Rikacation

Erika's visit is just a faint memory in our mind.

Oh I kid. The photo just didn't get deleted and it was cracking me up.
We've had a sweet summer. What a joy it was to get a visit from Matt's sister, Erika!

I'd share all the adventures we had, but it there's nothing too exciting to share... just hanging out bumming around a bit and enjoying each other's company.

Bye Rika! We miss you already!



Halfway through Swim Lessons

The girls are doing great in swim lessons!

They finished their first session on Friday. They have both had very different experiences and attitudes, but we are loving seeing them grow into better swimmers before our eyes.

Zoe has had this sweet confidence to her at these swim lessons. She's like-- oh don't you worry, i know what I'm doing :) Her teacher always had great things to say about her.

 

Sophia had some anxiety about swimming. The very first day she really melted down and didn't want to swim. Each day she was more and more calm, but she never quite got excited. Still, she was willing to go in despite being a bit afraid. She got a certificate of participation for round one. We think swimming is going to be super good for her.

 

 Both girls have gotten new teachers for round two. We are loving watching them in their lessons. It is relaxing and neat to see your children gain a new skill while you don't have to actively participate but can sit back.

Somehow swim lessons make Matt's daddy heart melt. Here is the blog he wrote about swimming. Somehow things like this really frame life for us, help us see the beauty that lies before us. I love those moments. I love swimming.

Foster Home for Cats

It has been almost a year since we have worked toward being a foster home for cats.

The girls love trips to the petstore. And of course each time we are there, they want to take home a kitten. Well, last fall when we were there, we were told about the foster program they have. You host the kitties in your home, bring 'em back to the store on the weekend, and then if they are not adopted you bring them back to your home.

We thought it was the best of both worlds. You get to play with lots of kittens, yet you don't have the commitment of keep them long term.

(Side story: we had to get our cat spayed first. It wasn't a financial priority to us, so Zoe raised the money by having a lemonade stand. It took us almost the full year just for this. Then when we got her in the vet called and she was already spayed. DANG! :) It was so silly.)

After we got it all lined up, we were finally able to bring home our first kitties. Two male and one female. The girls are doing a great job helping to tame them. Two are siblings, the other was the one striped cat in an all white litter.



We are having fun. Sophia is learning not to pick cats up by the throat :) Zoe is wanting to spend all day with them. Chart isn't sure what she thinks, but she did relax pretty quickly. SWEET!

True Riches

Here is Zoe explaining what true riches are. 

I love VBS. and so does she. It really gives her faith a jump each summer. It is also really really fun. Saint Johns is just down the street from our house and they do a great job. And I love when something sweetly sinks in! 

Hope she always knows what true riches are! 

Swim Lessons

It's the moment we've been waiting for all summer: Swim Lessons. They started tonight!  

Zoe did great. She had a confidence to her and did great.  

This is what Sophia thought of the lesson. :) She was a little bit of a wreck. But I know this'll so be good for her!! When the lesson was over, she ran crying as quickly to mommy as she could.

Here are my girls, one relieved, one proud.

I'm proud, too! I made those towels for them today. They have velcro to wrap around them and we sewed on polka dots.

The Cause of Summer Success

This has been a sweet summer for all of us.

Past summers, I have really struggled. (Because of the heat, it feels like you can't be outside & do summer like it's meant to be done.) And this summer, no outside changes have taken place to make it a good summer. We still live next to the desert in the same house, same jobs, have the same friends, same church...

What I think has changed is us. I think we know ourselves way better... as people, as parents, as a family. We have learned, proactive thinking and planning makes all the difference. 

I plan and am proactive, not because I am automatically a fun mom, but because I struggle to be one. When there is nothing urgent or important, my instinct is to be a bum. But at the end of the day, I feel unfulfilled and the kids are stir crazy. I learned that I need to work against this instinct. 

When I plan, when I fill my cup with ideas and resources, when I give myself margin, that's when we succeed. I so so so love planning and thinking ahead. It's one of my greatest allies. 

Nearly always when I get into a day, I just want to do "what i feel like." And that usually has me being a bum! But when I have a purpose (when I've been proactive and thought ahead to what we need), I keep moving forward.

Anyways, that's why I think this summer has been so sweet. We thought ahead and have Our Summer Bucket List going-- and some other big fun things as well. And we just keep attacking, keep adventuring. And when we have a purpose in what we do, it's easy to keep our joy... because we've accomplished what we've set out to do.

5 Sweet Blessings (from this last year)

I'm enjoying a night of reflecting and decompressing. Oooooh, it's so good. I am an internal processor, so I am at my best when  I have my quiet alone time.

We've had a good year! Was looking at my pictures and many blessings quickly flowed into my mind. We've added some great blessings to our life this last year!!


1) Having my nephew & sister here!

It has been such a privilege to make many memories with them this last year. It was a gift to have them live with us for awhile!! It was so valuable to share space with them, share meals with them, share memories and laughter. I loved what I learned in the spans of their time living with us... to be organized in my cleaning and cooking. It was a good season!

Pictured to the right is Peyton & Zoe in 2007. I am in awe of how much they grow and change in such a short period of time. It makes me want to savor each day more and more and know what a gift it is to love on my kids-- and am thankful to love on my nephew as well!

2) Our mini van!

Seriously, how did we ever manage with one car? With our growing family, we would've had to have found a bigger vehicle. We didn't have the financials for a new car, so we thank God when one fell out of the sky. The timing was perfect that Matt's parents no longer needed their van. We are so humbled (still) by their generosity. It's been a year and it's one of the greatest gifts in our life right now. It's becoming our home-on-the-go equipped with snacks, activities, first aid, maps and more. I am enjoying and owning the mini van life! Love our van!

3) Ariana

My soul sister Ariana and her family moved to Bakersfield this fall. It was a short season in Bakersfield, but it was such a gift!! She was a great friend when we lived in Minneapolis. And even though their season was short in Bakersfield, I treasured the handful of times we spent together!! Until we meet again.

4) Winter Garden

Somehow playing in the dirt makes me really happy. Proactive thinking also makes me happy. So the combination of those two things made this winter garden a very happy thing. Only about 1/3 of our plants actually survived, but it was a wonderful family project. I am already excited to plot and plan next year's garden. Gardening in CA is a totally different world, so it's taken a few years to get the hang of it. but the best time to grow here is the winter. I have some great tools under my belt so I think next year's garden will be even better. 

5) Change

Change is good, though it doesn't always feel like it. Life is mixey-- wonderful too. This year, we had much change. We added Maddie to our family and she is already 5 months. Sophia is communicating well but has been eternally potty training. Zoe lost 3 teeth (2 to oreos), graduated 1st grade and is on to 2nd.. We celebrate 10 years of marriage this summer. We will have been in Bakersfield 5 years next month. Relationships change-- some grow distant, others deepen. Change is constant and imminent. Our lives are sweet, but they are also hard. We choose to face each day with a smile. We choose to face each day with love. We choose peace, hope and faith. Every day changes. Every day has it's challenges. Every day is a choice, but every day is good. 

Enjoy the journey! 

5 Months

Giggling, grasping at things, working on sitting.

Loving this girl!

 

Color Week

I was determined to teach Sophia her colors this week. She hadn't quite got them yet.

We started our week great with red day. I brought out everything red in the house, we ate watermelon, watched videos on the color red online. We seemed to be making great progress.



We hit orange the next day, a little less hard. I gathered all the orange things from around the house, we painted the next layer on the rainbow, we made up a song about orange things. It was sweet.

But then the week got busy, the 4th of July happened, we went Ice Blocking, we helped watch our friends' children, and suddenly it's Friday.

Next week, yellow.