Turn, Turn, Turn

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,4, 9-13

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

"What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God."

We lost a good friend yesterday. Paul was one of those people that you felt like you'd known him your whole life as soon as you met him. A good guy, through and through. He was a dedicated and wonderful teacher - a middle school teacher, at that. He had such a gentle spirit and a wonderful laugh. And he had cancer.

Paul was married to Wanda, my Mother in-Law's best friend. They were the kind of couple we all hope to be. They loved each other. Cherished each other. Went fishing together. Had adventures together. Loved each other's kids and grandkids. They took care of each other, in more ways than they ever expected to when they started their journey together. They just fit.

Paul battled cancer off and on for years. He fought the good fight. And early yesterday morning, that fight ended. We will miss him so much.



And despite our sadness over his loss, life moves forward...


Even as we're so sad, we are rejoicing as well. Just yesterday our family suffered a loss (for there is no question that Paul was part of our family), today our family has grown.

Today, Pat's brother became a Dad! Today, we welcome this sweet baby girl to this world.

Isn't she beautiful?

And so we are thanking God for the gift of life. We thank Him for the gift of Paul's life and the mark Paul has left on each of our hearts. And we thank God for the gift of this precious new life - so full of promise. We pray that we might be fortunate enough to leave a mark on her heart as she grows. That she may know goodness and joy, laughter and adventure, and that she may live life to the fullest. Just as Paul did.

Surprise!!

I love surprises. Love, love, love them. Good surprises, that is. Not a huge fan of someone jumping out if front of me and yelling, "Boooo!!" That is a bad surprise, and I do not love these. My husband learned this early in our marriage when he jumped out at me from between two cars on a dark street one night.

Right now, I'm involved in some way in several surprises that will be unfolding over the next few months. It's very exciting, but it's very hard too!

I'm constantly worrying about something slipping out when I'm talking with one of the "surprise-ees". Anyone who knows me can tell you that I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I'm very easy to read. (Except those times when I'm intending to be funny, and am coming across snarky and mean. I'm working on that.) I'm just so afraid something's going to slip!!

Can't wait for the first one to unfold... Hmmm... When will it be? Who will it be for? Stay tuned...

Happy Easter!

Just thought I'd share a little of our Easter...

I forgot about dying eggs until Saturday night... ooops!! The kids didn't seem to mind staying up a little late to get them done. They're good sports, those kids of mine!

Becca decided that she didn't need to use the dipper or a spoon.

We tried marbleizing the eggs this year. They came out pretty neat. Just dip in one color, let them dry, add vegetable oil to the dyes, and dip the eggs in another color. The colors didn't come through properly in the photos, (they were really bright) but you get the idea...

They selected eggs to put out for the Easter Bunny, and put together their usual tray of carrots - with the addition of celery this year - and a note for the Easter Bunny. We always put our baskets out on the front porch so our dog doesn't bother the Easter Bunny, and so she doesn't eat all the chocolate!

The kids woke up before us Sunday morning, grabbed their Easter Baskets and took them back to their rooms to check them out. So, alas, no photos of full baskets to share with you.

It was pouring rain when we woke up, but it cleared up and turned into a perfect day!

We got ready for church and headed out. It was a lovely service, although our pastor is always amazing!

Everyone looked so nice, and we haven't ever taken Easter photos, so I rounded up the troops. Managed to get a cute one of the kiddos pretty quickly.
*sigh* What perfect, perfect children.

Brough took a nice picture of Pat and me.

And then, while trying to take this picture, things started falling apart...

We had an unexpected visit from Princess Pouts-a-Lot.

And then, while I was dealing with the Princess...

Boys!.... Boys!!...

Arg!!!

OK, Much better!

(although I won't tell you what Pat said to get Brough to smile)

The princess deemed us worthy of her presence again, and I'm so glad that she did!!

I hope your Easter was filled with unexpected blessings!

A Fun Surprise!

The kids and I were running some errands yesterday that were in the same area as where our old Target used to be. (see the previous post for info about our new store) We were surprised to see signs saying "Open to Public" and "Fixture Sale". So we wandered in.

Oh my! It was our old store, the one we thought we'd never be in again, but it was stripped bare! We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at the stacks of shelves. It was a little surreal.

The kids wanted to visit where the toy section had been. We found the fixture that had held the Schleich animals that the kids love so much. And what did my highly observant son find in the back of one of the bins??

A little meerkat that had been left behind!

I decided that since the store was completely stripped down, it would be OK for the little critter to come home with us. (is that terrible?) And so, with our new little friend we said good-bye to the old store, and headed back out to see what other adventures the day might hold for us.

Our New Target Store

Our town opened a new Target a few weeks ago. The kids and I decided to go check it out.


As we parked, I started thinking whether it would be weird to take some photos before we head into the new store for the first time. I decided that yes, it probably would be.



As we walked up to the front of the store, my son said, "Hey, Mom, take our picture here!" as he climbed onto one of the red concrete spheres out front. HOW MUCH DO I LOVE MY KIDS????

Then there was this by the front door. Pretty cool photo spot actually. We may try again when the sun isn't so darn bright.

Hey, look what I found!! They have EVERYTHING here! Picked up 2 pretty cute kids. And they were on sale!!!

Note for the germophobes (like me): These carts were brand new!!

Patrick asked me if I loved the new store, and to my surprise I didn't. It was nice, but it didn't feel like my Target store. I've been cruising the aisles of the old one for about 10 years now. It's been my place to run away. It's been my "happy place" to just wander for hours and not even buy anything. And now it's closed down, and we have the new one. I'm sure this one will grow on me, we just need some time to get to know each other.