Hectic

Why is it that some weeks seem more overwhelming than others?

I have a to-do list that's a mile long.

I feel like my feet are mired in mud, slowing me down to a crawl, preventing me from getting anything done.

The older two kids are back in school, but Gabe doesn't start until next week.

Gabe has recently discovered the joy of learning, and wants me to help him with his numbers and letters and shapes...all day long. Don't get me wrong, I am loving this! But I don't love the stressful feeling I get as I watch my to-do list grow before my very eyes.

This is my last week of working too many hours before I get to cut back to just 20 hours per week at the hospital. (Thank you, Jesus!)

My not-so-dear-friend, Mrs. Period, is here to visit in the midst of all of this. Now that I'm done having babies, I really don't appreciate her barging in every darn month. I'm considering having the Novasure procedure done so that I can kick her to the curb...

Maybe by Wednesday I'll be feeling better. Less stressed. Less tired. Happier.

Maybe.

Five

Dear Gabriel,

Six years ago, the thought of you had not even entered my mind. (You were a blessed surprise, our "bonus baby", an answered prayer for a little girl who wanted more than anything to be a big sister and a mommy who was suffering from a severe case of baby fever!)

Five years ago today, you came into this world. Your birth was everything I had hoped for. You were welcomed by many loving arms, but none more than mine (and maybe Isabel's).


You were clearly the baby of the family, spoiled with love and attention by all of us.


You were the happiest baby ever, always laughing and smiling, rarely crying unless there was a need. Your first birthday arrived before we knew it, and we celebrated with a big family party.

Then you turned two, and the trouble began...

You were the busiest toddler I had ever seen. Thank God you were so freakin' cute; it saved your life many times!

By the time you turned three, you had definite likes and dislikes. The biggest "like": Hot Wheels!

Somehow we all survived your year of terrible three's, and then you were four...

A precocious preschooler, making friends and attracting attention wherever you went. Your love of Hot Wheels continued, along with dinosaurs and Thomas the Tank. Your exuberance and zest for life inspires all of us!

And now you're five. "Taller enough" for lots of rides at King's Island. Able to sit still long enough to color three Superman pictures for your mommy. Loving to "scrapbook" with me in my craft room for hours on end (I love these times!).

You may not have been in our original plan, but you were always in God's plan. You have so much love for all of us, and you have given us the opportunity to have a "baby" of the family, one that each of us could spoil and love.

Happy Birthday, Gabe! We love you, buddy!

Love,

Mommy

Tears and Angels...

Our sweet blog friend, Kori, has lost her husband today.

She has had to bear the unbearable, watching him slip away before her eyes.

Richard finally lost his battle this morning. He leaves behind his dear wife and their two boys.

And I know that although there will be many tears shed here on earth for this amazing man, the angels are singing a chorus of hallelujahs to welcome him into the gates of Heaven.

No more pain, no more sorrow...these are the promises that I pray will help this family deal with their loss.

Kori had to make her blog private months ago; if you'd like to leave a comment, do it here and I'll forward them to her.

Kori, we love you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the boys at this impossibly difficult time.

Bits and Pieces...

Prepare yourself for a post of random bits and pieces...

Watching Elijah getting geared up for puberty has been an experience.

His face is becoming more chiseled and defined. He has completely lost that babyface that I loved so much. But as he grows, he looks more and more like my dad. I hadn't noticed it until my sister pointed it out in the last picture. No overwhelming changes, but it is amazing to see the little differences...

Age 9.

Age 10.

Age 11.

Gabe is quickly improving on his photography skills. I'm thinking of getting him a camera for his birthday. Check out this shot he took of me and my sister, Rhonda and our girls...

Pretty impressive for a four year old.

We discovered this cabin at the Nature Preserve near my sister's house.

We have made plans to come back in the fall, my sister and I with just the girls, to play Little House on the Prairie for an entire afternoon.

Wonder who will have the most fun?

Have you ever caught a photo of a frog with his tail still on? I did. Look close.

Gabe let me make his hair spiky in honor of Elijah's premier football game. I love it!

I'm a little surprised at how much I am enjoying being a "football mom" this year. We've met some really nice parents, and I am having fun watching the boys play (even when they lose).

(another "Gabe" photograph)

School starts in three days.

My baby turns five in three days.

I am planning a birthday party for Gabe for this Saturday. I can't decide between cake or cupcakes. Maybe I'll do both.

It's 6pm and I haven't had dinner. I'm starving, and now it's time for football practice. I'm gonna lose these last five pounds yet!

And now I'm boring you. I apologize...

Time to Declutter

I've been reading a great book which I thought I would share. It's titled "From Clutter to Clarity", written by Nancy Twigg. A biblical approach to prioritizing your life and getting rid of all the clutter that stops you from truly enjoying your time here on earth.

This time of year makes me eager to get organized.

I want to clean out my closets and cabinets.

I want to make lists.

I want to have a menu plan for the week, with delicious homemade meals instead of fast-food.

Am I alone in this, or does anyone else feel the same way?

I want to have a peaceful, pleasant home for my family; a place where we can relax and enjoy each other, with fewer distractions and less, well, clutter.

I'm not going to review the whole book, but here are some of the key points:

Definition of clutter: anything that complicates your life and prevents you from living in peace as you live out your purpose.

Your lifestyle reflects what you believe and what you value most.

One of my favorite chapters, and a lesson I so want to teach my children: Finding Contentment in a Discontented World. She defines contentment as "being able to come to terms with where you are and what's going on in your life, even if it's not what you would have chosen for yourself." I am finally at a place in my life where I am more and more content. I have a beautiful home, a supportive husband, three wonderful kids, our health, a loving family; my Lord, my list is endless. There are many people who have more than me, but also many who have less. God has blessed with me with this life, though, and it's my job to appreciate it and tend the garden that he has given me.

This book has struck such a chord in my heart, I just felt compelled to share it with you.

What about you? Is there a book that you just love, that you fall back on time and again? Please do share with us.

Green thumb

Somehow, despite my heritage, I managed to have a green thumb. (Sorry, Mom, but you know it's the truth :)

And happily, it appears that I have passed this gene down to at least two of my children.

Isabel and Gabe love to help me in the garden. One year, Isabel and I planted over 30 bulbs, and they were gorgeous.

This year, Gabe decided he wanted to try his hand at morning glories.

Our back patio went from this:



To this, in a matter of months:

(Gabe is still experimenting with his photographic abilities...)

The best part of all these flowers is that we will have enough seeds to give to the whole neighborhood, and then some. Every morning, we wake up to hundreds of magenta flowers greeting us from our patio. I love it, and so do the kids!

Suzann, if you want to borrow Gabe for your yard, you're welcome to :)

Say it ain't so!

Yes, kids, I'm sorry to tell you, but the end is near.

All good things must come to an end.

Every beginning has an end.

Any more cliches you can think of? 'Cause I'm fresh out.

Anyway, we spent one last summer vacation day having nothing but fun. It was our last big hurrah before school, and it was a blast.

First, we went to King's Island. I made the kids pose a lot. I usually leave my camera at home so I can just focus on having fun, but today I wanted to capture exactly why we love this park so much.

We love the Eiffel Tower-wannabe, with its fountains and beautiful landscaping all around...




We love riding roller coasters together and letting Gabe stay in the locked area, taking pictures to his heart's content. We especially love when there's no line to get on our favorite rides!


We love "make your own Icee's", especially cherry and coke and sprite flavors.

(I love that the kids still let me coordinate their outfits to make for a good scrapbook page.)

After a day at KI, we ran home and grilled out some yummy pork chops, then headed out to the Southwest Golf Ranch.

Elijah's golf club was almost as big as him...

And even though it rained for the first fifteen minutes, we still had an awesome time. One of the best parts was hearing Gabe shout, "Not the bunker! Watch out for the rough!". The fact that he knows golf terms was cracking us all up!

We've been wanting to try a newer ice cream shoppe in town, so when the rain moved in again, we headed over to Whit's Custard and dug in. (Gabe was d-u-n getting his picture taken by this point.)

Tired and soaking wet after an action-packed-day...

We have been blessed this summer to be able to spend so much time together.

I have to tell you a little secret, though.

I'm ready for a tiny break from all that togetherness. And so are the kids.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. (One last cliche for the road...)

I miss my sister!

I had big plans this summer of having all kinds of time to catch up with my big sis.

The school year is so busy with both of us working, having kids to run here and there, games to go to on the weekends, etc.

Now here it is, nearly the end of August, and Michelle is already back to work. Our kids are back to school next week.

*sigh*

I miss my sister! I can't wait 'til Gabe's birthday party, just so I can visit with her.

I love my busy life, but I hate that it takes such an effort to make time to be with the ones you love.

How do you all do it? Stay in touch and find a way to see your favorite family members more than on holidays? I'm curious...

(This photo is from our last scrapbooking weekend together two years ago. What fun we had!)

(The song playing brings back memories of cruising through Harrison in Michelle's big green car, windows rolled down, both of us singing at the top of our lungs to "Pour Some Sugar On Me"! Those were some good times.)

Big dreams

Elijah has long dreamed of becoming a football player.

The boy loves the game.

He has big dreams of being the wide receiver for an NFL team, preferably Ohio State for college followed by a draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

I finally gave in and let him play for our local team. It's his first real experience with tackle football. It's tough. He weighs a whoppin' 78 pounds. He is the second smallest boy on the team. Some of the boys we are facing weigh over 180 pounds!

So when it was time for his premier game this past Saturday night, I may have messed up.

Instead of praying for a win, I prayed for no injuries for my son.

God listened.

Not only did he not get injured, he barely got to play, not even getting the chance to get tackled (which was just fine with me).

It was a little painful to watch our team get stomped by a very aggressive rival team. But I have to confess...I was relieved that Elijah wasn't out there for more than his minimum five plays. Four other boys on our team were injured, hopefully none too seriously. (I think Elijah secretly wished for an injury, just to have been part of the game).

I'm struggling with this. I want him to pursue his dreams. I just don't want him to get physically hurt doing it.

*sigh*

Being a mom is so darn hard sometimes.

From now on, I'm putting it all in God's hands. Win or lose, injury or not, I'm going to let this son of mine chase his dreams. And I'll be waiting on the sidelines, cheering him on, ready to mend his wounds if necessary.

On this day in history...

August 15th...

A famous day, for many reasons.

On this day in the year 1620, the Mayflower set sail for the New World.



On this day in 1939, the Wizard of Oz premiered in the theater.

On this day in 1974, Robert Joseph Kelsey was born.

On this day in 1995, Joe Kelsey and Heather Klenk went on their first date (for his 21st birthday...good times, folks!) and shared their first kiss.

What a hotty!

Happy birthday, Joe! Today is a great day, in OUR history! I love you!

Happy happy joy joy

Sometimes you get a picture that perfectly captures the emotions of a given moment.

This is Gabe, nearly every single day. He is the happiest kid I know. I'm so honored (and sometimes exhausted) to be his mommy.


Need some happy happy joy joy in your day?

Take a look at this post anytime; guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!

In which a birthday celebration turns into a drunken fest...

Summer is full of birthdays in my family.

July 11, my mom. July 19, my sister. July 24, Joe's mom. August 15, Joe. August 27, Gabe. (He gets his own non-alcoholic party later this month).

We decided to celebrate with a steak-and-wine dinner at Valley Vineyards Winery.

The evening started off with smiles, with me surrounded by my mom and my mom-in-law.



And steak...


We convinced another couple to get a picture of our group once we moved outside to enjoy the sunset.

After the first bottles of wine were consumed, we bought a few more. Along with a free bottle of champagne, donated by the winery to Joe's dad (he is a friend of their family).

Rhonda and I thought something was hilariously funny, and Joe was shutter-happy with the camera...

Us girls.

Um, I'm not sure what happened after the fourth bottle of wine, but I'm pretty sure some drunk people showed up and took over...

Aww, sweet picture of my sister and her hubby. (Until you notice where his hand is.)

I had to use force to keep Joe's hands to himself.

Kay is usually a lightweight. I think we were a bad influence.

Oh, yes, this is the Kay I'm used to seeing:

Clearly, a good time was had by all.

Can't wait til October, when we have birthday fest number 2 for mine and Paul's birthdays!

A good cause.

I'm not sure how many of you know about my friend, Kori. She is an amazing Christian woman who is smack in the middle of a horrible situation. Her sweet husband, Richard, is actively dying of Cystic Fibrosis and colon cancer. They have two incredible boys who are getting ready to start school with the knowledge that their dad won't be around much longer.

Losing Richard is bad enough. Having to be a single mom again is bad enough. Having to worry about having enough money above all this is just too much.

That's where we come in. The power of blogger friends uniting for a good cause. Giving Kori and her boys a little breathing room, so Kori can stay home a while longer and help her family through this heartwrenching time.

Please visit Shannon's blog, Welcome to the Nuthouse, by clicking on the button below. She's holding an auction with over 30 items donated by many awesome bloggers like you!

And if you want to bid on my little contribution of a set of eight Christmas cards, handmade with Debbie Mumm cardstock by little ole me, then please do! I'd be honored. (And if no one bids, I'll be crushed...just sayin'.)

I know these are tough economic times for all of us. But to be honest, I'm willing to give up a movie and a couple of meals out to make a difference for Kori. Could you?

Coming soon

Tomorrow, August 11th, is a special day in our neck of blogland.

Stay tuned for an incredible auction for a dear friend. (Hint: my contribution involves my cutter, red and green paper, and envelopes.)

Please come by and help support a worthy cause!

New books, oh my!

I love to read posts about other bloggers' favorite books.

There is nothing quite like getting lost in a great book. Especially if that book is one in a series, or the author has written many books that you can look forward to reading.

I got lost in the Outlander series two years ago, and there is finally a new book coming out next month (thanks for the reminder, Jenny!) Sexy men in kilts, intrigue, history, medicine and enduring love...Diana Gabaldon is the master of weaving all these into incredible novels.


My other two favorite authors, Stephen King and Dean Koontz, are also coming out with new books this November. I can't wait! Nothing like curling up with a good scary book when it's cold and snowy outside!

So, what's your favorite book or two or three? Do you love to read? Do you have a favorite author that you recommend to everyone? C'mon, let's have us a mini book club right here!

Not just another day.

To many people, August 5th is just another day.

To me, it's the day that we made the hardest decision I've ever had to make.

The decision to allow my dad to die with dignity, taking him off of the ventilator, giving him enough pain medicine to prevent him from suffering another minute from the cancer that was killing him.

He was only sixty years old.

When I was leaving work this morning, I ran into the nurse who cared for Dad the week he was in the ICU. We exchanged good mornings, she went on to work and I went home. She doesn't remember the significance of today. Had I reminded her, she would have, I'm certain.

My mom called me this afternoon, just wanting to talk to someone else who knew what this day meant to our family. My sister did the same. It felt good to talk about Dad, and this year we were able to do it with laughter instead of tears. It has taken four years to get to this point.

I still miss him. I'm sad that he's not around to be Big Papaw to my babies. To see Gabe being a "mini-me" of his grandpa. To discuss the newest Stephen King or John Sandford books. To hug. To call me his "tiger".

Time does heal the wounds of loss, but it doesn't mean that this day will lose its memory of sorrow.



William Albert Klenk
February 7, 1945 to August 5, 2005