Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Nichole
Please read my friend Nichole's blog! She is having a radical surgery to attempt to remove her cancer this Thursday. Go to her blog through my friend's link on the left side for all of the details. Please pray for her!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
More Beach Pictures
Cam and Macy loved the sand. If you could only see how much sand covered Macy from head to toe...it is so cute to watch her play! She had no clue when she flung the shovel in the air that she was dumping sand on herself. Poor girl had sand over every inch of her body, though she didn't care.
Reilly and Shea playing a card game...looks like war? I'm not sure what Shea's expression is all about. I think she was having fun.
The big kids on a mission to find sand crabs, after getting pummeled by a few waves. They are so brave, and do really well in the big ocean. The waves in Carpinteria are not too big, thankfully.
This was taken after a WILD game of hide and seek, all inside the fifth wheel. At one point, Reilly had given up his search to find Kinley and Shea, that's how well they were hidden! It was lots of fun, thanks to grandma (She helped them hide).
Grandpa (poor grandpa) relaxed and read (Ryle! It runs in the family) and played Sudoku. Grandpa's neck has been sore since he was body-surfing three weeks ago and nearly killed himself. (Seriously pummelled by a wave, landed on his head in the sand, could hardly walk, was seeing stars, spent the night in the ER trying to get some relief from the pain, and is still trying) We're glad he's still with us, and hope he is back to normal soon.
Beach Camping (sort of)
I've titled this with "sort of" tagged on because camping as I remember it was really different than it is now (for my family). When I was growing up, we camped in tents- (sometimes under the stars with no tents!), slept on the ground in sleeping bags, cooked with a gas stove, and ate lots of simple meals. It was so much fun, but I do appreciate the comfort of the nice "fifth wheel" my parents now sport. We had egg mcmuffins for breakfast yesterday (we made them ourselves), swedish pancakes this morning, and tri-tip for dinner last night, with salad, steamed broccoli, baked beans, etc. Not exactly roughing it, but dirty, nonetheless. And a movie at the end of the night isn't all that bad.
Well, the kids had a blast, once again! They love hanging out with grandma and grandpa- playing games, eating smores, riding bikes, fishing, and more. Shea is currently scrapbooking the trip- I should post pics of what she does- she's very creative!
We went to the beach every day in the 77 degree perfect weather, and the little girlies played in the sand, while the three big kids hardly stepped out of the ocean. Reilly and Shea love to boogie board, and Kinley was getting a little more brave with it as well. Another highlight was the sand crab collecting. Kinley would beg me to come down and dig with her, and we would dig and dig and dig- literally for a couple of hours, almost non-stop. Even the little girlies would participate (at times), until a bigger wave would come and sweep them off of their feet and temporarily scare them. Reilly and Shea got into it too- especially when we found a "hot spot". Anyway, a great week in Carpinteria once again, with the sweetest little crew you can imagine... thanks grandma and grandpa!
Happy little tree climbers! Macy kept finding her way over to this tree and climbing right up. She is a good climber, and could find her way back down pretty easily with no big spills...
Mostly. She did nose dive off of the back of a chair, and was eating lots of dirt. She's still so cute.
A lovely tri-tip dinner outside in the beautiful California sun...not too cold, not too hot...wait, is that a pillow under Macy's head? Yep, she crashed on her tray at dinner time (thankfully after she ate). It was so cute. Grandma had to bring her a pillow.
Macy "helping" grandma with the dishes. She's allowed to sit on the kitchen counter, and she enjoys the privilege.
The sweetest little munch bunch...not exactly all cooperating for the picture. It's hard with five, and I don't know how anyone with multiple boys does it. They don't care about pictures like little girls do!
A fine game of Blokus this morning with the girls. Camdyn won. Macy attempted to steal the pieces, and as you can see she thinks she can climb on the kitchen table as well as the counter. Hmmm.
Well, the kids had a blast, once again! They love hanging out with grandma and grandpa- playing games, eating smores, riding bikes, fishing, and more. Shea is currently scrapbooking the trip- I should post pics of what she does- she's very creative!
We went to the beach every day in the 77 degree perfect weather, and the little girlies played in the sand, while the three big kids hardly stepped out of the ocean. Reilly and Shea love to boogie board, and Kinley was getting a little more brave with it as well. Another highlight was the sand crab collecting. Kinley would beg me to come down and dig with her, and we would dig and dig and dig- literally for a couple of hours, almost non-stop. Even the little girlies would participate (at times), until a bigger wave would come and sweep them off of their feet and temporarily scare them. Reilly and Shea got into it too- especially when we found a "hot spot". Anyway, a great week in Carpinteria once again, with the sweetest little crew you can imagine... thanks grandma and grandpa!
Happy little tree climbers! Macy kept finding her way over to this tree and climbing right up. She is a good climber, and could find her way back down pretty easily with no big spills...
Mostly. She did nose dive off of the back of a chair, and was eating lots of dirt. She's still so cute.
A lovely tri-tip dinner outside in the beautiful California sun...not too cold, not too hot...wait, is that a pillow under Macy's head? Yep, she crashed on her tray at dinner time (thankfully after she ate). It was so cute. Grandma had to bring her a pillow.
Macy "helping" grandma with the dishes. She's allowed to sit on the kitchen counter, and she enjoys the privilege.
The sweetest little munch bunch...not exactly all cooperating for the picture. It's hard with five, and I don't know how anyone with multiple boys does it. They don't care about pictures like little girls do!
A fine game of Blokus this morning with the girls. Camdyn won. Macy attempted to steal the pieces, and as you can see she thinks she can climb on the kitchen table as well as the counter. Hmmm.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Camdynism #11
Okay, so Cam just topped the Kinleyism, and I can't believe what she came up with. So I didn't buy the 4 girls "propoccinos" at Starbucks this morning, but instead made them little mochas here at home. Cam was upstairs when I finished them, so came down, saw Kinley and Shea's with theirs in hand, and with furled brow, said,
"Mommy, where is my chopporinio???"
"Mommy, where is my chopporinio???"
Kinleyism #1
I was driving through the Starbucks drive thru this morning (after a fabulous morning garage-saling with the girlies) and Kinley asked me for a drink. "What was that you wanted, Kinley?" I asked.
"A propoccino!!" (giggle giggle- I think she realized she was saying it wrong)
For anyone interested in our garage sale ventures, this morning ended up being a Macy morning. A Gap jacket ($2) for winter, with no visible wear, 5 pairs of jeans (Gap, Greendog, Levi's, and Children's Place), with no wear, .75 cents each (that's right!), UGG boots for Macy, .75 cents, converse, .75 cents, two Roxy sweatshirts, $1 each, and the topper, here it is: 17 DVD movies for $17!! That's right, DVD's for $1 each!! We're talking Disney, Morgan Freeman, more Disney, Sesame Street, and more...
"A propoccino!!" (giggle giggle- I think she realized she was saying it wrong)
For anyone interested in our garage sale ventures, this morning ended up being a Macy morning. A Gap jacket ($2) for winter, with no visible wear, 5 pairs of jeans (Gap, Greendog, Levi's, and Children's Place), with no wear, .75 cents each (that's right!), UGG boots for Macy, .75 cents, converse, .75 cents, two Roxy sweatshirts, $1 each, and the topper, here it is: 17 DVD movies for $17!! That's right, DVD's for $1 each!! We're talking Disney, Morgan Freeman, more Disney, Sesame Street, and more...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Journey
Well, when we began this little journey and Camdyn's eye first started crossing, I immediately thought deeply. My mind raced- 1)what could be the cause? (scary thoughts), and 2) if the cause is something serious, will my faith in God waver?
Immediately my mind went to the worst (brain tumor). Of course I didn't let my mind stay there long, knowing that we had so much to learn about the problem. However, immediately after that possibility entered my mind, so did doubts about God's goodness. How could He be perfectly good, and allow something tragic to happen to such a sweet little, helpless girl? I didn't want to leave this question hanging, even though her issue seems to be resolved. This is an important question for all of us to answer, and better to have the answer before we are faced with a severe trial, then be scrambling to keep our faith and to deal with the trial! And I have no doubts that we will all face severe trials at one point or another, and many have already. How can we keep our hope and trust in the Lord?
The first thing that I had to be reminded of is that I, nor my family, are the center of the universe- the center of God's purpose, the end all of what God is accomplishing. We are not the glory of God. HE is!! He is at the center of His plan, His glory radiates from Him, through Him, to Him, and for His purposes. Not mine. It's not all about ME. Profound, I know.
The second thing that I needed to remember is that I don't know the mind of God. I can't see His invisible hand at work- however He knows what He is doing. I am so glad for that. I can't know the reasons behind all that He does, all that He allows to happen- even as it relates to my precious family. God has a plan, and nothing escapes His notice, gets past Him, or slips by Him. He is sovereignly carrying out His plan with great interest in detail, because He knows exactly what He is trying to accomplish. I don't. You don't. We won't, until we reach heaven.
Third, I needed to be reminded of God's goodness. God causes the sun to rise on the good and the evil. He is not willing that any should perish (eternally). He bestows goodness on believers and unbelievers! He cares for me, my family- precious Camdyn- like a Father cares for his children. When we cry out to Him, He always answers. He promises to. It is easy to forget this, especially when we are hanging on to sin and feel we don't deserve His goodness. But, He is still good! When we look to Him, He will always forgive and extend grace and goodness.
Last, I am reminded of a simple little often quoted verse. "All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." (Romans 8:28) That means all things. For our good. Not only does He have His purposes in mind, but His purposes include our good, ALWAYS. We may not see it, especially during the trial, but often after the trial it becomes clear. If not, then we can be sure to see all of the facets of goodness when we reach His complete expression of goodness to us-heaven!! If our lives on earth were only filled with trials and difficulties and tragedies, (let's take Job, for example), our eternal reward of heaven- forever, without difficulty, without tears, without trials, without evil, living in the presence of Jesus, praising God with all of our friends, and fellow believers, how much goodness is that expressed to such poor, sinful creatures as we are??? Thanks for reading, I know it was long. I hope your heart is encouraged, as mine is!
Immediately my mind went to the worst (brain tumor). Of course I didn't let my mind stay there long, knowing that we had so much to learn about the problem. However, immediately after that possibility entered my mind, so did doubts about God's goodness. How could He be perfectly good, and allow something tragic to happen to such a sweet little, helpless girl? I didn't want to leave this question hanging, even though her issue seems to be resolved. This is an important question for all of us to answer, and better to have the answer before we are faced with a severe trial, then be scrambling to keep our faith and to deal with the trial! And I have no doubts that we will all face severe trials at one point or another, and many have already. How can we keep our hope and trust in the Lord?
The first thing that I had to be reminded of is that I, nor my family, are the center of the universe- the center of God's purpose, the end all of what God is accomplishing. We are not the glory of God. HE is!! He is at the center of His plan, His glory radiates from Him, through Him, to Him, and for His purposes. Not mine. It's not all about ME. Profound, I know.
The second thing that I needed to remember is that I don't know the mind of God. I can't see His invisible hand at work- however He knows what He is doing. I am so glad for that. I can't know the reasons behind all that He does, all that He allows to happen- even as it relates to my precious family. God has a plan, and nothing escapes His notice, gets past Him, or slips by Him. He is sovereignly carrying out His plan with great interest in detail, because He knows exactly what He is trying to accomplish. I don't. You don't. We won't, until we reach heaven.
Third, I needed to be reminded of God's goodness. God causes the sun to rise on the good and the evil. He is not willing that any should perish (eternally). He bestows goodness on believers and unbelievers! He cares for me, my family- precious Camdyn- like a Father cares for his children. When we cry out to Him, He always answers. He promises to. It is easy to forget this, especially when we are hanging on to sin and feel we don't deserve His goodness. But, He is still good! When we look to Him, He will always forgive and extend grace and goodness.
Last, I am reminded of a simple little often quoted verse. "All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." (Romans 8:28) That means all things. For our good. Not only does He have His purposes in mind, but His purposes include our good, ALWAYS. We may not see it, especially during the trial, but often after the trial it becomes clear. If not, then we can be sure to see all of the facets of goodness when we reach His complete expression of goodness to us-heaven!! If our lives on earth were only filled with trials and difficulties and tragedies, (let's take Job, for example), our eternal reward of heaven- forever, without difficulty, without tears, without trials, without evil, living in the presence of Jesus, praising God with all of our friends, and fellow believers, how much goodness is that expressed to such poor, sinful creatures as we are??? Thanks for reading, I know it was long. I hope your heart is encouraged, as mine is!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Blind
Cam is doing pretty well with the glasses, but likes to take them off and put them back on quite a bit. I think they're bugging her a little. The prescription for the lenses was +4.75 in one eye, and +4.5 in the other. Anyone know what that means? As far as I read, I think that's strong! I believe a 5.0 would make her legally blind! Honestly, though, I am rejoicing and haven't had the faintest notion of sadness for her having to wear glasses. (She's liking them too, which helps!) And I think she's so cute with them! They are pink, in case it was hard to tell in the pics. That was very important for her. God is good!
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