Hello?

Hello.  This is me.  Jill.  Slinking back to my blog that I abandoned 7 months ago.  I didn't set out to abandon it.  It just sort of happened.  Life happened and I stopped blogging about the life that was all consuming.  I have some regrets for stopping and I have some fears about starting again.  For the 3 of you that read this please accept my apologies for being MIA.  My goal is to start writing regularly again.  Part of my reason for this, besides wanting to let my parents know what's happening down here in D-town, is that I joined a writers group a couple months ago and I need to practice writing.  It's something that I think I really enjoy doing but when you haven't done it in forever, you definitely get out of practice.  Like riding a bike.  So I'm getting back on the bike and taking a ride and praying that I can stay on, improve and maybe even say something meaningful!

So let me start with filling you in (briefly!) on the past 7 months.  Since June I have had another lasik surgery to correct my over-corrected right eye (which worked wonderfully and I love being able to see!!), hired new staff, had a birthday and went camping with my love, started all the kids in extra-curricular activities (will share more on that in a moment), went to our denomination's conference in Keystone, Co., stayed an extra few days for vacation with the Palmer side, spoke at our women's retreat about women's identities, started a life group for young adults, went to Denver for a fundraising dinner, did premarital counseling with a couple, went to Golden/Boulder for Thanksgiving, had a crazy 3 weeks of December doing kids programs, women's programs and special services, had our youth pastor step down, hired another one, went back up to Golden/Denver for Christmas and New Years, came back and started a 21 day Daniel fast (only fruits/veggies/beans/nuts), got the flu, took care of Jack who had something nasty and finally got back into school just this past week.  Wow! 

That's not everything of course, but it's a quick overview.

All 3 kids have started extra curricular stuff.  Kale and Jack did Jujitsu for a couple months.  Kale loved it and is still doing it twice a week, Jack was great at it but was bored so we moved him to gymnastics which, so far, he loves.  He's also great at that.  Kate has been doing gymnastics since September and is really excelling and moving through the levels.  Thanks to me, however, she missed this round of classes because I signed her up too late.  Ouch!  She's taking it really well though thankfully!

We spent several weeks doing Occupational Therapy for Kate again.  She was struggling with her SPD and we felt like we needed some extra help.  It was a real blessing and she loved the therapist.  Unfortunately our insurance doesn't cover it so we had to cut it short.  But we got a lot out of it before we had to be done.  

Mark is really thriving in his role as lead pastor.  There are many parts to it that are a struggle for both of us, but God has gracefully surrounded us with amazing people to encourage, support and love us even in our imperfectness.  God is refining us in this role and pouring out tons of vision and hope into Mark for this next season in our church.  New classes.  New beginnings.  New staff.  Everything is new to us! haha!

School, for us, is finally back in session after taking almost a month off for vacation and illness!  All the kids are doing well and even though they don't always enjoy it, they get it done and are able to spend much of the day playing and doing things they love.  I still love to homeschool.  Not every single day but overall I see it as the gift that it is to me and my kids.  

My goals for this year are to learn how to rest and rest well.  
Take time for myself and take care of myself. 
Learn how to do things that I love to do (and frankly discover what that even is!).  
Write more.  
Listen more.  
Read through the Bible.  
Be present.
Print my old blog posts.
Maybe change up how I do this blog.
Upload a couple beautiful family photos that were taken of us this year...stinking blogspot!

Like I said at the beginning of this, I have joined a Christian women's writers group at the encouragement of my husband and another friend. This, by far, is the scariest thing I've done - which is surprising to me since speaking at our women's retreat this past October was nerve-wracking.  But calling myself a writer, actually writing, thinking that I may say something that people may actually want to read in the sea of great writers...terrifying!  But I'm wanting to step out, scare myself a bit, explore this path that God has put me on and see where it goes.  Blogging is going to be a big part of this.  Blogging here as well as my other blog (link in upper right of the page).  So here I go!

Sneaking back onto this page...hoping people will join with me again on this journey of motherhood, marriage and ministry :)

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I hope I have this figured out. All photos taken by one of our favorite photographers (we have a few!) Carol Cardwell. 

Our awesome staff. We have such fun with them! 

Fill in

This month has been a bit more challenging to keep up on.  I apologize for the gaps.  This is my fill in post - filling you in on the things going on.

One of the main reasons we are busier is due to Mark's 2 classes.  Most of his free moments, and even some not-so-free moments, are spent reading and writing papers.  Mark will usually spend all day Saturday and Sunday writing papers and the evenings reading and doing posts.  I am gone all day Friday doing 2 bible studies and mentoring a girl.  It won't always be this totally crazy...at least that's what I keep telling myself. 

The kids and I are doing great with homeschooling.  After making a few additional tweaks, we are really cruising now.  In fact, I'm thinking we could add a bit more if I could just get on top of it.  But let's not go crazy just yet.   

I'm dealing with a new round of insurance issues with my broken tailbone.  They required an independent medical evaluation so they could see if they were are going to continue to pay for my medical treatment.  Unfortunately there aren't a ton of things out there to help with a tailbone.   It's still giving me a bit of a problem, which they say is unusual since it's been 10 months.  They took X-rays and found out exactly how my tailbone is broken.  Suffice it to say that because I was pushed into a car it didn't break like your normal tailbone.  The IME doctor said I can have a cortisone shot to help with the pain (which may or may not work) or, if it's bad enough, have surgery to remove the broken piece of my tailbone.  Frankly I think both of those options stink.  I've been seeing a chiropractor weekly to help take care of the rest of my back (from sitting and sleeping differently) but now the insurance company is suggesting that they won't pay him because he isn't "fixing" my (unfixable) issue.  Frustrating!  So I've been praying for favor!  

As I blog this, my husband is installing a new dishwasher.  Four weeks ago our other one seemed to die its final death...only to work 1 time 3 weeks later.  It seems to have been trying to hang on by a thread.  But we gave it the boot and ordered a new one which has taken this long to arrive.  Our kids got a taste of living in the "olden" days when you had to hand wash and dry every dish.  It was fun for them at first but it quickly lost its thrill.  Frankly I'm a bit tired myself of feeling like I'm always doing the dishes. :). So this new dishwasher is coming at the right time.  Yes these are our first world problems. 

And speaking of timing (which I wasn't really but it seemed like a good transition) we had planned to take our house off the market on the last day of October only to have a showing two days before and the people seemed interested.  They have since quieted and we took it off last Thursday.   And then we got a text from some friends saying they're in a bible study with a couple who might be interested in the house.  I told them we'd only show the house to serious buyers at this point.  Don't make me clean my house just for people to see what's out there! ;)  They haven't looked yet so we'll see if they're serious.  Otherwise the house is off the market till spring and we'll try again.  It's somewhat of a relief. And at the same time I still laugh when I think of what we've packed up and are missing at the moment...

We are heading to Denver on Friday for a quick trip.  A wonderful family friend passed away last week and we are coming up for the funeral.  Mark was already going to be there for some meetings he needs to attend quarterly.  Sad to have to go but happy to see friends and family. 

I don't mean to sound like I am complaining. I apologize if it does.  We just have a lot going on at the moment.  We've had some fun things in the midst of busyness.  We randomly headed to Cold Stone for an after dinner treat last week.  The kids loved the surprise.  We went to Farmington and spent time at Big  Bounce.  Lots and lots of bouncy houses for kids to run and play for hours!   Mark and I snuck in a couple dates.  The weather's been amazing!  No one's been sick!  We had a missionary from Cambodia visit the church last Sunday night and it was a great service.  And I've been crocheting like a little old lady.  I love doing it when it gets cooler out!  Fun things in the midst of chaos! 

That's it for this big, long post with no pictures.  I'll try and do better next time. 

Almost Missed May

Good morning everyone (all three of you who have stuck this out with me...)

I realized May is almost over, my life has been on super sonic speed, and things are changing and moving ahead rapidly.  I will fill you in as much as I can in hopes of bringing you up to speed in the few minutes I have before I need to start doing math with my kids (you can almost hear them groan as I type that).

In the past 6 weeks we put our house on the market, had a few showings, and 3 weeks later it went under contract.  The folks who are buying it are from the Denver area and actually didn't look at it in person until last week.  It went under contract on a Monday (end of April) and that Wednesday we found a house near the church and put an offer on it.  That one went under contract on that Friday.

Our buyers would like to close on June 14th which is a super short time in realtor land. The folks we need to buy from need to close and move from their house so we can close and move into their house so we can close and move out of our house.  All in just under 3 weeks from now. Did you follow all of that?  We're half way through inspections and now have to wait for appraisals.  And can I say that negotiations aren't really all that fun?  There's good reason why Mark and I haven't moved in almost 12 years.  Who needs this stress? BUT I'm beyond excited about our new house.  I'm having trouble uploading a picture of the new place but when I can I will share.  It's about 2 miles north of the church which is going to change our lives.  After living 25 minutes from church for so long 5 minutes is going to be amazing!  So we're looking forward to it and it's the hope that keeps us pressing through negotiations and preparations.

We are also preparing to leave this Monday morning, Memorial Day, for Orlando, Florida.  Mark and I have a pastor's conference there.  Foursquare (our denomination) has set it up so it can also be a family vacation.  We decided to jump on it and take the kids.  We are so looking forward to this crazy 8 day trip.  The kids' first time on a plane and first time at Disney.  I'm a bit nervous and excited at the same time which I think can be expected with 3 kids under 10.  I've been so tempted to get a leash for Jack :)

When we get back from our trip we will have 10 days (if everything moves forward as it has been planned) to pack and move.  One thing at a time!

In the midst of all of this Mark is continuing with school, the kids are still plugging away with their school (although a bit more impatient about getting their own rooms!), I'm heading up 3 Bible studies (not teaching them all but in charge), and I preached this past Sunday.  I'm posting the link  {you need to click on launch sermon player and then click the one titled Truth} if you are interested but do not feel pressured to listen.  It's a sermon!

We are doing well.  God is teaching me peace in the midst of life.  Constant, continual, beautiful peace.  His gift to me.  We lost a dear member of our church in the midst of all of this as well.  A young 19 year old woman who Mark had known since she was 2.  She's the younger sister of some very dear friends.  We've known Jerome and Adam and their families it seems like forever.  Although we didn't know Celine as well, we loved her and we love her family.  Our hearts have been broken for the loss.  And yet, unexplainably, we can find His great joy in the midst of heartache and loss.  Special time with friends and loved ones just being.  His peace in the middle of the storms of life.  

We were never promised a life without struggle, pain, challenges and hurt.  But we are promised an abundant life, joy and peace.  It seems to not make sense but somehow He makes it work in us.  So thankful for His Presence in everything!

Embrace the Grace

I'm back.  Don't get too excited...I'm not sure how long the next gap will be.

I've been busy learning some life lessons.  Like how to embrace the grace.  Ya see, I've been overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed with just the busyness of life. Something I mention often when I blog.  But it got to me.  My mind was overloaded trying to sort through the next couple weeks, the next couple months.  Too much was in there that I was trying to juggle and I wasn't doing such a great job with it all.

So God is using it to teach me lessons.  Doesn't He always?  If we let Him?

I am learning that His grace is sufficient for today.  His grace no longer exists in the past so don't dwell there.  It is not in the future so don't dwell there either.  Yes, we can plan.  But if we are constantly thinking about ways it's all gonna work together or how we're going to survive it, it brings us down.  Or it brings me down.  My future life doesn't look to be slowing down till....January.  But that isn't the whole truth.  It's how it looks in my head but God knows better than me about all of it. 

I need to trust Him.  Embrace the grace for today.  Live in the now.  Not worry about the future.  His grace will be there when I get there.  I cannot dwell in a place where there is no grace.  (BTW I spoke on this very thing at our last women's breakfast this past Saturday hence all the rhyming)

So, in light of the fact that I am, in fact, embracing the grace, I won't beat myself up that I haven't shared since the 2nd of July. And that I missed sharing stories about the 4th of July parade,

Kale getting 3 stitches after cutting his head on a ceiling fan that hung over a bunkbed he was climbing on (no he is not 9ft tall...),

Kate learning how to put rubberbands in her hair all by herself.  I think this is the record so far. 7!

 The kids and I playing at the Children's Museum while Mishka got groomed for the first time since we've had him.  This blowing machine was their favorite by far!

 I won't dwell on the fact that I haven't shared all the stories I'd like to.  Instead I'm taking this extra moment that I have while Mark is in CA at school for a week (he's starting a 2 yr Master's program) to embrace God's grace for me today, blog for a few minutes and share yet another thing I found on Pinterest (oh goodness help me!) [And Kristin, I have actually made and done many things on Pinterest -- thanks for inspiring me to join :)]

Phone Dump Catch Up (warning...super long!)

 I was scared to actually come over to the computer and start this post.  I was afraid to see how long it had been since my last post.  Once upon a time I was a faithful blogger.  And then....the life that I'd been blogging about got super crazy!! And I've struggled ever since to get back on the wagon.  I don't know why.  I guess reading and napping have taken priority in the afternoons.  

I'll try to share what we've been doing the past few weeks.  

The day we got back from my sister's wedding was the first day of our church's Sports Camp.  It's kind of like VBS.  It was 5 nights from 5-8.  Both Kale and Kate did it this year.  Kale did soccer and Kate did cheerleading.  Here she is doing a cheer for us (she's the 4th little cheerleader from the left).

 

Also during Sports Camp week Kale had his last few baseball games.  I don't have any pictures of his games but I did take one of the other 2 kids playing on a giant pile of wood chips (way more fun than watching big brother).

 

Kale did well in baseball but truth be told, we were all kinda glad to see the season end.  It was fun but it was time-consuming and hot!  He seems to like baseball okay but he doesn't LOVE it.  We'll see what he decides next year.

 This is a picture of m grumpy boys at dinner one night in Bayfield.  Mark wanted in on the action...

 Father's Day happened.  Apparently the coffee theme stayed strong.  We got Mark a french press coffee maker for his office.  Yummy coffee during his work day!

 Jack gave himself a faux- hawk.  Love his grin!

 Last Monday and Tuesday I spent at the hospital with my good friend Jinny (you may remember her from the wedding I posted about last year).  She delivered this adorable little man Nathanial James.  I was honored to be in the delivery room and help coach her.  It was an amazing experience.  Outside of giving birth it was one of the most difficult things I've done.  But it was incredible to be on the other side of delivery! Now I have a special little connection with this little guy.

 

After watching the delivery I found this on Pinterest and laughed...I can so relate!

On Wednesday, after not a lot of sleep due to the hospital visit, I had the privilege (ahem) of taking my kids to Walmart to buy groceries for our camping trip.  I was sleep-deprived and doing my best to not be the cranky mom and took them to Durango Joe's for coffee and smoothies.  When we got into the store, Jack walked right up to their water bottle display and promptly put a water bottle into his mouth and started sucking on it! (what in the world?!  I thought he was over that stage...)  Needless to say we bought a new water bottle because I couldn't stand the thought of putting it back and having another poor soul buy a water bottle with my kids germs on it. After we walked out of the store a nice older gentleman came over to me and told me that he was impressed with my actions.  He said he knew I didn't have to buy it but was glad I did.  Made me feel nice to have someone thank me.  Not that I needed it but it made the experience better.

 And another card on Pinterest to cap off my day...Oh how I feel like this sometimes....

 Found this huge, ugly thing on my back deck the other day.  Promptly sent a picture of it to my spider fearing husband for fun.

 Thursday we went camping with 2 families from our small group (they were the only ones who could go).

This cutie is Asher, the youngest camper. He did amazing!

 Just off from our awesome campsite.

 Looking down on the "kitchen" and "dining room"

 From the kitchen up to our camper.

 Boys learning how to shoot a BB gun properly.  Gun etiquette  :)  This picture shows what not to do!

 Hiking

 Kate, Kale and Josh pausing for the camera while "hunting" chipmunks.

 Camping was a blast and we definitely want to go again this summer.  It was so nice to be outside in cooler weather and actually away from the smoke.  Kate melted down a couple of times due to lack of sleep but overall they did great.  We brought home buckets of dirt stuck to our bodies and clothes.  Clean up was fun!

Speaking of smoke.  We've had numerous fires burning around us for a while now.  Four fairly big ones within 30 miles of us.  Thankfully they are all much better and on their way to being out.  Lack of rain and really hot temps have made this June quite miserable.  I'm hoping we're getting into the monsoon season now and that that will help.  Smoky skies and ash falling aren't fun for anyone!

This past Sunday was church in the park.  Mark's first one.  He did amazing.  I really am so proud of him (I gotta brag on him in another post).  Here are my tree climbers after the service.

 I laughed when I read this.  I am so that person who asks for a straw for my water at restaurants because I hate it when the ice attacks my face...

 I gave the boys buzz cuts this morning.  I couldn't stand the sweat sticky hair any longer.

 Also,  at my sister's wedding I got gel nails put on.  I've never done that before and I have to say that after 3 weeks they still look alright.  Here's my recent picture.  You can tell they've grown out but compared to what they would look like after 3 days of me painting them they are incredible!  I may just have to treat myself every once in a while to nice nails. 

 Found a recipe for iced coffee with my Keurig.  Tried it this afternoon before I started blogging.  Delicious!  Not sure why I posted this other than it was on my phone.  Aren't you happy you've seen this now?

 As I finish this up I smell rain (Praise the Lord!!).  Boy can we use it!  Helps to cool off my greenhouse house in the afternoons.  It's been 95* in here lately. Mark is on his way to Lake City, CO with some friends of ours to meet some people from a church in Texas.  Make some connections.  Learn some stuff.  Have a mini-retreat.  This was a last minute decision but one we felt he needed to experience.  The kids and I could've gone but it was just too much.  We needed some down time to clean, do school and relax.  At least try to :)

I'll post more later about Mark and I.  Hopefully for those of you who read this to know what's going on in my life this helps catch you up a bit. 

Back

in the saddle.  Back on the wagon.  Back behind the computer screen.  Call it whatever you'd like but I am back and attempting to get blogging again.  I am quite positive that this has been the longest I've gone without blogging since I started it 4 years ago.  Crazy!

I'm not sure why it's been a struggle lately.  I think I needed to remind myself why I do it.  I do it to remember things with my kids.  I don't scrap-book so this is my only outlet.  I just have to figure out how to fit it in between school, housework, naps (mine!), baseball, church, playdates, art class, meetings, Fun Fridays, trips, vacations etc...Lots to blog about (although it may not all be that interesting to you) and because there's so much to blog about it leaves me little time to actually blog it.  I just need to adjust my standards for my own blog.  It doesn't have to be lengthy to be meaningful.  Right?

Anyway, because I'm Heinz 57-ing it (catching up) it's gonna be a phone dump blog!  Fun times!

I realize that I promised photos from the men's retreat but I still have yet to get them off of Mark's phone.  There's a few keepers in there for sure so that's on my to-do list.

For now I'll show you some pictures from a recent FF adventure where we drove to town to get an iPad for me (yes mama got a new toy with all her hard earned money from her job - it's been awesome for ministry and school and....Words With Friends...let's be real here people...). While in town, Mark wanted to show the kids the joys of putting pennies on railroad tracks to see what happens.  So we got a front row seat of the train passing {don't worry, kids stayed in the truck while it went by}.

 

Finding the pennies after the train went by.

 

At the beginning of May, my sisters, my cousin, my future sis-in-law, my mom and I hosted a bridal shower for my sister Kelly who will be getting married in June.  I drove up to Denver with Kate and Jack and stayed there for 4 days to plan, shop, clean, cook and organize the shower.  It was fun and totally exhausting.  In fact I think I'm still recovering.  Here are some pics from that trip.

My niece Lilah.  I put the pants on her head and it looked so adorable I snapped a photo.  Isn't she delicious?!

 Here are pictures of the tables and decorations.  My sisters and I are not crafty (Kelly is but we are not...lots of pressure!) but I think we did a pretty good job.  It was on May 5th so we could've either gone with Cinco de Mayo or the Kentucky Derby.  We opted for the Derby.  Hence the horseshoe dessert and big hats (to come).

  The drink table with coffee punch!  Shout out to Jan!  So delicious....

 While we were getting things set up for the shower, Kelly and her fiance, took Kate and Jack out to entertain them.  My dad took them to see the Lorax during the shower.  Could not have done any of this without their help!

 Meghan (Lilah's mom), my mom (bless her heart for putting up with all of us), Kelly (the bride), me and my NY sis, Katie.

 Added to the picture are my future sis-in-law, Sara, and on the other end my cousin Danielle.  Aren't we a cute bunch?

After the bridal shower we cleaned up, packed up and headed to a mountain retreat for a bachelorette party.  Kelly wanted to do it all on the same weekend since Katie and I don't live in Golden.  So we spent the night talking and laughing. The next day we woke up, had breakfast, drove back to Golden to get my kids then made the trip back to Durango.  I was soooooo tired when I got home.  Did I mention I'm still recovering :)

 

Fast forward a few days and I'll show you a reason why I can't be distracted too long...We hadn't quite started school yet.  The kids had had breakfast and I was cleaning up and packing lunches and finishing getting myself ready for the day.  They decided it was a perfect time to bring out every pillow and blanket they could find and make "nests" on the floor.

 I try really hard to not freak out over every mess.  Even when it's overwhelming like this one is.  And for the most part I do pretty well.  I just calmly tell them that in order for them to watch cartoons in the afternoon every single thing must be put back.  Usually they get it back together and they did this day as well thank goodness.

 Last Friday Kale had another baseball game.  Some good friends of ours invited us to meet them for dinner at a place in Bayfield so we went and hung out, ate huge pieces of pizza, smiled "nicely" for the camera, watched 8 year old boys play baseball and worked hard at letting the coaches coach our son and keep our mouths shut even if Kale seemed to be in another world at times.  Both Mark and I have issues with the keeping our mouths shut part. 

 Saturday we had a women's breakfast.  My first one being in charge.  It went really well I think.  I talked about loving one another.  So much what God has been teaching me lately.

We spent the afternoon in between rainstorms, patching up the trampoline, setting up sprinklers and mowing the "lawn" (or green weeds that look like lawn when it's mowed).

Mother's Day was lovely.  My sweet family bought me a Keurig coffee maker so I can have a fresh cup of coffee anytime during the day.  What an awesome gift!  I had almost forgotten I wanted one.  I just figured we'd have to wait till our other maker died.  But Mark (a great gift-giver) didn't forget and he and the kids went and got it for me on Friday.  It's so wonderful.  I'm super excited about making iced coffee when it gets hotter.

 That's all the pictures I have for now so my rambling and Heinz 57-ing is all done.  I hope to find something else interesting in the near future to ramble about!