Bits and Pieces

Last Day of Preschool

2008-05-23T18:48:00.003-04:00

How can this be? Today was Josh's end-of-preschool picnic. Josh is my youngest. I officially am no longer a mom of a preschooler. Wow. That flew by!

As soon as I get the pics on to my computer I will post pics from his preschool days. He went to the most wonderful preschool--the one Ben went to as well. It was located on a 180 acre nature preserve nestled along the coast of Lake Michigan. They played in the mud, threw rocks in the lake, tapped maple trees to make syrup, went sledding, found critters of all shapes and sizes, and in general delighted in the world God made. That is so much better than ABC's and 123's! He has the rest of his life to learn those. This year he got to have a taste of the back yard I grew up with. I'm so glad we were able to give that to him.

We have had kids in that preschool for three of the last four years. It is strange--and sad--to realize we have no more kids to enjoy watching there! I may have to borrow someone's kids:).

A Surreal Moment

2007-11-14T14:41:00.000-05:00

I picked Jessa up from school today to take her out for lunch in honor of her eleventh birthday tomorrow. We had a nice chat over crepes at "Cream and Crepe"--a local cafe'. As I kissed her good-bye in the office and walked back out to my car, I was overcome with the feeling I was walking in a dream.

The last time I remember that feeling is on my wedding day, when it just seemed surreal I was getting married to such a wonderful man. Today it just seemed utterly impossible I was mom to an eleven year old! How did that happen? How did she get so big and how have I managed to not break her in eleven whole years?!

It is a surreal feeling to realize I am living the life I always dreamed of because it always seemed to be in the future and now it is my present--in both senses of the word.

Little Boys Part II

2007-07-12T13:23:00.000-04:00

Ben is six and just completed kindergarten. Yesterday, while at work with me, he wrote and illustrated a book. It was simple yet amazing, and a testament to Ben's ability to express his emotions--a very important trait for my little men:).

Love Wins
by Ben

Everyone likes hearts.
No one likes crumpled hearts.

Everyone likes stars.
No one likes crumpled stars.

Everyone likes flowers...
...and we love eachother.

Little Boys Part I

2007-07-12T10:36:00.001-04:00

My friend Monica is hosting a blog fair about raising boys. Since I have two, I thought I'd get a head start on my entries.

Josh is my fourth child, second son, and most likely the last baby I will have. I wanted to treasure every minute of his baby days. Each milestone was bittersweet because it was my "last first"--the last first smile, the last first sleeping through the night, the last first tooth--etc. I took a picture of his little sweet baby feet and titled it "Sweet Feet." Three years later I took a follow up picture after an afternoon of play. Of all the toys we own, Josh's favorite play thing, hands down, is the pile of dirt left from the previous owners' landscaping projects.

Tagged! The Book List

2007-05-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

My SIL tagged my to post my current reading list. Here goes...

The boys and I are reading Magic Tree House books and a variety of other fiction and non-fiction books as read-alouds. Tonight my kindergartener read me an Arthur book:).

I have a hard time putting a good novel down once I've started it, so I only start one if I have a large block of reading time coming up. That hasn't happened lately--not since I was sick last fall. My current non-fiction list includes:

Naturally Supernatural

Siblings Without Rivalry

Raising Cain: Saving the Emotional Lives of our Boys

Teaching Children Authentic Worship

Beth Moore's study on the ministry of Paul

Becoming a Love and Logic Parent

I also read a lot of short stories in search of good material for our children's church curriculum and read a variety of other curriculum resources.

Yet another reason to like spring :)

2007-03-26T13:30:00.000-04:00

Spring has finally sprung in our corner of the world. We have been busy with yard work, trying to get our gardens and bushes ready for a new season of growing. I have discovered I am decidedly UNgifted in the area of pruning bushes. They all look as if they have bad haircuts! I am thankful they will be covered with new green leaves in the next few weeks. Spring will cover up all my errors!

Josh was helping me today, hauling dirt from the back garden up to put along the foundation in the front yard. We have a dry basement and want it to stay that way, so we are trying to maintain that grade! Anyway, Josh was supremely disappointed I wouldn't let him keep one of our lovely worms as a pet. Poor little guy just wanted a worm of his very own. I was reminded of a little baby garden snake my brother loved to death at about Josh's age as I told Josh really the worms were to look at but not to hold and have as pets.

2007-03-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the Pieces Slide Into Place...

2007-03-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those inner nudgings you were pretty sure was God, so you kind of tucked it away in your heart and then one day it all took shape? Well, that has just happened to me.

Several months ago I really had the strong sense God was going to use our church to reach children with special health care needs and their families. I tucked it away in my heart. We did have kids with various health and medical issues--two with fairly serious ones--but it seemed like it was something bigger than that.

About six weeks ago a family with a little girl with some serious needs visited our church and then attended a two-day workshop we hosted. The parents' relief at relizing their daughter would be accepted and well cared for in our children's ministry was palatable. The mom had hardly been to church in the two years since their daughter's diagnosis, and the workshop they attended was their first adult outting in almost the same time. As I prayed about how we would keep their daughter safe in our children's ministry, I saw the faces of three of our very compassionate and responsible youth. They agreed to be trained to be her buddies, and one of them is with our little lady whenever she is in children's church.

Today another family visited, also with a child with some serious needs and delays. They tentatively brought their daughter back to the chidren's wing thinking probably the safest place for her was the nursery but a bit cautious about the whole scene. I suggested they also consider the primary class (3-6yos), but assured them they were welcome to do whatever was most comfortable for them. One of the moms who often volunteers as an assistant agreed to be an extra assistant in the class, which helped set the parents' mind at ease. They thanked me profoundly and went out for the adult teaching. After church we visited more about their daughter's and family's needs and how we could best meet them. They seemed surprised, grateful, and relieved at how well it went and also commented on how hard it was for them to go to church.

When God promises to work all things together for good, this is one of those situations He was talking about. If our dear Abby had not had the problems she had/has, I would not have joined an internet community for parents of kids with neurological problems and would have been much less well prepared for all this. We also wouldn't have met Anne, our wonderful Hippotherapy Physical Therapist who is now working with a family from our church to run a non-profit organization which provides hippotherapy and therepeutic riding to area youngsters. And when the first child with serious special needs began attending our church several years ago, I wouldn't have known to connect her with Anne. He is now walking with the aide of ski poles and has paved the way for our future generations of kids with special needs!

Wow. This was a long one. God just really confirmed this was Him today.

More Snow?!

2007-02-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

I like winter, and I like snow. To an extent. Usually I figure a couple good snows before mid-February is nice and then it is time to clear up. We had a couple 12-14 inch snows already this winter, and this week it was warm enough to melt most of the snow. There were just a few random snow piles left when I fell asleep Friday night.

I woke up just after midnight and noticed a strange glow from outside. I assumed we had inadvertantly left the porch light on, so I went to turn it off. It was already off. The glow was the reflection of the moon off 6 inches of new snow! That was a surprise as I wasn't expecting snow until today.

We are supposed to get another 12 inches by tomorrow noon. So much for my early spring!

On a similar topic, it was Groundhog's Day a few weeks ago. The groundhog didn't see his shadow which, according to legend, means we are to have an early spring. The next two weeks were the most brutally cold of the year, with windchills at 20-30 degrees below zero (Farenheit). Ben sounded so betrayed when he would say, "But the groundhog didn't see his shadow. It is supposed to be spring!" Poor guy took the groundhog at his word and couldn't understand why we had more winter!

That Was Fun!

2007-02-12T13:19:00.000-05:00

This morning I got to be on the radio! It was a fun deja vu of my dj days back in Texas. What made it even more fun was it was on a morning show with three dj's, so we just got to yak. They were so laid back and fun it was easy to join right in.

Oh, but I forgot the beginning of the story! A local radio station does "Extreme Makeover Life Edition" every winter. One of the categories this year was "Reclaim Your House." Entrants had to write an essay about why the services offered the winner--in this case a professional organizer, interior decorator, and a maid service--would help them improve their life. I won! Last week we had visits from the maid service to do a walk through, the interior decorator to choose colors and take room and furniture measurements, and from the organizer who spent over 5 hours with me decluttering our downstairs! Today the organizer and I got to report on our progress on the air.

It has been a ton of work, but it is invigorating to finally get this done. Ever since the moves last year we've needed to do it, but I just couldn't seem to take that first step without getting overwhelmed. We spent the weekend putting closet organizers in the bedroom closets so we can get stuff put away and doing more decluttering. Tomorrow a team of maids is coming to do a professional deep clean, next week a painter is coming to paint the living room, and then we're rearranging furniture and putting up new curtains with the assistance of someone with an eye for organization.

I will be on the radio three more times to report our progress, and in the end there is a listener vote to see which contestant worked the hardest and wins the Grand Prize family vacation! Even if we don't win the grand prize, we are excited about what we have won and look forward to living in a more organized house.

It's Been a Busy Month

2007-01-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

I realize I haven't blogged in a long time. Some times I just don't feel very creative in what I have to say. Life with four children tends to hold a lot of the mundane, and who really wants to read about how many loads of laundry I've washed and folded but not quite managed to get put away, or what we're having for dinner, or how the cat used the bin of train track pieces for a litter box and I discovered it the smelly way?

In the midst of the mundane, there are treasures such as watching Josh drum along to songs on tv, the radio, or sung by himself; or watching Ben "get" reading and start reading and writing everything; or watching Abby practice her "How To" speech and realizing how totally natural she is at it despite severe stage fright just a couple years ago; or making a folder on the computer for all Jessa's stories and realizing she has written over 20 fiction short stories!

There are other not-so-mundane things as well. As of the first of the year my 1/4 time job as Pastor of Children and Family Ministries at our church has become a half time job. That has required some adjustments, but they have been good ones.

We decided to put Josh in daycare two mornings each week so he doesn't have to spend as much time tooling around the church with me. That also gives me more time to get things done the efficient way. It has been good for Josh to rehearse the notion that mommy's job is to come back and his job is to stay and play. He has always been "mommy's boy," even from day one, so giving him a little space to see how trustworthy I am about returning has been a growing experience for him. I thought it would be a total relief for me, but to be honest I spent the whole first day worrying about him and still wonder a lot. This is good preparation for him to start at our favorite preschool in the fall--the Audubon Nature Center preschool on 180 acres of woods along Lake Michigan. Ben attended there a couple years and it is amazing.

The first day I was at work without kids in tow, I learned our spancrete had just been installed on our new church building so the other staff and I got to go out and tour. This building project has been a long haul as bureaucratic delays have abounded, so it was good to see that progress. The children's ministry area in our new building will be almost as large as the entire building we are currently working in. Considering how many kids we have (65+ and 7 babies due between now and August!), the increased space can't come soon enough.

See...there is just a lot of day to day happening these days!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Just popping in for a moment to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas. We celebrated with Bob's mom Friday night as Bob has on call duties for the weekend. It is soon time for our Christmas Eve candlelight service and it looks as if he will miss it due to a family in need at the hospital. We are just glad we get him for Christmas Day and the 26th, giving us just enough time to pop down to my parents' house for Christmas dinner and an overnight. We will see one of my brothers and his wife and kids there.

Presents have been wrapped and tucked under the tree, the Christmas program at church is done, and the kids are packing their own bags for the trip to Grandma and Grandpa's. This is almost too easy...

Today my own little Christmas miracle occured. This probably doesn't seem like all that big a deal unless you have worked recruiting volunteers. I was working on my schedules for the next trimester of kids' ministry at church. We've really been praying for a few more teachers because our numbers are going up and I needed to be freed up to help where needed instead of having teaching duties in all three classes! So this morning I talked to a lady one of my faithful teachers had recommended as a possibility for our primary class and her response was that in her devotions this week she had sensed God telling her if someone asked her she was not to say no! Just like that God filled out the schedule for that class:). As small as that may seem, it was a huge Christmas miracle to me.

May miracles large and small mark your holiday season and this coming year.

What Mommies and Daddies Do

2006-12-12T18:30:00.001-05:00

This conversation occured out of the blue this afternoon:

Josh: Mommy, you and Daddy aren't married.

Mommy: We aren't?

Josh: No, you're not.

Mommy: Yes we are.

Josh: Why?

Mommy: Because that's what mommies and daddies do.

Josh: Mommies and daddies don't get married.

Mommy: Oh, what do they do?

{{Josh ponders for a bit...What do Mommies and Daddies do anyway? Then a lightbulb goes on...}}

Josh: They jump!

2006-12-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Evolution of Christmas Tree Decorating

2006-12-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

This weekend we put up the Christmas tree. To be more accurate, the kids did most of it. It used to be Bob and I did it. Then we did it with "help" from the kids. Then we did it with actual help from the kids. This time, I did the high part and the lights, and the kids put the rest together and did the other decorations. That means I actually have pictures of the process this year, instead of just pics of the finished product. So here we have it:

The End of a Decade

2006-12-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

When we first thought of becoming parents, there were many things we imagined...cute little baby toes, sweet baby smiles, little people running around the house laughing, and getting to play with lots of cool toys, to name a few.

There were other things which just never crossed our minds, to be honest. Among those was ten straight years of having at least one kid in diapers or potty training at all times! Yes, it was the Diaper Decade for the Turner family. It is officially finally over after Josh proved to be our most reluctant trainer yet.

There are so many sweet and fun things about the infant and toddler ages, and I will look back on those years fondly, but I do think ten straight years of diapers and potty training is enough!

Cold Weather Public Service Announcement

2006-12-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

As you may or may not know, our sweet Abby continues to fight the after-effects of carbon monoxide poisoning received at our Texas parsonage when she was an infant. In light of that, we like to remind people each winter to make sure their furnaces are serviced by a qualified individual who carries a CO monitor as part of his/her standard equipment, and to purchase a digital CO monitor for each floor of their house.

Have a safe, warm winter!

He Can't Help It, He's Just Cute!

2006-12-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Josh is three and charming...very charming. He says and does so many cute things. This morning he crawled into bed with me for a snuggle. As we lay there chatting, he said, "You know, Ben is my best friend." Ben is Josh's 5yo brother. Those are the moments which melt mommy hearts. When I mentioned Josh's statement to Ben, Ben said, "But he fights me all the time!" Brotherly love is apparently expressed in wrestles.

This evening the girls were watching a movie with a character in it who was mean to his horse. Josh came over to me and said, "That man is so angry. Why he being mean?" I felt like going over his head with the explanation, so I said something to the effect that the man was choosing to be angry instead of choosing to ask God to make his heart loving. Josh looked at me quizzically. He does quizzical better than anyone I know. His little jaw was dropped at an angle, his brow was furled, his eyes were raised to the side...it was choice. Then he said, sagely, "Oh yeah, loving. I remember loving. I love Mommy and Daddy."

He is just too yummy for words!

Happy Snow Day!

2006-12-01T14:15:00.000-05:00

We went to bed last night with forecasts of a big winter storm but not a flake in sight. When my 10yo came in this morning to tell me there were 3-4 inches of snow and added, "Maybe we won't have school!" I thought she was dreaming. However, with the forecast calling for another 12-14 inches by nightfall, most--if not all--area schools did call a snow day! And what a perfect day for a snow day...fresh snow, 30 degrees, and heading into a weekend to boot.

The kids have, of course, been out a bunch. Every couple hours they come in for something warm or just to dry off, then after they are all toasty they head back out again.

This is the kind of snow I remember from childhood. Deep snow which actually packs is so much fun! Ever since we moved here the bulk of our snow has come on days when it is so cold the snow won't pack. That is not nearly so much fun.

I have more energy and determination than sense some times, so I shoveled the sidewalks and driveway this morning. It took well over an hour, especially since the snow plow dumped a couple feet of snow across the bottom of the driveway, but it was fun somehow. I even turned down the neighbors offer to get his snow blower out. I think part of the fun was having Ben's help and then just watching him play. At five, he is the perfect age to have unfettered fun in the snow. He was climbing snow mountains and throwing himself down into the snow banks. I think he was covered in snow from head to toe...and had a smile which stretched from ear to ear.

By the time I finished shoveling, another inch had fallen. We have a few more on top of that now. Jessa stuck a stick in the snow and measured it at about 14 inches, but I think she may have been in an extra deep spot. I'm guessing a more accurate total is 10-12 inches. However, since I have the first several inches off already and Ben helped me put down salt, it will be much easier to get the last bit.

The first real snow fall of a season should always be a snow day!

Laurie

Do I Really Want to do This?

2006-11-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

The whole concept of blogging has always seemed a bit...well, too revealing to me. Do I really want people to be able to access the thoughts which float across my mind long enough to make it to the key board, or are those thoughts better jotted elsewhere? Well, I guess we're about to find out!

By request, pics of my kids...

...with their Grandma (Bob's mom), at our home for Easter

...a recent Christmas shot by a friend of ours

The kids are Jessa (10), Abby (8), Ben (5), and Josh (3)