A different kind of Tuesday

I dropped off my boys today at school. I've dropped them off numerous times over the years--I've been bringing Garrison for three years and Simon for two. This was different.

Today was kindergarten. Kindergarten. Real school. Every day. For three hours.

I've been the most important person in Garrison's life for the past six years. We go together. I've been the most important person in Simon's life for almost 3 years. We go together. Mom and her boys. Pre-school teachers were nice and wonderful and kind and taught great stuff. Letters, numbers, seasons. . . all good stuff. All stuff that I've taught them as well.

Today, Laura Zondervan will become a very important person in the lives of my boys. They will never be the same because they are with her. She will teach them how to read. She will teach them math. They are going to talk about history and science. They will celebrate God's Word together. She will be with them every day. She will go together with them. She gave ME a poem and a sucker today. It was a poem that talked about how she knows that us parents have been with our kids for many years now and she wanted to assure us that she'll love our kids every day. We could feel safe relinquishing our kids into her care. I'm so thankful. And I like her.

Know what else happened today? We were all in the classroom looking at our hooks, hanging up our backpacks, and finding our seats. Lots of parents and lots of kids. I was taking various pictures. One child was crying. Lots of parents were with their child at their desk. Most kids were coloring a picture. My boys dove right in. They were coloring away and as I stood there gazing at my little men, Garrison looked up and me and said with a wave, "Adios mom" and then went back to work.

Gary and I have done it. Don't get me wrong, we have so much more that God wants us to do in the lives of our kids, but when I got home Gary and I celebrated that we are doing what God wants us to do. We are raising our kids to be on their own. I'm not raising them so that they stay here. "Adios mom" Adios Garrison and Simon.

Grandma Arlene

Eight years ago, I was communicating via computer with one Gary Sprick from Romeoville, IL. Actually, it was almost exactly eight years ago that we had our first phone call.

We began dating the beginning of September and declared ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend after Karen met him and declared to me he was a good guy. (I needed approval then and now--therapy anyone?) We went to meet my parents at the beginning of October and I met his folks at the end of October. We were talking marriage by then.

Enter Gary's grandparents. Because we were going to be at my parent's house for Thanksgiving, we decided to invite Gary's parents and grandparents to his house and we'd cook a Thanksgiving dinner for them. It was at this dinner that I met Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Elmer. Grandma Arlene greeted me with a hug and proclaimed that she had been waiting so long to meet Gary's girl. I loved both of them. They were feisty. They were kind to me. They adored Gary. After dinner, Grandma Arlene announced that she liked me. She told Gary that he'd better get on it. She had been waiting so long for him to get married and he should not make her wait any longer. He was after all old and she was too. Little did I know that while I was upstairs going to the bathroom, Gary showed all of them the ring that he had purchased for me.

As they left, Dad, Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma decided that they would vote survivor style as to whether I was allowed to stay in the family. Dad claims that he cast the deciding vote to keep me in. Grandma insisted for years that it wasn't true. They left and I knew that I wanted to be a part of this family.

Yesterday I said good-bye to Grandma Arlene's ashes. We gathered around with family. Dad did an amazing job of leading us in a small service and I was honored that he asked me to lead in singing Amazing Grace. I loved standing with this family. I laughed as we told great stories about her and cried with dad as he read Psalm 23. What comfort. What an amazing family. What a glorious God.

Today we'll have a memorial service. Gary has been asked to read from scripture. I'm sure that I'll cry again as I remember many things that I loved about Grandma.

She was an amazing baker.

She dressed great and thought that we should too, especially for church.

She loved chocolate and would always have a stash hidden somewhere.

She had a tough childhood, yet held no resentments.

She adored her Elmer and he adored her. They were a great example of what marriage should be.

She began her own business while in her 40's.

She was feisty and spoke her mind, even when it might cause. . ahem. . a bit of a fight.

She got shorter as she aged, yet she was quite tall in my mind.

I'm so thankful for the family that God has placed in my life. Sure, Grandma had faults. I do too. I'm thankful that when I see her again she'll be greeting me at the gates of heaven and we'll both be perfect. We'll laugh again and I'll tell her all about her great-grandchildren. She'll have made way too many goodies and we'll enjoy them all. They will all have chocolate and extra nuts in them.

Thanks God for creating Arlene Mae Henriksen. Have a great time together.

Happenings

1. Gary's birthday was yesterday. We did something new the year and it was a blast. The kids and I went to the dollar store and each child go to pick something out for daddy. What a hoot! It cost $4.00 and everyone was so excited. I was so entertained watching them pick out things for their dad. Everything fit. Garrison chose a ball. Simon chose a Star Wars coloring book. Noel chose a cupcake balloon. Penny picked out a puzzle. Actually, Penny chose a checkers game. . . well about 100 of them as she knocked down a display. We wrapped them up and daddy opened them while we ate chocolate cupcakes. At night, Gary and I went out with just the two of us. I gave him a "choose you own adventure" night with multiple choice cards. He chose Wild Chef for dinner, shopping for a fridge and going downtown Holland after dinner, and a "Wow-za" kiss.

2. While at a playdate, there was a little boy who Garrison became friends with. This boy wasn't as friendly as what Garrison was. . . and he began chasing Garrison and scaring him. You know, typical stuff. No big deal. Garrison finally got sick of it and asked him to stop and the kid didn't stop. Garrison then came to me, didn't tattle (proud of him!), but told me that he was done playing with this boy. Meanwhile, the boy has followed him and is looking at me as to what I'm going to do. I politely replied that they didn't have to play anymore and that Garrison can go and play with his brother now. Thanks. Noel--have I mentioned she is a fireball?--steps in and calls this boy out. "You better stop being mean to my brother. You are not being nice and you need to stop." The boy looked at her and walked away. Then, this boys little brother kept throwing wood chips at Simon and Simon was not amuzed. After another instance of this boy throwing wood chips, Noel got involved. It was hilarious! Simon had gone away and as this boy was beginning to throw chips at Noel, she looked him straight in the eye and said "You will stop throwing chips at my brother and at me. That is not nice." The kid looked at her and held his pose for a moment. Then he threw his chips in the opposite direction. Let me tell ya--I want Noel on my team.

3. As I mentioned earlier, Gary's Grandma Arlene died while we were at the cottage. The memorial service is Monday with burial on Sunday. Gary and I are leaving the kids and going up to Wisconsin with just the two of us. It'll be great to celebrate her life. It'll be great to spend time with just the two of us. It'll be great to see Mom and Dad Petty (Gary's folks). It has been great to see friends volunteer to help out with our kids. I'm humbled and praying like mad that they sleep well, listen well, and play well.

4. I'm doing well on my weight loss journey. I thought things at the cottage went well, but the scale proclaimed very loudly that they hadn't. Back on the train! Hopefully I'll have a better weigh-in on Monday morning. I've been getting compliments from folks. It makes me feel good. I feel more comfortable defecting compliments. I'm not good at receiving them. I'm trying to just learn to say "thanks".

5. We've had a bit of a rough week this week at the Sprick house. I've been off and feeling kind of lousy. The kids were coming off an amazing vacation and seem to have had trouble with re-entry. The boys both showed off their private parts to friends tonight. There have been many many many time-outs this week as well as plenty of yelling. Hopefully we'll get our grove on. School begins next week and I think it'll be great for all of us.

6. The boys got to go to school and meet their teacher. They love her already. It is the first time that their teacher is going to truly be a significant part of their life. Kindergarten every day. There will be someone who is teaching them to read and getting to know everything about them and spending lots of time with them. I'm excited and a bit nervous. I haven't done this before. Hopefully they'll make it on the right bus home.

7. Penny. Oh is the girl making me work for my money.

She. Won't. Stop. Climbing.

Counters. Tables. Chairs. Stairs. She is everywhere and into everything. She also discovered slides this week. While at a park, she kept on climbing up the stairs and going head first down the slide. I could not stop her. She is fast. She enjoys it. She keeps going at it. Her body ends up in the strangest positions. . . she loves it and I have visions for the future which include climbing out of her crib, rock climbing, many broken bones and several hundred stitches.

Cottage Vacation in pictures

So, here are ahem. . . some pictures. I took over 1,000. Yes that's right. I typed it out.

Over One Thousand!

I'll put captions under the pictures, so if you are interested and have a little extra time to view 30 pictures, then carry on!

Penny found Uncle Koe's fire balls. Wrappers in tact!


Mohawk man is so excited to be on the boat.


It's a comfy cozy morning--everyone is keeping warm.


Obviously, Noel wants to look like her uncle Koe.

Ryan and Tricia trying to get the perfect shot.

Sometimes you just need to play Pretty Pretty Princess at the end of the dock. Sometimes a pink glass slipper needs to fall in the water. Sometimes you can't find it back. It happens.

Can you see the joy on Garrison's face? He loves tubing with his cousin Bryce.

Uncle Ryan and Dokata enjoy their morning.

Uncle Koe and Tessa enjoying the morning.

We loved having our new cousin Finley at the cottage. He was 5 days old!

Simon and dad ready for church.

I'm in love with this family!

Every mama's dream.

Ready to rock and roll!

Don't you just want to take her home? I get to.

Who is that stud?

Yes. I. Can.

The annual egg toss between Kevin and Matt.

Huge fish!

I drove the boat more than ever before and loved it!

One of my favorite moments of the vacation. I totally loved tubing with my boys. It was awesome!

Three of my ducks. On the water. Having a blast.

Love it!

She did it! Gary practiced with her in shallow water and then she just went out and did it. It was so much fun!

Tough as nails baby!

No caption needed. :)

Almost every day, Gary shaved more facial hair off. It was highly entertaining to watch.

Dad came out on Friday. It was good to have them there.

Come on, give you daddy a kiss.

Everyone needs a spatula to play with in the water.

Stuff we've learned today

1. China is further than Chicago.

2. My favorite light popcorn is more than 2 points.

3. When I'm tired and have a headache, I'm not a patient mama.

4. If a chair isn't tucked all the way under the table, Penny WILL show up on the dining room table.

5. The Dora and Spiderman ice cream bars aren't really ice cream. They do contain gum.

6. Meijer is out of light buns.

7. Noel and Simon might be growing. Noel ate four tacos at supper and Simon ate five.

8. I finally found out who won Next Food Network Star.

9. I would probably enjoy Pintarest, but I won't get started.

10. God's grace is even big enough for today--when we were all crabby and all made poor choices. Tomorrow is a new day with new chances and a fresh start.

11. The library books were due today. They are still on the kitchen table. I'm having the fine taken out of my paycheck.

Did ya miss me?

I was on vacation. Not any vacation, but an amazing vacation. We went to Fremont Lake and stayed with my family in cottages. Amazing time. I am blessed. Dad came and visited for a day. I can still water ski and slalom. I have many stories to tell--which I will not do now. I am exhausted. . . more than I've ever been after cottage week. It is that" feels so good my body is so sore and my mind is so full" kind of feeling. You are aware. You have been there.

We've added a new member to our feeling and he is a beauty! Finley Mark is my newest nephew born to my brother Ryan and my sweet sister-in-law Kate. Love him tons. I did NOT win the contest. I did NOT even come close to winning. I am a winner though because he'll be in my life.

We received word that Gary's Grandma Arlene was called home to be with Jesus. Gary and I wept and celebrated together as now Jesus gets to hang out on a regular basis with this spitfire. I'm so thankful that I was able to get to know her. I'm better for it. We'll be traveling to Baraboo, WI next week-end to celebrate her life as a family. We are working on the child care plans.

I did o.k. with my diet for the most part last week, although I crashed a few of the nights. We'll see what the scale says on Monday morning---my weigh in day. Boo. As least I don't feel like a giant hog following this vacation because I didn't inhale everything delicious in sight. Yeah for that. Even if the scale says differently I'll consider this a victory.

Clock is finally approaching 10:00 and now I can go to bed! I've been making myself stay awake until then. I did have 161 (WHAT!) e-mails when I got home. What is up with that? Kohl's and JCPenny seem to be having a contest as to who can fill up my inbox the quickest.

I'm happy. Church tomorrow makes me even happier. Hope you enjoy your week!

Date Night

Gary and I are going on a date tonight. A real one. With a babysitter and everything. Remember dating? Looking forward to seeing each other? Longing to just be together. A little "somthin' somthin'" toward to end of the evening.

I'm doing that tonight. I'm so excited to spend a night with my guy. I'm so excited to sit at a meal. . . we are going to Subway baby!. . . and just talk and laugh together. I'm going to hold his hand during a play. He'll say that I'm his girlfriend and I'll be so proud to be with him. I'm going to kiss him too. There, I said it and I mean it. I think I may even kiss him twice because I like it.

Granted: some things are different. The house has to be clean for the babysitter. There are instructions to be written. We have to pay for the dinner, the play, and for someone to watch the kids. I'll stay overnight with my favorite guy rather than having him drop me back off at home.

I'll take it.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Over 30 pictures. Not one of them is worthy of being blown up and put on the wall in my folks' bathroom. They have tub pictures of every grandchild from when they were little. It is adorable! Penny. . . ahem. . . we will be doing a reshoot. Can't you hear my mom, Gary and I all saying "Penny! Over here Penny! Big Girl! Look over here. Penny! Penny!" Enjoy the rejects! :) Perhaps I should have a caption contest. Feel free.

Weeds

I finally went out to weed my flower beds and my garden this afternoon. The girls were sleeping and the weather was lovely.

The weeds were fierce. Not because of the great soil. Not because of any fertilizer. It was because I have neglected them. It has been too hot, too rainy, too busy, too too too for me to accomplish weeding. It felt good to pull them up and have the gardens look a ton better. It felt good to put them in a huge pile. It feel good to have dirty hands. It did not feel good to be itchy all over--I'm allergic to something out there.

Though things look better, things also aren't looking good. My poor tomatoes. I found several plants that have been suffocated by said weeds. Imagine if I had kept up with things! Imagine how many tomatoes I would have been able to share or can or eat or just plain admire? Past summers have yielded beautiful tomato plants. . . this year not so much. Poor things.

I have a friend who prays for others when she weeds. She also sees weeding as comparable to her sin in her life. She needs to get rid of the yuck that seems to take root and grow. Today was a great example of that. As I was attacking the wicked weeds in the garden and seeing the pathetic tomato plants. . . I did wonder if there was an area in my life that needed some serious weeding. Food for thought.

For now though, I'll be enjoying some of the tomatoes that are available. My flowers look great. The yard is in order. I just need to keep up with it yes? Yes.

A week. . . seriously?

A week has passed? Really?

We celebrated Garrison's birthday. I now have a six year old and I'm so thankful. I'm thankful that God matched us up. He is a great kid. We invited my folks over for supper to celebrate. Garrison was born on my dad's birthday, so we celebrated dad's birthday as well. If you ever have a chance to spend some one-on-one time with my boy, you'll be better for it. Watch his eyes--they'll give you lots of clues as to who he is. I love him.

We had friends over this week-end. It was fun to visit and see our Chicago friends and have even more noise in our house. Farmer's Market, movies, Dutch Village, and general mayhem reigned.

I had the opportunity to give the Sunday sermon at Camp Roger. I loved driving out to one of my favorite places in the world. I loved sharing God's Word with kids. It was a wonderful afternoon and I pray that the Holy Spirit was able to take what I said use it. Plus, I got another Camp Roger t-shirt. BONUS! I had been struggling with this one and just didn't feel anointed as to what to talk about. I asked several people to pray about it for me and God said "yes!". I loved going out there confident in what God wanted to say through me. Bless Him.

On Sunday God hit me with a one, two, three. I love it when He does that! I've been more disciplined about getting up early to spend time with Him. Amazing how much better I feel when I do that. Shocker! I'd been praying about a few things and EVERY ONE OF THEM was addressed during the service on Sunday. There was something confirmed. There was an answer to a prayer given. And I was challenged to change a blemish in my life. Lord, keep'em coming!

Vacation next week to the cottage with the Koeman family. Dad will not be coming to visit. We are moving forward, but we aren't on solid ground yet. Every person in my family is working through, praying hard, forgiving and wrestling. Dad is doing the same. We look forward to the day when we'll all be reunited. Wonderful. Scary. Good.

I'm going to be an aunt soon! My brother Ryan and my sister-in-law Kate are due with their second at the end of the week. I'm jumping for the phone! My sister called this week-end and I got so excited because I thought we were getting "the news". ACK! We are praying for a healthy birth. I'm so excited to meet this very important person in my life. Yeah!!!

My kids are fighting a ton. Not sure why. It is what it is.

I'm a supermodel! Not really. I am doing great on my weight loss goals. I was even able to wear a new/old outfit that now fit to church on Sunday. It feels good.

Ta-ta for now!

Lots

The two words that summarize our summer so far are : Fun and Busy!

I'm thankful for both. I love being on the go, with a few down days here and there for some sanity. We've gone on more adventures, enrolled in more classes, done more swimming, enjoyed more camping, and tried to make ice cream. We've skipped naps and stayed up late. We've gotten bug bites and discovered witch hazel for treatment. We poured a cement pad on the side of the house, bought a truck and sold a motorcycle. We've killed two bunnies and lamented that there is still one eating the fruit of the garden. Pandamania invaded our church and we sing its songs on a daily basis. We read lots of books and earned a free doughnut. We cheered for our faster pastor and picked strawberries followed by 16 batches of jam. Saturday saw us observing the butchering of our pig named Bacon. We went to the beach in the rain. We've played at numerous parks with church friends and swam in my sister's pool. Gary deserved cheering as he played softball and sympathy as he injured his knee. Soccer camp, dance camp, and basketball camp. We got invited to a cottage for an afternoon and to a trailer on a lake. We saw life long friends who came in for a wedding. And America does have talent. It has been glorious!

The summer was a blank slate. We didn't have a lot of plans and I wondered how our days would be filled. They have been filled in great ways and we are learning, growing, enjoying, singing, cheering, and loving each other. Sure, we have fights. Sure we get cranky. Sure. What family doesn't?

Know what is really cool? It is August. August could be sad because summer is almost over. August could be depressing because it can get really hot. August could go by us in a moment if we don't take advantage of it.

Our favorite vacation of the year is coming up: Cottage week with my family. We talk about this vacation all year long. There is still blueberry picking, roasting hot dogs, friends visiting from Chicago, a 1 1/2 mile walk for charity, preaching at Camp Roger, a 40th birthday party for a friend, dessert with girlfriends, folks over for supper, visiting my sister's family at the Conference Grounds, a date with Gary. . . wow. We've got tons to do yet!

When it is written out like this I'm amazed. I'm amazed that there are so many opportunities for us as a family. We continue to grow and learn and love each other. Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer--there is lots of time yet.

The last push

For those who know me. . my "thorn in my flesh" seems to be my weight. I'm not sure when, where, or why it all began, but it did. While in middle school and high school, I attended Weight Watchers, some blah blah medical weight loss center, was hypnotized, ate cabbage soup, drank barley green, and only ate fruit for a whole day. My parents supported and helped me with these ventures. My most successful weight loss was hiking on Isle Royal in eighth grade! Dehydrated food and lots of hiking. . . I looked good.
College, well I enjoyed the cafeteria. I moved to Miami and remained heavy. I did the Atkins diet and lost about thirty pounds as well as the Weigh Down Workshop.
When I turned 30, I decided to turn my life around and boy, did my life go in a different direction! I lost almost 90 pounds and fell in love with one Gary Sprick. I was very happy with my weight and stayed pretty much the same weight for a whole year.
Then, pregnancy, miscarriage, pregnancy. . . and on and on and on. After each pregnancy, I'd get most of the weight off, and then I get pregnant again (and again). :)
I've lost almost all of my pregnancy weight. . . I'm on the last push. It has taken me the longest amount of time. It has been the most difficult. I do great. . . and then falter for a few weeks. What a pattern!
Today is the beginning of the last push. It is good to write about it because it is now in bloggerland. I want to get to my wedding weight and then live! Live live live and not think about dieting all the time.

What will I gain by losing the weight?

Clothes that I haven't worn in awhile

Eating habits I can model for my kids

A new leather jacket (thanks Gary!)

A fabulous sassy attitude

A new tatoo

A new freedom