Category Archives: Family

Events, Family News, Project 365

Project 365 – Day Nine (Tues-R)

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It’s Rachel’s Special Day. I have some sweet pictures of her day but most of this blog is going to be a Welcome To Matthias (the guinea pig) posting.

First some snapshots of Rachel’s day.

Practicing the Piano (lesson tomorrow)
RJ piano

Working on her handwriting
RJ handwriting

Trying out the timer on my camera

Mom and Daughter

Ending the day with a game of Bang!

RJ Bang

Now on to the Story of Matthias. I wrote most of this post back in September but forgot to post it (couldn’t get the pictures to load).

Rachel spent a good portion of the summer pleading for the purchase of another guinea pig. We put her off until our return from Texas in August. She agreed to the wait but kept up her pet campaign with subtle ploys. She left notes by the bed reading, “Think Guinea Pigs!” Every time we had a family meeting or discussion she would pipe up, immediately, “I think we should get another guinea pig. Let’s talk about guinea pigs.” And so on. It was relentless!!

RJ and Matt
A girl and her rodent are a beautiful thing to behold???

Finally Rachel came up with a location for the guinea pig cage that appealed to me–the upstairs bathroom (in the tub). It’s the kids’ bathroom and no one uses that shower/tub (they all prefer the master bathroom for bathing). The room is a small, contained area and a guinea pig would get lots of attention and notice from the children but cause me relatively little trouble. The cage mess (inevitable) wouldn’t be in my space and could be handled by the children.

bathroom for guinea pig
A palace fit for a guinea pig!

Once a location was determined I caved to the Rachel/Guinea pig pressure. Now to raise some money. Tim told Rachel she had to come up with the money for food and bedding. My goodness, the work we got out of her for a good week. She cleaned floors, bathrooms, put away laundry/dishes/toys, you name it. We did have to watch her as every simple request was countered with, “Will you pay me?” I mean, I understand the desire to raise some money for a new pet but I don’t think I should have to pay my daughter to make her own pb and j sandwich. Ha!

So on a Tuesday night in September, Rachel had the younger kids working hard with her to clean out Martin’s guinea pig cage and get things ready for a new guinea pig.

cage cleaning
working hard
Team work!

When everything was all in place and ready to go, Tim and all the children (except for Joshua who was out at the Duckabush) went to the pet store to pick out a guinea pig. Such excitement!

small packages
Guinea Pig travel bag.

Everyone agreed that we needed another name from the Redwall series. Martin was named after the book, Martin the Warrior. The kids liked Matthias or Mattimeo. A quick call was placed to Joshua (off with grandparents) who said we should go with Matthias–Matthias it is. We welcomed the new little guy to our house and the kids got him settled in his new home. Ah, the joys of parenthood.

The Lord has definitely given Rachel a love for animals. She has a sensitive, caring place in her heart for God’s small creatures. It stretches me and pleases me to see how she is gifted in ways that are different from me.

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12: 10
Rachel and Matt
Rachel and her little buddy.

Kathy

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Tim

When God Closes a Window, Does He Open a Door?

It is a silly thing, but I’m a bit sad today. I found out that I will be losing my lovely window office next week some time, as our reorganization goes into effect and we are subsumed into another group. We snuck upstairs to look at our new digs, and crawled around on the floors looking at cube numbers. I found my new cube — a standard, 8×8 cubical, right in the middle of a row of three, without a window. It is sad to lose the view I have of the Olympic mountains (at least on a clear day) and (perhaps more importantly) my view of the traffic on I-405.


On a clear day, I can see Mount Jupiter. Of course, clear days are hard to come by in Washington in the winter.

My boss was assigned a window cube, but he has a big pillar in the middle of it, which lessens the ambient charm considerably … but I’m glad for him anyway. It has always seemed a little inappropriate to be lolling about by myself in a window office while my boss had a cube out on the floor. It is strange, but a little change like this makes me wonder if I should look for another job … I guess the change introduced in physically moving offices (and being reorganized under a different director) opens the mind to the possibility of other kinds of change?


This view of Mount Jupiter is not really available from any office window.

Yesterday was a very good day in our home. We have long been planning to purchase some gifts for some folks we want to bless, and Rachel and I finally went out and did it, coming home laden with good things. Rachel and Daniel both asked me if they could have any part in it, and I agreed to ‘sell’ them some of the items so that they could give them, rather than hogging all the giving for myself. I was stunned by the generosity of all three of the kids — they really impressed me with their willingness to give from their hearts. It reminded me of what Jesus said in Mark 12 about the poor woman who gave two small coins amidst the larger gifts of the wealthy temple contributors:

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

One of the things I have tried to teach my children is to be generous — to be willing to give any and everything away to please our Lord. It was very heartwarming to see them live out that lesson — in one child’s case, they gave nearly everything they had, and all three astounded me with the extent of their kindness. I reminded them of the promise Jesus made to his disciples:

Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:28-30)

I am convinced that God honors the generous gifts of his people, and returns those gifts generously, often in ways much more valuable than coin. I have long suspected that one major reason for the many blessings I have enjoyed is because the Lord honors the way that Kathy and I make our tithe and offering a priority, and try hard to be generous in our dealings with others. It brought tears to my eyes to see my children understanding this spiritual truth and desiring to be like God in this way.

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Family News

A Farewell to Martin

This last week Joshua and Rachel were both away, attending a week of camp at Black Lake Bible Camp. They were very excited to go, having worked all year to earn scholarships through attendance and memory programs. Both of them had a delightful time, and we were looking forward to hearing all about it when they came home – especially from Rachel, who usually does not lack for something to say.


Daniel and David really enjoyed playing ‘carpetball’ at the camp. Er, they were glad to have Rachel back, too.

Rachel’s homecoming was marred, however, by the death of our pet Guinea Pig, Martin. We had left him outside the night before as an unintended result of his weekly cage-cleaning, and for some reason (although he had plenty of water, and the night was not particularly cold) he died. Even more unfortunate, Rachel was the one to discover him when she returned home from camp that morning.


The traditional exchange of contact info at the end of camp with a new twist — writing addresses on your head.

It was a hard day. Rachel wept and wept, and Kathy and I felt guilty for not caring for him as well as we could have. Daniel was at first not particularly sad, but when he saw how much it hurt Rachel, he began to cry in sympathy for her. Joshua was pretty stoic about the whole thing, but I noticed that it was he who ended up digging the grave and carving a cross as a marker.

David and Sarah were largely oblivious, although they both went around with solemn faces, saying “Poor Martin” from time to time. I suspect it may be several days before Sarah really understands what has happened – and I don’t think that David was ever really close to our sharp-clawed guinea pig.

At sunset, we held a little memorial service for Martin. I had each of the kids say something they remembered about our little pet and then toss a handful of dirt (or clover, or grass) into his grave. Rachel wept through much of the service, especially whenever anyone would talk about the way Martin looked. I think it really saddened her to discover his lifeless body, halfway into his little house.

We prayed and filled in the hole, and Rachel put some rose petals on top of the grave. We asked a friend who had recently lost a dog to talk with her, because Rachel knows that neither Kathy nor I loved Martin as much as she did.

I think that the little graveside service was a good idea … I think it will help the little ones to understand death a little better, and it will provide the older children with a context for grieving when they lose a family member or close friend, as they surely will, but hopefully not soon.


Rachel at Martin’s grave

The next day Rachel seemed to have processed some of her grief – I almost wept when she told me, “Now I know how hard life can be.” She is already angling for another pet, confident in her ability and willingness to love another animal, even though it may die and cause her sorrow. She told me that she thought she loved God more now than before Martin died: “I knew before that sin was bad, but now I see what it causes, and I understand why God is so strongly against it.” When faced with death, it is good to remember the One who has conquered death and removed its sting, so that we can live forever in the joy of His presence.

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Family News, Musings

Weekend Alone

The sun is out! The sky is blue and crisp and the air warm. It’s a gorgeous day in western Washington.

Joshua
Joshua worked on the yard this morning before heading out to the doctor’s office. Doesn’t he look cheerful. Now if we can just get rid of the weeds I’ll be smiling too!

We have spent every afternoon, since Monday, at the pool. Somehow, however, I haven’t taken a single picture. How can that be?? I’ll remedy that as soon as possible. I’m sure it’s because, when we travel, we carry bags with towels and sunscreen and swim floats, not to mention crackers and snacks of some sort. I bring a bag of reading material for myself, keys, cell phone, water bottle, etc. Each child has a bag of their own and is responsible for their towel and goggles and any other swim paraphernalia they would like. We exit the van with full hands–I’m sure we are quite a sight. Ha!

4 kiddos
Need to photoshop out that trash can–adorable kids but not exactly a scenic background.

I’m just thrilled with this pool membership. I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to our summer. It’s fairly expensive but I think we will get our fair share of fun out of the money. We calculated how many times we would need to go to bring the price down to lower than guest fees (cost $3 per person as a guest). So far we’ve been four times and Joshua and Tim take great delight in counting down the remaining necessary pool visits.

One of the greatest benefits of the pool is something I hadn’t even figured into my calculations–Mommy relaxation time! When we go to the pool I am forced to relax–I can’t do laundry or wash dishes or tidy up the house. All I can do is read, write, play with the children or visit with friends. What a gift! I hadn’t really expected the pool to result in a more relaxing summer for myself, I only thought of what fun it would be for the children. [Of course, since I'm not home I'm also not making dinner so we'll have to work on that aspect of things. Ha!]

Today, with the sun blazing and the temperature warm, is a perfect day for a long afternoon at the pool. Instead, I’m sitting alone in the family room, not another soul in sight. Ahh, the bliss of an empty house. Of course, there are many reminders of children all around–a huge white teddy bear of Daniel’s from his time at the children’s hospital, a little doll house and Playmobil of Sarah’s, Rachel’s dress shoes she left on the floor, and so on.

Sarah and the backpack
Sarah is ready to go–only 5 more hours!

The children themselves, however, are happily off with their grandparents, driving out to the Duckabush for a weekend away. Hooray!! For our anniversary, Tim’s parents gave us a certificate for a babysitting session. Aren’t they wonderful to take the children for the weekend. I have two hours here by myself in the house before Tim gets home. Tonight we’ll go to the theater to see a play. Tomorrow we have the whole day to ourselves (including sleeping in as long as we like!!!) and then we’ll pick up the children Sunday morning.

David
Here’s a boy who is ready for the Duckabush!

Tim and I have been tremendously blessed to have parents (on both sides) who are willing to watch all five of our children. They are extremely supportive of our decision to have a big family (mind you, compared to some friends, five isn’t that large of a family) and help out as often as they can. Not only do Tim and I benefit in having some time to ourselves, to reflect and enjoy each other alone, but the children gain a deeper relationship with their grandparents.

I’m very thankful!
Kathy

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IMG_1148
Events, Family News

Shilo Sleepovers

I wanted to be sure and post some of the pictures from our visit with Mamie and Grandad (my parents). Usually we travel to Michigan to see my family. The past two years we have been blessed with tickets (no small gift for a family of 7). Two years ago my dad’s church surprised my parents by flying us to Michigan for the big 25th anniversary. They brought us out on stage in the middle of the ceremony for my father. That was a special moment! We stayed in Michigan for several weeks.

playing cards
Notice there are actually two different games in action here.

Last year my father was awarded a three month sabbatical. Part of the sabbatical included a week at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference Center. We had a lovely time with the family (all three of my brothers came as well).

brothers
Dan, Thom and Phil with Chase and Aydia

This year my youngest brother, Phil, got engaged. There was some talk of an October wedding so we decided to save our Michigan trip for the fall. We love to spend some time in Fort Clark, Texas each August so we settled upon that as our family vacation this summer. When Phil’s wedding plans shifted to June 2007, Mom and Dad began to talk of coming to WA to visit us. Hooray!! It certainly is more economical for two to travel than seven. August seemed like such a long time to wait until we could be together again, so I was thrilled to hear of the possibility of a May visit.

The children will miss the fun of going to Mamie and Grandad’s house in Michigan–the tractor rides, playing in the creek out back, the big tree fort, cousin time, and so on–but the essence and joy of the visit comes from being WITH Mamie and Grandad, it’s the relationship and not the location that is important.

And so we thoroughly enjoyed our week long visit. We ate out several times (Tim usually tried to steal the check).

Mexican dinner
Here we are enjoying a delicious Mexican meal.

The kids took turns sleeping over at the hotel with Mom and Dad. One night they took the older four and the day next all five slept over. What luxury for Tim and me–sleeping in! These are some special grandparents.

reading girls
Girls night out–everyone has to bring a book!

We swam and swam at the hotel. We read books, played games and watched movies. Mom and Dad were able to see some of our co-op day as they joined us for the final friends and family presentation ceremony.

Swimming
Posing around the hot tub

We introduced them to several of our friends at church–Tim even led the Sunday School class on James chapter 4. Dad helped out with several home projects–he installed a screen door on the front and back doors and put new light fixtures in the hall way and Joshua’s room.

shaving
Traditional shaving time with Grandad–Girls allowed??

It was a very satisfactory visit. The sun even came out for the last two days. On Wednesday Tim worked from home and I was able to drive my parents to the airport. The older three children woke up early and went with me to the hotel (had to sneak in one more swim and continental breakfast).

Saying goodbye

One last gathering before off to the airport.

Joshua came with me to the airport. Goodbyes are always difficult. They are made more bearable when I know we have the next visit already planned. We will end our summer with almost two weeks of family time in Texas. We are hoping my mom’s two sisters will join us for some of the time (they grew up spending their summers in this little corner of Texas). There is also some possibility that my brothers and their families will come as well.

Outback
Dinner at the Outback

Sometimes I think of the people I have met over the years and all the ways I have been blessed by godly friendships. My best friend from junior high/high school and I met our (future) husbands while spending a week working with Habitat for Humanity. I had wonderful roommates in college. Everywhere Tim and I have lived we have been a part of couples Bible studies and Sunday School classes. Life and jobs and family move us around from place to place and, even with the internet, it’s difficult to stay in touch with people. I wonder in amazement at what heaven will be like. We will have eternity to spend with the Lord and other dear friends. All the believers we have met through the wandering of our lives will be there. It will surely be like coming home. So when I occasionally feel sad about the friends that have come and gone in my life and ones I know it’s unlikely I’ll ever see again or at least live near them again, I rejoice in the hope that our paths will cross again in the heavenly realm. I have our future visit already planned.

2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

–Kathy

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