Category Archives: family outings
40 Days of Faith, Family, and Funnies
I sorta have a love-hate relationship with October.
Love the rain… hate the rain. Love that my girl has a birthday this month, hate that she’s growing up so quickly. Love the fall colors, hate the mud and muddy wet dog. Love feeling in the groove at school, hate feeling like conferences are too soon… how can it be time to prepare already?
And while one of the things I absolutely love about October is the fun family festivities: (going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, cozy family nights with hot cocoa, and decorating pumpkin cookies), October ends up being the month I hate the. very. most. for several reasons: the horrific TV previews, creepy disgusting evil things in stores, and political propaganda (which is generally deceitful and/or hateful) everywhere you look. From all the outcry on Facebook posts, I take it I’m not the only one who has had enough.
But ahhhh…. November. The month of thanksgiving. I’m sure thankful this peaceful, filled-with-thanks-and-joy month follows the creepy, filled-with-evil-and-hatred month. It’s certainly refreshing for the soul. And again, from all the Facebook posts of thanks, I take it I’m not the only one who finds the change much needed.
Even so, I decided not to do the “Thirty Days of Thanks” this year. I love reading the posts from others. I did the challenge last year, but I wasn’t good at keeping up at it, and mostly, I’m just not so good at being brief. (Matt just said, “Really? YOU? I never thought of you as someone who has a hard time being brief.” Do you hear his sarcasm even in writing??? Brat.)
But back to the thankful posts. I was inspired by them, and also by a friend who blogged a summary of her day-to-day life each day for 7 days. (She says her life is “average,” but I looked forward to her blog post each and every day.) So I decided to give myself a challenge: Instead of 30 days of Thanks, I will write (or will attempt to write) a brief post each day around the topics that I am most thankful for: Faith, Family, and Funnies (a.k.a. kid antics.) For 40 days. Or until I run out of things to say…
So why 40, you ask? Well, partly because in exactly 40 days, I will be officially on Christmas Break, so the posts will – in a sense – be a count down (or up, rather) to vacation. But honestly, it is mostly because of the alliteration. Yes, I’m that nerdy.
Well… I guess here we go.
Today’s post topic: Family. I was a little behind on my October posts, so this first one is easy.
Pumpkin Carving…
Matt ran to get pizza while the kids and I formed a plan and prepared the pumpkin carving area.
(Super excited kids = not looking at camera and blurry in pic.)
I sliced off the tops while Leesie began to scoop out the innards. She isn’t very thorough, but her hands did get inside each pumpkin (4 large, 5 small). Definitely a good effort.Jacob decided he didn’t like the looks of it and didn’t touch a single pumpkin. (Hmmm. Sounds like another male Priestman I know.) Eventually, I was facing the rest of the family fun task alone. Just me.
Just me and my Christmas music, that is.
Jacob wanted a Mickey Mouse pumpkin (fitting, since he picked out the pumpkin while at the patch with you, Auntie Jill.) The Mickey pattern seemed easy enough. It wasn’t. Or I’m not that good at it. But at least it’s recognizable.
Annalise wanted Rapunzel. A little more detail than Mickey, and the pattern was too large for the pumpkin. She got over the fact that I was cutting length off Rapunzel’s hair, which is really her only identifiable feature in a carving, and settled for the chin-length-hair-generic-princess look. Upon viewing my final product she said with surprise, “Well, it’s better than I thought at least. Thanks, Mom.” Then went back to playing in the other room. I decided against a close-up of this one.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted my pumpkin to be yet, but I had done this with the little pumpkins last year:
I wanted to do something similar this year. I carved out my letters:
By the way, that doesn’t spell HOPET. It is a cross at the end. It was suggested I add some space in between the E and the cross to make it easier to read. Noted.
Two large pumpkins left. I still wasn’t sure what to do with them. The UW logo wasn’t printing for me. The face I drew looked stupid. I decided to do a camera for Matt. The template didn’t work because it made the entire picture come out, leaving a gaping hole. (Don’t they know they have to leave parts connected to the rest of the pumpkin so a picture emerges?) So, I created a masterpiece with the chunk that fell out using my own imagination and about 50 toothpicks to piece it all together. When I was done, I called the family in to look. Matt wasn’t sure what it was. Annalise said, “It’s supposed to be a camera.” Jacob was clearly not impressed. I decided against a close-up of this one, too. And then I decided not to carve the last pumpkin.
The final product was ridiculously awesome, just as long as you squint your eyes and stand at least 20 feet away. But even this close, I think it didn’t turn out too bad, wouldn’t you say? And yes, there is a space between HOPE and the cross.
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What gender is YOUR food?
Jacob has made it known – without actually saying it – that he is a vegetarian. There is not a single meat he will eat, except maybe McDonald’s chicken nuggets, which you can’t really count as meat… or even food. So we avoid those. Which means then that yeah, he eats ZERO meat. I can’t even sneak it into stuff, because he won’t eat something that resembles a casserole or has an ingredient he can’t see. (Neither will his dad, but that’s another story.)
There are very few things Jacob will eat. I’m going to list what I’ve tried so you all know and can give me suggestions, which are welcome. Encouraged, actually:
- PB sandwiches, plain or with jam usually works. PB with honey? Nope. Unless he’s at Grandma’s.
- Beans? Sometimes. Re-fried with cheese and sour cream is a success about 50% of the time. Which, let’s face it, 50% of the time is a success. Green beans no more. Whole beans (kidney, black, other) about 10% of the time.
- Noodles? Never with a capital N.
- Fruit? Usually – because it’s sweet and sugary.
- Veggies? Only red, orange, or yellow bell peppers. Not green. The others are sweeter. (But technically, they’re a fruit, too. I won’t get into that, though, since it will likely result in my husband calling me a nerd.)
- Cheese? If it’s string cheese or Havarti slices from Costco packs. Yes, he’s that picky. Or orange Tillamook cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Bagels? Sometimes. With cream cheese usually, but then he sometimes just licks the cream cheese off.
- Oatmeal? With brown sugar and blueberries. (a.k.a. “Bare-boobies.” For those of you that don’t know that special story, I’ll post it below.)
- Yogurt? Usually. But not plain greek, which is about the only kind not full of sugary stuff or other junk. (Let me know if you know of a good idea there.)
- Chips, crackers, fruit snacks and any other processed garbage full of sugar? OF COURSE! Only, we don’t like to buy that stuff, so…
That’s it! Other than that, I’m out of luck. Most of his meals include a PB sandwich and a cheese stick, with hopefully some fruit or bell peppers (not green.)
Today’s lunch menu was a grilled cheese sandwich, a banana, and a glass of milk. I need to go grocery shopping. It was either that or PB, which I get tired of watching him eat.
Annalise and I sat eating ours, while Jacob sat with a scowl. Something like this face he gave to my cousin after being asked to eat a hot dog. (I forgot to inform Andy that Jacob doesn’t eat meat… even hot dogs):a
Yep, that’s my strong-willed little boy. I have no idea where he gets it from.
“Jacob, you need to eat your grilled cheese sandwich, please.” I started gently.
“NOPE! I. NOT. GONNA.” He was a little more firm in his reply.
“But you like grilled-cheese sandwiches! Mommy made you something special that I know you like!”
“Nope, I DO NOT LIKE THEM!”
Annalise, observing the forming struggle turned to me and whispered, “Mommy, you’re calling it a girl–cheese sandwich! No wonder he doesn’t like it!” She turned to her brother, “Jacob! Silly mommy just forgot. MINE is a girl-cheese sandwich. YOURS is a boy-cheese sandwich. Will you eat it now?”
Jacob paused, looked at it for a bit, his furrowed brow softened. And then he laughed, “Silly mommy! I am not a gew-wohl. I will eat my boy-cheese sandwich.”
And he did. Silly me. Dogs eat dog food. Of course boys eat boy food and girls eat girl food. Duh.
And now, the blueberry story. In case you didn’t already know:
Jacob loves, loves, LOVES, blueberries. Last year, he asked for them all the time. Only he called them “bare-boobies.” I found it utterly hilarious and laughed every time (like an 8-year old boy… remember? My husband found me awfully immature,) until I found myself in the produce section of Costco with my 1 year old in the cart screaming with excitement while waving his arms, “BARE-BOOBIES!!!!!!!!!!!” Then I just wanted to crawl under the bananas and die. The end.
Paid in Full
Matt and I have had our fair share of car issues. I’d say more than our fair share, actually. Since I was in college, every single time I got a little extra cash, something went wrong with my car and said cash was used to pay for it. Seriously. Every. Single. Time. The pattern continued into our dating years and – since I believe in sharing everything – I even brought the problem with me into our marriage. (You’re oh-so-welcome, Husband.) One car issue after another, always right when money wasn’t quite as tight but quickly becomes even more so after fixing the car.
I won’t mention any names, but one of us always throws fits when this happens… when the extra cash gets wasted on car problems instead of on bills, or updating furniture, or fun trips, or goals, or going into savings, or… or…anything other than bringing us right back to where we were before the stupid car broke down.
The other one of us looks at the glass half-full and is grateful for the blessing of God’s provision… money in hand right when it was needed.
This may be a dead giveaway as to which one of us is which but… Hmph. Blessing-shmessing.
This year has been no different. Lots of car issues and lots of “extra” funds down the oil-drain. So I know how pumped my wonderful husband must have felt when he came home one night this summer, led me by the hand into the living room, held my hand open and placed a set of van keys in my palm. “I love you,” he said. “It’s ours… paid in full.”
…Silence…
More silence. And staring. Only not the “you are so incredible and I am so amazed at this wonderful gift” kind of staring. It was more like, “You did what? You bought WHAT???” kind of staring.
I am absolutely certain my dear Husband did not expect that kind of reaction. In silence, he led me out to the new van where the kids sat in every leather seat and touched every button as they squealed with excitement. Matt pointed out a few features while watching me and waiting for a reaction, some sign that I wasn’t going to explode. “You ok?” He asked several times, uncertainty in his voice.
I just nodded in silence, not even looking at him.
Husband is no idiot. He knows a silent-nod-without eye-contact means I am absolutely not ok. He just didn’t know why I wasn’t ok. I mean, a new van (because he knew I wanted a mini-van or something similar… potential to grow a family, you know.) Very few miles on it, and car problems no more (because he knew that after 17 years of driving and 17 years of car headaches, I could use a break.) No stress of having to go through the car hunting (because he knew it would totally and completely stress me out.) No tension in the car buying/dickering (because he knew that would stress me out even more.) Purchased at a very good price (because he knows I love a good deal.)
And the best news of all? NO CAR PAYMENTS. The new van was Paid. In. Full.
Unfortunately, I have this little problem. Call it stubbornness. Call it pride. Call it whatever you’d like. The fact is, I reacted in a manner that would make you think the only thing he had given me was a headache. Or maybe also a bathroom scale, I was that mad.
Silence on the outside, but loud angry thoughts on the inside: “How DARE he? He didn’t even ask my opinion!! Maybe I like it, but WHAT IF I DIDN’T??? SO WHAT if he saved me tension, stress, and grief?… Maybe I WANT the tension, stress, and grief! SO WHAT if he knows more about this stuff?…I DIDN’T EVEN GET A SAY in it! HOW. DARE. HE???”
My reaction was saying, “Yes, I want a vehicle. And yes, I’ll take it already paid for. But I want it MY WAY.”
No worries, though. Eventually, I came around. I love the van. I apologized for my reaction. Dear Husband was forgiving and full of grace. And I am so very grateful for the gift – no headaches or tension in the process – and especially that it was paid in full.
That phrase has whirled around in my head for a while now…. paid in full… This isn’t the first time I’ve reacted to a gift like that. To a gift that was paid in full. I have a problem, maybe I’m not the only one who does. It’s an “I didn’t get a say!” problem. An “I could’ve done it better!” problem. Because isn’t that exactly how I’ve reacted to Jesus?
Jesus’ gift of life. His death on the cross. An amazing gift – the most amazing gift – my debt, paid in full. No, I don’t have loud angry thoughts flooding my mind screaming “I DON’T WANT THIS GIFT!” On the contrary, my words and thoughts say how grateful I am, that I accept this gift wholeheartedly and with humility.
It is my behavior that says otherwise. Little choices or big attitudes. Every time I experience a disappointment, a hiccup in my “plan”, or I’m discontent in my circumstances. My discontentment just says, “THIS is what you have for me, God? I think maybe I could’ve done it better! No, I DEFINITELY could’ve done it better.”
Each time I’m angry or frustrated at what comes my way, I’m saying (without saying it), “YOU DIDN’T EVEN GIVE ME A SAY! You may know more – lots LOTS more – but even so, THANKS, BUT NO THANKS.”
Each time I choose to live with my hands closed, not accepting what He has for me and clinging to what I already have, my actions say it loud and clear… “SO WHAT if you see the bigger picture. I don’t like your way.”
Each time, my reaction is saying, “Yes, I’ll take this gift. Yes, I’d like my debt of sin paid in full. But I think I’ll do it MY WAY, thankyouverymuch.”
But the truth is, God is no idiot. He knows my thoughts from afar and He is familiar with all my ways (Psalm 139:2-3). He knows what I need before I ask Him (Matthew 6:8). He knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper and not to harm me (Jeremiah 29:11). The truth is, He knows.
Unfortunately, I still have this problem. Call it stubbornness. Call it pride. Call it human nature. Call it whatever you’d like. The truth is, it is sin. Eventually – hopefully – I come around. Eventually – hopefully – I recognize and then apologize for my reaction. And thankfully, He is always – always – forgiving and full of grace.
And I am so grateful for His gift – this gift for me – and for you – that was paid in full.
Eyes to the Hills 