We are trying to make the most of this stretch of beautiful summer weather! When it’s sunny and warm in Bellingham, there’s no other place on earth we’d rather be. We live in the most beautiful town. We have awesome parks and there are lots of fun (and mostly free) activities to participate in if you do some research. We enjoyed a concert at Elizabeth Park last night and will hopefully make it to a few more of those throughout the summer. On Saturday night we will be heading over to the Fairhaven Green to watch We are Marshall on the outdoor screen there.
As a family we are trying to be much more intentional about how we spend our time together. Days, weeks and months go by so quickly. The boys are growing up and we don’t want to take our time with them for granted.
There probably won’t be much posted here throughout the summer (except pictures, occasionally) because I plan on being outside more, using my computer less and playing with my kids. Hope you enjoy your summer!
Aliza looks especially “little” in the arms of and between these two adoring uncles. She is such a loved little girl. God has truly blessed our family through the gift of Aliza.
I love Shane’s expression in this picture! What do you think he may be thinking?
At the very last minute (Saturday night) we decided the boys could go to Firwood this week. We packed Sunday morning after church and they were registered and ready to go at 1pm on Sunday afternoon. The boys were SO excited. Caleb was a bit nervous about taking the swim test but he did fine (he was happy to get the yellow bracelet that allowed him to do most things with a life jacket). The boys are in the same cabin, which is great and their counselors seemed like really nice guys. Cory is also at Firwood (he’s a CIT this summer) and the boys were thrilled to be able to go and spend some time with him there. The theme for this week is PIRATES! It couldn’t be more perfect for them!
When we took them out to camp we walked around and Cam showed the boys what cabin he stayed in when he was a CIT (13 years ago!). He shared with them the story of how God told him that he was supposed to marry me (while lying in his bunk, contemplating pursuing another girl!) We had been dating before camp but “broke up” a couple weeks before he left for the summer. God pretty clearly spoke to his heart that day and confirmed that we were “it” for each other. As we walked around and talked with the boys yesterday, I remembered visiting Cam at Firwood that summer. I knew I had taken him and our relationship for granted and I missed him SO much. It didn’t take long after camp before we figured our stuff out and resumed our relationship (shortly after that there was a lot of other drama but that’s another story…). As Cam and I talk about our history as a couple I am so grateful and amazed at how God brought us together. Through the hills and the valleys God had His hand on each of us and had a good plan for our life together. One important thing for us to remember, as parents, is not to freak out if one of our boys tells us he’s totally in love with a girl and God told him that she’s the “one” when he’s 17.
We miss our boys (Daddy most of all right now) but Cam and I are having a lot of fun together and are really thankful for this time for them and for us.
To see a few more pictures click the Flickr link (on the right).
We are a family of “P’s” (see Myers Briggs personality types). Not one of us enjoys mundane, boring, repetitive jobs. We strongly dislike household maintenance and chores. Yet, practically every weekend we set these big goals to accomplish all the tasks we have been putting off for the last year (or more). We always hope to get EVERYTHING done on Saturday and then enjoy our Sunday together.
What typically happens is this– major melt-down between the boys or us that ends up taking hours to “fix” and we end up with very little productivity. We need a new approach. We have this dream of having this very organized, minimalist house with everything in it’s place and organization that we can maintain. Don’t get me wrong– we aren’t slobs, generally our house is tidy and sanitary, it’s just not as efficiently organized as we would like.
Somehow we (or more honestly, I) have to learn how to accept that we are who we are and that our dreams of being this super diligent, organized and task oriented family might be a bit too lofty for what we actually are.
God created us with different gifts– we can’t all serve the same function in the body of Christ. Comparing gifts and strengths is a bad idea– we’ll always come up wanting. I need to remember to focus on what makes us unique and how God continues to use us in spite of our limitations in the area of organization. When I take the time to stop and look at who/what God designed us to be I am thankful and humbled. He gave us a heart for people, relationships and hospitality. He gifted us with an ability to be flexible and to function well in chaos. He allows us opportunities to be transparent leaders and visionaries. He blessed us with discernment and the ability to counsel and encourage.
Practically this is what that all looks like– you’ll always be welcome at our disorganized and cluttered house. We won’t be freaked out by your messiness and chaos (it can’t be worse than ours). We will be 100% honest with you about our “stuff” and hope we can encourage you to do the same.
Click the mosaic above to check out the the Photoset on Flickr.
Looking through all of our sunny vacation pictures makes this dreary, rainy day much more dreary and rainy! If summer doesn’t come this year I think I’ll be ready to move in September!
We had so much fun our first day at Disneyland! We arrived at the park at 9:30am and went on 5 big rides in the first 2 hours! It was a bit chilly, especially after getting wet on a couple of the rides. We are hoping the sun comes for our other days at Disneyland.
Here’s what we did today:
Indiana Jones
Thunder Mountain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain
Winne the Pooh
Astro-Blasters
Soarin’ Over California
Grizzly River Run
Space Mountain
Matterhorn (during fireworks — which was super cool!)
Tea Cups
Mr. Toad
Snow White
Pinocchio
Pirates of the Caribbean (again)
Nemo Submarine
Here’s a few pics from the first day:
Kelly and I picked up a birthday button for Cam yesterday. She had them write “Roon” on it– that’s her nickname for Cam.
Seany had just eaten a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich.
Mike took the front on Splash Mountain and got SOAKED!
Caleb leaps for joy as we enter California Adventure!
Mike and Cam on our way California Adventure– oooh–look at those calf muscles!!
Kelly and Mike riding Winne the Pooh.
Today we are just hanging out at the house– hopefully around the pool! We are celebrating Cam’s 30th birthday and Kelly’s 20th.
Happy Birthday Cam! 30 is good. I love you SO very much.
5 more days ’til takeoff and 8 more ’til Disneyland!
The boys worked way ahead of their school schedule and are almost entirely done for the year! They have a few more history lessons and a couple spelling tests but after that, they are done. Our vacation to California will officially kick off our summer break.
Last year when we took our vacation we put a couple Harry Potter audio books on the ipods so the boys could listen on the plane and in the airports. It turned out to be a great idea for keeping them occupied. This year I am loading the ipods with Tom Sawyer. The story is a classic, full of adventure, pirates, and carefree boyish schemes. I am hoping for another memorable summer full of excitement, creativity and exploration for the boys. Sean and Caleb are incredibly blessed with a wonderful beach that their Grandparents put much time and thought into so that they can have the kind of summers most little boys only get to dream of.
I had a really great day with my family. I am so blessed to have such a supportive and loving husband who provides our boys a wonderful example to emulate. All three of them picked out beautiful, pink roses, and a couple other very thoughtful gifts. Sean and Caleb made me cards that were really sweet. Sean brought me breakfast in bed and Caleb came and snuggled with me for a little bit. We went to church together this morning and this afternoon Cam and the boys did chores at home to give me a day off. We spent the evening at Cam’s parent’s house, having dinner and playing Yahtzee. It was a great day! We’ll be celebrating with my mom next weekend when Holly and Shane are in town.
I read Beth’s blog tonight when we got home and found some of the best parenting advice I’ve ever read. It’s kind of long– but so good! Here’s some of what Beth says she’s learned along the way:
*Kids are pretty danged resilient. Ours survived some rough times but knew their struggling parents – fighting so hard for wholeness – loved them like crazy (and sometimes just loved them crazy) and were steadily trying to get healthier and healthier. When Keith and I each came to conclusions that we were messed up enough to mess them up, we went to counseling. The girls knew it and respected it.
*They don’t expect their parents to be perfect but they sure as heck expect them to be real. They despise hypocrisy and disrespect what is disrespectful even if they’re too scared to say so. They respond well to genuine apologies and, in fact, don’t learn to extend them otherwise.
*They need lots and lots of hugs and kisses even if they act like they don’t. They need to be told “I love you so much” over and over even if they don’t seem to be listening. They are. Don’t just give in to a sullen child and become sullen with him/her. Some kids have everything to lose if you let them win. Keep fighting for a relationship and try to take interest in their interests and sooner or later, they’ll cave in and smile. I respect few parents on earth more than Dr. James McDonald (pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Chicago area) and his wife, Kathy. When one of his kids became a teenager, he felt an unfamiliar distance grow between them. He became so worried when it persisted that he told his church he was going to need to take some time off and wasn’t sure how long. With Kathy’s blessing, he told the teenager to pack a bag and get in the car with him. He drove out of the driveway, and took off on a road trip, explaining to the child that they’d return when their relationship was mended. Needless to say, after some very awkward hours, they ended up talking, crying, laughing, and making memories that they’ll have for a lifetime. Now, that’s some fine parenting.
*They need to laugh a ton with their parents and be silly. There need to be lots of private jokes that only family understands. When both girls married, those were the things they recalled to their daddy and me most.
*They need to know that God is not just the Boss. He’s the biggest blast in all of life. They love to learn the wonders of God in creation. Things like how He made a bumble bee to fly even though it’s aerodynamically impossible and how animals exist in Africa and Asia that we’ve never even seen in a zoo. They long to be taught simple pleasures that cost nothing more than a moment of time away from the TV, computer or cell phone – like marveling at a sunset or applauding God over a sunrise and clipping roses from a bush and putting them in a vase. Or watching roly-polies. Digging up earthworms. Fishing for a perch. Beholding a lady bug on a tree trunk. That all of these things are wonders of God and that He’s worth jumping up and down over.
*They need to know the beauty of Christ when they’ve done something wrong and feel guilty. They need to know that they have a destiny; that Christ planned their lives for this exact time in history and has given them gifts to discover and develop as they grow up. That they are important because He’s so important. That nothing so bad can happen to them that He can’t use for good. That Mommy and Daddy can’t make them Christians. They have to accept His free gift of grace and invite Him into their hearts. That we think nothing is worthier of celebration than that and we’ll risk throwing out backs out to do cartwheels when they let Christ do something wonderful in their lives.
*They need their parents to follow through. To say “no” when “no” needs to be said. They need their parents to be parents at the risk of being very unpopular. They need parents to intervene in an unhealthy relationship with the opposite sex. They need not to be given so many material things (even if we can afford it) that they grow into discontented, narcissistic adults. Nothing is less pleasant than a thirty year-old brat.
*And when they become parents, they don’t need their parents to turn their noses up at them and act all pious like they never lost patience with their kids. They know better anyway. They don’t need parents to forget how hard having preschoolers was and tell them, “These are the best years of your life!” No, these are the most exhausting years of your life. Wonderful! But exhausting! They need us to maybe chip in and pay for them to get their houses cleaned from top to bottom every now and then rather acting like we wish they were better housekeepers.
*Their friendships with their siblings need to be high priority. This one I blew so I share it with you as a regret. I regret allowing them to bring friends along so often on family outings. Yes, they begged but I wish I’d more often said “no.” Yes, they’d have pouted. But they also would have gotten over it and turned to each other. We always had their friends around and I think it may have kept my girls from making good friends of each other for a very long time. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I think it’s also really weird when parents severely restrict the home to family and don’t encourage their kids to make friends and get involved at school. Me? I think they’re hiding something. There’s something really freaky and cultish about sequestered homes. At the very least, kids don’t end up developing social skills and, instead, become really bizarre adults that can’t get a normal job. Sorry. My point is, I think there should be a pretty steady dose of activity just for family so kids have to play with each other instead of ganging up on each other with their peers. I believe in having a revolving door to my children’s friends and having tons of spend-overs but I am convinced that I allowed it so often that my kids made better friends than each other. Our best memories are from family vacations where Amanda and Melissa were all they had. Joyfully, they are best of friends today but it’s because, when they moved to different cities, they learned that nobody is like your sister. Take it from me. I have one sister that I never lay eyes on. Don’t even know for certain where she is. Doesn’t sober up enough to have a conversation. Let alone a relationship. I miss her so much. We were inseparable growing up. You feel incomplete when you’re out of sorts with a sibling. They’re too much a part of who you are. No one should be a better friend than your sister.
*God gives lots of grace to parents. Good thing, huh? Let me offer you some encouragement based not only on my experience but that of many other people I’ve known. If you give a rip and try a flip, this whole parenting thing often turns out so much better than you thought it would. Sometimes you can’t even believe that’s you your kids are talking about. You realize they forgot some things. And now you need to, too. Praise You, Lord, for parenting mercies
in about 2 weeks! I am really looking forward to our vacation. I think I feel just about as excited as I did last year before we went which is surprising to me. I thought I was so excited last time because it was our first trip but the excitement returns when I reminisce with Cam and the boys about all the fun we had last year.
We will be celebrating Cam’s 30th birthday while we are in CA. I have no idea what to get him or how to celebrate the day to make him feel extra special and loved. Any ideas?
We are still super busy. After this weekend soccer is over and our weekend commitments will be cut in half. On Saturday we have The Walk for Life, a soccer game and a baseball game and unfortunately they all overlap a bit. Sunday is Mother’s Day and I am hoping for a fun, relaxing, family day.
I am hoping so that our life calms down a bit after vacation and we can begin working on our summer plans. Pray for lots of sun!
Cory went back to Guatemala for another few weeks. He is working at Kairos House and The Potter’s House ministries. We are really proud of Cory and his heart to serve. He has a huge heart for little kids and is very generous and compassionate.
Kairos House cares for children and families who need long term care at the hospital but do not have a place to stay while they are seeking treatment for illnesses- mainly cancer. The Potter’s House ministry reaches out to the children and families living in the Guatemala City dump.
Please join us in praying for God’s protection and provision for Cory and these ministries.
We watched Aliza the other night so Sara and Scott could go out to dinner with friends to celebrate Scott’s birthday. We had a lot of fun having Aliza here for the evening. She sat at the table with us while we ate dinner and sampled little bits of what we were eating. She played with a new toy while standing up (with help). She loves to have the boys undivided attention and will squeal at them if they are not entertaining her. Everyday she learns something new and she’s growing up so fast!
Being an auntie and uncle is more fun than we could have imagined. I love to watch Cam with Aliza. This picture melts my heart.
Last week the boys each had 2 games. We had an extremely busy week on top of all the sports stuff. We had commitments every morning and evening last week– it was too much. Today we are going to stay in our jammies as long as we want and just relax. We may go for a walk or a hike later this afternoon.
Hopefully, taking this time to relax today will help us get through our next super busy week with a little more calm and kindness.
Only 4 weeks to SoCal! We are so looking forward to our vacation.
I found this cute baby doll in a little toy store down in Mt. Vernon today. It reminded me of this little girl that I absolutely love and I just had to get it for her. Aliza loved this baby from the first moment I showed it to her. She hugged it close and squealed with delight as she would hold it away from her and look at the doll’s sweet face. Cam says it’s a good thing we didn’t have a little girl (he thinks I would have spoiled her). We are so thankful that God blessed Scott and Sara with a little girl that we all can love.
It’s not too late to join us for the Walk for Life! The walk is a little less than a month away and we are really excited to see how God is going to work through this event. If you can’t walk with us, we’d appreciate your prayers for the Whatcom County Pregnancy Clinic and if you’d like to sponsor us click on the link above to be directed to our support page.
While the rest of Bellingham was taking spring break this week, we didn’t. We leave for Disneyland in six weeks and I want to be mostly done with school when we get back so we chose to not take a break this week. We have a lot going on right now and I imagine the next several weeks will just fly by. Spring sports season is a bit crazy for our family. Caleb has 1 soccer practice and 1 game each week and Sean has 2 baseball practices and 2 games each week. The boys both have games on Saturdays but that pretty much means we have something sports related every day of the week except Sunday (well, except for Sunday, the 20th when we’ll play a make-up soccer game). It is so much fun to watch them play and see them learn and improve in their athletic abilities.
The boys have accomplished so much in school this year! I am really thrilled at how far they have come and how excited they both continue to be about learning. Sean is finding Math to be a bit more difficult lately but I think it’s good. We changed Math curriculum a few weeks ago to give him something more challenging. He is now working on more complicated multiplication and division. We learned about ancient Greece in History this week and about how the Olympics came to be. Last Sunday the boys picked out some new books (thanks Grandma Terri) and they have been reading like crazy all week. Caleb is getting ready to take his standardized test on Monday (homeschoolers over the age of eight are required to take them each year). We have been practicing test taking skills and doing fill in the bubble practice tests. Sean will take his tests starting Monday, April 28th
A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place started on Wednesday. The homework is extensive and amazing. As always, I am really looking forward to where God and I will go together on this journey. Every Bible study I have done over the last few years has represented a new season and a new journey with God. It still amazes me that He pursues me and continues to reveal Himself in new, mind-blowing, and awesome ways. I am praying that God will open my mind and my heart to let His truth take root in my life through this study.
I have one week left of my training at WCPC. I can’t believe how fast these 6 weeks have gone by. The training has been very thorough but I wouldn’t say I feel like I am absolutely prepared. I am glad that we will be partnering with a more experienced counselor for several weeks. The Walk for Life is about a month away and I will be sharing information and encouraging women in my Bible study to get involved one way or another in a couple weeks. I am thankful for this opportunity and also humbled. I know this is where God wants me to be serving but I also feel inadequate. And the truth is, I am. I can’t succeed at anything without God’s help. My options are to rely completely on Him and give Him credit for it all or rely on myself and hold myself responsible for the success or failure that results. It seems like an clear and simple choice but I can’t seem to consistently figure this out.
I read this today and found it to be so exactly what I needed to hear. Here’s the portion that really spoke to me:
“Will-powered faith is the worst kind of faith. A relationship with God that is rooted in our ability or strength is doomed to fail for two reasons. First, a will-powered faith will result in self-loathing. We make commitments, try our hardest, give it our all, and fail. So we try again…and fail. And the only person we have to blame is ourselves. Some of us suffer from a spiritual depression because we have lived in a cycle between trying and failing for so long. Second, if our will-powered faith doesn’t end in self-loathing it is because it ended in self-righteousness. We make commitments, try our hardest, and we succeed. We congratulate ourselves on a job well done. Then we look around and notice that other people are not experiencing the same success we are. Why don’t they try as hard as me? Maybe they are just not as godly. Self-loathing or self-righteousness—God hates both.” Curtis Jones, LPM Blog
I definitely can relate to the self-loathing side of things. I struggle to honestly asses myself. I am highly critical and extend very little grace to myself. When I have operated at that critical level for a long period of time, I then justify giving myself a break by getting in a rebellious and entitled space– which is neither healthy or helpful spiritually or otherwise. I try too hard and then I just stop trying. I don’t know how to not operate by my own will-power. I feel weak and aimless. It’s a struggle for me to understand that my worth comes not from what I do (how I love, how I serve, how I spend my time, how I fail, how I disappoint) but from the one and only fact that I am a child of God in whom He delights and dearly loves. Continually I ask God to teach me how to rest in Him, to trust Him and to teach me how to have genuine faith, not “will-powered faith”. One day I hope to say that I have learned this lesson and then I can move on to the many other lessons on the list that need some attention.
I need to express my deepest gratitude to God for putting Cam in my life. Cam is supremely patient and at times the most selfless person I have ever known. Even in the midst of conflict with me (when I am being totally unreasonable) he can put aside his hurt feelings and reach out to me with words of encouragement and good counsel. I am blessed beyond measure to share life with Cam and I am sorry for everyday that I forget that fact. God has taught me so much through him. The relationship Cam and I share provides safety and stability and as a result I am much more responsive and receptive to God’s loving pursuit. So, thank you God for loving me so much that not only did you send your Son for my salvation but you sent Cameron to love me and save my heart.
It’s no big surprise to anyone who knows Sean and Caleb well that they are HUGE Bon Jovi fans. When they discovered that Rock Band had “Dead or Alive” on it they were stoked!
We don’t have Rock Band (hence the video below) but Uncle Cory generously shares his. The boys are missing him today so….this one’s for you Cory!
I am using a new version of wordpress and I forgot to enable comments when I posted this. Comments are now enabled– so feel free to leave us or the boys a message. I had a couple emailed to me so I am posting them here:
Sara & Scott well we just watched the boys rock out to dead or alive, and wanted to leave a comment, but it said the discussion was “closed” anyway, here is our comment, scott says bon jovi rocks, but not as hard as sean and caleb, and he thinks they did the song justice!
sara thinks we have future rock stars on our hands. I love all the expressions and feeling you get from them!! what handsome boys. very fun!
loves! Carmen Sonny and I were CRACKING up watching Sean and Caleb lip sing to Dead or Alive - WAY TOO FUNNY!!! LOL…
I read this really amazing post several weeks ago that my old friend Kirsten wrote and it’s really stuck with me. I have found myself thinking about it quite often. This post will not be nearly as eloquent or much of an apology or reconciliation — I’m just not there yet. However, I was inspired by her and thought I would note it. I have been thinking for a while that I should, in some small way, document my journey with Pain. I think it may be easier to start with the present and work my way backward. read more…
The snowy and rainy weather today makes for a couple of stir crazy kids. Caleb was cartwheeling through the living room a few minutes ago. I complemented him on how well he could cartwheel and he replied with, “Grandpa (great-grandpa) Larry taught me how. First he taught me how to do handstands and then cartwheels!”
How often do you hear “My 72 year old great-grandpa taught me how to cartwheel!”?
I love our family! I am so thankful that Larry and Dianne come to live in Bellingham for the summer. I love that Sean and Caleb know them so well. I love that, as a family, we take advantage of every opportunity to share meals together and connect while they are in town. We are very blessed.
As we sat at church last night I was once again amazed at God’s restorative work in our family. Then as we sat around a table of 13 (wow, our family has more than doubled in size!) last night to have dinner, I was again overwhelmed at what a work God has done. As Cam prayed at dinner last night he thanked God “for a family that loves Jesus”. Jesus is the only reason we gather, we are thankful and that we love each other the way we do. I was telling Sara this morning that my favorite part of it all is that our kids get to grow up saturated in love and JESUS.
Jesus death and resurrection still change families, communities, moments, hours, days, lives and eternities.
Our family is participating in and raising pledges for the 2008 Walk For Life benefiting the Whatcom County Pregnancy Clinic in Bellingham. W.C.P.C. is a local nonprofit that gives caring support through hundreds of client contacts every year! 100% of donations go to provide free services including pregnancy tests, ultrasound exams, counseling and best of all the unconditional love and support of Jesus.
If you are interested in giving a tax-deductible donation to this organization by sponsoring us you can click the link below, sponsor us and leave a message if you’d like. It is not a per-mile pledge but instead your pledge is a flat amount.
Please click the link above to visit our e-walk page. You can give by credit card or choose to have a reminder of your pledge sent by mail. Or, if you would rather not go to their Web site, and if you have any questions, you can contact me at betsy@h2os.org.
This weekend I spent time putting together a plan for the boys for the rest of the school year. We have only about 13 weeks of school left (10 weeks til we leave for Disneyland — Yipee!). The boys are learning so much and I am astounded at what we have accomplished this year! I feel more sure all the time that teaching them at home was the best choice for our family. I love that we have flexibility and that the boys can learn at their pace (which is quite a bit faster than they could go in public school). I have learned so much throughout this year and I feel confident in our curriculum choices. I am so thankful for the privilege of being able to be home with the boys. They are so great! I totally enjoy them and love the time we spend together.
The next couple months are going to fly by. Spring soccer season starts with a practice this week and the first game will be next Saturday. Sean tries out for baseball this Saturday morning and will begin practices and games shortly after that. We’ll once again be spending a lot of time out at Northwest Fields.
Cam is super busy (but it’s all really great stuff). He’s coaching Caleb’s soccer team (taking a class this weekend to become a licensed coach), covering the car wash by himself for the next month while Mike and Cory head out to Guatemala for a mission trip, he’s reading about 4 different challenging books, working, leading small group, participating in a couple things at church, putting together a new running schedule for another half marathon and just putting in the time and effort to be a great dad/husband. I am really proud of him.
Tuesday I began training at the Whatcom County Pregnancy Center to become a peer counselor/mentor. I am really excited about this opportunity. God has been nudging me for the past 10 years to take this step and I am looking forward to see how He will work through me. It’s a full circle thing for me/us. Cam and I went to WCPC when we found out we were pregnant with Sean (almost 10 years ago now). We found so much support, encouragement, love and acceptance in our counselor there (she even came to our wedding). God is very alive and active in the ministry that happens at WCPC and I am honored to join their team. Each of the women I met on Tuesday love Jesus with all of their hearts. I was pleased to see hearts that desire to love and treat the women who come through the doors with dignity and respect. My next bible study will start in April and I am really looking forward to that as well. In the meantime I have picked up (again) My Utmost for His Highest, which I am loving and I started 90 days With Jesus The One and Only. If I don’t have some structure to my quiet times they fall apart!
As we look at our schedule and see how full it is and how much we have taken on it seems kinda crazy, yet it’s not, it’s just our life. We have enough time if we use it wisely. Cam and both feel like we are right where God wants us to be and for that we are grateful. Now we need to make sure that we operate in God’s strength and not our own, consistently asking Jesus for what we need for that day/hour/moment.
Terri and I are going up to Vancouver to hear Beth Moore teach. It’s going to be great! I am looking forward to what God is going to say through her to this group of women. It’s exciting that 50+ women from CTK are heading up to the event as well. Bring it Beth!
“Family unity is not automatic. It’s democratic. It takes a majority of people in a home casting their votes toward getting along. Lest you give up, keep in mind that every majority begins with one contagious person. Filled with Christ’s Spirit, that one person can be you.”
Mrs. Baldetta, pictured with Mrs. Herzer, Mrs. Watters, and Mrs. Kallin.
The last of Cooper girls is married!
(click picture to see more on Jen Fox’s Blog)
What a beautiful bride Heather was! I am still absorbing all the details from the big day. I’ll do my best to put together a cohesive run down of events from my perspective.
Thursday we began all the decorating at Melody Hall. We actually got quite a bit done that night thanks to all the help we had. Colleen and John are great friends and jumped in to help in every way.
Friday morning Colleen and I met up bright and early to begin working on flowers. I have to say, Colleen is one of the most talented people I know. She did an amazing job creating the style for this wedding and designing the flower arrangements. She is a true artist. Colleen and I spent all day Friday at Melody Hall working on flowers and decorating. Sara joined us in the afternoon and brought all the linens and dishes we had rented. BreAnn, Sara, Colleen and I finished off the majority of the decorating during the afternoon and evening. Around 5pm we did a little run through of the ceremony with Heather, Vince, Dad, Mike and myself. After Heather and Vince left we stayed to finish up a few more things. Holly and Shane arrived a little later and then we all headed out for the night.
Friday night we had a sister party at my house (while all the boys went to Mike and Terri’s to play Rock Band). Sara brought her massage table and gave the 3 of us massages. It was very sweet of her! We did manicures and masks and just enjoyed spending time together. Aliza was here too but slept most of the time. Sara left around 12:30am and we started to get ready for bed. We visited a little longer and then it was time for sleeping (well at least for Holly and Heather). I could not sleep ALL night! I wasn’t nervous or anything– I just could not fall asleep. I laid in bed til around 4am and then finally got up because I was afraid I’d wake up my sisters. Deciding I should use my time wisely, I wrote a toast for the reception and put together a list of pictures we wanted to make sure we had Jen get.
Saturday morning around 6:45am, Heather woke up and she and I had a chance to visit for almost an hour before Holly woke up and Sara returned. I really appreciated having that time with her. Sara came back and brought some really yummy homemade juice and made us all breakfast. Heather and I left my house around 8:45 and headed out to get her hair done. I had to leave about half way through to run up to Melody Hall to unlock it for Andi (the Cake lady). I ran back over to watch Heather’s hair get finished up. It was really cute but a little Shirley Temple initially. We hoped the curls would settle down a bit by the afternoon, which they did. We left there to pick up a friend of Heather’s, who was going to do her make-up, and to kill a little time we drove through the carwash. We picked up her friend Kelsi and went to Melody Hall. Heather was getting a little stir crazy waiting and sitting still to get her make-up done. Once she was ready to go it was time for pictures to begin. Jen had Heather and Vince meet up outside to see each other for the first time that day. She got some great shots I’m sure.
After all the pictures of the two of them we did some family pics. Soon it was time to hide Heather away and get everyone a little snack before the ceremony started. The ceremony began at 3pm. It was short and sweet. My favorite parts were when:
Vince and Heather were handed their vows and they were switched so Vince began with, “I Heather take you…”. It was so sweet and funny.
When Vince was nervously chewing gum during the ceremony and Heather put out her hand to have him spit it out.
The boys carrying the candles from my mom and Vince’s mom up the stairs to put them in the candle holder so Vince and Heather could light the Unity candle.
The song that Seth and Beth sang (God Bless the Broken Road).
When Mike forgot to tell them they could kiss and Vince asked “When do we get to the good part?”
It was really sweet and very real. I loved that they just rolled with everything. Directly after the ceremony they headed out in the Limo to Squalicum Beach for more pictures. While they were gone we put all the final touches on the reception stuff and then we just waited.
The reception began at 4:30pm and it was the typical– dinner, toast, first dance (to the song These are the Moments), cake, and more dancing. It wasn’t a big dancing crowd but we had fun anyway.
Heather and Vince left around 7:30pm (I think). Cam drove them in the Limo to the Chrysalis (a gift from Holly, Sara, Mom & Dad and us). Meanwhile the rest of us began the clean-up job. It went relatively quickly, although we didn’t finish everything up that night. Cam and I went back over there yesterday afternoon to let Heather and Vince in to pick up all of their gifts, decorations and flowers. They said they really had a great day and enjoyed their stay at the Chrysalis. Cam, the boys and I did more cleaning then and packed out all the garbage. Cam ended up going back again later in the afternoon to put away some tables and chairs, to vacuum and mop (he spent another couple hours there getting it extra clean).
Weddings are a ton of work! Being the person to coordinate all the details and being the Matron of Honor was a big job. I am thankful for the help Colleen was to track on stuff I missed and to just be supportive and helpful in any way she could. She is a great friend and I love her. Cam was a huge unsung hero of this whole event. He took care of stuff at home and with the boys so that I could be free to work on wedding stuff. Without his support and care for me, I couldn’t do everything that I do.
It was a beautiful wedding and I am really excited for Heather and Vince. I am proud of both of them and I look forward to seeing them grow as a couple. We are all happy to welcome Vince to our family!
Looking through our Disneyland pictures the other night (trying to find a picture of Kelly and the boys) reminded me of how much fun we had! It was such a great trip, full of so many wonderful memories! And we get to go do it all again this May (our Christmas gift from Mike and Terri– Thank you!). We will be going with Cam’s parents, Kelly, Cory and cousin Katie. Cam’s grandparents will also be in California while we are there.
We will be leaving May 24th and returning May 31st. This time we have City Passes so we will spend 3 days in Disneyland, go to the San Diego Zoo, Universal Studios, and Sea World. Cam will celebrate his 30th birthday while we are in California.
I haven’t been inspired to post much lately. There’s plenty going on right now but nothing is resolved and when I am unsettled I find it difficult to know what to say. As it looks right now, things will be likely unchanged for sometime and I am realizing that I need to not get stuck here and fixate on what I can’t change. I have spent a fair bit of time thinking and reflecting on where God has been at work and what He has been trying to teach me. I figured it would be good to at least post my reflections here for myself so that I can remember someday in the future.
God is definitely at work and I see His fingerprints all around us and in us. Without going into too much detail, I’ll just say Cam and I have grown so much in the last 18+ months. We have grown personally and more importantly as a couple. We have learned to depend on each other for support and to cheer each other on. It seems silly, in a way, that we have struggled so much through this time of challenge considering the other types of true hardship and tragedy people face everyday. Fortunately, this struggle originated outside of our relationship, our home, our health or our church. The boys and I have watched Cam wrestle with God’s plan for his life and ultimately choose to surrender his will to God (and we couldn’t be prouder of him).
This past Friday (February 8th) Cam and I celebrated the 13th anniversary of us as a couple. I can hardly remember the beginning because it just feels like we have always been a “we”. We have come a long way! As I think back on that time in our lives I realize I really put Cam in the place of my savior in my life. I saw Cam as an answer to my fears and insecurities. I found someone who loved me for me, who wanted the best for me no matter the cost, who would stand up for me, who would challenge me and who wouldn’t give up on me (I think/hope he saw some of that in me too). But eventually my “savior”, who was really just a boy doing his best to love this girl, couldn’t meet those needs perfectly, and disappointment followed. It was an unfair position to put Cam in and it was a huge relief for both of us when Jesus was restored to His rightful place as Savior in my life.
Although our relationship began in a rather co-dependent and dysfunctional way, God has been so faithful and patient to teach Cam and I how to love each other well. To be filled with His love first and give from the overflow. I can honestly say that I think being married is the best! I absolutely love sharing life with Cam. I love that we have grown up together and have shared our most precious memories. We don’t get it right all of them time. We still struggle to be selfless and to put each others needs above our own. Our personalities and love languages couldn’t be more different from each other. We’ve had to really trust each other and see past what’s on the surface and into each other’s hearts. One thing I am confident about is that our boys know we absolutely love each other and that we are all-in — forever. That is the legacy we will leave in our family.
As Cam has faced challenges and discouragement over the last year I have been praying that God would bless him. I shared with him the other day that I had been praying for blessing for him and his response was so much more than I expected. He said that I am the blessing. It hadn’t occurred to me that as I prayed for Cam, God was changing me and that I would become an provision of that blessing I had been praying for. These last months have taught me how to be the kind of wife Cam needs, someone who loves him no matter what, who challenges him but is also a soft place to fall when he is broken (and at times it has felt like a full time job). The work that God has done in my life to help me become that person is unbelievable to me and I am profoundly humbled by His grace and patience with me.
Reflecting is important from time to time but I think looking back too long can be detrimental. I am not satisfied to stop here. I want to continue to pursue God’s best for me, for Cam and for our family.
Mike emailed us this picture of the boys from their improv show the other night. The boys were so funny! They were quick and bold to jump into every possible scene. I asked them on the way to the show if they were nervous. They were so confused as to why I would ask them that — pretty much said, “Why would we be?” I thought to myself “Because this is so not something either your dad or I would do”. I think I’d probably pee my pants! They are brave and confident in a way I never was. I am so proud of them.
I got to spend a lot of time with Heather (aka my baby sister) this weekend. I enjoyed our talks all the way down to Seattle and back on Saturday. Today was her wedding shower. I can hardly believe that she will be married in a month! I am so proud of how much she has grown up in the last year or so.
Look at all this fun new stuff from Paperzone and Treasury of Memories! I am excited to make some fun projects with these new Valentine’s Day papers. All the lovey stuff with the reds and browns are great inspiration for Heather’s wedding. We are planning like mad — but everything is coming together beautifully. I can’t believe my baby sister is getting married in about 7 weeks!
I love how my sisters and I work together. We are super efficient and make a terrific team! We all have different talents and abilities and when we work together on a project — watch out– we’re gonna make something amazing happen!
I also want to mention how thankful I am for Colleen and her amazing talent! She has been one of my closest friends for 16 years. She saved the day on my wedding by jumping in, helping me make my dress, decorating and giving directions on the day of. She protected me from having to manage everything so that I could just relax and enjoy my wedding. She’s the kind of girl you want to have around when you need to get stuff done!
Colleen has subsequently helped with both Sara’s and Holly’s weddings and now is working with us on Heather’s wedding. We have all been incredibly blessed by her involvement. I can’t imagine a Cooper girl wedding without her!
Christmas pictures will be coming soon. Sara and I have the same camera and somehow got them mixed up over the holiday. I’ll get some up in the next couple days.
We had a really wonderful Christmas. So many family get togethers and so many amazing memories made. We were blessed beyond measure and are so incredibly thankful.
My favorite moments from Christmas this year were to be at church Christmas Eve with our ENTIRE family and then having everyone come back to our house to share their favorite Christmas memory or their favorite memory from the last year. It was really special to hear the highlights of this last year. It was a big one for our family! I’ll have to do a run down of all the major stuff for New Years.
This is not a great picture, you get the idea– Sean, football and the Seahawks were what this party was all about. Sean had a blast at his 9th birthday party and it didn’t hurt that the Seahawks won their game that day!
I can’t believe that he’s 9! I remember being 9! Sean is growing up so fast and although I feel so excited and proud I miss my baby Sean. He is thoughtful, grateful, passionate, stubborn, determined, tender, sensitive and insightful. He’s one of my most favorite people in the world and I am so thankful to be his mom.
Christmas Eve dinner @ Mom and Dad’s house, 8pm Christmas Eve service @ CTK, party at our house with our families after church
Christmas morning @ Scott and Sara’s with Cooper family (pajama party)
Christmas afternoon @ Mike and Terri’s house
Lots of togetherness and lots of excitement. We need to remember why we gather, why we celebrate, and why we give gifts. We can’t forget to take quiet moments to thank God for sending Jesus.
It’s crazy this time of year to pull everything together. I always think I’ll get EVERYTHING done early and then just have PEACE. It never works that way! I am never done early and I always regret not having more peace through the season. We listened to Pastor Grant’s message from last weekend on Monday night and I was SO convicted. I need to choose moments of peace and decide what’s really important and what’s not. I am going to try to relax for the rest of the week and make spending time with Jesus my priority– cause then I won’t care about what’s not important! I really appreciated the distinction about peace and quiet that Grant made in his message. I can find peace without having silence.
I heard about these two elderly women shopping the other day — one was really flustered and stressed out about not being done with all of her “stuff” for Christmas. Her friend indignantly (and with a hint of sarcasm) replied, “Geez you think they’d give us more notice”. I just laughed when the person who had overheard the conversation retold it. She made such a good point — it’s not like we don’t know when Christmas is coming and how much time we have to get ready for the WHOLE year!
I have been loving the “Vintage Jesus” series that Mark Driscoll (from Mars Hill Church) preached last Christmas season. The boys and I have been listening to most of these together and we have been learning so much. My favorite message in the series is “How did people know Jesus was coming?”.
As a family we have been trying so hard to focus on what’s really important and we won’t stop trying (in a peaceful sort of way). We (I) have to remember that there is so much more to this season than all the shopping, buying, wrapping, creating, striving, stressing, and cleaning. I only need one thing for Christmas peace and that’s Jesus. If I could pick 2 things I’d pick Jesus and my family, but that’s all I really need. Fortunately I am blessed to have both at all times and so what more do I need?
Where does it go?
I love that we have flexibility and that the boys can learn at their pace (which is quite a bit faster than they could go in public school). I have learned so much throughout this year and I feel confident in our curriculum choices. I am so thankful for the privilege of being able to be home with the boys. They are so great! I totally enjoy them and love the time we spend together.
