Cabin Sweet Cabin

Our trip started out a bit slow and later than normal despite our good preparation but we finally got out of our house and on our way the morning of the 24th. The day was perfect for driving...overcast and in the mid 70's so it was pretty comfortable the whole way. We made our normal stops for gas and stretching out at the park. There is this sweet wooden park that the kids love to play yet this year held a sad suprise...we quickly learned that the gas station bathroom is cleaner than the one at the park HOWEVER the gas station bathroom is far more LUDE than the park bathroom even though they removed all the doors, YIKES! ..physical dirt or spiritual dirt...no brainer we hovered at the park and shielded each other :D Anyways, I am sure you all wanted to know that haha!  We did finally make it! So here are some pics of the inside as requested by a few friends.

 Here it is our living/dining/kitchen

The kids room :)

and a poor picture of my view out the front...I will see if I can do better next trip haha!

When we arrived we did the normal unpack and let the kids run like crazy people before bed thing which worked out good until evening when the great decision of who goes fishing with dad first. The winner was Alexis! She came back all smiles as she quietly told us of the CAT fish that they caught. Now I have never seen a catfish in real life before and I have to say Those are some U-G-L-Y looking fish hahaha! Obviously I took pictures. Each kid (except the baby, poor Kendra!) got their turn fishing with dad. Kayla noticed a rubber rat in the boat and asked if that was catfish bait...hehe goofy girl! I love that! I am so thankful for a husband that desires to spend quality time with his kids.

cute isn't he! EWW!

Oh but atleast that guy in the pic is a looker :)

Oh and look at that keeper! the fish is nice too :)

Of course mom has to have something special too so I started ladder ball (hillbilly golf to some) tournaments with the kids (sorry no pics of that I was busy wooping everyone haha.) Even Kendra can throw the balls onto the ladders. SOOO CUTE! We all perfected our "oh yeah" dances as we got better and better at the game. There was however a debate over who won the game between Matthew and I. I say I did. He says he did. We played three games and I won two, however, he won the final one. Hmmmmm!!!!! Apparently that makes him the "champion" because we all know that whomever wins last is the reigning champion right? WRONG! :D, I say I win, because everyone knows that in order to be in the championship you have to EARN your way there by winning a set number of games and proving that you are a worthy competitor ;) so therefore the best out three means round one is MINE! hahaha OK so this obviously is very important and the discussion will continue as the summer goes on.
Oh yes lets not forget that Matthew and Alexis celebrated their birthdays on this trip as well so now Matthew is a young 34 and Alexis is a very OLD girl the age of 5.

 As you can see, it was very eventful trip. So event-filled that much of it has flown from my memory. Kayla and I did make Matthew birthday cake, lemon cake with lemon frosting. We spread the celebration out a little and had his birthday breakfast the day after his birthday and waited to take him to ice-cream until the wind picked up and it was impossible to get on the lake to fish a couple days later. I am constantly amazed at how windy it can get up there and yet what a blessing it is because the cabin does not ventilate well without it. Alexis celebrated her birthday in the van on the way home. We had pizza in the park and then drove through McDonalds to get her and only her a birthday shake. This brought MANY grumbles from the back but hey a girl has to have something special on her birthday if she is to spend it in a van that is 96*...but that is jumping ahead to the end of our trip so lets back it up again :)

In the UP you never know what type of weather you will get so I am pleased to say it was beautiful!!!! I could not have asked for nicer days and cool evenings. Though it was breezy and didn't allow for much fishing after the first few days it was a balmy 80* most days and sunny. We swam and swam and swam some more. Each night our tub looked like we brought the beach back with us and it was a fabulous problem!

 The problem with five crazy kids....is no one ever looks at the camera all at the same time. Out of ten pictures in a row these are the two that turned out the best hahahahaha!

looking cool Z ;)

Then there was the lounging...

 Lazy bums LOL!

We did take time out of our extremely busy schedules to go sight seeing. We went to http://www.exploringthenorth.com/seulchoix/seul.html this light house and took in all the history and sights surrounding it. I even got my customary coffee mug to prove that we were there and remind me in the mornings of places we have been ;) fun little habit huh. We enjoyed the private beach that we walked down to and were rewarded later with poison ivy from our hike, but what can I say...some things just must be explored.

Kendra says "cmon mom quit being slow!"

These are oil storage sheds used before electricity

The light house

a wild rose

My loves!

as close to a group shot as possible right? take one with dad then mom hahaha!

Me and Andrea from the top of the lighthouse

KENDRA!

Z!

Ms. K and little A doing their water dance :)

All the white looking shells there...Zebra mussels! they were at least a foot deep! The kids kept pocket fulls much to the washing machines delight.

Matthew and I tried to do more work on our new pole barn but we didn't have the proper tools so that project will have to wait. We also did some more improvements in decor. Put in a new tv that takes up less space and put a dresser in place of the open shelving so that we can have movies out of sight and out of mind. And last but certainly not least we replaced the stove...It looks much larger and much cleaner in there now! We also put in a wireless weather station so that we know exactly how hot it is inside and outside of the cabin. A blessing and a curse??? Then we know how miserable we should be if it is hot hahahaha! JK! It is pretty great to have and helpful since it tells the forecast for the day too. Then we know if we should stick around the lake or go to one of the big lakes ;)  
I am missing all kinds of great news from the trip but seriously how do you write every wonderful detail right...We had a really great time as always despite our lower penninsula stresses following us up this time. Our life is blessed and we are thankful. Peace to you all as we are off on our next adventure in a few days and I have packing to do. <3



Memorial day at the cabin

Fishing at the cabin is the ultimate adventure. Sometimes the fish are abundant and other times they are shy and no where to be found. The joy of sitting in a boat with the sun shining down on your shoulders, the waves gently rocking you and the silence encompassing you is priceless! and when there isn't silence it is sweet too because it means that the little ones are chattering and enjoying their time out with you. This weekend was the annual Walleye Jamboree. Matthew, Andrea, Kayla, and Alexis all entered. Matthew had a bit of trouble on the way to the cabin figuring out how he was going to get equal fishing time for all the girls. As it turned out he went out early in the morning alone, Then returned for the girls for a mid-day trip and then went back out alone in the evening. Kayla came out ahead of the other girls this year by getting the two Walleye on the far right end. She was rewarded at the dinner with a brand new fishing pole for her efforts! Andrea was able to get one nice one (3rd in starting from the right) and she chose a bag of pink bobbers as her reward at the dinner. Alexis caught a nice one the next day and she was given a new tackle box that had some odds and ends in it for fishing. Matthew...he got his limit to turn in each day and then some. He didn't place in the top ten but they gave him a nice fish magnet that is for the side of a truck but now graces the refrigerator at the cabin.

After the competition was done Matthew, Zachary and myself went to try our luck. We came back with four nice ones. I caught my very first walleye which you can see me proudly displaying. LOL! Zachary wanted to hold a fish. sort of but we didn't know which was his so we let him hold mine. He has found a new love for fishing since getting his first bluegill on the end of Grandpa Thompson's dock.


Back at the cabin during the competition the little ones and I had a good time. We hung out on the beach most of the days. Zachary became a lot braver in the water since he was dressed as spider man and really enjoyed his time floating about. Now of course I have to watch a lot closer haha. I weeded out the sand pit and the kids enjoyed making me castles and icecream cones (cute set I bought for Z's birthday) They even got to play with the neighbors grandkids for a little while which was also fun for them since other children up there are far and few between. I as normal burnt to a crisp and the kids all browned up nicely. Kendra has the brownest little head that is accented right now by her bleach blonde hair. So cute! On Monday we had friends stop in and visit for the day. Us girls sat with kids on the beach and the guys went fishing ofcourse since this time the getting was good. Our friend Joe and his dad came up for fishing and popped in as well. I love company! and since it was raining it was fun to listen to the guys play cards and banter back and forth.

Overall it was a very relaxing trip and we had a ton of fun. Kayla topped the week off by making a new friend.

Kayla is our lover of all things living. She is passing this love on to her sisters as I was given a nice bucket of leaches and crawfish on the beach several times during the week. I LOVE IT!

Abby and Alex's house part 2

So how much do you love that I didn't do part two of this until a rainy day when I finally remembered. Anyways, Now I am foggy on details but on the weekend we went to the Civil war reinactment and that was pretty neat. I can't find my camera cord so most of my pictures are on the video camera still. Here are two that were on the regular one before the batteries died.

Then we visited Abby and Alex's church on Sunday morning and the kids enjoyed their awana program in the evening while Matthew and I went on a date. Ok, a semi date (haha) since Zachary would not go to awana and Kendra was not old enough. We went to sonic for shakes and ofcourse we all liked that alot! On monday I think it was we went to the park and had a blast! What a great place. They not only had two different parks in one for the smaller and older kids but a water pad! It was so cool...here are some pics. Plus I was finally able to meet Kristie. She is Abby's best friend and I have come to know her through facebook so it was too short of a visit but very sweet to get to meet her and her boys.

A Day for Zachary

My son is three. It is a weird feeling to see him at three and know that the time has drifted so quickly by, but it has and we are here. Zachary's day was an exceptional day! He started out with his birthday breakfast. Matthew has taken our kids for birthday breakfasts since the older girls were about three. So this was Zach's first birthday breakfast. After going to McDonalds and "puking" up his eggs which apparently were gross and he spit them everywhere he and Matthew went to the fire station. Here is the pictoral of their trip.

After the visit to the fire station he came home for birthday pizza and baking with mom. We made his cake and then we had a very nice birthday dinner in the evening with the family and our friend Joe who also happened to be Matthew's coworker for the evening. Here are some more pics :)

Then last week we did an official birthday party for him with the grandparents and a couple of aunts. We also had pizza that night. It was super fun to see him love his cake (you will soon see why!) and to enjoy all his gifts. He got all types of boy stuff! Which is good since not only is he a boy but stands in need of boy things.

Now he moves on into his fourth year. We hope and pray that he will grow tender to the gospel and that he will become more obedient but not less fun ;)

When the rain of your soul threatens to drown you

Whining starts. Tempers flare. Ugliness... The gray sky screams of captivity. Captivity in my home. Captivity to my thoughts. Captivity to my temper. Lighting flashing, thunder growling, rain threatens. How do I make something beautiful out of such a mess! To restore my house to grace and dignity. To find peace. "Humility. Softly whispered to my heart...be humble. Be gentle. Be tenderhearted. DAUGHTER! be like Me...." Tears flow and I realize yet again my need for my Savior. My need for forgiveness as I raise these tender ones. As I either bring them to the sun and water their souls with that which promotes the life giving nurture of the King or I shade them in my anger, frustration, and irritation and leave them dry allowing my feelings of the day to overshadow everything as I with hold the thing that their souls so desperately need, Grace. That unmerrited favor, that life giving hope. Oh how I do not want to leave them dry and parched for love, for tenderness, for peace and joy! Tears flow like the rain and I find myself kneeling before the young and asking them for the forgiveness that I am so undeserving of but crave and earnestly seek. Then yet again, like multiple times before a child leads as restoration is given freely and lovingly and my soul is released from the ugliness of being in the wrong. Isn't this just like our Lord? To show us through relationship that we stand in need of Him? To show us that no matter how great and mighty we feel we are that there is someone else that needs to be elevated and ministered to? I am humbled as I think on this thought and the Holy Spirit gives my spirit this verse as He ministers to me... Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think ; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith ; 7 if service, in his serving ; or he who teaches, in his teaching ; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation ; he who gives, with liberality ; he who leads, with diligence ; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." Reflection: How am I as a parent teaching my child to be part of the body of Christ? How am I showing them the humility and grace and fiathfulness of God with my actions? Their gifts and abilities are not necessarily the same as mine, so how am I encouraging them to use their specific gifts with diligence...am I showing mercy and cheerfulness in my tasks? My soul sighs deeply...the weight of responsibility feels overwhelming! and yet there is this: Psalm 31:3 "For You are my rock and my fortress ; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me."