Project 365, Week 35

August 21

My favorite quote from today: "One of my favorite prayers goes: “Thank you, Lord, for the blessings that abound us, the beauty that surrounds us, for your grace that astounds us and for the mysteries that confound us.” The solar eclipse is a useful reminder of the humility with which we must consider our place in the universe. It is also a testimony to the wonders of the human intellect that we can track the movement of celestial bodies with such rigor and precision. 
I see it as a hopeful sign that this eclipse captured the nation's attention. For all that divides us, we are passengers on a global journey - together."--Dan Rather

Because we are us...welder's masks! :) What fun!!!

August 22
We left for the city at 4 AM to go to the cancer center for the day like we've done dozens of times. Only this time I was not the patient. We are walking this scary, life-changing journey with some friends and we encouraged them to take advantage of being within driving distance of the top cancer hospital in the world. Knowing New York City can be daunting for rookies, we escorted them for the day. It was heavy, hard and holy.

August 23
Amanda and Alayna can play barbies for hours, though Aiden doesn't usually agree to get roped in. If he sees this picture, he may ask me to strike it from the record. ;) (At least they gave him Ken! Ha!)

Poor Baby Gavin never gets any attention. :)

August 24
It was looking like it might not happen this year, but Shaun had basically promised Aiden some fishing time in the Maine, so we snuck away for a few days to the cabin. It was the teens first time in a canoe!

August 25
Fishing and campfires were the main activity, but we did do some games, too.

Successful fishing, I might add.

August 26
We drove up to Moosehead Lake on a beautiful day for an ambitious hike with the gang.

August 27
Sunrises are my favorite.

Project 365, Week 34

I set a goal to use my actual camera (not just the one on my phone) each day this week, as a way of being deliberate about taking photos and for practice. I am a noticer of beauty and pictures are an expression of my gratitude. These pictures aren't exclusively from my "big camera" but I did manage to use it each day and it was fun.  

August 14

First day of 9-3 soccer skills camp. They smiled here, but actually there was a fair amount of whining happening. Do we have to go? Why did you sign me up?? Argh!

After pick-up, I thought maybe I should sweeten the deal a little with sugar, since the satisfaction of sweat and hard work wasn't getting it done for them. ;)

August 16

Men at work.

How great is our God?!

Working on a model WWII plane.

August 17
The girls tried on uniforms so we could take inventory of what we have, what we need. Incredibly, Amanda moves from jumper to skirt and vest this year as she enters MIDDLE school. What is happening??

With the teens off in other places for the evening, we set out for a little "us five" time.

Real life snapshot. Hey moms of little kids...before you know it, they will be doing a wide variety of chores. You will not be the sole kitchen cleaner forever.

August 18
Amanda's new game with the dog...Chase the Zipliner. All the better if you are wearing shin guards and a bright pink bathrobe while doing it. ;)

First soccer practice for Amanda's team. Shaun has made enough of a reputation for himself over the last couple seasons that they asked him to coach the competition team. I'm so proud of him. Everything he does is with excellence, even coaching U12 girls.

August 19
After two weeks at ranch camp, it was finally time to pick up J! We missed her so much and it was great to be back with her. She's such a bright light and a good buddy.

We stopped for lunch to celebrate the reunion.

August 20

All on their own, the four girls went shopping for school supplies. They carefully shopped for the best deals, and reasoned that they could make do with the package of cheap pens instead of the expensive ones. Or the plain folders instead of the designer ones. They used the self check out so they could double check the items on their list and make sure the prices were right. It was our first run at something like that and it went great. They had fun and spent much less if I'd been there.

Dinner on the porch and family game night makes this mama happy.

Project 365, Week 33

This week we managed to farm out nearly all of the children, leaving us with just one 17-year old who worked during the day. It was such good timing for Shaun and I to get some extra time to be together, to heal emotionally and to get some work done. Turns out that makes for some boring or non-existent photos, so many of these were sent to me.

August 7

As with most government agencies, the Department of Children and Families requires a great deal of paperwork. The administration piece of being a foster mom can be a part-time job.

Cousins in Maine!

August 8
I live in wonder of God's creation and sometimes I'm compelled to pull the car over and breathe it in.

With no kids with me at Shaun's softball game, I got my nephew all to myself!

August 9
Aiden helped Pop with the nursing home service.

Tubing at the cabin!

August 10
Hydrangeas are one of my very favorites.

Hiking part of the Adirondack Trail.

August 11
Happy fishermen. :)

Gavin had a little cold, so he was feeling extra snuggly. He kept giving Aiden hugs and kisses while they were reading a book together. (All the heart eyes!!)

August 12
Back together (all but J)!!

August 13
Sunday evening chill on a perfect summer evening.

August's 10 on 10

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month (Thursday).

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day! }

Shaun and I took H out to breakfast.

Making returns and shopping for supplies for the other house.

K has worked as a counselor at a small kid's camp this summer. This was their last day, so I brought a fruit salad to their cookout and watched her in action for a bit. She's a hard worker and I'm proud of her for having something to show for her summer. Also, a couple weeks she brought Ginger for the day, so when the kids found out I was K's mom, they were all asking where's your dog?? She's so nice...she doesn't bite or bark! :)

Working from home, with my kid-made treasures that the girls stuck to my computer many years ago.

Manual labor at the other house with a trusty sidekick.

Pretty things.

Progress.

Working at the office. Yes, with just one kid at home for most of the week, we worked a lot. I love this family photo from many years ago that sits on my desk....so blessed.

We had Ray and Quinn over for dinner. Life is hard when you are first starting out and still have so much growing to do but they both understand that who their Source is. Ray's doing things imperfectly but making progress and it was encouraging to spend some time with them. I took a private moment to remind Ray that he's got a good thing going with Quinn and he should treat her like she's the best thing that ever happened to him. ;)