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Catching up from last week

Monday, July 5th, 2010

We had a fun and busy week last week. Grandpa and Grandma arrived on Tuesday, then on Wednesday my brother, SIL, and little nephew were supposed to arrive from CA. Unfortunately the little guy got sick and they had to cancel the trip. We were very disappointed as we had not gotten to meet our cousin/nephew yet and they had yet to meet Elijah.

Chris had already taken off Wednesday through Friday, so Dad helped us get started on some much needed landscaping around the new deck. It keeps looking better and better every day, but there has been a lot of sweat, muscle, and energy put into it all. I have a couple of pictures, but will post more when the project is completed.

It was on Saturday afternoon as we were slaving away in the heat and humidity, very soiled and soaked in sweat, that a car pulled down the driveway. I looked up and saw my brother Jeremy get out! He had flown in on his way home to CA from work in Europe to surprise me for my birthday! What a special surprise it was, especially after my disappointment in not getting to see my other brother. It had been 2.5 years since I last saw Jeremy, and he finally got to meet Elijah, too. Very special!

Tea party with Grandma

Newly stained and sealed

Men moving boulders

Zane, Elle, and Kate came through and stopped for lunch

Grandma introduced the kids to Sudoku

My "little" brother surprised me!

Wii games from their uncle

Uncle Jeremy even tried out the rope swing

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Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 2 Comments »

Grandpa and Grandma are here!

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

We picked up Grandpa and Grandma Clark at the airport this afternoon. We’re looking forward to having them here for a month with us. With grandparents overseas, every day together is a gift.

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My brother, sis-in-law, and nephew were supposed to fly in tomorrow. Unfortunately little Sean is sick and they had to cancel the trip. So sad that we won’t get to meet Sean and hug some more necks. Please pray for him.

Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 3 Comments »

Celebrating 18 Years

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

It was a very exciting day eighteen years ago today, as Chris and I looked forward to the next chapter of our lives together. In one of my Memorial Box stories, I blogged about how we first met. We spent a year dating, then a year of engagement before our big wedding day.

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If you had asked each of us twenty years ago when we first met what each of our lives would be like today, I doubt if we would even come close to guessing with any accuracy what has transpired over the last several years. I know these things for sure. Our love for each other is deeper, our faith in Him is stronger, and our hope for the next years to come is filled with excited expectation.

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Posted in Chris, Family, Jocelyn | 5 Comments »

Something Big

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Here is our “something big”.

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Our handsome chauffeur

12-passenger capacity for us to work on

Any of the benches can be removed for cargo space

The kids are in love with the large flip down screen

The Honda looks so tiny now!

So there you have it. We are so very excited and feel so blessed that God provided this new van for us. Our Odyssey was just feeling a bit cramped, as it was full to capacity, and we didn’t have any extra room for visitors, friends, or for our family to grow. Instead of getting a basic 12-passenger van we chose to make it feel a little less bus-like and had a slight conversion done on it. We visited a great dealership while we were on vacation in Florida (thanks for the recommendation Charlene!) and after we got home we prayed more about a new vehicle and felt the go-ahead to make a deal.

Chris got a flight out of town at 6am yesterday and was pulling out of the dealership by 11:45am, as I wrote about yesterday. It was an awesome God-wink that at that very moment the deck guys were pulling away from their completed job on our new deck. Chris drove home in 12.5 hours and only stopped once along the way! Needless to say, the van has a huge gas tank and Chris has a strong tank himself. Ha! It was very good to see him home safe and sound in the wee hours of this morning.

Thank you, Lord, that you bless us beyond what we ask or imagine. May we use Your gifts to us for Your purposes and to bless others through them. Can’t wait to pick up our first guest passengers at the airport on Tuesday! Did I mention His perfect timing?!

Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Johanna, Michaela | 8 Comments »

Garage Sale

Friday, June 25th, 2010

We are trying a garage sale for the first time at this house (today and tomorrow). We don’t have the best location for a sale and didn’t know how it would go. Well, despite good signs and advertising we didn’t have much traffic at all. The kids are pleased enough so far because they get to divide the profits, but for Mommy’s time and efforts I would much rather have just donated to the Goodwill. Hopefully we’ll see some more sales tomorrow and then the garage will be all cleared out.

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Sorry, the kid isn't for the taking; he's a priceless treasure!

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The BEST news of the day is that at 11:45 am Daddy called to say that he was heading home with our “something big”. And get this…..at the EXACT same time the deck guys were pulling out of the driveway leaving behind our completed deck! Yea, God!! I’ll post more pictures of the deck later, and I can’t wait to post pictures tomorrow when Daddy is home.

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Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Johanna, Michaela | 2 Comments »

More Swimming

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

We finished up our two weeks of swimming lessons today. Ami, Johanna, and Elijah have all had a blast. They also each passed to their next respective levels.

Ami's class practiced using life vests in the diving well

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Elijah and Johanna's class in the 16 ft diving well

On the home front, Benjamin has been fascinated with Iron Man, even though he hasn’t seen the movie. He is working on creating a whole outfit to somewhat replicate all the pictures he’s seen. This is one of his helmet creations from Legos.

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In other news, Chris flies down to Florida tomorrow morning to pick up something big. I’ll post pictures when he gets back on Saturday. The kids and I will hold down the fort and have a garage sale this weekend. The deck is just about done. And we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of lots of family here next week! That’s it in a nutshell at Wolfe park.

Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Elijah, Family, Johanna | 3 Comments »

Father’s Day

Monday, June 21st, 2010

We had somewhat of a low key day, but enjoyed celebrating the wonderful father in our household. We treated Daddy to cinnamon rolls for breakfast, some nice gifts, and then dinner out after church. We are very blessed to have Chris as a positive role model and Godly example to our kids.

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Looks like a crowd around Daddy, but I bet we could fit another kid or two in, don’t you?

Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Johanna, Michaela | 3 Comments »

Almost Done

Friday, June 18th, 2010

We’re seeing more progress on our deck, little by little. The guys are hoping to have it finished within a couple more days. It’s looking great and I can’t wait to do even more with landscaping and things to give it a more finished look. Of course, I’ve said that we’re only going to be able to afford to buy a nice picnic blanket after this! Deck furniture and all will have to wait.

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Posted in Family | 4 Comments »

Cutting our Land Line

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

We are finally taking this step. I’ve been reluctant to for several reasons, but we’ve worked some issues out and the time has come. We have three (or four!) cell numbers that we will be using. As this is a public blog I don’t want to post the numbers here. If you did not receive an email from us and would like to have our numbers, just shoot us an email (look on “About this Website”).

Posted in Family | 1 Comment »

Swimming Lessons

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

It’s that time of year again. This year Michaela and Benjamin opted out of lessons. They didn’t want to pursue any more and I’m fine with that. Elijah and Johanna wanted to continue on and it’s good for them to gain more skills. They are in the same level together.

This is Ami’s first time for lessons and she is loving it. It’s so fun to observe your kids with other kids, something I don’t get to do as often as some parents do. Ami is quite the silly one of the group and instigates “fun” ideas, which really means that she isn’t always paying attention to the teacher. There is another little Asian girl in her class with whom she has made fast friends. The other girl is a hoot, too…oh my, I almost feel sorry for their teacher!

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