Bottomless Pits

June 6, 2011

Can we talk a minute about teenagers and their appetites?

People warned me about growth spurts – but seriously!!

Pedro must be in the midst of a big one because all the kid does is eat. At a meal he will eat 3 huge helpings of everything on the table, a big dessert, drink the juice that is left in the bottom of the corn bowl, lick the ketchup of his plate and look around the table for more.

It reminds me of the classic Pooh movie when Winnie the Pooh goes to Rabbit’s for tea. He eats and eats and eats.

Finally Rabbit asks him, “Would you like some more?”

Pooh responds eagerly, “Is there anymore?”

To which Rabbit gives a firm, “No.”

“Oh bother,” is Pooh’s response.

Oh bother is right!

This kid will eat us out of house and home! When I walk in our local grocery store the check-out ladies just smile and call in reinforcements!

Years ago – when Pedro was an baby- he was sitting in his car seat in the grocery cart as I was shopping. As I unloaded the last of my purchases from the cart at the check-out counter – I pointed to Pedro in the cart and joked that this one was already paid for.

The check-out guy quipped, “That’s what you think – just wait till he’s a teenager.”

Oh my – how right he was!

By Country Gal | Posted in Children | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

Annie and the Thrift Store

June 3, 2011

SandLast weekend at our family reunion – I was able to slip away with my 3 sisters-in-law and Jan’s mom to hit a couple garage sales and my favorite thrift store.

We left our very brave husbands home with all the kids – except one – Annie.

Annie to go because there was just one seat left in the van – and she was the only little one who wasn’ t muddy yet.

I’m not sure how excited she was to go an adventure with her aunts – but she was a good sport and soon learned that Auntie Melinda’s thrift stores are quite a bit different then the ones in the big city where she lives!

As soon as we walked into the Mission Possible Thrift Store Annie spotted the row of baby dolls perched right at her level on the shelves. She made a beeline for them exclaiming, “BABIES!”

Every lady in the shop stopped what they doing and said “Ohhh…how precious!”

From that moment on she had the run of the store.

She hugged baby dolls for awhile, then moved on to scarves. After she found a silky pink one and wrapped it around her neck, she moved on with Nana to the other side of the store where she discovered shoes.

Annie loves shoes. Really loves shoes.  Especially shoes that are too big.

She was in her element!

She would try on a pair of shoes and parade around the clothes rack carrying a dolly and wearing her pretty pink scarf.

The other shoppers smiled.

Her favorite pairs were a pair of fuzzy red slippers and a metallic silver heel.

At one point I overheard her say to Nana,” I think you should buy these pretty shoes Nana.”

Nana replied, “Oh my, those are very pretty Annie, but I just don’t have any metallic silver dresses to wear them with.” :)

Nana did however buy the fuzzy red slippers and Auntie Melinda bought her the pretty pink scarf.

So she left the store with a few treasures of her own and several new admirers.

She and I sat on the courthouse steps across the street eating pretzels while the other gals finished up.

When they joined us in a few minutes they were exclaiming about the great prices and their sweet finds.

I just smiled and said, “You just can’t beat a small town thrift store for great deals.”

And I’m sure Annie would add, “And lots of fun!” :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Memorial Day Weekend

June 1, 2011

Oh my! What a weekend!

We hosted all of Jan’s family – his 2 parents, 1 sister, 2 brothers, 3 spouses, and their 15 children, plus, of course, the seven of us – for a big 80th Birthday Bash to honor his Mom.

It’s been 1-1/2 years since we were all together last – and the changes were amazing! Those cousins are sure growing up fast! At one point I was inside and heard the kids playing an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee on the lawn.

FrisbeeThose “kids” sounded more like men with their deep voices yelling and making war whoops.

And boy could those kids eat!  Seriously. Those guys could pack it in.  Bottomless pits.

But not all were forking it in hand over fist. My little ones were also here to provide a little humor and lots of hugs.
Just before this picture was shot, Annie had grabbed her straw and put it into a nearby mud puddle to get a drink! Thankfully Angel Girl got there just in time to stop her.

And of course – my youngest two nephews spent as much time as possible sitting on Uncle Jan’s “twactors” and begging for rides on the 4-wheeler.

K&MAnd then there’s Katie. She’s one of a kind – that girl. A perpetual motion machine. She was quite taken with my chickens. At one point she found 2 egg shaped rocks by the sand box. She quickly pushed them together and sat on them clucking like a hen.

She and her brother Davy and sister Emie chased those poor chickens the entire weekend. I’m not sure what they would have done if they had actually caught one! :)

The kids were outside from sun up to sun down. They climbed trees, took epic adventures, had a water balloon fight, and spent hours on the swings. If the amount of dirt and mud on their bodies and the amount of food they consumed was any indication – I’d say they all had a great time!

I think it’s safe to say that we all did! :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Family Traditions, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

God of Wonder

March 23, 2011

God of WondersWe had some massive storms roll through the state last night – tornadoes warnings, hail, strong winds, heavy rains.

With three of my kids at Teen Pact Camp in Des Moines – this momma bear was relieved when one of the coordinators posted this on Facebook:

“I just got back from the Teen Pact Camp. There was a tornado warming so we all went into this ‘cozy’ (that was the word we agreed on) basement. I must say, if being in a basement can be epic, this totally was. We did a bunch of singing. Let me tell ya, ‘God of Wonders’ takes on a whole new meaning when there’s lightning, hail and wind outside!”

Thank you Josh.

I had to smile. I knew exactly what he meant.

Years ago – when I was in youth group – we were on the church bus on a very hot and humid July night traveling home from an activity.

The air was so still it was suffocating.

There was lightning off in the distance.

We watched the storm get closer and closer – until the sky got dark and our church bus full of kids was in the middle of the rain, wind, and lightning.

It was a little scary.

Then someone started to sing the scripture song from Isaiah 41:10:

“Fear thou not, for I am with thee,
be not afraid, for I’m thy God.
I will strengthen you, yea I will help you,
yea I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”

We all joined in. Song after song flowed out of that bus on that dark stormy night.

Singing “How Great Thou Art” while the lightning cracks above you and you can feel His power in the wind and rain is an incredible experience.

That impromptu acapella worship service in the church bus on a country road in rural Iowa surrounded by the raging storm remains one of the most meaningful ones in my life.

God of wonder indeed.

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Deep Thoughts, Spring | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

Random Snapshots

March 18, 2011

Photo memoriesWe’ve been looking through the photo albums in the last few weeks searching for pictures of Matt to use in a video for his graduation party in May.

Talk about a trip down memory lane!

I haven’t taken the time to look at photos in years!

Boy, did Jan and I look young – and skinny – and tired! :)

My how fast life changes!

I can now understand why people who have lost everything in a disaster will mourn the loss of the photographs the most.

You can trace our history through the  long line of birthday cakes, family Christmas pictures, and summer vacations.

The birthday parties, the Christmas pictures, the family gatherings are all so fun to remember, but looking at them now – the pictures I appreciate the most are the ones of our every day life.

You know – the random shots. The ones where the kids are sitting – happy as clams – in the middle of a floor strewn with toys.

Or the one of the family sitting around the table for meal on a weekday.

Those pictures captured the “everydayness” of life – the everyday dishes, the everyday clothes, the everyday moments that we often overlook.

I think it’s those every day moments  -

the house messy with toys,

every chair around the table full at a mealtime,

the swing set filled with laughter,

the little helper doing chores with daddy – that we miss the most when they are gone.

Which makes those pictures even more precious – they are an irreplaceable reminder of who we were and where we’ve been.

Priceless.

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Deep Thoughts | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)