The Ozmerican Life

...the little things.

It's 7:42am. I'm sitting at my computer preparing my homeschool lessons for this next year. Just 10 minutes ago I just heard 3 footsteps across our wood floor, just 3 tiny steps and no other sounds. Immediately as I heard them I knew...Jentzen, that is Jentzen who is awake. Those weren't Quaid, Ava's or even Keira's footsteps. They were Jentzen's.

It still blows my mind that a mother can do that. When I was young I used to be amazed at the fact that a mother could hear their baby cry out of 1000 and know exactly which cry was from their own. And not it's me. When I'm downstairs and the kids are up, I can tell from their cry, whine, or shout exactly what happened. I know if they are hurt, if someone hit them, if someone took a toy from them, or if they're just frustrated. Just from the tone, volume, and length of cry. I usually get it right. I know if it requires me to go to them, or if I should wait until they will come to me. I love that because it means I know my children, I've spent time with them, I've paid attention to them, I've taken time to take note of the little details of their lives. I haven't gotten too busy with the callings of life, housework, and everything else to not know the little things. There is no replacement for that kind of joy...the joy of the little things.

This brings to me what I will be meditating on today. It is the same with my Lord? Have I spent time with Him, do I know Him? Do I hear the small quiet footsteps and know that it's Him? When I hear something, do I know him deeply enough to discern what is required of me? Have I gotten too busy and distracted to not realize what is the Lord and what is the flesh pulling me in the other direction?

No other person can know my children like I do, no one else can tell me about them, can make me hear the difference in the footsteps. No one else can tell me the difference between my child's cry. Those just aren't things that can be put into words.

Knowing the Lord is not something that someone else can do for you either. You can't find life in another's relationship with Him...it has to be your own. I can't know Jesus because someone else does. And there is absolutely no replacement for the ultimate joy of hearing footsteps or a quiet whisper and knowing....that is you Lord!

PS...I now am hearing farting noises from the other room involving a mouth and an arm. Now, I'm FOR SURE it's Jentzen!

I am an early riser...which I love that I love. It's amazing how much one can get done between the hours of 5am and 8am with no children around. Being that I get up that early on a regular basis...I REALLY look forward to mornings I get to sleep in! I still love doing that too!

I love waking up and not having to get out of bed. I love hearing little feet running around the house. And most of all, I love the kids running into our room and jumping into bed. It's usually becuase they're hungry and not really because they just can't wait to see us after a good 12 hours away from us during the night. But I think what I want.

Keira came running in this morning, hopped over me and then saw Nathan.

"I'm going to sit on daddy's face!!!!" Probably not exactly what he wanted to hear because he was still sleeping. But Keira being none to concerned with Nathan's need for some REM's...grabbed a pillow, slappeed it on his head, and hopped right on top. I was laughing....he was not. So he flipped her off. She felt slighted of course...I mean really! Who wouldn't want a little girl suffocating him with a pillow mid dream? I was okay with it because she of course came cuddling right in with me.

"Oh Keira! Come give me some cuddles, you're my little cutey girl!" She snuggled right in.

"Yeah, I am! And daddy's too!"

"You're daddy's cutey girl too??"

"Yep, and Ava's, and Jackie's. They like me too!"

Raising a confident girl....check! Mothering duties done for the day....check!

I turned 30 two days ago, July 20th, 2011. I knew it was coming as all birthdays eventually do. I wondered if it would feel any different. Most of my friends have already passed this milestone. My dear friend Jess on her 30th birthday commented how she felt by the time she turned 30, she would have it all together. But somehow when the day actually came she realized that it was not so much like that. I am 30, yet feel like I have way more to learn than I know already. I remember being college aged and looking at the 30 year old crowd and thinking how old and mature they were. And to think that now youngens might be looking at me that way, well it's just plain not true! I'm still working life out, and don't even have it close to figured out! And Praise the Lord that my children are His, because if it's up to me show them the ropes of life...oh boy!

Maybe it will be different when I turn 40...I guess I'll be able to ask Nathan about that soon...he he he :) And if not then, maybe when I turn 60?? I'll be able to ask RW about that soon too :)

Deb took me and the 3 oldest kids out to lunch. I played tic-tac-toe on the menu with Ava, Jentzen got more ketchup on his good shirt than he got in his mouth, and Quaid finished every menu activity and crumb of food there was on his plate. The kids shared my birthday sundae...overall a successful outing.

We then headed off to see "Annie" at the Stages Theater. They patiently waited for it to begin. After the very first scene, about 5 minutes into the show, the lights went dark while they changed the set. "Is it over?" from all the kids. Guess I should take them out more. They're obviously sub-par in the understanding of the arts and theater. Jentzen was quite sure that he did NOT like Miss Hannigan and was asking when Annie was going to come back. Ava must have been sitting on her legs in a way that made her feet fall asleep. My peaceful viewing of the show was interrupted by, "Mom! When I squish my toes, I can't even feel it!!" As they tingled back awake there were some funny faces, groaning, and twisting around in her chair. Is it possible she has never had that happen before??

The fun soon ended and quickly went back to the real life...making dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, and continuing on to cleaning out my basement. Ahhhh...the good life!

It did however end on an up note. My wonderful hubby played two games of Sorry with me. The very best present possible. Although, he walloped me both games...sheesh, it was my birthday and still no mercy! I can't really blame him. We have a running total of wins since we've been married. He wasn't about to let a minor occasion like my 30th birthday ruin his competitive edge. He's a bit ahead of me.....I would have done the same!

* It's summer, we've been busy outside swimming and sweating, hence no blogs.
* We don't have landscape fabric under our landscaping, weeds take advantage of that, hence no blogs.
* I've been on a mission to empty, de-clutter, and wash the inside and out of every cabinet, shelf and storage place in my house, hence no blogs.
* Nathan posts every detail of our life on Facebook so I feel redundant most of the time, hence no blogs.

So I guess this is for those who aren't "friends" with Nathan :) And if you are a friend, stop reading now, because you already know all of this.

1. Watching your child jump off the diving board in the deep end for the first time, in front of all the big kids and swim to the edge makes a momma proud.
2. I have THE BEST friend ever in the world. If anyone dares to argue that, just go home now, because I'll win.
3. Last minute $5 movie nights with your hubby are way fun. A niece who makes it all possible is even better.
4. "Who flung poo"...a new saying at our house.
5. A child asking, "Daddy are you going to put that on Facebook?" makes a momma chuckle and roll her eyes...just a little :)
6. Quaid is two for two with trophy winning events in Cub Scouts....thanks to a dad who couldn't resist Googling "How to build the fastest raingutter regatta boat."
7. Buying a half a cow is totally the way to go! Coming home to it stacked perfectly in your freezer without lifting a finger is even better!
8. The kids thinking that "going to Iowa" means going to one specific place or building called "Iowa" is a bit frustrating and takes the entire 6 hour car ride to explain!
9. Jentzen got stitches in his head a few weeks ago...a family first. It's even better when I'm already working!
10. Watching Keira boss her siblings around the park, making them do whatever she wants them to, go where she wants them to, and help her however she needs it is a bit amusing.

I found this post that i never finished...it was awhile ago. But not so long ago that I don't remember this glorious night. I might never forget it!

I'm pretty sure this was at least day 5 of 5 work days in a row. One of them was probably a day I had to be at work at 3am and work till 3pm...you know, someting along those lines. I threw out the suggestion that Nathan could make dinner.

There is no better dinner than one I didn't make. Nathan delivered in a big way. Chicken Fried Rice! I realize that the picture looks sort of like a pile of goo...it's truly mis-representated. It was awesome....Kids, your Daddy can cook!!

And if Daddy's cooking, it most certainly involves steak...and lots of it!

I'm sure the fact that my kids were already in their jammies, ready for bed, at dinnertime was no coincidence. Pretty sure after my work day and probable lack of sleep, and Daddy's slaving in the kitchen all night...the whole family did indeed, go straight to bed after dinner!

Today is the day my mom was born so I thought it fitting to say a little something...


Where to even start....As I sit here reminiscing on all the little happenings of my life, everyone of them has my mom in it. She was always there...I mean ALWAYS there. She was there when I woke up, there when I went to bed, and always there in between.


I do know in fact, that she wasn't always there...she did have obligations outside of our family. As I parent my own children, I'm becoming increasingly aware that it's not what actually happened, or the reality of a situation, but the memories of my children, and how they interpret those times that they will take with them. So for the record, I remember my mom always being there.

I remember calling home during the cold winter school days because I forgot my shoes and would be completely mortified wearing my snow boots around all day. My mom to the rescue. A forgotten assignment, uniform piece, or practice clothes. My mom to the rescue. When I needed help on a project or paper...my mom was there. To this day I still can't write a decent introductory or conclusion paragraph...and to all my teachers...Yes, my mom did it for me :)

I always sat right next to my mom at the dinner table. We had assigned seating, another genius move by my mom. My kids currently squabble every night about who gets to sit next to Daddy. Although, I'm pretty sure it was the fact that I was the youngest and needed the most supervision especially when it came to gagging down my glass of milk. But I'll just keep thinking it was because she liked me best.

She was at every concert, award ceremony, play, and sports game. Even when she let me play Fall Softball and it was October and snowing...there my mom sat through the whole thing.

I can't recall a single event that I was involved in that my mom wasn't right there in the crowd. I'm sure there was one or two, but those aren't my memories. And I also rarely remember getting a no for an answer when I asked her for help of any kind.

However, I did hear the word "no" a lot. I heard it when I asked to go somewhere that my mom wasn't sure was safe. A "no" for dating boys before I was 16. A "no" to staying out past 12:30. A "no" to letting me quit something I had started. A "no" when I thought I did a good enough job, when in fact it was not even close to my best effort. I look back on things now and see that she always knew exactly when to the the reins out and give me some freedom, and when they needed to be pulled back in.

Wise and fair parenting was my mom's greatest strength. I think I was a pretty good kid...didn't get in to too much trouble. I attribute that to all the "No's" I heard. At the time, some of them made me an angry teenager thinking it was obvious that I knew way more than my mom did about life as most teenagers do. I thought I was quite capable of making good decisions completely on my own. I now see, I was a good kid becuase of all the "No's". I am so thankful for them.

Being the youngest I was able to watch all 5 siblings go before me. By the time I moved into the decision making years, I was well aware that there were consequences for every thing I did, be it good or bad. I loved my mom, admired her, and respected her. I didn't obey out of fear, but out of love. I wanted her to be proud of me. It was because she never let me down and I wanted to do the same for her.

My sister, 5 years older than me, were discussing what we were taught. Being that many years apart, our childhood experiences were a bit different...but in the end there were some soild principles that we were both taught. Our best was always good enough, even if it wasn't perfect, and she knew somehow exactly what each of our best's was. We never felt compared to any other sibling...which with 5 there was plenty of comparing that could have occurred. We were encouraged to do what we enjoyed no matter what everyone else was doing. We were taught how to live within our means...she was sure to always make sure that depsite where they were at that moment in life, there was a beginning, and a tough one that they worked very hard for. We were confident with who we were and self esteem was high despite any of our failures. We were made to be hard workers, even if it was something we despised...like pumpkins and piano lessons for me :) We learned to take pride in a job well done and not step on anyone else in the process. We have all taken different paths through our early adult years but have all seemed to turn out all right with a solid foundtaion. She has trained us well and now that we are all older, we have not departed from it. At the time we both ended the conversation with, "We have no idea how she did it, but we want to do the same!"

I now think it was because she was there. Always there to overhear, observe, talk, listen with all areas of our life. There were of course a few things that slipped past her and the good children that we are, of course tease her about the now :) But she knew who we were and knew most everything we did.

And now I am raising my own children...in her footsteps. She has shown me how to parent from birth and continues to do so. I'm thankful that she was blessed with the chance and chose to raise 6 children. Every individual child brings different challenges and trials, joys and triumphs. Her experience, wisdom, and knowledge is beyond words. I am abundantly blessed to have and incredible example and resourse right next door :)

Proverbs 17:6 says "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children." I thank God that he gave me a Mom that I am so proud of. And I pray that I would follow her example so that my children are indeed her crown. That they would love, appreciate, respect, and value me as much as I do my Mom.

Happy Birthday Mom...We Love You!!!

There is nothing like a brother, is there?









Brotherly....Love? I can't quite tell!

Pretty sure they snatched the camera and took a few shots of what boys deem picture worthy...

And let's not forget....
They do think daddy's "truck" is pretty cool, but, they do mention how they miss his 'racecar." They've been brainwashed and their dad happily takes all the credit. It's wrong folks...just plain wrong. But what's a girl to do??

Anyway, while the boys were out fooling around...the girls were doing some real work. Getting our garden ready for the year. As always, it was the first week of June. Pretty late as MN standards go. We never know just how soon the winter will return so it's best to get the earliest head start you can!!

I have to interject here just for a minute with a funnion from today. While Deb and I were neck deep into our card game...the kids were just milling around the kitchen, hovering over us. I told them they better get outside and enjoy the weather because it's going to snow soon. The kids all gasped and I heard a "what????" "did you say snow???" "like how soon mom???" Deb and I quietly giggled with a "Well you never know how soon it just might be! Don't waste the day now!!" It worked, out they went :)

So back to the garden. Deb came up with a new plan for us. Square Foot Gardening. She claimed that we could get all we needed in a fraction of the space, with a fraction of the work! Sounds great, right?

So RDub kindly built us the garden boxes. Then I made Nathan (and 4 kids) trapse around 2 stores with many flatbed carts getting all our supplies. He was a good sport...and he got to buy a power tool for himself....I didn't hear him complaining too much :) Does a weed whipper count? The kids call it a weed whapper. Whip, Whap....let's call the whole thing off....

Then we had to mix all the ingredients that filled the 5 flatbed cards...with shovels, on a tarp, in the wind, with water, 4 kids, all while starting at 4pm on a Sunday evening....seriously the times we pick to do major gardening projects!

One of the ingredients was vermiculite. Anyone....anyone??? Does anyone know what that is? Well we didn't really, until I googled it of course. So where does one buy this...vermiculite? Certainly a garden center would know!! After all, they are in the business of horticulture. We called one store and I got a very young girl who answered us with, 'Uuuummmmm, I don't know, let me go ask." I then called another, "No, we don't carry that." And another, "We don't carry it, and you can't use that in MN." Seriously....looks like we were on our own. It was found on one website so we ordered it up. When I went to the customer service counter to pick it up, the lady pulled the order up, and then a stare and then a, "And......what actually is that?" It seems Amazon's #1 selling book had only made it into Deb's hands and entirely missed the rest of the state.

Here's the magic, no weeds, no work, highly productive garden boxes. We'll see how they live up to their hype....

We finally got them all filled up thanks to Quaid who was a huge help the whole way through!!! We had been mixing all the "stuff" on the tarp with a shovel, and then transported it shovel by shovel to the boxes.

So on the last box Quaid says to me, "Mom, I have an idea but I don't think you'll like it." At this point Deb and I were a bit over the shoveling and figured any suggestion might be a good one...even coming from a 7 year old. "Why don't we just dump the bags in the box and then mix it around in there so we don't have to walk back and forth carrying it." Deb and I shamefully look at eachother, kicking ourselves that we had not thought of that on box #2, and for the fact that we had been shown up by a 7 year old...."That's a GREAT idea Quaid!!" We now had to take our self-proclaimed garden expert hats off and throw them to the wind.
We finally got everything planted...even with a little day light to spare. Now, we'll wait to see what actually comes up!!