Category Archives: Sarah

Project 365, Sarah

Time for Tomatoes

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This is the time of year when a man’s fancy turns to …

Tomatoes.

Last year I waited too long to start my seedlings, but this year I was ready. I start with peat disks in early February, and then later transplant them into larger pots when the roots begin to fill the peat.

Sarah and David helped me plant this batch of seedlings. Loop

Sarah and David helped me plant this batch of seedlings. Loop

Hopefully by July or maybe August I will have a dozen healthy, tomato-producing plants. It is always a race against the Fall, with tomatoes in Washington. They need sunshine, and we don’t get enough until August. Then hopefully we get a crop in September, before the cold nights of October put an end to the growing season.

I’ll keep you posted.

Project 365, Day 64
Tim

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Daily Life, Sarah

Sunshine and Thankfulness

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By Sarah

Recently, the beautiful sunshine has been scaring the rain and clouds away, and today again, was a clear day. But, as I was reading Golden Goblet, Mom began to fall asleep. So we decided that a good walk would wake us(or maybe just her) up.

David had a hard time keeping his eyes open, but he succeeded!

David had a hard time keeping his eyes open in the bright sun, but he succeeded!

Sometimes I gaze at God’s amazing creation and wonder how we can ever stop smiling. All around us is such amazing intricate design by the one and only God. But then I remember the trouble, the hardship, the chaos, and the sin in this life. And just like the israelites in Exodus I think of how we forget the blessings and signs that God shows us and all we see is how our life should be better and how God isn’t giving us enough. I just wonder how we can be so selfish when he shows us all this creation.

Just this little cherry blossom tree is a small part of God and the complicated nature he has given us.

Just this little cherry blossom tree is a small part of God and his creation he has given us.

How can we be so ungrateful, frown, and cry when he has given us so much? How can we, just like the Israelites, forget the huge blessings and only see hardship? God has given us family, friends, his word, this beautiful creation, and everything we could ever want. But in our eyes we just see sin. God sees beauty through the ugliness, love through the hatred, and us as valuable people when we are really worthless sinners.

My wonderful Mama and me

My wonderful Mama and me

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sarah
Project 365 Day 63

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Daniel, David, Project 365, Sarah

Camp Kids Come Home

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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.

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.

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.

David and Zachary – too tired to stand up.

Love these two kids!

Love these two kids!

Daniel and Jordan - glad to be home!

Daniel and Jordan – glad to be home!

Beautiful middle school girls!

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

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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Nutella Valentine Mailbox

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Each year our homeschool co-op has a fun Valentine’s Day party. The halls or sides of the gym are lined with creative Valentine Day boxes – from small paper bags covered with hearts to large Dr. Who’s Tardis. Last year we made a tall Starbucks cup out of a laundry basket with a pvc pipe wrapped in green paper as the straw.

And we won a prize, oh yeah we did.

This year we decided to make something chocolately and silly in honor Tim.

A Nutella Valentine’s Day Mailbox

We started with a tall rectangle laundry basket – it was the perfect shape. We searched and searched for brown paper. Who knew that would be the difficult aspect of this venture. We went to The Dollar Store – no brown poster board or table cloths. Next, on to Michaels – no brown poster board or table cloths. Next a trip to Target. We looked again. Nothing. Seriously? Seriously? I suggested Good Will for a brown curtain or random piece of fabric. David thought maybe Hobby Lobby. Sigh. We’d already been to Michaels. Thankfully all of these stores are close by.

Laundry baskets are versatile - useful in so many ways!

Laundry baskets are versatile – useful in so many ways!

Of course, this was AFTER a long day of school, mentor visits, Trader Joe’s shopping, science projects and cooking at a friend’s house.

We decided we’d try Hobby Lobby and, if we couldn’t find anything brown, we’d switch to silver wrapping paper and make a large diet Coke can. Sarah didn’t want us to give up, but David and I needed a Plan B. Ha.

Hobby Lobby proved to be a treasure trove of BROWN products. Who knew! First we found a package of dark brown napkins on clearance. “I think we can wrap the laundry basket in napkins if we have to,” I told the kids. At this point they were ready to agree with anything just to get started. “Mom, you do realize it’s almost time for dinner and we haven’t STARTED making this?”

What’s your point, children? Dinner can wait, we have a mailbox to make! There are prizes on the line here.

After napkins we stumbled on 12×12 pages of scrapbook paper in the PERFECT shade of brown. We gathered enough to cover the basket and matched them to the napkins (just in case). Before checking out, we wandered around the store a little longer. In the clearance section, in the back aisle we found a collection of poster size paper. What color was on the bottom of the stack?? Beautiful brown. And on sale. Hooray. Jumping up and down in the middle of Hobby Lobby is totally normal, right?

We (okay I) designed some Nutella Valentine Day cards and printed them out. Sarah organized them all and then David taped a Pixy Stix to each card.We’ll put them into the mailboxes tomorrow during the party. We didn’t have the time to make homemade Nutella brownies or cookies, or the funds to buy little Nutella single packs for all 69 families (or the 167 kids) at our homeschool co-op. Even I draw the line at some point.

Homemade Valentines are so much fun!

Homemade Valentines are so much fun!

While the boys played computer games, Sarah and I wrapped the basket in the brown poster board. Using some leftover foam board, we made a lid (cutting a hole for Valentines and treats). Sarah divided a piece of white poster board into strips, drew on lines and fashioned an edge to our lid. After taping it all on, we printed out Nutella logos and even found a place where we could request personalized Nutella labels. The kids kept exclaiming over the tape, “Mom, this tape is amazing! It works so well.” Oh dear, I guess that Dollar Store tape we used at Christmas was NOT the best. LOL.

Sarah and David's personalized Nutella labels.

Sadly we are out of real Nutella.

Finally we were all done. So festive! We were all pleased with the final product! Maybe we’ll win some sort of a prize this year. I hope the kids will share it with me. ;)

The final product!

The might be a big enough Nutella jar even for Tim!

Project 365 – Day 43
Kathy

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Weekend Silliness

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Daniel and Sarah both had friends spend the night on Friday – keeping our house full of life and energy. Tim, in a sneaky move, escaped all that life and energy and spent Saturday in the Duckabush visiting his parents and helping with the never-ending internet challenges. I love, love, love that our kids really enjoy having their friends over and that their friends feel welcome and at home here. That said, I near-as-a-whisker got rid of the whole bunch of them to enjoy an entire day alone.

“Mom!” Daniel wheedled. “We’ll spend the whole day cleaning.”
“Um,” a raised eyebrow.
“Okay, not ALL day. But we’ll definitely clean for you. You won’t even notice we’re here.”
“Fine, but I don’t want you and James and David playing computer games ALL DAY. Even if it’s raining.”
“Sure, sure, Mom.”
“And you’ll play some board games? You know, ones that require cards and pieces and sitting around a table, not just a keyboard and mouse?”
“Sure, sure, Mom, you got it.”
“And you’ll put together David’s bed for him?”
“Mom, we will do whatever you want.”
“Heh. Right.”

Easy-going and flexible? Or pushover and permissive? Hmmm. Well, Friday afternoon Sarah’s friend Tarah came home with us after co-op, and Friday evening I found myself driving to pick up Daniel’s friend James. And, once again, the living room was stacked with mattresses – the boys have discovered they don’t really like sleeping on the floor or lumpy couch. They cheerfully carry down the twin and full size mattresses despite the hassle – I think they like being close to the computers and the kitchen. Last weekend they made pancakes at 3 in the morning to send Joshua off to the airport with breakfast in hand.

Crazy, awesome, silly kids.

Daniel helps James and David play the piano.

Daniel helps James and David play the piano.

True to their word, after I forced encouraged them to get off the computer, Daniel and James helped David assemble his bed. At least they got all the mattresses off of the triple stack on my bed. I think they hauled an extra twin mattress out to the garage where it will await Joshua’s return or another sleepover.

Happy to have his bed frame back in place.

Happy to have his bed frame back in place.

Later that morning, as the rain and grey day was turning me into a thoroughly sad and pathetic creature, a beautiful friend came by and swept me off to Starbucks. There is nothing quite like laughing and laughing with a beloved friend, hot, fresh espresso in hand. Ah. When I walked back in the house, the kids were all sitting on the floor playing 7 Wonders.

The little fakers!

The little fakers!

“Awwww, kids, you’re playing a game! I’m so happy.”
Loud, raucous laughter.

Turns out those rascals STAGED a board game to fool me. LOL! They heard me coming in and quickly sat down to FAKE their game time. I laughed and laughed with them and felt loved that they knew what I wanted and thought about me. The boys put away 7 Wonders and switched to a real game of DC Comics Deck Building.

I know these days are somewhat fleeting – of kids piled on mattresses, the counters and sinks filled with dirty dishes, the table covered with cards, and computer matches going late into the night.

Today David and Sarah joined us for a mini-road trip to pick up Tim’s new car. It was a long day. David and Sarah did school and worked on their play scripts in the back seat while I read to Tim from Francis Chan’s new marriage book, You and Me Forever. On the way home the boys were in the new car and the girls in the rental. Sweet time of conversation with my beautiful little girl, growing up before my eyes.

Daniel missed us while we were gone (right, Daniel? Daniel?). Okay, Daniel spent the day with the friends (thanks Pritchards for having him over), playing Ultimate frisbee in the rain, and then babysitting for a church small group. I don’t think he even noticed we were gone for 11 hours.

Icing his back after a hard day of frisbee.

Icing his back after a hard day of frisbee.

Thankfully Tim still had some energy left for a good conversation with Daniel about school, sore backs, and some possible future plans.

This couch is good for napping, reading, and father-son talks.

This couch is good for napping, reading, and father-son talks.

It was a full weekend. And tomorrow the week starts again. Whew. Blessed, double and triple blessed to be the mama of this silly group.

Project 365 – Day 39
Kathy

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