I really enjoyed our church service this morning – the sermon was “Every Member Has a Song to Sing“.
Here’s the centering prayer that got us started today, I liked it so I’ll share it: “Composer of life and love, we confess that sometimes our songs come out all wrong. We can sound like a warped record – scratchy and unpleasant. We can feel like a cassette tape stretched to its breaking point. We can look like a scratched CD, marred by strife. We can be overloaded like an iPod beyond its capacity. Our music, which starts out with so much joy, ends up sounding like dirges. We know you can bring harmony back into our lives. Help us hear the song we each need to sing and accompany us with the tune of your grace.”
As Colleen keeps searching for her song in life, here’s what’s on her mind now that she’s 10 years old!!!
My favorite food is…chocolate ice cream
When I grow up I want to be an…artist
My favorite restaurant is…Noodles & Co (still)
My favorite possession is…Nintendo DSI (had to change this one from “My favorite stuffed animal is”…she’s growing up!)
My favorite color is…yellow (wouldn’t have guessed this one)
My favorite song is…Fireflies (by Owl City)
My favorite holiday is…Halloween (wouldn’t have guessed this one either)
My favorite season is…summer (because there is no school)
My favorite thing to do is…draw
If I could do anything tomorrow I would…go up north to Grand Marais
We had another sleepover for Colleen’s birthday party. It went great. Once again Beth did an awesome job planning and preparing. Colleen said she was too old for theme’s but we started with a scavenger hunt in the backyard and then moved to three craft stations inside (jewelry making, nail painting, and tie dying). During the scavenger hunt a few of the girls said “your yard is awesome” and “this is the best yard ever” – that’s cool that they really like it and are starting to appreciate things like that. I put in several new paths this year which I think made it better overall.
Here’s the hidden toy (Barbie) that was hardest for everyone to find…
Papa made a 4-layer chocolate cake while he was here…yummy!
Guess who was in charge of tie dying (again)???
Colleen has a great bunch of friends and it’s neat to see them starting to grow up and become individuals. They are definitely becoming less shy – here are some of the topics I started jotting down during about 20 minutes of pizza eating for dinner: burping the alphabet; kissing on lips; swearing on something precious to hear a secret; crushes – followed by “he’s weird”; this teacher is pregnant but so & so told me not to tell anyone; “the stench is alive” (that was a well-earned comment directed by a girl sitting close to Christopher); everybody who gets married gets pregnant; one of the girl’s dad took her Nintendo DS and hid it in his underwear drawer – she said that was disgusting and would rather have a new one than to use it after it had been near his underwear; my brother cut my hair in my sleep and gave me sideburns; my brother sleeps with gum behind his ear so he can chew it the next day; diarrhea; barf; would you rather stick your head in a toilet or kiss a boy – most hands went up for the toilet option but a few stayed silent on that one…oh boy, I don’t think I’m ready for the topics that will come up next year. Good thing they only stayed on each topic for about 20 seconds and didn’t ask us for advice 🙂
Needless to say, we survived the party and are probably insane enough to do the same thing next year!
Oops, missed this picture from last time. Megan getting on the bus her first day.
And Megan playing and dancing with her favorite toy 🙂
One of our good friends (Pam) has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is starting treatment. Beth and Pam spent a lot of time together when the kids were younger while her husband and I played broomball on the weekends. Please keep them in your prayers.
Time for me to go sing…
Still need to pack for my trip tomorrow a.m., so won’t chat much.
Really enjoyed the recent updates, start of school, camping, birthday party, etc. Didn’t see a picture of Beth heading to her first day at the new job. Hope it is going well. I always enjoy the birthday favorites, keep ’em coming. Can’t believe Colleen is 10 already – get ready for the teen years. Shouldn’t be a problem though, your heading on the right path to make them good years for all. Not to give you any ideas, but mom and I could have blackmailed all of the girls at the ice cream stand. Girls aren’t too shy about what they share with their friends. Keep singing and keep having fun – it’s only just beginning.
Better go pack and get to bed. Mom has to drop me off before she goes to the Soup Kitchen.
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve checked out your blog. You would think I have tons of time with me being on maternity leave, but I am so tired after spending my days with Sarah and Rose (and Stella – Erik surprised us with a new puppy), that I don’t even want to be on-line. I have to tell you that you and your family are Erik and my inspiration for our family. You guys do so much, and are raising your kids to be active respectful. Erik and I hope to be able to raise our kids with as much love and fulfillment in their lives. You are also inspiring me to get working on my blog. I started it over a year ago, and haven’t updated it in about that long. It is so great to hear about what you guys are up to.
Happy Birthday to Colleen!
Yah – get that blog going! Thanks for the kind words – we all do what we can it rarely feels like enough. A new puppy? Wow. What kind? I can’t imagine not wanting to be on-line – that’s crazy talk! Take care – hello to all. We finally got around to sending you something (sorry it took so long)…hopefully you get that soon.
Ditto to everything both dad and Katherine said. I think it’s great the kids want to have their parties at home and that you take the time to plan them. Sounds like everyone had a fantastic time. That cake looked yummy. Dad comes home tomorrow. Sounds like he’s had a good time with Grandma. We’ll try to call sometime this week. Keep up the good work. Oh, I loved the prayer – it’s a keeper.