Durango Palmers: 2012

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Letter and decisions

I have just completed our year in review for those of you who are visiting our blog in response to our Christmas letter. Click on the 2012 in review tab to read all about us this past year. This saved us from sending out letters to everyone and allowing those of you who wanted to know what's going on the ability to read the scoop!

I apologize for my lack of posts. That is something I'd like to change in the upcoming weeks. I realize that much of my family knows what's going on in our lives because of this blog and I have neglected it. I've got to make some decisions about the picture thing. I think lots of posts without pictures aren't lots of fun and I sure want to make this fun! I think I need to delete my first year of blogs (I had them printed into books - something I need to do with the last 3 years still...) and maybe that will open up space. But in order to do that I need to have time. Not something I have a lot of at the moment. It's on my to-do list though!

If you are on Instagram I do post pictures there. My username is jmpalmer. That's been a fun and easy way to post random pictures. I also post many of those to facebook as well.

So please don't give up on me. This blogging thing is far too valuable for me to give up on. It's just been a season of figuring stuff out for me. Thanks for your patience and for sticking it out. It will change!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

A bit more politics and then I'm done - I promise

From my facebook post yesterday:
-- Jesus' platform was freedom wrapped in humility, service and love. Unfortunately our system is dominated by pride and selfishness. Not everyone mind you, but it is dominated by that attitude. Until we humble ourselves and submit to the One, I fear we will continue on our current path no matter who is president. --

I've been thinking a lot about how our world tries to meet physical needs. We have countless programs in our country helping all different kinds of people in all different kinds of situations. And I'm thankful for that. We need the help! But I'm also reminded that meeting someone's physical needs provides a temporary fix. Introducing them to the One who can meet all their spiritual needs can change their eternity as well as their future and the futures of others around them. It's has an even greater effect on the world.

Yesterday I attended a VOA (Volunteers of America) luncheon. It was a great time to hear how they are helping people in our community with a safe place to live (they run the community shelter as well as the women's safe house), food, education, job help, clothing and more. What a blessing it is to have that available in our community. They had a couple people share unbelievable testimonies of how the VOA has changed their lives. It was wonderful to be a part of. One woman shared how she had been abused for 20 years by her husband. She finally had the courage to leave, divorce him, and move into a house away from him. She had a male roommate who helped her pay bills. He raped her and as a result she is pregnant. This woman has a 20 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. She decided to keep the baby and views them as a gift from God. What courage this woman displays! She found the safe house and has been helped to get her life together. She is even considering going back to school. I was blown away by her testimony. A man also spoke about his struggle with an alcohol addiction and feeling helpless to change. He and his pregnant girlfriend found the shelter and have found jobs and stability and he proposed right there at the luncheon! So sweet!

I was also reminded, though, that the church should have a bigger part (or even the biggest!) in helping people in need. I'm not saying we start our own shelter, there's no need to reinvent something that is being done well, but we, as the church, can volunteer with the VOA or other organizations and not only help to meet people's needs but we can bring the love of Christ to brokenness. It's our purpose. To be the hands and feet of Christ. Veterans, abused women and children, homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, families who are one paycheck from living on the streets, folks who are struggling to find work, single moms, single dads...the list can go on and on.

I think the church is being called to the carpet. For too long we have relied on the government to meet the needs of these people (and us!). We have given up our responsibility to share ourselves, our time, our resources, our Christ. And because of that our country relies fully on our government to meet our needs. And because of that our country is divided on how that should be done. We need to take responsibility for our inaction and we need to change. The moral decline in our country isn't due to more bad things happening, I think it has a lot to do with Christians who are either silent or have spoken loudly out of judgement and condemnation. I still love Christians! I just think the enemy has us focused on "issues" instead of on showing the love of Christ. Many of us get caught up on our "cause" rather than living out our purpose. And our purpose is to love God and love others. If we keep it simple it will be simple!

Change in our country starts with each of us. Giving of our time, our talents, our resources and most importantly our faith. Something to consider.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Election thoughts - Cause you know I have 'em!

I've been silent this year when it's come to politics. Especially compared to the last election! Mainly because I haven't been blogging much but also because I've seen mean and hurtful comments coming from both sides of the aisle and it turned me so off to posting anything (although I refuse to be mean and hurtful). But today, the day after this big election that has inundated our lives, our TVs, our radios and newspapers for over a year, I have a thought to share.

I am a Republican. No secret there. I vote Republican, not because I dislike Democrats, but because I agree with much of what Republicans stand for. Notice I said much - not all. There are also many things that I like and respect about the Democratic platform (just more that I disagree with in the end). And as an American I am proud to be able to vote and will exercise that right for as long as I have it.

That being said, I was disappointed in the outcome of yet another election. Obama isn't a horrible person but I don't trust him, nor do I like his politics. But it was even more than just "my guy didn't win". I felt like it was okay but not...Hard to explain I know. Today a friend suggested something to me that made so much sense in my spirit. It was like I needed the words for my thoughts and there they were.

I think if Romney had won the election, Republican Christians may have thought "Okay good. The right guy won. We don't have to worry anymore." (And many Democrat Christians may be right now thinking the exact same thing) And just like that we would have trusted and put our hope of our future into the hands of a man rather than God. Something a man does not ever deserve. Even a good one.

As Christians, no matter who you voted for, we are called to turn to God, not politics or government, to solve our problems. Our government can sometimes provide temporary solutions but nothing they do - no matter Republican or Democrat - will give us eternal solutions. They are incapable of bringing about lasting change in the hearts of Americans. They are incapable of solving our lust for power or money. They are incapable of repairing the damage done to families and communities because of sin. They are incapable of taking care of the sick in spirit. They are incapable of turning this nation towards God in 4 short years (or 8!).

Those responsibilities are up to God and therefore up to His followers. We are responsible to be the hands and feet of THE God who is very capable of changing the hearts of Americans and the world! He is more than capable to heal our lust for power and money. He is more than capable of repairing damage done to families and communities because of sin. He is the prescription for sin. The only One who can heal us and turn our hearts towards Him. And we, as Christians, are called to submit to authority, to love God and love others, to repent and remember that God is who we put our hope and trust in and not a government.

I certainly am not saying don't care about politics and give up. Not at all. But what I am saying is that the president has been elected. No matter how you feel about it it's done. Now lets get to our purpose of loving God and loving people!

I think we have an opportunity to remember to be in prayer for our country and our world. I think we have an opportunity to stop relying on our government for answers and begin to look to ourselves as the hands and feet of Christ and see REAL hope and change. For eternity!

Monday, October 29, 2012

2 in a Week?!

2 times in one week? Watch out. I may be back....nah. I just can't commit fully yet :)

I figured I'd update a few more things. I forgot to mention in the last post that my children are phenomenal at swallowing vitamins now, which really opens up a whole new world of medication and allergy meds (no more grape flavored chewable or drinkable expensive gunk!). They can be super slow in swallowing the hand-full of vitamins they are currently taking BUT they get swallowed eventually. I consider that a win.

We are chugging along in school. Both kids are doing better and better. There is less fighting me than before. I also consider that a win. There is still fighting, to be sure, just less of it. I changed math curriculum to something called Making Math Meaningful. It helps them to not only understand math equations but also math concepts (something I'm getting a ton out of myself!). I think it'll be good in the long run even though they are having to get used to doing a bit more work. Kale has moved on from studying just the U.S. to now studying different countries. He and I are currently playing a geography game of North America. Seriously I've never known more geography in my life. Sad! Kate is steadily reading more and more and doing amazingly well. So proud of her!

On that note, her eyes have improved since starting therapy and we had them rechecked by the eye doctor. He approved of her going from the bifocals back to just one lens. We were super excited to see serious progress and we put the new lenses in right away. Unfortunately she couldn't focus up close on her schoolwork and it frustrated her (and me) so we had to change back to her bifocals. Bummer. But we'll keep on trying!

Mark and I went to Branson, MO. at the beginning of October for a pastor's conference. It was the first time in a long time that we've been away from our kids. I loved it. I was so desperate for a break and it turned out to be such a nice time. We went with our associate pastors, the Quisenberrys, and had a great time getting to know them better as well. The kids shared their time away with us with both sets of grandparents. It was so nice to be able to leave them with family.

On that note, Mark is doing an amazing job as lead pastor. Honestly I couldn't be more proud of him. He works hard, loves people, seeks God and has just blown my mind on his capacity to minister! He's also going to school and working hard reading textbooks and writing papers. On top of that he has dealt with our issues with Kate as well as my struggles. He's been a rock and a help and support and I'm super blessed to be married to this man. I don't normally gush but just when I start thinking about all he's had to do and deal with in the last few months, I'm blown away at how God has faithfully used him. So awesome.

Two weeks ago I helped lead my first women's retreat as lead pastor's wife. Overall it was a huge success thanks to the amazing ladies who helped put it all together. So much of the original planning was done when my mind couldn't focus. It was so strange to me to not be able to concentrate and make decisions. Normally I know just what I want to do ;). But I struggled with reading the curriculum we were using and putting it all together. The ladies on my team stepped up and took over much to my great delight. My mind has been coming back and was much better at the time of the retreat. Honestly the few glitches we had were in areas I was in charge of. We had 55 women come (way more than I thought would come) and my overall goal to have women get to know each other and just have fun together was reached. It was thrilling. There was even a ropes course there and we had a blast going down the zip line and trying out different elements on the high ropes course. I told people that God just filled in all our cracks and the retreat was successful!

Wow. I don't think I even shared about our trip to Breckenridge over Labor Day weekend. Sadly I need to get going so I'll have to save that for another post. That just means there's another one coming!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Avoidance

Haha! I accidentally published this and then had to go back to edit it. Talk about avoidance!

I've felt myself avoiding blogging lately (okay for almost 2 months!). That's the longest stretch I've ever gone not blogging. So crazy. I think it's because so much is going on that I'm not sure how to capture it all. How to explain any of it. How to convey feelings, emotions, opinions and facts all at the same time.

But I decided to put on my big girl undies and just jump in and see what happens. There will be lots missing but I'm hoping to at least start back on the wagon cause truthfully I miss being on the wagon...I love reading blogs and seeing how other folks are doing. I know I have a few people who are wondering if I dropped off the planet. :)

So. First thing is an update on Kate. We've been changing our diet over the past 2 months and it's going well. We've started to hit a groove and have a better understanding of what we're doing (or I have a better understanding of how to cook!). The kids are still convinced that we are fasting sugar - which is partially true - they just don't know that the sugar fast is gonna be indefinite with treats here and there. I'll let them live in their happy place a little bit longer.

Their tastes have seemed to change a bit. We had grilled chicken salad the other night and they actually all liked and ate it and said yum. Seriously a miracle! We still have hits and misses in our discovering how to eat better but like I said, we're finding a groove.

Kate has been doing really, really well. I have no doubt that the diet as well as the therapy have had an effect. She will still have an occasional meltdown but the rages have been less and they are far between and shorter lasting. Nothing like what we were experiencing 2 short months ago! Praise God for all progress!

Part of our progress was with me as well. I had been seeing several different doctors in August trying to figure out why I was so exhausted, irritable, hormonal, irregular, forgetful (not able to concentrate on anything for any amount of time) etc... After a few tests (to see if my vitamins were low or my hormones were off) my doctor determined that I was dealing with the physical effects of stress. She asked if there was anything in my life that was stressful and in between my laughter I cried. :) I shared with her my struggles with Kate and she was so sweet and listened and said that that was it.

I've been dealing with stress (not just Kate, although that was heightened stress) for a couple years (don't all moms of littles go through that though?) with work, relationships, children, job changes etc...I thought I was handling it fine. Apparently I was wrong. My buffer of happiness was depleted. I could go from fine to not fine waaaaaay faster than before. Before, I could handle a bit of chaos and not blink an eye - or maybe my eye would just twitch a little. But in the past few months chaos was causing me to lose my mind, blink, twitch and roll my eyes, as well as send me into tears way faster than I ever had in the past. I was just not handling my stress anymore. My reservoir was depleted and I didn't know how to build it back up.

So my Dr talked to me about a mild anti-depressant. She was concerned that I may be anti-medication (which I'm not...I understand the need occasionally for help from medication). I decided to try it for a couple months to see if it would give me the extra boost I needed to refill my tank to better be able to handle the stress that is inevitable. Wow that was a crazy sentence...

Anyway, I've been on a 1/2 dose of an anti-depressant for about 5 weeks now and I really think it's helping. I feel more like myself again. Like I can make decisions, deal with meltdowns, not feel like I'm in a fog during the day even though I go to bed early. More normal (whatever that means).

I'm hoping to go off of it in the next couple months. My hope is that my tank will be refilled and I can continue to refill it on my own. I really think it's made a huge difference in how I deal with Kate and even with the boys. I'm thankful to have a Dr that didn't give up to find out what the deal was!

Alright, my time is up. See? I didn't even hardly get started! Oh well. One step at a time. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

My Hope

This is the end of week one. We have survived. A little bruised and battered but we made it.

Overall we have had little tiny improvements. Not enough for me, but really when looking back, at least it's progress. And by improvement I mean maybe the fits last 10-20 minutes instead of an hour. You may think that's huge and I would understand. Unfortunately the amount of rages hasn't changed and not all rages have only lasted 10-20 minutes. That's only happened since yesterday. The rest of the week has been a roller coaster ride.

It's included tears (from all of us), being late to church, me getting locked out of my house (thankfully I had already put my keys in the car which made Kate mad), fighting over seat belts, menu changes, and lots and lots of prayer.

Which I want to tell you is my hope. Not the diet. Not the therapist. Jesus. He really is the One I am clinging too. And He has blessed me! Blessed me with scripture, with prayer from others, kind friends and family calling or texting to check in, church members who are interceding for us, advice from good friends who care, offers of babysitting so I can get stuff done, flowers from staff members to just make me smile, help to accomplish stuff I just can't get my brain to focus on for any length of time, encouragement from so many...Jesus has shown me His love and care through so many people and I just sit back in awe and wonder.

All these people have their own lives. Their own issues. Their own struggles. And yet they care. I am so thankful. For all of it! I don't deserve it. Any of it. But I know that it's what I need right now. So I resist fighting it :)

Friday is our next appointment with the therapist. We are all looking forward to it and seeing more progress. Kate even gave me a woohoo when I told her we were going again. That's good!

I spent a ton of time this week at the grocery store (trying to fill our fridge with non-processed food), googling many foods I'd never heard of, planning menus of things I hoped the kids would at least try, hearing from them "how long are we doing this?" 235 times, having success with some recipes and epic failure with others (like whole wheat waffles that the kids all tried one bite and burst into tears and said they tasted like I put hand sanitizer in them and then promptly threw them in the trash...and went to bed hungry), making lots of make-ahead smoothies for breakfast to put their vitamins in that they can't/won't swallow. I know it will get better but for now I'm a food preparing machine! Boy do processed foods cut down on prep work....At least till I figure out how to prep a lot of stuff at once and then use my crockpot! Baby steps here.

This week we also started to attack the yeast overgrowth in our diet. Last week we added good bacteria to our guts. We will keep doing that while we attack the other. Upon reading more about the symptoms of yeast overgrowth I was blown away by how many symptoms all of my kids (and Mark and I) have.

Things like:

General Symptoms
Fatigue and a sense of being "ill" and "drained" are the dominant symptoms. These are often accompanied by irritability, difficulty in concentration, slow mentation, in coordination, and vague feelings of being "spaced-out." Excessive lethargy may lead to a sense of drowsiness.

Musculoskeletal Symptoms
Vague muscle aches, muscular weakness, pain with or without swelling in multiple joints, and tightness in chest wall.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Abdominal cramps, bloating, excessive belching, abdominal distention, constipation with bouts of diarrhea, excessive mucus in stool and rectal itching.

Ear, Nose, and Eye Symptoms
Sore throat or scratchiness in throat, dry mouth, white coating on tongue and in other areas of mouth (thrush), bad breath, nasal itching, congestion and drip, recurrent sore throats, recurrent episodes of cough or bronchitis, recurrent infections or fluid in the ears, itchiness, burning or tears in eyes, and difficulty with hearing.

We don't have all of these symptoms, nor do I think this one thing will solve everything, but it gives me hope that I'm on the right track.

So next week's update will also include 2 more sessions with the therapist as well as another week of diet changes. Hopefully they'll get better and better!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Therapy

Today I am blogging for therapy. And to keep a record. And to possibly help someone else. Maybe.

I don't have pictures. I haven't gone and deleted old posts in order to create more space. Sorry. If you like pictures I'm okay with you checking out now. Like I said, this is my therapy.

A quick update on our life first. Mark is in school. Very busy in school. We are learning how to do life with school. My brother got married last weekend in Denver. Gorgeous wedding! We went camping after my birthday. Kids finished their school year and have 3 weeks off before we start again which gives me time to clean and reorganize and prepare for the next year of adventures! I preached at church 2 Sundays ago. Loved it. Probably won't do it often. I just don't have the time to prepare. But it was a great experience. Sorry for the short sentences. That's kinda how my brain is functioning today :)

The reason I'm therapy blogging is because the last 4 weeks have been difficult. I wrote a while ago about living with SPD (sensory processing disorder) and haven't said much since. Truthfully it was because we'd just learned how to deal with the occasional outbursts. Kate had figured out to cope or avoid many episodes. We were smooth sailing so to speak.

--insert my emotional disclaimer --

I never want to embarrass my daughter or ever share that she is a problem. She is an amazing, beautiful child of God that I adore and treasure! She is kind and compassionate. Shares with, and takes care of, her brothers. Loves to snuggle. Is a great learner. Has a beautiful, shy smile. Loves to laugh and sing and dance. She is a wonderful joy. I look at the SPD that she deals with as not her because it isn't her. I get to experience the normal Kate and I get to experience Kate dealing with SPD (which she describes as a bully). She hates her "buggyness" (that's what she calls it). She's embarrassed by it. So again, I never want to embarrass her. I'd like to share some of our journey with it though.

--end, for now, of my emotional disclaimer --

The past four weeks have been difficult for her (and as a result, difficult for the rest of us). She has had meltdowns every single day. Today is the first day that I can recall with no meltdown thus far (Praise the Lord!!) We used to know (for the most part) some of her triggers. Extreme tiredness. Hunger. Over scheduling. So we did many things to be proactive to prevent them. But something changed. We haven't figured out what, but something did. Now she will meltdown over anything, even if she's eaten and slept well.

Not only has the frequency increased but so has the intensity. It used to be that we could send her to her room until she calmed down, then she could come back out. And she would do it! She'd go to her room, do her thing (whatever it was) and come back out much better.

Now she refuses to go to her room (so I resort to putting her there, unsuccessfully, myself). Often times there is kicking and hitting and scratching and screaming. And sometimes throwing of whatever is near her. I am usually, but not always, the target. Man it's hard to watch. It's gotten to the point where it's difficult to leave our house and it's difficult to vacation or camp. Not good.

When she's done (could be an hour that this goes on) she weeps pitifully and says she's sorry. Breaks my heart. I believe she truly is sorry. She asks for forgiveness. She wants snuggles and to be loved and comforted.

During her meltdowns, Jack and Kale assume their defensive positions. Usually sitting quietly on a couch watching wide eyed or they go to their room to play with their door shut. They have learned that if they get involved she can turn on them. Again, when she's done she's very apologetic with them as well.

Yesterday the poo hit the fan (yup, I totally censored by own blog). I think I'd just come to the end of my rope. I'm not sure why but I did. I called Mark crying and he came home early. I called the pediatrician for help and was disappointed with their answers. They referred me to more therapists. I appreciate that but what I wanted help for was how to deal right in the middle of the poo! How do I protect her? Me? The boys? No one had any great answers. I felt helpless. Not hopeless, but very much helpless.

I've come to a place where this just isn't going to fly anymore. I've been praying for answers. For wisdom specifically. I have always said we'll just go down every road until we find answers. No matter what. My little girl's peace is dependent on it!

A dear friend told me about a woman who does accutherapy. She works in a small town an hour outside Colorado Springs. We saw her on Monday on our way back from the wedding and she gave me hope. She worked on Kate's ability to cross over from her right to left brain. I saw progress in just one 2 hour session. This woman works on creating new pathways in the brain (could even help Kate with her lazy eye!). She has worked with stroke victims, folks who are depressed and/or suicidal, autistic kids, kids who have major anger issues, sensory kids...and has seen miraculous stuff happen. Needless to say, we all had more hope (including Kate).

We also were given a CD to listen to by Dianne Craft called The Biology of Behavior. She has done a lot of research and has helped a lot of kids through nutrition. Mark and I listened to it on the way home from our time with the accutherapist and again had hope. I had been scared and reluctant to do a major diet change out of fear. We already have battles with our kids over food. I couldn't imagine changing everything! But she presented a plan in a doable way. She talks about changing the chemistry of your gut. It's a 3 month program but you only add or subtract something once a week. So it's not nearly as overwhelming as I had imagined. We started the program yesterday {I spent over an hour on Tuesday night, the day after we got back, at the health food store finding the vitamins and supplements we needed}. She said to expect some changes within the first week.

Another dear friend who has a daughter that battles the same things as Kate has been on this program and has seen remarkable changes in her daughter. In fact when her daughter has refined sugar their whole world changes again! So we will modify what we eat and when we eat it. Cut out most, if not all, refined sugar. But I've been pouring over Pinterest (sorry if you follow me and have been annoyed at all my pins!) for healthy, fun, yummy recipes to try and get my kids motivated to eat better. Some have worked and some haven't. I've also cut gluten, although not all. Breakfast and lunch do not include gluten and only in small amounts at dinner. We will see if that becomes necessary to cut out all of it. I did not cut dairy but that's an option if this other stuff doesn't seem to make big differences.

Mark and I are joining them. We both could use an overhaul of our own diets. I'm excited to experience a difference. (and maybe lose a few pounds?) But that's not the overall point. Health is what I desire. Energy. Mental focus. This can help with all of that. Now we just have to teach the kids how to swallow pills! :)

Today was a good day. I'm happy with that. Learning over and over God's grace for the moment. I will try and keep you posted on the progress over the next 3 months. I'm praying for healing for Kate as well as the rest of us (we all have issues don'tyaknow!).

Monday, August 6, 2012

Amazing

I'm having trouble uploading pictures because Google said that I have reached my limit of free storage. Crazy! I'm not sure how to even fix that other than paying for a monthly storage fee...sure makes blogging hard...and more boring for everyone....

Here I was all set to upload pictures from our recent camping trip and fill you in on birthday stuff (mine), church stuff, and kids stuff. Hmmmm.

I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll be able to share all those goodies soon. Just wanted to fill you in.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Embrace the Grace

I'm back. Don't get too excited...I'm not sure how long the next gap will be.

I've been busy learning some life lessons. Like how to embrace the grace. Ya see, I've been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with just the busyness of life. Something I mention often when I blog. But it got to me. My mind was overloaded trying to sort through the next couple weeks, the next couple months. Too much was in there that I was trying to juggle and I wasn't doing such a great job with it all.

So God is using it to teach me lessons. Doesn't He always? If we let Him?

I am learning that His grace is sufficient for today. His grace no longer exists in the past so don't dwell there. It is not in the future so don't dwell there either. Yes, we can plan. But if we are constantly thinking about ways it's all gonna work together or how we're going to survive it, it brings us down. Or it brings me down. My future life doesn't look to be slowing down till....January. But that isn't the whole truth. It's how it looks in my head but God knows better than me about all of it.

I need to trust Him. Embrace the grace for today. Live in the now. Not worry about the future. His grace will be there when I get there. I cannot dwell in a place where there is no grace. (BTW I spoke on this very thing at our last women's breakfast this past Saturday hence all the rhyming)

So, in light of the fact that I am, in fact, embracing the grace, I won't beat myself up that I haven't shared since the 2nd of July. And that I missed sharing stories about the 4th of July parade,

Kale getting 3 stitches after cutting his head on a ceiling fan that hung over a bunkbed he was climbing on (no he is not 9ft tall...),

Kate learning how to put rubberbands in her hair all by herself. I think this is the record so far. 7!

The kids and I playing at the Children's Museum while Mishka got groomed for the first time since we've had him. This blowing machine was their favorite by far!

I won't dwell on the fact that I haven't shared all the stories I'd like to. Instead I'm taking this extra moment that I have while Mark is in CA at school for a week (he's starting a 2 yr Master's program) to embrace God's grace for me today, blog for a few minutes and share yet another thing I found on Pinterest (oh goodness help me!) [And Kristin, I have actually made and done many things on Pinterest -- thanks for inspiring me to join :)]

Monday, July 2, 2012

Phone Dump Catch Up (warning...super long!)

I was scared to actually come over to the computer and start this post. I was afraid to see how long it had been since my last post. Once upon a time I was a faithful blogger. And then....the life that I'd been blogging about got super crazy!! And I've struggled ever since to get back on the wagon. I don't know why. I guess reading and napping have taken priority in the afternoons.

I'll try to share what we've been doing the past few weeks.

The day we got back from my sister's wedding was the first day of our church's Sports Camp. It's kind of like VBS. It was 5 nights from 5-8. Both Kale and Kate did it this year. Kale did soccer and Kate did cheerleading. Here she is doing a cheer for us (she's the 4th little cheerleader from the left).

Also during Sports Camp week Kale had his last few baseball games. I don't have any pictures of his games but I did take one of the other 2 kids playing on a giant pile of wood chips (way more fun than watching big brother).

Kale did well in baseball but truth be told, we were all kinda glad to see the season end. It was fun but it was time-consuming and hot! He seems to like baseball okay but he doesn't LOVE it. We'll see what he decides next year.

This is a picture of m grumpy boys at dinner one night in Bayfield. Mark wanted in on the action...

Father's Day happened. Apparently the coffee theme stayed strong. We got Mark a french press coffee maker for his office. Yummy coffee during his work day!

Jack gave himself a faux- hawk. Love his grin!

Last Monday and Tuesday I spent at the hospital with my good friend Jinny (you may remember her from the wedding I posted about last year). She delivered this adorable little man Nathanial James. I was honored to be in the delivery room and help coach her. It was an amazing experience. Outside of giving birth it was one of the most difficult things I've done. But it was incredible to be on the other side of delivery! Now I have a special little connection with this little guy.

After watching the delivery I found this on Pinterest and laughed...I can so relate!

On Wednesday, after not a lot of sleep due to the hospital visit, I had the privilege (ahem) of taking my kids to Walmart to buy groceries for our camping trip. I was sleep-deprived and doing my best to not be the cranky mom and took them to Durango Joe's for coffee and smoothies. When we got into the store, Jack walked right up to their water bottle display and promptly put a water bottle into his mouth and started sucking on it! (what in the world?! I thought he was over that stage...) Needless to say we bought a new water bottle because I couldn't stand the thought of putting it back and having another poor soul buy a water bottle with my kids germs on it. After we walked out of the store a nice older gentleman came over to me and told me that he was impressed with my actions. He said he knew I didn't have to buy it but was glad I did. Made me feel nice to have someone thank me. Not that I needed it but it made the experience better.

And another card on Pinterest to cap off my day...Oh how I feel like this sometimes....

Found this huge, ugly thing on my back deck the other day. Promptly sent a picture of it to my spider fearing husband for fun.

Thursday we went camping with 2 families from our small group (they were the only ones who could go).

This cutie is Asher, the youngest camper. He did amazing!

Just off from our awesome campsite.

Looking down on the "kitchen" and "dining room"

From the kitchen up to our camper.

Boys learning how to shoot a BB gun properly. Gun etiquette :) This picture shows what not to do!

Hiking

Kate, Kale and Josh pausing for the camera while "hunting" chipmunks.

Camping was a blast and we definitely want to go again this summer. It was so nice to be outside in cooler weather and actually away from the smoke. Kate melted down a couple of times due to lack of sleep but overall they did great. We brought home buckets of dirt stuck to our bodies and clothes. Clean up was fun!

Speaking of smoke. We've had numerous fires burning around us for a while now. Four fairly big ones within 30 miles of us. Thankfully they are all much better and on their way to being out. Lack of rain and really hot temps have made this June quite miserable. I'm hoping we're getting into the monsoon season now and that that will help. Smoky skies and ash falling aren't fun for anyone!

This past Sunday was church in the park. Mark's first one. He did amazing. I really am so proud of him (I gotta brag on him in another post). Here are my tree climbers after the service.

I laughed when I read this. I am so that person who asks for a straw for my water at restaurants because I hate it when the ice attacks my face...

I gave the boys buzz cuts this morning. I couldn't stand the sweat sticky hair any longer.

Also, at my sister's wedding I got gel nails put on. I've never done that before and I have to say that after 3 weeks they still look alright. Here's my recent picture. You can tell they've grown out but compared to what they would look like after 3 days of me painting them they are incredible! I may just have to treat myself every once in a while to nice nails.

Found a recipe for iced coffee with my Keurig. Tried it this afternoon before I started blogging. Delicious! Not sure why I posted this other than it was on my phone. Aren't you happy you've seen this now?

As I finish this up I smell rain (Praise the Lord!!). Boy can we use it! Helps to cool off my greenhouse house in the afternoons. It's been 95* in here lately. Mark is on his way to Lake City, CO with some friends of ours to meet some people from a church in Texas. Make some connections. Learn some stuff. Have a mini-retreat. This was a last minute decision but one we felt he needed to experience. The kids and I could've gone but it was just too much. We needed some down time to clean, do school and relax. At least try to :)

I'll post more later about Mark and I. Hopefully for those of you who read this to know what's going on in my life this helps catch you up a bit.

Friday, June 15, 2012

6.9.12

6.9.12 was the day of my little sister, Kelly's, wedding. It was a wonderful day! In fact the whole trip was fun. We certainly worked our tails off though. Kelly is a Martha Stewart. She pretty much planned and made everything for her wedding. Which means the bridemaids help execute the plans the days before. She did an amazing job! Most everything she prefaced with "if you followed me on Pinterest you would see what I'm talking about...". :)

We drove up to Denver on Wednesday night and got to hang out with Mark's side of the family for a bit. Had a great time with our niece and nephew and of course their parents! None of the pictures I took from there turned out though. Poo! All too blurry.

Wednesday night we went to my folks' house and slept in my sister, Meghan's, camper trailer in the front driveway of their house. It was a nice little "hotel" for us to stay in. The price was certainly right! That night there were tornado sirens and a warning until after midnight. It was constant thunder and lightning until the wee hours. Not the best night's sleep ever. Although the kids slept through it thankfully.

Thursday morning I headed over to Meghan's house to help make frosting and decorate the 250 cupcakes they had made the day before. She had a friend helping as well as my other sisters. We were machines!

Aren't they pretty though?

Mark did a lot of parenting this weekend and took the kids to the Denver Aquarium and Red Robin for lunch and took care of them while I was bridesmaiding...

I helped Kelly also decorate her wedding cake (she made her own 2 tiered cake and the rest of the guests had cupcakes).

The inside of the top tier.

I learned how to roll fondant and color it.

I hung out with my little niece Lilah. She was giving me the lips when I took this. Cracked me up..her little sweet sass.

Kelly and her friend Sara - the cupcake master.

Then the bridesmaids hung out doing centerpieces. They were bouquets of cupcakes. The original design wasn't quite as functional as we had hoped so we spent time that night redoing them and making them a bit sturdier. They turned out really nice.

Kelly and Katie

Also spent time arranging tables...Kelly, Meghan and my mom.

Friday morning we worked as florists and made all the bouquets and boutineers and corsages. I learned a lot this weekend!

My aunt Holly, Meghan and family friend, Bonnie

We got mani/pedis after working on the flowers. We had a blast!

My future sis-in-law Sara, Kelly and my mom.

Sisters Katie and Meghan

We finished up the mani/pedis and decorated the church. Then had the rehearsal and the dinner. BBQ in my parents backyard. It was beautiful!

Saturday morning we went to the Rec Center in Golden to decorate for the reception.

Here is the finished cake at the reception. Isn't it beautiful? It also tasted amazing!

Here are the finished tables ready for the reception. She did a great job. My sister helps everyone-all her friends-so thankfully they all returned the favor and were a huge part in pulling off this fun wedding. Her friends pretty much rocked it.

Here are a few pics from the ladies getting ready. We all had our hair done for the occasion.

Kelly and her awesome hairstylist, Kelly.

Meghan

My cousin Danielle and Meghan

Me and Meghan

The sisters. Yes Katie had her eyes closed but it was the only picture I had of the 4 of us. And yes I'm the shortest...and the oldest....

Kelly and her littlest attendants...Jack, Kale, Lilah and Kate

The littles were awesome. Lilah, who hadn't taken much of a nap that day, danced her way down the aisle like Ms America. My kids did exactly as they were told (who are they?!) and behaved amazingly during the ceremony. Afterwards they were exhausted but they made it through. Mark performed the ceremony and he was funny, personal and wonderful. I was proud of him.

Here's my little family on a mission for Aunt Kelly's wedding.

The happy couple...Carson and Kelly Hyatt

We had to have a picture of all the kids the day after.

Sunday morning we had brunch with out of towners, watched Kelly and Carson open presents, hung out and were stinkin lazy...In fact I still feel lazy and haven't fully recovered.

My "little" brother is getting married in August and we get to do it all over again and we're excited!

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