Summer has come to an end.....

Summer 2010 has officially come to end here at the Punkin-patch. We made the most of the wonderful and memoriable but short time that we had. There were beach trips and concerts, amusement parks and hiking, landmarks and lighthouses explored. New friends were made, old ones were visited more frequently with. Interesting hobbies were started, weekend campfires burned into the wee hours of the next morning. Baseball games were attended and local fairs provided us with entertainment only seen in Maine. Fruits and vegetables made wonderful gifts for us to enjoy long into the cold Maine winter. Relationships were mended and hearts were broken, and romance happened out under the stars on a swing made for two. Teens filled our home and our hearts most weekends with laughter and little boys crawled into my lap at the end of the day to be kissed by their momma like they were kissed by the sun. A boy became a teen man and started leading his brothers into new and unexplored land on our property. Tears were wiped after boo-boos happened both on the inside and the out.
Now books, paper and pencils replace bug spray, beach toys, and picnics. Excitement is here for a new year of learning, friends and routine. My calendar is awaiting new adventures and memories and I am so very blessed and it is all so very good!

Cam-isms

Last night while our family was watching a popular TV show where families that have a need for a new home are given one by some really wonderful people and a community, the subject of adoption came up. One of the gentlemen who was building the new house said, " Adoption is very important to me. My wife was adopted." Cam quickly whipped around and asked me, " Mommy how do you adopt a wife?" After a moment of laughter we quickly explained!

Catching up!

Ok, so do you have your cup of coffee or tea? I just brewed mine so we can catch up together over a cup. Sit down, grab a cozy throw, your cup of warm happiness and lets chat!

Since May, we have been so incredibly busy here as a family. I'll fill you in on me personally in a few:) May and June kept us running with baseball and softball. Kendra played for the varsity softball team in Waterville. She played outfield this year and really came into the position. The team didn't win many games but it was fun to watch them play and to watch Kendra make some new friends. Austin played for two different baseball teams. He made the local school team and played for a recreational team in Waterville. He loved it! What a great job he did juggling two teams, two coaches and sometimes two games in one day! Colby decided to give baseball a try this year too and learned alot. He tried all the positions and decided he would like to do that again! Like music to this mommas ears, if you know me, baseball is my favorite sport to watch! Cam hung out with me being the best cheerer ever. Kendra and Frank started church softball and we continued being on the go most nights.

School finished and I dove deep into VBS planning. Old friends came to visit, it was great to catch up. July enters and we work hard on getting a float ready for the local 4th of July parade and VBS starts. How awesome to work with fellow believers for the purpose of reaching kids for Christ! I really LOVE my job! We had a great VBS week with over 200 kids coming all week long and over 25 of them asking Christ into their hearts. It was so overwhelming and deeply humbling to be a part of it all.

Finally, our summer began. You see until after VBS is done, we aren't able to do much summering so with as much fun as it all is, we were excited to start our summer. So off to the beach we go, playgrounds see us more, ice cream stands get some of our money, and weekend campfires with friends start happening more. My sweet boy turns 13 and I start to feel old :( Life is flying by and we seem to keep moving along with it. There are days that I am awed at how we do it all, and yet we do. We are just finishing up our official family vacation and that makes me both grateful and sad. Probably most feel the same way.

How is your cup, need a refill? I do :)

Ok, now for me personally. I ran and ran around getting this kid to this field, and that kids to that field. Keeping everyone organized and going in the right direction is very important to me. I want the kids to always know that I am here for them and that I can and will do whatever is in my human power for them. I continue to be stretched and learn more and more about myself. My walk with my Savior is stronger than ever, my marriage is stronger than a year ago, I love my kids more each day, and my friendships are becoming more and more important to me as I get older. On my birthday this year, I took time to look at areas of my life that I wanted to either change, leave behind, work harder on, or finally start all together. I have a good idea of what I need at this point in my life and am committed to making it happen. I am blessed and while things are tough for us from time to time, I am learning about what is important. I am a year older, and realize more and more that time is flying by and I have wasted so much time over the years and I can't get that time back. What I can do, is change what I do today and plan what I do tomorrow. Make a difference in managing my time and energy. Slow down the pace a bit, and if I need to be busy, let it be something that will matter and count.

I have been gone from blogging and hope to make a change in that. I love to write and think aloud and share our life with you my friends! I hope you had a chance to catch up. I enjoyed both my cups of coffee and our visit! See you soon....

Hugs~

I'm back!

Wow, its been a really long time since I blogged! What in the world? Blogging for me is great therapy and I have missed it so much. Lots has happened since I last blogged back in May. This makes this decision even easier : ) Due to not posting a warning at the beginning of my post to pull up a chair and a cup of coffee, I will post again within the next couple of days to let you know what we have been up to! There's lots to tell, but too much for tonight! Check back in a couple of days and I should have posted and visited with you through my blog! It will be worth it I promise!

Hugs~

Really... that's what you think????

So, yesterday while I was talking to one of my FKA parents, I was told that she could never live up to the kind of woman, mom, wife and friend that I was, and honestly it exhausted her just thinking about it! This sweet lady went on and on about how organized I was, how patient I am with not only my own kids but others, how much love is in my eyes when I speak with or of my hunny, how great it is to see me with friends; laughing and having fun. Please know she was being very complimentary in both her words and her actions, actually trying to be an encouragement to me. I walked away from the conversation feeling both encouraged and elevated in my spirit that someone that of me. Then last night sitting and snuggled up to my sweetie sharing our days together, I started to chuckle, and it turned into a full fledged laughing fit! Oh if only people knew we both said... now before you start thinking this is a "I need people to say nice things to me, pat me on the back, and tell me how wonderful I am" kind of post, you are so wrong! I just was thinking about it more and more and want to share what my life looks like when things aren't as lovely as this sweet person described me.

I do try very hard to be organized and keep everything together and it isn't often that things on the family calendar aren't taken care of in a VERY orderly fashion, but it does happen that I completely space an appointment, run late picking someone up, or actually have forgotten to pick someone up and then my cell rings... "MOM!!!" Ugh! If it weren't for having a calendar in every room, my planner on me at all times, and my cell set with alarms... it would be bad! With six of us often headed in multiple directions, it's next to impossible to keep it all going but we do it with the best intentions and sometimes I fail at it but I do try. My kids are just like everyone elses. They are naughty and make bad choices, they don't pick up after themselves, the oldest two make me wonder from time to time how they will ever make it out on their own because of their lack of being able see things any farther then the end of their noses some days. The twins make me shutter some days from their lack of being able to share and be kind to each other. Their selective hearing is something that on a bad day can send me for that glass of wine way before dinner, lol! BUT... at the end of the day when we have all said good night, hugged and kissed our way into our beds, they are my God given blessings and I wouldn't trade them for anything or anyone on this planet. They are my best accomplishment this side of heaven and I take great pride in them and my mothering.

My husband! The lady was right about this one thing, I sure do love Frank! When I talk to him and I speak of him, I beam with love and pride in this man that chose me to spend his life with. But it isn't always hearts and flowers with us either. We both have a lot of baggage that came with us into our marriage that to this day we still deal with. We both have lost very important people in our lives that has effected our marriage. I am home with the kids all day, he is off working hard for our family, working two jobs so that we can follow God's direction for our family and homeschool our children. He gets tired, I get tired and we certainly are opinionated (ok I am way more then he is, lol). There are times when I don't feel in love with him and I am sure he has days when he doesn't feel in love with me, but we do love each other and work DAILY on our love for each other centered around our love for Christ.

As far as my friends... I love them all! God is teaching me a new lesson in 2010 and I am enjoying this ride. God has a plan for me involving me friends. He is knitting people into my life to help and offer their strengths to me in ways I never thought possible. Every single one of my girls adds something special to my life,. They are all different in almost every way, and what that adds to my life is becoming quite priceless to me! I still struggle with trust and how close to let people in, but I am working on it by the grace of a God who loves me enough to put these lovely ladies in my life to walk with me in this journey. You all are so valuable to me and I love you all so very much!

So you see, I am just like all of you... I fail miserably some days, I don't have it all together most days, and I am my own worst critic. I hold myself to a standard that I would never allow anyone else to hold themselves to. But, I am a servant, I am a crazy in love girl with her sweetheart, I am a mommy who loves her babies more than life itself, I am a silly outgoing girlfriend to some of the best ladies I know, and I am blessed beyond anything I ever imagined or deserve. That's what I hope I communicate to you the next time I see you :)

R & R

Ah, now I can rest a bit! I am sighing a bit sigh of relief. Did you hear it? Shhhh, listen. I bet you heard it then didn't you? I have been right out straight. More so then usual. I have been feeling pulled in all kinds of directions with feeling like I don't do any of it to the best of my ability and that stresses me out. Between my duties as a CM director, Easter choir and personal preparations for that, some family issues that just happened to "pop up" during the week leading up to Easter, baseball and softball practices, and being a mom and wife.... I was feeling so very overwhelmed and it didn't take long for it to start coming out with some physical illness symptoms. I had a headache that literally lasted for four days and I was so sick to my stomach. And of course with that comes the emotional binging that comes with me getting disturbing news... ugh!

This week is a new week though. The Kidz Easter Choir performed and did beautifully :) Especially the twins! We had a wonderful Easter dinner with family and friends, nice and quiet and simple. Now I get the chance to just sigh and breathe :) Yes its still busy but its all good! Running here and there with the kids is what I do best and I enjoy it all. So, I sigh, count all my blessings, and thank God that He has given me the strength to do what I do, the family and friends to put up with me while I do it, and for giving me the passion to do it all again the next day :)

Fail.... epic fail, as Cam would say!

My sweet eight year old has a new saying, "Fail... epic fail". Not sure what that even means but Webster uses these definitions:
1. ommision of occurence or performance specifically a failure to perform a duty or expected action.
3. a falling short
Officially I fit the Webster definition and feel it in every part of my being today. Actually, like a rash that slowly spreads itself, I have been having this feeling off and on all week and it came to a nasty full body covering last night and today. Today seems to be the worst. I don't know if it is the yucky rainy weather we are having or just that everything seemed to collapse on me today but it is by far the worst today. I can list it all for you, I made a complete list while in the shower a few minutes ago... I have failed at being a Godly wife, a Godly mother, a caring friend, a Godly CM director, I am currently failing at my committment for a healthier lifestyle for myself, a homeschooling mom... the list seems to go on and on. I do realize that these are thoughts completely provided curtosy of Satan himself, but none the less, they are real and right now they are seeming so big and out of control.
Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day at the least it is a new one :)