Romans 8:28

Today Jas hit a deer on his way to work. Jas is ok, the Tahoe is not as ok,
and the deer is definitely not ok.

The "Jesus is in control" part of this story is that the Tahoe has been giving us problems so I haven't wanted to drive it. Jas, being the amazing husband he is, has gleefully tolerantly taken over driving of said vehicle, leaving me the car. If Jas had been driving the smaller vehicle this morning, well, let's just say the car wouldn't have stood a chance. And guess which of the two vehicles has full coverage? I'll give you a hint - It rhymes with Rahoe. Romans 8:28 for the win!

I love situations like these (in the midst of hating them, of course), because I am able to point out to the ladies that Jesus is indeed in control, and that he does use the junky stuff for our good. Sometimes you just have to wait to be able to see it.

Value

Last Spring we went to Arts Ala Carte at the high school (highly recommend) and Jas spent a majority of his time looking at one painting in particular.  He was captivated by this particular piece of art and, I confess, I thought it was a beautiful painting, but I just wasn't sure why he was so drawn to it.

We came home and he continued to talk about this painting to the point that he decided to ask Maddie to be his liaison and ask the artist if he could purchase her painting. Long story short - The painting now hangs on our living room wall.

I rearranged our living room yesterday and had to move the painting so I found myself looking at it and thinking about it again. Jas found value in his painting and went after it without hesitation. I was actually embarrassed at first - What would this poor student think of my husband's pursuit of their artwork?  (As it turns out, once she heard the price he was willing to pay, she was flattered and quite willing to part with it.)  And I just didn't get it - I wouldn't have paid the price he did for this painting. It didn't seem worth the price to me.

But to Jas it was worth it.

I didn't find the same worth in Jason's painting as he did. But once I moved past my idea of what had value I really began to see the beauty in what Jas loved. And I began to value it too.

Not so near the finish line...

I used to have this idea that because I was a young mom, I would have energy through all of my children's lives. I would be the wonderful mom who did all of the things, and took all of the pictures, and did all of the laundry (I can dream), and wrote all of the blogs (well, you get the idea) and I would never be the mom who didn't make a baby book for her youngest child, so to speak.

Actually using a baby book is a terrible example because, frankly, I didn't even finish the eldest child's baby book. Whoops.

Anyway, I was going to be super mom! Aren't we all? Then time started passing and my older children started getting older and busier and somehow our lives started revolving around the older ones and...the younger ones started falling through the cracks. 

How does that even happen?

Maddie is a senior this year and somehow I had gotten it in my head that I am nearing the finish line; that my parenting days are nearing their end because one of my five is getting ready to fly the coop. One of five.    Ask me how old Kate is.

6. Yeah, 6. That isn't exactly, kinda, sorta, nearly done. Not even close.

Now, there are a whole cast of other factors playing into this ridiculousness that was my completely out of touch mindset, but needless to say, I've come to my senses. I have 5 children still at home (because let's face it, the eldest isn't really going anywhere at the current moment), and my job is far from over. And I have younger children who deserve to have a childhood that isn't just crumbs left over from their older siblings. And no, the younger kids haven't been sitting around unbathed, starving, with drool dripping down their chins. It's just that we were much more intentional with the older ones about doing things. We still do fun stuff with our family, but it has taken more of an if-we-can-cram-it-between-all-the-other-things kind of a deal. And we realized we want to make sure our younger ones look back and see that they had just as much of a Schwartztastic upbringing as the older ones. (Yes, Schwartztastic is a thing. If you weren't aware of this you obviously have not spent enough time with our family.)

So, in an attempt to be more intentional, as any good, Fall-loving, Minnesota family would do, we hit the apple orchard! A trip that we always have good intentions of making, but just haven't managed to do the past few years. But this year we managed it, by jingo!

Now these pictures already made it to facebook, so they aren't anything new, but we're documenting for posterity here, so bear with me. 

Our first stop was the tractors because, Tractors!

The best apples at this point of the season are nearer the top so there was a lot of reaching...

And lifting...

 And climbing up on Papa's shoulders because that, dear ones, is what papas are for.

I got smiles out of the teenagers! 

*Threats may or may not have played a part in the taking of this photograph.

This munchkin was all about the koi pond. I'm going to have to agree because water is simply the greatest thing on the planet earth!

My apple pickers! You may notice we are missing one. This is a common occurrence these days, and not a happy one, but it makes us appreciate the times she is with us all the more. 

Me and the littlest munchkin. I have many, many more years of apple picking ahead of me with this little lady! What could be better? 

Go fly a kite

I don't have a very good track record of just letting things go so I can spend time with the kids. So yesterday when we got home from the grocery store, new kites in hand, and the ladies all eagerly asked if we could go outside immediately and test them out I said..."No".  And, realistically, this was a very reasonable response - We have new windows being installed tomorrow, and a few other projects, and the house still needed (needs?) some serious help. I watched their faces fall, and took one more look around the house, and, with a somewhat painful effort, I reassessed the situation and said..."Yes". Yes, to kites, yes to my kids...

Yes to living.

And here was the result -

What is it about kites that makes you feel like you are actually up there, a part of the sky?

Jas got home from work, found an empty house (and an open front door - whoops), and after a quick phone call, came over and joined us. 

The field was soggy, and muddy, and pretty much gross, and honestly, I probably yelled a few too many times for the kids to get out of said mud, and Kate's brand new shoes now look less than, but I'll take it...

...because this was ultimately what we will all remember.

Sassy poses - Do kids even know how to take normal pictures?

How could I not take time from the trivial to spend time with these ladies, 

some of which will only be here a few more years?

Yes, I am as tall as my shadow appears. Don't even question it.

This was way better than another evening of cleaning the house. 

I might be scrambling a bit more today, 

but I certainly don't regret it.  :o)

Keeping it real

For some reason I live under the delusion that my house should really be clean and company ready at all times. In reality, if you are coming to visit I really need 2 or 3 weeks notice first. In writing.

I guess it could have something to do with the fact that people all over the internet (facebook, blogs, etc) post all the beautiful parts of life, and perhaps the funny ones, but rarely the messy ones. In an attempt at breaking that cycle I would like to welcome everyone into...

My dining room.

Oh yes, see it in all it's glory. School supplies still on the table; a pile of garbage and boxes in the corner, waiting for a new home after Spring cleaning (see how well that works?); the totally crappy sander we bought at Menards last night staring mockingly at me after I spent hours hand sanding my window frames; my table that is begging to be refinished. You get the picture - It's a mess.

I would love to say that my home rarely looks this messy. Ok, it actually doesn't always look this messy, but I certainly don't have floors that shine like the top of the Chrysler Building. Maybe once they've been that clean - When they were still in the boxes waiting to be installed.

And lest you think the mess is contained to this room, here is my kitchen -

And my living room (which was actually picked up a bit before I took this picture, but still leaves much to be desired)

And, because we are really showing off today, here is my 5 year old; unbrushed hair, 

cantaloupe face and all -

Welcome to our reality. It's not always my favorite (in fact, sometimes there is yelling involved), but it is what it is. Someday maybe it will look as lovely and perfect as I would like it to, but in the meantime...

We live here.

I've missed this blog

I used to write on here regularly. It was my diary, I suppose, of all the things that this little (not so little?) family of mine has been up to. And then...

I stopped.

Life, the chronicling of which was the entire purpose of this blog o' mine, got in the way. I can't imagine how that happened. I mean life with 7 people has to be easy and carefree, right? Yeah, those of you who that works for, please, drop me a line. I could use some pointers.

So fast forward a really long time to this past winter when this happened- 

To refresh your memory, the last family picture I posted was this one -

This picture was taken 2 1/2 years ago. Mom fail.

But you know what you do when you fail? You pick up the pieces and start all over again!

And here we are. A little older. A little wiser (maybe). A little more bored because we aren't going on Facebook for a whole week. (No, I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that I am here right now instead of mindlessly checking the statuses of people I haven't seen in person for years. Surely there is no connection between lack of productivity and Facebook.) 

Anyway, I would really like to get back at this. I love writing, and I especially love writing about this crazy little life of ours. And there are so many things to write about! A nearly 16 year old who is about to get her license, a 14 year old who is likely going to go to school for the first time in the fall, an 11 year old who is excited to start paging at the library this summer, an 8 year old who is so excited about summer camp that she talks about it nearly every day, and Kate. Need I say more?

So if you are joining us, welcome. I like to think we are a fun little corner of the universe - I hope you think so too!

Camping at Whitewater

Tis' still summer in Minnesota (sigh) and summer means camping! Every year, more or less, we go camping with our Bible Study Group, and this year was no exception! This year we went to Whitewater State Park which is know for it's noticeable lack of mosquitoes. It has been so rainy this year, we actually did notice a few, but very few. I think I got bit twice all weekend and if you are a MN native, you know this is a big deal.

Unfortunately, I didn't pull my camera out much, so for this post you are going to see primarily hiking pictures. The only other thing I really wish I had gotten pictures of was the sand beach which was truly awesome. If you haven't been to Whitewater I highly recommend it!

Anyway, we all know it is pictures you are here for, so here we go.


Getting 35+ people ready for a hike isn't quite as easy as it might appear. There always seems to be one more person who needs to run back to get something and, especially important for kids, just one more bathroom break to take!

Thankfully, in spite of many, many, many delays, spirits were high...


...mostly.


Sara was extra chipper on this particular afternoon, and I'm sure she is even more so after seeing this picture!


Yep, we're original. Taking pictures of each other. Awesome.


Piggy-back rides were plentiful...




...as were ears for holding. This is very important if you are a 2 year old named Kate.


Love this picture. Love these kids.


Still smiling!


I'm not sure, but I'm thinking Jeorge was feeling inferior, what with standing next to Brett and his towering height, so he stood himself on this rock to make himself feel taller. Yep, I'm pretty sure that's what was going on.


And we're off! Uphill. Great.


We have kids. Just a few though.


Ok, so the uphill hike was worth the wait. Very pretty!


Aren't they authentic, what with their sticks and all.


Family photo op!


This is what we look like between takes.


Ok, not hike-related. I decided this lovely branch at our campsite would be the perfect place to stage our own Awkward Family Photo! However, upon posting this picture I discovered that people love it. Hmm.... Jas says he should have been in front of Kate if we really wanted it to be awkward. Oh well.


To sum up, it was a lovely camping trip. Beautious weather, good friends, good times. I highly recommend.


Summer, you can be done now. Don't make me put up the snowman.