Too early

You know it's too early when your kids get you up and the sun's not even up yet...and it's still summer!

You know it's too early when you get 5 loads of laundry done before 11 o'clock lunch because you started when your kids got you up.

You know it's too early when you eat breakfast and are hungry again by 8am.

You know it's too early when you feel like you need a nap at 10am because you've already been up for 5 hours.

My baby brother's married!

It's been about a month since the wedding, but I wanted to share some of the pictures from the big day. (Yes, I like the sepia setting on my camera!) I finally have some pictures of me with my family, not to mention a new cute one of me and my hubby! It was a fun weekend and a great part for me was not only watching the new couple having a great time, but also both of my moms having a great time together.

Strength in numbers

Every day last week for 3 hours each morning, we were part of a wonderful world called Vacation Bible School. Jason & I have been the directors for the St. Ed's VBS for the past 2 years and this year the idea was to combine with another church because they do the same VBS program usually around the same time, and another church asked to come as well. The event was a success!

First of all, the planning was so much easier and less stressful for the most part. It made it so much easier to have a few duties rather than the entire thing on our own. We held it at the other church because they are set up better for this sort of VBS than we are and since school is starting earlier this year, it would have been difficult at St. Ed's. Also, thankfully, they had air conditioning! It was a week of over 90 degree weather and tropical-like humidity. It would have been absolutely miserable at St. Ed's!

We estimated around 100 kids, and we had 123 signed up when all was said and done. Not to mention around 30 volunteers to help with teaching, snacks, crafts, games, and songs! There were also so many people that donated time or money or food and helped out with the fundraiser meal. We all had a great time celebrating God's Word & everlasting love for us as one Christian community, as it should be. (Did I mention that it was the Catholics & Lutherans, as well as all invited?)

By the end, we were completely exhausted but spiritually rejuvenated and excited about the fruits that are springing forth from it. Most of the neighborhood kids were there & one girl invited the girls to a new "bible club" get together in her back yard. It was cute and we look forward to continuing the ecumenical conversations with our fellow Christians and growing in our faiths together as we seek God's truth.

It's over...or is it??

The Minneota Mudhens season is officially over, with a successful but losing summer. Jason had a blast with the guys and having AJ tag along with him as the team's bat boy and I wonder if it's something they'll be able to let go of come next year. Jason had what I think is a great year, considering he's the oldest one on the team, other than the coach. He was just over .300 batting average, was 2nd in RBI's (I think he tied, though) and was one of only 3 players to get a home run this season, with that one being during the last game at his last at-bat. It was pretty cool. You can get more info from the team's website here.

AJ will especially miss his new mentor, Tyson, whom he calls "Ty-Ty". At one point this summer, I had threatened him with the "you-won't-be-able-to-go-to-the-game" incentive, at which he threw back, "That's OK, Mom. Ty-Ty won't be there anyways." Feeling bad for Daddy, I mentioned it to him & he just laughed & said he's not surprised. Tyson was constantly looking out for AJ, and their big thing was making sure that AJ had his "eye black" on to match.

The Myhre boys in their Mudhens attire.

Future "ace" for the Mudhens? Maybe Tyson will be playing when he's in his 30's so him and AJ can play together. Maybe he'll be a mentor to Tyson's kids...

I just had to have some pictures to remember how small he was during this all...

So, we'll see what happens when next season rolls around. Right now, Jason hasn't given a definite "yes" or "no" and just sort of playing the "Farve" card. So until we know more about where our path on this journey leads, we'll have to continue to discern where God is in the middle of it all and whether Jason feels he's being called to do it again. As much as I was ready for the season to end, I did enjoy watching him play ball again. Being a part of that has kicked him into high gear about taking care of himself and being healthy, and that's just one of the fruits of this whole experience that our family was a part of.

Breaking up is hard to do

Look at that face! Who could NOT fall in love with that?! After a week of cuddling and nurturing this little furry one, our hearts and wills were tested when a little girl came to the door claiming that this was the cat she lost a week ago. My first reaction..."How did she know that we found it?" Then, "What am I going to tell the kids? How are they going to take this news? Maybe we can find a way to convince her to let us keep it." As I racked my brain trying to decide what to do, I knew it in my heart that the best thing to do was to return her and do it lovingly and supportively.

I gathered up all that we had accumulated in a week, with a note for the mom, and walked sadly with the kids to help the girl carry kitty to her house and say our last good-byes. We approached a tough-looking, small apartment above one of the downtown businesses and felt in my mind that she may be going somewhere that may not necessarily be able to afford a cat, but I knew it wasn't my place to assume that and at that point I put it into God's hands and used it as a lesson for my children.

Laney took it especially hard, but she was strong and I told her that if we lost a pet and someone found it, we would hope that they would return it as well, and I told her that if God wanted us to have a cat, He would send one our way. We returned home to an emptiness that I didn't think I would feel after just a week, but there was a sense of a loss.

Much to our surprise, not much later, the little girl shows up again and says we can have the kitty back. She said her mom said they were moving soon and couldn't have a cat there. I was happy and confused. I wondered if my care note had struck the mom & she knew we were taking good care of this little kitten. Maybe it was our family gathered around this furball to say good-bye, or maybe it's just that they are moving.

I think of the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac and having to give up something you've grown so close to, because you know it is the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurts. In the end, we trusted God and why this happened, and just like Abraham, the outcome was filled with joy as well as being a learning experience. I know that it compares nothing to what he went through, but along the entire ordeal, I had to fight what I wanted verses what I knew was the right thing to do and it all ended up working out in the end.

Last week, that little girl was yelling mean things at my girls...today she spent the afternoon playing with them at our house. Maybe we did more than just give back a kitten...that's my hope anyways.

(Oh, we renamed her "SuzyCat" or "Susie", which is the name that the girl gave to her. AJ also liked it because that's the name of his guardian angel at school. We all decided we liked that better than "Cuddles", even though she still loves to cuddle.)

Room for one more...

No, we're not expecting, but there IS a new "baby" in the house. The other day while riding my bike, I came across a tiny voice in distress. I coaxed this little one out and decided to bring it home. Intending to take her to the farm, and partly knowing that wouldn't happen, I watched as our family fell in love with a little furry kitten we are currently calling "Cuddles". I will have pictures later, but for now you can know that she's really a cutie, that was the name Faith wanted to call her.