Labor Day Weekend Part 2

This was our second year at the Civil War re-enactment at Fort Stevens near Astoria, OR. We were there from opening 'till closing taking it all in.

We met this family at our campground. Here they are with their granddaughter. Their grown children were raised "in the Civil War" and have their own camps right beside them.

He taught us a lot. Here are his homemade clothes hangers.

It was real special that he went in his tent and got out his rifles (I wish I could explain them better but I don't know much about guns). They were very heavy. He let the boys handle them and everything.

The battle. We went to 2 battles, this was the first one.

Would you believe Mary slept through most of this!

Some of the camps.

Part of the fashion show.

Labor Day Weekend Trip

Here we are scavenging along the beach. We went to the beach 3 times, but I only got the camera out for this. Plus I thought it'd be better to post with our clothes on ;) (instead of swimsuits...)

Bumper cars in Seaside. We had such a blast together. After this I, Paul agreed to go on the Tilt a Whirl with me, since noone else would. We all learned, in just those few moments, that Paul and I can be 2 very different people...

Back at camp, kickin' it 'round the campfire.

I'm thanking the good Lord for family and good times.

I'll Fight

While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight;
while little children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight;
while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight;
while there is a drunkard left,
while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
while there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!
(William Booth)

These are the BEST (busiest too!) days of our lives...

Although at times I feel I could rip my hair out (or someone elses ha!ha!), although I feel crazy busy and go 150mph from dawn well into the night, although I can feel overwhelmed and long for simplicity, although at times I can be weary and discontent, I know that one day I will look back and know that these are the BEST days (years) of my life....I have a darling husbad, a full house, an active ministry, all of mine and Paul's dearest relatives are living and vibrant, we have our health, and so much more to be grateful for I couldn't even list them all.

Our big boy- David started 5th grade! on Tuesday.

Elijah started 2nd grade!!

They were up at the crack of dawn full of excitement for the new school year.
We visited the school the day before to roam around the freshly painted and newly decorated hallways. Their particular teachers happened to be there so we visited with them a little and checked out the class lists and seating arrangements.



Ann's face is healing up just fine. When the stitches dissolve I will start slathering it with Mederma hoping she will have a minimal scar.

Missing those summer days and summer corn already....

Our 3 ladies before church a couple weeks ago.

Our littlest lady. She is such a joy!







To the world our children are just another bunch of kids,

but to us.... they are the world!

Thanking you Lord for giving me the best days of my life......

some StayCation pics

at the Zoo

Hannah jumped right in to feed the birds.

Hannah swinging like a Chimpanzee

Elijah, Ann and David walking like a Chimpanzee.

Daddy and Mary on the Zoo train.

Elijah and Hannah on the Zoo train.

David and Ann on the Zoo train.

Zoo meets Zoo.

The HAIR Kiask (at the Tigard Mall) asked if they could do Ann up.

Sure, why not??

Pageant pose!

There was a really neat play area for little kids. Even the floor was soft and squishy.

Precious Mary

the only LEGO store in Oregon. What an adventure!

Here the kids are against a WALL of legos.

The Mayo Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

A comrade of mine emailed this to me and I really liked it:

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Cups of Coffee .

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar he shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand...'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.The Coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Cups of Coffee with a friend !!

Sunday and Shopping...

Sunday is a brand new week! So glad for fresh starts, in fact each day is a fresh start isn't it. "HIS mercies are new every morning..."

Great church service. Many people were gone, summer plans and such, but still a great time of Sunday School and Worship.

We went out for lunch afterwards at Shari's (again). We are milking this kids eat free thing!! We went last Sunday and today and paid only 20$ each time, for a family of 7!! Yay! It is also our main meal for the day so I don't have to do much for dinner.

Dragged the boys back to Fred Meyer today to get new shoes and first day of school outfit. You'd think I was pulling teeth. They are just not shoppers. I'm not much of one either... but get me in the mood... and I love it. It is relaxing to me just to putter around stores when I can. Anyways... back to the boys. (Ann and Hannah stayed home with Daddy, Mary tagged along with us).

Sidenote: During our staycation we went to the Mall in Portland when the zoo got rained out. I had the boys try on stuff at the Sears. I had them try on a pair of "super skinny" jeans. I was thinking they were opposite of husky (it's always hard to get the boys pants that fit around the waist). They went in and tried them on and David starts telling me how his croch hurts. Ya right, I'm thinking, he's just trying to get out of shopping. Well, the boys come out of the fitting room walking funny and complaining. I was laughing SO HARD!!! It literally looked like they were wearing girls tights. It was hilarious! Apparently, skinny jeans means super skin tight.

So we're at Fred Meyer today and everything is skinny jeans!! How annoying. Even worse... just about everything has skulls and dragons on it. (not our thing). Everything else has crazy sayings on it like "my sister is stupid" "I hate school" and mean stuff like that (totally not our thing). I seriously could not find any decent stuff, but finally settled (*compromised*) for a Star Wars shirt. David on the other hand starts getting all into it and begs and begs for these skinny jeans that are...... PURPLE!! He tried them on and everything. He REALLY wanted these purple jeans. Oh my. Sigh. What in the world do I do. What will Paul think. What would my Dad think!?!? (Ha!Ha!) I pulled rank and said no. I just didn't want to hurt his feelings so I told him that purple didn't match a thing in his wardrobe, which was the truth, just not all of it, and let him get purple shirt instead (another *compromise*). I want him to be his own person and like his own style (within our standard) but these pants just made him look like super-nerd. I am certainly learning this parenting thing as I go. I try to stay a few steps ahead, but I am still blindsighted sometimes! What would you do???

So the boys each got a Star Wars shirt and a purple shirt and a pair of jeans, because they want to look like each other. Weirdos. They did manage to pick out different shoes though. On the shoes I decided to pay extra (I was still armed with coupons) to see if these will last longer than the less expensive kind. I'm hoping for at least 6 months out of these ones, so that would be just 6-7$ a month. They are tough on shoes. I guess all boys are.

A good day, that is still not quite over! Counting my blessings and enjoying them!