Old Door.

I've been working with our vacation photos from Mackinac Island a little bit this morning, and I came across this photo that I forgot I had snapped at one of the old fort buildings at Fort Michilimackinac. I love the details of the old door, as well as the history that it holds. This is actually the door on the old school house, where the children of soldiers as well as soldiers themselves would have been educated. What learning and sharing and growing went on behind this old door. I like the version where I cropped in....you can't see Kennedy's face, but her loving and protective arm around her little brother, and the look on his face, says it all to me.

How do you know that it's football season?

When this appears in the basket on your table where fresh-picked veggies once resided!

I've been the wife of a football coach long enough to know that when ears of corn are replaced by sweaty helmet ear pads, football season is right around the corner. This is our last week of summer before football season officially begins, and my house has been overtaken by football pads, playbooks, boxes of camp tee-shirts, and other random football equipment. Seriously, we all love high school football around here and are very excited for another season...especially because my husband is going to be back on the field as a head coach after taking two seasons off.

Other than that, just a little bit of work and cleaning and swimming and playing around here today on a Monday....the last Monday in July, can you believe it? We are gearing up for my daughter's sixth birthday on Thursday, so we are moving from pirates to unicorn/fantasy themes. Then, we can relax from the birthday festivities until my husband's in September. Have a sweet and simply Monday.

35 Things I Loved About Today.

1. Getting to sleep in a little bit (we played hookie from church today)

2. My kids waking me up by running into our room and shouting, "Mommy, wake up, it's time for your birthday!"

3. The hot cup of spicy, creamy Chai that my husband went to get me from Beaner's (and he got it right....non-fat, no-whip)

4. A sweet hand-drawn card from my daughter

5. A Snoopy card from my son....he wrote his signature "H" in it all by himself, with a little help from Daddy on the other letters

6. A double 40%-off coupon from Michaels in the paper (!)

7. A leisurely drive through the gorgeous West Michigan countryside

8. A trip to Hoffmaster State Park beach for the day

8. A yummy Subway club sandwich eaten picnic-style for lunch with my family

9. The warm sun on my bare skin

10. Splashing in the water at the Lake Michigan beach with my kids and husband

11. Building sandcastles

12. A gorgeous 80-degree day, the perfect beach weather

13. Tanned cheeks and shoulders for all of us

14. Watching my kids enjoy the lakeshore

15. Resting on my pink beach chair with my bare toes buried in the sand

16. Cold Frescas in the cooler

17, Stopping at Butch's Beach Burritos for a Mexican dinner before heading home

18. Driving through our old town, Spring Lake, and seeing our old church, stomping grounds, etc....always will feel a little bit like home.

19. Air-conditioning in the car

20. Stopping for a bite of chocolate on the way home

21. My sweet son falling sound asleep within minutes into the drive home...so tuckered out.

22. A Happy Birthday phone message from my little sister

23. A Happy Birthday phone call from my mom and dad

24. A Happy Birthday phone call from my other little sister

25. Welcome-home kisses from Ruby-Roo

26. A carrot Birthday Cake (my favorite) complete with the 3-5 candles

27. My husband's joke that we can save the candles for my 5-3 birthday.....believe me, he'll be there LONG before I will!

28. The sweet taste of cream cheese frosting

29. Blowing out the candles with help from my kids

30. A Happy Birthday hug and kiss from my husband

31. A new 10.3 megapixel camera from my husband.....Thanks, Honey. You're the very best.

32. A beautiful card from my huband with so many loving endearments.

33. My husband popping me a bag of popcorn to watch TV tonight.

34. Watching my son play pirate dress-up and enjoy some of the birthday gifts he received a few weeks back.

35. That turning 35 has been an awesome experience....so far! I did realize this week as I was filling out a restaurant survey that I now have to classify myself in the "35-44" age bracket as opposed to the "25-34".....sounds a bit too close to middle age for me!

Saturday Celebrations.

Today, we are enjoying the simple joy of being at home and around our little town, celebrating the things with which God blesses us. Things like:

Fresh veggies from our own garden....so delicious.


Enjoying a good book on the deck in the early evening coolness.
A little white pumpkin that appeared....making me think of fall, my very favorite season (though I in no way want to wish summer away).
Friends through whom God blesses you time and time again.....especially that they don't mind being a bit "goofy" once in a while!

Can you believe the size of this cucumber?

And little girls with increasingly toothless grins (both front teeth are loose, and she just lost two on the bottom)...is there anything better?

And participating in our small-hometown parade where we got to put smiles on lots of kids' faces with big handfuls of candy.
And little boys with popsicle-red mustaches!! Thanks, God, for the blessings that you so richly pour out on us.

Back to the Simple Things.

You know, there is something about death that causes us to return to the simple things. We have attended five funerals in less than two weeks, and quite frankly, we hope we don't have to attend another for a long, long, LONG time. Some of the funerals have been joyful celebrations of the life of someone who loved the Lord and the fruit of their life was clear proof. Others, to be honest, rang empty. It is amazing the stark difference of attending a funeral when the person was a known Christian vs. a funeral where the person wasn't committed to Christ. What became clearer to me in this successsion of funerals was this: In the end, all that matters is Christ and living His will. It doesn't matter what you do, how good you are at what you do, how many awards and accolades you have earned, how big your assets are......all that matters is Christ. God is teaching me, through all this pain, more what He meant in the words of Paul: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

So this week, I have been paying attention to and really savoring the simple things. Like the daisies from Mondays post. And taking a few days away from the computer. And spending extra time cuddling with my kids. And lunch with my husband. And laying on the floor for over an hour with puppy Ruby last night.....it is amazing how therapeutic dogs can be with their nose nudges and warm bellies and wet little kisses. And picking blueberries. And going to the beach. And watering my flowers. And smelling the just-rained air.

Today, I am headed out for a day-long scrapping outing. The Great American Scrapbook Convention is in town, so I'll start there and then on to Pages in Time for scrapping until midnight. Hopefully, the events of the last two weeks will enhance my reflectiveness and creativity as I focus on God's rich, rich blessings in my life. Also, I am gearing up for the big 3-5......yes, I turn 35 years old on Sunday, so I have been a bit nostalgic about that also. Happy, Happy Friday, and don't forget to enjoy--really SAVOR--the simple things today.

Daisies on a Monday.

There has been a lot of sadness and loss and death and mourning around us, some our own and some of those we care about. There is a lot of numbness and asking of the tough questions. This morning, as I was out watering the flowers in our front yard, the sight of the daisies in our flower garden just made me so happy. Broke through the sadness, if only for a few moments. The daisy is so beautiful in its simplicity. That little hue of purple around the center of these sun daisies....just brought to my mind that God is a God of details. A God who thinks of every last thing. And He will sustain. He hasn't forgotten us, nor has He turned from us. In fact, He promises that He is working all these things for our good...for the good of those who are mourning and hurting and have lost. The same God who Hand-crafted these daisies down to the very last minute detail has Hand-crafted a plan to stitch together all of these circumstances and tragedies for our good and for His glory. So today, on a Monday in July, I am thankful that God used these daisies to remind me of His power and His faithfulness and His immense, immeasureable love for us.

More Tragedy and Loss.

My husband's phone rang early in Chicago this morning. We were called home early from our vacation with some shocking tragic and unbelievable news. Two wonderful people--a coach and our athletic trainer--were personal friends, colleagues, and just really good people. And they are both dead after a murder-suicide. We are numb and cannot make sense of this. It seems more like an episode of CSI or a Lifetime movie, but this is real life. These are our friends, somebody's son and daughter, many students' teachers, and loved by many. So please keep our family, community, school and these families deep in prayer. So many questions that will go unanswered.

Greetings from Chicago!

We have enjoyed such an incredible time here in the Chicago suburbs so far. Last night, after getting settled into our hotel (a Holiday Inn with the most incredible comfortable beds and goose-down pillows we have ever had in a hotel!), we ate out at the Cheesecake Factory. My husband took a walk on the edge and agreed to order a dinner of various appetizers...spring rolls, lots of avocado-type dishes, calamari, sweet corn cake....I really enjoyed it, but let's just say he would have rather had a burger. Of course, we took a couple of pieces of cheesecake home for dessert....carrot cake cheesecake for me and Hayden, and cookie dough cheesecake for Kennedy and Matt....gotta love the real stuff, so yummy!

After a great night's sleep, we headed for the Brookfield Zoo, where we have a family membership. It is definitely one of our very favorite zoos. Some highlights from today's visit included:
The kids pretending they were little joeys in this cool kangaroo statue:

Watching the gorgeous giraffes, including a baby giraffe.
A ride on one of the country's only carved-wood carousels...look at that joy!
A little break for blue raspberry Icees and rainbow Dippin' Dots....cool and yummy.
OK, this is the first time we have ever witnessed an elephant pee and poop. Let's just say....totally amazing. This elephant peed enough to overflow a bathtub and that poop was larger than my four-year-old son. My husband was severely impressed.

We alway love the dolphin show!
Kennedy's pure love for all animals shows in this candid photo I caught of her watching the elephants.

Touching and interacting with several different types of stingrays.


A great day at the zoo capped off with another Chicago classic......a Giordano's pizza. We worked up an appetite with all the walking so really dug into this yummy pie. But, we still came home with almost half of the pie left.....scrumptious. Pizza, anyone? We are back at the hotel resting now and getting ready to head down to the pool for a swim. Tomorrow, we plan to sleep in, swim, have lunch at Mike Ditka's new restaurant, and leisurely head back to Michigan.

Off to the Windy City.

I'm getting the last load of laundry folded and we are planning to leave right around lunch time. Found a neighbor to puppy-sit Ruby, have some snacks packed, and made a few last-minute phone calls. We are hoping for just a few days of relaxation with the kids.....after a really emotional week, we just need a couple days to focus on each other as a family. My next post will probably be on Saturday, so enjoy the week!

Partied Out.

I had a little friends' party for Hayden today. Just the neighbor boys and a few other friends from church and preschool. WHEW. Of course, we did a pirate theme with a treasure hunt, sidewalk/driveway painting, duck pond, and cupcake decorating. The kids had lots of fun with the pirate theme and I AM TUCKERED OUT! Here are some highlight photos:




So, the four-year-old birthday celebration is officially over....and now I have 2 weeks until we start all over again with my daughter's birthday. I keep telling my husband that if we have another child, we need to shoot for a winter birthday, because summer around here is already birthday-ed out. In a matter of 5 weeks, we have Hayden's, mine, Kennedy's, my mom's, as well as a couple of our cousins. I love birthdays and love throwing parties, but I just wish they were more spread out sometimes.

Tonight will be all about cleaning up and packing, as we are leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning. Just a few days away with the kids, doing the zoo and some shopping and checking out a few scrapbook stores in the Windy City. While CHA is going on downtown Chicago, we will not be attending. After the emotion of the last week, we are ready for a little get-away.

Travel, Bears, Ferrys and Hello, Island Adventure.

Our last morning at the campground was spent getting packed up. For a final camp treat, I showed the kids how to make campfire doughnuts, something that I remember we used to make as kids when we went camping. Basically, this process consists of wrapping raw biscuit dough around a stick, roasting it until it's baked through, buttering the hot roll, and shaking it in a bag of sugar and cinnamon. YUM! The kids, however, were less interested in the taste of the doughnuts and more interested in the fact that the left-over dough made for some great make-shift playdough!





After a final photo taken at the state park sign, we were off on the next leg of our adventure. As we made our last trip past the Deer Park General Store, I noticed this cool old phone booth, so we had to stop and check it out. The kids couldn't fathom that booths like this one used to be on every street corner, and that people used these phones instead of cell phones. Kennedy thought it was so funny that you actually had to put quarters in the slot to make a call....IMAGINE! I felt a bit old, telling my kids about "How it used to be."

On our way to the campground, we had spied a sign for OSWALD'S BEAR RANCH.....our curiosity got the best of us, so we took a little pit stop. We got to view several bears, and the kids even got to pet and interact with a black bear cub. Doesn't that old guy just look like a 2007 version of Grizzly Adams? Yes, I am dating myself....I loved that show! This isn't exactly what we had in mind when we had hoped to see wildlife in the U.P., but I guess it was better than nothing.

After the Bear Ranch adventure, we were back on the road. We stopped for a nice lunch at another local dive in Newberry, then settled in for the trip back to St. Ignace where we would board the ferry for Mackinac Island. Hayden was just excited to ride the boat, as he was too young to remember what "Makna" Island was all about (in his words). Tomorrow, highlights of our time on the Island. Pray for more rain....the little bit that we have gotten is making our little garden grow like crazy.....fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, anyone?

Nighty-Night.

From sweet Ruby, the puppy who snubs the puppy pillow but instead has taken to our leather library chairs for her favorite napping spot. I'm loving that you can hardly tell where leather chair ends and puppy begins.

Rainy Saturday.

I was so happy to wake up to the lazy sound of rain on my window this morning. It has been SO incredibly dry around here....the grass is all brown and crispy, which does not make our barefoot-toes very happy. Hopefully, we can get some more rain in the next few days, to refresh the earth and ease our watering bill! It is nice to have a day to just hang out at home and get some things done. We enjoyed a nice time at the wedding of one of my husband's former players last night. Good long-time friends to catch up with. Young people in love. It is so nice to hang out with people who have known you for a long,long time and who have had important roles in your life....like my second grade teacher, high school softball coach, choir director, and church youth leader....people who know you best and love you anyway! Congratulations, Andy and Jenae. We wish you only God's best as you begin this incredible adventure. So today, we are just watching movies and being together and cleaning up a bit. I am getting ready to head downstairs to do some scrapping and make a few cards. Still reeling from the loss of these two teens....in everything that I do, I find myself thinking things like "I shouldn't be enjoying this breakfast.....Those parents lost their child and probably can't even bring themselves to eat.....I shouldn't be laughing and joyful right now....so many are grieving." And we are too. Even driving close to the site of the accident is painful. We will have the visitation tomorrow and the funerals on Monday. Please pray for these families not only this weekend but in the coming days as they try to resemble some sense of life without their little girls. Unimagineable.

I will resume the vacation highlights on Monday. We are readying to leave for a few days in Chicago, so more great photos are hopefully on the way! Enjoy your Saturday.

Perspective.

One thing I am coming to know about the human experience here in this world.....things are so unpredictable. Truly, hear me out. The ONLY thing that we can count on being 100% infallible and stable in this world is Jesus Christ. THE ONLY THING. People fail us, even those who are the most committed and trustworthy by human standards. Accidents happen when we least expect them. Tragedy strikes, leaving us asking why.

In our little town last night, two young teenage girls were killed in a car accident. They had just left a softball game, had grabbed dinner, and were driving less than 2 miles from their homes. Tney ran a red light, and were struck full-speed by a truck driven by two teenage football players from my husband's team. One girl was killed instantly. One girl--our principal's daughter-- was life-flighted to the hospital where she died earlier this morning. Two young boys, forever now living with the realization that they drove the truck that killed these two girls. Nobody at fault, really. Nor does it matter who was at fault, in the grand scheme of things. Four grieving families. A grieving school and community. Our friend, a grieving father who just yesterday was living typical life with his two young just-teenage daughters, now grieving the loss of one of his girls. I can't even imagine.

As you can imagine, it has been pretty somber around here today. Lots of just thinking and pondering and praying and pleading with God. And hugging our kiddos very tightly. And taking the extra time to hug and kiss and say "I love you" and share lunch together and just BE TOGETHER. This father did not know that when his daughter got in that car with her friend, he would never talk to her again this side of heaven. He did not know that his world would change so tragically in one brief instant. And such is the nature of human tragedy.

Trying to make sense of this, I am brought back to the one truth that we can hold on to in this tragedy. Jesus is the ONLY ROCK. THE ONLY HOPE. THE ONLY SURE THING. We can drift so far from this truth, become complacent...assume that life will always be like this, that my family will always be here, that nothing will change.......but tragedy like this has a way of bringing us back to our One True North, and that is Christ. Not one of us is immune.

Take the extra time today to hug your kids. To say "I love you" as many times as the opportunity presents itself. To do that kind gesture. To make that call. To reach out. To notice the simple blessing that God surrounds us with. To be thankful that you have one more moment. For truly, that may be all we have. I'm praying that I can live with more awareness of this truth each and every day.

Go Fly a Kite.

That's exactly what we did today. It was such a mild, sunny and windy day, just perfect for getting the kites out and heading to the open field to fly them. Hayden received a very cool, very large3-dimensional pirate ship kite for his birthday on Saturday, so he was very excited to try it out. Kiteflying has some family sentiment involved; every Easter when he was growing up, Matt and his siblings would received a kite on Easter morning, and they would spend Easter flying them together. This is a very special family tradition that we want to pass on, so we got both of our kids a kite this past Easter, also. Today was perfect kite-flying weather, and both kids (with Daddy's help) were able to get and keep their kites up. Thanks, Uncle Dan and Aunt Kendra, for a very sweet birthday gift.....we really enjoyed it today, and the delight in Hayden's eyes as he flew his kite was so fun to watch.

And, on the topic of kites coincidentally, I am reading a best-selling novel entitled "The Kite Runner" which is all about life and political upheaval and persecution in Afghanistan. This book comes highly reviewed and recommended, along with the second novel by this author, "A Thousand Splendid Suns." So far, the writing is vivid and colorful and gripping, and I am enjoying doing some reading for pleasure that is not psychology-related.