Family Party Time

I must say, my hubby outdid himself once again.  Even after a long day at work and 2 days left until the weekend, he pulled a fun, family birthday party off for me with all of his usual charisma and enthusiasm for a fun time together.  I think that one of his best ideas was bringing home a couple of bags of balloons for the girls which provided hours of entertainment (don't worry, all the popped balloon pieces were closely monitored and picked up promptly to keep them from the 2-year-old and dog).  Augustus put on some good tunes, the girls played "keep as many balloons in the air at once as possible" while intermittently dancing, and we all enjoyed a  delicious dinner which I did not need to lift a finger to bring about (one of the best parts of either Mother's Day and my birthday for me).  We had French bread and butter, grilled cajun shrimp kabobs, grilled asparagus, steaks, and a delicious finish with a double fudge cake and Bordeaux cherry ice cream (a delicious combo).  It is during these sweet times when I really see our family coming together in joy and celebration that my heart is full to bursting as seeing all the blessings God has given me in my life.  Another really sweet moment, was yesterday morning when I woke up early with my hubby and Little D wanted to get up, too.  I brought her downstairs with me and she curled up in a little ball in my lap with her blanket and just wanted to snuggle.  Now that she is a toddler (2), she is active so much of the time and doesn't stop that often just to sit with me, so it was a definite birthday gift to just get to hold my "baby" and sit quietly for a few moments together.

The photos are all courtesy of my multi-talented hubby who actually knows how to use our camera.

Ever Increasing Apetites

I remember the days, not that long ago, when my children were all either babies, toddlers, or hadn't even been born.  At that point, I thought how amazing it was that our grocery bill was fairly unaffected by the small amount of food the children ate.  I could cook up 8 oz. of noodles and it fed 2 adults and a couple of small children easily.  Well, times have certainly changed!  We have progressed to a new stage in our family with 3 elementary school children and 2 toddlers and feeding 7 mouths 3 times a day is a chore, not to mention an increase in the grocery bill.  Above is a picture of our fruit bowls which we try to keep filled (and are at present empty, so we will shop today to resupply) and that gives you an idea of the growing apetites of my girls.  I hear from friends that have boys that their sons eat a lot, but I would wager that my girls can keep pace at this point, especially with all the calories that they burn every day after school - biking, scootering, swinging, climbing, and going on adventures around the yard (of course when they are teenagers, I'm betting those boys will out eat them 2 to one :-).  I also supplement the grocery store runs by baking about 4 to 5 loaves of bread each week for school lunches, toast, and snacks.  I find this all rather fascinating and definitely am not complaining.  In fact, as I muse on this, I think how blessed we are to live in a land of such plenty that not only do we have jobs and money to feed our children, but the food is so readily available at our fingertips and we never even think about starving and going hungry.  With so many others in countries around the world going hungry daily, not only do we have much to be thankful for, but also the responsibility to do whatever we can to give to those in need with the bounty God has supplied us with.

30 day photo challenge: day 11 - something fun

 Something fun for the girls is when the hens don't lay their eggs in the "correct spots" (either the laying box or the coop) and instead deposit an egg downstairs on the ground under the coop.  Then, someone "has to" go into the hen yard and retrieve the egg for Mommy; now that's something my girls call fun!

#3 proudly displaying the retrieved egg.

 Something not so fun last night and this morning: 2 more girls have succumbed to the flu - 1 mildly, and 1 more violently - but thankfully both are already on the mend.  Oh the adventures of a bigger family and the mysterious ways in which viruses move. 

Sweet Virginia

Grandma, #5, and I in April; my last visit with her.

Yesterday, my Grandma Ginger (Virginia) died and went to heaven to be with Jesus.  She would have turned 92 in October, so she lived a very long and full life.  At the very end, Grandma had pancreatic cancer and had suffered from dementia for a little more than a decade, so God in His mercy saw fit to let her pass quickly and not stay and suffer unnecessarily.  If one characteristic sticks out in my mind about Grandmas from her later years as she aged, it would have to be her sweetness.  It is such a common complaint that older people get grumpier and more set in their ways as they age, but such was not the case with Grandma.  As the dementia set in and she got older, she only got sweeter over time.  It think this is a neat reflection of her true character because the dementia strips an individual of many of their faculties which leaves them more exposed and vulnerable; this is the time when someone’s true nature will be shown, and in my Grandma’s case we saw more than ever what a sweet and dear woman that she was. 

Grandma meeting Little D for the first time.

Having grown-up in Panama during my formative years as a child, I wasn't in very close contact with my grandparents.  It wasn't from any animosity or dislike, but merely a matter of distance and lack of time spent together (very much in contrast to my children now with both sets of grandparents).  My connection with her might not be very strong emotionally, but I'm thankful for the relationship that did have.  Even so, my Grandma was very good to us whenever we came back to the United States; she also made several trips down to Panama to visit us, as well.  During those years, Grandma lived on a very tight budget, but somehow managed to save up for gifts for her kids and  grandkids (and even international plane tickets); that was one of her gifts - making the most of what she had.  

Some of the adventures that Grandma had that stick out in my mind are:

-Wiring General Eisenhower’s plane in WWII

-Riding horse and hunting

-Raising her first couple of children far north in North Dakota without a washing machine.  She had to wash clothes by hand and hang them out to dry, even in the middle of the winter.

-Raising 6 children and defying the housewife conventions of the time by being more involved with what her kids were doing (be it fishing, hunting, camping, swimming at the city pool, softball, etc.) than joining the neighborhood “social club”. 

-More towards retirement age, working at K-mart and loving her job.  She had a great work ethic and took pride in her work. 

4 Generations of Ladies in our family - My Grandma, my Mom, me,and my youngest daughter.

I will be going to a memorial service for my Grandma later in the week.  As much as we all may be sad for our loss and will miss her, I hope that we, as a family, will more than anything take time to remember the wonderful lady that my grandma was and the strong example that she set for us all.  She will be greatly missed, but all the stories and adventures from her life will live on with us.  

A Little Big Family Humor

I was out and about a couple of days ago with my mom and all the girls and was briefly chatting with another mom who had 4 boys.  We were remarking together at all of the most common comments we receive when we are out in public in regards to our children and our family size.  She told me she had received a forward last Christmas about the 12 days of a large family Christmas.  So, of course, I just had to google it and here is what popped up on youtube.  I found it to be quite hilarious and right on as to the comments I have and continue to receive on a regular basis.  Thankfully, as time goes by I take strangers comments less to heart, do plenty of smiling and less talking, and remember to keep a sense of humor about it.

A Balancing Act

As a mom, I feel like I am constantly trying to find a balance in the way that I parent my children.  This is probably something that will never change and that is okay.  It is a tug-of-war, a push-and-shove, mental acrobatics, and intense negotiations with my girls on a daily basis.  First off, I am a mom of a relatively big family and this, in and of it self, requires me to juggle many activities and responsibilities on a daily basis.  I like to refere to it as managed chaos.  As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am not a Type-A housekeeper or scheduler.  So, the struggle that I have in wanting to be a good mom is that I want my children to grow up to be responsible individuals that understand the value of hardwork, while at the same time also desiring for them to have a carefree and enjoyable childhood.  I waver between wanting to tightly schedule their every minute with piano lessons and practice (that I give them), chores, preparation for the next school day, and other valuable enrichment activities and just wanting them to be able to come home from school and run out the door to play and use their imaginations.  Because I am not very type-A, the highly regimented charts and schedules usually do not last terribly long; I wish I were more this way sometimes and will strive to work on being more consistent where it counts.  At the same time, I think that the spur-of-the-moment, spontaneous activities that we jump in to based on the girls' interest (like full-scale baking projects, arts and crafts, and outdoor exploration) are moments not to be missed.  So many of those times hold good memories and have been learning experiences (teachable moments) throughout the years.  Every mom is different and has different strengths and weaknesses; these are mine, for better or worse.  As Mother's Day approaches, I hope and pray that I will become a better and better mother over the years, learning from my mistakes and gaining wisdom both from the successes and the failures (only with God's help is this even possible).  So, day by day, I continue to walk the tightrope of motherhood, thankful to have been given this amazing opportunity and privilege in my life!

'Tis the Season . . .

 . . . for one last bout of the flu.  At one point in the day, I'm pretty sure I had a lot more to say about this topic, but after 5 loads of laundry, multiple children vomiting and with diarrhea, girls arriving home from school with plenty of energy, and a husband arriving home sick, too, I've pretty much lost most of my words in regards to being home with sick kids.  Despite everything, though, I might add that I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to be home with my kids and be their Mommy, even when they are struggling through the flu.  And, I also realize that compared to the troubles of many in the world, this is a very easy burden to bear.  There isn't much that a good night's sleep won't fix, so it's off to bed early for me tonight.

A Lovely Sunday Surprise

Yesterday morning, my hubby was out of the house at 2:30 a.m. to go up to L.A. and run the inaugural Los Angeles Rock N'Roll 1/2 Marathon.  The girls and I still headed off to church, just with one less pair of hands on deck to help get everyone dressed and ready to go.  We did fairly well and sidled into the back of church five minutes late or so; I told the girls it was better to be there a little late than to not go at all.  All in all, though, the morning really didn't feel all that hectic, for which I was thankful.  

While drinking coffee and chatting with friends after church, one of our priests came over to me and said he thought it was wonderful that I had gotten up and out the door that morning to come to church with the girls without Augustus.  He and his wife and another couple proceeded to invite me and the girls out for lunch as a treat to us.  We all went to a nice restaurant together and had a lovely lunch and visit.  The girls managed to employ their "formal dinner manners" for nearly the entire meal and were quite pleasant, if I do say so myself.  Augustus surprised us by being able to make it back down to San Diego to join us for lunch, also, which added to the fun.

In retrospect, as I was thinking back to our time yesterday, I realized just how blessed my family really is in the generosity that has been shown to us by all of our friends and family with whom we have regular interaction.  We are a family of 7 which could be an intimidation factor when inviting us out for a meal at a restaurant or into someone's home; and yet, in our experience, it is usual to go to others' homes to share in a meal and fellowship.  I feel extra, especially blessed by my own experience when I reflect on the reality of many big families in America that are not so fortunate as to have friends and/or family that welcome them with open arms into their homes for meals, parties, or just to visit.  So, to those of you reading this that know big families, I encourage you to consider inviting them over to your home for a meal or another fun event.  (I am not saying this to my own friends who already go above and beyond the call of generosity in this area).  It may seem like launching into the unknown when imagining your home being filled with a small army of children not your own, but I encourage you to take the challenge nonetheless.  Just be sure to put breakable objects and precious items out of reach and be prepared for the joy of managed chaos.  A big family that you know will be blessed by your generosity and who knows, maybe you will realize that you, in turn, are being blessed, too.  

And to the wonderful friends that took us out to lunch yesterday, thank you for the lovely time and may the Lord bless you for the love that you have shown us!