Our Weekend to Remember

John and I have wanted to attend a Family Life Today Weekend to Remember for quite awhile. Being that it costs a little more than we wanted to spend the only way we could do it was to find at least one other couple to attend with us and then we'd all get half off the registration. I was so thrilled to find friends who were also eager to attend and so we all went this past weekend.

John and I had a great time together! We had a busy schedule but the speakers were excellent and so funny too that time flew by. Much of what we heard we already knew but it was just the thing we needed to remind us of a few areas that we both could use work on. The most helpful part was after each session there was an application project where we would answer questions on our own and then discuss them regarding the topics that had been presented which are not things we talk about very regularly.

My favorite project was writing a love letter to each other. Now at first when I heard that, I thought, what in the world would I write. It reminded me of the days when we were dating and actually did pull out a pen and paper and write endearing letters. I had pulled out John's senior year book last week and read what I had written and it cracked me up to read again. We have changed so much since those days but yet our love has grown stronger and as I reflected on that (and they also give questions to prod you on) I was able to write (almost the whole time in tears) a love letter to John. We then shared them with each other and it was pretty much a cry fest for me. But it was such a special time.

We did have time for dating too, although I felt like the whole time we were together we were on this big date. But Saturday the two of us walked hand in hand downtown and found a little coffee shop to have a tasty lunch. What a strange feeling to not have little ones pulling on our legs or holding our hands as we walked.The evening was free time and they encouraged us to have a nice dinner together, although being that we were still full from lunch we did something very out of the ordinary that the kids were shocked to hear -- we went out for ice cream instead but it was fun none-the-less.

Sunday we had a separate session for women and men and then came together again to talk about leaving a legacy. We ended in a tearful session for many in renewing our wedding vows and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend that we will never forget.

I highly recommend every married couple attend a Weekend to Remember! You don't have to be struggling in your marriage to attend as we found it was just helpful to get us communicating better and to put our priorities back in line with each other coming before the children.

If you would like to attend check out the Family Life Today website. They have locations all across the US and if you would like to get half off as well you can register as a part of the group I started. You can attend any Weekend to Remember and do not need to be in our area . Click on the link to our group for more information -- http://www.familylife.com/groups/masongroup

Smell of Spring in a bottle

While signs of spring are slowly beginning to make their appearance I was in need of some scents to go along with it. Right now with melting snow giving way to mud and muck and all things rotted after being buried for the winter, the smells in the air are not exactly very pleasant.

Last night I was able to go with my sister and the MOPS group I used to belong to to an area shop where you are able to make your own lotions, body sprays, etc. all with good ingredients rather than the junk you find in store brand products. My favorite part of this is picking out what scent to add to my avocado whipped lotion. This can be a long process as there are probably 100 scents to choose from. I try to have my sister help me narrow it down but it is funny how different we are in what we like. She turns up her nose at my favorite and I wouldn't choose what she likes for myself.

Over time I have narrowed it down to maybe five that I select from each time but I have been longing for my favorite scent for awhile now, especially since it doesn't seem like a very "wintry" scent to wear. I found the bottle of Tomato Leaf fragrance and had it made into a perfume. Ahh, the smell of it makes me think of warm breezes blowing through my windows and of laundry fresh off the line. I am wearing it today and basking in the thought of warmer days ahead. Oh Joy and Bliss!

George learning to sew

My parents brought over my Grandma's sewing machine for me so I can relearn to sew in my spare time. :) I sewed a rice pillow for a gift along with a cover after a bit of instruction from my Mom and thought maybe I could do this. Most likely all I will get done is hemming some pants and such. George has wanted to learn to sew for awhile. We saw a book that has patterns for boy things to sew and so he has been asking for quite awhile.

George cutting apart old jeans.

My Mom gave George a brief instruction of how to use the machine and got him sewing straight lines. Next he began sewing large squares together. Then he cut them into small squares, sewing them together and made a doll pillow for Missy and a small blanket for Seppy. I had given him a few pointers but other than that he has taken off on his own. After picking out some remnants at the fabric store he came home and in no time at all he had made a shirt. He has to tweak it a bit yet but I couldn't believe he figured out how to sew a little shirt for a stuffed bear.

Shirt George whipped up. He then made a bag for Seppy out of scraps of denim from his latest project.

Shirts and pillows were not enough and so now George has a big project he is working on. I remembered seeing a quilt made out of denim and knowing we had a pile of jeans with holes waiting to be made into shorts thought George could maybe tackle that. He is doing a rag quilt with denim and then flannel that he picked out on the back so that he doesn't have to be perfect with it and then there is no stuffing it or finishing off edges. It will have frayed edges all around (my Mom makes flannel blankets like this). Now all of his brothers want him to make them a quilt also.

Here are two finished strips showing the front and then the flannel back.

I am sure excited about the prospect of this. George learning to sew can save me so much time and he can do all of my projects! He already knows how to operate the machine better than I do. I told him he can take in all of Missy's pants that fall off of her. He wondered how to do that and I told him to which he replied, "that doesn't sound comfortable." He suggested that we put in the elastic with buttons as the pants I typically try to buy for her. Sure George, you figure that out for me!

Red Clogs and Rice Krispy Sushi

From time to time I bring out Five In a Row and pick a book to read through for the week and learn more about. George and I read them all together years ago so it is fun to come back with the rest of the gang and reminisce in a way. This week it was A Pair of Red Clogs and so we learned a bit more about Japan. We combined it with another book from FIAR -- Grandfather's Journey. My favorite thing about this is we all sit together and enjoy good books. The little ones as well as the older boys enjoy the stories. I found a few other recommended books in the forums and so we read a few based on a true story about Japan as well. We really enjoyed the book about a loyal dog named Hachiko.

Missy has been running around the house this week singing "Kora Kora Kara Kara" the noise the clogs made, and I get a kick out of a whole new perspective on the story that a boy (at least mine) just doesn't pick up on. Everyone's favorite about this lesson was making Rice Krispy Sushi. I wanted to make Japanese food but quite a few foods are not appealing to me lately so instead we made a dessert. George was thrilled to go to the store with me to pick out things I rarely buy -- gummy worms, swedish fish, fruit rolls. I had a hard time checking out with so much junk in my cart. :)- Not a very enjoyable dessert as far as I am concerned but the children really enjoyed it or at least the idea of it. Most of them ended up taking it all a part and eating the candy separate. Re-Pete is the only one who has ever tried real sushi (on which he gagged) and he proclaimed this to be much better!

Sayōnara!

4H Musical -- American Dream

We had an exciting day Saturday! Five of our children participated in the 4H Music & Drama festival with our club the Willing Workers. They put on a condensed version of "American Dream" telling America's history through song.

George as Leif Erikson looking over his map. He had one of the biggest parts (which he requested)

Parts were assigned mid-January and then the work began meeting twice a week for practices. At first we weren't sure how this was going to come together but slowly and surely they improved. Although last week a few of us moms looked at each other when the kids forgot the first verse of the first song wondering how well they really would do. The ages of our group ranged from 5 - 18 but they work well together with the older ones helping the younger.

I painted the backdrop (which didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned but I did it in a day) and also the letters for America. We each found costumes from various sources but they turned out great as we got an award for best costumes.

During one of our practices. Missy has her exclamation upside down. Tank holds the letter R (for the right to pray as you please)

The day of the performance I think I was more nervous than my children were. We had hoped to get a practice in before going on stage but there were so many other groups trying to practice that it was just hilarious trying to sing our songs. I was behind the backdrop helping with costume changes so I didn't even see the actual performance but it sure sounded good.

Afterwards we went to hear the judges comments and I had a hard time not letting my tears fall as I heard so much praise for our group. I cannot even express in words how proud I was of our children for all the effort they put into this and they gave it their all. Even my little Missy Blue sang and danced along with the rest and the judges were amazed that she didn't get lost in the crowd but kept up with everyone else.

The end of the day brought the judges results and we were hopeful but didn't know what to think. In the end our group won for best musical!!! Which means they will now go to the state fair and perform again competing against other 4H groups from around the state. Very exciting!!!

Pete is on the far left cut off a bit, Re-Pete is in the middle with Tank in front of him and Missy up front. George is on the right.

George played -- Leif Erikson and then changed into a Thomas Jefferson costume for a song

Pete played -- a pilgrim man and then had a larger part when he was Tecumseh (he makes me smile with his bold voice and actions he puts with it)

Re-Pete -- reluctantly participated but ended up enjoying playing Vasco Balboa and then a Colonist

Tank -- really liked being Daniel Boone.

Missy -- dressed as a pioneer girl but didn't have any lines. She did sing and dance very well.

Nifty Fifties Couples Dinner

John and I had a fun night at a "diner" for a Nifty Fifty Couples dinner Friday night. We were supposed to dress in the fashion of that day and so I did quite a bit of online searching to see what was worn. It seems most people think of poodle skirts and saddles shoes but I found that quite a bit of clothing was classic in style and has had an influence in styles of today. I am certain I could have walked into any store and found something similar to that worn in 50's. It was the kids in high school who would more often wear the poodle skirts, although they wore a lot of other things, it's just that that seems to have become the symbol of the day.

Goodwill is my friend and that is where I headed. Of course I did find a blue skirt with polka dots that would have been perfect and a matching sweater but alas, my pregnant belly wouldn't allow that to close anymore. Then I saw a dress on display with a pink cardigan over and pearls dangling from the hanger. Perfect! Being that it had a high waist it worked perfect. And better yet, it is something I will wear again because it is a cute dress from Target still with the tags on. John had a shirt in his closet that reminded me of a loose style I saw. He could have just worn a suit and tie though as that is what most men seemed to wear along with a hat.

I hope I didn't bore you with the clothes. I really found it fascinating to see styles over time. The dinner was in the church basement decorated to look like a diner and "the Fonz" took our names and seated us at our tables. We dined on ice cream floats and hamburgers. We enjoyed 50's entertainment and even a visit from Frank Sinatra! :) I was thinking my Dad should have sang his song "Duke of Earl" (that's his name) as I love to hear him sing those old songs. Good friends, fun times!

Daddy's Home!

John traveled to South Korea last week. He was only gone for 5 1/2 days which may not sound very long but it was long enough! I knew it was coming and so I began to prepare myself for his departure. Obviously it was pointless to be upset about his trip because it is a part of his job. Thankfully he doesn't travel this long and far very often and it is usually only an overnight trip. But, him being so far away and with so little contact was what was unsettling. Even during a normal workday John will call at least once if not more just to touch base. I knew that would not be the case all the way around the world.

I thought of how much I "need" to hear his voice and have John's encouragement each day. But I then realized how much more I was depending on John and how little I was depending on my Father God. I knew that I needed to make sure I started each day reading God's promises to me and praying for strength for each day to accomplish that what was needed. Yes, I should always be starting each day that way but often my time with the Lord during a day falls to when I get a chance. :( This past week I claimed the verse -- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13. I also needed to choose to have the right attitude and my week went so much better than if I dwelt on my circumstances.

Of course there were tests to my patience with added responsibilities (John really helps out a lot!), sick kids (mainly my #1 helper), and the super cold weather. John being gone means late nights for me as I like to stay awake until I am so tired I will fall to sleep instantly without hearing all of the "noises". :) We also found after I tracked his flight and waited until 2 a.m. for a call, that his supposedly international cell phone did not work. He ended up calling from the hotel every morning which was when he was going to bed and I was just thankful to hear his voice.

What a sweet reunion when John returned home! His flight was delayed by a few hours as they had turned around early into the flight for a medical emergency but we were all so happy to see Daddy walking up our walkway with a huge smile on his face. I don't think I stopped looking at him all night long, what a beautiful sight to have my love back home. Hopefully there are no overseas trips anytime in the near future!

Of course after he adjusted to our time again he heads to Alabama for an overnight trip this week. At least he is building up those frequent flier miles.