Until Tomorrow

I love days like this... It's like God gives you a glimpse of what is coming to keep you satisfied until spring really arrives... which might be July here in Michigan.

I told Kevin that it's a good thing he isn't home today because I would be nagging him to open the trailer up.  I am just itching to get inside and spend sometime organizing and cleaning and getting ready for our 2014 season!

School is done for the day, so I sent the kids outside and told them they couldn't come back in until I said it was OK.  There are times that I sound like my Mom.. I remember that we were all sent outside everyday in the summer and were not allowed back in until my Mom's rest was over.  She even had a sign made for the back door.  I can still remember that sign, Paul drew it and colored it.  Anyway, it's been so long since their skin has been able to soak up pure Vit D, that I am not letting this day go to waste.  All this fresh air will hopefully help at bedtime tonight as well (my Grandma was really big proponent of fresh air for sleeping children).

I was going to share some more pictures from our UP adventures today, but I was called away from the computer to shovel my neighbors sidewalk so Jilli could rollerblade around the cul-de-sac.  They get the Laziest Neighbor Award... so frustrating!  So I am going to sign off now before I work myself up into a tizzy about these neighbors... lets just say they have been a great example to my children about what home ownership does NOT look like.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Closing the Thyroid Chapter

March 25th was the 369th day since the start of my thyroid journey.  Hard to believe that it has now been a full year since I woke up with a large bump on the side of my neck...

Tuesday I had a followup appointment with my doctor to check my thyroid and go over my options.  It was a longer appointment just because I have great family history when it comes to cancer.  As far as my thyroid goes, I am choosing not to go through any more testing for the time being (my wonderful insurance won't cover any of it anyway) and just watch for other signs of trouble.  Dr. Bolan was comfortable with my decision and gave me several things to watch for and told me to continue with the natural ways I am using to support my thyroid.

We even covered my kids and when and what tests they will have to have in the coming years do to my strong family genes.  Oh the joy... It's one thing for you to have to go through not so fun preps for not so fun tests.  It's a whole new ballgame when I have to think about my kids having to go through the preps and testing.

On a happier note... Jilli asked me if we could take a picture together, so here is our selfie from Tuesday.

She is growing up faster than I want to admit.  It's exciting and scary all at the same time, but I think that is a feeling that all parents go through.

Blessings!!

The End of RipTide Ride

Grand Island Lighthouse is the highest lighthouse above sea level, it sits on a 200ft cliff.  It's a cute lighthouse, from what we could see of it, painted in yellow and white.  It is privately owned, so it's not a lighthouse you can see except by air or water.  I guess you could hike to it, but I am sure there are signs that you are not supposed to trespass on private property.

There are some very interesting stories about this lighthouse.  Since it is on a secluded island, there wasn't a lot of activity at the lighthouse, but when someone came for a visit, it was recorded.  There is also a sad story of the Lighthouse keeper and his assistant who in all appearances were murdered on the island.  The assistant was in a row boat that was found floating, lets just say he was not recognizable except for his tattoo on his arm.  It was thought that the keeper murdered him, stole his money and left for Canada... until the keeper washed up on shore a few weeks later.  No one knows what happened.

After viewing the Lighthouse, we headed back closer to the cliffs of Grand Island.  I don't have any pictures of this (only video), but we were intimately introduced to a little waterfall that softly falls off the Island into Lake Superior.  Captain Tim took us in for a very up close and personal view of the waterfall.  A few of us even got to experience the feel of the falling water.  The rock the that water cascaded over was covered in green moss, the smell was not overwhelming, but very evident.  It was really a cool experience.

Then off we went to play around in the waves when we saw a bald eagle again soaring... Lower to the water, then all of a sudden he dived down and caught a fish and flew off with it in its talons.  Captain Tim followed it for awhile.  You could see the fish still flopping around!

We ended our ride with more spins and turns, with laughter and screams.  What an amazing memory to add to all of our camping memories...  If you are ever up near Munising Mi and don't mind a fast boat, loud music, spins, and a little water, I HIGHLY recommend the RipTide Ride!  It was well worth the money!!

Moving On...

About a week and a half ago I heard the song for the first time this spring.  As the saying goes... It was music to my ears.  Although I heard the sweet sound, I had not located the music maker until yesterday.

I was outside, in the rain, cleaning up after our ferocious four-legged family member, when the song reached my ears.  I looked up and there perched on the crest of our roof, a robin, singing her little heart out.  I wanted to break out in my own song about spring and how it's almost here (wishful thinking).  Then this morning I heard the robin's song again and I wanted to throw open the windows to just listen and I noticed... the ground is covered in white again.  So much for spring!!!

My kids ask me almost daily now "when can we go camping?" With everything that is in me I want to shout "This Weekend!" but reality sets in and I say... "Our first scheduled trip isn't until May."  With the way this winter has been going, we might still be camping with snow in piles around our trailer and us bundled up like it's January!  I think the robins are trying to trick us into thinking spring is coming...

In honor of the (hopefully) coming spring I will resume my posts about our UP camping trip last August.  We are still on the RipTide Ride heading out to the northern side of Grand Island.

We are speeding along (one of the reasons we loved this ride.. it was fast), we come around the bend and there you spy this little "cave" like formation in the rock.

We went around to the other side...

One of the videos I tried to post was us going into that hole (you can see my phone in the picture below recording that video).  We didn't go all the way through but we went as far as we could. 

Then after we had a few minutes to photograph this little cove area we were told that we needed to head out into Lake Superior (about a mile) to see the Grand Island Lighthouse that sits on a cliff over 200 ft above Lake Superior.

Birthday Boy Turns 40!!

It appears my video's are not working... oh well, tried my best....

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Saturday was a big day.  It is the day that the young man who swept me off my feet at the young age of 17, who asked me to marry him when I was 19, and who married me at 20, turned 40!!!

I think I remember when my Dad turned 40... Now my husband is joining the 40 and over club.

It's easy to say that with every passing year I grow to love this man more.  He has been my protector, my anchor, my provider, my friend.

As Micah was making Kevin a birthday card he said "I'm going to write 'You have another 50 years to live!'".  I pray that is true and I pray that I get to spend those 50 years with him!  He brings so much joy to me.  He makes me laugh daily with his crazy sense of humor or his silly dance moves that seem to break out when I am least expecting it.  He keeps me guessing with all his dreams and ideas that change with every passing minute.  I love his sense of adventure and his childlike excitement.  I love how he loves to spend time with his family and nothing gives him more joy than to know we are happy (except maybe a new tool...)

I was looking for a funny picture of Kevin... Which I have many of, but I thought that since it was his birthday, I should be nice and put a nice one on my blog.

Happy Birthday Kevin!!

Videos

For the past week I have been attempting to upload videos... So lets see if this works!  

These are just two of the videos I took while on the Riptide Ride.

Journey

It's late and I am just sitting down for the first time that day.  Then his voice says "February 18, you said you were going to keep up on your blog better."  The guilt almost makes me get up to go write a post... almost.  But I tell myself that I deserve to sit and read or crochet and that tomorrow I will write a post.  There has been many tomorrows that have come and gone and I didn't do what I meant to do.

I start my days fully and completely striving to accomplish all that I have commissioned myself to do.  Then I get a phone call that changes the course of my day or a weather forecast changes my plans or I come across something else that seems to be higher on my priority list and I veer off course never to resume my original plan.  It's frustrating and if I am left to my own thinking I could get stuck in a rut the size of the pot holes peppered throughout this city.

I have been doing a lot of soul searching as of late.  I am working (slowly) through a devotional with one of my BFF's.  I say slowly because although I am supposed to read it everyday, there are days that I don't.  For many different reasons, but one reason is because it is causing me to look hard at myself and who really wants to do that?!  I am not someone who will read a book just read it.  I try and go deep with it.  This devotional has really opened my eyes to some hard truths and there is only so much I can take at once.  Some of those truths have a lot to do with our currant situation.

For the last year our family has been in a transitional pattern.  We have been praying our way through some big decisions.  We have been praying that our dreams align with God's and that He will bless them.  So far we have yet to be released from where He has us.  I have for the most part felt at peace with whatever God has planned for us.  But where I have gotten off track is the timing.  If He wants us to go then it will just happen and not take this long and if He wants us to stay, the doors will be slammed shut... But I have been reminded that everything in life is a journey.      

God's plans for me might align with mine, but the journey to get there may look a whole lot different than what I thought and it might take a whole lot longer than I think it should.  But isn't that often the case?  I know that in my life, I would not have chosen the road God picked for me, but in the end His way was so much more sweeter than the way I would have chosen.  I have gone through some very difficult seasons in my life, but without those I wouldn't be who I am today or have the relationships I have without those seasons.  God knows and understands my heart's desires, but He is taking me on a journey that is growing and stretching me in ways that I wouldn't have grown and stretched had He just handed over my heart's desires to me.  Trust me, the journey isn't always fun (especially this week!) but I am seeing beauty in the journey, I am finding peace here.  I might be taking this journey and find it one big circle bringing me back to where I started or I might find this journey taking me to places I never dreamed.  Only God knows, and time will be the story teller.

Micah Turns 12!

Four days have passed since my oldest turned 12.  Every year I feel the same... how can it be that my baby is this old?!  My brother was so wonderful to point out that when his baby turns 12, my baby will be 24!!  I am feeling older by the minute!  This is also my last year of not having a teenager until all my children are grown.

Knowing Micah is growing older, is more than a date on the calendar or a marking of time.  I see it in the way he conducts himself.  I see it in the way he is starting to test the waters of making his opinions known.  It is in the way that he has taken on responsibilities without being asked too.  It is in the way he is starting to assert himself in different situations  or even how he has tried out "grown up words" that he has heard uttered (and then he discovers he is still a child able to be disciplined for infractions).  All the signs are pointing to a boy turning into a young man.  It makes my heart happy and sad all at the same time.

I have found that all my children are very responsible, but Micah feels the weight of responsibility the most.  Whether it is responsibilities that we have given him or ones he has given himself, he is always mindful of making sure he is meeting them all.  He is also the first to step up to the plate when something needs to be accomplished.  He comes to me and asks if anything else needs to be done before he goes off on his own.

Micah is my black and white kid.  There isn't much grey area for him.  It is either the truth or a lie, it is either right or wrong, it is up or down.  There isn't much middle ground for him.  Because of this trait I trust him completely.  Even if he feels as if he might have done something wrong he will tell me.  He is amazingly honest, I love that about him.

As I look at my children I know they all have a piece of their emotional Mommy alive and well within them.  When Micah gets deeply disappointed he will often show it through huge tears that collect in his eyes.  His face gets very red and he starts breathing harder.  His excitement will make is stomach sick or give him a sleepless night (Christmas Eve, birthdays, exciting plans, and vacations are brutal nights for him).

Micah is fiercely loyal.  If he calls you friend, then he has your back.  He will go to very uncomfortable places to stand next to or stand up for a friend in need.  He loves people and being with people (he got that from his Daddy Mommy!), the more people over, the better.  The more play dates, the better.  He would keep our social calendar busy every day if I let him!!

Although his love language is not touch, he will be the first person to give you a hug when you walk in the door and the first one to hug you when you leave.  I have funny little story about someone trying to hug Micah when he didn't want to be hugged.

Saturday, on his birthday, he tested for his brown belt (one belt away from black).  There is a section of testing where you have a partner and spar, which basically means you put on all your gear and get to try out all kicks, strikes, and blocks on your partner.  Micah and his friend Dad sparred for 2 min.  At the end of their time Dan walked over and gave Micah a hug... In less than a blink of an eye, Dan found himself flat on his back staring at the ceiling (Uncle Timmy would've been proud).  I had taken video of the whole 2 min sparing time and had JUST turned the camera off when Micah flipped him! UGH!!!  The boys started laughing along with everyone else who just had witnessed the exchange (including the instructor).  Word of advice, let Micah initiate the hugs!  He said that that moment was his favorite part of his test that day!

I could keep on going about Micah and all that I see in him, all the pieces that make up this wonderful boy that I get to call my son.  But all of what he is and what he could be is nothing without the most important part of him.

He was a little boy getting ready to go to sleep in his Grandfathers cottage, the windows were open and we were listening to the waves break on the shore, when he asked Jesus into his heart.  It was a beautiful night.

As a parent you always want the best for your children.  You work hard to make sure they are exposed to all the "right" things.  Feeding them the right foods at the right time, making sure they have the safest car seat, as they grow you make sure they get the best education.  You allow them to try a sport or music, or do art, or karate...  You spend money left and right making all this happen and you do it gladly because you love them so much... It's a kind of love only realized when you have a child of your own.  Micah was the child that taught me first about this special love.  He was the child that opened my eyes to how much God really loves me, all of us, that he would give his only son, so that my son could have eternal life.  I know that in trying to get "it all right" I got so much more wrong.  But the most important thing we got right, was introducing our son to Jesus.

 Micah, God has given you a yearning to be with people, it will be interesting to see how He uses that in the years to come.  Your gentle heart is open for all to see, especially those who take the time to really see it.  I love your openness and your honesty.  I love the look on  you face when you are unsure of yourself, its a look of meekness.  I love how you giggle at night when your brother is cracking jokes and how you can't fall asleep without a million blankets on you and your radio playing.  I love how quickly you can fall asleep (that was especially wonderful when you were a baby) and I love how you get up early everyday.  I love your passion for reading, and your willingness to always help me when I need it most.  I love how you take time to play with and spend time with your little cousins, making them feel loved and special.  You have the most wonderful mix of strength and gentleness that are essential in a good leader, husband, and father.  Micah, as you continue to test your growing wings, never forget who made the wind currents that you are flying on.  As your faith gets tested, which it will, hold tight to the One who formed you, who created you within me, the One who gave you life.

We Love you Micah!!!  Happy 12th Birthday!!!

Do You See What I See??

We are cruising down the Grand Island coast and all of a sudden Captain Tim shuts the motors off.  Tells us to look to our left and up in the top of the tallest tree was...

Two Bald Eagles!!!

More about the bald eagle a little later....

East Channel Lighthouse

Our first destination was the East Channel Lighthouse.  We were flying up to it, when Captain Tim came over the loud speaker and told us to brace, I thought... wait a minute, we are going in a 360 now? We are too close to the shore!  Well the Captain didn't think we were to close and promptly sent us sailing around in a circle.  What a rush!!!  Then he brought us right up to the edge of the water so we could get a good look at the old lighthouse.

Then we took off to enjoy some of the scenery as we flew down the side of Grand Island.

Blessings!!