hawaiian hay and sunriver

Our family vacation was a bit chaotically planned this year

I was thinking 10 days on Maui over the boys spring break

Matt was thinking something closer to home and a bit less expensive because he wanted to buy hay equipment

before he knew I was thinking Maui and before I knew he was thinking hay equipment I booked a surprise trip to Maui

The delivery of the surprise definitely did not go as planned

we fought for days :) the hawaii trip was cancelled (or I would like to think rescheduled for a later date) and the hay equipment was bought

this all went down at the beginning of February

by the end of February Matt was asking if I would book our family a house in Sunriver (a small resort town about 3 hours away from our house) for the week of Spring Break.  

At first, I refused to book a house in Sunriver and told Matt if he wanted to take our family there it was a good time for he to teach himself how to search the web for a rental home- booking the trip to Hawaii had taken a great deal of time (and saving) and I was burnt out (and still a bit angry).  I also explained to him that we live in the woods on a daily basis and I didn't want to go spend a week in the woods 3 hours away.   

February made way to the beginning of March...I was home one Sunday afternoon and realizing that the reality was, with this short of notice, Sunriver would probably be the best choice for us. It also dawned on me that our family vacation did not need to be all my way- as my good friend and cousin Becca would say 'JUST YIELD'- so I yielded to the result of my anger (which was to make Matt book the trip)....
As I started searching what was available in Sunriver during the week of Spring Break I came across an add from Mountain Resort Properties- they were offering the 4th night free at their house on 6 Mulligan Way. 

We left Monday morning and got home this afternoon- 4 days, all 6 of us (we took Oklie)

From start to finish IT WAS SO MUCH FUN

p.s. told matt that I will think of the hawaiian vacation we about had when I see the hay he plants- I think he should market it as 'hawaiian hay'- he doesn't agree :P

p.s.s. make sure and watch the video at the end- ryan goes over the handle bars of his bike into the mud :)

perfected parenting....whatever

I was thinking about one of the biggest lessons going back to parenting a small child has taught me.
practice does not make perfect
just because Matt and I had over 15 years of parenting under our belt when our Elle's joined the fam it did not make us 'experts' or 'perfected'
it was my mistaken belief that it did
practicing parenting is not perfected.
it doesn't end with a verb and then a period and blanket the future of our parenting endeavors
that's not how God made it
just when we think we've perfected, the season changes
just when we think we've got it all figured out, we realize that what worked with the last 2 doesn't work on this one
we're all unique, needing to be seen for who we actually are- who God made us

Ellie is teaching me so much about not sweating the small stuff
about choosing to hold her heart instead of my discipline standard (yes, she is still disciplined but with her it always pays to try to understand why she is doing what she is doing.  An example of this would be me asking her to not get out of her bed- I check on her and see that she is sitting on the floor on the side of her bed covering up the stuffed hamster her biological brother Joshua gave her for Christmas- Instead of getting her in trouble for disobeying I calmly ask 'whatcha doing Elle's?' to which she explains that she was worried that her hamster was cold and needed to be covered up.  I helped her cover her hamster and then tucked her back in bed without any sort of reprimand.....now when I put her in bed we make sure that her animals are 'covered' or tucked in by her.  Her disobedience in this situation was not from a defiant or disobedient heart- it was her tender heart wanting the best for her stuffed animals- with my boys, I would have skipped the understanding and gone straight for the reprimand- the motto was obey first and then explain later.  In certain situations we hold to this with Ellie but there are lots of times we are understanding first and then disciplining if needed)
I could have won the battle in the instance above with keeping her disobedience as the focus- I could win the battle on a daily basis of the same type of similar circumstances faced with her...
but in winning these discipline battles I would loose the war
the war for my little girls heart that will grow up to be a big girl heart that will make decisions on her own someday.
the heart that Satan would like nothing more than to fill with the mistaken belief that mommy's aren't worth listening to
the heart that I still want to be able to encourage and reach no matter how old
the heart that I still want to find me a safe place to seek advise
the heart that I want her to know Jesus in
the same heart that will look for Jesus in me

maybe none of the above is what parenting books would recommend
maybe it's not even what the 'expert' parents would recommend
but God didn't give them our precious Ellie
He gave her to Matt and I to raise and promised us the wisdom to do it
and we are so so so SO thankful He did...

Thank you Lord Jesus for the precious gift of our Ellie Marie- She is an amazing blessing with a passion for life.  Thank you for her strong will and determined personality- please let her grow up to serve you in a mighty way.  Please also surround her little life with people who seek to reach her heart- who encourage her to be the person you created her to be....I love you Dear Lord.

quincy and the chocolate mouth

Randomly, at the grocery store yesterday, I hear 'SIS!'- I looked over and there was my sister Jodi.
We chatted it up as we both went through line...she with her 1 item of Aloe Vera that you can drink (a good way to become stricken with diarrhea if you ask me) and I with almost $300 worth of groceries.  Jod used to work at a grocery store and is pro at bagging groceries- When she suggested that we bag all of my cold items in one bag I was impressed....seriously, the thought has never crossed my mind in all the years of bagging my own groceries (Jodi is also the one who suggested separating one's wash colors- to this day, I still don't but think it is a brilliant idea). While we talked our way out of the store, in front of us was a gentleman eating an ice cream that he had bought at the stand alone ice cream deli that you walk by just before leaving this particular grocery chain...
Jodi and I made our way to her car first, talking the whole way, and then discussed we would meet again at my mom's in just a bit and parted ways- As I made my way over to my car, I saw that the ice cream eating gentleman and I were parked by each other.  He was standing outside his vehicle eating his ice cream while I was putting my groceries into the trunk.  For some reason, watching him eat his ice cream reminded me of, to date, one of my most embarrassing moments.
Rewind twenty years and put yourself at the same store in that same parking lot with an ice cream cone in your hand.  The cone is holding chocolate ice cream and you are trying to eat it fast because it is hot outside.

How did it never occur to me to wipe my mouth after taking each bite of ice cream

Quincy and her brother Tory had been childhood friends that we had lost contact with.  She was put together and beautiful- truth be told, the type of girl that you want to look your best around....really more for your own vanity and self esteem sake than anything :)

When I heard 'Stephanie?'- Like someone thought they knew who I was but was not sure, I turned around and saw that it was Quincy calling my name- she was sitting in her vehicle....a van that I could walk right up to and chat with her- face to face
In an effort to be able to chat with her for longer than a quick 'hi', I scarfed down the rest of the cone and began talking.

The image of what I saw in the rear view mirror when I was done talking to Quincy and had come back to my own car is still burned into my mind.

A 1/2 inch ring of dark brown chocolate surrounding the complete outside edge of my mouth- it was dry and crusty by the time I saw it but still blaringly there.  It was maybe a 1/4 of an inch from the bottom of my nose (so totally covering all that area between your lip and nose) and for some reason, it was really far out on both sides of my mouth towards my cheeks.  It was down on my chin forming a chocolate smile under my lip...imagine a toddler learning to feed themselves and this was the scene going on around my mouth.
I sat in shocked silence for a bit and then quickly wiped my mouth.  Several napkins and a clean mouth later, it struck me that I needed to go find Quincy and explain to her that it was not a habit to walk around with food all over my face..
She had already left
and I have never seen her again
:)

This post is dedicated to those of us who have ever experienced 'most embarrassing moments'
the moments, that in the time, you want to crawl in a hole and never come out
those same moments, that after time, you tell your kids and husband about and bust up laughing

thank you google images for this pic