SOMETIMES PLANS CHANGE

As most of of you know, Silas has been planning on a career as a firefighter for the last three years. Blessed with an awesome opportunity to regularly spend time with one of the shifts at our local fire station, he's learned a lot and enjoyed every minute he's had there. Our family is choosing to use senior years for zeroing in on course work that will directly benefit whatever post-graduation goals are, so the plan has been that he'd start working on his paramedic degree this summer and continue through his last year of high school. He'd then work part-time as a paramedic while earning his firefighting degree. (Disclaimer: I'm sure my terminology is wrong for both of those degrees, but you know what I mean and I can't be bothered to look the correct terms up right now.)

People frequently ask me what I think about him being a firefighter, as it can be a risky profession, and my response is always the same. I think he'd absolutely love the job and be really good at it. It's something I could see him making a lifetime career out of. He's had nothing but positive feedback from the fire department, which just confirms that it would be a good fit.

I've also said he's both a teacher and a leader, traits I've seen in him since he was very young, and I can't imagine him not being in that type of role. Perhaps as a fire chief several years from now, or maybe in some capacity outside of his job, but it would be impossible for him to not teach and lead throughout adulthood. That's something else that's regularly confirmed by people outside of our family.

And I've talked about how I can't imagine him not being in some type of ministry, vocationally or as a volunteer, as he loves the Bible and enjoys serving in a myriad of ways at our church. Again, we consistently get confirmation about that from various sources.

How those three things - firefighting, teaching/leading, and ministry - will all play out is something only time will tell.

Well, time has told us a little something and plans have changed.

Silas recently became the Children's Church Coordinator at our church. It's a job he's well-suited for, was honored to be offered, and is absolutely thrilled to take on. It's a permanent, full-time position, which means his school plan has changed. Or is changing, as the case may be.

He obviously still needs to wrap up high school, but he's setting his firefighting goal aside for the moment. The courses will still be there if and when he decides the timing is right to pursue it again. His new job will take up too much time this summer for him to enroll in summer courses, so we'll be coming up with a new plan for a senior year that starts in the fall. A plan that includes a major shift in direction, but a shift that couldn't possibly feel more natural.

As is the case with every person and circumstance on the planet, we don't what the future has in store. That being said, we're confident he's moving in the right direction for this particular point in time and are excited to see the personal growth that comes from this change of plans.

Photo credit: Athey Creek Christian Fellowship

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for good things happening in a friend's life. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

THE RUBBER BAND

Two Sundays ago five Ws (Silas missed because of work) and some friends loaded up in a van and went to hear The Rubber Band perform in Concert School of Music's XLR Showdown at Mississippi Studios in Portland. The band was comprised of four kids we're friends with, as well as another girl and the band's instructor. 

It was so fun to listen to them play! Bonus points for the fact they won the competition. As I said on FB that day, this group of kids rocks. Literally and figuratively. 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for people who are willing to share about their personal experiences in order to help others in similar situations. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

HANGING OUT AT HAYWARD

The little Ws, Natie, and I went to Hayward Field today to visit Tim on his lunch break. We couldn't enter the work site, but we stood outside the fence with him while he pointed out various things and explained what was going on. It was a lot of driving for a short visit with a limited view of what's going on with the renovation, but I'm still glad we went. The road trip was a chance for people to read, listen to music, chat, and nap, and I think it's important for kids to see where their parents go when they head off to work each day.

QUICK ROAD TRIP

Last Wednesday Tim suggested I go on a day trip to see Sonja and I woke up on Thursday to a message from her suggesting I make it an overnight trip. So, on Friday morning I left for 36 hours. It was wonderful!

I spent the first part of my trip chatting with a friend on the phone, then cranked some tunes for the next two hours. I finally made it to her place and we ran some errands together in the afternoon. 

We took her kids to a park for quite a while once errands were done, then I got to goof off with them in the evening. Hence the bagel hats we're all sporting.

Sonja tucked the kids in, then she and I stayed up late talking about all sorts of things and eating cookies that brought back memories from about 25 years ago. Saturday we eased into out day, ran some more errands, then picked up her mom to go with us to an event for the kids. I loved having time to catch up on life with Susan!

I also got to see Sonja's brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and dad for the first time in ages while I was there, but don't have any pictures to prove it.

Back to the kids. Are these two cute or what?!

Our last stop was a Papa Murphy's right next to the world's last Blockbuster, so I did what any tourist would do and took a picture of myself in front of it.

I joined the crew for dinner, then hit the road for a peaceful drive home. No phone calls. No music. Just quiet.

Time with old friends is always special and the short break from my own routine was nice. I'm so glad Tim suggested the visit and that the logistics worked out for it to be a spontaneous overnight trip!

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK

In anticipation of having a wood stove next winter, we've gathered wood recently. Lots and lots and lots of wood. Some had already been moved to our back yard, but a significant portion of our driveway was still covered in a huge pile of wood in various sizes. 

The kids and I always have a late start on Thursdays, sleeping until our bodies naturally wake up. So I figured five well-rested Ws with nowhere to go and a gray day without rain was the perfect combination for getting a decent amount of wood moved out of the driveway. We put in about an hour carrying manageable pieces of wood and loading big ones on the dolly. 

We worked hard, but there was also laughter and goofing off. Like when my endcap kids decided to play logger games. Silas and Tyler faced off on their respective logs.

Then they tried to knock each other off. The victory was swift. Tyler, with a big grin, responded immediately with, "Well, that didn't go well!"

Then reinforcements showed up in the form of our neighbors, Tino and Gabi. Awesome!

They helped out for our second hour of work and we ended up getting all the wood moved. All of it!! Folks, there were some gigantic rounds in that pile. Naomi, Gabi, Tyler, and I finished off the last of the wood we could lift, then the little boys and I went inside to set up a sandwich bar for everyone. Tino, Silas, and Devon joined efforts to take care of the last giant pieces, while Naomi took care of little random tasks to finish off the project. Teamwork for the win!

We debated whether or not to send Tim a picture of the empty driveway, but opted not to. Instead, I sent him a text asking if we could make wood a priority in the evening since the weekend will be busy and all 6 Ws were home. He confirmed that was the plan and we let him think he'd have to put in some manual labor after work. It wasn't until he pulled into the driveway hours later that he discovered we'd already finished the job before I ever sent the text.

It wasn't exactly light work, but it definitely went quickly with seven people working together!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for kindness paid forward, the times we've been on the receiving end and opportunities to be on the giving end. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

MOTHER'S DAY - 2019

Tim took a quick Mother's Day picture before we all headed to church on Sunday morning. Half of them may be taller than me, but my kids will always be the little Ws. 

The day is meant to for kids to honor their mothers, but I spent several childless hours hauling wood with Tim. By choice, I might add. We were filthy and sweaty, but it was nice to spend time together and we got a lot accomplished.

I carried a bunch of wood, but Tim hauled countless giant rounds up a hill and across a lawn. Physical strength is no more impressive than other strengths, but I was sure thankful that day he has ridiculously more muscle than I do. The task would have been impossible, or taken several hours longer firing up a chainsaw to split wood on site, if he couldn't hoist those rounds.

Tim had offered in the morning to take us all out to dinner, but I knew it was going to be a long day and wasn't sure I'd be up for it by evening. We decided to play it by ear, but I knew on the way home with our second load of wood that I wanted to go out. And I knew where. Silas wasn't home, but the rest of us walked down to Hungry Lion at Metropolis and filled up on some awesome food.

Later we sat out on the lawn and ate dump cake. Devon had ridden his bike to the store for ingredients while Tim and I were out dealing with wood and baked it before we came back. The whole pan was for me, but, in a rare moment of maturity, I decided to share dessert.

As I crawled into bed that night, I looked at my nightstand and smiled at some treasures I'd accumulated from kids that day. A rose, two notes - one funny, the other serious, chocolate, and a feather. Plus there were unseen Mother's Day texts - greetings from a couple friends and a sweet note from Natie.

Motherhood has been exhausting, but Mother's Day was great. I'm thankful for that!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful this school year is winding down.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

SONLIGHT GUEST BLOGGER - APRIL 2019

If you need to lighten the mood around your home one school day, my April post on the Sonlight blog has some ideas for you.

3 Outside-the-box Learning Activities When You Need a Day of Fun

If you try one of those three ideas, let me know how it goes!

Disclosure - I was invited to be a guest blogger with Sonlight for one year in exchange for some free curriculum. All post topics and opinions are my own. If you are a first time Sonlight customer, click this link and use referral code BW20197051 to get $5.00 off your purchase of $50.00 or more. That referral code is totally separate from my role as a guest blogger and will give me credit toward my own purchases. The referral code can also be found on the sidebar of my blog.

A NOT-SO MELLOW SUNDAY

We make a point to have one restful day each week, which works out to be Sundays for most of the family. Yesterday, however, was busy! 

We all attend the first service at our church on Sunday mornings, but Silas always stays to work for several hours. Devon stayed for extra services yesterday to help in the grade school class, Tyler headed to Isaac's home, and Naomi was out of town on a church trip with other junior high kids. So Tim and I headed home without any little Ws. He left a short time later to collect firewood and I worked on stuff around the house. 

Picked up Tyler a few hours later. He had a blast and Mindy sent me this picture of the two boys laughing together. I love it!

I had somewhere to be and Tyler obviously can't stay home alone, so I dropped him off at the church with Silas and Devon. Off I went to meet Sarah at Brown's Ferry Park. We hadn't hung out in way too long, so it was wonderful to spend a few hours walking to Starbucks for cold drinks, hitting the trails, and sitting on a bench overlooking the river while we chatted about life. Spending time with a friend and enjoying the beautiful weather was a perfect way to spend an afternoon. If only I'd thought to get a picture!

Meanwhile, the boys all went out to meet Tim to help with firewood. They worked all afternoon and were almost done unloading when I got home about 9:30 last night. They'd also collected some on Saturday, so this is the state of our driveway today.

I'm really thankful for all the hard work the Ws guys did with firewood over the weekend. Now to start chopping, stacking, and researching wood stoves!

My time with Sarah came to an end so that I could pick up Naomi, but I found out upon arrival at the church that their bus had broken down and they were going to be late. I didn't want to head all the way back home and it was past dinner time, so I accepted an offer to eat some of the mountains of pizza they already had waiting for the kids. I posted on Facebook that I was heading to Cold Stone, but no one was able to join me. That's fine, though. I had a gift card, my dairy-free kid wasn't around, and I don't mind eating alone. Ice cream was meant to be, whether people were with me or not!

Drove back to the church and spent half an hour walking laps around the hilly parking lot while I waited for the bus to arrive. Walking those laps is something I enjoy doing when I have time to kill, so it was nice to get an unexpected chance to get exercise while watching the sun set, seeing deer, and hearing the frogs and birds making all their noises.

Naomi (and her pretty arm) eventually made it back to the church, so I stuck around a bit while she and a friend we gave a ride to scarfed down some pizza before we took off.

All 6 Ws were home. Exhausted people went to bed. Hungry people ate. Filthy people showered. Tim left early for work this morning, but the rest of us slept 10-12 hours to recuperate from our not-so-mellow, but still really good Sunday.

HANGING OUT WITH THE BOYS

It was just the boys and I at home this morning, so we headed out to Champoeg for a couple hours of sunshine and trails. They all played in a giant field for quite a while. First they ran around with a soccer ball, football, and frisbee, just tossing and kicking them to each other. Can you spot all four of them?

Later, after hiking, they spent time playing hide and seek, trying to spot each other lying down in the long grass. In related news, I'm glad we always take Benadryl when we go out hiking because it turns out Devon's skin doesn't like that much grass and eventually broke out in welts. Good times.

We hit the trail for a while, enjoying the shade, throwing rocks and sticks in the river, and watching a boat pass by.

The big boys on the trail.

And the little boys on the trail.

We eventually came back to the fields, part of which were covered in daisies. So pretty!

Just enjoying the beautiful weather, watching happy kids, and sporting a daisy chain necklace I made earlier.

Silas and Devon used this huge stick to reach the lowest branch of the tree. Devon climbed up (he blends into the corner of the picture), then Silas used the stick as a lever to hoist the little boys up. It was like a teeter-totter in the tree. So fun!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that I slept in until 10:00. What's one thing that you're thankful for?