Happy 12th Birthday, Katie!

Happy 12th birthday to our first born daughter, Katie! I love your passion for living life to the fullest & your drive for perfection. I love your teachable spirit. I love your laugh & sense of humor. I love your leadership qualities & how you enjoy helping out around the house. Most of all I love your discipline & desire to read God's Word every day and to obey it. I love you SO much!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, as a birthday surprise we worked on painting and organizing Katie's bedroom while she was at camp.  When she came home from camp she had been throwing up on the bus, so her reaction was not as enthusiastic as we had hoped.  However, now that she is feeling better she has been very thankful and has said how much she loves her new bedroom over and over.  She is always a very thankful child.  Our sweet girl thanks us for dinners that she doesn't even like, and she has probably thanked us 30 times since she's been home for her bedroom.

We are truly blessed by our Katie Bug.  She is a delightful child who has kept me on my toes since she was born.  As a baby she battled lactose intolerance, colic and was very fussy.  She threw up everything the doctors prescribed.  Yet, she was the most active and exciting baby in the whole nursery as she jumped up and down in the saucers while the other babies just sat and drooled on themselves.  At 9 months she climbed out of her crib...I swear she scaled the walls like spider man because her crib was on the lowest setting.  I called the crib company to ask them if they had a "lid" for their crib....they thought I was joking. ;) She's always been our "Houdini" as she could open the child-proof cupboards and doors, and remove the safety plugs from the outlets better than I could. As a toddler she was a living picture of a "terrible two-year-old" complete with tantrums and defiance.  Yet she has grown into a young lady who does not show any rebellion in her sweet spirit.   We rarely have discipline problems with her at all.  She is the leader of our pack and keeps all the littles in line.  She is such loving and kind daughter. God has worked in her life and made her who she is.  We are truly honored to be her parents. 

6 Months old

9 months old

2 years old

3 years old

 

5 years old

Birthday card from Gram Kerr before she died--Gram
never could remember how to spell Katie. :)

Katie 11 years old...she's not a fan of picture taking :(

Katie's Surprise

Our oldest daughter, Katie-Bug, turns 12 this Saturday. Where has the time gone?! Katie is our little crafty child.  She loves to knit, sew, draw, paint, make things out of duct tape, make things with beads and make things out of garbage and all kinds of other things. She can teach herself to do pretty much any craft by watching instructional videos on YouTube. She once weaved a basket out of the pine needles that she collected at the park.  She’s really very creative and gifted.  Her 6^th grade teacher even named her the “most resourceful child” she’s ever known. 

Along with her creativity comes……CLUTTER….and trash….and half-finished projects and more CLUTTER.  Her bedroom basically looks like something exploded even when she says she has just cleaned up the place.  When we adopted our boys we lost our guest bedroom.  Now her bed is the only one in the house that is a queen size and so her room is also where any guests stay when they visit.  I HATE having such a cluttery, messy room for guests to sleep in, so I decided to do a little project and surprise Katie for her birthday.

I say the surprise is for Katie, but really it’s like a happy birthday surprise to me (3 full months early…haha) because I LOVE having everything neat and organized.  I’ve been working all week on painting and organizing and this is what I came up with for her bedroom.  She is really going to love having a neat bedroom and a place to put all of her craft items and her precious nick knacks (dust collectors).  Best of all her daddy and I will likely earn some cool points with our almost-teenager. It’s an all-around win for all of us! 

BEFORE---Her work space

AFTER--Her work space straightened a little

BEFORE--Her book case, nick knacks on top & her bed

AFTER--Her bed and shelves organized

 

BEFORE--Her window wall and craft shelves

AFTER--Her window wall & shelves along with her new nick knack shelves

 

Family Reunion 2013

When sweet Gram went to heaven this past February she left behind an inheritance and requested that all her family get together in Ft. Myers, Florida for a reunion. The reunion was the first week of July.  Gram and Grandpa had 4 children together.  These children married and had at least 9 children who mostly married and had at least 16 children (I’ve lost count of Gram and Grandpa’s great grandchildren).  It was amazing that about 52 of us were able to get off work and travel from all over the world to have the first reunion in many years.  We had family from Guam, Germany, California, Indiana, New York, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina and some other locations.  What a great time!  I speak for everyone when I say we all had a blast. 

We were able to mini golf, visit parks, have a ride on a yacht, visit a sea life museum, watch Despicable Me 2, swim in the pool, take a huge family photo, watch fireworks, see dolphins, take turns cooking family meals each night, go for walks, play board games and so much more.

Saturday morning we had a bit of a scare.  Our youngest daughter Haley wound up in the ER.  She had an episode that resembled a seizure.  She woke up Saturday morning complaining of a severe headache.  She was very grumpy which is not like her.  We all dressed and went to breakfast where she complained of a stomach ache and said she was feeling dizzy.  Then she went limp.  Tim picked her up before she fell and carried her.  Then her eyes rolled back and to her right side.  She did not respond to anything for about 45 minutes. She wasn’t blinking.  She wasn’t talking.  She just sat there staring off into space with her eyes completely dilated.  She was rushed to the ER via ambulance.  It was the scariest thing I’ve experienced since Brandon died.  I literally thought she had died as she lay motionless in her daddy’s arms.  I’m still a bit shaken up by the whole ordeal and very confused as to what happened.

We are having more tests run on her as soon as the neurologist can get her scheduled for an EEG to find out if it was indeed a seizure and what the cause of it was.  In the meantime, Haley is supposed to stay out of the sun, stay hydrated and unfortunately no summer camp at the lake for her this next week.  She’s been uncharacteristically clingy this week, but I am fine with that.  I want her near me so I can keep an eye on her.  She’s talked about what happened all week.  She said, “Mama, when I almost died all I could see was peach and I couldn’t move.” “Mama, when I almost died I could feel your tear drops falling on me.” “Mama, if I had died it would have been okay because I would have been with Brandon and our other family who died and I would have seen God!” (Gasp!)

One of the things that I thought about often on the LONG car ride back from Florida is the fact that family is the only thing that we will see again in heaven provided each family member sees a need of a Savior, repents and comes to Christ.   Our belongings and money will stay on this earth.  Sweet Brandon, Gram, Grandpa, Kurt, Uncle Normie and some others were all in Heaven while we had our reunion and spoke fondly of them together.  They were probably lovingly looking down on us.  However, some of our family and friends do not believe there is a God and sadly, we will not see these people ever again once they pass into eternity.  This makes me sadder than Brandon’s death.  I truly hope that all my family and friends come to Christ.  I want to be with everyone I love for all of eternity!  It’d be a forever family reunion with NO GOOD BYES. 

Gram and Grandpa left a legacy to all of us.  The thing that was most important in their lives was their love for Christ.  Even in Gram’s last moments when her mind was leaving and her body was failing her, she remembered to pray for her family, she could quote the Bible and she loved hearing hymns sung at her bedside.  The thing that was second important to Gram and Grandpa was their family.  I am truly blessed to have married in to such a loving and generous family who genuinely enjoys spending time together.  Our kids said over and over this past week, “I am so glad this is my family. I love ALL of my family! We have the coolest family EVER.”

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great 4^th of July holiday!  I’ve posted several pictures from our Family Reunion 2013.  Love and peace to all!

The last family reunion back in 1982...
Tim is the adorable 2 year old with a red bow tie in the back row

Family reunion 2013...how we've multiplied!

Most of the great grandkids

Most of the grand kids

The kids with their spouses

Finding critters is what they do best!

The great grand kids lined up for a scavenger hunt--winning team
gets an ice cream cone!

The kids spotted dolphins and they swam right up to the kids



Bee's ER visit

 

At the park...all those kids are our family...even back in the water

Going for a walk....found some snapping turtles

Swinging from the vines

Climbing these neat trees





Friday we all piled on this boat for a ride

The captains of the boat!

We saw all kinds of wild life on this boat ride





The girls found a tiny sea horse

Most of the family on the boat

Uncle Dan's flying electronic thingy....flying closely to the kids

 

 

 

July 1st!

Hooray for a new month and a fresh, new start!!!!!!! (Happy 41st anniversary to my parents today).  Summer is in full swing around here.  I thought I'd share several pictures of our summer "vacation" so far.  We still have a lot planned that we very much are looking forward to and I will make sure to share photos later on this summer. 

Lately it has been storming a lot. I think it has rained every single day for at least 10 days.  This makes for an antsy bunch of children!  We sure are thankful, though, that we are not having a drought season or wild fires like out West!

Tim went away for a while to some training.  He passed his test he needed for his certification.  I married a smart man, what can I say?  We are all so glad he is home again!

Take care over the holiday weekend, Everyone!  Be safe!

The younger littles went fishing with Dad while KT & I went shopping



Finally, in the last 5 minutes right
before it was time to go, they caught a fish!









Bella and Bee-Alissa

Since we have no diving board, Kylie likes to
stand on T's shoulders and dive off him.



Bee trying to figure out how to get across the stream to the frogs

KY trying to find a way to make a bridge to get across with Bee



The kids cooped up inside with the rain made them get creative with play.
They were forcing Bella (dog) and Reeses Pieces (cat) to become friends
by enforcing a "time in."  A lot of hissing and barking occurred. LOL 
This is a crawling tunnel that goes to a tent and obstacle course.

The Ladies Retreat & the Power of God

What does Christianity mean to you?  A lot of people think it’s all about being good.  It’s about a girl wearing a skirt to the knee.  It’s about a boy keeping the hair off the ears and collar.  It’s about not smoking, drinking, or chewing….or hanging out with those that do.  It’s about having the “best life now.” It’s about achieving goals and having financial success.  It’s about talking a talk and walking a walk. 

I would argue Christianity is really none of these things.  Instead Christianity is the power of the Gospel.  It is the power to change what isn’t right in our hearts.  It is the power to obey God when it’s hard and when everyone says “you’re crazy to do that.”  It is the power to love those who are difficult to love. It is the power to care for someone who resists care.  It is the power to get back up, brush off after being pummeled to the ground over and over by life’s trials.  It is the power to have faith that God can and will do a work in your life, if you submit to His plan.  It is the power to overcome the fiery darts from the devil.

A few weeks ago our church had a ladies retreat.  I have never been to the ladies retreat at our church before because (honestly) I generally do not like hanging out with only women.  Usually when women get together they do crafts, go shopping, pig out on food, cry and none of that is really “my thing.” I would much rather be with other couples or my own family if I have spare time.  The men at our church also have a retreat (in October) and the year Brandon was here, he came back talking about what a blast “camp” is and how he couldn’t wait to go the following year (easy for him to say, men get to shoot guns, play football, play dodgeball, rock climb, go tubing and go kayaking). Brandon highly encouraged me to go to the Ladies “Camp” as he called it. I wasn't up to it emotionally last year, so the only reason I went this year is because I remember Brandon saying, “You should go to camp.  You will really have fun, Mama.”  

I must admit I was skeptical that it'd be fun, but my son, you were right.  I had an absolute blast and we had an incredible speaker.  The words she shared touched my heart and my eyes were opened.  The biggest thing I remember is when she said that when you are in the middle of the storm, God is near.  If you picture yourself driving down a highway through a storm, the best thing to do is to slow down, fix your eyes ahead, and drive towards the light.

Since Brandon died, I feel like my world is upside down.  I feel like I’ve been given one trial after the other and I wonder how much more I can handle without crumbling.  I always feel darkness looming over me and I’m very much in the midst of a storm.  At the same time, I have an indescribable peace and joy in my life.  It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but honestly the only answer I have is the Gospel of Christ.  The gospel itself is the very POWER of God.  I Corinthians 1:17 says, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the POWER of GOD.” Those loved ones in my life who reject Christ and the Gospel almost pity me for clinging to my “faith” almost like it’s just an imaginary friend or a crutch that doesn’t exist.  I'm here to tell you that the power of God IS real.  It sustains me.  It strengthens me.  It encourages me.  I have peace and joy even though I am incredibly sad and broken, and probably will be for the rest of my life.  Embracing the Gospel of Christ gives me hope for the future and the power of God.  God is carefully, lovingly and perfectly leading me through the storm.  I just need to keep “following closely” the Light. 

 

Yes, I had a REALLY good time! ;-)

My bestest friend, Andrea & I did not fall off...as much as they tried to knock us off

Special times together where we sat and talked

Some of my girlfriends...my roomies

Sweet Brandon was right.  Camp was fun!

I miss my blond boy and his incredible smile!

My Daddy Loves Me!

When the girls were littler and we just moved to this home, we purchased our kitchen table and it worked out perfectly for a while.  Then once we added our boys to our family, we realized just how crowded it felt around the table, especially in the small kitchen nook our home has.  We had 6 bulky chairs around the table and it always looked messy.  A few weeks ago I was at a Pottery Barn store and saw some benches that could replace the 4 chairs on the sides.  I fell in love with the benches and realized we could easily add a few more kids on either side of the table if we had benches instead of the bulky chairs.  As most parents know, when you have 4 kids, you rarely only have 4 kids in your home.  They MULTIPLY and we needed more seats than just 6. Benches were a great idea in my mind, but the only problem was that the benches at Pottery Barn did not fit our table...and they were very expensive.

I described to my dad what they looked like and how perfect they would be in our tiny nook.  Well, my dad said he'd "see what he could come up with."  He whipped a couple of benches up over the weekend and they are absolutely perfect.  He read my mind precisely.  I love them.  They take up a lot less space than all those chairs and they look a whole lot neater.  It's easier to sweep and mop under benches than it is with chairs and all the legs on the chairs.

Anyway, I am so excited.  I love my benches.   My daddy loves me!  Thanks, Dad.

Unfinished benches in Dad's garage

Solid oak in dad's workshop

First coat of stain

Our nook when we first moved in the house....all 6 chairs

Finished!

I love them!