Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Last Saturday, we went kite-flying with our motorcycle group, the Sonlight Warriors chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association. One of our local parks was hosting a kite-flying extravaganza.

Gabe's borrowed kite. Look how high it went!
Way above all the others!

Me with friends, Connie and Ray.

Gabe took a turn with this plane before we hopped back on the bike and rode home.

Our Last Day

I had been without a suitable vehicle for a couple of days (one that would seat all of us!), so on our last day together, I decided it would be full of fun!

Well, the first hour or so wasn't too much fun, but we managed to have a little. We had to go put tires on the van. Sitting in the little tire store tired a few of us out a little, but then we were off to storytime! Sarah-Kate, Diego, and Donovan met us there. After a bit of playing and reading at the library, we went out for Mexican food. A real restaurant! With two adults and seven children! None older than six! Okay, maybe I'm crazy, but I thought it was fun.

Then we were off to feed the baby goats at some friends' place. I forgot the camera in the car, so by the time that was retrieved, the goats were fed. All the kids (except Luc) loved giving the babies their bottles.

On the way to look at the rest of the goats and the chickens, Meg asked (Mom, don't read "whine"!) about their trampoline. I think they could have played on that all day!

On our way out, we had to stop by and see the horse..........



And ride on the swing.

On the way home after leaving Sarah and her boys, we stopped by the park. Thought we would play just for a bit before going home to make dinner. Everyone was out of the van waiting while I was getting Belgee out. Uh, oh. Dirty diaper. Cleaned that up, but it left him wearing only a diaper. It was a bit chilly, so we went home.

When Papa got home, he remedied that! After dinner, he took us all back out. First a stop at the park.

Meg is really good at this!

Apparently, Captain learned a new important gesture from Diego. If you don't like what is being said, fold your arms and say, "Hmph!"

We ended the fun part of our day with a quick trip to town and the doughnut shop! Of course, first we had to go by and pick up Diego. Everyone got to choose their favorite doughnut. Surprisingly, three did not finish their doughnut and saved it for later. Also not surprisingly, one asked for a second! Request denied.

Next was the not-so-fun part of the day. We had to take them home.

Laying Out Clothes The Night Before --

The key to a bit of sanity in the morning.....

Sarah-Kate's Ice Cream Birthday Cake

We celebrated Sarah-Kate's 28th birthday the evening before the actual date. Diego spent the night with us and Joel, Sarah, and Donovan spent her birthday shopping! As you can see, she didn't have many presents. We all knew she wanted shopping money, so we obliged. (She's reinventing herself yet again!)

This is the second birthday in a row where she has requested a "Layered Ice Cream Cake". It is gorgeous when cut, delicious, and it is so, so easy! (I forgot to take a picture of it as it is served. Trust me, it looks like you went all out!)

"Recipe":

Layer ice cream sandwiches on the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. Depending on the size of the ice cream sandwiches, it will take 9 -12.

Layer whipped topping (Cool Whip) over the sandwiches.

Drizzle chocolate and/or caramel sauce over the whipped topping. (Sarah chose butterscotch instead.)

Make another layer just like that.

Freeze until ready to serve.

Cut into squares to serve. That's all there is to it!

Sink Time

Can you believe that I actually remember taking a bath in the kitchen sink?

Belgee did not like the bathtub at all. So, it was always a quick wash and out. But the sink, he loved. I think the smaller dimensions were more easily dealt with.


Captain walked in, saw Belgee in the sink, and wanted in! I kept telling him he was too big, but he really wanted in! So, in he went. They had so much fun together. Good reason to have a double sink!

Luc walked in a few minutes later and thought it great fun and wanted in, too. No, I didn't give in to him!
Aren't they just too cute?!

Sunday

Twin cousins at church.

Sunday was Grandma's 80th birthday!

We had a nice little party at home.

Lemon cheesecake and almond cheesecake, cherry topping optional.

Loving books!

Papa's Park

As soon as we had grandchildren, Papa put in a playground. They have always loved it. This week, the older children reinvented it. Look at the mess! They rearranged the swings and made some sort of "dragon"! Every evening I told them they had to clean it all up and set it all up right. They did. However, the next morning, all went back to their "right".




On the very first halfway warm day, Papa started thinking of a Slip-n-Slide.



He bought one the next day -- a three-lane one! With the tarp underneath, a fourth lane showed up. It was Caesar's favorite.

Papa was helping Caesar with his shoes. Out of the blue, Caesar says, "My name is Captain. They call me Caesar." Of course, we kept asking him what his name was for the rest of the week. Too cute. Papa also taught him to salute and say, "Captain Caesar!"

(Point of reference: Israel called him Captain even before he was born. It caught on and stayed with him. Good thing he was a boy!)

Belgee found the Hummer. That baby is a climber!

Before we had cleared the children's table one day after lunch, we turned around and Belgee was sitting in the middle of the table taking sips from all the cups. Just making sure there was nothing left!

Fun day in Papa's park.

Fun at the Library

Yesterday, we went to Storytime at the library and then spent some time watching the fish in the fish tank, doing puzzles, and playing with educational-type toys. I think they could have spent all afternoon playing at this table.




Luc found a giant puzzle of one of his favorite subjects, dinosaurs! It was so large, we cleared everything off the table right before we left so we could put this together. It was so EXCITING! Really, if you could see the kids' faces as they finished it up, you would have understood how exciting this really was!


(I will be slowly catching up on the week's events! I'm actually re-dating the posts, so they follow our week somewhat. Not really cheating, is it?)

My 100th Post!

In honor of this being my 100th post, I am following the tradition of listing 100 things about me. This is in no way in any particular order, especially not in order of importance!

1. When filling out questionnaires or memes, my girls usually have to tell me what my favorites are. I draw a blank.
2. This list is going to be very hard for me to do.
3. I am a Christian. The evangelical, full-gospel, Pentecostal, Charismatic kind.
4. I am a pastor’s wife.
5. My favorite color to wear in winter is black.
6. My favorite color to wear in spring and summer is pink.
7. My favorite scent is lavender.
8. I like the color, too.
9. My favorite flower is the daffodil.
10. I am God’s daffodil. He told me so.
11. I love shoes!
12. I have quite a few.
13. I notice everyone else’s shoes, too.
14. I have worn only Halston cologne for over twenty years.
15. I love red coats.
16. Chocolate is a must.
17. I have been married for almost 35 years.
18. I met my husband 3 days before my freshman year in college officially started.
19. We married 11 months later.
20. I can’t imagine my life without him.
21. I gave birth to three children in 2 years, 6 months, and 5 days.
22. I had 2 homebirths.
23. One of my biggest regrets is not having more children.
24. I homeschooled my children.
25. I believe that was one of the most significant things I have ever done.
26. I have 11 grandchildren – so far.
27. The last 9 of those grandchildren have been grandsons!
28. I absolutely love being a grandma.
29. My grandchildren all call me “Nana”.
30. I have strict “inbred” fashion rules. I probably should have been born in the South!
31. I go nowhere without my makeup on.
32. My favorite movie is “Overboard”. Sort of a modern “Taming of the Shrew”.
33. I love celebrating. Anything.
34. My parents and sister live with us.
35. I love having the house all to myself. Doesn’t happen too often.
36. I am an introvert. I replenish by being alone.
37. I fight shyness almost every day of my life.
38. I like having regular pedicures. Not that I always get to, but I like to.
39. I wish I had a housekeeper.
40. I love a clean and neat house.
41. I really don’t care to actually clean.
42. I do it anyway.
43. I think my life is too busy.
44. I am a list maker. It is easier to write it down than to remember it.
45. I keep a “To Do / TaDa” list every day. That means I add things to my To Do list after I’ve done them and then check them off.
46. I keep my To Do / TaDa lists in a file. It’s sort of like a journal.
47. I feel guilty when relaxing because of #43 and because I never finish #45.
48. I procrastinate.
49. I went on my first cruise last August.
50. My husband and I fell in love with cruising.
51. I struggle with paper clutter. My children used to always tease about “Mom’s piles”.
52. I am a detail person. I see details.
53. Sometimes that drives me crazy.
54. I want to be a channel of God’s blessings.
55. I hate illogical thinking.
56. I am quite opinionated.
57. I have a little dog named Odie. He is half Chihuahua and half Whippet. Long back legs.
58. I “own” a Yahoo! group called Biblical Womanhood.
59. I love having “girl time”.
60. I love having girlfriends.
61. My very best friends are my daughters. All three of them.
62. I love presents!
63. In fact, my top two love languages are acts of service and receiving of gifts.
64. I can get lost in blogland.
65. My current favorites are decorating blogs. The do-it/make-it yourself kind.
66. I also like some simple living blogs.
67. I have two collages of Mohammed Ali in my family room – one with an autographed boxing glove and one with autographed boxing shorts. Both with 1960 Olympic Game tickets. Very valuable. Great pieces of art.
68. These would not be what I would have chosen for my family room.
69. I have been to 8 foreign countries: Mongolia, China, Korea, Canada, Mexico, Botswana, South Africa, England.
70. I didn’t leave the airport in Korea, South Africa, and England.
71. I have been gifted with keen discernment.
72. I dyed my hair for many years. At first, just for fun. Then, to cover gray. I am now natural salt and pepper. More salt in the front.
73. I like it.
74. I need at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
75. I would prefer that those hours did not end too early in the morning.
76. It takes me awhile to wake up in the mornings. No matter how much sleep I have.
77. I don’t like “going” to sleep.
78. But I like staying asleep!
79. I gag brushing my teeth.
80. I do not like “getting ready” in the morning.
81. I wish I was like my husband and could do it in 15 minutes or less.
82. It takes me over an hour.
83. Because I often add other chores and such in between getting ready, I usually need a couple of hours.
84. I am very patriotic.
85. I am a Republican wondering if I should change parties.
86. I just don’t know which one. No, definitely not to a Democrat!
87. At age 18, I registered Democrat.
88. I soon realized that I did not agree with their platform at all.
89. I was under the influence of my Social Science teacher from high school.
90. I was such a feminist in my younger years.
91. I had no idea what that meant in the larger world view of it all. I only knew that I wanted all my “rights” and I wanted to be “equal”.
92. I live in a rural setting.
93. I love it.
94. I just finished culling and reorganizing all my china, crystal, and serving pieces.
95. My cupboards look so good!
96. I have a few more hidden places that need the same attention.
97. I’ve always wanted to get my pilot’s license.
98. I have a hard time parting with books. They are treasures.
99. I am a consultant for Taste of Home Entertaining.
100. Yea! I’m done! I’m actually quite pleased with myself that I actually did this!

Twelve Days With My Babies -- Well, at least some of them....

Go back in the archives to June of last year and you can read about our week with eight of our grandchildren. Oh, so many very precious memories.

~

Starting yesterday, the Gombojav children -- all five -- are spending about twelve days with us while their parents are in Mongolia! At present time, they are 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 years old. So far, we've had a great day and a half, but I am bushed!

~

As I was preparing lunch today, I realized I hadn't seen Captain for a few minutes. All the older children were outside playing, but I had heard him come in just a bit before. So, I went looking.

Guess he'll just skip lunch today!

~

Way later in the day (I think I was preparing dinner this time.), this photo op was just too cute to pass up.

Watching Blue's Clues.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Yesterday, we celebrated (actual birthday was on Easter) Ihbeleg's FIRST birthday. The Correa family and Papa and I traveled down on Saturday night.

As you can see, most of Ihbeleg's friends are older than he is, but that didn't stop him from loving all the hoopla!

(Yes, face painting explains some of what you see.)

Daja divided the fare into "adult food" and "kid food". The adult food was scrumptious, but the kid food was FUN! Puppy Chow (a peanut butter and chocolate type of Chex Mix) was served in a doggie dish. Jello frogs were a hit. And cookies in the shape of snails were gobbled down.

Party favors were given away in doggy bags.

And Belgee was totally elated with his birthday cake!

First and Always?

Many years ago, I wouldn't eat at McDonald's because they so actively supported abortion. Then that was appeased -- I don't remember how. A few years ago, I watched Super Size Me and I was off McDonald's completely. Since then, I have only eaten ice cream there twice. And perhaps a chocolate chip cookie. Well, now they've done something that won't even let me eat their ice cream!

The McDonald's CEO, Jim Skinner, has said that they will put their full resources behind the gay agenda. The company gave an undisclosed amount of money to the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) in return for being recognized as a major promoter of the homosexual agenda. In return, NGLCC placed Richard Ellis, vice president of communications of McDonalds USA, on the NGLCC Board of Directors.

NGLCC describes itself as promoting the LGBT community first and always, including same sex marriage. It gives credit to sponsors such as McDonald's for its financial and other support that helps in its work. "Through the commitment of our corporate partners, the NGLCC has been able to advance the ideas and causes of the LGBT business community," the Chamber said.

To read more and to find out what you can do, click here.