Too Cute Not to Share!

Swaziland and Sweets

We sent Rick and the rest of the team from Vanguard off to Swaziland yesterday.

We had a very early morning of driving Rick to the Denver airport.(I will fill you in on the big events yesterday in a different post later.)

Rick returns on the 22nd.

I am in survival mode.

I have stocked up on soda, ice cream and cookie dough, all the essentials for life without hubby.

Today, when I was at the grocery store, I was asked if I run a daycare. No, actually these are all my children.

I have packed our days in order to stay busy. We all seem to survive better if we are busy.

My kids are in the really bad place of fighting and aggravating each other relentlessly. That right there will wear me out quicker than anything.

I can't tell you how many times I have already said the phrase, "It won't hurt my feelings to send you all to your beds if you can't get along."

Laila wants chips at every meal, so I am starting to give foods a new name. Today at breakfast she had "cereal chips"(a.k.a. corn flakes). Tonight I am trying to convince her that peanut butter and crackers are "peanut butter chips."

Tonight is $1 scoop night at Baskin Robbins. We had dessert before dinner. A couple of my kids decided to buy additional scoops with their own money. Ice cream might be their whole dinner.

I was able to ichat with Rick today. It is always such a relief to me to see that he made it there safely. They are in Joburg for the night, and leave out for Swaziland early in the morning.

This is the first Vanguard trip that I have not been on. That is very hard for me. I got the team ready and sent them on their way to execute the ministry. It makes me sad, but I KNOW that I need to be home with my kids this year.

God keeps confirming that in so many ways.

So, while Rick is in Swaziland, we will be consuming a fair amount of sweets around here. It is ironic that our ministry is called "Beyond Survival." I feel like that is my goal right now moving "beyond survival" as a mom.

If you want to follow their trip, you can join the FB group "Beyond Survival" by clicking here.

4th of July

Our favorite 4th of July tradition is to go to the Monument, CO parade. It is a small town parade. It was held on July 3rd this year. So many people attend. It feels homey and "American" and fun and patriotic to be there. Our adventure in Swaziland actually began 4 years ago at this very parade when Rick was offered the opportunity to go on a Swazi Vision Trip. I signed him up for it on the spot, and now, 4 years later, Isaiah and Laila have been in our family for a year. We were standing across the street from a large group of friends that God opened up all of these doors through. We didn't plan where we would stand, but were so excited to see so many people who have supported us in this journey right there face-to-face with us through the whole parade. This year felt "monumental"(pun intended) having Isaiah and Laila there for the first time. It was kind of a "Full Circle Moment" like God closing one chapter and opening a new one. I have no idea what that means, but this whole year has kind of felt like that for me. It has a lot to do with us settling in to our life as a family of 8. We reached the milestone of having them home for a year. Who knows what God has for us next?!?!

The parade always starts with really loud guns. My kids aren't really very fond of that portion. We just plug our ears and wait for that part to be over.

Reaction to the guns.

Isaiah's first parade. He was thrilled about the candy!

Laila was not impressed at all with the parade. Our friends across the street said that they would watch her and she would just sit there the whole time. Something would drive by and her face was very stoic. I think the guns made her mad and she wasn't going to be entertained after that. She sat in my lap the whole time. It was like having a heater on me. I was soaking wet when she finally got up.

Abby

Love this expression on Isaiah's face!

Once again, Laila with an attitude.

All the kids want to get as much candy as they can. Sometimes they aren't as careful as they should be so we had to continually remind them to stay behind the white line and not go too far out in the road to get candy. At one point, Sam's friend, Luke, came up to me and said, "Where is Sam?" We lose a kid for a few seconds often, but usually it is not a big deal. It is just a matter of glancing around and finding them in the near vicinity. Everywhere I go, I find myself counting to 6 all the time to keep up with everybody. This time was different. Sam was NOWHERE around us. You know that sick feeling you get in your stomach when you can't find one of your kids? Well, I started feeling that. Then I started panicking thinking of all the stories I have heard of missing children. I am looking at the large crowd of people all wearing red, white, and blue and thinking, "Where in the world could he be and how are we going to find him?"

Rick started walking one direction, our friend Karen started walking the other and I was scanning every person around us. I was nearing the point of running out into the middle of the street, stopping the parade and telling everyone to look for my child. About 15 minutes later(that is my guess. It may not have been that long. It seemed like an eternity to me.) Rick comes walking back holding Sam. Sam is crying and scared.

Sam was running to get a piece of candy. He walked away from us to get it. When he stood up, he got turned around and didn't see us. He started walking in the wrong direction and then was lost. He had the wits about him to find a police officer. Rick found him with the officer. I was so glad he knew what to do. It scared him, and it scared us. Thankfully the story had a very happy ending!

Waiting and watching for candy

We are so thankful to live in this country and have the freedoms that we do!!

We are so thankful for all of the men and women who sacrifice for our freedom!!

Our day continued after the parade with a cookout at the Mortensen's house. The kids had fun exploring the woods. We ate lots of yummy food! We knew it was time to go when the kids came screaming through the woods! We thought there was a bear or mountain lion, but oh, no, it was a dog. Scary, but not nearly as dangerous as we thought. From that point on, everyone reached meltdown. It was a good day, but all good things must come to an end!

Our July 4th was spent at the Fowlers' house with lots of friends. Of course I didn't take any pictures there. We enjoyed eating, talking, and watching some fireworks in the cold rain. Only in CO.

Lauren's 10th Bday

July 1st was Lauren's 10th birthday. I will NEVER forget the day of her birth. Not only was it the most painful birth, but I almost had her in our car on the roads of Dallas. I was sent home from the hospital because my labor wasn't far enough along. The nurse did not listen to me when I told her that things progressed really fast with Cody at the end. So, off we went back home. After being there only a while, we loaded back up with me in excruciating pain all the way back to the hospital. When we arrived, my water immediately broke and Lauren was born within minutes. Thankfully, the dr. was at the hospital already visiting patients. He basically walked into the room and caught her in his street clothes.

Here she is at 9 mos old.

We always joke that Lauren had a mullet when she was little. Her hair grew really weird. It was hard to get it cut so she did have a period of time where it was "mullet-like." The mullet was not on purpose, it was just the result of weird cuts and weird hair growth.

Here is our pretty little girl!

Look how old she looks now!!

Her birthday started with a family breakfast of sausage, biscuits, gravy, eggs, and coffee. It was a great way to start the day.

Turning 10 is kind of a big deal around here. Many years on her bday, we are away on vacation. It was very important to her that we be in town on her bday so that she could celebrate with friends. She chose to have a Spa Sleepover. Everyone arrived @3:00.

We started with crafts and games.

Making heart candy necklaces

A game that we played was to decorate a paper plate with a face and makeup.

The girls then voted for their favorite!

We also played a game where they had to pick up candy hearts with chopsticks.

For her Bday dinner, Lauren chose pizza, mandarin oranges and lemonade.

For dessert, she chose a Smore's dessert.

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

Love pictures of mom and dad with the bday kid.

Our big gift on the 10th bday is $100!!

After opening gifts, the spa night began. We kicked Rick, the boys, and little kids out for the evening, and we opened our spa complete with Hawaiin music and lots of treatments.

We did foot soaks and pedicures.

Face Masks and head massages.

Lauren specifically requested cucumbers for their eyes.

The pretty painted toes with flowers on them!

They camped out in the basement in a tent.

Before going to bed, they watched "Night At The Museum 2"

and had buttered popcorn and chocolate popcorn.

Breakfast was donuts, bananas, and chocolate milk.

There was lots of giggling and silliness throughout the night. They had a great time. I am so glad we could make her big day special.

It looks like she is going to buy an American Girl Doll with her money. We are going to the store in Denver on Monday. She keeps asking every day about it.

Lauren,

You are growing up on me!! You are becoming a young lady. I love your heart of compassion for others. I love your desire to serve others and make them feel special. You are a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend to so many. I don't want you to ever lose your sensitive spirit. I look forward to seeing what God does in your life over the next year.

Love ya,

Mom

I Have a Confession

Some people like beer.

Some people like wine.

Some people like coffee.

I like soda. (Sweet tea and lemonade are favs as well.) Some things just taste better with soda, like pizza and Chipotle.

I know that High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for me.

I have tried the "natural" sodas and don't REALLY like them. I just tolerate them.

I have decided that a soda every now and then is okay.

I am not drinking diet sodas. I figure the artificial sweeteners are worse than the HFCS.

In Africa, the sodas are made with cane sugar. Why can't they do that here?

Cherry Pepsi is my drink of choice, especially when it is homemade, Pepsi with grenadine.

We are still not eating foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup and have figured out a pretty good groove on that one .

So, there you have it, my confession. I have to own it since I shared my fasting challenges with you.

My name is Laura, and I drink soda. Love me or leave me, faults and all.

Swamped

The final preparations are in full force for this year's Swazi Trip.

I am not going, but there is so much work on this side of the trip getting everything ready.

I have so many blog posts in my mind, but cannot even think about them until I get this work done.

The team leaves on Monday.

We met last night to pack our supplies. 12-50lb. bags packed. 3-50lb. bags left to go.

We are waiting on a shipment from Oriental Trading Company to finish things off.

I will be so relieved to have this work done. I have had an unbelievable amount of help. There is no way I could do it alone.

Hopefully, I can blog again about the events of our lives soon!!

Pray for our team. Pray for me as Rick is gone!!

Laila's Bday Gifts

Laila opened her bday gifts once we returned home. She got lots of fun stuff!!

She's ready

A new swimsuit and cover up from Papa and Grammy

She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

Some clothes from Papa and Grammy

A pillow from Grandma with a silk pillow case for her hair!

Some books from Mommy and Daddy

Doll stroller set from Mommy and Daddy

She loves it!!

She also got some hair bows from Papa and Grammy, a Walmart gift card from Grandma, some pajamas from Abby, and some money from her Aunt Kim and Uncle Andrew. The Goads got her a really cute dress that I can't wait to see her in. She really racked up on the gifts.

I have some really cute video clips of Laila that I am trying to figure out how to download so that you can all see her cute personality at this age. We'll see. I am not that tech savvy.