Category Archives: Project 365

P365 – Day 37 (Late)

I lost connectivity last night and couldn’t post my blog. I had the pictures uploaded but couldn’t connect to edgren.com. Ah well, that’s fine. I went to bed early. Looking around at my messy house this morning, perhaps I should have done a little tidying up instead of sleeping. What is that Proverb about sleeping too much?

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-
and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 6:10-11

In my case, it’s a messy house and lots of dishes that will arrive in no time. Lol!

grandad and rachel

Grandad takes a break from a little computer work to hug Rachel.

The weather is grey and rainy these days. It is not, however, very cold so Mom and Dad are content. In Michigan yesterday ALL the schools in the area were closed due to extreme cold temperatures. Brrrrr!! That does NOT sound fun.

My parents brought goodie bags for all of us (a tradition whenever they visit – they spoil us). The boys (including Tim) all got a toy from Target made by my cousins company, Monkey Business Sports. We are all very excited that his company has a contract with Target and the toys are being sold nationwide.

daniel's rocket

Daniel gets ready to shoot his rocket.

Of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without some more pool time at the hotel. This time the boys went off with Grandad while the girls went to the library and shopping with Mamie. We all met up back at the pool so the girls could swim a little bit before dinner.

Daniel and David

Not sure why this is such a fun spot but there you have it.

Joshua

Sarah at the pool

Thankfully Tim was home to put a ham and some Yukon potatoes in the oven. All we had to do was add a big salad, some toasted bread, sweet potatoes and we had a delicious dinner. The children were STARVING (poor dears) and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

After dinner Daniel wanted to serve everyone dessert. We had ice cream Monday night so it was time for something different. He decided to serve graham cracker treats. He fixed some for everybody – even delivering them – and served himself last. Thank you, Daniel! That was a yummy dessert.

Daniel's dessert

Another fun day with the Michigan grandparents.

Kathy

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P365 – Day 36 (Games & Swimming)

It’s the close of a lovely day. The house is quiet (except for the hum of the washing machine and dryer and music playing in the kitchen), the boys (including Tim) are in bed, and the girls are off with Mamie and G’Dad at the hotel. I cleaned the kitchen this afternoon so that work is all completed. I need to pack a lunch for Tim, finish this blog and then go to bed myself.

We had a very relaxing day. No one seemed interested in heading out on an adventure or field trip so we stayed home and played games for most of the day. We started the morning off with Citadels which was lots of fun. I can see why Tim and the three older children have all been begging to play it again. [They played it for the first time on Saturday while I was gone.] Dad worked on his laptop while we played. Sarah and David busied themselves, coloring in the dining room. It was a contented crowd all around.

CitadelsSarah and David coloring

David and Sarah managed to convince Grandad to come and play Rat a Tat Cat with them in the living room. I think they played several rounds. Sarah sat by them, watching everything and cheering them on.

david and grandad

sarah sweetie pie

While we were busy finishing up our game, the little ones decided Grandad was bored (since he wasn’t playing with us) and should come out to the garage (brrr, it’s cold!!) and watch a movie with them. It was probably too chilly for him to sneak in a nap so he was forced to watch at least 30 minutes of Duck Tales. Now there’s some real movie substance. Lol!

garage time

They look like a snuggly group!

After lunch we decided to squeeze in one more game. Joshua and I really wanted to teach Mamie and Grandad Bang so we begged and pleaded and fussed until they gave in. Or something like that – I think everyone was sitting around waiting until Tim said, “Okay let’s play” and we all gathered around the table. Bang is a favorite with our crowd and the children have taught several of their friends how to play. It helps if most of the group already knows how to play – things move along fairly quickly.

Tina – this is one you should definitely think about for your group. It’s fun – Western theme (maybe we can get Tom and Casey to play), card based, doesn’t take too long, etc. Come home and we’ll teach you. Sniff, sniff.

Rachel and Mamie

Tim was incredibly kind and said he would take the children swimming at the hotel while Mom and Dad snuck in a quick nap. I stayed home and worked on things around the house. It was lovely having a little time to myself. The kids were still going strong when I joined them at the pool (except for Daniel who was out, taking a break).

danieldavid poolsarah poolRachel pool

We decided to go to East and West Cafe for some Thai food. It was absolutely delicious!!! Thank you, Michelle, for the recommendation. I think I oohed and aahhhed over my food with almost every bite. The meals are reasonably priced and the atmosphere is pleasant. The parking lot looked full but the restaurant did not feel crowded. I will DEFINITELY go again. Tim loved his entree until he accidentally added in some chili paste sauce that he thought was sweet. Oops! He does NOT like things spicy. Gotta watch those unmarked sauces in Asian restaurants!

We returned to our house for some Rocky Road ice cream and a showing of Nanny McPhee. We didn’t finish the movie – time for bed, especially for those on Michigan time. Tomorrow Tim heads back to work. Not sure what the rest of us will do – some school, more relaxing and game playing, and maybe a few work projects.

I’m trying not to think about how short this visit is. We’ll see everyone in June so I’m clinging to that – always important to have the NEXT visit planned.

Kathy

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P365 – Day 35 (Sunday Skipping)

Skipping along through the day via pictures. It’s so special to have my parents here in town with us. They came over in the morning, before church. Mom helped with Sarah’s hair.

sarah's hairdresser

I had the camera out (need to charge it) and so it wasn’t in my purse during church. I would have taken a picture or two of Sarah sitting beside me in Sunday School class. She brought her coloring book and pencils and a workbook/sticker book and was quiet and contented the entire time. Such an angel. Not feeling very well – cold symptoms.

We spent some time looking at the videos from Mom and Dad’s Costa Rica trip. Gorgeous rain forests and wild animals there in CR. The kids snuggled up for the video time.

mamie and danielg'dad and Sarah

In the middle of the afternoon Tim’s parents came by for an unexpected visit. It was so nice to have them here. We had been wishing that we had invited them to join us for lunch so it was especially pleasant to have them come by. We had a nice discussion time and then even snapped a few pictures. As Grandpa said, “Is this going to make its way into the blog?” Of course!!

the whole crew

We went back over to the hotel to swim, and came home very hungry for delicious steaks (the kids had scrambled eggs, except for a few fortunate morsels wheedled from the grown-ups). We finished the evening watching Facing the Giants.

It was a delightful day, well-filled with time with grandparents.

grandparents

Kathy

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P365 – Day 34 (They’re Here!)

Whee!! After a THREE hour delay (sitting on the runway waiting for baggage handlers to arrive to deal with luggage) Mamie and Grandad finally left Michigan! Hooray! Tim said Sarah must have asked him 10 times when they would arrive. Poor David and Sarah – they had a very difficult time understanding about the travel changes and delays. David said this evening, “I thought they would at least get here by noon.” Mind you, they were originally due at 2:30 pm. Lol! I guess that is certainly closer to noon than the 5:30 pm they finally did arrive. Lol! Daniel chimed in, “Or at the latest 4 pm, not 7:30 pm!” Ah, it’s difficult to wait. I remember how Joshua used to park his chair out at the end of the driveway, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the (then Kansas native) cousins.

When I got home from the conference the children were all standing by with bathing suits, towels and goggles in hand, ready to hop in the van and meet Mamie and Grandad at the hotel. Whee!

daniel and grandad

Daniel gets a hug from Grandad.

We had a good evening swim and then went out for a quick bite to eat (supper for the grownups and dessert for the kiddos).

waiting at the restaurant

Mom and Dad were tired from their travels and I was beat from the Beth Moore conference so we didn’t linger too long over our food.

David and G'dad

David gets a smooch from G’dad.

We had some lovely conversation (the first of many, I hope) and the kids were perfect angels. There was a whole book of coloring pages as part of the kids menu (okay, they were also tired out from the swimming).

rachel and Mamie

Sweet Rachel and Mamie.

The children finished their desserts in front of the restaurant fireplace. Rachel wanted to bring it home with us (which is a bit odd since we already have a gas fireplace in the family room) and was QUITE impressed to hear the Retreat Center is going to have 7 or 8 fireplaces.

fireplace shot

We are so excited to have Mamie and Grandad here in Washington state. Tim is taking off at least one day this week so we can enjoy some special time with them. I’m sure we’ll be regulars at the hotel pool. David wants to spend the night at the hotel. “So I can eat 9 or 10 donuts, Grandad!” That sugar gets them every time. Lol!

Kathy

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Project 365, Day 33 (Fri w/SL)

It is a sad thing when a man feels like an intruder in his own blog, but such are the straits to which we have come. Kathy is off gallivanting, and so it falls to me to stay up late blogging, tweaking the timestamps so people don’t know how late I was up and writing.

Today was Sarah Lucinda’s special day, and she didn’t really want to play a game. Instead, she asked me to play on the floor with her. She had dragged a number of dollhouses and castles into a circle and had nearly 50 little people (mostly Polly Pockets and Playmobil people) all talking to one another in falsetto voices. We played on the floor for the better part of an hour, acting out a day in the life of a man with 9 children (or it may have been 11, I lost count). The family had carrots for dinner, which was appropriate, since we ‘real people’ also had carrots (except we had a yummy roast, noodles, other veggies and homemade biscuits, left for us by our sweet Kathy).


For some reason, the parents of the family slept in the attic. I’m trying not to read too much significance into that.

Sarah is a sweet girl and she is a lot of fun to play with. I was surprised at how quickly the time passed; we ended by reading The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round and then singing each verse.


Here’s a sweet co-op girl.

Today was co-op day, and for no particularly good reason, I was about 13 minutes late to pick up the kids. Most of them were out playing in traffic (well, in the parking lot anyway) but Sarah was patiently waiting in her classroom. I asked her if she was worried (one of her brothers is often dismayed by late parents) and she said, in a sing-song little voice, “No, I just waited.”

I have a lot of deep and subtle thoughts on my heart, and you would think that I would take this opportunity to write some of them down, but I need to pace myself. Besides, this is technically Kathy’s Project 365 post, so I can’t really wax too eloquent on a borrowed soapbox.

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