~Yesterday~

Even though everyday is worth savoring,
yesterday is a day I'm still thinking about. 
The Lord gifted me with it.
I am grateful.  

The kids and I left early to go to the ARC for my Friday morning devotions.  We arrived about 6:40am so they could eat a breakfast of waffles and sausage.  And.... I unlocked the soda machine so they could have soda (1 glass only) with their breakfast.  Aren't I baaad??  They were thrilled!  And I got to get out some of my rebellious energy ;)    Elijah chased the baby in the foyer while I led devotions. 
I had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Stacie, from The Dalles.  Ann got to talk to her daughter, her friend too.  I always feel uplifted after talking with her.  I know it's not often enough, I'm not much of a phone person, but after talking with her, I kick myself for not doing it more ;)

Ann, Hannah and I did our nails, with fake nails that I got on sale and thought would be fun to try.  It was an absolutely horrible experience and I will never do it again.  Hannah took hers off right away, Ann tried to bear it, but took hers off about 20 minutes after Hannah.  And I took mine off by the afternoon.  They drove me insane.  I couldn't work because my nails were always in the way- and I got the short version.  I guess I'll just have ugly hands-  hard-working though.

  I got all the beds washed, dried and re-assembled. 

Kitchen scrubbed, meals made, washed and ironed ARC polo-shirts for Paul's golf tournament (among other laundry), vacuuming, and worked on my sermon for Sunday about Redemption while the girls watched Tinkerbell.

The girls did their learning- reading, penmanship, math, creation

(Yes I know it's October, not September, I just can't seem to find my October bulletin board sign.  November's coming anyway ;)  )

After picking up the boys from school, we came home and had snacks and de-briefing. 

Then we walked about a mile to the Chinese store with all kinds of wild, crazy food.  We watched them catch live fish from the tanks with their nets and then club them to death to hand to the smiling customers who would feast on them.  Hannah was quite bothered by it so I turned her attention to the live Conch in the bucket underneath her.  While we were standing in amazement watching the fish get clubbed for the crowd of customers, Mary had wrangled up for herself a large squid (dead) from the tub sitting at arms reach next to her stroller.  I didn't even notice she had the squid until the frozen food section. You should've seen us freak out! It was so funny! And of course nobody else would touch it to put it back, so I had to do it.  We always have a really good time at this store.  There are so many animal parts and different kinds of food.  I will usually remind the kids to be respectful with their words in the store because people really eat this stuff and like it too.  After we leave is when we talk about the "gross" stuff like turkey heads, chicken feet, pig feet, etc. 

Next we went to the park the next block over.  San Francisco knows how to do parks.  This particular park is fun for all the ages of the Chouinards.  Everything was soaking wet from the earlier rain.  But owell, it just meant that the normally crowded park could be all ours.  We all had soaked bottoms by the end of the evening.  I hung upside, arms dangling,  from the monkey bars a few times.  I felt 10 again (instead of my usual 12).  At one point the boys and I were all upside down, which really upset Mary.  She didn't like seeing us upside down.  I put her on the bars and she gripped it and held on for dear life.  Then she kept asking to do it again, and again, and again...  We were at the park until it started getting dark.  Laughing, playing, chasing.  It was so GOOOD!  I take the girls often, but it is so much better when the boys are there too; chasing their sisters, pushing them on the swing, putting sand in their hair, giving them a shout of "good job!" when the girls are hanging or spinning, yelling, "look at me!".

We got home late and still needed dinner.  So I was heating up leftover pizza and cutting apples in the kitchen while I listened to all the children playing in the living room with a ball.  Nothing makes my heart want to burst from joy more than when I hear my children loving all over each other. It makes up for the squabbling that's been going on since our move. 

I was so pleased. 

I wonder if that's how God feels when His children are loving all over each other.

I wonder if  that's why it's SO vital to Him that we love our fellow man  

freely and deeply.

After I tucked in and kissed the girls goodnight, I sent the boys to their room so I could sit on the couch and watch my new DVD Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage .  And boy did I laugh, gaffaw, snort and almost pee my nightgown!!  I only got through the first sesssion last night.  I'm looking forward to the rest and to watch it with Paul when he can.  Not only could I relate it to my man, but also my sons!!   

And then, after I was snuggled in bed all warm and cozy, done flipping through my Family Circle magazine, done praying, and well into dream land, I rolled over, eyes half open, and saw
Paul was finally ~home~ from his four day business trip.

What a wonderful ~yesterday~.

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Snapshots

First Day of School

                                                          First Day of School

                          Evening de-briefing, devotions, discussions

                   Tea Party with my mom and dad.   I want my kids engaged, not catered too. 
                  I'm glad to be a little more in-cognito here so that we can do things like this. 

San Francisco Exploratorium.  One of our Advisory Board members (from The Dalles) and his wife generously gifted us with a year membership to here.   We LOVE it here! 

Monterey Bay Aquarium which has always been one of my most favorite places!  Now we are members here too since it was only an additional $15 to have a membership once we paid for 6 of us to get in.  It's a 2 hour drive, but doable for us if we have no other obligations on a Saturday.

Mary is quite like Elijah was at that age, always running away from us. A common phrase for us the last couple of months is "Where's Mary?"!

                                                       Adventurous Hannah

                                                       Go-Getter Elijah

                                                    Keep-it-together David

                                                            Mother-Hen Ann

                                                                     BFF's



Some More...

Eating dinner (the dessert part!) in the private Dining Room at the ARC.

                                                                            Elijah

David

                                                                                 Ann

                                                                               Hannah

Mary

Mmmm... tasty cheesecake.

Daddy-O and his fearless sidekicks at the Giants vs. Padres baseball game.

Rub-a-dub-dub.

I am so glad to have these sliding glass doors during bathtime. 

I slide them shut when the girls are in there and then the bathroom and I stay dry!

Sister girls.

I have always wanted an eat-in kitchen.  We love it! 

We do breakfast and lunch here and dinner at the Dining Room table. 

Plus there is always space for projects, schoolwork, cooking, etc.  Mary loves to be up there looking out the window into the street.  We can tell when a dog or squirrel goes by because of her excited screaming.

P.S.

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." -Mark Twain

Better Late Than Never

Well, we finally found my chord to download the gobs of pictures on my camera. Not that I was in the biggest hurry, we've been adjusting and settling in like crazy, doesn't leave much time or desire for computing.  Even though it's been awhile, I'm starting at the beginning. 

We said a lot of goodbyes.  Church was packed, we should have a farewell every Sunday.  Below are  our dear friends.  The kids miss them and talk about them often, but they are forever friends, so we will see them again.  I'm holding out for some marraiges.

Paul and Mary were the last ones out of the house

One last photo on the front steps. 

The journey begins...

The children all took turns riding with Daddy in the big truck. 

They had a blast and we had a great, smooth trip down.  Uneventful was good!!

Hannah was the only one who cried when we left (well, besides my tears!).  She is still the one who keeps asking to go back home to The Dalles.  She conked out pretty quick and Ann took some photos of the sleeping beauty's.

David took some "professional" photos of us as requested by our Command.  Can you tell I had my pajama bottoms on?  LOL!  David kept snapping pictures, even when our photo shoot turned into a bickerment because someone kept making faces.

We have felt very warmly received here. 

And, a quote from the current book I'm reading (David and Elijah too),

"The  Magicians Nephew" by C.S. Lewis

"Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder till it drives you mad,

What would've followed if you had."

What is Good

*David giving Hannah a piggy back ride all  the way to the Park.

*Paul bringing me flowers.

*Hearing 140 people SING to the Lord!

*My neice and the children cozied up in the living room watching an old Godzilla.

*Hannah's big, bright smile all through Godzilla.

*Elijah cheering me up when he sees me cry.

*Ann making paper hearts, one for Mommy and one for Daddy.

*Encouraging and understanding words from comrads during a tough spot.

*Popcorn all over the front lawn and 5 faces pressed against the window watching the birds eat it all.

*Mary's naked, chubby butt running down the hallway towards her bath.

*The genorostiy of my sis-n-law and neice caring for our children with love, order and tons of fun.

*Trust in the Lord growing so BIG that there is hardly room for anything else at all.

What is most good?... the One who created good.

Good Bye Crop Circles

We've had a pool up every summer in the last 6 years.  After our family grew, we upgraded to a larger pool which in the end left us two different sized "crop circles" where all the grass had died off.  We've had fun joking about that especially because the little kids see the big antennas and red lights at night that are beyond our back yard, and they call them a spaceship.    

So, we spent the afternoon a few weekends ago planting grass.

I am really going to miss our yard.

I made 2 of these Milky Way Cakes for the Bake Sale at Church, but then Hannah got into one of them! First time that I've had a child do something so deliberately naughty with a cake! She is only 3 and desire gave way to self-control!  So we kept the cake she goobered, cut off the nasties and ate it for ourselves.  Hannah didn't get any though :( poor girl

The kids enjoyed the story of when I was little and our dog jumped on the table and ate my dad's birthday cake, just like Hannah did.

Nothing beats a warm bath from daddy to end the day.

Proverbs 20:11 (KJV)

"Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right."


Thank you Lord for work, please cultivate ready hands in my children as they go about helping in the home and church.