Can he really be 10?!?

I can't believe my boy turned 10 today! It dawned on me the other day that if he leaves for college at 18, our time having him home is already half gone. That's quite the sobering thought. How I beg the Lord to give me wisdom in knowing how to train him to be a godly man who loves the Lord with all his heart. My friend said something the other day that struck a chord with me as well. She said in reference to me rolling my eyes because I had to have Daniel pick up his clothes and things he left out when he left for school that morning, "His wife will thank you!" That wife is still years away, but I'm starting to get a glimpse of just how fast that time will fly! Oh that I would see each moment with Daniel as an opportunity from the Lord to disciple him and train him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

First day of school...

Hannah yawned right before I took a picture, and I laughed. Sarah decided she wanted to make me laugh, too, which is usually her response when someone laughs at anything. This is such a typical thing for Sarah--she is definitely our family clown!
Before the yawning episode!
Hannah loved her first day of school dress! I found it on clearance at Lands End. LOVE that site!!!
Sweet Mrs. Norris. We are so thankful to have her for another great year! She's one of my all time favorite teachers because she so clearly loves her students and instills God's Word in them consistently.
Such a pretty girl! and she's a bit on the sweet side, too, for the most part!

Such an ornery 5th grader! He hates to show his teeth when he smiles so I am always trying to get him to laugh so he'll have a genuine smile. He is just stubborn enough to try not to laugh no matter what I say!
Daniel's teacher, Mrs. Raught. She is the daughter of our pastor from Chicago. It's quite uncanny to watch her because she looks so much like him and has so many of his same expressions! We've not had her as a teacher yet so I can't mush and gush about her...yet! :-)
He's growing up so fast! He's really starting to mature in his thinking and his sense of humor. I loved teaching 5th grade because they could really think and carry on deeper conversations without having that 6th grade know it all personality. Definitely one of my favorite ages for kids!

A prayer request for sweet friends of ours

Please be praying for Adrian and Susan Smith. Adrian is the head of technology here at Northland, and they attend church with us in Norway. Susan was 38 weeks pregnant and found out that their baby died sometime this last week. I don't have any other details, but I can only imagine the grief and pain they are experiencing. I know the family would appreciate your prayers. And please pray for us as a church--we are really experiencing some tough times right now--all in the Lord's providence, but tough none the less!

Sunday Picnic

Brent had to head in to work right after church Sunday, and I made the executive call to skip the church picnic/baptism service at one of the area lakes. I choose my battles carefully these days. I decided I did not want to take a 2 year old who LOVES playing in the water to the lake to watch other people get in the water knowing full well I would not allow her to play in the water and battle that all afternoon by myself! The fellowship might have been sweet, but I'm convinced I would not have been able to enjoy it! So the kids and I took our lunch outside and had a picnic of our own under our weeping willow tree. We had a great time telling stories about when I was little and talking about school starting this week. Here are some of the better pics from that great end to the summer. BTW...it did officially end this morning about 5:00 when Brent finally came home from work and had to wait for the defrosters to melt the ICE off his windshield. Apparently he did not have an ice scraper in the car with him. That'll teach him, heh? We will now be carrying ice scrapers in the car starting in August. CRAZY!!!

A quick update on the database system

Not that anyone really cares much about databases and whatnot, but I thought you might like to know the Lord worked out some kinks for Brent, and they are planning on going with the new system. This is a huge praise, but a huge prayer request at the same time. They are working like crazy now to get it so they can be ready to register the students as they begin arriving this week. Please pray for wisdom for Brent to be able to see the problems, the solutions to them, and the understanding to deal with things quickly. This week is the culmination of 6 months of work on this project. Please be praying especially for this week.

You've got to be kidding me!!!

COOL AIR ACROSS THE REGION...COMBINED WITH LIGHT WINDS AND MAINLY
CLEAR SKIES...ARE EXPECTED TO LEAD TO WIDESPREAD FROST ACROSS
NORTH-CENTRAL WISCONSIN TONIGHT. CLIMATOLOGICALLY COLD SPOTS COULD EVEN FALL BELOW FREEZING FOR A FEW HOURS.

This is the actual frost warning for tonight. Yes...you read it right, but you might want to go back and read it again to make sure you read it correctly. It's August 30, and it could get below freezing tonight. Let's just think hypothetically here...if it were to get below freezing and there was enough moisture in the air...it could snow. Just looking for a bit of sympathy here, folks. that's all...just some sympathy over the loss of the summer that never was...

I will gladly clean up her messes...

Click Here for an amazing story of a family who is really going through the fire right now. I must say that I don't have a clue who they are. I didn't take the time to research his doctrinal stand. I'm not endorsing anything. I found his website through a blog of a blog of a blog...you know how it is. They have a beautiful 5 year old little girl who is battling a rare and agressive form of brain cancer for the past6-9 weeks or so from what I can tell.

As I sit typing this, Sarah came up to find her blankie to snuggle with while she watches Curious George. I, of course, was bawling like a baby, and she just looked at me strangely. I asked her for a hug, and she so sweetly obliged. I know that I fume and fuss quite a bit about the trouble she gets into, but I just want to go on the record as saying that I have so much to be thankful for. I will gladly clean up her messes and give her a gazillion baths a day after reading about this sweet girl and her family's godly response to the trials they are going through. Thank you, Lord, for the good health you have chosen to bless my children with. It is more than I deserve.

Something to pray about

Just a quick note to ask you all to pray for Brent and the implementation team he's leading right now at Northland. He's been working since before January to get to this point he's at now--actually today! The school is switching to a new database that involves any and every sort or record and tracking they do for any and every one involved in any and every sort...all that to say it's a really big deal...HUGE!!! They took the old database off line on Wednesday and today is the day they take the new system live. Brent will make the decision this afternoon/evening to stay with the new system or go back to the old system (if there are too many hitches with the new system, they'll go back to the old and have to start all over)

Although Brent doesn't do much with the technology department anymore, he's the one with the most experience in this sort of project management so he's been leading this one. It really is crunch time right now and for the next week. Brent has this amazing ability to look at situations and see potential problems that could arise, and that's exactly what he needs right now. Please pray that he will be able to foresee any difficulties that would be show stoppers when the students arrive. He's been working incredibly long hours this last week, and he needs the Lord's strength and help now. Your prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated.

all is quiet...is that a good thing?

Not much has been happening on the Sarah frontier as of late. Unless you consider her dumping an entire box of powdered laundry soap all over the carpet in the basement exciting. Or perhaps you think it's interesting that she also pulled out a great deal of clothes that I was storing in rubbermaid totes and strew them all over the laundry room. She has finally stopped covering herself from head to toe in washable markers that are not actually washable after all--next time I'm going for the cheaper kind since neither of them seem to come off her squishy arms! She went into the church nursery for the first time since June without screaming and having to pry her fingers off the door jams. That was exciting--dealing with a screaming 2 year old every time we went to church for the last 3 months...but that behavior has stayed away for 3 church services in a row now. Sarah's vocabulary is definitely increasing and she is able to tell her brother and sister exactly what they are doing that is annoying her. She shook Hannah's hand tonight in the car and very clearly said, "Good to meet ya!" She gave us an ever so slight glimmer of hope when she put her "stinkies" in the commode for the first time a couple of days ago (is that too much information?!?) that's ONCE in the last 2 months of potty training--I'm starting to view the big girl panties as cloth diapers...at least they're washable and saving us money over regular disposable diapers. Daniel finally stopped sleep walking after 3-4 times a night for 3 weeks straight. Yep...it's been pretty boring around here the last couple of days. Suffice it to say that I'm holding my breath for what she's storing up for us...I can pretty much assure you it won't be nearly as cute as you all think it is!

An all-time record for me!

I went to Kmart tonight to shop the sales taking advantage of their double coupon event. I am so very excited about all that I brought home. You can't see everything in the picture so let me just list it all--it makes me feel so good to take so long to type such a long list! :-)
2 jumbo pull-ups
2 mega easy ups
2 containers of lotion
2 containers of window cleaner
2 furniture polishes
4 huge containers of shampoo
2 bottles of men's body wash
2 men's deoderant (I'm getting tired of typing...I'm starting to take short cuts!)
barrettes for Hannah
toothbrush
large bottle of dish soap
1 hand soap
dryer sheets
1 laundry soap
2 toilet bowl cleaners--will last for 12 weeks if I use one a week as suggested
8 rolls of tp
4 boxes of fruit snacks (legos!!!)
jar of jelly
4 big boxes of poptarts (12 each)
4 mega size pringles
6 boxes of cereal
2 boxes of baggies

Now for the exciting part... I added up the retail cost (not the sale prices, but what the actual price tags said) and it was $199.38 before tax. The sale prices after tax was $179. After the sales, the coupons, rebates and Kmart credit towards my next purchase, I ONLY SPENT $54!!! I came home with $200 worth of merchandise for only $54!!! I'm just a bit excited, can you tell?!? Couponing takes time and a great deal of effort and organization, but after a night of shopping like this, it is so worth it! (all the extra exclamation points are just for you, Pastor Albert!!!) And when you think about it this way...$26 of the $54 I shelled out was for the pullups/training pants for Sarah. So I only paid $28 for that entire list (minus the diapers). There were many items that I wanted to purchase, but couldn't because our Kmart has a very limited grocery section and doesn't stock some of the things I had coupons for and was hoping to get for free after the double coupons...so it could have been even more! Gotta love shopping nights like that--and gotta love a great husband who's willing to keep the kids even after a very long day of work so I could focus on the coupons--what a guy!

You'd think I'd figure it out by now...

When Sarah wants to get out of bed she usually yells, "I done!" meaning, "I'm done sleeping and want to get up." We dont' let any of our children when they are this age get out of bed unless we give them permission...well, that's the goal at least! We want to have some sense of security that they aren't running around the house in the middle of the night when we are sleeping. Sarah has yet to learn this lesson. I should have learned by now to get up and go check when I hear something unusual, but I clearly have not. All the windows are open since it's in the 70's here and is quite breezy. I thought I must have heard the neighbor or someone on the highway since there is construction along 141 right now. But no...the noise I heard was the one and only Sarah getting into the pantry to get Triscuits to eat in bed, or maybe it was her getting into her sister's markers or her coloring sheets, or maybe it was her getting cups of water to pour back and forth into each other while sitting on her bed (so thankful we purchased that waterproof sheet for her bed for multiple reasons!) I am amazed at times by how loud a 2 year old can be...and today am equally amazed at how quiet she can be when she's sneaking around the house. Speaking of...it's awfully quiet now...I'm really hoping there's nothing eventful to post about now!

I'm just wallowing in the green pastures...

and that's a good thing. Let me explain. I'm finishing up my study on the names of God by Kay Arthur and have been so struck by some thing she included in her section about the Lord as our Shepherd. One of the things that a good shepherd does is leads his sheep to green pastures to feed until they are completely satisfied. The sheep can lie down in green pastures and not desire anything else because they are completely full. I know that is what the Lord does for me continually, but have been convicted by my attitude. It's very easy for me to look around and see my life as anything but "green pastures." I've been so convicted about my lack of contentment recently and have been asking the Lord to show me in such obvious ways how He provides so that my heart is reminded that I truly am lying in green pastures (or am I laying in green pastures...I can never get that grammar rule straight!)

The Lord reminded me in amazing ways this morning that He has led us to the greenest of pastures and provides for our every need. We had a clothing exchange at church this morning. As I was talking to one of the ladies, I looked down and noticed some really nice men's leather loafers. Brent really needs shoes for this fall...these were L.L. Bean tan leather loafers in a size 13 in practically brand new condition. The bottoms barely scuffed--maybe worn once! I was also able to find some clothes for Hannah for back to school--a beautiful Sunday dress from Land's End for this winter that is in brand new condition as well. I also found several tops for myself and a jacket for Daniel for this fall. It's been amazing to see the Lord provide for our needs in such over-the-top ways--much more than we need or could even have hoped for--I love LLBean and Lands End things (but Elissa and Esther...you know I love Lands End more than LLBean and always will, right?!?)

But the Lord did something else for us, too, this morning. Our kitchen sink has not been draining for several days now. Brent has tried everything imaginable to fix it. (do you know how very disgusting a kitchen drain pipe can be? If not, trust me when I say you do not want to know!) Brent's been running things by his dad, who is a master of all trades, and neither one of them could figure out why the drain would not, well...drain! Brent spent all evening Thursday working on it and all morning today as well. He decided to run the snake through the pipes one last time even though it has not done anything to resolve the problem before. But this last time, something was different and the drain was clear. There's no human answer...he's run the snake through the pipes (quite a nasty thing to have to do, let me say it again!) countless times to no avail. But this time something changed, and the water now runs freely. I am convinced it was the Lord's doing, not the snake...but the Lord who cleared our drain for us. And we are praising the Lord for not having to call a plumber to come out and look at it. The Lord truly provides, our Jehovah-Jirah, and as our Shepherd, He leads us to such green pastures that we can't help but just wallow in the lush grass!

What we've been doing this past week..

We've been going to one of the local church's Neighborhood Bible Time each evening this week and having a great time! Tonight was the final program, and it was really enjoyable. (Said in a way to do my best to hide the surprise in my voice) The kids both worked very hard this week memorizing verses (some of them were really, really long...I even had trouble with them!) and came away with a load of ribbons and some other awards, too. Hannah said the most verses for the second graders and had the second highest amount of points, and Daniel said the most verses for fifth graders and had the highest points. They were both very proud of their work and the rewards given for memorizing God's Word.

Dave's Falls

So we may have a shortage of good shopping around here, but we definitely do not have a shortage of places to go and things to see. With 13 waterfalls in Marinette County, there is always something to go explore. We headed over to Dave's Falls which is about 15 minutes south of us for some good family bonding after getting Daniel back from his first week of summer camp. We took a picnic lunch and then enjoyed the hike. The nice thing about Dave's Falls is that it's very easy hiking, and that is key when taking a toddler to a water fall! Much of it even has steps and bridges. It's not the most spectacular falls in the area, but still a fun thing to do with the kiddos. Did I mention I love where I get to live...on most days! :-)

The many faces of Sarah

Sarah is definitely unlike the other 2 kiddos the Lord has given us! She is a bundle of non-stop energy. Her facial expressions are enough to endear her to everyone who spends any amount of time around her. It takes her a bit to get warmed up, but once she does, she loves being the center of attention. Brent would insert here that she is just like her momma! While driving to church Sunday, I said something to Brent that sums up exactly how I feel about Sarah..."How did we ever think we would be happy with just 2 kids!?!" By the way...Dawn dish detergent is the only thing that gets a 7 year old's dollar store glitter hand lotion out of the hair of a mischievous, get into everything, 2 year old...ask me how I know...

Where's the Momma?

"My daddy came home from work Monday, July 6th, and pulled into the driveway. He honked his horn, and Mommy sent me out to see what daddy needed. When I went out there, Daddy said, "Go inside!" For some reason Daddy did not want me outside. I did not know what was out there. There were 2 baby raccoons by our garage. Then Mommy went outside, and she looked at the racoons, and then she and Daddy said I could come outside. So I did. Daddy didn't want me there at first because we didn't know where the momma raccoon was. We did not know if the momma was killed or if she would come back and hurt us. I think they were cute!"

Written by Hannah Griffin

Bowling!

Brent took Tuesday off since it had been so long since we had been together as a family. We took advantage of our free bowling this summer and had a great time! Even Sarah bowled the first game...but snuggled down and fell asleep while I was holding her during the second game. Let me tell you, I'll give up just about any type of recreation to be able to have my baby fall asleep in my arms! It was a perfectly sweet way to enjoy being together again--Brent playing with the older two while I got some amazing snuggle time in with Sarah!
Sarah enjoyed playing around on the floor...the alley was nearly empty so she could run around without getting into too much trouble...except for the time she set the reset button after Brent had thrown his ball. His ball bounced into the guard that wipes the pins away. The owner was very kind and said it happens all the time. Watching her go-go-gadget arms is a full-time job--and I'm out of practice after having 2 weeks off!!!


We had fun reminding Daniel and Hannah that they both had to use this ramp the first time we came bowling at this alley...they had a hard time with the fact that Sarah beat them both because of this ramp!
You can see it here--she's starting to wind down--she also loved to watch the balls come up the return--and played with the spot that blows air to dry your hands.
Daniel did pretty well...he and Brent had a pretty stiff rivalry going on...well at least a verbal rivalry...it'll be a long time before Daniel is able to do more than trash talk with Brent!
Hannah had a great time, too. She's funny to watch bowl...she just takes off running and then drops the ball...she is so much like me, it's scary at times!

They're Home!!!

I picked up our kids Saturday afternoon, and we stayed in Michigan with my parents until Monday morning. It worked out well since my sister's kids were visiting with my parents, too. Our kids love getting together--Bobby is Daniel's age and Lauren is Hannah's age. Claire is now 13, so she is able to tag along with the adults or have fun playing with Sarah. We missed Fathers' Day with Brent, but we will celebrate it this weekend instead. We arrived home around 3:30 Monday afternoon. The kids were so excited to see Brent when he came in the door! I love it when they get giddy with excitement over seeing him. They played and wrestled forever, too! It was great to have them visit with the grandparents, but it's good to have them back home, too!

School's Out!

The kids had a half day of school the last day...actually less than half a day...they were able to leave after the awards assembly at 10:30. To celebrate we went home, grabbed a quick lunch, changed clothes and headed to town to get Frosty's since I had buy one get one free coupons. We stopped at a way side off the highway that has this beautiful waterfall. There are 13 waterfalls in our area, but they are all pretty rough hiking with a 2 year old. This waterfall was perfect since it's been built up for tourists--complete with a bunch of stairs--Sarah can do stairs no problem! It wasn't hot or cold, just comfortable so we were able to stay a good while playing in the water and just enjoying the great outdoors.

Getting Ready for the Spring School Concert

We had a few minutes before it was time to leave for the kids' Spring Concert for school what seems like a gazillion days ago, even though it was just a couple of weeks, so I decided to get some pictures of the kids all dressed up.
"Yes, she's still standing there waiting for me to smile! When will this lady stop trying to get a good picture of me!"
Sarah shows her stubborn streak most when she comes up with a better way to do what you are asking her to do. In this case, it was her idea to hug Hannah instead of just standing sweetly next to her. I let well enough alone since it was actually a better shot!
I learned that even though the kids are almost 10 and 7, it is too much to ask them to stand in the sun no matter how much better the lighting is there!