Vacation!

This year, we decided to take our vacation as a springboard from our school studies.  We have spent the time since Christmas studying Colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Constitution.  Since we only live 3 hours from the "Historic Triangle" it seemed like the perfect trip.  So, we spent last week visiting Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown.  

We had a great time.  The place we rented actually slept 12, so the first 2 nights another family from our homeschool co-op stayed with us and the remaining nights my parents and 2 of my aunts joined us.   It was fun having other folks along.  Abe did really well considering the large amounts of stroller time and lack of normal naps.  Here are some photos of our week away.

  

The Nemitz and the Campbell kiddos in a pretty Williamsburg garden

Isaac and Lily at the end of day 1- zonked out on the couch!

The man who would not be king.

Day 3- Alexa and Lizzy trying on some armor at the Jamestown Settlement

Abe didn't especially enjoy the matchlock gun demonstration, but most of the others thought it was cool.  

The Campbell girls grinding corn outside a wigwam.

The whole tribe in a Powhatan dugout canoe

My three beauties showing their courtesies at Williamsburg on day 4.  Thanks to Grandma and her sewing talents, they fit right in.

Lily in the garden at the Wythe House in Colonial Williamsburg.

Abby sunning in the garden too.

Lizzy playing this year's piano recital piece on a harpsichord in Colonial Williamsburg.

Isaac reclining in a tree with his trusty musket.

Abe took to the pool after a day or two.

On Wednesday, our dear seminary friends, the McManameys came to visit us.  This is all of our children marching to the pool for the afternoon.

Lily enjoying some pool time.

Lizzy with her beloved Pocahontas.  She was so excited to see her as she had chosen to make her the topic of her year-end report.  This day at Historic Jamestown was probably one of our favorites.  This was National Park site where the actual fort was and we got to watch the archaeologists and see many of the artifacts they've found.  The kids completed the Jr. Ranger program and were very proud of their badges.  They especially loved the glassblower.  I highly recommend a visit!  

This was our last full day.  Isaac convinced his daddy to try on the breeches at the Yorktown Victory center.

Aren't they precious?

Abe was not loving the dress-up concept!

Soldier Isaac with his accoutrements.

Lizzy. taking on the role of quartermaster.

Lizzy, lounging in the sun.

Two pretty girls in a colonial kitchen at the Yorktown Victory Center.

Abe, glad to be free from the stroller.

Ryan and the kiddos climbing the earthenworks at the Yorktown Battlefield.

May Day Fun

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ryan's parents came to visit for Mother's Day weekend. The kids really wanted Nana and Pap to go strawberry picking with them, so we drove them out to Vollmer farms, our favorite agritourism spot.  The afternoon resulted in a sunburn for me and some strawberry pies for everyone else.  Fun was had by all. We're still eating the fruits of that afternoon.

Notice, Abe has been given the Billy Goat head. 

As you can see, Abe enjoyed the homemade ice cream.

Yes, I am taking a photo of Abe licking a rock that he has just dipped in a bucket of nasty water used to mimic cow milking.  I figure, if you can't beat 'em, photograph 'em.

We also participated in Baby Dedication at our church.  Just so you know, there is a reason why it's called "Baby" Dedication.  Let the record show, I am not an advocate for toddler dedication, if it can be avoided.  This is because it is pretty much a given that putting a toddler on the stage in front of an entire congregation will probably result in some unwanted attention on the family of the toddler.  In our case, Abe decided to show his more aggressive side.  I've been working with him a lot on not hair pulling, pushing, and hitting.  These are behaviors that he has known well since we met him.  Basically, he's a bully, though a very loveable one.  So, while we were on the stage Sunday AM and Ryan was attempting to lead the Baby Dedication portion of the service, Abe was at the perfect vantage point for hitting Isaac and Lizzy on the head.  I just kept taking his hand and rubbing it on my face and saying "gentle, gentle hands."  Now, this technique has begun to work at home.  Not on the stage at church.  He simply went from hitting to hair pulling.  Fortunately, the other children just tolerated it while we waited to be dismissed from the stage.  I suppose it's one more story I can reflect on someday when I'm looking back at how very far we've come.  We weren't able to get a fabulous photo, but here's a couple of attempts.

Special Occasions, The Reality

If someone had told me 14 years ago that getting married on the same weekend as Mother's Day was not a good idea, I feel confident I would not have listened to them.  I should have.  It seemed like a great idea at the time.  Ryan and I were so young and so ready to get married that it seemed like the first weekend after our college exams would be the perfect time to go for it.  

Then we tried to get a florist, that experience should have clued me in.  Did you know that florists don't do weddings on Mother's Day weekend?  Apparently Mother's Day is a big deal.  It took 3 florists to get our flowers covered.  One did my bouquet, another was willing to take the flowers for the wedding party, and another took care of the candelabras and decorative flowers.  That meant nothing to a young bride like me, I was in love and I wanted to get married.

Fast forward 14 years.  Now I'm the mom of 5, and I'm tired.  Life has been especially trying the last few months and though I desperately want something to celebrate, I don't have the energy to make it happen.  The last thing I need is not one, but two things that should be acknowledged and hoorahed over.  So I muster the energy to clean my house and prepare for all the grandparents to come and celebrate Mother's Day.  I make it through the weekend with a pitiful attempt at a gift for the grandmas, knowing they deserve so much more than I have managed to muster up.  I struggle with the guilt of knowing it's a pathetic excuse at thanking them for all the sacrifices they've made for the past 30 something years.  I smile at the sweet offerings of thanks that my children and husband bring and think about how much I love them and about how they deserve so much more from me too.

Then I take a nap.  After all, Monday is coming and the Iowa tests are waiting, along with the extra laundry that comes from a weekend of house guests.  I wake up and vaguely consider the fact that our anniversary is just 2 days away.  I realize I have no plan, I ought to fix that, then I go start a load of laundry.  

I wake up on the morning of May 12th and get ready for a morning at the office.  We've got an especially important staff meeting at the church office today and then I need to get each of the kids through another IOWA testing session before our 4:30 piano lessons.  I look at my sweet sleeping husband and remember, oh, it's our anniversary!  I nudge him, tell him "Happy Anniversary," and head out the door, thinking to myself that I ought to at least pick up a card on my way back to the house.  

The day progresses- I managed to remember to stop and pick up turtle food, while forgetting the card.  I managed to get all the kids through a testing session, while forgetting to put the chicken in the crock pot.  It's a wash.  Finally, 3:45 the phone rings.  My husband calls to ask me what's for dinner and I confess my irresponsibility with the crockpot.   He informs me that it's okay because he's scheduled a sitter and we're going out.  Ah, that man, I love him!   A whole evening of uninterrupted conversation lies ahead.  I quickly change clothes so that I can be ready to leave as soon as we return from piano.  I find the time to stop by the CVS and at least get a card to contribute to the occasion.  Now, we're on the right track!

The next 90 minutes go off flawlessly.  Before I know it, we're headed down 401 toward freedom.  My tastebuds are already anticipating the hot meal I' m going to eat and the dishes I'm not going to wash.  Now, this is worth celebrating.  Phone rings.  The sitter explains that Lily just threw up all over the bathroom.  U-turn.  Frustration.  Hardee's drive-thru on the way home.  I hurry in to my poor, sick baby and send the sitter off with great apologies.  Fifteen minutes pass and Lily looks at me and asks if she can go outside and play.  I roll my eyes, look at my husband and laugh at the reality that is my life.   I take comfort in the fact that it is one of many seasons.

To everything there is a season,

a time for every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill and a time to heal ...

a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance ...

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to lose and a time to seek;

a time to rend and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

  

Lasts

Firsts.  That's something lots of moms keep track of...firsts.  First smiles, first teeth, first steps, first birthday party, you get the idea.  But lately I've been thinking more about lasts.  

It started the other day when I put Abe in the highchair and I realized that I was able to turn around, walk to the sink, and get his cup and he wasn't screaming.  And I thought, "Wow!  He's not screaming.  Wait a minute...did he scream this morning at breakfast?  Did he scream last night at dinner?  Maybe he's done with the whole high chair tantrum thing?  Have we seen the last of it?"  And I had this moment of hope, that maybe this was going to get better.  

This led me to think of what other little signs of progress may be occurring.  And I realized, there was a pretty sizable list.  For example, we no longer have to hold him to get him to sleep. One night, after we'd been home a couple of months, things were really crazy.  So, Ryan just put him in the bed and he fell asleep.  The next day I tried it at naptime, and he fell asleep again.  Now, all I have to do is ask him if he wants to go night-night and he leads the way saying "ni-ni."  I'm not sure what date was the last day that I rocked him to sleep, there wasn't anything remarkable about it at the time.  But, I'm pretty sure we're finished with that- it's been several weeks.  

Reflecting on these steps of progress with Abe has also reminded me of the changes in my other children and how quickly they come.  I can remember fighting with Abby over hair brushing when she was a preschooler and wishing I could just shave her head.  Now I can't recall the last time I brushed her hair.  I'm not sure when it happened.  I'm sure it was gradual, nothing notable about the last time I brushed her hair.  I'm sure it was just a part of that day's busyness.  I didn't realize that I wouldn't be needed for that task soon.  

There are lots of other lasts I can think of.  I'm completely unsure of when they happened or surely I would have taken a photo or jotted them down on the calendar.  I can't remember the last time I tied Lizzy's shoes or zipped Isaac's pants or pushed Lily on the swing.   It makes me so sad to think of those things.  Sometimes I just ache with how fast they are growing and how very independent they are.  Other times I am so very proud of the young people they're becoming and I am so thankful for their steady progress.  It's a bittersweet sort of thing.  It makes me want to be more attentive, to savor each moment as the days race by.  I want to soak it all in, and yet the demands with which I live often prevent me from doing so.   

I guess the best thing for me to do is to just be as present as I can be in the moments that I have.  Being dilligent in what I have been called to do.  Trusting these precious children to the Lord who created and loves them even more than I do.  All the while, enjoying the firsts, reflecting on the lasts, and trusting God for the strength to juggle it all.

Road Trip!

As if life isn't crazy enough,  Ryan and I thought we would have some family bonding time by taking a little road trip to our nation's capitol.  We've been studying the Declaration of Independence, George Washington, and the whole American Revolution bit, so it seemed like a great idea.   We haven't had much family time, so why not pack up 5 children ages 10 and under, pile them in a gas guzzling vehicle, and set out to explore our national treasures for 2 days that are forecasted to be rainy and in the upper 40s?  Yeah, obviously we didn't think that one through.  

Anyway, we did go.  And we did have fun.  Mostly.  And we did learn a few things about traveling in DC.  Like...

• where you can find a reasonable hotel for 7 people.
  
• how to navigate a stroller on the Metro escalators since the elevators are either full, broken, or non-existant.
• never to promise your 8 year old that you'll buy her a pretzel after you've seen the ruby slippers... because the pretzel carts will all be gone and then she'll cry the entire 7 blocks to the subway.
• homeschoolers shouldn't go to DC in April because that's when every public school system east of the Mississippi will have some team, troop, or club there and it will be very crowded.
• you should always pack at least 3 extra outfits for a day outing with a 18 month old child who hasn't had a solid stool in the 3 months since he entered the country.
• you can eat a nice steak dinner for what it will cost you to feed your children a slice of pizza at the Smithsonian.
• you need to know before you wait in line for 90 minutes to see the Declaration of Independence that it will be too faded to actually read anything except a few key words.  But, your kids will still be impressed.  Especially if they're nerds, like their mother.

That being said, we will return, in September, when everyone else is back to work and the weather is warmer and Abe's digestive system is in better working order.  In the meantime, here are a few photos of our time in DC.  

Our first morning on the Metro.

Abe, in the stroller, where he spent most of his DC trip.

They share their mother's fear of spiders.

Lily  is obviously riveted to be standing next to the ACTUAL Wright Brothers plane.

There it is, the real Declaration of Independence.

Behold, THE ruby slippers.  I have to say, they're much prettier than the ones they sell at Target!

The reflecting pool ducks enjoying some leftover Poptart crumbs.  Notice there is no reflection in the "reflecting" pool.  That would require a glimmer of sunlight!

The kiddos were very impressed with the size of Mr. Lincoln!

Fun...Finally!

Frankly, one of the reasons I haven't posted much the last couple of months is because I haven't had lots of "happy thoughts" to post.  Things have been rough and we've been simply existing and figuring out strategies to make it better.   The combination of the intense demands for us at church right now and the continued adjustment to Abe has made this one of those seasons I know I will look back on and wonder how we did it.  But, slowly, we get a little more of a groove and we find folks to share small bits of the load, and we learn to adjust to the realities of where we are.

With all that has been going on, March really wasn't a fun month.  We made some memories, but not the kind you want to record on film or broadcast to the world.  But, April has already proved to be an improvement, so I thought I'd let you in on some of the fun.  So, here goes my attempt to fill you in.

 

For Isaac's birthday, we decided to buy him tickets to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  My mom had taken the two older girls and I to see it in NY for Lizzy's 5th birthday.  I can't tell you how many times Lily and Isaac have had to endure the telling of how wonderful it was.  So, when I found out that it was coming to town just a couple of weeks after Isaac's birthday and that we could get discount tickets if we went on a Tuesday night, I knew it was the perfect gift.  Ryan and I took them and we all had a great time.  I didn't get photos at the show, but I did get them before and after photos at the house.  I think they tell it all...

BEFORE

AFTER

Yes, he is sound asleep on the hardwood floor!

Then, later that week the girls and I attended a princess sleepover at our church.  It was hosted by some energetic moms via the recreation ministry.   Abby said it best as we were leaving when she said, "Mom, that was so fun and we didn't even have to plan anything or do anything except come and have fun."  It's so rare that we attend any function like that which we don't setup, lead, and then clean-up.  It was such a treat.  

 

The Campbell Princesses

Of course, we also had a great time Easter Weekend. I already expressed in my previous post how much I love Easter. Here are some pictures of this year's festivities.

Here are some photos from the church Egg Hunt:

Abe really got the hang of it and filled his bag quite full.  It was quite a strain for him to pick them up as his jumbo belly kept getting in the way!

Lily did great this year.  This is the first year she seemed to enjoy it at all.

Lizzy madly searching for a "golden ticket."

Abby and her loot.

Isaac and his golden ticket, which entitled him to a giant pixie stick (as if he didn't have enough refined sugar!)

Here are photos from the our egg coloring back at the house:

Isaac thought he was very funny when he offered this cracked green egg to Pa as his special creation!

Cousin Nadia joins in the fun!

Then, of course I must include the Easter Sunday photos.   We actually managed to get a couple where everyone's eyes were open.  That alone should constitute an Easter miracle!

Waiting for other folks to arrive on Sunday.  Who says you can't get 5 kids ready and at church by 7:45 with smiles on their faces?

Brothers!

One of many attempts at a decent family photo...foiled again!

The kiddos with Grammy and Pa

The Easter girls...Mom, Aunt Alice, Cousin Nadia, Cousin Charity, and me.

And of course, we had to have one last egg hunt in Grammy's backyard.  This one is actually worthy of the name "hunt."  The one on Saturday is more like a carnage.  It's basically a big field covered in 15,000 eggs and the "locusts" descend and clear it within seconds.  The Sunday hunt at Grammy's involves working for each and every egg which has been carefully hidden by the men in the family.  It was a solid 20 minutes of searching, climbing, and working for those Hershey Kisses!