A Midnight Thought

So here it is after midnight & I'm up thinking about my life and my family. Some of you maybe thinking I'm out of my mind for being wide awake at this hour but this is really normal time for those of us who work graveyard shifts.

I had such a wonder weekend with my family. We traveled over to Seattle to watch a Mariners/Angels game with my mom, my sister, my sister's boyfriend and my wonderful little niece. We didn't spend much time visiting because we needed to get back home to Idaho for school and work but while there I realized just how much respect and honor I have for my mom. I learned that she was told by the owner's of her place that they had 90 days to move out because the land was sold for commercial property. My mom lives in a 60+ units duplexes that were once old military homes. But when I walked into my mom's place it looked simply amazing. A couple of my uncle's help her paint the place and she had found some really nice curtains and walls pieces. Rob & I had helped her last summer get new light fixtures. I mean the place really looked nice and I could tell that my mom was really proud of the home she had made it. It hit me as I looked around that my mom has never owned a home in which she could do all that I was observing. I sadden me to think that money and/or the property owner's desire for money was going to force my mom out of this beautiful home that she had just created. But my mom doesn't complain, unlike I would for sure. She just simply takes it like a champ and says, "I found a new place down the road." No complaint but I know that I would be pissed and I know that I would want to express that disappointment. She takes the bumps so well and with such grace. I can see that she has become the "rock" of our family that was left to her when my grandma died. If fact, she is reacting just as my grandma would have...the same grace. I have always thought of my grandma with such honor and respect because of the way she lived her live. But it took me losing her to fully see just how graceful my grandma lived. This weekend I learned that my mom lives with that same honor, respect and grace. I'm thankful to have seen it before she too was gone from this life.

Thus, it hits me hard just how wonderful my life really is and just how ungraceful, unhonorable and unrespectful I live sometimes. I live in a beautiful home and have a wonderful husband to walk through tough times with me. I realize that I complain...alot...over things that our entirely out of my control. I have realized that despite the successes and accomplishments I have experienced in my life I have fallen short of the honor, respect and grace that the women before me took hold of.

Tomorrow is payday and I always stress about paydays and bills. I can't seem to find the reason why I stress so much but tonight I remind myself of just how "much" I have and just how "blessed" I am. The Lord has provided so much for me over the years and ever since getting married and having the realization that people are relying on me to provide I have stressed and stressed and stressed. The women before me had less and they gave no complaint. Man, what I fool I have been. The Lord has provided in the past, continues to provide in the present and I have to believe that He will continue to provide in the future. He has given me such great examples to learn from and now is the time I need to exercise what I've learned.

I love the quiet humbling times when there is nothing louder than the Lord's whispers.

See How They Grow

I was looking thru our family pictures the other day & was so surprised how much the kids have changed & grown. They are freakin amazing! Before we know it they will be out on there own.

Kylie & Chris in 2005

(Left & right)

Kylie & Chris in 2008

(Below)

Has Spring Sprung?

Here in North Idaho we have been weathering the storms with hope that spring is just beyond the clouds. There is no April showers only April hailstorms. My May flowers are beginning to break through the frozen dirt only to find cold, white snow. So we wait and enjoy those few days where the sun shines, melting away the snow from the day(s) before, hoping that the night will not bring another storm that shades the sun away.

The kiddos are on Spring Break. This is a joyful, relaxing time for them but a taxing time for us as parents. Those school hours are a nice break for us to spend quality time together or to get certain things done around the house that cannot be done with kids underfoot. We did take advantage of some free skiing tickets & took the kids up to the mountain to snowboard for the day, which gave us "us" time.

Chris is playing baseball, again. He made the JV team and is actually catching this year. Due to the snow they have only had 1 game thus far but he did really good in it. He went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs. He even threw a guy out who was trying to steal 2nd on him. I was extremely proud of him (but I'm his mom & tend to be biased). He finished driver's ed too. Rob taught him how to drive the Xterra (a manual) in one day & he's been driving me around ever since. He picked up manual much faster than Ky did. We really haven't had to yell too much at him yet.

Ky spent the first 5 days of Spring break on a service project tour that took her to Seattle WA, Portland OR, Asortia OR, & Yakima WA. It's always good for her to get to stretch out her wings & get away from home, especially when it also entails giving back to others. Now she is home "running a muck," enjoying her time off from school. Ky is our work horse and has started thinking about college and responsibility more. We as parents have been encouraging such maturity and we're thankful that we're getting to the point where we're not fighting her to exercise it. We recently agreed to allow her to take 6 college classes next year during her senior year of high school at NIC (the local Jr. College). We're all excited about this & I'm confident that she will be successful.

Rob & I are good. Baby plans have been put on hold. With much saddness we had to make this tough decision but it was what is best at this time for our family. Right now all of our focus is on raising mature, responsible young adults. We're looking forward to a trip to Seattle in a couple of weeks to watch the Angels play the Mariners. This is something that we do every year & it will be a great break away from North Idaho.

Enjoy these pictures & I'll try to write more.