Softball

Remember when I said I like balls? I like softball. A few weeks ago for our Wednesday night church we met at the park and played softball together. The last bit we let all the kids take turns batting and running the bases. It was so cute watching them try and hit the ball. Then, as soon as they hit it we would scream, "RUN! RUN!" and they'd run for dear life. They had a blast. Here are pictures of my kids taking a turn.

I love that I have my own mit. The first mit I owned got left at Delano Bay by Adam Langford the weekend we had Izzy and the Langfords took care of the high school retreat for us. This is my second one and it definitely didn't get used enough this summer. That's for sure. I need to to throw a ball today. I won't because it's raining but maybe tomorrow. Let's have a ball throwing day tomorrow. How many of you will throw a ball? I will!

More pictures and an update

We had a fun weekend this last weekend. Our friends Christy and Cheryl from Oregon came with there five kids collectively and stayed from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon. We took Kaylin and Blake's pictures while they were here as well as a picture of my kids all together which is a most difficult project when the mother is the photographer! It was so great having all of them!

After they left we took a family nap together and I woke up feeling a little under the weather. Turns out I ended up feeling a lot under the weather and threw up three times during the night and once in the morning. I felt completely horrible for most of the day yesterday with my head pounding and my stomach and back aching like crazy. Emma was so sweet and fixed the kids' breakfast. Ben had no clue I was sick and got up early for a 7:30 meeting. He came home later in the morning and brought me saltines and gatorade and fed the kids lunch.. After another meeting he came back and took care of the kids who were destroying the house (in a creative way) and gave them some more food and a little extra guidance. Once I was feeling stable enough and brave enough to try tylenol on a slightly empty stomach, I felt so much better. I think I am on the up swing now but will definitely stay in today and be still as much as possible. Time to have some toast!

Jessica's Photo Shoot

The Winner!

Well, if you didn't get to vote, I'm awful sorry. But the winner is...
...in this order...

Chelan Metcalf, earning first place with... the tree base...

Jennifer Ries, in second place with... sailboats...

and Chelan Metcalf, in third place with... the rowboats

Thanks for playing. Good night and good luck!

Friendly photo contest

So, my friend Chelan came to spend the day with me and we had an impromptu photo contest. We both shot an even number of pictures and now you will be the judge as to the true winner. Please pick your top three and we will narrow it down to the blue ribbon winner. Don't try and figure out who shot which pictures. There's no playing favorites in this game! Enjoy and vote with confidence!

Suggestions?

Alright. I need some advice. This is my front door. To the left is a covered car port. There is cement and wall. How can I make my front door area welcoming and pretty when I don't have dirt or rain or sun? What do I do with that empty
space next to the door? There will be a surprise for the best and least expensive idea...

A little of this and a little of that...

So, I'm not so glum any more and I thought it necessary to post anew.

This is Ben. He's away this evening spending time with friends in Portland for a wake on behalf of their good buddy Adam. I'm glad he's able to be there.

While he's been gone I've done some things around the house that really needed to get done! We have a downstairs. There are stairs that go down and then there's a door... That's pretty much it. We can stow some of our precious belongings on the other side of that door but other than that you'd probably rather turn right back around and go up the stairs again. Well, those stairs have been littered with boxes and knick knacks that we just don't need around right now or just don't have a home in the "real" part of the house. They all did have one thing in common... They needed to fit together in just the precise order on the other side of that door down yonder. TRICKY! Well, I did it. It's all in there. There's nothing on the stairs nor on the landing. Nada. It may not be the perfect order and the boxes may not be labeled as to the randomness within the box but gosh darn it nobody can see my crap because it's all hidden away! It feels good. Real good.

The other thing that I will do in the morning is vacuum. I do like to vacuum. it's one of my more likeable jobs around the house. (Not like the dishes which, with a dishwasher, aren't half as bad!) It might not seem very exciting to you that I'm vacuuming but we don't own a working vacuum so we have to borrow one EVERY time. It's nice that we have carpet that hides just about everything, except for the kids' carpet which is a nice shade of white. Big bummer. When we do get a vacuum we're going with an Oreck. We think they're good. I'll make sure to take a picture of it when we get one... in like two months. Until then it will be a vacuuming frenzy on the occasional "Borrowing Day". What's your more enjoyable task around the house? Hope this post was more cheerful. Until next time!

Grumbly thoughts

You may have been a looker but you're sure not a poster so I'm moving on!

I have to confess I'm a little grumpy so if I sound ugly just assume I have the best intentions.

I got a piano tonight. I'm really happy. I couldn't play it very much before it got too late so that sucks. It's old and pretty and the tips of the keys aren't all broken off like my old piano. That's good. I want to write lots of songs. Hopefully I will.

I just read the fifth Harry Potter book and it wasn't the most uplifting. Death sucks. Loss sucks. Being stuck in a hard place sucks. In Harry's life and in my own... At least I'm not Harry... That's good. I've got parents and a great family. Nobody wants to kill me. Oh, and I'm not in school anymore! That's always good!

Since I was in such a sad place after finishing the book I thought, "Hey, I might as well watch the East County Memorial service for Adam now..." but I couldn't find it... Oh, well. I'm sure I'll come across it when I'm very cheerful and decide to put it off again... Figures.

I'll post a picture of my piano when I feel like it...


Or you all could get up here and visit me. My mom is the only one off the hook. (And Jess because that would be evil of me!)

Camping at Lake Chelan

If you were expecting an actual picture of Lake Chelan you'll just have to look on the internet. My camera is too heavy for me to carry around all the time! Here is a picture of Izzy with her friend Victoria.Here is the fire master

This is Emma with her summer friend, Kelsey, who left to travel back to her home in Texas. We are thankful Emma got to be with her for the short time they had.

Ben washing dishes. I didn't wash a single dish... Lucky me...

The kids had fun drawing each others outlines with chalk. There were dead bodies everywhere!

We had a great time. The weather wasn't as hot as we expected but we made due and played games under canopies when necessary. We went tubing and rented a jet ski. We spent time together and ate together. Good times.

Camping

I love camping. I grew up going camping and have taken my children camping since they were babies. Some of the best camping trips are doing nothing. Lounging on the hammock or reading a good book (well, not with young children around...)

I have so many great memories of camping and some not so great memories. I hate waking up soaked and freezing and feeling so desperate to sleep that I'd scoot as far away as I could from the puddle soaking into my sleeping bag instead of figuring out a new situation in the middle of a cold, dark night. I remember putting layers and layers of clothing on my little babies, socks over there little hands, because I knew they wouldn't keep there covers on. And there's the evenings when it gets cold enough that you'd sooner choose the warmth of a sleeping bag at 8pm rather than shiver by a fire. Then, of course, you wake up with your butt hitting the hard ground when it should have been high above it on a fully inflated air mattress. There's also the question of whether or not to share covers with your spouse or be in your own sleeping bag... Good times.

The there's the entertainment of animals nearby. The squirrels, the raccoons, the occasional deer, the skunks and a bear if you're really lucky! There's the campgrounds where you have to keep your food and even your toiletries in the car for fear of dangerous beasts intruding into your perfect vacation. We've woken up to the sounds of exploding pop cans. Then sending Ben into the darkness to scare away the raccoons who were not at all scared to be there. And you have to be careful, of course when leaving your campsite, to put up everything from lunch lest it be stolen by birds and squirrels. Fun...

What about food? Are you a simple, quick meal planner or do you make more elaborate meals than you would in your own kitchen, with your dutch ovens and your hot coals? Have you had a delicious cobbler for dessert after a great steak dinner or do you hot dog it and finish the meal off with the last bit of your Coke or Dr. Pepper? Quesadillas or peanut butter and jelly? We've done it all.

And then there's camping in a tent trailer which we acquired not too many years ago. Ahh, the feeling of being off the ground... It's nice, isn't it? Even the convenience of sitting on the side of your bed without your knees at your chest is refreshing. Now, I do like the tent trailer but am I not being consistent if I think that motor homes and campers aren't quite "camping"? Don't get me wrong, I love them. I love looking inside all of them and the electricity and the luxury is fantastic but if that's the only way you've ever camped then that's plain cheating!

On Thursday we leave for our church campout at Lake Chelan. We will be tenting it and dutch ovening it. I am very excited and anticipate when I will be done packing and can just enjoy sitting and fellowshipping with our newly found friends. Think of me and I'll pretend you're camping with me.

I have friends

Well, when we were on our visit to P-town I mentioned that we spent time with lots of friends and I never showed you any of those pictures. So, here they are.

This was a gathering we had at Jason and Rici's. Everyone gave me a hard time about being forced to take this group picture but I know they'll appreciate it down the road!!Emma took this picture for us at Cheryl's house.

This was at Rici's, too. Ben took this one.
All the girls.

I can post all the time now since I have internet!! You better check back every five minutes in case I surprise you! It's nice to be on line...

Our fantastic new home

This is the front of our house w/ carport and large bushes!This is our large and beautiful living room including but not limited to nice wood vaulted ceilings and 2 walls full of windows with a gorgeous view into all our neighbors yards!
...And a view of the living room from a fresh perspective...
Here is the dining room and kitchen w/ sliding doors leading to deck in back yard. The railing at bottom of picture surrounds the staircase leading to the basement. The front door is to the right of this picture on the far side of the railing.
This is the back of the house including the back and side yard. A pain to mow but a joy to play in!
I would give all of you our address but that would be dangerous... We don't want any unwelcomed visitors. However, if we know you, you are a welcomed visitor. Please come any time. Arangements can be made by contacting us by phone or email. What a glorious place this is!

We are no longer homeless

We found a house! It's in the middle of Bellingham, a mile from the church. Utilities are paid and it's a completely remodeled house with new floors and kitchen. Their are lots of kids in the neighborhood and not any through traffic. If we can get our deposit and rent before the work day is over we can get our keys today! If not we'll have to wait 'til Monday. Either way we're very excited!! God is good!

Takin' it easy

We're having a great time here in Portland/Vancouver. We've been with family...
... and more family...
... and more family...
... and more family.
We took a trip to the Zoo, too.
We've spent time with lots of friends. I'll just have to take more pictures of them! We'll be heading to our new home on Monday. I'm very excited!

"We are here! We are here! We are heeeeeere!"

Movie?

It's from Horton Hears a Who...

We made it. We didn't die or crash or get any speeding tickets and if my memory is correct, which it sometimes is not, we never had to spank our children! Sounds like a great trip, huh? We drove straight up to Bellingham and, boy, is it gorgeous. Aiden's first words were, "Our city is beautiful!" When we pulled up to Sterling Drive Church of Christ Izzy said, "That didn't take much long!"
Our kids got to meet a lot of the church on Wednesday night and we spent the night with Aaron and Chelan Thursday night. Me, Chelan, and Christy drove back up to Bellingham to look at houses with a realtor and concluded by the end of the weekend that we will be renting! We are peaceful and excited about it and will be able to be in the size house we want. We looked at rentals on Saturday while we were their and will be looking again as soon as we are up there for good.
Emma seems to have lots of tummy aches in the midst of change, she has our last two moves, and so it's seeming more important for us to see our "peeps" here and get up to Bellingham by the sixteenth or so so we can move into a house asap. I know her tummy aches will probably continue off and on through the summer and as school approaches but the more stable the better, right?
Ben is on his vacation with his friends from Texas that he's had planned for the last year and he'll be back on Friday. I love all of you and look forward to staying in touch as we start a new chapter of our lives!!

Remembering Abilene (including Sidney)

We will miss it here.

Splish Splash and Luxury

Before I start the post I have intended for today I need to let you know I was sitting here typing when I heard a sort of splashing sound on the bathroom floor. I peeked around the corner to see Izzy with her panties down and her buns on the very edge of the toilet seat. But before she could get all of herself over "the water" the dam broke and the river came aflowin' and there was just nothing she could do to stop it so I just stood there and laughed and laughed until she finished and she said, "It's not funny, mom." But it was!


This is a post from my good friend Julia. It was such a profound thought I wanted more people to read it. :) We all know how many faithful readers I have! (Sorry, Julia. :)No hard feelings?)

Comfort

My life is very comfortable. My bed, my couch, my car. Everything is climate controlled. I have enough clothes to be warm. My shoes fit perfectly. My food is always safe and available 24 hours a day. I can choose to cook or have food ordered directly to my door. My clothes are washed AND dried by machines. My kids have their own beds, blankets pillows. They have their own ROOMS. They have enough food that if some falls on the floor it is thrown away. My dogs have their own food bowls and separate beds. They have their own doctor if they get ill.

My children know no suffering. No disease, death or pain. Their tummy's are full every night. Their bathrooms are stocked with every medicine available. They have more shoes than they know what to do with. Their greatest tragedy is that their bath water is too cold or too hot.

Oh, did I mention we have indoor plumbing? INDOOR! I can have fresh clean drinkable water rain down on my body for as long as I want and at the PERFECT temperature. My toilet has a nice seat on it, and will flush away any yuck with a push of a lever... did I mention that the waste is carried away with perfectly safe drinking water? Which I do not drink. I buy special water from the store to drink.

There are no rats or mice in my home. Not even an ant. No fleas or frogs.

I have communication with my love ones. Regardless of what their religion or opinions are. We can all travel to see each other whenever we want. We can pick up the phone and hear their voice. Even while my husband is at war I can see and speak to him over the computer. I know where all my family lives. No one is missing, everyone accounted for.

I have so much time on my hands that at night I lay in my bed watching OTHER people entertain me, and if I am displeased with a particular event, I can rid it from my sight with a push of the button.

Total comfort.

The Most Wonderful Mother in the World!

So...Jen doesn't know I'm doing this. She went to Abilene to scrapbook with some friends and I'm alone in Sidney with the kids. I realize the risk in hijacking someone's blog and the potential backlash I may receive from all of her faithful readers. However, since Mother's Day is just two days away I thought it would be appropriate to say some words about my wife, the greatest mother on the face of the planet.

Here are some things I love about the way my wife loves our children. For starters, she treats them like they are people. Too often, grown-ups treat little kids as if they don't deserve to be given the full rights of human beings. Jen does not do this. When I want to use the fact that I am bigger and stronger than my children to get them to do something Jen reminds me that this sort of behavior is not consistent with the way of Jesus. Unfortunately, for me at least, my oldest daughter Emma has caught on and is more than willing to call me out when I try to bully her or anyone else around. I'm grateful for the example of my wife.

Secondly, she realizes that our task as parents is more than just making sure our kids have food on their plate, a roof over their heads, and clothes on their back. She helps our children learn patience, love, self-control, kindness to the outcast, and countless other characteristics. Words are inadequate to express the amazing way my wife is forming our children. I am grateful for the example of my wife.

I mentioned above that Jen treats our kids like human beings. She also allows them to be kids and have fun. No one is more creative than my wife. No one is more spontaneous than my wife. No one can play dress-up, sing a song, read a book, build a fort, or find as much joy in the little things of parenting as my wife. For these reasons, I am grateful for the example of my wife.

I asked my children why they love their mom and these were their responses:

Emma: Because she's nice and she's trying to get a house in Washington with a hot tub and she helps.

Aiden: Because she is my favorite mom and she lets us go to Mr. Gatti's and Chuckie Cheese and she lets us go to playgrounds, and that's it.

Isabel: Because she's my great mama...(after I asked again)...and because you're my great daddy.

Jen, if you are reading this, please know that you are the love of my life. If given another 100 times to choose, I would choose you every time. I'm sure that if our kids had a choice in who could be their mother, they would choose you as well. Happy (early) Mother's Day and know that you will always be appreciated and loved. With all that I am, I love you!

To everyone else...Do you have any great stories about Jen and how wonderful of mother she is? Would you be willing to share it? Could you help my children and me make this Mother's Day especially wonderful for Jen?

Thanks for letting me steal a moment of your time on Jen's blog,
ben

Good news, bad news

We did this a lot in high school in bible class and Ben did this a lot with his teens. You update everyone on your week by saying a good thing and a bad thing.

So, do you want the good news first, or the bad news?

We'll start with the bad.
Bad news is we are NOT moving in June like we thought...

Good news is we are moving in May.

Bad news is we have less time to say goodbye and less time to pack.

Good news is we eliminated those first few weeks where you can't really pack up everything yet, anyways.

Bad news is we won't have anywhere to unpack these boxes 'cause there's no time to look for a house.

Good news is we can look together when we get there and we can live with one of the elders until we find a place.

Bad news is we won't have our camping stuff readily available.

Good news is we have a church camp out in July!

Bad news is it might get a little chilly at night.

Good news is, "Who cares? We'll be in Washington!"

God is Good!

We're going! This is an aerial view of our soon-to-be home in Bellingham, WA. I can't tell you exactly which house will be ours, though...

We got a call this evening and got the details worked out. We will be heading around the 9th of June and he will start around the beginning of July. We are more than excited and now dread looking for boxes and newspaper...

Celebrate with us and praise God for his faithfulness and his grace in our lives.

A knife, some clouds and a sewing machine

Either you're not quick enough or Dustin's wedding just doesn't float your boat. Never-the-less, we shall move on. :)

Here's a hodge podge of a blog...
My brother will be pleased to hear that I have cut my self for the first time using our great Miracle Blade knives which Tara and Eric gave us for Christmas. Have you tried cutting up a mango before? There heck a hard! Not literally, just difficult to cut. The pit is such an odd shape and the fruit has no desire to peel away from it so you just keep sawing until you've managed to scrape off every bit of "mango shmango", as my son likes to call them. So, I was sawing and the pit moved to the right ever so slightly and my knife went straight into my left thumb. It hurt. Thanks to my strength, it hardly bled. I put so much pressure on it that it had no where to go! It still hurts 48 hours later... And try not using your thumb. Everything feels fine until I accidentally button someone's pants or undo a car seat buckle. Yikes!

Would any of you like to know that we have had thunder storms the last two or three days in a row and will continue to have them for the next ten days? Crazy!

If Shelly Neilson reads this it will give away my secret but, then again, if she does read this it would be a miracle in itself... The Neilsons watched our kids while we were in Washington and I really wanted to get her a cute apron as a thank you. Sorry, Paul. She wanted one for Christmas and her children looked everywhere and ended up getting her one with a Christmas elf. Needless to say, she still would love a cute apron. So, I decided that instead of shopping around everywhere, as well, I am just going to make it. I already bought everything I need and have cut out all the pieces. Don't forget I also washed and ironed the fabric. Soon enough I will have an apron to give her! I hope my sewing machine works.