Back to School

Sometimes the night before the first day of school feels like the night before Christmas. Mostly because of staying up too late to get ready. This year, as the photo below proves, I was actually all set before the wee hours of the morning.

 

Now that Kate is a 1st grader and sharing in some of the regular school work we needed a new table arrangement that would allow us all to sit together.

 

I finally figured out that I need to jump right in to lessons the first day. “Boring” introductory activities are NOT well received. With so many great things to study, why not get started?! Lesson learned.

 

A little spot for Caleb, just for fun this year…

 

A mixture of moods at picture time.

 

For some reason they have started insisting on this pose every year. I guess next fall we’ll have to hang Caleb from the ceiling in order to fit everyone in.

Adam Comes to Play

Maybe because he is the fourth child, Caleb has almost never had a friend come over to play—well, not counting his good buddy Luke next door (they play almost daily) and the constant companionship of three siblings. But there is something exciting about inviting someone over and waiting for him to pull into the driveway. And then it’s off to the Nerf guns.

Soccer Clinic

Kate played her first team sport this fall. She deliberated about whether or not to sign up, citing the following three concerns: she might not be able to kick the ball in the goal, she doesn’t like to run, and she didn’t want to have a boy coach. As I was pondering how to respond Meg piped up, “Well, my first year I had a girl coach and we lost every game.” So there was one I didn’t have to answer. Then Meg promptly took Kate out back to practice kicking. (No offense to all the female athletes and coaches out there, but it was pretty funny how matter of fact Meg was. And also very sweet to see her take Kate under her wing.) No scoring this season, but Kate sure did run around the field more energetically than I expected. And she very much enjoyed her coach (a woman) who taught them the fundamentals and let them have lots of fun. 

Sunflowers

Meg was the proud planter, tender, and harvester of sunflowers. And photographer. I think these are great pictures from our little point-and-shoot camera. I love the sunlight coming through those petals and the grains of pollen on the bee.

Clarkston Camp Week

Another first for us this summer: a family mission “trip.” For the last few years our church camp has partnered with a local ministry to refugees to host 80-100 children for a week-long day camp. Some of the CW summer staff stays to run activities, the Friends of Refugees staff and interns bring the kids and help supervise them, and teams of folks from our church and a sister church in Alabama join in to help facilitate and interact with the kids.

 

Maria & Kate

Erik and I have said we’d like to do something like this when our kids got old enough to make it manageable, so this year we decided to give it a go. Though the refugee kids (actually, the preferred term is global nomads) just came Tues-Fri from 8-4, we stayed at the camp all week—thankfully sleeping in climate controlled rooms with indoor plumbing.

Nate & James

My last mission trip was over 15 years ago—to Guatemala, with college class mates, as a single person with no kids. This experience was very different. It felt mostly like what I do all the time: herding kids around, chaperoning noisy meals, helping in the kitchen, doing laundry—minus the comfort and convenience of my own home. Thankfully, I wasn’t expecting a mountain-top experience, because it was more like the daily grind.

Ibrahima & Caleb

For Erik, on the other hand, it was completely different from his day job and he really enjoyed it. Our kids also enjoyed playing with the other children—a group of kids we would never have met otherwise—seeing a little of their world and lifestyle, and of course being at camp.

 

Fina, Noon, Kate & Caleb

I hope we will have more family ministry opportunities, here and abroad. I want our kids to know first hand that the world is very big, to be comfortable outside of our little homogeneous corner, and to develop a real enthusiasm for what God is doing to build his kingdom all around the globe. I guess I want that for myself, too.

 

Kate, Maria, Meg, Celestial, Noon, Isatu, Fina, Nate, Kamis

Dinner and a Show

For a greasy, pop-culture twist on the Atlanta dining/preforming arts scene we joined our neighbors for supper at the Varsity and then watched the Princess Bride, which, for its 25th anniversary, was part of the summer film festival at the Fabulous Fox. As you might guess, the entire theater recited on cue all the favorite lines. If you live in Atl and have never been to a summer movie at the Fox, you really should go next year; it is a great, cheap way to have a downtown outing and see the interesting décor inside the theater.

Who wants a chocolate-covered banana?

I’m sorry that too much time has passed for me to remember why some people are wearing bathing suits while others are wearing pjs. The main reason I like this picture is that both the boys have their shirts off, which is the way I (having grown up in Florida) think boys ought to dress to play outside. However, my boys (not having grown up in Florida—and one being exceedingly modest) NEVER go shirtless, hardly even in the pool. But they did this day, and I got it on film.

Stone Mountain

In addition to two swimming days, we had an “outing” day on our summer weekly schedule. We enjoyed the library, farmer’s market, botanical garden and splash fountains. One morning we headed out to Stone Mountain to ride the train, play golf and try out the new Geyser Towers. A fun time!

Eating lunch on our way around the mountain.

 

“Before” running through the cargo net tunnels and getting drenched by the geysers.

Swimming Summer

This was the summer we’ve all been waiting for: we finally joined a neighborhood pool!

Until this year I didn’t want to take all four kids by myself, and it wasn’t worth the money to join if we would only go on the weekends with Erik. But this spring I realized we had three independent swimmers and one good floatie so we gave it a go. What a great decision! The kids spent h0urs in the water, and I enjoyed lots of poolside reading.

We’re counting down to next summer!

 

Peachtree Road Race

After living in Atlanta for 15 years I figured it was time to run the Peachtree. I talked Erik into joining me, and since his sister and brother-in-law were scheduled to be in town over the 4th of July, we registered them, too! (As runners/bikers/outdoor-adventurers they were more than game.) I am NOT a runner and my training regimen got a little off track just before the race. Oh, and I don’t like to be hot. But, hey why not start my race career with a summer 10K in hilly Atlanta! So, no need to get bogged down in the details: let’s just say, I finished, survived, and have the T shirt to prove it!

Still undecided about next year…

Box Seats

Since Kate’s camp session was only a few days, she and Caleb enjoyed some fun treats—like a movie and pop corn—while Meg and Nate finished out the week. Cardboard  box courtesy of my new washer as the old one bit the dust while I was packing the kids for camp. Yikes, can’t have three grimy kids and their stinky clothes coming home to no washing machine!

Here we are: summer 1993

Couldn’t help digging this out of the archives to share. See previous post for context. :)

Camp Westminster

Finally, Kate is a first timer at Camp Westminster! And the BEST part was that Olivia went, too!

Mandy and I met almost 20 (!!!) years ago working at CW. Who knew we’d be here together in 2012 dropping off our sweet six-year-olds in the same cabin (despite living 2000 miles apart, no less!)? Well, God did.

 

Old timers: Meg & Maggie, Perry & Nate

Lazy Day at the Park

We continue to enjoy our family membership to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This time we were able to see a rescued bald eagle in addition to the usual kids’ play garden, orchid house, and high altitude rainforest.

 

Then over to Piedmont Park for a picnic. After lunch some of us exerted ourselves playing soccer,

and some of us didn’t.

A fun time all around!

Kate Turns Six

Good morning Birthday Girl!

 

How did we not get a picture of the family eating birthday dinner? Grammy and Grampy were here to celebrate!

Kate had been planning for about a year to have a “chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and one raspberry on top.” A  few days before her birthday she upped the raspberry request to “several.”

 

Getting ready for the friend party:

The birthday girl/hostess/queen

 

sweet little friends to celebrate with

 

We love you Kate! Have fun being 6!

Rocket Launch

Wrap a paper tube around a plastic film canister (remember those?), fill the canister with water, and drop in an alka-seltzer or two. Pop the lid on and stand back!

 

Projects Galore

Meg’s sewing skills are constantly improving. She works independently on all kinds of projects and creates gifts for friends and family.