A pausing for memories…

Getting ready for graduation pulls the heart strings… wow.

Pam

YOUR Gonna Miss This…Moment… 75

We knew that our cat had kittens.

We just couldn’t find them.

The kids had looked and looked.

Nope.

Nothing.

Until one morning this week…

There they were.

She brought them into the garage.

Joy.

 

There is something about kids & kittens & spring.

LOVE IT!

(but not so much the “in the garage” thing)

Lucas has the biggest heart for them and finds them & cares for them.

Pam

Your turn… what will you miss?

 

2 races in a row

Who do you think won this race?? 

James is on the right.

This is what the finish of the last 2 races he has ran has looked like.

He has been called 2nd in both races.

But, outside of that, there is some new developments in the college opportunities department.  It may be a couple more weeks till me know what’s going to happen.

Life is not fair.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10

My prayer for my children.

Pam

New posts HERE on my photo-blog

YOUR Gonna Miss This… Moment… 74

Last weekend my boys got to go to a hockey game with 2 mentor/friends.

So, I decided to take the girls out.

We went to paint pottery…

 

Not sure if the hippo or the Girl got painted more…

Finished projects…

Leah brought a friend along too…

It was crazy!

We had fun!

I hope my girls and I do fun things together for years & years!!

Pam

**********************************

How about you?  Last week I didn’t have anyone join me in this, I know I missed a few weeks, hopefully you will come back and join in again this weekend!!  I miss reading your moments!   Link up here…

Riding downhill fast.

Have you ever rode a bike down a big, long hill?

When you get near the bottom of the hill you reach maximum speed.

Speeds so fast your feet have to leave the pedals and just hang on and ride it out until the ground begins to level & your speed begins to slow.

Large Family + End of School year = Maximum Speed.

Add to the mix the fact that this is the end of a senior year.

Even faster.

If I told you how many things we have going on around here, you would probably either gasp, laugh, or shake your head in doubt of my sanity…

Even when the calendar is “empty”, there are 100’s of things that have been neglected around this house that scream for attention. 

I did say “no” to 2 things this week.  Unfortunately they were photo shoots.  I have a few on my schedule, and just can’t take anymore on at this time. 

So, see.  Have limits.

I feel like I really really could use some “me” time.  I guess that this afternoon when I go to Bible Study, and then travel with some other mom’s to the track meet, and we take the food for the team… that will have to count.  At least it will be adult conversation without my other children in tow (I think)!

So, if you see someone fly by with arms & legs flailing & screams of exhilaration coming from somewhere within the streak… it’s probably just a mom.  She probably is trying to plan a graduation, get to all six of her kids activities, get all 6 of her kids to their activities, make 72 cupcakes to take to the carnival, bag 50 bags of grapes for the track team, finish editing senior pictures, visit her child’s college, not stress about where the money will come from for college, make food for her family to eat that day, mow the yard, wash the dishes, braid hair, shop for her family, pay the bills, do the laundry, get the dog fixed, go to appointments… and she’s probably feeling guilty about all the things she is neglecting to do… like clean the house, exercise, fold the laundry, be at 2 or 3 places at once…

Smile and Wave.

Pam

Future Track Star…

Big brother better be glad

  

5 year old sisters don’t

 

Run

Varsity.

He’d

be

toast.

Pam

Moving to Town.

This is the time of year that I most think about moving out of the country and into the small (very small) town that my kids go to school in.

Or at the very least putting my sister’s pop up camper in the large yard of the baseball complex in town & staying there for the next 2 months.

5 of my kids are playing on 4 different baseball leagues this spring.

At least they all play at the same complex (most of the time, some of Zach’s won’t be there). 

Too bad these coaches can’t get together and all plan their practices around my schedule & make MY life less confusing and inconvenienced.

Smile.

One trip to town, school & ball diamonds, 1 gas station, 1 restaurant (that closes at 8 on weekdays don’t try to go there after a track meet on a Thursday night!!), a tire sales/repair place, a grain taking place, a post office (also with strange hours).  Is 12 miles one way from me.

I made that trip 3 times after school yesterday.

Not to mention going to Big B town, then Little B town, then D town the back to Little B town, before school let out!!

Why do I live out in the country again? 

Ummmm… not sure.

But, you know the positive side of living out here is it gets me out of things like cleaning my house, doing our laundry, cooking, mowing the lawn, taking walks… you know because I am always driving!

We do love it out here…& we have great neighbors & family close.  We carpool when we can.  :) 

So, don’t panic, we aren’t moving, at least not unless we move into that camper on the baseball field…

Pam

YOUR Gonna Miss This…Moment…73

Track meets started this week.

Both James & Zach are running on the same team.

(How convenient for me!)

My favorite photo so far…

James handing the baton to Zach…

Zach hasn’t really found his “event” yet, I think he might wish he was playing baseball (I TOLD HIM SO, but I can’t tell him that now can I!)

  

And James is loving is 110 sticks again this year, starting the season with a second place finish at 16.1, and the second meet was a 16.7 into the wind for a FIRST place! 

First match was 85 and sunny, second match had winds & wind chills in the 20’s.  2 Days apart. 

I am going to miss this…

Sending your oldest child to college

How to survive.

Oops.

Can’t write this post yet.

Haven’t done it yet.

Haven’t survived it yet.

But, we are in the process of surviving it.

We took a risk.

Visiting a private college.

Falling in love with a private college.

Letting James fall in love with a private college.

Now the financial aid packet has come in.

And we are weighing the financial cost.

James is applying for more scholarships.

Taking the ACT test in hopes of more scholarships.

And we are trying to decide what to do.

Even with all the grants available to us with our circumstances (the maximum amount given), he is short more than we wanted him to be.

I’ve had an extremely amazing peace & felt like God was really leading us in the direction of this school.

Now with the price tag in front of us.

I am questioning.

James is taking the ACTs (he hasn’t taken these before, the SATs 2 times before) on Saturday.

Pray for his score to be enough to get the scholarship that will make this a possible decision.

I can’t see how God is going to do all of this.

Stay tuned to see what happens.

And pray.

Pam

James & Grandpa’s trip to Mexico

James was a part of a group of senior kids from our church & their parents (and one grandpa) who went to Casa Vida y Esperanza or CVE in Mexico. 

James said when he got home “this was the best trip ever!”  He spent most of the week running razor wire on a new fence that was being put up around the ministry.

CVE hosts orphans in group home housing.  Here are James and my dad with some of the kids who live there…

Senior guys being cool…

 

How many guys does it take to pin Alex??  Looks like James is the one being pinned!

All The guys…

   

The whole group…

   

Pam