January's Joys

I jumped on a bandwagon this month.  It's one of the good ones so no one worry.  Over at www.aholyexperience.com I found a great idea called Joy Dare.  It dares you to count over 1000 joys this year.  I decided that is just what this mommy needed to do as her New Year's resolution.  I still have my gratitude journal which I am keeping separate from this Joy Dare.  To make myself accountable I am going to post my Joy Dare gifts for the month on the last day of the month if possible.  At first I thought I should just keep these to myself.  As I pondered that I felt like God had given me these gifts and He didn't mean for them to just be mine.  They bring joy to me and maybe they will bring joy to you.  Hopefully at least a smile or two.

January's Joys, Gifts, Blessings....

1-1-2013 - 3 gifts heard
1. sound of old-time radio shows on the i-Pod
2. laughter of six wonderful children
3. the hum of my own fan after a vacation

1-2-2013
a gift outside - snowflakes that fall like baby powder and sparkle like glitter
a gift inside - laundry folded right away
a gift on a plate - pasties from Michigan

1-3-2013 - 3 graces overheard
1. polite children asking "Please pass the ketchup," at suppertime
2. Brech Earl telling his daddy "Thank you for hanging pictures and shelves."
3. Blase telling Brech he could play with the Star Wars Legos

1-4-2013
a gift old - Dad's warm wool shirt (the grey, brown, white one)
a gift new - family history book from Lacy
a gift blue - Dove chocolate (blue wrappers)

1-5-2013
something I'm reading - books from Linda
something I'm making - Paul's curtains
something I'm seeing - blog posts

1-6-2013
one thing in my bag - finished cross stitched project
one thing in my fridge - Darren's smoked salmon dip
one thing on my heart - family in South Dakota

1-7-2013 - 3 graces from people you love
1. reading old birthday and anniversary cards from Darren
2. hugs and kisses from Brech Earl "No one loves me" " No one loves me either" "I love you, Mom" " I love you Brech Earl"
3. polite, sharing boys when Mom is sick

1-8-2013
dusty light - waking without a harsh cough
surprising reflection - Blase can make lunch from start to finish
lovely shadow - two little kids running down the hall, one is Batman the other is Batgirl

1-9-2013
a gift held - a Kindle book during our first quiet time of the year
a gift passed by - walked by Gianna who was tearing small pieces of Kleenex off so she could wipe her babies' noses
a gift sat with - Brech Earl, green chair, Mom, quiet time, wonderful memories

1-10-2013
a gift sour - McDonald's French fries with sweet 'n sour sauce
a gift sweet - cheesecake
a gift just right - eating and conversing with other homeschool moms

1-11-2013 - 3 yellow gifts of fresh mercy
1. the blonde hair of my sweet Gianna
2. the yellow tinge the Christmas lights give the basement and tree
3. the hope of a warm spring day with the bright yellow sun to warm my thoughts this cold, blizzardy night

1-12-2013
something above - a roof provided by my dear husband, blessed by God, protected by angels, greatly appreciated by me on below zero nights
something below - my family all sleeping below above mentioned roof
something beside - a bookcase filled with prayerbooks, journals, and books that inspire the best from me

1-13-2013 - 3 things about yourself you are grateful for
1. thoughtfulness towards other
2. never give up spirit
3. faith in God's timing

1-14-2013 - 3 startling graces of God
1. The Blessed Sacrament
2. the creation of life
3. God's help during hard times

1-15-2013
a gift worn - brown scapular
a gift given away - hugs and kisses
a gift shared - reading books with the little ones

1-16-2013 - 3 witnessed blessings
1. my children's baptisms
2. my children's First Holy Communions
3. the first book read by a new reader

1-17-2013
a gift bringing laughter - my children
a gift bringing peace - rosary time as a family
a gift bringing quiet - Midnights alone to ponder the day and regroup for the next

1-18-2013 - 3 gifts from God's word
1. Love is patient (1 Cor. 13:4)
2. For where thy treasure is, there also will thy heart be. (Matt. 6:21)
3. With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27)

1-19-2013 - 3 gifts that might never have been
1. Darren and I
2. homeschooling
3. Latin Mass in Fargo

1-20-2013 - 3 gifts only seen close up
1. "God bless you" from my dad
2. love in my children's eyes
3. Michigan snowfall

1-21-2013 
a gift in the sky - stars
a gift in water - bath time
a gift in memory - a beautiful family picture with ice on the trees in the background

1-22-2013
a gift wrinkled - the face of a loving grandparent
a gift smoothed - cream cheese frosting
a gift unfolded - a letter to my newborn child written by me and reread years later

1-23-2013 - 3 gifts found in Christ
1. love
2. mercy
3. hope

1-24-2013 - 3 things blue
1. newborn boy clothes
2. Our Lady in her finest
3. the eyes of my children

1-25-2013
a grace borrowed - wisdom of my dad
a grace found - trust in God's mercy
a grace inherited - love of a family

1-26-2013
a gift before dawn - no children with nightmares
a gift at noon - chapter a day as a family
a gift after dark - silence

1-27-2013 - 3 gifts found in the kitchen
1. aloe vera plant showing signs of life
2. dishwasher loaded and unloaded by kids
3. cookbooks full of endless possibilities

1-28-2013 - 3 graces found in friends
1. humor
2. advice
3. patience through a venting session

1-29-2013
a song heard - Brech Earl repeatedly singing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song and yet it brings a smile to my face
a soft word - Gianna's "Please" that sounds more like "Peas", usually whispered with a smile
a light seen - sun dogs always impress me

1-30-2013 - 3 old things seen new
1. a recently rediscovered holy card given to my great-grandma by two of her daughters
2. a dusted off, tuned, and still amazing violin that belonged to great-grandpa
3. the love of my husband

1-31-2013 
a gift on a paper - valentine from Darren
a gift in a person - my mom's strong faith
a gift in a picture - our last Bestgen family picture with Mark to show when we were all together and the first Bestgen family picture without Mark to show we are still together, stronger than ever


want to join the dare??
https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.voskamp/JoyDareCollection.pdf

Special School Day

Today is St. John Bosco's feast day.  He is the patron saint of our homeschool.  Usually I forget to get things ready for special days like this, but I actually thought this one through.

 We still had to do school today, much to everyone's disappointment.

 Everyone stayed busy working on this and that.

 This boy was running away from the camera because he was still in his pjs.  It wasn't all his fault.  He didn't have any clean pants.  SOO, we did laundry today too.

 For supper we had KFC and ice cream for dessert.

 We even had homemade chocolate pudding.

As you can see it was worth getting as much off your face as possible.  (I just love her cute little tongue!)

The kids are downstairs watching a movie.  I wish I could say they were watching a St. John Bosco movie, but they are not.  They are watching Madagascar 3 for the 4th time.  I said it goes back in the mail tomorrow.  Gotta get that last watching in before mean ol' Mom sends it back.

All in a Day's Work

I decided to make a blog post happen today.  At 10 AM I grabbed my camera and took a picture of most of the rooms in the house.  They are exactly the way they were when we woke up.  I didn't move anything.  I didn't try to make the room look better by the way I took the picture.  Then I took pictures again between 3 and 5 PM to see what all had been accomplished.

Presenting: All in a Day's Work

 School room at 10 AM

School room at 10 AM with sweet Gianna writing on something. 

 School room finished

School room finished 

 Kitchen and dining room at 10 AM

 Another view of the kitchen at 10 AM.

 Kitchen finished

 Upstairs bathroom at 10 AM

 Upstairs bathroom finished

 Brech and Gianna's room at 10 AM (yes, she's still in her pjs)

 Brech and Gianna's room finished

 Master bedroom north side at 10 AM

 South side at 10 AM

 Master bedroom north side at 5 PM (notice I did not say finished)

 Master bedroom south side at 5 PM (pretty much finished on that side)

 Entry way at 10 AM

 Entry way finished

 Living room at 10 AM (notice the Christmas tree is still up)

 Living room finished

 Going upstairs at 10 AM

finished, though not much difference 

 Blase and Rex's room at 10 AM

 Blase and Rex's room finished...

 The piano was moved from the hallway into the bedroom so I moved the bookcases around a bit.

 Laundry room at 10 AM

 Laundry room at the end of the day - looks the same.  I'm sure it is obvious I didn't get there.

 Stephen and Cormac's room at 10 AM

 Stephen and Cormac's room finished

 Furnace room at 10 AM

Furnace room finished (including all the Christmas deco put away)

You will notice there are no pictures of the boys' bathroom.  I knew I wouldn't even get close to finishing that one, let alone WANT to finish that one!

I accomplished that with a little help from Brech, a lot of help from Rex, and NO help from Gianna.  Well, she did help, but it was more like taking the books off the shelf that I just put on there.  That kind of help is no help in my book.  She was pleased with herself and thought she should earn a gold star.  I sure love that girl.  Some day soon she will be a great help.  I just hope I survive her in the meantime.

We also had time to play a few games, watch a movie together, dance to a few songs, eat, laugh, hug, and pray today.  It was a good day.  I am actually impressed at how well we had the house looking BEFORE I cleaned.  That is normally what our house looks like.  The house is usually not that messy by my standards (ask my friends and family about what my messy rooms used to look like).  These kids do a great job of keeping things picked up.  They know what is expected and most times comply with the requirements.  Such blessings these kids are!  Thank you God for messy houses, thank you God for helpful kids.

First Braid

It's tiny.  It's adorable.  It's her first braid.

Who'da thunk I'da had a girl?  I'm almost giddy her hair is long enough for a tiny braid.

500 and Counting

My 500th post.  It will be filled with all the good things you expect from me....

 There it sits.  The bird's nest holds on for dear life.  

Yesterday we had 45 mph wind gusts.

 Its way up there.  Can you see it?

That's the roof of our garage, by the way.

 A little later I noticed that it had broken in two.

This morning there was no trace of it.

The whole time I watched this nest I figured there had to be some type of lesson to be learned.  A bird's hard work beaten by the weather.  I guess if you think about it its like our hard work being destroyed by some force, be it child or weather.  It could be that even though our hard work gets sidetracked, destroyed, or even dismissed the sun will still rise.  The bird will be back again to make another nest not worried about how and why the last one was ruined.  I could learn a lot from that.  I could learn not to worry about what has been accomplished and then undone by helpful children.  I could learn not to dwell on the things of yesterday, but focus on the gifts of today.  Honestly, I think the one thing I did learn from all of this - don't build a bird's nest in a tall tree in North Dakota.  Move south and stay there!

Its War

It was war time in the school room.

Cormac received many, many army men for Christmas and his birthday. I am not sure if I am glad to see him conquer other countries besides his bedroom.  At least in his bedroom they are all contained in one room.

Did Ya Miss Me?

So I'm back in full force.  Where have I been, you ask.  What have we been up to, you ask.

Short story - laptop fell down. Power button broke.  Sent to Dell to fix.  It is back now.

What have we done since I posted last?  We have done LOTS of things.  Do you think I can recall them?  Not all of them.

We did school.

We cleaned the house.

We lived our lives like we always do.

I did have some "fun."  Darren has been laid off this week.  One morning he asks me what I had planned for the afternoon.  Yes, I know, I should have walked away at that point.  So of course I'm all like "Yah, I got nothing going on. What do you have planned?"  Blow-in insulation.  Sigh.  Ok.

Let me set the backdrop for this play we will call "Karen's a Whimp".

3 PM
13 degrees (or less)
maybe 10 bags of insulation laying around
migraine

Karen starts up blower.  Karen fills blower with insulation.  Blower hose blows off.  Insulation all over the porch.  Yuppers, we are off to a good start.  Karen locates clamp, thanks to Blase's help, and places hose back on blower.  Blower still does not work.  Blower hose is plugged.  Yes, still having a wonderful start.

Finally got blower working.  Karen keeps filling blower for almost 3 hours.  Karen's fingers are frozen.  Karen's toes are frozen.  Karen's head is hurting. Karen is trying not to puke thanks to this migraine. Karen is crying because she's a whimp.  Karen did make it through it all.  Vows NEVER to help with blow-in insulation when it is 13 degrees outside and its snowing.  End play with Karen slowly walking into the house to find chocolate.

Aren't you glad you asked what we had been up to.

4th Annual Dart Tournament

So Saturday night, late, we decided we had better have a dart tournament.  You see we hadn't had one in 2012 yet.  You cannot have an "ANNUAL" dart tournament without it being annual.  So a phone call here, a pass the word after church there, and ta da - dart tournament in progress!

 We had taco salad and a few other yummy foods for supper.  Oh and beer of course.

 These lucky kids got to watch Looney Tunes all night long.  There was a ton of laughing going on at that table.  The Mark Park now has a TV there all the time.  We borrowed the DVD player from Mom and Dad's for the evening.  Smart thinking huh??  Those brothers of mine are real ththth..stinkers.

 Ummm....yah - love it!  These people are a sense of humor!!

 Our cute cheerleaders!

 Juliana was getting feisty....

 so Twyla took care of her.  (you can see her coming with the tape in the other picture)

 John, closest to the camera, and Luke, on the other side, both have the same dart throwing style.  Their arms were lined up.  Not sure who had the better throw though.

 Mauri was seeing if we could take 20% off of Andrew at Menard's.  Not sure anyone would buy him for full price anyway.

 After your team lost you could play games while we waited to see who the winner was.

 Wow, that's a close game!

 Becky did her mommy's hair.  Pretty good, Becky!!

Uncle Adam and Rex had the same kind of coat on, brown Carhartt.  Aren't they handsome?? 

And the winner.....wasn't me.  

This year I made the dart awards with quotes on them.  Juliana and I loved the 6th place one so much we were actually trying to get it.  Funny thing was, we did get it and did a happy dance.  I think its the only time anyone has reacted like they won first when they actually won sixth place.

The teams were as followed:

7th Place - Mighty Mites   Maria and Kaylene

6th Place - Tiny Tunes   Karen and Juliana (we're tiny, we're toony, we're all a little looney!)

5th Place - Goldminers   Luke and Peter

4th Place - Snoopy Know How    Mauri and Adam (AKA Snoopy)

3rd Place - Last Ones   Twyla and Rita (Mom)

2nd Place - Team Igloo   Jessica and Andrew (AKA Sally)

and 1st Place goes to.....drum rollllllll.....

Cartel - John and Darren 

They did not pose for a picture so there is no proof of it.  To sweeten the deal they were UNDEFEATED!!

What a great time we all had.  So much fun to make family memories like that.