and the students. #3, however, was the real killer. Gotta have a snack (or more than one if possible).

We’re talking about teenagers. Boy teenagers. The kind that come through, eat all the snacks in the pantry and then wonder how soon dinner will be served.

I bought a large bag of chips. There was a half cup of crumbs left by the end. Joshua made a delicious looking pan of brownies. The younger children were so excited. They just knew there would be extras left over and they could all have a snack before bed.

Ha! What silly thoughts! As if nine 7th graders and two youth workers would walk away from the house while there were still brownies left in the pan. I think it’s pretty much part of the contract they sign going in to middle school.

“I, Joshua, do solemnly promise to eat all the food that is placed before me as well as the food placed in front of my neighbor (if he is so foolish to close his eyes during prayer time).”

The boys were loud and boisterous although Joshua says they were surprisingly subdued this evening (ah, a matter of perspective perhaps). I put on headphones and drowned out the noisy sound of chip crunching and brownie slurping.

I did manage to get a picture or two before the horde departed.

middle school

It’s wonderful to have a church family and a group of adult Christians who care about your children and wish to see them grow in their walk with the Lord. The snacks are just a perk!

Kathy

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P365 – Day 114 (Sweet Sarah is Sick)

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Sarah (age 4 1/2) was sick today. She had a mild fever and a sore throat. Poor little one. She slept in, lounged around for most of the day, played just a little bit and then fell asleep watching a movie (must have been an action flick). It sounds like such a great day, I’m trying hard not to be too envious. Can I have all of that without the pesky fever and sore throat?

sarah

Sarah plays a quick game on Tim’s cell phone.

I took thorough advantage of her sleepy/snuggly state and grabbed her for some yummy time rocking in Tim’s super comfy chair.

Through it all, however, Sarah was careful maintain a proper sense of fashion. She had on a little pink summer dress as a night gown. I told her to get dressed this morning but she just looked at me, overwhelmed and weary. I realized she wasn’t feeling well so I suggested she just stay in her pj’s for the day.

The next time I saw her she had on white tights and a hot pink fuzzy sweater over top her night gown. It’s important to keep up appearances, even when you are feeling a bit down.

Kathy

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